"WHY ARE YOU PURPLE?!"
Jeremy's smile faded momentarily, but it returned as soon as he saw Fritz trying to retrieve his cap from his hand. Despite the taller man's desperate attempts to get it back back, Jeremy would ignore it all. His eyes were fixed on Fritz's panicked face. Or what was left of his face anyway.
Fritz's face... It was well, purple.
His eyes were pitch black. Unsettlingly so. He would look like he was in permanent agony if it was not for the fact that he was freaking out right now. His face looked so animated it was almost laughable.
For a few moments, it was just soft grunts coming from the nervous Fritz who now felt naked with his entire face revealed. Jeremy would be oblivious to his fears, however. The blonde chuckled, now waving the cap in front of Fritz's face slowly.
"You know, I don't… I don't really care about looks. I'm not the best-looking either…You could've just told me! I kinda dig it!"
"Give it back..."
Fritz's voice came out weak but masculine. His hand was visibly trembling. Jeremy took note of that. Now that his cover was blown, Fritz did not bother to keep his voice light anymore.
The two would have the repetitive conversation back-and-forth for a few moments, with Jeremy still complimenting his coworker's looks as his desperate attempt to find love while Fritz attempted to take his cap back.
It was not until something inside of Fritz snapped. His hands went for Jeremy's shirt collar as he yanked the shorter man up and disregarded Jeremy's cane that had fallen to the floor, letting out a blood-coiling screech as if a bold warning to what he truly was.
Jeremy froze.
He had never seen Fritz this way before. Hell, he had never even seen him shown much of any other emotions at work.
"H-Hey! Dude, uh, Buddy, calm down! A-Alright? Here you go!"
The blonde nervously handed the cap back, gulping once Fritz loosened his grip on his now poor, crumpled collar. Despite his anger and irritation, Fritz did not allow himself to just drop Jeremy to the ground. Almost awkwardly, the brunet would allow his coworker to regain his balance. He watched as Jeremy rebalanced himself after holding back onto his cane.
And now they stood face-to-face as Jeremy watched the man fix his cap.
Jeremy's eyes fell onto Fritz's chest again. He cursed himself for that. Even during a moment like this, his body was still helpless against its attraction towards Fritz. What seemed like forever had passed before he slowly looked back up to meet Fritz's gaze.
For the first time, Jeremy realised just how tall and imposing Fritz was.
If I had to live my life without you near me.
The days would all be empty.
The nights would seem so long.
1985
"If this place had good music everyday, I'd be a lot happier working here man."
A soft chuckle escaped Jeremy as he turned to face his coworker Ana, who only smiled in response. He saw the reluctance in her smile and felt a little bad for the fact that she felt obligated to chat with him since no one else really did. He chewed on his bottom lip.
"Dave's a genius for hosting whatever this is! I love the music!" Jeremy would add while watching the parents before their eyes dance with another. It was a little embarrassing to watch but at least this meant that workers like Jeremy and Ana did not have to deal with screaming children all day long like every other day. An occasion at the facility made just for the parents to relax for a day while their kids joined from time to time granted them some time to rest.
"Jamie! The security guard doing nights for us just quitted his job! Go through the new applications for me!"
"It's Jeremy — ! ...Already? That's...the third time this month!" The dayshift guard exclaimed to no one in particular — He could hear that Dave was already walking away, far enough to be unable to hear himself. He would then hold back onto his own cane and walk into the office to retrieve the applications. Or application, in this case.
There was only one.
A small laugh came from him before he settled down comfortably on the seat after setting his cane aside. He took a good look at all the details.
"Ooh..."
A brown, messy mullet... Tired eyes. Defined facial features, too.
Jeremy's eyes trailed down to what would be the woman's chest, or what little was shown of the cleavage in the bust photo chosen for the application. He tried not to keep his gaze lingering for too long out of respect, but she drew him in. Her freckles and the soft smile she had on. She had an ample bosom, too.
Jeremy could not recall the last time he dated someone. It was way back then, before he was diagnosed with something in his bones in high-school and was permanently granted with a cane after his surgery. He felt lucky and thankful that Dave even hired him. No one bat an eye on him anymore. He felt like his youth was passing by right before his eyes.
"JAMIE!"
He snapped out his thoughts when he heard Dave's voice again.
"Right — Coming!"
He grabbed the paper with himself clumsily and held onto his cane quick before he would exit the room.
As he headed back into the noisy party room, he found his mind lingering on the application. On the name.
Fritz Smith.
Author's note: Hope you're enjoying the story so far! I have the whole story planned out already but I juuust might make changes depending on how angsty or wholesome I want to make this story hahaha
