Work Text:
Marco was in front of the coffee machine, trying to stop yawning long enough to be able to drink, when an announcement was made through the office’s speakers:
_Agent Reus, in my office. NOW!
Damn, the boss sounded angry and, in that case, Marco should do what he asked him to, as soon as possible. He walked as quickly as he could (he would have run but, seriously, how would that have made him look?), despite the fact that he was still half asleep only five minutes ago.
He knocked on the door, a nervous feeling settling in his stomach. Come on, get a grip, what are you? Some High-school student?
_Come in! Yelled the boss, apparently still in a sour mood.
_Hello, you wanted to see me?
_Yes Reus, usually, when people yell your name and ask you to go to their office, that’s because they want to see you.
Reus looked down and started playing with his fingers. Ok, granted, his question was stupid, but it was just meant to start the conversation. No need to be bitchy about it!
_I’m sorry Reus… It’s just, I’ve got some bad news… We’ll have to work with Munich’s unit on that drug dealer’s case we’re on… orders from above.
Marco looked up at that, hoping that the boss would burst out laughing, declaring that he was only joking… But the chances were low. The young agent tried to calm down. It would not be this hard… maybe he would not have to see HIM at all. No such luck:
_They put their best agent on the case and they, not-so-nicely, requested that I do the same… So, you’ll have to team-up with Gotze.
No, are you kidding me? Please tell me this is all a joke, a fucking cruel joke! He wanted to scream (ok he was a bit of a drama queen, but the situation really was disastrous, in his defence).
_Can’t it be Lewandoski or Aubameyang, or Hummels? They’re really good too, they’ll do fine!
_No, no, no! They asked you and that’s final Reus. No, go away, said the boss, waving his hand dismissively.
Marco sighed and got up from his chair, leaving the office with his head down and his shoulders slumped. He sat at his desk, planning not to move until the end of the day, and started reading the file concerning the drug dealers. He was, unsurprisingly, not concentrated at all, but he had to do something, or he would go crazy.
He realized he had fallen asleep when he felt someone shaking him gently while calling him by his first name, which was not usual in the office. He opened his eyes reluctantly and saw that he had been awoken by none other than Mario. It took him a few seconds to come back to his senses and register what the hell was happening. He straightened up, turning his gaze away and thus refusing to acknowledge his ex-co-worker and best friend’s presence.
Mario then quickly withdrew his hand, which was still on Marco’s shoulder. He should have expected the blonde’s attitude towards him… He had left him, he deserved it.
Marco heard some ruffling coming from the desk in front of his own and looked questioningly at his friend Robert, who was putting his things in a box.
_What are you doing Lewi?
_I’m moving my things to Aubame and Mats’ desks. The boss wants Gotze and you to have some space to work on the case, he said, grinning mockingly at the blonde, who glared at him in return.
_Oh, and, good to see you Mario, he said, shaking the newcomer’s hand. Marco scoffed. Seriously? This was high treason! Here was Robert, fraternizing with the enemy.
_Same here, answered Mario, happy that at least one person didn’t totally hate him there.
Mario sat behind the desk, tapping his fingers on the surface annoyingly, not knowing what to do with himself.
Mario rolled his eyes and went to make a copy of the file. He then gave it to Mario.
_Thank you, said Gotze tentatively.
_Just doin’ my job, answered Reus without looking at him.
Hell, that was going to be a hard case. They stayed silent, each man minding his own business (well, ok, not really, they glanced at each other when the other wasn’t watching), until Marco’s boss interrupted their reading.
_Hey guys, I suggest you go home and get some rest; you’ll have to go to Emma’s night club around two am. Our informer told us there was going to be some transaction happening there.
The agents nodded and got up from behind their desks, putting on their coats. They walked side by side and Mario went into the elevator, pushing the ground floor button.
_Aren’t you coming?
_No, I’d rather take the stairs, Marco answered coldly, getting a puzzled look from Mario. They were, after all, on the tenth floor of the building. Whatever…
By the time he had come down the last sets of stairs, Marco was out of breath. Well, it served him right for his childish attitude.
To his surprise, Mario was still there, in front of the building’s entrance.
_What are you still doing here?
_Well it’s a fucking waterfall outside, so I’m waiting for it to stop… or at least calm down.
Oh right… Mario had no car.
_Well, I can still give you a ride if you want… I came with my bike, but it will still be better than walking. He was still mad ok? He just took pity of the guy.
_Oh, it would be great, thank you.
It would be awkward, but Mario could not turn down an occasion to put his arms around Marco without having the blonde flinching away from him.
When he felt the other man circling his waist, Marco took a deep breath… Apparently, Mario was still affecting him more than he wanted to let on. He drove quickly and dropped him off at the address he had given him, and then drove away without looking back. By the time he got home, he was an emotional wreck. He was still missing Mario, he had still not forgiven him, and working with him while knowing it was only temporary made things far worse than they already were. And he had to see him again in a few hours. Great… just great.
He tried to sleep but to no avail and soon, it was time to go back to work. By the time the clock reached 1.30 am, they were in a car, in the night club parking lot, waiting in awkward silence for the dealers to show up. They did show up, at 2.30, after a painfully long hour. They entered the club almost directly.
