For as long as you worked at the SDN, you'd gotten notes from him. They were always wet to the point of being nearly unreadable, but the point still usually got across.

Waterboy loved to write them. It was liberating not to stumble over his words or stutter the second he started speaking with you, and after his first impression with you was a blubbering mess of leaking water and broken words he figured this was the better option. Oftentimes, the notes would lie on your keyboard, sitting there like a little gift for you when you first sat down for the day. Waterboy made it a part of his routine; whenever he could, he would.

Despite his struggles with speaking, he was a surprisingly emotional and fluid writer, no pun intended. Everything was concise, thoughtful, and sweet all at once to the point that you wondered how he didn't run out of things to say.

Today's was a little different from the rest, which usually consisted of things like "I organized this for you!" or "I hope work goes smoothly for you today!" Waterboy felt a bit more confident writing this time. You could hear him across the office being scolded and bullied by Flambae— an upsettingly normal occurrence— as you pick up his unusually short note, his handwriting uncharacteristically shaky.

"I hope you know how much I like writing to you; how much I appreciate you. It hasn't been very long since we began this and I already find myself far more confident than before, so much so that I would enjoy having some real conversations with you. Perhaps I can do better this time, for you.

with my deepest affection, Herm"