Pairing: Nanocoffee

Prompt: Writer/Editor AU (this took me so long to write; I'm sorry. I had so much trouble trying to figure out what I wanted to do with this....)

When I saw the first letter I thought 'this person can't be serious.' When I got a second one I laughed to myself.

The one currently on my desk is letter number three. It's nothing special, a plain sheet of paper with words typed out on it. Nothing personal about it. Nothing to give me any idea as to who could be sending these.

Sighing to myself, I com Duncan and call him into my office. Whatever I was planning on editing is put on hold until I tell someone about this. Leaning back in my chair, I glance around my office. Two large bookshelves filled with books, various news articles that didn't make it to print, and awards we got sit on either side of the door. A thud to my left draws my attention to the large window overlooking a fairly busy street.

"Whatcha need?" I jump, turning away from the window. A guy with a mop of blonde hair stands just inside the door, his eyebrows raised ever so slightly.

I scoot my chair forward and cross my arms over my chest. "Get in here and sit down."

He does, moving the hair out of his face after he sits down. "What'd I do this time?"

"Dunno, what did you do?" I raise an eyebrow, my lips twitching up ever so slightly.

He shrugs. "I didn't do nothin'!"

I laugh. "I know; that's not what I called you in here for." I hold out the letter to him. "I've been getting these letters. This is the third one. Whoever's leaving them drops them off in the submission box at random times.." I turn away and dig through my drawers for the other two.

"Oh, weird."

Pausing in my search, I glance at Duncan. He's reading the letter, his face void of emotion. "Bit childish, doncha think?"

"What? No, well. Yea, I guess."

I hum, pulling out the other two and holding them up triumphantly. "Here are the other two." They land with a quiet 'flap' on my desk.

He laughs. "Someone's got a secret admirer!"

I sigh. "Yea, just wish they'd give me some sort of clue as to who they were."

He hums, picking up one of the other letters. "Maybe he will. This is only the third one."

"How do you know it's a he?"

I raise my eyebrows as his eyes go big, challenging him. "Wha- well I mean- are you- you are straight, right?"

I put my elbows on the desk and my face in my hands. I sigh at him, annoyed how people always assume I'm straight. "Not that it's any of your business what my sexuality is, no. I'm not. Why are you assuming I'm straight?"

"Woah, really? I mean- not that I have anything against gays or anything but-" He stops talking.

"But what?" I lift my head up to look at him, raising my eyebrows and tilting my head. Daring him to continue.

A blush creeps up his cheeks and extends to his ears. "Well it's just- I've seen the way you flirt with Ross from Broadcasting and I guess-"

He stops talking again. I don't say anything either, wanting him to feel guilty for assuming. "Soo..." Duncan trails off. I burst out laughing. "What?"

Leaning back in my chair, letting my head fall back, I continue laughing. "Oh babe, you're great."

Duncan's brows furrow together in confusion. "What?"

"You're cute; you're really cute." I giggle some more, scooting my chair away from my desk. "Jeez," I weez, my stomach hurting from laughing.

"Um, what did you need me for again? You never really told me."

"Oh, yeah," I laugh, my eyes wandering around the room. "What did I need...?" My eyes land on the letters and I remember. "Oh! I was wondering if you could ask around, see if anyone knows anythin'?"

His brows furrow together but he nods. "Uh, sure? I'll try. Why don't you just ask Ross? You guys seem to be pretty close." I don't miss the hint of jealousy in his voice.

I hum. "Yea, I'll do that. Thanks, Dunc."

He nods, quickly exiting the room. I wait until the door is closed behind him before pulling out my phone and calling my best friend, Hannah.

'~(-.-)~,

A month goes by without another letter. Duncan is of no help, and Ross laughs when I casually bring it up to him. While I have my suspicion as to who is sending the letters, I don't want to confront him about it in case I'm wrong.

Casually talking to Ross about a really horrible (and imaginary) date I went on in the break room one day, I made sure to emphasize the fact that it was a guy. Duncan tried really hard to look like he was busy messing around on his phone and not listening to my conversation.

A few days later, I got another letter.

Just as planned.

This time it included a miniscule detail about said secret admirer: they were a he, and he was taller than me.

"Bahaha," Duncan laughs. "Well of course he's taller than you, everybody is! My eight-year-old niece is taller than you."

"Hey!" I playfully hit his arm. "Be nice!"

He laughs, batting a hand at me. "You're fine."

I put a hand to my chest. "That hurt! You could've said anything else, and you chose to say that."

"What?" A look of fear passes over his face. "I-"

My lips curl into a smile. "What's wrong, Duncan?"

His face slowly turns red. "I- uh- Need to go. Like, right now." He starts to get up but freezes when I move in front of him.

"Wait! I didn't call you in here just to show you the letter."

"Can it wait? I kinda need to go," He stares at the ground.

I hum, taking a step closer and placing my hands on his chest. His breath catches, his eyes meeting mine. I stand on my tip toes, getting as close to his ear as I can. "I need you to finish your review on Deadpool."

Stepping back, I try to keep from bursting out laughing. "Wha- really? Kim!"

"What? I didn't do anything!"

"You-" He huffs, running a hand through his long blonde hair. "When do you want it?" He asks, trying to make his voice level.

"As soon as possible, please." I move around my desk, Duncan still frozen in place.

"I'll- I'll get started on that."

"Thank you." He nods, leaving the room without another word.

~>..0~

"He's writing love letters, for Christ sake! Give the poor kid a chance. "

I shift on the couch, my phone hot against my ear. "But that's- can I do that? I mean- He's one of my writers."

"So? It's not like employee relationships don't happen. Especially where you work. Trott and Katie have been going out for nearly a year and they're just fine."

Moving the phone to my other ear, I pull the blanket closer around me. "Yeah," I allow. "But they're in different departments. It's not like Katie's his supervisor."

"Aw, Kim, give'm a chance. He's just nervous, is all." A meow can be heard through the phone. "Ack- Libby! No! Hold on Kim-"

A dull thud can be heard, then the line goes dead.

~0..<~

Rap, rap, rap! I look up, startled. Saving my progress on the sports article I was looking over, I spin in my chair. "Come in."

Duncan pokes his head in, his hair a disaster as usual. "Hey."

"Hey Dunc! Finished with that movie review yet?"

He nods, stepping into the room and letting the door shut behind him. "Yeah. It was pretty good."

"Hey, uh, Duncan?" I busy myself with the articles scattered around my desk. "Uh, could we- could we talk? About the letters I'm getting?"

"Oh, yeah, sure." The chair creaks as he sits down. I tap the stack of papers so they're level, setting them on the side of my desk.

Folding my hands on my desk, I lean forward. "Look, okay, I know you wrote those letters and-"

"Wha-"

"Duncan!" I snap. He stops talking, dropping his head. "Just, listen, okay? I- While it breaks my rule of not seeing fellow employees-" His head shoots up, his eyes wide. I smile, watching as he makes sense of my words.

"Really?" He lights up like a little kid on Christmas morning. "Yes! I knew those letters would work! Simon owes me ten pounds!"

I laugh, getting up and throwing my arms around Duncan. "You dork."

Author's Note:

why do they always end the EXACT SAME WAY (I am so sorry guys)

Come on Bewildered, be original. Be unique. Quit writing the same story over and over again but with different starting prompts. You only do this with Nanocoffee. What the heck. What are you doing.