just another day
"Buttle Skating Co. is the biggest provider of all things needed for skating in the Western Hemisphere. Founded in 1953 by Mr. Russell Buttle right before the peak of skating in North America, Buttle Skating has continued to grow even past the turn of the new millennium."
Evan, the Vice President of this skating company, fights to stay awake as the informative video drones on. He'd had a late night with the head of the advertising department, and no matter how hard they'd focused on this presentation, he kept getting distracted.
Of course, when the person you're working with keeps putting his hand down your pants, it's hard not to.
The lights come back up and the President, Scott Hamilton, looks around the mostly empty board room.
"Well, what do you think?"
Next to Evan, Johnny has to hold in a snort. It's not a secret that he and Mr. Hamilton aren't on the best of terms at the moment. Johnny's hand has found its way to Evan's knee without him noticing, and Evan has to scoot his chair under the table so Mr. Hamilton won't see it creeping further and further up his leg.
"Mr. Weir?" Johnny's head snaps to Mr. Hamilton, and he tries his best not to glare.
"It wasn't too bad. A little boring, but the information is good, and we definitely need that." His hand squeezes Evan's thigh, making him shift in the chair. "Which one of the interns made this?"
"I did, sir," a curly headed boy answers him, stepping forward, his hand outstretched. Johnny doesn't take it, simply looks at him, analyzing in less than a second.
"Now I understand why it was boring," he says shortly, and the boy withdraws his hand. Evan sighs next to him. "But good job. Don't be afraid to spice things up a little." The boy nods and steps back, obviously a little hurt and probably scared out of his wits.
"Thank you, Adam," Evan says, nodding to him. "It was a very good effort. I'm sure there's something there for Johnny to build on." And that gets his thigh another squeeze, and he shifts again.
Mr. Hamilton dismisses them all, and everyone leaves, except Johnny and Evan, who don't move from their chairs. Everyone knows what's going on anyway. Even Mr. Hamilton, who hates Johnny and would fire him if it wouldn't cause Evan to quit too. And if Evan quit, Jeffery, the owner of the company, would kick Scott out on his ass so fast he wouldn't have time to blink.
So, everyone leaves Johnny and Evan where they are, skirting around them, pretending it doesn't exist.
"Really, Johnny?" Evan says as Johnny's hand moves higher up his leg and he pushes Evan's chair out and climbs on his lap.
"You're not complaining," Johnny retorts and crushes their mouths in a kiss. If Evan knew any better, he'd swear Johnny was trying to sleep his way to the top. But he knows how much Johnny loves his job and being in complete control of the company's image-- because Evan sure as hell isn't going to disagree with him, and Scott knows better than to try it after the last time. And Jeff, well, Jeff doesn't really care. He has other things to worry about.
So, that's how Evan ends up fucking Johnny over the board room table for the third time that week, hoping to God there isn't some sort of conference call going on. It's bad enough there's a camera.
They walk out together a little while later, Evan buttoning his shirt up all the way so his assistant Mirai doesn't ask about the marks that are sure to come. Johnny just looks incredibly pleased, and Evan can't say he minds all too terribly.
"Lunch later?" Johnny asks, his eyelashes fluttering, and Evan can't say no to that. He just rolls his eyes and walks into his office. Johnny knows that means yes.
--
Charlie beats the vending machine for the third time that day, because obviously it hasn't been fixed the first two times and if the stupid incoherent French guy can't fix it the first two, then maybe beating it a little will help.
"That will help nothing," Brian says, coming out from nowhere like always with his iPod blaring that stupid techno music and Charlie smiles, obviously pissed.
"Are you sure? Because I really just want a Snickers, man, and this thing has eaten like, six of my dollars, and I really can't afford to pay ten bucks for a candy bar." He might be a little hysterical. He's been way stressed lately, and the fact that Meryl hasn't come to him with any new ideas for their presentation isn't helping. Mr. Weir will slaughter them both if they don't have something new by tonight, and Charlie really doesn't want to be killed with words or hands or anything Weir might have hidden in his office.
"Here," Brian grunts, holding out a Snickers. He's opened the front of the machine and taken one out, and he's rifling through the money safe to give Charlie his other five dollars back. Charlie blinks, surprised.
"Thanks man, I appreciate it."
"Oui," Brian replies, "ce n'est pas une probleme, but don't make it a habit." And he's putting the ear buds back in his ears, giving Charlie an out.
He plops back down at his desk and sighs loudly, and Meryl pops her head over the cubicle wall. "I've got it!" she says, using her hands to speak, like always. "What about an Indian theme with a princ-"
"No, Meryl," Charlie says, and she pouts, sitting back down. He can hear her mutter, "Well it's not like you've come up with anything either," and he bites his Snickers bar angrily.
A few hours later, Tanith walks up to his cubicle, sighing. They do this a lot, but usually Tanith comes to him because he's kind of frightened of Mr. Hamilton. "Hey," he says as she perches on his desk. "What's up?"
"Scott is screaming at Johnny again. This time it's something about how disrespectful it is to the founders of this company to go around acting like he does, and so of course Johnny got pissed and started screaming back, 'OH YEAH SCOTT, HOW DO I ACT?' and then Scott started sputtering and it's a giant mess. I don't understand why they do this."
"Because Mr. Hamilton is obviously repressed, and definitely not getting any action with that bald head of his," Charlie points out, making Tanith laugh, which he thinks is a score for him. He might have a little crush on her, but he can't do anything about it. They work together. He doesn't want to put his job in jeopardy like that. He's not the VP, like Evan, he can't just screw who he wants. Except he thinks that maybe he doesn't just want to screw Tanith. He might actually like her, which is also strange. He compromises by not thinking about it at all.
"Do you want to get dinner later?" Tanith asks him suddenly, pulling him from his thoughts. Charlie stares at her for a moment before clearing his throat, which is obviously the wrong thing to do because Tanith stands quickly, embarrassed.
"I'm sorry," she says, "I shouldn't have asked." And walks away back to her desk before Charlie can reply.
Meryl lets out a low whistle from the other side of the cubicle wall and says, "Man, you really ruined that one, Chuck." Charlie wants to throw his shoe at her.
--
Johnny stalks into Evan's office, obviously fuming and Evan sighs. He'd been hoping to actually get some work done. God knows Scott never does anything. Oh well, he'd just stay up until three in the morning again, without Johnny this time.
"How dare he," Johnny says, pacing around Evan's office.
"Please, Johnny, come in, I'd love to chat with you," Evan replies sarcastically, leaning back in his chair. Johnny just shoots him a glare.
