#brad bakshi x y/n

[cruel-summerxy]

'cause you're just a man, it’s just what you do - brad bakshi x reader

summary ➞ Brad is known as the meanest person around the office. You get close to him and realize how much of a dick he truly is. word count: 5.9k words.

tags ➞ brad bakshi being a cunt, a kiss, reader actually being nice to david, Jo being a little bitch. briefly mention of alcohol and him being drunk, just brad being a dumb bitch tbh.

based on lana del rey’s song “norman fucking rockwell”

a/n ➞ i'm obsessed with mythic quest! so expect some more works about them (maybe a part two or a brad and david work is next) thank you for reading!!! comments and reblogs are appreciated <3

You weren’t stupid. When you had applied as the assistant for Mythic Quest’s executive producer you knew that it was going to be hectic– he was the most important person in the actual office. What you hadn’t expected was his old assistant to make your life a living hell. You had quickly learned that her name was Jo and that she had left David for the head of monetization. If you were being honest you didn't know why she had decided to leave, David was the sweetest man and was such a great boss. 

It had been two weeks since you had started working at Mythic Quest and things were going pretty well (Jo’s actual vendetta against you hadn’t begun just yet). One afternoon you made your way to get a snack when you heard Jo let out what you assumed to be a gleeful scream. You looked around to see what all the commotion was, spotting a tall and lean man entering the office. His sharp features made you do a double take– he was really handsome. You saw David and a few of the others going to meet the man.

“Who's that and why is Jo screaming,” you wondered out loud.

“That’s Brad, she assists him. And I’m not really sure why she’s screaming.” Poppy muttered. She had somehow sneaked beside you without making any noise, her silence soon came to an end as she searched the pantry for a snack.

“I haven’t seen him around,” you admitted as you handed Poppy your bag of hot cheetos. David had mentioned once or twice that Poppy went wild when the office ran out of the snack (you had seen that you had gotten the last bag and you didn’t want to be on her bad side).

“Thanks,” Poppy smiled, “yeah he was out for the last month. He had some personal shit going on but he’s back. Jo has been in such a shitty mood lately, hopefully with his arrival she’ll calm down.”

You nodded in agreement. You had noticed that Jo wasn’t the nicest person to be around. In one of your exchanges she had threatened to “drag you by the hair” if you didn’t get David to sign some papers that her boss had sent over the day before. David has assured you that she was joking. If you were being honest, the girl scared you.

“Is Brad like way nicer than David? Is that why she left?” you genuinely asked. Poppy stayed quiet for a moment and then proceeded to let out the loudest laugh. Her laugh had caused Brad and the others to look your way. Poppy took a deep breath and wiped away the tears that her laughing had caused.

“He is the actual devil himself Y/N. The man is a sell out and has made many, including myself, cry. Do not get near that man unless you really have to. He will make you suffer,” Poppy warned. And with that the conversation ended. She signaled you to follow her and made her way to the rest of her peers. 

“It was actually hell without you Brad. David got a new assistant and I envy you for not meeting her yet.” Jo informed her boss ecstatically.

“Jo… she’s really sweet, be nice.” David warned. Jo rolled her eyes at his remark and looked at Ian to have her back. 

“You got a new assistant?” Ian asked skeptically, “I haven’t seen her.”

David looked at the man in disbelief. He had made it known around the office that he now had an assistant who actually respected him and who listened to his orders. You were a little hurt by his comment, you had made small talk with him at least three times since you had been there and each time you presented yourself as David’s assistant. Had the man not paid attention?

“She’s that boring huh,” Brad laughed. Well that hurt more. The man hadn’t even met you and he was already talking shit (and he gave you enough reasons to hate him without actually having a conversation with him).You bit your lip as Poppy’s words from earlier rang in your head. If you stayed away from the man you’d be fine.

“Guys she’s right here,” Poppy blurted out but when everyone turned to her direction no one was next to her. “She was just here…”

“I just got here and Poppy is already delusional. Classic Poppy,” Brad smiled widely and winked in her direction. 

.

You had just finished one of David’s requests when you heard someone behind you groaning. To be fair you had been blocking the hallway with the small bookcase you had just finished building. A red blush covered your face when you realized that it was Brad who let out the annoyed noise.

“I apologize,” you whispered as you gathered the tools you had used to build the piece of furniture.

“I didn’t know we had a handyman in here now, wait handywoman…?” Brad corrected himself. He watched as you quickly moved the bookcase to the edge of the hallway. In your defense no one ever went to that end of the hallway so you assumed that it was the best place to do your building.

“Oh I’m not a handywoman, I’m David’s assistant.”

The man nodded his head, “well David’s assistant, you forgot to connect the last shelf to the backboard.” And with that he was gone. He hadn’t even introduced himself– he didn’t even give you the chance to reveal your name. 

“Damn it,” you whined as you saw that Brad had been right.

“Y/N!” you heard David shout from his office. You quickly made your way to your boss, happy to actually do something. Ever since you had finished building the bookcase David had let you do whatever you wanted, it seemed that it was an easy and quiet day.

“Yes,” you smiled widely at your boss. Something was different, you felt something was off as soon as you entered his office.

“Brad here can’t find his headphones. Have you seen them anywhere?” 

Well, that's why you had felt something was off. Usually it was you and David in the room. You stood quiet, trying to remember if you had come across them. 

“I don’t think so sir.” you replied. This caused the tall man to snicker. David and you exchanged a look and decided to ignore Brad’s judgment. David nodded at your answer and asked you to keep an eye out for them. 

“I can do that sir.” you spoke in a hushed tone and practically ran out of the room. You were two offices down and yet you could hear Brad making fun of you to David. 

“I can do that sir. Let me go ahead and suck your-”

“Brad.” David warned the man. You cursed mentally as it dawned on you that David and Brad shared an office. How were you supposed to stay out of the man’s path when he was in the same room that you spent most of your time in?

..

“Are you going to the Holiday Party?” Rachel asked one day. Christmas was near and David had planned a party, the man couldn’t wait for the entire office to see what he had planned. He had made you go over multiple lists, various times. 

“Yup, David is so excited.” you smiled. 

“Aw that's so cute,” Dana chimed into the conversation. The three of you had gone to lunch together the day before and were now making excuses to talk to each other throughout the day. David had wanted something from the pantry and you had taken it upon yourself to go, knowing that the girls would be near there. That and you didn’t want to be alone in the room with Brad. You searched the shelves for his drink and listened to Dana and Rachel bicker amongst each other. 

“I heard he’s going to make us partner up for a game,” Rachel said excitedly, “me and you, Dana?” The shorter girl giggled and nodded. 

The party looked better than you had imagined. David really had an eye for decoration. You wouldn’t admit it out loud, but you were proud of him. Everyone seemed to give your boss such a hard time, he truly deserved better.

“Don’t tell me you don’t have a partner either,” a certain someone groaned. You rolled your eyes and shook your head. Brad sighed heavily and stood next to you. If you were honest, you weren’t sure what game David was making everyone play. It had to do something with partners and alcohol. As if on cue, Brad’s eyes flickered toward the cup of coke that you were drinking.

"You don’t drink?” the tall man asked, surprised. You shook your head once again. “Do you just not talk sometimes?”

“I do,” you exhaled.

“Okay well, you are now my partner for this stupid game,” Brad declared, not letting you protest. You looked around, trying to see if someone needed a partner but alas you did not. 

“You hate me that much huh.” 

“No- I do not hate you. I’m just exploring my options,” you explained, “plus I don’t drink so I don’t think I’ll be the best partner.”

He looked at you with a hint of curiosity, “it’s all good, I can do the drinking Y/N. Just follow my lead and we’ll beat these losers.”

You laughed at his confidence. When David was explaining the very complicated rules your eyes had wandered around and noticed that Brad hadn’t been paying attention to your boss; yet there he stood assuring you that you would be victorious. 

“You’re laughing now but you’ll see.”

“Brad and Y/N have been eliminated,” David spoke through the microphone.

“Boom bitches!” Poppy beamed across the room.

“Geeze Poppy, calm down.” Ian said with wide eyes. She had been doing most of the drinking and it was quite evident. You and Brad gathered your things, making your way up the roof. For some reason that had been one of the rules, so you went up the elevator.

