#part two would involve the bakery with more feelings more interaction and something more intimate

[chihoshisai]

Night Crush

Nanami x Reader

cw : i can fix/help him reader, coffee shop au, nanami is tired, positive ending // wc : 1.5K

The chimes of the bell echoed throughout the coffee shop, signaling a customer had entered the property. Withdrawing from the task that had previously kept you occupied, you turned towards the counter, expecting to welcome the only person that would dare come at such dark hours for the bitter taste of caffeine.

“Hi,” you greeted with a sympathetic smile at the sight of the drained expression that adorned the features of Nanami who walked further in. “The usual ?” you asked, well aware that he would come here at least once a week to possibly decompress from work, as he enjoyed a book alongside his coffee.

“Evening,” he replied with a voice that hinted nothing of his emotions, “yes I’ll take an americano,” he added with a nod.

“Alright,” you said, as he fetched his card to pay before busying yourself with the making of his drink. 

At this unholy hour of the day, the shop usually remained empty — making for a laid-back shift whilst you kept yourself occupied with either cleaning or endless scrolling on your device. However the routine you had established for yourself got interrupted by the sporadic apparitions of Nanami which started about four months ago. Being the only guest, it was an easy task for your brain to remember him and his preferences, as you slowly started to notice simple details about him over time. 

The way his hair was perpetually neatly combed and parted, his aloof behavior and the way he seemed so engrossed in the books he read — ultimately sparking your own interest in literature, wondering if novels truly had the power to draw people in. 

Anticipation towards his appearances in your workplace had stirred up these unexpected butterflies and accelerated heart rates from your body. The more you watched the clock tick away the time, the more hopeful you grew that he would come, and more often than not you wound up disappointed and hurt — feeling lonely at the realization of how silent your surroundings were, but mostly by its emptiness which was emphasized by the soft yellow lights of the café.

It was a slight crush really, created by the intimacy of sharing time with another individual in a place that usually brimmed with people, buzzing with laughter and conversations. The veil casted by the arrival of night would make anyone fall prey to the serene atmosphere brought forth. And you were one of its victims. But it wasn’t the only reason why you had fallen for Nanami. Yes he was a handsome man, even behind his spectacles you could tell as much. One look at his body and it was apparent how well built he was, as you secretly wished for a peek at what probably consisted of finely refined muscles.         

The more glances you casted in his direction, the more you took notice of how tired — exhausted — he seemed. Seeing further than his attractive appearance, it left you wondering what sort of corporate environment he found himself in, even though he seemed adept at putting up a front. It was in the way he sometimes spoke, or how his shoulders would crouch for a second, even the occasional sigh that would escape his lips was enough for you to come to that conclusion. Going as far as causing your heart to clench, it gave you the desire to help, to do something, to ease his pain even if it was a meager gesture. 

You finished preparing his order and hurriedly went to deliver it to Nanami, who sat near the window with his legs crossed, his book by the side awaiting for his usual coffee to arrive before starting his reading. 

“Here's your americano,” you uttered with a shy glance towards him, hoping to catch a closer look at that sharp jaw of his. 

“Thank you,” he replied as he watched the cup being placed on the table beside his novel. 

These small mundane conversations were enough to elicit daydreams in your mind. You gave him a slight nod before returning to the counter, to begin appearing to look busy when all you truly were doing was poke a look or two towards him. Though as you had been doing so for months already, the thought of feeling unfulfilled surged up inside you — bothering you even. It wasn't enough. You wanted more. 

As such, the remaining pastries of the day gave you an idea — which left you pondering whether or not this would be a well received gesture or deemed unnecessary. With steady hands, promptly placing a piece of cake on a plate, you headed towards Nanami once more, each step increasing the rate of your heart and deepening your breathing as this wasn't part of your usual night shift routine.  

The sound of your heart echoed through your brain having reached the table, and your breath caught your throat at the sight of Nanami pausing to look in your direction. 

“What's this?” He asked, eyes lingering towards your hands, “I didn't order that,” his tone was slightly surprised which made you even more nervous.

“It's on the house. Since you come by every so often, I thought you could enjoy this with your coffee. I hope it’s not too much of a bother,” you blurted out in a single breath — deeply inhaling afterwards as your eyes traced the outlines of his facial features, praying for a positive answer.

“I see,” his flat tone ringed in your ear, “in that case I’ll gladly accept it.” And with swift movements, he momentarily closed his book and made place for the unexpected order atop the table. 

You beamed — truth be told, who in their right mind would refuse to accept food offered by what supposedly consisted of their favorite place ? as you placed the plate down, the thought of considering rejection almost made you feel foolish. But this wasn’t enough.

“May I ask you something?” You inquired, fiddling with your fingers while your eyes darted towards the ground. Without a doubt, you were testing your luck to see how long it’d last. 

“What is it?” His eyes hadn’t left your side for a second

At the sound of his voice, you raised your head, allowing yours to fill itself with worry, “are you alright?” 

Nanami sighed.

And your mind started racing — what if you had annoyed him ? Embarrassed for having crossed a line, you steeled yourself to apologize, but he further beat you up to it.     

“Sometimes I am required to work at night, and it is a real hassle,” he bluntly said, shoulders slouching as he let himself exhale once more.

That much you knew, but you still nodded in acknowledgement, “it must be hard.”

“It can’t be helped,” he shrugged, “plus if I don’t let myself come here from time to time, I’ll reach my limit. Few coffee shops are open at this hour so I am grateful for this place,” he finished with a smile.

A smile.

The upward curve of his lips sent a turmoil of emotions inside you — never had he showed such a reaction in all the time you had observed him. With glee, you internally praised yourself for coming forward tonight. And so, you pushed further.

