It was quiet in the factory again when a door was slammed open and closed, followed by crashing noises and a loud curse. Silence descended once more.

"You thinking what I'm thinking right now?" a worker asked.

"Mmm, yeah," Solaria sighed. "(Name)?" He rubbed the back of his neck. The day's gonna be hell.

"Who didn't come to work today?" the colleague smiled bitterly.

It's all an unspoken thing, really. They are the reason Mr. Darling seems calmer some days, most days actually.

Just as the workers held their breaths, wondering how they were going to deal with the terror of a man, the doors burst open. You stumbled through in a hurry.

"I'm sorry, sorry," you stammered. "I thought I called in sick, but I just overslept," you explained, running ahead and stumbling a few times on the stairs before rushing into your office.

"Well, looks like some angels are still watching over us in this hell," Solaria said in a dead voice to a colleague who gave him a blank look in return but then scoffed.

They can afford a little enthusiasm, and that's a scoff.

•°•°•°•°••°•

You stumbled into your office. You were late, so freakishly late it was unreal. You had just wanted to follow your avian friend's advice to rest, silencing your phone to avoid disturbances and sleeping away the misery of receiving no comfort from someone you wished for a long overdue embrace from.

And you did not expect to sleep for over ten hours.

Now you're paying the price, your body still very heavy as you rushed about in your office, swallowing and almost choking on bread before rushing outside the door to catch up to Dr. Darling.

Hopefully, he'd spare his wrath on another or release it upon no one at all.

When you opened the door, you saw the tall man, hand gripping someone's collar. You met his gaze, his murderously angry gaze.

A very pissed off gaze of someone who doesn't have a temper that day.

"Sir—" you tried to say.

"Don't start," he responded, dropping the worker from his grip and cocking his head to the side as a sign for you to leave the two of them alone.

"Must he be so aggressive over minutes of tardiness?" you thought.

Dr. Darling turned to you, his eyes still blazing with anger. "You," he said, pointing directly at you, "come with me."

You followed him, your heart pounding, fearing the worst. He led you to his office and shut the door firmly behind you.

"Sit down," he ordered, his tone leaving no room for argument.

You sat, feeling small under his intense glare.

"Do you know why I'm angry?" he asked, leaning forward over his desk.

"Because I was late?" you ventured.

"No," he snapped. "I'm angry because you shouldn't be here at all. You're supposed to be resting. Do you think I don't know how exhausted you are?"

You blinked, taken aback. "But I—"

"No excuses," he interrupted. "You're clearly not well, and it's affecting your work and your health. I'm putting you on sick leave, effective immediately."

"But—"

"No buts. You are going to rest, and that's final." He sneered slightly, seeing your shocked expression. "I don't want to see you back here until you're fully recovered. Understood?"

You nodded slowly, not knowing how to react

"Good," he said, leaning back. "Now go home and get some rest. That's an order."

You nodded in a ddaze

You hesitated, gathering the courage to speak. "Dr. Darling, why can't you just say it calmly? You scared me half to death."

He brushed off your question with a wave of his hand. "Does it matter how I say it, as long as the message gets through? Besides, Dr. Flowera called about your condition and some follow-ups. She was quite insistent that you need rest."

You blinked in surprise. "Dr. Flowera called you?"

"Yes," he replied curtly, looking slightly irritated. "She was stern about you. Said you weren't following her advice. And Partridge also called me about why you went home early the other day which was yesterday. She was concerned you were pushing yourself too hard."

You couldn't help but wonder if Darling cared so little that he needed to be told by someone else that you needed rest. "Do you really need Dr. Flowera and Poppy Partridge to tell you when one of your workers needs a break?"

He shot you a sharp look. "I have a factory to run. I can't keep tabs on everyone’s health. That's why we have medical professionals like Dr. Flowera and emergency numbers like Patridge. Now, go home and rest."

