Stupid.

You knew something like this would happen - how could you have been so ignorant?

Of all people, Sips.

It could have been anyone else. Kim, Sjin, Duncan - Turps, even, but not Sips. He'll probably spread the word, and then you'll be the joke of the office. And then... what will Lewis think?

You pray to God that Sips hasn't told anyone. And if he has...

______________________________________________________

A week later...

"So you're going?" Lewis asks.

"Where to?"

"i57," Sjin murmurs, without turning around from his monitor.

"And the Gadget Show," Kim puts in from the other side of the room.

You roll your eyes. "Yeah, of course I'm going. Why wouldn't I?"

Lewis shrugs. "Just making sure."

"Okay. Birmingham NEC?"

"Birmingham NEC," Lewis confirms. "I think you'll have to put something out on your channel about it - tickets, signings and that crap."

You nod. "I might as well film that today - I've got fuck all to do at the moment."

"Mark emailed you the details about it, I think."

"What, Turps?"

"Mark Hulmes."

"Alright, thanks."

"Oh, and..." Lewis bursts out laughing. "I've just realised."

"What?" You frown.

"It's going to be your first pub quiz, isn't it?"

"Oh. Christ, yeah." You sigh dramatically. "I've been told bad things about the pub quiz."

"You'll come, won't you?" Lewis asks hopefully.

"Yeah, I'll come - who am I to turn down a chance to get wasted and show off my superior gaming knowledge?"

"You're on my team, then."

"Um, okay."

  ______________________________________________________

You bump into Sips on your way out of the common room. You smile at him, hoping he won't stop you to talk. You're out of luck, of course.

"Hey," he says. "Can we talk?"

"Sure, yeah," you say, suppressing an exasperated sigh and turning to face Sips.

"Yeah, maybe somewhere more private," he adds quietly as Turps walks past the other end of the corridor.

"Okay. My office?"

"Yep." 

Once you've shut the door, he says, "Have you asked him yet?"

"Asked Lewis about... me?"

"Yeah."

You sigh. "No." 

"But you've had a whole week!"

"Christ Sips, you make it sound like that's a long time!"

"I'm sure he likes you," Sips adds, ignoring you. "Haven't you noticed?"

You frown. "No?"

Sips shakes his head exasperatedly. "Talk to him. Ask him out. Who's he to say no?"

"There's no guarantee he likes me," you say doubtfully. "And..."

"And what?"

You glance out of your door briefly to check if anyone is there. "An office relationship is going to be weird, Sips. It obviously didn't work for Hannah and Lewis..."

"I'm pretty sure they didn't break up because of that," Sips says confidently. 

You sigh. "I don't know, okay? I just can't pick up the confidence to do it. It's easier said than done!"

"I know, believe me. But..." Sips exhales slowly. "Just think about it, okay? Because if you leave it for too long... you never know. Someone else might -"

"Yeah. I know. I'll - I'll try, okay? Promise." You sigh. "What's got you so set on getting me and Lewis together, anyway?"

"Because you're two amazing people, and I love you both, and you deserve each other," Sips says simply. "Look, I've got Double Dragon with Lewis in a few minutes. I gotta go."

"Yeah."

Sips nods and claps you on the shoulder before turning to your office door.

"Wait, Sips..."

"Yeah?" Sips turns to you again. 

"Have you told anyone? About - about what I said? About the whole thing?"

Sips frowns. "Of course not. Jesus - what do you take me for? A fucking liar?"

"Just checking," you say quickly. "Thanks. I'll see you later, alright?"

"Take care." Sips pauses. "I'm leaving in the evening - am I going to see you again before then?"

You shrug. "Probably not, I'm leaving a little earlier today. So..." You smile. "I guess it's goodbye for now, then?"

Sips claps you on the shoulder. "You can do it, alright?" he says encouragingly; and it's then that you realise that Sips is probably not that bad a dad.