“What do you like? I’ll bring it to you next time,” you exclaimed in a confident voice. 

“Bread,” he replied, looking at you through his sunglasses, “I like bread. And alcohol.”

“Oh I see,” you said with a nervous laugh, worried as your café wasn’t the type to sell bread even during the day — instead you swore to look up how to make it, master it in the hopes that it would be good enough. “By the way, what sort?” Your apprehensive smile remained on your lips.

“There’s a bakery not far from here that I like to go to. They have—” Nanami began without having the chance to continue.

“Would you mind showing it to me?” the words escaped before you had the time to process them. At the sight of the raised eyebrows in your direction, you decided to screw it and further push your dwindling luck. “The bakery I mean, would you mind if we go together?” As heat settled on your face, indicating your blush — you gripped your apron with more force than necessary, awaiting for what you convinced yourself would be a negative answer. Your mind was already one step ahead, grieving the end of what had been a short unrequited crush and how empty the café would remain for the upcoming time.

“I don’t mind,” Nanami’s monotonous tone replied, “give me your number so we can plan this out.” 

What?

As his hands moved to search for his cellphone, your mind took a moment to process the information before delight overthrew the previous misleading feelings — leaving you clumsily reaching for the phone in your pocket. Both having exchanged numbers, you gave a slight bow to Nanami, finally leaving him to enjoy himself and rushed to the staff room to giddily enjoy your victory.

[mintycanoodles]

mmmmmmaybe a Cupcake Wars au where the Graduation Kiss never happened and Bitty and Jack went their separate ways never able to shake the feeling they missed out on something big and maybe neither of them really get over it but what can you do but waste countless sleepless nights thinking about what if’s??

so a handful of years down the road Bitty has his bakery and Jack is the darling of the Falconers but is a walking talking PR disaster who never really grew out of the hockey robot thing. so.

The Falconers are having some sort of Thing and get involved with Cupcake Wars to promote it. And who gets guest judge duty? To work on his public persona and media navigational abilities? Jack of course.

And who, of course, is one of the contestants??? Bitty duh so Bitty goes, and iirc contestants aren’t told the theme or guest judge beforehand so the drama bomb that drops when eyes meet and repressed feelings get tapped into and yeeesh now that’s what I call Awkward.

so. Despite two participants with major internal and interpersonal drama happening, the episode actually goes mostly smoothly. Neither Jack nor Bitty mentions it to anyone on the production team because whose business is it anyway and obviously no one did any homework on them so they?? act like they just don’t know each other???????? It’s not like they can sneak off for five minutes and hash it out so both just. Try not to interact directly too much but come on you know things happen.

Bitty can’t exactly forget Jack’s favorites and Jack cannot even begin to be unbiased (not when every taste he gets of Bitty's baking feels like home again, even after all this time). Jack may or may not fight the judges at every critique aimed at Bitty’s cupcakes, but Bitty hardly needs it, he solidly trounces the competition and wins. And gets invited to the Falconers Thing. Which works out pretty great in Jack's eyes.

Except it doesn’t. Bitty avoids him all evening? He cold shoulders Jack the whole time and Jack kind of gets it, the cameras are still rolling and they can’t exactly catch up now but still? Before Jack gets anything approaching a chance to talk Bitty packs up and he’s out of there as soon as he’s contractually able to.

So Jack may or may not eat his feelings in cupcakes over it. It feels like another missed opportunity and it stings and he wonders how he keeps getting it so wrong.

According to Georgia it’s an unqualified success. She watches the footage, pats him on the back for going through with it, and says something offhand about how well he got on with a few of the contestants (one in particular she notices. she doesn’t mention it). Jack gets in a funk over it, but there’s nothing to do but forget about it until the episode airs.

No one, definitely not Georgia, definitely not the PR department, is prepared for the chaos the premier causes. It’s not immediate, the episode comes out on a quiet Tuesday and the Falcs do some promotion for it, but not much, so some of Jack’s diehard fans watch it but they’re not expecting any kind of major major response. It was supposed to be something small and light to soften Jack’s image and work his media relations muscles. Who even watches Cupcake Wars anyways???? Plenty do. And they go nuts for the episode.

People who have no idea who Jack is, barely an idea what hockey even is, see Mr. tall dark and Canadian and see too exactly what Georgia had seen. Bitty and Jack and all the special attention paid to the little southern baker boy.

It’s, of course, obvious to anyone with eyes the sparks between them, the lingering looks, how Bitty can barely stop from grinning when Jack lists off his every favorite part of Bitty's cupcakes but has monosyllabic responses for the other contestants. As subtle as the two thought they’d been, they really hadn’t and it’s only a matter of time before it’s trending on Twitter and every lovelorn Cupcake Wars fan is writing RPF and subtweeting the Falcs and Bitty's account about it.

This is not exactly the public image Georgia had been hoping Jack would cultivate. They try to put out the fires, calm things down and make a few #relatable Twitter posts about it that the PR interns cook up. Georgia wheedles the real story out of Jack, and it throws her off kilter actually, once he fesses up to a few details that would make the collective heads of the internet reel, but she’s a professional. The PR team is a crack squad. They get things under control.

Until, of course, some intrepid fans uncover The Truth.

Mamely, how Bitty and Jack totally knew each other because they were totally on the same hockey team in college??? And had totally set records together and there were totally pictures still archived on school websites of celebration hugs and even a few traces left of a senior photography project that featured one Eric R. Bittle (and others) in touchingly intimate portraits???? and uhhhhh explanations????????? are needed?????????

#cupcakegate takes the Twitterverse by collective storm. Kardashians whom??? Bitty gets bombarded, the Falconer’s can’t make a single post about a home game without demands for updates on the drama and Georgia is nearly drowning in it all but wading through it like a champ.

