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ask-de-writer · 5 years ago

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LOST TIME (part 1 of 3) A fantasy of Flocking Bay.

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LOST TIME

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

5556 words

written 2003

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It stands out even in the dark ... It shouldn’t. It’s just a house. A damned old house. Not even that old really, not for New England. It’s a two story salt-box style with an observation deck under a cupola at the peak. It is probably just the setting. Rusty old iron fence, gnarled elderly trees, unkempt lawn not quite out of control, windows that the neighborhood kids haven’t broken. It should be a witch’s house but it isn’t. It is mine. I just closed on it yesterday.

The kids are going to have a field day this time. I don’t like the daylight... been on night shift as far back as I can remember. That’s a longish way back. But I’m not a witch, nor vampire. Nothing exotic that I know of. I’m just one of those people (you probably know one or two) who don’t show their age. If you envy me, think again. YOU try to explain to a traffic cop why your ID has you pegged for seventy+ and you don’t look over twenty. I carry a copy of my fingerprint record from the military, because they can check that.

Funny part of it is, I really don’t have the slightest idea how old I am. Traumatic amnesia the doctors called it, during the war. The head wound was minor, they said.

That is a matter of opinion. It robbed me of my past, my name, my identity, my loves and hates but left my skills intact. I was an empty shell. I am still trying to find my past.

The name that I use comes from more or less modern myth. Vandervekken. The Flying Dutchman. Wandering Dutchman would be more accurate. He sails the seas off the Cape of Good Hope until Judgment Day. He can’t find his home either. I bought the house because it is the first place that I have seen in over fifty years where I want to stay. You explain it.

The rusty gate opened silently, thanks to the bit of oil that I put on the hinges. Going up the uneven walk, between the looming trees is an experience. The door lock is old-fashioned but still works smoothly. Covered furniture could have made ghosts to haunt the place, if I were superstitious or given to being easily frightened.

As I said, I like the night. I even enjoy things with a bit of a spooky atmosphere. I also like antiques and handcrafted things which is why, if I ever find out who did it, I will cheerfully throttle whatever philistine covered the finely inlaid hardwood parquetry floors with battleship gray paint.

Stripping and refinishing those floors was on my priority job list. Actually, I shouldn’t beef too much. Pointing out the problem got me a price reduction of nearly $2000 on an already underpriced house with all of its furniture as part of the deal. Estates can be wonderful when you are on a tight budget. Too bad that someone else had to die to create my good fortune.

As I pulled the dust covers from the furniture, I saw that my good fortune was been complete. It was all sturdy, hand-carved hardwood with Chinese silk brocade upholstery. The furniture alone was worth what I had paid for the house and contents. The tops of even the smallest hall tables were inlaid with rich veneers, ivory and mother of pearl. You couldn’t buy furniture like this any more. Besides the cost, the ivory in the inlays is no longer legal to obtain. I could get as much from the sale of just one or two pieces as I could from a year of writing if I could bring myself to part with any of this treasure. It just feels like the house would not be complete without it.

Whoever it was that had died and left this for me to have has whatever blessings it is in my power to bestow. The only wonder is that this place stayed on the market long enough for me to find it. Usually, deals like this get snapped up by the real-estate brokers before people like me ever see them.

When I got to the kitchen, I received another little jolt. I knew that it was fairly up to date, but some thoughtful soul had stocked the fridge and set out a bit of a snack for me. Just cookies and a glass for the milk, which was staying cold in the cooler. Thoughtful. I wondered who did it.

While munching on the cookies, I opened a few windows to air the place out a bit. Going out to my car, I saw that the flags of the walk needed leveling because of the weeds that grew up between them. I drove around to the alley behind the place, opened the garage and parked Lilitu, my classic pre-war Packard touring car. She looked right at home in there. Few, even of modern garages were big enough for her. I ferried my few personal goods up to the house. On my last trip, I saw a couple of wide-eyed kids looking over the back fence.

“Told ya, told ya so!” one of them chanted. “There’s somebody sneakin’ inta the ol’ Vekin place!”

“I wouldn’t call it sneaking, to move into your own place,” I answered as civilly as I could manage. “I just bought it. Why do you call it the Vekin place?”

“If ya ain’t sneakin’, why ya goin’ in the back way? An’ after dark, too?” she shot back. I could now see that they were a girl and a boy. She was obviously in charge.

“I like nights. I’m a writer, so I can keep any hours I like. Why is it the Vekin place?” I asked again.

“Dun’no - Crazy guy named Vekin used to live there,” she contradicted herself.

“Lot of folks tried to buy the place since then,” the boy piped in.

“But nobody ever stays,” the girl finished for him firmly.

“So, this is the neighborhood’s haunted house?” I inquired jovially.

“No,” was as far as the boy got.

“Its down the street, on t’other side,” she cut in.

“I looked at that one,” I said thoughtfully. “The old Victorian. Somebody’s broken out all the windows. Not like here. If the Vekin house is so bad, why hasn’t some kid chucked rocks at it?”

“‘Cause we’re not THAT crazy!” exclaimed The boy, getting out a whole thought. The girl gave him a push, and they ran off into the night.

I got up about noon, after the most restful night’s sleep that I’d had since the War. After my breakfast and a quiet tour of the place from attic to basement, I went out. My goal was the local newspaper. THE FLOCKING BAY VOICE was sprawled across the plate glass window in Old English style letters of gold leaf and black. Smaller letters proclaimed Est. 1841. I pushed open the door. My nose was assaulted by the multiple odors of printer’s ink, paper and grease. The VOICE occupied one large room. An elderly web press crouched at the back of the space, behind several rolls of newsprint. Cubicles made offices in the middle of the room. An old oak counter that had once seen duty as a bar had several signs suspended over it on thin chains. They read ‘submissions’, ‘advertisements’, ‘subscriptions’, ‘billing’.

There was a bell on the counter. Some wag had put a sign on it, “Please ring bell, it won’t help but it will give you something to do.” I gave myself something to do, energetically, a few times.

A trim little blond lady answered the bell’s summons. She wore a green eyeshade and a pin on her sweater announced, ‘Lois Martin - cook, bottle washer & EDITOR in CHIEF.’ “What can I do for you, today?” she asked.

“I came to see what I can find out about the Vekin place,” I answered, trying not to stare at her.

“Just a moment, I’ll get the file out of the morgue. I was going to get it anyway. Somebody went and bought the place again.”

“Wait a minute,” I protested. “Someone buys a house and that makes news in Flocking Bay? This town must be even quieter than it looks.”

“Oh,” she retorted, “it can get downright interesting around here when the old Vekin place sells. You’ll see.” She disappeared among the cubicles and I heard her feet clattering down a flight of stairs. I heard a file drawer creak and slide, then slam shut. It wasn’t long before she reappeared, a rather fat file clutched in her hand.

“If you’d like, we can have lunch over at Mike’s Soda Shop,” she proposed. “He makes decent submarine sandwiches and real ice-cream sodas.”

“Well ... ” I pretended to hesitate, “I haven’t been invited out by a beautiful blond in a long time, so, yes.”

“I hope that I haven’t just made a fool of myself,” she remarked, laying aside the eyeshade. “You are Mr. Vandervekken aren’t you? The man who just bought the place?”

“Too true,” I said.

“Then I’ll make it an interview and deduct it from my taxes,” she smiled.

“You make enough to pay taxes?” I asked, looking back as we crossed the street.

“I have hidden assets. The paper is a tax shelter.” She opened the door of Mike’s and ushered me in.

As I was seating her, I just couldn’t help blurting out, “Your assets seem to be pretty obvious.”

She grinned, “Go ahead and stare. I don’t mind. If I did, I wouldn’t wear a snug sweater and put my pin just here.” She pointed, then added, “Looking at it will keep you off your guard while I ask my questions.”

“OK, Ms. Martin, but let me look at the file first. You can order for me. You know the food here,” I said, reaching for the file.

“Lois,” she replied, “call me Lois, everyone else does.” Then she hollered to the man behind the counter, “Oh, Mike! Two butterscotch sodas and a big turkey sub! Divide it in half!”

“How did you know that I liked butterscotch?” I asked. “It’s not that common a preference these days.”

“I just had a hunch, that’s all. You looked like another butterscotch type person.”

I was leafing through the file on the rather beat-up table while we waited. I couldn’t resist snorting with amusement at the name of the house’s builder. Capt. Von Der Vekin. The house had been built in 1894 by the Capt. and his elusive son, Charles. Nobody had ever seen Charles until he came into town, on April 1st, 1900, to report his father’s demise and burial on the property. He ordered a headstone hewn of the local limestone. Charles had returned from WW I with honors and lived quietly, claiming to be a writer, though nobody ever saw any of his work in print. When asked, all that he would say was ‘Pseudonyms are great for privacy’. He was not so lucky when he volunteered to assist the French resistance in 1939. He never came home.

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#LOST TIME #Part 1 of 3 #Flocking Bay #Written by De Writer

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victorianoir · 6 years ago

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The Detective and the Tech Guy Babysit, Part 1

I really fell off the face of the Earth updating The Detective and the Tech Guy here and I apologize for that, friends. But I’m gonna get it all updated for ya now!

If this is the first you’ve heard of DATG, you can visit the DATG Master Post and start from the beginning right here: BOOM

If you’d prefer to read it on fanfiction.net: BOOM.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sarah Walker, P.I. saw officers and detectives bustling around the room as soon as the doors to the elevator opened.

She slowly moved out of the elevator and stepped to the side to make way for the woman in the power suit walking a handcuffed perp onto the elevator. The perp whistled at Sarah, but before she could say anything mean back at him, or even make a face in response, the power suit wearing woman shoved at the back of the man's bald head and snapped, "Shut up, Markins."

Nothing else was said as the door shut behind them.

Sarah blinked and let out a low whistle to herself. She thought she could be friends with that detective. She figured she was a detective, as she was in pedestrian clothes and had a badge on her hip.

Phones were ringing off the hook, police detectives had their feet up on their desks, some in cubicles, some out in the open, and she had no idea how to find this Detective John Casey fellow. The way he sounded when she'd spoken to him on the phone had her looking for an older man, maybe. And Chuck's description of him was not helpful.

"Brown short hair, a super grumpy face. Taller than me, but grumpy. And did I mention grumpy? And built like a tank and grumpy."

He'd been offended by the fact that the detective refused to acknowledge him as her boyfriend, even though he'd attempted to just roll his eyes and laugh it off in front of her. She knew Chuck better than she knew anyone, though, and she saw the detective's rudeness had gotten under his skin.

Depending on what kind of a man this Detective Casey was, that might be something she'd bring up. She had to stick up for her man, after all. Granted, she was playing that by ear.

Sarah walked further into the room and straightened her spine a little, pulling her shoulders back, lifting her chin. She was wearing a power suit of her own, or at least…dark, solid jeans and a black blazer over a professional pearl-colored blouse. She had a part to play and she needed this detective guy to not think he could boss her around just because he had a badge and she didn't. She knew his type. With the way he'd talked down to Chuck, a civilian, she absolutely knew his type.

"Excuse me?" she asked a woman sitting at one of the desks, clicking her mouse and staring absent-mindedly at her computer screen. The woman swept her eyes up to meet Sarah's and sat back against her chair. Sarah felt the woman giving her quite the once over.

"May I help you?"

"Yes, I'm looking for Detective John Casey."

"Oh. Wrong floor. We're the Narcotics division. Two floors up is Robbery Homicide. Just ask 'em for the major."

"Major?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, Major Asshole." The woman cackled, but didn't seem to have anything else to say, so Sarah just murmured a thanks and walked back to the elevator.

She still wasn't sure if the man she was looking for was actually once a major in the military, or if the woman had made it up for the joke's sake.

She shook her head as she pressed the button for what she hoped was the right floor. That didn't matter. What mattered was that Detective Casey asked for some information she might have on Franz Derlick. It was a case she'd worked in San Ysidro a year before she'd ever come to Los Angeles to work the Bartowski case. Derlick's condo in downtown San Diego had been ransacked and he'd been attacked. He'd called Pinkerton Detective Agency after the police department had "underperformed" on his case. Those had been his words. And she remembered the anger in his tone when he'd told them about SDPD's mishandling of his case.

What a detective in the LAPD could want with her now, even after she'd left Pinkerton behind, she had no idea. And what did he want with that case in particular?

Sarah walked into the Robbery Homicide unit, or at least, she thought that was what this was… This floor looked the same as the floor she'd just come from.

This time, she went straight into the cluster of cubicles and desks and asked a man who'd just climbed out of his chair where she could find Detective John Casey.

He gave her a long look, and she let him know she didn't appreciate the way his eyes moved down to her toes and back up to her head again by glaring. Hard. He at least looked a little ashamed as he pointed towards the back corner of the room. "His desk's by the captain's office. Next to that door. I dunno where he is, though."

"Thanks."

He shrugged, and she felt his gaze follow her as she swept past his desk. Whatever…

She saw the name plate that said "Det. Casey" on the desk in the corner as she slowed in front of it, and then she turned on her heel to glance around the room. She supposed she would just wait here, she thought, glancing at her watch. She was right on time. Eleven AM, on the dot, just like they'd agreed over the phone.

And because he wasn't here, because she, herself, was a detective through and through, even if she no longer held the title, Sarah did a thorough investigation of Detective Casey's desk, without even having to move a muscle. There were a few file cases in the corner of his desk, stacked on top of one another, and then papers in no particular order she could figure out spread all over the rest of it. Pens and pencils, markers, a sharpie, all scattered on the desk even though he had a papier-mâché covered pencil holder that looked like a child had made it in school. His child, perhaps? She wasn't sure. There weren't any pictures, not of a significant other, no partner, no children…no friends, even. There was nothing. A google search hadn't given her anything, either.

His computer's screensaver was the usual screensaver of a blue square bouncing around on a black background.

His mousepad was the same one Microsoft used to give away with new computer monitors back in the early nineties.

"You discover anything about me?"

She just barely managed to keep from jumping, and she turned to regard the tall detective standing a few feet behind her with a small cup of coffee in his hand. Even the mug was a black, nondescript mug with yellow letters spelling out "LAPD" on it. God, this guy was a snoozefest. She wondered if anyone in his department even knew anything at all about his private life.

"Just that you're not very organized."

