Work Text:
December 24, 2037. 11:46pm.
Jericho Inc. was a firm based in Detroit that companies went to when they needed help; help that Jericho was more than happy to give, although certainly not for free. Now, Simon was only a secretary within the company, but knew the ins-and-outs, at least in some respects. Jericho consulted on many areas of concern within outside businesses including, but not limited to, streamlining management, workplace synergy and public relations.
The company belonged to the Manfreds, who had made themselves notable figures within the world of business and trade. Simon even recalled that some politicians had called upon Simon’s boss to manage some aspects of their campaigns in the past. Simon would say that Markus hated every second of it when those political parties did not mesh with his own creed, but he had never been sure. Markus was a man who enjoyed a challenge. Sometimes Simon even thought it might be interesting to see Markus in his element, but more often than not, Simon was bound to his desk day in and day out.
It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, and it isn’t as though Simon never left the office. Well, sometimes it felt as if he lived there, but he did, on occasion, follow Markus on his trips out of the country when he was needed. Simon was Markus’ first assistant and it was his job to keep Markus’ itinerary up-to-date on longer trips outside of the country. It seemed to Simon as though they rarely spoke, for the amount of time they spent together. They spent most of their time together talking shop, as it were. Simon didn’t particularly mind. He could listen to Markus talking about paint drying and he would be happy.
Markus had the most wonderful voice.
Not that he would ever admit such a thing, even to himself.
It was Christmas Eve now, approaching midnight and Josh, Markus’ second assistant, had gone home hours ago. Simon was still in the office, sitting at his desk in the too-warm waiting room just outside of Markus’ office. The windows were clouded with condensation. It was snowing outside. It was enough for Simon to be glad he was still at work, listening to Markus through the door of his office. He couldn’t make out the words, but he knew that Markus was on the phone. It wasn’t unlike either of them to work so late into the night. Sometimes it was even necessary to make calls to and for clients in drastically different time zones.
Sighing, Simon leaned forward with his elbows on his desk and his face in his hands, rubbing the tiredness from his eyes. They had had nights like these for almost a week and Simon was exhausted. It was getting far too difficult to focus on his computer screen for more than five minutes at a time.
He was sure Markus was just as tired as he was.
With that in mind, Simon got to his feet and left the waiting room, making his way down the hall to the small employee’s only kitchenette behind a locked door. Small as it was, it was quite a stylish room, made with warm wood and faux marble countertops. Simon made coffee and returned to his desk, placing his own coffee on his desk before he made his way to Markus office. He paused for a moment, hesitant to interrupt. He knocked almost imperceptibly to announce his presence, knowing Markus was still on the phone. He did not wait for a response. He had done that on his first day and found himself waiting outside Markus’ office whilst he was engaged on the phone, until his coffee was almost cold. Too cold to even be considered lukewarm.
When he finally got his answer, Markus had laughed at him. It was a good-natured laugh as almost all things with Markus were, but Simon had been mortified for about a week. He could hardly look Markus in the eye without flushing in embarrassment. But it always was difficult for Simon to look at those green eyes back then. He had grown used to it after so many years at the company. It made life easier.
Simon entered the office near soundlessly, and walked over to the desk. As he placed the coffee down on a coaster in the far corner of the desk from Markus, his boss barely glanced up from where he was reading from a binder, with his ear glued to the receiver of his phone except to nod vaguely at him in thanks.
Simon nodded, although he was sure Markus was not paying attention and made his way just as quietly out of the office and back to his desk. Such an interaction was a normal part of life and Simon was fine with that. Simon sat at his desk, drank his coffee, worked and waited.
Eventually, in the early hours of Christmas morning, Simon slipped off to the bathroom. When he came back, the noise from Markus’ office had stopped and Simon felt a vague sort of alarm. He hurried to the office, knocked quietly and received no answer. When he opened the office door to peer inside, he found the lights off and the room empty.
Markus had gone home and Simon had not been there to say good night as he usually would have been. It made Simon feel inexplicably guilty to have missed the opportunity, especially on Christmas morning.
