Chapter Text
Alex loves his new job at Bankston Publishing. As a lawyer he’s responsible for all the legal things around, like contracts with new clients or copyright problems. His boss Zahra provides excellent coffee and if you don’t get in her way she’s actually a decent human being. Most of his colleagues are nice, except for fucking Hunter, who always drinks the last coffee without brewing a new pot.
June had recommended this job to him when she still worked there. He thought it would be strange at first, but no one cared about his vitamin B. His big sister had introduced him to everyone, and they had spent their lunch breaks exploring the neighborhood. He hadn’t spent so much time with his sister in years. Only for June to leave him alone three months after he started, because she rather wants to work as a journalist than as an editor. Traitor. Alex is determined to prove that he doesn’t need her.
He already made friends with Nora. She’s some kind of super brain and works for the company's IT. He doesn’t really understand how they vibe, but somehow they do. They have the same kind of dark humor and a shared love for office gossip. Nora is really busy, her brain running even faster than his, but sometimes she’s his new lunch break friend.
Then there’s Henry. Beautiful, gorgeous, hot, kind, adorable, loveable Henry. He’s like a Greek god sent back to earth to torture Alex. June and Henry spent a lot of time together in the office, working on similar projects and sharing a love for Austen novels. At first Alex detested Henry. He thought he was a stuck up British asshole who tried to steal his sister. Oh, how wrong he was. It turned out that Henry was just really shy at first, but if you crack his shell, he’s a nice guy. He’s also openly gay. His office mug says: “I’m the gay sheep of the family.”
Alex laughed when he saw it the first time. Smooth Fox. No one had a problem with it, it’s the twenty-first century after all and some other colleagues are queer as well. Of course, it has to be fucking Hunter who makes a homophobic joke in the break room. Henry’s face falls immediately. He looks like a lost lamb now. Alex wants nothing more than to punch the asshole, but Zahra’s equally scary boyfriend Shaan is faster. He takes Hunter by his arm and drags him to HR. Shaan is British too, so perhaps he feels a bit more protective over his fellow Brit. Henry promises them that he’s okay, but Alex sees how he stops eating his lunch and puts the lid back on the container. Hunter comes back half an hour later with a warning, his non-existing tail jammed between his legs and apologizes sheepishly.
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The lawyers' office is right next to the editors’. They are only separated by a glass wall so it would be a bit quieter. Alex can see Henry’s desk from his cubicle, and he’s not sure if that’s a good thing or a big pain in his ass.
After realizing that he isn’t so bad, Alex tries to crack Henry’s thick shell. At first, he tries talking. From small talk to cracking little jokes and making Henry smile. Then he brings him coffee. That’s every human's lifeline, right? He even brought another mug from home. It’s white outside and black inside. There’s Snoopy the beagle, running away from cookies, but they keep following him. June gifted him the mug a few years ago, and now he gets to share it. Surely Henry likes Snoopy, right? Everyone likes Snoopy. But Henry only smiles when he sits the mug on his desk and tells him that he doesn’t drink coffee.
“Thank you for thinking of me, but I only drink tea.”
“Your loss, sweetheart. More coffee for me.” Alex only shrugs and takes the mug with him.
Snoopy needs to work harder. If Henry wants stupid leaf water he shall get it. The next day he finds some tea in the office kitchen and leaves the mug on Henry’s desk when he is in a meeting. Half an hour later there is a knock on his cubicle wall.
A shy “Hey,” greets him.
He looks up into Henry’s incredibly blue eyes and smiles. “Hi.”
“Pippa told me you are responsible for the tea. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Did you like it?”
“Well, it was a bit cold when I came back.”
“Damn, I should have thought about that. You could reheat it in the microwave. I do that with my coffee all the time if I forget to drink it.”
Henry looks at him as if he just announced that aliens have arrived on earth. “You can’t microwave tea.”
