Work Text:
9 April 2014
6.32 pm
Crisis Agent Office
"I'm not moping," Giorgio snapped somewhat petulantly.
"Of course you're not," Wesley replied innocently. "You're just brooding, sulking, pining…"
"Alright enough!" Giorgio threw his hands up in exasperation as Alan doubled over with laughter.
Since it had been a while since he'd last gone home, Evan had taken some time off and returned to France to visit his family. Despite his best efforts, Giorgio had found himself in a sour mood all week, missing his boyfriend's presence.
"Come on, he'll be back tomorrow. You've been "not moping" all week; you need to get out of here for a while and relax," Wesley insisted.
Giorgio sighed. To be honest, he didn't really want to stay in the office doing paperwork either, but the idea of sitting alone in the apartment he shared with Evan and counting the hours until morning seemed even less appealing.
"Come back to my apartment and hang out," Alan suggested. "Evan wouldn't want you to just sit around waiting for him to come back, after all."
"…I suppose it can't hurt." Giorgio gave in, knowing that Alan was right.
There were worse ways to spend an evening than hanging out with his friends, after all.
6.52 pm
Alan's Apartment, VSSE Residential Wing
"Want a drink?" Alan asked as he opened in his fridge.
"Got any coffee?" Giorgio replied.
Wesley rolled his eyes. "Giorgio, you're the only person I know who drinks coffee in the evening. I've got a better idea."
Saying so, he disappeared out the door, returning a few minutes later with a bottle of wine.
A very expensive–looking bottle of wine, for that matter.
"My family sent this to me back when I was in Uni, as one of a number of bribes to try and get me to fall back in line and stop 'slumming'," Wesley explained. (1)
Having heard about Wesley's complicated family relations before, Giorgio was surprised that Wesley had kept the wine.
"You didn't drink it or give it away?" Alan asked, equally surprised.
"I was saving it to share with my Uncle James once I graduated, but he passed away before that, and I never really found an occasion to open it after that," Wesley replied.
"Before you ask, fine wine can be kept for years if unopened, so it's still perfectly drinkable."
"So, what's the occasion tonight?" Giorgio asked.
Wesley shrugged. "Just because. Good stuff has to be shared with friends, right?"
Giorgio felt a rush of gratitude towards Wesley for the sentiment, but at the same time…
"I… think I'll pass," he said apologetically. "I don't really do too well with alcohol."
Over the years, Giorgio had learned that not only was he an extreme lightweight, he also tended to become extremely melancholic when drunk and spend the rest of the night drunkenly crying over memories of his past and his family's deaths.
Inevitably, he ended up also having bad alcohol–induced nightmares afterwards, topped off with a killer hangover the next morning.
"Just have one glass and sip at it a bit," Wesley suggested. "You're not meant to chug wine like this and get plastered anyway."
"…Alright," Giorgio finally replied with a nod. "I guess it couldn't hurt."
One drink shouldn't give me too much trouble, right?
"So, what should we do?" Alan asked when the three of them had settled down with their glasses of wine.
"We could watch a movie," Wesley suggested.
"Absolutely not!" Alan immediately said. "I know what you're thinking, Wesley. You want to have a horror movie marathon or something like that."
"What's so bad about that?" Giorgio asked.
Alan groaned. "Not you too, Giorgio."
At this, Wesley let out a laugh.
"Alan is kind of a chicken when it comes to horror movies," he explained. "The last time we watched one, he was clinging to me so hard by the end of it that my arms were going numb."
"I just don't like horror, alright?" Alan said defensively. "It's not my cup of tea."
"What about zombie B–movies?" Giorgio suggested. "We can heckle and jeer at the characters being idiots and setting themselves up to be killed."
"Eh… Those aren't so bad, but still not really my thing," Alan replied.
"Alright, does anyone else have any ideas?" Wesley asked.