“It was actually fun,” you said as the elevator opened. Brad hummed in agreement. You looked down and saw that he had grabbed a six pack before you had left the floor you had been in. You hadn’t taken him as a heavy drinker, but by the looks of it he was going to continue drinking. With every drink Brad had relaxed and he began making snarky remarks about those around you. And even though you liked to keep up appearances, a few laughs escaped your mouth. Perhaps that’s why Poppy had been glad that you two had been eliminated.

You reached the floor and sat on the ground, noticing that there were only a few others that had been eliminated too. Brad followed your lead and sat next to you. His tall frame brought in some warmth and you smiled. He was way nicer when he was intoxicated. 

“So Y/N, why are you here?” Brad asked with his eyes closed. The wind tousled his hair a bit, exposing more of his forehead. Surprisingly, his hairline wasn’t bad and as you had imagined. The moonlight highlighted the sharp features on his face, you could see that he was extremely handsome. 

“I was in college and I realized that I hated kids,” you confessed. The man opened his eyes and a confused look covered his face. “I was going to become a teacher.” 

“Liberal arts?”

“Yeah.. being in school was all I had known so I just thought why not go into teaching.” you explained to him.

“But you realized that you hated kids.”

“Yes, I hate them. They don’t listen; so I just dropped out of college and never showed back to the internship I had in this private school. And I can feel you already judging me and I’m still going to tell you this: I couldn’t bring myself to say goodbye to the kids. I hated them so much that I couldn't even say goodbye.” 

"I have never enjoyed goodbyes. They sound so final. At the same time I have never liked the words see you later either. They sound so unsure." Brad replied honestly. 

You let out a soft laugh, not sure what you could say to that. The man had a point– saying goodbye was hard. 

“I’m serious Y/N. Sometimes when I know that a conversation is about to end, even if it’s through the phone I pretend that someone needs me so I quickly hang up. Or if it’s in person I act like I’m getting a call.”

“I don’t believe you. Aren’t you known for not caring what others think,” you joked.

“Your point?” Brad questioned you. He lifted an eyebrow, waiting for you to explain yourself.

“My point is: why do you go through all that trouble and still exude so much confidence,” You took a drink from your soda, not wanting to say something that would embarrass you.

“I don’t know…” Brad confessed. Your shoulders relaxed, he wasn’t going to bring up you basically complimenting him. “It’s scary not knowing if you’re actually going to see someone again. And I’m speaking in general, not just in a working environment. Did you know I was left at the altar?”

You shook your head. Everything sort of made sense now. 

“Yeah… the night before she had the nerve to say ‘I won’t say goodbye because I’ll be with you for the rest of my life,’ and then proceeded to not show up. What a lying bitch, pardon my language.” 

“You’re good… If you don’t mind me asking, how long ago was this?” you whispered.

“Two months ago.”

 “Brad…’ you spoke softly. It had been a month and a half since you had arrived, meaning that when you began working at Mythic Quest that’s why he wasn’t there. The “personal business” he was dealing with was him being left at the altar. “Now I feel shitty for being mean to you and pretending you weren’t there..”

“Hey I was the one to start it Y/N. Don’t look at me like that, I don’t need your pity.” Brad’s voice cracked. Him trying to convince you that he was fine made your heart hurt, “I’m good Y/N. There’s nothing that a few drinks can’t fix. Just promise me you’ll be nice from now on. It’s kind of hard being mean to such a sweet person.”

…

The weekend came and went fast. You had been able to catch up on some of the tv episodes you hadn’t watched. Thanks to Brad you didn’t have to spend most of the weekend curing a hangover. Him on the other hand, he probably had a bad weekend. You had to call him an uber and ride with him to his house. The man had way too many drinks and long story short: he refused to ride the car if he didn’t have someone to “protect” him. You also had to open his door and let him into his own home. Somewhere in the drunk conversation that he had with you, he had confessed that he was aware of what others thought of him. 

“I had fun tonight Y/N,” he had slurred, “it’s good that you were there today. Sometimes I talk to the walls when those parties get bored of me. Maybe I should be nicer to those losers.”

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea Brad.”

“Good morning!” you gushed as you entered your boss’ office. You smiled at the man and handed him a coffee, it was the little things that David loved.

“You are so sweet, Y/N. Thanks for the cup of joe.” David sighed with satisfaction and sipped his coffee. You made your way to Brad’s unoccupied desk and set down another cup of coffee. David’s eyes darted to the cup you had set down but said nothing. 

“Do you need anything?” you asked David.

“Yeah, can you go down to the basement and ask Sue what she needs? If I go down there or call her, she is going to bore me to death.” David shuddered at the thought of it.

“That’s not so nice David,” Brad lectured from behind you, “he’s so mean and yet you still work for him, Y/N.”

You smiled at his remark and moved to the side. As soon as you saw Brad’s eyes make their way to the cup of coffee you had brought, you glanced up to the ceiling. David stared at the interaction but decided against saying anything. Who was he to not let Brad and you become friends? If anything he was glad that someone else was doing something nice for Brad. 

He uttered a thank you out loud and with that he began typing on his computer. David opened his mouth and threw two thumbs up your way. You bit your lip, trying not to laugh at David’s excitement. 

“You know, Brad knows it was you.” David spoke, scaring you along the way. You had been in the meeting room with him for nearly two hours and neither of you had said a word for almost an hour. You stopped typing and shot him a confused look. “Your name was on the cup, Brad saw that you were the one who brought the coffee in this morning.”

“Oh, that’s fine… I guess.”

David clapped his hands, “it’s better than fine. He usually throws away the cup when I bring him one.”

“That’s probably because you drink pure frappes. You really do have a problem.”

“Well, regardless of the actual drink, it’s a win Y/N.”

You threw on a smile and walked out of the restroom. It was getting kind of late and you could feel your hands beginning to hurt. For some annoying reason David loved the idea of you writing down his every word and now you were paying the price.

“You had a good bathroom experience?” Brad’s voice chimed from across the hall. He walked fast, catching up to you. You blushed and shook your head. This had to be one of the most embarrassing things that had happened to you within the last two months. You then scolded yourself mentally. The man had been left at the altar and you thought  this was embarrassing.

“No, I just received a text.” you lied through your teeth. How would you explain that if you didn’t smile you would lose your mind.

“Something tells me it’s actually because you went to the restroom.” Brad teased. You both walked back to the office. 

“What if I told you I was smiling because I had ten minutes without David nagging me.” you whispered, joking back. You weren’t sure why, but you wanted to hear him laugh again. The night of the Christmas party he had been you relaxed and laid back, you wanted to hear him being carefree again. 

Brad raised an eyebrow and shook his head, “careful there Y/N. If David finds out what you said he will cry.”

The next day when you got to the office David handed you a coffee and a muffin. You were about to thank him when he raised a finger to his mouth, telling you to be quiet and signaled with his head that it had been Brad who bought you the coffee. Later on the day he complained to you about it.

“He didn't even bring one in for me,” he groaned. A small smile covered your face, but you quickly removed it. 

“So no thank you for the coffee?” Brad asked as you grabbed your belongings. He stopped what he was doing and turned his body to you. He was still sitting down on his desk and looked at you expectantly. The day had finally finished and you were ready to fall asleep.

“Thank you so much for the drink, sir.” you said in a light tone, remembering that he had teased David about that word a week earlier. Something in his eyes glistened and he shook his head slowly. 

“Oh Y/N.” he groaned, “do not call me sir.”

You caught his tone and your mouth opened up in disbelief. He laughed at your expression and went back to whatever was on his computer. 

….

You hadn’t noticed it at first. Being at the office for too long had made you a little delusional so you ignored the feeling of someone following you. You were walking down an empty hallway and decided to turn abruptly. Hiding behind the corner had been the best option, you saw a tall figure making its way to you.

“Who are you!” you shouted, your hands in a fighting position. 

“Jesus Y/N!” Brad sputtered, “What the hell is wrong with you!”

“What's wrong with you? Why the hell are you following me Brad.”

The man stood quiet and bent down, trying to catch his breath. Panic filled your eyes and you bent down with him. You placed your hand on his back and moved it in circles, trying to calm down the man. 

“I’m good, you just scared the shit out of me.” he said, removing himself from you. 

“Yeah, same here. It’s really your fault Brad, why on Earth were you following me?” you complained. 

“You dropped this,” he said as he handed you some papers, “I called your name out, but you didn’t hear. I’m guessing because of the airpods you have on.”

