Who: Andrew McPhail & Sophie Roper Where: League Headquarters When: Friday mid-day What: Office PDA Rating: It's PDA and it's in the office. It'll be PG-13ish probably. Status: In progress
They'd both been so stupid. There was no other word for it. Sophie loved Andrew. Andrew loved Sophie. And they'd both kept it bottled up, allowing it to poison everything. He'd had no idea that she was even remotely interested, thinking her too far above him in brains and beauty. Since the confrontation on Tuesday night, when he'd let his wounded pride get the better of him instead of actually listening to what Sophie had to say, he'd been avoiding her. Brooding over the fact that she'd chosen to run away instead of telling him the truth. He'd realized, finally, that he was just as bad in opting to simply keep it silent and pretend his feelings for her weren't the strongest he'd ever felt - for anyone. It was a fierce thing, now that he'd let it bubble to the surface, hot and consuming and it wouldn't let him rest.
He went to the office early, where he spoke with a member of the staff who explained that Sophie was avoiding the place as well. Evidently, they'd both been gone most of Wednesday and Thursday. Well. If she didn't show, he would find her, no matter what it took. There were things he needed to say, and she was going to listen. And hopefully change her mind about him. About leaving the department.
There must have been a bit of madness glinting in his eyes as he moved through headquarters, though, as everyone seemed to be trying to avoid him. They would dart into the nearest doorway or turn around go back the direction they'd come from. Andrew didn't have the patience to worry about it. He was brusque, but not rude, with his employees. No longer lost in the fog of bitterness and betrayal, he'd managed to find the old Andrew. Efficient, ambitious, focused. He had plans and backup plans.
And then he spotted her. She was down the hall near what he liked to call the bullpen, where the majority of the non-managerial staff worked. It didn't matter that every single one of them would see what was about to happen; Andrew strode quickly in her direction. The closer he got, the more his hands shook and the faster his pulse raced. Everything he'd wanted to say vanished in his need to show her how he felt. Andrew was never impulsive. Never careless. He didn't believe in flaunting things or being open with his emotions. Today was the beginning of all that changing. He stopped very nearly toe-to-toe with her.
"I didn't know." His voice came out hoarse, and his throat dried up immediately after, so instead of trying to say anything else, he took her face in his hands and sealed their mouths together.