do you have anything more from office frenemies with james? i just read it and i loved it so much
yes! love u ty
โyou and James donโt get along until you kind of, sort of do. fem!reader, 1.5k
James listens to the most obnoxious playlist in the mornings. Thereโs about a fifteen minute window between when he arrives and when the workday officially starts, which coincides exactly with your window. He often gets the same elevator ride, walks a pace beside you, and decides whether heโs going to let the โladyโ go first through the door depending on the day.ย
That morning, heโd opened the door widely, grinned at you with music blaring loud enough to make a normal person deaf from his earphones, and let you pass. Then he pretended to stick his foot out to trip you up, pulling it back at the last second.ย
Jerk, you think, angry even now as he tucks himself into his desk, his earphones still ridiculously loud. He actually, genuinely, is going to get hearing damage. Youโre not being bitter. Human ears arenโt meant for that.ย
You click onto the workplace Outlook and open a tab on your desktop. How loudly can you listen to music? you google. A few articles appear straight away that fit your purpose โyou drag them each into an empty email. Then, smiling to yourself, you find an article on the negative effects of workplace noise pollution and how this sort of selfishness can affect your coworkersโ mental health and add that at the very top.ย
Hi James,ย
please find attached a few articles I felt might be important for you to read.
Worst,ย
Your unhappy adjacent desk.ย
You know heโs received it when he laughs loudly, turning down his music with a few quick clicks on his phone.ย
An email comes through to your inbox shortly after.
Hi bestie,ย
Iโm so so sorry for the noise. Please find attached a few articles I, in turn, felt you might enjoy.ย
Best,ย
James Potter :)ย
Heโs attached an irksome variation of articles. Why music can help you get ready for the day. Ten ways workplace friendships are important. Can you really find your soulmate at work?ย
You open your personal messaging system. You tend not to use it with James, but this morning heโs winding you up.ย
I could report you to HR for that last one, you send.ย
He replies quickly. You try very hard not to look up at him from over your desktop. I didnโt mean me.ย
Youโll be deaf by thirty.ย
Jealous you donโt have such great taste in music?ย
Jealous of everyone in the annex.ย
Want a cup of coffee?
You meet his gaze finally over the computer, find him already looking at you. You shake your head scornfully. In what world would you ever want him to make you a coffee? Heโs never actually offered to make you one before, to be fair, but heโs awful to you so what are you supposed to think? Heโll probably poison it.ย
He stands to leave. Remus, the other accountant to complete your trio, arrives while heโs gone with his boyfriend Sirius in tow. Theyโre also Jamesโ best friends, unfortunately. It makes for some awkwardness.ย
โWhere is he?โ Remus asks you, in the midst of a quick goodbye kiss as Sirius makes his way to his desk further down the office.ย
You nibble your lip and give a dispassionate shrug. You hate talking about James. You hate his stupid mess of hair, his reading glasses, his lips when he smiles crookedly and worse when heโs glaring at you. You hate the way he sighs as he clicks his neck, the quick lap he does every other hour complaining of tired legs, the genuine tenderness he shows you whenever youโre sick. You hate James. You don't like to think about him too much lest you get caught, a fish in a net.
