Work Text:
It wasn’t like Vincent didn’t want to go to a work party for the Christmas season…
He would just… prefer staying in his home that night. His warm home that was away from his coworkers who he did not like in the slightest.
He was sort of pressured into it. In between segments, a work party was brought up in conversation that he knew was coming up. He had already planned on not going, but one of his coworkers singled him out.
“Vincent!” She had said, turning to him. “Are you coming to the party? Then you can bring that girlfriend of yours around!”
“Wh–wha– ?” He sputtered, before clearing his throat. “Oh, um, maybe. I— I’ll see if I’m busy that night.”
Idiot. Idiot. Idiot.
“Well, we hope to see you there!” She chirped. The rest of his coworkers nodded in agreement.
“Um, yeah! I— I’ll probably be able to come.”
He really should just shut the fuck up.
See, the biggest problem wasn’t his anxiety to be willingly around these people he didn’t like, though it was a contributing factor.
His biggest problem was that he did not have a girlfriend.
He had Val.
Was Val his boyfriend? They’d never really put a label on it, but he assumed so. They’ve lived together for a few months, they kiss and have sex, they go out for dinner, they do everything that partners would do.
He couldn’t just show up to the party with Val, a man, without getting hatecrimed or something. Or having his reputation ruined. He could only guess how quick his career would be decimated if it got out he was dating a guy.
Vincent could just not show up. But he knew his coworkers would get on his ass about it and he’d never hear the end of it. He could bring a random lady, but that would feel gross.
He’d just have to talk to Val about it.
… As much as that idea scared him.
“I’m home, Val,” He announced when he entered the house, hanging up his coat. “It’s really coming down out there.”
Val let out a long sigh from the couch. Vincent could already smell the fact that he was smoking a cigarette. “It has been all day. You know what I woke up to this morning? Pitter patter, all over the roof, and that’s all I’ve been hearing. Fucking annoying.”
Vincent laughed softly, coming over and sitting down next to him. “I like it. It’s a nice sound.”
Val eyed him suspiciously. “You have a good day?”
“Oh, I… guess?” He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “It was… fine.”
“Hmm. You seem in a weirdly good mood.”
He tapped his fingers on his thighs, looking down at the ground as he tried to string the words together in his mind. His plan was already failing. Trying to act as nice as possible before he broke the news to Val? Yeah, not working.
“Um… I was invited to a work party.”
Val blinked. “Are you going?”
“I think I have to.”
“Well, it’s good that you’re getting out, right?”
“I guess… But… They want me to bring my… ‘girlfriend’. They want me to bring you.”
There was a moment of silence before Val broke out into laughter.
“Oh, gosh, are you really talking about me at work?”
Vincent flushed furiously. “Of course I’m not! You’re hardly slick about anything. They all see what you do to my neck when I walk in every morning, and they think it’s a girl doing that to me! They think I’m submitting to a girl!”
Val placed a finger on Vincent’s mouth and he quieted. “Babe… Okay. First of all, nothing wrong with that. A lot of men are overpowered by girls, and me topping you is no different.”
“Hey, that’s not— “
“Second, what in the world do you plan on doing, then?”
Vincent fidgeted with his hands. “I don’t know… I mean, I could bring a random girl, but that’s kind of… cheap, right? Val, I’d love to prance you around and show you to them, but you’re… “
“A queer?”
“... I was going to say a man, but that too.” He sighed. “If you weren’t a man, I would bring you, but I… “
He stopped, an idea slowly forming in his mind.
Val leaned forward eagerly. “What?”
“If you… weren’t a man… That’s it! What if you dressed up as a woman and pretended to be my girlfriend? I mean, you already have dresses and makeup. It wouldn’t be hard.”
Val nodded slowly. “Usually I would think this would be stupid, but I will not pass up an opportunity to embarrass you in front of your coworkers.”
Vincent’s ears turned red. “Please do not do that. That’s the one thing I need you not to do.”
“What? It’s not like you’re gonna keep them alive for long anyway.”
