"You're th'greatest, Al," Eric grinned, ruffling the brunette's hair. Alan just smiled back, watching as Eric stood to leave and go file some paperwork. The blonde did always tend to exaggerate: all Alan had done was to bring him a cup of coffee from the breakroom. But then, it was in Eric's nature to be friendly. It was why everyone liked him so much.

"Bloody hell, Alan. Dunno what I'd do without you." The blonde beamed at him, shooting him a wink before setting out on a solo reap. Alan sat for a moment, not moving, pink in the cheeks. But not for long: there was work to be done, and not much time to do it. He turned back to his work, the blush fading, though his thoughts didn't.

Alan was standing in the breakroom brewing tea when, completely unawares, the brunette found himself caught from behind in a tight hug. "Missed y'at the party last night!" said an exuberant voice in his ear, a goatee scratching lightly at his neck. "S'always more fun with m'favourite coworker there." Alan felt the warm breath against his neck, making him shiver, and Eric pulled away, clapping him on the back as he walked off to talk to Ronald Knox, who was nearby. All Alan could do was stand there for a moment, wondering what on earth Eric Slingby had managed to do to him.

It had been a 14 hour shift. It was only due to Alan's diligence that it hadn't been longer. Both of the men were half asleep, slumped over the dwindling stack of reports, halfway braindead. From the other desk in the office, Alan heard Eric sigh. "Y'know, Alan, I adore you. S'thanks t'you we've not been at this twice as long," the blonde huffed, stretching over the back of his chair lazily before returning to his work. Alan, however, sat unmoving, pen still touching the paper, ink spreading in an untidy blotch. He didn't care much. He'd just worked something out that had been a long time coming to him. It wasn't a comforting conclusion. But, looking over at his partner, the brunette finally admitted it to himself.

Oh, bollocks. I'm in love with Eric Slingby.

I'm all better! Here's a cheesy one to celebrate. I won't be able to update for a while - busy week coming up - but stick around~