Chapter 28: Closer than you think pt. ii

Seven sat on the cold floor, his body trembling from both his anxiety attack and the cool breeze in the bathroom. His head was dug into his legs that were against his chest. Tears ran down his freckled cheeks as he took soft exhales, trying to control his breathing again.

He's been in the bathroom for almost an hour now, and he believed he was going to stay in the same position longer. Being yelled at... it was not expected. The loud, and harsh voice from Nick triggered Seven's heart into a panic, causing his body to feel delicate and vulnerable. When the sponsor asked him the question, he prayed to be able to control his breathing because he knew the second he opened his mouth, he was going to go into an immediate panic. Though, when he did speak, he said the wrong words and it drove him into an embarrassment. The only thing that can pull him out the bathroom now is an employee once it's closing time and he hoped that time would come soon.

His eyelids were swollen from the amount of crying he's been doing on the floor and he thanked the heavens that no one had come in after he did. He knew how ridiculous he looked and hated it. His pale cheeks were burning from the amount of rubbing he's been doing, trying to rub off the tears that ran down his cheeks... though, all that's accomplished was giving his cheeks red fingermarks. Alongside that, his palm was scraped from the hard scratching he's been doing during his time in the bathroom. The scratching motion was what's helped and remind him that he was still 'alive' and not passed out from his lack of breathing. When he was younger, scratching his palm was a good warning that he wasn't passed out and could still gain control of the situation.

It helped for the time being - Seven was able to catch his breath, but his body still trembled no thanks to the extreme coldness in the scene. A lot was going through his mind while sitting on the cold tiled floor, and he couldn't think straight since his overthinking got the best of him. What was once a simple question, distributed into multiple situations that he predicted could happen if he left the bathroom right now.

Unfortunately, one of those scenarios didn't include the question of 'what if someone walked in right now'.

The door opened and Seven's heart pounded, hearing the chatter from outside the bathroom. Seven kept his face dug inside his legs, bringing his body closer than it already was. He heard the person that entered take a step in front of him, sliding down against a stall and sighing.

From the sigh, Seven already knew who it was. "Just fire me," he commented, his voice shaky. His cheeks burned as pressure built inside his chest, feeling himself lose direction of his breathing again.

"Why would I do that?" Nicolas softly asked.

Seven didn't answer, instead, his nails dug into his skin, scratching himself even more. The assistant felt a slight brush on his shoes, "Stop that," Nicolas muttered, "Look at me."

Seven stopped hurting himself, keeping his body still. Tears formed in his eyes, his faint lips quivering. He didn't want to look up. He didn't want to be seen when he's at his weakest. Though, Nicolas spoke again, "Please, look at me."

Seven licked his lips and gently picked his head up, a tear running down his cheek once he met the CEO's gaze, sitting in front of him. Nicolas had no change of expression, but a pitiful smile on his face, "Why would I fire you?"

The PA turned his head slightly to the left, his eyes dropping to the tiled floor, "I messed up the meeting."

"No, you didn't," Nicolas reassured, "I initiated it."

Seren huffed, bringing his legs together, tighter. He eyed Nick, seeing the sad smile on his face, "How'd the meeting go?" he asked, wanting to change the topic. He was embarrassed enough as it was. He didn't feel like talking anymore, wanting to keep his breathing under control and his voice steady.

"It went fine," Nick responded, "She took her food to go an hour ago. I waited for you twelve minutes after she left, but you were taking your sweet time in here..." he stopped and his smile faded, "...crying?"

Seven didn't respond. He turned away lightly with a pout on his face, resting his chin on his arms that was set on his bent knees.

Nicolas scoffed, shaking his head, "Seven," he started, "I'm not firing you."

"Why not?" Seven clutched his fists, glaring at Nick now, "Do you see me? I'm- I'm ridiculous. That comment I made to the sponsor was stupid. I ran out of the meeting which was also stupid," Seven raised his palm to Nick, showing him the scratches, "And I can't even handle a stupid attack without doing shit to myself!"

Nicolas' lips parted, seeing the faded scratches on the assistant's cold palm. His furrowed an eyebrow and stared at his hand, "Seven-"

"I fucked up the meeting with WebBaze. I fucked up the meeting with the sponsor. I fucked up your friendship with Marcel. I can't even start a conversation with you now because I got yelled at for intruding!" Seven stopped, rubbing his face, his hands getting wet from the tears that dropped from his eyes again. The assistant let out a hoarse sigh followed by a hiccup, setting his forehead on his knees again, not wanting to look at Mr. Anderson. Seven didn't want to speak anymore. He felt the more he talked, the more 'stupid' he would sound and the thing he wanted least right now was Nick finding him idiotic.

Nicolas brought his legs to his chest, enough to place his arms on his knees. He kept his eyes on the assistant, hearing his breathing go short with every sniff that he took.

"Did you spend all your time on the bathroom floor overthinking every bad thing you did as my assistant?"

Seven didn't respond. Instead, his chest pained from the comment that came off as a tease from his boss. The way he worded it was reckless and Seven clenched his hands

Nicolas sighed, leaning his head upon the stall, "None of it was your fault. I honestly am getting drained from telling you that. You need to learn to listen and accept it, Ochoa."

Serene didn't answer. He knew if he did, his voice would crack. Though, his time being quiet, he was able to calm himself.