“Well— that’s still embarrassing!”
“Come on, Vincey~ Just let me do all the talking for you, show them who’s boss.”
Vincent sighed. “Fine.”
“Great!” Val stood up and ran down the hall. “I haven’t done full drag in forever!
“Ah, wait— “ He turned around on the couch and yelled back to him. “The party is on Friday!”
“I want to pick out a dress!”
Vincent rubbed his hand down his face and slumped on the couch. This was either going to go shockingly well, or it was going to be a disaster.
… He’d probably assume the latter.
A moment passed.
“Pick a red or a black one, those colors look good on you.” He mumbled.
~
The night of the work party, Vincent was stressing.
Val on the other hand, was all too calm.
Vincent was still trying to find an outfit he liked and Val was ready since that morning. He tried not to look at him too much, wanting to focus on what he was doing, but Val looked gorgeous.
His usual front-braided hair was let down and he had put in some fake eyelashes. The dress he picked out was red and short and hugged his body in all the right ways. His heeled boots made him even taller than he usually was. He was like a tower, compared to Vincent.
He really did look like a woman. His voice was a little suspicious, but Vincent had met plenty of women with deep voices and he didn’t think it was going to be a problem.
The only thing that might be a problem was that his male coworkers might be checking out Val too much, and he didn’t want to get riled up at such a casual gathering.
“Maybe go for your dark blue blazer,” Val advised, as Vincent had gotten too caught up in staring at the colors of the fabrics. “It’ll go with my dress. Then do a white shirt and a black tie. Don’t want to draw too much attention to the clothes.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Why not?”
“Because you already have enough of a handsome face to carry the outfit for you.”
Vincent’s face heated up as he avoided his eyes. “Yeah, okay, I’ll wear that.”
He paused for a moment.
“Is that dress too short?”
Val groaned. “Oh, are you really slut shaming me right now? It’s not even that short! At least it covers my ass. I could say less for some people… “
“I’m not… slut shaming you… “ He wrung out his hands. “I just think that… maybe a longer dress would be better. I don’t want… too many people looking at you.”
Val nodded slowly, a smile forming. “So you want me all to yourself, huh?”
“Yes— I mean, no! I mean… kind of?”
“That’s cute,” Val leaned down and got in his face. “Don’t worry, I won’t be going off with any of your associates. They’re gross, anyway. Ew. Yuck.”
Vincent let out a breathless chuckle. “Yeah— I mean, I wasn’t worried.”
“Hmmm, sure you weren’t.”
“You’re just… really pretty, so anyone would probably… “
“Yeah?”
“... want a piece of you.”
Val chuckled, his hand coming up to gently hold Vincent’s chin. He relaxed into him immediately. “I think you’re projecting.”
“Just a little.”
Val leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips. Vincent giggled muffledly into his mouth, surprised, before grabbing at Val’s shoulders and pulling him down further, which received a soft gasp from his lover.
He turned them towards the bed and placed Val down on it, ready to climb over top of him, but Val reached up and placed a hand on his chest, holding him back.
“You’re going to ruffle my outfit.”
“Oh,” He flushed with embarrassment, stepping back. “Right. Sorry. Got a little… carried away.”
“Mmm.” Val stood from the bed and ran his hands down his dress. “You should probably get dressed. And maybe brush your teeth.”
“What? It’s not that bad, is it?” He squeaked subconsciously.
Val chuckled and crossed the room to the mirror, fixing the creases on his outfit, though Vincent didn’t see any problems with it.
“It smells like meatloaf.”
“When was the last time we had meatloaf?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever shared a meatloaf with you, amor.”
“Hmph.” Vincent began lifting his shirt over his head so he could replace it with the white button up. “I’ll brush them later.”
He got dressed quicky, trying to ignore Val’s shameless eyes on him. Once he was done, he looked in the mirror at the two of them.
Well, they certainly looked like a couple.
Were they too dressed up? He wasn’t sure. If he knew his colleagues well enough, he knew they would probably dress up in a sweater and jeans, or something.
