just another day II
--
"Say 'thank you'."
"arigatou gozaimasu."
"No, no, in english! 'Thank you'."
"Sankyuu."
"Close..."
Oda doesn't really celebrate Christmas, since he's Japanese, but Mirai thinks it's nice to get him a present anyway.
By present, she means actually teach him English so he can, you know, actually be useful around the office instead of causing Patrick grief. Not that she particularly cares about Patrick. She just knows someone sweet like Oda is capable of more.
She thinks up a master plan to sit Oda down for a little while every day after the holidays and teach him how to sound some things out so people can actually understand him. It's a lengthy and rather frustrating process, but Mirai knows someone is going to have to do it. Jeff made Oda an intern because he felt bad, not because he was really good at communicating with others. Luckily, she is getting results.
During lunch, she points at Adam's sandwich.
"kore wa nan desu ka? eiigo de." she asks.
"Bureedo." he answers, chewing on the word.
"Bread. And this is a sandwich. Sand. Wich."
"Sando--" he drifts back into Japanese and she corrects him. "Sandowichi." Florent laughs a little at 'chi', so Adam gives him a glare.
"Good! You're getting better."
Mirai decides that Oda's final test is to present Evan with a sandwich. Placing it on a plate in Oda's hands, she knocks on Evan's door, peeking in to make sure Johnny isn't bent over the desk or straddling Evan or something. He's not, so she opens it for Oda.
Walking in slowly, he stops in front of Evan's desk, holding out the plate in both hands.
"Herro, Misutaa Rysacheki. Thiso issu yooar sandowichi thatto I haavu burot yuu. I hoppu yuu enjoii itto. Sankyuu."
Evan doesn't understand a word he says, but he looks at the sandwich, and hey, it looks pretty good, so why not? He's hungry, anyway. It's the right thing to do.
So he takes it, smiling at Oda, nodding.
"Areegatoe, Oda." Evan tries his Japanese out, and apparently it's enough because Oda smiles, bowing deeply before skipping out of the room.
--
Jeff gets Adam's phone number from Evan, who gets it from Johnny, who realizes he doesn't have it when Evan asks and he marches straight over to Adam and demands it from him. Patrick stares. But really, that's all Patrick ever does.
Adam gets a text from an unknown number, and while he would usually just delete it, he thinks maybe it's Johnny.
It's not.
"hey, it's jeff, it says, you know, from the xmas party. i was wondering if youd like to have lunch?"
Adam stares at his screen for a moment. It Saturday morning, and he really doesn't have anything else to do, and Yu-Na is off somewhere with Mirai and Oda, and he has to admit, he's kind of lonely. So, he replies.
"hey jeff! like i could forget who you are lol. lunch sounds great! when and where?"
Adam hits send and hopes he doesn't regret it later.
"Armand's, 3pm :)" is Jeff's almost instant reply, and Adam sighs a little as he types "great see you there" on his phone and sends it.
He gets up off the couch, checking the time. It's not even noon yet, so he should be alright for a shower. He catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror and stares.
What is he going to wear?
--
Jeff smiles at his phone happily as Adam sends the confirmation message that he will indeed meet him for lunch. He gets up from his chair in the living room, moving to the bedroom to take a shower, because he's pretty sure he smells terrible. Well, at least terrible for how he usually smells.
Michelle spots him and raises an eyebrow, following him into the bedroom. "You seem happy today," she says, tapping a finger to her chin.
"Just going to lunch with a friend," Jeff says cheerfully, shrugging his shoulders.
"The curly headed boy from the party a few weeks ago?" she asks, because she figures it's her business too. He nods, still smiling and looking through his drawers for a shirt.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Michelle prods gently, leaning against the door frame. Jeff looks at her questioningly and she shrugs.
"He looked young, is all," she explains. "Just be careful with him."
Jeff smiles a toothy grin at her and says, "Darling, when am I ever anything but?" And then he moves into the bathroom swiftly, closing the door.
Michelle looks at the outfit he's laid out, fingers the smooth cloth of the shirt. She picks it up and puts it back in the closet, pulling out a more casual one that Jeff was no doubt looking for. She leaves the room, closing the door softly behind her so she can't hear Jeff's singing while she tries to work.
--
Adam arrives at Armand's at three pm on the dot, because even though it's Saturday, Jeff is still his boss, and he doesn't want to be late. He's not even really sure what this lunch meeting or date or whatever is for. Are they friends? Adam only spoke to him that one time at the party, and sure they had good conversation, but still.
Jeff waves to him from the bar and Adam walks up to him sheepishly, running a hand through his curls.
"I didn't know what to wear," he mumbles, standing next to Jeff awkwardly, tugging his blazer around himself a little more. He has a plain, gray t-shirt on underneath and some nice, dark jeans and his work shoes.
"I didn't know if it was business casual or what," he jokes weakly, and Jeff finishes off his drink and smiles at him, patting him on the shoulder.
"It's fine, Adam, really. You look great," there's a little sparkle in his eye as he winks, and Adam feels his face flush slightly. Weird.
"Now, do you want to sit here or at a table?"
