Chapter Text
Andy knew he should be happy, but he was not. Two weeks and a ruined pair of loafers later, he has his parking space back. He was a hero in the eyes of his coworkers. On top of that, things have been going preeetttty okay with Angela. She let him squeeze her shoulder goodnight after their fifth date, so progress there! He should be on top of the world right now, and for some reason, he feels miserable. It’d only gotten worse over the following three weeks.
His manicurist pointed it out to him, and he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it since. He was rude to Lunchbox during their bi-monthly Here Comes Treble conference call. He rolled his eyes at poor Phyllis when she made what he now could admit was a pretty funny joke. Worst of all, he almost called Angela back immediately after she hung up on him and not their previously agreed-upon 24 hours later.
What had happened was he called Angela last night to talk about what has been going on with him and to see what she thought, but she hung up on him not long after he announced himself on the call. To be fair, it was a Wednesday, and Angela usually has a spa day for her and her cats every Wednesday evening, so it was unthoughtful of him to call her to talk about his issues. Not that he has issues, per se. It’s more like worries. He has worries. Anywho, she said they could talk about it the Tuesday after next, and he made a point to put it in his calendar on his phone, as well as the one on his desk, and in his planner so he wouldn’t forget. He even decorated it with love hearts which Angela didn’t seem to like, but he just couldn’t help himself.
This meant he had 13 days to figure out what’s been bothering him so he could use his scheduled time for much more pleasant conversation and activities. He mentioned that to Angela, and she said they’d better make it on Thursday instead because 13 was unlucky, and, as he mentioned, Wednesday was the spa thing, so Thursday it is! 14 and a half more days!
The first two days he spent writing out a list of all the awesome and not-so-awesome things that had happened in the last month, which really didn’t bring him any closer to an answer. On the third day, he got a call from his cobbler about his loafers that he had dropped off to be resoled, and it hit him like the drum solo from In The Air Tonight.
He spent two weeks walking half a mile to and from the office from the satellite parking lot when the W.B. Jones guys were taking their spaces, and now he wasn’t doing that anymore. He was reminded of that line in that Reese Witherspoon movie; exercise gives you endorphins, and endorphins make you happy. Now that he wasn’t getting that regular cardio every day, his ‘dorphs were probably super low, and as a result, he was cranky as hell. It totally made sense now! Starting tomorrow, he’d start parking in the satellite parking lot again. So not only will he be happier and in better shape, but he could also use that time to come up with as many ideas as possible for his next date with Angela. It’s a win-win sitch!
Why is why, if anything, he was even more upset when he got to his desk the next day after the brisk ten-minute walk, and he didn't feel any better. At all!
“Everything ok, Andy?” Pam asked him when he walked in the door with a huge frown on his face.
“Everything is far from okay, Pam!” Andy said grimly.
He was sweaty, and his hamstrings were feeling no bueno. Even worse, when he got in the elevator with Angela, she told him he smelled disgusting, which was a bit of a low blow on top of an already bad morning. He didn’t get it. He should be riding on a high right now. Maybe it’s because it was only the first day. That was probably it. He needed to get into a routine. The more he made it part of his day-to-day, the stronger and better he’d feel.
He tried not to be discouraged when Tuesday came around, and he only felt slightly better. That was only because on Monday, he mentioned to Oscar during his lunch break that he was walking before work and had a slight limp from it. Oscar suggested he do some stretches first, so now Andy made sure to give himself an extra twenty minutes in the mornings. He’d stretch for ten minutes at his house and then ten minutes when he got out of his car. He did feel better this time. He didn’t feel too much happier, just slightly less sore.
When Thursday came around, one full week of walking to the office from the satellite parking lot, he was just about to do his stretches when he heard a car horn beep. Looking up at the noise, Andy spotted Oscar, who had pulled over and was giving him a confused look.
“What are you doing, Andy?” Oscar asked. Andy walked over to Oscar’s car and rested an arm over the window while he did some lunges.
