calumfmu

it didn't start as anything big. just a few shared laughs over a broken server branch and an inside joke or two that nobody else in the company understood.

at first, keys was just the brilliant programmer two desks down. the guy who would quietly slide a mug of coffee onto your desk when he saw you rubbing your eyes, never saying much, just giving you a quick nod before heading back to his own monitors. 

your friendship was built in the quiet, empty spaces of the office. in the kitchen while waiting for the microwave to beep, or during those late hours of the night when everyone else had gone home, leaving only the two of you to decipher messy lines of code. you became his go-to partner for everything. you were the only person who could actually keep up with his chaotic, fast paced train of thought, taking his raw, unfinished ideas and making them sharper.

it was comfortable. it was easy. it was a harmless office friendship; or at least, that was the lie keys had spent the last six months telling himself.

the truth was much more complicated.

everyone at soonami offices knew keys and millie as the ultimate power couple. they were the genius duo who had built their careers side by side since college, their lives so deeply intertwined that the company practically treated them as a package deal. millie was smart, beautiful, and completely devoted to him. they shared an apartment and a decade's worth of memories. they were a done deal, a perfect algorithm. 

but corporate logic didn't account for the way keys' chest would tighten every time you laughed at his stupid jokes. or explain why his fingers always lingered just a fraction of a second too long whenever he handed you a cup of coffee, or why he found himself checking his phone just hoping to see your name pop up on his screen. 

over the months, the easy camaraderie had warped into something thick, heavy, and dangerous. the air in his cubicle always felt thirty degrees hotter the moment you leaned over his shoulder to look at his screen, your proximity driving him completely out of his mind.

he was supposed to be the perfect boyfriend, planning a bright future with millie. 

you were his coworker, his friend, and the one person who made him want to tear down the perfect life he had spent years building.

the sun was shining through the high ceiling windows of the office common area. the blinding morning light, paired with the constant sound of typing, spinning office chairs, and the overlapping voices of everyone talking, were doing absolutely nothing to help your growing headache. 

you checked the time again. the meeting was supposed to start ten minutes ago, yet hardly anyone had even arrived.

you were starting to dissociate, staring at some point on the wall, when you felt a sudden, familiar tap on your shoulder. right beside your face, a big, warm hand appeared, holding up a paper cup of coffee with your exact name scribbled messily on the side. 

“here ya’ go,” keys said, flashing you a warm smile.

“what's this for?” you questioned, confused but grateful for the much needed caffeine.

“you sent me a text last night at 4 a.m. asking for the server login password because you locked yourself out again. i figured you stayed up late; therefore, you were going to be cranky this morning.”

“i am not cranky. and how would you know my mood when you just got here,” you tapped your phone screen to show the time, “and late.”

keys gave a smug smile, raising his eyebrow as if to say, ‘see? told you.’

“when someone gets you coffee, you are supposed to say thank you, you know.”

“oh thank you, my savior. what would i do without you,” you said mockingly, rolling your eyes and taking a sip. “how did you remember my order?”

he shrugged, his eyes lingering on yours a fraction of a second too long, tracing the tired lines under your eyes before dropping down to your lips. whatever comeback he had prepared was cut short by millie walking into the office, the click of her heels announcing her arrival before she smoothly greeted keys with a soft kiss on the cheek. 

“hi, baby. did you see the text i sent you? you were supposed to look over the budget spreadsheets.”

keys shifted awkwardly, the easy, relaxed posture he had just a second ago instantly vanishing as his shoulders squared up. he cleared his throat, deliberately avoiding your eyes as he looked up at his girlfriend. 

“oh, hey, mills,” keys mumbled, his hand instinctively coming up to rub the back of his neck, a nervous habit you knew all too well. “uh, yeah, sorry. my phone was on silent during the drive. i’ll look at it right now.”

millie smiled, completely oblivious, and rested her hand on his shoulder. “perfect. don't forget, okay? anyway, let's get this meeting started. i want to leave early today.”

as everyone finally trickled into the conference room, you deliberately took a seat on the opposite side of the long glass table, trying to put as much distance between you and keys as possible. he sat directly across from you, with millie right by his side, her laptop open as she took the lead on the presentation.

it was a standard corporate update, but your headache made it feel like torture. you took a slow sip of the coffee keys had bought you, keeping your eyes on your notebook.

then, the project manager started droning on about a budget issue that you and keys had literally fixed two days ago.

you couldn't help it. you looked up.

keys was already staring at you. the moment your eyes met, he gave you a subtle, barely perceptible roll of his eyes, dropping his pen onto his notebook in a synchronized show of mutual exhaustion. a small, involuntary smile tugged at the corner of your lips, and you quickly bit the inside of your cheek to hide it.

the project manager kept speaking, seamlessly presenting the slides while everyone nodded along, completely unaware of the silent conversation happening right across the table.

you saw keys' hand move beneath the edge of the glass surface, his thumb tapping quickly against his screen before setting it down.

