noahxromero:
noah wasn’t sure how to feel. the day in its entirety had already felt more solemn than most in recent memory. the unspoken mourning in town continued more fiercely today. with the vault closed, noah had an hour or two to wander aimlessly around town before the wake. he found lia half-sprawled over one of the best tables pages had to offer. his hand reached out for a moment to brush his knucles along the nape of her neck. it was a familiar gesture for him, but certainly not in relation to lia. noah caught the motion, redirecting his energies into attempting to decipher whatever notes lay underneath her. maybe they were in greek– he couldn’t tell from his angle. “y’know it doesn’t count as working if you’re asleep, right?” he pointed out. as he settled into the chair opposite hers, noah found a bare patch of table and lowered a coffee cup into it as a piece offering.
.
with the funeral, work, and the overall heavy atmosphere weighing on the town today, lia could feel her vibes were all out of whack. time management wasn’t her strong suit, so when she found she could carve out a bit of time to pump some work out, she really didn’t consider the fact that she was utterly drained and dead tired. lia wasn’t, by any means, a light sleeper, but jolt from her neck had her sitting straight up, a paper stuck to her cheek before it peeled off on its own.
“oh! noah!” lia wouldn’t have been nearly as flustered about the whole situation if she hadn’t embarrassed herself in front of him before. she hoped he forgot about it, but she doubted it. he was too pragmatic. but if he was here now with a cup of coffee for her, one she took gratefully, then he’d moved past their last encounter. “thanks. you’re a real one.”
she gulped a mouthful, ignoring the hot temperature. “i was dreaming about working, so that has to count for something. we should get paid for the work we do in our dreams. it’s the same stress.” lia clicked her tongue before setting her cup down and organizing the table a little to give noah some room. “are you doing okay? i didn’t want to ask earlier. you guys seemed…” she hesitated, a little uncertain about broaching the topic of death when it was so tangible. “preoccupied.”














