Chapter Text
Katherine spread out in front of her all the boards that had been delivered and then looked at the bag with the screws that went with it. Shrugging her shoulders, she tore open the plastic and emptied them on the floor. Bastet sniffed at one of them and nudged it gently with one of her paws.
"You're probably not much help to me either," the blonde muttered, crouching down briefly to pat her cat on the head.
She could of course read the instructions and build this bloody bookshelf step by step but did she really need to? It couldn't be that hard, she could do it without the manual.
Kate had been living in this flat for a while, but a few things were still missing because the shipment had been delayed a little. Her books were looking forward to finally being cleared out of the boxes in her bedroom. Well, if you could call it a bedroom. The flat didn't exactly have many rooms, so she had put up a room divider to shield her bed from the rest of the furniture a bit. But she didn't really mind, the building was quite central right at a bus stop a few metres away, which meant she could quickly reach her job at a nearby school. Besides, the rent was really reasonable for the area, she was genuinely glad that her friend from her student days Hailee had looked for a suitable flat with her.
As much as she had loved Oxford, something about London had attracted her.
A loud knock jolted her out of her thoughts, from the volume of it she got the impression that the person at the door hadn't tried it just once. She ran over to that awful blue door, which destroyed her entire interior, and opened it without looking in the peephole first. The front door down the street had a security system after all, she would be able to deal with a next door neighbour. But she hadn't expected this kind of neighbour. The kind of neighbours that made her even more delighted to live in this house.
In front of her stood a brunette man, about her age and only a little taller than her. But his gaze was fixed firmly on the small package in his hands. His brown curls fell a little over his forehead and Kate couldn't help but find him a little cute right away.
"This was dropped off at my place yesterday, I saw the name on the doorbell," he explained, "Am I in the right place with Beck?".
Then he finally looked up and his coffee coloured eyes were stunning. Although a few dark circles under his eyes made them a little more dusky, they were still beautiful. In general, the dark-haired man seemed a little tired and exhausted and Kate caught herself thinking what could possibly be keeping him awake at night. Silently, the two regarded each other for a moment to the point where it was almost uncomfortable. He pressed his lips together in a thin line and still held out the package to her.
She looked at it and could make out her name on it.
"Ehem, yes. Thank you."
He, on the other hand, still hadn't taken his eyes off her, almost intently following her every move, which she found a little strange but a little sweet at the same time. Kate would be lying if she said she didn't like her unknown neighbour. And to be honest, she didn't know many people in London, so she decided to take the initiative.
"You can call me Kate, by the way."
"Steven," he said, even smiling a little, and she joined in.
The way they faced each other and just stared wordlessly again was a bit silly, as pleasantly warm as she found his eyes, it had to stop.
"I'm putting up a shelf right now and I could use some help".
That was a lie, she didn't need help. But she wanted it. A little awkwardly, she took the package from him, which probably just contained more books. She could barely keep track of what was missing.
"Oh, I don't know if I'm the right person for this," he said a little sheepishly, tilting his head.
"Oh, come on," she grinned, "the two of us can work it out."
She moved a little to the side to make room for Steven to enter. He followed her and she immediately regretted a little that she hadn't been able to tidy up before. But after all, she had only just moved in and then the little bit of mess was okay. When she had put the package down on the small table in her "kitchen", she turned to him again, the sight making her melt a little. He knelt on one leg and nuzzled Bastet behind the ear, who stretched towards him, purring and with her eyes closed.
"Hey Buddy," he whispered softly.
"Bastet seems to like you," Kate said with a grin.
"Oh," Steven smirked and his eyes practically gleamed, "an Egyptian goddess, huh?".
"At least she acts like one."
Her paws settled on his leg and he spread his grin a little wider. Steven lifted his gaze and the pure enthusiasm it radiated was not only infectious but also incredibly cute.
"Are you interested in Egyptian mythology?", his voice sounded like he was trying to suppress his joy, but it didn't quite seem to be working.
"You could say that, it's my profession," she leaned against the small table, "I teach history in a school."