Sighing, Simon closed the door to Markus’ office and returned to his desk, intent on finishing up the last of his tasks so he could head home for the night.
It was when he sat down, however, that he finally noticed a small package placed quite deliberately beside his empty coffee cup - a present really - judging by the shiny silver and blue striped wrapping paper, dotted here and there with white snowflakes. It was an alien experience, reaching for the gift. It was small, rectangular and from what Simon could tell, a little bit weighty. He was quick to check the miniature card that was taped to the wrapping paper.
‘You gave me one last year, don’t think I forgot. Merry Christmas. Markus Manfred.’
Pleasantly surprised, Simon put the gift back down on the desk, staring at it as though it might sprout legs and walk away. It was true. Last year, for the first time, Simon had given Markus a gift. The holiday season was always one of Markus’ busiest times of the year, with last-minute consultations for clients wishing to implement new systems of workplace ethics or speeches and other such plans before the new year. So, he had decided to...reward Markus for his hard work. He had bought Markus a watch, although it was on the cheaper end of designer. He had never seen Markus wear anything that wasn’t obviously up-scale. He was always in pressed suits, finely tailored coats and shiny shoes. He had seen Markus dressed for black-tie events before and he remembered the first time as though it were yesterday. Simon had forgotten each and every word he ever knew. Just for a second. Still, Simon’s gift was a small and relatively modest thing. He had never seen Markus wear it, that said however, if he ever had, he would never know. Simon has long since forgotten what that watch had looked like.
Tentatively, he reached for the gift again, searched along the edges for the tape and meticulously pulled the wrapping away, careful not to rip that paper. It wasn’t that he was opposed to doing so, but sometimes he just felt some wrapping paper was too pretty to ruin. He might even add it to his scrapbook, along with the card. Simon had always thought memories were important and he protected and cherished them. It didn’t matter that his brother often teased him for keeping up the hobby his entire life. Daniel thought it was a little bit lame, and maybe it was.
When the wrapping was loose enough, Simon pulled the present free and examined the dark brown slightly rough cardboard box. Simon was unfamiliar with the brand, but when he opened the box, he was quick to realise why. Markus had given him a bottle of men’s perfume. Simon didn’t typically wear that sort of thing, although it was not the first time he’d even been given such a gift. Simon resisted the urge to make a self-deprecating joke about the way in which Markus must have thought he smelled. He knew that was never the case when gifts like this were given. Simon appreciated it, although like Simon’s gift to Markus, he wasn’t sure he’d ever wear it.
Smiling, Simon put the gift, and it’s wrapping, in his knapsack which was sitting under his desk, and returned to work. It was only another fifteen minutes before he, too, left the office, locking up as he went, and returned home.
December 25, 2037. 06:30am.
Simon awoke to a text message, bleary eyed and working on three hours of sleep, he reached for his phone and read the message, from Markus:
‘I need you in the office. Come whenever you’re ready.’
This was not an unusual occurrence. Many times over the years, Simon had been called to the office out-of-hours and even on his days off, but he didn’t mind. Markus always made sure his pay-check reflected the extra hours for which Simon was grateful. He was well aware that many companies often refused to compensate their employees for any overtime or extra duties they took on, for whatever reason. Simon was lucky to have found his job in that regard.
Simon replied to the text and set about getting ready for the morning. He found himself back at the office a few hours later. When he reached the doors, he found them already open and the lights already on. He made his way to the elevator and pressed the button for his floor where he stood in the quiet, with nothing but the hum of the elevator around him. The lull was enough to have Simon leaning against the wall of the elevator with his eyes closed drowsily. He startled when heard the ping of the lift arriving on his floor and the door parting obnoxiously to let him out.
He found his way to his desk, threw his knapsack down under his desk and then paused. There was a cup of coffee on his desk. When he reached for it, he found that it was cold. Markus’ voice could be heard from his office and Simon couldn’t help but smile. Markus had tried to have a cup of coffee waiting for him. That had never happened before. Simon found he did not mind.
