One more round of Gunpla Battle practice for data-gathering purposes, and he was done for the day. Tatsuya - not that anyone here called him that; instead, they called him 'Meijin Kawaguchi' - was looking forward to rest, really. Although his main job here was to be the PPSE Works team's fighter, this time Gunpla Battle wasn't just fun and games. This was serious - and it would get more serious once the world tournament started. He had to be ready.

He left the test area and headed for the office to see if there was something he should be aware of. A few people greeted him and he just nodded, mostly ignoring them. Most of the team seemed to be busy at first glance, but when he stopped to look again, most of them actually looked bored from staring at a bunch of numbers. Suppose analyzing all that battle data must get tiring at times, he thought to himself. Compared to that, his job was easy.

"Ah, Meijin. Great work today," said one of the employees. "We got some good data out of that last battle test."

"I see. It was my pleasure," he replied shortly, keeping his tone of voice as neutral as he could. Good data? The test battles had gone exactly the same way as the battles on the previous day, but if the Works team considered that good, he couldn't really say much to that. Allan hadn't said anything specific about any of the tests, either.

He exited the office and took a few steps away from the door. Standing alone in the hallway, he sighed in relief. It was over for today, and maybe, just maybe he'd sleep better tonight. Last night had been a combination of first not being able to fall asleep at all and then several nightmares, all somehow related to Gunpla Battle or his new work.

It was irrelevant. He calculated it was just because the last few days had been busy, not leaving him time for much else than work, but it didn't change the fact that it made him feel uneasy. He guessed it was partially caused by him trying to get used to his new name - or the whole new persona, rather - and he'd get over it soon.

There was a slight sound from the side, and he suddenly realized he wasn't alone after all. He tensed for a moment before realizing it was just Allan, who was sitting nearby with a book in his hand. He had just put down his reading and was now looking at him.

"Hard at work?" Tatsuya asked calmly before the other man managed to greet him.

Allan shook his head. "Hah, does it look like it?" The reply was cheerful, but Tatsuya analyzed that it was still partially true. "Or I suppose I am, in a way," the other man then continued, confirming his thoughts. "I'm actually waiting for the computer to finish some calculations for me and then calling it a day." Allan raised his hand and waved the soft-cover book he was holding. "But I thought I'd take a break, since it can take a good while."

"Hmm." Tatsuya nodded slighty and then looked at the book. It didn't look like technical reading or anything else related to work; rather, the cover seemed to have a fancily-drawn picture of... an androgynous-looking couple? And the position they were in was at least slightly questionable. "Just what...?" He blurted out before managing to compose himself again. "...What are you reading?"

"Oh this?" Allan handed him the book. "A light novel collection I borrowed from one of the female engineers. It's a series of romance stories. It's hilariously badly written, cheesy as hell and has a totally predictable plot, but I'm not complaining; it's perfect for what I'm using it for."

"Which is?" Tatsuya inquired, eyeing the cover of the book.

"Emptying my mind," Allan replied with a slight shrug. "Read a chapter or two of this, and I'll be good for the night. Otherwise I'd just be thinking of work all evening, especially with what we've been doing lately. Hard to not get excited about some of the designs, and your fighting is..."

"Ah." Tatsuya offered the book back while taking a quick look around to make sure nobody was in sight before speaking again. "At least that doesn't sound too stressful," he said in a softer tone of voice. "Maybe I should try your approach? I do have books, but... I couldn't really sleep well last night."

Allan took the light novel from his hand. "Oh, so that's why your accuracy was down two percent from yesterday?" He questioned, and Tatsuya wasn't sure if the other man was teasing him or not. He really had thought the test results to be identical to the previous ones, and he frowned a bit. If his performance was down, the Works team could have at least told him so during the testing. Or maybe the variation was to be expected?

"Tell you what," the other man then continued. "I know something better than books. Go try to get some rest for now; I'll stop by later."

"I..." Well, at least that snapped him out of his thoughts. He wasn't entirely sure what the older man had come up with, but wondering about it right now wasn't going to make much difference. "All right then."

Sometimes, there was no point trying to figure out what Allan was planning. This was the conclusion Tatsuya had come to a few hours later as he was standing in the shower. Dinner and a bit of reading had already done wonders though his book of choice was a little more refined than what Allan was using.

