Work Text:
Shit.
It was all wrong. You stared at the file in your hands in disbelief, turning over the pages almost hoping their contents would somehow change. Somehow the documents would magically right themselves. But of course, they didn’t. It was there in permanent black ink. Whoever was supposed to fill this out had done it all wrong. You flipped to the last page to inspect the signature. It was the end of the day but maybe you could catch whoever it was before this became your problem.
Martha. Of course.
Martha was on vacation for the next week. Frustrated you dropped the folder on your desk, then you rummaged through your desk drawer for a new blank form. You flipped through the file again. At least all the information you needed looked to be there. It would take some time to interpret Martha’s chicken scratches, but it’s not like you were doing anything that evening anyway.
Still, you felt yourself struggling to fight the aggravation rising in you and decided to take a walk to cool down before getting started untangling this mess. When you stepped outside you started to feel a little better. At the very least it was a sunny afternoon. And at the very least you could stop and get food from your favorite restaurant on the way home.
As you rounded the corner and the building entrance came back into view you could feel the aggravation growing inside you once again. Instead of heading back in you took a moment to lean against the building and enjoy the sun as you were certain you’d be leaving work when it was already dark.
You closed your eyes and muttered, “Happy birthday to me.”
Then, resolving to head back to work, you pushed off the wall but the sound of a familiar voice stopped you in your tracks.
“Hey, Sunshine, you still here?”
The nickname and the gravelly voice could mean only one person. Woods- no you’re supposed to call him Frank now- Frank was leaning against the wall only a few feet away smoking a cigarette. You feel your irritation wash away, it was hard to be annoyed with Frank around. Unless your annoyance stemmed from him. Which it did on occasion. Most of the time he was fun to talk to. And it didn’t hurt that he was good-looking. You gave him a soft smile. A fading bruise wrapped around his cheekbone which only seemed to enhance his looks.
“Yeah, got some work to finish up,” You said with a shrug.
He nodded and took a drag from his cigarette. Apparently, he had nothing to say to that.
“I didn’t know you were back,” You said, suddenly you were in even less of a hurry to get to work.
“Just got in today,” He said. He placed his cigarette in his mouth letting it dangle on his lips. As he moved his hand back to his side you noted broken skin around his knuckles.
You didn’t know exactly what he did, but between the rumors and the injuries you could make an educated guess.
“Rough assignment?” You asked.
Frank turned over his hand to look at his knuckles.
“Not as bad as it looks,” He said. The cigarette bobbed up and down as he spoke. You weren’t sure if he was playing tough or if he meant it. “Anyway, it’s better than paperwork.”
“Don’t remind me.”
“Do I need to talk to someone for you? Just point me in their direction,” He winked.
“I can handle myself thank you very much,” You said.
“Don’t I know it,” He says in response. You could hear the humor in his voice.
“Are you heading out?”
He tossed his cigarette on the ground and crushed it under his boot. He stretched his arms out to the sides and pushed out his chest.
It’s not like you had forgotten how broad he was, but you couldn’t say you minded the visual reminder. Frank wasn’t a meathead, but even under all those layers he wore, you could tell he was strong. He had to be.
“Yeah, better get out of here before Hudson decides he needs to talk to me about something. That guy calls briefings for briefings.”
You let out a little laugh.
He grinned at you and then glanced over his shoulder, up at the building, his eyes seem to travel to the very top before they landed on you again. It was hard to tell what he was thinking. On the surface, it seemed like Frank was an open book, but the more you got to talk to him the more you realized he held back.
“Don’t let ‘em get you down,” He said finally, his tone distant.
You weren’t exactly sure what he meant, but he had already turned to walk towards his motorcycle. You’d have rather watched him than go back inside, but you knew if he caught you looking you knew you’d never hear the end of it.
The good thing about working late was that the building never seemed to be empty. There were always people around burning the candle at both ends. So even after the sun went down and the world outside turned black you still heard the sounds of people working. The occasional cough, or click of shoes on tile as someone walked back and forth to the coffee maker. The tearing of packaged goods bought from the vending machine. Even outside you heard the sound of a motorcycle driving by.
You thought of Frank, of course.
Okay so maybe you had a little bit of a crush on him. What was so wrong with that?
You sighed and then checked your watch. It was later than you realized. And only half the report had been completed. You sighed again and stretched your arms over your head. Your back gave a satisfying crack.
Opening a desk drawer you dug around for some change as you resigned yourself to a vending machine birthday dinner.
At least the vending machine had your favorite treats in stock. And the machine even spat out an extra candy bar. Lucky. At least something had gone right with your day. You ate one of the candy bars as you slowly walked back to your office. Tossing the wrapper in a bin just outside the door you stopped in your tracks just at the threshold.
Frank was sitting on a chair next to your desk. He must have grabbed it from the neighboring workstation. He turned in his seat to look at the door.
“Hey Sunshine, almost thought you left,” He said. He gestured to a brown paper bag on your desk. “Brought you this. Think I got the order right.”
Then he stood up and opened the bag himself. He began removing small takeout containers and placing them along the side of your desk. The takeout containers seemed endless, way too much food for one person.
You stared at him from the doorway, stunned.
“And you know-” He held another container in a purple box. You recognized the label of a nearby bakery on it. “Can’t forget the cake,” Frank said. He glanced over his shoulder at you and his grin faltered.
He quickly looked away, his unfocused gaze settled around the desk.
Was his face turning red?
It was hard to tell with the bruise on his cheek.
“I uh- yeah it’s ok, I should have asked,” Frank said. He grabbed a few containers and placed them in the bag. It was then that you realized you should step forward. You touched the back of his hand to stop him.
“No, I-” You started to say as you looked at all the food he bought. “How did you know?”
“You were muttering something under your breath about it,” He said with an awkward chuckle. “When you said you were working late- I just thought- Didn’t mean to assume anything-”
“No, it’s nice!” You said recovering quickly. Then you laughed. “You think I can eat all this?”
He scratched the back of his head.
“Guess I, thought I’d join you.”
You smiled warmly at him. And after a moment he grinned back. You moved to help him with the containers but he waved you off gesturing for you to take a seat.
He pulled the purple box out again and opened it to reveal a large beautifully decorated slice of birthday cake.
“Hang on,” He said. He stuck a blue candle in the cake and lit it expertly with his lighter.
“Cake first?” You asked.
“Why not? It’s your birthday.”