Alex laughs. “I’m sure you can, let me grab your mug.”
“No! You mustn’t! It’s… a sin. How could you even think about it?”
“I’m sorry to offend your British sensibilities, Your Majesty.”
Seeing Henry laugh at his little insult makes his heart skip a beat. How is someone allowed to look that gorgeous while giggling?
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Pippa is the good soul of the office. She works there since Zahra founded the company and knows everyone. Including their darkest secrets. She also is a talented baker and often shares her baked goods with them. Today she brought different filled Yorkshire puddings. They don’t look like the pudding he knows, but they taste delicious.
“I’m not supposed to tell you, but while the Earl Grey was fine, Henry prefers an English Breakfast Tea,” she tells him when they meet in the kitchen with a wink.
“Leaf water is leaf water,” he complains.
Pippa chuckles. “I agree. It’s the devil's brew.”
“I mean, I get herbal teas when you are sick, but the others? Not in my house. The pudding is amazing by the way.”
“Oh thank you, dear. Have you tried both the sweet and the savory filling?”
“There’s a sweet filling? No, I think they were all gone.”
“Sweeter than our dear Henry, when I make them again I will make sure to save one for you.”
This afternoon he makes it his mission to find that stupid English Breakfast Tea, even the name is bland and boring, just like the leaf water itself, but there is none in the office kitchen. He even tries the supermarket around the corner, but no chance. The cashier tells him he needs to buy it in a special shop for foreign groceries.
So he makes another Earl Grey on the next day and swears to never tell Henry that he heated the water in the microwave, as it’s way faster than the electric kettle. Henry smiles thankful when he sits the mug on his desk.
“Some birdie told me you prefer English Breakfast Tea. Is it allowed to drink that after breakfast?”
Henry chuckles. “Yes. It’s popular for breakfast, hence the name, but you can drink it all day.”
“Good to know. Sadly I couldn’t find some, so it’s another Grey Earl.”
“Earl Grey. I have some English Breakfast Tea in my desk drawer. I can’t put it in the kitchen, where anyone could use it, because I order it from home, and it gets quite expensive.”
“You order leaf water from home? Good to know, so perhaps it should just bring you hot water tomorrow.”
“You don’t need to…,” Henry starts, but Alex stops him with a wave of his hand.
“I need coffee anyway, so I can get some hot water too.”
Henry hands him some tea bags. “Just water is stupid. You could use my sheep mug if you like, even though I have to admit that this one is quite cute.”
“It is. You know... I see us as Snoopy and Woodstock. You were just chilling here, doing your job and then this stupid annoying bird, me, appeared and wants to be your friend.”
“You want to be my friend?” Henry asks, surprised.
“Obviously, do you see me bringing tea to Hunter?”
Henry smiles. “No, but I think he’s a coffee addict. Just like you.”
Alex is about to walk back to his cubicle, when Henry’s hand on his arm stops him. “One more thing: I’d like a splash of milk in my tea, if that’s possible.”
“YOU LIKE MILK IN YOUR TEA?” Everyone is looking at them now. “Sorry,” he apologizes to the rest of the office.
“Yes, just like some people like milk in their coffee.”
Alex shakes his head. How can someone so cute have such a bad taste in drinks?
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While Alex loves his new job, it’s also easier than what he hears from fellow students about their jobs. They are burned out every night, and he still has so much energy left. He knows that’s a good thing, but what should he do with all this energy? That’s how he rediscovers running. Running is still not enough, so he starts cooking. His abuela’s and grandma's recipe books are his bibles.
He cooks so much that he takes the leftovers to work to eat it at lunch. Occasionally he even bakes some things and puts the result in the break room for everyone to try. He asked Pippa before if that would be okay for her, as he didn’t want to take her place as the office baker, but she only smiled and said: “The more, the merrier.” He only got compliments for his baking skills so far and a special blonde moaned softly when he has bitten into his Mexican cheesecake.
