Chapter Text
I texted Tarvek, letting him know I was going to be working late, then let my parents know. I got a reply from Tarvek before I even finished typing one to my mother.
What a coincidence. I was about to say much the same thing. If we come out of the office at the same time, perhaps we could have dinner together instead? If it isn’t too late, that is.
I allowed him his white lie. We’ll see how things go.
Near the end of the day, I got another text. I’m going to get coffee, as I require it greatly. May I be so impertinent as to assume you could use some, as well as a blood sugar boost?
Reading his texts made me feel like I was reading a fantasy novel sometimes. My hero. I’m dying for some of that black magic potion. Sta + 10! I grinned to myself at my private joke, and the fact that I’d recently loaned Tarvek a favourite isekai series of mine in exchange for one of his science fiction ones.
Is it still black magic if the effects are positive? Extra espresso shot? I’m having one, for I feel like I am barely retaining my civility.
Yes please. I’d quote something from Meditations but I have a head full of spreadsheets.
I could almost hear Tarvek chuckle. I don’t feel particularly intelligent myself, so you are not alone on this.
“Fräulein Clay, I don’t see you working!”
“I need to tell my mother I’ll be home late, Mademoiselle Sirenée,” I fibbed. Avoid Zola at all costs, I tapped and sent the message, then tucked my phone away.
Across the room, the other co-worker who was stuck doing overtime, Theo DuMedd, pulled a face at Zola’s retreating back. He was recently married and absolutely besotted with his wife, and thus immune to Zola’s ‘charms.’ But he hadn’t gotten saddled with as much work as I did today. Usually he was a source of good mood and smiles, but he had been scowling all afternoon. We both kept our heads down until Zola swanned out thirty minutes later, heels clacking on the floor. We heard the elevator go ping and heard her get in soon after.
Theo flipped the bird in her direction. “She overheard me on the phone with Sleipnir and dropped extra work on me that should’ve gone to Zulie so I’d miss taking Sleipnir out to the movie she has been waiting to see since last year.”
“That’s awful of her,” I frowned. That was even pettier than usual. To my surprise, Tarvek slipped around the corner, silent as a ghost, carrying paper bags and a carrying frame for the cups of coffee.
“Your friend in security bribed me with coffee and a doughnut to deliver you coffee and food,” Tarvek lied, affecting a bland tone. “I am easily bribed by good coffee.”
“Zeetha did? She’s an angel,” I played along, taking the bag. “Oooh, she got me the Wake-Up Choc-Arabica Chip Cookies! Want one, Theo?”
Theo came over. “Thanks, Agatha. Hi, I’m Theo DuMedd. You’re not from the general department…” he glanced at Tarvek’s name tag “Herr Sturmvoraus.”
“No, but I am friends with Zeetha and her brother, and Zeetha happened to see me.” Tarvek shook Theo’s hand. “So here I am.”
“How’d you avoid running into Zola? She just left.” I frowned.
“I took the stairs.” Tarvek shrugged. “It’s good exercise, and miserable for anyone wearing stilettos like she does. Are you the only two left?”
“Yeah. May Zola get a large, embarrassing pimple on the tip of her snooty nose,” Theo growled.
I giggled into my coffee.
“Anything I can help with? Nothing that requires a login, mind.” Tarvek sounded weird, trying to sound casual, I thought. “I don’t want to put my keyboard through my screen so anything is a welcome distraction right now.”
Theo shook his head. “Not for me, but Agatha got piled on.”
“I am the master of multitasking,” Tarvek declared, mimicking Gil’s tone.
Five minutes later he had all seven of the office’s copy machines hard at work, and stood a decorous two feet away from me while reading over my shoulder. “That’s work that you should very definitely not be doing,” Tarvek said firmly. He leaned over and pointed a long finger at an alpha-numerical code on the top left. “See that? That’s supposed to go to the accounting pool.”
“I hadn’t realised…”
“You both are supposed to only do data entry and other such general office work,” Tarvek said. “You’re not an accountant; nor are you trained to do anything but data entry.” He peered at my spreadsheet. “I’m surprised you got this much done.”
“I’m good at maths… and I help with my father’s business sometimes. I’ve picked it up.” I felt cold. This wasn’t work I was supposed to be doing?
Theo had gotten up and started looking over my shoulder. “Herr Sturmvoraus is right. You’re being given work you should not be handling at all. You’ve been doing it correctly as far as I can tell, but it could be trouble if you weren’t.” Theo looked at Tarvek. “Sir, Agatha’s only been with us for months, but all her work has been top-notch. She’s handled any task thrown at her without complaints and-”
Tarvek held up his hand to stop Theo’s desperate rush of defence on my behalf. “I can see that. Calm yourself. She is not in trouble. However, someone will be.” He reached for his front pocket and tugged out his cellphone, muttering to himself under his breath in Russian. He tapped a few times on his phone and lifted it to his ear. “Gil? I think you are required in the office. Bring Boris with you. I may have found the source of the anomalies you’ve been mentioning. Yes. General. I shall elucidate once you have both arrived.”
Tarvek didn’t smile, but he looked deeply satisfied anyway. “And I am afraid, Herr DuMedd, you may need to stay back for longer, as I believe you can help Agatha and indeed, myself. Excuse me, I need to make a phone call.” Tarvek put down his coffee cup and walked out of the office.
Theo turned to look at me. “Your boyfriend’s nice.”
“He’s not - We’re just friends.” I flushed.