The hot water was slowly working on removing the last bits of stiffness from his muscles, and he took a few deep breaths as he ran his fingers through his wet hair. He was getting a little tired, and wondered what to spend the last few moments of the day on before going to bed. Maybe another chapter of the book he was reading, or maybe... Well, that completely depended on what his awaited guest was thinking of.

There was a knock on the door, followed by the sound of someone entering. "Kawaguchi?" Allan's voice called. "You left your door unlocked... ah, you're in the shower, then?"

Of course he had left it unlocked since the other man had told him he was coming over. Tatsuya leaned back a little and turned his head towards the bathroom door. "Yes," he called out. "I'll be out in a minute; make yourself comfortable."

A moment later he turned off the water, took a towel and quickly dried himself. He put a bathrobe on, grabbed another towel to dry his hair with and headed for the other room. Allan was looking out of the window, and turned to look at him when he stepped closer. "Sorry for the wait."

"It's rather late, so I should be the one apologizing, really," the blond said. "I would have come earlier, but I had a little bit of trouble matching the calculations with some earlier ones, and had to go through the whole thing manually."

Tatsuya gave the other man a bit of a smile and continued drying his hair. "Sounds like your little break earlier didn't go as planned then, in regards of taking your mind off of work."

Allan laughed. "No, unfortunately not. Maybe I should read another chapter."

"Want to borrow one of my books instead?" Tatsuya nodded at the shelf by the wall, which held a couple of books. "They might not to have the same effect though."

"Probably not. Anyway... Didn't I tell you I have something that works? Here." Allan picked up a bag he had brought in with him, and revealed a box with a robot picture on the cover. "I thought building a new model might provide a distraction from your usual duties. Fighting is good and all, but..."

Gunpla? Tatsuya thought to himself, looking at the offered gunpla box. Of all things, he... Allan was looking at him, and he quickly looked back at the other man. "This is...?"

"Hmm?"

"Oh, just... I haven't had the time to build anything lately. Wait, is that...?" He studied the box for a moment; it was a Zeon grunt suit with custom colors. "Wait, this is one of the upcoming releases with the new weapon set, but..." He gave it a bit thought, trying to remember gunpla release schedule dates from when he had last checked them. "This one isn't due to come out for at least two more weeks? Then how...?"

Allan shrugged nonchalantly. "I took it from the company warehouse." Tatsuya's eyes widened a little, and he added, "What, you expect anyone to care what I take from there? You surely know that you have access there yourself... Meijin Kawaguchi."

"Really," Tatsuya replied a little coldly, suddenly putting up his formal act. He then put the towel he was still holding on his shoulder, took the box and studied it. "I was thinking of getting myself one of these later when I have more time," he then said, his tone of voice back to normal. "But, you think this is what will help me relax?"

"Taking your love for model kits into consideration? Yes," his friend stated. "Honestly, I noticed your room didn't have any unbuilt models, and it bothered me."

All right, I admit; you know me well. Tatsuya smiled. "What can I say? Thank you. It's too late to start building anything today, but perhaps I could take a look at the instructions."

"Only if you're sure," Allan commented with a somewhat thoughtful look on his face. "I suddenly think a book might be better night reading after all. I wouldn't dare to touch any of that before bed. I'd just start thinking how to improve the frame or the weapons or such..."

He got a laugh as a reply as Tatsuya put the gunpla box on the desk. "Maybe not, then," he said. "I'm not a professional engineer, but I know what you mean. I'd certainly like to customize the color scheme a little, at least, and maybe the weapons too..."

"A little customizing here and there," Allan agreed. "Heh, we're both definitely better off if we stick to books, then. Well. It's getting really late, so I should be going." He gave the younger man a slight nod and headed for the door.

"I guess." Tatsuya picked up the towel from his shoulder and spread it neatly on the back of a chair to dry. "Thank you again. Good night."

"Good night." Allan opened the door and stepped outside. "Don't read too much, or you might fall asleep with a book on your face," he then added in a playful tone.

A calm smile on his face, Tatsuya closed his eyes and waited for the door to close. A short moment passed but there was no sound, and he wondered if his friend was gone already and he had missed the sound of the door closing. "Allan?" He called out quietly, then turned to look at the doorway to see if the other man actually was still there and had heard him.

Allan was indeed there, looking at him like he was admiring him. "What?" He asked, the usual mellow expression on his face.

"Stay."

Without voicing a reply, Allan stepped back inside and closed the door behind him.