a second later, your phone buzzed in your lap.

keys: if i have to hear one more bullet point from that slide be read word for word, im going to fake a medical emergency

you bit your lip so hard it hurt, trying to choke back a laugh. keeping your phone hidden under the table, your thumbs flew across the keyboard.

you: please do you: ill call 911 you: whats ur symptom?

you looked up just in time to see keys check his screen. his jaw tightened, a low, suppressed huff escaping his nose that he quickly disguised as a cough. millie glanced at him briefly, offering him a quick, sweet smile as she reached down to hand him a bottle of water. keys took it, murmuring a quiet thanks, but his focus immediately snapped back to you across the room. his eyes narrowed in a playful challenge.

keys: extreme boredom leading to cardiac arrest keys: u will have to give me cpr you: sorry, im not certified…  you: ill just steal your coffee while ur down

across the table, keys let out a tiny, silent laugh, his shoulders shaking slightly. he didn't even look at his screen this time, his thumbs moving by pure muscle memory as he kept his eyes locked on you.

keys: cold blooded keys: and after i bought u your specific ridiculous order?  keys: i see how it is.

you bit your lip, your heart doing a little dance as you tapped out your reply.

you: hey!  you: i didnt ask u to buy it  you: were u thinking of me that much…

the moment you hit send, you kept your eyes glued to him. you watched him look down at his lap. the playful smirk he had been sporting slowly vanished, replaced by a sudden stillness. his jaw set. when he looked back up across the table, the teasing, casual facade was entirely gone. 

keys: maybe.

your breath hitched, your thumb freezing over the screen. you hadn't expected him to just admit it. not here. not with millie literally sitting right next to him, her hand casually brushing against his arm as she pointed at a graph on the projector screen.

a sudden wave of panic and intense self-consciousness washed over you. the playful bubble you had been in just popped, leaving you feeling exposed and incredibly guilty in the brightly lit room.

forcing your eyes away from his suffocating gaze, you hurriedly clicked the power button on your phone, turning the screen black. you flipped the device face down onto your thigh beneath the table, hiding it from view as if the text message could somehow be read by the rest of the room.

you cleared your throat softly, trying to shake the sudden flush creeping up your neck, and forced yourself to sit up straighter. clutching your pen tightly, you fixed your eyes firmly on the projector screen, nodding along to whatever budget metric someone was going on about. you didn't look back at keys as you did your absolute best to blend into the background, desperately pretending you were just another attentive employee.

“i told you, no matter which buttons i press, the characters keep getting stuck on the far wall. must be something with the colliders,” you said, throwing your hands up in pure frustration.

“it can't be,” keys replied from the desk directly across from yours, squinting at his dual monitors. “i already went over the physics a thousand times. there's gotta be something else we are not seeing.”

“i don't know about you, but this is not how i planned to spend my friday night.”

it was already late, and the only sounds left on the entire office floor were the hum of the servers and the frantic clicking coming out of your small cubicle. everyone else had clocked out long ago. now, you two were the only ones stupid enough to be working at 9 p.m. on a friday night.

“well, it's not like we have a choice,” keys said, groaning as he leaned back. “if we don't get this build done, antwan is going to kill us both on monday.”

“can we at least take a break? my eyes are burning and i don't even remember the last time i ate.”

keys sighed, rubbing a heavy hand over his face. the blue light of his screen caught the tired lines around his eyes. “yeah, alright. i’m hungry too. i can order something. pizza good for you?”

you nodded and stood up immediately to stretch your legs. “would it kill them to buy some fucking ergonomic chairs? jesus christ, my back is killing me,” you muttered, arching your spine and reaching your arms toward the ceiling.

keys chuckled, his eyes tracing the line of your body for a second before he quickly looked down at his phone. “they can’t do that, that would mean treating us as actual human beings. pizza should be here in twenty. meanwhile, can you show me the bug again?”

you walked back to your desk and sat down. keys followed, stepping into your cubicle to stand right behind your chair.

“see, i start walking, do a few jumps, then bamn, glued to the wall.” you turned around to face him, raising an eyebrow.

he leaned down, caging you against the desk. he placed one hand on the edge of your desk and the other on the armrest of your chair, his head now hovering right over your shoulder. he was entirely too close. you could smell the faint scent of mint and the coffee from earlier. you couldn't help but notice how his glasses were hanging low on the bridge of his nose, and his lips looked a bit dry, probably from chewing on them all afternoon.

“do that again,” he murmured.

“what?” you swallowed, your throat suddenly dry.

“do that again. i wanna see exactly which buttons you're pressing,” he jerked his chin toward the keyboard, his breath brushing against the side of your neck.

“right. um. i go this way, i turn around, and-”

keys suddenly burst out laughing, the heavy tension breaking instantly.

you frowned, completely confused. “what's wrong?”

