Fiction On Odyssey: A Moment To Breathe
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Fiction On Odyssey: A Moment To Breathe

An excerpt from "Lost in Between."

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Fiction On Odyssey: A Moment To Breathe

The afternoon sun shines in through the window and illuminates the room with a pale glow. Foster sits with his legs propped up on the desk in front of him, holding a book open in one hand and absentmindedly running his fingers through his hair with the other. A clock ticks overhead, and judging by the way the young man's brow twitches ever so slightly with each tick, the noise has begun to grate on Foster's nerves.

"What's taking him so long?" he grumbles to himself, flipping to the next page with a swift flick of his thumb.

As if on cue, the door to the office suddenly swings open. Lucas slips in through the doorway, a pizza box balanced expertly in the palm of his hand. Foster's face lights up and he immediately sets his book aside, not even bothering to save the page he had been reading (or, rather, pretending to read). The two men lock eyes, and Lucas flashes a lopsided grin.

"Anyone order a pizza?" he asks.

Foster can't help but smile back. "Took you long enough."

"Sorry about that," Lucas says as he lightly kicks the door closed behind him, then motions for Foster to move his feet from atop the desk. Foster obliges, and Lucas sets the pizza box down in their place. "By the looks of it, everyone in the city had the same idea we did, so there was a long wait."

"Well, you know what they say. The best things in life are worth waiting for."

"You'd better be talking about me and not the pizza," Lucas teases.

In an equally playful tone, Foster replies, "I can have two loves."

Lucas rolls his eyes and sits down across from Foster. He starts to lift the lid of the box, causing the scent of fresh-baked pizza to waft out and tickle both men's nostrils. Foster's stomach growled at the smell, and with a chuckle, Lucas opens the box all the way to reveal the pizza in all its cheesy glory.

"Half pepperoni, half Hawaiian," he says, gesturing to each half as he describes it. "For the record, even the guy who took my order made a comment about how pineapple on pizza should be considered a crime against the state."

"C'mon, you've never even tried it," Foster says as he reaches over to grab a slice.

"And I plan on keeping it that way."

He grabs a slice of pepperoni, and they tap the tips of their slices together before taking their respective first bites. They eat in comfortable silence for a few minutes until, shortly after they've both moved on to their second slice, Lucas speaks up.

"We really should be eating at the table. We'll attract ants if we keep eating in here."

Foster seems to consider this for a moment, and with his mouth full, he responds, "You're not wrong about that."

They stay put and continue eating.

Once more, albeit time much sooner, Lucas breaks the silence. "You know, I've missed this."

Foster frowns, his hand freezing mid-air as he pauses from reaching for his third slice. "What, eating pizza? I hate to break it to you, Lu, but it's not like we usually eat much better than this."

"No, that's not what I mean." He dabs at his mouth with a napkin and watches as Foster grabs the slice he'd had his eyes on. "What I mean is that I've missed spending time together. Just the two of us."

"We spend time together every day."

"I'm talking about outside of work. Besides, Karina's usually there when we're working, which more or less kills the mood."

"Can't argue with that." Foster takes a bite, and continues his thought with his mouth once again full. "But you make it sound like we never have any alone time at all. Last I checked, your sister doesn't sleep in our bed."

"Okay, yeah, we share a bed. Fair point. But by the time we're actually in that bed we're usually too tired to really enjoy each other's company like this."

"Speak for yourself," Foster replies. His tone is light, but not without traces of hurt.

Lucas lets out a sigh and reaches over to place his hand on top of Foster's. At first, Foster stiffens at the sudden touch, though it doesn't take long for him to relax at the familiarity and warmth of it.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that," says Lucas, giving Foster's hand a reassuring squeeze. "I just...you can tell we've been kind of distant lately, right?"

Averting his eyes, Foster nods. "Yeah, I know. I hate to admit it, but I've started to notice we don't do stuff like this as often as we used to now that we're starting to get more business."

"Which is a good thing. The last part, I mean. You deserve recognition for all the hard work you've done."

"It's nice to have a moment to breathe, though." He pauses, then meets Lucas' gaze and manages a smile. "Especially when it's with you."

At that, Lucas' expression softens. "I couldn't agree more."

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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