He scowled at her, looking down at his desk, and she knew now this had to be Detective John Casey. He was tall, built like a tank, and very clearly grumpy. "Ain't nothin' wrong with my organization. I know where everything is."

She smirked at him, earning a thoughtful grunt. Then he nodded once and closed the rest of the distance. She turned to face him and took the hand he offered her.

"You're Sarah Walker, then?"

"I'm Sarah Walker, yes. Detective Casey?"

His answer was another grunt as he let go of her hand and walked around to the other side of his desk, setting his coffee down on one of the documents he had strewn about. She held back the urge to cringe. There'd be a ring on that, no doubt. Ugh…

"You want coffee or water or anythin'?"

"Uh, how's your precinct's coffee?" she asked, gesturing to his mug.

He gestured to the chair she stood next to. "Have a seat. And I dunno. This ain't coffee. It's herbal tea."

Chuck was going to laugh so hard when she told him the tall grump who'd insulted him the other day was an herbal tea man. He'd probably wonder aloud if Casey did yoga, too. Or if he had a zen garden. There was nothing wrong with tea, but she couldn't stop the image of this guy wearing a monocle and stirring his tea with a tiny spoon from popping into her mind. She'd give Chuck that one and it would cheer him up significantly.

She made sure not to let her inner smirk get out, instead clearing her throat and crossing one leg over the other, her hands folded in her lap. "No, I'm all right. Thank you for the offer."

With a nod, he scooted his roller chair closer to his desk and took one long sip from his mug, wincing a bit as though it was too hot. "So Miss Walker, I'll get right down to business. You worked the Derlick case three years ago."

"I did."

"You were lead on that case?"

"No, Detective Shaw—Daniel Shaw—was lead on that case. I worked under him."

Casey curled his lip a bit. "I was informed that you were the lead."

"I'm afraid not." Sarah leaned forward a bit, furrowing her brow. "I was second-in-command. Who informed you that I was lead?"

"The director. Langston Graham." Sarah widened her eyes. "That's what he told me in his email, at least. He referred me to you, said you were lead on the Derlick case. Why'd he say that if it wasn't true?" Sarah wasn't sure, and she was a bit taken aback by it, as well. When she didn't say anything, he grumbled out a surly, "Sure as hell don't like the idea of havin' to get into contact with that upstart bag of gas, Shaw." He cursed under his breath.

"I'm sorry?" She scooted forward in her chair. "What did you call him?"

He just shook his head.

"I heard you call Detective Shaw an upstart bag of gas. I just want to make sure I heard properly, that's all." She knew she'd heard properly, and the laugh sat at the bottom of her throat…

"Look, it ain't that I have a problem with Pinkerton. That agency does good work, even if it isn't always…" He grunted instead of finishing his sentence, perhaps deciding not to go there. "But that guy and his shit-eating grin. Hate havin' to pass cases to him. Had to do it in Brooklyn, had to do it in Detroit, and I sure as shit don't much like the idea of havin' to talk to him again here in L.A."

Sarah held her hands up. "Listen, Detective Casey, I had to work with that asshole for too many years. I had to do what he told me whenever he was given lead on cases I was assigned to. You have no idea just how bad he is. Call him whatever the hell you want. I'll pop popcorn, sit back, and listen with pure joy in my heart. The worse the names, the better."

Detective Casey narrowed his eyes at her for a moment, then smirked a little. "You say you were second-in-command on Derlick's case?"

"I was."

"That's good enough for me. And I'm starting to think maybe Graham was purposely trying to put a damper on my case, the bastard, sending me to someone who doesn't even work for him, pretending like I was gonna get something off you." He scowled.

She huffed and shook her head. "Listen, Detective. I don't want you to think I can offer you anything but whatever still sits in my memory. I have no access to the case files. I left Pinkerton well over a year ago, and not on the best terms. I highly doubt I can give you anything you need."

The man grunted, then shrugged. "Graham told me you weren't with Pinkerton anymore. I left it at that. Because I don't need files. There was one thing you left off the reports, however, someone's name. And by my understanding, it was purposeful. I don't need to know the circumstances there, I really don't." He shook his head. "But I need to know that name. If you can remember. The case concluded in San Ysidro, didn't it?"

"It did."

"And you found that Derlick's cousin had set up the robbery and the attack. Funny business attached to their grandmother's will."

She nodded. "Yes, that was the gist of it."

"Someone was struck off of that will before Old Lady Derlick died. They weren't involved in the robbery or the attack, so they didn't end up in the case files…and trust me, I get that. But Graham was cagey about it, and I need you not to be."

"Why?" she asked, leaning an elbow on his desk and propping her chin on her fist.

"I think that person has landed in Los Angeles and is involved in one of my cases. I can't go into detail, but I need that name."

"Does Graham know you're asking me about this?"

"Nope. He doesn't need to."

"There's a good chance I get into some trouble if he finds out I've given away information on a case without Pinkerton approval."

"Listen, lady…" He cleared his throat at the severe look she gave him. "Sorry. Miss Walker. You don't owe 'em anything. You don't work for 'em anymore. Somebody's been murdered. She had her whole future ahead of 'er. And by giving me that name, you could be helping me to find out who murdered her."

"You think this person is the murderer?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nah. But they can help us. They used to be closely aligned with Derlick then up and disappeared. If the name you give me matches what I think it'll be, it gives me enough reason to keep investigating them. Otherwise…" He huffed in frustration, looking reluctant to admit it, but doing it anyway. "Otherwise, I'm up shit creek. Leads dried up."

Sarah looked at him for a long moment. She was good at reading people. This was a good cop, a good detective. She could tell that, in spite of the surly exterior, the matter of fact way he talked to her about the case, he was pissed that this woman's life was cut short, and he was determined to find the culprit and bring them to justice. He looked like he had a lot of pride, a lot of machismo even. But he cared about this. She imagined he cared about all of his cases.

So she reached down and grabbed her briefcase, lifting it up and setting it on the only corner of his desk that wasn't covered in crap.

He just blinked and watched in confusion as she unzipped the briefcase and pulled her laptop out, moving the bag back onto the floor and setting her laptop on the desk, opening it.

"What are you doing?" he finally asked.

She held up a finger for him to wait, clicking around through her files and documents on her laptop. Finally, she shifted her blue eyes to his, meeting them steadily. "Graham doesn't know you got any of this from me…" He didn't respond, just narrowing his eyes a little. "Right?"

The corner of his mouth tilted up and he nodded. "Mum's the word. So to speak."

"Good. I kept copies of some of the Pinkerton files on my laptop…by accident, honestly. I left the company so fast, and they were glad enough to get rid of me, that they didn't even think to check on what I did and didn't take. The agency is less strict about what does and doesn't leave the agency, since most of what we did was on site, wherever the case was, all over the world. So a lot of what I had on my official Pinkerton computer also ended up on my laptop." She sent him a bit of a smug look. "Woops."

He chuckled. "Well, that's out of my jurisdiction. Nothin' I can do about that."

Sarah beamed and turned the laptop to face him. "Miriam Bethke," she said, quietly, scooting her laptop closer to him, then standing up and leaning over the desk to look at the screen with him. "And here's all of her information. I kept tabs because it didn't sit well with me that we were essentially ordered to strike her name from everything, along with a few of the other people who were involved with the Derlicks. If you want this file, take it."

But the detective already had a flash drive in his hand and was inserting it into her laptop. "I'll tell you what," he said, moving the entire Bethke file onto his flash drive. "Graham isn't even gonna know I was able to find you at all."

"That sounds good to me," she chirped, watching as Detective Casey removed the flash drive from her laptop and shut it, handing it back to her. She took it with a smile. "Was there anything else you needed, Detective?"

"No, you were more than helpful, Miss Walker. Uh…ahem…P.I." Then he stopped and gave her a suspicious look. "Hold on a tick. You got a license for what you're doin', don't ya? You need a license to be a private dick here."

Sarah just smirked and went into the inner pocket of her blazer, flashing her credentials at him. Then she took a business card out and slid it across his desk towards him…oh so slowly. "If you ever need my assistance again, Detective Casey, I do good work. And I do it very quietly. I'm not above working with law enforcement, either."

He let out an amused grunt, then picked up her card, glancing at it. "Well. If I need a sparkplug P.I. I'll let ya know, but don't hold your breath, Miss Walker."

"My schedule's full, so trust me. I won't. Have a lovely weekend, Detective."

She slid her laptop into her briefcase, zipped it up, and walked away. She thought she heard a quiet, "Heh heh" behind her, and she wasn't sure if it was respect or mockery. She decided on respect and pressed the button to call the elevator.

It wasn't until she slid into her car in the parking lot and started the engine that she murmured a satisfied, "And fuck you, too, Pinkerton."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

As he looked down at the paperwork Adisa left for him to read and sign, document after document after document, with so many damn words and provisos and blah blah blah blah… Chuck Bartowski thought he might legitimately go cross-eyed.

And not for the first time, he was incredibly grateful he had an assistant he could trust to wade through the bureaucracy and paperwork so that Chuck could focus on the gears and pipes of the business, as his father said. The gears and pipes were his wheelhouse.

But he was tired and it was a Friday and he just wanted to get out of here.

Suddenly the door to Adisa's front office opened. He welcomed whoever it was with opened arms, looking for any excuse to get his eyes the hell off of these repetitive words, and as he looked up, the sentiment increased tenfold.

Sarah was peeking her head around the door, a small smile on her face. She frowned immediately then as she saw him, and she walked all the way inside, taking a moment to look out and down the hallway once more, obviously confused to find him there instead of his assistant, before she shut the door behind her.

"You are definitely not Adisa Obafemi," she said. "But you're sitting at his desk."

"I'm a handsomer alternative, right? That's what you're hinting at, isn't it?" he teased.

She made a doubtful sound. "I dunno. I think Adisa is pretty handsome." He pouted a little and she bit back a smirk. "Don't worry, he's a little too young for me and isn't really my type."

"Oh? What is your type?" He expected some long-winded, sweet, teasing description of him.

"A guy who is…" She pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Rich." He just barely held in a bark of laughter. "Like, super rich."

"Is that a hint that I should be paying Adisa better?"

This time she laughed, and he felt like that was a win in this little flirtatious banter battle she'd started with him. "Why are you sitting at his desk? Really."

"Believe it or not, I bought him a chair that's way more comfortable than mine. Quite by accident." He gave her a teasing, closed-mouth smile.

"You sit at his desk instead of your own often?"

"It's the chair; I'm tellin' ya." He laughed, then, gesturing at the paperwork. "He was breaking his back getting this paperwork all sorted for me today, giving it some semblance of order so that I can at least somewhat understand what it is that I'm signing off on—bureaucratic bullshit, basically—so I let him go home for the weekend at lunch. You just missed him."

"Ah. Shame. I do miss him."

"Well, you two exchanged numbers so that you can plot and plan things behind my back, so feel free to text him about how much you miss him." He grinned, his tongue between his teeth, and she crossed the room to ruffle his hair. "He-Hey! Careful with the curls! Geez!" He tried to smooth them down but knew it was no use.

She giggled and shook her head. "Yeah, well…One of these days we're gonna plot you right out of this building and onto a vacation."

"I'm fine with that, as long as said vacation is with my favorite detective."

"Ohhhh, Chuck. Sweetie. I'm sorry to inform you Jessica Fletcher will not be available anytime soon."

Chuck burst into laughter and grabbed his girlfriend by her hand, pulling the giggling woman down to plop onto his lap. She gasped, rounding his neck with an arm quickly. Her briefcase in her other hand knocked him in the knee and he winced. Yep, that was her laptop. Definitely.

"The truth comes out. I'm into wily old ladies."

"I do like tea, and every so often I catch myself watching PBS. Does that count?"

"Yes."

They chuckled and he dove in to peck her on the lips, dropping a kiss just above the collar of her blazer.

"Chuck, we shouldn't do this in Adisa's chair. It's messed up." She set her briefcase down to lean against the desk and soon had both arms around him.

He gave her a put-upon sigh. "You're right. But since you're already here and so comfy, look at this crap I have to read through and sign," he said, reaching around her and picking up the page at the top.

Sarah made an intrigued face and plucked it from his hand, perusing the page. "Okay, yeah. This looks like a lot of legal bullshit that I honestly cannot understand. It's gibberish."

"Right? Good thing I've got a guy with a head that can make sense of this gibberish. He started law school, but quit due to money and now I'm reaping the benefits."

"You are. But also, I'd feel safer if Adisa were a lawyer."

"Me, too. That's why I told him I'd pay for him to finish his law degree, anywhere he wanted. But he hasn't taken me up on it yet." She gave him one of those soft looks of hers that let him know he'd done something right. It warmed him inside and out. "Hey…by the time I'm done with these, I might be cross-eyed. Think you'll still wanna date me if that's the case?" He crossed his eyes at her and earned a light slap on his shoulder.

"You idiot. You could…have some mobster throw acid on your face like that Two-Face guy in your comics and I still wouldn't go anywhere."

Chuck bit his bottom lip, feeling a bit of a tingle between his legs at that. It didn't help that she was currently sitting on his lap, her backside pressing down acutely against that specific area. He had to take a deep breath, and he had a sneaking suspicious Sarah was well aware of what he was going through. "Well. Hopefully I wouldn't go insane the way Dent does and terrorize Los Angeles."

She giggled. "I'll make sure of it. Anyway, if you ever tried that, I'd go full Bat-Detective. Like Batman but…a woman. Is there a Batgirl or something?"

He shivered, sliding his arms around her and hugging her a little closer. "There's a Batgirl and a Batwoman. Actually."

His imagination was running wild with the possibilities and she would probably think he was legitimately crazy if she had any inclination of just how turned on he was in that moment.

"Are you currently picturing me in a catsuit, Chuck Bartowski?" she practically purred.

Chuck winced and tilted his head. "Particularly a purple sparkly one with a yellow bat-wing cape," he said, his voice a little tight.

"You're way too easy," she breathed, shaking her head in awe.

She barely got the last word out, however, before he covered her mouth with his. He was crazy. He was a crazy big ol' nerd and he was dating the hottest woman on the planet who knew he was a crazy big ol' nerd and egged his appetite on purposefully. She was everything.

As they made out, hands grabbing, fists twisting in jackets and hair, Sarah let out a breathy whimper that honestly made Chuck feel like he might just go straight into cardiac arrest if he didn't pull away, put some distance between them.

