robin.

He wasn’t surprised when the other guy brought up what he did once again, despite Robin’s desire to side step away from that conversation. While he wasn’t ashamed of what he did, he didn’t particularly enjoy saying it out loud. On a similar note, he wasn’t exactly sure why certain metal detectors worked differently on certain days of the week, but having time saved would be a nice reassurance that he would never be late to work once he was already in the building. “I do cam shows,” he finally answered after another moment of silence. It left no bitter taste on his tongue, but, despite that, he worried about the other’s reaction. There was a reason he’d kept it a secret for such a long time, after all. He shrugged at being called nice, dismissing the compliment almost as soon as it was given. “Of course it does. But being tired is no excuse to be cruel to someone else, in my mind, at least. And I’m not about to go around this office and be an ass to the people who I am trying to convince to hire me. That would be counterproductive at best.”

He nodded despite the strangeness of it all; he genuinely knew very little about the security guard who had stopped him in the lobby - in the moment, all he’d really wanted to do was get out of the situation that he was in, get out of the room where it felt like he had no space to breathe. He tilted his head to the side slightly when she mentioned yoga in the mornings. He already did wake up early on work days, so what would be the harm in waking up a little earlier. “What time is that?” he questioned. Robin had never done yoga before, never in a formal sort of way, but he did appreciate Clem’s company, and if yoga was a way for the two of them to spend more time together, he would gladly take her up on that offer. “Where would he move to, if not here?” he asked curiously - he didn’t know much about America and where to live for what job you wanted, but he figured that New York was the center of everything, and if you were already there, why not stay? “Like I said, my life is incredibly boring right now. If I’m not working, I’m live, and if I am not working or live, I am most likely asleep. This internship thing is... draining, to say the least.”

“Oh - they’re heading to Greece soon...” he teased playfully, rolling his eyes in a lighthearted manner. His parents had shipped him food before, but not nearly as frequently as it seemed like Naomi’s parents shipped her food. And it was almost never perishables - the packages consisted more of candy and sweets that would last him a while than meats and cheeses. Taking the mug despite the fact that it was a little earlier than he would have usually accepted wine, he took one of the seats that was offered, as well. “I do not think I have ever been this busy in my life,” he admitted, reaching for a bite off of the tray. “And you? Ça va?”

Nodding, Robin pushed a hand through his hair again, biting his lip a little bit. He knew that it was better to have the internship than to have nothing at all, but it was frustrating, week in and week out, to see people succeeding, when he had nothing to show for his own hard work. "Like I said, overwhelming. It seems like I have a lot more to do in a lot less time. I do not know if that’s because of the season or just bad luck, but it seems like every brand we’re working with wants a new campaign right now, and given the fact that I’m the only floor intern we have, a lot of that busy work is being handed off to me.” He knew he probably shouldn’t complain as much as he was, so he just shut his mouth, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers. “Sorry. You did not ask for me to complain at you about things you cannot change.”

Had it really been more than two months since word had gotten out about him? He didn’t think so, but, then again, time really seemed to fly when you had meetings every week where you were lectured about subpar work. It seemed unlikely that this guy was that out of the loop, considering how much office gossip he learned even when he wasn’t actively seeking it out, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing that he didn’t know. “No - no, just curious, I guess.” He felt a shiver go through him as the other man looked him over, nibbling at his lip, holding on to one of the stationary bike’s handlebars. “I do not think that I lack strength, per se, but I do think that you’re probably stronger than I am, and, like I said, I do not want to hurt you.” Robin nodded once again, giving a little shrug. “You aren’t the first person to be an asshole to me, and I doubt you will be the last. But if I went around hitting everyone who was unkind to me, my knuckles would be far more damaged than they are today, and I need my hands to work, so... unfortunately, there won’t be any punching. But thank you for the opportunity nonetheless.”

“Well, entry-level is better than an internship, which is better than no job at all,” he pointed out, nodding. Robin wouldn’t say so, but he’d kill for an entry-level position right now. Not that he was lacking money, but he did want the respect that an employee would get. “Oh - I’m not from Paris,” he explained, though he wasn’t sure if he’d already said that. Anyone who had grown up in France would be able to tell the difference between his accent and a Parisian one. “I studied there, but... I grew up in Marseille.” Then, he remembered that she’d asked him something. “To answer the question, there are a lot of good restaurants, coffee shops, parks - more parks than you would expect. There is a good farmer’s market year-round in Inwood if you want to take the A train up there. There is almost nothing you can’t do.”

He blinked in surprise at the question, looking over his shoulder at the other man. Figuring that everyone in the office knew what he did for work, he was surprised to get that question. “How long have you worked here, again...?” he questioned, tilting his head slightly, not directly answering the other question about his work. Then again, maybe the guy didn’t know Robin’s name; maybe if he knew it, he would put the puzzle pieces together. But who was Robin to say? Shaking his head at the next comment about spotting him, Robin leaned against the handlebars of the bike, looking over at him still. “That isn’t it. It is just that I’m not sure I’m strong enough to make sure that the bar does not fall on you. I do not want to accidentally hurt you from my lack of strength.” He paused, then added, “I do not want to purposely hurt you, either.”

His brow furrowed at that - Stinks? He didn’t even think he’d caught the security guard’s name, so he wasn’t sure why Stinks would be an insult, but he simply nodded and set the knowledge aside for later, in case it became necessary. “I don’t think I got to know him very personally. The conversation was... tense, to say the least.” Robin sighed, resting his elbow on the table and his chin on his palm. “Yes - we do. I miss the sunshine you used to bring to my days.” Smiling as she talked about what he’d missed in her life, he nodded along eagerly; her news was more exciting to him than his own news was. Then again, didn’t everyone’s life bore themselves a little bit? “Congratulations to Jude, then, and to you for helping, even if you think you were not very much of it - any help is good help.” He truly believed that - he thoroughly enjoyed group work now that everyone was (or should be) enthusiastic about what they were working on; it was much better than group projects in school when half the group didn’t care about the project or their grade. “Congratulations on that, too - he does not live in the city, right? I can’t see why anyone would need a car in this city... that is one of the perks of living here.”

“That’s correct, yes.” He nodded, knowing that it was an odd time for anyone to be coming to the office - that it was more likely that someone had fallen asleep in their office, woken up, and come down to the gym, as opposed to Robin’s situation, but here he was nonetheless, and it wasn’t like he was about to turn around and leave. “No, I just finished up work,” he replied nonchalantly, figuring that everyone in the office knew the difference between Robin’s work and Robin’s work. “And I figured that, if I was coming here to work out, a full shower wasn’t really necessary, given the fact that I’m going to be sweating.” Looking up at the other, he rolled his eyes as subtly as he could at the comment about th treadmills. “Ouais, because there is only one,” he replied sarcastically, setting his bag aside as the other walked away. “I don’t know how good I would be at that...” Heading towards one of the bikes, he set his water bottle aside, sitting down on it.  “But I can try.”

Only when she said hi again did he realize that he’d greeted her twice. Shutting his mouth before he could do so a third time, he nodded a few more times, moving his hand from the back of his neck into his pocket. Trying to look less nervous than he was, he nodded along as she spoke, leading her to the storage closet in the most convenient route he knew, hoping that the hallways weren’t too confusing. “Oh - congratulations, that’s good news.” Ignoring the twinge of jealousy that went through him, he gave a little smile. “Welcome to New York, then.”

@lavoisrobin: @naomibeauchamp merci beaucoup 🥰

@lavoisrobin: but i do appreciate the support