#taskmaster fic

Greg threw open the door and looked down at you. His jaw gently slacking at the sight of you, as if a goddess had just knocked on the door and was a gift for him. He immediately took in your features that looked somewhat familiar, as if he knew you but couldn't place you. Greg towered over you, as you couldn't have been more than 1.65 m. You smiled up at him, “Hi, I'm here for Alex.” Greg stood there until Alex broke the silence, “Y/N”, he exclaimed as he gently shoved Greg aside, “Thank you for bringing this. You're a life saver.” You chuckled, “It's only a tie.” Alex shook his head, “To you a tie, to me a staple piece for this advert we are shooting.”

Alex peered up towards Greg who was still looking at only you, “Greg, this is Y/N Gibson. Y/N, this is Greg Davies.” “Y/N Gibson”, Greg registered your name in his head. You were the sold out comedian. “Hi Greg, nice to officially meet yo-” Greg cut off your words turning to Alex, “Y/N Gibson is your sister in law?!” Alex looked at you then back to Greg, “Yes. She's quite the accomplished comedian.” Greg puffed air, “Yes. I know who she is. I just didn't know she was family to you.” Nor did he know how gorgeous you were in person, but he kept that thought in his head. Greg whipped back to you smiling and reaching his hand to yours to shake it, “Lovely to meet you.” You did your best to smile sweetly but you noticed something in his eyes that made you feel warm. Finally breaking this weird interaction Alex interrupted, “Right. So. Thanks again Y/N.” You snapped your eyes back to Alex, “Not a problem”, you took a step back to indicate you'd leave now, “have a good day of filming. See you later.” You started for the door, turning back to see Greg still in the doorway smiling at you. You gave a gentle wave and left.

Alex waited until Greg was done staring down the hall where you were, “Greg. What the actual fuck was that?” Greg looked sheepish, “What? She's a successful comedian. Didn't realize she was related to you.” Alex squinted, “Yes. She's is.” Greg hummed, “Are you sure she's your sister in law? She's talented.” Greg couldn't help himself by poking at Alex. Alex explained, “Yeah. Y/N was the surprise baby. Rachel was the oldest, parents thought they were done, and then Y/N happened. An almost 15 year difference between the two.” Greg went wide eyed, “Let's get her on for next series. Yeah?” Alex let out a confused tone, “Why do you suddenly have an interest in her?” Greg chirped, “We're always looking for comedians to perform meaningless tasks right? For the fun of it all. And she just got off tour, right?” Alex's tone now very suspicious, but actually thought it was a good idea. You just had completed a sold out tour and would be good for the shows viewership. Alex nodded that he'd ask you and the two went on about filming adverts, clips and promotional content for the new season that'd be airing in the next few weeks.

That evening, Alex brought up over dinner that you should consider doing Taskmasters next season as they'd start filming after the show starts airing in a month. Rachel shot a daggered look to her husband, “Y/N just got off tour. Can we not try to sign her up for the next big thi-” “I'd love to”, you interrupted. Rachel scoffed, “What? You just told me you wanted some time off? Work on your next material?!” You smiled at your sister, “I will have time off. Just maybe this is good for my next special? Be on Taskmaster, get some momentum?” Rachel softened, “Don't let Alex make you feel like you need to be on his show.” You smiled wider, “I don't feel that way. I'd like to try it. Some of my favorites have been on there, so why not me?” Rachel turned to Alex, “You'd better not let her get hurt with any of these tasks.” Alex raised his hand to indicate a silent scouts honor that you'd be safe. Rachel sighed again then looked to you, “Well, let me connect you with my friend Dani. She'll help you find an apartment since you'll be staying for a bit.” You nodded and agreed.

About a month later you were fully settled into your flat and had been working on material for your next comedy tour. You had a good outline but knew to leave room for your experience on Taskmaster. After pouring yourself a cup of tea, you flipped through some social media and saw the advert for Taskmaster that would air tonight. You sent a quick text to Alex: “Can't wait to see the new series kick off tonight.”

Within a few minutes, your phone was ringing. It was Rachel. She called to ask if you wanted to attend a private viewing party of the new series tonight. The entire cast and crew usually did a small viewing with some loved ones at a private venue. How could you have turned that down? You got the details from your sister and sorted out something elegant for the viewing party as instructed.

When arriving to the venue, Alex had sent a crew member to meet you so you knew where to go. They guided you upstairs towards a large room. You politely indicated you'd be there momentarily, that you wanted to leave your coat at the cloakroom. You stood in line flipping through messages, replying to your agent about setting film dates for Taskmaster and about your next material.

Greg spotted you as he came up the stairs himself. It's like you had been placed in his path perfectly as he needed to leave his coat as well. You wore a beautiful full length gown that nicely hugged your curves, your hair down but beautifully tucked and pinned on one side. He came up behind you, keeping a polite distance but being able to see the message on your phone.

Kathleen (Agent): Y/N are you sure you want to do TM? You have great material here that you could tour again tomorrow if you wanted.

You: Yes. I'm sure. I need a break from being on the road. But be honest, do you think TM is good publicity?

