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Rush entered the room he would be working in only to find Demetri standing with his back to the white board, a black sports bag hanging off his right shoulder, and his amber gaze went directly to the cup of coffee in Rush’s grasp. Demetri raised an eyebrow as he looked back up at Rush.

“Do you drink coffee throughout the day?” Demetri asked sharply.

Rush raised an eyebrow as he inquired in the same tone, “Does it matter?”

Demetri shrugged, stating, “I don’t really care whether you do or not. Within a week, you won’t even know I’m here.”

Rush snorted, putting his mug down as Demetri stepped to a corner of the room where a chair already sat. “I doubt that.”

Demetri gave no reply as he dropped the sports bag to the left of the chair before retrieving a book and pencil from its organized depths. Demetri sat down, got comfortable, and looked at Rush, who was watching him intently. The amber gaze of the young man darkened, the shields the eyes held tightening.

“If you expect me to spill my life story out like any other young person or to blab your ear off, don’t hold your breath. And in case Dr. Jackson forgot to mention in his in depth spiel, my name’s Demetri Ophir. I’m only here to assist.”

Rush turned to his work with a nod as Demetri started to doodle in the book. At first, it was rather irritating having Demetri working so near him only to stop and watch every 15 minutes or so. Sometimes Demetri would watch him for a good 45 minutes before getting up to do something. But as the hours stretched on, Rush soon grew too engrossed with the work that he hardly noticed anyone else till his coffee got cold. Rush frowned at the mug in his hand as if it had committed the worst crime. He looked up at Demetri’s chair only to find it empty of said young man. In his place was a piece of paper that had one word scribbled out.



Rush picked the note up and read it again before looking at the clock. He wasn’t surprised to find that it was almost 1. Putting the mug on the table, he left the room and headed to his own, finding no reason to ignore the little note. When he laid down, he was out like a light.

When he entered the room the following morning with a fresh mug of coffee, he noted Demetri sketching in the corner but the young man gave no acknowledgment of Rush’s entry. Going straight to work, Rush took a few breaks here and there, most to smoke a cigarette.

When he had gone out around lunch time and returned, next to his still warm mug of coffee was lunch. It wasn’t much. Just a sandwich and chips. Rush ate the sandwich as he worked but didn’t touch the chips. He barely noticed that Demetri returned an hour after he had.

Hours passed and Rush soon found himself drinking from a cold cup of coffee once more, glaring at the offensive liquid inside for cooling, he looked to where Demetri usually sat and found the chair void of the young man except for a piece of paper. Raising an eyebrow, he picked up the note and read the same word as yesterday.



Rush looked at the clock, finding it a quarter till 2. He chuckled, sticking the note by the cold cup of coffee before heading to bed.

This soon became routine. Rush rarely saw Demetri except for when he first enters the room in the morning to find the young man already there. His coffee always stayed warm and his lunch varied till it became things that Rush would eat all of. A few times there were sticks of carrots or celery and Rush ate them only because they ended up in his coffee if he didn’t. Demetri was never around when Rush discovered the soiled coffee.

A month into the project, Rush’s pattern for the day shifted slightly. Demetri had stayed till Rush’s coffee was cold, alerting the man it was time for bed. Rush didn’t even notice Demetri was still there as he headed off to bed. When Rush arrived the following morning, he found paper taped to the white board with suggestions on how the equation was moving along. Demetri entered minutes after Rush did and sat down in his usual chair, completely ignoring Rush as the man looked over the work. Taking the pieces of paper down, Rush actually kept some of the suggestions, realizing a few were errors on his part. This quickly became a regular thing, though Rush barely noticed the change.

Demetri was the first in the room and the last to leave and papers were taped to the white board every so often with suggestions or reminders for the scientist. The coffee got cold around 12 now but Rush barely took notice. It wasn’t till a full year had passed did Rush actually realize all that Demetri did without his knowing.