"That stupid old bald repressed ...MONSTER," Johnny yells the last word, his arms flailing. He's obviously having trouble with the insults today. Evan raises his eyebrow at the word choice, but Johnny doesn't notice.
"That asshole! He acts like I'm the Devil or something sent to ruin his precious boring company. Everyone knows ice skating is the gayest sport in the history of forever, why can't our ads have pink in them. Is it really that big of a deal? People love pink! Girls love pink! IT LOOKS GOOD WITH EVERYONE'S SKINTONE-"
"Johnny," Evan says sternly, before he gets too far. "You know you don't actually need his approval. Jeff will agree to anything you decide, and I like all of your ideas. Scott just needs to feel like he's useful for something, okay?" Johnny deflates a little at that, and moves to sit in Evan's lap when he holds out a hand. He rests his head against Evan's chest, breathing deeply, trying to calm down.
"Just once, I would like him to like the ideas I have because he likes them, and not because the owner of the company told him to. You don't even have to say anything and he thinks you're something King Midas touched or something and I work my ass off." Johnny sighs. Evan looks at him strangely for a moment, pulling back a little.
"Johnny, I worked my ass off to get here, too. I went to school, just like you did, and got a degree in Business, so please don't imply that my job is easier than yours, because no one's job is easy." He doesn't yell, or even speak sternly, he just states it like it's a fact, sort of like Johnny's an idiot to think otherwise.
"I know," Johnny replies softly, looking up at him. "I know, I'm sorry, I'm just mad. It's just- I can't do anything right." Evan puts his hand on Johnny's cheek and leans down to kiss his forehead.
"I know. Now, go away, I have tons of work, since someone couldn't keep his hands to himself last night." Johnny grins and slides off Evan's lap, walking to the door.
"Dinner later?" He asks, and Evan sighs.
"I should really learn how to say no to you." And Johnny flounces out the door, leaving it open behind him.
--
"Don't worry so much about it, Tan," Ben says, his head inside the copier and something is clicking strangely and Tanith scoots away from it a little, afraid it might explode.
She's known Ben for years, and they live together and she's the reason he has this job in the first place, so she really should trust him, but she's also pretty sure machines are not supposed to click like that.
"I just looked like a complete idiot, I'm sure," she says again, sighing, her hands curling around the edge of the table. Mr. Hamilton has gone to some meeting, so she doesn't have to be at her desk until he gets back. Mirai can handle the phones. "I mean I'm sure he has something going on with Meryl. Didn't they kiss at last year's Christmas party?"
"No, that was Tessa and Scott," Ben replies, grunting a little. The clicking stops, though, and he emerges, smiling, wiping his hands on his grubby Hootie and the Blowfish t-shirt. "Besides, everyone kissed everyone at that party. Don't make me remind you, Ms. 'I-Had-Three-Drinks-And-Made-Out-With-The-VP' I'm still shocked Weir hasn't killed you yet."
"I'm sure he's poisoning my keyboard as we speak," she says with another sigh. "But still! I mean, he and Meryl work on everything together-"
"Evan? Or Johnny?"
"No, Charlie, you idiot, keep up."
"Sorry."
"Anyway," Tanith continues, "he always works with Meryl and they're a great team and I'm sure there's something going on there. I'm sure. You don't come up with ideas as good as that without a little chemistry."
"Maybe they're just friends," Ben suggests, and Tanith replies with a snort. He gives her a look and she shrugs.
"I highly doubt they've known each other since high school," she says, shooting the same look back at him. "And besides, it's not like we never tried...all that." She clears her throat uncomfortably and she can see the red on Ben's neck.
"Yeah," he replies, at a loss for what to say next.
"Well, I'm gonna go," Tanith says quickly, hopping off the table. "Mr. Hamilton will be back soon, I'm sure." And she's gone again, leaving Ben staring after her.
He turns back to the copier just as a stream of ink hits him in the face. He sighs, bending back down to continue his work.
--
Meryl stares at the office she's just walked into. It's strange, and a little frightening, since two men share it and the last time she checked, men were not supposed to love lady bugs. She's so caught up examining some picture frame that she doesn't realize someone is standing behind her.
"Can I help you?" a smooth French accent asks her, not at all like Brian's, and she turns sharply, nearly falling over.
"Yeah, hi, I work on the fifth floor at Buttle and my computer's been doing weird things and I tried to call, but no one answered so I figured I'd come down and see." She laughs nervously, but the man simply smiles at her, holding out a hand.
"Ah, oui, I am Stephane," he introduces himself and Meryl melts a little as she shakes his hand. "What seems to be the probleme?" And all of a sudden Meryl can't speak. How embarrassing.
"Uh-" she stutters, still holding his soft hand. She blinks. "Maybe you should just come up and take a look," she finally manages, tearing her hand away from his. He looks confused for a moment and then nods, scribbling out a note for his office mate (someone named Plushenko, Meryl reads) and leading her out. She takes another look at Stephane's side of the office before mouthing, 'ladybugs' to herself, disbelievingly.
Stephane clucks his tongue disapprovingly at Meryl's computer as he examines it.
"Do you watch ah, pornography on this?" he asks in his smooth accent. Meryl's so distracted by it that it takes a moment for the question to register. When it does, her face turns bright red, and she sputters.
"Wh-what?" She hears Charlie laugh next to her and she wants to beat him with the phone. "No! I don't- I've never- What?"
Stephane laughs gently, and even his stupid laugh is accented and Meryl's blush just gets deeper. "It was a joke," he says, still gentle, reaching out to brush a hair away from Meryl's face. She squeaks. Charlie laughs again, and she is this close to throwing the phone at him.
"Your computer has a virus," he tells her, "I have just downloaded some software that will help you, I think. It should be fine afterward." He smiles at her and she smiles back, her face still bright red and he's so cute and she wants to die.
He stands, smiling again before leaning close, "And if you have any questions, feel free to call me, I will most certainly pick up for you." And he's gone, leaving a scent of chocolate and beauty behind him as he goes. Meryl falls into her chair, wanting to die.
"Good one, Mer," Charlie says, poking his head over. Meryl smacks him without looking.
--
Patrick glares at nothing in particular as he hears the interns fighting over something. Well, two of the interns, the curly headed one is just sitting there, looking like he wants to die. Patrick can only sympathize. He's about to speak up to yell at Florent and Oda when Yu-Na comes strolling by with her mail cart and cute little bun and Patrick wants to die even more.