“oh my god,” he stepped back, running a hand through his hair and shaking his head. “we forgot to enable that zone after the beta test. we've been stuck here all day for something so stupid. i can fix that in a minute.”

you leaned back into your seat, letting out a massive sigh of relief. “great. so we can go home now.”

“wait, the pizza is about to get here. shouldn't we at least eat it?”

“i don't know, you can just take it with you.”

“i’m not going to eat a full pizza by myself.”

“then take it and share it with millie?”

“right… millie”

you paused, noticing the sudden shift in his expression. his posture stiffened again. 

“what? trouble in paradise?”

“no, i mean… we just kinda argued before she left today.”

the conversation was cut short by the sharp buzzing of the intercom downstairs. the delivery guy was here. keys gave a small, tight nod and turned to take the elevator down.

meanwhile, you started to tidy up your desk, shutting down your monitors and getting ready to finally leave.

when you were shoving your laptop into your bag, keys came back into the room holding a cardboard box. “you sure you don't wanna share?”

you wanted to say no. you knew you had to say no. but it was late, and you knew the refrigerator in your apartment was completely empty. staying meant free food, but it also meant more time alone with him in the dark. your stomach made a loud, rumbling sound, making the choice for you.

“fine, sure. but i can't sit on these chairs for a minute longer,” you said, walking toward the employee lounge where the comfortable breakroom couches were.

you led the way to the employee lounge, dropping your bag onto the floor and sinking into the big, plush couch in the corner. the dim, warm overhead lights of the lounge felt like heaven compared to the harsh fluorescent glow of your cubicle.

keys followed you in, setting the steaming pizza box down on the low coffee table in front of you before sitting right next to you. the couch dipped under his weight, shifting you just an inch closer to him than you anticipated.

“god, this is so much better,” you sighed, resting your head back against the cushions and closing your eyes for a brief second.

“told you,” keys said softly. you opened your eyes to find him already looking at you, his glasses off now, sitting on the table next to the box. without them, his eyes looked softer, tired, and entirely too focused on your face.

he opened the box, the rich scent of cheese filling the small room. he handed you a slice on a napkin, his fingers brushing against yours. his touch lingered for a fraction of a second, sending a quiet hum of static straight up your arm.

you both ate in silence for a few minutes, the initial awkwardness melting away into the easy comfort you always shared. 

“sooo,” you started carefully, taking a small bite of your crust. “you and millie. do you want to talk about it?”

keys paused, staring down at his pizza slice. he let out a low, heavy sigh and leaned back, mimicking your posture. “it’s nothing new. just… the same old thing. she’s talking about moving into a bigger place closer to downtown, looking at floor plans, talking about the next five years. and i’m just…” he trailed off, his jaw tightening.

“and you’re not ready?” you asked softly, turning your head to look at him profile-side.

keys turned his head too. the distance between you felt incredibly small. “it’s not that i’m not ready. it’s that when she talks about the future, it feels like she’s reading from a script we wrote three years ago. and i don't think i want to play that character anymore.”

his voice was dangerously quiet. his eyes dropped to your lips, then traveled slowly back up to meet your gaze. there was an admission in his words, a confession beyond what he was letting on.

the silence stretched between you, thick and heavy with everything neither of you was brave enough to say out loud. keys' hand was resting on the cushion between you, just inches away from your thigh. you could feel the heat radiating from him.

you wanted to reach out. you wanted to close the gap.

but before either of you could move, keys suddenly blinked, as if snapping himself out of a trance. the heavy, intense look in his eyes instantly fractured. he looked away, clearing his throat and rubbing a hand over his face.

“anyway,” keys muttered, his voice suddenly tight as he stood up, abruptly cutting off the moment. “it's late. we should probably get out of here before they lock the garage.”

the cold air rushed into the space he left behind. you swallowed the lump in your throat, nodding quickly as you grabbed your bag. “right. yeah, let’s go.”

the neon lights of the bar were dim, casting a heavy, reddish glow over the crowded room. the bass from the speakers vibrated straight through the floorboards, mixing with the loud chatter of the soonami team celebrating the successful deployment of the new build.

you were leaning against the wooden counter of the bar, holding a half empty drink laughing at a story the lead designer was telling you. 

keys was sitting at a large booth across the bar, surrounded by some of the project managers and corporate leads. millie was right beside him, her hand resting comfortably on his knee, laughing as she chatted with one of them.

since you got there, you couldn't help but fixate on the way they were always glued to each other. they always seemed to be too close somehow, even if it was something as small as touching shoulders or the familiar way she leaned her head against him.

you couldn't understand exactly why it was irking you so much. yet you couldn't take your eyes away from it, as if you could somehow force it to move by sheer willpower. the lead designer by your side kept talking non stop, but you weren't listening anymore. you were just nodding along mindlessly, letting his words turn into pure white noise. 

what you didn't notice was that keys wasn't paying attention to his conversation either. his beer was gripped so tightly in his hand his knuckles were turning white. and every time you laughed, every time the guy leaned in closer to you, keys' jaw would tighten, his eyes narrowing as he tracked every single movement from across the dim bar. 

when he laughed and casually placed a hand on your shoulder, keys abruptly stood up from the booth. millie blinked, looking up at him in surprise as her hand fell from his knee. “hey, where are you going?” she asked over the noise.