The PR department reaches out to Bitty in an email that Bitty never responds to, his stomach too tied up in knots over all this debacle is bringing up, but he feels like this is partially his fault. He tries his best. He does a tell all vlog to set the record straight.

He tries to keep it simple, stick to the main points.

Why didn’t they say anything? Why act like they didn’t know each other?

Neither of them knew the other would be there (truth) and they didn’t want to disrupt filming or make it seem like Bitty had an unfair advantage.

Are they currently romantically involved?

No (truth).

Had they ever, at any point, back in college, been romantically involved?

No (truth?).

Was there anything, anything at all behind the long looks and soft gazes? A single spark? An ounce of unspoken, hidden attraction?????

No (lies).

Bitty bears his heart a little, gets going on a tangent on their relationship back in college and how much Jack helped him through and what a good team they’d been and how he’s a little sad he and Jack drifted so far apart (lies, it hurts, it’s never stopped hurting) but he’s happy for Jack and really proud of him and glad he got the chance to see him again and wishes him the best (truth).

Of COURSE this only makes things worse. Bless Bitty's heart but he has zero self awareness when it comes to Jack and his clearly lovesick vlog brings avid followers of the whole debacle to new emotional heights. People are invested. The drama continues.

It comes to a head when Jack himself braves the world of Twitter, finally, to try and hash things out privately with Bitty so he logs onto the dusty old handle Georgia created and verified for him ages ago that he’d, bless her heart, just never gotten the hang of. He knows Bitty's handle from all this hullabaloo now so he opens up a message, stares at the blinking screen for about a minute, then promptly has a breakdown.

Everything comes back to him. Every warm moment they’d shared back in college. Every time he felt Bitty there for him and every inch of home and safe Bitty ever gave him.

And how he never told Bitty how he felt (lies. still feels). How he’d let that slip right through his fuckup fingers.

It takes him two weeks to draft the message. That’s ages in internet time, so things die down a bit in the interim and other celebrity dramas unfold so Jack finally stops getting pestered about it by every pap and chirped by every team mate. He’s glad they’ll never put him on reality baking competition show duty again but is it worth it? (yes. yes it is)

It gives Jack plenty of time to stew and stew he does, until he’s finally able to write out a pretty succinct summary of everything he never got a chance to say.

It boils down to a couple main points:

Bitty was probably the best thing that ever happened to Jack. Bitty made him softer and better able to handle things and just gave him the safety net he needed and he would always be grateful to Bitty for that.

Jack had also never meant for them to drift apart, he’d always wanted to stay in touch, actually, he’d always wanted so much more than that but Jack knew Bitty didn’t feel the same way, so Jack created the space between them and he was sorry he’d been such a poor friend and had gotten it so wrong.

Jack hoped, maybe beyond hope, that it wasn’t too late. Jack asked if they could be friends again, that he missed Bitty, and he hoped to hear back from him.

Jack is rather proud of himself for all the emotional eloquence that goes into the message. He thinks Shitty would be, too. Of course, it is kind of annoying he has to split it up into so many pieces and tag Bitty's account in each one so they’ll send to him, something about a 140 character limit? Jack doesn’t really get it, but social media isn’t his thing. So he sends his piecemeal message and waits patiently for Bitty to get back to him.

Georgia regrets ever trying to get Jack any amount of media exposure.

Jack’s not so private love letter is screen capped, saved to hard drives, printed into longevity and takes the internet land by storm all over again. Jacks completely oblivious to it until day two or so when Shitty, Lardo, and every person he knew at any point at Samwell bomb his phone. Georgia does her best, she really does, but it’s the last straw for the PR team. They’ve long since collapsed in a puddle of tears and Georgia has to coordinate the disaster relief effort herself and enforce the media lockdown until they can just deal with this and Jack, it’s okay, we’re all here for you and your sexuality is valid but honey, no more internet for you. Georgia does take the thread down but its too little too late and there is going to be a million and one interviews about this and she hasn’t slept in days and-

and Jack feels bad for her. He feels a little embarrassed his personal business is so out in the open like that but. Well. It’s his own fault. He should have probably asked a few more questions about how to work Twitter. But deep down? It’s a huge weight off. He’d never exactly planned on coming out publicly because he never really thought he’d have anyone who would make him consider it but. Well. He’s said what he needed to say. About time.

He lets Georgia tell him what to do and what to say to whom. He does a few interviews, nothing televised, just a few online publications. It takes several more weeks for any of it to approach any sort of calm again, but eventually, an equilibrium is reached. And then, only then, does Jack get a call from a number he doesn’t have saved yet.

“Hey, Jack,” he hears in a thick southern accent when he picks up, and it doesn’t, not at all, send a shiver of pure warmth all the way down to his toes (lies, all lies).

“Bittle-Eric? Bitty. Hey,” he says. Bitty laughs.

“I think maybe we should talk. Would you, maybe, want to meet up for coffee sometime?”

“Yeah. Yeah, of course, I’d love that.” (truth)

[porchwood]

Crackpot Theory: Gale was going to propose to Katniss at the beginning of THG.

Disclaimer: I’ve never taken part in any official THG reread/discussion and I essentially read the book in isolation, so anything I say in these posts may well have been discussed and dismissed years ago. 

