It's even worse in the winter; they take their cigarette breaks and then come back and complain for like ten minutes more about how cold their ears are, and how they burned their fingers without even realizing it. Maybe if Merlin weren't so absurdly skinny, this wouldn't even be a problem. (Objectively Arthur knows Merlin isn't that thin, but he's made that decision and he's damned if he's going to change his mind now.) Maybe if Merlin bulked up a little bit, his clothes would actually look like they fit sometimes. It's not like Arthur has actually received complaints of the "STAFF POORLY DRESSED!! WOULD NOT USE CONFERENCE CENTRE AGAIN!!!" variety, but he's trying to avoid that very eventuality, which is why he spends an entire afternoon dragging Merlin around 5th Ave and forcing him to buy suits he can't afford. It has nothing to do with that bar night. Really. (UH, I GUESS I JUST DECIDED THEY WERE IN NEW YORK? SORRY?)
Of course shortly after he sends Will to get adapters, he realizes that they already have some in that supply closet, the one where he and Gwen (but he's not thinking about that), but it was an emergency: he wasn't thinking (about that), and you can never have too many adapters, the damn things are always shorting when you need them most, or else you find out that you only have the ones with two sockets instead of three...and he's thinking about it. HE CAN'T BE EXPECTED TO WORK UNDER THESE CONDITIONS, HE'S NOT MADE OF STONE. Alright. Bathroom break. Different Bathroom. This is getting ridiculous, he goes back to his office and pages Gwen. It's not sexual harassment, they know each other well enough that she knows she's not obligated, and they've done it before, and yeah this feels like frantic justification, but of course she can say, only he really, really likes her and he's also he's desperate. Maybe not in that order.
"If you ever want me to, you know, return to favor - " he offers as she's fixing her buttons, but she just smiles at him, and reaches across his desk to write something in his planner.
He doesn't check it until after she's left; she's written herself in for 10-15 minute slots for the rest of the week (in pen.)
It's nice to have people on the staff as organized as Guinevere is.
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Of course shortly after he sends Will to get adapters, he realizes that they already have some in that supply closet, the one where he and Gwen (but he's not thinking about that), but it was an emergency: he wasn't thinking (about that), and you can never have too many adapters, the damn things are always shorting when you need them most, or else you find out that you only have the ones with two sockets instead of three...and he's thinking about it. HE CAN'T BE EXPECTED TO WORK UNDER THESE CONDITIONS, HE'S NOT MADE OF STONE. Alright. Bathroom break. Different Bathroom. This is getting ridiculous, he goes back to his office and pages Gwen. It's not sexual harassment, they know each other well enough that she knows she's not obligated, and they've done it before, and yeah this feels like frantic justification, but of course she can say, only he really, really likes her and he's also he's desperate. Maybe not in that order.
"If you ever want me to, you know, return to favor - " he offers as she's fixing her buttons, but she just smiles at him, and reaches across his desk to write something in his planner.
He doesn't check it until after she's left; she's written herself in for 10-15 minute slots for the rest of the week (in pen.)
It's nice to have people on the staff as organized as Guinevere is.