"Table," Adam replies. "I don't really like to drink, much. I'm not in the habit."
That seems to stop Jeff for a moment, and he looks at Adam, processing, and says, "Well that's fine then." He slides off his stool and thinks that maybe Michelle was right. She usually is, Jeff should make more of a habit to listen to her. But listening to her is like listening to his mom or his sister, most of the information just goes right over his head.
"When's your birthday?" Jeff asks easily, pulling out Adam's chair for him.
"November 11th," he replies, sitting down. "I just turned 21 a few months ago." Jeff just nods, and then,
"So you're an intern." It's not a question.
"Yeah," Adam agrees. This is weird. Doesn't Jeff already know he's an intern? Hadn't Johnny said that when they were introduced? Maybe he hadn't. Whatever.
They look at each other for a moment before Jeff smiles again, and Adam's not worried anymore.
--
Adam gets home around ten, and he's a little tipsy, because maybe he let Jeff talk him into a drink or two. Yu-Na looks at them as they say goodnight, and Jeff reaches out to brush a curl away, but instead pulls it. Adam's face flushes again and Jeff bites his lip slightly.
Jeff really, really wants to kiss him. But as far as Adam knows, he's happily married and that's a little bit too much information on the first hanging out date or whatever this is. Adam waves to him as he walks down the hall to the elevator, shutting the door when he steps on.
"You look happy," Yu-Na says suspiciously. She's never seen him this way, ever. Not even when she got him drunk in Korea and he got hit on by three girls. Not even then.
Adam shrugs, smiling. "I guess I am."
He wakes up the next day with a terrible hangover.
--
Tessa and Scott hold a short meeting in the board room right before lunch one day, about a week after Jeffery and Adam have their lunch date, and Tessa clears her throat loudly. "Everyone--"
"Are you getting married this time?" Ben asks, and everyone knows it's just because he wants to throw a bachelor party.
"Shut up, Ben," Scott says, sighing. "Let her talk." Tessa smiles at him.
"Thanks, babe. Anyway, as you all should know, the Intra-Office Olympics are coming up!! The sign-up sheet for events and teams will be in the break room! And please, no fake names this time, you guys."
"She means you, Ben," Tanith says pointedly and Ben just shrugs.
"I thought Oben-Wan Kenobi was clever," he says and everyone groans.
Adam stands and walks over to Johnny, who smiles at him.
"What are the Intra-Office Olympics?" Adam asks, and Evan stares at him.
"They're only the best thing to happen all year," he says, not waiting for Johnny to start talking. The Olympics are kind of Evan's thing. His schtick. He loves them. Even trains for some of the events. Not that anyone besides Johnny knows that.
"What are they, though," Adam asks.
"Basically everyone from the office gets together," Evan explains to him, more animated than Adam's ever seen him be. "And we go to a park and it's kind of like a picnic, but we call it the Olympics because there are these events. Some of them change every year, like the cake-eating contest, but there are some that we always have, like sack races and--" Johnny stifles a giggle and Evan shoots him a glare.
"And there's a big water balloon fight at the end of everything. It's lots of fun and everyone comes. And even if you're not on a team, you can still come and have fun."
"Is it just people from Buttle?" Adam asks, eyebrows furrowing.
"No," Johnny answers him, this time. "It's the whole building. Like, this company has Jeff's name on it, but he owns the whole building, and each floor, except the third and first, house companies. The fourth floor is one that sells cleaning supplies," Johnny sighs dreamily. "They give us samples all the time. They're wonderful. And the second floor houses a fabric distribution company. They specialize in lace," he says with another grin, and Adam wonders what the inside of his house looks like.
"Oh. And third floor is tech support with Stephane and Plushenko, right?" Adam asks, and Johnny nods. "And the first is just what, supply closets?"
"Mainly," Evan answers him. "There are some copiers down there too that we use when ours breaks." Adam nods.
"It sounds fun," Adam says with a shrug. "Are you guys going to compete?"
"I won't, but Evan will. He does the same event every year," Johnny says, rolling his eyes. "The sack racing. He and Plushenko have this ridiculous rivalry. Plushenko won last year, but Evan swears he's going to beat him this time."
"I am!" Evan says petulantly, hands on his hips. "And stop talking about me!"
"Boys," Johnny mutters and Adam grins at him.
--
It starts when Drew shows up to take Jeremy to lunch.
Jeremy just stares at him, blinking for a moment as Johnny sits in front of Jeremy's desk, intensely examining every single word on the paper in front of him, but listening to everything that happens.
"What are you doing here?" Jeremy asks with a weak smile. He's trying to look like he's happy that Drew's here. It's not working. "I told you not to bother me-"
"BOTHER you?" Drew asks incredulously, and Jeremy wishes Johnny were gone and that his office door was closed, but no such luck. "I'm taking you to lunch! I'm trying to be nice!" Drew's whining, and Johnny knows it all too well. He's about to throw a fit.
"But if trying to be nice to my BOYFRIEND isn't good enough, then I guess I can just LEAVE, and NEVER COME BACK," he positively screeches, and Tanith stares in the door, her eyes wide. Jeremy notices and gives her an apologetic look.