You blushed in embarrassment, it truly was your own fault. In your defense, David had left early and told you to walk around aimlessly in order to get paid for the entire day. So technically it was David’s fault. 

“You didn’t go out for lunch.” you stated as you both went back to his office. He raised his eyebrows, telling you to continue. “Are you not hungry?”

“Nope. I’m good baby.”

You decided to ignore that last part. “Well that’s a shame. I was just about to reheat my left overs. I was willing to share, but you say you're good.” 

“You can’t eat actual meals during working hours Y/N,” Brad warned and pretended to scold you. You shrugged and made your way to the fridge. You could feel him behind you, watching your every move. His eyes widened when he realized you were eating some asada fries. You had decided to eat in his office and motioned him to follow you. 

“Are you sure you don’t want any?” you asked as you sat on David’s chair. You sipped your water and watched as he brought his chair next to yours. A sigh escaped your lips and you handed him a fork. You let him take the first bite and laughed when he moaned. You both continued to eat in silence. People passed the office, watching you both eat out the same plate. Brad got up and closed the blinds, getting annoyed by everyone's stares.

“Everyone is so nosy here.” 

“Guilty as charged,” you confessed. The man lightly laughed and continued eating. “Not to be like extra nosy, but how come you never eat with anyone else.”

“I don’t like eating with others. Some people chew really loud,” he said, insinuating that you chew loud. You rolled your eyes. “I also don’t have anyone to eat with. I’m kind of a loner Y/N.”

“Same.”

“I’ve seen you eat with the annoying girl and her girlfriend though,” he said between bites. 

You wiped your lips and groaned, “she’s not that annoying. Plus they’re really nice.”

“I never said they weren’t nice,” he pointed out, “but you have to admit she’s annoying. You know she’s annoying because I didn’t say her name and yet you know who I’m talking about.”

The following day you were getting out of your car when you felt someone’s presence behind you. You turned around there was Brad, once again.

“Why can’t you make yourself known? Maybe say ‘hey Y/N. I’m behind you.’ Or maybe just cough, Brad.” you ranted.

“Hey Y/N, I’m behind you.” Brad said sweetly. You jokingly rolled your eyes. He kept walking with you, an awkward silence filled the air. What were you supposed to say?

“So are you just following me now?’ you asked as you both walked to the office. He laughed at your joke, closed the door and blinds and sat down on top of his desk.

“You didn’t wait for me. I assumed you were going to take me to the place that sells the food from yesterday. I was even willing to pay for your food Y/N.” His gaze burned your flesh and yet you couldn’t look away. That was what you assumed he wanted. Brad wanted you to make you uncomfortable but you stood your ground. A slight smile appeared on his face, followed by a laugh. 

“Come here.” Brad ordered. You quietly obliged and walked to him, keeping some distance between your bodies. He left the space between you two for a moment but something in him changed, you could see the wheels in his head spinning. His hands found your hips and pulled you into him. You, being the person that you are, gasped when you felt the warmth of his thighs. His left hand met your cheek and he caressed, his hands felt so soft against your own skin. 

“What are you doing,” you mumbled, breaking the little spell that you were under. Brad remained quiet, not letting go of your face. His eyes lowered into your lips. Without thinking, you leaned in towards him. Brad followed your lead and kissed you back. It was so quick, but it had happened. You had felt his lips on yours, and you had enjoyed it. You had enjoyed Brad kissing and didn’t regret it, at least not yet. 

…..

“She has to get out, David. I'm serious.” Brad grunted. The man sighed and put his head on his hands. This was a very stressful meeting and everyone was on edge, especially Brad.

“Why? She’s my assistant.” David said defensively.

“She cannot know about this. What if she leaks the information.” Brad argued as if it was the most obvious thing.

“Jo could too.” David shot back.

“I’m not asking you, I’m telling you!” Brad barked. Both of the men stood up and continued shouting. The rest of you watched the men argue back and forth.

“Should I be typing this?” you asked out loud, trying to lighten the mood. Brad stopped talking and looked at you in disbelief.

“You,” he pointed, “get out. Now. Are you seeing this David? We could lose millions of dollars and your assistant is joking.”

“She's obviously kidding,” David said, aggravated. 

“Y/N, get the fuck out. I am not kidding.” Brad threatened.

“Jesus, Brad.” Ian got into the argument. “I think you need to calm down. Who is she going to leak this to? Plus weren’t you the one who made Poppy leak her shovel last year?”

“That was different.”

This was not good. Not only was David going against, so was Ian. You could already feel how much of a dick Brad was going to be for the rest of the week. Your kiss would be forgotten and this was simply not worth all of the inevitable comments that he and Jo would spew out towards you.

“You know what, I’ll just leave. I have something to take care of either way. Excuse me.” You tried your best to not look in Brad’s direction. You grabbed your computer and left. 

What bugged you the most was what he did the next day. You had gone to the second floor for some highlighters when you noticed coming out of the elevator. You cursed out loud, catching Brad’s attention. His eyes widened as he saw you and he made his way to you.

You weren’t proud of yourself, but you decided that the best option was to run to the bathroom, so that’s what you did. You were there for almost ten minutes before you decided to leave. He couldn’t have waited for you, he had seemed in a hurry.

He had insinuated some bad things and still had the nerve to want to talk to you. 

……

Things weren���t going too great. Jo had begun making your life miserable at work. David had told you to talk to Brad but you knew it would make things worse. 

“And tell him what? That his assistant is a psycho and that she won’t leave me alone? You do realize he’ll tell her to chill but that will only make her worse.”

David stood quiet, you had a point. It had been a week since the incident and you still wouldn’t go into the office. You had been too embarrassed to see Brad so David had allowed you to work from Sue’s office. Being around her was killing you, but it was better than hearing Brad’s comments. 

 “Y/N. Are you hiding from me?” Brad theorized one afternoon. You had brought your own food and we’re hearing it up. Thankfully the microwave had just rung. You quickly walked past him, not wanting to entertain his stupid games. “Come Y/N, you know it wasn’t personal.”

“Wasn’t it though?” 

You pulled him aside, not wanting some random person who hadn’t left for lunch to hear yet another argument. “It wasn’t personal. I just have to look out for the company.”

“Who on earth was I supposed to leak that information to?”

“I don’t know. It's possible Y/N. You might have dropped out of college but you can still have connections to others,” he countered. You could feel that he was losing patience and you were too.

“Whatever Brad.”

“How are you the mad one in this situation? You made me look like an idiot in that meeting.” Brad snapped. 

“I’m mad because one moment your kissing me and then the next you're accusing me of potentially fucking over the company that I work for. I thought we were friends, but you tried making me look bad in front of everyone. That’s why I’m mad, Brad. I’m here trying to contribute and then you ruin it.”

“You’re just here because David needs a babysitter, you know that right? Let it be clear to you: you are not needed in this company. If David left, you wouldn’t be needed. One less paycheck to authorize. So stop trying to have some sort of relationship with me and stop trying to bring it into work related stuff. It’s weird. It was just a kiss, and if I remember correctly, you were the one that kissed me.”

You gasped at Brad’s cruel words and all of the color drained out your face. How had you both gotten to that point? This was supposed to be a regular job and he had come into your world and ruined everything. You had let the man kiss you and this is how he repaid you. It had seemed like the right thing at the time, but boy did you regret it. There were so many things that you wanted to shout, you wanted to point out how he had been the one to follow you around the office. Brad had been the one who playfully nagged you. He had been the one who had bought you several coffees “just because I wanted to.” 

So this was it. This was the moment where you got to witness firsthand how much of dick he truly was. You remembered Poppy advising you to not get close to him and you ignored her. He was about to make you cry and make you suffer, just like Poppy had predicted.

“What? You’re just realizing how much of a bitch I can truly be?” Brad asked and the corners of his mouth quirked upwards.

“No. I’ve heard several stories about how much you suck, I just didn’t think you actually were human garbage. You're a man though– what did I expect.” you laughed softly.

Brad looked up and his eyes sparked with what you could only describe as joy. “I see you’ve grown familiar with Rachel. Are you about to give me a whole feminist rant. Wait, let me mute my notifications real quick.”

“Oh God,” you thought to yourself. He was such a shitty person. Why had you even entangled yourself with him in the first place? Your coworkers had warned you and for some reason you believed you would be the exception. 