The first thing Rush noticed when he entered the room was that something was missing. Stopping mere feet into the room, Rush’s gaze fell onto Demetri’s chair. It was empty. A chill ran down Rush’s spine but he quickly pushed it aside and got to work. There weren’t any pieces of paper on the white board that day and Rush thought nothing of it till his coffee got low and cold. Rush looked at the mug in his hand, utterly surprised. Not once had his coffee actually gotten cold or low before the end of the day and it startled Rush from his work enough for him to notice that Demetri’s chair was empty. Still.

Taking the mug to the cafeteria, he placed it with the other used dishes and headed out to smoke. As he watched the alien sky, he heard footsteps approach on the rocky ledge. Rush turned to see Young a few feet to Rush’s left, looking out. The first things out of Young’s mouth had Rush dropping his cigarette.

“How are you dealing with Ophir getting sick? You’re not falling behind, are you?”

“I…wasn’t actually aware he was sick,” Rush emitted.

Young offered, “Ophir should be back up on his feet by tomorrow. Till then, you’re out of luck.”

Rush chuckled, straightening. “It seems I am. Excuse me, Colonel.”

Young nodded as Rush walked off. When Rush entered the room he had been working in for over the past year, the first thing he noticed was the cup of hot coffee next to a plate with two sandwiches and a cookie on it. He started towards the food as he looked at Demetri’s chair. A note was taped the backrest and Rush detoured to gently pluck the note from the chair.

As he delved into lunch, he sat down and opened the note, reading it over.

Ophir

Rush put the note aside and looked at the white board, seeing a few pieces of paper taped to it with Demetri’s hand writing. Finishing off lunch slower than usual, Rush stood up and looked over what Demetri had left behind.

Three hours later and a cold cup of coffee consumed, Rush decided to call it quits for the day and headed out. He went to his room and picked up a neglected book. Settling on his bed with his ankles crossed, he started to read. When his body informed him that it was hungry, he put down the book only to find a plate of food and a fresh cup of coffee on the night stand with a note.



Rush chuckled, finding it rather amusing that Demetri would still be persistent. Looking at his door, he wondered how Demetri was able to walk right in without a sound, place a few things down, and leave without his knowledge. Without much more thought to the matter, Rush ate in the solitude of his own room, away from the chatter and questions.

Rush was asleep by 9, book open and face down on his chest, plate and empty cup discarded to the side, and glasses sitting sideways on his face. Demetri entered at 10 without a sound and walked over to Rush’s side. He gently pulled the book from the sleeping man’s hand and marked the page before placing it on the night stand. He took Rush’s glasses and folded them on top of the book. With quick, steady hands, Rush’s shoes were on the floor beside the bed and the covers were pulled out from under him only to be draped over his body.

Demetri picked both plate and cup up before turning the light off. He exited the room without a sound, the door giving off a faint click as it closed fully. Rush rolled over onto his side but didn’t stir. That night, both scientist and assistant dreamt of the other but where Demetri’s dream was normal for him, Rush’s was a nightmare.

Rush woke with a start, panting and shaking. He rubbed a hand over his face as he got up, only to find that he was still fully dressed. Frowning, he pulled his shoes on and grabbed his glasses off the night stand. He stepped out of his room and started for the room he works in. When he arrived, though, he didn’t enter.

Demetri poured hot coffee into the mug beside the white board, a plate of breakfast delights beside it. He picked up a pencil next to the plate and cup and wrote something down. Folding the note in half, Demetri stood it up next to the plate. Picking the coffee pot up, he turned to leave only to find Rush watching him.

Hardened amber eyes lock with dark brown eyes for a split second as Demetri steps past Rush.

“You’re up early.”

“So are you.”

Demetri stops when he’s shoulder to shoulder with Rush, eyes out before him. As if stating the weather, he comments, “I’m always up early.”

Demetri disappears down the hall with Rush’s gaze on his back. When Demetri rounded the corner, Rush walked over to the note and picked it up.



