Sycophant

Perfect You

A/N: Why am I angsty lately?

***

The atmosphere around the office is dull. Damn, really depressing, if Gulf took the time to analyze it. He nodded at Saint as he put his things away and glanced over at Mew's desk. He was still working, eyes glued to the computer screen and hands moving over the keyboard at a rate of one mile per minute.

A major sponsor, whom they have been courting with for weeks now, has finally stopped procrastinating by saying 'no' to their company, Big Deal. This after having chained them all the time. Gulf felt disgusted, and it was a huge hit for the company, given the amount of resources they invested in attracting sponsors. Gulf has seen this happen before, there have been negotiations that he spent a good part of his life failing, but because it's Mew's company, and because of Mew.  No matter what mature vibe he gave off, Gulf suspects that Mew is making this much harder than the others.

Maybe he can distract his boyfriend. He hasn't actually had a chance to discuss his celebration plans with Mew since finding out how negative he was for things a few weeks ago. His boyfriend. The thought still sent a tinge of pleasure through him. It's by far the longest, more importantly, the closest relationship Gulf has ever had, he do flings, one night stands and all. Sure, he's constantly worried about messing something up, but the times when he's not worried, well, that's great, and it's worth it.

He knocked softly, then leaned on the door. "Ready to pack up? I was thinking we could grab some Indian before we headed our separate ways?" Mew didn't like to sleep over on weeknights, though he practically lived in Gulf's condo on the weekends.

Mew glanced at Gulf uncomfortably, and Gulf tried not to get hurt. Mew was just upset about the sponsor's demise, he told himself. However, it makes him uncomfortable. "I think I'm going to keep working for a bit. Don't let me keep you."

It was a dismissal, through and through. Gulf bit his lip. "Um, yeah. Sure. Uh, or I could bring you something and we could have a little picnic here? Man has to take a break sometime." Jeez, Kanawut, you really suck at the comforting thing.

Mew shook his head. "I'm really not hungry, and I can work faster al-" he paused for a second, then finished, "alone."

What was that about all the worry being worth it? Maybe I should have been more worried. "Listen, Mew, I know that didn't go how we wanted it to today, but now we have to move on, as people, as a company, and figure out what the next step is. We can't linger on what might have been and might have happened. And working overtime tonight isn't going to magically make that asshole want to give you his money. Why don't you just shut down, and we'll take a cab to your place, and I'll-"

"Dammit, Gulf, I don't have the energy for that right now!" Mew's yell made Gulf's heart skip a beat, even though Mew had been looking at his computer and not directly at Gulf. "I don't have time to coddle you or be boyfriend Mew right now."

Mew refused to look at him, even though Gulf could tell that he was just pretending to click and be busy on his screen. His cheeks burned, Gulf turned on his heel, took his coat and walked into the elevator... Pamper me? Boyfriend Mew? What the fuck does that mean? I mean, okay, we've been talking about my self-esteem and making jokes about myself but I thought I was doing better. Am I too much work? What if Mew doesn't think I'm worth it? In front of him, the elevator jingles and the doors open. And Gulf was overwhelmed by the overwhelming and heat wrenching feeling that if he did, he would break something with Mew, probably forever. What did Mew do before? Escape from his madness and then come back to talk about it? Gulf can totally do that. As long as he hasn't stepped through the elevator door yet. He turned on his heel quickly as he had done before and returned to their desks.