Fic: Perspective
Title: Perspective
Author: Mary (stillxmyxheart)
Beta: Lindsay (rowofstars)
Rating: G
Genre: Fluff, wee tiny bit of Angst
Word Count: 1,506
Characters/Pairings: April, Sam, Nathan
Summary: April's having a bad day.
A/N: So I know it's been ages since we've posted proper fic, and I got the urge for some daddy!Gates/April the other day. As I've mentioned before, their relationship is pretty much my favorite out of them all, and I really wanted to revisit them. This is set not long after April starts working at the White House, so her and Nathan's relationship is still pretty new, and Sam is *gasp* not her biggest fan. Shocking, I know XD Enjoy, bbs!
April stares at the lock of hair hanging over one eye and blows a puff of air through her lips, watching it flutter momentarily away before flopping back into place.
Annoyed, she shifts the files in her arms to raise her hand to the offending section of hair and shoves it determinedly behind her ear, willing it to stay in place until she leaves for the day.
Sam is walking beside her and April is only half-listening as he talks, enough to know that he's still going on about what he was going on about ten minutes ago, just using different words to make the same point.
The persistent section of hair springs from behind her ear and she bites back an impatient sigh, raising her hand to it once more and wondering how it'd look if she cut it off when she got back to her office.
She realizes after a moment that Sam's stopped talking and is no longer walking beside her, and she stops, tucking her hair behind her ear as she turns to face him.
"Are you even listening to a word I'm saying?" he asks.
A tight feeling seizes her chest, because she very much wasn't, but she nods, a quick jerk of her head that sends her hair flying from behind her ear yet again.
"Of course -" she begins, resisting the urge to raise her hand.
"Then what did I just say?"
She stares at him, heart hammering in her chest as she tries to dredge up some kind of recollection of the very last thing he said. His face is stern as he looks at her and she feels like she's growing smaller before him.
"I'm sorry, sir," she says finally, shaking her head. "I get it, I do, but -"
"Oh, I very much doubt that," he says, giving her a dark look as he sweeps past her.
She stands still a moment and then turns to hurry after him.
"I'm sorry, sir," she says again, "you were talking about the healthcare bill -"
He rounds on her and she shrinks back under his intense gaze.
"Why don't you come by my office later, when you're ready to care more about issues plaguing humanity and less about your hair," he says in a low voice, his eyes flicking to the offending blonde strands that she's now resolutely trying to ignore.
She opens her mouth to speak but can think of nothing to say and he turns away from her with a minute shake of his head, striding quickly down the hall.
April stares after him, blinking away the burning sensation in her eyes as she lowers her gaze to the files in her arms, remembering where she was supposed to be taking them.
A few minutes later she steps into Nathan's office, walking quickly to his desk and setting the files down on the surface.
"Thanks," he murmurs, glancing up at her and then taking another, longer look just before she turns away.
"Hey, April, wait," he says, pushing out of his chair and hurrying to catch her before she leaves.
He lightly grips her arm, stopping her as he moves to stand in front of her.
"What's wrong?" he asks, staring closely at her face.
"It's nothing," she murmurs, shaking her head, even though he can see that her eyes are a little brighter than normal.
"You look like your cat just died," he says, raising an eyebrow at her.
"I don't have a cat," she mutters stubbornly and he sighs, giving her a look.
"April," he says, hands on her arms as he looks at her.
She sighs and turns away, and then flops down on his couch a moment later.
"It's just this stupid day," she says, throwing her hands in the air.
The corner of Nathan's mouth lifts slightly and he carefully closes his office door as April begins to speak.
"First my alarm didn't go off this morning, so I was late, and then not ten minutes after I got here I spilled coffee on my shirt," she says, looking forlornly down at her blouse as Nathan sits beside her on the couch. "Then my pen exploded all over my briefing notes," she continues, holding up her hands and showing him the ink stains that still linger on her fingers, "and I misplaced the report for the meeting with the Secretary of Agriculture, and it took Grace and me almost an hour to find it. I somehow misplaced my wallet - it's not in my purse or in my car, so I'm really hoping it's at home somewhere, otherwise I'm screwed - so I haven't had lunch today, not that I've really had time to eat today because I've had back-to-back meetings all afternoon, and I was talking to the Vice President just now and he got all mad at me and stormed off, and I just -" She stops and leans forward, pressing her palms to her forehead, and Nathan smiles.
When she sits up a moment later, he slips his arm around her shoulders without thinking, and she tenses.
The moment freezes and Nathan wonders if he's crossed a line. He's only known her a few months but there's a kind of innate instinct he has to want to protect and comfort her; putting his arm around her felt natural, but maybe it's going too far. He's a father with a son just a couple years older than she is, and he feels like that's what he wants to be for her too, but he's also her boss and he probably shouldn't be this close to her, or even want to be this close to her.
He's almost to the point of removing his arm when she suddenly relaxes and sags against his side, her head dropping onto his shoulder as she groans quietly.