“Doing some stretches like you suggested.” Andy put his weight on the opposite leg and let out a pleased groan as he leaned into the stretch. Oscar looked at him, a mix of flustered and confused.
“Why are you doing it here, though?” He waved his hand in the direction of the parking lot. “Why not at the office or in a conference room?”
“I told you the other day that I was walking before work now. I probably should’ve clarified I was walking to work. From here.” Andy pointed to his car.
“Why?” Oscar shook his head at him. “You went through all the trouble of getting our parking spaces back. You danced in the parking lot.”
“I know, it’s crazy,” Andy said as he put a hand back on Oscar’s car so that he could pull his ankle up behind him to stretch his quads.
“Uh-huh,” Oscar said as he looked him up and down with a blank expression.
“I’ve been feeling kind of bummed out lately, and I’ve been trying to think why that was, and I thought maybe it was the come down off the high from getting our parking spaces back, but then I realized it was because of all the walking I was doing. I just remember feeling so much better every morning when I got to work, and I’m trying to get that feeling back.” Andy looked at Oscar, willing him to get it, and Oscar looked back at him for a quiet moment. He glanced at Andy’s car, then out his front windshield, before finally looking back at Andy.
“That does make a lot of sense, actually,” Oscar said with a nod. Andy let out a little bit of a whoop; so glad that someone got it! Especially someone awesome and smart like Oscar.
“I knew you’d understand!” Andy double-tapped the hood of Oscar’s car and stood up straight. “I’ll see you in deez menudos, Oscarino!”
“It’s diez minutos,” Oscar corrected. “Menudo was a band.”
“Menudo IS a band.” Andy pointed at him. “Like the Nard Dog, we just never give up!”
Oscar opened his mouth to respond, but Andy was already walking back to his car to get his briefcase. Oscar idled in his car for another fifteen seconds before shaking his head and driving away in the direction of the Scranton Business Park. When Andy got to work, he walked in with a huge smile on his face. He felt awesome. He was totally right about the walking thing. He just needed more time, and with the added stretching, he felt like a million bucks.
“Good morning, Andy.” Pam smiled kindly at him when he stopped at reception to grab a piece of the leftover Easter candy from the bowl.
“Mornin’, Pam. Super awesome day, am I right?” He said, full of energy as he popped the candy into his mouth.
“It’s not bad, actually.” She nodded at him.
He tapped out a quick drumbeat for a second on the desk, grabbed another candy, and headed over to Accounting, where he gave Oscar a quick wave before turning to Angela and putting a bunny-shaped Reese’s on her desk. “A sweet for my sweet.”
Angela scoffed at the candy, immediately grabbed it, and threw it into the trash. “I don’t eat peanut butter candy. Especially not the blasphemous kind.” She turned away and returned to her work. Andy stood still for a moment before turning red in embarrassment.
“Sorry, I wasn’t thinking.” He slowly backed away two steps before turning swiftly and heading to his desk.
“That wasn’t very kind of you, Angela.” He heard Oscar say softly, which only made him feel worse if that were possible.
“Mind your business, Oscar.” Angela gave him a dirty look and returned to her work. There were another few seconds of silence before Kevin spoke up.
“If you’re not gonna eat it…” He looked in the direction of her trash.
“What did I tell you about eating out of the trash, Kevin?” Oscar asked with a sigh that spoke of having had this conversation many times before.
“It’s not sanitary, and I shouldn’t do it,” Kevin said, resigned.
Andy sat quietly at his desk with his briefcase in his lap and a frown on his face. He had such a good morning, and now he felt like crap. Maybe he’d go for a walk around the block during his lunch break. That’d probably cheer him up. Unfortunately, he never did get the time, so he just stewed in his sour mood for the rest of the workday.
When 5 PM came around, and he was making his way out the front door and into the parking lot, Oscar tossed him a marshmallow peep from Pam’s leftover stash (the ones they had to hide from Kevin) with a shrug and wished him a good walk and night. The walk was definitely what he needed because, by the time he got to his car, he was feeling freaking fantastic again. It couldn’t possibly get better than this!
