Work was busy, which was unfortunate for you; you just wanted to sit at your desk and day dream about Leo all day. That just wasn't in the cards though, it seemed, and you ran around like a mad woman to bring papers to their various locations and prepare for an evening meeting, which you conveniently had forgotten about earlier. Now you were scrambling to do everything you needed, thoughts about Leo swirling in the back of your mind and distracting you to no end. Someone finally called you out on it when you put three stacks of unfinished paperwork in a “completed” file on your bosses desk; your immediate supervisor came over, looking a little red in the face and rather annoyed. He was a stout little man, balding, and was very easily unimpressed.

“And what,” he said a little while later, finishing his tirade, “would you do if all of these got sent through? It would take ages to sort them all back out, hours of precious time!” For emphasis, he slammed the papers back onto your desk with a resounding thwack. You cringed.

“Finish these now-- properly this time.” He walked off with an undignified sniff and your cringe promptly grew into a sigh. What a day. Your perfect mood was deteriorating beyond repair; you had been about to leave, actually, since the meeting had been quicker than expected; if you were really being honest you would have to admit that you just wanted to leap into Leo's arms and be done with it.

Trying to bring yourself back to earth on your own had been quite the task, but the heavy pile of papers made it decidedly easier; you felt like you were drowning under them. It was nearing five o'clock, and Leo soon would be wanting to know where you were. You pulled out your phone and hit Leo's speed dial-- realizing you would absolutely die if anyone ever realized it was 1-- and waited through the first few rings. Hopefully your supervisor had found someone else to chastise and wouldn't be back before you were done.

“Hello?”

Your heart skipped a beat at the sound of Leo's voice, so distance through the phone and yet so much closer than he had been moments before. You hit yourself internally; stop acting like a love-struck school girl. Stupid honeymoon phase. You promised yourself you would get over it, and quickly at that.

“Leo? Hey. I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to be a bit later than usual, I have some extra work to do.” It wasn't extra, actually, since it was you who messed it up in the first place, but he didn't need to know that.

“Mhhh.” He responded, the sound rich and warm and- get it together. You swallowed hard.

“Anyway, I can pick up dinner for myself on the way home, so don't worry about cooking.”

“Mhh, stay safe,” he said, and then hung up the phone.

You threw your phone in a draw an turned towards the paperwork. You wanted to be home already, so you would have to work fast.

* * *

You tried to focus. Internally you were lamenting that you had made so many mistakes earlier, and now couldn't spend the evening with Leo.

You needed this job, though, so you couldn't afford this many mess ups anyway. Leo was minimal maintenance, given that he didn't even eat, but the cost of simply getting him alone had put a strain on your wallet and necessities like clothes and shoes hadn't been something you thought of. You were thrilled to be able to give him something, even if it was as simple as that, it's just that your bank account wasn't.

You weren't in any immediate danger, of course, but you had a vacation coming up and thought it would be fun to go to the beach with Leo... Regardless of whether or not you lived alone with him, the thought of a hotel room together sent a little thrill through you. Focus.

You were making progress, if it was a bit slow. After several hours the pile was down by nearly half, and you were getting quicker. You couldn't help but shake your head at yourself; you would have thought you were new at this. When you finally finished an hour later, the office was absolutely dead and you were dying to be home in Leo's arms. Your stomach, on the other hand, reminded you that you still needed to pick up your own food. You would be stopping at the convenience store, it seemed.

There was one on the way home. You recalled, so you would stop there.  With a bounce in your step at the prospect of getting home to Leo, you gathered your belongings and headed to the exit.

Or at least, you tried to. Purse in hand, you stepped into the elevator that would bring you down the the main floor. You watched the doors close as they did every time when you left. Fidgeting with your bag, you realized that you had--

Your train of thought disappeared with the sudden shuddering sound of the of the elevator coming to an unexpected halt. Your heart jumped up in your throat. No way. That couldn't be. There was no way. Terrified of if it actually was, you hesitantly reached out and pushed the button to open the doors. The lights flickered.

You had been stuck in an elevator before. You were with a group of friends; it was the middle of the day, and you were out in ten minutes. The lights were also fully on. You swallowed. The door didn't open, and and the lights flickered yet again; this time, they went off and didn't come back on.

Your heart was hammering in your chest, and you worked hard to keep your breathing even. You pressed the panic button for emergency help, but there was no response. Numb, you finally closed your eyes. You had left your phone in the desk drawer where you had thrown it after you had called Leo, something you realized exactly as the elevator froze.

"Hello," you finally managed to croak, but your voice was barely more than a whisper. No one would hear. You took a shuddering breath. You put your hands over your eyes so the darkness was your own and the space didn't seem so small. A childhood game of hide and seek, locked accidentally in a trunk in the back of the attic until you were found-- on a bright sunny day the memory was a funny one, but for now it was a chilling remembrance of fear. You needed Leo, needed his strength and his warmth, even though you knew he wouldn't come. Think of vacation with him, you told yourself. He would look really hot in a bathing suit. You would need to get him a bathing suit first. Slowly, your breathing slowed from its breakneck pace and you began to feel more stable. You were okay.

Leo wouldn't be coming to your rescue. By this point, nearly another hour has passed in the darkness. Forget Leo, no one would be coming. You couldn't hold it against him-- he didn't know where you were, after all. A cyborg though he might be, he didn't know everything. No, this time you were on your own.

Hello all! I'm so sorry I've taken so long to write this; I had a friend from out of town stay over and didn't have muc time to write. This chapter is a little longer than usual as an apology~ I'll try to get another chapter up tomorrow if I can!  (I also apologize for the extremely lame chapter titles, I'm terrible at them, but there you have it) Hope you continue to enjoy the story :3