Or a fish with a painful hook in its lip.ย
โAh, youโre here,โ James says, two cups of coffee in his hand.ย
Youโre only a little heartbroken when he puts one on his desk and one on Remusโ. Didnโt want one anyways.ย
Remus grins as James comes up behind him for a rough hug and hair ruffle. โHow was last night?โย
โI wish youโd come. Sirius spent all night trying to out drink Marl, you know he canโt, so I spent all night holding his hair out of his face. I wasnโt gonna talk to him this morning, but he was being very pathetic.โย
James laughs. You pretend you arenโt listening to them, pretend you donโt feel left out even if they have no reason to be your friend, clicking at random things on your screen and scrolling through spreadsheets long finished and filed. โYou know I couldnโt come, Moony,โ โno point starting on their awful nicknamesโ โwhat if she needed me?โย
You still. She?ย
โJames, thereโs not much you can do,โ Remus says gently. Heโs a quiet, soft sort of man, but theyโre all so loud about loving one another. โYou have to let herโฆ you know.โย
You feel them both looking at you, your gaze steadfast on your screen.ย
โTry not to think about it,โ Remus says.ย
โIโve been distracting myself,โ James agrees.ย
Oh, you think. Oh. Iโm such a dick.ย
โYou could go home?โ Remus says, putting his face in his hand. โI could cover you.โย
โItโs too much work.โย
โI know, but, you know, Iโll do half, and youโll only have half to catch up on when you come back.โย
Youโre not sure who she is, and you very much still donโt like James Potter, but you're not heartless. He sounds awfully upset, fragility to his voice and a foreign balling of his fist by his hip. โUm,โ you say, clearing your throat weakly, โwell, with me and Remus, we could cover for you.โย
Jamesโ face is unreadable, looking down at you. โYouโd cover for me?โ he asks.ย
โYour work isnโt exactly hard, James.โย
โBut youโd do it?โย
โHow long will you be off for?โย
James frowns. โLike, two days?โ he says quietly.ย
โThatโs fine. We can do that,โ you say, checking with Remus from around James hip. โYeah?โย
โOf course,โ Remus says quickly.ย
James looks at you long and hard. โYouโre not kidding?โย
โNo, James. Not kidding. Youโd do the same for me, right?โย
James leans down to hug you before you can stop him. His arms wrap around your shoulders, a perfectly amicable touch made up of sleeper muscle and the attractive smell of almond oil, nearly sweet, slightly woody. He laughs against your cheek as he pulls away, turning back to Remus for a similar hug. โThank you. Iโll go tell Danny right now.โ He beams at you. His relief is thick as honey, palpable in his warm tone. โThank you.โย
You canโt look at him very long.ย
The memory of his fingers linger, the weight of his arm behind your head. He excuses himself to go talk to your boss, and you and Remus sit in a semi-awkward silence, of which youโre wholly responsible.ย
โHis cat is dying,โ Remus says eventually.
You wince. โOh, no, really?โ you ask.ย
โHeโs had her since we were kids. Itโs really nice of you to do this.โ
โI really do think heโd do it for me,โ you interrupt. โIโm not, you know, cruel, because we donโt get on.โย
โI know. James knows that too.โย
You want to get defensive. Why does it matter if James knows? But Remus is too nice to argue with, and secretly, strangely, youโd wanted James to know you arenโt mean. You wouldnโt have sent him that email this morning if youโd known, and maybe this is apology enough for that.ย
Still, it doesnโt feel right when James returns, gathering his suit jacket from the back of his chair. โThank you guys, so much. I will bring you the most amazing desserts of all time as a thank you. I wonโt even put your mug on the top shelf the next time I wash it,โ James promises you.ย
You bat aside the rage of knowing heโs the culprit and instead get out of your seat before he can leave. โUh, James?โ you ask.ย
He raises his eyebrows. โYeah?โย
You look at the floor by his shoes. โAbout earlierโฆโ
James stands subtly between you and the bulk of the office. โYou okay?โย
โI justโ Iโm sorry for complaining about your earphones. I wasnโt trying to be insensitive.โย
โYou werenโt insensitive,โ he says, โI was being obnoxious. Donโt worry about it, okay?โย
โIโโ You hate yourself for all your stammering. โHope whatever is wrong, that youโre okay. Iโll cover for you for the week if you need me to.โย
โPlease stop feeling sorry for me. It looks weird on you. I much prefer you when youโre frowning, you get these super deep wrinkles in your forehead that I just love.โย
You turn away without looking up. โIโm gonna input all your sales information wrong.โย
โAnd Iโm gonna bring you the best donut youโve ever tasted to say thanks, sweetheart.โย
934 notes
ยท
View notes