Mario and Marco just glanced at each-other, knowing instantly what to do. Their team was still working even though Marco was mad and Mario feeling guilty. The awkwardness didn’t kill their understanding, which made Mario happy and which Marco pretending not to notice, not fooling anyone with it (not even himself).
They entered the club and went to the bathroom, guessing that the dealers would probably be in there, needing a quiet place. The door was closed, so they waited in the corridor, Reus putting his ear at the door in order to hear what was happening.
_Are you crazy? Mouthed Mario. Marco rolled his eyes, not moving an inch from where he was.
When he heard footsteps, he started panicking.
_They are coming!
Shit, they were screwed. They were both alone in the middle of the corridor, in front of the men’s room. That was not suspect at all.
Mario did the only thing he could think of at the moment: he pulled Marco to him and, after a second of hesitation, he crashed their lips together, the surprise making the blonde moan.
It was successful, considering that the dealers had passed them without a glance in their direction: two drunken guys making out in a night club’s corridor, nothing out of the ordinary.
The agents didn’t come to their senses immediately and, therefore, kept on kissing each other’s brain out. Only when Marco moaned (for something far different from surprise this time), that they snapped out of it and separated, entering the most awkward moment of all awkward moments.
They could not even say who but, at some point, one of them declared that they should go and they left. They were both annoyed that their mission had failed, and even more because they had to write a report about it, but they were, above everything else, shaken by the make-out sessions that had just taken place between them.
The following day, the atmosphere was very tense. So, both the agents were happy when the boss interrupted their work… well they were, before he told them why he was interrupting:
_Gotze, Reus, go home and pack your bags, you’re leaving as soon as possible to Berlin. Apparently, our dear drug dealers are on a big operation. Here is the address of your hotel, come on, move on! Move on! Move on!
He left as quickly as he came. He was a bit frightening sometimes… it even made the agents wonder if he wasn’t on drugs himself.
The journey to Berlin was… well… awkward, obviously. Though, things only got worse. When they arrived at the hotel and entered their room, there was… a little problem.
_Why do we only have one bed!? He yelled into his phone. Sure, most people don’t speak to their boss that way, but Marco was fuming, and the boss was quite friendly so…
_Well, I want you to work undercover, you know, pretend to be a couple and all, it will be more discreet. Plus, they may have seen you in the club even though you think they didn’t, so might as well keep your little act on, he explained.
_Why didn’t you tell us before we left then?
_I knew you’d get mad, but you’d have had to go anyway so you could thank me for saving you from a few additional hours of gloominess. Because, let’s face it, that would have been a hell of a car ride.
Marco probably had a full bitch-face on but he couldn’t bring himself to care.
_Oh yeah, because the ride was so nice without it, he just replied before hanging up, not waiting for a response.
After that, he opened his suitcase and stuffed his clothes in the wardrobe, furious.
_Your clothes will be all crumbled.
Ouch, that was maybe not the best moment to_
_I don’t fucking care Gotze!
Mario sighed, it hurt that Marco couldn’t even call him by his first name anymore. It was all his fault, damn it. Why did he have to fall in love with him?
_Ok, good night Marco.
Gotze turned to face the wall and tried to sleep. Marco did the same about five minutes later, turning the last light off.
It was two in the morning, none of them had fallen asleep yet, and they probably wouldn’t. Mario thought he heard Marco sniffling, but he didn’t want to upset him again so he kept his mouth shut. However, he heard it again a few minutes later, and he started to get worried.
_Marco, are you alright?
_’m fine.
Though, Mario would tell the blonde was lying because of the way his voice trembled when he had answered. He turned the light on.
_What is it Marco?
_Nothing, turn the light off Gotze.
_Not until you tell me what’s wrong.
_Drop it Mario, please, pleaded the blonde, the tears starting to fall harder. Thankfully, Mario could not see, as Marco had his back to him.
Unfortunately, Mario refused to let his friend be: he passed his hand gently through his hair and said:
_Come on, talk to me.
Marco lost his temper at that, sitting up straight and turning towards Mario.
_You don’t get to ask me that! You don’t get to fucking comfort me ok? This is your fault, you’re the reason why I am miserable, he accused, the tears still streaming down his face.
Mario had started crying too, feeling guiltier than ever.
_I’m sorry Marco, I’m so sorry.
_Being sorry is not enough. You left, we were the best team, we were best friends, and you threw all of that away without even giving a reason! Why Mario, why did you do that?
Mario looked down, fiddling with his shaking hands. He took a deep breath and decided that it was time Marco got an explanation:
_Look… I left because… I could not stand it anymore… all the lingering looks, casual touch, breath-taking smiles… You may have not noticed, but my… feelings for you changed and… I couldn’t just stay here knowing that you’d never be mine. I had to leave, even though it broke my heart.
Marco was watching him in disbelief.
_And you just assumed I’d never be yours? Did you see me with a girlfriend, a boyfriend? Did I profess my undying aversion to any type of relationships?
_No, b-but… are you saying…?
_You’re so stupid! Marco then hesitated between punching him for making them lose so much time or kissing him with all the passion he could muster. He chose the second, of course, guessing that it would be the best option for them both.
They’d have time later to carry out their mission, and Marco would have plenty of time to yell at Mario for being dense and not understanding that he was in love with him too. For now, they just wanted to catch up… and that basically meant making-out.
Their co-workers back in Dortmund were in for a surprise… Or not so much… They may or may not have something to do with the “working undercover” thing…