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Office Gossip	By : cdreaiton Category: +A through F > DRAMAtical Murder Views: 1730 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I make any money from DRAMAtical Murder or its characters.

Chapter List
- 1-Office Gossip
- 2-Part 2
- 3-Part 3
- 4-Part 4
- 5-Part 5
- 6-Part 6
- 4
- 5
- 6
When Aoba got to work the next morning, there was a small white box tied with blue ribbon sitting on his desk. Worried that his bully was getting more daring, Aoba debated simply throwing it in the trash. But it was also just as possible that the gift was from Noiz. Noiz would often buy him a small gift of some sort when he and Aoba had a disagreement. At first, it had irritated Aoba to think that Noiz was trying to use money to buy his affection, but over time he realized that Noiz simply didn’t know how to apologize, so he used presents to try and smooth things over. With a smile, Aoba decided to open the gift.
Pulling off the blue ribbon, Aoba opened the lid of the box. Inside, was a folded note and a tie-tack. The tie-tack had a bright blue gem set in the middle of a gold filigree. Aoba gasped at how beautiful it was, and quickly attached it to his tie. Once it was situated to his liking, Aoba opened the note.
Aoba,
We are so very sorry about everything that happened yesterday. We cannot apologize enough for thinking you were a woman, and we hope you can forgive us for the mistake. We would hate to lose you as a friend.
We also want you to know that your relationship with Mr. Noiz will remain a secret. You don’t need to worry about us spilling the beans. We understand how tricky relationships like yours can be, especially in the work place. Just know that we support you one hundred percent!
If you ever need anyone to talk to, let us know. We’re here for you.
The Girls
Warmth spread through Aoba’s chest as he read the short note. It was nice to know that he had not only made friends since moving to Germany, but that they were as caring and accepting as anyone he had ever met. Refolding the note, Aoba told himself that he would have to do something nice for all of them, and soon. He placed the note in his pants pocket, and sat down to start on his work for the day.
As soon as his weight shifted from his legs to his rear, a painful twinge reminded Aoba of the events from the previous night. He lay his head against the cool wood of his desk and sighed, lifting his hips slightly to take some of the pressure from his sore ass. He smiled to himself as he remembered the heat and passion from the night before. Noiz had been true to his word, and Aoba’s ears were still ringing slightly. When the ringing suddenly got louder, Aoba realized that his desk phone had joined the sound in his ears. He sat up quickly, and pulled the receiver out of it’s cradle.
“This is Aoba.”
“Aoba. I need you to bring me the green folder with last week’s reports, and some coffee for the meeting. Please.” Noiz’s voice dropped to a near mumble on the last word, and Aoba smiled warmly. He didn’t think he would ever get tired of Noiz’s clumsy attempts at courtesy.
“Sure. I be right in with them.” Aoba let the smile on his face show through his voice.
“Thanks.”
Aoba sighed as he heard the click on the other end, indicating that Noiz had hung up. ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you’ might have been added to Noiz’s vocabulary, but he hadn’t quite mastered ‘Hello’ and ‘Goodbye’. A small chuckle accompanied a quick shake of the head as Aoba stood from his desk to go and fix the requested refreshment. As the coffee brewed, Aoba searched his desk for the green folder he’d been working with only a few days before. When a cursory search of his recent files turned up nothing, Aoba began looking harder, pulling open all his drawers and checking every document to make sure it wasn’t hidden inside something else.
After nearly tearing his desk apart, and having no luck finding the file, Aoba’s heart began to race. Noiz had a meeting with all of the department heads in less than ten minutes, the whole point of which was to go over the contents of that file. Aoba walked back to the break room to finish fixing the coffee, taking deep breaths and trying to remember where he’d last seen the folder. He was certain he’d left it on his desk when he’d finished compiling the data. Then a thought occurred to him. Setting the coffee on the counter, he rushed back to his desk, pulling out his briefcase from underneath. Usually, he never took completed files home, but it was the only place left that he hadn’t checked.