“Really? I’ve seen you leaving the office with him every day for what, since March? No, I haven’t said anything to anyone - okay, my wife. I figured you were being discreet, even if there’s no office policy on dating. Could have fooled me, though.” He quirked a smile. “Pity, you two make a lovely couple. Anyway, it’s both lucky and scary that your friend has friends in high places.”
“Yeah. Lucky.”
Things got pretty intense after that. Gilgamesh and another man, the aforementioned Boris, appeared. The four men clustered around my workstation, talking in intent, low voices. I stayed out of the way, sipping a coffee - one from the breakroom, sadly - and only spoke when Boris started asking me questions.
It was almost nine when Gilgamesh straightened, and looked at me. “Tarvek, feed Fräulein Clay and take her home.” He handed Tarvek a credit card pulled out of his own wallet. “Herr DuMedd, you may go too. In fact, I don’t want to see the three of you in the office tomorrow - you’ve earned a day off.” He smiled, and it really did wonders for his face. “It’s a pity you’re only here with us for a few more months, Fräulein Clay. We could use more talented employees like yourself. We’ll talk again.”
Theo grinned as we left. “Sweet! I can take the missus out on a proper date tomorrow!” He smiled at Tarvek and me. “Good night, and it was a pleasure working with you, Herr Sturmvoraus.”
“The same, Herr DuMedd. Drive safely.”
As we rode the elevator up to Tarvek’s office, Tarvek’s phone began pinging with a flurry of messages. He fished it out of his pocket and sighed. “Gil is ordering me to take you out tomorrow as well. I do believe he is trying to play matchmaker.” He growled. “Again.”
I blushed as Tarvek tipped his phone to show me some of the messages as he wearily covered his eyes.
She’s cute and obviously brilliant! Take her out tomorrow or you and I are going to have a fight, you hear me?!
Don’t be a dumbass, she’s clearly into you!
Seriously if you miss this opportunity Zeetha and I will kick your ass from one end of the duchy and back again!
Dad’s been worried about you so you better give me good news that I can take back!
“I’d apologise for his being an oaf, but…” Tarvek looked exhausted. “Gil’s been trying to set me up with a girlfriend ever since we were children. I’ve given up trying to tell him I am perfectly capable of finding someone, since he ignores all my protests anyway.”
“Bit of a forceful personality, huh?”
“He means well, but he gets this hangdog expression and…” Tarvek looked annoyed. “I feel like a heel.”
“I wouldn’t mind spending the day with you,” I muttered, shy, before I could think twice about it. “I haven’t got anything to do tomorrow now.”
“If you’d do me the honour and the pleasure of your company, I would be delighted.” Tarvek smiled, then looked shy. “But I must admit, I have never been on a ‘date’ before, myself.”
“Never?!” I blurted.
“I have been too busy for romance.” Tarvek said as we made our way to his neat cubicle. I looked around, and noticed it was almost completely devoid of personal touches, save for a small plastic cat that was perched on the top of his monitor. He saw me looking at it. “Gil stuck that there. He got one of those chocolate eggs on a whim and that was the toy inside.” Tarvek pulled on his trench coat and laptop bag.
“He’s a really good friend, huh?”
“The best,” Tarvek admitted. “But please, never tell him I said that. It wouldn’t do to encourage him into further excesses.”
We went to the nearest grand hotel, which was the only place still serving full meals that wasn’t fast food - Gilgamesh yelled at Tarvek for even thinking it. Tarvek’s eyeroll to the heavens as he showed me the appalled and indignant text had me in whoops for a while. “Shall we take him completely at his word and have a feast on his coin?”
As we sat waiting for our orders, Tarvek allowed himself a small, fond smile. “I think, in some way, this is Gil’s way of trying to give me a taste of the life I used to live, through the food I used to enjoy.” His eyes twinkled. “While I appreciate not having to cook for myself when I am tired, I learned how. After enduring a few weeks of false starts, I got better. Perhaps he worries that I wouldn’t have learned or that I would be forced to survive on takeout. I am no master chef, but I do passably well, I think. And it really takes an incompetent to foul up anything in a crockpot.”
“Yeah, my parents said everyone should learn to cook at least the basics. Actually, learn the basics in everything.”
“It has given me a greater appreciation for the simpler things,” Tarvek said quietly.
“Do you miss being… well, nobility?” I asked. I tried not to ask him about such things, unless he opened up on the subject first. I had a feeling that his past hurt him still.
He considered the question, as if he hadn’t thought about it before. “There are some things about it that I appreciate better now… and yes, I suppose, there are some things I miss, and some things I wish had never happened.” Tarvek smiled, a soft, melancholy smile. “But there is life beyond that, and I am not who I was. It is in the adversity I have faced that I have discovered my strength, so I cannot regret everything I have experienced. It gains me nothing to be bitter, Agatha, so do not look at me with such sad eyes.” He reached across the table and squeezed my fingers reassuringly. “Where there is life, there is hope.”
Tarvek used a taxi to take me back home, introduced himself and politely explained to my parents why I was back so very late coming home. Both of them raised their eyebrows, but apparently the explanation was enough because all they did was thank him and said it was good of his Highness to insist that we were fed. After he left, my mother’s only remark was that it was rare to see a young man that polite these days.
Later that night, Tarvek texted me. I can see why the isekai genre is an enjoyable read. The protagonist figuring out how to deal with their circumstances that are outside their sphere of knowledge is quite relatable.
I texted back: That wasn’t why I recommended it to you, hahaha! Competence porn is cathartic at times.
After a few minutes, he replied: I had to look up ‘competence porn’ and was briefly worried what my search would turn up. I have learned something new today. I will see you tomorrow.
I’ll see you tomorrow.