"Seriously, Jer, am I bothering you? Do you not want me here?" Drew asks, his face falling. He seems not to notice that his ex-boyfriend is in the room.
Jeremy takes a deep breath and starts to answer, but Drew cuts him off.
"Fine. I'm gone." And Drew is gone, leaving the office in a huff, and Jeremy sits down in his chair, unable to speak.
Johnny bites his lip. "I'm sorry," he offers, and Jeremy just nods.
--
Adam does not like boys.
Well, that's not entirely true. He's always had friends, bros or whatever, but he has never, ever wanted to kiss a boy. Especially not one like Jeff, who's older and charming and his boss, but every time Jeff says something or laughs or smiles, Adam wants to kiss him.
It's disconcerting, to say the least.
It's also not that he's never thought about the notion of being gay. Because he has. There was a definite period in the beginning of high school when he didn't have a girlfriend and didn't want one and only hung out with guys and wore pants that were really tight and his mom definitely thought he was gay.
It turns out he was just a hipster, but that's a different story.
In any case, his mom totally thought he was gay and had all these really descriptive conversations about it with him and how to be safe and it kind of turned him off any sexual activity for awhile. But then he got a girlfriend and hadn't really thought about it since then.
He does like girls, too. He likes them a lot. They way they move and the way they giggle and how their hair shines nicely and swishes around their shoulders when they walk a certain way. He likes the line of their collarbones and their hips and he likes curves.
But he also really, really likes Jeff. And Jeff seems to like him too, with all the hand grazing and the gentle curl tugging and the way his fingertips will brush his cheek when he's blushing. Adam just really, really likes him.
He knows it's a bad thing, to like the owner of the company you work for, but Jeff keeps calling him on weekends to hang out, and Jeff's even told him that he doesn't love Michelle, just married her to make his father happy and she doesn't love him all that much either, and Adam just gets really, really nervous when Jeff talks about it because it's like Jeff is trying to tell him something and Adam just isn't getting it.
Adam thinks he does get it, though, more than Jeff thinks he does, and that might be what scares him the most. The fact that he can want something so much that he's never wanted before. It's terrifying.
He decides to talk to Johnny about it, because if anyone's going to know about wanting to make out with your male superior, it's Johnny.
Johnny, however, just blinks at him when he tells him.
"Honey, I don't think this is a good idea," he says softly, putting his phone down on Adam's coffee table.
"What's not a good idea? Me telling you or the whole thing?"
"The whole thing," Johnny clarifies. "And I know I am going to sound like such a hypocrite, but falling for the boss is a really bad idea. Especially since you're an intern and he- well, he basically owns you. It's a bad dynamic and I just-" Johnny sighs. "I don't want to have to kill Jeff for hurting you."
Adam just nods. He knows Johnny's right.
--
Meryl hates this stupid copier. It breaks down every single week, and she always has to go downstairs to use the ancient ones that take ten minutes for fifteen copies of something.
At least they never break down, she thinks as she walks back up the stairs, pile of papers in her arms. The elevator's iffy too today, and she doesn't want to risk it.
Apparently, Stephane doesn't either, because he runs right into her just as she reaches the bottom of a new flight, sending her carefully organized papers flying everywhere. She blinks, and nearly screams, but she realizes it's Stephane and he's apologizing in French and she can't stay mad at that. Damn it.
"It's fine, it's fine," she mumbles, scooping up her papers quickly, not caring about their organization at the moment. She can re-do it at her desk. It's fine.
Stephane hands her a stack and looks at her a moment. He slowly reaches up as Meryl freezes to the spot and brushes a stray hair out of her face. His hand doesn't leave her face, though, and she can feel her cheeks heating up.
"I meant to do this," Stephane whispers to her, "at the Christmas party." And then he leans forward and presses his lips to hers softly, and for a minute, Meryl can't move.
And then she drops the papers again and tears herself away. Stephane's brow furrows as he watches her bend down and scramble for the papers.
"I'm sorry," she says quickly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I have to go," and she runs up the stairs all the way to the fifth floor, chest heaving when she sits down at her desk. Charlie, who's been in a bad mood since he kissed Tanith and then puked his guts out and refuses to speak to her, pokes his head over the cubicle wall.
"You alright?" he asks, eyebrow quirking.
Meryl shakes her head. "Stephane kissed me."
Charlie just stares.
--
It's a big shock when, not even a week later, Meryl walks into the supply closet on the first floor for some disinfectant wipes and finds Stephane making out with Brian, the maintenance guy.
And 'making out' is a figurative term, because they are definitely rounding second base when she opens the door, and all she can do is stare. And clear her throat, loudly.
"Sorry," she mutters as she walks by them, grabbing the wipes and then quickly exiting the room. Her heart is beating really fast against her chest and she can feel her pulse throbbing by her jaw, and she has to hang on to the railing for the stairs so she doesn't fall over.
Stephane comes out the hallway, his shirt still a little rumpled to find Meryl sitting on the stairs, her head between her knees. She may or may not be crying.