“Okay, now you have my undivided attention Y/N.” He sang as he put his phone in his pocket and plastered a smile on his face.

You stood quiet and stared at the man in front of you. He titled his head, signaling for you to begin your rant.

“It's just a shame. You’re smart and you have money and yeah you’re good looking Brad. But for some odd reason you get off on humiliating others and you burn bridges like it’s nothing. And it’s all on you Brad, your brother was so sweet when he was here so it’s not like your parents were shitty. I guess I just don’t understand why you feel the need to hurt me when all I wanted was to be on good terms with you. I didn’t even want to be friends… I just wanted you to treat me with respect but you dragged me to your whole ‘I’m lonely and no one actually likes me’ thing and I believed you. I’m at work and I have to put up with you humiliating me in front of the office just because I’m doing my job and when I stand up for myself you get mad. I’m being nice to you because that’s what you wanted and somehow I’m still in the wrong. In the words of a wise woman: you’re just a man, it's just what you do.”

Brad nodded along and squinted his eyes as if he was taking it all in. You hoped that he truly took everything in and reflected on it– it seemed highly unlikely though.

“Did anyone tell you that men sometimes treat women shitty in the real world?” he didn’t wait for your response, “I feel like someone should have had that conversation with you at some point in your life. Or maybe you should have paid more attention. Just a thought Y/N, maybe write it down in your notes.”

“Should I also jot down that you act like a kid even though you stand six foot two? Or maybe that you talk to the walls when parties get bored of you?” 

His smile slipped, you had almost missed it. 

“Go ahead Y/N, you can do whatever your little heart desires. You know we live in a free country,” Brad proclaimed with a smile.You stood silent not knowing what else to say. What were you supposed to say? You could say something about him being alone and having to go home to an empty house, but even you knew that would be too much. There were so many things you wanted to say, but you decided to just let him live in his own derangement. After all, he was just a man.

[doodles-bi-tea]

Hey I’m 🌱🫖 Anon the one that asked for that detailed Brad Bakshi fic, and I wanted to ask if you are going to release it or if you don’t feel like writing it anymore (it’s totally fine either way) is mostly just to know.

Also I love how you have decorated your blog with a F1 theme. I’m a fellow F1 fan (since childhood) and I’m also Spanish so seeing that you have a Carlos profile picture always makes my day ☺️

-🌱🫖

crying lightning (unfinished/pt. 1)

Brad Bakshi was by no means a warm person. At least, not that you had thought until now.

pairing: brad bakshi x coworker reader [second person, no y/n]

warnings: a couple of cliches, fear of dark and thunderstorms, power outage, profanity, developing feelings. mostly fluff/comfort. brad is a little bit of an asshole, as expected (and now you’re caught up!), but not the whole time. one mention of c.w.

(unfinished) word count: 2.3k

a/n: based off of this request here! heyyyy 🌱🫖 anon, I really appreciated the request! hope you don’t mind I focused it more so on season one/two brad. sorry this took so long to post and I didn’t even get to finish it, I got caught up in the struggles of daily life smh 😔 but thank you so much for your patience, I might finish it if I get the motivation but at the moment I’m not sure… also yes I’m into f1 now!! I might write for some of the drivers if people really want that but I’m not sure since I’ve been very busy. let me know if you’d be interested in that!

Your keys clinked together as you locked the front door of your apartment. After that was done, you slipped them into your bag and began the ten-minute walk to work. The sounds of Los Angeles were blocked out by the headphones you wore, listening to music and podcasts as you crossed streets and walked along the pavement. People, although no more than faces and outfits, passed you every day on the same route you went to get to Mythic Quest headquarters. It felt like just another day.

“Fuuuuuuuck.” You groaned, slouching down and letting your head hit the desk with a thud. The rain was absolutely pouring outside, you could hear it.

Being on the writing team wasn’t as glamorous as you had hoped it would be. C.W., as much as you initially admired his works, was an incredibly lousy head writer. That was normal, but especially today, he or one of the other slightly psychotic department heads were extra adamant on making sure you couldn’t get any work done. Thus you’d needed to stay a little later than normal.

It was only an extra half hour to revise a rough draft and a couple storyboarding charts, you’d told yourself. That was before the rain started twenty minutes into those extra thirty minutes. If you had left on time, you would have been able to get home – and with time to spare! – without needing to get rained on. Since you’d waited, though, the rain started, and forced you to stay in the building until it dissipated. When you checked your phone that morning, the forecast was only clear and sunny. That was clearly not the case now. Locked in your workplace, you decided to continue working until you either finished or the rain stopped.

Back to the present moment, you had just finished the work you needed to do, but the rain hadn’t let up. It didn’t seem like it was going to any time soon, either. If anything, it sounded like it was getting worse. You sat up, leaning back into the rolling chair you had, and pressing your hands to your closed eyes in frustration.

“What are you still doing here?” It was almost like Brad could smell the despair emanating from your being.

Not expecting his sudden presence, you nearly jumped at the mere sound of his voice.

“Jesus Christ, Brad,” You abruptly pulled your hands away from your face and gripped the armrests of the chair. “Scared the shit out of me.”

He scoffed. “I try. But what are you doing here? Work ended an hour ago.”

“I could say the same for you.”

“Yeah, you could. But I asked first. And you still haven’t answered.”

You inhaled through your teeth before pursing your lips. “Okay, fine, I wanted to just finalize some stuff the writing team and I were working on today. Poppy and Ian wouldn’t leave me alone because they were having one of their little… piss fights and were bothering everyone to see who was ‘right.’ I wasn’t gonna stay for that long, but the rain clearly had other plans.” You halfheartedly gestured to the windows in the main room that showed the overcast sky and harsh rain happening outside.

Brad didn’t even bother looking behind him. “And, what? You don’t have a ride or something?”

You furrowed your brows at his response. “Dude. I literally walk to work every day. It’s easier because it’s not that far and I get to avoid the issues of traffic and having to park in the parking structure, you know? And the gas prices, have you seen that bullsh-”

“Yeah, yeah I get it, whatever. Just shut it. I didn’t come here to listen to you complain.” He waved a hand around aimlessly as he began to roll his eyes.

Neither of you said anything further for a moment, you just sat there watching as he studied the ground. If you hadn’t been looking at him, you wouldn’t have noticed the very subtle twitch of his eye and the little exasperated sigh he let out as he seemed to be weighing his options. He opened his mouth, but paused. Then he went on to speak.

“You don’t even have like a flimsy little umbrella or something? A raincoat? Nothing?” He hung his head slightly lower, talking with an air of disbelief.

“Does it look like it, Bakshi?” You held your hands up and swiveled around in the chair a little, glancing quickly around the room with furrowed brows. “If I had either of those I would have left already.”

“I don’t know what goes through your mind,” He scoffed again. “I’m not a lowly writer. I’m the HOMIE.”

You didn’t really have any words. You wanted to so desperately insult him but you knew he would easily be able to destroy you with less effort. Instead you opted for just biting your tongue.

“Whatever. I’ll probably just wait it out. Even if it means I have to sleep in my office.” You moved your chair closer to the desk and laid your forehead down, quietly groaning in defeat.

Although you couldn’t see him, you could tell Brad was fidgeting slightly from where he stood in the doorway. The rain pattered onto the pavement outside, but you could hear the slight rustle of whatever sweater he was wearing, the tapping of his shoe on the carpeted floor, the liquid he swirled around in his mug. Eventually he spoke.

“Did you…” He trailed off, clearly reluctant. “Did you need a ride?”

Your brows furrowed, again, against the cold desk. “Really?” You were in disbelief as you sat up in your chair. “The infamous Brad Bakshi, greedy, heartless bastard of MQ, offering to give a ‘lowly writer’ a ride? Is this real? Am I on a prank show? Where are the cameras?” You gave him an exaggerated gasp as you quickly whipped your head around the room and spun around in your chair.

“Do you want that car ride or not?” His blank expression said it all. Brad was not amused.

“Fine, fine, just let me get my stuff real quick.”

Brad walked briskly, not waiting for you to catch up as he practically sprinted through the staff parking structure. “Pick up the pace, writer.”

You grumbled little insults under your breath so he wouldn’t hear, and began walking faster to keep up. “Fine, ‘homie.’”

The two of you eventually got to his car. It was nothing too extravagant. Fairly generic, but sleek enough for his taste.

