Chapter Text
This was a bad day. No this was a really bad day. Like a really, very, horrible, annoying, frustrating, bad day. First his car decided to stop working. That was bad. Then he had to walk to work, on a very hot day, whilst he was dripping in sweat and had to pull his dark, shoulder length hair in a bun so it didn’t stick to his neck as he huffed and puffed his way to work. It wasn’t a short walk either, it was like an hour walk. Which it turn made him late, which then made him get yelled at his boss in front of the employees. Not fun. His face, already red from walking, turned even redder and he had to excuse himself to go to the bathroom to wash his face and cool down. It wouldn’t do well to yell at his boss, ‘the master”, as he was already walking on thin ice. Seriously, he had to stop arguing back. His day got even worse when he ran into the CEO of Mirkwood. Seriously, he ran into him, crashing to the floor and landing painfully on his elbow. Thranduil, his gorgeous long blonde hair that was in a single plait down his back, was standing as tall as ever, staring down at Bard with something close to amusement in his eyes. Bard groaned. This was not his day. At all.
Bard cursed under his breath and attempted to get up. Attempted to get up being the key word. He fucking slipped and fell down again, making a complete fool of himself in front of the big, bad boss that was just staring at him with those piercing blue eyes. Bard closed his eyes. He was going to get fired. ‘The master’ wanted him gone and now this was the final straw, he was a goner. Everyone constantly talked about Thranduil and how he was ruthless when it came to his workers. The man literally had no fucks to give, as he was head of the company and filthy rich.
Bard was quickly mistaken as the man finally took pity on him and reached out toward him with his soft, manicured hand, waiting patiently for Bard to stop gaping like a fish and take the help he needed. Thranduil’s hand was surprisingly warm and the man himself was so warm and giant looking and oh God, he was looking at Bard with his head tilted to the side, like he was critically analysing him. Shit.
“Are you okay?”¸ Thranduil’s voice was barely above a whisper, but yet Bard heard it perfectly well.
He stuttered, “I, uh, ye, well yes I’m fine. Thank you for asking”
Thranduil raised an eyebrow, those perfectly sculptured eyebrows, “you look quite flustered”
“That would be because it’s very hot in here”
“Oh?”, the CEO questioned, “and it has nothing to do with the fact that the, what do they call him, the master, yelled at you?”
Bard’s mouth hung open for a good minute, before he regained what little composure he had left. “I uh, well you see I had some car troubles this morning and had to walk to work and well, I was an hour late” Bard let his eyes drift to the floor, taking in the white tiled floor that was in great condition. Really, how did the cleaners get it looking so white?
“And this idiot yelled at you for that?”
Bard flinched at the tone of voice that Thranduil was using. Its deep resonance echoing around the bathroom. He had heard that tone before, and it was often before he got yelled at for doing something that was completely out of his hands. Like, someone not answering their bloody phones.
The father of three was snapped out of his reverie when a gentle hand touched his elbow and he flinched slightly. He wouldn’t be surprised if it was bruised. “Want to know something funny?”
“What?”, came the inquisitive tone of Bard.
“I actually came down here to fire ‘the master’ in front of everyone. Honestly who even calls themselves that?”
Bards first smile for the day was at those magical words. “Surely not?”
“I’m being completely serious. Incompetent fools such as him need to get the hell out of my company”
“Well, Sir, I think you’re making the right decision there”
Thranduil raised his eyebrow and smirked.
/
That was how Bard found himself, ten minutes later, standing in a group with his fellow workers watching the master get yelled at by the big, bad boss. Thranduil's tall, but elegant frame was towering over the master, who was attempting to curl in on himself.
“You are nothing but a fool, you are making a mockery of my company and I will refuse to have my company’s reputation ruined by a lazy fool whose bark is worse than his bite. You have abused numerous workers since you have been promoted and I cannot allow this. This accounting firm has been in the headlines for all the right reasons and I refuse to have you ruin my reputation. As of today, you’re attributes are no longer needed to this company. I bid you well for your future endeavors”
The beautiful man turned away from the cowering ex-worker, his blonde hair whipping the fat man in the face, offering further insult to the pathetic, cowering man. Bard could have sworn that Thranduil offered him a small smile before entering the lift that would take him to the top floor, but he was dehydrated, he could have imagined that.
