Characters: Wendy, Irene

Tags: fluff, slice of life

Was it unsettling?

A little bit.

Was it bothersome?

Not really.

Was it distracting?

Hell yes.

With a three day weekend coming up, many of her co-workers took the opportunity to head home early and extend their government mandated vacation. Not really wanting to stay in an empty office all by herself, Wendy decided to go with the flow and bring her work home with her. She really only had some mind numbing number crunching to do and she could easily do it in the comfort of her favorite couch. It wasn't the most exciting plans for the rare three day weekend, but getting ahead on work and stuffing her face while she catches up on the latest Netflix K-drama didn't sound so bad. 

She should have known that wasn't going to happen.

She wasn't sure how the oldest from her closest friend group got word that she would be home early, but Irene was at her door before she could even change into more comfortable clothes. She was home for fifteen minutes at most. The timing was almost uncanny.

Wendy didn't mind though. In fact, she had gotten quite used to her friends visiting unexpectedly, especially Irene. When her father passed away almost a year ago, she shut herself off from the world. She didn't know how to deal with the pain of losing someone she treasured and looked up to, so she busied herself with work and only kept in contact with her mother and sister for human interaction. Her friends ended up being the victims to her self-isolation. 

When she returned to them, there was a lot of crying, hugging, and catching up to do. The gathering started emotional, but by the end of it, it was the first time in a long time that Wendy laughed until tears came out. When her friends made her promise to let them visit whenever she wanted, she easily agreed due to the jolly atmosphere and good feelings. She also never expected them to abuse their newfound power... She was incredibly wrong, but also happy to be wrong. 

So yes, as unexpected as Irene's visit was, she was happy to see her, but her actions were a little....

...disconcerting.

"Can I help you?" Wendy turned from her work towards the culprit that was stealing all of her attention. She couldn't get any work done with Irene doing… that.

Irene replied with the most bewildered look Wendy had ever seen, Irene almost looked offended by her sudden inquiry. Irene's brows scrunched together and she tilted her head, but kept her stare pinned straight at her.

"What do you mean?"

"You keep staring at me. Is there something on my face?"

If she wasn't offended before, she was now.

"I'm just watching you. Like I always do."

Irene wasn't wrong. According to their mutual friends, she had been the target of Irene's gaze for the longest time. She had no idea at first, she just thought Irene was very attentive to her friends. She was only clued in to her being a special case when Yeri teased Irene for gawking at her. Needless to say, Yeri never teased Irene about it again.

So technically, Irene wasn't doing anything different. But since her return from self isolation, the stares felt more… real? It was hard to describe the difference. There was no extra shine or a twinkle in Irene's eyes like a story book may describe it. There was no physical difference that she could discern. Instead, it was like Irene was trying to tell her something. The only problem was she couldn't understand what she was saying. 

She couldn't refute Irene's claims of normality without looking insane, so she let it be. Instead, she decided to move to the kitchen to stretch her legs and recollect herself. Irene's new stares were certainly heavier than before.

"Would you like a drink? I'm going to get some water."

"Water would be good. Thanks."

A little unexpectedly, Irene didn't join her on her trek to the kitchen, but upon arriving on the tiled floor, she could tell Irene's stares stayed laser focused on her the whole way. She gave a friendly smile towards the older woman when their eyes met and Irene returned it back. Despite initiating the gesture, Wendy shied away from the reciprocation and concentrated on getting the water instead.

"What is wrong with me?" She muttered to herself under the sound of the running water.

She shook her head to recuperate and returned with two glasses in hand. "Say, want to watch a movie?" Wendy asked as she handed off the water. She wasn't going to get any work done anyways.

"Sure! I heard the newest Netflix movie is supposed to be good." Irene sparkled with excitement. Irene being the oldest of the group was just a number sometimes.

As soon as Wendy settled back down with the TV remote in hand, Irene cuddled up to her and burrowed into her arm and shoulder. This was another habit Irene had gotten into lately, but it at least meant Irene would finally be looking at something else.

Wendy had very little expectations for the movie as it didn't seem to be her style, but only minutes in and she was enthralled. The