He took the coffee to the kitchenette and made another before sitting at his desk to check his e-mails. Plenty had arrived overnight, most inquiring about consultations for new clients and others from older clients asking to schedule or reschedule meetings.
Simon spent quite some time re-organising Markus’ calendar for the year ahead and arranging travel for January of next year. Markus was to go abroad for a week, but Simon didn’t yet know if he was to go with Markus. Not wanting to disturb Markus, Simon picked up his phone, called Markus and left him a short message to ask. While Simon waited, he worked on other things, and put thoughts of coffee and travel plans to one side.
After some time, Simon sat back in his chair to yawn and stretch, kicking his knapsack as he did so. He heard a heavy thud. Glancing down, Simon frowned, spotting the perfume that Markus had given him on the floor at his feet. It had slipped out of his bag. Simon had evidently forgotten to take it out of his bag when he got home. Picking it up, Simon looked over the bottle again and twisted off the cap, testing the air with a sniff to see if he could get a whiff of the scent. When he failed to do so, he hesitated for a moment, before he pulled up his long sleeve and spritzed the underside of his wrist experimentally, rubbing his wrists together to blend the liquid into his skin. He sniffed the scent. It was sweet, but musky enough that Simon wouldn’t exactly have called the smell feminine, but it wasn’t obnoxious either, which Simon was glad of. He’d hate to make people uncomfortable because of the smell of the cologne.
Simon decided he liked the smell, hesitated for a moment before he brought the bottle to his neck and sprayed his neck tentatively. It would be rude not to try a gift like this at least once.
Then, the door to Markus’ office swung open unceremoniously and Simon, startled, scrambled to cap the bottle and shove it in the top drawer of his desk before Markus noticed. He would hate to think Markus thought Simon was slacking off.
“M-Mr. Manfred,” Simon said hastily, by way of greeting, heart thumping in his chest a little more erratically than Simon thought was rational. “Can I help you?” he asked, as he usually did when Markus approached his desk, making a conscious effort to keep the breathlessness out of his voice. It would only be a small misdemeanour. No big deal. Simon would likely just be reprimanded a little and that would be all. It wasn’t as though Simon needed to be working every second of every day. And it was the holidays. He was tired. Markus was tired. Surely, he could be forgiven for getting a little distracted, right?
“Markus is fine,” he said after a moment, watching Simon a little too intensely for his liking. Maybe Simon hadn’t gathered his wits as much as he would have liked to think. “You’ve been here for years...I think we’ve reached that point,” he said. “We’re there.”
“W-” Simon’s words failed him. “Bu-” they barely talked. Were they there? A first-named basis seemed like a lot. “Right, Mr- uh,” he stumbled over his words. “Markus...”
“I take it back,” Markus said, amused. “I sort of like the sound of Mister Uh.”
“Uh,” Simon said, flushing and unable to keep from chuckling awkwardly at the joke, flustered. Simon cleared his throat and opted to change tactics. “Thank you...for the gift.”
Markus seemed surprised. When Simon had given Markus his gift, Markus had never commented on it. Simon hadn’t minded, not having expected one, given that theirs was a business relationship. But, Markus smiled graciously after a moment, as was his way and spoke. “I hope you like it,” he said. “I wasn’t sure what you’d like.”
“I do like it,” Simon said quietly. “It’s nice...”
Suddenly, Markus was leaning over the desk, and Simon found himself frozen in place, sitting rigidly in shock as Markus sniffed the air around Simon. “You’re wearing it,” Markus said, too close to Simon’s ear. It sent chills down Simon’s spine and the heat plummeting from Simon’s face to...somewhere quite different.
All too soon, Markus was standing up straight again, seeming pleased with himself.
“And to answer your question,” Markus began, and Simon could only watch him in silence. “I do need you on that trip in January,” he said. “I just got off the phone with Cyberlife’s CEO,” he continued on and Simon gathered himself, hurrying for a notepad. “I’ll be taking a trip the day after I get back I won’t need you for that. It’s only a few days.”
Simon made a note of the dates and nodded. “I’ll contact them and iron out the details,” he told Markus dutifully.