While mulling over Ch 1 this time around (this is why I’m no longer a quick reader, lol), a couple of things leapt out at me and made my brain go:

Exhibit A: (This was the biggie.) Gale meets Katniss at “their place” in the woods with a loaf of expensive bakery bread. "Fine bread like this is for special occasions,” Katniss explains in the narrative. (And while this reaping being Gale’s last might well qualify the day as a “special occasion,” neither of them remark on it, which I find curious.) We know that they can buy “good bread” from a vendor at the Hob - in fact, they do so that very morning on their trading rounds - yet Gale made a special trip to the bakery at the crack of dawn on Reaping Day (an extra expenditure of time, energy, and resources) for a fine loaf expressly to share with Katniss. This purchase may have necessitated an extra trip to the woods that morning (before dawn and without Katniss) to hunt a squirrel to trade for said bread, unless Gale managed to snare a squirrel inside the fence (also, it seems odd to me that he’d be trading with squirrel since that tends to be Katniss’s currency, in light of her superior marksmanship). Or maybe, if this was an especially significant loaf, Gale paid cash for it while telling Katniss that it cost “just a squirrel”... 

And yes, I know it’s Reaping Day so special treats are customary, but answer me this: Why make a trading visit (without your hunting partner) to get top-of-the-line bread (to share with your partner) even though you could buy perfectly “good” bread for much less at the Hob, which you will do shortly thereafter when making your “official” trading rounds (with your partner) later that morning?

Exhibit B: After slicing the bread (and spreading the goat cheese, etc), Gale initiates the “We could run away together” conversation. At this point Katniss is gazing down into the valley, savoring the beautiful day and the delicious food, while Gale’s out-of-nowhere remark implies that he thinks she’s on the same wavelength (i.e., “the two of us could make it out there”). To Katniss’s everlasting credit, her internal reaction is: “I don’t know how to respond. The idea is so preposterous.” :) :) :)

Exhibit C: Gale amends his wild suggestion with “if we didn’t have so many kids” - to which Katniss immediately responds, “I never want to have kids.” There’s a whole post in that exchange alone, but to sum up: Gale describes their predicament in an unusually suggestive manner, if you will (bless you @ghtlovesthg for phrasing it like that!). He could have just as easily said something like “if we didn’t have little siblings,” or “if we weren’t responsible for so many other lives” but instead he groups the pair of them like a married couple and describes their siblings as though they were their own children (we see what you’re trying to do there, Gale...). Equally interesting ( @ghtlovesthg pointed this out too) is that Katniss, exquisitely oblivious in many circumstances, must subliminally pick up on his intimation somehow, because she consciously knows exactly what he’s referring to and yet the next words out of her mouth are “I never want to have kids.”

Exhibit D: Gale tries again, more overtly: “I might. If I didn’t live here. [i.e., if we were living in the woods together]” (And now all I can think of is “Close your eyes, start a journey to a strange new world / Leave all thoughts of the life you knew before...” - a la “Music of the Night.” :D)

Which enticement - delightfully - only serves to irritate Katniss and she shoots him down with, “But you do,” to which his response is a snapped, “Forget it.” 

Sidenote: For some reason, I suddenly find it very funny indeed that as Katniss is processing the preceding exchange, she thinks “if he wants kids, Gale won’t have any trouble finding a wife.” Not, “Oh no, Gale might get married?!” She admits to being jealous of him as her hunting partner (which I think is true), but it doesn’t seem to concern (or indeed, involve) her one iota that he might be looking for a wife and mother of his children. :) :) :)

Exhibit E: However “flatly,” Gale tells Katniss to “wear something pretty” for the reaping. This could simply be sarcasm or even a riff on his compliment to Madge (”Pretty dress” - which could be the subject of a whole ‘nother post in itself! ;D), but it’s an interesting remark in light of everything that’s transpired between them that morning.

Exhibit F: When Katniss finally spots Gale at the reaping, he’s looking at her with “the ghost of a smile” (an uncommon expression on his face). It’s in the context of Haymitch and Effie’s altercation on the stage, so there is a lightness and even humor to the moment, but we also know that he sent Katniss home to look pretty and she came back looking beautiful. And that at some point after they make eye contact, “his face darkens and he looks away.” Which could be typical Gale anger, but again: it’s curious in light of their interactions earlier that day.

Exhibit G: “Katniss, remember I -” Maybe it’s awful of me, but I enjoy that Katniss seems to have no idea what he was trying to tell her while a reader never had any doubt. (It’s not just me, surely?)

Further, this was Gale’s final (i.e., 18-year-old) reaping. While there’s nothing in canon to explicitly support this, there are various fanon traditions about couples getting married as soon as they “age out” of the reaping, and Gale wants a wife and kids. Had Katniss not been reaped, would he have brought up the idea of an engagement (with a marriage to follow after her final reaping)? Do you think he literally wanted her to run off to the woods with him, or was the suggestion more in the way of trying to make her see him as a romantic/marital prospect? Women respond more positively to romantic cues after they’ve been fed, after all (this is why Everlark was destined to be endgame! :D) and Gale brought an awfully fine treat to feed his prospective mate before reminding her of what a great hunter and provider he is. (And now I’m thinking about that Superb Bird of Paradise courtship video where the male does his bizarre dance and the female - after watching him in “WTF??” fashion - ultimately just hops away. In the words of David Attenborough, “It’s hard not to feel deflated when even your best isn’t good enough”!) 

What if Gale was hoping for a secret toasting in the woods that morning and that’s why he went out of his way to obtain toasting-caliber bread before meeting Katniss in the woods?? (And yes, I know it’s a crackpot theory, hence the title. But it’s curious nonetheless!)

[carmen-berzattos]

forbidden

+ Jealousy.

Um, so remember how I said I was gonna cut myself off at 1500 words max? Yeah, I failed. This is +4k. It spiraled out of control and I’m like 95% sure there is a part two for this. If you guys are up for it of course. 

This is AU/AH role reversal of sorts, in which Klaus is Caroline’s assistant.