“just getting another drink, mills,” keys mumbled, his voice tight as he stepped out of the booth without waiting for her reply.

you noticed him moving toward the bar, and a sudden spike of adrenaline shot through your chest. needing to escape the sudden, suffocating shift in the air, you excused yourself from the designer and headed toward the quieter, narrow hallway near the back exits and the restrooms.

the hallway was poorly lit, the noise of the bar instantly muffling into a dull hum. you took a deep breath, trying to steady your racing heart, when a heavy shadow blocked the light from the entrance.

you turned around, your back pressing against the wallpapered wall as keys stepped into the narrow space, effectively cutting off your escape.

“are you having fun?” keys asked, his voice low.

you blinked, swallowing hard as you looked past his broad shoulders toward the main room. 

“what are you doing here? millie is going to wonder where you are.”

“i don’t care about that right now,” he muttered, taking another step forward.

you could smell the faint scent of alcohol and the mint chewing gum. his glasses were reflecting the dim red light, his eyes dark and completely unblinking as they dropped down to your lips before locking back onto yours.

“what are you doing, keys? seriously,” you whispered, your hands flat against his chest to keep him from going any closer, though you could feel the heavy, rapid thud of his heart under your palms. “someone is going to see you.”

“i noticed you’ve had four drinks since we got here,” keys said, ignoring your warning completely, “and i noticed that guy from design hasn’t left your side once.” 

you let out a shaky, defensive laugh, “he was just telling me a story. we were just talking.” 

“he was hovering,” keys countered, his voice tight, laced with a quiet frustration. “he saw you were tipsy and he was entirely too close, he was looking for an excuse to put his hands on you.”

“keys, he was just being friendly,” you hissed back, your face starting to flush. you looked at his broad shoulders, then past him toward the entrance of the hallway, “and why do you even care? you don't get to monitor my drinks, and you definitely don't get to look after me like this.”

“someone has to,” keys said softly.

your breath hitched, your throat locking up.

“keys...” you whispered, your fingers involuntarily tightening against the fabric of his jacket. “stop. go back to the booth. millie is waiting for you.”

before either of you could move, the heavy door to the hallway creaked open, and the loud laugh of a coworker echoed into the space.

reality slammed back into the room. keys instantly stiffened, stepping back a full foot and running a hand through his hair as he looked away from you.

“uh, sorry,” the coworker muttered, passing by to the restrooms.

keys kept his back turned to you for a second, his shoulders tense as he let out a shaky breath. without looking back at you, he cleared his throat roughly.

“i’m going back outside,” he muttered, his voice cold and strained as he walked out of the hallway.

the storm had been brewing all afternoon, and by the time you finally packed up your things to leave the office, torrential rain slammed against the glass windows of the lobby, turning the streetlights outside into a blurry mess.

you stood near the glass exit doors, pulling your jacket tighter around your shoulders as you looked at your phone. the uber rates kept going up, and the app was unable to find a driver willing to drive through the downpour. you let out a defeated sigh, preparing yourself to just sprint through the freezing rain. 

“hey.”

you jumped slightly, turning around to see keys walking up behind you. his laptop bag was slung over one shoulder, his hair was a little messy and his glasses sitting slightly crooked on his nose.

“hey,” you murmured, your throat suddenly feeling tight. 

keys looked past you, squinting at the sheet of water cascading off the building. “you’re not seriously going to walk in this, are you?” 

“uber is completely dead,” you said, shrugging weakly and gesturing to your screen. “i don't really have a choice. my apartment isn't that far anyway.” 

keys frowned, his jaw tightening slightly. he checked his phone, then looked back at you, a strange, tense conflict flitting across his features. you knew millie had left early today to go visit her parents for the weekend, leaving him with the apartment all to himself.

“i’ll drive you,” keys said, his voice dropping into that quiet, firm tone he used when he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

“keys, no, it’s fine, i can-”

“i’m not letting you walk through a storm at 10 p.m.,” he interrupted, stepping past you and pushing the glass door open. “come on, my car is right in the first row of the lot.”

the run to his car was a blur of freezing rain and splashing puddles. by the time you slammed the passenger door shut, both of you were breathless and damp, the sudden warmth of the vehicle's interior hitting your skin. the heavy thudding of the rain against the roof immediately isolated you from the rest of the world, wrapping the small cabin in a intimate silence.

keys started the engine, shifting the heater to high. the vents began to hum loudly, blowing warm air that instantly started to fog up the windows. he threw his bag into the back seat and ran a hand through his damp hair, shaking off the water.

“thanks,” you whispered, buckling your seatbelt and staring straight ahead at the blurred windshield.