"Today just sucks," she mutters, and he laughs softly, absently running his hand up and down her arm.
"You do realize the world basically ended some forty years ago and we're pretty much living in a post-apocalyptic society," he murmurs.
April shifts against him and he glances down to see her staring reproachfully up at him.
"Just putting things in perspective," he says defensively and she smirks.
"Yeah, I'll remember that next time you come whining to me with a list of grievances."
"I do not whine," he says, sounding offended.
"What was it the other day, you got mustard on your tie?" she asks thoughtfully.
"Shut up," he replies, reaching with his other hand to poke her in the side and grinning when she squeals and then giggles, shifting away from him.
She sits up and his arm slips from her shoulders as he looks over at her, noticing a section of hair hanging over one eye.
"And my hair is being a bitch today," she says, sighing irritably as she raises her hand to push it out of the way. "I'm so close to just cutting it off."
"Don't cut your hair," Nathan says, shaking his head. "Though it could maybe use a trim," he adds, eyeing the ends and laughing when she smacks his arm.
He looks at her a moment and then a slow smile crosses his face. He reaches forward, taking the unruly lock of hair between his fingers, and twists it once, holding it against the side of her head with one hand as he rummages in his pocket with the other.
A second later he produces a large paperclip and slides it into her hair, effectively clipping the twisted section in place.
He grins at her, rather pleased with himself, and she stares back at him, her lips twitching in what seems like an attempt to keep from laughing.
"How does it look?" she asks, the corner of her mouth rising.
"Quite good, actually," he replies, tilting his head to the side as he contemplates her.
"You are certainly the last person I would think to come to when I'm having a hair crisis," she says, her grin widening.
"Hey, I was married once," he says, raising his eyebrows slightly, and her eyes flick to the wedding ring on his left hand, her mind drifting to the question she hasn't yet had the courage to ask. "I'm not completely clueless."
She laughs and he smiles, pleased to see that her mood has improved.
"I should get back to work," she says, and he nods as he stands with her.
She hesitates in front of the mirror beside the door and grins as she turns her head slightly to the side.
"Could be worse," she says cheekily and Nathan rolls his eyes as he smirks.
She stares at him a moment, seeming to be debating something inside her head, and then she steps forward, slipping her arms around his middle.
"Thanks, Nathan," she murmurs against his chest.
He's momentarily surprised but soon overcomes it, hugging her back and resting his chin lightly on top of her head.
"Any time," he replies softly.
Author: Mary (stillxmyxheart)
Beta: Lindsay (rowofstars)
Rating: G
Genre: Fluff, wee tiny bit of Angst
Word Count: 1,506
Characters/Pairings: April, Sam, Nathan
Summary: April's having a bad day.
A/N: So I know it's been ages since we've posted proper fic, and I got the urge for some daddy!Gates/April the other day. As I've mentioned before, their relationship is pretty much my favorite out of them all, and I really wanted to revisit them. This is set not long after April starts working at the White House, so her and Nathan's relationship is still pretty new, and Sam is *gasp* not her biggest fan. Shocking, I know XD Enjoy, bbs!
April stares at the lock of hair hanging over one eye and blows a puff of air through her lips, watching it flutter momentarily away before flopping back into place.
Annoyed, she shifts the files in her arms to raise her hand to the offending section of hair and shoves it determinedly behind her ear, willing it to stay in place until she leaves for the day.
Sam is walking beside her and April is only half-listening as he talks, enough to know that he's still going on about what he was going on about ten minutes ago, just using different words to make the same point.
The persistent section of hair springs from behind her ear and she bites back an impatient sigh, raising her hand to it once more and wondering how it'd look if she cut it off when she got back to her office.
She realizes after a moment that Sam's stopped talking and is no longer walking beside her, and she stops, tucking her hair behind her ear as she turns to face him.
"Are you even listening to a word I'm saying?" he asks.
A tight feeling seizes her chest, because she very much wasn't, but she nods, a quick jerk of her head that sends her hair flying from behind her ear yet again.
"Of course -" she begins, resisting the urge to raise her hand.
"Then what did I just say?"
She stares at him, heart hammering in her chest as she tries to dredge up some kind of recollection of the very last thing he said. His face is stern as he looks at her and she feels like she's growing smaller before him.
"I'm sorry, sir," she says finally, shaking her head. "I get it, I do, but -"
"Oh, I very much doubt that," he says, giving her a dark look as he sweeps past her.
She stands still a moment and then turns to hurry after him.
"I'm sorry, sir," she says again, "you were talking about the healthcare bill -"
He rounds on her and she shrinks back under his intense gaze.
"Why don't you come by my office later, when you're ready to care more about issues plaguing humanity and less about your hair," he says in a low voice, his eyes flicking to the offending blonde strands that she's now resolutely trying to ignore.
She opens her mouth to speak but can think of nothing to say and he turns away from her with a minute shake of his head, striding quickly down the hall.
