Chapter Text
Let's see, we've got Jason, Sibohan, Ruby, and myself next Thursday, Steven thought to himself later that afternoon as he penciled in a tour for a group of students from a nearby after-school camp on his desktop calendar. That won't be a problem.
He looked up as a light knock sounded on his door, his brow furrowing when he realized Dr. Y/L/N was standing in his open doorway with her purse hanging across her shoulder.
“Hi,” she said. “Just seeing if you're ready to go.”
Steven looked at the clock on his computer, which read 5:06 PM. “Bollocks.”
Dr. Y/L/N huffed out a light laugh. “It's okay.”
Steven shut his computer down then grabbed his messenger bag out of his desk drawer. “I'm so sorry, give me just a moment. I was working on a couple of things and lost track of time.”
Dr. Y/L/N shook her head as Steven joined her. “Really, it's fine. I'm not in a hurry.”
Steven bit his lip. “In that case, would you… er, would you maybe like to stop for a cup of tea on the way home?”
A soft smile spread across Dr. Y/L/N’s face. “Sure, that sounds lovely.”
Steven grinned, pleased that she had accepted his invitation. “Great! Shall we, then?”
They bade goodbye to Marlie, Fiona, and Darren, who were on the evening tour shift, then headed out of the museum.
“The weather's nice today, isn't it?” Dr. Y/L/N said as they descended the museum steps together. “It's definitely starting to feel like fall.”
Steven nodded. “I love this time of year.”
“Me too.”
“So, how was your day?”
Dr. Y/L/N shrugged. “It was fine. Managed to get caught up on some stuff I had been behind on because of everything that was going on last week, so that was good. How was yours? Any fun tour groups today?”
Steven shook his head. “Not really. To be honest our guided tour numbers have been a bit low for the past couple of weeks, even including group bookings.”
Dr. Y/L/N nodded. “I was looking at statistics from the past few years and it seems like there's always a dip in paid tours around this time, but even with the slowdown we've had three times more tour bookings than we had the entirety of last year so I'm not overly concerned. It'll pick back up though since school just started.”
Steven nodded, reassured by Dr. Y/L/N’s confidence in him. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
They walked the rest of the way to the café in comfortable silence, just enjoying the sunshine and each other's company.
Once they had reached the entrance, Steven opened the door for Dr. Y/L/N. “After you, ma'am.”
Dr. Y/L/N smiled at him as she stepped inside. “Why, thank you, kind sir.”
Steven chuckled then followed her to the register, recognizing the same young man who had taken their orders the last time they had been there.
“Afternoon,” Michael said. “What can I get for you?”
“May I have a cup of Earl Grey and a scone, please?” Dr. Y/L/N replied.
Steven pulled his wallet out of his pocket. “Make that two of each, please.”
He shook his head as Dr. Y/L/N turned to him to protest. “I’ve got it.”
Dr. Y/L/N bit her lip. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
Dr. Y/L/N smiled. “Okay then. Thank you.”
Michael tapped at the register screen. “Anything else?”
“No thank you.”
Michael nodded. “Okay, your total is £8.43. Name for the order?”
Steven handed Michael his bank card. “Steven -- with a ‘v’.”
“Okay, I'll have that right out for you.”
“Thanks.”
“Where do you want to sit?” Dr. Y/L/N asked as they headed towards the tables.
Steven gestured towards the corner table they had sat at the first time they'd had tea and coffee together outside of work. “How about the same table as last time?”
Dr. Y/L/N nodded. “Yeah, that's good.”
They walked over to the table.
Steven bit his lip as they sat. “I, er, I wanted to thank you for the kind words you said about me in my evaluation.”
Dr. Y/L/N shook her head with a soft smile. “I didn't say anything that wasn't 100% true. You are a wonderful person and are absolutely incredible at your job, Steven. Keep up the good work.”
Steven nodded, his face heating at the praise. “I will, ma'am.”
“When we first met I assumed that you were a tour guide or at the very least that you worked in curation because of how observant and knowledgeable you were about the exhibits.” Dr. Y/L/N huffed out a quiet laugh. “Imagine my surprise when I pulled your employee file and discovered that you worked in the gift shop."
She bit her lip. “Not that there was anything wrong with that, of course, I just meant --”
Steven shook his head. “Oh no, it's fine, I completely understand. I, er, I actually had always wanted to be a tour guide but there weren't any positions available when I applied at the museum, so I took the job in the gift shop intending to eventually transfer departments.”
He paused. “By the time there was a tour guide position open though Donna had already been promoted to gift shop manager and kept telling me that it would never happen and that I shouldn't bother applying.”
Dr. Y/L/N sighed. “I know I'm not supposed to say this, but I'm glad to be rid of her.”
Steven shook his head with a grin. “I won't tell anyone if you won't, because I am too. To be honest, I never really cared for her.”
Dr. Y/N huffed out a laugh. “It'll be our little secret then.”
Steven nodded then looked over at the pick-up counter as Michael called out his name. “I'll be right back.”
Dr. Y/L/N nodded. “Okay.”
Steven headed over to the counter and picked up their order, thanking Michael before bringing it over to the table. “Here we are.”
Dr. Y/L/N smiled up at him as he set the saucer holding her cup of tea and scone down in front of her. “Thank you.”
Steven set his own cup of tea and scone down on the table then sat. “You're welcome.”
He dipped his tea bag into his hot water to help his tea steep. “Oh, I've been meaning to ask you, have you tried any of the other teas from the collection I got for you?”
Dr. Y/L/N nodded. “Oh, yeah. Most of them, actually.”
She pulled a small pocket-sized notebook out of her purse and handed it to him. “I found this tea journal online and figured it would be the easiest way to keep track of what varieties I liked and didn't like and why.”
