Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The crowd, with all of Dwight and Angela’s family and friends erupted into a loud gradual crescendo of applause as they kissed in the knee deep holes they call their graves, officiating their marriage. Nate, who is standing beside a crate filled with doves, watching their kiss, opens the crate as the audience hushes down, expecting all the doves to fly away. However, is greatly disappointed when the doves lay still, and everyone, including Dwight and Angela, awkwardly stare at Nate. He quickly bats his arm at the doves to shoo them away, and they all scatter, not being as romantic as everyone had hoped for Dwight and Angela.

Nonetheless, Dwight is enthusiastic to move on from this awkwardness, and announces,

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for coming. Now- please take your hay bales to the reception, they’ll be used for seating. Complimentary hay hooks are placed along the aisles! Just stab them on in there.”

Everyone looks hesitant, slightly irritated, not expecting to have to carry their seats to reception. However, everyone just accepts it, just trying to be happy for the newly wed couple.

People start to try to pick up their hay bales using the hay hooks. Some are able to manage, others fail. One person begins to fall over, and the whole thing becomes a wretched mess. Andy, who is able to manage, starts to pick up his hay bale and walks over to Oscar carrying his bale, saying,

“Could the bride and groom really not afford separate seating at the reception? Or is this just another one of Dwight’s dumb German traditions?”

Oscar, who hasn’t been able to talk to Andy and start a conversation since the wedding began, looks at him with delight as he sees Andy approach him, and says,

“Well hello to you too Andy! And- don’t ask me- how on Earth should we know what goes through Dwight and that thick skull of his.”

Andy laughs at Oscar’s remark, still carrying his bale, and says,

“Right?!”

Andy and Oscar share a smile with each other as they carry their hay bales over to reception. Oscar tries to make some small talk, but he's feeling a little annoyed as the hay is pinching his fingers. He doesn’t want to get a sliver.

“So… Andy- how's the new job in Cornell? Everything you imagined it to be?”

“Well- uhm… I dunno Oscar… It’s- fine? I guess…”

Andy clearly sounds hesitant with his answer, which concerns Oscar a little.

“Well it doesn’t sound fine- tell me! What's going on?!”

Andy doesn’t answer. He doesn’t know how to answer, he needs time to think, but doesn’t want to let his awkward pause in conversation ruin the moment, so he says,

“Oh just- home sick of Scranton is all. Being back here just reminds me of the good old days- you know what I meeean man?”

Oscar can hear the weird tone in Andy’s voice, but doesn’t want to question Andy in fear of making him uncomfortable. He thinks back to the so-called “good old days” that Andy seems to miss, and remembers his time back when he was still working as an accountant. Oh how so much has changed. Dwight being the regional manager, and Angela being his wife! Kevin, Toby, Creed, and Stanley all being gone from the office, all the new replacements for them, Oscar working to be a senator, it's all quickly changing. He can’t help but smile when thinking about all the times when Dwight and Jim would prank each other, when Micheal would say the most absurd things, or when Andy was still his funny goofy self before he became the regional manager for that short period of time.

“Ah- the good old days. Takes me back alright! Really makes me wish I appreciated the time we shared before everything started to- y’know… change… Remember when you punched that hole in the wall? Man you hated that wall- Oh those were the times… I dunno- maybe this wedding is just making me sentimental.”

As Oscar says this, he then looks over to Andy, who seems to nearly be on the verge of tears. Oscar says,

“Pfft- do you always have to be so emotional?”

“How could I not cry- Oscar- when you make such a heartbreaking comment like that? *sniffle* Like jeez Martinez- You really got my waterworks going man.”

“And I thought I was getting sentimental-”

Andy and Oscar share a sweet moment together, Andy crying and Oscar teasing him as they walk with their hay bales together. They’re finally getting closer to the reception along with everyone else. Oscar tries to then re-shift the weight of the bale to make it easier for him to carry as his arms were getting a little tired, when suddenly, he lightly cuts his finger, getting a sliver.

“Ow! Goddamn it-”

Oscar winces in pain, the hay sliver deeply embedding itself into the side of Oscar’s index finger. Andy confused at what happened to Oscar, asks,

“Everything alright there buddy?”

“No everythings not fine- I cut myself on the hay. I think I have a sliver-... How do you even cut yourself with a pile of hay anyway?!”

Oscar quietly grunts as the hay sliver causes him an annoyance of pain. He knows it’ll be bothering him for probably the next few days. Andy then says,

“You want help getting it out? I always carry an extra pair of tweezers with me!”

“Andy- why on Earth do you carry an extra pair of tweezers with you- There is literally like no situation where you'd have to carry them around with you- except in my poor situation of course...”

“Because Oscar, when I was younger, me and my brother used to play around outside and me being the kid I was, and still am, wanted to climb to the tops of trees. And every single time I did, when I’d get down, I’d have so many splinters in the palms of my hands. My mother didn’t really care about me getting hurt of course, but she didn’t want me touching Walter Jr. with my splintered hands in case I scratched his perfect face, so she taught me how to use a tweezer, and told me to always carry one with me just in case. So that's why I carry tweezers with me everywhere I go now-”

Oscar quickly interrupts Andy, not letting him finish his story.

“Andy- just help me get the splinter out please! I don’t care about your backstory with your brother and mother and some stupid trees-, just give me your tweezers.”

Andy has a hurt look on his face as he listens to Oscar dismiss his story. However, wanting to help Oscar, he tries to shrug it off and puts his hay bale down to take out his tweezers and pass them to Oscar.

Oscar takes his tweezers and pulls out the splinter in his finger. There's a split second of pinching pain, but it swiftly passes, his skin feeling relief. This wedding is starting to get on Oscar’s nerves.

“I know I’m a big sucker for extravagant weddings- but this is borderline barren-”

“Hey now Osc- Don’t let a stupid little sliver ruin your mood-”

…

There's an awkward silence between Oscar and Andy as they finally reach the reception area with everyone else, carrying their hay bales. People start to find their seats, and music fills the air, specifically “Sweet Child of Mine” by Guns N’ Roses. Oscar, feeling annoyed by this whole wedding now, says,

“Listen Andy- uhm… It was nice talking to you, but-... I think I’m gonna drink my way out of this wedding… So- bye…”

Oscar leaves without even shaking Andy’s hand goodbye. He seems clearly annoyed, and Andy suspects it has more to do than just because of a stupid hay bale splinter. However, as bad as he feels for Oscar and as concerned as he is, he can’t help but feel hurt that Oscar doesn’t seem to even want to talk about it with Andy. He knows they aren’t best friends or anything, but he thought that their time in the office together over the years surely didn’t amount to nothing- right?!

Oscar walks over to a table with cups and beverages, searching for any kind of alcohol. Once he does, he pours himself some vodka, takes his hay bale and sits over by Kevin, who's sitting alone. Neither of them try to talk to each other, they just sit in silence, now watching the newly wed couple dance their hearts out on the dancefloor. Andy too tries to find a seat, but sadly all the tables seem to be filled except for one, which is all the way in the back. So, he goes and sits alone in the corner of the reception, furthest away from the married couple dancing. It’s hard to admit to himself that it's sad sitting with no one, but tries to put on a smile. After all, he shouldn’t be upset at his friend's wedding. “That would be selfish, Andrew Baines Bernard. No time to be upset-”, he thinks to himself.

However, he does feel upset. One of his closest friends doesn’t want anything to do with him, no one wants to sit with him, and he still hasn’t found love in his life. How can Andy expect to be happy at a wedding celebrating his old friends and their love when he feels miserable? He tries so hard to be happy for Dwight and Angela, and even puts on a really believable fake smile, but he wishes he could go back to the good old days, when he was with Erin. When he hadn’t messed everything up with her. When he was a good regional manager, and everyone loved him. When he was friends with Oscar, and could always weirdly be himself around him. When he and Tuna could joke around, or when he could just jam out with Kevin and Darryl down in the warehouse. Now, everyone seems to be moving on, and nobody seems to care about Andy Bernard anymore. “Maybe everyone would still care about me if I hadn’t done that stupid singing audition and made a laughing stock of myself, or ruined my career as a paper salesman…”, he thinks to himself. Andy is happy with his Cornell job as the Director of Admissions of course, but he was so much happier with everyone back in Scranton. He truly went from wishing he knew when the good days were happening, to wishing he could re-live the good old days all over again, and have it never end.

Andy’s mood is getting more sour by the minute, but all he can do is pretend to be fine. He's considering quietly leaving, hoping no one would notice him. He lifts his arms from the table, about to get up, when suddenly Michael comes down to sit by Andy.

“Hey Nard Dawg- Haven’t seen you in years!”

Andy can’t believe his eyes. He’d seen Michael earlier during the ceremony, but wasn't sure it was him. Michael’s’ gray hair had made him so unrecognizable, but now sitting up close by him, he could definitely see that it was Michael.

“M-Michael?!”

“Heya! Whatcha doin’ sitting alone man? That's not very like you- everything alright back at the office?”

“Oh… you didn’t hear Michael- I don’t work at Dunder Mifflin anymore. I’m over in Cornell- I got a job there…”

“What!?! You did!? Andy that's great- Oh! By the way- I saw your singing tape online. You were amazing man! Your singing voice is incredible- and those judges should be in jail, since it was a crime that they didn’t put you through to be a contestant.”

Andy is beyond flattered by Michael’s kind words of encouragement, and is eternally appreciative that finally someone came and talked to him.

“T-thanks Michael.”

Andy smiles at Michael, who seems to have changed. He's not as crazy back when he was working as regional manager, but he seems so happy.

“So- how's life with Holly? You guys get married and have kids yet- or?...”

“Why yes- me and Holly got married, and we’re living in Colorado. And, you won’t believe it. I have 4 kids with her! Me- 4 kids!! Can you believe it Andy?- I barely can!”

Andy is flabbergasted that Michael of all people, managed to be married, with 4 kids. He couldn’t believe his old boss had managed to be so successful and joyful with his life. It made Andy weirdly jealous that Michael managed to find happiness before him. Was Andy really that so far behind that even Michael could be the happiest and best version of himself before he could? Andy is starting to become envious of Michael. “Why can’t that be me?”, he thought to himself. However, he puts on a polite face and says,

“Really!? Oh man that must be so awesome- good for you Mike! I’m proud of you man!”

Michael and Andy smile, having a nice gentle moment with each other. Andy then asks,

“So- why isn’t Holly or your kids here with us?”

“Oh, just some family drama down in Colorado. Holly’s parents, you know? I thought maybe I should stay and help Holly, but she really insisted I be here with you guys.. She figured I could use a break, and that it would be good for me to come visit you all once again!”

“Well tell Holly that the Nard Dawg says Yello-!”

Michael laughs, glad to hear Andy sounding positive. But even Michael can feel something’s up with Andy. So, he asks concerningly,

“So, everything good with you? You get with Erin? Or-...”

…

Andy pauses, knowing Michael means well, and that there's pretty much no way he could’ve known his falling out with Erin was over a year ago. But it still hurts, knowing he and Erin probably won’t ever be together again, so he says,

“Actually, we split up a while ago…”

Andy frowns and looks down at the table, trying to hide his burning hot cheeks as to not reveal his embarrassment. Memories of his and Erin’s time together flood Andy’s poor head, only worsening his mood. He starts to tear up, but tries to cover his eyes so Michael can’t see, but Michael can clearly see him.

“Oh Andy- I’m sorry man… I had no idea-”

…

Both of them now sit in an awkward silence, unsure on how to move the conversation forwards. Michael feels bad for making Andy clearly relive memories he doesn’t want to relive. Michael feels uncomfortable now, and wants to leave Andy alone…

“So uh- I should probably go and have fun with the others. I- I hope it works out in the end for you man!”

Andy looks up at Michael, pausing his crying. He doesn’t want Michael to leave yet. The thought of having to pretend to be enjoying this wedding alone for the next few hours haunts Andy.

“Wait- Michael…”

“Hm?”

“I uh- got a question for you…”

“What's up Bernard-?”

Andy pauses, not really sure what he even wants to ask. He just doesn’t want Michael to leave the conversation yet. Andy thinks for about a minute, leaving Michael in an awkward silence, waiting for Andy to say something until he does speak.

“D- do you think- uhm… that- I could ever- you know… find love again?”

“Oh- jeez Andy. I-”

Michael doesn’t really know how to respond. He wants nothing more than for Andy to have confidence in himself. Michael never realized how much had changed since he left Dunder Mifflin, or realized how much Andy had fallen off.

“Andy- I uh- don’t know how to answer that…”

…

“So you think I can’t? Oh well that's just GREAT!”

Andy is trying very much so to restrain himself from getting too loud in order to not cause a scene, but his anger management issues are rising from the pit of his soul again. The thought of everything being so different and changing, never finding love, and being alone as an old aging man working at his old university is not the life Andy Bernard had envisioned for himself.

As Andy snaps a little at Michael, his waterworks once again begin to do their magic on him, and he tries to hide his head from everyone so they can't see him, but no one seems to be paying any attention to Andy anyway, too preoccupied by watching Dwight and Angela being so happy together. Except Michael of course, who is still sitting with Andy, concerned for his well being. Andy says,

“God- you must think I’m so selfish for crying at someone else’s wedding- *sniffles*”

Michael pauses as he takes in Andy’s words, trying to process them so he doesn’t blurt out anything stupid like he normally would’ve years ago.

“Andy- I don’t think you're selfish…”

Michael then places his hand on Andy’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. Andy begins to feel just a little more relaxed, but he's still silently sobbing, and covering his face. Michael continues.

“The fact that you’re- you’re even thinking that what you’re feeling is selfish, is so unselfish. If anyone is going to find love- its you pal. You are so- *admirrorable* Andy, so I hope you know that.”

Michael feels unsure of himself, wondering if what he said was useful or not. He wasn’t used to being in situations where he had to bring up someone's spirits. However, his words did make Andy feel better. So much better. It had been so long since someone comforted him like this… Andy finally lifts his head up to look at Michael, wiping the tears away from his eyes.

“Thanks Michael… I think I needed that-”

Andy smiles over at Michael, grateful for his insightful words.

“Also- did you mean admirable?”

“That's what I said, Andy!”

Andy laughs, knowing very well that isn’t what Michael said, but doesn’t question it any longer than he has to. Dwight and Angela’s solo dance finally ends, and they invite anyone who wants to dance along with them to go and join them.

“Oh- well that's my cue- been nice catching up with you Mr. Bernard!”

Michael leaves Andy at his table, and Andy doesn't try to hold Michael back this time. Their little talk left Andy in a much more positive mood. Andy then looks over at the dance floor to see Dwight and Angela, Jim and Pam, Phyllis and Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration, and Erin and Pete, and a few others all slowly waltzing romantically as couples. He feels a little jealous when he sees Erin so happy without him, but finally he accepts the fact that perhaps their story is over. Suddenly, he sees Michael attempting to do a moonwalk on the dance floor, which while he doesn’t look good doing it, everyone can appreciate the attempt.

A few others go up and join everyone on the dance floor, everyone now living the night away. Even Kevin managed to get a small little dance with Pam. The only two people who aren’t dancing at this point are Andy, still in his little corner, and Oscar, who seems to be a little drunk. He looks like he's miserable, and Andy is suspicious that something is going on with him. So, Andy gets up from his table, and takes a seat beside Oscar to see what the matter is.

“Hey man. Everything okay over here? I noticed you’re not dancing with everyone else and thought I should check up on you…”

…

Oscar doesn’t bother responding, he just ignores Andy. Something's up.

“Did I- like- annoy you with my tree story earlier? Because if I did I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to say anything harmful if that's the-”

Andy’s cut off by Oscar, who snaps at him.

“Can you just go away Andy?! I just CAN’T with any of your drama or unnecessary stories right now…”

Andy is very caught off guard by Oscar’s sudden shift in aggression. He wasn’t like this earlier. What could’ve happened? He can’t be this mad over a splinter.

“Actually- no Oscar I won’t be going away because I’m concerned for you, and I just want to help. So if you think that being cold to me is going to drive me away- you my friend are deeply mistaken.”

…

There's an awkward silence between them. Despite the loud romantic music playing, for both of them the sound of music is canceling out. Andy wants to know what's up with Oscar, and Oscar wasn’t expecting Andy to be so pushy about it. “Why does he have to be so annoying? Why should he care?” he thinks to himself. Oscar contemplates whether or not he should trouble Andy with his feelings, and decides it's none of Andy’s business.

“Well then, Andy… If you’re going to be difficult about it, then I’d say YOU’RE deeply mistaken for thinking this has ANYTHING TO DO WITH YOU.”