April stares after him, blinking away the burning sensation in her eyes as she lowers her gaze to the files in her arms, remembering where she was supposed to be taking them.
A few minutes later she steps into Nathan's office, walking quickly to his desk and setting the files down on the surface.
"Thanks," he murmurs, glancing up at her and then taking another, longer look just before she turns away.
"Hey, April, wait," he says, pushing out of his chair and hurrying to catch her before she leaves.
He lightly grips her arm, stopping her as he moves to stand in front of her.
"What's wrong?" he asks, staring closely at her face.
"It's nothing," she murmurs, shaking her head, even though he can see that her eyes are a little brighter than normal.
"You look like your cat just died," he says, raising an eyebrow at her.
"I don't have a cat," she mutters stubbornly and he sighs, giving her a look.
"April," he says, hands on her arms as he looks at her.
She sighs and turns away, and then flops down on his couch a moment later.
"It's just this stupid day," she says, throwing her hands in the air.
The corner of Nathan's mouth lifts slightly and he carefully closes his office door as April begins to speak.
"First my alarm didn't go off this morning, so I was late, and then not ten minutes after I got here I spilled coffee on my shirt," she says, looking forlornly down at her blouse as Nathan sits beside her on the couch. "Then my pen exploded all over my briefing notes," she continues, holding up her hands and showing him the ink stains that still linger on her fingers, "and I misplaced the report for the meeting with the Secretary of Agriculture, and it took Grace and me almost an hour to find it. I somehow misplaced my wallet - it's not in my purse or in my car, so I'm really hoping it's at home somewhere, otherwise I'm screwed - so I haven't had lunch today, not that I've really had time to eat today because I've had back-to-back meetings all afternoon, and I was talking to the Vice President just now and he got all mad at me and stormed off, and I just -" She stops and leans forward, pressing her palms to her forehead, and Nathan smiles.
When she sits up a moment later, he slips his arm around her shoulders without thinking, and she tenses.
The moment freezes and Nathan wonders if he's crossed a line. He's only known her a few months but there's a kind of innate instinct he has to want to protect and comfort her; putting his arm around her felt natural, but maybe it's going too far. He's a father with a son just a couple years older than she is, and he feels like that's what he wants to be for her too, but he's also her boss and he probably shouldn't be this close to her, or even want to be this close to her.
He's almost to the point of removing his arm when she suddenly relaxes and sags against his side, her head dropping onto his shoulder as she groans quietly.
"Today just sucks," she mutters, and he laughs softly, absently running his hand up and down her arm.
"You do realize the world basically ended some forty years ago and we're pretty much living in a post-apocalyptic society," he murmurs.
April shifts against him and he glances down to see her staring reproachfully up at him.
"Just putting things in perspective," he says defensively and she smirks.
"Yeah, I'll remember that next time you come whining to me with a list of grievances."
"I do not whine," he says, sounding offended.
"What was it the other day, you got mustard on your tie?" she asks thoughtfully.
"Shut up," he replies, reaching with his other hand to poke her in the side and grinning when she squeals and then giggles, shifting away from him.
She sits up and his arm slips from her shoulders as he looks over at her, noticing a section of hair hanging over one eye.
"And my hair is being a bitch today," she says, sighing irritably as she raises her hand to push it out of the way. "I'm so close to just cutting it off."
"Don't cut your hair," Nathan says, shaking his head. "Though it could maybe use a trim," he adds, eyeing the ends and laughing when she smacks his arm.
He looks at her a moment and then a slow smile crosses his face. He reaches forward, taking the unruly lock of hair between his fingers, and twists it once, holding it against the side of her head with one hand as he rummages in his pocket with the other.
A second later he produces a large paperclip and slides it into her hair, effectively clipping the twisted section in place.
He grins at her, rather pleased with himself, and she stares back at him, her lips twitching in what seems like an attempt to keep from laughing.
"How does it look?" she asks, the corner of her mouth rising.
"Quite good, actually," he replies, tilting his head to the side as he contemplates her.
"You are certainly the last person I would think to come to when I'm having a hair crisis," she says, her grin widening.
"Hey, I was married once," he says, raising his eyebrows slightly, and her eyes flick to the wedding ring on his left hand, her mind drifting to the question she hasn't yet had the courage to ask. "I'm not completely clueless."
She laughs and he smiles, pleased to see that her mood has improved.
"I should get back to work," she says, and he nods as he stands with her.
She hesitates in front of the mirror beside the door and grins as she turns her head slightly to the side.
"Could be worse," she says cheekily and Nathan rolls his eyes as he smirks.
She stares at him a moment, seeming to be debating something inside her head, and then she steps forward, slipping her arms around his middle.
"Thanks, Nathan," she murmurs against his chest.
He's momentarily surprised but soon overcomes it, hugging her back and resting his chin lightly on top of her head.
"Any time," he replies softly.