She isn't, Stephane finds out, as she picks up her head to look at him. She looks pissed. And she doesn't even want to see Stephane right now, much less speak to him. She stands quickly, rushing up the stairs to the second floor to get the elevator there.
Stephane looks after her, almost sadly, because maybe he really did like her. He just likes Brian more. Why can't he ever have both?
--
Meryl invites Tanith over to her apartment, because she figures it's bad to be alone when you have more than one pint of Ben and Jerry's in your freezer, and Tanith likes ice cream. And Titanic. And sobbing into pints of ice cream while watching Titanic. Who doesn't love that?
Tanith looks at Meryl for a moment, spoon still in her mouth. "You know," she says, removing it and pointing it at the tv, paused on the image of Kate Winslet's asshole fiance. "Guys suck."
"They totally do," Meryl agrees. She knows she shouldn't be taking this so hard, but Stephane was so flirty and maybe it was because she hasn't had a boyfriend in awhile, but she thought that meant he liked her. Whatever.
"I mean, they're just so stupid. One minute they kiss you and then the next they're not speaking to you or making out with someone else," Tanith rants, hoping Charlie isn't making out with someone else, too. That would suck. "And it's just ...dumb. Boys are just dumb."
Meryl just sighs.
--
Jeremy can't eat. He can't sleep. He can't do anything because all of a sudden he's single, and he doesn't even know why. Well, he knows why, and it's because he was an asshole to Drew and he totally deserved to be broken up with, but it's still a shock. He's still shaken, and he spends the rest of the day staring at his wall, with Johnny coming in to check on him every now and then.
The ache in his chest lessens a little as the week passes, but then he'll go home and find one of Drew's stupid shirts and it comes back full force and he can't do anything except sit in his bathtub and sob without tears.
He's still pretty depressed when the Office Olympics come around, and he really doesn't even want to go, but he thinks Evan and Johnny might kill him if he doesn't.
So, he packs up a bang of stuff, mainly sunscreen and an umbrella and various other things, grabs the cake he's made and goes to the park where they're all supposed to meet.
Of course, when he gets there, he's trying to maneuver with all of his stuff and his umbrella falls out of his bag and he trips over it and the cake goes flying and so does Jeremy, straight into the dirt. He sits up, sighing, and suddenly there's a tan hand in front of his face. He follows the arm up to a face, a smiling, handsome face, and he squints like the sun is in his eyes, but it isn't.
"Need help?" the man asks him, and Jeremy grins for the first time in weeks.
"More than you know," he replies, taking his hand and getting up.
--
The events start before anyone gets a chance to eat, because once about five years ago, there had been a disaster after the three-legged race when someone decided to stuff their face with hot dogs right before it.
They don't speak of this catastrophe.
The first event is a ring toss, that Meryl wins, surprisingly. Sasha Cohen, from the cleaning supplies company gives her a death glare for it, but Meryl doesn't notice. She gets a little medal bought at a toy store and a fake rose, and she waves to all her fans. She gives the rose to Charlie, afterward, muttering, "Give it to Tanith," because she's a good person, okay?
There are egg races that Daisuke from the lace company wins, a javelin sort of event that Oda wins by a surprising amount, beating even last year's winner, Joannie Rochette and Patrick (who is scarily good at throwing sharp objects), and before the sack races, there's a three legged race.
Jeff approaches Adam with two ties, smiling mischievously.
"No," Adam says, shaking his head, already holding back laughs.
"Come on!" Jeff nearly whines, shaking the ties at him. "Michelle won't do it with me and Johnny and Evan are teaming up and come onnn." Jeff pouts, and Adam sighs at him.
He stands, though, and Jeff claps his hands happily.
"Okay, now come here, stand next to me," he says, pulling Adam over, and Adam can feel goosebumps and this is bad. It's too late, though, because Jeff has tied their legs together and Adam can't escape. Jeff grins brightly at him, an arm going around his shoulders.
"Okay," he says, holding tightly to Adam, probably a little tighter than he needs to. Adam doesn't mind. "Tied leg first. Andddd one, two," Jeff laughs as they walk successfully to the starting line where Mirai and Yu-Na are, along with Johnny and Evan. There's a team from the lace company, some oldish guy named Brian and a slightly younger one named Tim. There's a team from the cleaning supplies company, too, but they already look unsteady, so no one pays attention to them.
Adam sighs nervously, and puts his arm tentatively around Jeff's waist, looking up at him.
Their eyes meet, and Jeff's smile turns confused before,
"Okay, READY?" Stephane yells, and they both snap to attention, nodding.
"READY," he yells again, green flag in hand. "SET, GO!!" He jumps up and down like a lunatic as they take off, waving the flag.
Johnny and Evan are down before the halfway mark, Johnny half on top of Evan and they're laughing and Johnny's trying to untie their legs so he can reach Evan's mouth for a kiss. It's not working well, though, and he gives up.
Jeffrey and Adam are close behind Yu-Na and Mirai, the other teams somewhere behind them. Adam doesn't know which one of them does it, but a leg gets twisted wrong and the tie comes undone and they're tripping over each other suddenly and the next thing he knows, Adam is horizontal.
