Chapter Text
“What are you doing?”
It was 6am, Elijah had just woken up, who knows if Lane ever went to sleep to begin with. He was sitting at the table with a mug and a box of a bunch of metal puzzles…? He was in the middle of one, the sound of the metal clinking together probably isn’t the first thing you’d want to hear in the morning.
“Oh, I bought some puzzles.” ….
“Why…?”
He didn’t explain, he just grabbed one from the box and threw it at Eli. He barely caught it!
“...”
“...You- You have to figure out how… how to get it apart and then back together again. I’ve figured all of them out…” He took a sip of his tea, alright… it’s clear he hasn’t slept.
“...How long have you been doing these?”
“About an hour.” Sip “I’ve been trying to teach myself how to do all of ‘em without looking- do you wanna see…?” …. Elijah sighs. He puts the puzzle that was thrown on him back on the table. Then he walks back to the bedroom. “...Do you want me to make you breakfast?” No reply. He finishes his drink and walks to the sink. He really needs to go to bed soon. Just as he began prepping the kitchen to cook, Elijah returns!
“Sorry. The sound of those things was driving me insane.”
“Oh, whoops. Do you have a headache?”
“A small one.” He walked over to Lane. “What are you making?”
“Haven’t decided… I was cleaning up my messes- Do you want something in particular?”
“No, I’m fine with anything.” And with that, he got himself a glass of water. He sat down at the table, watching the other one cook. Every once in a while he’d glance over to the box of puzzles… They’re just sitting there…
…
…
…
“Do you care how I make the eggs?” He suddenly stopped staring at them… those got damn puzzles.
“No.” …
“Alright, I’m scrambling them then.” …
…
…
…
He grabbed one of the puzzles and started doing them, he ignored the fact that Lane looked over and smiled. Well, it’s not really ignoring it if you acknowledge it, is it? Anyway, It was 2 identical metal pieces, when held together a certain way they resembled the cancer symbol. It didn’t take him long to figure out how to take it apart. Just how many of these puzzles did he buy? Before he could ask, Lane put a plate of food in front of him and sat down at the other chair. “Thanks… How many of th-”
“Around 30? I never counted…” Lane pulled the box towards him and started sifting through, looking for a specific puzzle. How could something so small be so loud? He found it and handed it over. “This one’s harder. A lot of them are relatively easy… Oh, and they should all slide out… you shouldn’t have to force them or anything.” They ate the rest of the meal in silence.
“So… is this your new thing?” He breaks the silence! He started messing around with the puzzle he was given while Lane began to clean up.
“What do you mean?”
“You bought a lot, and you stayed up to do them.”
“Oh. Maybe.” … “Do you think it’s a fun party trick?”
“Some random metal puzzles? No.”
“Not even if I can do them with one hand? Without looking?” He laughed a little, finishing up the dishes before returning to his seat at the table. “I think that's pretty cool… for some of the harder ones anyway.”
“You might impress a few people.” He said, struggling on the current task at hand. This puzzle he was given…
“Would you be one of those people?”
“Maybe if it was this one…” He sighed, handing the puzzle to Lane. He had a huge smile on his face… That smile only grew bigger as he did the puzzle with one hand, without looking. “...” …. “Oh.” He then put it back together, again, with one hand and without looking…
“So?”
“You’ll have to do that to them first.”
“Huh?”
“Make them try, see how hard it is, then impress them.”
“Is that your way of saying you're impressed?”
“...Maybe a little bit.”
“A little bit is all I need.” He stood up, leaving the puzzle on the table. “Goodnight, have a nice day.”
“Goodnight?”
“I haven’t slept.” Well that explains everything. He kisses Elijah on the top of the head and walks off… Elijah picked up another puzzle. How long will he be sitting here for…?