Oscar's tone is starting to get more aggressive, so much so that even a few people on the dance floor notice Oscar’s sudden shift in attitude. However, as Oscar snaps, he quickly quiets down, not wanting to cause a bigger scene than what's already transpiring.

Andy feels hurt as Oscar barks right in his face, but Andy doesn’t lose determination. He refuses to let Oscar push him away like this. He's already lost Erin, so he won’t lose one of his closer friends.

“I’m sorry Oscar, but I will sit here all day, I will be right beside you, and I will pester you until you tell me why you’re upset. If it isn’t my business, then too bad, because I’m making it my business. You’re my friend Oscar, and if you think that I won’t be there to help support you when you need it, then you clearly don’t know me…”

…

Both of them pause, not sure what to say now. Andy has made it firmly clear that he won’t back down. His words hit Oscar like he just got slapped by Pam. They hit harder than he expected them to. “Why is Andy being like this?” he thought to himself. He doesn’t know whether to be annoyed that Andy is so persistent, or appreciative that someone actually wants to help him. “Should I open up to him? Can I trust him? Should I trust him?” he keeps thinking. All of his thoughts, the sound of the music finally coming back to his ears, and Andy’s words spinning around his head like the eye of a hurricane. It starts to become a little overwhelming for Oscar. He can’t think straight anymore. Oscar’s eyes begin to water up, his face goes a pinkish-red. He tries to dig his face into his arms resting on the table to just hide himself from Andy and everyone. No one dancing seems to notice Oscar and Andy alone at their table. Andy, right beside Oscar, leans in closer and wraps his arm around Oscar in an attempt to be comforting. Oscar feels Andy’s side lean in slightly, their bodies touching. He feels Andy's warmth practically wrap around him, only making Oscar more nervous and upset, his thoughts running rampant. “Why does he have to be like this? Just leave me alone-” he thinks to himself. But Andy stays put. He doesn’t leave Oscar’s side whatsoever. Finally, Andy speaks again.

“I’m here for you man… just please tell me what's up- I want to know how to help-”

…

Oscar contemplates, listening to Andy’s sweet words. The genuineness in his voice, maybe he can trust Andy. He clearly isn’t going to back down, being the persistent man he is, so Oscar finally breaks.

“Andy- I-”

Oscar lifts his head off the table, revealing his face covered in his tears, his whole body shaking a little now. As he looks up, he looks into Andy’s beady blue eyes, before shoving his face into Andy’s shoulder, violently sobbing into it. He grips Andy into a hug, not wanting to let go of the one person who seems to even remotely care about him anymore. Andy, glad that Oscar is finally opening up, hugs back tighter to further comfort Oscar.

“This last year has been the worst Andy- *sobs*. Everything with Robert-...”

…

“He was the first- man- I ever loved Andy… and he just-”

Oscar continues to cry into Andy’s shoulder, leaving a wet stain on his beige blazer. Andy sees the problem now. Oscar is just like him. Doesn’t want to die alone, wants to find love, and is just as tired of all the change that's been happening in their lives. Andy weirdly relates to Oscar in this touching moment, so Andy finally speaks up.

“Shhh, it's okay Oscar- I understand now. The senator- I remember that day… with the tv broadcast and all. Is this why- you became a senator yourself? To- try to get back at him?”

Oscar can barely talk, still letting all his tears out on Andy. He just lightly nods while he lays in the comfort of Andy’s warm body, trying to calm his breathing down so he can properly respond to Andy. He lightly lifts himself off of Andy after a minute or so, recomposing himself, before he speaks again, this time in a much more quiet tone.

“He- he used me… He made me feel so- so good about myself… He made me feel like he loved me, and then tossed me to the side when he was finished… I thought becoming a- a senator would-”

…

Oscar pauses to think over his words, before continuing.

“I thought maybe if I stood my ground- showed that he can’t just throw me away- that he’d come back to me… But- he hasn’t… and it's just- this wedding- seeing Angela and Dwight so happy… It made me-... jealous?”

Oscar says that last part with some unsureness in his voice. “Oh god I must sound like a miserable monster-” he thinks to himself. The last thing he wants is Andy of all people to judge him. He doesn’t want Andy to think he's an unloveable selfish monster. Out of all his friendships in the office, he appreciated Andy’s the most. Sure, Angela was a good friend, but she was willing to break his kneecaps over a man she didn’t truly love. And while he could always somewhat rely on Pam, she was always so caught up with Jim, her kids, and her art that she didn’t pay too much attention to Oscar anyway. One of his only true friends was Andy, and he couldn’t bear to see him judge him the way he probably would now, he thought to himself.

However, Andy doesn't judge Oscar. He just looks at Oscar, with the sweetest smile on his face. Suddenly, Andy leans in and gently embraces Oscar into a hug again, and says quietly in his ear,

“I understand…”

In that moment, all of Oscar’s stress that had been building up over the course of such a long time, just swiftly washes away as he feels Andy’s body against his. “This is nice-” he thinks to himself. He likes the way Andy feels around him. “Oh god- don't think that-” he thinks to himself quickly after thinking that last thought. Andy speaks up again.

“You know Oscar- I get it. Everything you're feeling right now, the jealousy, the wishing it was you and not him, I get it.”

“R-really?”

Andy smiles at Oscar.

“Yeah… you know- when Erin left me- I was devastated. In a way- I still am… It's hard for me to see her with Plop over there. I wish all the time that it was me and not him. I don’t want to die alone, a saggy old man, and be known as the sad weird guy who failed at making a singing career at Cornell, y’know? Trust me, how you’re feeling with Robert- I know exactly what you’re going through…”

Oscar lights up to Andy’s kind spoken words, beyond appreciative that he now has someone he can somewhat relate to. His chest fills with a fuzzy warmness that envelopes him, his cheeks going red. Thankfully, it doesn’t show too much. He looks at Andy, who's tightly hugging him, and hugs back tighter, again. They stay in this hug for about a full minute, glad they opened up to each other, before breaking away.

“Thanks Andy- I uhm… didn’t know how much I needed that…”

“Of course Osc- I get it man. And- don’t worry. If you ever need to talk or vent- You can always talk to me.”

“Really? You sure? I don’t want to be a nuisance or anything-”

“Oh you couldn’t be a nuisance if you tried! Here- take my number. If you need to call- just call. It can be 3 in the morning- I don’t care. I’ll pick up!”

Andy then hands his business card to Oscar, with his number on it.

“Gee Andy- I uh-”

…

Oscar is at a bit of a loss for words. “Why is he being so nice to me?” he thinks to himself. He finally manages to finish his sentence.

“Thanks. Andy-... I uh- yeah- just- thank you…”

“Don’t sweat it man, this dawg’s got you covered for whatever you need, whenever you need!”

Andy and Oscar give each other sweet smiles, which basically say “thank you man”, and “no problem, thank you too!” No one seems to notice the emotional moment they’re having, except Michael. He was watching the entire time. He just smiles at both of them, who don’t notice Michael staring at them with a light grin on his face. He then looks away, happy they’re happy, and continues to do ridiculous dances that everyone finds amusing.

Both Andy and Oscar look over at the dance floor, watching everyone dance their hearts away, while the current song comes to an end. Everyone applauds at the end of the song, and then suddenly, “I Will Remember You” by Sarah Mclachlan starts playing. It’s Andy’s favourite song, he simply has to dance to this.

Andy quickly gets up from his table, jumps in front of Oscar, and says,

“Hey Osc- wanna take this dance with me?”

“M-me? You sure?

“More than sure! C’mon Oscar- it’ll be fun! And plus- no one is allowed to deny a dance with Andrew Baines Bernard when he asks. So now you have to.”

“Oh- fine… I’ll take this dance with you…”

Oscar rolls his eyes, and gets up from his table with the widest grin on his face. His heart is higher than the moon as he takes Andy’s hand, and they walk over to the dance floor together. “Am I really falling for him?” he says in his head.

As they approach everyone slow dancing, Andy takes the lead, holding Oscar’s hands, preparing to dance. In the background, the song plays, and Andy mouths the lyrics to the song. This makes Oscar chuckle quietly to himself. Now, to try to make conversation, Oscar brings up an old memory, hoping Andy will remember too…

“So Andy- is uhm… is this how you imagine your fantasies with Brad Pitt?”

Andy is confused by Oscar’s remark.

“Uhm- what?!”

“Remember- when you were freaking out all those years ago when you thought you might be gay? I’m asking if your fantasies with Brad Pitt ever consisted of slow dancing to romantic music like what we're doing now-...”

Oscar was just trying to make a funny joke. God he hopes he didn’t just make the moment awkward… Andy pauses to think for a minute, before saying,

“Oh my god- I can’t believe you remember that Osc- well to answer your question- while my fantasies never consist of dancing with Brad Pitt, I won’t deny I still have those fantasies…”

Andy says that in a joking manner to try and joke back to make the scene less awkward, but the worst part is, he actually wasn’t lying. He still fantasizes about Brad Pitt on the beach kissing him. “But that's normal- right?!...” he thinks to himself.

“Mhm- sure…” Oscar says with a sassy tone while giving Andy a sly look in a sarcastic manner.

**Remember the good times that we had?**

**I let them slip away from us when things got bad**

**How clearly I first saw you smilin' in the sun**

**Wanna feel your warmth upon me**

**I wanna be the one**

Andy and Oscar begin to sway back and forth, and side to side, slow dancing with everyone. Andy knows the song by heart, and with every foot step he makes, it's perfectly in sync with the song. Oscar can’t help but keep glancing into Andy’s eyes, his face, he just can’t stop staring away from Andy.

Andy doesn’t notice Oscar’s looks, and is just joyfully smiling as he's finally able to enjoy himself. Oscar wants to speak up.

“Thank you- Andy- Again. I think I needed this”

“Don’t mention it man. You’re my brother, and one of my closest friends. I’d do anything to help you feel better!”

**I'm so tired, but I can't sleep**

**Standin' on the edge of something much too deep**

**It's funny how we feel so much, but we cannot say a word**

**We are screaming inside, oh, we can't be heard**

Oscar can’t help but feel slightly hurt that Andy only sees him as a friend, which sours Oscar’s mood. But, he tries not to show it, not wanting Andy to have to give him another pep talk. He's happy enough just even being able to dance with Andy, in the embrace of his arms, held by his soft hands. Oscar is falling, falling hard, and Andy is completely oblivious to it all…

**Weep not for the memories…**

Chapter Text

The dancing has finally begun to die down as everyone begins to get tired. Dwight and Angela aren’t finished with their wedding of course. Dwight has an announcement.

“Everyone- may I have your attention please?”

Everyone sitting at their tables directs their attention at Dwight, wondering what he has to say.

“I would just like to say that your dinner entrees will be served to you in the next few minutes. So, I hope everyone likes roasted schwein, with beets!”

Jim, Pam, and a few others roll their eyes at the thought of having some of Dwight’s beets. Everyone hopes that perhaps the dessert will be the saving grace of the night. Dwight continues his monotone, dead serious announcement.

“For dessert, you will all be served beet honey tarts. You can thank my lovely darling wife for preparing this nice treat for all of you, so I expect everyone to thank her when you enjoy her wonderful dish! Okay thats all- you may resume any chatter amongst yourselves as dinner is served.”

People aren’t too put off by the sound of beet honey tarts for dessert. It actually sounds quite appetizing. Even Jim smirks, surprisingly surprised that Dwight might not ruin dinner, despite his obsession with beets.

Everyone begins to talk and get along with each other, whether it's catching up with people they haven’t seen in ages, or the hottest gossip that seems to make its way around to everyone. However, speaking of gossip, a stunning blonde woman, a similar height to Angela, enters the wedding reception and makes her way to Dwight. They both seem to know each other quite well, and no one seems to know who the woman could be. Suddenly, Dwight and the woman begin hugging, almost as if they haven’t seen each other in ages. Everyone tries to eavesdrop on their conversation.

“Oh it's so good to see you big brother- to think you're a married man now. I’m ever so sorry that I’m late! Jeb and I got caught in traffic. He's unpacking the truck as we speak- so he’ll be here any minute now.”

“Oh it's fine- don’t worry about being late Fannie- you’re both arriving just in time for what most people come to weddings for anyway- the food.”

Dwight and Fannie share a laugh, catching up with each other. Angela says hi to Fannie as well, only having met each other a few times since before the wedding. They both seem to get along well.

Everyone from the office, sitting at their tables, are so curious as to who this new Fannie character is. How was it possible to work with Dwight for so long, listen to all his rants about his family and heritage, and yet never know he had a sister.

The most enthralled by Fannie’s presence however is Andy, who seems to have a mild crush on her. Andy, sitting beside Oscar, says,

“Hey Osc- you think she's single?”

Oscar doesn’t want to give Andy the answer he wants, feeling a slight jealousy now that Andy’s attention is only on Fannie now. “She’s probably as psycho as Dwight if they’re from the same family” he thinks to himself. But he can’t let his emotions get the better of him now. Not when he and Andy had such gentle moments earlier. He doesn’t want to ruin Andy’s day, so he puts on his best supportive face on, and says,

“Oh- totally. Why- you gonna make a move on her?”

“I- I think so dude. I mean- just look at her! I mean I know you can’t see what I see- since- y’know… But you can agree that she's pretty right?!”

“Oh… uhm- definitely…”

Andy is totally going to make his move later. How could Fannie resist Andy’s weird charm? Oscar certainly couldn’t…

“But Andy- just keep in mind she’s from the same family as Dwight… Who knows what a weirdo she could be-”

“That's a fair thing to assume I guess Osc… but- how could someone as pretty as her be crazy?”

…

Oscar is practically screaming on the inside. He just wants to take Andy by the shoulders, shake him like crazy, and yell in his face “YOU’RE MAKING A MISTAKE!”. The thought of Andy being with anyone but himself pits in Oscar's stomach, as he tries to hold his emotions together. He hates Andy so much for having to have been so nice, sweet, and caring to him earlier. He almost wishes Andy hadn’t been such a good friend. Maybe then he wouldn’t be feeling like the world isn’t fair, and that the universe is secretly trying to torture Oscar. But he continues to try to be supportive, for Andy’s sake. Oscar says,

“Well- you should go talk to her when you get the chance!”

“You think so?!”

“Hey- all I can say is- you only live once…

Oscar then takes a deep breath in, before continuing to say,

“YOLO!”

…

The phrase “YOLO” has just never worked when Oscar says it. No matter how hard he tries to make it work. He just wants to curl up internally and die on the inside as the words roll off his tongue, practically coming out naturally. He couldn't have stopped it if he tried. Even Andy cringes on the inside as Oscar says that, but also finds it humorous that Oscar even tried the attempt.

“Did you actually just try to make YOLO a thing? Again?! When you know it just doesn't work when you say it like how you do?”

Oscar rolls his eyes, his face going beet red, this time it clearly being noticeable. He rolls his eyes, just wanting the situation he’s weirdly created to disappear.

“I wanted to kill myself as I said it… so I dont need you embarrassing me more than I already am- Just- go ask her out already. You know exactly the point I was trying to make-...”

Oscar smiles, thinking maybe his embarrassment is over- for now at least anyway. Andy also smiles, thankful that Oscar seems to think that shooting his shot with Fannie is a good idea.

“Alright then- wish me luck! Oh wait- luck is my second middle name! Well in that case- wish me that I find love this year!”

“You got it Andy!...”

Oscar wishes for Andy alright. He hopes that Andy finds love, just not with Fannie of course… Oscar and Andy once again share a nice little chuckle, enjoying their night at the wedding together.

“Alright Martinez… I got the plan all worked out. After dinner is served, I’ll find a way to make conversation with her…”

“Mhm… and how do you propose on doing that- Bernard?”

“I uh- Oh never mind that… You know what I mean- the moment will happen when I can introduce myself naturally… and then I can work my magic!”

Oscar’s heart only continues to sink more into his chest. Maybe he should just stop thinking about Andy this way. “It's not worth it… he clearly won’t ever feel that way for me, the way he feels for Fannie…” he says in his head. “God I’m so stupid…”

As Oscar continues to overthink in his head while pretending everything is fine, he isn’t prepared for when he suddenly sees Fannie approaching their table. He isn’t just imagining it in his head either. Fannie is looking straight at Oscar and Andy, walking directly in their direction. Andy, of course, is giddy out of his mind that Fannie is walking over towards them. “Oh- this is going to be so much easier than I thought!” Andy thinks to himself. He starts to think about how he’ll introduce himself. “Why hello elegant being- I’m Andrew Baines Bernard, but you may call me Andy!” No, too formal. “Whassgood? The names Andrew, but my dudes call me Andy.” Nah, too hip. “Why hello you beautiful thang? Wanna leave this dump and get a coffee later?” No way that's leaving Andy’s mouth. Way too straight to the point, and also a tad bit harsh, calling her brother's wedding a “dump”. Also- “thang”? Maybe this won’t be as easy as Andy first thought.

