Work Text:
Secretary Prince entered the office as requested… at 11 PM in the evening, unfortunately. He was working on call, but the reason he had been called in the first place was to get Principal Secretary some coffee, which he was now regretting agreeing to… it was stupid, looking back at even agreeing to such an utterly insane task at such a late hour. Why did he agree to this?
He didn’t even have to speak when he entered, because the sound of P.S snoring filled the room. Prince glanced over and saw that his head hung back, and some drool was slipping out of his mouth. “Oh geez…” He whispered to himself, before approaching P.S and poking him on the shoulder- which was a bad idea, because the latter jolted awake and kicked the table in front of him with all his might- causing some photos to fall on the ground. Prince wasn’t surprised in the slightest, simply rolling his eyes at the feat.
“Ouch!” P.S groaned tiredly, glancing at Prince with an irritated expression from his drowsiness. His attitude subsided after he saw the coffee his assistant held, and quickly took it before clearing his throat. “Ah, Secretary Prince! I apologize that you’ve had to wake me up and witness my… er, reflexes.” He apologized sheepishly, trying to hide his obvious embarrassment behind a joke as he chuckled. Prince didn’t bother to reply, he just put his hands on his hips and sighed in an exaggerated manner. “I’ve told you how many times that you can’t keep doing this,” he explained with an attitude. “The only reason I’ve agreed to bring you this was because it’s Friday, and I have nothing better to do.” He folded his arms, and looked at him with a bored expression- his previous annoyance subsiding after he ranted.
“And I greatly appreciate that you’ve gone through the trouble!” P.S spoke quickly in response as he chuckled nervously, fidgeting with the cup in his hands as his eyes seemed to subtly dart between the fallen photos and his assistant. “Now I don’t want to hold you up, so you’re free to go…!” He waved his hand dismissively as he rose to his feet and quickly stood in front of Prince, which earned him a side-eye of suspicion. What was with the sudden eagerness, and why was he more awkward and nervous than usual? PS glanced back to the photos, and then to Prince once more. Another nervous chuckle escaped his lips, slightly faltering as he saw the side-eyeing and his expression. “Um… you’re free to go…?” He repeated, as he now gripped his cup with a forced smile. Prince however pushed him aside, and looked down at the photos… oh, this was one of those nights. He sighed once again, his annoyance now replaced with pity.
“Sir… would you like to talk about… this?” Prince asked as he glanced back at PS, who didn’t bother to make eye contact with his employee as he now looked down in embarrassment. “T-there’s nothing to speak about, trust me…!” He replied, as he continued to fidget. But of course- Prince didn’t buy the story, he could read him like an open book. Prince only shook his head and took a seat on the couch which sat beside the window, the moon illuminating their surroundings as he gazed at him with a soft expression. It was clear he wasn’t letting him brush this off so easily, much to PS’ dismay.
The principal immediately joined him in an awkward manner, still not daring to look at him as he glanced aside. His words came out with much hesitancy, as he was suddenly feeling put on the spot by engaging in such a topic. “You already know, I-I don’t see the point in venting to you as much as I already have...” He mumbled, sounding embarrassed as he clasped his hands together and finally looking down to Prince, attempting to maintain eye contact between them. “I know, I know, but I’d rather have you talk instead of bottling it all in. You know how you can get when you’re too into your own head, sir.” Prince replied, trying to show that he didn’t mind being there for PS. “Besides, I won’t charge you for a session.”
His words seemed to ease his anxiety a bit, as a small chuckle escaped his lips. But once he seemed to process this, he sighed- his smile slightly faltering before he spoke. “I… I don’t know, I mean, I’m just thinking of past relationships again- if you couldn’t tell by the er… you know.” He finally admitted, which would explain the photos of his many past exes on the floor. Prince nodded along, waiting a few moments to see if he had anything to add onto that sentence. He didn’t follow up with anything else, so he took the moment to put in his own thoughts.