“don't worry about it,” he muttered, his voice tight as he shifted the car into drive and slowly pulled out of the parking lot.

the first half of the drive was agonizingly quiet. the only sounds were the steady, rhythmic clicking of the windshield wipers and the heavy downpour outside. keys kept both hands tightly gripped on the steering wheel, his eyes focused entirely on the flooded road ahead. 

“um, so… any big plans tonight?” you asked, trying to ease the tension.

“if you consider catching up on hours of sleep big plans,” he shrugged, a faint trace of his usual relaxed self peaking through the tight set of his jaw. 

“wow, living on the edge, keys. don't party too hard,” you teased, leaning your head back against the headrest and turning to look at his profile.

he let out a low, dry chuckle, his eyes flicking to the rearview mirror before settling back on the dark road. “hey, after dealing with antwan's erratic change of requirements all afternoon, a quiet bedroom and zero monitors is all i need. what about you? going to try and lock yourself out of the servers again?”

“that was one time,” you groaned, rolling your eyes but unable to stop the smile tugging at your lips. “and for your information, i plan on doing absolutely nothing. just eating leftover takeout and watching whatever trashy show is trending.”

“sounds fun,” he murmured, his tone finally softening, slipping back into that familiar, easy rhythm you two always had. he relaxed his grip on the wheel a fraction, the heavy silence from before completely melting away.

after a few more blocks and the easy back and forth, keys pulled up to the curb outside your apartment building, shifting the vehicle into park but keeping the engine running. the street outside was completely deserted, save for the soft glow of a single streetlight cutting through the sheet of rain. 

the comfortable bubble you had just built suddenly popped, replaced instantly by a thick, suffocating weight. you turned your head to look at him, your heart starting to hammer violently against your ribs as you realized the drive was over.

“well... thank you for the ride, keys. i’ll see you on monday.”

you reached for the door handle, but before your fingers could even touch it, keys’ hand shot out across the console. his fingers wrapped around your wrist, his grip firm, warm, and slightly trembling.

you froze, your breath hitching.

“wait,” keys whispered, his voice rough.

you slowly turned your face back to him. he had turned his body in the driver's seat, his eyes dark, intense, and completely stripped of his usual composure. he looked desperate. his gaze dropped down to your lips, and you could see his chest rising and falling in shallow, rapid breaths. 

“she called me before i left the office,” he muttered. “she wanted to check in. tell me about her drive. talk about that apartment downtown again.”

you swallowed hard, your chest aching at the familiar topic, you didn't need to ask who he was talking about, “and?”

“and i couldn't do it,” keys confessed, his thumb tracing a tiny, subconscious circle over the pulse point of your wrist. the raw honesty in his tone was suffocating. “i spent the whole phone call giving her one word answers because the only thing i could focus on was the fact that you were still on the fourth floor, and that it was pouring rain, and i couldn't let you walk home alone.”

“keys, don't-”

“i tried, alright?” he interrupted, his voice cracking slightly as he leaned closer. his free hand came up, his fingers brushing against your damp cheek, his touch so warm it made you shiver. “i’ve been trying for months to pretend like everything is fine, like things are still the same with her. but they’re not. she keeps leaving on the weekends… she leaves me alone in that apartment, and i don't even care because the only person i want to see, the only person i want to talk to... is you.”

you swallowed the lump in your throat, he looked so agonizingly torn.

“i’m so tired of pretending,” keys whispered, his face now inches from yours, his breath hot against your skin.

“keys...” you breathed, the sound of his name breaking whatever last shred of control he had left.

he let go of your wrist only to wrap both of his large hands around your jaw, pulling you fiercely towards him. his mouth crashed against yours with a desperate urgency that knocked the wind right out of your lungs.

the kiss was anything but gentle; you let out a soft, muffled whimper against his mouth, but you didn't pull away. instead, your fingers buried themselves into the collar of his damp jacket, anchoring him to you as his tongue parted your lips.

he groaned deep in his throat, a low, desperate sound that vibrated straight into your chest. his hands slid down from your jaw, his grip bruising as his fingers dug into your waist, lifting you effortlessly over the dividers of the center console. before your brain could register the shift, you were tangled entirely in his lap on the driver’s seat. 

the space was impossibly tight. your knees framed his hips, your jacket rustling against his, and your back pressed hard against the steering wheel.

keys’ hands made his way under your sweater, his palms hot and slightly rough against the bare skin of your waist. he yanked you down flush against him, and you could feel the thick, hard length of his erection pressing tightly through his jeans right against your core.

the friction was agonizingly perfect. you shifted your hips instinctively, rolling against him to find a rhythm, and keys let out a choked, broken gasp into your neck. his teeth bit lightly at the sensitive skin right beneath your jaw, his hips rolling up to meet yours. the windows were entirely fogged now, completely blocking out the rain and the dark street.

but then, keys’ phone suddenly lit up in the cup holder right beside your leg.

the bright, glare of the screen cut through the darkness of the car. millie flashed in bold, white letters, accompanied by a picture of her smiling.

keys froze. his lips stopped moving against your neck, his chest heaving violently against yours.

for three agonizing seconds, the car was silent except for the heavy drumming of the rain and his ragged breathing. you looked down at him, your hands still tangled in his hair. he stared at the phone, then slowly looked up at you. his face was pale, his eyes wide behind his glasses. the realization of what he was doing slammed into him like ice water.