[I’m so sorry I don’t know or remember what car Brad drives/would drive – if anyone has an answer for this please hmu LMAO. I feel like it would be either silver, blue, or black (some of the most generic car colors but with somewhat deeper connection to him as a person/character).]

The inside smells faintly like an air freshener but more like something more comfortable and just there. Somewhat like dust, but not unpleasantly so. You get into the passenger seat as Brad gets into the driver’s. He hands you his phone, already open to a navigation app for you to put your address into. You begin doing so, but a weather advisory appears. At the same time, you can feel your own phone vibrate inside your bag, presumably giving you the same notice. “Harsh rain and possible storms in the general LA area. Staying home is recommended.” it read. Brad leans over a little, just to see the notification.

“Hm. Would have been nice to know before I left for work this morning.” You scoffed, a little weary but continuing to type your address before you gave him his phone back.

He took it and began the route, the two of you leaving the parking structure in silence. It was a little uncomfortable, you had to admit, but not for long.

“If you want music you can put something on. Just connect your phone with bluetooth.” Brad said softly.

It was unexpectedly quiet and gentle, a stark contrast to his normal brash demeanor.

“Oh, okay.”

You pressed some things on the dashboard, before connecting your phone and playing some of your favorite music. It didn’t seem like Brad had much of an opinion on it. Rain continued to patter on the windshield as the car was stagnant.

“Thanks, by the way.” You kind of blurted out, but it was genuine. “I forgot to say it earlier, but it means a lot.”

His response was brief. “It’s whatever.”

The temporary silence returned. Another buzz sounded from your phones. Rather than taking yours out, you just leaned over to look at Brad’s phone. Another notice, but this time a warning. “Expected storms within next twelve hours. Power outages in some areas of LA and southern California. It is advised to stay off the roads during this time frame.”

“Shit.” You murmured, clearly more worried now. “My apartment’s still another ten minutes away because of the traffic…”

“Yep.” Brad was still stoic.

“Hey, by the way, where do you live? Are you far away from here? ‘Cause I don’t want you to have to drive to my apartment and then all the way back if it’s like the opposite direction.”

“It’s like five minutes away from MQ.”

You were silent for a moment, out of disbelief. “What?”

“Yeah. I live five minutes away.”

“And you don’t just walk?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“‘Cause.”

“God, Brad, you’re such a-”

“An environmentally apathetic asshole? Self-centered douchebag? Lazy bum? I’ve heard it all and I really couldn't care less.”

“Okay, but seriously, I don’t want you to, like, hydroplane and-or get into an accident on the way back to your place. You might as well just drop me off here and turn back now.”

Brad turned to you, an eyebrow raised and head cocked slightly to the side. “As ‘on-brand’ that would be for me, that’s an actual asshole move, and I don’t want your death to be on my hands if you get swept up and away by some random gust of wind.”

“Oh, wow, so he does have a heart.” You quipped.

Brad rolled his eyes again, looking out at the cars in front of you. “As much as I hate to admit it, yes, I do. All humans do, because it pumps blood throughout their fucking bodies. I thought you were smarter than this, writer.”

“You know what I mean. I’m not that much of a dumbass.”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed.”

“Oh, my god, just… shut up. Also are you not in any way worried about our current situation? We’re bound to get into an accident at this rate, we need to get to our places as soon as we possibly can.”

“Okay, well, the traffic to get to your apartment is still not clearing up, so if you’re so worried, I’ll drop you back off at MQ and then I’ll head to my house.”

You shook your head at the notion, groaning. “No, no, no, no, I can’t stay at MQ overnight…”

Brad turned back to look at you. A strange hint of a smile graced his lips as he scoffed.

“What happened to ‘I’ll wait the rain out even if it means I have to sleep at my desk?’”

You felt the heat of embarrassment rise up your neck and to your cheeks, turning away from him and facing the window to avoid eye contact. “I don’t know, I didn’t think I’d actually have to do it. Especially after you offered me a ride! And now we’re in the car, it seemed pretty unlikely that it would still be happening.”

For the first time in you ever knowing him (your two years at MQ), Brad Bakshi laughed. It wasn’t one of his sarcastic chuckles, nor a strained noise, but a genuine laugh. You had a puzzled look on your face, and whipped your head around to see him. His eyes were shut, he was slightly hunched over, and his smile was clear as day. He continued to laugh–presumably at you–but for once, you didn’t mind. The sight was a joy to see. Sure, Brad was an asshole, but he had his moments. A smile of your own crept its way onto your face as you watched him laugh for a few seconds longer. As his laughter wound down, a sudden crack of lightning flashed across the sky, a rumble of thunder following immediately after, startling the both of you.

“Shit!” You hissed, jumping in your seat. “Okay, okay, we really need to get to safety, like… now. This shit is actually dangerous, Brad. I don’t want you getting injured or worse because of my lack of preparation. If you really need to drop me off at the office on your way to your place, that’s… fine.”

Although unhappy that the start of your weekend would be ruined by having to sleep over in your office building, you figured it would be better than causing Brad to get stuck in the storm. You awaited his response, once again watching him as he thought for a moment.

Suddenly, he let out a quiet groan, tilting his head down, leaning his forehead lightly against the wheel. “I can’t believe I’m about to offer this to you, of all people, but if you’re so god damn worried about my safety… I have a guest room at my house.”

His sudden generosity confuses and delights you. It’s strange, that’s for sure, but it’s a welcome surprise.

“Really?”

“Why else would I have said it?” It was a question but it came out as more of a statement.

“I don’t know, it’s just… weird. Not to say that I don’t accept, but it’s oddly kind of you. Not something commonly associated with the image of Brad Bakshi.”

He shrugged. “I know. So do you accept or not?”

“I do, thank you so much.” You spoke quickly, hoping he wouldn’t rescind the offer. “I’m sorry to cause you so much inconvenience.”

“I’m sorry too. I’m sorry you’re so dumb that you didn’t prepare a way back home.”

“Oh, my god.”

[harmfulb1tch]

Interesting Dreams Part 2

Ship: Brad Bakshi x reader

Warnings: SMUT (mdni): Vibrators, exhibitionism, teasing, orgasm denial, possessive. Swearing.

Summary: After your encounter with Brad last week, he has a little surprise for you.

A/N: The long awaited Part twoooooo yay! Finally Finished!

-------------------------

A couple of days had passed since the incident. You had barely spoken to Brad, meaning you had only spoken to him when necessary. That was in directory meetings and when you had to present him the designs for the new weapons in the game to see if they were marketable, and even then, you limited yourself to give him the design on paper and look straight down to the floor.

Poppy had confronted you about the dream a couple of times, saying that she didn’t know what you saw in Brad (which you didn’t know yourself). But you shut her down quickly when you brought up her dream about Ian. Of course, the situation wasn’t the same, because differently from Poppy, you did in fact want to be fucked by Brad. You wanted it so bad it was the only thing you thought about everyday at work. You always had him in view, since your office was right in front of his and they both had clear windows. He always was either pacing around with coffee in his hand or very concentrated on his Mac, working on something you didn’t know. It was very ironic how a couple of weeks ago you agreed with everyone around the office on hating Brad, but it only took a dream for you to change your mind about the lanky man (This is probably because you lied to yourself). While he was in his office, you only fantasized about what he would do to you. You wanted him to fuck you in his office, to treat you like he owned you.

There he was now, he was talking on the phone to some client, you assumed. He looked calm and collected, he probably sounded like that too. Although, you could look through that facade. He was calm, but you could see the cogs in his head turning. You could see that he was plotting a scheme or finding a way to make the client crack. That’s something you admired from him, how he could look collected and make everyone be at his mercy all at the same time. 

Your thoughts were interrupted suddenly when you saw Brad looking directly at you. He caught you looking at him, practically undressing him with your eyes. He immediately smirked and looked away. You also turned your gaze away from him, blushing madly and trying to focus again on your work. 

After that, you heard someone knock on the door of your office. David appeared with his usual fake smile and positive attitude. A part of you was scared that he was going to talk to you to mention the incident that happened with Brad a couple of days prior. You discarded the possibility remembering how nervous he was when he found out about the dream, thinking that if he were to bring the topic up, he wouldn’t be so jolly. 

“Good Morning Y/N! I just wanted to tell you that we will have a directory meeting at 12pm, so be ready for that! he said, accentuating the “T” at the end. You liked David, to a certain extent. You immediately started liking him less when he ratted you out to Brad. 