And on top of Jeff. Oh God, oh God. His hands are on Jeff's chest and their faces are really close and Adam can almost taste him. They're staring at each other, and no one's laughing, no one really seems to notice them, they're too busy congratulating the girls.
Adam leans in a little as Jeff leans up, and Adam swears he feels his lips brush Jeff's before he's pulled up roughly by the back of his shirt by Johnny, who has obviously managed to get himself untied.
"Okay, Adam!" Johnny says a little too loudly, his cheeks pink like he knew what was about to happen. "We're going to go eat now, okay? I think Jeremy made cake!" And Johnny pulls him away with an iron clad grip on his wrist. Adam's too dazed to protest.
Michelle walks up to Jeff, offering a hand up. He takes it, staring after Johnny and Adam. Michelle pats his shoulder, shrugging a little and Jeff knows that means 'tough luck, kid'
But Jeffrey Buttle does not give up without a fight.
--
This is it. This is the big race. This is what Evan has been training for in his apartment, using a pillowcase instead of a potato sack. He doesn't even care that Johnny laughs at him for hours because he's going to beat Plushenko. He is.
They take their starting positions, and it's just Evan and Plushenko. Everyone else knows it's useless to intervene. Also they don't want to get smashed by the huge egos colliding. Evan sizes Plushenko up, just because he can. He's got about three inches on the Russian, but that doesn't actually mean anything in this game. It actually makes it harder, because it's more difficult to hop when your center of gravity is far from the earth.
But it's okay, because Evan knows he's totally going to win.
Stephane yells "GO," and waves his stupid green flag, and Evan and Plushenko take off, hopping furiously in their sacks towards the little red ribbon someone's strung between two trees.
It's neck and neck for about a yard, and then Plushenko trips on something and falls and Evan knows he's got it.
He breaks the ribbon and fist pumps triumphantly, people swarming around him to congratulate him. Evan thinks he might actually cry as he gets his medal and his rose. He says he's going to frame them, and Johnny knows he's not kidding.
--
Jeremy manages to fall down another five times in the course of the day, and each time the handsome man, Massimo he's introduced himself as, has been there to help him up, dusting off his knees. Jeremy thinks he's adorable, and blushes like an idiot every time he smiles.
The last fall causes Jeremy to scrape his palm on the asphalt, and Massimo is in the disgusting public bathroom with him, cleaning out the wound with Jeremy's first aid kit.
He hisses as Massimo puts the alcohol pad on the scrapes, getting the little rocks out and cleaning it. He covers it in a big band-aid and, without breaking eye contact with Jeremy, brings the injured palm up to his lips to kiss it.
The pressure on the scrape hurts, but Jeremy can't even care.
--
Michelle Kwan has just been hit in the face with a water balloon. This is not okay for several reasons.
Not only is there a rigid 'no face shots' rule, Sasha freaking Cohen just threw that water balloon and hit her in the face and if Michelle's make up is ruined, someone is going to be severely hurt. She picks up a balloon and launches it at Sasha, it bursts on her head, soaking her.
Michelle laughs, and Sasha runs at her.
This, of course, causes a chase while the fight is going on, and everyone's not only trying to dodge balloons, but two crazy women trying to tear each other's eyes out.
Jeff catches Michelle before she can do any real harm, clicking his tongue at her. "Stop that, darling," he says, smoothing her hair back.
Even if she doesn't love him, Jeff can still calm her down like no one else. She sighs, relaxing a little. Jeff smiles at her and then lets her go, grabbing a balloon and launching it at Johnny as payback for earlier.
Johnny glares daggers at him, and picks up a water gun. Jeff's smile disappears very quickly.
Soon, all the balloons are gone and the water's out of all the guns and everyone's tired and wet and very, very happy.
--
Charlie approaches Tanith's desk the next Monday, the rose in his hand and rigid determination flowing through his body. He stops right in front of her, thrusting the rose out.
"We should go to dinner," he says, and Tanith raises her eyebrow. This isn't romantic at all, she thinks, but she reaches out and takes the rose anyway.
"Okay," she says, because she doesn't want romance. She wants Charlie. He smiles, obviously relieved, and she smiles back.
They go to dinner that night at Armand's. Tanith gets a chicken salad, and Charlie gets some sort of pasta that smells delicious and Tanith wishes she weren't on a diet.
"That smells really good," she tells him.
"You want a taste?" Charlie asks, twirling some on the fork and offering it to her. She shakes her head.
"No, no. That's okay. If I eat that it'll ruin my whole nutrition plan." Charlie nods, seeming to understand. Meryl went through something like that a few years ago before giving up on it and eating what she wanted in smaller portions.
Wait, why is he thinking about Meryl? Focus, Charlie. Cute girl in front of you.
They eat in silence for awhile before Charlie brings up some movie and they talk about it, laughing weakly. Charlie really likes her, but he can't help thinking that maybe they're just better off as friends.
He drops her off at her apartment, thanking her for a lovely evening.