The next morning just as Andy pulled into what he now referred to as “his space” in the satellite parking lot, he noticed a familiar Lexus parked next to him. Andy hopped out of his Prius, barely taking the time to shut it off first before peering inside the car. It was definitely Oscar’s, but he was nowhere to be seen.
By the time Andy got to work, he couldn’t wait to talk to Oscar about it. Unfortunately, all of Accounting had a bit of an emergency that they were working on, which meant they were in a conference room basically all day. Andy kept walking by the window, hoping to catch Oscar’s eye to indicate to him that he wanted to chat, but Oscar was super into whatever error he was trying to fix and didn’t look up once. It wasn’t until much later in the day, when he was packing up his briefcase that he realized Angela was in there too, but he didn’t try to get her attention. He felt a little bad about that and left her a sweet post-it note stuck to her desk telling her that he had been thinking about her all day.
He didn’t get a chance to see if she ever read it, though, because as he was putting on his jacket, Oscar walked out of the conference room and went to grab his coat from his desk. Andy rushed out to the elevator and waited for Oscar to leave so he could ask him why he’d parked in the satellite lot. It took a little bit of time for him to leave, and he’d had to send Meredith, Toby, and then Creed ahead separately before Oscar appeared next to him.
“Was the elevator full?” Oscar asked as he saw the doors just shut and Andy standing in front of it, not having gotten on.
“Yupp,” Andy lied, popping the ‘P’ in an exaggerated way. “Waiting for the next one.” Oscar looked at his watch and then at the door to the stairs, and for a brief moment, Andy wondered if he had waited for fifteen minutes for nothing. It would be super weird if he had to rush to catch up with Oscar, who would probably be well ahead of him on his way to his car. Thankfully, the ding of the elevator arriving saved him from going down that road, literally and metaphorically. Andy made a sweeping gesture with his hand, allowing Oscar to enter first.
“Long day?” Andy asked as he pushed the elevator button, taking them to the ground floor.
“You have no idea,” Oscar sighed. “At least it’s Friday, and I don’t have to think about work or numbers again for two blissfully long days.”
“Totally.” Andy let out a forced laugh for having nothing else to say. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. He had lots he wanted to say. Very specific things. He just didn’t know how to bring it up. As they walked out of the building together, Andy wanted to slap himself on the forehead. Of course!
“Oh, are you going this way too?” Andy asked in fake surprise when he started walking in the direction of the lot exit alongside him. Oscar looked flustered and slightly embarrassed, and Andy was left more confused than before.
“I was thinking about what you said yesterday.” Oscar shifted his briefcase strap to his right shoulder after accidentally brushing his right hand against Andy’s as they walked. “About how much better you felt after walking to work.” They stopped at the corner and waited for the car to pass. “After the Fun Run, I figured I probably should get some more walking in.”
“That makes total sense. I’m glad you’ve seen the light, Oscar!”
They walked together mostly in silence, but Andy didn’t mind. He was just so pumped that he got to share his walk with Oscar again. Andy had a bit of a stumble when that thought came to him. Oscar stopped walking and grabbed his arm tightly to steady him.
“You alright?” He asked with concern.
“Pshht.” Andy waved him off. “Must’ve been a rock or something.” He looked at the ground and didn’t see anything other than the small scuff mark on the tip of his Oxfords. Thankfully they were an older pair, but it was still an inconvenience to have to buff any imperfection out.
“Maybe you should think about bringing a pair of sneakers and then changing back into your nicer shoes when you get to the office?” Oscar suggested, looking down at his own shoes as they continued their walk.
“This is why they pay you the big bucks, Oscar!” Andy grinned at him. “You’re a freaking genius.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say they paid me all that much, but I’ll take the compliment.”
