They Make a Mean Old-Fashioned Here Chapter 2: Anticipation
Fandom: Dragon Age
Rating: T, but somewhere between T and M
Pairing: M!Tabris x Alistair
Word Count: 4323
How had he ever managed to look Mr. Tabris in the eye without stuttering when he was shiny black shade-free?
The office offered its usual clicks and taps and beeps when the elevator spat Alistair onto his floor. He glared at its clunky shutting doors before slinging his raincoat over his shoulder and stomping as quietly he could to his cubicle.
A building full of programmers, engineers, security specialists, industrial designers, and bosses of each of those departments, and no one could make the main elevator run even a tad smoother.
Not that Alistair had filed a work request, himself. One of these days, though…
“Alistair,” a warm voice greeted him. Alistair, for his credit, did not jump back into attention, but he did startle a few dripping raindrops off his coat.
“Duncan,” Alistair smiled back. It was a lot easier to call his boss by his first name than it was to call Mr. Tabris. At the thought of his unlikely bar companion—once and once only—he managed to keep his features schooled and eyes on the man. Well, the man’s beard, at least.
“We missed you at the party last week,” Duncan noted with genuine sadness, rubbing the salt-and-pepper beard on his chin.
It really was an impressive beard. Alistair would grow one himself if he could manage just a little more of a chinstrap, but he knew he’d never look complete without an earring of his own. Only Duncan could pull off a beard and an earring and a careful ponytail effortlessly.
“Well, duty calls,” Alistair laughed, hoping that answered all. Maker, he couldn’t remember what his excuses had been. Better not to get tripped up in forgotten lies. “You know how it is.”
Duncan nodded somberly. “You’ve got a good work-life balance going on, Alistair,” he agreed. “A hard-working employee to us, and a fantastic father to your son.”
Alistair’s smile twitched. Shit. Had that been his excuse? Kieran went to his mother’s every weekend. Every. Single. Weekend.
From this moment on, Alistair could never mention his son, his son’s schedule, or his own hobbies while in the office.
Read the rest of the chapter here on AO3!