Richard arrived at this office before Oliver, which put him in a sour mood again. His anger was taken out in the form of him adding more papers to Oliver's ever growing pile. He was tempted to complain to the department head about Oliver's inability to arrive on time but with a glance to his watch he frowned. Oliver had nearly fifteen minutes before he was supposed to start his day.

Instead of thinking of more ways to be cruel to his new assistant, Richard settled on taking stock of what ever phone calls he needed to make. He wanted to get the painters into his house sometimes over the next two weeks, once he talked to Jeanette about colors. At least she was useful for a few things.

~

Oliver had been ahead of the other two, but hearing Blaize's voice he turned his head slightly to watch the exchange. He offered to carry's Jeanette's bag. Normally Oliver wouldn't be phased by such action, Blaize was a gentleman after all, but something dug under Oliver's skin at the sight.

What hurt more was the way Jeanette held back a laugh, a giggle if Oliver wanted to be cynical. The only time someone laughed at what Blaize said was when they were flirting. There wasn't any evidence that was going on, but Oliver didn't care for evidence he was simply going on base emotions.

Trying not to glare daggers at the woman walking beside him, Oliver shifted his own bag to be better adjusted on his shoulder. Because Oliver had looked back and been distracted. They had nearly caught up with him. He saw Blaize's smile but didn't have the courage to return it. Instead he stared at Blaize as he gave the comment about Dick. He watched as the two headed for Blaize's office. Oliver felt jealously wash over him in a heavy wave, making it almost unbearable to walk to his own office. Instead he turned his heels and marched toward Mr. Dexter's office, forgetting his earlier plan.

~~~~~~~~~~

Oliver exhaled loudly pushing the papers out from in front of him. Richard looked over his own stack with a dark but pleased look.

"All done?" Richard asked, trying to hide his amusement.
"You know I'm not," Oliver replied as he stretched slightly in his chair. He had been bent over the small writing desk for too many hours and was beyond uncomfortable. He wanted a nap and good strong coffee, maybe a bit of caramel mixed int to make it sweet. Oliver let the thoughts of good coffee and a decent meal fill him up before Richard's voice ruined it.

"Better finish those before the end of day. I don't like papers piled up everywhere," Richard told him as he looked over a takeout menu, likely planning his own lunch.

"I'm taking my lunch break. I'll be back in an hour," Oliver said, completely disregarding Richard's statement. He rose to his feet and gathered up most of his things, leaving the office without another word.

Again Oliver was tempted to check in on Blazie, just to see his face and maybe something else. However, the memory of earlier in the day was enough to leave a sore feeling in his chest. He didn't want to see them in Blaize's office together. A dark, cruel part of his brain suggested that Blaize might be doing something else with Jeanette besides paperwork.

Pushing away that terrible thought, Oliver focused on walking to his favorite cafe near the campus. He didn't bother with grabbing a seat, he planned on ordering and taking it back but the sight of someone caught his attention.

There at one of the table was a familiar face, someone he hadn't seen in years.

"Xander?" Oliver asked over the background noise that was the cafe's atmosphere. He waited awkwardly near the table as he waited for the person to reply.

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"Oliver?"

He almost didn't see him. He was, as he usually was when Oliver knew him, sitting with his nose stuck in a book. Or, rather, with the book open in front of him and one hand propping his chin with the elbow on the table, the other hand toying with the corner of the page, ready to turn it over. No doubt it was a book on classical literature, some analysis of historical technique, or perhaps a critical review of an author and how their work shaped-

Standing up, Xander bloomed into a warm, white smile, his hazel eyes twinkling in the sunlight glittering through the café windows. He had barely changed since that awful night, their final night together where Oliver ended the relationship and walked out of Xander's life.

At least, until now. He wasn't sure if he should go for a handshake or a hug, since one was too formal and one was a touch too informal. Instinct forced him into the latter, pulling Oliver into a warm, inviting hug.
"I missed you ..." His voice low. He really hadn't changed; everything about him seemed to ignite memories long buried within Oliver. His touch, the warmth of his skin, the scent of his aftershave, everything ...

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Feeling Xander's warm hug sent made Oliver's heart race, something he felt oddly guilty about. Perhaps it was what Xander said that made it worse. Oliver never really felt missed, he blamed it on being a professional wallflower. He wasn't the type to be missed, but hearing Xander say it made him smile. In a purely egotistical way, it made Oliver feel good to know he was missed. He was someone to be desired.