He didn't pull away.

He pulled her even closer, if that was at all possible.

But then she did pull away, putting a hand on his chest, taking a deep breath. Her lips were a bit red, swollen, and he couldn't help the immature, macho voice in his head that said, proudly, I did that.

"Whoa, there. Down, nerd." She still beamed though, biting her lip. And then she climbed off of his lap and did put distance between them, backing into Adisa's desk and perching on the edge, tucking a strand of hair that escaped during their tussle back behind her ear. "You know, it's kind of satisfying knowing I've still got it."

God, he loved the cocky look on her face, that arched eyebrow and the smirk, the slight wrinkle of her nose.

"Oh, trust me. You've still got it. And then some."

She bit her lip, looking very pleased. "Yeah, well…anytime I start to think maybe I'm losing my touch, you don't let that thought get very far."

"I have no intention of starting today."

Chuck pushed up out of Adisa's chair so hard, it rolled back into the wall. He distantly heard the thump of it hitting, but didn't care about the potential dent in the wall as he pressed himself against her and kissed her again…Hard, this time.

He rounded her torso with his arms and gave her a bit of a bump with his hips so that she sat fully on top of the desk, on the documents Chuck had been toiling over not ten minutes earlier. He didn't give a rat's ass about them now as he leaned her back at an angle and dragged his lips down her jawbone. She rounded his waist with her legs and tucked her hands under his suit jacket, spreading her fingers over his button up at his lower back and then squeezing his muscles there.

And then she pulled one hand away and he felt a tug on his tie.

He was dying in thousands of different ways and he needed her so badly he was fit to burst.

Chuck managed to get the top of her blouse undone as he shifted and kissed her on the lips again, and when his hand dove in to tuck under the cup of her bra and squeeze her breast, she whimpered loudly.

That was the last straw. He pulled out of her bra and tucked both hands underneath her backside, hoisting her up into his arms so that he could carry her into his office where he could lock the door and they could finish what they'd started. Not that this would be the first time.

But as she giggled lustily and clung to him, he heard the jarring ring of his phone on Adisa's desk where he'd set it so that he could answer it if anyone called or texted—anything to get out of that damn paperwork.

His body tensed, and he felt Sarah tense similarly in his embrace. "Why didn't I put the fucking thing on silent?" he asked, breathless.

"Because you wanted someone to interrupt you because you hate reading documents," she panted back, grinning, pecking his lips a few times for good measure.

"I'm gonna…" He kissed her back. "I'm gonna just ignore it, though."

"Mmm," she hummed into his kiss, pulling back and nuzzling his nose. "Maybe it's important."

Chuck groaned.

"But you're the most important."

Sarah giggled. "Sweet. But it's been less than twenty-four hours since we had sex. I think you can take this phone call."

He groaned again and let her slip down, back to her feet, and then he dropped his arms to his sides and let his head slump forward onto her shoulder, making her chuckle.

"Chuck, answer the phone."

The tech guy gave her a pitiful, desperate look, then turned the same look to his phone, still ringing. "I'm still of the mind to go into the office with the door that locks and finish what we started. Can we just do that instead?"

"Or you answer the phone now and we finish what we started once you know what the person on the other side of the phone wants from you."

"Counterpoint: I lock myself in that office with you because I already know exactly what you want from me." He gave her a slow, sizzling kiss, then planted another one right below her ear, feeling that delicious shiver he'd anticipated go through her body. The air was still electric between them.

"As hot as that just was…" Then she stopped, turning to look at the phone. "Huh. Seems the phone stopped ringing."

He saw the sparkle in her eye and dove in to kiss her again, starting to pull her to his personal office as she laughed against his lips, pushing at his suit jacket to try to get it off of him…

The phone rang again.

"God damn it!" he yelled, groaning and letting his head fall back to blink a few times at the ceiling in abject misery.

Sarah just laughed and went to the phone. "It's Ellie. And the first one was her, too."

Chuck sighed and reached out for it. She put it in his hand and he answered, "Hey, sis. What's up?"

"Chuck, everything okay? I didn't interrupt a meeting or anything?"

Oh, she interrupted all right. She interrupted. He clenched his jaw. "No, no. Not at all. I had the sound to my phone off and missed your first call."

He winced at Sarah as she snorted quietly, rolling her eyes. Liar, the look she gave him seemed to say.

So he lied.

Sue him.

"Oh, okay. Well, I was just calling because I sort of have a big favor to ask."

Chuck didn't think twice as he said, "Anything. What do ya need?" Then he gasped. "Do I get to hang out with Claaaaaraaaa?"

Ellie giggled. "Actually, that was my question. Now that we're back in L.A., we have all of Devon's football buddies from UCLA asking us to go to cook-outs and reunions and…Well, with Clara being born, we've been so focused on her and shifts at the hospital…"

"So you and Devon want to go spend some time out of the apartment, away from the hospital, away from dirty diapers and feeding and, and, and, am I right?"

"Yes." There was a long pause. "Does that make me a terrible mom? Seriously. I'm asking seriously."

He chuckled and leaned against the doorjamb that led into his office. "Ellie, you're a mom, yes, but you're also human. Having a baby is hard-ass work. You've barely left your place except when you made the move from San Francisco back home, and through all of that moving, you had a newborn, late night feedings, cry-fits…You want a day with just your husband, not having to worry about any of that, hanging out with friends? I think you more than deserve to feel that way."

He smiled at Sarah and she smiled back.

"So that's a yes to babysitting Clara tomorrow? It'll probably only be a few hours, we'll be back around dinner."

"El, of course. Are you sure you want me to do it and not the parents?" Then he realized how that sounded and rushed out, "Not that I don't want to! I want to! If I could just hold her little pudgy body all day long, I totally would! I love her so much!"

His sister barked out a laugh. "Jesus, Chuck. I get it. You love your niece. You don't have to persuade me." She paused. "Thank you. This is so needed and you're the best brother ever."

"You didn't answer about Mom and Dad."

"…I didn't, did I?"

He chuckled. "Okay, I get it. What time do you want me at your place?"

"Ten? Is that too early?"

"Nope."

"God, I love you, Chuck. I owe you so bad."

"You owe me nothing at all." It was then that he realized Sarah was pointing to herself and gesturing for him to notice her. He furrowed his brow and saw her mouth, 'Can I come?' He felt that gooey warmth inside of him again. Like he always did when he remembered how attached to his niece Sarah was. "Oh, um, do you mind if Sarah is there?"

"Uh. I'd prefer it," came Ellie's flat voice.

"Hey!" He laughed at that, even know he knew she was teasing. She knew he was more than capable of taking care of her daughter. He'd done it a few times before, with and without Sarah's support.

"Doesn't she have a case right now, though?"

"Yeah, but…it's complicated. Kind of a long one. Not time sensitive."

Sarah sent him a look that said, What are you talking about? But he ignored it.

"Oh. Well, great! See you tomorrow? Devon is mouthing for me to tell you you're awesome."

"Tell him he's awesome!"

"I'm not going to start that again. Last time you two kept me on the phone with competing 'you're awesome' messages for an extra three minutes." She laughed. "See you tomorrow."

"Sounds good. Love ya, sis."

"Love you, too."

When he hung up, Sarah pursed her lips. "Are we babysitting tomorrow? I kinda put together the context from what you were saying."

"Oh, we're babysitting. You free from ten 'til…I dunno, whenever they're done?"

"Um, anytime I get to hang out with that freaking cute little baby, I'm free."

"Good." Something occurred to him then and he tilted his head, furrowing his brow at her. "Hey, we got so caught up in…us…ahem…Didn't you have that meeting with the LAPD Grump today?"

She sniffed in amusement. "Yeah. I did."

"Isn't he so mean? Was he mean to you, too?"

"He wasn't mean to me, no," she said with a short laugh. "He's definitely blunt, no-nonsense, macho, and has an ego."

"Right? God."

"But I kinda like 'im." She crossed her arms and looked thoughtful, still amused, he could tell.

"Huh?"

"I might be a little biased. He's come into contact with Daniel Shaw a few times over the years, it sounds like, and he said some really insulting things about him." The snicker that came out of her was almost evil and he enjoyed it a little too much, perhaps.

"Okay, well…Even though he was a total Rudy McRuderson to me the other day, if he has the sense to ask you for help and hate Daniel Shaw, he can't be all bad."

She made a little click sound with her tongue and teeth. "See, this is why I love you so much. You're the least judgmental guy I know." She paused. "Except with Daniel Shaw, who you've never met personally, but you still totally hate his guts and I love it."

"I don't usually hit people, as a rule, but I'd punch the shit out of that fucker in a heartbeat if I ever saw him."

"I probably shouldn't be as turned on by that as I am."

"It's residual turn-on-edness from earlier when we nearly boinked in my office. It's cool, I get it, me too." He sent her a cheesy grin.

"It's a testament to the power of your hotness that I'm not even a little turned off by the fact that you just described our love-making as 'boinking'."

He laughed. "I'm a walking talking dictionary, baby." He smoldered to underscore it. Then he sobered up a little. "Did you give Detective Grumpy Guy what he needed?"

"Yep. Might be a connection I can work in the future, too. You know, for cases and the like."

"That's exciting."

"Mhm. Can we please go into your office now? Honestly, this is getting ridiculous."

"Yyyyep."

They hurried inside, shutting and locking the door behind them.

It took a while for them to emerge again, the door opening slowly, Sarah backing out first, her hands still on the back of Chuck's neck, pulling him along with her as they kissed.

Chuck didn't just feel satisfied. He knew he looked it. And he wasn't entirely sure if he got his clothes back on in the right way. He felt tousled, and his hair…God, it was probably a mess.

Sarah's blouse was tucked in on one side and not the other, her bun was falling out over her shoulders, and God, she just looked like the cat who got the cream as she expertly slid her hands down and blindly tied his tie again, leaning in to kiss him some more.

Right when she leaned back to break the kiss, a goofy, teasing growl on the end of his tongue, the door to the outer office swept open and Stephen J. Bartowski stepped inside.

"Oh, good! Oh! Oh." He paused. "Well."

Chuck stepped back from Sarah, but her fist was still gripped tight around his tie and he made a soft choking sound, staggering forward, into her. She let go and smoothed her hands down her front. "Mr. Bartowski," she said, expertly flipping her hair back into its bun… and he had to give her credit, she sounded very professional. Considering how unprofessional she'd sounded about fifteen minutes earlier when she had him pinned to his desk chair.

His dad smirked and shut the door behind him, crossing his arms then reaching up to scratch the edge of one eyebrow, ducking his head and chuckling. "Don't worry, you two. You aren't in any trouble."

"Oh, God," Chuck breathed. He had a terrible feeling about this.

"Oh…Oh, no. We didn't…we were…" Sarah then stopped herself and looked down at how disheveled she looked, and she not-so-subtly stretched a foot out to scoot one of her pumps across the floor, behind Adisa's desk, out of his dad's view. It was comical. It was adorable. And if he wasn't mortified, he'd giggle at her for it.

"Stop it. I know exactly what this is. Listen, there's no shame. Truthfully, uh… Well, Chuck…Back when we were younger, your mother and I—"

"NOPE."

"Oh, my God," he heard Sarah murmur under her breath.

"Well, I'm just saying. When you're in love, it happens in the weirdest—"

"NOOO."

"—places."

"Get me out of here," Chuck whimpered.

"Why do you think my office has a lock on it? I put a lock on yours, too, I-I think. I mean not with this in mind, of course, but—"

"My insides are dying. I'm having a stroke."

Sarah elbowed him a little.

"Anyway!" his dad said.

"Thank God."

"—I wanted you to make sure to take it easy on those documents Adisa prepped for ya. Take 'em home. Take the weekend to get them signed, dated, and we'll send them to our lawyers on Monday. Go home early. Everyone is clearing out, so I think it'd be okay for the bosses to do the same, huh? Take that, uh, long weekend." He rubbed his hands together excitedly.

"Yep."

"Chuck. Kiddo. C'mon. Don't be like that," his dad chuckled. "You're not in middle school anymore." He sent a wink at Sarah and Chuck knew for a fact that he was enjoying the hell out of this.

"Oookay," Chuck drawled. "Bye, Dad. Have a good weekend, Dad."

"All right, all right." Stephen chuckled. "Sarah, nice to see you. Don't be a stranger." Then he stopped and made a face. "I didn't mean it like—That wasn't—"

"Nope. NOPE." Chuck put his hands on either side of his head, applying pressure. Maybe he could squeeze hard enough that his brain forgot this whole conversation happened.

"You get what I mean," his dad said.

"I, um…do," Sarah said, quietly, her face significantly more pained than he'd seen it in a while.

His dad just laughed, shaking his head and ducking out of the office. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do, kids!" they heard, right before the door shut.

There was silence for a few moments.

"Well, at least that happened after we already did…the sex."

Chuck gave her an anguished look. "Oh, God," he whimpered, dropping his chin to his chest. "Oh my God, this ruined my whole life."

She chuckled and wrapped her hands around his arm. "Come on, I'll help you pack up to go home."

"I never knew about the lock," he whimpered again. "The lock…"

Her giggle was at least some comfort as she pulled him back into his office to gather his things.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Ellie Bartowski Woodcomb was stressed.

He could see it the moment she answered her door.

"Hi," she rushed out. "Um, thanks again. I…I'm running a little bit late."

She left the door wide open and just walked away from it altogether as Chuck stepped inside of the large, spacious apartment she and Awesome had moved into a few weeks ago, new parents, with new jobs at a new hospital. Her stress levels had been concerning, to the point where Awesome had taken Chuck aside not knowing what to do about it. And Devon Woodcomb was not typically the guy who didn't know what to do, where Ellie was concerned especially.

Chuck could see that today was no different. She was frazzled, rushing over to pick Clara up and rock her as she screamed and cried.

"No, baby. I know. I know you're upset," she said. "I hear you."

"Oh nooo. What's wrong with my best friend in the whole wide world?" Chuck asked, shutting the door behind him and hurrying over to his sister's side.

"Don't let Morgan hear you say that."

"Are you kidding me? He'd say the same thing about her. He's so in love with this kid, he's stopped bothering you about maybe ditching the 'bag of muscles' and dating him."