Steven opened it, smiling at Dr. Y/L/N’s hand-written notes for each variety of tea. Variety: Earl Grey. Flavor profile: Fruity (contains bergamot). Notes: Recommended by Steven G. from work. Excellent, definitely a favorite. Variety: English Breakfast. Flavor profile: Dark, kind of a roasted flavor? Notes: Tastes like the tea back home. I like it. Variety: Peach-orange oolong. Flavor profile: Peach and a hint of orange. Notes: Lighter tea, wonderful flavor. Variety: Lady Grey. Flavor profile: Earl Grey with lemon. Notes: Lemon overpowers the bergamot. Not a fan. Variety: Chai. Flavor profile: Spice? Notes: Very warm wintery flavors (I can definitely taste cinnamon and nutmeg). Will probably be a go-to during the colder months.
He read through her notes on the rest of the teas she had tried and handed the notebook back to her. “I love that you're keeping notes. It’s very you .”
“Oh.” Dr. Y/L/N looked down at her cup as she stirred some sugar into her tea. “Yeah. Thanks.”
She took a sip. “Since I'm almost done with these I might get some different ones to try out. There are so many varieties out there that sound interesting -- like chamomile honey vanilla, green tea with blackcurrant, pomegranate, and peach, and mango pineapple.”
Steven added a teaspoon of sugar to his own tea. “I've never had any of those varieties, although they all do sound interesting.”
Dr. Y/L/N bit her lip. “Maybe you can try them with me then -- if you want to, that is.”
Steven nodded. “Yeah, that sounds lovely.”
“Great! I'll let you know when I get them.”
Steven grinned. “I'll bring some biscuits and we can have our own little tea tasting session in the staff kitchen at work.”
Dr. Y/L/N huffed out a light laugh. “Sounds like a plan.”
She took another sip of her tea. “So have you gotten a chance to explore the neighborhood yet?”
Steven shook his head. “Not really. I was actually planning on going for a bit of a wander this weekend, check out the neighborhood shops.”
Dr. Y/L/N nodded. “Let me know if you want some company. My weekends are usually pretty free.”
“Yeah.” Steven smiled at the thought of getting to spend more time with Dr. Y/L/N outside of work. “Yeah, I will.”
He and Dr. Y/L/N continued to talk as they enjoyed their tea and scones.
Dr. Y/L/N set her cup down after taking her last sip. “Ready to head out?”
Steven nodded. “Yeah, I should probably get home, check on Gus.”
They collected their dishes and brought them to the return counter, thanking Michael again before leaving the café and continuing towards their respective apartment buildings.
“Thank you again for the tea -- and for walking me home again, of course,” Dr. Y/L/N said once they had reached her building. “I know it's a pretty short walk, but it's still nice having someone to talk to along the way.”
Steven nodded. “You’re quite welcome, ma'am, and I agree. I'd be happy to walk home with you anytime, especially since we're now in the same neighborhood.”
Dr. Y/L/N reached out and touched his arm, a soft smile on her face. “I'd really like that. I'll see you tomorrow, then?”
Steven nodded, his heart quickening in his chest at her touch. “See you tomorrow.”
He waited until Dr. Y/L/N was inside before taking a deep breath and continuing towards home.
Oh, buddy, Marc said as Steven headed up the street towards his apartment building. You’ve got it * bad* .
Steven sighed to himself. No matter how hard he had tried to fight them, his feelings for Dr. Y/L/N had blossomed into more than just a simple crush.
It's not like I could help it, he replied silently. She's beautiful, and intelligent, and kind and caring and… and just a lovely person all-around.
So what are you going to do about it?
Steven shook his head. What *can* I do? No matter how I feel about her, she's still my supervisor -- and not only that, she's the director of the entire museum.
So you're just going to suffer in silence and miss your chance with her, then.
Steven could hear the disappointment in Marc's voice. It's not like I have much of a choice. And don't you dare pretend to be me while you're in control of the body and tell her how I feel.
Marc scoffed, clearly offended by the mere suggestion. I would never do that.
I dunno, you asked Cheryl out without my knowledge.
No I didn't.
Well *I* certainly didn't ask her out for dinner at a bloody steakhouse!
You had to’ve, it just might've been during one of those weird moments where neither of us remember what happened.
Steven shook his head as he reached his apartment building, waiting until he had unlocked the door and headed inside before answering. It's just my bloody luck though, innit? Had to go and develop unrequited feelings for my very-off-limits boss.
I wouldn't be too sure about that.
Steven's brow furrowed. What do you mean?
Just that I'm not so sure your feelings are all that unrequited.
What makes you think that?
You don't see Dr. Y/L/N asking anyone else to taste-test new teas with her, do you?
Steven stopped by his mail receptacle before heading to the elevator. She was just being nice.
I doubt that, but even so, there have been other signs too.
Steven caught Marc's reflection in the elevator door. “Like what?” he said aloud.
Marc shrugged. “Like the fact that when she's feeling overwhelmed and needs a break at the museum galas she seeks you out, not to mention the fact that you never hear about her offering to spend time with anyone else from work outside of work except for you.”
Steven shook his head as the elevator opened and he stepped inside. “She’s comfortable with me, that's all. And since we now live in the same neighborhood, we'd wind up running into each other anyway, so it makes sense for her to offer to accompany me on my walk this weekend.”
Marc smirked. “You honestly believe that she doesn't have any sort of non-professional feelings towards you?”
Steven shrugged as the elevator stopped on his floor. “I guess we've sort of become friends, but that's all there is -- on her end, at least.”
The elevator door opened and he stepped out into the hallway, shutting Marc out in the process.
He shook his head, trying to clear it off the seed of possibility Marc had planted. He was completely wrong -- there was no way Dr. Y/L/N felt anything but friendly cordiality towards Steven.
...Was there?