He didn't want to let his sour mood about Blaize spoil seeing Xander after so many years apart. Instead of thinking about his part-time lover, Oliver did his best to push all thoughts about the man out of his head. Instead he tried to focus fully on Xander.

While Oliver took the blame of their breakup. He knew he could have tried to keep in touch but it was impossible. Just after 'that night,' Oliver started working for Blaize. There hadn't been much time and in all honesty, Xander wasn't exactly the first person he thought about when he woke up.

As they exited the embrace, Oliver smiled but his eyes shifted downward toward the book Xander seemed to be reading. The moment of silence was awkward between them as Oliver struggled to find something to say. He couldn't say he missed Xander because he wasn't sure if he did and the last thing Oliver wanted to do was lie to someone that was once so important to him. Slowly his eyes made their way back up to locked with Xander's hazel eyes. Oliver tried to ignore the surge of attraction and sense of familiarity that made him think of returning to a favorite place.

"How have you been?" Oliver managed to say his voice soft.

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The awkwardness was rather mutual, in a way. He didn't expect to run into his former lover here, and he didn't actually expect to see him again, ever.
He laughed a little at the question, how was he supposed to respond to that?

"Oh ... busy. I'm working in the next city over, in their library. Classicals, restorations, antique documents, that sort of thing" He smiled, "Let me guess; you're still with the University?"

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Oliver knew his eyes lit up at the mention of restoration of antique documents. While Oliver never wanted to pursue it as a career he loved anything old and priceless and there wasn't a doubt in his mind that Xander was working with some pretty spectacular things. There was a giddy feeling within him that almost had him bursting out a request to go and see. Purely for his own selfish means, it wasn't every day one was able to see document as old as the Xander worked with.

"Yeah I'm working with the university still. Thinking about trying for a teaching position but I'm really impressed you are working in restoration," Oliver told him with a smiler bigger than before.

"So what brings you here? You said you were working a city over, do they don't have tiny cafes?" Oliver asked the smile never really fading from his face. It was easy to keep Oliver's attention when it came to books.

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Xander didn't miss the way Oliver suddenly became giddy at the mention of antique books. One had to wonder wither or not he mentioned it with that goal in mind.

"I'm here to drop off and collect some items" He shrugged as casually as possible, "One of the private collections here wanted some of their books restored, and we already worked on an order for them. Rather than risk a courier, I said I would come do it myself ..."

"... Didn't expect to run into you, though ..." A soft note to his voice. His face went from upbeat and cheery, to one that was a little more hurt, a little more tinted by shadows of the past. He had adored Oliver, he had wanted to marry him - well, same-sex marriage wasn't allowed but as close as possible - and set up a home with him. Just them, their entire hoard of books, and those cats Oliver always wanted ...

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Oliver nodded, he knew Xander cared a lot about his work even when they were both in school, it remained a comfort to know that hadn't changed.

"Same, I uh...didn't think I'd ever see you again. I mean with all that happened and me getting the job. There wasn't a lot of time to see each other..and I'm pretty sure you didn't want to see me.. Which was okay I mean...I'm sorry.. Xander I'm really sorry for what happened," Oliver said, his voice carrying a heavy amount of guilt. He didn't mean to bring up the past but once he started it was hard to stop. He was truly surprised that Xander was giving him the time of day.

"I'm glad to see that you are doing well," Oliver forced himself to say just to break the second bout of awkward silence between them at his earlier confession.

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Xander looked at Oliver as the words spilled out from his mouth, giving a sad little smile and lowering his gaze downwards the more he spoke. Eventually, he had to shake his head at the 'doing well' comment.
"I'm glad you're okay, I truly am. I mean, after 'that night', I was devastated. I couldn't really understand what had happened, it was almost like being sucker-punched. Then you moved your books out and took your old glasses away, the ones you used to use beside your bed" He really meant THEIR bed, but Xander was cautious about who might be listening to their conversation in a public café, "When you were too lazy to get up and find your normal ones ... Then I knew it was real. REALLY real. After I got my job, I had to make sure I was never sent to your University for any reason, I just couldn't bear the idea of coming across you again"

"... but here you are. Instead of being mad, or depressed or, or anything ... I'm so happy to see you" Raising his face up, looking deep into Oliver's eyes, "If it weren't for this horrible throbbing in my chest, it would be like if we never said goodbye in the first place ..."

