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There’s a stain on the carpet in the shape of a paw print, which Dan has a hard time making sense of.
“How the fuck did someone manage to make a stain like that?” He asks, once he’s bored of swiveling around in his chair and counting specks on the ceiling.
Hana’s fingers don’t slow down on her keyboard as spares him a cursory glance away from her computer screen and frowns. “Don’t you have anything useful to be doing right now?”
“Dunno, the lady who’s supposed to be giving me tasks is busy updating her wedding website on company time.”
She shoots him a quick glare and minimizes her browser in an instant. “You can’t prove anything. Keep your voice down.”
Dan smirks when she spins around to face him fully, sighing and glancing past him at the aforementioned stain. “And I don’t know. Maybe it’s actually four different spills in the same spot,” she drums her French-tipped fingernails idly on the arm of her chair. “Also, I don’t know what to tell you. No one ever told me what the hell we needed an intern for.”
He shrugs. “I’m mostly here for the aircon and free coffee.”
“Oh! Coffee,” Hana glances over at the clock on the wall. It’s nearly ten. “That’s how you can make yourself useful. Do a coffee run.”
Dan groans. “And walk outside? It’s too bloody hot. Can’t everyone just make their own coffee in the break room whenever they want?”
“It’s nice to treat them once in a while,” she explains. “It’s like a mini-morale booster. They could probably use it.”
He joins her in a quick scan of the room. Everyone looks pretty dead behind the eyes.
Hana grins when she hears him sigh in defeat. “Right, go get everyone’s orders,” she tells him, spinning back around to face her computer again. “Then I’ll give you the money for it… oh, and Dan?”
He opens the Notes app on his phone and glances back at her. She gives him a cheeky smirk.
“Don’t forget to ask Phil.”
*
He saves Phil for last.
His desk is all the way back in the annex, so it makes sense. Definitely has nothing to do with the butterflies having a fucking rave in the pit of his stomach as he stands at the edge of Phil’s cubicle.
Phil’s slumped down in his chair, biting his fingernails as he stares tiredly at what must be a long, angry customer email on his computer screen.
He’s so hot, no matter how disheveled and dejected he might look. Dan doesn’t think that’s fair. He’d like to catch a break every once in a while.
He clears his throat, because being around Phil makes him temporarily forget how to use his big boy words.
Phil spins his chair around and Dan tries not to get too excited when he thinks he sees Phil’s expression brighten a little upon seeing him.
“Dan! Hey,” he shifts a little to sit upright in his chair and fixes Dan with his usual friendly smile. “Did you need something?”
He only hesitates for a second before taking a couple steps into Phil’s cubicle.
“Yeah, um. Doing a coffee run,” he holds up his phone. “Just seeing if you wanted anything?”
“Oh…” Phil’s eyes flicker away for a moment to the empty coffee mug sitting next to his pencil cup. “Crap, um. I swear I’d usually say yes, but I’ve already had three cups today.”
The way Phil bites his lip and looks at him with those big puppy eyes looking almost apologetic for some reason is ridiculously endearing.
As is everything about Phil. Endearing and adorable. The inky black fringe and wide blue eyes and godlike cheekbones and cushiony lips and the way his broad chest and shoulders fill out those button-ups so well… he stops the train of thought before it can go too far. Yes, Phil’s too hot and sexy and cute to be a customer service rep. But Dan thanks some god that he doesn’t believe in for making him one anyway.
Instead of saying any of that, though, he just huffs out a laugh and shoves his phone back into his pocket. “Three cups? Mate, it’s not even close to lunchtime yet.”
Phil nods solemnly. “I might have a mild addiction. But I think four before lunch would be too much even for me.”
Dan nods in agreement because he doesn’t know what else to say, but he also doesn’t want to leave yet. Alone time with Phil is a rarity in itself and alone time with Phil where he actually manages any successful flirting is practically nonexistent.
As evidenced by the deafening silence he’s standing in right now. He finally sighs in resignation. “Alright, well. I guess I’d better get going, don’t wanna keep everyone else waiting.”
He hasn’t even turned all the way around when Phil interrupts him. “Dan, wait.”
He pivots slowly back towards Phil. He’s looking at him thoughtfully, his head tilted just a bit to the side. Dan raises a questioning eyebrow.
“You like caramel macchiatos, right?” Phil asks. He smiles when Dan nods in reply. “Right, I changed my mind. I’ll take one of those. Venti.”
*
He doesn’t get much more than a couple nods and mumbled thanks on his drink delivery route, which is perfectly fine. He’s a mess just from walking around the corner and back, because of all the summers that England could have a heat wave, of course it’d choose the one where he has an office job forcing him to wear button-ups and long pants every day. It’s probably better that people don’t look at him.
He delivers Hana’s drink second-to-last, setting a sweating cup of iced green tea next to her ‘Reception’ name tag. She looks up at him in bemusement.
“I thought the London marathon happened back in April,” she comments while watching him pat his forehead dry with his tie. “Why didn’t you tell me it was in July this year? I would’ve sponsored you.”
“Fuck off, will you?” He drops his tie back down. “My body runs extremely warm.”
