The Heart Knows

Chapter 9: Redemption

Fluke's orientation ended a little sooner that had been thought. Ohm somehow convinced HR that Fluke is really needed at Marketing as they have a lot of work to do in such a short amount time.

Ohm is busy fiddling with some papers by the printer, secretly stealing looks at Fluke, thinking how he get him alone.

Oh no, of course he's not looking like a creep staring like that. Fluke notices, but Ohm quickly looks away. Ohm decides it's now or never. He goes over to where Fluke is sitting. He gives a small stack of papers to Fluke and asks him to organise them in yearly order. The latest ones on top. "Bring them to my office when you're done". Fluke just nods and starts sorting them out. He was done in no time as it wasn't a lot of papers. Sam had gone to the Reservations Department to get the latest revenue reports at this stage and when she comes back she sees Fluke heading to Ohm's office. She asks if he's OK. He smiles and nods and carries on.

He knocks on door and Ohm directs him to enter.
"Your documents?", Fluke asks waiting for Ohm to tell him where to put them. Ohm tells him to put them on his desk which Fluke does and then starts walking out. Ohm is looking at him this whole time. "Fluke! Wait". Ohm stops Fluke as he was about to open the door. "Can we talk for a minute?", He asks with a soft voice this time.
"Sure", is all Fluke says. Ohm shows him to sit on the 2-seater sofa and pours him a glass of water. Ohm then goes and sits on the same sofa and looks at Fluke. He puts his fingers under Fluke chin and turns Fluke's face so he can face him.
"Please look at me, Fluke", he asks gently. Fluke looks up and straight into Ohm's eyes which makes both their hearts beat faster. Ohm is just barely keeping it together at this stage. He is lost in Fluke's eyes. Fluke on the other hand is also mesmerised looking into Ohm's sharp and intense eyes. It's like he's searching into his soul, or looking for approval. Ohm moves his hand onto Fluke's cheeks and start stroking it with his thumb gently. This makes Fluke lose focus on Ohm's eyes as he looks down.
"Fluke, are you still mad at me? I'm sorry. What I said the other day didn't come out the way that I wanted it to and I ended up hurting your feelings", Ohm explains.
"It's OK. You already apologized and I forgave you?", Fluke replies.
"I know, but I also want you to know what I wanted to say, Fluke. Please hear me out", Ohm pleads. Fluke agrees to hear him out.
"What I meant to say was that, after we first met, I... I couldn't get you off my mind and I wished I could meet you again. But I guess my little brother kept you away from me", he explained.
"Why would Earth keep me away from you?", Fluke asks.
"Because he saw that I couldn't stop looking at you. I guess he was protecting you against me", Ohm says with a chuckle.
"But you're his brother.."
"And you're his best friend, you two have a bond that's much stronger than his and mine. You're both much more important to each other and I understand that", Ohm says letting go of Fluke's face then looking down this time.
"Enough of that now, can I continue?", Ohm asks, this time looking at Fluke again. Fluke nods.
"After accepting the fact that it would be hard trying to meet you again, you can just imagine how shocked I was when I saw you here after all time. I was surprised but happy at the same time. But I also realised that this is not the best of places because it's our place of work", he says with a sigh.
"Why do you sound defeated, P'Ohm?", Fluke asks.
"Because I li... It's nothing", he replies. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't bring himself to say it because he thought it would be inappropriate. "Since you say you forgave me, can we at least be cordial with each other?", Ohm asks.
"You're my Cooheart's brother, so we can be friends too I guess", Fluke says this with a smile looking at Ohm.
"Your Cooheart, huh?", Ohm is feeling a little jealous.
"Yes, we're soulmates", Fluke says again smiling. He could sense some jealousy in the question. Fluke laughs out a bit loud. "We're soulmates in the sense that we know no each other better than anyone else, we have a great bond. We've been friend for as long as I can remember. Earth knows me better than I know myself as I do him. We're like twins", Fluke says the last sentence looking at Ohm, trying to see what Ohm's reaction would be. He sees relief coming over his face and little smile. "I am jealous of your friendship", Ohm says. He is relieved that what Fluke and Earth have is a special friendship bond. He wishes he could have his own special bond with Fluke, but this is not the time nor the place.
"My internship ends in less than six months, P'Ohm, and after that, I will try and find a job at another hotel", Fluke says that while getting up from the couch. He heads towards the door, looks back to face Ohm who is at this stage is still looking at him walk away. Fluke gives Ohm a wink and quickly turns around again and leaves the office, leaving a baffled, blushing Ohm. "Was that a hint? Why did he says that? And that wink? Ohm is trying to make sense of that last interaction. He smiles at himself. At least now he can talk freely with Fluke as they cleared the air.

As the weeks progress, the tensions are easing off, and everyone in the office is busy trying to come up creative ideas. During this time, Ohm notices how clumsy Fluke can get. If he's not getting papercut, he's stapling his hands with papers, or bumping into chairs, walls, falling on steps, you name it. Ohm thought this was endearing to see. One day Fluke finds a box in plasters and ointment for bruises. He looks around trying to figure out who could have placed them there. He looks up and sees Ohm standing by the printer. When Ohm smirked, Fluke knew it was him. Another time he found a thermomug with a lid on his desk. He smiles at the thought. He has a habit if spilling coffee so this is ideal. "Thank you P'Ohm", he says internally hugging the mug.