Caged Slave (MewGulf AU)

🌞Chapter 42🌻

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Spring came.

In April, Gulf blushed as looked at the paid time off sheet for the upcoming year that he had just received from the General Affairs Department. He had 12-days off this year, which, with the holdover from last year, came to 30-days in total.

Last year, he hadn't taken a summer vacation, but he had stayed home for five days in a row after the incident with Mew's supposed marriage. The first three days were before he had reconciled with Mew. The following two days, Gulf had been laid up with cold and high fever.

It had been January 15th, right in the midst of a cold winter, and Gulf had been totally naked and sweaty on the floor for several hours. Of course he had caught a cold, and although he didn't go anywhere fun, he still ended up being away from work for five days.

'That was horrible,' he thought, still embarrassed by his unprofessional behavior.

Mew had told everyone that Gulf had the flu, so in the end, all five days had been excused. Mew had even smoothed things over with President Ookawa, whom Gulf had caused so much trouble for. Consequences had been avoided, but looking at the paper in front of him, Gulf was reminded of his shame anew.

'I have no control when it comes to Mew, body or soul,' he chided himself, happy and annoyed at the same time by his recollections. Without meaning to, his face relaxed, and he gave a relieved shrug.

"What are you grinning about all by yourself?" Mew asked as he returned from his meeting.

"Director Mew!" Gulf cried.

"Never mind that..." he said, hurrying after Mew into his office.

The contract with Jefferson had brought Mew much prestige, but also even more work than before. It was whispered that at the stockholder meeting in June, his tremendous contributions would be honored abd he would be named Vice President of the Executive Board. But Mew, who intended to leave Dai Tech in a year, was not pleased by the prospect.

Mew arrived at his desk.

"Um...do you really intend to quit?" Gulf blurted out.

"Of course. It's one thing at a small shop, but I've always believed that big companies run by the same family will eventually fall apart," Mew said lightly. "President Ookawa, as a shareholder, should put the future of the company first and find someone else who can do a better job."

That made sense, but Mew's feelings were complicated. Even though they were lovers, if Mew quit, then Gulf could no longer be his secretary. And if Mew got a job at another foreign-capital company, he might even have to work overseas...

'What would I do?' Gulf wondered.

Nothing would change for another year, but Gulf couldn't stop thinking about it. It was his bad habit to worry himself crazy, and the more he loved someone, the more his worries grew. Maybe that was just the nature of love.

'Is Mew worried about leaving me behind?'

It seemed Mew was also concerned. He grabbed Gulf's hands that had been outstretched to offer him some business papers, pulled Gulf close, and settled him on his lap.

"Ah-wait!" Gulf cried.

Mew just smiled mischievously and looked at Gulf. "If I leave Dai Tech, we won't be able to do this anymore."

"M-Mew!"

"If you want to continue our forbidden office love, why don't you quit with me?"

Even knowing that Mew was joking, Gulf was struck speechless.

But Mew was serious. Gulf's language skills and his secretarial skills could be of use anywhere, not just Dai Tech. And if Mew became established somewhere new, maybe he could hire Gulf himself. He wouldn't force Gulf to derail his career plans just for him though. When the time was right, they could talk about the future.

But there was one thing Mew wanted to propose right now.

"Hey, what do you say about living together?"

'Huh?' Gulf thought, his mouth refusing to voice a response. Disbelief made his bambi eyes open impossibly wide.

"Please move in with me, Gulf." Mew repeated, changing his tactics. "I want you all to myself---morning, noon, and night."

"Mew..."

Happiness made Gulf's body shiver, and tears spilled from his eyes. He nodded dreamily, unable to speak as he drowned in Mew's gaze.

For Gulf and Mew, who had started out not even knowing each other's names, a new future was dawning.

END