When he opened the case, not only was the green folder not inside, but the case was completely empty. Aoba’s heart dropped into his stomach. Before going to bed the night before, Noiz had given Aoba a blue folder with the presentation he’d been working on all week. Some of the figures had been off, and since Noiz had a meeting the next morning, he’d asked Aoba to make the changes and then return it to him when he was done. The CEO’s from the other three companies involved in the project were flying in tomorrow morning specifically to hear Noiz’s presentation. And now it was gone.
As Aoba stood in front of his desk, the color draining from his face, he saw several of the department heads exiting the elevator and heading for Noiz’s office. He realized that he was out of time, and that the only thing he could do was admit that he had lost the documents, and face the consequences. Gathering his resolve, Aoba turned around just as Noiz opened his door to let the attendees in. Aoba’s eyes grew wide when he saw Klara approaching the door, holding the tray of coffee Aoba had left in the breakroom, and two folders. One green...and one blue. When Noiz saw what Klara was holding he raised an eyebrow at her, but before he had a chance to speak, she plastered the most sickly sweet smile on her face, and held out the files to him.
“Good morning Mr. Noiz. I found these downstairs in the Research Lab this morning. They looked really important, so I wanted to make sure they got back to you as soon as possible. I would hate for them to get lost.”
Noiz’s face betrayed no emotion as he took the proffered folders from the outstretched hand.
“Thank you.” Noiz’s voice was flat, and just as devoid of emotion as his face. He tucked the folders under his arm.
“It was my pleasure.” Klara’s smile intensified and her voice practically dripped with honey as she laid a hand on Noiz’s forearm. “I know how much this project means to you. Oh! And I made coffee. I thought it might help keep things going smoothly during the meeting today.”
Noiz nodded appreciatively, and gestured for her to go inside. Once she had joined the others in the office, Noiz turned and glanced briefly at Aoba, before disappearing into his office and closing the door.
Aoba felt his breath catch in his throat as he stared at the door. He slumped into his desk chair and buried his head in his hands. The look Noiz had given him might have been brief, but it had spoken volumes. They were going to have a conversation later, and Aoba was certain he wasn’t going to enjoy it.
A hand on his shoulder startled Aoba out of his reverie, and his head jerked up to see who it was. Anelie was looking down at him, worry creasing the skin around her eyes.
“What’s wrong, liebchen?” She glanced at the office door for a moment before turning her gaze back to Aoba. “Why don’t we take a quick break for some coffee?” With a gentle pull on his arm, Anelie pulled Aoba from his chair and directed him into the break room.
She quickly made two cups of coffee and set them at a table in the far corner, away from any prying ears. Aoba sat at the table and looked down into the dark liquid. He scoffed mirthlessly as he realized that this was the second time in less than twenty-four hours he’d had a staring contest with a cup of coffee. Anelie took a sip from her mug and laid a comforting hand on his wrist.
“Did things not go well last night?” Her voice was soft and caring.
Aoba sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
“No. Things went fine. I told him about what Klara said. He told me that she had been trying to ask him out for a while, and that he had rejected her every time. And then...well…” Aoba blushed, taking a sip of coffee, and Anelie smiled knowingly. “Everything was fine. But then, this morning, the file Noiz needed for his meeting went missing, along with all the paperwork for his presentation tomorrow. I was about to tell him, when Klara showed up claiming she’d found the files down in Research. And now Noiz is mad at me because he thinks I lost the documents.” With a sigh, Aoba dropped his head into his hands. “I don’t even know how she got the files to begin with! I put the presentation in my briefcase last night, and never even took it out. And the other folder should have been in my desk. The only way she could have gotten those files, is if she dug through my desk and briefcase specifically so she could take them.” Aoba sighed again, deeper this time. “But it’s not like I can tell Noiz that. He’ll think I’m just being either over sensitive, or refusing to own up to my own mistakes.”
