Work Text:
The Offer
by JE
Miles had noticed Stephen sleeping in the office and it worried him, but no matter how much he wanted to do something to make the other man more comfortable, it was a difficult decision. Making an offer, could have so many different results, some good and some bad, and while he hoped for the good he feared the bad.
The problem was that not too long after he had started working at NIH he had fallen for the older man and no matter how much he’d love to be closer to Stephen Connor, he was afraid of Stephen finding out and hating him for it. No matter how much he reminded himself that that wouldn’t happen, if the feelings weren’t reciprocated it most probably would end up being awkward enough that it’d be unbearable to continue working here.
It was a hard decision to make and he couldn’t ask someone for advice as it’d mean breaking Stephen’s trust, despite the fact that he was never told to tell anyone as he himself wasn’t even supposed to know. It was obvious that the older man didn’t want anyone to know and that was enough for him not to tell anybody. The other thing was that he wasn’t ready to share his feelings for Stephen just yet.
For his own peace of mind he had prepared the sofa-sleeper in his living room, just so he could pretend he had offered. He knew the make-believe he was playing was bad, that he could slip up at work somehow, but he didn’t really care.
A few nights later he had an opportunity. Indecisive as he was about the issue, he hadn’t realised he had forgotten to take his keys with him and therefore couldn’t open his car.
Sighing, he went back in, knowing that this would be the confrontation with Stephen about sleeping in his office. He felt as unprepared as he could be, especially since he still hadn’t made up his mind about offering his sofa-sleeper.
He walked quickly to his desk where he had left the keys. He noticed Stephen still had the lights on in his office, despite having made a show out of going home. He also knew that Stephen had noticed him. And indeed, just as he had found his keys in one of the drawers, Stephen was standing in front of him.
After a moment he asked, "You don’t seem surprised to see me here?"
"I know you’ve been sleeping in the office. I just… I didn’t know what to do about it. I just knew that I shouldn’t tell the others. I wondered if I should offer you my sofa-sleeper, but I wasn’t sure if you’d be interested and I still don’t know what to do, and I actually forgot my keys because I’ve been thinking about it so much and…," answered Miles, berating himself mentally for suddenly falling back into his childhood habit of babbling when he was nervous. He had thought he had gotten over that a long time ago.
Stephen sighed, "I appreciate you not telling the others."
An uncomfortable silence settled while they regarded each other and Miles felt like running. When it became too much, Miles stammered, "I guess I should go home then."
He nearly ran out of the door, when Stephen’s voice halted him, "Is it an offer? Since I think it’d be easier to hide that I’m not at home anymore when I’m not sleeping in the office."
"If you want it to be. I kind of prepared the sofa-sleeper a couple of days ago in the hope that it’ll help me to decide," answered Miles.
Stephen nodded and said, "I’ll just go and get my things."
While Miles waited, he thought that fate had made his decision about his offer, but it had still been Stephen’s choice to take him up on it.
Now he only had to decide if he should go up to Stephen and tell him how much he’s in love with him. Idly, Miles wondered if fate would step in as well and pick just the right moment for him or if he should wait and see and take a chance.
The End