Kathleen (Agent): Dear, anything you do is good publicity. It will help your inevitable tour. I just want to make sure you're happy and not doing this as a favor to your brother in law.

You: No favors here. Just an opportunity.

Kathleen (Agent): Right. Well, let's chat tomorrow about scheduling. Enjoy the private screening with your family.

You clicked your phone away and stepped closer in the line. Greg cleared his throat, “Wasn't expecting to see you here.” You jumped from the unexpected voice, turning to see Greg and laughed, “You scared me! Shouldn't you have been in there already?” He softened, “I didn't mean to scare you. Traffic delayed me. But I don't mind.” You looked at his coat, reaching for it, “I can get this checked in if you need to get in there.” He smiled at you, at your kindness. Then realized what time it was, and was struggling to pull himself away from you in this moment. He met your eyes, “Would you?” You smiled and happily took his coat, “They can't start without you.” Before he headed into the room, he turned to give you a wink then darted in.

The wink. That simple wink threw you for a loop. You'd known of Greg Davies, mostly due to the work with your brother in law, but you'd never seen him like this. He was never a bad looking guy in your opinion but you hadn't realized you were attracted to him until that wink. Your face flushed as you thought about it more. The way he smiled at you, his voice, that wink. “No no no no”, you thought you yourself, “he's almost twice my age. I'm too young for him. He's just being nice because of Alex. That's all.” You were so in your own head that you didn't hear the attendant call “next” until someone bumped you to go. You got the number for yours and Greg's jackets, realizing after that you only obtained one ticket for both rather than a number for each. You shook the thought and headed in.

Spotting Rachel in the screening room, you quickly took a seat next to her in time for Alex and Greg to introduce the series with a speech. When Greg spoke, he mentioned how lucky he is that Alex picked him for the Taskmaster and how he can't wait for all that is to come. Even though he looked around the room as he spoke, Greg was always looking at you. He sought you in a room of people. He couldn't explain to himself what it was about you that made him smile, but he knew he was down right attracted to you.

The first episode of the new series ended and the lights came on as the room filled with cheers. Alex and Greg gave one more speech mentioning how fun this season was for them and to enjoying the rest of the evening. You mingled throughout the room, saw some people you'd worked with before. People came up to you, mentioning how funny you were, asking when you'd be getting on Taskmaster yourself. You gave the charade of zipping your lips. You did your best to never talk about being related to Alex, there was nothing wrong with him, but he was so successful himself that you never wanted people to think he was helping your career. That was something you and Alex both did, never crossing comedic paths so no one thought favoritism or nepotism or career assistance. But what would they say when they find out about you being on Taskmaster? Would they think Greg is biased and help you win? You tried to focus back into the conversation but needed to excuse yourself.

Finding your way to the hall, you sat on a bench and let out a deep breath. “We have to stop meeting like this”, a voice bellowed out behind you. You turned to see Greg towering over you. He could then see your eyes were full of worry. He tried to soothe you, “Hey. Hey. No. I didn't mean to scare you.” You let out a small but pained laugh, “It's not that. I…”, you trailed, “what if when I'm on and people find out Alex and I are related that they'll think this whole thing is nepotism?” Greg gently sat by your side, hovering his hand over your back and debating if he should try to rub your back. He decided to, thinking it would be kind, “Well let me reassure you that outside of him thinking up these tasks, I make the decisions on winners.” You looked up at him giving a weak smile, “I guess you're right. Besides anything you do is good publicity. It will help your inevitable tour.” He leaned in to playfully bump your shoulder. You playfully squinted, realizing he was over your shoulder reading early, “That's an invasion of privacy.” You stuck your tongue out. Greg melted inside and thought, “Fuck, she is adorable. That tongue looks soft an- No. No. Don't start that here.”

You watched as Greg's playful mood shifted, you put your hand on his knee and he looked to you as you asked, “You alright?” He smiled, “Yes. Sorry. I think the bourbon finally set in.” Both laughing and then trailing off as you both looked into one another's eyes. You'd been this unexpected calm for Greg, your beauty and kindness made him feel something he hadn't in a long time. He spotted you were gently biting your lip and him noticing made his pants suddenly feel a bit tighter. You found Greg's energy reassuring and encouraging. It was his slacking jaw that caught your attention, as if he couldn't stop staring at you. You quickly looked down to see if there was something on your dress, asking him that. He whispered, “No. You're perfect.” You quickly flicked your eyes to him, begging him to repeat himself, “What was that?” He cleared his throat, “No. You don't have anything on you.” You were about to ask again when he quickly stood, “I need to go.”

He left you sitting on that bench confused. Unbeknownst to you, Alex saw the entire interaction. He was also confused by Greg's sudden departure. Alex wasn't stupid in the slightest, he created taskmaster, so it wasn't hard to sort out that Greg was different around you. Alex watched as you mustered the energy to get off the bench, go to the cloakroom and leave for the night.

A new one for you, darling.

Do you want to read a silly adventure romp where Alex is actually *cursed* to be a dog, instead of just dog-coded? Well - I’ve started this one so feel free to check it out. If that’s your kind of thing. I’ll update this post when it’s all finished.