Klaus hadalways been good at keeping secrets. Ever since he was child, he managed tokeep everything sealed inside of him. He kept his love for art a secret fromhis father. He kept the pain of his father’s slaps a secret from the worldoutside the confines of his home. As a teenager, he kept his sister’sboyfriends in check without her knowing. And he managed to keep his job at abakery a secret from his family. At eighteen, he left his address a secret fromhis family until Elijah found him, relief on his face and hurt in his eyes and itoccurred to him that this should not have been a secret. And through it all,what he learned to do best was to keep his feelings secret. With time, helearned to simply keep them in check. So it was no surprise that Klaus’ besthidden secret was his infatuation with his enchanting boss, Caroline Forbes. Butit was a surprise to him that his feelings towards her continued to spiral outof control.

He metCaroline at 23 years old, freshly graduated from college, fascinated by thesmashing success of her magazine at only 27. He went in for an interview forthe position of her personal assistant, his tie slightly off-center and hispalms sweating. His chances of actually snatching the job were slim to none. Hehad no experience beyond his time at the bakery which sustained him throughuniversity. He had no network to fall back on which could recommend him to her.But he was determined to go through with the interview. Caroline Forbes, hebelieved could teach him a lot. Fixing his glasses on his nose once more, hebraced himself and walked in.

When hiseyes fell on her, he found himself stuttering over a contradiction between herposture and her expressions. She had her back turned towards him when he wascalled into her office, facing the glass wall that overlooked the city. Shespoke through a mouthpiece, demanding from one editor or another that they getthe job done.

“You know Ihave no patience for incompetence, Andrew.” She said, calm, collected,demanding. “Fix this or you will be let go.”

In thatparticular moment, Caroline turned her head slightly to peak at the newcomer.Klaus felt like a deer caught in a headlight. For some undiscernible reason, heheld his breath as her eyes scanned him. Not in the flattering way many peoplehave directed at him before, rather in a scrutinizing way that let him know shewas sizing him up. Her sharp gaze only lasted for a moment, matching the cooltone she was bestowing Andrew with.

“Thank you.”She said. “I’m certain it will be done satisfactorily.”

She hung up,wrenching the earpiece out, then turned fully to face him. This time, the coldway in which she scrutinized him was gone. Her deadly tone had vanished, andthe way in which her blonde curls seemed capable of cutting through his skinwas replaced by a honey like flow. But her posture, her posture did not shift,her shoulders squared, her head held high, an air of pride with a dash ofintimidation radiating off of her.

“Hello,” shesaid sweetly, smiling at him. “I assume you’re Klaus Mikealson?”

Klaus’breath stuttered. “Y-es.” He cleared his throat, looked to the ground, thenback up again, stare hardening and shoulders straightening. Perhaps he couldn’tmuster the air of power about her. But he would not be reduced to a stutteringschool boy. “Yes, I am. It’s a pleasure to meet you Ms. Forbes.”

He strodetowards her desk, extending his arm towards her for a handshake. She took hishand willingly, grip firm. Something shivered within him at the feel of hersoft hand in his calloused one. But he maintained a steady heartbeat, and heldher gaze. For a fraction of a second, the cool scrutiny was back in her eyes,only to once again disappear, replaced by a generic mask of friendliness.

“Thepleasure is all mine.” She said cordially. “Please have a seat.”

Thefollowing thirty minutes blurred by. She fired one question after anotherconcerning his resume, his university career, his dreams and aspirations, whyhe wanted to work for her. Klaus, prepared for all those questions, felt anease fall over him. She was not an unkind woman, but her outer friendliness hida determination that could cut through him if he dared to undermine it.

“Alright,Klaus,” she said, having already allowed herself to call him by his first name.She crossed her arms over her desk, her scrutinizing eyes returning. “Lastquestion: what is your impression of me?”

He blinked,felt himself flinch. His palms stuck to the leather arm-rests he had placedthem on, his fingers digging into them. “I beg your pardon?”

“This is nota trick question, Klaus. Tell me what your impression of me is. This interviewis as much of a way for you to get to know me as it is for me to get to knowyou.” She shrugged. “I’m not in the business of fooling myself about that. I’mnot under the impression that it’s a popularity contest, either. I’m notlooking for compliments, I’m looking for what you think I’d be like as yourboss. So, no bullshit. Tell me what you think I’m like.”

He clearedhis throat, shifted in his seat. Glanced over her right shoulder, back at hernow-sharp eyes, over her left shoulder. Then,

“I thinkyou’re fascinating.” He said, channeling a composure he did not think hepossessed. Her eyebrows shot up. “This is not flattery, Ms. Forbes, not in theleast bit. Flattery, I believe, is the easiest way to lose your respect. You’rehonest and expect people to be, especially in their work. You’re determined,and stubborn. I feel sorry for anyone who dares to underestimate you. Andyou’re a good judge of character. It’s why you asked me this question to beginwith. You know I’m perfect for this job. You knew I would not attempt to winyour favor through empty compliments. And you now know that no one can do thisjob better than I could.”

For amoment, she went silent. Then she broke into a grin. “I like you, KlausMikaelson. And I do think that you’re perfect for this job. You just proved meright. But before I offer it to you, let me warn you about something. Unlikewhat people think, I know everything that goes on in this office. I know whatis said about me. The world isn’t all that kind to successful women. And I knowwhat will be thrown your way. My last assistant was also a man. And he couldn’thandle remarks about being my bitch. You need to grow a thick skin. Or better,have better standards of yourself, a more mature self-confidence. I don’t careif you engage in your co-workers’ childish games. But, working as my assistantmeans you’ll know some intimate details about my life. And if I catch wind thatyou somehow squandered any of those details, I will ruin you. This job’svirtual age is three years. Do it right, do it well, show me that I can trustyou, and I will guarantee you any job you want. Even in this very magazine. AndI’ll be there for any help you might need in the future. I’m the best and mostloyal ally you can ever get. Disappoint me, and you will have only yourself toblame.”