"Thanks," you murmur a little half-heartedly. "I'll give it a shot next time I get a chance."

"Do that for me. He needs someone like you in his life."

"Thanks," you repeat. "Thanks Sips."

______________________________________________________

You're about to leave the office when you bump into Lewis.

"Hiya," you say with as much enthusiasm you can muster - which isn't much, at the moment. It's been a long day, and you're really looking forward to getting home and breaking out the new Overwatch beta.

"Hey," he says. "You're leaving? This early?"

"Yeah. I had some stuff with Sjin, but his PC's fucked up."

Lewis chews on his lip. "I haven't got anything else today either. I can give you a lift home if you like."

"Oh, no!" you say quickly. "Don't worry about it. I can walk home fine."

Lewis raises an eyebrow, and looks at the window behind you pointedly. You turn to look, and it's then that you notice the sound of something much tougher than just water, pounding persistently against glass and stone.

It's hailing. Hard.

"I'll get my bag," Lewis says.

______________________________________________________

"Heavy showers for the whole of tomorrow," you say, looking at the weather forecast on your phone glumly.

"Shit," Lewis murmurs. "The traffic's not looking great up ahead, either." He brakes a few yards behind the car behind him, and leans back in his seat, taking his hands off the steering wheel to rest them behind his head. "This is what England's all about," he says miserably.

"Yeah. Moaning," you laugh.

"Yep," Lewis says. He digs out his phone from his pocket; without looking up from it, he asks you, "What've you got going out on your channel at the moment?"

"Rust, a bit of Factorio, Minecraft - nothing big."

Lewis nods. "The Games Night we did last week's going out on the main channel tonight, I think."

"Cool - Sjin was great in that one."

"He was pretty good," Lewis agrees.

You lean back in your seat as well, trying not to look at Lewis and seem awkward. The moisture in the air has made his hair spike up a little - somehow, it's made Lewis look even more attractive.

You find yourself mouthing to yourself silently, I love you. Realising this, you quickly stop; you glance at Lewis to see if he's noticed; he hasn't.

It's then that you begin to wonder to yourself - is now the time to ask Lewis?

Well - maybe not. It's hailing, and you're stuck in traffic, and Lewis is occupied with his phone. It's not exactly a romantic setting, is it?

But then, you may not get a better time to do it. It's quite rare that you and Lewis are together in private - in the office, you're always conscious that people might overhear you, because the walls aren't exactly soundproof, so the time you spend alone with Lewis then doesn't really count. And you're not as close to Lewis as some of the other people in the office - him, Duncan, Sjin and Turps are much closer to him.

But then - does it really matter if other people hear?

Yes. Yes, it does.

But then...

"Lewis -" you begin.

"Christ, about time!" Lewis says, leaning forward; the cars in front of you have started moving again. "What were you about to say?"

"Don't worry," you say quickly. "I was talking to myself."

Thankfully, Lewis thinks nothing of it - or at least, doesn't question further.

Lewis seems to have memorised to route to your house - he doesn't need to ask you for directions. In fact, he doesn't talk for the rest of the journey - you feel like he's upset about something, but you're not sure whether to ask or not. 

You don't.

"Thanks for the lift," you sigh; it's stopped hailing, thankfully, but it's quite cold outside, and not very dry, to say the least.

"No problem," Lewis says.

"Do you want to stop in for a coffee or something?" you ask.

"I'm good," he says.

"It's the least I can do, Lewis."

He hesitates. "I kind of -"

"Lewis? It's no bother."

"I seriously - "

"Come on, Lewis!" you say, grinning. "I don't stink that much, do I?"

Lewis laughs. "Debateable," he teases. "Alright. I'll come in for a little while."

A/N: Sorry this is quite a short one guys. I kind of lost inspiration quickly.

P.S. If you read this, even if you don't have a comment to make, please just say something to let me know that people are actually reading this lol... for all I know, I'm just writing this for myself.