“oh god,” keys breathed, his voice cracking, looking physically sick with himself.

he immediately dropped his hands from your waist, his palms pressing against your shoulders to gently but firmly push you off his lap. his hands were shaking uncontrollably as he helped you navigate back over the center console and into your own seat, his breath coming in shallow, panicked hitches.

“keys...” you started, your voice trembling, your body shivering from the sudden loss of heat.

“i can't. i’m sorry, i- i can't,” he stammered, completely backing down. he wouldn't even look at you now, his eyes pinned to the steering wheel as he gripped it with white knuckles, his chest heaving. “you need to go. please. just... go.”

without saying another word and the sudden humiliation making your eyes sting, you grabbed your bag from the floor, unlocked the door, and stepped out into the pouring rain, slamming the car door shut behind you.

ever since that night, things had been incredibly strained between you two. you had both avoided each other’s eyes in meetings, reverting back to short, strictly professional emails. 

you had even asked to change desks, using the lame excuse of some monitor not working properly. to admit it, you were a bit paranoid that keys had told millie what happened in the car. but a week had already passed, and nothing seemed to change in their dynamic. having moved to a completely different section of the office floor meant you barely even saw them anymore, and you were incredibly grateful for that. you needed the distance to breathe.

it was another stressful morning. you were trying to fix a code loop on the game that had been driving you crazy all day, your eyes straining against the screen, when you felt your phone vibrate against the desk.

keys: can u come down to the servers room

your heart did a sudden, nervous flip. you stared at the text before putting the phone back down, face down. you tried to convince yourself he had probably sent it to the wrong person. it had to be a mistake.

then, it buzzed again. twice. 

keys: i need ur help with something keys: urgent

your thumbs hovered over the screen.

you: help with what? keys: just come here you: cant u ask someone else? you: im pretty busy rn keys: it will be quick keys: please

letting out a deep sigh, you finally stood up and headed toward the elevators. your hands were slightly clammy, and your mind was racing with every worst case scenario. you just wanted to get whatever this was over with, so you could go back to avoiding him in peace. 

the server room was located in the basement of the building, a place nobody went unless something was seriously broken. you stepped inside, the metal door hadn't even closed properly when keys greeted you, slamming his palm against the heavy frame to trap you, backing you up against the hard surface and instantly guiding his lips to yours.

it was an all too familiar rhythm, fierce and desperate, crashing into you before you could even process what had just happened. the absolute shock of it held you frozen for a split second as his mouth moved against yours, hot and demanding. then, reality slammed back in, and you placed both hands firmly against his chest, shoving him off you.

“what the hell is wrong with you?!” you yelled, your voice echoing sharply in the room. you threw your hands up in the air, your chest heaving from the sudden burst of panic and anger.

keys didn't respond immediately. instead, he just stood there staring at you, his chest rising and falling in heavy, ragged breaths. his dark hair was messy, and his eyes were wide, completely stripped of that cool composure he usually carried. 

“what kind of sick game are you playing?” you demanded, the sting of how he had left you in the car a week ago fueling the fire in your throat.

“it's not a game,” keys said, his voice rough and incredibly low.

“then what the fuck is this?”

“i don't know,” he muttered, shaking his head slightly, his fists clenching at his sides. “but it's not a game. i swear.”

“it feels like it,” you sighed in pure, exhausting frustration, rubbing a hand over your face before glaring back up at him. “what are you doing now? you were the one to back down the other day. you were the one who practically threw me out of your car!”

“i know.”

“do you have any idea how i felt after that? how humiliating that was?”

he shook his head, looking down at the concrete floor for a fraction of a second before locking his pleading eyes back onto yours. “i’m sorry. i’m so sorry. that never should have happened like that. it was wrong, and i panicked, but...” he swallowed hard, taking a small step closer. “but i don't regret it.”

your brows furrowed in complete confusion, your mind racing to keep up with his whiplash. “what?”

“i thought after that... i thought if it finally happened, i could just get it out of my system and move on,” keys confessed, his voice trembling slightly with a terrifying level of honesty. he stepped closer again, completely crowding you against the metal door, the heat radiating off him fighting the freezing air of the basement. “but i can't. i can't stop thinking about it.”

you stared at him, breathless.

“do you have any idea how many times i’ve touched myself to that memory over the past few days?” keys asked, the filters completely gone from his brain now. he looked agonizingly frustrated, his jaw tight as he let out a bitter, self deprecating breath. “a concerning amount. a completely fucked up amount. i close my eyes and all i can feel is you on my lap, the way you tasted, the way you looked at me. i’m losing my mind here.”