"Actually…" Giorgio trailed off. "I might have something. Evan has a copy of Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, along with all the instruments. We could play a few rounds." (2)
Wesley's eyes lit up. "That's a fantastic idea. Let's do it!"
Working together, they brought all the equipment over to Alan's apartment and began to set it up.
(While it might have been easier to simply play in Giorgio and Evan's apartment, Giorgio felt that he'd probably start moping again if he stayed in the apartment he shared with Evan while Evan still wasn't around.)
There was a bit of squabbling about what song to choose and who would sing first (Giorgio adamantly refused, saying that he'd need to be a lot more drunk before he was ready to embarrass himself singing), but finally they were ready to start.
"WHOA OH, LIVIN' ON A PRAYER!"
Robert cursed to himself as the sound of thumping bass and drums came from somewhere above his room.
He'd had some paperwork to finish up today and had decided, for a change, to bring it back to his room to work on, figuring that it would be more comfortable than hunching over his desk in the office.
Now, he was thoroughly regretting his choice.
He had no idea what the younger agents were up to upstairs, but it sounded like they were blasting music from a CD extremely loudly.
Growling, he tried to shut out the sound and focus on his work as the music continued unabated.
About half an hour later, he realised he wasn't getting anywhere.
"Any way you want it, that's the way you need it…" He murmured, reaching for the next document.
Cursing to himself as he realised he'd started singing under his breath, Robert gave up and got to his feet, intending to give the younger agents a piece of his mind.
Slamming open his apartment door, he scarcely noticed when the other residents of his floor poked their heads out to see what was going on as he stormed upstairs.
Once he was on the second floor, it became immediately apparent that the music was coming from Alan's apartment.
"Bruno! Dunaway! Lambert!" He shouted, pounding on the door.
After a few seconds, the music turned off, and the door opened, revealing three sheepish–looking agents.
"Would you idiots kindly keep it down?" He growled. "Some of us are trying to do work, and I think your CD can probably be heard from outer space."
"Sorry Robert," Wesley quickly apologised. "Didn't realise we were being that loud."
It was then that Robert realised that Wesley was holding a microphone, while Alan had drumsticks in his hand.
Behind them, past the open apartment door, Robert could see what looked like two guitars and a drum set.
"What are you idiots doing anyway?" He asked, curiosity piqued despite his annoyance.
"Playing Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock," Wesley explained. "Want to join us?"
"No I do not," Robert snapped, though he couldn't help feeling impressed by the singing voice of whoever had been singing (most likely Wesley, since he was holding the microphone).
It had been good enough that Robert had mistaken it for a recording, after all.
"What's going on?" Another voice called from behind them.
Turning, Robert saw Keith coming up the stairs towards Alan's apartment.
Seeing the microphone Wesley was holding, his eyes lit up.
"Hey, Guitar Hero!" He exclaimed. "Can I play?"
"Sure, the more the merrier," Alan replied.
"Awesome!" Keith pumped a fist in the air. "Dibs on vocals."
"Hey, no fair! I wasn't done singing yet," Wesley complained.
"Robert, want to join us?" Keith turned to his exasperated partner.
"For the last time, no I don't!" Robert practically shouted. "You guys may have plenty of time to spare on this sort of childish nonsense, but I certainly—"
At this point, Christy emerged from the stairwell, followed closely by Rachel and Richard.
"Everything okay, Keith?" She asked her boyfriend. "Robert didn't kill them, did he?"
"Christy! We're playing Guitar Hero, come join in!"
"Can I play too?" Rachel asked, looking at Alan, Wesley and Giorgio.
"Sure, we can all take turns on the instruments," Giorgio suggested. "Richard, do you want to play?"
Richard smirked a bit and said, "Sure, why not? This should be fun."
"Come on, Robert, you've got to join in now," Keith insisted. "Even Richard is playing."
Robert grumbled a bit, then sighed and gave in.
"Fine, I suppose I'm not going to get any paperwork done anyway if you idiots plan on playing Battle of the Bands tonight," he said, somewhat grumpily.
