#(e.g. imminent harm to other people; imminent destruction of evidence)

[sanddusted-wisteria]

A Builder, a Researcher, and a Rooftop, Ch. 26: Exigent Circumstances

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His hands couldn’t bring themselves to let go.

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The door to the Research Center opened. It was two minutes later than Qi had predicted. His head snapped from whatever he was half-working on to the builder walking in.

“How are you feeling today?” He couldn’t keep the nervous edge from his voice.

“Not bad,” the builder muttered with a half-hearted shrug. “Still a little shaken.”

Qi nodded. They were only recently discharged. It made sense. On instinct, his hands reached out to cradle theirs as they approached his desk.

“Do you wish to discuss it with me?” he says gently.

The builder’s lips raised slightly in an attempt at a smile. “I think I’ll be okay. I just came to check up on you real quick.”

Qi stood up, looking deep into their dim, tired eyes. “D-do you want some tea, then? We…we don’t need to talk about anything.”

Their gaze flickered away. “N…no, thanks. Are…are you feeling okay?”

Qi felt his heart sink. “I’m alright. Your condition is of greater importance, though.”

The builder grimaced. “I…I just need some space for now. I’ll be fine, I promise.”

“S…space?” Qi’s memory shuffled around to recall some passages from relationship advice books about the concept of “giving space” to one’s partner. Asking for space wasn’t a sign of a failing relationship, even though the extended period of limited contact might seem like it. Unless under extenuating circumstances, it was best to grant one’s partner space without much fuss if they requested it. So Qi nodded. “I will always be available, should you ever need me,” he murmured, trying not to sound overly disappointed.

His hands couldn’t bring themselves to let go.

The builder withdrew their hand from his. “Thanks.” They carefully wrapped their arms around him. “I won’t be gone too long.”

Qi delicately wrapped his arms around their waist, not wanting to disturb their injuries. At the same time, though, he wanted to savor this. Their last touch for who knew how long.

They pulled apart from each other, fidgeting in place as neither wanted to turn around and get back to what they were doing before.

“Be careful,” Qi whispered eventually. He hoped that the words carried as much weight as how much was pressing down on his heart.

“I will. I’m not gonna do anything super strenuous these next couple days.” A slightly more genuine smile lifted the builder’s lips briefly. They turned towards the door. “See you later, Qi-Qi.”

Qi stared at the door long after it had closed behind them.

He felt a dull ache in his chest. They’d only gotten more distant after the night they came back from the supposed dead. When he visited them in the clinic, their conversations were shorter. Qi figured that it was because there wasn’t as much to talk about, considering they had been stuck in bed day in and day out. But even after Dr. Fang gave them permission to return home, their visits to the Research Center never felt substantial. Just a brief greeting, maybe a cup of tea, a sparse conversation, and many distant looks and unsettled silences.

Qi could still sense some of the same joviality and affection from the builder, but they were all obscured by something else. Their focus lay elsewhere, and try as he might, it felt almost impossible for Qi to pull their mind away from it.

It felt disheartening in so many ways. It was usually so effortless for the two of them to become engrossed in something exciting together, be it an astronomical event, or analyzing a new relic, or performing experiments. As ridiculous and self-centered as it sounded, Qi almost felt like he was failing as their partner. Failing to engage them and give them some much-needed reprieve from the world.

It didn’t help that he wanted nothing more than to spend time with them. Even more than whatever he was working on. Even if it was only for less than a day, the dreadful knowledge that they were gone forever affected him more deeply than he’d ever thought possible. Had he been taking them for granted before? All the stargazing nights, all the little favors of power stones and hot food and tea, all the relics and inspiration and energy… Even if he hadn’t, he sure as hell wasn’t going to take them for granted now. Every moment together, every touch…he wanted to savor it.

Worst of all, the builder’s distance was only validating that insidious voice in the back of Qi’s mind: the one that whispered doubt and suspicion. Were they hiding something from him? Something about the circumstances of their “death”? The builder had carefully dodged most opportunities to talk about the situation. Perhaps only under the guise of needing time to emotionally process—

Qi furiously shook his head. No. They just had a near-death experience, for crying out loud. Who was he to try and doubt the veracity of their terror and injuries?

He picked up the electronic signaling journal that he was reading before, giving his mind something else to fixate on.

The builder would be fine. They just needed some time. Maybe this time apart could be good for him, too.

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Qi didn’t see them again for a week afterward. It had been an eerily quiet week. Once, perhaps, he would have wanted nothing more than one week straight without disturbances. But now, the silence almost felt stifling.

On the next Saturday after he agreed to give them some space, he wondered whether they’d be ready to see him again. He certainly was itching to see them.

He figured that they should approach him first instead of the other way around. Should he stop by their workshop to seek them out himself, they still might not feel ready, and might even be frustrated by the breach of their agreement.