Rush looked back at the door, frowning. Putting the note aside, Rush picked the coffee mug up and took a sip as he looked at the white board. Rush looked back at the coffee in his hand, noticing a faint sweetness to the coffee. Taking another drink, Rush found that he didn’t mind and got to work.

When lunch came around, Rush was suddenly hyper aware of Demetri’s movement as the young man entered without a word or sound with food and more coffee. As he placed the plate down, Rush asked, “When do you eat?”

Demetri froze, coffee pot suspended over the mug he was about to refill. Demetri’s wary amber gaze fell onto Rush’s back before focusing on the task at hand. “When I’m hungry.”

Rush couldn’t help the smile at the smartass remark. “Not what I mean.”

“I know.”

Rush looked over his shoulder only to be disappointed. The smile he had heard on the boy’s voice wasn’t visible and Rush was suddenly crushed with the feeling of remorse. There was no light in Demetri’s eyes from the hidden smile nor were there any emotions on Demetri’s face. It was a wonder a lad so young could yank emotions out of Rush harder and faster than anyone Rush has ever met. Turning to the young man, Rush offered, “You can always eat in here.”

Something flickered across Demetri’s mask as the lad matched Rush’s gaze. Rush had the distinct feeling of déjà vu as fear scurried up and down Rush’s spine as Demetri smiled a dead man’s smile. Absolutely no emotions were visible or heard as Demetri pointed out, “You don’t want me to, though.”

Rush suddenly realized that Demetri had completely blocked himself off from the world. Though Demetri did what he did, there was no emotion behind it, no personal touch. Everything that he has done was just out of spite. Rush was looking upon a fallen saint who’s wings were torn off and had hardened to the world around him. Though he tried not to care, Rush felt the words leave before he could even comprehend them.

“Of course I do.”

Demetri raised an eyebrow, disbelief clear in the expression. “I doubt that, Dr. Rush. You don’t converse with many people and become so absorbed into your work that you don’t even notice others, let alone a kid. I am just a kid, remember?”

Rush watched Demetri depart, not sure how to comment on that bit of fact. Looking at the white board, his mind roamed around, trying to figure out how to mend a bridge he had never been aware of. When Demetri returned a half hour later, Rush asked, “Do you understand anything that I’m doing?”

Demetri sat down with sketchbook in hand as Rush turned to look at him. Demetri’s amber gaze was on his sketchbook, already sketching. “I only recognize the equations and patterns. I don’t know what they’re for.”

“Do you care to learn?”

Demetri laughed dryly. “If your attempting to get something out of me after the past year, you’re wasting your time. I won’t open up to you.”

The glare shot Rush’s way was clear. Demetri had long since made the decision and Rush was going to get nowhere. With a sigh of defeat, Rush got to work without a word. Routine became a god scent as tension made the air thick.

As time went on, the tension never left, just hid. Demetri was as quiet as ever, never really there. Rush wasn’t the only one to notice. Dr. Simms brought it up to Young out of worry for the youth’s health but Young didn’t believe what people were calling Demetri out to be until he entered the room where Rush was working to get an update from the all so busy scientist to find said scientist missing. Utterly confused and distracted, the Colonel jumped when a voiced deadpanned, “He’s out smoking. He got frustrated.”

Young spun around only to step out of the way of Demetri as the young man walked in with a plate of food and a mug of coffee. Demetri poured Rush a new cup and turned to lock his sharp gaze onto the Colonel. “He’ll be back in a couple of minutes.”

Demetri stepped past the Colonel without another word and Young just watched him, shocked. Demetri held the gaze of a seasoned vet that had seen way too much death and bloodshed. It was all he could do to not go grab Demetri by the shoulders and shake him back to reality. But, then again, this was his reality. Sighing, he massaged the blooming headache and headed back to his office to read Demetri’s file he had only glanced over in the beginning. There had to be some explanation to the boy’s attitude.

Weeks pass and, though Young tries, Demetri continually keeps everyone securely out of his world. As word of the game idea having worked and that the person who had cracked the code was coming, things got too hectic for anyone to notice Demetri slipping farther and farther into his own little world.