Anelie watched Aoba for a moment while he took another sip of coffee. When he set his mug down and looked up at her, her eyes were warm, but serious.
“No he won’t. You might not have seen it, but last night, the way he looked at you…” She smiled and chuckled softly. “When he looks at you, you are the only thing he can see, the only person in the entire world that matters. Honestly, I don’t think there’s anything you could do that would change that. And there’s no way that someone who loves you that much could be swayed by the jealous accusations of a known trouble maker. You told us yourself last night that he doesn’t even like her. If he doesn’t like her, then why on earth would he believe her?”
Aoba was both shocked and heartened by Anelie’s words. He remembered the emotion in Noiz’s voice the night before, and felt warmth pooling in his chest, driving out the fear. Anelie was right. Noiz would never take Klara’s word over his, no matter what she said to try and convince him. Aoba felt the stress leave his shoulders as his body relaxed.
“You’re right.” Aoba smiled gratefully at Anelie. “Thanks. I needed that.”
“My pleasure liebchen.” Grabbing both mugs, Anelie stood and walked to the sink. “Now, we need to decide what we’re going to do about Klara. Lying about sleeping with the boss is one thing, but stealing company documents from a co-worker’s desk and private briefcase is quite another. I’ll talk to HR and see what we can do.”
“But we don’t have any proof…” Aoba started.
“We don’t need any. We report that you had company documents stolen from your briefcase, which both you, and I’m assuming Mr. Noiz, know you put in there. Then we tell them that Klara was the one who found them. They will question her about where she found them, and any story that she gives will quickly fall apart. It’s that simple.” Anelie finished washing the mugs and placed them on the counter to dry.
Aoba was about to reply when Dana rushed through the break room door.
“Anelie! There you are. Stefan jammed the copier again, and then tried to fix it. Now it’s smoking. Could you come look at it?” Dana had spoken quickly, and took a long deep breath when she was done. Anelie sighed and shook her head with a smile.
“Alright. I’m on my way.” She turned to Aoba. “Sorry liebchen. I’ve got to head back. We’ll talk more over lunch, okay?”
Aoba nodded and shooed her away with a wave of his hand. He laughed to himself as the two women walked away, Dana complaining about ‘men who think they know everything’. Setting his shoulders, Aoba returned to his desk, and started on his work for the day.
-------------------
Aoba arrived in the locker room just as Anelie and Johanna were pulling on their coats. He walked quickly to his locker, not wanting to keep the women waiting, and pulled out his suit coat, slipping his right arm through the sleeve. White hot pain ran through his wrist and forearm, causing him to scream in agony and fall to his knees. Anelie and Johanna rushed over in a panic.
“What is it? What happened?!” Johanna nearly skidded to her knees beside him, grabbing his elbow. “My God!! You’re bleeding!”
When he looked down, Aoba saw that the entire sleeve of his coat was drenched in blood, and a small puddle was forming beneath him. Johanna pinched the hem of the coat sleeve gently, trying to ease it off, but the searing pain sliced through him again, and he felt tears slide down his cheeks as he yelled. She instantly jerked her hand away.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
Anelie knelt down next to them, having grabbed a handful of paper towels, and placed them underneath Aoba’s arm to stop the blood from dripping on the floor.
“Let’s get you into the break room so we can clean you up in the sink. Hanna, grab a pair of scissors from one of the desks, and the first aid kit from the bathroom, and bring them to me. Aoba, I want you to stand up very slowly. Okay?”
Aoba nodded slowly, his eyes shut tightly against the pain. Trying as hard as he could to hold his arm steady, Aoba stood, leaning on Anelie for support when he found himself getting lightheaded. The locker room was just down the hall from the break room, but by the time they reached it, Aoba felt like he had run a marathon, and his vision was swimming with stars. As soon as they got to the sink, Anelie lifted his arm into it, and turned on the water, letting it warm up. Johanna was right behind them with the scissors and first aid kit.