She paused.Klaus maintained a neutral expression.

“Do we havea deal?”

He grinned.“We do, indeed.”

For thefirst six months, Klaus’ assignments constituted mainly of keeping Caroline’sbusy schedule in-check, running errands for her, answering phone calls; hisjob, essentially, included nothing out of the ordinary for an assistant.Caroline, he understood, needed to know that she could trust him with morecomplicated tasks. And Klaus was nothing if not up for a challenge. He wouldlive up to, no he would exceed her expectations. So he noticed things abouther, little things. With her busy schedule, Klaus noticed that she sometimessimply forgot to go for lunch. The first time she came back from a meeting tofind a salad waiting for her and a note telling her to eat quickly because shewas meeting a writer in twenty minutes, she popped her head out of her officeand shot him a grateful smile. With time, Klaus made sure she always hadsomething to eat. On less busy days, he could breathe easy knowing she’d havethe time to step out for lunch. On busier days, he worked in a way to get foodin her. After a while, he felt comfortable enough to double-check with her thatshe ate. At first she was surprised, then she just rolled her eyes at hisantics, telling him to go out more since he seemed too involved in his job.

Her favoritecoffee, he learned, was a plain black one with a dash of cream from the cornercafé in the street where the office building is. He noticed that Carolinerarely managed to go through a day with only one cup of coffee. Her tell signsthat she needed more caffeine included her running her hands through her hairagitatedly, and a tad less bright smile in her interactions with people.Caroline soon found that she didn’t need to ask him to run for coffee in themiddle of the day, finding Klaus either wordlessly stepping into a meeting tohand her a cup, or walking into her office to place it on her desk and leave.Or simply handing her one as she ran out of the office to a meeting withanother client. Every time he did that, she shot him a small smile ofgratitude.

His abilityto read her did not limit itself to telling when she needed coffee. Slowly, hebecame in-tune with her body language. He could tell when she was frustratedwith someone and needed to be saved from the way her posture lost its relaxedcasualness. He could tell that she was stressed from the slightest crease inher brows. Her smile wavered the tiniest bit when someone dared to disregardher orders or managed to mess up her plans. And he felt sorry for the poorbastard who managed to put that last look on her face. He knew that the nextthing they know Caroline would shut off completely and show the cold side ofher.

PleasingCaroline was no easy feat. Her demands were precise, quick, and required utmostefficiency. She kept Klaus on his toes as he scrambled to get her chaotic lifein order while maintaining his own sanity. Which proved to be far moredifficult than he imagined. He worked long, exhausting hours, his social lifebeing reduced to nothing within mere weeks of working for Caroline. The moreshe relied on him, the more his job took center stage in her life. And Carolinedid rely on him often after the first few months elapsed. He got a spare key toher office door in case she needed him to run a late night errand on the fourthmonth of working for her. On the fifth, he was sent to her home several times,and told to pick out an outfit for events when she had no time to go home andchange.

“You say you’rean artist, Klaus.” She said the first time he was sent on such an assignment,smiling at him. “Prove it to me. Put something together for me.” From thetwinkle in her yes, he could have sworn she was enjoying this too much.

He took herword to heart, picking her outfit with utmost care to details, in spite of hisunusual nervousness at being in her bedroom. Something about it felt as if hewas violating her privacy. He tried not to linger on details that did notconcern him, averting his eyes from her bed, from the wall decorations, fromany photographs that might be around. The only thing he could not avoid was herscent. The place had a ghost of her presence that made the hair on his armsstand on end. As if she watched over him, judged his every move. Relief washed overhim when he finally left. When he returned to the office, giving her the outfithe picked out, she grinned at him.

“You have agreat eye for color.” She said, then looked up at him with a soft gaze in hereyes. “Thank you.”

Caroline’strust in him, he was pleased to find out, grew gradually. She began to delegatemore complex tasks to him, like reading pieces submitted by up-and-comingwriters for their rising star section and giving her the top twenty to siftthrough. She consulted with him on the magazine’s outline whenever she wasn’tcertain how the color palette was working. She relied on him to take care ofmishaps whenever they happened, not feeling it necessary to take over unless itgot too out of hand. Before long, Klaus found himself staying late nights atthe office, most of the time alongside Caroline, having been delegated anothertask that needed swift action. And he didn’t mind. Not one bit. He wasterrified to realize that he only seemed to feel alive when around her. True, pleasingCaroline was no easy feat, but watching her work was a pleasure. He couldn’tbelieve his luck that he got to watch her. She had a passion about her, an infectiousenergy surrounding her. She gave the work her all, minding the smallest ofdetails, putting the last touches. She was dedicated to the message of hermagazine, ran it with efficiency and delicacy. And she knew all of heremployees, rewarded them with smiles, raises and words of encouragement. Forthe most part, employees respected her. Those who didn’t Klaus quickly learnedto avoid. And they usually didn’t last long.

But the mostdifficult part of his job had nothing at all to do with the job and everythingto do with Caroline. Day after day, as he watched her, learned from her, grewaccustomed to her presence and bright smile, Klaus felt himself soften more andmore towards her. He began to notice details about her that had nothing at allto do with his job. Like the twinkle in her eyes when another issue fell intoher lap and it looked perfect. Or the way she bit her lower lip inconcentration. Or the bird-shaped tattoo on her wrist that made him curiouswhether she had other ones. Or the way she tilted her head to the side andsuppressed a smile when she was amused by him. As she, too, grew comfortablearound him, she showed more and more of herself around him. With every piece ofher that she showed, he felt something in him ache, an exquisite kind of achresembling a vague feel of longing, and a suffocating feel of despair. Almostevery night, Klaus would go back to his apartment and sketch her face over andover again. He found himself filling page after page with details of her. He’ddraw her with utmost care, and utmost secrecy, catching a gentle smile on hisface whenever he thought of her.