So he waited for nightfall. He brewed some soothing herbal tea and poured it into the thermos. He grabbed their rooftop tea set and headed out and up. He sat down at their usual spot and poured himself a cup of tea, leaving the thermos open for when the builder would come. And then he waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Qi held on until well past midnight, listening closely, jolting at every noise that sounded vaguely like a footstep.

But the builder never came.

The tea had gone cold.

Qi felt another ache ripple through him. Defeated, he poured the rest of his unfinished cup back into the thermos, gathered up the tea set, and stood up.

He looked out towards the builder’s workshop in the distance. No lights, no movement.

He let out a quiet sigh, descending the stairs with heavy steps.

Inside, he poured all the wasted tea down the drain and put everything away. He didn’t care that he still had some work he could do. He felt oddly exhausted all of a sudden, eyes droopy and head clouded.

He collapsed into bed, wrapping his blankets tight around him as he drifted off into a dreamless slumber.

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Qi was up on the roof.

Of course he was. It was Saturday. Oh, and he even brewed tea.

The builder eyed him carefully from the road below as they snuck up to Sandrock Storage. They’d purposefully gone the long way around to get there, past the Game Center and the path leading up from the arena. They knew he would be up there. So did Grace, they wagered. Why on earth she’d decided to schedule their operation tonight was beyond them.

How long had it been since they’d peered up at him on the roof from down below? The first time they’d seen him, they couldn’t help but think he looked lonely up there. It had pulled them up towards him, setting off a chain reaction that would bring them closer to him than they ever expected.

Tonight…he looked lonelier than ever.

Waiting for them. On the one night where they absolutely could not see him.

They felt a twist in their stomach. A part of them wished they’d broken their silence at least a little sooner. At least to give themselves a buffer before this mission to not have him occupy their thoughts as much. But they couldn’t stomach seeing him with all these secrets bursting from their seams.

What Grace and Logan had told them that day weighed on them constantly ever since they returned to town. And with no one to talk about their findings and what they meant for the people of Sandrock, that was all their mind could focus on. All day, every day. If they saw Qi, and let their guard down as they always did around him…they would crack. There would be no stemming of the flood of thoughts, and they’d inevitably spill out in front of Qi. They had no idea what would happen if their lips were let loose. And they’d rather not find out.

The door to Sandrock Storage was already open a tiny amount. It slowly swung open as they made the last couple steps. Grace was already inside, beckoning them in with a tiny flick of her fingers. The builder glanced up and down the empty street one more time. No one there. They looked back up at Qi one more time. He only stared at the landing of the stairs, taking a sip of tea. With another pang in their gut, the builder slipped through the open door.

Grace silently shut the door behind them. “All clear?” she whispered.

The builder nodded. “Only one out there’s Qi. And he’s only sitting on his roof. Probably waiting for me,” they whispered back with a grimace.

“Yeah…” Grace said with a vaguely guilty look. “Tonight’s just the best possible night with everyone else’s schedules. I had to bank on the fact that Qi probably wouldn’t notice someone creeping around behind him while he’s busy looking for you.”

The builder nodded and took a deep breath, trying to empty out any worried thoughts about Qi from their head. “What now?”

Grace pointed at an innocuous-looking bookcase in the back of the room. “The secret door should be over there. Try pulling that second box, if you please…?”

They moved over to the shelf and did what Grace asked. There came a click, before the whole bookshelf slid over to the side, revealing a massive vault door.

“And here we are…” Grace said from behind them. She pulled out the Anti-Lock and twisted it into the slot on the center of the door. Gears turned and clanked as the vault’s locks were undone.

“Hope it’s just something doofy and embarrassing in there, like Qi’s Old World cartoons…” said Grace.

The builder fixed her an unamused glare. “Er…n-no offense,” Grace backpedaled with a sheepish grin. She cleared her throat. “But seriously. The water levels from this place are always just a little off. If we’re gonna get to the bottom of this water business, whatever’s in there holds the answers.”

Beyond the door was a corridor. Old, worn stairs led down into the dark. Grace and the builder exchanged a look, and with a nod, they stepped over the threshold.

Down they went, Grace only illuminating a short distance in front of them with a carefully-aimed flashlight, as to not attract attention if anyone was ahead.

“How do you deal with all this?” the builder whispered as they walked.

“Hm?”

“All these secrets. It’s only been a week and I’m just about ready to explode holding it all in.”

They just barely saw Grace shrug in the dark. “You get used to it. Soon enough, holding all these top secrets doesn’t really feel special anymore. Hell, it doesn’t really feel like much of anything anymore.” She let out a barely-audible sigh. “It helps when you’ve got no one you trust enough to tell them to.”

The builder peered at her out of the corner of their eye. Her face was stony, staring straight ahead. They’d only seen that face one other time: at Logan’s hideout. So different from her sassy, half-ditzy, half-knowing grin.

As they descended further and further into the dark, Grace’s words stuck to the builder’s mind, and they braced themselves for the new tangle of secrets that lay ahead.

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