However, Andy doesn’t have much more time to think over his introduction, as Fannie is practically only 5 feet away from their table. “Uh oh- quick- what are you gonna say?” Andy thinking in his head. But he doesn’t even have time to answer that question. Fannie is now at their table, ready to introduce herself.

“Why hello! I’m Fannie, I’m Dwight's brother. I don’t believe I’ve met either of you two! Do you mind if I sit here? Dwight said the dinner will be served any minute, and I thought I might find a table that isn’t filled with too many people.”

Before Andy can introduce himself, Oscar introduces himself first. Oscar secretly wants for him to not get a chance to talk to Fannie that much, and is trying to do whatever he can as discreetly as possible to prevent them from talking, in a way so Andy doesn’t notice of course.

“Hey Fannie. I’m Oscar- Oscar Martinez. I think we may have met at your aunt’s funeral last year- Well anyway… It’s so great to finally get to talk to you!”

“No it's not, I hope she gets struck by lightning” he thinks to himself. Oscar puts on the fakest smile ever, and puts his hand forward to shake Fannie’s. “Oh god what if I’m being too harsh? What if Andy and Fannie are meant to be together- and I’m ruining everything with my selfish motives?!” Oscar is screaming in his head, panicking, not sure whether to ruin Andy’s chances, or be the bigger person and help Andy.

Fannie reaches over to shake Oscar’s hand, with a relaxed polite grin on her face. She then turns to Andy, and says with a beaming smile on her face,

“And who are you?”

Andy has a full on meltdown in his brain. He wasn’t ready to be talking to Fannie yet. He thought he’d at least have a few minutes, preferably hours, to prepare the perfect introduction. Not able to go back now however, he attempts to smoothly introduce himself. But he stumbles as the next few words that leave his mouth sound slurred, along with his voice cracking.

“Oh- I’m- uhm… A- An- Andrew… but uh- most- uh- like- do- uh- people- *gibberish*”

Andy is fumbling so hard, he can't finish his sentence, and has practically no hope of recovering. “GODDAMMIT!” he screams in his head. Now he probably has no chances with Fannie at all. Not after that embarrassment. Andy starts to think maybe he should just leave. He knows Oscar’s totally gonna be making fun of him the entire night, and he’d rather not deal with that. But to his dismay, Oscar does just the opposite. He quickly jumps into the conversation after Andy stumbles his words, and says,

“Oh- don’t mind him Fannie. His name is Andy- and he gets really nervous around pretty women…”

Oscar chose to help Andy, despite it going against his wants. “I need to be the bigger person,” he thinks to himself. Oscar looks over at Andy, and smiles towards him. Inside he hates himself, wishing Fannie would just go away, forever. But he knows what he did was for the best, and that Andy will appreciate it so much. Fannie speaks up,

“Oh- so you're saying Andy thinks I’m pretty hm?”

Fannie then looks over at Andy, who is still dumbfounded as to what's even going on. She looks into his eyes, and then shyly blushes while looking away for a second, before she says,

“Well- I must say I am flattered that you think I’m so pretty. So much in fact that you can barely speak! I presume you don’t normally stutter with all your words?”

Andy sees a door open, and it's all thanks to Oscar, he saved him. Now is his chance to save himself, and he certainly won’t waste this opportunity.

“You would be right in assuming so, m’lady…”

Andy then gives Fannie a sly smirk, clearly flirting. Oscar wants to die inside as he watches. He doesn’t know if he can handle any more of this cringey, gut wrenching, awkward flirting. Still, he's glad to have given Andy this chance, even if it's not what he wanted at all. Andy continues his conversation with Fannie,

“Here- take a seat beside me! I’d love to- uh- get to know you better, Fannie”

“Oh- please just call me Fan. I know its a weird name- but weird german families like mine always consist of people with peculiar names-”

“Oh- but I quite like your name, Fannie. It has a pretty ring to it!”

Andy is finally getting into his groove, his nervousness washing away more and more with each word that leaves his mouth. Fannie seems to like Andy’s little compliments. Meanwhile, Oscar is practically on the verge of digging his own grave, hoping he's buried alive. He can’t deal with the awkwardness. He knows that Andy and Fannie are going to hit it off while he becomes the third wheel that they barely talk to. The thought of Andy with anyone that isn’t him taunts Oscar. “I should probably just leave now… Andy won’t notice anyway…” he thinks to himself. Oscar sits there for about a full 20 minutes as they continue having a conversation without him before he finally decides it's time to leave. He starts to get up, and just as he thought, neither Andy or Fannie seem to notice. They’re too caught up in their own conversation now. Oscar’s heart breaks a little, and he slowly gets up, walks out of the reception and makes his way to his car, skipping dinner.

Oscar is now walking away, and Andy still hasn't noticed. Fannie has noticed however, but doesn’t think too much of it, thinking he probably just has to use a washroom or something. With each step Oscar takes, he hopes to hear Andy call out, saying “Hey- where are you going?”, or “Don’t leave Oscar!”, but nothing happens. No one calls over to Oscar to ask why he’s leaving. Not Angela. Not Dwight. Not Pam, and not Andy. No one calls for him at all, further making his mood worse. The thought that no one cares enough about Oscar to ask him why he's leaving early just hurts his heart. The thought that Andy doesn’t care enough, despite showing so much care for him earlier, breaks it…

As Oscar has now left the reception, no one seems to notice he's gone. Except for Michael. He looks over at Andy’s table, expecting to see Oscar with Andy as they were a few minutes ago, but instead Oscar’s presence has been replaced by Fannie’s. Realizing Oscar is gone, he gets slightly worried, and decides he should look for him. Michael gets up from his table where he is sitting with Jim, Pam, Erin, and Pete. As he gets up, Jim asks,

“Hey Michael- where you goin’ man? Dinner hasn’t been served yet-”

Michael comes up with a quick lie that hopefully Jim can accept.

“Oh- I just- have to uhm- use the men’s room. I’ll be back in a few minutes…”

Jim nods at Michael, and continues having the conversation he was having with Pam. Michael is in the clear to go search for Oscar. He starts to leave reception, heading in the direction of the parking lot, hoping he’ll be able to find him. “I’m not over thinking it right? He’s probably just in the washroom himself…” Michael tells himself. But he isn't sure. Like Andy earlier, he saw Oscar’s sour mood when he was getting drunk. All he hopes is that Oscar is alright.

As Michael leaves the reception, he enters the parking lot, hoping he sees Oscar. However, he can’t find him. “Oh where could he be?!” he says in his head.

Suddenly, a light tan coloured van lights up and begins to pull out of the lot, the person inside not seeming to notice Michael. Michael, hearing the engine of the car ignite, looks over at the van, and tries to see who the driver is. It's Oscar. Once he realises it's Oscar, he starts frantically waving his arms to get his attention, and starts yelling.

“STOP! STOP! HOLD UP!”

Oscar quickly glances in the direction of Michael’s loud commotion, and quickly slams his foot on the breaks. “What the hell is going on-?” he thinks in his head. Oscar then turns off the ignition and gets out of his car, confused as to what and why Michael is stopping him. He walks over to Michael, who's standing in an awkward position that looks like he doesn’t know what to do with arms, and says,

“Michael- why are you not at the reception eating dinner with the others? And why are you not letting me leave?”

“Oh- uhm…”

Michael takes an awkward silent pause, not knowing what exactly he wants to say. He just got really concerned when he saw Oscar was gone, and all he's thinking now is that he's glad he was concerned. Otherwise he wouldn’t have found Oscar trying to leave. Michael finally knows what to say and speaks up again.

“Why are you trying to leave? You’re just skipping dinner…”

“Answer my question first, Michael…”

Michael doesn’t want to answer, he just wants to know what's up with Oscar. But, to get answers out of him, he says,

“Because uh- I was concerned for you earlier man. A while ago you seemed kinda-... I don’t know- upset? And then after the dancing, I didn’t see you with Andy. So- I thought maybe something happened and I went to look for you…”

Oscar is caught off by Michaels honesty. But more importantly, he thinks to himself, “Was my mood really that obvious earlier?” However, before Oscar can respond, Michael says,

“Alright- I answered your question. Now answer mine. Why are you leaving?”

Oscar doesn’t want to tell Michael what's wrong. Why should he? He doesn’t consider Michael a friend, let alone a person he can trust and open up to. All the times Michael made fun of him, embarrassed him in front of his coworkers, or simply just annoyed him with his absurdity and inability to work in an office workspace, did not result in what Oscar considered a healthy work relationship, let alone a friendship. Then again, Michael was keen enough to notice his bad mood earlier. The only other person who had noticed was Andy, and he wasn’t here right now. He was too busy talking to Fannie, whom apparently Andy cared more for than his close friend of many years. That's what Oscar was feeling and thinking in his head anyway. Still, Michael’s current actions did not make up for all the wrongs he's done to Oscar. So, Oscar decides not to tell Michael a thing.

“None of your business. Now can you please get out of the way- I don’t wanna run you over like you did to poor old Meredith all those years ago”..

Michael is surprised Oscar still remembers that, but still wants to know what's wrong, being the nosy person Michael still is.

“Oh c’mon Oscar- you can tell me- c’mon man- we’re friends!-”

“Since when? When have we ever been friends- Michael?!”

Michael is flabbergasted when Oscar says this. “What does he mean when were we ever friends?! We’ve always been friends- haven't we?” he thinks to himself. Michael feels confused, unsure why Oscar is being like this. He doesn’t understand.

“Uhm- Oscar… we’ve been friends since like- forever!? Since you started working at Dunder Mifflin- since before I even became the regional manager- we’ve been friends since-”

Michael could go on forever, but doesn’t as he’s cut off by Oscar. Oscar has had enough of Michael’s words. He doesn’t care if Michael has changed since living with Holly, he just snaps at Michael as his jealousy of Fannie gets the better of him.

“No, Michael. We have never been friends. I don’t know why you thought we were friends considering the amount of times you treated me horribly. Whether it was making fun of my Spanish roots- or whatever. You never treated me equally. Never. And you think we were friends- Michael?! Are you actually that ignorant? That blind?”

Oscar is letting all the rage that's been building up inside him out. From the anger of his thoughts about Robert, to his jealousy of Dwight and Angela and their happiness, to his hatred for Fannie taking Andy away. He lets all of it out on Michael, and he isn’t even mad at Michael. He’s mad at Andy, for making him care today, and making him think he could have some weird chance, with his touchiness and caringness. Andy made Oscar begin to care, and then just ignored him. Oscar didn’t care if he's being irrational or over dramatic right now. His tone is starting to get more aggressive with each word that comes out of his mouth.

“The FACT that you would consider US friends is BEYOND baffling to me Michael. I mean FOR CRYING OUT LOUD- you gave me a literal dog toy as your going away gift. A HOMEMADE DOG TOY. I mean- did you even put any thought into it? Was that how much I meant to you? After working MY ass off for you for YEARS, and barely complaining, ever. I NEVER talked back or whined. I just dealt with your bullshit for years and NEVER said a word. Was THAT how much I meant to you?”

Michael is baffled by Oscar’s sudden shift in anger, not at all expecting for Oscar to have snapped at him like this.

“Oscar- you know the doll was just a joke- right…”

…

Michael tries to laugh it off, hoping Oscar gets it. But Oscar just quietly stares at Michael, taking in his words. Oscar doesn’t quite think it's a funny joke.

“A joke… it was a joke…”

Oscar almost passes out from the rage building up inside him. He just wants to put all his anger and blame all on Michael. He’s mad at everything. Robert, Fannie, Andy, Michael, Gil, anyone he can think of. He's mad at himself, the world, the universe, he doesn’t know who to put the blame on. He’s just mad about all his life decisions that he’s ever made, from being with Gil, to working for Dunder Mifflin. The fact that all his decisions in life have led to this moment. All the moments that led to his sad pitiful life that he’s stuck with now. Stuck as a single, unloveable, selfish monster who blames all his problems on everyone else because he can’t accept the fact that he won’t live the life he always imagined for himself. Happy, loved, and successful, with a man he loves, and a life he's proud of. Oscar continues to snap.

“OH MICHAEL- IT WAS A JOKE? Well now… I guess that makes it all better now, RIGHT?! Yes, I’m so sorry- I guess I just forgot to laugh at the joke- oh wait- BECAUSE IT WASN’T FUNNY MICHAEL. YOU MADE MY LIFE, MY TIME AT DUNDER MIFFLIN, A LIVING HELL. From the times you insulted my heritage, to the times you insulted me for being attracted to men, to the times you embarrassed me. YOU ALSO MADE SO MANY PEOPLE'S TIME AT DUNDER MIFFLIN HELL, NOT JUST MINE. We all together had to deal with some of your new bull shit- EVERY DAY. FOR YEARS. But did we ever complain? NO. Only Stanley did that. So- Michael, ask yourself this. ARE WE FRIENDS? I’ll give you the fast and simple answer. NO WE AREN’T. We were coworkers, and you were my boss. AND THAT'S ALL WE’LL EVER BE MICHAEL- BECAUSE YOU WERE AN AWFUL PERSON…”

Oscar finally stops his rant, finally all his anger somewhat leaving his body. However, as the rage leaves, a quick rush of guilt and regret quickly replaces the rage. He didn’t mean to snap so viscously as Michael. He wasn’t really mad at Michael in the first place, he was mad at everything else. However, the guilt really hits Oscar when he sees Michael’s mortified face, just silently staring at him.

Michael looks like he's been beaten to death, but with words. His eyes are wide open from the shock, still taking in all of Oscar’s cold words. “Was I really that bad of a boss?” he thinks to himself. “Was I that bad of a person? Am I still that person?” he keeps thinking. A tsunami of thoughts plague Michael’s mind, to the point where he almost can’t think anymore. He can’t overthink, he can’t not think, he just can’t. Can’t with the thought that perhaps every single word that left Oscar’s mouth is right, and that maybe he wasn’t as good of a boss as he thought he was. Not as good of a boss that Jim, Pam, or Dwight claimed him to be…

“Oh…” Michael mutters quietly…

Oscar can see the pain in Michaels eyes. He wishes now that he could take all the words he said back, or at least reword them. A part of Oscar thinks perhaps maybe everything he said was buried deep inside him, that was just waiting to resurface when it found a chance. However, even in that case, he wished he didn’t say them. Not now… Oscar can’t bear to see Michael with such sad eyes anymore, and says,

“Michael- I- I’m sorry- I didn’t mean any of that… It just came out…”

…

Michael doesn’t respond. He just looks down at the ground, his eyes filled with remorse. Oscar feels unbelievably evil and cruel now, seeing how much he’s hurt Michael with his words, nomatter if they were true or not. Michael, feeling horrible about himself, finally turns away from Oscar, wanting to get away from him. He just wants to return back to the reception, hoping the music or the voices of others might cheer him up. Whatever it is, he just wants to be away from Oscar, not wanting to see him anymore. Michael isn’t worried about whether or not Oscar is okay. Oscar made it perfectly clear that it's none of Michael’s business. He starts to walk away and as he does so, Oscar tries to catch up, yelling from behind,

“Michael- I’m sorry… I wasn't mad at you- I just…”

However, Michael doesn’t turn back. He heads back to the reception, feeling awful about himself, tears filling in his eyes. As the tears stand on the rim of his eyelids, his vision starts to get blurry, making it harder to find his table with Jim, Pam, Erin, and Pete.

At this point, Oscar knows there's no point in trying to catch up with Michael anymore. He broke Michael's heart, and Oscar can’t fix his relationship with Michael when he’s broken himself… Oscar just stands there in the parking lot, with the sun setting, giving the sky a stunning orange-blue-purple gradient… He stands there reflecting over everything that's just happened. However, the thought of everything he's done today doesn’t help him at all, so he finally just decides to get back into his van, and drive home. He slowly makes his way back to his car, gets in, and drives off, leaving the wedding. He sees through his window, everyone at their tables, the dinner finally being served out to everyone. He also gets a glimpse of Michael, who's made it back to his table. However, as he drives further away from the reception, everyone starts to get smaller, looking like tiny little ants until he can’t see them anymore. Oscar leaves the wedding completely now, hoping to forget his outburst with Michael. Hoping he can stop thinking about Andy, and just be happy for him now that he’ll probably be happy with Fannie. Hoping that he can leave everything behind, so he can forget it all…

Micheal finally makes it back to his table, but with his eyes looking teary. Jim, Pam, Erin, and Pete immediately notice this, and Pam asks Michael,

“Hey… Michael is everything okay?”