But Klausconvinced himself that it was nothing. Nothing but a simple infatuation.Caroline was an impressive, admirable woman. And he was learning from her,being infected by her charms, by her energy, her allure, her passion. It wasnot a big deal. At all.

-

“Wake up, sleepyhead.”A soft voice trickled into his ear. He felt a nudge on his shoulder. “I’mpretty sure this position isn’t healthy for your neck.”

“What?” hemurmured. Blinking, he began to make out the shape of blonde curls surroundinga sweet face.

“You fellasleep.” She said.

He shook hishead, trying to clear his head. Caroline stood next to his chair, head tiltedto the side and slightly smiling. When the initial confusion wore off, Klaus’eyes widened in shock. He had fallen asleep in the office. The night before themagazine’s issue was sent for printing was always a long one. And he had stayedbehind with Caroline, knowing that if she saw a mishap, she would need hishelp. Tired to the bone, his eyes burning from staring at the computer for toolong, Klaus only wanted to rest his eyes for a minute. Somehow he ended upasleep.

“I’mterribly sorry, Ms. Forbes.” He said, feeling a slight blush make its way tohis cheeks. “That was unprofessional of me.”

She chuckled.“It’s no big deal, Klaus. And I’m not a monster. I’ve overworked you this week.Go home. Get some rest.”

“But themagazine…”

“It looksgreat! If I run into trouble, I’ll iron it out myself.” She offered.

He looked athis watch. It read 10:30. He frowned. “Sweetheart, how much longer do you planon staying?”

“Sweetheart?”her eyebrows shot up. “That’s new.”

Klaus’ eyesgrew twice their size. “I apologize.” He stuttered, “I didn’t mean to. It’s aBritish thing. A slip of the tongue…”

She laughed,actually laughed, at his nervous state, shaking her head slightly. He had neverseen her laugh before, not like this, relaxed and at ease. As if the wholeworld did not exist except for the two of them. In any other instance, he wouldhave found her laugh infectious, but he did not know what to make of it in thatmoment.

“You know,it’s kinda nice to know that I still intimidate you.” She said, when herlaughter quieted a little, placing a hand on her hip.

“What do youmean?” he frowned, still at a complete loss. This woman ought to drive himcrazy at some point.

“You gottaadmit, you’re getting used to me.” She teased. “You can read me pretty well.And your confidence has grown quite a bit. You’re not walking on eggshellsaround me anymore.”

He looked upat her, tongue-tied, “I’m…”

She waved ahand in dismissal. “It’s not a bad thing, sweetheart.” She teased. “Youfeel secured in your job. And I got used to having you around. I gotta say Ihave no idea how I managed all this time without you.”

He couldn’thelp the grin that split his face. “I, too, have grown very used to yourdemands, Ms. Forbes.”

She shookher head in disapproval. “I think you’ve earned first name basis. Andsweetheart is fine, occasionally. Just not in public.”

“Noted.”

“Now, youwere going home and I was going back to work.” She demanded, moving backtowards her office.

He shook hishead, “I’m not leaving you to work alone.”

She tiltedher head to the side, crossing her arms over her chest, “Last I checked I wasstill your boss.”

“Yes, youare. And if I let you to do as you please you’d work yourself to death.” Herose from his seat, moving closer to her. “Let me help you, Caroline. We candivide and conquer.”

She seemedabout to argue for a moment, before her eyes softened at the sincerity in hiseyes hiding behind his slightly smudged glasses. “OK. But under one condition. Youorder pizza for us. I’m starving.”

-

An hour anda half later, Klaus and Caroline were sitting cross-legged on the floor,munching the last of their pizza. With the job done, they lounged lazily,Caroline’s back resting against one of the chairs in front of her desk, andKlaus hunched over his laptop, replying to a last minute email. He could feelCaroline’s eyes on him, reminding him of their first meeting during hisinterview. He hit the send button before looking up at her, eyes curios, thenself-conscious when they caught the look in hers.

“Is theresomething I could do for you, sweetheart?” he cocked his head to the side,regaining his composure.

“Tell me,”she started, attempting to sit up a little, “how long have you been working forme?”

“Ninemonths.” He shut down his laptop, placing the machine aside on the floor to giveher his undivided attention. “Why?”

She lookedthoughtful for a minute. “I was just thinking,” She said slowly, “it’s beenquite some time since we’ve known each other and I still don’t really knowanything about you. For all I know you could be leading a secret life as avigilante or something.” She teased.

“Yes.” Hemocked. “With all the work you give me I definitely have the time to roam thecity taking down criminals.”

She grinned.He found he quite liked seeing her so relaxed. “I gave you a job, Klaus. Neversaid it was gonna be easy.”

“I neverthought it would be.” He couldn’t help the small smile that broke its way intohis face. “The interview told me as much.”

She giggled,actually giggled. The formidable Caroline Forbes was comfortable enough togiggle around him, and the sight of it struck him with a beauty that piercedhis being. “Yeah, I remember that. You looked a bit scared at the beginning. Ithought of dismissing you immediately because of it. But then you pulledyourself together. I figured giving you a full interview wouldn’t hurt.”

“Honestly,love, you should be ashamed of finding other people’s misery so amusing.” Heshook his head, feigning sadness. She didn’t even flinch at the pet name.

“Stopdeflecting.” She gently reprimanded. “How come I don’t know anything aboutyou?”

He shrugged.“I believe it is my job to get to know you, not the other way around.”

“Still. I’dlike to know a little more about you.” The smile she gave him was genuine,sincere. It cast her face in such a gentle expression that he found it hard toconcentrate on his own breathing for a moment.

