Work Text:
The young King of Media, Jonathan Ruskin was unable to focus on the work ever since he sat down to his table in the morning. His mind was occupied by something else, a certain date, which, in Ruskin's eyes, were more important than the boring company documents, his newspapers, all the power that once belonged to his father and what he needed to earn too early.
The birthday of his secretary, Mr. Milverton.
Ruskin really wanted to surprise his assistant with something on that special date. He already decided that he would bake a strawberry cake for him, which he knew was his favorite dessert. Ruskin, despite that they always kept a chef at the manor, learned how to work in the kitchen and he was secretly fond of it. He rather baked strawberry cakes for Mr. Milverton all day instead of needing to deal with the company matters. The latter was often dull while the first gave him the chance to see his secretary's beautiful smile. Ruskin couldn't wait to see it in its widest form while the man's golden eyes behind the glasses would sparkle from the joy as well. It was a breathtaking picture even to imagine and Ruskin wanted to make it come true.
And to achieve that, he wanted to do a proper celebration for Mr. Milverton's birthday. The cake was already planned, but he wanted more. Giving a present to him - but he had no idea what could be the right one.
Their personalities were entirely different from each other. Ruskin had a low self-esteem and he was often hesitant to make decisions, listening more to his feelings than his ratio - while Mr. Milverton had confidence in his abilities and he was skilled in management which came to great use to Ruskin during the daily work. In Ruskin's mind, it would have made more sense if Mr. Milverton was the King of Media and not him - but this was not how fate determined it. Still, it was a lot of help for Ruskin that he had Mr. Milverton on his side. His secretary was the same age as his father, but Ruskin never thought of him as a replacement. His feelings that he developed for Mr. Milverton was something else, something deeper, something that made his heart beat faster every time his secretary was in the room. It should have never happened - but Ruskin fell in love with his subordinate.
It was the other reason why Ruskin wanted to find the perfect present for Mr. Milverton other than the gratitude. He loved him from all his heart and he wished to give him the world - if he could. But he never initiated anything with Mr. Milverton, he knew that it wouldn't be appropriate. He kept his feelings a secret, but he didn't want to chase them away. As much as they tortured him, they also made him happy.
But unfortunately, he still didn't know Mr. Milverton enough to know what could bring him joy other than the strawberry cake.
Should he buy a tie pin? A gold tie pin would fit to his secretary's glowing, bright eyes, Ruskin thought, but he was afraid that what if the motive he would choose would not be Mr. Milverton's taste. If it was something ordinary, that also holds the risk of making the present too formal. Ruskin wanted to give something to Mr. Milverton to assure the man that he was fond of him while he still wouldn't talk about the true nature of his feelings.
He thought of an expensive, customized notebook or pen, but he quickly dropped those ideas, too. When he entered his service, Ruskin promised Mr. Milverton that he would take care of his needs - and notebooks and pens were part of a secretary's daily necessities. Ruskin chased the thoughts away of buying a new suit for similar reasons. It was not special. Anytime he saw that one of Mr. Milverton's suits started to get worn out, he bought him new ones.
Then, what should he give? Ruskin was out of ideas quickly and the feeling of helplessness regarding the matter caused him a few bad nights. In the end, he decided that it would be the best if he asked about it straight away. That will ruin the surprise, yes - but at least, he can truly give something what Mr. Milverton wish for.
So the next morning, he called his secretary in the office. He saw that Mr. Milverton curiously watched him, trying to predict what he would say - and he looked quite surprised when Ruskin started to talk.
"Your birthday will be here soon." Ruskin told the other man who blinked for the words. "I want to give you a present, but I don't know what you need. Can you help me out?"
Mr. Milverton stared at him for a moment and Ruskin saw the shock in his golden eyes. Then he let out a chuckle.
"I never expected that you would memorize my birthday, Mr. Ruskin." He said. "My previous employers never did that. I am grateful already for the gesture... but if that is what you wish, then I indeed have something I wish for."
"What is it?" Ruskin asked impatiently. He couldn't wait to learn more about what Mr. Milverton liked.
An embarrassed smile appeared on Mr. Milverton's face.
"There is a new installment in a gallery." He started. "It presents paintings of the Original Sin tale from the Bible. I would like to see that, but I couldn't take the time to go there."
"You could have asked for a day off." Ruskin reminded him while he thought through the wish. It surprised him. He had no idea that his secretary was religious. "I didn't know that you were interested in religion." He voiced it out loud.
Mr. Milverton shrugged his shoulders and his smile changed.
"I get interested in it from time to time." He noted and after a moment of silence, he added. "Can I ask one more thing, sir? I would like you to accompany me there." He said and he tilted his head. "It would be more entertaining if I had some company - and I specifically want yours. Something tells me that we could have an interesting discussion about the topic."
Ruskin's heart started pounding so heavily that he was afraid that it would explode. He didn't expect that Mr. Milverton would ask for this....that he wanted him to be there. Could that mean... that he liked him, even if just a bit?
The possibility put a blush onto Ruskin's face. He could feel that Mr. Milverton watched him with a calculating gaze, but he didn't care what was behind that. He didn't care about the ominous lights in the golden eyes either. He only cared about one thing.
That Mr. Milverton wanted him to be part of his birthday.
His life.
"Happily." He answered. And he felt more joy than if it was his own birthday.