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when the door pulls open, greeting him with such a wonderful sight, he almost feels bad about feigning the confused look on his face that follows her question.[break][break]

"the sugar?"[break][break]

but it's not like he ever keeps up the act long. his hands which had been held behind his back is brought to the front, revealing a small grocery bag with the missing ingredients inside it.[break][break]

his smile is warm.[break][break]

"of course i did. i literally only had one job to do."

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Her mouth falls open in disbelief as he fakes confusion. “Yeah, in the text I se—“ Calla’s eyes narrow as he produces the back, a sharp little smile twisting the corners of her lips.[break][break]

“You sneak,” she scoffs, reaching up to give him a light shove. Only for her to twist her fingers into the fabric of his shirt moments later and tug him inside.[break][break]

Grinning at him she bites down on her bottom lip and then swiftly spins on her heels to head back toward the kitchen, the swish of her ponytail snacking against him lightly.[break][break]

Making it perfectly clear that if he would like a proper greeting, he will need to catch her first.

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not met with anything beyond the the light smack of her ponytail, he's left chuckling, realizing that he has to work if he wants a proper greeting. can't really fault her, though. not when he had teased her like that.[break][break]

"wait, wait, wait."[break][break]

stepping after her, he is quick to brush past her if only to turn around right in front of her, blocking her path back into the kitchen.[break][break]

he looks down at her, grinning.[break][break]

"hello, cal. how are you?"

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“wait, wait, wait.”[break][break]

She’s still flouncing away when he speaks, and before he’s even catching up to her, a coy little smile is flitting back across her face as he calls her bluff. It’s really all just her being difficult for the sake of it, but she’s pleased that he humors her all the same.[break][break]

Leaning up on her toes, Calla tugs him down slightly by the shirt so that she can give him a short peck on the lips. Her nose wrinkles playfully, smile mirroring his.[break][break]

“Hey to you too. Happy you’re here.” The apartment she shares with her brother isn’t as upscale or nice as Uriah’s, but it’s still her space, and there’s a giddy sort of excitement that comes with the newness of sharing that with him.

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uriah returns the peck, a smile easily flitting across his face as he does so.[break][break]

"happy to be here."[break][break]

honestly, he prefers it to his place even if it isn't as upscale. it's nicer because she's here and also because it's her space, and he's thankful to be able to share that.[break][break]

"shame your brother won't be here, though. guess we have the place all to ourselves."[break][break]

not that he minds, clearly. he's just teasing.

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She doesn’t think it’s possible for her to smile wider, but somehow she manages. The grin pressed soft against his lips as he returns the greeting.[break][break]

“Yeah? It’s not much, but you know, it’s home and whatnot.”[break][break]

She doesn’t usually give others the opportunity to be here. Or at least, when it comes to entanglements she doesn’t. It’s too personal. Too close to the softer part of her heart. But there’s only comfort in allowing Uriah the opportunity.[break][break]

Her fingers hang onto his as she leads the rest of the way to the kitchen. The music from her speaker still plays quietly in the background from earlier when she was getting everything else out of cabinets and drawers.[break][break]

“Oh yeah, that’s so unfortunate.” She rolls her eyes as she laughs. Not that she would really have a problem with her brother being present, but there was still plenty of time and opportunity for that on other days.[break][break]

Today, she’s selfish.[break][break]

Twisting to face him again, she fixes him with a put-upon pout that should be considered elusive coming from her. “Missed you today.” Even if they’d seen each other at work not all that long ago. The context was different.

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"aw, did you?"[break][break]

it's the little things that catch him off guard that make his heart flutter the most. the way she pouts at him is killing him and it shows in how easily he gives in to her.[break][break]

"missed you too."[break][break]

even if has only been a few hours since.[break][break]

"all i could think about was getting work out of the way so i could spend time with you."

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“Yesss.” Her bottom lip puffs out more for added dramatic effect.[break][break]

It’s the sort of behavior that she would normally call ridiculous, and yet he draws that silliness out of her as easy as breathing. If she wasn’t so smitten, she would probably be annoyed. But she’s not. Not one bit.[break][break]

She sighs forlornly instead and pulls herself up to sit on a part of the counter that isn’t occupied by ingredients and utensils. Her hands curl around the edge of the fake marble top as she leans back slightly while watching him, legs kicking aimlessly.[break][break]

“It’s sort of killer that I have to sit outside your office the whole time, but can’t, you know, go in and hang out with you.” So close and yet so far.[break][break]

She thought her brother was the one with the flair for the dramatic.[break][break]

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"it is killer, isn't it?"[break][break]

the paper bag is placed on the counter beside her before he takes a step closer to her. he's careful to time it carefully so as to not get kicked by her swinging legs.[break][break]

"you know you can always come in more often, right? just say you have a document to run through with me or something and then stay all day."[break][break]

he grins, leaning close to her face.[break][break]

"or, i could move your desk into my office."

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For now, the intended purpose of baking is forgotten. “It’s the worst. How am I supposed to be productive under these conditions?”[break][break]

She eyes him as he draws closer, slowing the kick of her feet even as he dodged them easily. As he tilts closer, she holds herself still. The curl of a smirk dances at the corners of her mouth.[break][break]

“Because neither of those options are suspicious at all..”

Her hands lift, slipping along the line of his jaw, thumbs tracing curves under his eyes. She laughs—the sound light, breezy.[break][break]

“You’d be sick and tired of me in your office all day long.”

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"nah, not suspicious at all."[break][break]

they could get away with it. maybe. maybe not. but at least they'd have fun trying.[break][break]

"how could i ever get sick of you?"[break][break]

leaning into her touch, he kisses her nose, light and full of affection as he shakes his head.[break][break]

"i could never."

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She laughs, eyes rolling. "Guess we could always test the theory."[break][break]

It's something she should know better than to do. Is it a good or bad thing that he's loosened up that uptight need in her to follow the rules? She's bound to find out at this rate.[break][break]

But even if Calla doesn't want to fess up to it, there's a certain thrill in the idea of being sneaky out in the open.[break][break]

"Oh. Easily, I'm sure." she's playful as she says as much, though she's bound to be a buzzkill just too much at some point or another. Maybe.[break][break]

Her nose wrinkles as he kisses it, and she dips forward to let their foreheads rest together.[break][break]

"You're too sweet to me, Uri. It's like, tooth rotting." Except she finds she doesn't really mind all that much at all.

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in reality, she's more likely to get sick of him. he's not the most mature—in fact, he's been called immature for the majority of his life. but maybe that's not such a bad thing.[break][break]

he rests his forehead against hers, eyes fluttering shut for moments.[break][break]

"i can't help it, cal. you're just, so, you. amazing. wonderful. fantastic. i ran out of words but you know what i mean."[break][break]

a chuckle.[break][break]

"i have to pinch myself sometimes to make sure i'm not dreaming."