Carefully, Anelie took the scissors and cut the sleeve of both Aoba’s coat and shirt away from his arm. As she gently peeled the fabric away, all three of them gasped in shock. Underneath the coat sleeve, embedded in the side seam, was a razor blade. A deep gash ran from the base of Aoba’s wrist to the middle of his forearm. Aoba was used to the sight of blood, and had never balked at seeing it, but the steady stream of dark red liquid that dripped down his arm made him feel a little sick. Anelie broke Aoba out of his trance by moving his arm under the warm running water, making sure the stream didn’t hit the cut directly. It stung, and Aoba bit his lip to keep from crying out again.
“You’re going to need stitches.” Anelie’s voice was more calm and collected than Aoba expected. “I’m going to put some antibiotic cream on it and wrap it with gauze, but we’ll need to take you in to the doctor right away. Johanna, go get Mr. Noiz and tell him…”
“No!” Aoba’s sudden yell startled both women, and they flinched. Aoba lowered his voice. “No. Don’t tell Noiz. Please.”
“Aoba, liebchen. That razor blade didn’t just magically appear in your coat. Someone put it there, deliberately, trying to hurt you. Even if the two of you weren’t together, Mr. Noiz is the boss, and he needs to know what’s going on.” Anelie turned back to Johanna, but Aoba grabbed her arm before she could speak.
“Please don’t. I’ll tell him tonight when he gets home. This meeting is really important, and I don’t want to bother him. I promise I’ll tell him later, just...not now. Besides…” Aoba took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh that shuddered with unshed tears. “This isn’t the first time something like this has happened.”
Anelie and Johanna both blinked in surprise at Aoba’s statement. For a moment, neither of them was certain they had heard correctly, since he had spoken so softly. But the tell-tale hunch of his shoulders, and the way he was avoiding looking in their eyes, made it obvious that they had.
“Wait...someone did this to you before...and you didn’t tell anyone?!” Johanna’s voice rose to a near shriek as she finished her sentence, and Anelie shushed her.
“Well...” Aoba started, running his free hand through his hair for the umpteenth time that day. “It’s never been this bad before. Mostly just harmless pranks. Worms in my food, graffiti on my papers, salt in my coffee, that sort of thing. I really thought it was just hazing because I was the new guy and because I’m not from here.” A streak of pain ran through Aoba’s arm and he hissed in a breath through clenched teeth.
“This is not just a prank Aoba.” Anelie reached over and turned off the water, lifting his still bleeding arm up and patting it dry with a paper towel. She grabbed a small tube of antibacterial cream from the first aid kit, and squeezed out a line along the cut. “This is serious.” She replaced the tube of cream, took out a roll of gauze, and started wrapping his arm. “And while I think your reasons for not telling Mr. Noiz are ridiculous at best, I can’t see the harm in waiting until you return from the doctor’s office to tell him. But I am going to file an incident report, so you better talk to him before it shows up on his desk in the morning.” She finished wrapping and used a piece of medical tape to fasten down the end. The bandage was already turning red where the blood had started to seep through.
Aoba looked up at her and smiled sadly.
“Thank you.”
She met his gaze and shook her head at him.
“Don’t mention it. Let’s just go and get you stitched up.”
With a few quick motions, Anelie had the first aid kit put back together, and handed it to Johanna to put away. They returned to the locker room, and Anelie grabbed her purse and keys. Since Aoba’s coat had been destroyed, Johanna gave him hers. When he protested that he would get blood all over it, she just smiled and kissed him on the cheek.
“I know. It’s alright. It’s just a coat. I’ve been meaning to get myself a new one anyway. Just promise me you’ll go shopping with me later.”
Before he had a chance to reply, Johanna winked at him and gave his uninjured hand one last squeeze, before heading back to her desk. Anelie helped Aoba into the borrowed coat, and then placed a hand under his elbow for support as she steered him towards the elevator.
