A/N: I'm so sorry I haven't been around recently; I've been traveling, which makes writing and responding to messages inconvenient, and I also got mired in the world of kdrama and therefore haven't written anything at all in over a month lmao. (If any of you watch kdrama, feel free to give me recs! Also I love Healer a lot and might write a Rivetra AU based on it sometime.)

I have way too many alerts in my inbox right now that I can't guarantee I'll be able to respond to all reviews I've received, but I'll certainly try! (... sometime orz) I'm back at home for a few days and might be able to get around to those. Also happy (one day early) Chinese New Year, everyone!

Anyway, this is a drabble I wrote sometime last year for the prompt 'writer and editor au.'

He walks in at 7:55 PM, on the dot.

She smiles when she sees him; she expected nothing else. She tries to meet all her deadlines early; he always emails her back right on time.

He catches her gaze across the small shop and nods as he goes to stand in line. She nods back and looks back down at her cappuccino, stirring it absentmindedly and watching the foam break up and reform with each swirl of her spoon.

True to his word, he is sitting across from her by 7:59, a cup of black coffee in his hand. She offers him a packet of sugar; he shakes his head and offers her a napkin. She declines as well and they sip their drinks in silence until 8 PM.

"You should be getting ready," he says. His eyes flicker to her phone, set on the table beside her left hand, and she presses the lock screen button to show him that it is turned off. One of his eyebrows raise.

"I'll be there soon," she says with a nervous little laugh. "I just… wanted to talk to you first. I'm pretty sure I'll be doing nothing tonight but answering questions and… signing…"

It is something she has thought about before, many times, as a young child with a pencil in her hand and half-formed stories in her mind; as a college graduate working two-part time jobs and slaving away at her computer whenever she could find the chance; and more recently, as an up-and-coming author talking technical details with the bookstore employees—but now that the book launch party is starting in roughly two hours, the reality of her situation is starting to kick in.

She's dreamed about this for so long, the fact that she is only a few blocks and a few hours away from the realization of her dream is not something she can accept so easily. She believed in her ability to succeed, she believed in her novel with all her heart, but she never thought so many people would believe in it too, and she never imagined what it would actually feel like to be a newly published author, signing copies of her book the night it comes out.

But she's spacing out again and Levi is sitting opposite her, waiting for her next words, so she swallows down the emotions in her throat—an interesting combination of nausea and excitement and utter disbelief—and tries to smile.

"It's weird to think about," she says, shrugging. "But… yeah. That'll come later. I didn't think I'd have a chance to talk to you after the party so I just wanted to meet up with you before it starts."

He nods. His eyes are brighter than usual, intent and completely focused on her, and she picks up her cup and takes a sip so she has an excuse to look away. The hot liquid sears her tongue but clears her mind and she sits up a little straighter.

"I know I thank you a lot," she begins. "But I just wanted to say it in person. You've done a lot for me, for this book, and without you I wouldn't have been able to—hold on." She chews her lip. "That sounds so standard."

She's Skyped with Levi before, has had lunch with him on more than one occasion, and she has always been comfortable in his presence; she doesn't know why he makes her feel so skittish right now. Must be the pre-book launch party nerves.

"I'm probably going to sound like a suck-up," she tries again, "but you're seriously amazing. I mean, you're kind of harsh in your critiques, but that's a good thing and I like it. Maybe I didn't when we first met, and I'm sorry if I ever gave you that impression in our correspondences, but… well, you know what I was like." She tries not to cringe at the memory of her first few weeks with her editor, all the complaints she made to her friends and family about his methods and attitude and how seriously she'd considered finding a different person to work with. "And I'm grateful we both stuck it out because I think the last year has actually been fantastic and maybe I'm just being presumptuous but I think we work together well and—"

"Petra."

She stops short and blinks sheepishly. "I'm babbling, I know, sorry. I tend to do that when I'm nervous… but I shouldn't be nervous, right? It's just you. I mean, yeah, I'm going to be a published author soon, but—"

"Petra," he says again. He sounds amused.

"Right." She blows out a breath. "Yeah?"

He stands; she stands too out of habit. His cup is empty already; he must have drained it while she was talking. Hers is still half-full. "Let's go. You don't want to be late for your own party."

She stares at him, opening her mouth and then closing it again. Did he register anything she said? "I—"

A smile tugs at the corners of his lips. "We can talk later." He reaches across the table and picks up her phone, pressing it into her palm and closing her fingers around it. His touch is cool and light. "Enjoy your party. You deserve it."

She follows him outside the coffee shop and into the parking lot, unsure of what to say next. There is much she wants to tell him, but he's right, it can wait—and there is much more she doesn't know if she should say, because she's not sure if she's reading him right. He unlocks his car, a small black Mitsubishi all-wheel drive, and instead of sliding into the driver's seat, he unlocks the passenger side door.

"I'll drive you there," he says. "I can drop you off here afterwards if you want."

And then she realizes she doesn't have to say anything; she just grins at him in thanks and clambers in. As he turns the key in the ignition and adjusts the rearview mirror, she decides words can wait, because they have been discussing nothing but words in their communication all this time and maybe tonight, they can try something new instead.