Cooking also means that he can eat his food in the break room, and he doesn’t have to find a restaurant nearby. Henry sometimes joins him on his lunch break. Alex should feel bad that he texts Nora in such moments to tell her he’s too busy, but he knows she’s fine. They talk about everything and nothing, but often about their sisters. The Brit just told him how happy he was that his sister Bea visited him last weekend for the first time since he moved to New York half a year ago.
“She’s thinking about moving here too. I showed her around the city and she really liked it. It’s bigger than London, but not in a bad way.”
Alex chuckles. “It’s bigger than most cities if you don’t count Asia.”
“You know who I miss too? June. We always talked about the newest books we read.”
That gives him an idea. Perhaps he should invite Henry and June over for dinner. He would cook, empanadas perhaps, they could talk about Austen and new books, and he could get closer to Henry. That sounds like a good plan.
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“Henry, how’s it going?” He asks the next morning.
Henry blushes adorable and smiles bashfully. “Morning, Alex. I’m good. How are you?”
“I hate New York during rush hour, but I’m better now that I saw you.” He winks and walks towards his cubicle.
A few hours later he gets his first office coffee and checks that Henry’s mug is empty too. The editors are in a meeting, but it should be over soon. He adds the milk to the tea, but it feels so wrong. Those two liquids don’t belong together.
Nora watches how he places the mug carefully on Henry’s desk. “Getting on board of the bi-train? Good for you. Welcome on board.”
Alex smiles slightly. “I don’t know, I guess. Chances of me being bisexual?”
“I don’t have enough data for that, but chances that you are into Henry? 100%.”
“Very helpful, thank you,” he chuckles.
“You’re welcome,” she puts her arm around his shoulder. “Will you ask him out?”
“Yeah, yeah. I think I will, but first I want to ask him to join June and me for dinner. Having her as a buffer.”
“Sounds nice, but three wheels are never good. You should add a fourth wheel. Me.”
Alex laughs. “What do you get out of it?”
“Free dinner and time with my favorite siblings.”
“Alright. I’ll ask Henry later.”
Ten minutes before his lunch break, Zahra stands in front of his desk. There’s a small emergency, a mistake which stupid Hunter made weeks ago that’s about to bite them in the ass. Sadly the idiot is visiting his family in Boston this week, so Alex has to take the blame and correct it. No lunch break for him today. He can only shake his head sadly when Henry +looks at him questioningly.
It takes hours to fix everything, and now he’s behind with his usual work. He works an hour overtime, but luckily Henry is still there when he grabs his bag.
“Hey Henry, I was wondering,” he starts, but the Brit stops him.
“Sorry Alex, talk to you tomorrow? I’m already late. I really need to get home. David is waiting.”
“Oh, yeah. Alright. See you tomorrow.”
What a shitty day, but he can still ask Henry tomorrow. They’re not in a hurry. But who’s that David? Henry never mentioned a David before. Probably just a good friend he’s meeting. It’s fine.
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Henry has agreed to join him for dinner with June and Nora on the next day. At their shared lunch break they walk over to a small park and sit on a bench.
Henry sighs. “It is such a beautiful day. It’s a shame we spend most of our time in the office.”
“You could take your laptop and work here for an hour, couldn’t you? Just make sure it’s fully charged. Reading and correcting something here sounds great.”
“I’m not at the home office stage yet,” Henry reminds him.
Oh yeah, the home office stage. Zahra decided that they need to work for the company for at least six months before they are allowed to work from home. He gets that. They need the time to learn everything and there are other, more experienced colleagues at the office. So it makes sense. Technically working from home or a park or a coffee shop should be all the same, right? He never thought about it before, as he has a good reason to go to the office.
“You started a month before me, and I've been working there for four and a half months now, so you’re nearly there.”
“Thank god,” Henry chuckles.
“Oh, you want to work from home?” Dark day looming ahead.
