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Even with the extension of another hour of daylight, the sun had already started to set when she arrived at the building. Somehow, the door had still managed to be unlocked, and Natalie was thankful for it, given that she hadn't offered a call or text warning her plan to visit the lawyer. She was staying late for work. So late that their dinner plans had to be rescheduled, and although that was fine, Natalie assumed it meant that her counterpart had yet to eat anything. A tote bag slung around her shoulder carried a homemade meal.
As the elevator climbed up to the appropriate floor, she wondered if she should have offered some sort of warning. It wasn't all that long ago that she said she would, but that was also with the consideration of normal work hours. This was different.
Quiet steps brought her into the empty firm. Not a soul in sight except for the only one that mattered. Even from afar, catching sight of the lawyer brought a smile to her features as she neared the glass walled office.
Calling and cancelling plans wasn't something Teddy ever wanted to do. She was usually so prone to working later at a moment's notice, but now she had people who wanted to spend time with her, it was effecting more lives than just her own. She was extremely apologetic when she'd called, and promised to reschedule as soon as possible, but it didn't make her feel any better about it, no matter how nice Natalie was about the fact.
Later in the night, Teddy was all alone in her office. She'd sent anyone who offered to stay home with ease; there wasn't much help she could get as her eyes trailed over paperwork over and over again. Her eyes were so strained that she'd settled to using her glasses to keep them properly focused.
Her eyes were still sharp, and though the elevator hitting their floor didn't pull her attention, movement in her peripheral vision certainly did. Glancing up from the screen, Teddy caught sight of the all too familiar woman walking towards her. She hid the immediate smile she couldn't help but wear as she tilted her head down, adjusting the frames on the bridge of her nose in the last seconds she had to herself.
Teddy left her set finally, hands running down the length of her dress as she did so. Quick steps brought her to the door and she pulled it open for her unexpected visitor. "Hello." She greeted, surprise obvious in her tone.
Before Natalie made it to the door, she was already seen. It wasn't a surprise, given the lawyer's acute eyesight, but what did come as a surprise were the frames that were around those bright eyes. Though it didn't make her smile waver, her eyebrows rose a little at the sight. The door was opened for her, and her bag slipped from her shoulder and she held it up. "Hey," Natalie greeted warmly, already feeling the desire to breach any distance between them. But she was working, and Natalie had come over for support.
"I assumed you haven't given yourself time to eat, so I brought you something." She took another step closer, the fingers of her free hand reaching up and forward, palm pressing lightly to the lawyer's cheek. Her pointer finger tapped against the frame. "These are new."
Though Teddy knew she should have looked at what was offered up to her, she didn't. Her eyes were far too attuned to her face to bother looking anywhere else, cementing her belief that that particular smile was only ever for herself.
And she was absolutely caught not properly looking after herself. Her eyes narrowed a touch, but it wasn't for anything negative. A lot of things fell to the wayside when work piled up; what was it with people who seemed to care about her so much after such a short time? Magnetism made her want to cut through the remaining distance, because that second step she'd taken didn't feel like enough, but her hand was reaching up to make a literal note of the lawyer's glasses.
A breath of a laugh escaped her lips at the question. "These are a necessity sometimes. Side effects." She replied, knowing a trainer from a sister school would understand the correlation. Reaching out herself, she let her fingertips run briefly up her arm, making the little connection long enough to secure a hand around the bag she held up.
Natalie couldn't help the connection she made, and even then it didn't feel like enough. She was drawn in by the lawyer's presence, and she already spared a glance down to the lips she had missed kissing. They drifted back up to those perfect eyes and the glasses they spoke about, her own eyes finding a little humor in the response offered.
"They look good on you." She reassured easily. Natalie doubted there wasn't anything that she couldn't pull off flawlessly, even when drowning with work to do.
With the bag taken, her hand naturally found its way towards Teddy, resting against her hip before she dared to lean forward and catch her lips with a light kiss. "How's the night shift going?"
Teddy could never agree with anything that showed an edge of weakness, eyesight included, but her feelings towards her glasses was indifferent. That said, she wasn't going to deny a compliment when it was given. "Lucky." She said lightly. If she hadn't liked them, it could have been awkward.
Small points of contact always gave way to larger ones, and that little instance of a connection couldn't possibly feel like enough. She didn't move when a hand found her body, but she leaned into the small kiss like she expected more from it. It was almost a shame when it dwindled away, but she did her best not to frown. \
"It's fine." Teddy replied honestly. She felt indifferent about it, too. "Company couldn't hurt, though."
