He walks through the door of the apartment and doesn't even bother flicking the light on. He's home late, much later than normal. He glances at the microwave and it's already after 8:00, and the one benefit of it is that he didn't have to take Meito home. Even so, he couldn't enjoy the silent ride home because he was too. . . annoyed.

The Optics Department at the University had its site visit from the National Science Foundation today, and Dell is one of the principal investigators on a mid-sized grant. His participation was mandatory. It should have gone smoothly, the visit, but of course one of the graduate students fucked up the calibrations on the lasers last week (setting all of their work back several days), but guess who caught hell for it? In the end, it wasn't a big deal, really, but it did nothing for his mood. He hates having to apologize and explain himself and ask for understanding. He hates being that guy. He actually wants to be the department darling just once.

He tried calling Aria at lunchtime (he just wanted to hear her voice) but it went straight to voicemail. He didn't know what to make of it, and it crossed his mind that she was ignoring his phone calls. Then, because he's Dell, he decided to call Neru, just to, you know, make sure his ex was still alive or something. He hadn't heard from her in a couple months. She loaded him up with insults and put-downs that should last until their next conversation, and then cut him off to inform him that she was on her way to have lunch with Akaito; they would be re-negotiating some of the finer points of the divorce settlement. They've been "negotiating" the divorce settlement for close to three years. He knows that if Neru wanted to end it, she could have long ago. She's not fooling anybody: she's still in love with that red-haired, chili pepper-loving bastard. Ironically, the divorce is the only thing that's keeping them together, the last vestige of their relationship. She's not quite ready to let it go. It actually makes Dell kind of sad to think about.

Now back in the apartment, he drops into the armchair. He hates being this grumpy, but he can't help it. The truth of the matter is. . . he misses Aria. She's in London visiting her father-figure, Leon. Apparently he had a toe surgery (he has some kind of chronic hangnail) and she supposedly went to go and nurse him back to health, but Dell's pretty sure it was just an excuse to see him. She had invited Dell to go with her for the first time—Dell had bought the tickets and everything—but he had to cancel at the last minute for work.

He wanted to go. He misses her. He's grumpy.

Plus he's hungry. Ravenous, really. Too hungry to wait for delivery and too hungry to cook anything and too hungry to drive anywhere to get something. He opens the refrigerator door, and the prospect of food is making him excited and furious at the same time. There's an unopened jar of apple sauce on the bottom shelf. He cracks it open then he just eats directly out of the jar with a spork he finds in the junk drawer. It'll tide him over until he makes a decision about a real meal later. Maybe.

Applesauce in hand, he takes a few steps into the living room, then glances at the TV. Tonight is not a night for a Downton Abbey re-watch with "the Mei-uki" or a game of Wii Bowling.

He wants to steal.

He wants to maim.

He wants to draw blood.

He heads back to Meito's room to see if he's up for a game of Halo or Call of Duty or (better yet) Assassin's Creed. He goes to knock on the door but then doesn't. He can hear Meito inside, talking on the phone.

"And to add insult to injury, Yukari," he's saying, his voice pitchy and frantic, "that bastard had the freakin' nerve to go off at me and even accuse me that I had—"

Sounds like his day wasn't much better than Dell's. Unlike Dell, though, he has a girlfriend to bitch to. Dell keeps walking to his room and shuts the door behind him.

He gets on the bed, leans back against the headboard and continues to shovel applesauce in his mouth (which is starting to taste gross). He sets the jar on the nightstand and that's when he sees it: Aria's charger. He lifts the baby blue-colored cable and turns it over in his hand. This is why her phone is dead. She's left her charger behind. On one hand it makes him feel better; she isn't ignoring him. Still, if she doesn't have a charger, he might not hear from her until she gets back a week from now. The thought of it makes him turn around, face-down, into his pillow and yanks the covers over his head.

Then his phone rings. Without looking up he reaches down into his pocket and pulls it out. Glowing underneath the sheets he sees a number he doesn't recognize: 555-345-0927. He decides to answer it anyway.

"Hello," he croaks.

"Hey, sexy."

It's Aria.

"Hey, IA," he says. He's embarrassed at how bright he's smiling. He turns over in bed, pulling the covers down from his head. "I was waiting to hear from you."

"Yeah, I left my charger somewhere. I think in the airport."

"No you left it here in my apartment. I just found it a couple minutes ago."

"Seriously?!" she says, relief in her voice. "Man, I didn't know where it was. I had to log into my email account to find your number then ask to borrow my Dad's phone."

"You don't know my number by heart?" he asks.

"Um, no," she says. "Who memorizes numbers anymore?"

Dell does. He knows Aria's by heart: 555-748-7349. "Nobody," he replies.

"So," she says, "How was your day?"

It sucked so hard, he thinks. It sucked because you aren't here. "It started off kind of rough," he answers finally. "But it ended alright."

"Good," Aria says, and she sighs a contented little sigh. "Good."

Author's Notes:

Because I was in the mood to type up a fluffy DellxIA one-shot at four in the morning. Whoo. Another case of Artistic license for not knowing Japan's Area Code. I'll do that later when I'm more awake. Maybe. Obvious that it's another low-quality one-shot, isn't it? XD