I'm sure you're all shocked and awed... Mansion wrote yet another Koby story. Alert the presses! Part two contains spoilers for Blood Drive, sorta, and the rest is AU future!fic.

5 Times Kelly Doesn't Mind The Silence

I.

The thing that people didn't get about Kelly is that she did shut up at work sometimes. When it was just her in the cubicle, when there weren't any calls, silence hung in the air, thick and awkward and lonely. It gummed up her tongue and made her feel itchy and restless.

When she got like that, she'd slump back in her chair and stare at the ceiling and let the sounds of the office wash over her.

Most prominent was the loud, potent humming of her computer, twinned by the fainter echo of the other machine on Toby's side. There was the purr of AC, the distant murmur of phones, the beep and clash of the microwave door from the break room.

The sounds she always tended to pick up on, though, were the simple little ones that Toby made, the creak of his chair or the sudden random clatter of a keyboard or the soft rush of a sigh. She liked knowing there was someone else over there, that she wasn't isolated like freaking Rapunzel.

She didn't know why, exactly. She just did.

II.

"We're lonely hearts. We gotta stick together."

Valentine's Day put Kelly into all sorts of weird moods, angry and hopeful and bitter and wistful. She wanted camaraderie; she wanted us-against-the-world.

She latched onto Toby, who was so ambivalent he didn't even attend the office party. He commiserated with her in a stilted, awkward way. But she was used to that. That was just the way he was.

"It's Pam, isn't it?" she said knowingly.

"Excuse me?" He choked out eventually.

"It sucks for you that Pam's with Jim, 'cause you liked her, right?"

"I... That's not really..." He trailed off, looking helpless and kind of betrayed.

"I'm sorry. That was dumb of me to say, but everyone has, like, a million bad vibes going on today and I just wanted to talk 'cause i know how awful it is to work with someone you used to like because things were all kinds of awkward when Ryan was back while I was still dating Darryl and he was being all--" She stopped herself. "Dammit! I didn't want to think about Ryan today!"

"It's not Pam," he sighed.

"Really?"

"Things were... never really right between Pam and I. And... I'm okay with that now," he mumbled.

"That's awesome!"

He looked at her curiously.

"She was so bad for you, anyway. Like Ryan was so bad for me. We're so much better without them."

"That's... Uh, yeah. I guess so."

"Yeah!"

After a long, roundabout conversation, she eventually convinced him to go with her to see "He's Just Not That Into You" because she wanted to see it so badly and he admitted that he never went anywhere, really, and they were friends and awesome and single and really, what was better to cheer you up when you were in a sucky mood than a romantic comedy?

They met at the theatre the next day, and it was basically packed. But Kelly didn't mind crowds; she liked the noise and bustle and life.

She dragged Toby in and through the lobby and to a couple of seats near the middle of the theatre. And he listened while she talked over the previews and the beginning of the movie (even though people around them kept shushing her), since she knew all about celebrities and he never really seemed to and she had about a dozen movie recommendations because there were some seriously awesome people in this movie.

As the story progressed, she eventually calmed down, waiting for the payoff. The whole theatre was essentially in rapt silence around them, the dense, attentive vacuum of anticipation.

She looked over in the dark, catching the edges of Toby's expression. He seemed to be paying attention, like he actually cared about the outcome. She had several thoughts collide at once, like that he was sort of cute in a way and sad in a way that she wanted so badly to fix and that she couldn't think of a single one of her cute-ex-boyfriends who hadn't complained at least a little about going to see a chick-flick. Toby hadn't, and they weren't even dating.

Her hand brushed his a little. It could have been an accident. It wasn't, but it could have been.

III.

Toby often let her pick the radio station, which was beyond coolness since his tastes in music were puzzling and nostalgic and kind of boring and mopey. And she didn't mind how slow he drove when she got to sing along to Rihanna.

They did stuff together sometimes, when she decided he'd been antisocial long enough and there was something worth doing. He never seemed to mind either way. It was hard to really tell what his opinions were.

It wasn't quite dating, but it wasn't quite not dating. Kelly wasn't sure. About anything, and especially about the things her heart said, as it was still more than half broken and she'd decided to stop trusting it.

It was raining that night, and lights glittered off the rain streaking the windows as he drove her home. The movie had been okay, not great, and she felt more sleepy than anything else. And her hair was flat and half damp from the run to his car.

But she was happy in a way she couldn't place. She hummed along with the music. It was a new song and she hadn't caught all the lyrics yet.

