minuh

Work had been stressful lately, and it was evident in the way Dr. W slugged through work on lab tests uncharacteristically.

The entire day before had been full of non-stop testing on doppelgangers, and while normally, the results often more than made up for how exhausting the process of educating new globs of chemical flesh was, this time, a specific batch of doppelgangers had apparently been interacting with the ward patients and learning useless emotions that it began incorporating in itself during lessons.

One had even somehow felt annoyance and disobeyed the usual instructions because it wanted to be petty.

However, as effective as their role models were in instilling emotions into their subjects, they were still mentally disordered people who have unstable emotions and thoughts that the doppelgangers had somehow been able to copy without a hitch. And it was bad. Disposing of a defective batch of chemicals before they are made into doppels was as easy as throwing out dirty water, but the analogy doesn't work when it comes to full physical beings whom they had engineered specifically to be immortal.

Dr. W tried to rationalize the results as a 'work-in-progress' and an interesting twist in how these experimental beings absorb not only human knowledge but also human emotions, but every time the image of that kid doppel blowing raspberry at him flashed through his mind, his brow would twitch and his perpetually annoyed expression turned a little more sour than usual.

When his arm jerked suddenly and almost knocked down an entire row of test tubes of rare chemicals beside him, he knew he has had enough. If he ends up actually breaking any precious lab equipment, he might as well end up going insane and feed himself to a doppelganger next. He dragged himself towards the reception desk to clock out early, and surprisingly, the blue-haired woman simply stared at his face for a good moment and smiled before handing him his keycard for clocking out of work.

Dr. Afton took it and looked at it in his hand, scrutinizing it carefully beneath his glasses. Thinking of the many paperwork that was still waiting for him in his office and probably didn't need as much physical presence as the chore that was chem lab, he sighed, put the card down and slid it back towards the secretary once more.

"I need the other card." At his command, she took the only other 'card' that Afton used and handed it to him with a knowing smile. "Thank you, Clara."

Before he can actually walk away, however, Clara spoke up. "Need a listening ear for your troubles, doctor?"

"No," Dr. W sighed, pausing on his steps. "Work has just been wearing me down, as it does many others."

"You can just say you're tired," Clara giggled, crossed her arms on the tabletop and rested her chin on it. "I can always help you de-stress, Dr. W."

Afton blushed at the implication of that statement and shook his head. "You may follow me, but don't bother with whatever you're thinking right now. The rooftop is aptly surveilled."

Clara pouted. "Of course it is." But deep inside, she was thrilled that the doctor let her tag along anyway and she wasn't one to turn down an opportunity like that so she walked around the reception table and briskly walked towards his side with her arms behind her back.

Dr. W's previously soured face turned a little softer at the toothy smile she flashed up at him before walking in the direction of the last stairs in the building that go up. When they reached the red door, the doctor slid his keycard through a slot and it opened the door automatically, albeit not without an unpleasant creaking noise, and they both walked into the wide open area of the rooftop where only the rusted railings barricaded it as some sort of 'protection' against falls but that got old quick as plenty of researchers came here to jump off the building regardless of the guard railings placed there for their safety and it soon became exclusive to higher-ups such as Dr. Afton who had their own keycards for going up and taking in the dull scenery while smoking.

Clara wrapped her arms around Dr. W's sleeve as they walked towards one of the railings. She made the mistake of looking down into the deep abyss below and wobbily stepped back by instinct. Afton caught her by the waist and steadied her against his side, his lips parted slightly in a quiet gasp.

"Wow- That was…"

"We're standing a hundred feet off the ground as of now. Perhaps I should have warned you before you let your gaze wander."

Having caught her bearings, Clara shook her head and smiled up at him, "Oh well, luckily, I've got a knight in shining armor here to catch me if I fall."

"You didn't fall and I'm a doctor, but…" Afton felt his cheeks flush and averted his gaze. "Regardless, the D.D.D. is the tallest building there is in this city. Try not to be so careless next time."

"I will," Clara leaned against him as he dug through his pocket for a single stick of cigarette in case of emergencies calling for a good dose of nicotine. Her eyes followed his hand as it pulled out that single stick from his shirt pocket and she tilted her head to the side. "You only ever take one cigarette with you every day. I know the state of the economy but you're a lead researcher, doctor, can't you buy more?"