With a nod, Markus turned back toward his office, only to stop and turn back to Simon. “Thank you for coming in,” he said. “I know it’s your day off and I’m sure you have somewhere to be,” he said. It was the holidays, after all.
Simon did, in fact, have somewhere he needed to be. Every year he spent Christmas with his brother, when he wasn’t working, but he didn’t need to tell Markus that. “No problem, Markus,” Odds were that they would be out of the office again by mid-afternoon.
Or so Simon thought.
It was 8pm when Simon started getting texts from his brother, which grew steadily more irate as time went on. Simon texted back, apologising profusely, but knew there was no escaping. Or, Simon thought, perhaps there was. He had never done it before, but his brother had put a lot of effort into Christmas that year, wanting to introduce his new boyfriend to Simon, so Simon had to try.
He had to ask to leave.
Swallowing, Simon stood and walked bravely over to Markus’ office, which for the time being, had fallen silent, save for the tapping of a keyboard Simon could hear through the door as he drew nearer. He knocked.
“Come in,” Markus called, for once, able to give Simon an answer.
Opening the door, Simon moved into the room, clearing his throat. “It’s late, Markus,” he said, glancing out the window just behind Markus. It was snowing again. “I think we should call it a night.”
Markus looked at Simon and then glanced at his computer with a shake of his head. “You head home,” Markus said after a considerable silence. “I’ve still got work to do.”
Simon tried not to frown. “It’s the holidays,” Simon urged. “Go home, sir.”
“I can’t-”
“Nothing here is going anywhere,” Simon said, cutting Markus off. He could see how exhausted Markus was, judging by the bags under his eyes and the slump in his shoulders. “It can all wait until we come back on the 27th.”
Markus stood up then, frowning, a hand on his desk. “Easy for you to say,” he snapped, startling Simon. “You’re a damn secretary.”
Indignation rose within Simon and he took a deep breath. The last thing he wanted was to get into a shouting match with his boss, so he endeavoured to remain calm, though with limited success. “I’ve been here with you the whole time, Markus,” Simon told Markus firmly, which seemed to give Markus pause. He watched Markus stand upright again. “I won’t be spoken to like that when you call me here at stupid o’clock in the morning and expect me to stay here until stupid o’clock at night. Especially when I have sacrificed every day off I’ve had this month for you,” he informed Markus impatiently. He hadn’t meant to be so harsh. “I’m going home,” Simon ploughed on defiantly when he was met with silence. “And you should, too.”
Shoulder squared, Simon sighed and left the room. Apparently, Markus had no words for Simon’s outburst.
It wasn’t until Simon had his bag flung over his shoulder and his coat folded over his arms that he heard it. “Simon-” his name, from within the office, followed a moment later by Markus flinging open his office door. “Simon, wait-”
Simon turned to look at Markus, folding his arm over his coat and holding it to his chest, stubbornly refusing to answer, but willing to hear him out.
“Simon, I’m sorry,” Markus said, making his way over to Simon, “that was rude,” he continued, coming a little closer to Simon than was usual. “It was stupid of me to react like that, I just...”
“Just what?” Simon asked, taking several steps back as Markus drew close, only stopping when he felt his back meet the door to the hallways out of the office.
“I need you,” Markus said, “here, I mean.”
“Well,” Simon began, suddenly, not exactly sure where he was going with his statement. Markus had stopped advancing on him, although he was hardly more than two feet away. “Well, you can...you can expect me during office hours from now on,” Simon said firmly. “I have other obligations, you know,” Simon said. “I have a life outside of this office,” although barely. Simon scrambled for the door handle with his free hand.
“Wait,” Markus said again, lurching forward and placing a hand on top of Simon’s to halt the movement. He was so close now, Simon could feel their clothes brush against one another. “I know,” he said. “I’m sorry, I was...I am being selfish.”
That was enough to give Simon pause. “What do you mean?”
It was Markus’ turn to hesitate, but when he moved it was with practiced ease, swooping in and taking Simon’s lips into his own. Simon’s gasp was swallowed in the kiss, and he very nearly melted in Markus’ arms, surprised as he was and drawn to the warmth and firmness of the body against his.