Michael, still not over Oscar’s words, just looks at Pam with an upsetting look, and says,

“Uhm… I- I’ll be alright…”

Michael doesn’t want to tell everyone what just occurred with himself and Oscar. He just wants to pretend like everything is okay, like nothing is wrong. Everyone sitting with Michael is heavily concerned for him, as Jim, Pam, Erin, and Pete all ask him questions.

Jim: “Is everything good man?”

Pam: “Michael come on- you’re not alright- tell us what's wrong!”

Erin: “Michael, if this has anything to do with Holly, I will kill her…”

Pete: “Who’s Holly?”

However, Michael ignores all four of them. He can’t think about anything except Oscar’s words now. They’re practically haunting him. Oscar’s words just won’t leave his head, because he knows everything he said was true. He did everything Oscar said he did, he just never thought of it the way Oscar did until now. Michael loses focus of everything, all of Jim, Pam, Erin, and Pete’s words just melting together now, not processing in his mind at all. He loses all focus, until from across his table, he overhears Andy say something.

“Hey Fannie- where’d Oscar go?”

Chapter Text

Andy quickly stands up from his table, wondering where Oscar could’ve gone. He didn’t even notice his absence, and he starts to get worried. Fannie speaks up.

“Andy- I saw him leave like 15 minutes ago. I thought he went to use the washroom or something- and I thought you noticed he left…”

“You noticed?!”

Andy starts to feel a pit form in his stomach. He can’t believe he didn’t notice Oscar leave, and that he let Fannie distract himself like this. Oscar had been gone for a full 15 minutes, and he hadn’t noticed. The single thought that he could forget Oscar like this made Andy feel horrible. All he wants to do now is go look for him. He asks Fannie,

“You said you saw him leave Fannie... Was he headed in the direction of the parking lot?”

“Yeah… but by now he's probably left- it's been 15 full minutes…”

“Crap…”

Andy still can’t believe himself. He feels like he’s committed an awful crime that he won't be forgiven for. He continues,

“You think I got time to go find him?”

“Andy- why are you so worried about him anyway- I’m sure he was just tired- you don’t have to go look for him-”

Andy just glares at Fannie, who is not at all understanding where he's coming from, and gets irritated as Fannie says that.

“Because- Fannie- I just need to find him as soon as I can…”

Andy pauses, his breath getting heavier. He feels so awfully guilty that he’s just forgotten Oscar. He just wants to be beside Oscar, to just be there with him. Andy doesn’t quite know or understand why, but he feels like his heart is going to rip out of his chest if he can’t find Oscar and apologize to him.

“Fannie- you think if I ran to my car right now, and tried to find him- I would?”

Fannie is about to give her response. However, before Fannie can answer, both Fannie and Andy hear a sad voice speak up.

“Don’t bother. He’s already left for good, and has- *sniffle* no intentions of speaking to anyone…”

Andy looks in the direction of the voice, also recognizing it at the same time. He glances over at Michael, who looks like he's on the verge of breaking out into a sobbing fit. Jim, Pam, Erin, and Pete, who are all sitting with Michael at his table are all trying to calm him down. Andy is confused as to why Michael’s so upset, but also suspects it could have to do with Oscar, since he mentioned his absence. With that thought in his head, Andy leaves Fannie at their table and heads over to Michael’s table hoping he can get some information. Andy asks,

“Hey- Michael you alright over there?”

Michael doesn’t respond. He just continues to sob dramatically at his table, others also beginning to notice his little dramatic scene. Most people just ignore Michael, thinking this is just another of his moments trying to be the center of attention, but don’t realize that Michael is actually hurt, with the only people who are actually worried being Jim, Pam, Erin, and Andy slightly. Andy cares about Michael’s feelings of course, but is still mainly worried about Oscar. He just can’t get him out of his mind, and he feels so terrible about the whole thing. He knows that Oscar was having such a bad day until earlier when they opened up to each other, and then he made Oscar the third wheel when Fannie came. Andy feels guilty, and he feels this pit in his stomach that won’t go away. He just knows he has to find Oscar. Andy tries to continue the conversation.

“Michael- you said Oscar’s left already- can you tell me where he went-?”

Michael, his eyes all puffy, pink, and bloodshot from the tears, glances over to see Andy’s hovering silhouette in front of him. He can’t see Andy exactly since his vision is blurred from the tears. Still the pain of Oscar’s words spinning around Michael’s head, doesn’t answer Andy’s question. He just slowly glances back, points in the direction the parking lot, and silently mumbles under his breath so that Andy, and everyone else can barely hear,

“I- he… we- uhm- Oscar- he- uh… doesn't- want to- talk…”

Andy just stares at Michael, wondering what on Earth happened to Michael and how Oscar fit into the picture of it all. His anxiety deepens. He glances back at Fannie, who's still sitting at their table, clueless about the unfolding drama, and then he turns back to Michael. His mind is racing and spinning at thousands of miles per minute. He needs to find Oscar, and he needs to find him quickly so that he can apologize for being such a bad friend. Andy then looks back at Fannie again, just thinking in his mind. “I have to find Oscar- I shouldn't have just ignored him like that. Oscar is so much more important than Fannie…”
If Andy was being honest himself, he didn’t even like Fannie that much. The little time they did talk together, he found out how boring she was, and peculiar too. Fannie was too much like Dwight- and the thought of having family dinners together with the Schrute’s for the holidays is not what Andy wanted. What Andy wanted was for Oscar to know he’d rather be with him than Fannie. He just wanted to be with Oscar. Andy finally makes up his mind on what he's going to do. He puts hand on Michael’s back, and whispers a quiet “thank you” to him, and then rushes over to Fannie.

“Hey- sorry Fannie, but I won’t be having dinner with you… I’m gonna go look for Oscar… I’m sorry…”

“What- Are you kidding me? But we were just starting to get along- and I like you Andy- Please… I’m sure he's fine- and even if he has left- why should it matter to you anyway?”

Andy doesn’t like Fannie anymore. She just doesn’t get it. He and Oscar have been close friends for years now, and they haven’t seen each other in so long since Andy left Scranton, and today he had a chance to connect with Oscar again, to rekindle their friendship, and he had blown it. Andy thinks back to earlier this evening when he and Oscar were slow dancing. God he wished he was back to being with his friend on the dance floor just living the night away, making memories. Memories he could take back with him to Cornell. His friendship with Oscar just reminded him so much of the good old days, and he missed the good old days so much.

“Fannie- just- go have your dinner at a different table-. I’m not going to be at this wedding without Oscar.”

Fannie looks almost offended that she's being left for some random guy. “I bet Andy’s gay anyway-” she thinks to herself in an aggressive tone. She then storms off to go find Jeb or Dwight so she can blow off some steam.

Now that Andy has broken off his little date, he leaves the reception to go find Oscar. With each step he takes getting closer to the parking lot, the more his chest begins to feel like it's going to suddenly jump out. The thought that Oscar is alone, being made a third wheel like he had done, having no one to share his feelings with when he needs it the most, when he isn’t over Robert, just breaks Andy’s heart. Andy regrets his decision of flirting with Fannie in the first place. He shouldn’t have been crushing on Fannie at all. “I’m at Dwight and Angela’s wedding- I shouldn’t have been focusing on my own love life- I should’ve just been happy for my friends… God- Oscar probably thinks I’m a selfish horny sex obsessed freak…” he thinks to himself. Andy, of course, isn’t completely aware of why Oscar really left.

Andy gets closer and closer to his truck, the anxiety and guilt all rushing to his head. As he approaches, his thoughts start to go rampant. “Am I even going to be able to find him? I’m probably too late-”. But he knows he has to at least try. He then reaches in his pocket to grab his keys, and his heart sinks as he does so. His keys aren’t in his pocket… Andy panics, confused as to why he doesn’t have his keys. All he knows is that the more time he wastes, the less likely he’ll catch up to Oscar.

He looks down at the ground, hoping maybe his keys just fell nearby, but the sky is darkening, and it's getting more difficult to see anything on the ground. His keys are nowhere to be found, which gives Andy a full on heart attack. “GODDAMMIT-” he says over and over again in his head. He quickly and frantically retraces his steps from the reception, still not finding his keys. His keys are missing, with no hope of finding them. Andy continues to retrace his steps until he's made his way back to Michael, and everyone at their table. He still can’t find his keys, and he looks over to where he was sitting with Fannie earlier, still no sign of them laying around. Pam can see the panic and urgency in Andy’s eyes, and says,

“Hey Andy- everything alright?”

Andy, in a focused state, barely processing what Pam asked, says in a bewildered tone, obviously not trying to be rude, but coming across as rude anyway, yells,

“NO- PAM EVERYTHINGS NOT FINE. I CAN’T FIND MY GODDAMN KEYS-”

…

Andy’s little outburst catches everyone a little off guard. Everyone knows Andy has anger issues, but they weren’t expecting this from him. Pam looks a little shook from Andy barking at her, and Jim won’t have Andy speaking to his wife like that.

“Hey- firstly- calm down Andy. Just take a breather alright? Secondly- apologize to Pam. We get somethings up, but don’t ever speak to her like that again- she doesn’t deserve it. Capiche?”

When Jim’s words hit Andy, he realizes how irrational he's being. He didn’t mean to be rude, just the thought of Oscar getting further and further away when he could be there for him is getting to Andy. He quickly feels a wave a guilt wash over him, and he says,

“Oh- Jim, Pam I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that- but- it's just…”

Andy is having trouble trying to find the right words. He just needs a way to get to Oscar, and fast. He says,

“I really need a car- like urgently. I would use my own car but I can’t find my keys and-”

As Andy says this, he's quickly interrupted by a soft voice he hasn’t heard in such a long time.

“I’ll drive you… whatever you need!”

Andy looks over in the direction of the voice, and sees Erin standing eagerly. She seems more than happy to help Andy, even after their rocky past. “Why would she want to help me?” he thinks to himself. Regardless, he’s grateful for the offer.

“Erin- I- thank you.”

Erin smiles at Andy, and nods, before quickly both of them rush to the parking lot together. Neither of them talk or question each other as they quickly rush to Erin’s car, but it isn’t weirdly awkward either. However, Andy can’t help but feel that the car ride is going to be very awkward, as neither of them have really talked in over a year… Especially not since the break up, and the awkward moments that followed it.

As they enter the parking lot, Erin grabs her keys and rushes towards her car, Andy following. She unlocks her car, and she yells,

“Get In! Quick!”

Andy and Erin quickly enter her car, and rush off, leaving the wedding. As Erin starts driving, both of them are too awkward to speak at first. Erin hasn’t spoken to Andy in forever, and is feeling uncomfortable, despite volunteering to help him in the first place. “Maybe this was a mistake-...” she thinks. But, she finally speaks up.

“So… Andy… what was the emergency you needed a car for anyway?-”

Andy pauses to look at Erin, who still seems to be her happy giddy self, like she was all those years ago. For a moment, he gets nostalgic, thinking about the times they shared, when they were happy, but then quickly remembers she asked a question.

“Oh- uhm… I think Oscar made Michael cry, and then he left the wedding. I just- I’m worried about him since- I’m pretty sure it's my fault he left…”

“How is it your fault?”

“That's- well.. it’s a long story…”

Andy and Erin pause, still feeling awkward, unsure on how to move the conversation forwards, while also not wanting to talk at the same time. But neither of them can’t not talk, they hate it when silence is louder than sound. Andy can’t handle the silence anymore. He has to speak up to make conversation somehow. Anything would be better than nothing.

“So- uh… How's life with Plop? You uh- guys still together?”

…

Erin is unsure how to answer. “Why does he care? Is he still going to try to win me back?” she thinks to herself. She doesn’t know if she can trust Andy, considering how he treated her and Pete’s relationship when she started dating him.

“Uhm- yeah…we are- and we're pretty happy together… What about you? You find anyone over in Cornell?”

“Uh- no not really… I haven’t really been dating anyone since we- you know…”

Andy and Erin once again, pause awkwardly. Erin continues to drive on, the reception out of sight now, with the sun setting lower across the horizon. Andy finally starts to calm down now that he's finally on his way to finding Oscar, and he un-tenses his muscles while looking out the window. He watches all the scenery with the faded green grass spanning across the countryside, staring at the trees and forests as they pass on by. He takes in a deep breath inhaling with his nose, when he notices it smells like pine in Erin’s car. He thinks it's just the outside at first. However, after a few minutes of silence as Erin keeps on driving, Andy’s nose starts to notice the pine smell getting stronger by the minute, until it's all Andy can focus on. It's weirdly bothering him. The pine smell is all Andy is noticing, and he can’t not talk about it anymore.

“Hey- Erin- why on Earth does your car smell so much like pine?”

Erin pauses, and then glances at Andy, before saying,

“Look behind you in the back seat…”

Andy adjusts his position in his seat so he can look into the back of the car. When he does, he notices a full box of air fresheners. “Ah- weird as always Erin” he thinks to himself, before smiling, and looking back at Erin.

“Erin- why do you have so many air fresheners in the back of your car?.,.”

Erin is hesitant to answer at first, but then says in a somewhat gleeful tone,

“When I get stressed or overthink, I like to think about my time in the orphanage… The pine smell makes it easier to remember it-. I remember the orphanage always had this nice pine smell that I always loved… Isn’t it nice?”

Andy is hesitant to answer, not wanting to sound rude. It's awkward enough already as it is.

“It’s- very strong…”

…

The awkwardness between Erin and Andy however is much stronger than the pine smell. Neither of them know how to naturally talk to each other anymore. Andy knows the magic they used to have is gone, but it still hurts, as the absence of conversation only further shows Andy how much he ruined things with Erin. He doesn’t care if they get back together anymore, he doesn’t love her anymore. All he wants now is for their friendship to not be left on a bad note. Not anymore. It’s been too long, and he finally speaks up, hoping the next few words that leave his mouth won’t be words he regrets saying.

“Erin- I have something- that I’ve been needing to say for a long time… I- need to it say now… because it's far too overdue… And- I should’ve said it before I left Dunder Mifflin, and I just- I… I need you to hear it…”

As Andy says this, Erin slows down the car. She's enticed by Andy’s words, and is curious as to what he has to say.

“What’s up?...”

Andy stops to think about what he wants to say to Erin, trying to be careful at what he has to say. This is probably one of his only chances he’s ever going to have to make things right with her. To finally say what he’s been needing to say for a very long time.

“Erin… I’m sorry.”

Erin glances at Andy, his words striking her heart. Andy continues, and Erin finally starts to look into Andy’s eyes.

“I- I’m sorry I didn’t say this sooner but- Erin I loved you… You know that right? I really did, but I had an awful way of showing it… I mean- we never loved each other at the same time- but when we finally did… I- I wasn’t the same Andy you had fallen in love with… I was different…”

Andy’s emotions are starting to lose control as more and more words start coming out of his mouth. His eyes start to get all teary, and his chest feels like it's been ripped out, but he continues, not done with his speech. Erin contently listens, her heart breaking a little more with each word.

“I- I didn’t notice how distant I was being with you… I mean- I honestly can’t believe I flew all the way to Florida to win you back, just to neglect you when you did come back… I didn’t think of it like that before, but my year at Cornell, and watching the whole documentary- It made me realize everything Erin…”

Andy’s tears start to roll down his face, down into his lap, leaving a small puddle on his pants. Erin, encapsulated by Andy’s words, stops the car. She can’t focus on driving, not when Andy is becoming emotional, and his words are starting to make her emotional too… Andy continues.

“You deserved better, better than what I could offer. So- I’m glad- *snifflie* that- good old Plop gave you what you needed… But- just know Erin- that you were… everything when I had you… You were my life- and no words can express to you how much I regret throwing my life away…”

Erin looks over at Andy who is bawling his eyes out at this point, but she says nothing. She knows Andy isn’t finished, and just wants to keep listening to what he has to say.

“You deserved better- So I’m glad you got better… and I’m beyond sorry for how I treated you and Plop when you guys *sniffle*... when you guys started dating… I- I was selfish… I just wish it didn’t take me a year to realize it… Erin- I’m saying this now because I don’t know if we're ever gonna see each other again after the wedding- so I had to tell you just how much you meant to me- and how much I regret losing you… Erin-...”