"Alright!" Keith cheered. "Come on, let's get started."
The next few hours were filled with the most chaotic fun Giorgio had ever experienced.
Laughter rang out through the night, along with tons of squabbling about whose turn it was to sing and who got to play the drums.
As expected, Keith had a kickass, rockstar–like singing voice.
What was less expected was when petite, demure, gentle–looking Rachel turned out to be a beast on the drums, going hardcore and epically kicking everyone's asses.
The wine was shared out between the 8 of them, and Giorgio found himself going back on his resolve to have just one glass.
Soon, he was on his second glass and feeling tipsy enough to get up the courage to sing.
It was something he usually didn't do, he admitted to the others, having made Evan promise when they first started playing that he wouldn't make Giorgio sing.
And then, after the first song they'd played together, he'd made Evan promise not to sing either.
But the real highlight of the night had probably been when they'd finally convinced Robert to sing just once.
He'd been mostly hanging back up till this point, occasionally taking over to play the bass for a few songs and actually looking as though he was enjoying it somewhat.
It might have had something to do with the fact that he'd actually accepted a glass of wine from Wesley, loosening him up enough for him to let himself relax and have a bit of fun for a change.
It was still a tough sell to get him to sing, but he'd finally caved in the face of everybody else's cajoling.
"Make him sing the falsetto bits in Bohemian Rhapsody," Keith suggested with a wicked grin.
"Keith, be nice," Christy chided. "Besides, we only have one shot at this, and you know Robert's going to refuse if we try to make him sing anything too embarrassing."
"Fine, fine." Keith pouted a bit. "You pick something, Robert."
"I'd rather choose not to sing at all," Robert retorted.
"How about Message in a Bottle?" Rachel suggested. "That's a pretty nice one, and it's not too hard to sing."
"Sounds good," Richard agreed. "How about it, Robert?"
"Let's just get this over with," Robert grumbled.
As it turned out, Robert had a surprisingly smooth singing voice, but that didn't stop him from avoiding everyone's eyes the entire time he was singing, as though he wanted to be anywhere but there.
When the song ended, everybody applauded.
"Wow, Robert… I never knew you could sing so well!" Keith exclaimed.
"We've definitely got to make you sing again the next time we do this," Wesley commented with a wicked smirk.
"Hell no," Robert retorted. "And what do you mean 'next time'? Don't tell me you guys are planning to do this again?"
"Why not? Tonight was tons of fun," Alan said with a laugh.
"Indeed, I had a good time," Richard agreed, smiling.
"Besides, we've definitely got to do it again when Evan is back," Wesley added. "He'll be super bummed to learn he missed it… especially Robert's epic performance."
"If you guys ever mention this again, I'll kill you," Robert said gruffly, but there was no heat to his words.
"It's getting late," Christy said with a sigh. "We should probably be heading off."
Giorgio glanced at the clock and was startled to find that it was past 2 am. How had it gotten so late?
As the others chatted and said their goodbyes, he leaned back and rested his head against Alan's sofa.
He'd had 3 glasses of wine in total, and his head was feeling a bit fuzzy.
Perhaps I'll just close my eyes for a moment…
As the other agents made their way back to their own apartments, Wesley hung back a bit.
"This really was a good idea, Giorgio," he commented.
Turning around, he saw Giorgio sitting on the floor, fast asleep with his head leaning back to lie on Alan's sofa.
"Hey Alan, looks like you've got a houseguest," Wesley said with a laugh, nudging his friend.
Stifling his own amusement, Alan walked over to where Giorgio was sitting and shook him by the shoulder.
"Giorgio, wake up," Alan said. "You should go to bed."
Giorgio shifted slightly, mumbling something incomprehensible as he buried his face in Alan's sofa cushion.
Alan shook him again, but Giorgio didn't seem inclined to wake anytime soon.