It was hard not to linger the moment she got close. Natalie had told herself that she'd only be there long enough to drop her off the meal and insure she actually ate before she would go, but that plan was already dwindling. Moreso when the lawyer spoke of company. She could help the way her smile grew.
"I won't distract you." She reassured, or at least tried to. "I promise."
But she didn't shift away, instead letting her hand draw down to the lawyer's shoulder. "You should eat before it gets cold."
Teddy wanted to laugh when Natalie spoke. It was improbable to assume that she wouldn't be distracting; that was one of the dangers of spending any time with her at all. That promise felt like it wavered, and her narrowed eyes looked at her accusingly.
She was going to keep her company anyway.
Easing back finally, Teddy drew herself out of her grasp reluctantly, and she stepped back around her desk to sit again. "I'm sorry I had to cancel." She said again. She'd already apologised, but once didn't feel like enough.
Steps away from her were absolutely necessary, but when Teddy took them, Natalie couldn't help her disappointment. Her hands pressed to her jeans before she moved to sit in the seat opposite of the lawyer. At least now there was a desk between them.
"It's okay, you had a good reason." Natalie replied with a little shrugged. She had the confidence to know that Teddy didn't want to have to cancel their plans. Her work called to her, and given the hour and her glasses, she wasn't kidding when she said there was a lot to do. "I wish I could help."
There was reassurance in the way she was spoken to again, like it was so easy for someone out of this world to be so understanding. It was still early days. "You are helping by not making a big deal about it." Teddy explained without hesitation. The fact that she even bothered to show up tonight was something of a God send, too.
"Though, if I'm being honest, I'm not used to having someone want to look me." She added, and only then did she break her eyes away to look at what was brought for her.
Natalie was in no way skilled enough to help with the task Teddy had at hand. Unsure of the finer details of being a lawyer, she didn't know what it was in the first place. But the idea of assistance came from a different perspective, and though it felt as if it wasn't much, Natalie was happy to hear she managed to ease the burden, if only a little bit.
A breath of a laugh escaped her as she crossed her legs. "You'll have to get used to that, then." She replied, eyes still on Teddy rather than the meal she was opening.
Glass tupperware carried rice with a mixture of grilled and seasoned vegetables. A mason jar set aside held warm amber liquid, a metal ball clinking in the bottle with tea likely done steeping by then.
Through her lenses, Teddy glanced back st her quickly. She seemed so intent on making it known she has no intention of going anywhere, even in small comments like that. It dragged an unrefined smile to her mouth for a few moments before she managed to control it.
She must have looked impressed at the meal provided. Anything showed a sense of caring she was evidently supposed to get used to. She didn't hesitate to start eating, even with a set of eyes on her.
"How was your day?" Teddy asked then deciding to extend the break she likely deserved.
Cooking was something she heavily enjoyed. Moreso when she had the opportunity to do so for other people. There was no hiding the expression on Teddy's features, and Natalie had to be glad for it. When she started eating, only then did she eventually drag her gaze away from the lawyer, painful as it was to do so.
Her hands rested in her lap as she glanced around the office.
But the moment Teddy spoke again, she couldn't help the way her eyes trailed back to her. "Interesting." She laughed lightly. "I've been working with a student who can turn into a cat, and she doesn't have quite a grip with her feline senses. Today she found a mouse and proceeded with running around the school trying to catch it."
It might have seemed like a simple, almost weak question to ask, but Teddy found herself genuinely wanting to know what happened in her day to day life. Listening to the way she spoke, even she couldn't help but find humour in the little story she spun.
In her silence, she felt bothered by the distance set between them. Her eyes wandered down the curve of her neck, watching the way her mouth moved. She felt a small smile filter to her own instinctively; now really wasn't the time to get distracted.
"I'm actually dealing with something similar at the moment." Teddy said finally, glancing back up. "I can't get into it much, but all of this is about the law between animals, humans and the lack of protection for transformative meta-humans."
The smile Teddy wore wasn't lost on Natalie, nor was the fact that she couldn't catch the lawyer's gaze. With a decent amount of distance and a desk between them, Natalie felt the overt urge to move closer; instead, she gripped her hands together tightly. Of all things, she couldn't allow herself to be more of a distraction than she already was with holding a conversation.
Her eyebrows rose at the coincidence of similarity. With completely different styles of jobs, it was humorous how they managed to link. Her head tilted a fraction to the side, genuine curiosity about the matter spoke of. It was details of situations that Natalie hadn't considered the importance of, but once said aloud it made complete sense that they were needed.
"How does that work? Right now, I mean." She personally hadn't ran into an incident where she could actually know. "Is there any special consideration that's taken?"