“Sure. But couldn’t you have send me an email with the details of the meeting? I could’ve prepared something on what we were working on right now in the art department” 

“Yep, sorry. We forgot to tell you. See you later!” And with that he left, closing the door behind him

You sighed. Typical. You, the art director, were forgotten when setting up a very important meeting. You needed a fucking break, you didn’t get paid enough to keep up with all this bullshit.

You went to the breakroom, where Poppy and Ian were talking next to the coffee machine. You pushed Ian aside without even talking to him to prepare yourself a coffee and grab a packet of Pop Tarts. Poppy and Ian started talking to you about their lives, just making casual conversation. Ian was telling you and Poppy about a hookup he had the night before. Although it was a very graphic explanation, you lived for the drama of it all. At some point, Poppy tried to bring up Brad into the conversation, but every time she hinted at the subject, you shot her a stern look, not wanting to talk about your experiences regarding Brad.

Ian looked at you and Poppy weirdly, clearly feeling excluded from the conversation. He then said his “goodbye”s and left for his office. Immediately after he left, Poppy looked at you, wiggling her eyebrows, clearly not scared of you revealing her wet dream about Ian anymore.

“So? You’re not going to ask him out?” Poppy said, trying to usher you into caving in and admitting your crush on the tall man.

“Absolutely not.” you said with the most serious look. To prove your seriousness, you took a sip of your coffee.

“Oh come on! You know you like him, admit it!”

“Poppy, he’s a fucking sociopath. I’ve been with guys like him before and I don’t want anything to do with him.”

“Aha! So you do admit he’s your type!” She said, with an exaggerated tone of voice, as if she just resolved a case.

“Poppy! Such the fuck up!” You shushed her “Plus, I’d be surprised if he doesn’t already have someone in his life… Anyway, I’m not asking him out, he’s probably already weirded out enough”

“I’m sure he’s not. You said it yourself, he’s a fucking weirdo. Remember when he tried to bet on my hair? Yeah, fucking weirdo” She rambled “My point is, he’s probably turned on by all this.”

“Ew, I don’t want to talk about it. I’m too busy for this shit, I’m going back to my office. Tell me if you need anything work related. Bye.” And with that you left straight to your office.

When you arrived, you sat on your roller chair sighing. You brushed your hand over your face in pure self-doubt. Should you ask him out? Should you just ignore this whole situation? You didn’t know. All of this was raising a lot of questions in your head. Opening your eyes again, you went to reach your computer to continue working before your meeting when you hand touched a small, wrapped box. When you inspected it further, you saw a note was attached to it. You opened the small envelope curious to see who left the little box on your office table. You hadn’t seen anyone enter, too occupied talking to Poppy.

“ A little present for you. Be a good girl and put these on for the directory meeting in around half an hour. I have the remote.

Brad”

After reading the note, you immediately opened the box, tearing into the deep red wrapping paper that covered it neatly. You opened the lid to reveal a pair of vibrator panties. Your eyes immediately widened at the sight. The fact that Brad would spend this amount of money to torture you was unbelievable to you. Even if you were a bit grossed out by the situation, you were also very curious on how all of this was to play out. Without a second thought (before you regretted it) you rushed to the bathroom and put them on.

Ten minutes later, you rushed to the meeting and sat next to the man responsible for the vibrator between your legs. He was sitting slouching in his seat as if he didn’t give a fuck about anything, with one leg over the other, pressing his ankle on his opposite thigh. He leaned into you a bit and whispered in your ear.

“Are you wearing it?” he said. You nodded softly, gulping in anticipation. “Good girl” your pussy throbbed at that, you loved his praises.

You saw him put his hand into his pocket and the vibration between your thighs started softly, drawing a pleased hum out of you. He was kinky, you’d give him that.

When it was your turn to show everyone your designs, you knew Brad would make your life impossible. As you went to stand up, the vibration in between your legs speeded up, making you jump, drawing a concerned and confused look from David. You couldn’t think about anything but Brad during your presentation, your voice shook, you slightly whimpered, you sweated and could barely recall what you needed to say.

“Y/N, are you ok? You really don’t seem like yourself today” David said, concern laced in his voice. You slightly looked at Brad, who looked at you with lust-filled eyes and smirked at you.

“Y-yes, I’m fine. C-can I please c-continue?” You couldn’t help but stutter, it felt too good.

“S-sure…?” 

You kept going through the presentation and when you were done, you went back to your seat, crossing your legs to try to stop the build up. It was Brad’s time to present. He looked so sexy while engaging with his small public that consisted of the directory committee: Poppy, Ian, David, C.W. and yourself. 

“The weapons Y/N designed were a huge hit, and they’ve been selling like hot cakes. Good girl Y/N.” You almost choked when he said that. A silence filling the room.

“T-thank you Brad.” You said flushed.

“Well that was fucking weird” Said Ian.

At one moment, he put his hands on his pockets and amplified the vibrations while was presenting. You were so fucking close. You needed release and without realizing, you smacked the table with your hand hard. Then you tried to camouflage it as a cough when everybody looked at you weirdly. That cough sounded more like a moan than anything, but people didn’t dare to question anything. Brad knew you were so. Fucking. Close. That was when he completely stopped the vibrations. When he wrapped up his presentation, you rushed to your office.

“What was that about?” David said, weirded out.

“I don’t know,” Brad said, bored.

Brad paraded after you and found you hunched over your desk. You were on the brink of your orgasm and he denied it like he owned you, which he kind of did. You haven’t been this frustrated in a long time.

“H-hey, uh… what’s going on?” he said in an innocent tone. You stood up to confront him, full of a new-found confidence. 

“What is your fucking deal? I was so fucking close, and you put me in the spot SEVERAL times. I’m so fucking done with you Brad” You sounded really pissed, because you were.

“Oh don’t get your panties in a twist.” he said annoyed

“Oh fuck you!” you shouted

“Careful there, princess. You’re playing with fire.” With that, he pressed you against your desk and, yet again, leaned into your ear, whispering “You don’t want me to deny you of your orgasm again, do you?”

“N-no…” With his body pressed to yours, your brain barely functioned. You didn’t know what was going on with you, you never acted like this. 

“Good girl. Now, I have to go. I’ll see you later.” before he left, he brushed his lips with yours. Not quite kissing you, just teasing.

You were left there, dumbfounded (again). You breathed deeply, and your eyes were wide. You probably looked crazy, a complete mess. And worst of all, you were the wettest you had ever been. You were so fucking frustrated. You wanted to shout, scream and have a tantrum but, most of all, you wanted to cum. You wanted Brad to fuck you like he owned you.

[ask-jo-mq]

https://www.wattpad.com/1138791058-dwayne-the-rock-johnson-x-y-n-the-incident

Found something david wrote…

@ask-david-brittlesbee IS THIS WHAT YOU DO IN YOUR FREE TIME?? DEAR GOD HELP ME UNREAD THAT. HOW ON EARTH CAN YOU CLAIM TO BE STRAIGHT??? @ask-brad-bakshi HES YOUR PROBLEM NOW I AM DONE.

[hollywoodcity10]

[the-and-sign-anon]

Secret Roommates

Brad Bakshi x reader

Masterlist

Word count: 1,773

A/N: I’ve definitely fallen in love with this jerk, so here’s a little fluff since Mythic Quest is currently lacking in fanfics.

“Brad, can you put your phone down, please? You need to pay attention.”

“I’m getting Y/N on speaker phone. She’s too sick to video chat, so this is our compromise.”

No one questioned why Brad was the one you were calling. Out of everyone at Mythic Quest, you were undoubtedly the closest with him. Poppy was the one who hired you and David was the one you looked up to, but the selfish head of monetization had managed to capture your attention completely. None of them knew how far that went though, considering the entire office had no idea you were dating or- when the pandemic hit- living together.

“Hey, everyone! Sorry I’m a little under the weather.”

“It’s just nice to hear your voice, Y/N.”

“You’re not overworking yourself, are you?”

“No, no. I’m fine. I’ll be right as rain in a few days.”

Brad fought the urge to roll his eyes. Like Poppy, you were burying yourself in work regardless of the circumstances. Unfortunately, your body had other plans. When you got a fever, you blamed it on the blankets you curled up under to work. When you threw up twice in an afternoon, you reasoned that you and Brad weren’t eating well and your stomach simply didn’t agree with something. Your boyfriend tried to argue otherwise, but nothing he said could keep you down for long. 