“i just don't get it, keys,” you whispered, your anger suddenly melting into confusion. your heart was beating so hard you could hear it in your ears. “what are you doing? what do you even want?”

“you,” keys said instantly, without a single second of hesitation. he stepped into your space, his face inches from yours. “i want you.”

“but you are with millie,” you stated, the name landing between you like a physical barrier.

“god, i know that, but-”

“did you end things with her?” you interrupted, your voice turning sharp, demanding the one answer that actually mattered.

keys froze. his mouth parted slightly, but no sound came out. the silence stretched between you, broken only by the whirring fans of the servers.

“no,” he finally whispered.

you let out a short, bitter chuckle, the stinging disappointment hitting you right in the chest. you shook your head, your eyes burning as you reached sideways for the door handle. “goodbye, keys.”

“stop.” in one swift motion, he stepped even closer, his large hands shooting out to press flat against the cold metal door on either side of your head, caging you in completely. his broad shoulders blocked out the rest of the room. “you can't just walk out. you can't deny you want this too. you think i don't notice the way you look at me? you think i didn't feel the way you kissed me back in that car?”

you swallowed hard, your throat completely dry. your back was flat against the door, your eyes locked onto his dark, desperate gaze behind his glasses. 

“tell me to stop,” keys whispered, his voice cracking with a raw, bleeding vulnerability. he leaned down, his forehead almost resting against yours, his breath hot and uneven against your lips. “tell me you don't want this. tell me you don't want me. say it, and i swear to god i’ll walk out that door right now and i will never bring this up again.”

you opened your mouth to speak, to say the words that would save you both, to say the name millie one more time and end the madness. but the words got caught in your throat. you looked at his parted lips, at the desperate, pleading look in his eyes, and you couldn't do it. the lie wouldn't come out.

you swallowed, staring up at him in helpless silence. and in the quiet, freezing room, your silence was answer enough.

this time you initiated the kiss.

you reached up, your fingers tangling into the hood of his sweatshirt to pull him down, burying your mouth against his before your brain could find another reason to hesitate. a low, broken sound escaped keys’ throat as he locked his arms around you, lifting you slightly off the floor to press your lower back harder against the cold metal door.

his tongue parted your lips with a heavy, demanding familiarity, tasting like the strong coffee he’d been drinking all morning. his hands dropping from the door to grip your thighs, guiding your legs to wrap tightly around his waist. you clung to his shoulders for balance, your chest pressing flush against his as he drove you back against the door.

he didn't wait. he didn't care about being gentle anymore.

his hips slammed up against yours, and a sharp gasp was choked out of your throat and straight into his mouth as the hard length of his erection locked perfectly against your center. keys let out a ragged breath against your lips, shifting his grip to your hips, holding you down against him while his lower body grinded against yours in a desperate rhythm.

he shifted, his lower body rolling against yours with a heavy friction that had you arching your back, a breathless moan slipping past your lips. keys caught the sound with his own mouth, kissing you, his hips moving faster.

without breaking the kiss, keys hooked his hands under your thighs and lifted you completely. he carried you down until he reached the small desk at the far side of the wall. with a sweep of his arm, he knocked some papers onto the floor to make space.

he set you down on the edge of the high desk, pressing your thighs wide apart as he stepped right between them. his hands were trembling slightly now as he reached for your zipper, his eyes locking onto yours behind his glasses, completely consumed by you. in one swift, desperate motion, he pushed your clothes out of the way, the freezing air of the server room hitting your bare skin for a split second before his large, burning palm completely erased it.

keys’ fingers slid down, finding your center, and a sharp gasp broke from your lips when you felt his warm touch. his fingers moved with a purpose, tracing over your wetness before sliding one, then two fingers deep inside you. you arched off the cold table instantly, your hands gripping his shoulders as he began to pace his fingers into you, finding a fast rhythm that matched the frantic beating of your heart.

“keys- god,” you whined, your head tossing back.

he didn't let you breathe, kissing you to stifle your cries while his thumb pressed hard against your clit. you were stretching around his fingers, slick and tight, and keys let out a low, ragged growl into your throat, his fingers pushing deeper, moving faster until your hips were rolling against his palm to chase the ache.

knowing you were completely ready and soaked for him, was what finally broke his last shred of sanity.

he pulled his hand out, which made you let out a weak whimper of protest. then he didn't waste another second. his knuckles brushed against your bare skin as he unbuttoned his jeans with a frantic rush.

he freed his impressive length from his underwear. you had already felt how much he was packing back in the car, but experiencing it now in the raw light of the room was completely different; you honestly hadn't expected him to be that big. the sight of him made your throat go completely dry.

his fingers wrapped around his base and he stroked himself a few times. his eyes stayed locked onto yours behind his glasses, watching your reaction. then stepped even closer, until the heat of his skin was pressing right against your soaking center.

he drove himself inside you in one deep, heavy thrust.