"Hello!" she says happily to him, and he can't help but smile. "I have three letters for you today, Mr. Chan. Very popular, yes?" He nods, because he can never speak around Yu-Na, never, and takes the letters, putting them on his desk. She gives him a cute little shrug of her shoulders and turns to the interns, handing them their mail, which is mostly the junk mail, but Yu-Na thinks everyone deserves some sort of mail. She'll even write notes for the people who don't get any. Patrick's sort of in love with her.
Yu-Na sits next to Adam, laughing at something as they go through his mail together, and Patrick knows she's written Adam a note. They're friends, roommates, he thinks, and he can't believe that ridiculous kid with curly hair is friends with Yu-Na. He's jealous. He turns back to his letters, trying to ignore them.
"What do you want for dinner tonight, then?" Adam asks her, and she puts a finger on her chin, thinking.
"I think I want...hot dogs!" She says happily, smiling brightly at Adam, who sighs.
"Again? You know, there's more to America than hot dogs, I promise." They'd met on a trip Adam took to Korea once in high school and kept in contact, so when Yu-Na decided to move to America, it was only natural that she get an apartment with her best American friend. She'd been hooked on hot dogs ever since.
She was immovable on the subject, and Adam sighed again. "All right, we'll have hot dogs. But at least let me make the kosher ones this time, they're better for us." Yu-Na just chirped happily at him, hugging him around the neck before getting up.
"I must go! I have a mission, and I must complete it!" she told him seriously, grabbing her cart again.
"Who do you think you are, James Bond?" Florent broke in, all smart alecky. Yu-Na just grinned at him though, putting a finger to her lips before pushing the cart away to the next cubicle.
--
Three days.
The container of food has been in there for three days, and Adam forgets to pack his lunch again. He doesn't have any money on him, either; he's given the rest of it to Yu-Na so she can buy something at one of the stores across the street. More healthy American food, he assumes.
There should be a rule. If you leave your food in the fridge for three days, it should be free game to anyone else who finds it.
Leaving the watchful eye of Patrick, Adam stands, making his way into the break room, where the fridge sits in the corner, humming along. This is it. He's just going to eat it, whatever it is, and hope that no one misses it.
Pulling out the little blue container, Adam slowly opens it, preparing for something disgusting.
Inside is a small salad, still fresh due to the tight seal on the container. It contains cheese, almonds, chopped up tomatoes and croutons, nothing horrible like fish eyes, and it doesn't seem to be moldy, either. Tucked on top of the salad is a little container filled with what seems to be dressing. Setting the salad down, Adam opens the cup to smell it.
That is definitely not ranch dressing. He's pretty positive it's mayonnaise. Throwing that away, he picks up the salad, finding a plastic fork among the 'various utensils' drawer, which exists for times just like this.
Adam turns to leave the break room, only to be stopped by who he thinks is the IT guy; a blond man with a rather large nose, an angry scowl on his face.
"Is that your lunch?" He asks Adam, speaking in a thick Russian accent. Adam blinks.
"Yeah, it is now," he replies, trying to figure out why this man even cares about whose lunch it is.
"You do not understand. That lunch belongs to me." Adam chokes out a little laugh, incredulous.
"Dude, this lunch has been in the fridge for like...three days. Did you forget it was there or something?"
"Perhaps you cannot read Russian," he shrugs, seemingly forgiving him. "Check the bottom." Adam holds the container above his head, squinting as he finds gibberish scribbled in permanent marker on the bottom.
"Yeah, I definitely don't--" Adam can't finish his sentence as the Russian man's fist connects with his face, knocking him to the ground.
Adam's black eye wouldn't fade for weeks.
--
Michelle Kwan, otherwise known as Jeffery Buttle's wife, is a force to be reckoned with. It's said that she single-handedly saved the company from going under in all that recession drama, and she's kind of a legend. It's said around the water cooler that when she saved the company all those years ago, Jeffery's father, before he got so sick, insisted they be married. And, well, whatever Mr. Buttle wants, he gets.
She comes around the office every now and then, just walking through in her stilettos and her slicked back ponytail. Johnny sees her and sighs, wishing he could be that fierce. (If it were up to him, she'd be the face of the whole company, but some things even Jeff won't approve.)
Today, however, she's sitting across from her husband at the breakfast table.
"We need to fire Scott Hamilton," she says, and Jeff looks up from his newspaper.
"Okay, why?" he asks, taking a sip of coffee.
"He hired some Russian guy who punched an intern for no reason." She's sure the Russian had an actual reason for punching the intern, but she doesn't know what it is, and doesn't care enough to find out. Jeff winces.
"Why don't we fire the Russian?"
"Because he's the best in his field, and firing him would be the worst decision. Besides," Michelle says, leaning back in her chair, sipping her orange juice, "Scott Hamilton's getting old. We'll let him-" She searches for a word for a moment, thinking. "retire early. How does that sound?"
Jeffrey just shrugs, going back to his newspaper. "All right, if you think that's best. Are you going to promote Evan?"
"No," she replies, and it surprises Jeff, who's always liked Evan a little more than he should. "Evan has it in his head he can do what he wants, and that's not a good attitude. Besides, he screwing around with Johnny Weir, and both of them with that much power would be catastrophic."
Jeff looks hurt for a moment, and Michelle seems satisfied with herself, but then regrets it because she really does like her husband, even if he gets crushes every now and then. He's a good man, and just because their marriage is so obviously a sham doesn't mean she should be nasty to him.
"Fine," he replies coldly, obviously recovered. "I'll let them know today. Find a replacement."
"I already have," Michelle tells him and he grins at her.
"That's my girl."
--
Evan blinks at Jeff in surprise, and in the office next to them, he can hear Scott Hamilton about to cry.
"I'm sorry," Evan says, blinking again. "Can you repeat that?"
"Sure, Evan," Jeff says easily, smiling. Evan always forgets what a secret hard-ass Jeff can be.
"We're letting Scott retire early and bringing someone in to replace him. A nice fellow by the name of Jeremy Abbott. He's highly recommended and very good at what he does."
Evan wants to throw up. He's worked his ass off for this company. He started before he even got out of college, working his way up through the ranks so by the time he graduated, he'd become VP. He'd been the VP for three years and he'd done twice the amount of work that any of the previous Presidents or Vice Presidents had done and everyone had assumed that when Scott retired, Evan would take over. But apparently not.
"Can I ask you why you're bringing someone in instead of promoting me, Jeff?" he asks, his voice quiet. Jeff almost looks sorry for a moment before his face hardens.
"You're screwing around with Johnny Weir," he says, and Evan can't believe that even Jeff knows. Oh god, Jeff's probably seen the security tapes. "And while we do not discriminate against age, sex, race and all that, and we don't care who you're having a relationship with, the public might. And since you boys have been so non-discreet, Michelle feels that it's safer to bring in someone a little less controversial." He pauses, looking at Evan for a moment.