Through hours of back and forth, you made a compromise. You would stay on the couch with one blanket and your laptop while Brad worked in his office down the hall. When the team had meetings, you would listen in on the phone, but couldn’t join the video chat or take on any extra projects yourself. If he felt you weren’t resting like you needed to, Brad would come spray you with water until you stopped working. You seemed to believe it was a sarcastic threat, but he was completely serious.

“Can we get to work now? Poppy, you said we were making progress on removing the plague from the game?”

“Yes! Actually, I had an idea. What if instead of stripping Blood Ocean out of the game, we build a vaccine?”

Brad narrowed his eyes at the idea, knowing you would jump on that train immediately. 

“Fantastic idea! I love it!”

“No, no. Poppy, Y/N-”

“You’re just inventing work for yourselves.”

“That would take weeks.”

“Worth it. Poppy, I think it’s a great idea.”

“Y/N, you’re sick and delirious. Hang up.”

You humphed just loud enough for Brad to hear. He rolled his eyes and shook his head, but the others either didn’t notice or ignored him. 

“Poppy, why don’t we get started right now? I have my laptop right here-”

“No, Y/N. David, is the meeting almost over?”

“It hasn’t even started!” David looked at each of the screens and sighed before shaking his head. “You know what, let’s just forget C.W. and jump right in.”

You tried to silently open your laptop and start working. Unfortunately, you nearly dropped the computer and let out a quiet yelp of surprise, which Brad heard. He would have jumped up immediately, but something David said caught his attention. 

“I’m suggesting a $100,000 donation-”

“Wait a second, what?”

Brad sat up and leaned toward the camera. 

“Brad, we as a company have a responsibility…”

“Money is my territory and I make the final call. I’m not giving something away without getting something out of it. That’s insane.”

“That’s charity.”

“You just described exactly what charity is.”

“Not approved.”

You rolled your eyes, though you knew no one could see it. Your boyfriend had a number of qualities you found frustrating, and this was a big one. He could never just do something nice; he had to be manipulative about it and draw everything out for his own entertainment. 

“Alright, tell you what. Play me for it. That little game you’re always playing instead of paying attention to the meetings. If I win, you gotta release the cash.”

You knew Brad would take the bet. 

“Deal. But if I win, you shave off one of your eyebrows.”

“David, no! Don’t-”

“He’s a grown man, Y/N. If he wants to lose his eyebrow in a futile attempt at charity, let him.”

“Brad.”

Brad hung up and logged off the video chat. A minute later, he was by your side closing your laptop. 

“That was mean, Brad. You know he won’t beat you.”

“Yeah, of course I know that.”

You pouted at him. David was one of your favorite coworkers and seeing Brad (and Jo) tear him down all the time upset you. 

“Come on, I’m just having a little fun. I’ll green light the donation, once I’ve made David work for it.”

“He’ll be all lopsided.”

“Yeah, that’s kind of the point.”

Brad settled beside you and draped an arm over the back of the couch so you could lean into his side. You were fast asleep within minutes, allowing him to just breathe and think of how lucky he was to have you. He’d become a master at pushing people away and convincing them they didn’t want to know him or that they already did and simply didn’t like him. Despite his best efforts to do the same with you, he couldn’t help but let you in. 

When he was sure you’d be sleeping for the next few hours, Brad returned to his office to play against David. During their third round, you woke up and started working on the Blood Ocean vaccine with Poppy. She’d made a great deal of progress already, but had left some work for you so the two of you could have an excuse to chat.  

“Hey, Poppy!”

“Y/N, it’s nice to see your face again!”

“It’s nice to see you, too.”

“How are you feeling?”

“A lot better. I got some rest and I haven’t thrown up in two days.”

“Nice!”

“How’s the vaccine coming?”

“It’s great! You can see the coding, right?”

You pulled up the window on your screen and looked through it for a few seconds. 

“Yeah. You’ve been working on this for how long again?”

“A week.”

You let out a low whistle and looked at Poppy’s face on your phone. 

“That’s impressive, Poppy. You leave anything for me?”

You sneezed a few times and Poppy spared you a concerned look that you waved off. Brad had been badgering you about being sick to the point that you had no patience left for anyone else’s worry.

“I’m good.”

Brad marched proudly out of his office with a smirk on his face. The expression dropped when he saw you chatting with Poppy while you stood up to get a snack.

“What are you doing up?”

“Looking for food.”

“Y/N, who’s with you?”

You set your phone on the counter while Brad shut the fridge in front of you. 

“Go lay down, Y/N. Don’t make me get the spray bottle.”

You rolled your eyes and chuckled easily. There was no way he actually meant that.

“You’re not my sister. You can’t spray me with water to make me-” You whirled around when a thin stream of cold water hit your back. Brad was holding the spray bottle and gestured toward the couch with it. When you stood your ground, he sprayed you again. “Stop that!”

“Go lay down.”

“I’m an adult-” You held up a hand and turned your face away, both of you oblivious to Poppy’s questions over the phone. “Brad!”

“Lay. Down.”

You grabbed your phone and ran past to Brad’s office. 

“I’m not sick anymore! You can’t keep me on bed rest!”

You shouted through the door as Brad tried to turn the handle.

“Not throwing up for two days is progress, not a clean bill of health. Go sit down or you’ll get worse again.”

“No!”

“Y/N!!”

You jolted at the sound of Poppy’s shout. 

“Huh?”

“What is going on over there? Why are you in Brad’s apartment?”

“Uh, funny story-”

You hung up and stuffed your phone in your pocket. That wasn’t how you wanted her to find out you and Brad were together.

A few weeks later, you were feeling much better and Brad agreed to let you get back to business as usual. You and Poppy had finished the vaccine for Blood Ocean and neither of you had brought up her discovery. You were hoping she never would, but then another meeting came around. 

“Okay, everyone. We’re all here on time for once. That’s nice.”

You were sitting at the dining table with a blanket settled over your lap and an excited look on your face. Brad had kept you from joining the meetings properly for so long that it was all happy and exciting for you again. 

“Hey, everyone!”

You received a chorus of greetings from everyone else. Once the group quieted down a bit, David got things started. Brad was playing Street Fighter again and C.W. was still struggling to figure out what he was doing, but you were focused and happy to be there. Things went fairly well for almost an hour and you, along with most of the others, logged off while David, Brad, Poppy, and Ian finished discussing a few things.

You stood up and made your way down the hall, forgetting that the door to Brad’s office was still open. You padded by in your flannel pants with the fluffy blanket draped over your shoulders. Poppy was the first to notice, but said nothing. Ian, having no tact or dependable attention span, interrupted David to draw his attention to you as well. 

“Brad, is that Y/N in your hallway?”

David forgot his instinct to get mad at Ian’s interruption. You and Brad both froze and he whirled around to look at you. 

“Hey, guys…”

You awkwardly lifted a hand to wave at them. 

“Are you two living together? How long has that been going on? Why didn’t you tell-”

Brad logged off and jumped up from his chair without a word. You gave him a sort of tired look as he led the way to the couch. 

“We have to explain ourselves eventually.”

“Do we? For now, let’s watch DuckTales.”

You tried to stifle your laughter as you dropped down next to him and grabbed the remote. Your phones were turned on vibrate and buried under another blanket as the cartoon started, allowing you both to enjoy yourselves without endless questions from your coworkers. You knew you couldn’t avoid them forever, but Brad was determined to try for the time being.

[cruel-summerxy]

labyrinth - brad bakshi x reader

summary ➞ ever since brad came out of prison, he has tried to be a better person. when a stranger tests him he decides to be nice and its a good thing he does . word count: 2k words

a/n ➞ I'm back! this is going to be in multiple parts, so yay! I already have the second part started, so I'll probably post it tomorrow! a little gnf cameo in here too. comments and reblogs are appreciated <3

based on ➞ taylor swift's song "labyrinth"

you know how scared I am of elevators, never trust it if it rises fast 

Brad isn’t an easy guy to know. Sometimes he wakes up early and does some quick cardio before going into work– other times the only thing the man does is brush his teeth before catching a bus to work. As of lately, it was the latter. He is in a slump. The man is obviously glad that he is part of Mythic Quest once again, even if it was as the janitor (recently promoted as a fucking assistant), but he sometimes misses the chaos. He misses being in the conference room, he misses screaming at a random person who has no authority and therefore cannot help, he misses scaring the new hires. Brad misses all of this and more, but he is a changed man.

