BLACK COFFEE AND BAD MEMORIES
HONESTLY, SHE REALLY THOUGHT LIVING ON A FLOOR WITH BRUCE WOULD BE EASY. After all, they’ve lived together before, and the floor is big enough that they really don’t even have to see each other.
Despite that, here she is. It’s only halfway into the first day, and she’s already wondering if it’s too late to find another place to stay.
Now what could Bruce possibly be doing that’s sooo bad?
Well, last night he said he’d clean up the dishes from dinner after he was done in the lab. Then, he kept working until some ridiculous hour of the morning, and fell asleep in the lab.
Tony came in, saw him sleeping on the table, and asked JARVIS to wake Olivia up to take him back. So, Olivia was forced to wake up barely a minute into her only non-soulmate-related sleep time and go up two floors to carry Bruce to his room, still asleep.
On top of that, the dishes are still unwashed, and when she came into the kitchen at around 10:00, she found out that he used all of her coffee grounds.
So now, at 12:15, Olivia is sitting on the living room floor with her laptop and a cup of coffee— made with grounds that she had to go to the store and buy. Sure, coffee’s not that expensive, but keeping her kitchen stocked eventually adds up. She spends enough money on that already without Bruce using it all. Besides, he didn’t even mention it to her.
At that point, it’s just bad manners.
The elevator dings, prompting Olivia to look up. The door slides open, revealing Bruce. He looks a little tired, and he shuffles into the room while taking a long sip from his mug.
Noticing Olivia watching him, his footsteps slow; he considers her for a moment before turning to make a detour.
“Uh, hey,” he greets awkwardly, stopping to hover behind the unnecessarily long couch. She turns back to her laptop.
“Hey,” she greets shortly. She notices him shuffle uncomfortably out of the corner of her eye.
“What’s that?” he inquires. A flash of annoyance hits her, reminiscent of her teen years; it’s really none of his business.
“Work,” she answers anyways. He perks up a little, swerving around the couch to sit at the edge of one of the seats. He leans forward with keen interest.
“Yeah? What kind?” he inquires. Now she turns to glare at him.
“The kind where I have to finish this flyer by Friday if I don’t want my client to take their business elsewhere,” she snaps. He holds his hands up in surrender, but still looks a little bit pleased.
“Sorry, sorry,” he apologizes quickly. “I’ll get out of the busy businesswoman’s way.” He stands, turning to go back to his room, and she turns her attention back to the laptop.
“Oh, and Bruce?” she calls after him. His footsteps instantly halt, and she can feel his eyes on the back of her head.
“Yeah?” he prompts curiously.
“Do me a favor and stop using up all my coffee. This brand runs out too fast, and it’s the only thing I can find that tastes like the stuff Dad used to make,” she sighs. He stays silent, but after a pause, she can hear his footsteps slowly start to retreat again. “And do your dishes! They’re cluttering up the sink!”
She can hear the door shut in the distance, and takes that to mean he’s gone to bed for the day. She sighs, stifling a small yawn. God, between Bruce and the soulmate stuff, her sleep really is messed up, huh?
She takes another swig of coffee, forcing herself to focus. She just needs to fix the colors, then she can take a nap. Focus; the client said she wanted sea green.
…or was it forest green?
***
Emerging from her bedroom like a bear from hibernation, Olivia slowly makes her way to the kitchen.
She halts in the kitchen doorway, seeing a little baggy on the counter with a sticky note attached to it. Waking up a little more from her nap, she walks over to inspect it. It’s a bag of coffee grounds from a brand she doesn’t recognize.
Peeling the sticky note off, she puts the bag back down while she reads.
‘Sorry I drank your coffee’ is all it says. She folds the sticky note in half and lets it flutter onto the kitchen counter. She debates for a few moments, but ultimately decides to test out the new grounds. Luckily, she forgot to put away her favorite mug earlier.
When her coffee is finished, she takes a cautious sip. To her absolute shock, it tastes… literally exactly the same as her father’s.
“Dad, uh… he never knew how to make coffee,” Bruce’s voice admits from behind her. Olivia turns to see him leaning against the doorway with a melancholy expression. “He tried, once, but it— it really sucked. So, he bought some from this little brand and just put it in a paper bag. I mean, you thought it was so cool, and… I guess he just didn’t wanna ruin that for you.”
Olivia absorbs the information, looking back down at her mug. Her heart drops a little, but she smiles.
“That’s so Dad,” she agrees quietly. She sets a mental reminder to call Mom before she goes to bed; it’ll be nice to check in.
“Listen, Olivia,” Bruce sighs guiltily. “I know I didn’t— I wasn’t exactly—,” he starts, only to be cut off before he can get another word out.
“I really don’t wanna talk about it,” she tells him, voice suddenly taut and closed-off. She picks up the folded sticky note, crumpling it up to toss into the trash can.
“I know,” he confirms, sounding even guiltier. She starts to brush past him, and he puts his arm out to stop her next to him, retracting his arm as soon as she halts. “I am sorry,” he confesses, honestly.
“Yeah,” she agrees bitterly, under her breath. “I bet you are.” Then she leaves, back to her bedroom— and more importantly, away from him.
Bruce is left alone in the kitchen, desperate to atone for a mistake he can never take back.