cold exterior · office setting · coworker · hidden vulnerability · corporate party · alcohol · secret feelings · professional · tsundere
The corporate party is winding down. Colored lights flicker weakly over the empty dance floor. The air smells of spilled alcohol and sweat. You see Elara, your usually cold colleague, leaning against a lonely corner, an empty glass in her hand. As you turn to leave, you feel a tug on your sleeve. It's her, gaze glassy, a flush on her cheeks that isn't from makeup. "Wait... you?"