“Coffee.”

He stares, watching as she staggers over towards the counter before all but collapsing onto a stool. With a wince, he sets down his cup of coffee in front of her, watching as she all but hoovered it up without even batting an eye.

“What the fuck happened to you?” He asks, a little fear creeping into his voice. That was his coffee that she just drank without even a single word of complaint. “Should I call for health services or something–?”

“No, no.” She grumbles into the wood, “Don’t do that. I... exams are done, I just need some rest.”

“Why don’t you go back to your apartment to sleep the rest of the day off?”

“Didn’t I tell you about my goddamn neighbors already?” He shakes his head in the negative, even as he walks over towards his office to brew some more coffee. “They’re asshats. I’ll be more likely to get a good night’s sleep here than back there.”

“That’s...” He hummed, quickly fiddling with the coffee machine as it beeps and starts brewing. With a sigh, he sticks his head out of the doorway that led out of his office, a curious expression on his face. “... Ever thought about moving out from there?”

“Can’t.” She grumbles back, managing to prop up her chin on her hands to try and glare a hole on the floor. “It’s one of the few places in the city that’s relatively cheap and has quick access to public transport. I probably won’t be able to get a better deal than that, neighbors be damned. And it’s not like I could just... I don’t know, keep on living in my friend’s house.”

“Alright, that could get a little bit embarrassing.” He nods in sympathy, leaning against the doorframe while sparing a glance at the coffee maker. “Also, I’m pretty sure that you could ask your parents if–”

“No.”

“No?”

She stares. “No.”

He nods, a bout of awkward silence filling the air that was only broken by another beep of the coffee maker. With a jolt, he walks back towards his office, snatching two empty cups on a rack before filling them up with a fresh brew. It doesn’t take more than a moment before he returns back to the counter, sliding the two coffee cups in her direction.

“Well, don’t drink it all up in one go–” Wait, she already was. He lets out a chuckle, shaking his head as she downed the coffee within seconds of one another, hacking and coughing once she was done drinking both.

“Water!” She gasped, fanning her mouth as she rummaged around her pack. “I– Fuck, water!”

He nods, quickly sprinting back towards his office and filling up another cup with water from the sink. It takes another few seconds for him to sprint back, placing the cup in front of her, and he watches as she downs the entire thing in one gulp... before pulling out a water container from her pack and began chugging down the water inside.

A snort escapes his lips as water dribbled past her lips, ending in a trail that flowed past her chin. He stares, maybe perhaps for a second too long, before he flits his gaze up towards the ceiling and waiting until she slams the water container down on the countertop.

Water sploshes. Some of it lands on his sleeve, and he levels a glare at her. “Really?”

“... Sorry.” She sheepishly chirps back, eyes glancing downward towards the three empty cups of coffee before her. “Shouldn’t have just drank it all.”

“No shit.” He sighs, shaking his head in disappointment, but a smile crosses his face nonetheless. “Want me to make another one?”

“Uh, no. Not now.” She sniffs, reaching into her pack to snatch a handkerchief. “Though thanks for the suggestion, uh...”

Her eyes cross, brows scrunched deep in thought while he simply hums, content to let her think. It takes her a few more seconds to let out a sigh, meeting his gaze with a flash of embarrassment in her eyes.

“So.” She began uneasily, “Can I get your name?”

...

He blinks. Then wonders if he had given his name to her over the past few months since they met, before finally realizing that he didn’t. With a slow groan, their hand covers their face, right before they conk their head against the countertop. “I didn’t say it, did I?”

“To be fair, neither did I.”

“Ugh.” It wasn’t really that much better, was it? He grunts, removing the hand from his face and extending a hand towards her. “... Well, best I could do is introduce myself. Escher.”

“Paige.” She replies back, taking his hand onto her own while giving him a smile. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too.”