They arrived at their respective cars, and Andy paused before getting in. He looked down at the keys in his hands and tried to psych himself up to ask the question that had been lingering for what felt like the entire day.
“See you Monday?” Andy’s head shot up at Oscar’s question. He stared at him in surprise.
“Yes.” Andy nodded his head enthusiastically. “Monday morning. I’ll be here.” Oscar waved and said a quick goodnight before getting into his car and driving away.
Andy drove home feeling like he was flying. He totally forgot that, on the days that Oscar didn’t have to be in early, he and Andy tended to arrive at work at the same time in the morning and became unofficial walking buddies from the satellite lot.
He and Oscar used to complain about the W.B. Jones guys taking their parking spaces every morning. One time, Oscar shared a piece of his blueberry scone with him on the walk. The next day he brought Oscar a coffee from Oscar’s favorite coffee shop as a thank you. He had to get up and leave about 25 minutes earlier than he normally would to get their coffees and meet Oscar in the satellite lot on time, but it was totally worth it. Especially when Oscar took a sip of the coffee and let out a hum of contentment that warmed Andy up from the inside out. Unfortunately, that same day they ran into Kevin, who snatched the coffee right out of Oscar’s hand and downed it because he was dying of thirst. He ended up burning his mouth and had to call out sick for two days which also meant that Oscar had to work early and late both days to cover for him, and Andy did his walk alone. He didn’t bring him coffee again after that.
On the day that he left his cell phone in his car, he remembered Oscar making a comment about expensing a taxi to work so that he didn’t have to bother with the walk anymore. Andy used the entire walk to his car and back to get his cell phone to work up the nerve to talk to Michael with Kevin about the spaces. Oscar’s comment totally had nothing to do with his decision. At all.
Was that really a little over a month ago? He wasn’t sure why this time felt different than the last time, but he wasn’t going to complain. Not when he had someone to share his walk with again. Maybe. Oscar hadn’t explicitly stated that he would be joining Andy on his daily walks to work, but it did seem heavily implied. He wasn’t holding out hope that Oscar would show up on Monday, but he’d make sure to hang back a few minutes just in case he did.
Much to his surprise, Monday morning came around, and they pulled up into the lot practically at the same time, with Andy arriving just moments before Oscar. Andy jumped out of his car excitedly and walked around to the driver's side of Oscar’s Lexus to show him the new shoes he’d bought Friday night after work. (He never was able to get the drops of blood out of the ones he wore for the Fun Run.) They were a pair of bright blue Brooks Pure Cadence Running Shoes that had an orange line going across the middle. The sales associate at the Foot Locker in the Viewmont Mall suggested he get the Reebok’s, but as a musician, this sneaker practically sold itself in name alone.
“Very nice,” Oscar said politely as he stepped out of his car and grabbed his briefcase and a shopping bag from the backseat. He was wearing a white pair of Nike’s with red and black soles that Andy recognized from the Fun Run.
He was so excited about his new sneakers and that Oscar would be walking with him to work every day (fingers crossed) that he realized just a little over halfway to the office that he forgot his work shoes, phone, and his briefcase in his car. When Oscar pointed it out, Andy had given him a crestfallen look, realizing that he had probably just ruined everything and that Oscar wouldn’t want to walk with him anymore because he was such a forgetful idiot.
He couldn’t believe it. Not only did Oscar not call him a forgetful idiot like Angela for sure wouldn’t have hesitated to point out, but he was actually super nice about it. He even ended up walking back to Andy’s car with him to retrieve his missing items.
“It’s Monday.” Oscar shrugged. “These things happen.”
When Andy did an impression of Angela berating him on the walk back, he glanced at Oscar, expecting him to laugh, but instead, he looked at Andy with a frown on his face.
“Oh, God. Please don’t tell her I said that,” Andy said worriedly. He had totally forgotten that Angela was technically Oscar’s boss, and it was probably not cool to have done that.
“She’s not very nice to you,” Oscar responded.
