A/N – So this is my first attempt at any fanfiction ever, so go easy on me! I know it's probably kinda crap buuuut I like it, so I just hope you do too!

Enjoy!

The air was still and warm and the evening quiet as Michael strolled through the park, enjoying the temporary break from reality walking his dog brought. Being one of the leading labour politicians in the country was his dream job, and he did love it, but it wasn't a job that came without its fair share of stress and it was nice to get away from it all every now and then.
Remembering a depressingly large pile of reports to go through at home he sighed, calling his sleek golden Labrador over to him and scratching behind her ears. "Time to head back I'm afraid, girl" he murmured to her affectionately; his dog, Claire, was probably one of the only living creatures in the world that could call themselves close to him (not that Claire, being a dog, could really call anyone anything). Michael shared everything with her, all his secrets, hopes and dreams, and in some odd way she seemed to understand him. He often wished she were human, there was no doubt in his mind that were that the case, she would be his closest friend.

He attached the lead and straightened up, starting slightly when he saw a man about his age, also with a dog, looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and nervous reverence. Catching his eye, the man looked away quickly and, eyes fixed on his shoes, he walked on briskly, seeming to speed up a bit as he passed Michael but stopping abruptly as he felt a sharp tug on his lead. Both men looked over at their dogs, who had sat down next to each other and looked to be having a completely silent conversation, a sight that put both of the men slightly on edge.

Michael cleared his throat awkwardly "I'm –ahem- I'm Michael, and this is Claire." He said, gesturing to the dog who was now lying lazily against the other, then holding his hand out to the stranger.

"Joe," he replied, shaking Michael's hand, "I'm Joe, this is Lucy and I umm, I know who you are, I saw you on News Night last Monday." He finished, looking down at his shoes. Ahh, Michael thought to himself, that would explain why he looked so nervous, and suddenly it was Michael's turn to look at his shoes.

"Oh, I see...just so you know, I'm not usually like that, in general I'm a lot less verbally aggressive but what can I say, David Cameron just happens to be a complete bastard who bring out the worst in me..." he finished on a slight rant, then, realising his words, his eyes shot up, wide with panic as he stammered "OH shitshitshitshit PLEASE don't quote me on that I was just, umm, I mean to say, I just-"

Laughing lightly, Joe cut him off, "Don't worry about it, a) no-one else was around to hear it so I doubt anyone would take it seriously, b) I wouldn't say anything anyway because c) I couldn't agree with you more" he finished, grinning cheekily, his easy smile making Michael feel something he hadn't felt in an extremely long time, and something that made him extremely uncomfortable and extremely confused; butterflies.

Stepping back suddenly, he averted his eyes from Joes and said abruptly "Well, I really have to go so it was nice to meet you and...yeah. Bye." And with that he turned and walked away quickly, pulling Claire along behind him, leaving Joe stood there with a flicker of disappointment in his eyes and trying to block out the unwelcome feelings now stirring inside of him.

Michael spent the rest of the day burying himself in work, trying to forget the feeling that stirred within him earlier, but his mind kept wondering back to that easy, crooked smile and he found himself getting more and more confused each minute. What really confused him more than anything, was the fact that he was straight, he had always been completely straight (well, bar his brief Matt Smith phase, but no-one could judge him for that! When it comes to Matt Smith, love knows no bounds). But he had never had these feelings about another guy before, and it scared him somewhat to think that everything he had always known about himself might not be everything there was to know about himself.

None of it mattered anyway, he told himself as he lay in bed, unable to sleep from the flurry of confusing thoughts and feelings swirling around in his head. It wasn't extremely likely that after 24 years of not knowing or seeing Joe they would meet again all that soon, was it? With that thought in his head, he drifted off into an uneasy sleep, hoping the distraction of work tomorrow would sufficiently drive all thoughts of Joe and his damn smile out of his mind.

Michael awoke early the next day, an hour before his alarm and realising he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, he grudgingly pulled himself out of bed, an action that constituted rolling onto the floor in a bundle of duvet and staring at the same spot of carpet for a full 3 minutes before getting himself up and resigning himself to being awake; Michael was not a morning person. After a sleepy shower, a slice of toast and feeding Claire he set off to work early, giving himself more time than normal so he could treat himself to a stop at his favourite coffee shop as he so liked to do when he was feeling stressed.

He walked into 'Just Bean' still half asleep, but smiling; there was a reason that this place was his favourite, and that was that nothing ever changed here. He could go through hell, get bad publicity, have bad arguments, make bad decisions, anything, but this place always stayed the same. There was the same Russian woman behind the counter, and after he ordered the same order he always did (hot chocolate, without the cream to go) she asked the same question she always did of "Sandwich and cake?" to which he, like he always had, would politely say no whilst internally his mind was doing terrible imitations of her accent. He sighed contentedly at the familiarity of it all.

