There were a number of instances in the last year that left Dinesh Chungtai utterly dumbfounded. Barely avoiding responsibility for internet violations concerning underage girls, that time when he saw his face -and dick- painted on their garage door, and -how could he forget- the time when they almost deleted the whole Pied Piper.

Yet, nothing came close to surprising him more than seeing his satanist buddy leaving a cup of coffee on Monica's desk like it's normal Gilfoyle behavior.

It's not that Gilfoyle doesn't do things for other people. Okay, that's exactly it. There are only two reasons the Satan Wannabe ever commits selfless deeds: either he wants something in return or he expects it to blow up in the other person's face, in a spectacular manner. Like when he accepted Dinesh as CEO. He made a small sacrifice in exchange for endless insult material. Or the time he agreed to wear the Pied Piper jacket, making Jared burst from pride. They all knew how that ended. Therefore, nothing he does is really selfless. His acts always have a purpose. He's playing the long game for his own perverted amusement.

Which is why Dinesh finds the exchange unfolding in front of his eyes extremely alarming. He's got half the mind to go hit the gong and gather everyone's attention to his friend's weird behavior.

The only thing more strange that Gilfoyle suddenly adopting normal manners is Monica's reaction. She's arguing on the phone with a tech columnist with zero cryptocurrency knowledge, when Gilfoyle's offering appears in her vision. She lets a small smile and a nod, like it's normal, and goes back to her phone, yelling at the Ed Chan-like guy.

During the next seconds when Dinesh is lost in thought, Gilfoyle takes a seat next to him and starts typing. His ringed hands fly over the keyboard, eliciting a melody out of the plastic pieces.

"Error handling is finished. Are you close?" Gilfoyle asks him without looking. "And if you're about to mention some fucking tortoise again, so help me Satan, I'll shove your face so deep in my balls, you'll spit hair".

Dinesh is silent, in a suspended state of mild shock. He turns his eyes from his screen to his weird-acting friend, deciding to open the Pandora's box that is Gilfoyle's inner thoughts.

"Hey. What was that?" he points to the cup and Monica's direction.

"What?".

"That. You brought her coffee. I've been asking you to bring me coffee for a year, since you're already going to get yours and you've been calling me Lazy Denzel-"

"Cause you are".

"-but now you're bringing her one, unprompted? When did that happen?". He runs every scenario in his head. "Did you lace it with something?" he asks conspiratory.

"No. I only do that when you leave your glass unattended. Been putting a dark potion to make you stupid". He looks at him intently. "It's working".

"No, no, no, Gilf. you're not gonna use Satan to avoid the question again". He rolls his chair towards him. "Is it another ploy of yours? Why are you doing things normal people do? Buying Monica coffee, walking her to her car, almost smiling at her?"

"Your worldview is narrower than your pawny frame, thus it excludes a multitude of things from being normal, by arbitrarily.."

Gilfoyle has apparently embarked on a philosophical defense, but Dinesh doesn't really hear it. All he can hear is the pieces in his mind clicking into place and oh. That's it. Smiling at her.

It all makes sense now.

(Almost).

Feeling like he invented the transistor, he bursts with the enthusiasm of a 6-year-old in Disneyland. "You like her!"

"What does that small brain of yours-"

"Oh man, you like her, not kinda like her, the-satanist-baptism-got-cancelled-come-over kind. The I-know-your-coffee-order-and-won't-interrupt-your-screaming-match kind. God, this is the best! You're going down".

"Are you done, teenage girl? Ready to watch MTV and gossip on Britney Spears' love life?"

"Your references are getting old. Pathetic."

"Irrelevant. I don't like her. I just find her considerably less annoying than all of you."

"That's the most romantic thing i've ever heard you say". Dinesh says matter-of-factly.

"Bullshit. And who knew how good it is to work with someone normal, someone who does more than talk about their Tesla or puke, or whatever weird shit Jared is doing these days."

"So if I stop talking about my awesome, definitely-better-than-anything-you'll-ever-own car, would you buy me coffee?"

"Yes".

"Bullshit".

"My moral code deems lying to be unnecessary."

"So let me get this clear. I stop mentioning my Tesla for an agreed upon amount of time and you proceed to buy me coffee. Is that it?" he crosses his arms. "Or are you ready to admit you like our CFO, who is by every standard imaginable out of your league. Oh man". He lets out a long breath, his brotherly hatred for Gilfoyle never failing to energize him. "I can't wait for the moment you tell her and get brutally rejected. How do I reserve tickets for this?"

Gilfoyle chuckles as he turns to his computer and starts typing.

"What? Why are you laughing"

He laughs harder.

"Have you already told her? Gilfoyle. Tell me".

No answer. The typing gets faster, mocking him.

"Tell me!"

Some time after he finds out why his now lowest ranked friend was laughing. Monica comes to view and heads towards Gilfoyle's workstation.

"Ready to go?" she asks him while leaning imperceptibly down towards him. Her hand rests on his shoulder and her thumb traces small circles there.

"Yeah. Gave the asshole a piece of your mind?"

"Fuck yes", she beams. They are partly hidden from view, but Dinesh can see what is undoubted affection, the type of quiet intimacy most people long for. If he blinks he'd miss it, but Gilfoyle's hand runs through her thigh as he rises from his chair. Dinesh keeps looking at them in wonder, still not fully understanding how both their lives at this moment could make room for something so… normal. And sweet.

They are both unique people, Monica being all business and Gilfoyle being… Gilfoyle. Dinesh isn't used to them doing ordinary things, like casual affection. Yet they carry a practiced ease, as if they've been doing it for… weeks? Maybe longer. Dinesh wonders how he hasn't noticed before.

He can't hear the rest of what they say, they are wrapped up in their own bubble of hushed toned and glances that he can't believe he hadn't noticed until now. The next moment Gilfoyle's eyes are on him and they both look at him, suddenly acknowledging his existence. Gilfoyle turns to Monica. "Dinesh may know some things". They exchange a look, evaluating the situation.

"Dinesh won't talk" Monica responds while looking at Dinesh intensely.

"Dinesh knows nothing", he responds and pivots back on his chair to continue coding, the DMR construction almost finished.

They both seem pleased at his response. On the edge of his vision, he sees them walking out of the office together. There is no hand holding, but their shoulders brush and a bubble forms over them protectively. They walk leisurely, coffees in hand. Nothing suspicious to the untrained eye.

Dinesh's eye, on the other hand, has seen unbelievable shit today. The image of Gilfoyle he's built over the last five years starts to crumble. He's still the same dark, moody guy he knows, but there's another aspect to his character he slowly discovers. Borrowing a line feom a questionable man:

Damn. This guy fucks.