“What do you mean?” Andy asked, and Oscar looked at him like he couldn’t believe Andy didn’t see it.
“I just can’t even begin to imagine what you’re getting out of this relationship, is all.” Andy stopped walking and stared at the back of Oscar’s head. Oscar, in turn, stopped and let out a long sigh. “I apologize; I know it’s none of my business…”
“It was a stupid impression and obviously an over-exaggeration, Oscar. My relationship with Angela is great, and you’re right; it really isn’t any of your business,” Andy said defensively, and that was the end of the conversation.
The remaining five minutes of their walk were made in silence, and Andy felt a growing dread deep in his stomach. When they arrived at the door outside the building, he grabbed the sleeve of Oscar’s coat to stop him before he went inside.
“Hey,” Andy said quietly, not to draw attention from the people standing by the elevator just a few feet away from them. Oscar turned and waited for Andy to finish. “Thanks,” Andy said sincerely.
“Any time.” Oscar gave him a sad smile, and that was the last time either of them would talk about Angela.
They continued their walks together for the rest of the week, and Andy couldn’t have been more thrilled. Not only did he feel better, but he had more energy, was more focused at work, and was overall happier than he had been in a while. This translated to him feeling more confident on calls and closing more sales over the last week than even Phyllis, which was a first for him. Even Stanley looked impressed. Or maybe that was just gas, but he’d take what he could get.
That Thursday was one for the books, though. It was a little after 8 PM, much later than they’d normally leave work, but Andy had closed a massive deal that would put Dunder Mifflin well over their target for the end of the month. He was on the call for an hour and fifty-eight minutes, and it was touch and go for a while but thrilling to watch. Several of his coworkers hung out to see if he was able to do it. Jim looked skeptical, but Dwight was downright furious. If it hadn’t been for Oscar accidentally knocking into him, he was pretty sure Dwight would’ve accidentally unplugged Andy’s phone. By some miracle, he did end up closing the sale and got several congratulations. Oscar gave his shoulder a tight squeeze. He had never felt more alive.
They rehashed some of the more exciting moments on their walk back to their cars. Andy was embellishing a bit, but Oscar didn’t seem to mind. It almost took a turn for the worse, however, when Andy had gotten a bit too excited and hadn’t been paying attention to where he was walking. He got slightly too close to the junkyard fence as they walked by that the dog had almost gotten a hold of Andy’s jacket.
Oscar, quick to react, pulled Andy away as soon as he saw what was about to happen. Completely taken off guard Andy stumbled forward until his chest knocked against Oscar with his chin almost hitting the other man’s forehead.
“Oh, God!” “Are you okay?” They spoke over each other. Andy pulled back, still standing way closer than two dudes who were coworkers and maybe friends should be.
“Yeah…” Andy cleared his throat. He would’ve bet tonight's entire sales commission that Oscar had just looked at his mouth. That was a crazy thought. Besides, it was dark out, and the guy basically just saved his life. Plus, with all the adrenaline running through his system. He was definitely not at his best as far as observational skills went.
“Right.” Oscar let go of Andy’s coat and took another step back. They crossed the street even though the barking dog was not technically a threat anymore and walked the last half a block to the satellite lot. Andy tried not to notice that Oscar wasn’t walking as close to him anymore.
“Well, I have the day off tomorrow, so I guess I’ll see you Monday?” Oscar informed him before getting into his car.
“Bright and early.” Andy gave him a small smile.
“Congratulations again, Andy. Really great work tonight.” Oscar waved out his window as he drove away. Andy waved back as he watched Oscar pull out of the lot. What a crazy day.
It wasn’t until the next morning that he woke up, feeling refreshed, but somehow not as excited for the day ahead, that he noticed the post-it on the refrigerator: Thursday, Call Angela <3
Oh, God. He completely forgot to call Angela. He set so many reminders, and he still forgot. Not only did he forget to call her, he completely forgot to think of awesome date ideas to discuss on said call now that he no longer needed to talk about what was bumming him out. He looked at his cell phone and checked the voicemail on his landline.
