CYPRIAN HAD NO BUSINESS BEING INSIDE this late , not when the night air outside still hummed with the kind of restless energy he usually chased down highways instead of hallways , but he'd closed up the garage hours ago , and apparently even he had limits . which was how he ended up , legs s p r a w l e d out while sitting in one of the chairs in the corner of the dimly lit tech lab , jacket half-slung over the back of another , fingers drumming idly against a workbench like he was waiting for something to start . his gaze flicked over the glow of monitors , lines of code he didn’t pretend to understand scrolling like a different kind of language entirely . definitely not his thing . ❝ y’know , ❞ he finally said , breaking the silence like he always eventually did . his tone was casual , uninvited , but not unwelcome enough to leave , ❝ i’ve been trying to figure out if what you do is actually impressive , or if you just stare at screens long e n o u g h that i just assume it is . ❞ his head tilted slightly , watching her more intently now ; something sharper behind the smirk . ❝ because , lowkey from where i'm sitting , ❞ he added , gesturing to one of the monitors , ❝ this could easily be you hacking into some government database , or you’re like playing some silly l i t t l e game that i don't get , ❞ cyprian explained . ❝ . . . which , by the way , the first option would be way more interesting to me . ❞ he joked . ( @hxrricvnes )