"And, look, we both know that's bullshit, because the public doesn't actually care, but Johnny is the head of advertising, and if you became President, well," Jeff shrugs, "People might get the wrong idea. We want someone who will keep you both in check." Jeff smiles brightly at him, standing.
"It was nice talking to you again, Evan," he says, holding out his hand. Evan stands and shakes it, still a little shocked, staring after Jeff as he walks out the door.
Evan adjusts his glasses and sits back down, trying to stop his hands from shaking.
--
Whispers ripple through the office as Jeff leaves with Michelle on his arm and by the end of the day, everyone knows what's happened.
Johnny walks into Evan's office slowly, shutting the door. "I'm so sorr-" he starts, but Evan cuts him off with a hand.
"Get out."
Johnny looks shocked for a moment and then angry, and then just hurt as he nods and leaves the office, glaring at the personnel staring.
"Charlie," he barks, "Meryl. My office. Now." And he disappears behind his door.
Charlie and Meryl glance at each other before standing slowly and walking into his office, Meryl gripping Charlie's wrist so tightly that it's hurting him, but at least the pain is distracting him from what's coming.
--
Meryl leaves Johnny's office first, tears brimming and her nose red and her cheeks blotchy. Charlie looks shell-shocked and can only stare after her as she runs into the ladies' room.
Charlie walks slowly to his cubicle, sitting down in his chair and staring at the blank screen.
"Charlie!" a voice chirps happily, and he can hear the squeaking wheels of the mail cart. "You have very special message today!"
Yu-Na's holding out one of her personal blue and purple designed envelopes, and Charlie just stares at her for a moment before letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Yu-Na's face scrunches up in concentration and she sets the letter down on his keyboard before putting her hands on his shoulders.
"Everything will be okay," she tells him seriously, staring directly into his eyes. He thinks he feels his soul melt a little, and nods. Yu-Na seems satisfied with that and smiles again, patting his blonde curls. Charlie lets out another breath as she flits her way down the row of cubicles.
Meryl's come back from the bathroom, still sniffling.
"You okay?" he asks gently. Meryl just nods. Charlie thinks maybe he should start looking for another job.
--
"Evgnei," Stephane says with a sigh, leaning his hand in his chin, peering over at his office mate. "What did I tell you about punching people?"
Plushenko gives him a death glare, but it doesn't phase Stephane in the slightest. They've been doing this together for five years. Stephane knows Plushenko only beats up poor interns.
"It's not a good thing to do," Stephane continues, "And you did leave your lunch in there for a very long time. You should write a note to the poor boy, apologizing. Here-" He holds out his pad of ladybug stationary and a zebra striped pen. Plushenko stares. He will never understand the Swiss.
He takes the pen and the paper, though, scribbling something in Russian before Stephane tuts at him. "In English," he says pointedly and Plushenko sighs and writes,
"Intern with curls,
I am sorry to have hurt you. I have big temper, my Yana always tell me to be calm. To you I am giving apologies and many, many kisses to heal your hurt.
--Plushenko"
Stephane smiles happily at him and calls Yu-Na to come get the letter before Plushenko can tear it up.
--
Johnny walks into the bathroom just as Adam's examining his eye in the mirror. He winces, and then Johnny winces, because that looks like it hurts.
"Are you-" Johnny starts, and Adam backs away, scared. He knows all about Mr. Weir and how mean he is and how he made Meryl cry. Johnny sighs as Adam backs away, a hand reaching out.
"I'm not going to hurt you," Johnny says exasperatedly, "I'm trying to help. That bruise looks nasty." Adam kind of just whimpers and walks closer to him, and Johnny touches the edge of it gently.
"Someone really did a number on you. It was the Russian, right?" Adam nods. "He probably was just hungry. He's really cranky. I think it's part of being Russian and sharing an office with Stephane." Johnny cracks a smile and so does Adam.
Johnny steps away, moving to wash his hands for no reason, really. He can't pee if there's an intern in here. "You'll want to ice that bruise for twenty minutes every night," he says, looking at his hands, and not at Adam. "It'll help it disappear faster. And if you come by my office later, I can show you how to cover it with make up, if you want."
Adam stares at him for a moment, and thinks that maybe everyone was wrong about Mr. Weir.
"No," he says, "That's okay. I mean, the make up thing. I don't really care that much. Makes me look tough, right?" Johnny laughs uncharacteristically loudly and has to cover his mouth. Adam frowns.
"It makes you look like a kicked puppy," Johnny says, still giggling a little. "But if that helps you get some action, then more power to you." He shrugs and moves to dry his hands. Adam stands awkwardly for a moment before clearing his throat.
"How do you know about the ice thing?" he asks, because what he really wants to ask is 'why are you being so nice?'
"My mom used to tell me all the time," Johnny shrugs, flinging water off his hands. "I used to get beat up a lot too, so, you kind of pick things up, you know?" He isn't looking at Adam, and Adam bites his lip.
"Oh. Well, thanks," he says, "I really appreciate it."
"No problem," Johnny says as Adam walks by and out the door. Finally, he can pee.
--
Evan is angry. He is so incredibly angry that everyone in the office is literally terrified of him, and after Patrick makes the mistake of asking Evan the wrong question, everyone sends the interns into his office if they need anything. Even Florent comes out of the office stony-faced.
What makes things worse is Jeremy Abbott's supposed to come in today and hold a huge office-wide meeting, to get to know everyone, and Evan wants to choke someone. He hasn't spoken to Johnny in two days because he's just been so angry and he knows it's not Johnny's fault at all, but he just can't bear to look at him. He doesn't want to look at Jeremy Abbott, either, but if he has to look at one of them, he supposes Jeremy won't remind him of every stupid decision he's ever made.
So, Evan walks into the meeting ten minutes early to find a rather nice looking man sitting at the head of the table, fiddling with his phone. This guy can't be much older than Evan, and that only makes it worse.
"Mr. Abbott?" Evan says hesitantly, sticking out a hand. Jeremy looks up from his phone and smiles widely, standing and shaking Evan's hand.
"Please, call me Jeremy," he says, and Evan thinks he can see all of his teeth. The asshole.
"Jeremy," Evan says with a smile, squeezing Jeremy's hand maybe a little too tightly, but Jeremy doesn't even wince. "I'm Evan Lysacek, your Vice President."