No voicemails. No missed calls. She was probably so mad at him.
Andy ended up parking in his old space in the Dunder Mifflin lot because the idea of making the long walk back to his car at the end of the day after being chewed out by Angela was not something he was sure he could handle.
He walked in hesitantly and sat at his desk. He just needed time to find a good excuse for why he forgot to call her. Hopefully, she would wait until no one else was around to give him that look and start… Oh no. It was too late. She was already giving him a look and walking towards him. Quick quick. Think.
“Kevin! Drop it!” Angela said sternly. Andy turned around, and Kevin was standing right behind him, holding a hog dog.
“But I didn’t have any breakfast,” Kevin complained.
“It’s 9 o’clock in the morning.” Angela rolled her eyes at him. “Who eats a hot dog at 9 o’clock in the morning?”
“You’ve never partied with Poison in the 80s,” Meredith spoke up. “Bret Michael’s could give Joey Chestnut a run for his money, let me tell you.”
“Gross, Meredith,” Angela scoffed before turning back to Kevin. “I am not going to sit across from you all day with your breath smelling like hot dog.”
“It didn’t bother you last week.” Kevin pointed out.
“Oscar was here last week, and his cologne was stronger than your disgusting burps,” She said, a look of disgust on her face. Andy assumed she was grossed out by his burps and not by Oscar’s cologne which smelled fantastic if anyone asked him. Which no one did. Why would they? Who asks a guy about his work buddy's cologne? No one. It’s not like he cares what Oscar smells like. A warm woody spice but with a citrusy note underneath it. It’s not like he was purposely paying attention. He just so happened to be standing next to the guy for a certain amount of time every day for the last week. Besides, cologne always smells strongest in the morning.
Andy shook himself out of that weird tangent when he noticed Angela walking over to his desk and grabbing his trashcan. She held it out in front of Kevin, who looked around the office where everyone was staring at him with mixed emotions.
Kelly shook her head, and Kevin nodded. He looked directly at Angela and shoved the entire hot dog into his mouth in one shot. Meredith stood up and began a slow clap that no one else joined in on, but Andy did hear an impressed whistle come from Jim’s desk. Andy knew better than to visibly react to what had just happened, but he wished Oscar would’ve been here. He thinks he may have even been proud of Kevin for standing up to Angela, hot dog breath aside.
Angela walked back to her desk in a huff while Dwight looked at Kevin with a weirdly intent look in his eyes. That was weird. He knew Dwight worked on a farm, so he couldn’t have had anything against hot dogs. Andy decided not to make things any worse and just waited for his turn of her ire later. When the end of the day came, and she left the office, giving him only a stilted good night handshake, Andy frowned. She hadn’t mentioned it at all. He had a lot going on yesterday, so it made sense that he forgot, but Andy had written a note on her desk calendar as well. He had written under the reminder to confirm Princess Lady’s photoshoot that weekend. There was no way she could’ve missed it.
Andy had stewed on it all weekend. He wanted to talk to someone about it but was drawing a blank. There was no way in hell that he would call the Here Comes Treble guys after they’d done him such a solid by helping him get Angela in the first place. His Mom would just immediately put his father on the phone, which would lead to yet another conversation around what a disappointment he was to the Bernard name, so that was out. There was really only one person he wanted to talk to about it, but he didn’t have his number and wouldn’t see him until Monday, which was an entire weekend away. So Andy continued to think about it. He thought about it all weekend, and when Monday came along, he was so filled with thoughts that he had no choice but to just spit it out.
“Hey, Andy. I hope you had a nice weekend,” Oscar said politely as he got out of his car.
“I think I need to break up with Angela,” Andy practically shouted. Oscar’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. Andy felt like he was on the verge of having a panic attack. Or maybe it was a heart attack. He was in the age range for one of those. Oh, God, why hadn’t he gone for his yearly physical like he kept planning to?