At least they would be the best dressed at the party.
He went to his ensuite bathroom to quickly brush his teeth, gagging at the minty taste before washing his mouth out with sink water, which objectively tasted worse.
He left the bathroom to find Val slipping on some jewelry, which he kind of wished he’d thought of earlier, because it was five minutes past when they were already supposed to be there.
“It’s a little cold out, Val, do you want to get a coat?” He fretted. “You’re showing a lot of skin.”
“Oh, hell no, a coat would ruin my outfit,” Val said, slipping on a necklace. “I’d rather freeze.”
Vincent shrugged and retrieved a coat from his closet. “Okay, but I’m not giving you mine.”
Val turned and held out his hand. Vincent peered into it. He held a few gold and silver rings. Vincent quirked an eyebrow.
“Try on some rings. Accessorizing might help.”
“I don’t know… I’m not really a jewelry person.” He shifted his feet.
“Just put them on. You look like a wet dog next to me.” Val shoved the rings into his hands and Vincent took them begrudgingly.
“You’re so mean… “
“I’m not saying you’re ugly, you’re just… boring? Less stylized? Babe, you look like you’re about to attend a funeral. Or, maybe a wedding?”
“What? You told me to wear this!”
“Did I? Oh, let’s go!” Val said abruptly, running as best as he could in his heels out of the room. “We’re gonna be late!”
Vincent fumbled briefly as he got his keys from his nightstand, but managed not to drop them as he ran after him out the door.
This was going to go great, he was sure.
~
They arrived at Vincent’s work about twenty minutes late, but Val didn’t seem to be worried about it. He was fixing his makeup in the car mirror as Vincent waited, his arms crossed.
“You look beautiful enough, Val,” He grumbled. “We have to be in there.”
“I thought you didn’t want to be here in the first place.” Val observed, fixing up his lipstick. “You’re too impatient.”
“I just… don’t want to disappoint, you know?”
“Well, you won’t disappoint them as long as you’re bringing me.” Val put his lipstick back in the glove compartment and opened the car door. “Come on, let’s get in there.”
When they got into the studio, most of the stuff inside was cleared out. The greenscreen, the cameras, all of that. It looked nearly empty except for some tables of snacks and little activities they’d set out. Vincent did not plan on doing any of the activities.
“Oh, Vincent, we thought you weren’t going to show up!” One of them chirped. Robert. He was the one who had organized the event, obviously. He was starting to not like him as much.
“And he brought the girl with him!” His other coworker, the one who had pressured him into this, he thought her name was Barbara, exclaimed. She came up to Val with her hands behind her back and a polite smile. “What’s your name hon?”
“Hi— Her name is Val… entin… a! Valentina!” Vincent said for him, face flushing as he fucked up in a variety of ways.
“I also go by Val,” He chimed in, extending his hand for her to take. “Nice to meet you.”
All of his other workmates had realized that Vincent was here with his “girlfriend” and came over to say hi. Val kept getting stuck in little conversations and left Vincent just to stand there, tapping his foot against the floor.
“How do you feel knowing you’re dating Baltimore’s local celebrity?” One asked him, as though she was a news reporter.
Val puffed out his chest. “It feels great. He really is a catch, isn’t he?”
“Definitely!”
“I never thought he would go for tall women,” One looked him up and down. “I thought for sure he would bring a shorter girl here.”
Val chuckled. “He loves his power plays, but, well— “
Vincent had a feeling he knew where this conversation would go, and grabbed Val’s wrist firmly. “Ahaha! Okay, that’s enough. Val, let’s go try some of those cookies! Barbara, you made them, right? I haven’t gotten a chance to try them yet. Yeah, yeah, let’s go do that!”
Before anyone could say anything, he dragged Val over to the table with snacks and drinks and avoided eye contact with everyone else, grabbing a paper plate and slowly piling cookies onto it. They looked disgusting and burnt, but it was a nice cover.
