The next morning, Paige woke shortly after eight.
For the first time since arriving in Switzerland, there was no alarm ringing, no lecture waiting for them, and no need to hurry through breakfast before heading to CERN.
She turned her head.
The clothes separating the two sides of the bed were still exactly where they had placed them.
Raj, however, was gone.
Paige frowned and sat up.
Before she could wonder where he had gone, the hotel room door opened.
Raj entered carrying two cups of coffee and a paper bag.
"Good morning."
"You left."
"I went hunting."
Paige looked at the bag.
"For breakfast?"
"Croissants are surprisingly difficult prey."
He placed everything on the table.
"I also brought coffee."
Paige immediately got out of bed.
"Now I forgive you."
"For what?"
"For talking this early."
Raj laughed.
After breakfast, the two left the hotel and headed toward Geneva.
They had spent several days in Switzerland, but most of their time had been divided between CERN and their hotel.
Today was completely different.
There was no delegation surrounding them and no schedule telling them where they needed to be.
They walked through the streets without any particular destination.
For Raj, this was somewhat unusual.
His life had become increasingly busy over the past few years. Between teaching, research, his projects with Howard, and his other investments, there was almost always something requiring his attention.
Simply walking around a foreign city without thinking about work felt strangely relaxing.
Paige seemed to feel the same way.
"This is nice," she said.
Raj looked at her.
"Geneva?"
"Not having anywhere we're supposed to be."
"Ah."
Raj nodded.
"Yes. I'd almost forgotten people could do that."
Eventually, they reached Lake Geneva.
They spent some time walking beside the lake before stopping to take several photographs.
Paige had originally claimed she didn't care about photographs.
Twenty minutes later, she had already made Raj retake one because his thumb had partially covered the camera.
"That photograph was perfectly acceptable."
"Your thumb occupied ten percent of it."
"Eight percent at most."
"Do you want me to calculate it?"
Raj immediately handed the camera back.
"No."
Paige smiled victoriously.
They continued walking.
At one point, Raj stopped beside a souvenir stand and bought several postcards.
"Who are those for?" Paige asked.
"My parents and siblings."
"You still send postcards?"
"My mother likes them."
Paige looked at the postcards in his hands.
"That's sweet."
Raj looked suspiciously at her.
"Was that sarcasm?"
"No."
"Oh."
For some reason, he seemed more embarrassed by the sincere compliment than he would have been by an insult.
Paige found that amusing.
Around noon, they found a small restaurant and stopped for lunch.
Unlike their meals during the conference, neither of them discussed physics.
Instead, Paige asked Raj about India.
Raj told her about growing up in New Delhi, his family, moving to England for university, and eventually coming to the United States.
"Wasn't it difficult?" Paige asked.
"What?"
"Leaving your family."
Raj became thoughtful.
"At first."
He took a drink of water.
"When you're young, going somewhere new sounds exciting. You think about freedom and everything you'll get to do. Then you arrive and realize freedom also means nobody is waiting for you when you go home."
Paige looked at him.
Raj shrugged.
"You get used to it."
"You still miss them."
"Of course."
"Then why stay in America?"
"Because my life is there now."
His answer came easily.
"My friends are there. My work is there. Howard, Leonard, Leslie... they're basically another family at this point."
Paige nodded slowly.
She understood that better than Raj probably realized.
After lunch, they eventually found the chocolate shop Raj had marked the previous evening.
The moment they entered, Paige abandoned any remaining pretense that she wasn't interested.
Raj watched her examine several displays.
"I thought you didn't care about chocolate."
"I don't."
"Of course."
"I'm helping you choose."
"Naturally."
Raj bought several boxes for his friends and family.
As promised, he selected dark chocolate for Leslie.
Paige noticed.
"If you tell her why you chose that—"
"Scientific integrity."
"Raj."
He laughed.
Eventually Paige bought a small box for herself.
Raj wisely said nothing.
After leaving the shop, they continued through the Old Town.
By the afternoon, Paige had become noticeably more relaxed.
She teased Raj when he mispronounced a French word, stole one of the chocolates he'd bought for himself, and somehow convinced him to pose beside a fountain while she took an intentionally terrible photograph.
Raj stared at the result.
"My eyes are closed."
"I know."
"Delete it."
"No."
"Paige."
"I'm sending this to Leonard."
Raj looked horrified.
"You wouldn't."
Paige smiled.
Raj suddenly realized something.
He had never seen this side of her before.
At Caltech, Paige was intelligent, diligent, and occasionally sarcastic, but she was usually reserved.
Today she seemed younger.
Not immature, but simply carefree.
Raj decided he liked seeing her this way.
Late in the afternoon, they stopped at a café not far from the lake.
Their flight wasn't until the evening, so they still had several hours before they needed to return to the hotel for their luggage.
Paige stirred her coffee absentmindedly.
"Raj?"
"Hmm?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Why are you so patient with me?"
Raj looked confused.
"What do you mean?"
Paige hesitated.
She wasn't sure how to explain it without discussing things she wasn't ready to discuss.
"Sometimes I know I'm... difficult."
"I hadn't noticed."
She gave him a look.
Raj smiled.
"I mean when I don't want to do something," Paige continued. "Or when I'm uncomfortable with something. You never really ask why."
"Do I need to?"
"Most people would."
Raj thought about it.
"If you want to tell me something, you'll tell me."
"And if I don't?"
"Then you don't."
Paige looked down at her coffee.
"It's really that simple?"
"Why wouldn't it be?"
Raj leaned back.
"You don't owe me an explanation every time you don't like something."
Paige remained quiet.
Raj noticed the change in her expression.
He had the feeling there was something much larger behind the question, but he deliberately didn't ask.
After several seconds, Paige looked at him again.
"What if I never tell you?"
"Then I'll die consumed by curiosity."
Paige stared at him.
Raj maintained a serious expression.
"But I'll survive."
She laughed.
The tension disappeared.
"You're strange."
"I prefer eccentric."
"No. Strange."
"That's hurtful."
"I meant it as a compliment."
Raj paused.
"That's possibly the nicest insult I've received."
Paige smiled.
They sat there for a while longer, watching people pass outside.
Neither of them felt the need to fill every silence.
Eventually Raj checked the time.
"We should probably head back."
Paige sighed.
"Unfortunately."
They returned to the hotel and collected their luggage.
Before leaving, Raj opened the safe and removed the hard drive containing the ALICE data.
The moment he held it, both of them looked at it.
Paige spoke first.
"We have several hours on the plane."
Raj smiled.
"I was thinking exactly the same thing."
"So our attempt at behaving like normal people is officially over?"
"We lasted almost an entire day."
"That's better than I expected."
Raj placed the hard drive carefully into his bag.
They headed downstairs together.
As they entered the elevator, Paige took out her phone.
"What are you doing?" Raj asked.
"Sending Leonard a photograph."
Raj's eyes widened.
"Paige."
She pressed the button.
"Sent."
"You betrayed me."
"Scientific integrity."
Raj stared at her.
Paige smiled innocently.
The elevator doors closed on Raj's expression of absolute disbelief.
For Paige, the trip had begun as an opportunity to visit CERN.
Somewhere along the way, however, it had become something else as well.
For the first time in a very long time, she had spent an entire day with someone without feeling the need to remain constantly on guard.
And perhaps more surprisingly, she was a little disappointed that the day was already over.
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