"Yet another reason to adore my little Clara. Oh, sweetheart, please, please stop crying. It's making it very hard for mommy to leave and have fun," she said pitifully. "Please."

"Clara, what happened? Tell your favorite uncle."

"Not sleeping too well at night."

Chuck blinked at the baby. "Clara, your voice has suddenly gotten really deep and manly."

Devon laughed and came up behind him, giving his brother-in-law a one armed hug from behind, squeezing him and kissing the side of his face. Chuck made a face at Ellie and got a shrug.

"Good one, bro. And thanks for doin' this. Babe, we really gotta get outta here if we're gonna get there even, like, fifteen minutes late."

Chuck sniffed in amusement. Devon was into kisses with his hugs now. He assumed Clara's entrance into this world had a lot to do with it. He kissed that little girl so much it had overflowed into his greetings with everyone else. Even Mary Bartowski had been getting head kisses, much to her chagrin. Chuck just hoped Devon was able to keep from doing it to his patients. Because that'd be grounds for a lawsuit…

"We're new parents, they'll understand," Ellie said, clutching her daughter tightly and looking down into the anguished but still beautiful face. "C'mon, Clara, Uncle Chuck is here. Your favorite guy."

"Hey!" Devon exclaimed from across the room as he shrugged his jacket on.

"Your second favorite guy. Woops." She made a face at Clara, like they were sharing an inside joke.

"All right, El. Give me the little Grumpy Gussina and I'll take care of her."

Ellie made a whining sound, holding Clara even tighter to her. "I don't want to go."

And there it was.

Chuck and Devon exchanged a look.

"Don't do that. Don't do the man-look across the room at each other. I'm the one who carried her for nine months. I'm the one who pushed her out of my cervix…"

"Wow, okay," Devon muttered.

"…so don't you dare look at each other with that 'Ellie's crazy' look. I'm perfectly fine. I just miss my daughter if I'm away from her. That's all. It's difficult to leave."

"I'm gonna miss her, too," Devon said, sneaking in close and wrapping his arms around both of his women. "But we have plans today. And I gotta be honest with you, wife o' mine, it's getting to the point where I might go insane if we don't separate ourselves from this apartment and/or that hospital. Seriously, baby mama, I'm gonna snap. We need this."

She huffed, rolling her eyes. And then she bounced Clara a little in her arms, rocking her. "You're right. I know you're right. And we're going. We're going. It's just…hard."

"Hey, you can call or text anytime, El. I've got my phone."

"Yeah, I can, can't I?"

"See?" Devon said, shrugging and grinning in that Captain Awesome way. "Bro, seriously. You're so awesome. This means a lot." He mouthed, 'We are going crazy', at Chuck where Ellie couldn't see him, still cooing at her daughter, trying to calm the fussy baby down.

Chuck widened his eyes at him and nodded.

"Here, give 'er to me, El. Get ready to go."

"Babe, seriously. Give our daughter to her uncle. We need to get outta here. Traffic might be bad."

"Traffic's always bad. We live in L.A."

"She has a point," Chuck said. "Hand over Her Highness the Fusspot. Uncle Chuck will get her to stop crying. Trust the nerd." He made grabby hands.

"Well…" Then Ellie's eyes got big as she took a step back. "Hey, where's Sarah? We can't leave without Sarah being here, Devon. I have to talk to her. She needs to be here before we leave."

Devon groaned.

Ellie had found another way to procrastinate.

"She's working on something for her case this morning, but she is meeting me here. She should be here soon, though, and you can talk to her when you get ba—" Chuck started, but then there was a staccato knock on the door and Devon looked mightily pleased. "Oh, there she is."

Captain Awesome swept the door open. "Hey, look who's here! It's Sarah! Let's go, Ellie!"

"Damn it, Sarah! Great timing, Sarah!" Ellie groused.

Sarah just stood in the hallway, wide-eyed, her gaze flitting back and forth between the Awesomes.

"Uh…hi?" She muttered, "What is happening?" at Chuck as he took pity on her and pulled her into the apartment, shutting the door behind her.

"Good morning," he chirped, kissing her cheek. "Ellie's having a really hard time letting go this morning and she thought she could use you not being here yet to put off leaving Clara. But you're ever the prompt one, so…no cigar."

"Sarah, I'm sorry." Ellie pushed in between them, having finally relinquished Clara to her husband who was now taking a stab at calming their daughter down. She hugged the younger woman with a hard squeeze. "I'm a little, uh, tightly wound."

"A little?"

Devon winced, perhaps realizing he should've kept his mouth shut there, and he mouthed, 'Sorry', when his wife glared at him.

"It's okay, Ellie. It's the new mom thing. Separation anxiety. Or…whatever. I have no knowledge whatsoever of new mom psychology."

"Oh? Well, I read up on it to prepare for having Clara and it helped me not at all, so…" Ellie shrugged and laughed, a bit forced, if Chuck was any judge.

Chuck stepped away from the women then and reached out for his niece. "Here, Captain Awesome, let me see her."

The blonde willingly passed the crying baby over to her uncle and Chuck cradled her carefully, fixing her yellow ducky blanket so that she was wrapped up even tighter. "Hey, little yellow burrito. Look at my doofy face."

He pulled a face and Clara stopped crying immediately, blinking up at him.

"What. In. The. Hell?" Awesome murmured.

"It's not adoration, trust me. She's just confused," Chuck said, making another face.

Clara blinked again.

"Aren't you a little confused girl? Yes, you are," he said, making his voice higher. "I just confused the crap outta you, huh?" This time after she blinked, she let out a little bubbly giggle. "How are you this cute?" he asked through gritted teeth. "I just wanna bite your cheeks. Gah!"

"I get the urge, bro, but don't do it. I tried to do it last night and she definitely didn't like it."

"You tried to bite our daughter?" Ellie asked.

"Babe. Her cheeks," he responded, like that answered everything.

Sarah sidled up next to Chuck, then, wrapping an arm around him and letting Clara latch onto the finger of her other hand. "Your hand is so little, I can't even stand it."

"Isn't she the cutest little? And yes, I did just make little into a noun. She's a little now."

"See, El? Clara's in good hands. The best hands. Let's go. We're gonna be really late."

"You're new parents. I'm sure they'll understand," Sarah said distractedly, beaming down at Clara.

Ellie marched up to Sarah and wrapped her arms around her, squeezing her tightly. "That's exactly what I said. I love you, Sarah."

"I love you, too," the blonde said, giggling.

"Chuck, give your niece to her au—" His sister just barely caught herself. "Honorary auntie." It was a good catch, but everyone knew what she'd just almost said, and the implications of it. …The permanence of it.

Thanks a lot, Ellie.

Chuck tried to ignore the awkward look on Sarah's face as she took Clara from him. "Don't get too comfy there, Sarah, because I'm taking her right back after I get my orders."

"Nuh uh!" she shot back. "Pry her from my cold dead arms."

Ellie giggled and dragged Chuck to the fridge. "Her bottles are in here. There's enough for today and tomorrow. Just make sure it's warm but not too warm, okay? Don't burn my firstborn's mouth."

"El, I'm not going to burn my niece."

"Well, you don't know unless you test it first. That's all I'm saying. Put it on your hand first, right here between—"

"Ellie, I've babysat numerous times. I've got all this down."

"Fine! But make sure she naps. I know how much you want to just play with her and make faces, but she needs to sleep, too."

"Okay," he chuckled, shutting the fridge and grabbing her shoulders, forcing her towards the door. "Go have fun."

"Her diapers are—"

"I know where her diapers are."

"Yeah, but—"

"Ellie." Sarah was there, then, passing Clara off to Chuck again. She'd managed to get Clara to not just stop crying and fussing, but the baby's eyes were even drooping a little. How had she done this? Was she magic? He wouldn't put it past Sarah Walker, P.I. to also be magic on top of everything else.

She took Ellie by her shoulders and looked her in the eye. "You've been working so hard. You had to move really soon after having a baby. You're dealing with that still, weeks later, on top of having a two month old baby, on top of taking shifts at the hospital. You need today, Ellie. Awes—Er, Devon. Devon needs today."

Good catch, Sarah…

"We really need today," Devon agreed, nodding emphatically.

"All you have to worry about for the rest of the day is enjoying yourself, which isn't a worry at all, is it?"

"No," Ellie agreed, her shoulders slumping.

"You don't have to change diapers. You don't have to feed Clara. You don't have to sprint around the house making sure everything is where it's supposed to go. You don't have to be at the hospital. You don't have to leave the house with the huge mommy bag you're always carrying around or worry about the carseat. You don't have to deal with any of that. You get to just hang out with people you like, eat food, drink whatever the fuck you wanna drink. Shit, sorry," she winced, glancing over at Clara who was alert again. Damn it.

"Oh." Ellie snorted. "Don't worry. She has no idea. Watch this." She moved her face close to Clara's and said in a happy high-pitched voice, "Shit fuck fuck shit fuck."

Clara giggled.

Ellie straightened and shrugged.

Sarah cracked up and Chuck just shook his head. "I'm just appalled at you, Ellie," he said. He wasn't appalled in the slightest, and he chuckled, still shaking his head.

"I swear, I'm about to throw you over my shoulder and carry you out to the car. We need to go," Awesome said, already at the door.

"Ugh, fine." She rolled her eyes and leaned down to kiss Clara on the forehead. "Be good for Chuck and Sarah, okay? Be the best girl."

Clara gurgled in response.

"I know, I know I don't have to say it but I do it for appearances anyway. Get used to it." She poked her daughter's belly button to make her laugh. She must've noticed the way everyone was looking at her. "I speak my daughter's language. Don't any of you judge me."

It took another five minutes but Ellie finally ended up being forcibly dragged out of the apartment by her husband, leaving Chuck and Sarah alone with the baby.

Sarah just laughed and shook her head. "Wow."

"Yeeeeeah, Ellie's a bit much but I can't blame her. She's been with Clara nonstop since she gave birth to her, with only a few hours here and there that she's spent away for short shifts at the hospital in the last week since she started at Westside. It's a new mom thing I think."

"Oh, no. I don't blame her, either. But also give me that baby right now."

He chuckled and shook his head. "Nah. Nope. You gave her to me and she's mine now."

"That's total bullshit, Chuck. I gave her to you so that I could stop your sister from having a mental breakdown about leaving for their barbecue."

Chuck groaned. She was right. She'd done it for his sister. "You're just lucky I love you and that I think it's insanely precious that you like my niece this much."

He went and sat on the couch with Clara, Sarah following to squish in right next to him, and then he handed her off to his girlfriend's secure embrace.

"I straight-up love her, I think, full disclosure," Sarah said, cradling Clara close. She kicked her pumps off, then, and put her feet up on the coffee table, curling her toes that made little popping sounds, and melting back into the cushions. "Mmmmmm, it's so good to be sitting down."

"Rough morning?"

"Not rough, per se, just a lot of running in circles and it ended up amounting to nothing."

"Burgess send you on a wild goose chase, then?" he asked, snuggling in next to her and reaching down to fix the cowlick in his niece's darkening hair. He frowned. "Hey, is it just me, or was her hair a lot blonder when she was first born? Is it getting darker?"

"Um…maybe?"

"Maybe it's the lighting. Anyway, you were saying…?"

She giggled and shrugged a bit, leaning some of her weight against his chest. "I think Burgess is trying to do some detecting of his own and his so-called tips he keeps sending me to explore are just…tripping me up."

"Can you sit him down and talk to him about it?"

"I don't really know how to do that without offending the guy who's signing his name to my paycheck."

"Sarah, come on. He's conflicting with your investigation. He hired you to solve this. He needs to let you do your job. He needs to back off and give you the time and space to uncover the truth in your own way. Which, in my humble opinion, is the right way. You know what you're doing." He lifted his arm and wrapped it around her, tugging her close. And then he reached down to let Clara wrap her tiny pudgy fist around his pinky.

"Yeah. You're right. I just have to tell him. I don't want him to fire me. That's all."

"Did I fire you when you tanned my hide?"

She sniffed in amusement. "Chuck, you're not exactly like most people. You readily admit when you make mistakes, when you're wrong. And you're pretty good at taking criticism. And from women. That's not exactly something a lot of men are good at."

He shrugged. "Maybe Clive Burgess will surprise you. Listen. Worst comes to worst, if it offends him, just apologize and figure out a way to do what helps the case. Ignore his bad tips unless you actually think it might be helpful. It sucks, but I think you can manage the balance…You know, doing all of that without him realizing he's being ignored."

"So…play him like a fiddle, you're saying."

"Yeah. I guess so."

"That's actually stellar advice, Chuck. Thank you." She craned her neck and pursed her lips so that he could lean down and kiss her.

That was when Clara began to get fussy again. Her face got all wrinkled and red, her little hands balled up into fists, and the angry little sounds came from her mouth.

"Uh oh. Ohhh, no, here she goes," Sarah said. "Do I rock her?"

"Ummm…try that."

Sarah sat up straight and started to bounce her in her arms gently. "Shhh shhh…it's okay, Clara." She gave Chuck a helpless look.

In the past two months since his niece was born, he and Sarah had only spent alone time with her here and there. Clara had slept through most of their babysitting adventures prior to this. And if she hadn't been sleeping, she'd been eating instead. The most he'd looked after her was the time Devon was at work and Ellie went to a post-birth check-up for two hours.

And today would be more like eight hours.

At least Sarah was here.

Though she seemed out of her depth. Definitely out of her depth.

Oh, shit …

3 notes · View notes

vixxscifiwritings · 6 years ago

Text

yellow tulips for love

jbsdhffhkb I didn’t know this gif existed before I wrote this oneshot

Characters - Hongbin x OC, Taekwoon x OC (established), Hyukvi, HaKen

Warnings - cheese everywhere

Summary - Hongbin and Haneul dance around their growing feelings for each other. Or rather, Haneul remains unaware of Hongbin’s silent confessions.

A/N - Yes this is the cursed story I wrote in return for @biasedwriting writing me college AU jock!Taekwoon. Or rather, the first half of the deal.

-x-

“Kim Haneul? What a pleasant surprise!” Hongbin said, smiling at her. He had been happily surprised to see her when she had walked into the conference room. He had waited till after the presentation to approach her.

“Hello. Minah couldn’t make it so I am a last minute substitution for her” Haneul explained. “She sends her apologies. She is terribly sorry about being caught up in Busan.”