Andy takes in a final deep breath, before finishing his speech, saying,

“No words can describe how sorry I am…”

…

Andy finishes his speech, but he can’t look at Erin. He hasn't even noticed that the car stopped moving. His breath starts to become quicker, almost like he's hyperventilating. He wasn’t expecting to open up so much to Erin today, but he has, and he’s just glad he got to say everything he's ever wanted to say to her. The thought of Erin never knowing how much he regretted losing her just didn’t sit right with Andy. He needed this closure. Erin wasn’t expecting this from Andy either. But she’s beyond happy to be hearing him say this now. She’s also felt like she didn’t get closure from their relationship, and is just happy that Andy finally realized his mistakes. She glances over at Andy, who’s crying is starting to die down into quiet mumbles, and she puts her arm on Andy’s shoulder. Andy looks up, startled by Erin’s touch. His eyes are now all red and puffy like Michael’s earlier. She then leans in and wraps her arms around Andy, showing her forgiveness. After a year of regrets and overthinking, both of them finally got the closure they needed, the prior awkwardness fading away, almost as if it were never there. Erin finally speaks up while hugging Andy.

“I forgive you Andy… Truly… But I’m happy with Pete- and you know we could never be together again right?”

“No- *sniffle* I know that of course… I just needed to tell you that I won't- ever- forget how much you meant to me… But I am happy for you Erin- and when you can- tell Pete how lucky he is to have you… Don’t let him end up like me…”
Erin laughs, still hugging Andy. She’s happy that Andy isn’t jealous, or fuming with rage. He seems genuinely happy for Erin, and he is. Erin then asks,

“Friends? Again?”

“Yeah… Friends again…” Andy replies.

Andy smiles, finally starting to get his emotions under control. He wipes his puffy eyes, getting rid of the tears so he can finally see again. He then hugs Erin back, just happy to have his friend back. Andy finally notices that the car has stopped moving, and he remembers what he came out here to do in the first place. Find Oscar.

“Well- Erin uhm- we should probably get a move on right? Gotta find Oscar...”

“Oh- Right- I almost completely forgot!”

Andy and Erin break the hug, laughing a little, but then Erin pushes her foot on the gas, resuming their search for Oscar. Both of them no longer feel awkward now that they’ve finally been able to put the past in the past. They drive for about 5 minutes, catching up on what they’ve missed in each other's lives, the sun finally completely out of view, and the sky finally being almost pitch black, revealing the stars above. Andy looks out the window, watching the stars shining brightly, seeing their beauty. It gives him a sense of nostalgia, and he says,

“Man- the stars are so much more beautiful out here in the countryside! Why is that?”

“Oh- I’m pretty sure it's got something to do with gravity!”

Andy chuckles with a grin on his face, and then looks at Erin, thinking in his head “Man- she really hasn't changed…”. Andy continues looking at the stars, their bright light really catching his eyes, when he suddenly feels the car slowing down. He glances at Erin once again.

“Hey Erin… why are we slowing down?”

“Look!”

Erin then points to a tan coloured van that's stopped on the side of the road in front of them. She then comes to a complete stop a few feet behind the car. Andy’s heart sinks, as he thinks he knows who's probably in the van. Erin speaks up.

“You think that's Oscar?-”

“*Sighs* Yeah…”

“You want me to go with you?”

“No- Erin… If that is Oscar then I think I should help him. Just wait here…”

Erin nods, and watches as Andy unbuckles his seatbelt and leaves the car. He has a nervous look on his face, almost like he's scared at what he’s going to find. Andy is terrified. The last thing he wants to see is Oscar in that van resenting him. That thought frightens him, and pits in his stomach the more he inches closer to the van. He gets closer and closer until he sees through the front window, a driver covering his head on the steering wheel crying. It’s Oscar. When Andy realizes it's him, his heart breaks. He hates seeing Oscar like this, and almost starts crying again, but doesn't. Instead, he takes a minute to think, before knocking on Oscar’s car window.

The sound of knocking sends a shock through Oscar’s body, and he jumps up completely startled. He wasn’t expecting anyone out here in the countryside to start knocking on his car. With his vision blurry from the tears, he quickly wipes his eyes to see who's outside his car, and is once again startled when he sees Andy standing outside. “What on Earth is he doing out here? Why isn’t he back at reception?!” he thinks to himself. A million questions are now roaming in Oscar’s mind, but it's all disturbed when he hears Andy call out.

“Oscar, can you come out? I really need to talk to you…”

The sound of Andy’s voice pains Oscar, but he knows he can’t just ignore Andy, knowing how persistent he is. It's not worth trying to put up a fight with him, so Oscar slowly lifts himself up and gets out of his van to talk to Andy. Upon leaving his van, he’s quickly embraced into a hug by Andy unexpectedly. His hug is painfully tight, it's almost choking Oscar.

“Andy- you’re-”

“No… Oscar- I’m sorry…”

Andy loosens up his hug a little, but he doesn’t let go whatsoever. Erin is just patiently watching from her car, but Oscar hasn’t noticed her. Oscar is just so confused as to why Andy is out here, and how he found him.

“A-Andy, shouldn't you be at the reception with Fannie-? You’re missing dinner…”

“I don’t care about dinner Osc- I shouldn’t have ignored you like I did…”

“I- I wasn’t gone that long y’know… Besides- you were getting to know Fannie…”

Oscar feels bad that Andy is missing dinner with everyone else, all because he left. He hopes Michael didn’t tell everyone what happened, as Oscar feels horrible about it, his emotions were just unstable. He couldn’t handle seeing Andy with Fannie like that. Andy speaks up.

“I should’ve noticed you left Osc… I got caught up with Fannie and- I shouldn’t have. You’re far more important than her man! I’d rather hang out with you any day than be with her… And- please be honest- did I make you feel like a third wheel?-”

Oscar almost can’t believe Andy left his gorgeous date and free dinner just to say sorry to him. It makes him feel bad that Andy did all that just to find him and apologize.

“I mean- yeah I did a little… But what are you saying? You don’t like Fannie?”

“No way man! She was talking to me about her weird German traditions and they just- I didn’t like the thought of family dinners with her, her family, and Dwight… Plus… as pretty as she was- it just didn’t matter because she was so unbelievably boring!”

Oscar doesn’t believe what he’s hearing come out Andy’s mouth. He still can’t believe that Andy left because he was so concerned about him. It just doesn't make sense in Oscar’s mind. “Why would he be so concerned about me? It’s not like he loves me…” he thinks in his head. Oscar says,

“Okay- but even still. You couldn’t have been that worried for me that- you had to come all the way out here to find me just to tell me you’re sorry…”

“But I was that worried, Oscar…”

When Andy says that, his chest starts feeling all warm and fuzzy on the inside. He feels awful for abandoning his friend for some stupid girl, and would do anything for Oscar’s forgiveness. Oscar also feels a warmness in his chest when Andy says those sweet words. His ears almost don’t believe it, he feels like he’s dreaming and about to wake up any moment, but he doesn’t. He’s still outside in the dark with the stars shining brightly above him and Andy. Andy finally breaks his tight hug so he can look Oscar in the eyes, and says,

“When I realized you were gone, Osc, I almost had a heart attack. I mean earlier today you had told me everything about Robert- and I couldn’t with the thought that you opened up to me like that, and then I just ignored you, and made you a third wheel… I know how much you needed a friend to talk to…and I’m sorry for abandoning you…”

Oscar is genuinely shocked that Andy would be willing to be so apologetic like this. Andy’s persistence normally annoyed him, but he never thought his persistence would make him feel so cared for, so loved. Oscar’s feelings almost wanted to burst out of his chest right then and there, he wants to tell Andy how he feels, but he’s still too scared. The urge to resist spilling his guts almost makes Oscar pass out. He just keeps staring at Andy’s lips, and it's just too much for Oscar, feeling Andy’s warmth as they stand together closely against his car. But he doesn't pass out. He's somehow still able to keep himself together and speak.

“Andy- I… You have no idea how much you being here right now means to me… I shouldn’t have left like I did- I was being dramatic. I got into a weird fight with Michael and- oh he’s not taking it too badly I hope…”

“Actually Oscar… he was still crying when I left so… But- we all know how dramatic he is-”

“Yes but Andy- I think I maybe- took it too far?…”

Andy is confused. “Why and how would’ve Oscar taken in too far?” he asks himself. He then says,

“How could you have taken it too far?”

Oscar can’t admit to Andy that he was jealous of Fannie, or that he has genuine feelings for him. That would completely break his trust and friendship with Andy he thought to himself. No way he was taking that risk, not now. Oscar doesn’t know what to say. He just can’t tell Andy the real reason why he snapped at Michael. Oscar tries to make a quick lie, and fast.

“I- uh- was just upset is all… To be honest I wasn’t even mad at Michael… I was just getting overwhelmed by the wedding and with Robert- and- all that…”

Andy doesn’t quite believe Oscar when he says this. Oscar seems hesitant, almost like he doesn’t believe himself when he says that, but Andy doesn’t say anything about it. He’s just happy to be with Oscar now, but Andy still feels horrible for abandoning Oscar.

“Well everything that happened with Michael can be sorted out later… But I just want you to know- that I’m sorry I paid any attention to Fannie in the first place… Osc I-”

Andy’s cut off by Oscar before he can say another word.

“Andy- I’m not mad… I’m just happy you’re here now…”

Andy’s guiltiness fades into nothing as Oscar says that. He’s beyond grateful that Oscar is happy, but suddenly the thought that Oscar was crying in his car on the side of the road hits Andy’s mind. He asks,

“Hey Osc- why were you just on the side of the road?”

“Oh- I just- I couldn’t focus on driving… Everything from the fight with Michael- It just wasn’t safe for me to keep going- so…”

Andy gives a nod to Oscar, fully understanding him. Oscar smiles back at Andy, genuinely happy, and leans in to hug Andy once again, embracing his warmth. He doesn’t want to let go, and neither does Andy. Erin watches the both of them hugging each other, and thinks to herself, “Awe… they look cute together!”

The two men eventually finally let go of each other, and Oscar smiles, looking up at the stunning view the sky has to offer.

“Wow Andy- you see the stars? They’re so bright out here compared to the city!-”

“Yeah I did. I was talking about it with Erin actually…”

“Erin- she’s here?”

Andy point’s over to her truck behind Oscar’s van. Erin waves when Oscar’s attention is on her, and he nervously waves back, feeling bad that now Erin’s been dragged away from the reception too.

“Well- Andy… thank you for coming to check up on me- really… but you and Erin should head back- You’ve already missed dinner because of me- I wouldn’t want you to miss dessert either…”

“Oh c’mon Oscar don’t speak nonsense. Erin can head back if she wants but I’m not leaving you to go home alone. Besides, I couldn’t find my keys so I basically can’t drive my car home anyway. I wouldn’t want to ask someone else for a ride home other than you…”

Oscar nearly blushes at the thought of Andy not wanting to leave him, but pushes his romantic thoughts out of his mind so he can think properly.

“Well- alright. Tell Erin she can go then…”

Andy quickly rushes over to Erin’s truck, informing her that she’s free to go back to the wedding. She’s more than happy to have been able to help Andy out, and is in an overall better mood now having the closure she needed with Andy. Erin drives off, leaving Andy and Oscar alone beside Oscar’s van, underneath the beauty of the sky’s lights, shimmering a shiny yellow across the countryside. Oscar doesn’t quite know what to do now that he’s alone with Andy, so he asks,

“So- do you just wanna go back home, or find a motel- or go to a restaurant for dinner?”
“Actually Martinez- I think I got a better idea in mind…”

Chapter Text

Andy suddenly begins walking out into the vast field of long wild grass in the pitch dark of night, the only light being the shining stars above. Oscar is wildly confused, “What the hell is he doing?!” he thinks to himself. Yet Andy keeps going, still walking farther out into the field, and Oscar starts getting concerned. He calls out.

“Andy- what are you doing- get back here before you hurt yourself!”

But Andy turns back, bewildered by Oscar’s concern, and yells back,

“C’mon Oscar- follow me! It’ll be fun I promise!”

Oscar is genuinely concerned for Andy’s mental health right now. “Is he crazy or something?” he continues thinking. But Andy is the most persistent son of a gun he knows, so he hesitantly starts following Andy into the quiet, yet ambient field. As Oscar walks further away from the road and his car, a warm breeze blows through the grass, giving the field an element of beauty he hadn’t expected. “What is he up to?” he says in his head. He eventually catches up to Andy, and the two men walk beside each other, hands almost touching. Oscar doesn't understand what Andy is doing at all, but he suspects he has some weird plan. Andy finally speaks up again.

“Stop. Here’s perfect.”

Oscar stares at Andy for a few seconds, lifts his eyebrow out of confusion, and says,

“What’s perfect?”

Andy then begins to crouch down, and slowly starts to lay down on the grass, looking up at the vast sky which seems to stretch out for forever, never seeming to end.

“Come- lay down with me Osc.”

Oscar still doesn’t get what Andy’s doing. “He isn’t gonna Jeffrey Dahmer me- right? “ he thinks to himself. A million thoughts rush into his head, but he ignores them, and reluctantly gets down on his back laying down, while looking up at the trillions of stars above them. Oscar wants to know why Andy thought lying down on the pinching grass was a good idea, so he finally asks,

“Andy- what are we doing? I'm like- completely lost…”

Andy glances over at Oscars laying beside him, their sides almost close enough to be touching but just barely not, grins at Oscar who has a visible look of both terrified and skepticism in his eyes. Oscar looks back at Andy, who has the opposite feelings in his eyes. His eyes scream a weird calm, filled with wonder. Andy’s smile widens before saying,

“You, my friend, are stargazing, with your man, the Nard Dawg.”

“Okay… that's nice and all- but… why exactly?”

“Because Osc- I’m tired of all this stupid wedding business. Don’t get me wrong- I’m happy for Dwight and Angela, but I just got the sense we were both getting tired of them…” I just figured we could both use a moment to relax-”

“Well for once- you’d be right-”

The two men laugh a little, both starting to enjoy the moment. Oscar inches a little closer beside Andy’s body, the warmth of their bodies practically being against each other, being noticeable to both of them. Andy continues.

“Besides- have you really never just- took the time to appreciate the world around us? Or stared at the stars like we are now? I mean it's so easy to get lost in the endlessness of it… Isn’t it relaxing?”

“Nothing is relaxing about the pinching grass on my back- but I guess I do have to admit watching the stars is- okay.”

The weird hesitance Oscar was feeling when he first laid down on the grass begins to fade as he gets used to being so close to Andy while watching the twinkling stars. Being so close to Andy makes his heart want to fly away, but he keeps his thoughts from wandering too far, not wanting this to all just end in disappointment. Oscar catches a few glimpses of Andy smiling, before Andy says,

“Osc- you know why I appreciate the stars so much?”

“No… but you clearly want to tell me why so now you have to-”

Andy quietly giggles to himself knowing he was asking for that, but continues.

“When I was the regional manager back in Scranton, and I went on that three month long boat trip- well I think it was clear how crazy I was getting… and Osc- There were- alot of sleepless nights…”

Oscar finally fully turns his head to look at Andy, his eyes not looking as filled with wonder as they did before. It’s been replaced with a feeling of reminiscence, but he’s still smiling, taking in the stunning view. Andy continues his speech.

“The stars are so much prettier out on the ocean- because the stars reflect over the waving waters. It made being out at sea during the night a lot less scary. Being surrounded by the billions of little lights, both in the sky, and the water… It made my feelings of craziness just go away- y’know? I thought maybe you needed this- considering how crazy things have been.”

Andy’s words touch Oscar in a way that makes him feel sentimental. He really wasn’t expecting such poetic words from Andy. However, taking in his story, he can’t help but laugh. Oscar starts bursting out laughing, the air in his lungs leaving faster than he can breathe in, making his stomach hurt immensely from the laughter. He sounds like a tea kettle on the brink of boiling, but his laughter confuses Andy, who isn’t sure what Oscar finds so funny.

“Uhm- Oscar- why are you laughing…”

Oscar almost can’t speak, the laughter taking control of him and his thoughts. He’s just barely able to talk while laughing at the same time.

“You- you- so let me get this straight… You- Andrew Bernard- were scared of the dark- and the stars basically acted like your *whittle* nightlights?!”

Oscar at this point can’t stop his laughter, it's all too much for him. His stomach is fully in pain from laughing too hard, but he doesn’t care. He finds Andy’s fear of the dark and making fun of him for it humorous. Andy suddenly gets embarrassed realizing Oscar is teasing him, which makes his face go red. He gets flustered, and doesn’t quite know what to say.

“I- you- SHUT UP!”

Andy then dramatically turns around to face away from Oscar, fuming with rage, while at the same time trying to hide his blushing face filled with embarrassment. Oscar doesn’t notice this however, he’s too busy laughing his ass off. He laughs so hard tears actually start to form in his eyes. When his laughter finally subsides and he’s able to catch his breath, he sees Andy practically curled up in a little ball trying to hide his embarrassed self. Oscar nudges Andy’s shoulder and says,

“Oh c’mon Andy I was just teasing! Then again- being afraid of the dark at your age is- unexpected…”

Oscar lets out a quiet little snicker, he can’t help himself. Andy finally turns himself around and glares at Oscar in a somewhat playful manner before saying,

“Well- for your information Martinez, it wasn’t the dark I was afraid of- it was- being alone out at sea… totally… But go ahead! Mock the Nard Dawg. See if I ever reveal my secrets to you ever again…”

“You’re deepest, DARKEST secrets?”

