Wen had become much, much better at his job over the course of a few weeks. Or at least, he was significantly faster. Wen had never minded long days, since he had nowhere else to be. He keeps a consistent pace, finishing tasks with efficiency but never urgency. That had recently changed.
Now he lingered in the mornings, moving slowly through his routine until he arrived at work, where he shifted to breakneck speed. He ended his tasks as quickly as possible, sometimes finishing all he had planned before lunch.
Those days were his favorites. The moment he finished his last task and debriefed Caid, he went to collect Day. This was the most challenging part, as the man was incredibly slippery. It didn't matter who was put in charge of watching him; he was gone within minutes. He always showed up in the end, usually in a restricted room or asleep in an air vent. Once found by Wen, Day would stay put. As long as Wen was giving him his undivided attention, he seemed content to stay in sight.
Wen's previously quick dinner time extended to an hour or more every day, with Day happily chatting about anything and everything over a bowl of whatever the cooks had provided. Wen was sure the other would run out of things to say. He did not.
Wen had noticed, however, that although he now knew Day's opinion on every brand of soft drink sold at the nearby convenience store, he knew absolutely nothing about Day himself. For someone who spoke so much, he really said precious little.
But patience was Wen's strong suit. Although he was determined to figure out more about this man, he also didn't mind listening to all the silly things Day had to say. It was rare for someone to speak to him without having a reason. Day seemed to speak without purpose, only because he seemed to like talking to Wen.
Wen had begun slowly asking questions during their meal times, but Day easily evaded all of them. It was difficult to tell if this was intentional deception or if the man had an astoundingly short attention span. Either seemed like a likely possibility.
Wen reminded himself daily how dangerous this was. It was almost impossible to look at Day, with his gangly arms and bright smile, and believe he was a threat. Wen was aware this was what made him such an effective weapon. He told himself he was being reasonable, keeping this suspicious man close and his guard up. Deep down, he knew this was delusional.
Wen couldn't help himself. Day looked at him without any of the fear his men did. He had absolutely no respect, but he appeared to genuinely like Wen. Wen wasn't sure what there was to like, outside of his work-related skills.
Talking to Day was intoxicating. It was like jumping into a cool pool on a hot summer day. It made everything light. Was it really so bad to have this? To feel like he was floating instead of trudging through water? To let life be a little softer instead of so difficult all the time?
In the back of his mind, Wen knew it couldn't last. The last time he had felt this way had been as a child when his mother was still alive and knew how to soothe all his worries. That had ended in a second, and the warmth had never returned. This would also end, and Wen wasn't sure he was strong enough to bear it.
He should put an end to it now. Instead, he found himself indulging more and more in the bright silliness of the other man, thinking that he could end it easily, just not right now. Later, later, later. Just one more drop of happiness, one more swell of warmth. Later.