“It’s alright. We are always happy to see a familiar face” Hongbin said.

“I don’t think your team was as happy after the presentation” Haneul said, frowning to herself.

“Well, it’s a lot of work every time a new product comes around. The company pushes really aggressively on targets just to make it popular in our client base” Hongbin explained.

“Well the new underlying processes reduce our cost of financing overall and the low interest rates would attract more customers from the middle market base” she argued.

“Still a gamble to take. The new loan scheme is complicated to explain to someone who isn’t a financial analyst like you or me” he replied. Hongbin smiled and his dimple showed, momentarily making Haneul lose focus. She narrowed her eyes at him. He always used his dimples to throw people off focus when he was losing an argument. Yet it strangely made her heart flutter.

“It’s a shame that the presentations always happen at the end of the business day. I don’t think people appreciate being pulled into meetings so late” she noted, watching as some people in the room yawned.

It had been an exciting day on the market and such days often saw a lot of worried investors harassing their relation managers over their portfolios and if they were making large profits or losses.

“It’s been a day for us as well. The equity team looked to be on the verge of tears. The advisory team is still faring okay” he told her.

“I did not expect a sudden change in regulations. We have a very short time to update our rules and start reporting on the new laws” Haneul observed.

“They will extend the deadlines. They always do” Hongbin said, dismissing her worry.

“Dangerous gamble to take Mr Lee” Haneul said with a grin. He smirked at her before adjusting his tie.

“I guess I’ll be on my way then” she said, with a short bow.

“It’s late. Should I walk you home?” he asked, looking out of the window. The sun had set before the meeting had started.

“I don’t want to trouble you” Haneul said hesitantly.

“Well, I do have an ulterior motive. I was hoping we could stop by the dumpling store like we did last time? I’ve been craving them and I forgot to ask you the name of the store” he confessed sheepishly.

“Who can say no to dumplings? Let’s go!” Haneul cheered. Hongbin laughed as he picked up her bag and held the door for her. Haneul went first, talking animatedly about the hole in the wall dumpling store that the two of them had walked across the last time he had walked her home.

-x-

“A vanilla latte please” Haneul said, stifling a yawn. It was seven thirty in the morning and it was too damn early by her standards. Hence she had decided to make a quick coffee run before she had to get to work.

She collected the receipt and waited at the pickup counter for her coffee to be ready. She mindlessly scrolled through the news, noting in the headlines and marking whatever seemed relevant to be read later. The slight chill in the air seeped through her suit jacket and made her shiver.

“You look like a funny kitten” a familiar voice announced. Haneul gasped, turning to see Hongbin standing there and grinning at her.

“Excuse you, I am a puppy” she protested.

“You look like a wet kitten that’s shivering in the rain. Why didn’t you wear something warm?” he asked her, standing next to her and leaning against the counter. He had a receipt token identical to hers and Haneul realized that she had been too busy to notice him come in and order his coffee.

“I forgot my scarf in the rush to get to office” she said, embarrassed at how silly it sounded when said out loud. Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything at all.

“I thought you didn’t clock in till later” Hongbin said.

“I am working longer for a month. We have this new research that’s keeping everyone on their toes” she explained. “It’s really exciting because we have finally started using big data algorithms. Did I ever tell you that they finally licensed the new market data for the parameters that we had been lobbying for? The deal with Bloomberg licenses went through so now we have extensive datasets to start analysis on -”

She was startled when soft wool landed along her neck. Hongbin removed his scarf and put it around her while she had been talking about her latest project.

“Sorry. But you kept shivering” he said by the way of an explanation.

“I couldn’t -” Haneul started, only to be interrupted when Hongbin bopped her nose.

“I’m used to the morning chill. I’ll survive. Besides, our coffee is almost done” he said, pointing to the barista fitting lids and cardboard holders onto the paper cups that held their names.

“Thank you” she said gratefully. She hadn’t realized how chilly it was till she felt the sharp contrast to the warmth of the wool. The scarf held the smell of his cologne. She could never quite place the scent and what tones it had, but she distinctly remembered that it was his signature scent. She coloured, burying her face in the scarf out of shame.

Hongbin smiled at her before taking the coffee cups. She adjusted the strap of her handbag before taking the cup from him and thanking the barista on their way out. They discussed the news as they walked down the block to the office campus, feeling more active after caffeine.

-x-

Haneul looked at the scarf, lying in a packet next to her desk. She had gone looking for Hongbin only to learn that he was on a business trip and wouldn’t be back for another two weeks. The weather had gotten colder and she hoped he kept warm.

“Haneul, do you have five minutes?” Minah asked, walking over to her cubicle.

“Uh yeah. Do you want to catch up on the report I wrote?” she asked her manager.

“Yes. And a couple of other things” Minah said. She frowned when she saw the packet that Haneul had been fiddling with.

“More dumplings from your brother’s shop?” Minah asked.

“No that’s just the cover. I had stuff… to return to someone” Haneul said vaguely.

“Okay, you are terrible at hiding things” Minah said. “Is this someone, the boy your brother doesn’t like?”

“My brother has never been introduced to a ‘boy’. Also I’ve only visited the shop with a friend not a boyfriend” Haneul clarified.

“Blame Wonshik. He is a tattle tale. He told Taekwoon and me about this man you came in with, late at night once. And then multiple times” she said, raising her eyebrow suggestively.

“Like I said, Hongbin is a friend” Haneul said. She bit her lip when she realized that she should never have given the names away.

“Lee Hongbin? As in the senior manager from the Advisory team?” Minah asked, a lightbulb going off in her head. She had seen the two of them walk in once with coffee in the mornings but she hadn’t thought much about it and hence hadn’t connected the dots.

“It’s not what you are thinking” Haneul said warily.

“Too late, I am already thinking it. He’s cute” Minah teased.

“And a colleague and I have a strict personal policy of not dating anyone I work with” Haneul said firmly.

“Funny because you work for the middle office while he works for the front office and have no business functions in common” Minah reminded her.

“Even so…” Haneul started and trailed off. She had no good response to that argument. “Just no. We’re.. Friends at max.”

“What a shame” Minah said, smiling at her like she would smile at her nephew causing trouble. She clearly had no intention of believing Haneul.

“Let’s just discuss my report? Disinvestment in the petrochemical industry is more important at the moment” Haneul reminded her.

“Yeah but your love life is more interesting” Minah observed.

“I lost interest in romance the day you said you wanted to date Taekwoon” Haneul said sourly.

“Shut up. We don’t talk about that” Minah said, clamming shut.

“Eat up the human dumpling was it?” Haneul pretended to recall.

“Disinvestment in petrochemicals!!” Minah announced dragging her subordinate along to her cabin.

-x-

“I should stop talking to all three of you” Haneul said with her arms crossed.

“That’s my line. I cook at the shop all day and now I am cooking for dinner too. I should be the one breaking this friendship” Wonshik complained.

“I am clearly helping” Taekwoon responded.

“You are only sitting on the counter and eating vegetables that should be going into the dumpling fillings” Wonshik complained, shoving him. Taekwoon yelped, almost falling off the counter.

“Boys, no fighting” Minah said, breaking them up. She took the bowl of veggies from Taekwoon who whined before handing them over to Wonshik who thanked her.

“Come along” she said, dragging him by his hand to the couch.

“You’re both gross” Haneul called out after them, when they ended up snuggling on the couch.

“You denying your puppy crush is gross. Go out and get laid” Minah retaliated.

“I don’t have a crush” Haneul said. “She doesn’t have a crush” Taekwoon added in perfect sync.

“You’re both stubborn high school children” Wonshik said, pulling out the first batch of dumplings. He carefully handed a plate over to Minah who promptly declared she loved him for the food. Taekwoon glared at the two of them before nuzzling into her neck. Minah rolled her eyes at the childlike behaviour of her boyfriend before focusing on her food.

“I am not a child. That is also precisely why you should believe me when I say that I don’t like anyone that way” Haneul explained.

“That’s why you were wearing his scarf?” Wonshik asked.

“Scarf? What scarf?” Taekwoon asked sitting up. He almost made the plate in Minah’s hands fall over, causing her to cry.

“So one day, I decided to go over and meet Sanghyuk at his cafe. You know the one near Minah and Haneul’s office? It’s sort of early and I am mentally crying but then I saw Haneul walk in” Wonshik started.

“Oh my god, why were you there?” Haneul asked in horror. Wonshik smirked at her before turning to the couple on the sofa.

“And Haneul is busy on her phone so she didn’t notice me. Which is fine because I wasn’t feeling very social anyways” Wonshik said. He gave a loud uff when Haneul ran up to him and covered his mouth.

“Shut up. You misunderstood everything that day!!!” she cried.

“Tell me I gotta know!” Minah said, putting her food away and hugging Haneul so that she would let Wonshik go.

“So this dude walked up to her and they start talking and then before I know it, he is pulling his scarf and putting it around her. He was so smooth, I swear it was like a drama” Wonshik said, laughing at Haneul’s misery.

“He was being nice!” Haneul protested.

“Sanghyuk almost died smiling at the the moment. I just died on the inside. It was too early for drama moments” Wonshik said, grimacing.

“Where can I find him and murder him?” Taekwoon asked.

“Don’t be overprotective. He was nice and respectful. What was his full name? I think Sanghyuk knew him but I forgot to ask” Wonshik said.

“Lee Hongbin and he works in our company” Minah said. “We can stalk his instagram.”

“We do not have to stalk anyone's Instagram. Why do you even know it?” Haneul asked Minah.

“That information is not important. He is a hobby photographer and he has an aesthetic af insta account. We should totally check it out” Minah insisted.

“We should” Taekwoon said. Everyone raised an eyebrow at him. “I need to be able to recognize him so that I don't murder the wrong person.”

“Taekwoon hyung really now” Wonshik sighed.

“Taaeeeeekwooooniieee” Minah cooed. “Don't you want Haneul to marry quickly and have tons of babies that you can play with?”

“Oh yeah” Taekwoon remembered causing Haneul to gape.

“You're both crazy.”

-x-

“Hi Sanghyuk” Haneul greeted when she walked into the cafe.

“Ah the other half of my otp. Your boyfriend is on the table by the window” Sanghyuk said.

“I don't have a boyfriend” Haneul deadpanned.

“Good to know” a voice behind her said, causing her to lose ten years from her life.

“I just came over to clear my bill and leave. I am sorry if I am interrupting you being asked out” Hongbin said. His voice was deeper and husky, a clear sign of him being sleepy. His hair was curly, something Haneul hadn't seen before.

“I wouldn't date her in a million years” Sanghyuk said, grimacing. Haneul leaned over and hit him.

“Just for that comment, my coffee is free today” she threatened. Sanghyuk gave her a patronizing look and she shrugged. At least she had tried.

She turned back to Hongbin who had been observing the interaction. “I didn't know that you were back” she said.

“I returned last night” Hongbin replied.

“How was your trip?” she asked.

“Terrible. The deal fell through because of competitive rates from a rival” he told her.

“I thought we were the most competitive on the street” she frowned.

“Clearly not. There is a long meeting planned for analysing the situation. Jaehwan was not happy” he said with a frustrated sigh.

“Not going to lie. Lee Jaehwan scares me a little” Haneul said.

“He's nice for most part” Hongbin refuted. “But he has a laser sharp focus when solving a problem and none of us are up for it after such a long trip.”

“Ahem” Sanghyuk interrupted. The two of them turned towards him.

“A sweet vanilla latte. It's on your tab” he said, pushing a paper cup towards her.

“I owe you” Haneul said gratefully before he left the two of them to their conversation.

“I guess I should get going” Hongbin said looking at his watch. He smiled at ruefully at her before attempting to fix his hair. He gave up with a very audible sigh and a hunch if shoulders that made Haneul feel bad for him.

“Uh… Hongbin?” Haneul called out to him.

“Yeah?” he responded.

“You need the sugar rush more than I do” she said, giving him the coffee cup. Hongbin looked at the coffee in his hand before looking at her.

“Are you sure?” Hongbin asked. She nodded in reply.

“Thanks I guess” he said, a little confused. Maybe it was her imagination, but his cheeks did look pink. An effect of the morning cold. She really should return his scarf, she mentally scolded herself.

He smiled at her, dimples showing before walking out of the cafe. She leaned against the counter and hit her head. How embarrassing. Why had the act been cute in her head but supremely embarrassing in real life???

“Well that was awkward” Sanghyuk commented, only to have Haneul hit him again.

-x-

“Hi, is Lee Hongbin here?” Haneul asked the person sitting in the cubicle next to his.

“He just left for a break. He should be back in ten. I can call him if you’d like?” the woman offered.

“It’s alright. I just had to return something. I’ll leave it at his desk” Haneul replied. The woman nodded, smiling at her before going back to work. Haneul looked around, spotting a post it notepad and a marker. She wrote down a small note, just so Hongbin would know that she was dropping his scarf off.

Of course it was more polite to give it to him in person, but she had an extremely busy day ahead and she had been hoping to catch him during her break. This would have to do.

She made her way down to the fifteenth floor. Advisory and Client Relations worked on the thirtieth floor since it had the best view, meant to impress visiting clients. But the fifteenth floor had a good view of the city too. The entire building had glass elevators on the outside that let you look out at the east side of the city as you traversed up or down. Haneul stepped out only to run into Hongbin.

“Oh hi” she said, surprised to see him here.

“Hey” he said, equally surprised. He awkwardly gestured to the elevator which was held open for him and Haneul nodded in understanding. As soon as the door closed she hit her head. How awkward was that?

She looked at her watch and she realized that she only had ten minutes for her next meeting. So much for grabbing a quick coffee from the cafeteria. With a deep sigh and a heavy heart, she walked back to her desk.

She stopped when she saw a cup of coffee on her desk. She hadn’t had time to stop by the cafe this morning so it definitely wasn’t hers. There was a small post it note next to her cup, accompanied by a bunch of yellow tulips.

‘I owed you coffee - HB’

“Oh” Haneul said, picking up the small bunch of flowers. The tulips were bright and looked extremely well taken care of. She didn’t know of any flower shops nearby, so where had he gotten flowers from? Surely he must have picked it up on the way at last minute’s thought.

“Haneul let’s go. We’re meeting in 17B instead of 15C” Minah said, passing by her desk. Haneul started, hiding the flowers behind her back. Minah was too busy with a stack of reports to look her away and Haneul thanked the gods. She grabbed her folder and coffee and followed, offering to divide the load.