Oscar can’t help but resume his laughter again, the whole situation getting the best of him. That pain in his stomach as he laughs returns again, which only makes him laugh harder, leaving more tears in his eyes. Andy rolls his eyes hoping Oscar will stop laughing, otherwise he might crack up too. Oscar’s laugh was contagious like a yawn. Andy responds.

“Alright- get it out of your system. Laugh it up all you want Osc- but I bet you’re not Mr. Fearless either. I bet that you have some secret fear that's even worse than being afraid of the dark-”

Oscar continues laughing, but it calms down so he can properly respond to Andy, and in a snarky sarcastic tone, he says,

“Mhm- and- and what would that fear be Andy-?”

“Uh… Well I dunno… Maybe- you have some weird irrational fear of chickens- or… something-?”

Oscar suddenly pauses his laughter fully now, caught off guard by the absurdity of Andy’s statement.

“Really- chickens are your best guess?”

“Well I mean- to be fair- chickens are unpredictable… I mean those beaks of theirs…”

“Oh god Andy- don’t tell me your afraid of chickens too-”

“THEIR BEAKS ARE MENACING OSCAR!-”

…

Oscar pauses as Andy accidentally admits his irrational fear of chickens, the two of them now sitting up on the pinching grass. “The dark- chickens- what else is Andy afraid of-?” he thinks to himself. The thought of the dark and chickens being Andy’s greatest fears once again starts to make Oscar laugh, this time the hardest he's laughed yet. Tears begin streaking down Oscar’s face, and his stomach is in actual agony as he loses his breath from his infectious laughter. This time however, Andy can’t help but laugh back as well. The ridiculousness of this scenario, sitting under the stars in an empty field, talking about his greatest fears, makes Andy laugh back in an almost uncontrollable manner, similar to Oscar’s. As the two men laugh together now, their voices echo across the silent open field, the only things listening being the little crickets chirping. Eventually, once their laughter dies down, they lay back down on their backs on top of the pinching grass, still close enough for them to feel the radiating warmth of their bodies. Oscar wipes away the tears on his face as they both catch their breath, and he says,

“Thanks Andy… I needed a good laugh today.”

“Anytime Osc- the Nard Dawg’s only other best talent apart from music is- well obviously comedy. For I am one of the funniest people you will ever meet!

‘Alright now- don't push your luck-”

Oscar chuckles quietly, finally appreciating this weird idea of Andy’s to stargaze. Watching the stars beside him, it really calms Oscar. It’s the first time Oscar has truly felt calm in over a year. His chest started feeling all warm and fuzzy again as he laid beside Andy, his thoughts wondering at what could be, but knowing fully well it could never happen. Nothing ever worked out for Oscar the way he wanted it to, it always ended with him getting his hopes up like he did with Robert, just for it to all come crashing down and be pointless. He couldn't get his hopes up, not now. Not even when he’s in possibly one of the most romantic situations he’s ever been in his life, he couldn’t do that to Andy, or himself. But all of Oscar’s thoughts and self loathing end when Andy suddenly starts humming a tune. It's quiet at first, and unrecognizable. The humming catches Oscar off guard, and he doesn’t recognize the melody. Still, Oscar contently listens to Andy’s humming, his voice for once not sounding like a dying dog. His voice is soothing. Andy isn’t trying to be impressive with his voice like he usually does, he’s just humming a pleasant tune and it sounds unusually good. As Andy gets more confident in his humming since Oscar hasn’t told him to shut up, he starts singing the words to the song he's singing.

**“I will remember you-”**

Instantly, Oscar recognizes the song faster than his heart could beat. “Of course he’s singing this song-” he says in his head. Why should he be shocked? Andy has a weird obsession with this song.

**“Will you remember me?-”**

As Andy continues singing with his eyes closed shut, just embracing the song, Oscar can’t help but join in. I mean how couldn’t he? As he joins in, the blend of their voices together create a harmonious, yet unexpected melody, the lyrics resonating within them both.

**“Don’t let your life pass you by…”**

Suddenly, Andy stands up while singing, and Oscar pauses for a moment, wondering what he’s doing. As Andy is now on his feet, he takes a look at Oscar, before he reaches his hand out just like he did at the wedding earlier, hinting that he wants to dance. Oscar is stunned that he wants to dance again, but he won’t deny this offer of course. Oscar swiftly gets off his back and leaps forward to grab Andy’s hand.

**“Weep not for the memories.”**

Oscar grabs and holds Andy’s hand as he gets up, now on his feet, and they both slowly get in position to slow dance underneath the starlit sky along the breezy grassy field. Oscar stops singing with Andy, too focused on the dancing, but Andy doesn’t mind. He's happy to be having fun. Although, he does think it’s a little weird to be dancing like this, as it's heavily romantic, especially just for friends to be doing. “This is totally something Tuna and Pam would do!” he thinks to himself. But he knows how much Oscar is enjoying it, how much it's getting his mind off Robert. Plus, he’d rather be dancing with Oscar than Fannie any day, so all in all, it's a win/win. Of course, Oscar doesn't see it the way Andy sees it. He tries so hard to convince himself it’s just Andy being nice, and that Andy is too oblivious to see how weirdly romantic this is, but his thoughts and feelings are getting the better of him.

**“Remember the good times that we had? I let them slip away from us when things go bad…”**

The two men continue to waltz from side to side, left to right, north to south, and east to west. Just any direction they dance is filled with grace and beauty. The warmth of their bodies so close together makes Oscar feel dizzy, in a good manner of course. He doesn’t want this to end, it’s the happiest he’s been since he was with Robert. If Oscar could genuinely wish for anything, it would be for this moment to last forever.

**“How clearly I first saw you smilin’ in the sun, wanna feel your warmth upon me, I wanna be the one.”**

Andy takes in a final breath, before pausing his singing. He doesn’t stop dancing with Oscar however, he just stops singing, which disappoints Oscar. “Oh god- it’s ending isn’t it…” he thinks to himself. His heart sinks and his mind runs rampant. “Did I do something wrong?- Why did he stop- oh god…”. Oscar speaks up.

“Uhm- why’d you stop? Something… wrong?-”

Both Oscar and Andy have a troubled look on their faces. Oscar’s afraid he’s done something to upset Andy, while Andy is clearly thinking about something else. Andy finally responds.

“Osc- I- uh- I gotta ask you something…”

Oscar’s heart fully sinks into his stomach this time, filled with anxiety and anticipation at the same time, not a very good combination. He hopes Andy will just confess his undying love, but just can’t get his hopes up.

“Shoot…”

Andy doesn’t have a sense of wonder in his eyes at all anymore, instead his eyes just look sad, and it’s killing Oscar that Andy won’t just spit out the words already. It’s all making him inpatient, but he tries to hide it.

“Oscar… I don’t want tonight to be our last night together…”

Oscar’s eyes widen like he’s just seen something he shouldn’t have seen. Andy’s feet stop moving, the two of them stop dancing now, and Oscar takes a step back away from Andy, not sure what he meant with those words.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Andy looks upset now, he looks like he’s realized something, like he’s had a midlife crisis, but just slightly less extreme.

“It means- Oscar, that- when are we ever going to hang out again? Like really… I mean- I’m over in New York because of Cornell and your back in Scranton… I don’t want this to be the last time we hang out- but how could we be friends that hang out with each other? Like actual friends- I mean how could we realistically find the time in our busy days and schedules… I mean you’re a senator and I’m a director of admissions… it’s just- I don’t know… Am I overthinking it?”

Oscar doesn’t reply at first, too stunned from Andy’s unexpected speech. “God why does this man make EVERYTHING so much more difficult than they have to be?” he says in his head. Andy anxiously awaits a reply from Oscar, not getting any feelings or emotions from his eyes, which only makes Andy more anxious. Oscar takes a deep breath before saying,

“Andy- I didn’t realize you’d care so much about our- friendship… about us hanging out again…”

“Well- I do man… I don’t know- today- I’ve just- felt different than how I usually feel? And- it’s confusing… And all I know is that I wanna hang out with you more.”

Oscar’s heart can’t take much more of Andy’s words anymore, it might break if Andy keeps going. He’s blushing and he can’t hold it back or hide it, but he’s beyond grateful that it’s dark out so Andy can’t notice. Still, his cheeks are burning, and he almost doesn’t want to keep listening to Andy. Andy continues.

“I mean- you can’t deny that we always have a blast when we hang out together…”

“I mean- yeah I guess we do-”

“Then is it so wrong that I want to keep hanging out with my friend? To keep having fun nights like this?”

Andy doesn’t know why, but he just doesn’t want to lose Oscar. He doesn’t understand it, it's just a feeling in his chest, and a thought that keeps repeating in his head that's saying “you’ll regret losing him.” It scares him.

“Andy- you know it’s more complicated than that. I mean for one thing- we live over 2 hours away from each other- you know that… Besides- it’s not like we’re gonna move to a different city just so we can occasionally have a coffee together… We have different lives man- and while this has been fun- maybe it’s time to accept the fact that we probably won’t seem much of each other anymore…”

Oscar’s heart completely shatters as he says those painful words. He didn’t want to say it, but he had to. He can’t let Andy go further with the conversation- otherwise he’d just become more persistent, and then someone might say something they’ll regret. What he did was for the best he told himself. To try to end their friendship on a good note, to let Andy know he’s appreciated, but that they can’t be in eachothers lives forever. “I mean for god's sake we're just friends…” he says aggressively in his head. However, Andy isn’t done. He speaks again.

“Okay but- y’know you were one of my closest buddies when we worked at Dunder Mifflin right- Like now- When I think of my old pals- I don’t think of my acapela group anymore… I think of Tuna, Darryl, Kevin, and you… And I mean- Tuna and Darryl went off to start a company- Kevin- well lets be honest… As loveable as he is- it’s very easy to get tired of him… And there's no chance of me and Erin anymore- so all I really have left is you man…”

“Yeah- but Andy- change is inevitable in life and sometimes we just have to accept that. I mean- I’m a senator- I’m going to meet new people- make new friends… maybe even- I don’t know… perhaps I’ll find a- nice… man… to- spend my life with… And you- you work at a university- you’ll meet tons of young women! I’m sorry Andy- but Dunder Mifflin can’t be with you forever… we all have to find our own paths eventually…”

Oscar sounds defeated when he says this. He doesn’t want to believe a single word he said, making new friends, or finding a new man. Oscar has fallen head over heels for Andy, but it just could never work out. Their lives have grown too far apart, and unless by some miracle of fate, the universe decided to give Oscar Martinez a win, then it should’ve been earlier. A year earlier, when there might’ve been a realistic chance. Then again, what's realistic about a gay man falling in love with a straight man, and them living happily ever after? Andy doesn’t give up in this conversation however, being the persistent man he is.

“Oscar- I’ve been working at Cornell for a year- and I’ve met no one… If change is something that's inevitable then- then I’ll- quit.”

“Andy- you’re not gonna quit. The last time you quit a job with haste, you nearly ruined your career. Why are you being this dramatic- we’re just friends Andy… And if we never talk or hang out again, then we have memories that we can remember fondly right?”

Andy doesn’t like that answer however.

“Well- what if- I got my job in Scranton back?”

“Andy- just stop it already. Your job pays more at Cornell than it ever did at Dunder Mifflin. Besides- Dwight wouldn’t even give you a chance at possibly being hired. You know how he is… You were one of the worst salesmen- and an even worse regional manager. You really think he’d give you a job?”

Oscar is starting to get upset with Andy’s persistence again. Sometimes being like Andy has its benefits, but not this time. He hates that Andy has to make this so difficult, he just wishes he would shut up and listen to him. But Andy still doesn’t stop.

“Oscar- you don’t know how much happier I was in Scranton. I’d rather be happy than be rich- and if that meant leaving Cornell so I could be back in Scranton where I know familiar faces, I’d leave in a heartbeat. Why aren’t you supporting me in this?”

“Because it’s so unrealistic Andy- I mean I honestly don’t know if I’ve heard a dumber plan…”

“Nothing is dumb about wanting to be with people I care about Oscar. I love everyone in Scranton. I love Dwight, I love Erin, as a friend of course, I love Phyllis, I love Angela… I guess… and I love you man. You’re my family- I love you man-”

“JUST SHUT UP ANDY…”

Oscar can’t take anymore of Andy’s words. He hates how Andy just can’t learn when to give up. He hates himself for falling for him, he hates Andy for being one of the best human beings ever, he hates everything again. Hearing Andy say he loves him just breaks him, because he loves Andy too, just differently…

Andy is dumbfounded when Oscar snaps at him. But it confuses him more than anything else. “Why is he getting mad at me?” he thinks to himself. He didn’t think he had done anything wrong, all he wanted was for him and Oscar to be really good friends because he loved him.

“Oscar- why are you mad man- I don’t understand… You’re my brother- and I just really miss Scranton… I love the family we became- and I love you-”

“ANDY PLEASE JUST STOP-”

Andy still doesn’t get what he’s doing wrong. He doesn’t understand Oscar’s anger.

“Oscar- why on Earth are you upset- I don’t get it-”

“YEAH- HOW COULD YOU?”

“What's that supposed to mean?-”

“IT MEANS I LOVE YOU TOO ANDY…”

Andy smiles as Oscar says that. But still doesn’t quite get why he’s getting mad about it.

“Well good- I’m glad-”

Before Andy can finish his sentence, Oscar cuts him off for good.

“NO- ANDY… I LOVE YOU… I THINK I’M FALLING IN LOVE WITH YOU- CAN’T YOU SEE THAT?”

…

Both of them are dead silent for what feels like an eternity, too awkward now to move the conversation in any direction. Oscar wasn’t thinking, he didn’t mean to confess like that, and it’s the last thing Andy was expecting. The words still don’t quite register for him.

“You- you what?”

“Andy- please don’t make me say it again…”

…

The silence continues, the ambient field staying quiet too. When they went quiet, so did the crickets, and all the other little noises that filled the background. The stars shined less brighter too, it was like the magic was gone. This was the last thing Oscar wanted. Andy speaks again.

“I’m sorry- I didn’t know-”

“Well how could you have?!”

Oscar is on the verge of breaking down right then and there, tears forming in his eyes, a pit in his stomach forming that only makes him feel more of a nervous wreck. He doesn’t want Andy to hate him, but his mind is saying “He’s gonna hate you forever- what have you done?” Andy starts to notice Oscar’s crying and it only makes the situation more difficult.

“Osc- I- I don't know what to say…”

Andy doesn’t offer Oscar any comfort this time either, and Oscar notices this, which only in his mind further tells him how he’s turned the moment into something miserable for both of them. He genuinely hates himself, and just wants to disappear. Andy is the only one trying to speak up so he can make sense of the situation.

“I- I need time to think man… Can- you give me that time?”

When Oscar hears this, his ears instantly perk up. “What could that mean-” he thinks to himself. Andy continues.

“I just- I really didn't expect this…”

“Yeah well I didn’t either Andy. You think I want to be stupidly in love with a straight guy? Let alone one of my closest friends…”

“Osc- I- I think it’s time we headed home. I- let's not talk about this anymore… please?-”

Oscar can’t keep holding back his tears any longer than he already has. The waterworks are on and streaming down his face with no signs of slowing. He knows he’s just ruined a perfect night they were having, a perfect friendship. His heart almost physically aches, because while he loved him romantically, he also just loved Andy as a friend, and he’d rather have Andy as a friend than as nothing at all. But now he feels like he just lost everything, he can see the look in Andy’s eyes. The chances of fixing this are slim, and Oscar isn’t in the right state of mind to be able to fix this.

“Wait- Andy…”

“Hmm?”

“H-how are you gonna get home? You don’t have your keys or your car-”

Andy isn’t exactly cold to Oscar, but he’s clearly not the same after that confession. His mind is overflowing with thoughts and questions, but he doesn’t have any answers. He wants to give Oscar a solid answer on how he feels, but he can’t. He’s confused, and doesn’t want to face it, and right now, he doesn’t want to be his cheery, goofy self. Andy responds unenthusiastically,

“I mean- I checked all my pockets-”

Andy starts to tap his pant pockets just to double check, and feels nothing. He continues,

“Yeah- there's nothing…”

Andy then taps his inside blazer pockets not expecting anything to turn up. But, when he taps, hears a bulge that lightly jingles. His keys were in his blazer pocket the whole time.