"Great! I've been anxious to meet you! I was wondering," Jeremy says, sitting back down and motioning for Evan to sit down as well. "Would you mind showing me around the office a little after we're done here? Maybe take me by everyone's cubicles and show me some of the ideas that your advertisement department has? I've heard Mr. Hamilton was kind of useless, and I don't want to be like that. I want to help this company, Evan, I promise, and I'm going to try my best."
Evan smiles at him again, feeling sick to his stomach. Now he can't even hate the man. God damn it.
--
The meeting goes just fine, and true to his word, Evan takes Jeremy around the office. Everyone pretends to be busy, because they're sure Evan is still furious, even if he is smiling and laughing and introducing everyone to their new President one-on-one. Jeremy is certainly charming, Evan notes, as he leans over Tessa's desk, laughing with her about something. Scott gives him a little bit of the stink eye over the cubicle wall, like Jeremy is flirting with Tessa or something and Evan rolls his eyes.
"So, Jeremy," he says, interrupting them, and Scott shoots him a thankful look, "Are you ready to see some of Johnny's ideas for the new campaign?" Jeremy nods and they walk towards Johnny's office.
Evan isn't looking forward to this. He's still mad at himself for so many things, but the biggest one is not talking to Johnny and flat out ignoring him. Johnny doesn't deserve that. But still, he knocks on Johnny's office door and walks in to find Johnny giggling at something on his computer, and Stephane, the other IT guy leaning in close.
They both look up when Evan clears his throat, and Stephane leaves quickly, muttering something in French at Johnny, who replies with a smile. Evan hides the twitch in his eye as he walks in the office.
Johnny stands, like he's going to try to explain something to Evan, but Evan speaks before he can start. "Jeremy wants to see your ideas for the new campaign."
Johnny stares for a minute. "I don't have anything," he says honestly. "Mr. Hamilton threw out everything I wanted to do, and Meryl and Charlie have given me nothing to work with."
Evan sighs because Johnny's being a drama queen and Jeremy smiles, stepping forward.
"Well, do you still have what Mr. Hamilton threw out? Like, on a flash drive or anything? I'd be happy to see it and give you my opinion, because, well, Mr. Hamilton's not here anymore." Evan just kind of stares at Jeremy and Johnny looks like he's about to faint.
"Y-yes," he stutters, rifling around on his desk, his cheeks turning pink like he's just be chastised, but Jeremy is still smiling and Evan thinks Johnny is probably as confused as he is right now.
He emerges triumphantly with a flash drive, plugging it into his computer and turning the monitor around to show Jeremy. "It looks better printed out," he shrugs, but Jeremy just shakes his head like it doesn't matter.
"Take me through it," he tells Johnny, looking at him very seriously. And Johnny does, and Jeremy likes it. He legitimately likes the idea and the pink and Evan thinks Johnny really might faint now, his face is so pink.
"I mean, it could use some tweaking, but together, I'm sure we'll make it great," Jeremy smiles. Evan thinks he has very nice teeth.
--
Everyone loves the new president. Everyone does, but especially Tanith and Mirai, who love taking calls for him and getting him things because he smiles and it's just so cute. Yu-Na writes him letters every day, regardless of whether or not he has mail, and Evan really, really wants to hate him.
But, he can't, because the man is competent and hard-working and Evan can't hate anyone like that. And, he's been getting more sleep ever since Jeremy started, because he's actually able to finish his work at work.
He still hasn't really spoken to Johnny, though, and he knows the longer it waits the worse it will get. He tries to push it from his mind as he steps into the elevator, but as luck would have it, it's Johnny's voice that yells, "Hold the elevator please!" And Evan does, because well, he's not one to tempt fate.
Johnny gets in, clearing his throat as the doors close and they start moving. They go in silence for a few floors before Johnny says quietly,
"I miss you."
And then the elevator comes to a halt and the lights flicker and turn off and there's a terrifying grinding noise and of course this would happen to Evan.
He just looks at Johnny, though, sadly. "I miss you too." And it's the truth. Evan forgot how lonely he used to be before Johnny started hitting on him and staying over at Evan's apartment and eating their meals together and things like that.
He glances at Johnny out of the corner of his eye and then turns to look at him. "I'm sorry," he says and he really means that, too. "I don't- It wasn't fair for me to get mad at you. It's not your fault they brought someone in I'm just- I'm sorry."
Johnny smiles and steps forward, cupping Evan's cheek. "I know," he says, and he pulls Evan down gently to kiss him, a hand sliding through his hair.
Evan makes a little noise at the back of his throat and kisses back and thinks that this is definitely what he missed most of all.
By the time the elevator starts up again, they're both breathless and flushed and Evan has Johnny pinned to the elevator wall, hands above his head, held together by Evan's hand on Johnny's wrists.
"Come to lunch with me?" Evan asks, and Johnny nods, and they both know they won't make it out of the parking lot.
--
Charlie sneaks over to Tanith's desk when he thinks she's not looking. Everyone's out to lunch, so he can just leave this little box of chocolates for her on her desk and no one will ever have to know that it was him.
"What are you doing, Charlie?" Mirai asks him from her desk and Charlie curses his luck. She has an annoying smirk on her face like she knows this has been coming for awhile and he just says,
"Look, just make sure she gets them, and don't tell her they're from me." He sets the box down on Tanith's desk and walks past Mirai and her smirk to the elevator, but, seeing it's stuck, takes the stairs instead.
Tanith comes back from the bathroom by the time Charlie's left and she sees the box. "Who left this for me, Mirai? Was it Patrick again?"
"No, it was Charlie," Mirai answers her, and Tanith smiles a little to herself.
--
Mirai sits down at the table with the interns in the break room, smiling at each of them in turn. Nobunari Oda, who barely ever speaks, greets her. It's obvious then why he doesn't speak much; his English is kind of terrible. Florent nods, taking another bite of his sandwich. Pulling out her bento and rice, Mirai takes a few bites.
She stops, though, when she sees Adam hunched over his salad (that he made himself and brought in, not stolen from a certain Russian IT guy), trying to hide the dark bruise on his face.
"Oh my god!" she cries out, dropping her chopsticks. All three interns look up, and Nobunari asks her if she's alright in Japanese. She's about to reply to him in the same tongue, until she realizes that the reason she's freaking out wouldn't be able to understand her. "Adam, are you alright?"
Adam shrinks back, trying to smile for her. "Yeah, it doesn't hurt all that much anymore. Isn't it cool?" he asks, trying to be a man and show off in front of the cute girl. Florent sees right through his act, and laughs. Adam thinks about socking him in the eye, so they can match. but Mirai speaks first.
"No, no, that looks horrible! What happened?" she asks, reaching her arms out, trying to get a better look.