Then of course, he remembered where he was and who he was with, and pulled away sharply. “I-I have to go,” he said hurriedly. He clutched the door handle tightly and turned his forcefully as he stumbled out of the office. Markus let him go, even taking a step back. He did not chase after Simon as he hurried to the elevator, pressing the button several times as if that would make the door slide open any faster.
When the doors opened, Simon jabbed the ‘close door’ button a few times, gasping his breath as he tried to come to terms with what had just happened. Markus, his boss, had kissed him. He had yelled at his boss and his boss had kissed him for it. None of this had ever happened before. This was very out of the ordinary. Simon found he did not know what to think.
December 27, 2037. 08:30am.
Simon made it to the office on time, as usual. He made his coffee as usual. He greeted Josh when he arrived at work, as usual and he checked his e-mails, as usual. He stared ponderously at the new e-mail button and contemplated messaging HR. That did not usually happen. The events of Christmas day had been playing on Simon’s mind for the rest of his time off and now, two days later, he was no closer to making up his mind.
Simon generally liked Markus. Admired him, even. He worked too much, that was plain to see, but until now Simon hadn’t had a problem with that. But unless he had missed something, Markus had never made any sexual advances on Simon before, and it was alarming. If Simon were honest with himself, he would admit to being somewhat frustrated sexually. He hadn’t had sex in some time and he couldn’t decide whether Markus’ kiss was a welcome, or unwelcome surprise. It was still unusual and it was still inappropriate...but if HR got involved either Simon would not be believed, or Markus could lose his job. Either way they might both suffer one way or another.
Did he want to do that to Markus?
Taking a breath, Simon picked up the phone and dialled the number for the travel agent they usually used for business trips. One phone call later and Josh was now set to travel with Markus on his business trip in January. Simon wasn’t ready to call HR, but he could at least distance himself from Markus until he made up his mind. It wasn’t as though he didn’t think Markus was a handsome man - he was - unbelievably so, but that shouldn’t have anything to do with the price of eggs, should it?
Simon had been caught off-guard, certainly, but was it just the surprise of it all that had Simon so on-edge.
When Josh got back from his coffee break, Simon informed him of the news. Josh, for his part, was confused but delighted to have the chance to travel. Simon filled him in on his duties regarding the trip and made sure Josh took notes.
January 3, 2038. 4:50pm.
As threatened, Simon had stopped spending so many hours at the office. Markus did not comment on the change, but even if he had wanted to, Simon had made sure, whenever possible, not to be left alone with Markus. It helped that Markus spent most of his days in his office, or out of it at meetings at home or abroad. It wasn’t as if Simon ever expected to see Markus around the water-cooler, so to speak.
Simon was especially surprised to find that Markus did not even comment on the change in his travel plans regarding his companion. He seemed perfectly content to have Josh come with him, pleased even.
That suited Simon just fine.
July 21, 2038. 08:30pm.
Josh was sick. He had been missing from work for about a week already and Simon had been forced to take on overtime to pick up the slack every night since. Both Simon and Markus seemed to be keeping their interactions strictly professional. Simon didn’t mind. He put down the phone, having finished with a call and sighed, placing a hand on the back of his neck and rolling his head back. He had the most awful crick in his neck.
There was buzz and Simon heard Markus’ voice come from the intercom. “My office, please,” was all he said.
Simon did not even bother to respond over the intercom, standing and making his way over to the office. He knocked and stepped into the room, lingering near the doorway, as he usually did nowadays.
Markus was leaning against his desk, his back to it, watching Simon from the doorway with his arms folded across his chest, feet crossed at the angle. Simon felt like the air of nonchalance was a practiced one. “Can I help you, Mr. Manfred?” Simon asked.
At that, Markus got to his feet and uncrossed his arms. “Actually, I was hoping you would let me apologise,” he said, slipping his hands into his pockets, making sure not to close the distance between them. “Now that you don’t seem to be actively avoiding me.”