“Ah… there they were…”

Andy pulls out his keys awkwardly, feeling embarrassed that he overreacted earlier at the wedding with his key business, for had he not freaked out the way he did, he wouldn’t have had that conversation with Erin. Then again, their conversation was a needed one, and he was grateful it happened. Still however, it made him feel clumsy. Oscar begins to wipe away his tears so he can recompose himself and talk properly. It's difficult to make conversation since now that the prior magic that was in the atmosphere is gone, but despite that, he tries again regardless.

“Oh- good… you found them- so- does that mean I don’t have to drive you- home?...”

“Yeah… I guess…

Oscar and Andy begin to slowly make their way back to Oscar’s van, abandoning the field. The tension between them only gets worse with each passing second they don’t talk to break the silence. It’s killing both of them as neither one is willing to speak up first, but at the same time they just want to scream something out just so it isn’t silent. Oscar finally breaks.

“So-”

However, Oscar is quickly interrupted at the same time as he speaks out by Andy.

“Listen- Oscar… I promise you we will talk about it eventually. But- I just- I can’t right now. You have my number and I have yours. I- I’ll text you when I’m ready… Okay?-”

Oscar looks at Andy, and gives a light nod, hoping what he says is true. He doesn't quite believe it as Andy isn’t talking in the manner he usually does. He’s quieter, and much more serious, which is abnormal for Andy. The two of them finally make it out of the field, brushing off any grass and dirt off their pants, before they silently make it over to Oscar’s van.
As they both climb in and put on their seatbelts, neither of them say one word. Andy just silently stares at the dashboard or out the window, trying to avoid looking at Oscar. Meanwhile Oscar keeps glancing at Andy, hoping he would just talk to him, just one word. Anything. Oscar finally puts his foot on the gas, and he drives back to the wedding with Andy, as the both avoid conversation the entire way, not saying a word. Oscar had fallen hard for Andy, and Andy was no longer oblivious.

Chapter Text

Once again, Oscar had found himself in the warm and unforgettable embrace of Andy’s arms as he slow danced with him under the stars in that wide grassy field, his voice ringing, still singing the same old song he always does. They slowly move as a cozy breeze flows their movements along the silky grass. Oscar looks up at Andy as they continue dancing, until he slowly leans in closer to Andy’s face, and Andy does the same, until the kiss under the moonlight.

However, it all comes to an end, as Oscar wakes in a cold sweat under his bed sheets. His breathing is frantic, his mind is jumbled, and his heart is racing. It’s been a week since everything happened with Andy, and ever since, he hasn’t been able to sleep without dreaming that exact moment. He dreams of them dancing, but he always wakes up and kisses Andy.

As Oscar finally realizes it was a dream and not a reality like he had hoped, he groans in disappointment. The dream always feels so real, and it makes him angry. Angry that he never gets what he wants. Angry that he ruined his friendship with Andy all because he had selfish feelings that he should’ve just swallowed and ignored. He feels that if he didn’t let his feelings take control, he wouldn’t be in this mess.

He slept on the couch after passing out in front of the tv, and it’s too dark out to be morning. As Oscar lays on his couch, he tries to see past the dirty piles of bowls of the ice cream he was stuffing in his face before he passed out to see if he can find his flip phone. it's on the very edge of the table, far enough that he obviously can’t reach it. But he tries to reach for it without getting up anyway, and it's just barely out of reach, no matter how he changes his position. He sighs in annoyance, knowing fully well he has to get up to get his phone so he can check the time. He wraps his blanket around him to keep him warm as he gets up, and reaches for his phone. It’s 2AM. “Goddamit…” he thinks to himself. He knows now he won’t be able to go back to sleep, so he looks for his tv remote and finds it beside a few of the dirty dishes on his coffee table, and switches on the tv. It provides a nice background noise as he walks to the kitchen to turn on the lights so he can make himself a little 2AM snack.

He turns on his kettle to boil so he can make himself some coffee to wake himself up before his day starts. The past week has been awful, and just a bunch of rinse and repeat. Wake up tired with bags under his eyes, drink 3 cups of coffee before work, leave the house, start at 8 and work for the next 8 hours, get home, eat dinner, and pass out on the couch. His only motivation being waiting for a text from Andy, saying “it’s okay”, “I’m ready to talk!”, or anything at this point. He doesn’t care if it’s negative or something heartbreaking. Just seeing any sign of Andy would be enough closure for him.

Once his kettle is brought to a boil, he groggily pours himself a cup of coffee, sits down back on his couch, blanket on top of him, coffee in hand, and stares into the tv, not even really watching it. His mind is too preoccupied with other thoughts. How he treated Michael at the wedding, his confession to Andy, how his life is in complete and utter shambles. He sips his coffee, forgetting it was just freshly boiled, and burns his tongue, which causes him a large amount of burning pain in such a short amount of time. The coffee burning on his tongue causes Oscar to flinch and spill his coffee all over his hand, burning his hand as well. He yells in pain, and sets his coffee down on his table.

“FUCK- … goddamnit-” he says in a pissed of tone.

Oscar then rushes to the sink and turns on the tap, and puts his burnt hand under cold freezing water. The pain dimmers down a little, but it still stings like a bitch. It’s worse than that hay bale splinter he got. With the fluorescent lights shining bright in his kitchen, he looks over at the clock. Still only 2:15AM. He sighs in disappointment, and thinks to himself “Just 6 more hours until work… God todays gonna be a long day-”.

After a few minutes of running his hand under water, he stops, dries his hand and makes his way back to his couch, the stinging still annoying him. He just stares at his tv with some stupid sports channel playing that he doesn’t understand because he doesn’t watch sports, when suddenly, an ad appears. It grabs his attention.

“Hey there, folks! Have you ever felt like life is just a little too much? Like you're carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders? Well, we've got something for you!"

Immediately, Oscar reaches for the remote with his burned hand to switch the channel. He doesn’t want to have to listen to some stupid anti-depressant commercial. As he reaches for the remote, it stings his hand, and he winces in pain as he holds the remote in his hand, but he quickly changes the channel to a different program. To his surprise, the tv program he lands on is airing “The Office: An American Workplace” comes on. It’s the documentary he was in. This catches Oscar by surprise a little, as suddenly the voices of old friends are heard on the tv, but it gives him a nice sense of nostalgia, and distracts him a little from the stinging pain in his hand. On the tv, he sees himself with Angela and Kevin in their old cubicles, talking about something that seems so irrelevant now. It makes him sad, it makes him miss the good old days. He’s watched the full documentary once now since it aired over a year ago, but it still makes him emotional anytime he sees his old coworkers.

Oscar finally takes a moment to look around his living room, the dirty piles of dishes, the state of his house, himself, and then looks back at his younger self on the tv. His current state would surely have disappointed the younger him he thought to himself. As he lays on his couch covered in his warm blanket, the only warmth giving him comfort anymore, he starts to think. “Where did I go wrong?”, “What did I do to deserve this?”. All these thoughts that make him feel even more shitty about his life, he’s tired of it. He doesn’t want to feel like this anymore. Like he’s sad and has nothing to live for. So, he finally gets up from his couch and decides to finally clean up his house. He’s been living like a pig, and he can't take it anymore. It’s time to get over Andy. “He isn’t going to text me, if he was he would’ve already…” he says in his head. It’s time to move on, enough self-pity. Oscar collects his dirty piles of dishes on his table and takes them to the sink ready to finally clean them after a full week of pile up. As the water starts to bounce off the dishes, the ice cream caked on the plates finally washes off as he takes a sponge and covers the dishes in soap giving them a further rinse. He feels like he’s finally taking control of his life again, even though he’s just doing dishes for the first time in a week. Once he finishes cleaning and drying the dishes, he goes around the rest of his house, which resembles a pigsty. He cleans up the empty bags of chips, or any other garbage lying around, and starts to vacuum his place until finally his house actually starts to look decently presentable. Once he’s finished cleaning, he looks over at the clock. “3:30AM. 4 and a half hours left to go…” he thinks. He wonders what he should do next, and realizes he needs to clean himself up too. Oscar rushes to the bathroom to look at himself in the mirror. His face is dry, his hair all messy from bed-head, and a thin but not subtle beard has managed to grow on his face. It’s not very appealing.

“Ugh- jeez- if a gay man saw me he’d run away- God knows I would…” he says aloud, speaking to himself.

Quickly after examining his poor state, he searches for his razor, and once he does, he puts shaving cream on his face and starts shaving his beard. With each shave, it’s like finally removing all his negative energy, making him happier. When he finishes and washes his face, his skin is shiny and clean. He almost looks like a newborn baby, and less like a drug dealer. But his hair is still messy, and he smells horrible. All the built up sweat from doing nothing but eat, work, and sleep, he can’t imagine what everyone in the office was thinking. If anyone else smelled the way he did, Oscar would’ve given a full lecture discussing basic hygiene to everyone back at the office in the conference room, so he’s surprised no one had seemed to comment on it. Disgusted by himself, he hops into the shower, and when he does, the burning hot water relaxes his muscles as it washes all over him. The comforting warmth reminds him of Andy for a split second, but he quickly pushes it down, just wanting to forget him completely so he doesn’t go back to feeling depressed. After about a full 20 minutes of just standing in the shower, just relaxing as his water bill goes up, he finally gets out feeling clean, feeling like a new person. He dries himself off wrapping a towel around his body and dries his black curly locks, his face almost unrecognizable to the person he was 2 hours ago. He walks out and looks at the clock once more.

“4:10AM? Ugh- I think maybe I can try falling asleep again-” he thinks to himself.
After dressing himself in comfortable indoor clothes, he takes his blanket on his living room couch and returns it to his bedroom, the tv still blankly playing in the background, serving as subtle noise to keep it from being silent. He grabs his phone and places it beside his nightstand as he normally would’ve before this depressive week, finally getting back to his routine, puts on his eye mask, and tries to fall asleep as he falls into his nice warm bed. The warmness once again reminds him of Andy, which this time, makes him groan audibly in irritation. He just wants to get over this stupid Andy thing, but everything is reminding him of Andy, even when he tries to move on. The universe is evil he thinks to himself. Anything that gives Oscar any sort of warmth and comfort just reminds him of Andy, and the sweet touch of his arms, the feeling of when he was against his body, just dancing. It’s just constant plaguing reminders of that dreadful night that was so perfect and god awful at the same time. He pushes those thoughts away again and again, just trying to get some sleep, but he just can’t. No matter how much he twists and turns in his bed, or changes his sleeping position, or sheep he counts to try and distract himself from all his other thoughts. He just can’t go back to sleep. Andy has once again infiltrated his mind with no plans on leaving, no matter how much Oscar tries to force it out. It all just comes back to that night under the stars, and he finally breaks. He removes his eye mask and throws it against the wall frustrated, looks over to grab his phone and opens it. It’s only 4:31AM.

“It’s been 20 damn minutes?!” he says audibly, sounding shocked and pissed at the same time.

After pausing, knowing that he won't be sleeping anymore tonight, he reluctantly goes to his contacts. Andy’s number is the first one that pops up. He added his number after the wedding, hoping Andy would text when he was ready like he promised, but nothing happened, and Oscar was tired of waiting. Oscar starts typing a message for Andy. It reads,

“Andy, can we please talk?”

He pauses for a minute to think over his text, and quickly deletes it, not liking the way it sounds. He tries again.

“Hey, we need 2 talk and I’m tired of waiting. Please text back when u can.”

He deletes it again quickly, thinking that sounds way too aggressive. He keeps trying to type a message, but can’t seem to be able to send one. Oscar just stares blankly at his phone, staring at the flashing blinking line, waiting for him to type something. He tries one last time to type.

“Andy, I love u, and I need your response. It’s been a week and I don’t want to lose u.”

This time, he doesn’t delete his message. This time, he just stares at it, not planning on sending it. He just wants to stare at that message, wishing he could send it if he wasn’t too scared. Oscar just stares at his phone as he starts getting sleepier, finally starting to nod off, when suddenly, his phone gets a notification. It startles Oscar awake as he fully wakes up again. When looks at his phone once more, he still sees that his own message hasn't been sent accidentally. Thank god. He quickly deletes his text, before realizing he got a text. He reads that at 4:54AM, Andy sent a message. His heart sinks into his stomach which makes his stomach churn in hundreds of different directions. Oscar’s eyes widen as he stares at the message Andy sent, which reads,

“Meet me at Poor Richards b4 work. 7 o'clock. I’m ready 2 talk Oscar”.

Chapter Text

Andy woke up gracefully in his bed, the birds chirping out his window, and his alarm clock not being a nuisance. He looked up at the clock beside his night stand. 6:30AM. It had been 6 days since the wedding and the situation with Oscar had happened. He had no intentions of messaging Oscar. He just hoped he would hopefully forget and nothing would come of it. Andy didn’t feel the same way for Oscar, or at least he thinks he doesn’t. He just wasn’t sure, but he didn’t know how he could make himself sure, he didn’t want to be sure. Something like this would just complicate everything in his life. After his father left his mother leaving his family practically broke, Walter Jr. had been taking care of his mother. His Cornell job was the only thing his parents would’ve been proud of had his parents still been together. But alas, Andy’s luck was never in his favor. His life was decent enough, and surely he could find another woman he thought to himself. He didn’t need another freak out about being gay, he’s already been there and done that. The gayest thing about himself is his fantasies with Brad Pitt, and it will probably remain that way, he hoped.

He got up ready to start his day, making his bed, drinking some coffee, and then getting ready to have a shower. As he turned on the tap, the warm water danced along his body, relaxing his muscles, giving a fresh start to his morning. Per usual, he can’t have a shower without some of his own magnificent singing.

“Rit-dit-dit-di-dooo~”

His singing filled his home with a bright atmosphere that just made his day a whole lot better. When he concluded his shower, he got out drying his body and hair, and looked in the mirror. He had a beaming smile on his face, his pearly white teeth not shining nearly as bright as his beady eyes. He looks like a happy little kid at an amusement park, his smile being weirdly contagious, it just makes you want to smile as well. Once he finishes cleaning himself up, he grabs his phone to check the time. 7:11AM. “Now I want a slurpee-” he thinks to himself. When he looks at the time, he checks his contacts for any new messages. One new message from Erin. Andy never removed her number from his phone, even after they broke up. As he clicks her number, he reads what she sent.

“hey andy, me and a few of the others heading to poor richards tomorrow, wanna join?”

A smile grows on Andy’s already beaming face as he reads her message. He thinks while staring at her text, wondering if he could fit it into his schedule and drive 2 hours all the way to Poor Richards. He doesn’t think for long however, since he knows he won’t be denying the offer either way, and will likely just call in sick to work. Andy types back.

“Hell yeah! What time :)”

He stares at his phone for a minute before pressing send. Erin types back right away to his surprise.

“cool b there noonish”

Andy smiles at Erin’s dry texts, and keeps smiling, just glad their friendship is good enough that he’s still invited to things. It makes him feel like people still care about him. After looking at her message, he backs out of her number and continues scrolling through his contacts. No other messages. But he sees Oscar’s number. Reading his name makes him a bit irritated. He just wants to forget him. Suddenly however, his mind goes rampant with a thought. “What if he’s there? Was Oscar invited?”. He wonders what he just got himself into, and it scares him. The thought of Oscar doesn’t disgust Andy, in fact it makes his chest all warm and fuzzy, but he doesn’t like that. Andy isn’t used to it, and all he wants to do is push it down and forget it. He closes his phone and tucks in deep in his pocket, hoping he won’t have to look at it again, and leaves for work.

Andy doesn’t drive to work as he lives close to the university in a small place called Lake avenue, only 20 minutes away from the university, so he walks for exercise. Besides, on his way there's some nice scenery that he likes to take in on his walk. Whether it’s as simple as the birds in trees or Beebe lake, to even just the families he sees on his way, they all serve as a nice distraction. However on his way, he sees something that catches his eye. He sees two men holding hands, and the first thing he thought of was Oscar. The thought of that couple sticks in his mind like an annoying tick. It pisses him off, and he starts walking away while giving the innocent couple a glare, which they don’t notice. He storms off to the university in a grouchy mood now that he can’t stop thinking about them holding hands, thinking about Oscar, thinking about that night, and for the rest of the day it doesn’t leave. Those thoughts keep picking at him during his slow dull day. Today he basically had nothing to do, and all he did was sit in an office staring at the wall, all alone with these thoughts. When he finally leaves, it’s like he escaped a maximum level security prison. He isn’t alone with his nagging thoughts, and back in the open where he hoped something would distract him so he could think of something else. But of course today had to be the day where practically nothing was happening along his way home. The occasional car would drive by, but there was weirdly no people around, no birds chirping, the only thing that was there was Andy, still alone with thoughts that just won't let him forget Oscar no matter what he does. After the longest 20 minute walk he’s ever had to make it back to his place, he walks into his home, heads straight to his couch and faceplants on top of the pillows, exhausted from his boring day. He keeps his face buried in the pillows for about a minute before he moves his position and starts staring at his ceiling. But even that reminds him of when he was stargazing with Oscar. He lets out a displeased groan before getting up from the couch to just check the time. It’s only 6:32PM. Andy is just exhausted from today, and just can’t keep his eyes open any longer, so he walks over to his bedroom, still dressed in his work clothes, and passes out on his bed, too tired to think of anything anymore. Within seconds, Andy is unconscious from his long day, ready for the next one.

