Leaving behind his pile of paperwork, he made his way down to the cafeteria, a place he rarely visited.  It was the closest place he could think of to grab a late dinner.  He still had too much work to finish before his night was over.  He could only hope that it was still open at this hour of the night.

A small sigh of relief swept over him when the 'open' sign on the cafeteria door.  He walked inside and found that the place was empty except for a figure standing beside a table.  Upon closer approach, he realised that the figure was wiping the table.  Maybe he was too late after all.

Just as he was about to turn and walk away, a voice called out to him.  "Did you need something?"

He stopped and turned back to see the figure, a young man, looking at him, awaiting his response.

"I thought you were still opened," he replied as he glanced at his watch.  "But I guess 10.30 is too late for dinner anyway."

The young man looked at he older man standing in front of him.  Rather than a police uniform, the older man was dressed in a black suit and tie.  He figured that the man probably held a much higher position. 

"You're only having dinner now?" the young man asked in disbelief.  "That's not good.  If you wait a while, I'll cook you something right away."

"There's no need for that," he interjected abruptly, not wanting to trouble the young man.  "You've already packed up.  I'll just grab something on the way home later."

The young man smiled.  "It's alright.  Just take a seat.  I won't be long."

He watched as the young man made his way to the kitchen.  It was only then that he noticed that the young man was walking with a slight limp on his right leg.  An accident, perhaps?  He could only guess what had happened.

It was not his intention to be a bother to anyone but since the young man had insisted and had already disappeared into the kitchen, it would be rude if he did not wait.  He took a seat at the table and waited patiently.

A short time later, the young man emerged from the kitchen with a plate of food.  "This is all I could make from the ingredients I had left," he said meekly.

He looked at the plate laid out in front of him.  "It smells delicious."

The young smiled at his remark.  "Enjoy your meal."

He watched as the young man disappeared into the kitchen once again, most likely to clean up after cooking him this meal.  Not wanting to take up any more of the young man's time, he decided to quickly finish the plate of food.

The moment he tasted it, his eyes beamed with delight.  It was the most delicious thing he had tasted.  He was always too busy with work to have time to cook anything.  Food to him was just a necessity to keep him going.  He didn't care much for it.  He was so use to takeaway and pre made meals from the supermarket that he had forgotten the taste of freshly made meals.

"It was delicious," he commented when the young man returned later to collect the plate.  "It was the best meal I've had in a very long time."

The young man smiled.  "Everything tastes good when you're hungry," he teased.

They both chuckled before they realised how late it was.

"I should get back to work," he said, remembering the pile of reports still waiting on his desk.  "Thank you."
   

It was almost midnight by the time he finished the pile of paperwork and the brat did not even show up, though he wasn't expecting him to.  He grabbed his jacket and finally left his office.

He drove along the dark and deserted street until he approached a bus stop.  He noticed a lone figure sitting on the seat underneath the bus shelter, with head tilted to one side.  He glanced at his watch and noted the time.  He wondered if the figure knew that there were no more buses at this late hour of the night.  Just as he drove past, his eyes widened in surprise when he caught sight of the sleeping figure's face.  His car quickly came to a stop.