Chapter Text
They took separate cars to work. Of course they did. They did that every time Tom crashed at Greg’s place, so why would this be any different? Nothing different happened! Greg wasn’t sure why he was having such trouble convincing himself of this. Tom came, they consumed substances, and slept. In the same bed. That part was different from usual, but it’s fine! Greg’s sure it’s fine. Tom being extra nice to him this morning was just his way of saying thank you.
While Greg steps out of the elevator and towards his office, he notices Tom waiting by his door. He did leave the apartment first, after all. The separate drivers are out of pure necessity. They don’t know who could be watching! Especially since Italy. Things have been in the works, and Greg and Tom are about to become very important people, both of them hoping that Matsson favours them as much as Logan does.
As Greg gets closer to Tom, he notices he looks a little fidgety. “Everything alright, Tom?” Greg stops in front of him. Tom’s leaning on the door, playing with the sleeve of his second cup of coffee. He looks like a teenage girl waiting at her crush’s locker. All that’s missing is Tom twirling his long, blond hair and a love confession note in his hands.
“More like all left! Hah!” What happened to him in the 20 minutes they were separated?
“What?”
“Just let me in, Greg.”
Greg jiggles the door handle, and it was unlocked, as always.
“You could’ve just gone in, you know? I don’t, like, lock it?”
They both go inside, Greg going for his somewhat ergonomic chair and Tom perching on the desk to face him.
“Of course, why would you lock it? You don’t keep anything in here except your tchotchkes and files labelled ‘Receipts! Top Secret!’” Tom fiddles with one of the said tchotchkes on the desk; a little toy boat Greg got the last time he was in Niagara. “Have you ever noticed that Niagara rhymes with Viagra?”
“What are you doing here, Tom?”
“What? Can’t I just come visit you?” Tom stands, clearly getting irritated.
“Tom-”
“I can do whatever the fuck I want, Greg!” Tom chucks the tiny boat at the door.
“Hey!” Greg flinches. It doesn’t look like it broke, but there may be some scuff marks.
“Everything’s all fine and fucking dandy!” Tom storms out of the office, kicking the little boat aside and slamming the door behind him. The whole room shook.
“Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.”
First order of business, after Tom destroys his office, no matter how minuscule, was to do damage control.
Greg went over to go check the boat, and, yep, it's a little scuffed. And the little Canadian flag fell off! He places the two pieces side by side on his desk gently, because, sometimes (only sometimes!) Greg likes to pretend there are little people in there. And he just needs to make sure that they’re doing alright.
Second on the list: Assess what the fuck just happened with Tom.
Episodes like these are usually due to one or a combination of a few factors:
1. Shiv
This could be it. Greg doesn’t remember Tom telling him exactly what caused last night’s sleepover (or move-in? He still couldn’t tell). Maybe he’s still irritated with whatever happened with her last night? Unlikely though, because he was perfectly fine this morning.
2. Bad coffee
Probably not, considering Greg made him his coffee this morning. He always did it perfectly, down to the last granule of sugar. He had to teach Tom’s new assistant, Abbie, though, back when he got his promotion. Greg and Abbie were both getting too many Bad Tom days, and it needed to end. Since then, there haven’t been any coffee mishaps, so that was unlikely too.
3. Cyd
Greg assumes that Tom went straight to his office for his coffee as soon as he got to work, then right to Greg’s. No way Cyd could’ve interfered.
4. Logan
Logan couldn’t have interfered either, right?
5. Upcoming meeting
The most likely culprit. Luckily, Greg still has access to Tom’s calendar, so he gives that a quick check. He scans the day and…
Yep! There it is. A two o’clock meeting with the man himself, the head honcho, Great Uncle Logan.
Greg thanks his past self for coming up with the list, and debates sending an email to Tom, asking him for lunch. He decides against it. He’ll just show up. Sending an email would be too time-consuming! Greg’s got some solitaire to get to.
++
Turns out no email was necessary. Tom turns up on his own, giving the door a gentle knock before peaking his head around the corner. Strange, because he would normally waltz right in, not that Greg didn’t like the change. He still didn’t know what caused it.
“Permission to enter?” Greg gives him a quick nod. Tom comes in and- ah, there’s the waltzing. “Oh captain, my captain!” Nice.
Tom places a little origami boat on his desk. “Don’t ask me how long this took me.”
“How long did it take you?”
Greg earns a Look from Tom. He grins a little.
“I worried I broke your little toy, so I made a replacement. Much better, if I do say so myself, huh Greg?”
It’s not from Niagara, but it’s pretty nice. He takes it into his hands in order to inspect it. The word ‘Niagara’ is scrawled on the other side.
“Tha-”
“Ah ah ah!” Tom produces a bag from behind his back. “I got Abigail to get us some sandwiches!”
“Thank you, Tom.”
Greg was handed a classy BLT club, and Tom began to unwrap his own sandwich after perching on the desk.
“I wasn’t sure if you would spring for more bacon after our All American breakfast from this morning, but you’re a growing boy, aren’t you, Greg?” Tom rubs his shoulder, which makes Greg shudder for some reason. He’s just not used to Tom’s touch yet, he supposes.
They ate in silence for a bit, just the sound of chewing to fill the space. Normally the noise would bother Greg, but it’s Tom! He had his days, but, for the most part, Tom can’t bother Greg.
Tom’s phone starts to buzz, and he answers it in between bites. Greg stops eating too, out of politeness and curiosity.
Tom is all “yes”es and “uh-huh”s. He asks who it is, and Tom mouths ‘Gerri’. Oh, so it must have to do with the meeting, maybe? Or perhaps their new positions in the company? Greg notices Tom grimace and put down his sandwich. He ends the call with an enthusiastic (but obviously fake, at least to Greg) “be right there!”
“Everything, uh-” he doesn’t want to say alright again, lest he gets that weird response from this morning. “good in the hood, Tom?” That was so much worse.
“All good buddy!” He sounds so fake. He stands up to leave, hovering awkwardly over Greg.
“You sure about that?”
“Yup!” Tom’s fake smile was pasted on tightly. Absolutely impenetrable. Well, it was penetrated by Greg. He always penetrated Tom.
“Don’t wait up for me! See you at ho-!” Tom slams the door before Greg could hear the rest of what he had to say.
It was, like, one-thirty? How long could this meeting be?
Did Tom say home?
Before Greg had too much time to dwell on that, his phone pinged. He took a glance at it.
Message From: Jess Jordan
Hey, Kendall wants you out of the apartment by the end of the week. Thanks.
Hey. Wait. What the fuck?