Suddenly, Andy is on a burning hot beach, probably in California. He’s topless, in shorts, lots of sunscreen, sunglasses, and under an umbrella. It’s loud, with the sounds of families and friends yelling as they run around having fun by the ocean. Andy recognizes it immediately. He’s dreaming. It’s his Brad Pitt dream. Every time Andy dreams about Brad Pitt, it's on a beach. First, Brad shows up, and then starts smooching Andy like crazy. At first he always resists, but eventually, Andy always warms up to it and kisses back. He usually just dreams about them kissing for what feels like hours until he wakes up. It’s weird, but he’s gotten used to it, and always recognizes when he has this dream now. Andy, under his beach umbrella, shifts his position to look to his right, where Brad Pitt usually shows up, but this time he’s not there. Instead, he hears a voice from behind him.

“Hey Andy…”

Instantly Andy turns behind to look over at the man speaking to him, remembering that voice. Once his eyes lock onto the man, his jaw drops and he removes his sunglasses, gobsmacked that Brad Pitt isn’t in this dream. This never happens.

“Oscar?-”

Andy wants to wake up now, and for the dream to end. But he can’t wake up, for some reason he just can’t and it’s freaking him out. Dream Oscar speaks.

“Why have you been ignoring me… Andy?”

Andy wasn’t expecting this peculiar dream at all. Then again you can’t really expect a dream. Still, Andy just wanted some Brad time. He doesn’t quite know how to answer
Oscar’s question.

“Why are you here Oscar- and what have you done with Brad?-”

“You promised we’d talk- have you no shame for purposefully ignoring me?”

Andy notices Oscar doesn’t sound like himself at all. That's not the way he would normally talk. Although Andy knows it’s just a dream, he still finds himself speechless that now his own conscience is guilt tripping him. Dream Oscar continues.

“Why don’t you just be honest with yourself? You’re totally into me.”

Andy just blinks while staring at Oscar, this was not how his fantasy dream is supposed to go. Andy finally manages to speak.

“Dude,- you’re like totally violating my bro-space”

Dream Oscar has a dirty smirk on his face now.

“Well then, you mind if I violate you just a little bit more?~”

Suddenly, Oscar is leaning in closer to his face while he’s lying down. It all happens so fast that Andy doesn’t realize what's going on, and before he knew it, Oscar’s lips were less than a few inches apart from his. Just as Dream Oscar was about to kiss Andy, he woke up in a cold sweat, frantically waking up shocked. His heart is pounding harder than it ever has, So much so that it's ringing in his ears. He looks around his room frantically for his phone, but it’s a little difficult to see anything as it’s almost pitch black in his room. Nonetheless, he manages to grab his phone still lying on his nightstand and he checks the time. It’s 4:50AM. That dream he just had has given Andy a huge startle, almost like a wake up call. He never got to feel what Oscar’s lips felt like against his, but in a weird way, he wanted to know. If it felt like anything like his make outs with Brad, he definitely wouldn’t mind then. So, he quickly goes to his contacts and finds Oscar’s number. For a few minutes, he contemplates what he should send, not thinking Oscar would see his message until morning anyway. Andy finally manages up the courage to type a message. He reads it over for what feels like forever, being too scared to press send, but he forces himself to do it. At 4:56AM, Andy presses send.

“Meet me at Poor Richards b4 work. 7 o'clock. I’m ready 2 talk Oscar”.

Chapter Text

After Andy sends his text, he quickly gets up to brush his messy hair in the bathroom, before rushing to his car, this time making sure he has his keys for sure. As he slams his front door open and gets in his car, he sets himself in the driver’s seat, stepping on the gas aggressively since he only has a little over 3 hours to make it to Poor Richards, but it will take 2 hours to even get into Scranton, and by the time he got in his car, it was already 5:05AM. The last thing Andy wants is to be late for this. He knows what he wants to do when he sees Oscar, he knows what to say now, and he just doesn’t want to mess it up. Andy finally understood why what he was doing to Oscar was a dick move. To just ignore him and pray it went away, to pray his own feelings went away, it wasn’t how he wanted to treat Oscar. He doesn’t care that he forgot to call in sick for work, Cornell will just have to deal with it.

Meanwhile, Oscar is panicking as he rushes to get out of his bed to put on some decent clothes. He’s already prepared to go since he’s already showered, but he wants to look his best. Then again, he really doesn’t want to get his hopes up again. Oscar decides to wear something casual, but not too casual, with his collared button up pink dress shirt, and a pair of dark brown khakis. Totally casual.

Andy continues driving off as he drives by the scenery he’s gotten to know over the past year. He passes Cornell, and a wave of overthinking hits him. ”Oh god- is this a mistake?”, “Am I throwing my life away again?” No. He can’t keep hiding like he already has. He doesn’t stop pushing his foot on the gas, and Cornell slowly vanishes from his line of vision, until it’s gone. Cornell is gone, and the only thing standing between him and Oscar is a 3 hour drive. And maybe a bathroom break at a gas station because he forgot to piss before he left his house and doesn’t want to turn back.

Oscar looks over at his clock to see if he should be rushing. 5:05AM. He still has at least 2 hours and 40 minutes before he needs to leave. He doesn’t want to get to Poor Richards early, he thinks that it might come off weird or clingy. The last thing he wants is to seem needy or too excited. All he wishes for is that this whole situation doesn’t get the best of him since it did before. This time, he really can’t let his emotions spill out. However, as Oscar decides to sit down as he has a bit of time to kill, he remembers he didn’t even respond to Andy’s message. He reaches down in his pocket to grab his phone, opens his contacts, and stares at the flashing line for a second, unsure of how to reply, before frantically typing back to Andy.

“Meet u there :)”

With almost no hesitation, Oscar presses send, and he stares at his message before closing his phone and tucking deep back in his pocket, too afraid to look at it again. His heart is racing, pounding, on the verge of collapsing, all of the above. He had been so ready to abandon his feelings for Andy, but Andy just really knows when to pick his moments and be a complete nuisance.

In the meantime, Andy, at 5:39AM, officially exits Ithaca, finally out on the road, driving along the forestry, the beaming sun along the horizon, just at the perfect angle to shine in through Andy’s front window and blind his eyes. He pulls down the sun visor above his head to block the shining light, thankfully he’s the only one out on the road, so he practically has no risk of crashing into another car. Once he can finally see properly again, he slightly settles in his seat, just pushing his foot on the gas, not really focusing on his surroundings too much. From here, it's mostly just a straight line to Scranton. So, he turns on the radio to jam to some tunes. Although, none of the radio stations seems to have any good music at this time. Just some stupid bands he dislikes, like One Direction and Imagine Dragons. Andy absolutely despises their music. As he continues to switch stations, his ear finally catches a beautiful melody. Gorgeous, angelic French singing begins to emit from his radio, filling his car, as “La Foule” by Édith Piaf surrounds Andy. It consumes him. The second her voice hits his ears, he starts mouthing the words dramatically, rolling his r’s, and his eyes almost closed, but just open enough to keep his eyes on the road.

Oscar on the other hand is just sitting at his living room table, not really knowing what to do, dying of boredom. “Still got 2 hours to go… ugh-” he thinks to himself. He tries to imagine what their conversation will be like to try to pass some time, telling himself that this isn’t getting his hopes up. Although, a part of him really wants them to be something more, something special. While it isn’t a likely scenario, the thought of them being together once again fills Oscar’s head, and before he can’t stop himself, he’s talking to himself, pretending he’s with Andy, imagining the romantic scenario’s his head puts him in. The rays of sunshine also finally begin to flood his house as the sun creeps up on the horizon. It’s 6:30 AM. A little over an hour until he has to leave.

Andy while driving, inching closer to Scranton, has struck the mother load for music. He found himself a radio station, playing some of the best french music that Andy simply can’t stop listening to. It doesn’t matter to him that he can’t understand French at all, and has minimal French speaking skills. The music calms him down a little, makes him think less about the awkward conversation they’re going to have. However, his calmness ceases when he starts to recognize his surroundings. It's 6:45 AM, and he’s starting to recognize the Scranton area.

On his couch, Oscar is still talking to himself, not realizing how delusional he would seem if he was doing what he was doing in public. Eventually, he does catch himself and realize just how crazy he seems. It embarasses him, and he’s just glad there's not a soul but himself in his home. He glances over at the clock across from him, it’s 7:03 AM. His heartbeat quickens as he now only has 40 minutes before he plans on leaving. “Man- time went by surprisingly fast…” he thinks to himself. The thought of seeing Andy again sends nerves through his spine, making him feel uneasy.

7:12 AM. Andy is finally in Scranton, and the memories instantly start crashing down on him, like that one time he crashed into an empty box doing parkour. Memories like that just play in his head, like Michael had forced him and the rest of Dunder Mifflin to watch an unnecessary “performance”. Andy can’t resist himself anymore. He has to make a detour and see the Dunder Mifflin building for old times sake. It takes an extra 7 minutes, but he passes his old building, and looks at it, taking it all in. He stops his car, just to look at it. The one thing Andy wishes he didn’t do was quit his job in Scranton. At the time he couldn’t see it, but now he knew what a horrible mistake it was to quit. For about a minute, he just sits in silence, thinking about old times, but remembers he doesn’t want to be late. He steps on the gas again and starts driving, His heart thumps and thumps, beating harder each time. Within minutes he’s at Poor Richards. It’s 7: 30 AM. He’s about to pull into the parking lot before he slams on the breaks. Andy stares at the bar, watching as a few people walk in, and Andy can’t do it, not here. The thought of Oscar and their conversation just scares Andy. Being in Scranton again, it intimidates him, so drives past Poor Richards…

7: 41 AM. Oscar is ready to leave his house, looking the best he has in over a week. He can’t remember the last time he genuinely put effort into trying to make himself look decent for another man, it had been ages. As much of a nervous wreck as Oscar was however, he was finally ready to confront Andy, and it was a relief knowing he’s finally getting an answer. In all honesty, the last thing Oscar expects is to have his feelings reciprocated. He doesn’t even know if he wants the feelings to be returned. Questions like “What if it’s awkward?”, or “What if we realize we were better off just being friends?” fill his head. So many what ifs, assuming Andy felt the same way. However, Oscar can’t think anymore. It was time, time to leave through his door and face the music. He finally got up from his couch and slowly made his way to his door, the world moving oddly slower for him, his hand reaching to turn the knob. At first he almost couldn't do it. The thought of facing Andy scared him, and he didn’t want it all to end in disappointment. It always did, and he was tired of it never changing. However, he couldn’t let his fear take control, he had made it this far. So, he turned the knob and walked out the door, the warmth of the sun hitting his face. As he walked out, he saw something. Something slightly taller than him, something that glowed in the light of the sun as the rays danced on his skin. Oscar looks up, feeling discomposed and unready to see Andy’s beady blue eyes, filled with wonder, and his beaming smile infront of his home, staring right back at him. However, as confused as Oscar is, he doesn’t have much time to think as Andy speaks.

“Hi Osc-”

The sound of Andy’s voice makes Oscar’s heart just melt away. It had been a week since he’d heard him, and all he wanted was to hear it again, his romantic thoughts starting to get the better of him. Oscar almost can’t speak, but he manages to quietly mutter out a few words.

“Hey Andy…”

There's a slight awkward silence as Oscar looks down, not sure whether to make eye contact with Andy or not, while Andy just keeps staring at Oscar. He just looks at his face, with a face where you can’t tell what's going on in his head, but it’s clear he’s beyond happy to see him. Andy doesn’t speak up again, so Oscar tries to say something.

“Andy- I thought we were meeting at-”

However, Andy won’t let Oscar finish his sentence. He just quickly interrupts him before another word can leave his mouth.

“I couldn’t wait… I had to see you-”

Oscar has no idea what that means, but he hopes it means something good. His mind is overthinking everything, and he doesn’t know what to say, what he should say, what he wants to say. He hesitates to respond at first, but does anyway.

“Well- why couldn’t you wait?”

Andy has a hesitant look on his face. His eyes are still filled with wonder, but his face clearly shows that he’s scared now too, and Oscar has no idea what Andy is up to. Andy quickly responds to Oscar, barely leaving any silence in between.

“Because Osc- there’s something I have to do.”

Oscar is starting to get worried, he just wants to know what Andy is up to and why he’s being so odd. But suddenly, his mind goes blank, as Andy starts to bring his body closer, leaning his face in closer to Oscar’s. His hands gently wrapping around Oscar’s head, the warmth of Andy’s arms around Oscar starting to make his heart flutter, his mind not believing what's happening, as Andy starts to pull Oscar in closer. Andy couldn't wait any longer, his dream had left him in suspense and he was ready to know how Oscar felt against him. He presses his lips against Oscar’s and the world stops. Everything stops.

Andy, his eyes fully closed as he takes in the taste of Oscar's soft lips, presses his fingertips harder into the back of Oscar’s head. Neither of them can believe how amazing it feels to be so close like this, and Andy’s kiss doesn’t even process in Oscar’s head for at least a full 10 seconds, feeling like a full 10 minutes. It was the last thing he had expected, and when he finally realizes what Andy's doing, he gives in. He closes his eyes too as he kisses Andy back, wrapping his arms around his warm body, his fingers caressing Andy’s brown tweed blazer. Their lips don’t break contact once, both of them too caught up in the moment. So much so in fact, that Andy had forgotten to breathe. Andy doesn’t want to let go, but if he doesn’t breathe in with his mouth, he might pass out from lack of oxygen. He takes a slight inhale with his nose so he doesn’t have to let go, and the scent of Oscar’s strong coffee breath takes over, only making Andy kiss back more. Oscar feels Andy breathing in, the warmth of his body, the pressure in their lips as they continue pressing together. It was pure bliss, pure heaven, greater than he could’ve ever imagined in his head. This was the moment he never wanted to end, but like everything, it couldn’t last forever.

Oscar, taking in the final moments of their long warm kiss, finally lets go of Andy, their lips breaking contact. Andy’s eyes are still closed, and when he finally opens them up, the first thing he sees is Oscar's beautiful face smiling back at him, looking red from being absolutely flustered. Andy’s chest felt like it was about to burst, so filled with love. He had never felt this way before, not even for Erin, and he didn’t know whether it reassured or frightened him more. But he put all of that aside, because one thing he did know was that he wanted to kiss Oscar again. As the two men stood in front of each other, Oscar feeling light headed, and Andy feeling like his knees might give in, both try to speak up at the same time, trying to say something to avoid it from being awkward or silent.

“So that-”

“Woah…”

As both their words come out in sync, they make prolonged eye contact, before the two of them quietly laugh under their breath, still taken aback by the sudden kiss. Andy still just wants to kiss Oscar again, it felt so good, so right to be with him like that. It was perfect, he was perfect, everything about them and their kiss was perfect to Andy, and how he wished he had done that so long ago. Andy didn’t know if the dream he had was a sign, but it was sure something he needed. As both of them remain quiet, Andy speaks before the silence would’ve become awkward.

“Well- that was certainly better than any kiss I’ve had with Brad Pitt.”

Oscar can't hold back his smile when Andy says those words. This was the last thing he had expected. The universe had never given him a win until now, and it was worth the wait. He keeps looking into Andy’s bright eyes, glimmering against the bright rays from the sun, until he looks at his lips. Oscar can’t help himself, he wants to kiss him again now that he’s prepared.

“Well then- Andy, if that's the case- then prove it~”

Andy looks down at Oscar’s face, completely enamored by the sight of him. He smiles brightly, once more leaning in to kiss Oscar, who lifts himself up with his toes to match Andy’s height, before their lips touch again for a second time, this time being even more intense than the first. Neither of them know where to place their hands, but they finally meet when their hands slowly dig into each other's heads, their bodies touching, the warmth of everything being overwhelming. The universe had finally given Oscar Martinez the win he more than deserved after years of loneliness, and given Andy Bernard a new chance to create a life again in Scranton, this time however, being lucky enough to share it with one of the best men he knows. Oscar had completely fallen over heels for Andy, but Andy had fallen harder.