Light in the darkness

25. Falling into place

Fred took a sip of his freshly brewed coffee while trying to get his shit together after a week off from work. Even though Andrews Constructions was one of the priorities in his life, sometimes he just wished he didn't own it, especially when the sheets of reports were waiting to be read.

His eyes were glued to the mess on his desk. He rubbed his temples slightly, still waiting for the caffeine to start working and help him wake up completely. Two weeks of holidays would a blessing, but the perspective of having even more work to do than he had after just one week made him get his ass back to Riverdale earlier than he planned.

He was so deep in his thoughts he didn't even notice someone opened the front door with a little squeak and walked into the office. When Fred didn't even raise his head, FP raised his eyebrows in confusion and walked closer to the desk.

„Hi bud, I didn't expect to see you at work today." His surprised voice caught Fred's attention immediately.

"Good, you're finally here!" Fred said excitedly as if they hadn't seen each other in years. He put all of the documents aside and gesturing for FP to sit in a chair in front of the desk.

"Thought you won't be back in the next few days." FP chuckled in confusion, but just as Fred asked, he sat down and leaned his back against the chair.

"Make yourself comfortable cause I have to talk with you." FP raised his eyebrows, but couldn't say what was going on in Fred's mind. It was quite weird seeing him so extremely serious.

Why was Fred acting so strange? And why for God's sake was he in town? As far as he knew, Fred had planned to stay at Mary's place for two weeks, not one. Sure, he had never liked catching up at work, but damn. He was head over heels in love with Mary so his sudden return was weird.

"Troubles in heaven, huh?" FP asked calmly since he didn't want to offend his best friend with such a question.

"What?" The confused look on Fred's face was enough to tell, that he was highly surprised by FP's sudden assumption.

"Isn't that what you wanted to talk about?" Fred chuckled quietly and ran his palm down his face, trying his best not to burst into laughter. He appreciated FP's worriedness as far as his relationship was concerned, but somehow it still amused him that FP was concluding this rashly.

"No, you snoopy monster. Everything between me and Mary is perfectly fine, wonderful I have to say." He assured his best friend with a smirk forming across his face.

Everything he had said about the bond with his girlfriend was true. The love between him and Mary was growing despite them having a long-distance relationship. Hopefully, for Fred, it may turn into something more soon. He was truly looking forward to finally call the woman he loved his fiancé and then his wife.

Spending a wonderful time with her made him realize how important having a family had always been to him. And also, how he would want to have one in the near future. But what was more, she made him see FP, Charles, and Alice as a family. A weird one, but a family. There was nothing more important than providing the people that you love dearly safety and well—being.

"But that's partly the reason I wanted to talk to you because Mary helped me realized something I should've done a long, long time ago." Fred got back on Earth and pointed his finger in FP's direction.

"You should've been more like me, cause I'm cool, right?" FP smirked and watched Fred shook his head in disbelief. This man had always known what to say to ruin a moment.

He couldn't say, he didn't like FP's sense of humor. On the contrary, FP was a person, who Fred desperately needed in his life according to their different lifestyles. FP was the one crazy and spontaneous in their duo when Fred would rather focus on rational decisions. They fitted each other perfectly, so that was the reason for their long friendship. Even when there were some downs between them, they always had found the way up.