“Oh, come on, I was having a good talk.” Val leaned on the table, briefly eyeing some chip dip before his eyes snagged back over to him.
“Well, you’re not allowed to talk to my coworkers about my taste in partners and sex.” He grumbled, shrugging his shoulders to try and hide the burning of his ears, but failing.
“You just don’t want me talking to people.”
“What? That’s— that’s crazy! Not letting you talk to people? What am I, a shanghaier?”
“I don’t know… maybe you just don’t want me cozying up to anyone.” Val leaned forward and rested his forearms on the table, making a show of wiggling his behind. “Especially not anyone you know.”
“What are you implying?”
“Oh, nothing. Maybe you’re just… jealous?”
“Jealous! A— ahaha, jealous, I would— I would never be— jealous? What— what could even make you think that… “
Val hid a chuckle behind his hand as Vincent’s rapid hand gestures caused him to lose a few cookies to the floor. “Are those even good?” He asked, seamlessly changing the subject.
“I— I mean, no, they look shitty, but let’s not change the subject here! I’m not jealous. I have never been jealous. I would never get mad if you ever… flirted with someone, or if someone else… flirted with you. Never.”
“So if someone flirts with me tonight, you wouldn’t do anything to intervene at all?”
Vincent swallowed. “No.”
“Hmmm, okay,” Val nodded slowly, before gesturing to his plate. “Are you even going to eat those?”
“... No.” He set the plate down. He’d put way too many cookies on there. “I might have some chip dip though.” His eyes flicked over to the bowl of what he presumed to be either salsa or some kind of bean dip. His stomach rumbled. He hadn’t had dinner yet.
Val sighed, leaning more heavily against the table. “I thought they’d have more food. I’m starving. Should we get take-out after this?”
Vincent shrugged. “Probably. Maybe have some food in the meantime, though.”
There was an uncertain look from Val, just briefly, before he indulged in some of the dip. Vincent smiled a little, watching him, before he turned to look at the rest of the party.
It was kind of sad. He liked the set, the set was like his home, but most of its key elements were carried out in favor of a boring little get-together. The curtains were still up, all of the lights, a few cameras, so it was obviously a TV station, just without all of the important gadgets.
They did leave up his weather wall, though, he noticed. He guessed they couldn’t really take that down. He smiled a bit, seeing it. He barely put much time or thought into his weather segment anymore. He still did it, but he was mostly preoccupied with the news or his other various channels…
Val gasped with delight, causing Vincent to quickly turn towards him.
“Oh my god, they have alcohol!” He sounded like a wild animal that had been deprived of food or water. “Thank fuck, I wasn’t going to survive this without it.”
“Oh, pour me some too.” He said offhandedly, his gaze already meeting with one of his coworkers coming up to him. What was her name? Clarisse?
“Hi! Sorry if I’m being invasive, but how did you two meet?” She tilted her head kindly, but he narrowed his eyes at her.
“You are.” He said bluntly.
“Vincent!” Val said in scolding. He set down the drink in his hands and turned to her. “Sorry about him. It’s actually a pretty funny story.”
Panic set in very briefly. Their first meeting was… not exactly something he wanted to share with people. What, was he going to say that Vincent got tipsy, went to a hooker and asked for free therapy? Not a good look on either of their ends.
But Val seemed to have already prepared for this question. “We met at a little party. I had just moved from Florida and I was pretty new in this state, but he was really nice and asked me for a dance. The rest is history, really.”
Val turned to meet his eyes and Vincent fixed him with an impressed look. That actually sounded pretty convincing.
“Aww, that’s so sweet!” Clarisse gushed. “I met my boyfriend at a party, too. Hey, Val, how old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Vincent made a grumbling noise. She wasn’t even worrying about being invasive at this point.
“Thirty-one.” Val shrugged his shoulders and picked his drink from off the table, taking a light sip.
“Oh!” She looked mildly surprised. “Vincent, you’re about… forty, right?”
“Forty-three.” He corrected. “Is there a problem with that?”