Once, she'd asked Toby if her singing bothered him. Ryan had hated it, and subsequently always kept his iPod plugged into his car, playing angry music she never felt moved to learn the words to. Be honest, she'd told him seriously, genuinely curious.

"I don't mind," he'd said in his hard-to-pin-down way. "Your voice is nice."

This had seemed very important at the time.

He pulled into her driveway and parked the car. She unbuckled her seatbelt but made no move to leave just yet.

"That was fun, huh?"

"Yeah."

The rain seemed very loud but peaceful. Kelly didn't normally listen to the rain, but it reminded her of being young, listening to the murmur of rain on the roof as she fell asleep. Nighttime was really the only time her childhood home was ever quiet, normally echoing with the voices of five energetic girls.

This was the same kind of silence, warm and comfortable.

Kelly opened her mouth, then closed it. She licked her lips, tasting watermelon lip gloss and popcorn butter.

This could be a mistake.

Or not.

Either way, she was going to find out.

She leaned over and kissed him quickly, landing a little bit off the mark. She felt him breathe in sharply, felt him turn towards her.

She pulled back, eyes downcast. The dim, distant streetlights painted surreal shadows though the water that slithered down the seat, across their legs and the smooth skin of her hand.

"Kelly..." he said, just like she expected. But there wasn't the disapproving HR tone in his voice like she was waiting for. Just shock, and maybe a little awe.

"You like me, right?" she said in a faraway voice. "I'm not reading too much into this, am I? Because I know I did with Ryan and Darryl and I can't do that again and--"

She broke off. He had placed his hand over hers, the weight of it warm and reassuring. Phantom rain glided over the valleys of their fingers.

"I do like you," he said in a slow, cautious voice. "I'm just surprised. That you..." He trailed off.

She laughed, bubbly and relieved and exasperated and simply happy.

Then she kissed him again.

IV.

Sometimes Kelly had nightmares. Not bad ones or even meaningful ones... Just enough to shock her out of sleep in a panic and leave her laying in the dark feeling queasy and upset for a few minutes until they faded and she fell back asleep.

She gasped and sat up, knocking a pillow off the bed.

Fire!

No, she'd only dreamed of fire. Stupid psycho Dwight...

She lay back down, then grimaced and rummaged around on the floor for her pillow.

Toby stirred beside her but didn't wake. He was a pretty heavy sleeper, actually.

She sighed and settled next to him, slinging an arm over his chest and snuggling up to his shoulder. He smelled simple and nice, like soap and laundry detergent with a name like "Ocean Breeze."

She liked his place, which was big and peaceful, if a little too empty. It didn't have an insomniac neighbor or a family up in the next level with a dog that bounded heavily across the floor all night like her apartment.

Just nice and quiet, with the soft rhythm of Toby's breathing.

She dropped off almost immediately, and her dreams were soft and innocuous.

V.

Occasionally, Kelly got bored being all alone on these new, restless days of leave, but she liked having the time off. She could get things done.

Though, truth be told, there wasn't much to do. Wandering through the house, just about every wall had been painted over tons of weekends. It had been fun, sheets draped over everything and the radio in the background and her talking and getting him to laugh with more and more frequency. Toby had let her pick all the colors and do the whole design scheme. Which was totally awesome since his ex-wife obviously had no taste, not that she'd say that aloud, but god, seriously.

The kitchen was definitely her favorite. She wasn't really much of a cook, but she wasn't totally helpless, either, and everything was so warm and sunny with the yellow walls and the breezy sheer curtains that it just made her happy. Kitchens were basically the heart of a home. Half her childhood memories seemed to be in her mother's kitchen, something spicy simmering on the stove and her older sister doing homework at the big round table and her younger sisters running in and out of the back door.

Her kitchen was going to be like that. Soon.

There were a few dishes in the sink, and she washed them just for something to do, not even bothering to switch on the mini TV on the counter like she normally did.

The window over the stove was open, and the curtain rustled over the sill in between the rush of the tap. Everything was calm and hushed and peaceful.

Not for long, though, she thought, drying her hands and twisting one around to support the small of her back. Ugh, it was really getting to be a strain, carrying around all this extra weight, but she knew it wouldn't be for much longer. And she didn't really mind, not when she could put a hand on her swollen stomach and feel the kick of another life.

Very soon, the quiet peace would be lost, life turning crazy and messy and hectic and tiring.

She totally couldn't wait.

So I hope you guys know, I posted this instead of doing something smart, like eating before I rush off to work. But this is dedicated to my Koby homegirls (Steph, Killy, and CurlySweet) for always being awesome and enabling my habit. And Alex, please review the content of the story rather than the Author's Notes this time. Seriously.