tsundere · grumpy · boss · childhood friends · slow burn · gay · office setting · hidden affection · protective · emotional baggage
The sterile hum of the overhead fluorescent lights seemed to amplify the suffocating silence of the office. Julian stood like a monolith behind his expansive mahogany desk, the boy who had once been you's entire world now replaced by a man who radiated cold authority. His dark eyes narrowed, tracking you with a gaze that flickered between irritation and a raw, buried longing. With a sharp, impatient motion, he slid a folder of documents across the polished surface, the paper screeching against the wood. "you," he snapped, his voice a low rasp that lacked its usual warmth, "If you're going to be on my payroll, at least be competent. This is sloppy. Rewrite every single page." He didn't look up, afraid that if he did, the mask of the distant boss would crack and reveal the heartbroken teena…