"I got in a fight with a crazy Russian guy. He was just lucky enough to get a hit in," Adam answers, trying to play it off. Only Florent ruins it by laughing again.
"More like you stole his lunch and he got mad so he knocked you flat on your ass." The curly haired boy winces, shooting a glare at Florent, who shrugs. Mirai softens, making a cooing noise at the thought.
"Will you be okay? You should probably ice it..." she trails off, picking up her chopsticks, stealing a piece of sushi from Nobunari while he's still looking at Adam.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," he snorts, elbowing Florent before continuing his meal angrily. Adam makes a mental note to go see Johnny as soon as possible, since operation 'Look Manly to Pick Up Cute Girls' doesn't seem to be working. Therefore, it needs to go.
--
Adam knocks on Mr. Weir's office door and there's a strangled, "Just a minute!" from inside before Johnny comes to the door and opens it. He smiles, though, when he sees that it's Adam.
"Yes?" he asks, an eyebrow quirking.
"I was wondering if you could teach me the uh-" Adam motions to his face awkwardly, grimacing. "you know. For my eye?" Johnny just smiles and lets him in.
All his make up is already out, but Adam doesn't know that's because he's been trying to cover up a huge mark Evan left. Johnny figures Adam doesn't really need to know that. It's not his business.
"Sit down," he commands and Adam does so, quickly. Johnny smiles, pleased, and picks up a round thing with flesh colored stuff and a new sponge and tilts Adam's head gently with a finger on his chin.
Adam winces as the make-up touches his face. It doesn't hurt, it's just cold.
"Evgeni really got you good, didn't he?" Johnny mutters, and Adam just mumbles a reply. Johnny does the best he can with his make up, and it looks alright, a little less angry, but it's still too dark to really completely cover.
"Just remember to ice it," Johnny tells him as Adam gets up, thanking him. "I'm sure that will help it heal." Adam nods and leaves Johnny's office, everyone staring at him as he goes.
--
It's been a few days, and Scott still can't stop thinking about it.
All in all, it was an accident; Tessa had dropped a bunch of papers and almost immediately he was kneeling down to help her. When she met his eyes, surrounded by copies and copies of another proposal outline Jeremy had asked her to make, he couldn't help himself. Before he knew it, he had kissed her, and she had turned bright red, quickly scooping up the rest of the papers before running off back to her desk.
Now he's at his desk, still daydreaming about how soft her lips were, and how cute she was with blush tinting her cheeks. He hasn't gotten any work done all day, despite Evan, who still looks angry, walking around and talking to a few people. Normally it's Johnny, but he hasn't seen Johnny leave his office since lunch. Scott doesn't really know why, and he just assumes it's none of his business.
When he looks down at the draft he's been working on, he only sees doodles of a girl, probably Tessa, and lots of swirls. He'll have to start a new draft before anyone sees this.
Balling it up, he tosses the draft in the trash can, noticing the post-it notes that sit, unused, on the edge of the desk.
It's then that he gets the idea. He hasn't spoken to Tessa since the kiss, so maybe there's something he can do to make it up to her.
Grabbing the post-it notes, he tears one off the top, scribbling a note on it before waiting for Tessa to leave her desk. When she does, he immediately stands up, casually walking over to her cubicle and slapping the note right on her monitor.
When Tessa comes back from the bathroom, she finds a little yellow note with the words 'I'm sorry I freaked you out, I hope you can forgive me' written on it. She raises an eyebrow, looking around the room before slipping the note into a drawer of her desk. Why she's compelled to save it, she doesn't know. Even if it is from Patrick or someone like that, it's sweet.
--
Even though Tanith made out with Evan a little bit at the Christmas Party last year, she and Johnny are still friends. (It might be because Johnny definitely made out with Stephane a little that night, but that's neither here nor there.)
And sometimes, when Johnny isn't in Evan's office or in Evan's car, moaning his name and leaving nail marks all down his back during their lunch hour, he's with Tanith, eating lunch and gossiping and now since they have a pretty new toy to gossip about, they can't get enough.
"So get this," Tanith says, licking the yogurt off her spoon. "Jeremy's boyfriend keeps calling the office because Jeremy hasn't given him the private extension yet."
Johnny's eyes widen and Tanith just nods. "I know, right! And he calls like, three times a day, and every time he calls, Jeremy's like, don't put him through, I'm busy, tell him I'm in a meeting! and bullshit like that. I think there's a little trouble in paradise." Johnny lets out a low whistle and eats an apple slice. He thinks for a moment, sighing.
"Do you know his name?" he asks, out of pure curiosity.
"Yeah, it's Drew Meekins," Tanith answers him, "Why?"
Johnny just stares at her, though, and she looks at him before brushing at her face. "What? Do I have something on my face? What's wrong? Johnny? Johnny? HELLO?" She snaps her fingers in front of his face and he stands suddenly.
"I have to go." And he walks out of the break room, leaving Tanith utterly confused.
He knocks on Evan's door furiously and walks in without an answer and when Evan sees him, he sighs.
"Johnny, I told you, I really need-" but Johnny doesn't let him finish. He just walks around the desk and kisses Evan, hard.
"Our boss is dating my ex-boyfriend," he says, and walks out of Evan's office and into his own. Evan lets out his breath and looks down at the paper he was reading.
"What?" he says at the document. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't respond.
--
The new ad campaign launches the next month, and everyone is so busy that they all just actually do their work. Sure, Tessa and Scott start dating and are totally serious about each other and everyone thinks it's disgustingly cute, but that's all that happens.
Of course, besides the ad campaign earning them more revenue than the last five years combined.
Everyone congratulates Johnny when they hear the news, but he just shrugs and says, "It wasn't my idea to use Apolo Ohno. That stroke of genius was all Evan and Jeremy." Evan grins at Johnny, ruffling his hair and making him pout.
"You're so cute," he mumbles, and everyone in the board room stifles a groan.
"Get a room!" Ben yells from outside the door, and Tanith pulls him away and back to the copier that has decided to spurt ink again. Charlie watches the scene, biting his lip.
"What's the deal with Tanith and Ben?" he asks Meryl, who is puckering her lips at herself in a hand held mirror. (They're all waiting for Jeremy to arrive, so they don't particularly feel the need to be professional.) Meryl just shrugs at him, picking something out from her teeth.
"I think they are best friends," Mirai cuts in, standing against the wall holding a notebook with scribbles all over it that look like shorthand. "Tanith always tells me how they eat dinner together and things and they live together, I think?" She seems to process something in her head before nodding definitively. "Yes. They live together. But I don't think they're ...together."