"That kind of sucked, didn't it?" Tanith says, and Charlie nods in agreement.
"I guess we just missed our moment," she shrugs. "But thanks for dinner!" She goes in her door and closes it. They both wonder what Meryl's doing right now.
--
Charlie's at Meryl's door twenty minutes later. She opens it, wearing pajama pants and an old sweatshirt, hair in a messy bun.
"I think I might love you," Charlie tells her, and she shuts the door on him. He stares at it for a moment and then she opens it again.
"What?" she says, confused.
"I think I might love you. On my date with Tanith, you were all I could think about. What you would have said about the terrible band or the food or what jokes we could have made and I think I love you."
"Okay," Meryl replies, stepping back into her apartment. "Fair enough," he hears her mutter and then the door clicks shut behind her.
Charlie doesn't know what he's doing anymore.
--
It's three days after the Office Olympics, a Tuesday, and for some reason, Jeff is at work.
Not that he never comes in, it's just usually Michelle instead or a Monday, Wednesday, or Friday. Never a Tuesday. Never.
Adam spots him while he's on his lunch break, and Jeff gives him a smile, maybe biting the corner of his lips a little. He walks over, and Adam looks around nervously. If they talk here, where everyone can see, they'll know something weird is going on.
Nothing weird is actually going on, Adam remembers, thinking about it for a moment, but maybe he'd like something to be happening, but he also doesn't want his job in jeopardy or for people to think he's getting any special favors. And he wouldn't want to keep it a secret. Truthfully, he probably couldn't keep it a secret.
But most of all, Adam doesn't want to get hurt.
All in all, he's just really, really confused. And Jeff definitely isn't helping matters by coming in on Tuesday at a time where Adam can't avoid him or something.
But, Jeff is already beside him, asking him some question and sitting across from him at the table. Adam blinks.
"What? I'm sorry, I zoned out."
"Is your sandwich good?" Jeff repeats, tilting his head a little and smiling. He knows, after what happened-- or what almost happened-- at the Olympics that Adam likes him. You don't just nearly kiss someone you don't like. Hopefully.
"Yeah, it's alright," Adam replies, raising an eyebrow. Jeff slaps his hand down on the table and stands.
"Well, I should be going. I have to meet with Evan about something. See you later, Adam." And Jeff's out the door, walking to Evan's office. It's not until he's cleaning up his lunch that Adam notices the piece of paper on Jeff's side of the table.
meet me in 107. 3:45. we need to talk.
Adam stares at it for awhile and then pockets it. They do, indeed, need to talk.
--
Johnny corners Jeff in his office at 3:40, closing the door securely.
"You can't do this," Johnny says, blocking Jeff's way. Jeff just raises an eyebrow.
"I'm a grown man, Johnny. You're not my father, get out of my way." It's the first time Johnny's ever heard Jeff's voice be anything but sunshine and rainbows. It's a little frightening, but Johnny can't just let Jeff do this.
"You're going to hurt him, Jeff," he says, and Jeff looks offended.
"No, I'm not! Why would I hurt him? He's wonderful and cute and-"
"And twenty-one, Jeff." Johnny looks at him pleadingly. "He's so young, and you might have experience and whatever, but he doesn't, and trust me, he's never done anything with a boy before, and I don't think he's even been in love with a girl."
"What's your point, Johnny?" Jeff asks, crossing his arms.
"You know what my point is," he replies, hands on his hips, and the more Jeff thinks about it, the more he really does know.
--
Adam feels like an idiot. He's been standing in the supply closet next to all the ink and the paper, waiting for Jeff to show up and he hasn't yet. He feels stupid, like someone's playing a trick on him, and he's a little hurt. Why would Jeff do this? He's about to reach out for the door handle to leave before it opens and Jeff walks in, but he doesn't look happy.
This can't be good.
He looks at Adam for a moment, just looking, like he's thinking something over in his head and Adam shrinks a little under the gaze. Jeff's eyes soften, though, and he moves forward, reaching out to cup Adam's cheek.
"I'm going to kiss you now, okay?" And he does.
When their lips touch, Adam is shocked for a minute, just standing there dumbly as Jeff kisses him and his hand moves to cradle the back of his head, fingers tangling in the curls. Jeff pulls away, but his hand is still there and they're still really close and Adam isn't here to do this. He's here to tell Jeff that they can't do whatever it is they're doing anymore. It's too risky, too stupid. Too good.
"Fuck," Adam breathes, and his hands go to Jeff's jacket, tugging him close so they can kiss again and Adam can stop thinking about why he's actually here.
Jeff's other hand goes to Adam's waist, running up and down his side, and Adam shivers a little, pressing closer to him in the small space. Jeff moves them back so the metal shelves are digging into Adam's shoulders and lower back, but he doesn't care. He can't.
Jeff kisses him hard, aggressive, and Adam makes a sound in the back of his throat, completely intoxicated.
--
Johnny frowns when Adam comes back, fiddling with the collar of his shirt and running a hand through his curls.
I guess you're going to need that make-up I got you after all, Johnny types in a text, referencing the secret Santa present he'd picked out as a joke for Adam. come to my office.