She nods and rattles the ice cubes around in her cup before taking a long sip of her tea. “Right, sorry. You can have a break now, go sit under the air vent and drink your macchiato.”
“Oh.” He glances at the one large cup he’s still clutching in his hand. “This isn’t mine. It’s for Phil.”
“For Phil?” She chews on her straw for a moment and mumbles something that Dan can’t really decipher.
“Sorry, what?”
“I said that’s weird.” Hana tells him, setting her cup to the side. “He’s usually basic with his coffee order. Milk and two sugars. And if he wants something sweet, he’ll just go all out and get a frappe.”
“You know, if I didn’t know any better I’d say you’re the one with the crush on him.”
It’s meant to poke fun, or rile her up in some sense, but she just shrugs casually. “I did for a little while, back when I had your job. Then I found out he doesn’t play for my team.”
He nearly drops the cup. Hana definitely notices, and furrows her eyebrows.
“You didn’t know?” She whispers, leaning forward on her elbows. “You were wasting your time trying to flirt with a guy you thought was straight?”
He feels himself blush. “Well it didn’t exactly come up!” he practically hisses in reply. “What was I supposed to say? ‘Hi, I’m Dan, I’m the new intern here and I’m super gay, what about you?’”
Hana leans back in her chair again and gives a slow, contemplative nod. “Alright. Fair enough,” and then she cracks a smile. “Well, now that you know it’s not a completely futile crush, you go give him some sugar, yeah?”
She nods to the macchiato in his hand and Dan heaves out a long sigh, flipping her off for the double entendre before turning and heading for the annex.
*
Phil’s hunched over his keyboard this time while Dan lingers at the edge of his cubicle, fingers flying over his keyboard with a surprising amount of speed given how clumsy and prone to messing up he is with… well, everything, as far as Dan knows.
Maybe he’s just very good with his fingers, specifically.
Fuck. That train of thought stops right there.
“Fuck, you type fast,” he says in lieu of a greeting. “How do you do that without making a million typos?”
Phil swivels around to face him, his slightly startled expression quickly settling into a more comfortable, happy expression that puts Dan immediately at ease. He thinks it’s uncanny how Phil can do that, can seem so warm and earnest and welcoming and sweet all the time, so that Dan can’t help but feel comfortable around him, even when he’s got his heart going a hundred miles per hour.
“University,” Phil shrugs, sweeping his fringe off of his forehead. “Lots of practice putting long essays off and then typing them up furiously the night before they were due.”
Dan nods slowly and sets the cup down on Phil’s desk before wiping the condensation on his pant leg. “Sounds like me. Except I’m always stuck in the ‘putting it off’ phase. That’s why I’m not cut out for uni.”
Phil tilts his head slightly. “You’re on a gap year, right? I’m sure you’ll figure out what you want eventually, whether you need uni or not.”
Dan just shrugs, but Phil keeps going. “No, really. It’s not like uni’s the one and only key to success. I’m hardly making good use of my English Language and Linguistics degree at this job.”
Linguistics. Sounds smart.
He should say that. He’s gay, Phil’s gay, they’re both gay and Phil’s insanely attractive, he should say something cute.
He doesn't. Instead, he just sighs. “Right, well,” he nods to the now-very-condensated cup on Phil’s desk. “I guess I should get back to reception. Enjoy your macchiato.”
Phil huffs out a very soft laugh, ruffling a hand through his hair and shaking his head. Dan eyes him suspiciously. “What?”
“Um… nothing, I guess I just really suck at this,” he slides the cup across the desk, towards Dan. “That’s meant to be your macchiato. That’s why I asked if you liked them? Like… I was trying to buy it for you.”
Dan stares at him blankly for a moment, blinking a couple times before he feels his cheeks start to heat up. He feels light and fluttery but he doesn’t want to get his hopes up too much. He tries - and probably fails - to disguise his smile by picking the drink up and taking a long, slow drink through the straw.
“Yeah?” He asks, perching himself on Phil’s desk now that he’s feeling a little bit bolder. He takes another sip, idly kicking his legs a little. “Why’s that?”
Phil’s cheeks definitely turn a little bit pink, there’s no way he’s imagining that.
“Because I’ve wanted to ask you out for coffee for like, a month now?” There’s a nervous lilt to his voice as his eyes scan Dan’s face. Dan smiles, and Phil visibly relaxes. “And I kept chickening out so… I thought maybe buying you a coffee during office hours would be a good start.”
He lets that sit for a moment. Because… Phil’s been wanting to ask him out. Holy shit. He’s not sure what to do with that information. So he acts on instinct instead.
“Hm. You know, I think you're right. I'd call it a pretty good start,” he whispers, scooting a little bit closer and offering Phil his cup. He accepts a sip hesitantly.
“Just don’t forget to let me buy you one next time,” Dan adds, lightly kicking the arm of Phil’s chair. “This date’s feeling a bit one-sided.”
Phil takes another small sip out out of Dan’s macchiato and their fingers brush when he passes it back. Intentionally on both their parts, he thinks.
“Alright, a two-sided date next time,” Phil nods, leaning back in his chair and fixing Dan with a soft smile and sparkling gaze. “Deal.”