“Okay.” He nodded and slowly put a hand on Andy’s arm. “Why don’t we just sit in my car for a bit.” Oscar pulled him slowly to the passenger side of his car and opened the door for Andy to get in.
“It’s been three days. What happened?” Oscar asked when he sat down behind the wheel.
“I forgot to call her,” Andy explained.
“And she yelled at you,” Oscar said, but Andy shook his head.
“No, Oscar. She didn’t even care. That’s the point.” Andy looked at him miserably. “I put the reminder somewhere that I know she’d see it. She should’ve been furious at me, but she didn’t even say anything.” They sat there quietly for a few moments. Andy leaned his head back on the headrest and closed his eyes. “I don’t even think she likes me.”
“I’m sure she likes you,” Oscar said, but in a way that told Andy that he didn’t even believe that.
“I mean, isn’t that the first rule of dating someone? You actually have to like the person?”
“That is pretty important, I agree.” Oscar nodded. “I’m sorry, Andy.”
“Me too.” He rubbed at his eyes, but there was no way he was going to cry about this. He looked pathetic enough in front of Oscar without acting like a baby over a failed relationship. Andy let out a dramatically loud sigh before turning to Oscar with a fake smile. “So, you had a long weekend. Do anything interesting?”
“Not sure I’d call it interesting.” Oscar placed his hands distractedly on the steering wheel. “Gil called and wanted to bring by some of my things that he hadn’t gotten around to returning after we broke up last summer.”
“Oh.” Andy frowned. “That was nice of him.” Andy looked down at his fingernails, suddenly finding them fascinating.
“Yeah, it was all junk; I think he just wanted an excuse to talk about getting back together.” Andy noticed what looked like a freckle that he hadn’t seen before. He should probably get that checked out, too, when he talks to his doctor about his heart issues.
“Wow,” Andy said with little excitement. “I’m happy for you both.”
“Are you?” Oscar looked at him in surprise.
“Yeah, I hope you’ll be super happy together and live your best gay lives. Together. In love.” Andy’s expression was more grimace than smile, and Oscar laughed softly.
“I told him under no circumstances that us getting back together was a possibility,” Oscar admitted, an amused look on his face. Andy’s neck cracked; sidenote, get that checked out too, with how quickly he turned to face Oscar.
“No?” He didn’t know why that thought filled him with joy. He wanted Oscar to be happy. He just didn’t want him to be happy with Gil, which was super weird because he didn’t even know the guy. He met him maybe once, and that was it. “Why?”
Oscar gave him a small smile and looked down at his own hands. Andy wondered what they’d feel like in his own.
“I guess I’ve just moved on.” Oscar shrugged. Andy stared at him quietly for several moments. Probably no longer than a minute but long enough for another feeling of tightness in his chest to appear. This time he knew what it was and definitely didn’t need to see a doctor about it. Suddenly everything just seemed so clear to him. These feelings that he’s been having, what’s caused them, and what he has to do about it.
“I’m breaking up with Angela,” Andy said determinedly. Oscar turned to meet his eyes.
“Good,” is all he said in reply.
“Will you have dinner with me?” Andy asked and then quickly added, “Y’know? After…”
“I’d like that.” Oscar reached out and laid a hand on his wrist; his smile was bigger this time. Andy couldn’t wait to find out what it tasted like. Orange and spice, he hoped.
“Probably not right after, though, because I have a feeling it’s not going to go very well, and I might need a few days to recover from the trauma,” Andy joked, but not really.
“I guess we’ll just have to settle for walking to work together until then,” Oscar said, and Andy nodded until his eyes widened in a panic.
“What time is it?” Andy looked at his watch.
“Damn.” Oscar frowned. It was two minutes until 9; there was no way they’d make it in time.
“Drive today, walk tomorrow?” Andy asked, and Oscar turned on his ignition. He was bummed to miss out on the walk, but at least they could drive together in Oscar’s car. Either way, Andy never felt happier.