“Josh is on leave,” Simon said, quietly, although not maliciously. “I couldn’t even if I wanted to.”
“So you don’t?” Markus asked. Simon thought he detected just a hint of enthusiasm in the question. “Want to, I mean.”
Simon’s hand rested on the door handle and he fidgeted with it nervously. “No, I...” he thought. It had been months since the incident and whilst Simon had been making a concerted effort to keep a professional distance (which currently looked to be the length of an entire room), the thought of the kiss plagued Simon less and less. “You just startled me,” he said. “I didn’t know what to think for the longest time,” he admitted. “And if I’m honest, I thought about reporting it to Human Resources.”
That made Markus frown - not in anger as Simon expected, but in shame. He watched Markus lower his head and gaze at the floor for a moment before he seemed to take a breath and continue. “I’m sorry,” he said and Simon could tell he was sincere. “I never meant to frighten you like that, or...or make you uncomfortable.”
Usually, Markus only saved talk like this for clients. It was easy, genuine and relaxed. Simon rarely saw this side of him unless he was taking minutes in meetings. That was usually Josh’s job. “Well, I...” Simon said after a long stretch of silence. “I forgive you, just...don’t do it again.”
At that, Markus tried to suppress a grin and failed.. “Alright,” Markus said. “I promise I won’t take you by surprise next time.”
His heart fluttered in his chest, which he quashed immediately. Not. Right. Now, he thought, inhaling surreptitiously through his nose and nodding. He said nothing else as he turned and left the room, wondering if he had just consented to a flirtation with his boss.
December 24, 2038. 10:53pm.
Since July Markus and Simon had come to some mutual understanding that things were to return to normality. Of course, that meant travel plans were made with Simon and Markus in mind and Josh only filled in for Simon when Simon’s obligations at the office overtook his availability to travel.
More than once he came to work with a coffee waiting for him. As time went on, the coffee that waited for him got warmer and warmer. Simon tried not to think about the fact that Markus was trying to learn his schedule. It was a small gesture that Simon couldn’t help but find endearing. Simon made a point to stick a thank you note on a post-it on Markus’ computer monitor when he was out of the office. Simon would occasionally return the favour with a gifted coffee of his own when he knew Markus would be returning to his office soon, even after long meetings.
Now Christmas was approaching again and Simon couldn’t wait for Markus to emerge from his office. In his knapsack sat another gift that he wanted to sneak onto Markus’ desk. He was now just waiting for the right opportunity.
Thankfully, the chance came sooner than he would have thought, the conversation he heard on the other side of the door getting cut short abruptly and seconds later, Markus stepped into the lobby. He seemed irate, but paused to gather himself enough to smile a little at Simon before disappearing down the hallway.
As soon as Markus disappeared from sight, Simon snatched up his gift and hurried into Markus’ office where he approached the desk and put it down beside the telephone. He spent a moment adjusting the angle of the gift hoping it looked very deliberately and artistically placed. It might have been more successful if he’d had more than one gift, but a stylish 45 degree angle from the phone and a big red ribbon couldn’t be bad, could it?
He pulled himself away from the desk, abruptly deciding he was overthinking the whole thing and hurried out of the office.
That was of course when he almost collided with Markus. They both let out a startled noise and Markus reached out to place his hands gently on Simon’s arm to steady the blond. “Sorry,” he said. It had probably been the word most commonly said to Simon in Markus’ vocabulary at that point, but the hand on his arms had yet to let go and it was so warm that Simon couldn’t help but think about it. “You okay?”
Simon was quiet for a second too long while his mind caught up with the conversation. “Thanks!” he blurted out. “Yes, I’m touched-” he stopped himself abruptly. Touched? Touched by what, exactly? Simon’s smile tightened a little, fighting the blush slowly creeping over pale features.
“Uh,” Markus slowly removed his hand, looking a little bewildered. “Great,” he said with a little shrug and smile on his face that settled somewhere between fond and confused.