The flowers stayed in her mind for quite a while.

-x-

“You were looking for me?” Haneul asked, peeking into the cabin.

“Yeah, take a seat” Minah said. “It’s just our routine one on one meeting. As your manager, I wanted to catch up with you and see how you were holding up.”

“Well it is tax season after all so hurray for how hellish everyone’s life is” Haneul said, taking a seat.

“Tell me about it. It’s extremely taxing on all of us” Minah said. The two women stared at each other and sighed. That pun may have been unintentional but it was terrible and both of them judged Minah for it.

“Anyhow… how is work? I get that this month is trying but otherwise? Are you able to hold up?” she asked, moving on.

“It’s okay. Manageable” Haneul said. There wasn’t much to be discussed to be honest. Since Minah was a close friend outside of work, they didn’t need to wait for a monthly meeting to discuss issues. This was more of a formality between the two of them now.

“And what of your life outside of work?” Minah asked, grinning at her.

“We are not discussing that here” Haneul said, sitting up straight.

“As your manager, I should be kept apprised of any such developments between you and any other colleague. HR regulations” she said, smirking at Haneul.

“Well good for us that there are no developments then” Haneul lied through her teeth. There had been… events or incidents or just a casual exchange of hellos and post it notes. But those were most certainly not romantic developments.

“If you think Jaehwan and I have not noticed the sudden increase in the number of times Hongbin and you have dropped by each other’s desks to supposedly return things you forgot then you both are sorely mistaken” Minah sang. “At first I was hoping that it was because you were hooking up and were being forgetful about your things at each other’s places. Imagine my disappointment when I found out that it was just post it notes and flowers and phone charms.”

Haneul buried her face in her hands and groaned. She didn’t know how things had escalated to this point. About one month ago, when she had originally stopped by Hongbin’s desk to return his scarf, Hongbin had stopped by her desk to drop off coffee, claiming he had owed her one. Since Haneul did not have the foresight or common sense to have asked for his number or his business card and she did not want to have this conversation on the office messenger or email, she had ended up leaving another post it note the morning after, thanking him for the flowers.

One post it note had turned into multiple. Sparse and spread out over the days but always accompanied by flowers or in her case, cute things like a Hello Kitty phone charm that she had found and thought he would like.

It had almost become a habit that Haneul thought nothing of. Till Minah had called her out on it.

“It’s not like that” Haneul protested weakly.

“Just so you know, I have no issues with this relationship. Jaehwan sends his blessings too” she added in a sweet voice.

“Since we are clearly done here, I am going back to my work” Haneul said, standing up.

“Please let me know of any further developments on this track” Minah said, formally yet mocking her.

“I hate you and you are officially uninvited for Chuseok dinner” Haneul frowned.

“Too bad for you. I’m hosting it this time, remember? You can’t uninvite me. I uninvite you” Minah replied.

“Fine. You won’t ever see me again. We talk formally like manager and direct report from now on since we must work together” Haneul said, parodying her brother when he was angry.

“We’re never letting Taekwoon live down that argument with Wonshik are we?” Minah laughed.

“No not at all” Haneul agreed.

“It did give me an idea though…” Minah said thoughtfully.

“For?” Haneul asked.

“Nothing. Just idle thoughts” she dismissed. Haneul nodded before leaving the cabin.

-x-

“Not leaving yet?” Minah asked, looking at Haneul typing away on her desktop.

“I just have some analysis left to do. I think I will leave in an hour” Haneul told her.

“Don't stay too late” Minah said, patting her shoulder before leaving.

Truthfully Haneul would have left with her but there was a single hypothesis on her analysis that was failing. She could swear it was a data issue. Their sample size hadn't been as large as she had hoped for. But she hadn't expected it to fail with such a wide margin and now she had to rework the calculation. That had of course escalated to data cleaning being redone and had taken her a good chunk of the past hour.

She groaned as the test failed with a significant error yet again. Luck and math were both clearly not on her side today.

She decided to take a break and probably come back at this problem in five minutes. She locked her screen and took her phone up. She mindlessly scrolled through her Kakaotalk messages and LinkedIn notifications. There was nothing there except the usual adverts and spam messages.

She hovered over Instagram. How had Minah known about Hongbin’s instagram account? She had remembered him mentioning that he liked photography and that sometimes he would travel out of the city on weekends for nature shots. But she had never seen any of the photos he had ever taken.

Haneul looked around to make sure no one was looking before opening up the app. She navigated to Minah’s profile. There was a photo of pasta that she figured her brother had cooked for her. She double tapped for a like and went to her following page. A quick search revealed Hongbin’s instagram. It was his name with extra Is in it. Cute, she thought as she clicked on his profile. It wasn’t private which was a blessing because she could now scroll without having to follow.

Minah hadn’t been wrong about his page being aesthetic. The photos he took were all so beautiful and high definition. Looking at the dates, she could tell that he uploaded rarely. Maybe he had a different place to share his photography or didn’t share much. But the photos he did have uploaded were beautiful.

He also didn’t upload many pictures of himself. Amongst the scenery, there was only one of him walking through the cherry blossom trees in Yeouido. A lot of it was also food. There was one another picture of him, with a Hello Kitty headband. From the comments, it looked like it had been uploaded as the result of a dare. It was really cute, she giggled to herself. Perhaps a few years old because he looked very young in it, but uploaded not so long ago.

She double tapped and froze for a moment. She had accidentally liked the picture. Why would she do that?!?!?! She was such a dumbass. She had a mini panic attack as she immediately unliked the picture. Except she tapped too many times and now the picture was liked again. Distressed, she threw the phone away from her and buried her face in her hands. Clearly she could do nothing right today.

-x-

“Yo Haneul, your boyfriend was looking for you earlier” Sanghyuk said, placing the vanilla latte in front of her.

“He’s not my boyfriend. He can be your boyfriend” she said, miffed and sulky.

“Okay spill. Why are you sulky and why are you avoiding him?” Sanghyuk asked.

“I’m not sulky and I am not avoiding him. He’s just not my boyfriend” Haneul protested.

“Are you in a mood because he isn’t your boyfriend? I thought the problem was something he might have said but I guess the problem is the lack of him saying anything” Sanghyuk deduced wisely. “Sometimes men are idiots like that. Maybe you should make the first move.”

“I will strangle you with an empty coffee cup. Also you deduced amazingly wrong” she grumbled.

“I am only trying to help you here” he said, raising both his hands in defeat.

“Oh Sanghyuk I did a very stupid thing” she confessed, burying her head on the table.

“Tell me something new” Sanghyuk snorted. Haneul glared at him and he chuckled. “Okay, confess your sins away.”

“You have to promise not to laugh at me okay? I was scrolling through Hongbin’s instagram” she started.

“Stalking you mean” Sanghyuk corrected.

“Scrolling!! Anyhow, I accidentally liked a very old post. I wasn’t even following him when I did! He would clearly know that I was looking at his ig!!” Haneul cried.

“What an amazing miracle. I am suddenly inside a teenage romcom” Sanghyuk said, faking awe.

“You are terribly useless and I hope you die alone” Haneul told him.

“Well… I don’t know about that considering I just started dating Wonshik and I think it might be for the long haul” Sanghyuk said, smiling sheepishly.

“What? When?! Details!!” she asked excitedly.

“There are no details. It’s all pretty new and we’re still trying to figure this out. But you know how Wonshik is. If he decides he loves someone, he goes all in. And I kind of like him a lot too” he confessed.

Haneul beamed at him. At least love was going right for someone in this world. And she hadn’t thought about it before but now that she had been enlightened, the two of them would be the cutest pair ever! They had similar interests and got along like a house on fire. And looking at the dopey way they talked about each other, they were clearly very in love and her heart was so soft at the moment.

“Do the others know yet?” she asked him.

“We were thinking of telling Minah and Taekwoon on Chuseok. But Minah changed her mind and invited a couple of other people she wanted us to meet. So we will tell them after that I suppose” he said, playing with the stirrers.

“I am so happy for both of you” Haneul said, positively glowing for the two of them. Sanghyuk blushed, ruffling his hair since he didn’t know how to respond to it.

“Since I am the first person who came to know, will you name your first baby after me? Haneul is a common name for both boys and girls too” she said, resting her hands on the counter.

“And risk sharing your intelligence? What if the name itself is jinxed?” Sanghyuk asked in horror.

“I officially hate you and I am going to take my business and go to Starbucks from now on” Haneul said crossly.

-x-

“So… will anyone give me the lowdown of who you guys invited or will you both just stand there being gross?” Haneul asked, cutting up the meat. Taekwoon just stared at her before going back to hugging Minah who was busy with the glass noodles. Minah chuckled when Taekwoon buried his head in her neck.

“You tire me out” he told his sister, who just gave up on him. How on earth anyone tired out by doing nothing was a mystery to her. It was clearly Minah who had done most of the work.

“Taekwoon” Minah laughed when he kissed her neck. He paid no heed to her words as he proceeded to kiss her jaw and her cheeks and ears. She hit him with her elbow and he grumbled, only to hug her tighter.

“Right in front of my salad” Haneul said, taking away the vegetables from the extra lovey dovey pair in disgust.

��Excuse you that’s my salad. Don’t steal the carrots!” Taekwoon called out.

“I don’t know man, maybe don’t kiss where all of us will eat!” Haneul replied.

The doorbell rang, saving them from another sibling quarrel. “Hannie, can you see who that is? Taekwoon, if you’re not helping then go sit down” Minah ordered.

“No” Taekwoon said, pouting at her.

“Baby we have guests” she explained.

“Yeah baby, move your lazy ass and go welcome your guests” Haneul added sarcastically.

“I should kick you out of my house” he said, detaching from Minah and walking out of the kitchen.

“Why is my brother in such a weird mood today?” Haneul asked Minah, now that they were alone.

“No reason” Minah said.

“I knew it. He’s just a weird child” Haneul grumbled, taking over cooking the stew. There was a lot of laughter and chatter that confused Haneul and made Minah smile. It was followed by Taekwoon’s loud whining and the two women sighed.

“I guess this means Hakyeon and Jaehwan are here” Minah said with a fond exasperation.

“Hakyeon… and Jaehwan?” Haneul asked.

“Yeah. Hakyeon is a friend from university that both Wonshik and Taekwoon know. And Jaehwan is Hongbin’s boss. The one and only Lee Jaehwan” Minah told her, walking out. Haneul’s heart dropped as she covered the stew and followed them out.

“Hannie come here. I need to introduce you to our guests” Taekwoon said when he spotted her.

“Hakyeon, Jaehwan - This is my sister Haneul” he introduced. Haneul bowed and the two men did too.

“We work in the same company. Different departments though” Jaehwan told Hakyeon.

“Ah… so you’re that Kim Haneul” Hakyeon said. Haneul raised an eyebrow before Jaehwan shushed him.

“Hakyeon studied in the same college I did. That’s how we know each other. Jaehwan is Hakyeon’s husband and Minah’s close friend… by some twist of fate” Taekwoon said.

“What a coincidence” Haneul said shooting Minah a look. She knew exactly why the two of them were suddenly best buddies. Both of them gave her matching innocent smiles. Devious Aries people, Haneul cursed under her breathe as she turned to her brother.

“Why don’t we all go inside? The food’s almost done and we’re still waiting on a few people” Taekwoon said.

“You have a really cozy home” Hakyeon said, following him. Jaehwan followed, talking about something that Haneul wasn’t paying attention to. She dragged Minah to the kitchen under pretext of checking on the food.

“Who else did you invite?” she asked Minah. They were only waiting on Wonshik and Sanghyuk. What had her brother meant by the word ‘few’?

“Well, we did invite someone else. But this time it is someone you know” Minah said with a guilty face. But her tone indicated that she really wasn’t.

“You invited Hongbin, didn’t you?” Haneul asked, her head buried in her hands again. The state of facepalming was slowly becoming her constant state of being.

“Yeah. The poor boy was alone on Chuseok because his parents are on some tour out of the country. So I invited him along” Minah told her. “And I know that you are lovestruck but I hope you behave tonight.”

“This is insane” Haneul said with a heavy sigh.

“In a few years, you will look back at this moment and thank me for setting you guys up” Minah said.

“The police will look back at this moment and declare that you pushed me to the point of jumping out of this window and declare my suicide a homicide” Haneul said before storming off behind the counter.

“Yeah okay. Go set the table” Minah said, dismissing her. Haneul was as dramatic as her brother sometimes, if not more. It often gave Minah pause, wondering what she might marry into someday. But it was also very amusing when not directed at her.

Haneul joined the others in the living room once the stew was done. Jaehwan and Hakyeon were sitting on the couch while Taekwoon was sitting on the armchair on the side with Minah leaning against the handle. Her brother had his arm around her waist and it made Haneul scoff.

“But you really should drop by Hakyeon’s new flower shop some time. It’s very close to our office and from what Minah tells me, it is close to your restaurant too” Jaehwan said enthusiastically.

“I must mention, I am a huge fan of the dumplings. Jaehwan and I binged on it once with no regrets” Hakyeon said.

“They were Wonshik’s special recipe. He will be happy to know” Taekwoon replied modestly.

“Oh, speaking of specialities, I heard that your shop has beautiful tulips Hakyeon. How did you manage to get them in this season?” Minah asked. “Haneul really loves tulips” she added with a sweet smile her way.

“Ah. That was a tricky thing but I won’t give my secret away” Hakyeon teased. “Do you like flowers a lot Haneul?” he asked her.

“In general yes. I like flowers” she said. It hadn’t taken her long to figure out what Minah was hinting at. The yellow tulips from six weeks ago had been from Hakyeon’s new shop.

“Tulips are delicate flowers. Probably the reason why they have such a romantic meaning attached to them too” Hakyeon said.

“Romantic meaning?” Taekwoon asked.

“Yeah. what was it again? Love?” Jaehwan asked his husband.

“Yellow tulips were a sign of being hopelessly in love” Hakyeon said. He shared a look with Minah and Jaehwan while Haneul’s heart sank further and further.

“Excuse me” Haneul said, excusing herself from the discussion. Had Hongbin always known?? What was this supposed to mean???