a loud, breathless gasp caught in your throat, your head slamming back against the metal rack behind the desk. keys groaned out loud, his eyes closing tight as his hands gripped your hips so hard his fingers left marks.

he didn't wait. he couldn't. keys began to move, his pace fast and deep, his hips slamming against yours. the desk rattled with every thrust, the cold metal biting into your lower back, but you barely felt it. you were completely focused on him, your fingers tangling into his hair, your nails digging into the skin of his neck as you matched his frantic pace.

keys leaned down, burying his face in the crook of your neck, his breath hot and ragged as he let out low, broken whimpers with every push. his tongue tasted your skin, his teeth biting lightly at your collarbone, sending waves of pure electricity straight down your spine. 

the friction was overwhelming, the intensity building so fast in the freezing room that the air felt thick with the scent of heat and sweat. you locked your ankles behind his back, pulling him even deeper, your own voice breaking into loud moans that keys kept catching with his mouth.

“keys… please,” you cried out against him, your fingers gripping his shoulders so hard your nails dug into his skin through his sweatshirt.

he let out a low groan, his hips rolling into yours, hitting your sweet spot over and over again. “tell me,” he mumbled against your lips, his voice dropping into a commanding register you’d never heard from him before. “tell me how it feels. tell me you’ve been wanting this as much as i have.”

“i have,” you gasped, your head tossing back against the metal rack. “god, keys, yes...”

“i knew it,” he muttered, his breath hot against your ear as his teeth grazed the sensitive skin of your jawline. “ you’re so tight for me, love... you’re so wet.”

“you’re mine,” keys choked out against your lips, his voice raw, rough, and completely stripped of his usual control. “god, you’re all i can think about. day and night... it’s always been you. fuck everyone else. you’re the only one i want.”

the admission shattered whatever restraint you both had left, but keys didn't let you fall over the edge just yet. he held your hips pinned against the table, delivering three more slow, agonizingly deep thrusts that made your vision go blurry. 

“look at me,” he gasped, his voice trembling as he forced himself to pull back just enough to lock his eyes onto yours. “let me see you take it. take all of it for me.”

you stared back at him, breathless.

with one last, powerful surge of his hips, a suffocating wave of pure heat crashed over you. your insides clamped down around him, and you let out a sharp cry, your body arching completely off the table as your orgasm ripped through you.

hearing your sounds, feeling you squeeze him so intensely, was the final trigger for keys.

he let out a ragged moan, his hips locking desperately against yours as he came inside you. his entire body went completely rigid, his muscles straining and his length pulsing deeply within your core. keys buried his face in your hair, his fingers digging into your waist with a bruising grip as he rode out the waves of his own release.

for a long, agonizingly quiet minute, the only sound was your heavy, combined breathing. keys stayed buried inside you, his forehead resting against your shoulder, his chest heaving violently. 

the intense heat in the room begins to fade, and the freezing air of the basement slowly creeps back in, chilling the sweat on your bare skin.

keys doesn't move. he doesn't pull away immediately. instead, he lets out a long, shaky exhale against your neck that feels terrifyingly weak. then slowly, very slowly, he pulls his head back to look at you.

the desperate, unhinged look in his eyes is completely gone, replaced by a hollow, quiet exhaustion. his glasses are fogged up and sitting crooked on his nose. he reaches up with a trembling hand, takes them off, and sets them blindly on the desk beside you. without them, his eyes look wide and completely exposed.

he looks at your swollen lips, at the marks his fingers are leaving on your thighs, and then he looks down at his own hand, specifically at the finger where the shadow of his life with millie hangs.

the reality of what they had just done settles over him.

“keys?” you whisper, your voice cracking in the quiet room. your hands are still resting on his broad shoulders, but he suddenly feels a million miles away.

he doesn't answer. he gently, almost robotically, pulls himself out of you. the sudden loss of his warmth makes you shiver violently on the edge of the cold table. keys keeps his eyes pinned to the floor as he fixes his clothes, his movements slow and stiff, as if he is trying to put a fractured version of himself back together.

when he finally looks back up at you, his face is deathly pale. there is no anger, and there are no excuses. just a profound, heartbreaking defeat.

“i can't look at her,” keys whispers, his voice so quiet it is almost swallowed by the whirring of the server fans. he lets out a bitter, breathy laugh that sounds closer to a sob, running a hand over his face. “god... i have to go back upstairs, and i have to sit next to her, and i... i don't even know how i'm going to look her in the eye.”

the words sting, a sharp injection of reality that makes your throat tighten with immediate humiliation.

“keys...”

“i’m sorry,” he murmurs, his voice breaking completely. he picks up his glasses from the desk, his hands shaking so hard he can barely slip them back over his ears. he looks at you one last time, his eyes wide, “i’m so fucking sorry.”

he doesn't wait for you to answer. he doesn't offer to help you down. keys just turns around and walks away, his boots heavy and slow against the concrete, before pushing the heavy metal door open and stepping out.