“If you start feeling lightheaded, go ahead and lean on me. Okay?”
The stars were back in full force and Aoba didn’t trust his voice, so he simply nodded and focused all his energy on getting himself to Anelie’s car without passing out.
-------------------
The visit to the doctor’s office had been relatively straight forward. The doctor had several questions about how he’d gotten such a grievous wound, but Anelie had simply told him that someone had been careless with a pair of scissors. The look on the doctor’s face had made it clear that he didn’t believe her for a second, but he didn’t press the issue.
By the time the doctor was done with Aoba’s treatment, they had spent nearly two hours at the hospital, and Aoba’s mind was swimming comfortably in the thick fog of narcotics. When Aoba tried to apologize for keeping her from work so long, Anelie simply brushed his apology aside and hugged him.
“What are friends for if not rushing you to the emergency room when you nearly get your arm sliced off by a psychotic co-worker?” Her smile was genuine, but her eyes had a darkness in them that made him rethink his opinion of the phrase ‘Hell hath no fury...’. For a second, he almost felt bad for the person who had put the razor in his coat. Almost.
Anelie had driven him home then, insisting that he get started on the prescribed rest the doctor had ordered. It had taken both her and the butler to get Aoba upstairs into his room. The drugs the doctor had given him made it almost impossible for him to walk without his knees collapsing. Between the two of them, they managed to get Aoba out of his suit, into his pajamas, and tucked into bed. Without giving away too many details, Anelie explained to the butler what had happened, and gave him the medication and care instructions from the doctor. Aoba was vaguely aware of Anelie telling him to sleep well and saying good-bye, before the narcotics carried him into the blissful darkness of sleep.
-------------------
When Aoba awoke, the room was dark. His head pounded from the drugged sleep, and his arm was throbbing painfully. He turned his head gingerly and tried to focus his eyes on the clock on his nightstand. 9:38 PM. Aoba was mildly shocked that he’d slept that long. Reaching out with his good hand, Aoba picked up his coil from the nightstand and checked his messages. No missed calls, and no new messages.
Aoba frowned slightly at that. He had hoped that Noiz would at least send a text when his meeting was over, wanting to talk about the mishap with the files. His shoulders dropped. Noiz was probably staying late to get the work on the presentation done that Aoba hadn’t been able to. It infuriated him. Things had just gotten better between Noiz and him, and then Klara had to come along and ruin it all. But he wasn’t going to let her win. Not this time.
Aoba had just sat up and swung his feet over the side of the bed, when there was a knock on his door, and the butler entered.
“Ah. Master Aoba. I’m glad to see you are awake. I’ve brought you some hot soup and your medication. I’ve also brought some fresh bandages for your arm.” The older man’s voice was strict and formal.
“I don’t have time for that right now Hans. I have to go see Noiz.” Aoba carefully pushed himself onto his feet, using the nightstand to steady himself.
Hans was by his side in moments with a hand under his arm to help support him.
“Please Sir, you must rest. Master Noiz will be home soon I am sure, and he would not be pleased if I allowed you to go out in your condition.”
Hans’ insistence did nothing to convince Aoba, and he shook off the butler’s hand. He took a few stumbling steps forward, heading for his closet.
“I’m going whether you want me to or not. I’ll deal with Noiz if he gets angry. Now are you going to help me, or am I going to have to drive myself there?” Aoba turned his golden gaze on the butler, and his eyes flashed with determination.
Hans sighed heavily before moving into the closet ahead of Aoba. He returned relatively quickly with a pair of jeans and a loose fitting shirt.
“Very well, Sir. But I must inform you that I am wholly against this course of action.”
Aoba was unbuttoning his shirt before the butler had finished speaking.
“Got it. And thank you.”