Her brain went into overdrive as she paced around the kitchen. What was she supposed to do now? Oh my god, she was such an idiot. How was she supposed to keep a straight face when Hongbin arrived? And why in the world were Hakyeon, Jaehwan and Minah all in on this??

The ringing of Minah’s phone distracted her from her thoughts. But Haneul went right back into it when she saw Hongbin’s name flash. If only she could either jump from the balcony or make herself small enough to hide under the kitchen sink or something. Haneul settled into a compromise and just ducked behind the counter, hoping to hide from the world forever there.

“What in the world are you doing?” Taekwoon asked, staring at his sister. He had volunteered to come get Minah’s phone but had been confused by Haneul acting like a weird chicken.

“I uh… don’t feel so well. I think I need to run to the pharmacy and get some medicine” she said, jumping up. She rushed out before Taekwoon could ask her what was wrong and dove straight for the closet. She pulled out her jacket and put on her shoes, not caring for the socks that lay forgotten in a jumble.

“Is Haneul okay?” she heard Minah ask as she closed the door behind her. Haneul checked her pocket for keys to her apartment. Maybe it wasn’t too late to just go home and sleep and pretend that tonight had never happened.

She pressed the button for the ground floor and counted down numbers till she did reach the ground floor. The activity helped her calm down a little and brought rational thought back to her head.

She must have definitely looked like an idiot rushing out of the room like that. But there was no way to save face now. She could always walk down to the all night pharmacy and buy cough drops for the sake of going through with the lie, but it was too extreme, even for her. She hung around in the lounge for a while before stepping out.

“Oh. Haneul hi” a familiar voice said.

“Sanghyuk! You’re here” Haneul said, surprised.

“Yeah. Wonshik and I were just looking for the visitor’s parking area. We found Hongbin too. Bless the poor soul, he had the wrong block” Sanghyuk said, turning and waving to the two men.

“Um… I was just headed to the pharmacy so I should get going” Haneul said weakly. Maybe she should have jumped off the balcony when she had the chance.

“Pharmacy? Are you not feeling well?” Wonshik asked. He had heard the last sentence when the two of them had arrived.

“Haneul! Hi” Hongbin greeted before stopping. He had noticed something was wrong and he immediately went up to her.

“Are you okay? Are you feeling unwell?” he asked, touching her forehead to check her temperature.

“I’m fine” she squeaked. Her face was hot from her embarrassment at her actions and she was sure that Hongbin had misunderstood the high temperature as a rising fever. He took her hand to measure her pulse but she pulled away.

“I’m absolutely okay” she lied. She had never been more not-okay in her life but she couldn’t stand the fuss.

“Let’s go upstairs. It’s cold outside” she told Sanghyuk who was now smirking at her. While Wonshik and Hongbin were confused. Sanghyuk had figured out the reason behind Haneul’s actions and was now clearly enjoying himself. When Minah had admitted that she hadn’t told Haneul because she didn’t want her to freak out and bail, she had clearly been right in her assumptions.

“Isn’t it? It’s unusually cold for autumn this year” Wonshik said.

“Maybe I should buy more woollen scarves. It gets chilly here” Sanghyuk said, causing Hongbin to blush and Haneul to start coughing.

“Are you okay? Do you want me to go to the pharmacy and get you cough drops?” Sanghyuk asked her in a very concerned voice.

Haneul glared at him and walked ahead, not caring about the others. Sanghyuk laughed before following her. When Wonshik raised an eyebrow at him as they waited for the elevator, he promised all of it was in good fun.

“Are you sure you don’t have a fever though?” Hongbin asked in a whisper as he leaned in. Haneul nodded, trying not to pay too much attention to his perfume that she had come to like.

-x-

“Thank you for having us” Hakyeon said once he put his shoes on.

“It was our pleasure. You are all invited for dinner again some time. Maybe we can convince Taekwoon to cook his signature pasta. He is really good at it” Minah said proudly.

“Some time for sure. We would love to have you guys over for our New Year’s Eve party if you are in town at the time” Jaehwan added. “You too Hongbin. Wonshik and Sanghyuk too. Tonight was a lot of fun.”

“I can’t deny my boss’ order” Hongbin teased. Jaehwan glared at him causing everyone to laugh. It was a merry sort of buzz, everyone feeling warm and cozy after having their fill of food and drinks. Sanghyuk and Wonshik had brought soju along and now everyone except the designated drivers were tipsy and giggling.

“Do you want us to give you a ride to your place?” Sanghyuk asked Hongbin.

“It’s not very far from here so I will just walk” Hongbin said, politely declining the offer.

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow at the cafe then” Sanghyuk said. He bid everyone good night before the two of them headed out. Taekwoon and Minah noticed them holding hands as they left, but wisely left their questioning for later.

“That’s our cab driver and our cue” Hakyeon said, holding up his ringing phone. “You’re sure it’s not a problem if we leave our car parked overnight?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it. Come pick it up later” Taekwoon said, waving his concern off.

“Thanks for inviting us Minah” Jaehwan said. He went to give her a hug but somehow found himself hugging Taekwoon who was staring at him blankly while squeezing him to death. Hakyeon stopped laughing long enough to rescue his husband before pulling him out the door, giggling about how cute possessive Taekwoon was.

“I shall be out of your hair too” Hongbin said, once things had quietened down a little.

“Thank you for the persimmons though. You really didn’t have to bring anything” Minah said modestly.

“It’s Chuseok tradition. And it was the first time I was visiting your house. I couldn’t just show up empty handed” Hongbin insisted.

“Next time, you don’t have to be so formal” she said warmly.

“Good night” he wished everyone.

“Good night” Haneul replied. Probably the first words she had spoken to him in the duration of the entire event. He smiled at her before taking his leave.

“You know… maybe you should walk Haneul back. Don’t the two of you live close by?” Minah asked.

“I can walk her back” Taekwoon said, not impressed by her suggestion.

“You have zero balance at the moment. You are only walking back to bed mister” Minah told him firmly. Taekwoon looked at her, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

“Good lord why didn’t I die before I had to see that” Haneul groaned, grabbing her socks and shoes and running out the door for a second time that night.

“Your brother is just drunk” Minah yelled back, amused by her complaints.

“I don’t care. Be gross in private!” Haneul yelled back in reply. She came back the door and grabbed Hongbin’s hand, pulling him out and closing the door behind them.

“Do I want to know?” Hongbin asked as the two of them stood at the end of the corridor, waiting as Haneul wore her socks.

“You really don’t. My brother is a weird child” Haneul said scrunching her nose. She jumped about, trying to get her shoes on and Hongbin laughed at the silliness of the situation.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better. You were really silent during dinner” he said, pressing the button.

“Yeah… I… yeah” she replied. Very articulate, she berated herself.

“You are really bad at handling the cold aren’t you?” he asked her, as they stepped into the elevator.

“I generally have better resistance” she said half heartedly. “And I usually have my coat which I forgot at my brother’s apartment. I am an idiot.”

Hongbin grinned at her pouting at her own self. Haneul was expressive and this amused him no end.

“You don’t really have to walk me back. Minah just said that for the sake of it” she told him in a quiet voice. “I don’t really mean to inconvenience you. It’ll be out of your way and it is already late and -”

��I would like to” Hongbin interrupted her. He put his jacket around her so that she wouldn’t feel cold and she blushed. “If you don’t mind it, I would like to walk you home.”

“I… That would be nice yeah” Haneul relented. She did want to spend time with him. She had been too embarrassed to talk at dinner time and the walk would be a nice excuse.

“I stay about a block away. It’s not too far” she assured him. He nodded, letting her lead the way.

“Are you sure you’re not feeling cold?” she asked, ten steps into their walk together. He nodded in response. She bit her lip, wondering how to return the jacket without seeming too rude or blunt.

“I never caught how Hakyeon and Jaehwan know Minah and your brother” he said, making idle conversation.

“Jaehwan and Minah are friends from work. Hakyeon knew Wonshik and Taekwoon from college. They went to the same business school I think” Haneul told him.

“It must be nice to stay in touch after all these years. I am only in contact with a few people from back then” Hongbin said.

“Yeah. Most of my friends decided to settle in different places so we rarely meet up now” Haneul agreed. “How did you come to know Hakyeon? Through Jaehwan?”

“Yeah. We’ve been friends for better part of three years now” Hongbin replied.

“Can I ask you a completely random question?” Haneul asked.

“Go ahead” Hongbin replied.

“The yellow tulips from earlier. They were from Hakyeon’s shop weren’t they?” she asked him.

“How did you come to know?” he asked in surprise.

“His flower shop is the only one near office. Jaehwan said that they specialised in exotic flowers. Tulips are rare in autumn” she explained.

“Ah. Yeah they were from his shop. He suggested I buy them for you” he told her honestly.

“Did he tell you… what they mean in flower language?” she asked him.

“He did” Hongbin confessed.

“Huh” she said in response to it. The two of them continued walking, not saying more

“Did you like them?” he asked after a moment of prolonged silence.

“Yes” she said, looking at the ground instead of at him. Hongbin said nothing more, walking along with her.

“This is my building” Haneul said, gesturing to the apartment block they were approaching. “Would you like to come upstairs for coffee? Or hot chocolate? Or something?”

Hongbin ran his hands through his hair, wondering what the correct response to the situation was.

“Maybe next time” he said, although both of them could tell that he didn’t mean it.

“That’s a shame” Haneul said.

“I had a good time tonight” she followed up, tiptoeing back and forth.

“Me too” he said ruefully. Haneul nodded, not moving because she didn’t want to say goodbye just yet. Hongbin had no such intention either but the silence was making things awkward.

“Would you like to get dinner with me? Next Saturday maybe?” Hongbin asked her.

“Yes! I mean yeah. Yeah that sounds like a good idea” she said, trying not to sound too enthusiastic about it.

“Great” he replied. “I'll pick you up on the day of. We could go to the nice restaurant or maybe Lotte World. Namsoon Tower is too far -”

“Hongbin?” Haneul interrupted. “Can I get your number or your KKT id?”

“Oh right. Yeah” he said, flustered that he forgot the most basic part. He entered his number on her phone and saved it under his name. He would automatically show up in her contacts.

“Thanks. I'll see you at work?” she asked hopefully.

“Yeah. We could grab coffee before that if you liked” he suggested.

“Sounds wonderful”

-x-

“Your boyfriend was looking for you” Sanghyuk said when Haneul walked in.

“He's not my boyfriend. And I found your boyfriend who was looking for you” Haneul said, gesturing to Wonshik.

“You didn't tell me that Haneul knew about us” Wonshik said with a pout.

“I think Taekwoon and Minah figured out that something was up at dinner” Sanghyuk confessed.

“So effectively everyone knows” Wonshik summarised. “It would explain while Taekwoon kept looking at me and didn’t say a thing when I said I wanted to make a coffee run.”

“I’ll excuse myself then” Haneul said winking at the two who groaned. She laughed, accidentally walking into Hongbin who had come looking for her.

“I am so sorry” Haneul exclaimed, worried she had hurt him on accident.

“I’m okay” Hongbin said, holding her steady by her shoulder so she wouldn’t stumble.

“Ah…” she said wisely, feeling awkward and nervous.

“So um… coffee?” he asked her.

“Not here. Sanghyuk and Wonshik are going to do gross PDA” Haneul said. Her volume was loud enough for the people in question to hear and that resulted in Sanghyuk chucking a cardboard sleeve at her.

“Please take her out if she intends on being troublesome” Sanghyuk yelled at Hongbin.

“In a date way or a sniper way?” Hongbin asked, causing Wonshik to laugh and Haneul to frown.

“Sniper way. I can’t live if you three being friends would mean listening to such bad jokes” she retorted.

“Damn. I was hoping for a date way since we’re both free today” Hongbin replied. Wonshik and Sanghyuk ooh-ed while Haneul blushed.

“Well?” Hongbin prompted.

“Can we go eat patbingsu?” Haneul asked, taking a chance. Hongbin pretended to think.

“Strawberry or red bean?” he asked, causing her to smile widely.

-x-

#vixx fanfiction #vixx hongbin #vixx ensemble as minor characters #cheese everywhere I am sorry

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meghansingleton425 · 5 years ago

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10 DIY Foto-Ideen: SO könnt ihr eure Bilder kreativ in Szene setzen!

Lasst eure Lieblingsfotos nicht auf der Festplatte in Vergessenheit geraten. Bastelt lieber eure eigene Bilder-Deko!