“No, no, not at all! Just..a little odd, that’s all.”
Val waved a dismissive hand. “Honey, twelve years difference is nothing. I’ve seen women with guys that are twice their age. It all depends on personal tastes.”
“Right, right… “ She rubbed her face with her hands. “Twelve years… um, I have to go catch a talk with Bob. See you!”
It was then that she walked off. Vincent leaned against the table and took a sip of his drink Val had passed him. Beer in a paper cup. Not exactly the fanciest.
“I don’t know what her problem is. That’s not even that bad.” Vincent mumbled.
Val shrugged. “For a straight couple, it probably is. People around here usually date closer in their age range.”
“Mmm. Fuck that. The people in my range suck. All old and stuffy… “
Val chuckled. “Understandable. I like silver foxes.”
“What?” He set his drink down and tugged at his hair as though he’d be able to see it without a mirror. “My hair’s not silver!”
“You have a few premature grays.”
“Nuh-uh!”
“You’re acting like a child,” He rolled his eyes. “You have them. It’s fine. It’s a genetic thing, or something.”
“Hmph.” He picked up his drink again. “My dad did always tell me I was going to get that… “
“I mean, it’s not the plague.”
Vincent laughed softly into his hand despite himself and took another sip. He turned to grab the bottle of beer and poured some more into his cup. He paused for a moment.
“... You never told me you were from Florida. Or… is that something you made up?”
Val blinked a few times before avoiding his eyes. “Yeah, well, I figured it wasn’t important. It’s not something I like to talk about.”
Vincent opened his mouth to ask him another question, brows creased in concern, but he was interrupted by yet another nosey coworker.
“Hi,” He waved politely to Val. If Vincent remembered correctly, his name was Stephen. “Was just wondering and wanted to make small talk— what do you do for work?”
Vincent grumbled in resignation and crossed his arms, but still listened to see how Val would answer. That was a… tricky question for him, he knew.
“I paint.” Val replied chipperly. “It started out for fun, but I make money off it.”
Right. Better answer than a sex worker. Good job Val for thinking ahead.
“Oh, interesting.” Stephen nodded thoughtfully. “And what do you and Mr. Whittman plan on doing for Christmas? I’m going with my family on a trip. We leave tomorrow.”
Vincent turned his head to meet Val’s eyes, and his gaze was returned right back. They didn’t… quite have plans.
“... We’re probably just going to stay in.” Val waved a dismissive hand. “Same for New Years. Never thought of ourselves as holiday people.”
Stephen gave him a weird look, as if he didn’t understand, before shrugging and donning another look in his eyes that Vincent didn’t like. “Oh, well, that makes sense. You’ve really… dressed up, yeah? Ain’t you cold?”
Val shook his head. “It’s warm in here.”
“If you’re ever cold, I could… lend you my jacket. You know, I’m surprised Vincent hasn’t offered yet.”
Vincent made a small irritated noise in the back of his throat.
“I think I’m fine.” Val crossed his arms more defensively.
“Just a… girl in a short little dress like that… I’m only worried. You might freeze.”
Val lifted his chin defiantly. “Yeah, well, I can look after myself.”
“Not saying you can’t! Just… “
“Just what?” Vincent cut in, voice rising. “H— She can look after herself, she said.”
Stephen blatantly ignored him. “I could make you warmer, if you really wanted. If it’s so cold out, I’m sure I could help.” His voice lowered suggestively in a way that made Vincent want to chew him out.
“Hey.” Vincent growled, stepping between them. “Why don’t you just fuck off?”
Val reached out and flicked Stephen’s forehead. “You’re not even smooth, you fuckhead.”
“Don’t you have a wife?” Vincent added. “A family, you said? How would she feel knowing that you’re flirting with Vincent Whittman’s girlfriend?”
Stephen’s eyes flicked between them briefly before his mouth folded into a thin line. He backed away very slowly before trying to run off and merge himself into an already ongoing conversation.
