Chapter Text
“So whose side are you on?”
“What?” She asks, their footsteps echoing down the hallway. “Oh, you mean the straw thing?” They wind down the white corridor, passing by the empty conference room, their reflections warping in the glass. “It’s clearly two holes.”
“Why would it be two?” They round a corner, veering off down the looping part of the corridor. “It’s just one big hole, stretched out.”
“Because it’s like a tunnel.” She says.
Helly slows her pace, turns to face him. “And a tunnel has two exits, not one.”
“A tunnel, sure, but-“ Mark pauses, squinting down at her. “You’re saying a straw has two holes because they lead to different places?” He gestures with his hand, miming a pin prick. “So if I poke hole in a straw while you’re using it, you’d say there were three holes in it?”
She turns her head and starts walking again, scowling. “This is giving me a headache.” He lags behind for a few seconds, and then catches up when they turn another corner. Eventually, they make it to the lobby.
They come to a stop in front of the elevator, and his hands shove into his pockets, a smile ticking up at the edge of his mouth. “See you tomorrow.”
“See ya, boss.”
Before she can even turn, his hand shoots out, cupping her shoulder. “Woah, hey.” His hand moves, lightly tugging her lanyard out, and he unclips her pen, holding it out to her. She pauses, staring down at it. “Aw, shit.”
“Close call.”
It’s smaller in his hand. Thumb pressed along the side of it, covering the other half of the scratched logo, ‘umo’.
“Can I just ask-“ He starts, tilting his head while she just stands there. “What is the deal with this thing?”
She kinda just stares at him for a second. He stares back. In for a penny, she guesses.
Helly presses her lips together, squares her shoulders.“You gave it to me.” Mark opens his mouth, but she continues. “And I liked that-“ Her eyes dart away. “It was yours. And now it’s mine.”
“Oh.” He says. “Huh.”
Something smug flits across his face, and she’d find it annoying if it wasn’t such a funny expression.
Her hand reaches out, and she tugs open the lapel of his jacket. Mark doesn’t move an inch, and silently watches her slip the pen from his hand, into his inner pocket. “Don’t lose it.”
“I won't.”
She smooths the fabric back down, and steels herself for a second. His eyes are creased around the edges, and everything seems to come to a standstill, the seconds stretching thin as she fidgets with the fabric of his suit.
Helly leans up and presses her lips to his.
It’s soft, sending a wave of bright warmth through her face, down her spine and making her feel stupidly dizzy. She’s smiling when she pulls back, then ducking her head so he doesn’t see it. “Uh.” She says, blinking a few times. “Thanks. For giving me your pen.”
“I didn’t give it to you, you stole it.”
She makes a small noise of disagreement, shaking her head.
“And I’m pretty sure I stole that pen from Dylan.”
She uses her fingertips to push him backwards, and he laughs.
“I’m gonna go, now.”
“Goodnight, Helly.”
She slots her key card into the reader, and shuffles into the elevator.
She turns to face him, still smiling. Right before the door closes, he holds up his index finger, and she laughs, holding up a peace sign. “It’s two.”