-------------------
Noiz was peeved. The meeting that was supposed to last for a few hours in the morning, had continued well into the evening, thanks to the half a million questions and concerns that had been raised by Klara and the finance department. Noiz wanted this presentation to go well just like everyone else, but he didn’t think going over the same facts and figures twelve different times was going to help that. By the time they had finished, everyone else in the office had already left for the day. Including Aoba. Noiz had been hoping to speak with his blue haired lover about that morning’s incident before he left. The whole situation had been weird and awkward, and the last thing he wanted was for Aoba to think he was mad at him. Especially after everything that had happened the night before.
When he looked up at the clock, Noiz was mildly shocked to see that it read 8:16 PM. He hadn’t realized it had gotten so late. As he stared down at the files on his desk, Noiz felt his eye twitch. He frowned as the involuntary action increased his irritation even further. The entire day had been one frustration after another, and he hadn’t been able to hit anything.
Not for the first time since starting this job, Noiz missed Rhyme. While his primary reason for playing the game had been to experience the sensations reality deprived him of, he had found that beating up on virtual representations of people served as a kind of therapy for him. It was relaxing, and energizing...and fun. Maybe once this whole project was over, Aoba would indulge him in a brief game. Then Noiz remembered how their last game had gone and dismissed the thought almost as quickly as he’d had it.
With a quick shake of his head, Noiz returned his attention to the problem at hand. He had checked through every page in each of the folders, and nothing had been missing or out of place. The idea that Aoba had lost both of the folders was preposterous, so Noiz knew that someone, most likely Klara, had stolen them from his briefcase. But to what end? If nothing had been taken or messed with, had she only done it in a feeble attempt to discredit Aoba? Just how desperate was she to get Noiz’s attention?
Noiz ran his hands through his hair, letting his head fall forward until it nearly touched the desk. He knew there was nothing he could do about the situation until he had heard Aoba’s side of the story, and there was still tomorrow’s presentation to worry about. Taking a deep breath, Noiz sat up straight and squared his shoulders. Sitting at his desk worrying wasn’t going to accomplish anything. He flipped open the folder with his presentation inside, and began to work on fixing the problems Aoba hadn’t had a chance to get to.
He worked through his presentation page by page, eyes going over every line, every piece of data, making sure they were right. If he messed this up, he wasn’t sure there would be a next time. His brother had already been more accommodating than his father had wanted him to be, by giving Noiz the job in the first place.
After he had been working for just over an hour, there was a knock on his office door. Noiz raised an eyebrow, confused. He’d thought everyone had already left. Thinking that perhaps Aoba had returned, wanting to talk to him, Noiz called for the person to come in. When he saw who was behind the door however, Noiz’s mild irritation grew into full on anger. It was Klara. And she was carrying what appeared to be a mug of coffee.
“I’m sorry to disturb you Mr. Noiz. But I thought you could use a little pick-me-up while you prepared for the presentation tomorrow.”
Klara’s high pitched voice was almost as irritating as her smile, and it grated on Noiz’s nerves. He desperately wanted to grab the mug in her hand and fling it’s boiling contents at her face, but knew that if he did, she would file assault charges. And that would just make things even more complicated than they already were. So he swallowed his anger, and gave her a brief nod of appreciation and a mumbled ‘thanks’.
She set the mug of coffee on the desk, and then stood back and stopped, as though she were waiting for something. When a full minute passed and she still hadn’t moved, Noiz put down his pen and looked up at her.
“Was there something else?” He tried to keep the anger and ice from his voice, but the look on her face said he hadn’t quite succeeded. Not surprisingly, he found that he didn’t care.
Klara shuffled her feet a bit and wrung her hands.
“I just...I just wanted to make sure I made it right.” Her voice was quiet and shy now.
Noiz suppressed a sigh and reached for the mug of coffee. He drank three full swallows of the abnormally bitter liquid, before setting the mug back down and returning to his paperwork.
“It’s fine. Thank you.” He spotted a decimal deviation on the page he was working on, and was about to reach for his pen, when his vision began to blur. He looked up, and had just enough time to see a loving smile spread across Klara’s face, before everything went black.
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