Everyday that he had been in prison he liked to imagine that the company had been in pure chaos without him. Now he has tickets to the front row. David had obviously hired new people and those people have no idea who he is. Although he isn’t proud of it, it brings a smile onto his face when he eavesdrops at their conversations. Hearing that deadlines have to be met, budgets having to be readjusted, and whatnot brings him joy now (it’s truly pathetic).

Even though he had been gone for a while, Brad knows that he still has the ability to manipulate those around him. The browned-eyed man was able to prove himself by getting Rachel to take his old job; he tells himself that he had helped her for his own benefit, but the truth is that the girl is smart and he does want her to succeed. Old Brad would’ve rolled his eyes, but new Brad can only smile at what he has achieved (he smiles alone though, he doesn’t want to give the wrong impression to others). He was able to get the workers their bonuses and maybe it was the Christmas spirit but he had been happy and giddy. His happiness hadn’t been unacknowledged, David and Rachel gave each other a look when they heard Brad sing along everyone else Christmas morning. 

Ever since Christmas morning something felt different. So he decides to wake up early and to take a trip to the coffee shop near his home. Brad grabs his lunch bag (he had decided to cook his own food) and makes his way out the door. Even though he lives on the fourth floor, Brad walks down the stairs. He had skipped his workout and he told himself it was better than taking the elevator. 

He can’t help but to whistle as he makes his way to his favorite coffee shop. His body trembles as the breeze comes to him. Even though it is pretty cold, it is a beautiful day. The sun is out, not helping him warm up but it sure does look nice. As he enters the shop he mentally curses, of course there would be a long line

“It’s okay Brad. You have time,” he assures himself. Old Brad would have rolled his eyes and left the place. He would have proceeded to send someone from the office, but alas he was a new man (he also didn’t have someone that could just drop everything for a stupid coffee).

After what seems like forever Brad was next. 

“What can I get for you?” a middle aged woman asked. He stands there wondering what he should actually get. He often opts for a black coffee, but today he craves something sweet. During his time in prison he would often wish that he was sipping a sweet old caramel frappe, with extra caramel drizzle– of course. 

“Could you be any slower,” someone groans behind him. Now, old Brad would have made some remark, but he decides against it. He decides that today is a good day and that it's simply not worth it. So he turns around and sees that it was a woman in her early-twenties who had spoken earlier.

“What would you recommend?” Brad asks with a small smile on his lips. A blush covered the woman, making Brad laugh. She bites her lip and thinks about it. Brad’s eyes stay on her and he is now crossing his arms, waiting patiently for her to give her input. She studies him for a moment before she answers him.

“An iced caramel macchiato,” the woman croaks out. 

Brad then turns without giving her a second glance and loudly orders two iced caramel macchiatos, “one for the lady behind me.” As soon as he is done ordering he positions himself where the woman would see him. Although he was trying to be better, old habits die hard.

“I’m sorry about that,” the lady whispers, standing in front of him. He looks up, pretending that she had frightened him. Brad cocks his head, taking a good look at her. “It’s just that I’m already late for this meeting and you were taking a while to order.”

“You should’ve woken up earlier,” Brad lectures her. Well, so much for not acting like old Brad; he just couldn’t resist it. The lady nods her head and proceeds to stand next to him. The two of them remain silent, waiting for their drinks. She sniffles next to him and he can tell that she is sick. He notices the pack of tissues that are stuffed in her coat’s pocket and even though she has makeup on, Brad can tell that her nose is red.

“You should’ve said a medicine ball tea,” Brad says as he checks the time on his phone. The baristas are taking their time and he is losing his patience. He takes a deep breath, reminding himself that he was okay with time. She turns to him and sighs.

“Yeah… well I did order that for myself,” the lady confesses, “I kind of thought you were going to order both of the drinks and then leave me without any.”

He turns to her and lets out a laugh, “that's good. If it had been any other day, I probably would have done that. I’m trying to do better, plus I did take forever to order.” 

Her eyes soften up as she hears him talk. Brad notices this and can tell that she is no longer on edge. He is about to say something when the barista calls out his name and their drinks. Brad stands up, rubbing his hands together, he can taste the caramel on his lips already. He utters a quick thanks and strides back to the woman. Their hands touch for a moment as he hands her the coffee. He knows it’s nothing, but he can’t help but to smile at her. 

The woman breaks the little trance that he was in by coughing and now he’s disgusted. He hasn’t gotten sick in years and there he is, shaking hands with someone who clearly should not be going into work, nor a coffee shop.

“I’m sorry, but I really have to get going. Thank you for the coffee Brad,” the lady speaks softly as her eyes come across his name on the cup. 

“You haven’t gotten your medicine ball,” Brad points out. She shrugs and he steps aside and allows her to pass by. Brad stands inside the busy cafe, watching as the door swings and he is puzzled. He hadn’t gotten her name, but he’s certain of one thing: he has seen her before. 

He could wait for a name and a medicine ball to be called, but Brad decides against it. It’s a bit late and he has a meeting to attend to. 

.. 

Brad sighs as he opens a side door. He has taken the stairs once again and now he is out of breath. He hasn’t taken a sip out of the drink that the lady had recommended yet. He spots Jo and shoots a smile at her. The woman scrunches her face and continues walking to him.

“You’re sweaty Brad,” The blonde woman points out.

“No shit. I just walked up six flights of stairs,” Brad thinks to himself. He reminds himself to play nice and shoots her another smile.

“Are you seriously going to keep acting like that?” The blonde woman groans. She has grown tired of the way that Brad has been acting. Jo used to look up to Brad, they would scheme together and now he smiles at everyone. She sighs sadly at Brad, “what happened to you in prison?”

Brad laughs at her question, “nothing. I had a great time there. I’m just a changed man Jo.”

Jo says nothing and leaves Brad’s side. In a way, Jo is right; Brad has changed drastically within the last year. It was for a good reason though. He had become close to those who had worked around him (even if he didn’t show them) and his brother had come in and almost (using this term very loosely) ruined it. One night when he had been in his prison cell, Brad had come to the realization that he had been miserable and rude to those around him for no reason. So now that he is out, the man smiles at his peers, he sometimes helps others, and he is nice to strangers. Life is too short.

Brad slowly makes his way across the floor and hears the people around him chatter. He sits on a random couch to catch his breath. He decides to finally try his drink and a disappointed sigh comes out of his mouth, the macchiato is no frappe. It was no secret that he had a sweet tooth, maybe he should have told that information to the stranger. 

His thoughts are long forgotten and his eyes grow wide. He stands up and he sets down his disgusting coffee; inside the conference room stands the stranger. Brad quickly scans the room and she is standing next to a tall man. He observes them,  his eyes light up and he remembers who the man is. The guy was some twitch streamer– GeorgeNotFound. 

“What a stupid name,” Brad mutters to himself. He had seen some of his streams before, but he hated his streamer name. He had forgotten that Rachel had wanted to add streamers to the Mythic Quest campaign. That’s why Brad had recognized her! He had been researching George the day before, orders from Rachel, and she had been in some of his posts. His heart then drops as he remembers that he was supposed to be in that meeting. 

They seem to be discussing something and before he can think it through, Brad stands up straight and walks into the conference room. All eyes land on him and David lets out a squeak. “What are you doing here Brad?”

Brad ignores him, “Hello, I just wanted to officially introduce myself; I am Brad Bakshi.” He offers George and the stranger a smile. 

“Hello,” a nervous smile decorates the stranger’s face. She extends her hand, Brad shakes it happily. He can hear her sniffling– the coffee he had bought her probably making her more sick. A red tint covers her neck, letting him know that he has an effect on her. He can’t help but to smirk– he still has it. “I’m Y/N and this is George.”

“Well nice to meet you both,” Brad leans against a chair, “I hope you find Mythic Quest good.” He finds himself fixing his posture and his eyes remain on the stranger– Y/N. The woman opens her mouth, but before she can let out a word David begins speaking.

“Brad, please leave. We are having an important meeting and… your services are not needed.” The white man smiles, telling himself that he did good. Brad is about to argue that Rachel had wanted him to be there but ultimately decides no to. 

“Okie dokie. I’ll see you two around.”