Feeling dismissed, you stood up and headed for the door, a mix of emotions swirling inside you. Just as you reached for the handle, you heard him speak again.

"And for what it's worth," he said, his tone having a slight shift "you're gonna be needed more starting tomorrow"

Yeah, for work, that's all

You paused for a moment, then left his office, the weight of his words settling in. As you walked out of the factory, you couldn't help but reflect on the strange, complicated way Dr. Darling showed his concern.

"Hold," Dr. Darling's voice called out behind you, firm and unyielding. You turned around to see him standing at the door. "Sunfire!" he barked.

Solaria appeared almost instantly, looking as though he had been expecting this. "Yes, Dr. Darling?"

"Drive them home," Dr. Darling ordered. "Make sure they get there safely."

Solaria glanced at you and nodded, but hesitated. "Sure, but I had to cut back on my work yesterday, and now I'm behind. Are you sure about this?"

Dr. Darling's expression remained stern. "If you're too busy, I'll drive them myself," he said, his voice leaving no room for argument.

Oh hell no

"Um... " you tried to talk but both men gave you a look, although one is considerably more understanding and softer than the other,

Dr. Darling walked back inside his office to retrieve something and eyed you to go ahead

Solaria went up beside you when you neared the exit "Hey, are you okay?" he asked gently.

You nodded, unable to find the words to express your thoughts. Solaria sighed, placing a comforting hand on your shoulder. "He's right, you know that, and I'd only agree because it's about you"

Dr. Darling then walked past you both and you felt the air of his walk, strong and unyielding, there's no escape

As you stepped outside, Dr. Darling was waiting by a sleek black sedan, his expression as stern as ever.

"Get in," he ordered, his tone brooking no argument.

You hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to make of this unexpected turn of events. Solaria shot you a reassuring look before opening the car door for you like you're a princess.

"Dr. Darling, I can take the bus," you started, but he cut you off with a sharp look.

"No arguments. Get in the car," he repeated, his voice leaving no room for negotiation.

Reluctantly, you obeyed, sliding into the front beside where he'd be. Dr. Darling climbed into the driver's seat without a word, his jaw clenched tight.

Solaria gave you na awkward wave bye.

The car ride was tense, with Dr. Darling driving aggressively, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. You tried to make small talk,  the air was as uncomfortable as you were.

Finally, you arrived at your building, and Dr. Darling pulled up to the curb. Without a word, he turned off the engine and turned to face you.

"Get some rest," he said curtly, his gaze piercing.

You nodded, feeling a lump form in your throat and climbed out,

Something stopped you,

He held your sleeve, tensing like the way you did as he let go, eyes uncertain as he looked at you in the eye and away,

"Rest, I'll pay you for that" he said, anger calmed as you nodded

There was silence, he looked like he wanted to say something

"And I'm...reminding you to check your messages or email later" he added rather quickly

Before you could say anything else, Dr. Darling had already started the car again and pulled away from the curb, leaving you standing alone on the sidewalk.

As you watched the car disappear into the distance, you couldn't help but wonder about why something inside you felt warmed

You would not be able to explain the feeling until you went up to where you lived,

You left your phone on the table, and walked over to the couch, emails open, nothing there

Sighing to yourself, you stared at your phone, thinking of checking the most unlikely one to check,

Personal messages

You both haven't talked through personal chats in more than twelve months, and you remembered the last time you did was...

You reached out to the phone, and opened the app for messages

And so with shock, you saw a notification

Some messages were there, especially from Poppy who was asking how you were, worrying for the avian, you went to assure her first before you open Pandora's box.

Exiting the chat with poppy you stared at the profile from which the notification came from

"Wally 🍎 blueberry workaholic"

You laughed cruelly to yourself at the nickname, yet paused at what he said your hands shook a little

Wally 🍎 blueberry workaholic

Dec 3

Last chat at: Dec. 30

8:41 AM

I'm sorry

Walden darling cleared his nickname