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The more Xander talked the worse Oliver felt. Hindsight was 20/20 and while he also dealt with his own feelings about leaving the relationship, he hadn't realized how quickly he left. The job was partly to blame, he needed to go almost the same week he got it. There wasn't time to really say good-bye and back then Oliver knew if he lingered he'd stay. He had to be make it a clean break all at once, clearly hurting Xander more as he looked back on it. Xander had been a huge part of him and saying goodbye was like tearing off a limb.

Unable to find any words to defend himself, Oliver waited for some kind of cutting remark but instead Xander expressed a feeling of happiness. Oliver let a smile again warm his face as his let the eye contact deepen, the pounding his chest getting stronger the longer they looked at each other.

"My heart is pounding too," Oliver whispered, the softest of his voice making his words more intimate. Probably not the best thing given their current situation.

"Marks! Oliver Marks!" Came the barista voice, tearing away Oliver's attention. He gave a awkward look to Xander before stepping away quickly to get his order before returning, trying to get back into the moment.

"My lunch break is only an hour and as much as I'd like to catch up, I should get back and actually eat something. Can we meet up later? You don't have to but I would like to..if you wanted too," Oliver asked feeling as if he was repeating himself, he simply wanted to make it clear that Xander didn't have to come, he was giving him a choice.

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"Please" The word came out with some force, a force geared towards haste in agreeing rather than Oliver demanding that he spend time with him. All of the old wounds, the ones that never healed correctly, he could feel himself taking a knife and cutting them back open. Hopefully, this time they would heal, hopefully he could have Oliver's love and support to make it all better. The admission that Oliver's heart was pounding send his feelings soaring ... despite the panicked little piece of self-preservation at the back of his mind begging, pleading not to get his hopes up and be hurt again.

"Please ..." His tone gentler this time, "I would love that ... I'm staying at the Grande downtown, how about I meet you at the bar in there? At 7? I can take you to dinner if that's too early ..."

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Oliver was surprised at the intensity of Xander's response, but he was pleased nonetheless. Closing the gap between him and Xander, Oliver gave a quick hug but it left something lingering on Oliver. He hadn't realized how much he missed hugging someone. Thoughts of Blaize crept back as he gathered up his things. When he hugged Blaize it was usually leading to something else and rarely about just being friendly with each other. It never occurred to him that he would miss it, Oliver never considered himself the snuggle type but maybe he had hidden that part from himself for Blaize's sake.

Doing his best to avoid thinking about it further Oliver nodded in agreement to Xander's plan.

"I'll try and be off work around 6:30 if I'll be late I'll be sure to call the Grande and leave a message for you," Oliver explain before departing from the cafe.

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"I'll see you then ..." Xander wanted to kiss him, he desparently wanted to kiss the man that was the love of his life, but managed to quash that particular instinct in favour of reminding himself that they had broken up. Well, Oliver had broken up with HIM, and the last thing he wanted was for his hopes to be raised and then dashed.

He smiled, watching Olvier leave, but as he settled back into his chair and returned to his book, he found concentrating on the words impossible. An iron chest of memories cracked open, spilling out their life together and all the little moments they shared that formally brought him warmth and happiness.

It's not too late ...

-

"I tried to get you a cashew salad, but they were sold out" Blaize announced as he walked back into his office, carrying two paper bags from the University canteen.

Jeanette blinked, looking up from her paperwork and taking one bag from Blaize as he passed by.
"Oh, thank you ..."
"I don't know what greedy bastard is eating all the salads" He muttered digging out his own sandwich as he sat down, "It took forever for them to start stocking them on a regular basis and not just throwing some vegetables in a plant pot and calling it lunch"
Jeanette cracked open the container, noting with pleasure that there was a fork inside and tucked in with relish.
"I-I thought you had staff to make your lunch" She ventured, curious as to why Blaize even bothered to buy lunch here.
"I do, but sometimes I forget to say to them to make one" He shrugged, "Plus, I don't know what I'm doing most days"
"You ... don't?"
"No. Well, most of the time I'm away exploring. Sometimes I'm here, but I'm useless with paperwork, I have Oliver to deal with that. If I'm here, I might be talking with department heads, I might be planning the next expedition, I might be going over what we found with Oliver before we pass it on with the bigwigs ... anything, really"
"Oh ..." She chewed on her salad thoughtfully, mulling over what it was like to be the assistant to someone who was more into exploration than her own boss. She had pieced together the fact that Oliver was more a field assistant than an office one, but wasn't entirely sure how they worked together.

"How do you and Dick work together?"
