Drabbles

Wayde watches the new guy incredibly curiously, something about him has just piqued his curiosity. He knows that he’s not really knew, he was briefed about what his new co-worker has gone through, he was even warned by the lady who picked him up, that he really wasn’t in a good place re-joining the company under these conditions. All of this however, isn’t what has sparked all of Wayde’s attention to the new man, no, it’s rather that his face just seems so familiar to him.
Wayde continues to stare until he’s suddenly looking directing at the mans face,
“Can I help you?” He asks, and Wayde nearly jumps out of his skin as he suddenly realises that he’s been caught staring, and that it’s really not the best way to start off this new work partnership.
“OH, I’m so sorry.” Wayde panics trying to pull himself back together, “I wasn’t…” He starts to stammer out, how does he explain that well yes he was staring at him, but not in any weird way, but rather could they possibly know each other from their past somewhere.
“If you’re going to say you weren’t staring at me, I know you’re lying to me because I saw you.” He states, and Wayde can feel himself shudder and he suddenly feels incredibly guilty about everything. From this close he can tell the other’s eyes still look rather red and clearly is still struggling with his decision, and Wayde panics, his actions really aren’t helping nor are they giving the other man any form of confidence that he made the right decision.
“Sorry I apologise.” Wayde says, while scrambling up from the chair he was in, hoping that maybe his clear anxiety about all of this will put the other man at ease that he wasn’t genuinely trying to be creepy in anyway.
Just before Wayde can leave the room, paperwork all balanced rather precariously in his arms, the other man speaks again.
“When did you study?”
“A? Excuse me?” Wayde responds, rather confused and flustered.
“Sorry I worded that wrong, when did you study in the academy?” He adds, shifting his tie about in what seems to be a slightly nervous action.
“Oh, gosh that was some time ago, probably 14 years? Give or take a couple of months.” Wayde laughs softly, hoping to both break the weird tension as well as hoping the other man will give a reason to why he wants to know when this was. The man has been around for the last 2 months and Wayde hasn’t seen him in that time, so maybe he thinks he’s some new recruit? That would be kind of embarrassing if he’s honest, more so for himself then this other man.
This answer however, just causes the other to pause for a second.
It seems he’s thinking something through, Wayde wonders if he’s trying to do some form of maths, and he’s about to brag about something or other.
“Wayde?” Is actually what comes out of the other man, and Wayde looks startled. There’s no reason for him to know his name, the debriefing isn’t until tomorrow so he doesn’t even know that guy’s name.
“Yeah?” He asks rather apprehensively which just makes the taller man laugh, covering his mouth with his hand in a very fake attempt to stifle it.
“You were staring at me, I assume because you thought you recognised me from somewhere.” He starts, pausing to let Wayde react and he gives a curt nod, that is why he was doing it, “We went to the academy together, I fell out of touch with you three years later as I picked up a job that required a lot of my attention.”
With that it’s like a light switch was flicked in Wayde’s head,
“Oh my gods, Stone. Blah, now I feel bad staring, of course that’s why I thought I recognised you, even after all these years you’re just as distinctive.” Wayde says with a smile and steps back away from the door, confident now that he doesn’t need to flee from a rather embarrassing situation.
His response however, does get a slight raised eyebrow from Stone,
“I’m going to hope that’s a compliment, or I can show you just how much I kept up with our training routine.” Stone says, rather threateningly, though this air is destroyed by the chuckle he’s trying to hold back alongside the fact he’s now leaning on the chair back so he’s eye level with Wayde. All of this flusters Wayde slightly and he just sort of, shoves his paperwork back down on the table, he’ll curse about messing the page order up later.
“It was,” they mumble a little quietly, “I’ll admit, paperwork as been my main job for these passing 10 years, so you’d defiantly have me one overed at that, not to mention you were always better than me at anything combat or fitness based.” Wayde laughs softly, as memories of his days back at the academy flash through his head.