The rest of the day turned out to be rather pleasant. Sure, crunching numbers actually wasn’t that interesting, but it was made more enjoyable by the fact that the master wasn’t breathing down his neck and making his life a living hell. He worked efficiently and quickly, doing peoples tax files numbers for tax time.
On his lunch break he organised a tow-truck to take his car back home – where he would work on it- before ringing his friend Percy to pick up his three wonderful children from school. Sigrid was fifteen and could catch public transport, but the other two, Bain who was ten and Tilda who was seven were too young to catch public transport. Not only that, he just didn't feel comfortable with his children being surrounded by strangers who were much older. He was protective of his children as every parent should be. Once assured that his children would have a ride home, he went back to work, running his hands through his dark hair. Strands of hair had fallen out of his bun and had fallen around his face. He had a level of concentration on his face as he worked out how much this particular person should earn back at tax time.
That night he worked until 6:30 before deciding to leave. Knock of time was 5:00 but he wanted to make up for the hour he missed this morning. He grabbed his shoulder bag and walked outside, the blistering heat making him regret leaving the office.
For twenty minutes he attempted to hail a taxi. Well, he managed to get one but gave it up for a pregnant lady and her partner. He had no luck after that, trying for half an hour before deciding to walk home before it got dark. With a loud sigh, he hefted his bag on his other shoulder and walked in the direction that he needed to in order to get home. With the hustle and bustle of people around him he hardly noticed someone calling his name. When he turned around he was met with…Thranduil?
“Walking again, I see?”
“Uh, well yes”
Thranduil smirked, “you should get yourself a reliable car”
Bard chuckled, sounding more nervous than anything else. For seven years he had worked at Mirkwood and not once had he ever had the pleasure of speaking to Thranduil, and now he had spoken to the man, not once, but twice. He should feel honoured that the man even made an attempt to talk to him, but yet he felt anxious instead. He wasn’t the best with social interactions.
“I should get going before it’s too dark to walk”
“Let me take you home. It’s late and I would rather have my employee come back to work in one piece tomorrow”
Bard hesitated, before finally giving in. He did want to see his kids tonight after all. “As long as you’re sure”
“Of course”
With that the two walked to the car-park where Thranduil parked his range-rover and the blonde man drove Bard home. The radio was turned up at a reasonable volume and Bard found himself watching his boss tap his fingers on the steering wheel in beat with the music. Whether Thranduil knew Bard was watching, well, he didn’t say anything but continued to drive.
It was when Bard got a phone call from Sigrid who was worried about where he was, that the two spoke. Bard talked about his three children who he loved with all his heart and Thranduil talked about his son seventeen year old son Legolas and adopted daughter Tauriel, who was also seventeen. It was evident on the man’s face how much he adored his children and Bard felt privileged that he saw this side of the man. Everyone at the office had talked about how cold and emotionless this man was, but yet here he was, driving him home so he didn’t walk in the dark. Not only that but the man helped him up off the bathroom floor and talked to him like an equal, when they so clearly weren’t. This man was full of surprises.
When Thranduil pulled up in front of Bard’s old but stylish two story home, he thanked his boss and got out. Smiling all the way as he got to the front door. He noted that Thranduil didn’t drive away until Bard had opened the door and was greeted with hugs from his children.
/
Tilda was the first to go to bed that night, demanding a bed time story. Out of his children she was the one with the most imagination. She adored everything, from princesses to warriors who fought to protect their country. It was because of this that made bed time stories just as enjoyable for Bard as they did the little one. He liked telling the stories and she liked listening. Bain went to bed not long after that, grabbing Harry Potter: The Goblet of Fire to read before he fell asleep. Sigrid stayed behind and watched T.V with Bard for a little while.
“You look a lot more relaxed than I’ve seen you in a while. Weird because the car stuffed up again”
Bard smiled, “aye, work wasn’t too bad today”
This bad day. No this really bad day. Like really, very, horrible, annoying, frustrating, bad day turned out to be quite a…pleasant day. It was one of the better days he had in a while and that was partly due to Thranduil defying his expectations of being a prick and actually being nice. With a reputation like the one Thranduil had, Bard had no hopes for actually liking the man, but yet he liked him. He was actually a nice guy. Well, when he wanted to be. He vaguely wondered if he would see the man again but doubted it. After all, Thranduil was CEO and Bard was just a worker who worked on the second floor.