Oh boy! Coder Boyfriends is super cute but I caught a similar bug, Tobin x George, which I call Torge. So, to have my cake and eat it too, I wrote this. I LOVE George. He deserves more attention.
This is set before Extraordinary Employee and there will be a sequel to this that is set after Extraordinary Employee.
Enjoy!
"I really like your style. It's like somewhere in between my style, which is comfortable and colorful, and Zoey's style, which is colorful and clearly takes a lot of effort."
George was pretty sure Tobin had just complimented him but he wasn't entirely positive.
"Um, thank you?"
"No problemo. Hey, listen, do you want to get drinks later?"
"Do I… What?"
"Drinks. Do you drink? Totally cool if you don't, though you might find it hard to keep up with Leif and me when you're sober."
"You want me to hang out with you and Leif outside of work?"
"Yeah, sure, why not? Always looking for another bro."
Zoey walked by, "And lady bros!" Tobin added emphatically, high fiving Zoey before she was out of reach. The high five ended and Tobin wrapped an arm around George, who euphorically wrapped an arm around Tobin in return.
"Oh, you're super cuddly."
"Sorry, sorry, I'll stop." George looked sheepish.
"No, it's nice. Leif doesn't hug me HALF as much as I want him to. Did you know that to live a fulfilling life you need like, 12 hugs a day? And some people," Tobin glanced toward Leif, who was working tirelessly as their manager, "will only hug me like two times a day."
"Well, I can hug you the other 10 times. 11, if Leif ever drops the ball," George offered.
"Thanks, dude. You're gonna fit in great with us."
"Hey, Tobin, George, get back to work, please!" Leif called.
Tobin rolled his eyes, "You got it, boss. Man, it is so weird having your best friend being your boss. Now I feel like I have to be doing work like, every single day."
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's the point of having a job."
Tobin laughed and squeezed George's shoulder, prolonging their hug, "Solid burn, man, way to put me in my place. I really think it's going to be amazing having you around." George beamed.
"Tobin, George?" Leif reminded.
"Yes, Bossman! Remember, you, me, George, we're getting drinks later!"
"I might have to work-"
"Invite Zoey! Then it's a work thing and we can still hang." Tobin untangled himself from George long enough to hug Leif, who was much tenser now that he was the manager.
"And we can invite the ladies! Show them they're part of the Brogrammers and kind of as a peace offering for the softball thing. An olive branch for everyone."
Leif hesitated, "That's actually a good idea, Tobin. It could really boost team morale and give everyone a chance to bond. But, um…" Leif bit his lip.
"What?" Tobin asked, pulling away from the hug, looking a little worried. Leif had been different recently, his usual flavor made mild by the stress of responsibility.
"If it's going to be the team and not just us then you can't… You can't get as wild."
Tobin was taken aback but bounced back fast, "Oh, yeah, for sure. Don't want to scare the normies. George probably couldn't keep up with us anyway."
"Right, anyway, get back to work and I'll put this drinks thing together."
"You're the man!" Tobin pointed at Leif as he backed up towards his desk until Leif looked away. Then he sank into his chair, a tortured soul trying to figure out what he could do tonight to charm the newbies, keep George on his good side, and get his best friend back.
The answer was not to get intoxicated but that was, unfortunately, the route Tobin went. When given the choice between two good options Tobin had found himself choosing the third, hidden, bad option on more than one occasion. Hardly a night went by when he didn't remember his stint in prison. Tobin was wasted and when he got wasted he tended to get weepy. George led him outside so he wouldn't completely embarrass himself and stayed with him while he poured his heart out.
"I just want Leif to notice me," Tobin wept.
"He's your best friend," George reassured, "Of course he notices you."
"It's not the same since he took Zoey's job. And it's never going to be the same again, he's going to keep climbing. It's what he does. He's a climber. And I'm a rock."
"No, no, no," George promised, wrapping an arm around the swaying man before he fell over.
"You're not a rock. Besides, some change is good. Maybe your friendship won't ever be the exact same, but maybe it could become even better!"