Adam arrives at the door a few minutes later, his face more flushed than before. He's blushing this time, though, because of the text and how did Johnny know.
"I'll tell you what I told Jeff," Johnny says frankly, and Adam hates how perceptive he is. "You can't do this."
"I can do-"
"Yes, yes I know. You can do what you want, you're a big boy, but Adam he is your boss. And you're twenty-one! You haven't even really experienced anything yet and Jeff has and you just- I just don't want you to get hurt." Johnny sighs.
"Evan's your boss," Adam argues weakly. He knows Johnny's right.
"Yeah, but Evan isn't married to a woman. Evan isn't eight years older than me or eight years younger. Evan and I don't have to be a secret, and I know, at the end of the day, Evan isn't just going to leave me because he has to go back to his wife and his house and his homophobic, dying father."
Adam just bites his lip, looking at the floor. He can feel his throat tightening like he's going to cry, but he can't. He won't let himself.
"Kitten," Johnny says gently, stepping forward, hand outstretched. "I know you don't know what you want right now, and that's perfectly fine. That's normal, and you should explore. You should fall in love a few times, with boys or girls or whoever you want." His hand connects with Adam's cheek, and Adam sniffles a little.
"And I know you want Jeff," Johnny continues, "and ultimately, it's your choice, but this could ruin you in more ways than one."
--
Adam meets Jeff for lunch the next day, but he doesn't even sit down at the table Jeff has picked out. Jeff's smiling and happy and Adam knows they could be happy together, but he knows Johnny's right too.
"We can't do this," Adam says miserably, looking down at Jeff. His smile fades and his brow furrows and he looks down at the table for a minute.
"You're right," he says to the tabletop, and Adam squeezes his eyes shut and turns to leave. Jeff catches his wrist and his hand slides down to lace their fingers together. "I'm sorry," is all he says, and Adam takes his hand out of Jeff's and walks out of the restaurant.
--
Yu-Na knows something's wrong. All Adam ever does is sit in his room and read weird, depressing books that are as big as her head. He never smiles anymore, or laughs, and he hasn't seen Jeff for three weeks and Yu-Na thinks maybe this has something to do with it.
"Adam," she says quietly. "Are you okay?" Her English has improved exponentially in the last few months, and Adam just looks up, smiling gently.
"Yeah, Yu-Na, I'm fine." She nods and leaves him there, because if she doesn't know what's wrong, she can't fix it.
--
Meryl feels strange around Tanith.
Which, really, is strange in itself, because it's not like Tanith came to her apartment in the middle of the night and confessed her potential love to Meryl like Charlie did. Meryl just feels like Tanith thinks that she stole Charlie or something, which she really didn't. She isn't even sure how she feels about Charlie.
Except she's pretty sure she does know how she feels about Charlie. It's in the way she loves to hear him laugh and see him smile. And how he would never do anything to hurt her and how he glares at Stephane when he comes to fix anyone's computer.
Yeah. She's pretty sure she might be in love with him too.
--
At work, Adam's quiet. Not that he was loud, like Florent is-- and now Oda, thanks to Mirai-- but he would at least be friendly with people. Now he just keeps his head down and does his work and rarely ever has lunch with Johnny anymore. Jeff hasn't been into work in the past three weeks, and when Evan asks Michelle about it, she just shrugs and says, "He's just been really down lately. His dad isn't doing so well."
He's decided to come in today, though, and he walks in the break room where Adam's sitting, shredding a napkin, not eating his sandwich. Jeff feels a little pang in his chest, and decides to smother it with a Snickers bar. And, just to be a masochist, he sits across from Adam at the table. The boy doesn't even look up, he just keeps shredding the napkin.
"Bad sandwich today?" Jeff jokes weakly, and Adam's gaze flicks to him. It hurts too much to be around him, to think about what he could have had if he hadn't been so scared and Johnny hadn't been so logical.
Adam gets up without replying, picking up the pieces of napkin and throwing them in the trash along with the sandwich. Jeff sighs when he's all alone in the break room, and he wants to cry a little bit.
--
Johnny stares at Evan.
This is the third time this week that Johnny's forgot clothes, but thankfully it's Saturday so he can just wear Evan's sweatpants and t-shirts and it doesn't matter because no one except Evan will see him. Evan's decided he likes this, the familiarity they have and how Johnny is okay with wearing his clothes even though they're a little too big for him. But he loves it, and he loves Johnny, and they've been doing this for almost a year now and Evan doesn't want it to end. At least, not anytime soon.
"Johnny?" he asks, holding out the key to his apartment, still. His brow furrows, because he doesn't know why Johnny's reacting this way.
"Will you move in with me?" Johnny lets out a breath when Evan asks again, and stares at the key. It's one of those ones that has an image on it, and this one is Disney Princess themed. Johnny loves it. Johnny loves him.
"Yes," he answers suddenly, definitively, looking directly at Evan. Evan grins widely, sliding the key over to him.
"You picked this key so I couldn't say no, didn't you?" Johnny teases happily, examining it.