Developments come and go; quite often. However; several escape the mold and be timeless classics interior-lovers cannot get plenty of of. All of us love the advancement of contemporary home design suggestions; but there are many old favorites that would not be heading anywhere quickly. 2020 is actually a year filled up with classic interior design trends all of us love. Read on to have the top kitchen trends 2020 has to offer that are here to stay! 1 ) Layered Light Kitchen Trends 2020 Varied kitchen design trends by simply Decorilla designer; Francis Deb. Since the launch of split light not too long ago; we’re certainly not turning again. Working with distinct levels of light enables designers to create an atmosphere that they can couldn’t ahead of. Regardless of Interior Design Style; task and accent light is weaved into the kitchen’s blueprint. Contemporary kitchen home design by Decorilla interior artist; Betsy Meters. We can all end up being very thankful for this home trend. Right now; dark nooks and crannies are a factor of the past and so is actually a stark over-lit kitchen. installment payments on your Kitchen Trends 2020 Favourite: Open-Plan House Remodel Simple kitchen home design by Decorilla designer; Sonia C. A top requirement of a home renovators have is an open-plan kitchen area. Ever-evolving interior layouts have moved from cubicle-like spaces in the early twentieth century to wall-less living. Today; people rely on housing code through shelves and household furniture to create distinct areas in a home. Home interior planning by Decorilla interior developer; Lauren A. Open-plan is still a priority and tops the kitchen remodel tendencies; as family members are much extra integrated than they were at the start of the 100 years. Architects and interior designers alike are taking the best developments and regularly reinventing your kitchen layout to add storage; smart technology; and seamless movement into modern-day homes. a few. Open Shelving in Kitchen Design Home interior design by simply Decorilla developer; Corine Meters. Styles and trends in the past frequently get a visit again; and Home Open Storage solution is one such golden-oldie. Open shelves were a necessity but not a kitchen cabinets trend. Before the arrival of the cabinets; 19th-century kitchens had been basic with open cabinets lining them. Kitchen design trends 2020 – strong and colourful pops Storage solution took a back seats for a few decades until it re-emerged as a great on-trend plate holder in the 1950s. Luckily; the contemporary counterpart is minimalist and functional. With open shelving householders and designers can personalize a house to truly place their style-stamp on it. 5. Classic House Trends 2020: Tile Home interior design by simply Decorilla in house designer; Corine M. Tiles are yet another great sort of how a preloved trend got a reorganisation. Colorful feature walls with Mexican ceramic tile; backsplashes with subway floor tile; and even checkered floor ceramic tiles were every hot kitchen trends. That they continue to enthrall the attention of trendsetters and homemakers likewise. Kitchen trend – backsplash design Floor tiles are sensible; replaceable and durable; which makes them a firm beloved in the kitchen remodel trends. Their ceramic; cement; cork or glass material base as well make them a greener substitute; which is a plus for the environmentally-friendly style community. five. Essential Kitchen Design Aspect: The Lunchtime Bar Home design simply by Decorilla in house designer; Aldrin C. Not only is the lunchtime bar a great place to fill up on nutrition; but it is also the perfect place to add creature comforts into the kitchen. This trend was the culmination of the evolution of two furniture pieces: the dining table (later a lunch break nook) plus the kitchen area. Kitchen design and style trends : breakfast tavern The lunchtime bar can easily house cabinetry and also dual as everyday seating when you’re entertaining; which is exactly why this craze is so well-known. Many modern homes have islands with seating and pendant lights that create a wonderful feature vignette in the kitchen. 6th. Shaker Kitchen Cabinets Happen to be Here To Stay House interior design simply by Decorilla in house designer; Aldrin C. Kitchen areas cabinets which have door face are often within a five-panel shaker style. The term Shakers identifies a religious sect that supported minimal living and making the home furniture themselves. The Shakers came up with the shaker design and also the original shaker-style cabinet. Kitchen styles 2020 ~ shaker case The shaker kitchen cabinets were made famous because of its functionality and modern day aesthetic. Today we’re therefore accustomed to this style of cabinetry that people might not detect how innovative this style was due to the time. 7. Kitchen Styles 2020: Butcher’s Block Counters Kitchen trends 2020 ~ butcher wedge counters Butchers blocks have grown to be a must-have in designer kitchen areas; but their origin is very simple. Blacksmiths employed softwood as an anvil shock absorber; and butchers applied hard hardwood as a surface area for carving meat; hence the name “butcher block”. Kitchen tendency 2020- butchers block surfaces Today; heavily cut timber with a natural finish is often as beautiful since it is functional. The modest butcher’s block grew from an industrious worktop to an useful trend and has become a home essential; along with pots and pans. Whether you want a small butcher stop or a wooden island; you won’t make a mistake by adding this kind of piece of character into your house. Inspired to incorporate timeless home trends into the home? Routine a Free Interior Design Appointment with among Decorilla’s expert designers today! [images: 1; two; 3; some; 5; six; 7; almost eight; 9; 10; 11; doze; 13; 13; 15; sixteen; 17; 18]; room storage area

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#parlor room ideas – E-Commerce Revolution

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arplis · 5 years ago

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Arplis - News: Top 15 for Best Name Holder

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Arplis - News source http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Arplis-News/~3/gp99-Dz9b84/top-15-for-best-name-holder

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customboxes4less · 6 years ago

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Gable Boxes | Custom Printed Gable Boxes

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plasticproductsmfg · 5 years ago

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Nameplate Holders for National Name Yourself Day April 9th

With everyone keeping their distance, essential workers still serving the public are finding new ways to communicate without face-to-face interaction. There’s a sharp increase in signage to guide us through evolving protocols in grocery stores and doctor’s offices. Eyes are locking on Sign Holdersand Name Plate Holders…and in tough times, we’re all looking for little outlets of happiness and…

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murwaridpaiwand-blog · 7 years ago

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Corporate Etiquette/business Etiquette

http://boughnation.com/corporate-etiquette-business-etiquette/

INTRODUCTION:

“Your manners are always under examination, and by committees, little suspected, awarding or denying you very high prizes when you least think of it”, Ralph Waldo Emerson.

When a person gets into employment for the first time he gets confused with the corporate culture and finds it very difficult to learn the corporate etiquette which is otherwise also known as business etiquette. There will be vast cultural gaps from the background from where the individual has come and that of the organization he enters. He finds it very difficult to get along with new cultures, customs, norms, and rules. There would certainly be a gap. It takes a certain time to get adjusted and adapted to the corporate culture and learn the etiquette.

Everyone knows the meaning of etiquette. Etiquette is nothing but manners to be followed in a given cultural environment. Every culture has its own etiquette. But overall the etiquette is universal with certain characteristics and qualifications that run across all people like a common thread. Business etiquette is also an etiquette that has to be adopted in every business keeping ethics and integrity in view. It varies from culture to culture and from country to country and from industry to industry. All the differences are only superficial in nature with the commonalities of basic business etiquette being at the core level.

Etiquettes are of different types. It is desirable to focus on a few basic etiquettes which collectively constitute the corporate etiquette. They are Handshake, Interview etiquette, Mobile etiquette, Telephone etiquette, Office etiquette, Dress code, Giving business card, Dining etiquette, Handling people, International business etiquette, Email etiquette, etc.,

HANDSHAKE:

When two men meet each other they shake their hands as a symbol and sign of meeting. There is a right manner in a handshake. There has to be a firm handshake that represents the confidence level of the persons. If a person presses down the palm of the other person and shakes his hand it indicates that the person is dominant in nature. On the other hand, if the person allows his own palm pressed downwards and lets the other person’s palm upwards it indicates the submissive style of the person. In the third scenario if both the persons keep their palms perpendicular to the ground and if both persons plays neutral neither being in the dominant level nor in the submissive level then it is the right method of handshake and it indicates win-win or assertive handshake. A person’s nature can be easily judged by the way he shakes his hand with others. It becomes the core part of any corporate culture.

INTERVIEW ETIQUETTE:

When going for an interview, the door is to be knocked, and after seeking the permission the person should enter the interview room. The person should greet the interview panel member like ‘Good morning Sir/Sirs’ depending upon the time of interview and wait for the permission to be seated. If there is a woman Interviewing Officer(IO) it is etiquette to greet her first followed by male members as it is part of the Indian culture to respect women.

After getting the permission to sit, the person should sit with straight posture at the back with his back touching the chair and without dragging the chair or dragging the feet. No attempts should be made either to lean forward or to lean too much backward or to sit in totally at an ease position. The person should sit straight and be alert by keeping both the legs together with both feet touching on the ground.

When the question is posed, the person should fully wait till the completion of the sentence by the IO and then reply. No attempts should be made to interrupt or interfere with the conversation of IO. After listening carefully the person should analyze, process with in his mind and then should reply appropriately with clear cut thoughts. In case if there are any differences of opinion, the same should be handled with tact and diplomacy. In case if there is a need to clarify anything, the same can be asked with a request to speak the same. After the completion of the interview, thank them and exit the room smartly without any unnecessary noise.

MOBILE ETIQUETTE:

Now days, mobiles have become both a boon and bane. Whenever there is an engagement or any hectic or important activities are going on, the mobile should be kept in a silent mode. It is not proper to talk over the phone when important discussion or meeting is in progress. After the completion of the meeting the calls can be attended as unattended calls are reflected in the handset. These days, marketing calls do come frequently and it disturbs the mood and also the precious time. These are known as unsolicited calls. The best thing is to cut short such calls by saying, ‘I will get back to you’ or ‘Can I call you back?’

TELEPHONE ETIQUETTE:

It is more or less like mobile etiquette only. The caller has to identify himself first, and then should confirm whether he is looking for the concerned person and then should start conversation. Even if you are interrupted, exercise patience to the caller and respond. Radiate energy and if it is not possible, at least exercise warmth so that the caller feels comfortable and convenient to communicate. Do not keep the caller on hold without asking ‘Say like, may I put you on a hold for a moment?’ and then put the caller on hold till you connect the right person or to give the correct information. Personalize the conversation to make it polite and presentable. If the concerned person is not there and if the caller provides the information to pass on, then note down on a paper or a note pad, sign and make it accessible and reachable to the concerned person. Small things make major differences in telephone etiquette. Ensure that your voice mail system is working properly and is not full of messages to prevent incoming calls.

OFFICE ETIQUETTE:

When you visit to somebody’s office, do no roam around as though it is your own office. When you are a stranger to a place maintain and behave like a visitor or as a guest not like a host. Do not disturb the receptionist with too many queries. When you are asked to work in your cubicle stick to that only and do not encroach into others’ cubicles.

You can call person by name at the corporate world but politely. There is no need to call ‘Sir’ or ‘Madam’ frequently. The body language must be positive and assertive it should neither be aggressive nor submissive. While addressing a woman if it is not clear whether she is married or unmarried, you can use Ms as that can convey politely for both married and unmarried woman.

Personal space from person to person needs to be maintained properly. It is known as proxemics. You should not behave with unknown people by being too close by maintaining intimate distance as it creates discomfort for others.

DRESS CODE:

For men the shirt should be in light color with a tie. There should not be any cabbage socks. The socks need to be changed regularly. Avoid wearing white socks. The body can be applied with light perfume. It is essential to wear tie for formal meetings. A few companies have separate and specific dress code to its employees on specific days. There is a traditional formula for male attire. BBTTSS is the acronym for Boot and Belt which must be of the same color, Tie and Trouser should preferably match with each other and Shirt and Socks should match with each other. There is no hard and fast rule to accept this formula but it all depends on the situation and occasion. Ultimately the dress code should be pleasing, neat and clean and presentable.

Dress code for women is a very complicated one. It differs from region to region and from country to country based on their cultural background as well as their tastes and temperaments. They should not dress like a Christmas tree. There should not be any hanky panky costumes. Don’t decorate with excessive jewellery or ornaments. The dress should match as per the corporate culture and values of the organization. The clothes must be positive and presentable and not of tight fittings, no obscene clothes or revealing clothes etc.

BUSINESS CARD:

When business card is given, it must be taken with the right hand in India. It must be read with details like name, designation and other details and then it should be kept in a visiting card holder. Always give fresh cards and do not give the cards that look dirty or old or faded cards.

DINING ETIQUETTE:

• Wait for your host to ask you to sit or else sit after the host sits. • Keep solids of the food on the left and the liquids on the right side. • Keep the napkin folded towards you on your lap. • If you have any food allergies tell the same in advance or to the server and if it is already served leave it on the plate. • Don’t fill your plate with entire food at one go. Fill little by little as you consume. • If you have any doubts regarding the starting of eating food or about the chronological order of eating food, observe your host closely and follow. • At the time of eating, keep the knife across the top of your plate when you are eating, blade facing towards you. • It is formal to leave some food on the plate at the end. • If you are a slow eater and the host has completed eating food, you leave the food and catch up with the host. • If the food is not good and if the host enquires how is the food, say politely, “Fine, thank you”. • Once the meal is finished your silverware should be parallel to each other in the ten and four O clock position with handles at 4.00 and tops of the utensils at 10.00. The knife blade points towards you. • The amount is usually paid by the host. • Thank the host for your meal at the end.

HANDLING PEOPLE:

Every business person should learn basic etiquette to deal with people. Of course, there are number of written and unwritten rules and guidelines and when in doubt stick to the basic and follow.

• Build good relations with peers and subordinates. • Never differentiate people based on designations and rank. • Memorize the names of the people. If not, then correlate the name of the person with that of your previous acquaintances with in your mind for effective retention. Make a good practice of collecting the names of the people with their phone numbers, date of birth, family details. This will help you to build strong relations with them. • Learn to appreciate people sincerely. If it is essential to criticize, do not attack the person rather attack his behavior as it takes the matter away from person-centric to problem-centric or behavior-centric. • Never surprise your boss. Always keep him informed about the work related activities and try to be in the good books of your boss.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ETIQUETTE:

With the rapid growing technology the globe has become smaller. As a result, there are plenty of opportunities since the communication has become easier. Employers began thinking broadly and are trying to set up their ventures at the global level. Along with that the employees have opportunities to work with the people across the globe.

It is necessary to know the basics of international etiquette such as the multicultural issues, different time zones, different workings hours, holiday patterns, table manner etc., Mr. Laxmi Niwas Mittal the global steel czar has clearly mentioned about the significance and importance of multicultural issues so as to succeed in the international business.

EMAIL ETIQUETTE:

Paper correspondence is gradually losing its relevance. In every business there is growing significance attached to Email and it is necessary to dwell at length about email etiquette in this context.

The subject matter should be simple, specific, short and identify yourself. It should not be like compound sentences. The receiver should be in a position to identify its source and the objective behind it. In the ‘To’ address column put the main addressee and if the same is to be informed to other addresses you can add those emails in the ‘CC’ column. It is usually considered unethical to use the BCC column. If the mail is not to be known to the other addressees and in extreme cases you can use ‘BCC’.

Personalize the mail to create bonding with the reader. Dear Sir/Madam, followed by the name of the person with designation as it impresses the reader for the significance you have accorded to the designation and also for having made it personal.

Follow proper alignment and the margin on the left side. Write the contents in simple, straight and short manner. The contents must be concise, crisp and clear. Put across all the points. At the end, you may conclude with ‘Regards’, or ‘Best regards’, or ‘With regards’, or ‘Best wishes’ followed by your signature. Before sending check for grammar, syntax, sentence format, punctuation. Read and reread the email before hitting the ‘send’ button as it becomes an evidence for future records.

While replying to official mails do not check ‘Reply all’ button as the confidential information, if any, will be known to all. Never type the contents in capital letters as that indicates that you are shouting at others. And also avoid using lower case. As far as possible the business letter should not last more than a page as it is an official document. Do not visit pornographic sites as every company has an internal scanning system to check the same. And ultimately you will be in deep hot water. Try to use soft, polite and neutral words and avoid using unparliamentary language.

CONCLUSION:

Etiquette and business etiquette is essential to survive and succeed both at the personal and professional level. It has paramount significance and importance at the corporate world either to make or break the business deals. Therefore, it is mandatory to stick to the basics of all etiquettes to become a successful professional. To conclude, the business etiquette is essential from peon to principal and from employee to employer.

#Corporate #Etiquette #Business #BoughNation

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