It sounded silly, but it honestly took her a second to realise that he meant Richard, and she had to carefully assess what she could safely tell him. After all, Richard was alive to rumours and accusations that were rife in the academic world. 'Don't let the titles and the honours fool you, Jeanette, they're just as gossipy as a bunch of vicious schoolgirls'
"Well, I-I am mostly an office worker. I take notes, I prepare any permits and paperwork he needs, maybe make phonecalls but he likes to do those himself. Anything Mr. Dexter needs, really"
"Sounds boring" Blaize noted, examining the crust on his sandwich suspiciously.
"Mmmm" She didn't really want to agree, but Oliver sounded like he had the better job. Going out in the field, doing important work ... She only sometimes went out when the mission was low risk, or he absolutely needed someone to follow him and take notes as meticulously as Jeanette did. Even with the larger expeditions, he relied on her to make sure he was fully organised. It wasn't unknown for her to pull all-nighters to make sure he was fully prepared, while he himself went home to an early bed.

"Why are you and Richard at this University anyway?"
Her heart seized on that question, and she started to choke on her salad. Coughing and spluttering, Blaize scrambled to his feet to help, hitting her between her shoulderblades a few times until she inhaled a few ragged, cashew-poisoned breaths. Waving to show she was okay, her face an unhealthy red, she cleared her throat a few times before drinking some iced tea.
"I don't ... I can't really say anything about transfers" She wriggled out of the question, raising Blaize's suspicions without it showing on his face, "It's confidential, like all hiring policies"

"Fair enough" Casually as possible, looking at the stack of papers on his desk, "When you're done with lunch, we should take this all back up to storage, it'll make sorting the rest easier"
"Yes, S-Blaize" Catching herself. She also realised that she had been ordered by Richard to meet her. Glancing at the clock, it was far too late to go over to him and deal with whatever he wanted. She was just going to avoid it, and hope he had forgotten he had asked in the first place.
"I'm ready now"
"Finish your lunch first, at least"
"I'm fine, I don't want to choke again" She neatly wrapped up the salad to eat later, standing to carry papers back to their rightful homes.

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Oliver couldn't suppress the giddy nature that bubbled up within him but the energy was also nervous. A glance to his watch proved he was running, he wouldn't have a chance to go by his office. As he walked back to Mr. Dexter's office he paused just outside the office in order to finish his meal before he entered.

Once inside he was greeted with a man in a sour mood. Richard was angered and Oliver read the situation well. Something happened over his lunch break to put him in such a poor mood. Clearly confused because of his own good mood, Oliver returned to his desk and pulled toward him the papers he was working on earlier. Ignoring the fact that it seemed bigger then last time.

"What has you in such a good mood?"

"Nothing," Oliver replied figuring the best plan of action was to not engage.

"Go down to Ellitot's office and get Jeanette for me," Richard told him, Oliver looked at him in sudden surprise, expecting Richard to explain himself. When the man didn't Oliver rose out of his chair again and did as he was told, walking back toward Blaize's office in search of the both Blaize and Jeanette.

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Blaize had a bad habit of not locking his office. His usual excuse was that he didn't have anything of value to steal. While this was technically true, it was still something that was against the instinct of everyone else in the department, and was still something of a surprise when the door opened at Oliver's touch. Blaize hadn't answered any knock and neither had Jeanette.
The office was empty, A mostly-eaten box of salad on Jeanette's side of the desk and an empty sandwich bag on Blaize's side, the feel of the room suggested that they had recently left.

"Mr. Elliot went with Miss Peters somewhere" A passing staff member informed a bemused-looking Oliver, walking on with his own stack of papers in his arms.

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Oliver looked around the room for a moment, there was an urge to clean up the mess but he didn't bother. Just as the other staff member passed him. He nodded in thanks before focusing his attention back on the office space.

Where had they gone? Did something come up? Surely Blaize would have told him. He did his best not to think the worst, but the nagging feeling didn't go away.

Intsead of lingering around the office like a lost cat, Oliver went to Blaize's desk and wrote a note.

Hello,
Mr. Dexter sent me here to get Miss Peters
- Oliver

The note wasn't anything speical, but clearly written with care to ensure it was easy to read. Placing it carefully on the desk to ensure one of them would see it, Oliver left the office and returned back to Mr. Dexter.

Upon his arrival Mr. Dexter was on the phone and by the sound of his voice it was very importnat. He pointed to the stack of papers then waved Oliver toward the door. Oliver wasn't sure what was going on but he took the hint. He gathered half of the papers and left to work in the library instead of the office space like before.

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