“… Well, we’ve all been there at some point…” Prince began after a pause, he let out a small laugh before continuing. “Although I haven’t exactly been on many dates, or have had many partners, I’ve had enough to know the feeling. But you shouldn’t dwell on the past, you should focus on moving forward…”
The secretary placed a comforting hand on his already clasped ones, which surprised PS to say the least- and gave him a strange sense of comfort… as well as something more. But he tried not to dwell on it as he remained focused on the subject at hand. “Yes but- I’ve always longed for a more long-term relationship with somebody… I-I mean, it’s a known fact that we tend to mate for life!” PS explained (referring to his species), he was trying to keep his voice steady and calm- but it was clear he was struggling to do so. “While so many others are able to- I’m here getting dumped left and right…” He sighed, the disappointment evident as he did. “B-but I shouldn’t even be worrying about this- I have a professional job…”
Prince felt a twinge of sadness at his words- wow, his boss really knew how to spread the vibes. He paused again as he looked away, but looked back up at him after he finally thought of what to say. “Hey- don’t say that, I mean yes, you have a professional job! But you shouldn’t be so defeated about not being able to find someone, there’s always someone! I promise.” He smiled softly, giving him a look of sympathy and comfort. “Look, I don’t exactly know what to say, but I don’t want to see you being all depressed in your office on a Friday night…”
After he spoke, a long silence seemed to follow. It seemed they were both at a loss of what to do, staring at one another as everything suddenly seemed to pause… PS felt himself getting much more nervous as he stared on, looking into the soft gaze of his assistant as he felt his hand remain over his (now sweaty) clasped ones. Meanwhile, Prince was trying to think of what to say- or what to do. So he only did what came to mind first… he removed his hand, as he slowly but surely wrapped his arms around his boss. It was painfully awkward now, as he rubbed his back and pressed his face up against his neck. PS could only tense up, looking down at his assistant before glancing around. “Er… Prince, what are you doing…?” He asked, not daring to move but slightly trembling from the sudden contact. His assistant tensed up, but continued to rub his back. “I uh… I thought it was obvious I’m comforting you…?” He replied, trying to keep his usual calm and collected demeanour as he did- but his voice slightly wavered in embarrassment.
After gaining confirmation, PS couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle as he eased up a bit. “O-oh, just… just checking…” He spoke, before pausing. He was about to make a remark about his face being pressed up against his neck, but decided against it in the end. The awkwardness seemed to slowly dissipate, and PS tried to slowly wrap his own arms around Prince as well… But when he tried, the latter seemed to break off the hug- which made PS try to downplay his attempt by glancing away quickly and wiping his hands on his tie. Luckily for him, Prince seemingly didn’t notice. He heard him let out a small chuckle, and saw him shake his head. “I’m sorry about that, sir…” He apologized awkwardly, “I just didn’t know how to approach it, I should’ve asked before randomly… y’know, hugging you.”
PS frowned as he heard him apologize, he didn’t want him to feel sorry. He wanted him to enjoy it as much as he did, to know that despite the initial awkwardness he enjoyed the sudden embrace. “N-no need to apologize!” He suddenly blurted out, which made his assistant slightly flinch. He noticed this, and immediately adjusted his tie as he looked away. “I-I mean… no need to apologize I found it to be… comforting.” PS explained, trying to remain professional despite the sudden influx of affection he felt towards him. He suddenly felt determined to win him over- wait, he meant determined to show he enjoyed his… damn it, he wanted to win him over.
“I don’t believe I thank you enough for your support, Prince.” PS suddenly began, his mind entering autopilot as he spoke. “You’ve been in my life for many years, and through it all you always seem to know what to do to ease my worries… or my rampant thoughts… you keep me grounded when nobody else does,” he continued, as he felt the heat rise to his face. “Y-you’re also humorous, with your witty remarks and sarcasm. People can only look on in awe as they see you walk in, as if you've suddenly lit up the room entirely by simply being present. Not only that, despite the chaos of it all- you remain so amazingly calm and collected- I seriously wonder why you aren’t in charge… I suppose what I’m trying to say is…”
He trailed off when he saw the way Prince reacted to his words, he saw the way his eyes widened and his mouth slightly opened. The way the moon illuminated off of his face and hair, he could only look at PS in surprise… and PS could only stare back too, giving an expression equal to his. Finally after the pause, he finished his sentence. “Thank you for being there, I… deeply appreciate you…”
They both continued to stare, the silence engulfing them once again. He couldn’t help but slowly lean down towards Prince, not daring to break the atmosphere he had created… but when he felt he got too into his personal space, he pretended to brush off something from Prince’s shoulder before sitting upright again. “Whoopsies, I thought I saw a bug there…!” He said quickly, forcing a small chuckle as he looked at him with an awkward smile. His assistant finally snapped out of it, as he slightly scooted away with a laugh of his own. “Oh, well… thank you, sir… for the speech, and for keeping the bugs away I suppose.” He said with a laugh, shaking his head slightly. He wouldn’t lie though, he was somewhat disappointed to see him pull away so soon… But again, they had to remain professional.