Little Wayde, a mere nineteen-year-old was terrified when his tutor told him he was to be partnered with one of the class men above him, that he’d scored the best on all of the written papers of his year group, and that even matters mattered when pairing up was such an important aspect of their job. [Though Wayde has barely done it since leaving the academy, and the times he has, well they’ve been groups of three, just sounds like it was an excuse to teach them less.]
He'd heard rumours about the older class men, from both the year above and other higher years, yes he knew most were just that, rumours, but that didn’t stop them from being something he was terrified of. Considering the fact that it was all his papers that also pushed him up as the best, he was worried about what their training might do to him, and if his partner isn’t nice to him, he might genuinely consider dropping out altogether.
As of right now, he’s sat in an empty classroom, waiting for this new partner of his to show up, he should be in a coding lesson right now. He tries to distract himself, not imagine this new partner which in some ways is both scaring him but also causing him to get his hopes up. Their foot begins to tap on the floor, and he focuses in on that, spelling out the words of the day in morse code, stumbling a bit as he forgets how one of them is spelt before then repeating it all from the beginning, chanting the letters in his head to get them to stick. He does this until he hears the door swing open, three pairs of footsteps, that’s strange, to which he stops silently and looks up.
Stood before him are three class men, well class mates, ones is a woman. Stood in a triangular formation, the one at the fronts ears flick as he looks down at Wayde, who fights back the urge to cower in front of the harsh gaze. The other two stand with their arms crossed, before the lady then speaks,
“You’re the younger year who’s going to join our class, correct?” She states more then asks it, but Wayde forces himself to nod.
“Yes sir.” He knows the formalities when it comes to addressing his elders. The other man snickers before silencing from a sharp kick to the ankle the man at the front does, who then turns back to Wayde and gestures him to stand. Wayde does so rather quickly, trying not to fall over himself as he does it, he’d really rather not get one of those kicks directed at him. Once he’s up he notices the other man studying him, deep red eyes narrowed and tail held oh so still behind him. A few tense moments pass as Wayde tries to work out if he should attempt to match the other’s eye contact, or if that would be a one-way trip into his bad books, so decides to instead look at his face, but just not the eyes, and Wayde’s eyes focus on the marking on his forehead.
“What’s your name.” The voice shocks Wayde slightly, not the one he was expecting from the ringleader.
“Wayde Simmons, sir.” He states.
“Aww look the cute kitty already knows protocol.” The previously kicked guy says, and Wayde can’t bite his tongue back.
“I’m a fox actually, that makes me a canine, I would have hoped my superiors would have known that.” Wayde chastises, and rather then the angry reactions he was expecting something different happens. Well, he still gets an angry glare from the man who spoke, who goes to respond but is beaten back by the ringleader letting out a soft laugh.
“Oh yeah, I like this one. My name’s Stone, you’ve got some spunk to you, I like that, it will make it easier for you to work with me.” The ringleader, Stone, smiles out and offers out a hand to Wayde. After a few seconds to make sure it’s not some cruel trick Wayde takes the hand, Stone has a strong handshake and stands nearly a head taller then Wayde, as well as the other two. Maybe he was just chosen as their leader because of his height? Stone then slips his hand back of out of Wayde’s before glancing down at a watch from under his sleeve, “Right, we should all get going then, don’t want to be late to class.” Stone states, the other two already turning around, but waiting for Stone to take the lead. Wayde waits nervously, he’ll follow behind the other three and hopefully not gain too many stares, Stone turns and heads to the front before then turning around and looking back at Wayde with a raised eyebrow.
“What are you waiting for? If we’re going to be partners, then you’re at the front with me Wayde.” Stone states, his voice cool with no sign of frustration.
“Right, sorry sir.” Wayde says before trying to move as fast as he could without looking like he’s doing a silly run. Once he’s stood beside Stone they head out and start walking down the halls. Wayde falls happily into place just a step behind Stone, which the other doesn’t complain about as he’s still in front of the other two, as they start to approach a classroom with a small group gather around the entrance, Stone leans back to talk to Wayde, just above his breath.
“I do not want to hear you calling any of my other classmate sir, you got that Wayde. We are a step above them and they do not deserve that dignity.” Stone states, there’s a rather vile air to the end of that sentence but Wayde decides to ignore it, right now he just needs to make sure that he continues to prove himself worthy to Stone.

The two are talking for longer than they really realise until Wayde realises he really has things he has to get back to doing before tomorrow and all of what that will entail. It has felt very good talking to Stone again, though a lot of his mannerisms are like they once were when they first met, rather then the gentler man he graduated with.
“Right, I’m so glad to have caught up with you Stone, but I really must go I have things to do before our meeting tomorrow, but it seems that we will have plenty of time to catch up and make new memories with for the forcible future.” Wayde smiles out, before briefly wondering if he’s gone to far and is going to have upset the other man. Stone hasn’t said much about his previous job, despite the fact that, that is what has occupied him for the past ten years; that combined with how upset he was when he first arrived, it just doesn’t really bode well. Stone however, just smiles and nods.
“Yes, it has hasn’t it. Glad to know I won’t be working with a complete stranger at least; you’ll have to share with me all the best places to make coffee or hide away from frustrating superiors.” Stone laughs softly, and Wayde nods.
“Of course.” He smiles out as he scoops all the paperwork back up and leaves the room, heading down the corridor he was supposed to hours ago.
Wayde knows he can’t have expected his friend to have stayed the same after so long, it’s been 10 years after all, and considering how much he changed just during their time at the academy, it was expected more then anything. What Wayde wasn’t really counting on was the caracal’s whole change in opinion about their superiors, sure he never was the kindest about them, always pointing out any faults they had and how Stone himself could do so much better. But he always used to still want to be there, almost showing off to them, how Stone’s ways were better thought through, or how the ways they demanded were overtly time and labour intensive when they didn’t need to be. Now however, he talks as if they are even lesser then that and don’t deserve any of it, Wayde suppresses a slight shudder. He did always know Stone had that malicious side, at first directed to his own classmates, but now to those who so clearly outrank him? It’s a dangerous game to be playing, even for someone with a status like Stone’s. It leaves Wayde with a single question, who was Stone working for? How could their behaviour or opinions have altered Stone’s own? Wayde just hopes that the other person was kind to him, it would be a lot to spend 10 years working for someone who hated you after all.