Work Text:
Maybe they would go away if Daniel ignored them. It hadn’t worked yet, but maybe this time it would.
“Daniel,”
Or maybe not.
Daniel sighed and turned his chair to face the small crowd behind him. They were huddled together, looking between him and the large office at the top of the stairs, their eyes wide and fearful as they tried to talk to him without anyone noticing. Well, without their boss noticing.
Armand de Romanus had taken over at the beginning of the year and he had certainly made a name for himself in the short time he had been in charge. Numbers were up across the board, with multiple nominations for local awards, and there was even a rumour that he was going to take over another paper in the future. He was a bulldog of a businessman, and he didn’t stop when he wanted something. But his take-no-prisoners approach to life made a lot more enemies than it did friends and he was willing to cut off anyone who got in his way.
Take Celeste, for example. She had worked at the paper for years as the leading gossip columnist. She had a way of getting the story before anyone else and often broke news of the biggest scandal of the year. However, when Armand had arrived, on his very first day, he had stepped out of the elevator and stopped at her desk, confirming it was her, before handing over her pink slip. He walked away without a second glance as she hollered and screamed after him, demanding to know what she had done wrong.
Armand’s assistant, an expressionless man named Rashid, had explained that Celeste was blackmailing local celebrities to prevent her from publishing her stories about them. No one had even known about it. The rumour was that Armand had hired private investigators to tail the staff before his arrival so he could clean up shop quickly. Since then, everyone has walked on eggshells.
Well, almost everyone.
Daniel couldn’t say exactly what had happened, but after weeks of passive aggressive comments about each other’s work, age, or existence, they had finally got into it. They argued and screamed at one another in the middle of the bullpen. It felt like hours they were standing there, standing toe to toe as their faces were inches apart. Daniel had made a specific comment about shoving Armand’s editorial notes up his ass when Armand suddenly stopped.
He stared at Daniel for a moment, his eyes looking over his face, lingering on his mouth for a moment too long, and then…walked away.
Since then, there was a strange truce between them, and everyone took that as their sign to make Daniel their spokesperson. Whenever they needed something or wanted something, they made Daniel do it instead.
Assholes.
As Daniel collected the list of requests, he looked over his shoulder and watched as Armand walked from the archive and back to his office, speaking on the phone. His expression was pleased and warm, so whatever it was, it was good news. That would help, but ultimately it depended on whether Armand was feeling generous.
“And we want a paid break for Christmas,” Santiago finished. “Just because he doesn’t celebrate doesn’t mean we don’t,” He huffed, crossing his arms as he glared over at the office.
“He does celebrate Christmas,” Daniel said as he continued to watch the closed door, knowing Armand was inside. “He spends it with his friends and their daughter,”
“How do you know that?” Santiago asked.
“Forget it,” Daniel stood up and took the written list from Santiago, checking over it again before nodding. “I’ll see what I can do,”
Daniel made his way to the office as the group dispersed. He knocked on the door and waited for Armand to invite him in, knowing the bastard was sitting at his desk, counting down a few seconds just to bug him. He closed the door behind him as he stepped inside and caught Armand in his arms as he rushed towards him, kissing Daniel deeply as he moaned against his lips, his arms wrapping around Daniel’s neck and tangling his hand in Daniel’s curly hair.
He pulled them backwards until they fumbled over his desk. Daniel allowed himself to be pulled closer, bracing his hands against the edge of the desk, until Armand pulled away to begin kissing over his neck and jaw.
“Where did you go this morning?” Armand asked as he pulled away, kissing Daniel again for a second, before running his hand down his chest and playing the buckle of his belt, dragging him closer.
“Work,” Daniel said, rolling his eyes. “I had to call one of my contacts. He’s setting up that interview with that doctor from Dubai,”
“Good,” Armand kissed him, his touch softer, less desperate. “Although I had hoped to spend the morning with you,”
“We talked about this,” Daniel said. “I can’t show up with the boss. People are going to ask questions and if we want to keep doing this then it has to stay between us,”
“And Rashid,” Armand said, momentarily looking guilty.
“And Rashid,” Daniel agreed. Poor kid, but hopefully he’ll remember to knock next time.
He ran his hand through Armand’s curls, tangling them around his fingers, and smiling as Armand closed his eyes, nuzzling closer to his touch.
“I’m meant to be asking you for stuff right now,” He said.
“Oh?”
“Uh huh,” Daniel said. He picked a specific curl and wrapped it around his finger, pulling it straight and letting it fall back into place. “Something about Christmas. I don’t know,”
“Hmm,” Armand hummed as he let his forehead fall to Daniel’s shoulder, sighing contently as he leaned against him. “I’ll sort it out later,” He said before yawning. “How long do we have right now?”
Daniel shrugged. “Not too long,” He said. “Everyone’s in the office today so,” He kissed the top of Armand’s head. “I’m gonna have to get back to work soon,”
Armand whined, burying his face into Daniel’s neck.
“I’ll come by later though, okay?” Daniel offered. “I’ll let you buy me a decent meal, huh?”
Armand nodded but refused to move away.
Daniel tried to fight back his smile as he held Armand closer. A few more minutes wouldn’t be too bad.