“Yes, at first only one day a week, but I hope someday I only need to go to the office when there’s a meeting.”
“Oh,” Alex can’t help but feel disappointed. Apparently Henry doesn’t have a reason to go to the office. It’s alright. It shouldn’t hurt.
The dinner is on the following Saturday. Alex has deep cleaned his entire apartment. He even changed the bedsheets and checked if his condoms are expired. A man can hope, right? June has joined him earlier to help prepare the food. They are only ten minutes away from the arrival of his other guests. He wears his tightest jeans which make his ass look fantastic. If Henry wants cake for dinner he might be open for it. His simple black polo shirt leaves nothing left for imagination. Displaying his toned abs perfectly.
“You’re showing off your body today. Who do you want to impress? Nora or Henry?”
Alex is taken aback at June's question. They haven’t talked about his latent bisexual tendencies yet. So he only throws her an annoyed look and is happy that the doorbell saves him from answering.
Henry, the good soul that he is, brought wine. He wears jeans too and a blue button-down with two buttons undone. Alex tries not to drool and to think about unbuttoning the rest. June kidnaps Henry and engages him in a debate about Pride and Prejudice. Alex puts an apron on and starts filling the empanadas. Nora arrives twenty minutes late, but he expected nothing else from her. She’s always late to work, thank Zahra for flexible work time.
“At least I’m in time for dinner. Do you need help? Those two are busy gushing about Mr. Darcy,” is her version of an apology.
The food is tasty and everyone compliments Alex. It was a good idea to invite June. She carries most of the talking, while he’s busy staring at Henry and undressing him in his mind. Right here at the table.
“Damn buddy, you’re down bad,” Nora chuckles when they put the plates into the dishwasher.
“I know. It should be embarrassing, but I think he likes me too.”
“I’d say 95% percent probability that he’s into you.”
“I’ll take that. Thank you for joining us as the fourth wheel.”
Nora chuckles. “I expect a thank you cake at my desk on Monday, and now you should go and talk to loverboy instead of just staring at him.”
“I’m trying, okay? He’s just so fucking pretty that my brain stops working.”
June suggests playing a game after dinner and everyone agrees. She gets an old version of Clue out of his closet, and they try to solve the murder. Normally Alex loves this game, he’s a great detective, good at reading in between the lines and figuring out who showed which card to whom, but today he doesn’t pay enough attention. He still doesn’t know who did it and which room was involved. Only the murder weapon shines clearly. Before he can solve the case, Nora walks into the dining room, accuses Professor Plum and the candlestick and cheers loudly when she’s right. Of course, his figure was the murderer. In the dining room, with a candlestick. What a cliché.
After the game, June and Nora grab their bags to go home. Henry, ever the gentleman, offers to walk with them to the subway, even though he lives just a few blocks away. Alex tries to hide his disappointment. He thought Henry would stay a bit longer, so they could talk. If he’s being totally honest, he at least hoped for a kiss goodnight.
New Week, new luck. As promised he leaves a small cheesecake on Nora’s desk so she has breakfast when she comes in later.
Henry smiles at him when he sits the mug with the English Breakfast Tea on his desk. “Thank you, Alex. Have a good day, I’ll see you later.”
June came back on Sunday to go on his nerves and find out more about his crush. He promised that he would be brave today. So he’s planning to ask Henry for a date later. An official dinner date.
He’s busy with a rather complicated case, and it’s been hours when he realizes his coffee is empty. Alex didn’t plan eavesdropping on Henry’s and Pippa’s conversation, they’re just standing in the kitchen and his coffee was empty.
“So how are things with David?”
“It’s amazing, I’m so glad he’s finally in New York too. He’s the best thing that happened to me. I love him more than anything,” Henry’s smile could light the darkest night. He looks incredibly happy. But Alex didn’t know that Henry had a boyfriend. He thought they were getting somewhere, but apparently he read that all wrong.