"I can do that," Afton bit the end of his cigarette stick while fishing for his lighter in his pants pockets. When he took it out, he unwrapped his busy arm from Clara's waist ---making her pout---, and used that other hand to hold the cigarette while lighting it. "However, nicotine addiction is a real problem among my generation, and I'd rather not start having withdrawal symptoms while we're still researching the Trojan Horse Project."

"Hmmm… I suppose I can understand that." Clara placed a hand on Afton's chest and watched as he struggled with the lighter, his shaky finger missing the button to trigger it every time. "But if you don't want to have to depend on a drug for the rest of your life, maybe you should start learning how to depend on other people around you instead."

"And risk coming into contact with unnecessary drama and emotions that people don't know how to properly dispose of?" Afton scoffed and gritted his teeth when he couldn't press the button firmly enough to trigger it.

Clara found it cute how his actual annoyed expression made him look a goofy and let out an audible chuckle before taking the lighter from his hand. With one click of the lighter, she lit it up and presented it between her and the speechless doctor. "Bottoms up." The doctor didn't quite understand why she phrased it that way but he placed the cigarette between his lips and bent his neck down for Clara to light it up herself. "See?" Afton arched a brow as he stood straight once more and took a sharp inhale of the cherry-flavored nicotine before blowing it out into the open. "You had to depend on me to light your cigarette up."

"Ah yes, is the lesson you want me to learn from this that I should have a woman light my cigarettes for me?" Dr. W said snarkily, letting the cigarette smoke swirl into the sky in black plumes as he leaned forward against the cold metal bars.

Clara snorted and leaned forward with him. "Of course not, doctor. What I'm saying is that you won't always be so composed and in an independent mood, so let someone take care of you every once in a while."

"…And are you saying this someone should be you?" Afton tilted her head to look at Clara.

Clara met his gaze fearlessly while a dusty pink colored her cheek and tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. "Maybe I am."

"Clara…" Afton sighed and looked back down at the abyss that had terrified Clara earlier. He wondered what that meant and why Clara was so insistent on staying by his side. After all, he had initially only came up to her and hired her because she was naive. She most likely knew this, and yet… "…You're the only one I can truly trust in this organization, Clara. Do not prove me wrong like the rest of them."

And Clara, fully smitten and cuddling up to his arm, smiled wider. "I won't disappoint you, doctor."

"Yes…" Dr. W tapped the cigarette onto the railing, watching as the ashes fell into the darkness below. "You won't."

The atmosphere in the apartment was cold today. No sounds of scurrying that usually happened on the second floor because of some interesting personalities and no purple-haired neighbor was out in the hall on the third floor giving her an unusual look that she guessed must be about her looks.

For once, Clara's visit to the F1 Apartments was… uneventful. Which only made it that much more suspicious and unnerving for her.

All things considered, this should only be her third visit, but still, she couldn't shake off the feeling that something else was at play here. On her first visit, Afton smelled suspiciously of jasmine and vanilla --- scents that she has never smelled on him before. And on the second visit, she found bits of jewelry scattered on his nightstand, even though she knew very well that the doctor was not a fan of jewelry nor did they look like something a man would wear.

Still, she went for a third visit anyway. Was it out of pure naivete, idiocy, or something else? Clara didn't know and probably couldn't care less. So what if the doctor was hiding something all this time? Would it be able to rid of the fact that he had so graciously received her during her time of need and given her a job? Would it be able to rid of the admiration and the butterflies that she feels whenever he's around to ramble about all of his nerdy what's-he-call-it 'theories'?

Clara didn't think so.

And besides, if the redhead lady could come and go to Count Milkman's lair like he didn't have a wife and child just a floor below this one, then what's the harm? At least Afton doesn't have a kid or maybe he does and he's just really good at hiding it like the woman that scent and those jewelry probably belongs to, but---

Clara shook her head rapidly and slapped both cheeks hard in order to ground herself back in reality. "Ow," she exclaimed after touching her left cheek and sighed. Finally, she looked up towards the number on the door.

01.

Afton's handsome, dorky face is waiting just behind this door and she wasn't going to just stand around like some lost kid at the grocery store for any second longer.

Such a good man like that deserves all the joys in his life, doesn't he? And Clara would never deny him that.

She lifted her arm and closed her fingers around her palm, heaving one final sigh before putting on her desk smile and knocking on the door.

Two soft raps. Just like Dr. Afton told her to.

The door finally opened and finally, all of that weight on her shoulders and the thoughts that plagued her dissipated in an instant.