Vincent watched him with a death glare. When his attention was shifted, he immediately turned to Val.
“He’s a fucking prick. Doesn’t he know that you’re mine?”
Val chuckled. “I thought you said you wouldn’t intervene.”
“Screw what I said! He was being a massive creep!”
That received a shrug. “People say things like that all the time.”
“A— All the time? Val, what— you— you don’t deserve that.” His face morphed into something pleading. Pleading for Val to understand why he was so upset.
“... I don’t know. Just makes me feel like I’m doing something right.”
He let out another growl-like noise, setting his drink down. It still had some beer in it, but he didn’t care. He wrapped his arm around Val’s. “Come on. We’re going and we’re getting dinner. Away from this shitty party.”
Val didn’t protest as they marched over to the door, ignoring the stares as he left the party without another word.
~
The ride in the car was silent. Vincent went into some Mexican place and ordered dinner to go. The only words Val had said was his order when Vincent asked. Instead of going home immediately, they sat in the car in the parking lot, eating their food.
Val had gotten a cheese enchilada and Vincent had settled on crispy tacos and a brown soda. They ate in silence.
“... Listen, Val. I’m sorry that I got so worked up. It was supposed to be a fun little party, but I ruined it like I always do… “
“It’s okay.” Val murmured. “... I probably would’ve done the same thing. If… someone was saying those things to you, I’d probably lose my mind.”
Vincent laughed, forced and awkward. “Yeah… “
He took a bite of his food. He actually hadn’t gone to many places like this before he met Val, preferring diner burgers, but he’d grown to like Mexican food a lot more. He took a sip of his soda.
“I want to kill him.”
“... You can.”
“He doesn’t have a job I want.”
“You can murder whoever you want to murder, miel.”
Vincent glanced back over to him. “Why do you encourage me?”
Val shrugged. “It’s not like I’m the type of person to try and stop you. I know how it feels.”
He nodded slowly, feeling suddenly very nervous. “Yeah… “
Val sighed, picking at his enchilada. “... I don’t like talking about Florida because that’s where my family is. That’s where I grew up. I just… I don't really like my family.”
“Hah, me too.” Vincent smiled softly. “I… don’t like my family either. But I mean, it’s not like they’re really… around.”
Val tilted his head. “Mmm?”
“My dad lives in Louisiana. I used to before I moved here. And my mom… “ He trailed off.
Val reached his hand between them, searching for Vincent’s. Vincent immediately held his hand in his palm.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Vincent shook his head, feeling a lump in his throat.
Val’s voice carried soft and understanding. “That’s okay.”
They sat there for a moment, food mostly untouched, but he didn’t stress about it too much. The silence was comfortable.
He sucked in a breath. “I’m really sorry about the party.”
Val placed a finger over his mouth. “Oh, hush, don’t be.”
“I know you were excited to dress up… “
“So? I can dress up in other places, too. This probably won’t be the last time you bring me out in public.”
“Oh, don’t remind me.” His stomach tightened with dread at the prospect.
“And not just in public,” Val added. “Maybe… if you wanted a private show.”
“A private show?” He repeated, confused for a moment, before his brain seemed to load. “Oh!”
Val chuckled, rubbing the back of Vincent’s hand with his thumb. “I’m sure you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
Vincent avoided his eyes. “Maybe.” He mumbled.
“You would.”
He pushed him away, laughing softly. “Oh my god, eat your dinner.”
“Fine.” Val pouted, but continued eating anyway. Vincent watched him for a moment, making sure he was really eating, before finishing his own.
“He got me thinking about plans for Christmas.” Vincent started.
Val hummed in acknowledgement.
“I don’t want to do anything. It’s not like we have families to go to… I was thinking that we could just… stay inside where it’s warm and watch some movies. If you’d… like that?”
Val swallowed before answering. “I’d love that.”
“Good… good.” He put a hand over his mouth to hide his smile, but he had a feeling Val had already seen it.
He felt a warm flutter in his chest.
He didn’t think it could get better than this.