𓈊 A Cup of Coffee to Ease the Pain

3: A Sneaking Suspicion

OKAY, LISTEN. I KNOW I'M SUPPOSED TO BE ON A BREAK BUT I FELT SO BAD- JEWJWFNSKS I PROMISE I'LL GO BACK TO BED AFTER THIS, I JUST COULDN'T HELP IT. I FELT SO BAD NOT POSTING ANYTHING DESPITE THE FACT THAT I CAN. /gen/lh/pos

Ahem. Enjoy the chapter.

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"Good morning," Ren said with relative cheerfulness as he slowly opened the door to Doc's office.

Doc looked up and smiled. "Ah, good morning, Ren," he replied. There was something in the way that Doc said his name that made Ren's chest flutter. Unfortunately, his tail wagging revealed that exactly. "You're either happy to see me, or you're happy to get to work," Doc commented teasingly, which made Ren's face flush. "Oh, you can come inside if you'd like. I'm not busy."

Ren blinked and looked between Doc and the door for a moment before slipping inside. The brunette wore slightly formal clothes, or the nicest he could get without wearing a suit (those things were so uncomfortable); a pair of skinny jeans and a light grey heap-collar top.

"You look... really nice," Doc murmured. Ren couldn't help but notice how Doc's eyes difted downward as Ren bent down to set his clipboard on the coffee table off to the side.

Feeling risky, Ren asked, "See something you like?" His tail adopted a mind of its own and swished slowly back and forth, which slightly embarrassed Ren.

Doc diverted his gaze, though Ren could've sworn he was blushing. "Those jeans look nice," he said calmly, clacking away on his keyboard. "The colors of your outfit compliment your hair."

That brought a beaming smile to Ren's face. "Thank you," he said, hardly able to contain the bright feeling of joy in his chest. "Is there anything I can do for you?" As he asked this, his eyes wandered around Doc's office.

His office was considerably large, with a lounging area on the right side (where Ren was standing), Doc's desk in the middle, and some kind of vault and a door on the left side. Between the desk and the door was a rug in the shape of what looked like a mountain goat.

Doc looked up. "On the second floor, there's a cafeteria that's pretty hard to miss," he began, reaching into one of his drawers. "There's a door off the side by the drinking fountain labeled Security Level Three." He held out a badge for Ren to take. "Take this, and you can get through."

Ren was cautious as he took the badge from Doc.

It's too suspicious, what they do over there in OctaTown, Grian's words echoed through Ren's head.

"Ren? Are you alright?"

Shaking his head, Ren pushed his anxious thoughts down. "I'm alright," he answered. "What am I getting?"

"Just a coffee," Doc said. "And an oatmeal raisin cookie if there's any there."

"Oatmeal raisin cookies are the best," Ren said with a small laugh.

Doc gasped. "Exactly!" he agreed, standing up. "Everyone always says they're gross, but they're delicious!"

"Right?!"

They stared at each other for a moment, both studying the other's eyes carefully. Doc's eyes drifted slightly downward, Ren's following close behind as he tail began to move behind him. Ren could've sworn they both moved in closer, but Doc was clearing throat before Ren could register it.

Ren stepped back a bit from Doc's desk. "S-sorry," he stammered with a nervous chuckle. He turned away to walk out of the room, reminding himself of what he needed to get so it wouldn't slip his mind. "A coffee and an oatmeal raisin coo-"