He eased away from the grey cat that was still stroking his legs as he walked.
"I work at the British Museum," he said a little excitedly, probably glad to have found someone with similar interests.
Kate grinned and tilted her head. She had been thinking about going on a field trip with her class anyway. And if that meant she could see Steven during working hours, that was all the better.
"That's nice, I'll come and visit you for sure".
He faltered a little in his movement and as much as he tried to hide it, she could see him blushing. It wasn't directly visible but his skin on his neck, just where it disappeared into the collar of his shirt, was turning into a pink shade that kept creeping upwards.
"I.. ehm.. I just work in the museum gift shop," he put his hand on the back of his neck, "And there are so many other things that are actually worth visiting."
'Oh Steven,' she thought.
Either he really was that oblivious, or he was just pretending. But she didn't want to tease him further about it either and decided to focus more on the shelf.
The brunette looked at the boards on the floor while Kate squatted down and lifted one of the screws.
"Maybe the first thing we should do is figure out which one goes where".
She heard Steven chuckle and she froze.
"You know, you could read the instructions," he suggested with a shrug.
"That would be cheating," the blonde replied, looking up at him.
He retrieved a pair of square glasses from the pocket of his jacket and put them on before reaching for the instructions on the kitchen table. Not only did Steven look incredibly handsome, but he was acting totally cute, if a little awkward. The way he stood there, bringing the paper very close to his face despite the glasses mismatching his appearance, and his lips forming soundless words. She felt she could just watch him for hours. Inwardly, Kate thanked the postman for leaving the package with him instead of the creepy old lady across the hall.
"And Bastet liked him?".
"Don't act so surprised," Katherine admonished her friend Hailee.
But somehow she was also right. Bastet didn't really like anyone except her owner and even now that Hailee was visiting, the grey cat preferred to hide rather than show her face for a second. When Steven had been with her in the flat, she hadn't given much thought to the fact that she seemed to have taken the brunette straight to her heart - to be honest, she had also simply been distracted by how cute it had looked. But now that the black-haired girl was talking about it, of course, it already struck her and she had to smile. Steven had her wrapped around his finger pretty quickly and had enjoyed her full attention the entire time.
"But he is actually very cute".
"What does he look like?", Hailee wanted to know and drew her legs up.
They sat together on the small couch that had just barely fit in their flat so that they didn't have to watch TV from the bed at an odd angle.
"He has cute dark curls and insanely beautiful eyes".
"And will you see each other again?".
"Well, we're neighbours, so...", Kate started.
Hailee punched her in the arm, "You know exactly what I mean. I hope you asked him out."
Kate sat back with a sigh. She wished she had. She had got on very well with Steven and she certainly wouldn't regret meeting him outside this building. He was polite, kind, attentive and his shy and reserved manner drove her crazy. She couldn't resist the thought at all, but every time she looked into those dark eyes, she wished to lose herself in them for a moment longer. Maybe she would make her wishes come true and look for him in the museum.
"He was a little insecure, I think. I didn't want to overwhelm him either".
Again and again he had worn a nervous grin on his lips around her and she had not been able to look away. It was indescribable how much she hoped to see him again as soon as possible and that he would feel the same way. She had also not been able to ignore the trembling hands. Normally she wasn't the type for this, but god, she felt kinda powerful, making him shiver with nervousness just because of her presence. She just hoped it was the good kind of nervous.
"Promise me you'll do it next time you see him," Hailee pulled out her smartphone, "What did you say again? What's his name? Steven...?".
"Steven... don't have a last name. Tell me, what are you doing?".
She tried to look at her best friend's screen somehow, but she moved away from the blonde as best she could and held her phone up.
"I was checking to see if he was on social media, I have to get a picture of him".
Kate shook her head, grinning slightly. To be honest, Steven didn't strike her as the kind of person who put much stock in social media, or modern gadgets in general. Which somehow made him even more likeable. He was just different from the men she had met before. But that was exactly what she liked about him.