Charlie just nods at her, and Jeremy steps through the door, looking rather frazzled.
"Sorry, sorry," he says, putting his briefcase down on the table. His hair is a mess, sticking up in every which way and his shirt isn't tucked in correctly and he's missed a button and if Johnny leans the right way, he can see a smooth patch of skin. He tries not to giggle. Evan senses it and pinches his elbow.
"I had a- I was caught up. At home," he tells them, looking down at his case like he can't remember how to open it.
"Trouble in paradise?" Johnny asks before he can stop himself, and Evan gives him a swift kick under the table. Tanith, who's come back to stand next to Mirai, stifles a giggle too.
(Johnny and Evan have discussed the whole 'you're-dating-my-ex-boyfriend-and-I'm-dating-the-VP' thing with Jeremy, and while it was incredibly awkward for all of them at first, they seem to have gotten past it, and so Johnny takes every opportunity to make fun of him, just like he'd do to his real friends.)
"You could- you could say that," Jeremy allows, and finally gets his case open. He starts the meeting, then, and everything else is pushed aside.
--
When they're done talking about the ad campaign and how to expand it even more and make people want to do all kinds of skating, not just the kind on ice, Tessa and Scott stand up.
"You guys, we have an announcement!" Tessa says, smiling brightly, taking Scott's hand.
"You're getting married!" Ben yells from outside again, and Tanith rolls her eyes.
"No," Tessa says, confused. "No, we just-"
"Don't tell us you're pregnant" Johnny chimes in, a grin lighting up his face and something mischievous glinting in his eye.
"NO," Tessa squawks, flailing a little. "Just shut up and listen to me!" And everyone turns to stare at her, because Tessa is never mean. She seems to realize this, and turns bright red and starts stuttering.
"What she means to say," Scott says, coming to her rescue. "Is that the annual Christmas Party is in a month, and since we're organizing it this year, we thought it might be fun to do a little Secret Santa type of thing."
Everyone stares at them for a moment before Johnny goes,
"I feel bad for whoever gets Ben. How humiliating would it be to buy a Hootie and the Blowfish cd. Who even listens to them anymore." Ben frowns outside the door, and Tanith and Johnny purposefully keep from looking at each other to keep from laughing.
"So do you guys want to do it?" Tessa asks quietly, her eyes wide and hopeful. No one can say no to that, so they all nod and shrug and go, "sure, what's the worst that could happen."
--
Evgeni Plushenko.
Adam reads the name over and over again, blinking at the little piece of paper that he's just drawn from a jar.
"Can I draw another one, please?" he begs Scott, who shakes his head.
"Sorry, Adam, one draw only," and he shrugs, patting Adam on the shoulder and getting him to move out of the way so Mirai can draw behind him.
What is he supposed to get the man who gave him a black eye for two weeks? He doesn't even know what Plushenko likes, besides salads, and what if he gets the wrong thing and Plushenko punches him again? The thought makes Adam want to cry.
Johnny slings his arm around Adam's shoulders, glancing at the paper.
"Who'd you ge- Ohhhhh," Johnny laughs when he sees it, giving Adam a sympathetic look through his giggles. Adam would like to punch him, but Johnny's been so nice to him these past weeks that he can't. Maybe he'll punch Florent later, just for the hell of it.
"Just get him a scarf. It'll remind him of the Motherland, and he'll love you forever," Johnny shrugs, ruffling Adam's curls. Adam winces a little, not moving, because that always makes it worse. "I think he likes red," Johnny continues, decisively, leading Adam away and into the break room so they can have lunch.
All of the other interns and Patrick-- especially Patrick-- think it's incredibly strange that Johnny's suddenly taken a liking to some wimpy, curly headed intern, but Adam has a lot of potential, and Johnny sees that. At least, that's what Adam hopes is going on here, because if it's something else, Adam doesn't really want to know what it is. Not that that thought makes any sense, but whatever. He just hopes he's good at his job and that's why Johnny likes him.
In any case, they have lunch together, and sometimes Evan joins them and then he and Johnny go off somewhere together and sometimes Tanith joins them and Adam laughs so hard at their jokes that he can't breathe and gets red in the face.
The point is, he likes it. He likes spending time with Johnny and with Evan and Tanith, and it makes his internship a little less unbearable. And that's always something to look forward to. Now if he could only figure out what to get the Russian. Then he'd be set for life.
--
Meryl draws Stephane and she laughs. That'll be easy. Something with lady bugs. Or maybe zebra stripes. She knows he likes zebra print, too, because he has a pair of zebra print boxers-
Not that Meryl has been rifling through his underwear drawer or anything. No, she just happened to glance one day when Stephane was wearing a t-shirt and jeans on casual Friday and they were just a bit too low and he bent over and Meryl might have almost fallen out of her chair as she was leaning back to look.
It doesn't really matter, though, because finding a gift for Stephane will be totally easy. Totally.
Except a week until the gift exchange, Meryl still doesn't have a present and this is totally not easy.
"You'd think there would be more things with lady bugs," she mutters to herself, walking through what has to be the eightieth tacky souvenir shop today. She sighs, defeated, and leaves the shop with nothing for Stephane.
She settles on an iTunes gift card, because she's lame and at least the card she puts it in has a ladybug on it and a cute red cat. The card might be for a four year old. Whatever. He would never know that.
She arrives at the party with Charlie, really nervous for some reason and Charlie kisses her on the cheek before saying, "Don't worry about it, Meryl. I'm sure he'll like whatever you give him." He waggles his eyebrows and runs off before she can smack him.
--
They all decide that their gifts will be a lot less embarrassing if they're all drunk when they do the exchange, and it sounds like a good idea when Ben suggests it, but by the time Charlie's so hammered that he's stolen a sprig of mistletoe and managed to attach it to his head somehow, they think that maybe it wasn't the best plan.
Charlie seems to be the only one who is truly hammered, though, and Adam, the only intern who decided to show, isn't even old enough to drink. Not for another year, at least.
Jeremy's brought Drew, and they've been sort of bickering all night, which both pleases Johnny immensely and makes him feel immensely awkward. Evan doesn't really care either way, because Johnny's also been all over him all night, and who can complain about that?
In any case, they all sit down by the pile of presents, and Charlie giggles a little as Johnny pulls a pink package out of it.
"Patrick," he reads off the tag, and grins, handing it to Patrick. He's not looking forward to opening it. He knows it's something that will embarrass him, and he doesn't even really want to look as he tears the paper off and--
"Oh," he says, staring at the box. Deluxe Gummy Worms, it reads, and these must be from some specialty shop and Patrick loves gummy worms. A lot. "Th-thank you," he stutters, and he's really actually touched that someone noticed he likes gummy worms.