"Maybe," Evan answers nonchalantly with a little shrug. "You'll never know." He grins again at his newspaper.
--
Jeff's father dies.
His father dies at the end of April, and Jeff feels relieved. (He's also incredibly sad, because as homophobic as his father was, he still loved him and they had a good relationship. For the most part.) He waits another month, and then gives Michelle divorce papers, but it's not like she didn't see this coming. She's sad too, though. You don't live with someone for five years and not feel some sort of affection for them.
But she keeps her job, which is what she really loves, and Jeff moves into his father's house, leaving her with theirs. "It's the least I can do," he says, dropping his keys in her hand. "Really. You've done so much for me, Michelle, more than you'll ever know. I hope you find true happiness."
He smiles and Michelle smiles back, because it's contagious. It always has been and it always will be.
--
Jeff still has his job too, obviously, and his office on the fifth floor and Adam's internship is ending soon and Jeremy and Evan really want to hire him and make him part of the team. Jeff says they can't afford to without firing someone else, but really, he just wants some peace.
In June all the interns leave and new ones replace them, boring ones that speak English perfectly and don't sing loudly to piss off Patrick and they especially don't make out with the owner of the company in a supply closet.
Adam gets a job at another company, an advertising agency, and they all fall in love with him. He gets himself a cute girlfriend and a nice apartment without Yu-Na. He loves Yu-Na, but he can't be in that place anymore. He needed change, and she understood that, and asked Mirai to move in with her.
He goes to work every day and comes home and watches some tv. Sometimes he'll write for hours, ideas and ideas pouring out of his head, and sometimes he thinks, I wonder if Johnny would like this ad campaign.
--
Jeremy watches Massimo as he bends over the stove, putting so much grace and care into the food he's making. He sprinkles some garlic into the sauce, some rosemary, and Jeremy sighs happily into his wine glass.
The sigh catches Massimo's attention, and he looks around, smiling at the other man.
"Happy?" he asks, his accent sending a thrill through Jeremy. How did he get so lucky? He stands, walking over to him to wrap his arms around his shoulders, leaning in for a kiss.
"Very," he says, smiling widely.
--
Michelle hates the lace company. It's crowded on the second floor because they have eighty billion people working for them when really they just need five. Maybe ten. And okay, they don't literally have eighty people, but there's quite a few more, and Michelle just doesn't like it.
What she does like, however, is the view she's getting of this delivery boy's ass. He's a bike messenger, it seems, and she can tell from his glutes. He comes here a lot, bringing messages to Massimo and Joannie, and sometimes to Michelle.
"Thank you, Matthew," she says, taking the large envelope from him.
"Do you want to get dinner sometime?" he asks as she's signing for her package. Michelle peers up at him, an eyebrow raising. She did always admire bravery.
"Sure," she answers, giving him her card. "Just tell me when and where." He grins at her, and she knows she's made a good decision.
--
It's another three years before Adam even sees any of them again, and it's a complete accident he does. He decides to go for a run in the park on Office Olympics day, and there's Evan and Plushenko, still racing that old race. His heart stops for a moment, because he can see Jeff sitting at a table alone and Michelle and Ben are looking very cozy over by a tree. At least, he thinks that's Ben. It might be that guy Matthew who would always deliver things. It's probably Matthew.
In any case, Adam can see all of them and his heart aches as Evan and Plushenko tie the race and no one's really sure how to award them. They settle on hugging each other like old friends, and Adam decides to interrupt their party.
Well, kind of.
"Bad sandwich?" Adam asks Jeff as he sits down at the picnic table across from him. He beams when Jeff looks up, utterly confused.
"Why are you here?" Jeff asks, and Adam shrugs.
"It's a public park," he replies, his smile fading. He's about to say something else, but instead, Johnny shrieks.
"ADAM RIPPON," he yells, running over to him and nearly knocking him over with the force of his hug. "Where have you been? You think it's okay to leave us and get a fabulous new life and then not even call and talk about it? I am insulted!" Johnny's smiling like a maniac, though, and Adam grins again.
"It's good to see you," he says, and then looks around to Jeff. "All of you." Jeff smiles hopefully for a minute before Johnny cuts in.
"I heard you got a girlfriend," he says, sitting down next to him and crossing his legs. "Tell me about her."
"We broke up, actually," Adam replies. "We uh, wanted different things." Johnny nods, seeming to understand. Evan comes over then and pulls him away, muttering something about a cake and a contest and Jeremy and Massimo and Johnny groans.
"Not again," he says exasperatedly, leaving Jeff and Adam again.
Jeff opens his mouth to speak, but Adam beats him.
"I missed you."
Jeff stares for a moment. "You don't anymore?" He looks hurt.
"Well," Adam replies, shrugging. "We're not apart anymore, are we?" Jeff looks confused for a minute and then he smiles widely and thinks it's the first time he's done that in years. He leans forward, over the table, and kisses Adam softly on the lips.
Adam melts a little.
--
FIN.
total word count: 18987
note: this fan fic was written in conjunction with sixthsky and based on a prompt in skatingkink