"Guess he's sleeping here tonight," Alan said, letting out a fond sigh.
Truth be told, Giorgio looked rather adorable while asleep, almost like he was a little kid, and Alan found himself wanting to ruffle his hair.
"Do you need me to give you a hand?" Wesley asked.
"No, I think I can handle him," Alan replied with a shake of the head. "Go get some sleep."
"Will do," Wesley agreed. "Goodnight, Alan."
As Wesley left the apartment, closing the door behind him, Alan carefully scooped Giorgio up, hoisting the younger agent onto his back.
"Jesus, you're heavy Giorgio," he muttered.
Taking some pity on Giorgio, Alan decided to let him have the bed, carrying him into the bedroom and depositing him on the mattress as gently as he could manage.
Then, he quietly pulled the blanket over Giorgio, covering him. Giorgio shifted a bit, snuggling deeper under the sheets, but otherwise didn't stir.
Alan watched Giorgio's slumbering form for a moment, then turned and walked away.
10 April 2014
7.45 am
As Giorgio's consciousness slowly returned, he became aware of a merciless throbbing sensation pounding through his head. Groaning, he shifted slightly, trying to find a more comfortable position.
Almost immediately, he regretted the movement as his splitting headache worsened tenfold. A soft whimper escaped him as he burrowed deeper under the warm blankets covering him, attempting to escape the harsh sunlight assaulting his still–closed eyelids.
Urgh… My head… Someone make it stop…
Gradually, he realised there was an odd, sour taste in his mouth. In conjunction with the killer headache he was currently experiencing, it wasn't difficult to guess how he'd ended up in this state.
How much did I drink last night?
Wincing as he cracked an eye open, Giorgio squinted at his surroundings through blurry vision.
He didn't recognise the room he was in. Though some of the objects scattered about the room looked vaguely familiar, he couldn't quite place where he'd seen them before.
It took a few moments for the realisation to hit him:
This wasn't his apartment.
…?! Where am I?!
Looking around, Giorgio spotted a photo frame on the bedside table next to him.
Picking it up, he saw that it was a photo of Alan and an older woman, probably his mother.
What am I doing in Alan's bed?!
Frantically looking around, Giorgio felt a small measure of relief as he confirmed that Alan wasn't actually in the bed with him, or anywhere in the apartment, as far as he could see.
Just then, he heard the apartment door swing open.
Curiously, Giorgio listened to the sound of quiet footsteps growing steadily louder as someone approached.
"Oh, you're awake. How are you feeling?" Alan asked in a mercifully soft voice.
"What am I doing in your bed?" Giorgio asked.
"What's the last thing you remember?" Alan asked in return.
Sifting through his hazy memories, Giorgio tried to think back to what he'd been doing the night before.
Missing Evan…
Drinking wine…
Guitar Hero…
His thoughts came screeching to a halt.
"Did we really play Guitar Hero with everyone, or was that just a dream?" Giorgio asked.
"No, that was real," Alan replied. "You fell asleep towards the end and I couldn't wake you, so I let you stay here. I slept on the sofa, obviously."
"How much did I have to drink?" Giorgio suppressed a groan, pressing a hand against his forehead. "My head is killing me."
"Only three glasses," Alan said with a soft laugh. "You really are a lightweight."
"Yeah yeah, laugh it up," Giorgio grumbled.
"Anyway, you were still fast asleep when I checked on you earlier, so I went to see if Wesley had any painkillers in his apartment," Alan explained. "Hold on a moment."
He disappeared into the kitchen, then returned shortly with a glass of water and two painkillers.
"Here, take these."
Accepting the pills, Giorgio swallowed them with a grimace.
Alan watched him with a critical eye as he drained the glass of water. "Are you alright?"
Giorgio shook his head slightly, then let out a hiss of pain as the movement sent a fresh wave of agony through his skull. With a low moan, he clutched at his throbbing forehead.