"Patrick's secret santa, reveal yourself!" Johnny says dramatically, and Tanith raises her hand, smiling.
"I hope you like them! I got them in this shop Uptown that makes the best candy and imports from all these really great places," she explains, very friendly due to the nearly gone drink in her hand.
"How did you know I like gummy worms?" He asks, shocked.
"I see them on your desk all the time." Patrick thinks he might cry.
The gift exchange goes on and on, and Stephane loves his present and gives Meryl a giant hug and a huge kiss on the cheek and she melts a little more. Yu-Na has made Evan a bracelet, because it's not like she has much money to spend on a gift and he stares at it for a moment before looking up at her. Johnny looks worried, like he's not sure how Evan's going to react, but when Evan says,
"Thank you, Yu-Na," in the warmest voice that anyone's ever heard him speak in, Johnny knows he genuinely likes it. Yu-Na smiles happily and snuggles into Adam more, making Adam blush and Patrick angry.
The next bag Johnny pulls is his own, and he squeals happily. He takes out the tissue paper and stares at the contents of the bag for a moment before pulling out a plastic tiara, complete with faux-fur padding. He immediately puts it on and pulls out a feather boa and a plastic scepter.
"Who bought me this gift," he demands, and for a moment everyone thinks he's pissed, but then Patrick raises his hand and Johnny gets up and kisses him on the cheek. Everyone is shocked and silent.
"How did you know I've always wanted to be a princess!" Johnny shrieks, flailing happily and going back to sit in Evan's lap. Evan just laughs, and from the corner of his eye, he can see Drew Meekins, so maybe his hand snakes around Johnny's waist a little, tugging on his shirt. Johnny takes the nonverbal cue to twist and meet Evan's mouth in a kiss. Evan mutters something to him that makes him blush slightly and he turns back.
"Okay!" he says, his hands on his knees. "Just one more! And it's for," Johnny squints at the writing on the tag. "Plushenko!" He grins and hands it to the Russian.
Plushenko only participated in this because Stephane made him. He'd drawn Tessa, and gotten Yana to make her a beautiful flowy scarf, and Tessa had nearly cried when she opened it and thanked him profusely. Plushenko just grunted in reply, taking another large swallow of his drink.
By now, he's pretty far gone, and he's also a lot more talkative than anyone has ever seen him. He's slurring, of course, but most people can't tell if that's the vodka or the accent. They decide it's a little bit of both.
He opens the package and pulls out one of those custom Tupperware things, and this one is made specially for salads, and has his name printed on it in English and Russian. He looks at it for a moment, and everyone knows who's given it to him.
Adam feels his face turn red as Plushenko looks at him slowly, and then gets up (Yu-Na scrambles out of the way to avoid getting sat on) and plops down next to Adam on the couch. Everyone watches, and Johnny suddenly wishes he had popcorn.
"You have this made for me?" Plushenko asks him, and Adam nods furiously.
"I'm sorry. I thought it would be funny and also kind of helpful please don't hurt me again I-" and he tries to run away as Plushenko wraps his arms around him in a bone-crushing hug. Adam squeaks and Plushenko kisses his temple.
"Thank you," he says, and Stephane thinks he really ought to get Evgeni out of there. "You are dear friend." And hugs him again. Adam is as red as a beet, and no one knows if it's from embarrassment or lack of air.
--
Johnny snorts with laughter a little while later while he's standing next to Adam. He can still remember the look on Adam's face as Plushenko kissed him, mainly because it's still there. Adam frowns deeply, though, and gives Johnny a little shove that sends him tumbling into Evan, but that's just because Johnny has terrible balance when he's drunk.
Evan catches him, though and smiles down at him, brushing some hair from his face.
"Hi baby," Johnny mumbles at Evan, forgetting Adam's there momentarily and Evan chuckles.
"You look like a swan with this thing," he says, messing with Johnny's boa.
"Well, you look like a mongoose with that nose, but you don't hear me complaining," Johnny retorts and Evan shuts him up with a soft kiss, making Johnny giggle. Someone clears their throat behind them and they both turn, and Johnny squeals happily.
"Jeff!" He basically shouts, throwing his arms around Jeff's shoulders. "Jeffrey," he says seriously, pulling away suddenly. "Jeffrey, you need to meet Adam." Johnny turns, tugging Jeff's wrist until he moves forward, right in front of Adam.
"Adam," Johnny says, "This is Jeffrey Buttle." Adam stares for a moment. Buttle as in...Buttle Skating Co? As in the owner of the company? Adam clears his throat and extends his hand.
"It's nice to meet you," Adam says, shaking Jeff's hand. "I'm Adam Rippon." Jeff smiles at him, licking his lips in a very discreet manner before nodding and turning back to Johnny.
"Well, Johnny," Jeff says charmingly, "You'll have to forgive me, but I think I may just steal your friend here." And he smiles and Adam thinks that maybe he should be a little scared as Jeff winds his arm around his shoulders and leads him somewhere quieter so they can talk. He survived two Plushenko hugs, though. This should be cake.
--
What Adam doesn't realize is that Jeff likes him. Jeff really, really likes him and it only gets worse after they talk at the Christmas party for hours until Michelle finally pulls him away, muttering, "He was cute." Jeff agrees and vows to get his phone number some how.
He's too drunk to realize that it's an intern he's crushing on, and while Jeff's career is more than fine, he could ruin Adam's with a few simple actions.
And Jeff doesn't even know if Adam likes boys. But everyone likes Jeff, so he's not really worried about that part.
--
Charlie still has the mistletoe on his head after the gift exchange. He's sobered up a little, and is wearing his new Mickey Mouse watch that Mirai got for him, along with the mistletoe. He spots Tanith and takes a deep breath. It's now or never.
Tanith is talking to Patrick. She's never really spoken to Patrick before, but enough Rum and Coke will make anyone friendly enough to speak to the training supervisor, so she doesn't really notice Charlie when he walks up.
What she does notice, however, is when Charlie spins her around and puts a hand to her cheek, muttering 'mistletoe' and kisses her right in front of everyone.
She's too shocked to do anything for a moment and then her brain remembers that she wants this and she kisses back, a hand tugging at Charlie's stupid curls. They break apart for a breath, and Tanith is beaming, but Charlie looks sick.
"I have to go," he says, and lets her go and runs to the bathroom, retching into the toilet.
Tanith frowns.
--
part two
total word count:10731
note: this fan fic was written in conjunction with sixthsky and based on a prompt in skatingkink