“Alright,”he said, shifting until he was a little closer to her and a little morecomfortable. “What would you like to know?”

“Hmm” shetapped a finger against her chin in mock-contemplation. “You said in ourinterview that you paint. What kind of painting do you do?”

He pausedfor a minute. “That’s very creative, Caroline.” He couldn’t suppress thelaughter that bubbled in his throat.

“Hey!” Shethrew a pen that was next to her at his head. But he managed to dodge it. Notwithout doubling-over with laughter thought. “I said I wanted to get to knowyou, not be mocked by you.”

“I’m sorry,love, I’m sorry. I just didn’t expect such a cliché question.” He said, attemptingto swallow his laughter. “It would appear that you’re not very good at this.”

She pouted, crossingher arms over her chest. “OK then Mr. Know It All. How would you play thisgame?”

“I would askabout your tattoo.” He deadpanned. For a second he thought he might regret it,but seeing nothing but surprise on her face, he continued. “The bird on yourwrist.”

“Oh.” Shemouthed, unconsciously touching fingering it. She smiled wistfully. “I got iton my twenty first birthday with Bonnie. I had just managed to get out of arough relationship. It was a lot of turmoil and unhealthy jealousy. I felt trappedin it. So when I finally managed to cut off ties with that guy I felt so…powerful. So free. It didn’t matter to me how cliché it was to get a bird as asymbol for the freedom. It felt right. I just told Bonnie I wanted to do it andshe came along for the support. She has a matching one on her ankle.” Shepaused, looked down at her wrist. “It’s a reminder for me. A reminder that I’mnever gonna allow myself to feel trapped again. That I can always find a wayout. Cheesy, isn’t it?” She laughed nervously, looking up at him with a hint ofa blush on her cheeks. His breath caught at the sight of vulnerable Caroline.It felt as if he floated in a dream to see her soft edges.

“It isn’t.”he said, eyes boring into her. “I understand.”

She gave hima grateful smile, locking his gaze with a gentle look. “What about you? Do youhave any tattoos?”

“Yeah,” henodded. “Right here.” He placed a hand over his left shoulder. “A feather thatbreaks out into birds. Similar to yours but more elaborate. I actually designedit myself.” He didn’t know why he shared all of this information so easily. Butsomething about the way in which she was looking at him made him want to spillall of his secrets to her.

She lookedintrigued. “Can I see?”

He swallowed,then nodded. By some miracle, he managed to undo his tie and the first fewbuttons of his shirt with steady hands. His eyes alternated between looking inher direction and looking away, unable to determine his stance. Slowly, hemoved the fabric of his shirt to the side, revealing the ink on his shoulder. Sheinched closer towards him, eyes fixated on his shoulder. He felt a hint of ablush rising to his cheek, but the heat he suddenly felt didn’t seem caused bythe blush. She came so close to him he could faintly feel her breath againsthis skin. Slowly, she took hold of his shirt collar, moving it away gently tobetter see his tattoo.

“Wow,” she whispered.Her breath brushed over his skin. It tingled. “The details are amazing. When didyou get it?”

His eyes fixatedon her face, unable to look away. He felt entranced between the look in hereyes, the feel of her breath leaving feathery touches against his skin, and theheat radiating from her. So acutely aware, he was, that if she moved thetiniest bit closer, she would be touching him. So much so that his skinthirsted for touch. For a long moment, all he could think of was what her lipswould feel like against the skin she was studying.

“I waseighteen.” He whispered, afraid that if he breathed louder he would disrupttheir moment. “I had just move out of home, fled really. I didn’t grow up inthe best household. When I left, it felt like I just broke out of a cage. This,too, is reminder that I am never to let anyone pin me down again.”

She lookedup at him, eyes filled with an unreadable expression. Yet they both understoodsomething, as if a missing piece of a puzzle neither of them knew they wereputting together had fallen into place. And neither of them seemed capable ofbreaking free from their trancelike state. Her eyes lingered on his gaze, onlyto flick for a fraction of a second towards his lips. In her distractedattention, her thumb gently grazed her shoulder. He jolted at the contact, shivering.And she seemed to move even closer. Or he moved closer, he didn’t know anymore.All he knew is that she was so painfully close he could almost taste her.

Her phonerang, a jarring awakening from a most painfully exquisite dream. Sheimmediately pulled back, her eyes widening when she realized what their situationalmost led them to. Quickly, she scrambled to her feet, snatching her cellphonefrom her purse. This was her private line, Klaus did not gain access to it.

“Hello.” Shesaid cheerfully, as if their encounter never happened. She turned away fromhim, as if refusing to look at him. And he couldn’t help but drop his gaze tothe floor, something between dread and disappointment churning up in his insides.“Enzo, hey! I thought you weren’t arriving ‘till tomorrow…. This is the bestsurprise, are you kidding me?? I’ll be home in twenty minutes, OK?” She hungup, stuffing her phone into her purse again.

“So themagazine is in order.” She said, reverting to a professional tone. “The issueshould be top notch.” She continued as she gathered her things in preparationto leave. As she stood by her office door, she half turned her face towardshim, giving him an indifferent glance. “Please clean up and lock up before youleave.”

He watchedher leave, jealousy welling up in the back of his throat, a bitter bile ofpathetic helplessness. The ache that had been nudging him opened its jaws andswallowed him in a void of unrelenting despair. This Enzo, whoever he was, knewnot his luck. She ran to this Enzo. No, she ran away from Klaus. The helpless youth,the foolish boy who had inappropriate feelings towards his boss.

He clutchedthe fabric of the rug beneath him, trying to control his stuttering heartbeat. Butnothing could stop the nagging voice in his head, telling him he was falling inlove with his boss.