Without another word, they both stood up, PS adjusted his tie once more before looking over to Prince. “Um… I suppose this concludes our little session.” He said, as he went to pick up his coffee cup from the coffee table. “I’m so sorry for calling you at such a late hour, that was a bit selfish of me…”
Prince simply shrugged in response, walking around the table as he went to pick up the fallen photos that they had seemingly forgotten about. “I don’t mind it at all, in fact… I enjoyed this discussion, I guess I just wasn’t expecting you to go full monologue mode on me.” He joked with a chuckle, standing up once he bunched up the stack of pictures and offered them back to his boss. PS glanced down at them, taking them and walking over to his desk… but instead of putting them down as Prince expected, he dropped them into the nearby paper shredder.
The sudden shredding caught the faun off guard, what was he doing? “Whoa, sir- I uh… I think you missed your desk…” He said, before PS turned and walked back to him with a smile. “Oh, that was definitely intentional.” He replied, before letting out a small chuckle and explaining. “Your words about needing to move on had really inspired me, Prince. So I will take them to heart from this moment on.”
PS reached for his bag, as he began to walk out of the office. His mood was much happier now, and he walked with a smile on his face. “Come along, Prince. I wouldn’t want to accidentally lock you in here!” He joked, watching as his assistant rolled his eyes and followed along. “You’re awfully quick to switch subjects, you know that?” Prince asked, sounding playful as he spoke. Now it was time for PS to shrug it off, chuckling quietly as they walked through the halls. “It does come with the curriculum…” He joked, earning a small laugh from him.
Soon they made it outside, walking over to the only car that remained in the parking lot. PS glanced around confusedly, before looking back at Prince. “Where’s your car?” He asked, before earning a small scoff. “I don’t have one, I walk to work…” The secretary replied, which earned a small gasp from PS. “Oh my- and I made you bring me a coffee! At this hour!” He exclaimed, the guilt really setting in as his previous confidence immediately shifted to a nervous feeling. Prince quickly spoke up again, waving his hands slightly and pointing behind him. “Relax, I live close by! Just down the street!” He reassured him, laughing a bit by the way PS reacted. PS sighed in relief, laughing a bit himself. “Ah… that definitely eases my worries…” He replied with a small smile, “I can still give you a ride if you need…”
“No, I know that you live quite a ways from here. But thank you for the offer, sir.” Prince said, as he waved a hand dismissively and began to turn away. PS saw, and decided to ask him something before he walked off. “W-wait, Prince! I wanted to ask if you…” He trailed off as he saw him turn, he hesitated- but ultimately followed through with the question as he swallowed the lump that seemed to form. “Would you uh… want to watch a movie with me Sunday?” He finally asked, as he smiled nervously. Prince blinked, before giving him a small smile. “Well sure,” he replied simply. “I mean, I have no plans at all this weekend… so it would be nice to go out.”
PS immediately smiled, as he nodded along happily. “Ah, great! Um, I can pick you up here at around 3 in the afternoon… maybe we could grab a bite after the movie…?” He proposed, to which Prince chuckled- as he fought back the urge to make a joke about their outing seeming like a date. “Right, of course. I’ll be here, right on time.” Prince said, to which PS nodded along as he gave him a thumbs up. “Great! Amazing, I’ll be there!” He said, trying to control the excitement in his voice as he opened his door. Before entering, he looked back to Prince. “Have a good night, Prince…!”
He earned a small laugh, as he watched his assistant turn around. “You too, sir!” He called back, feeling the gaze of his boss as he walked off. After seeing him go, PS entered his car- closing the door as he gripped the wheel in excitement. “O-oh my… that was exciting…” He remarked to himself, feeling giddy from the small interaction with his assistant. He didn’t know why, but just the mere thought of it made him feel the happiest he had felt in awhile. He put the keys into ignition, as he started his car- reversing and driving off in the opposite direction of Prince.
Meanwhile, the only sound that Prince could hear was his own steps- and his own racing heart… He had managed to stay composed during the whole heartwarming interaction, and he felt almost relieved as a weight lifted from his shoulders… He couldn’t help but wonder what else could’ve played out if he didn’t pull away the moment PS tried to return his hug- he was well aware of his boss trying to embrace him when it happened… He also couldn’t help but think of when he heard the sweet words PS spoke about him, wishing he managed to actually muster up the courage to speak in the moment… but in the end, one of the best possible outcomes came from their little meeting. He couldn’t help but hum to himself in amusement, feeling excited about the outing that was sure to come…