What Tobin said next surprised both of them, coming deep down from someplace that Tobin didn't know he had in him, "I want Leif to be my boyfriend. I wanna memorize him like I used to memorize words."
"Then you should tell him that," George encouraged.
"And I wanna kiss you," Tobin continued, "because I like your face and your hugs and your shirts."
George felt a blush rise to his face, "Tobin, you're drunk. You don't really feel that way."
"I really feel that way…" Tobin slurred.
"Let me call you an Uber. You really should be getting home."
"Will you kiss me when I'm sober, Georgie?"
"Uh…" Tobin certainly wasn't any worse looking than George's past boyfriends.
"We can have a sleepover," Tobin continued, draping his body over George's, "we don't have to do anything."
George took a deep breath and contemplated the pros and cons, "Well. Okay. But only because I'm really worried about you and I want to make sure you don't choke on your own tongue in the middle of the night."
"You could choke on my tongue," Tobin offered, licking his lips.
"No. I'm going to call an Uber and then tell the others that I'm taking you home."
"Oh how they'll talk," Tobin said, surprisingly cheerful.
"They're not going to talk, they're probably worried about you too."
"Nobody worries about me, not even Leif. Just you." George ordered an Uber, continuing to support Tobin's weight and emotional problems.
"Alright, just hold on, I'll be back in a minute."
"Don't forget me," Tobin requested.
"I won't."
"Everyone else does." George was not quite surprised that he had once again found a cute guy with even more problems than him.
George bee-lined for Leif and Zoey, wanting to get back to Tobin ASAP.
"Hey, Tobin's pretty drunk, I'm gonna make sure he gets home."
"Oh. Is he okay?" Leif looked incredibly worried.
"He will be. I won't let anything happen to him."
Leif smiled hesitantly and put his hand on George's arm.
"Thank you so much for looking out for him. I know Tobin is a lot but he's my best friend, and he's got a heart of gold."
Zoey stifled a laugh and George could only nod.
"I better get back to Tobin…"
The Uber had arrived when George came out and was waiting, Tobin already inside, half asleep.
"He told me to wait for 'his George' I assume that's you?"
"Yeah…" George said. He pulled up Tobin's address from the tiger escapade and they headed towards their destination. It was awful getting Tobin to be awake enough to get out of the Uber but getting him inside went a bit smoother.
"You really want me to stay? We're not going to do anything," George said.
"Mm, yeah. You can take the bed, I'll take the sofa. Or we could snuggle, it doesn't have to be more than that…"
"I'll take the sofa. Call me if you need anything."
"Thanks, Georgie…" George smiled a little at the nickname, and fell into a restless sleep on the sofa, wondering over everything that had happened that evening with his new "friend."
Tobin woke him up in the morning rustling around his small kitchen, setting about to make toast and coffee.
"G'morning, Georgie. Do you want to borrow some clothes?"
"I should probably swing by my own place before work," George said, apologetically.
"Stay for breakfast, at least. What kind of host would I be if I didn't give you breakfast?"
"Alright, I can do that." George sat at the kitchen table, feeling a bit awkward.
"Leif's really the only other person who's stayed over. Oh no, not like that. We were gaming. Leif doesn't know any of what I told you. Uh. How much did I tell you?"
"That you wanted to date Leif and kiss me. Like a game of kiss, marry, kill."
"Oh that's easy, kiss you, marry Leif, kill Todd from accounting. Todd's a creep."
"Listen, Tobin, you and Leif clearly care a lot about each other. I think you should tell him. I don't want to be a casual thing, I'm no one's side chick."
"Would you want to be my main chick?"
"Tobin, you're in love with Leif."
"Some people have two main chicks…"
"And there's nothing wrong with that. I just… I think we need more time, all of us, to think about it like adults. But I'm here for you, as your friend. And I am really happy we're friends."
Tobin nodded, "I'm glad we're friends too. I'm really sorry about last night. There doesn't have to be anything more than friendship. I just…"
"You got caught up in the moment. It's not the first time that's happened to me. It'll be okay, Tobin. I think we're going to be good friends."
