Upcoming Work Problems

When Harris came back to himself it was daylight, and Joshua was sitting on the table in front of the couch, a cup of coffee in his hands and a frown on his face.

"Hello," Harris managed.

Joshua's smile was lightning quick but still a little uncertain. "Hey," he said, then hesitated. "You really didn't have to sleep on the couch."

It wasn't much of a surprise that in the cold light of day Joshua was embarrassed by having asked Harris to stay. And if Harris had been strictly human his body would have been much less forgiving of a night on the couch, but as it was he felt fine- good, even. "It was no trouble."

Joshua's frown deepened, but then he rolled his eyes as if he should have expected nothing else. "Here," he said. "I made you coffee."

"Thank you." Harris took it, warming his hands and gazing inside for a moment. Harris had helped Joshua pick out the coffee machine for his mother's birthday about a month back, and Joshua was not yet proficient at making designs in the steamed milk, but he certainly gave it his all. It looked to Harris like a heart that had gone a bit wrong at the last minute, and God only knew what it was meant to be, but the thought was charming and Harris was developing a taste for the beverage. He flashed Joshua a smile before taking a sip. "I would have expected more of a racket around here in the morning," he remarked.

Joshua had smiled back at him, and at this question his expression lightened even further. "Give it time. She's still asleep."

Accordingly, Harris kept his laugh quiet.

"Look," Joshua started, "I gotta go to work, okay?"

"Right," Harris said, resolving to get moving quickly. He would prefer to avoid another run in with Joshua's mother. He sipped his coffee and regarded Joshua thoughtfully. In daylight and with coffee in him, Harris could see that he had not been wrong before. Joshua's red aura 'was' turning purple- in a fact, it was a deeper purple than Harris had thought. Joshua really did like someone, and- by the looks of it- a great deal at that.

Instead of worrying- as he had only the night before- that Joshua might never introduce him to this person, might never confide in Harris about them, Harris caught himself hoping they would turn out to be a bad match so Harris could have more time.

He put on a smile, rattled by his own train of thought and worried that- if he was becoming so selfish about a charge's happiness- he might be reaching the end of his usefulness. "Right," he said again.

Joshua seemed to pick on Harris's change of mood, and his shoulders slumped slightly. "Is- uh- is everything okay?"

"I'm fine," Harris said, catching his hand. He was determined not to let his own issues ruin Joshua's chances, whatever they might be. "I have a bit of a headache, that's all."

"But I'll see you around?"

"Of course, darling." Harris kissed the back of Joshua's hand. It was something he had done without thinking once or twice before and found that it unfailingly made Joshua smile. Joshua colored beautifully, and did indeed smile for him.

"You called me that last night," Joshua said haltingly. "Darling."

"Would you like me to stop?"

Joshua shook his head. "No. No, I like it." He looked down, flush deepening. "I gotta go. You can stay as long as you like. And I'll see you, yeah?"

"Of course," Harris repeated.

Joshua smiled.

~oOo~

As had become his habit when he was worried that he might be failing Joshua, Harris checked in on Mary. In the time that Harris had been becoming a part of Joshua's life, building their friendship, Mary had been planning her wedding. It had been a shorter engagement- and would be a simpler wedding- than many, but if ever there had been a match Harris could be proud of, it was Mary and Cytherea. They were so very well suited to each other.

The two of them were currently sharing a cupcake after spending an afternoon tasting samples for their cake. Harris nursed a cup of tea and watched the two of them gaze into each other's eyes. Harris didn't think he'd been in love like that when he was alive. He was sure that he would remember if he had.

A man in a suit just like Harris's dropped into the seat opposite him. "Do you know, I think I see more of you now than I did when they were dating?"

Harris regarded Tresnal, Cytherea's cupid. He was mousy-faced and quiet but undeniably good at his job, which was why he had been assigned to her in the first place. She had been a tough nut to crack; ex-military, working corporate security now, she had been very busy being successful in a career path that was not always kind to women and didn't seem to have time for personal relationships of any kind, let alone dating. Tresnal had been working with her for some time before she met Mary in a bar and their surprisingly fruitful conversation had been cut short when Cytherea was called in to a work crisis and she forgot all about Mary. Tresnal hadn't thought that she and Mary- gentle, shy Mary who had had a bad time of her last relationship but so wanted someone to come home to her- would be a good fit. But Harris had persevered, "accidentally" bumping into Cytherea and spilling lukewarm coffee down her shirt just next to Mary's flat as she was walking by. Mary had been happy to loan her something, and it was then that Cytherea had looked at her and said, 'We've met before, haven't we?'

Everything after that had been as textbook perfect as Harris's experience with Joshua was unusual.

"It wasn't a long courtship," Harris pointed out. "It's possible you never noticed a pattern."

"It's possible," Tresnal agreed, nodding slowly. "But it isn't what happened. You're hanging around more than you did."

"Which you wouldn't notice if you weren't hanging around all the time yourself."

Tresnal snorted softly and then sighed. "I'm sure it's all fun and games from your end, but Cytherea gets cold feet at least once a week. I may have doubted you in the beginning but I don't anymore; this is right, she just panics that she won't be able to make Mary happy."

"At least once a week, you say?"

"A slight exaggeration. But it's often enough. Anyway, I like all the food tasting. It's a learning experience."

Harris laughed quietly.

"So," Tresnal pressed, "why are you here?"

"I'm having a bit of trouble with my new charge," Harris admitted.

"The one who can see you?"

Harris put down his cup of tea and gave Tresnal a hard look. "How do you know about that?" he asked.

"Everyone knows about that."

"Merlin made it sound like something that just… happens now and then. And Valentine hasn't remarked on it at all, though he must know himself."

"I've never heard of anything like it."

"No," Harris sighed. "No, nor have I." He picked up his cup again and took another sip. It was getting cold and no one was going to come over and ask him if he wanted a refill. If Joshua was here… Harris put the cup back down, angry with himself all over again. "It's been difficult, establishing the… friendship I have with him. He's… oddly delicate. It's so easy- too easy- to shut him down again. It doesn't seem right that so much should be in my hands."

"Do you have any good prospects?"

"That's part of the problem. I can't just hang around him and not be noticed. Either we happen on someone who seems to take an interest- which has happened only once- or he has to introduce me to that person, which never fails to make everything worse, because they just ignore me, and he thinks they're being rude to his friend. At any rate, he does like someone, but as it stands I don't know who they are and I have no idea how to change that."

"That is complicated," Tresnal agreed. "You know, the annual review is coming up."

Harris groaned. "How could I forget?" Periodically, their boss Venus met with each and every one of them and judged their choices. As Harris recalled, the review was still a few months way, but suddenly that seemed far too soon.

"You could ask for your charge- Joshua was his name?- to be given to someone else. It's possible that he can only see you, so someone else would be able to do what you can't. And if he can see all of us, we would be prepared for that and come into his life in a way that makes more sense to the purpose. As a member of a matchmaking service, maybe, and he won a free trial."

Like most things Tresnal said, it was imminently sensible. Harris couldn't explain why he hated the idea of passing Joshua over to someone else, but he did. He loathed the very thought.

"Joshua, then," Tresnal said slowly. He frowned across the table at Harris like he was working on a particularly thorny problem. "Harris, have you considered that-"

"I'll think about it," Harris said quickly. "I will, it's… it's good advice."