The older agent bit his lip, looking like he was trying not to laugh. "Just take it easy. I know your headache's pretty bad right now, but it'll pass soon enough."
"It had better," Giorgio muttered.
Thinking back, there was one other thing that he wasn't sure had been real…
"Wait, was Robert really singing at the end there, or did I dream that bit?"
This time, Alan did laugh. "He has a nice singing voice, doesn't he? He looked pretty embarrassed though."
"I guess he's just self–conscious about it," Giorgio said. "You know Robert's not the sort who likes to do stuff he thinks is silly or foolish. The fact that he actually agreed to sing at all is a miracle in itself."
"I suppose so," Alan replied. "Anyway, it's still early, so try to get a bit more sleep. That'll probably help with the rest of your hangover."
"That sounds good right about now," Giorgio said with a nod. "Thanks for looking after me, and sorry about stealing your bed."
Alan waved off his apology, and Giorgio left the apartment.
Later that afternoon
VSSE Cafeteria
The occupants of the Residential Wing were eating lunch together in a group when a cheerful voice called out from behind them.
"I'm back!" Evan announced, taking a seat beside Giorgio as he grinned at everyone.
"Evan!" Giorgio's face lit up.
He was on his third coffee and still nursing a hangover, but seeing his boyfriend again seemed to take away the worst of his lingering headache.
"How's your family?" Wesley asked.
"They're doing well," Evan replied cheerfully. "I'm glad I could see them again, even though I couldn't tell them much about what I've been up to. Managed to assure them I'm doing alright though."
An impish grin stole across his face at that moment. "Since I can't talk about work, they started asking me about my personal life instead… Such as whether I'm seeing anyone."
Giorgio promptly choked on his coffee, breaking out into a violent coughing fit as the others cracked up.
After a few moments, he managed to get himself under control. "Please tell me you didn't just blurt everything out."
"It was kinda difficult to keep myself from spilling the beans," Evan admitted with a laugh. "I decided I should probably talk to you about it first though."
"I mean, I can't exactly tell them how we met. Figured it would be safer to come up with a cover story together so we don't get confused."
He gave Giorgio a small smile. "But, I definitely want to introduce you to them someday."
Giorgio took another sip of his coffee, trying to hide his reddening face. From the older agents' amused expressions, it wasn't working.
"So, did you miss me?" Evan winked at Giorgio cheekily.
"Miss you? He was moping the whole week!" Alan chimed in before Giorgio could reply.
"Alan!" Giorgio hissed in alarm, looking like he wanted to sink into the ground.
With a laugh, Evan slipped an arm around Giorgio, planting a kiss on his cheek. "I missed you too, Gi."
Giorgio's blush deepened, but he smiled at Evan in return, pulling him in for a proper kiss amidst hoots and catcalls from the other agents.
"Get a room, you two!" Keith jokingly complained as they pulled apart.
"Already have one," Evan shot back, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"Oh God…" By this point, Giorgio's face was so red that he looked as though he was about to spontaneously combust.
"So, what were you guys up to when I was gone?" Evan asked.
"Oh yeah, you should hear what we did last night," Christy said with a grin.
Wesley began regaling Evan with their tale of epic Guitar Hero conquest, with the others chiming in at certain points to add more details.
"I can't believe I missed all of that," Evan complained.
"We'll have more impromptu game nights sometime in the future," Richard promised. "And then you can join in."
"You're still not allowed to sing though," Giorgio quickly interjected before Evan could say anything.
"Aw, boo." Evan pouted. "You're such a meanie, Gi."
Giorgio scoffed. "Trust me, everybody's ears will thank me for it."
"Hey Evan, if you want a taste of what it was like last night, I recorded a video of Robert singing," Rachel piped up with a wicked smile.
"You what?!" Robert shouted. "Rachel, I swear to God…"
As his friends laughed and bantered and argued, Giorgio found himself smiling too.
With his friends' gleeful laughter filling the air and his boyfriend by his side, he had never been happier.