This was not their usual sort of interaction and Simon really wanted to go back to his desk. “I’ll, um,” he said, stepping to one side and reaching out an arm to telegraph his route out of Markus office. Markus took a step back automatically, allowing Simon more room to squeeze past.
“Did you need something?” Markus asked from the doorway of his office when Simon finally retook his seat.
“What?” Simon responded, looking mildly concerned.
“From my office,” Markus said, gesturing over his shoulder with a thumb. “Did you need something?”
“Oh no,” Simon said a bit too quickly and then quickly added. “I mean, I did. Not anymore.”
Markus did not press the subject, but Simon saw the faint smile on his face and the slow shake of his head when he turned and headed back into his office. Simon wouldn’t be surprised if he was more than a little thrown off by the awkward exchange.
When he looked down at his desk though, a present sat there. A fat rectangular thing that was not at all as heavy as Simon expected. He looked at the card taped to black and silver wrapping paper and opened it.
‘No surprises. See you at midnight?’
Simon glanced at the door and couldn’t help the way his entire body seemed to flutter with anticipation and recalled their conversation back in July. He extracted the gift carefully from the wrapping paper as he had done last year and put the paper to one side. It took Simon a moment to realise just what it was he was looking at through the clear plastic box in his hands. A sprig of mistletoe.
Opening the boxed, he carefully lifted the mistletoe out and examined it. Then, he looked at the time on his computer. 11:50pm. Through the office door, Simon could hear Markus on the phone again and knew he must have found his own gift.
Putting the mistletoe down, Simon reached for his post-it notes and jotted down a response to his question, biting his lip as he did so. Then, he got up and knocked on the office door before opening it a little and reaching around to stick the note on the inside of the doorway.
‘Midnight.’
Simon closed the door and returned to his desk, where he waited. He stared at his inbox with his fingers laced together and twiddling his thumbs in nervous anticipation, unable to focus on anything but the clock in the bottom right on his computer screen.
He was sure there was something urgent he should be doing.
Midnight rolled around and Simon stared at his hands, actively trying not to look at the door to Markus’ office. He could still hear Markus on the other side of the door. Simon took a breath and pressed his foot into the ground, resisting the urge to tap his foot impatiently. After a few minutes of silence, Simon got to his feet and picked the mistletoe up as he made his way over to the door.
He stood several paces back, facing the door and twiddling the mistletoe between his fingers nervously. There was still time to walk away, Simon thought. But, he didn’t want to. They had been flirting for months through coffee and post-its and it had culminated into gift-giving and mistletoe. It was silly when he thought about it, but this felt like the beginning of something. Their relationship as it was, was on the precipice of change. The thought excited Simon, who lived, he had to admit...a fairly predictable life. He’d never liked surprises because of that and it was nice to meet a man who seemed to take his thoughts on the matter into consideration.
It was silly.
The conversation on the other side of the door stopped and barely a minute later, the door opened slowly and Markus stepped into the room, Simon’s post-it in hand. Simon’s heart could have exploded at the sight of the absolutely delighted smile that crossed Markus’ face when he spotted Simon. “You’re still here,” he said, pleasantly surprised. Apparently, Markus was also conscious of the fact that he had been late for their rendezvous.
“Yeah,” Simon said, taking a step closer to Markus and swallowing. Markus moved to meet Simon and for a moment, they did nothing but watch one another. Simon broke eye contact just long enough to eye the mistletoe resting gently between his fingers. Then, he glanced up at Markus who caught his gaze. Apparently, Markus’ attention had also been on the sprig in Simon’s hand.
Wordlessly, Simon bit his lip and raised the mistletoe over their heads and Markus grinned. A second later, and Markus pulled Simon into his arms and pressed their lips together in a firm, but gentle kiss. Simon’s free hand went to Markus’ shoulder and although it took his mind a moment to catch up to his body, Simon responded in kind. Distracted, Simon dropped the mistletoe and looped his arms around Markus’ shoulder.
When they parted, it was with flushed cheeks and soft panting. “Merry Christmas,” Markus said, smile charming as ever.
“Merry Christmas,” Simon replied, leaning in for another kiss.
The End