As he waited for his drink, he heard a strum of guitar strings and smiled again, that would be Darren, the resident coffee sop singer who both wrote and performed extremely well. However, when the familiar voice spoke into the microphone, it wasn't Darren's familiar voice he heard.

"Hi guys, umm, well I guess that those of you who come here often will realise that I'm not Darren, the normal performer. If you didn't know, he's gone away to America to find his 'big break' so I err, I guess you're stuck with me for now then! I'm Joe, and this is a song by one of my favourite artists. Enjoy."

Michael turned slowly, coffee cup now clutched in his hand, to see the same man from yesterday afternoon sat on a stool in the corner, guitar in hand, clearing his throat before beginning to sing.

My strings are broken

And my heart is out of tune.

I wanted quiet

But all I see is you,

I don't know anything.

Joe looked up, looking out at nowhere in particular, the passion and pain in his eyes apparent as he continued.

The earth is spinning

But my feet are standing still,

And the wind is biting

But I'm fighting off the chill,

I don't know anything.

Michael felt like he should turn and walk away, but he just couldn't. The way this guy was performing was captivating, and looking round he noticed that the rest of the room was completely silent, watching as he went. There the odd slow, zombie-like gulp of a drink or bite of food, but everyone seemed entranced at the immense feeling that poured off every note. Even the employees had stopped taking and making orders and the queue of customers didn't seem bothered with ordering either. Everyone just watched in impressed silence as he finished the song.

Why can't you see?

I'd trade in the world

...for you...

There was a short silence in the room and Joe looked down at his shoes saying "The original is done on piano, so I'm not sure how well that worked with guitar, but-" he trailed off as the room broke into applause and people started getting up, dropping a mixture of coins and a few phone numbers into the tip jar and some going up to give him a pat on the back. Joe looked around excitedly, pleased that everyone had enjoyed it, and then noticed Michael, catching his eye and splitting into a grin. "I'm just gonna have a quick break, I'll be right back in a few."

He took the guitar off, set it down and strolled over to Michael at the counter, leaning against it and saying to the employees "The usual, thanks" before turning back to Michael and asking with feigned curiosity "Stalking me, are we? No, Marie, no sandwich or cake, thank you." He smiled his cheeky smile, and turned back to meet his eye, asking nervously "So...what did you think?"

"I think you're much too talented to be stuck playing in a coffee shop. Then again, I thought the same about Darren and now he's gone off to find fame and fortune in America so who knows? Maybe you'll end up doing the same." Michael smiled back, charmingly, stubbornly pushing away the flustered feeling that rose within him from looking into Joe's bright eyes. "And I also reckon that should you have a significant other, you're going to disappoint a lot of people" he added, gesturing towards the tip jar which now looked like it had more phone numbers in it than it had tips, and a group of teenage girls stood nearby who started giggling madly as Joe shot them a cheeky smile and a wink.

"Luckily for them, " he said, turning back to Michael "I don't have a significant other. Unluckily for them, however, they are both a bit too young for me I think and uhh, they're not exactly 'my type', as it were." He said the last bit with a faint blush creeping across his cheeks, looking absolutely anywhere but Michael, who was trying to work out if Joe was saying what he thought he was saying and, ohmygod was this his way of telling Michael he was interested?

There was a short awkward silence in which neither of the men really knew what to say, but was broken quickly by Joe's drink arriving. Michael stared at the large mug of what he assumed was hot chocolate; you couldn't exactly see the drink under the absolute mountain of whipped cream, marshmallows and chocolate powder piled on top. Catching Michael's awed expression, Joe laughed and said "Well, when you get free drinks coz you work here, why not go all out! What about you, what's your poison?"

"Same as you, actually, hot chocolate, only I have it without all that cream and with a lid on so people assume it's something more manly and serious, like coffee..." he admitted sheepishly. When he looked at Joe, he saw a soft smile on his face and Joe said, in an even softer voice "You know, you don't have to hide behind coffee lids if you don't want to? You can be whoever you want to be, regardless of what others think of you."

And with that, he went back to his guitar, leaving Michael late for work and more Confused than ever.

A/N – First off, Claire and Lucy, I apologise, but I wanted you guys to still be in the picture somehow so I thought why not have you as the pets! I hope you realise that I mean it in the most loving way possible

The song was The World Is Mine (I don't know anything) by Alex Day.

Reviews more than welcome, ta!