Nicolas bit his lower lip, turning his head slightly, "Ochoa, if I didn't fire you because of us sleeping together, do you really think I'd fire you because of a bad joke?"

The assistant's eyes widened at the mention of the donation party. He lifted his head, looking at Nicolas who kept his gaze on him. He didn't respond - still, shock from the sudden topic.

"Well?" Nicolas chatted again, "Did you suddenly lose your voice or are you going to say something?"

Seven frowned, lowering his shoulders, "I failed to meet your expectations as an assistant."

"And I failed to meet yours as a CEO."

Seven raised a brow, setting his chin back on his knees, keeping his green eyes that were swollen on Nick, "I don't... understand what you mean."

Nicolas raised his chin and stared at the ceiling, "I initiated the drinking game, I took you to dinner, I gave you..." he slowly dropped his head and met eyes with Seven, "- an anxiety attack."

Seven's eyebrows pinched, shaking his head, "It's not your fault."

"I yelled at you. I had no place to raise my voice at you, Seven. It was my fault-"

"Yeah? I had no place to talk to you about your stupid marriage either, did I? You yelling at me? I had it coming! Nick," Seven felt a lump grow in his throat again, his arms trembling around his legs, "I- ever since I became your assistant, I feel like I've brought nothing but stress to you. I lost the meeting with WebBaze and I can't even be sure I'll be able to convince them again! I slept with you and because of that, you can't even tell Marcel... which is making him doubtful of your friendship with him!" Seven dropped his arms from his knees, leaning in a bit with a sad grin, "I can't even fucking convince you to listen to me about your forced marriage-"

Nicolas stood to his knees, moving towards Seven, whose tears were rushing down his red, scratched cheeks. Nick wrapped his cold hand behind Seven's slender nick, pulling him into a kiss. The CEO's eyes were closed, his thumb caressing the PA's burning face.

Seven's breathing stopped, feeling Nick's cold lips touching his. The tender touch of his thumb brought shivers down his spine and neck. Seven dropped his tensed shoulders, falling into the embrace with every second that passed. The caressing of Nick's finger brought warmth to Seven's stomach, bringing him back to the calming feeling from their first kiss.

Nicolas turned his head, keeping his lips against Seven's, his other hand moving to Serene's cheeks. The CEO separated for a bit, leaning his forehead to the assistants as his warm breath hit against their lips. Nick's thumb rubbed against a scratch on Seven's cheek, making the slender male wince before being pulled into another passionate kiss.

After a while, Nicolas leaned back, opening his eyes slowly, feeling the tension between them grow. He rubbed the freckled cheeks once more before dropping his hand and leaning back onto the bathroom stall.

Seven's eyes widened, his face flushed in red. He felt his body weak and warm as if the cold breeze had suddenly disappeared from the bathroom.

"The reason why you can't convince me to think about the marriage with Henderson is that I'd be risking a lot," Nicolas spoke, letting out a sharp exhale as if he had just run a mile.

Seven's stomach was still warm, turning as if it were on a Ferris wheel.

"Risking what?" Seven asked, his voice shaky, pressing his lips together.

"My father's relationship." Nicolas frowned, rubbing the back of his neck, "After my mother died, he always... blamed me for it," he ridiculed, "Even though I was just a 12-year-old kid in the back seat, he always found a way to make me believe that it was my fault."

Seven's eyes narrowed at his boss, hearing the explanation. It brought sorrow to his heart, seeing how pained Nick was. He didn't expect the reasoning as to why Nick couldn't back out the marriage, but hearing it now, he realized how much of a difficult decision it was.

"Do you-"

"Believe it?" Nicolas interrupted, giving Seven a small smile, "How could I not? Who else do I blame? My dad doesn't want to admit it, so I can only really hate myself for killing her."

Seven tilted his head, parting his lips. His hands rubbed against each other, trying to find the right words to choose from. He felt horrible, to say the least. Hearing it now, he couldn't think about a solution to the problem. Nick believed it was his fault his mother died, and he didn't want to lose the last bit of the relationship he had with his father.

It reminded him of himself. "I blame myself... as well. For my mother's death, I mean."

Nicolas lifted an eyebrow, hearing Seven's soft voice.

"She died when I was born. My aunt often... told me I reminded her a lot of my mother, and sometimes I think she hated me because..." A cold tear dropped down from his eyes as he gazed down at the floor again.

Nicolas pushed himself away from the stall, moving next to Seven, leaning his head against the cold wall. He let out his tanned palm, setting it on Seven's knee.

The assistant stared at the hand, the warm sensation crawling back into his stomach. He turned to Nicolas lightly, seeing a small grin on the CEO's face. The cold breeze that was once in the bathroom disappeared, and the sound of music and chatting from outside the bathroom door vanished. The only thing that Seven felt at that time was warmness and reassurance. Peace. He licked his lips and placed his hand on Nick's warm palm.

Nicolas inhaled deeply as if he were expecting a rejection. He turned his eyes back to the stall in front of them, feeling Seven's hand interlocked with his. He wished to stay like this forever. The warm environment and the closeness that the two felt. Hearing Seven mention his mother and how he also blamed himself, it brought a sense of understanding to him. Understanding that he's been looking for ever since his mother's passing.

"Seven," Nick spoke, his voice cracking from nervousness, "I don't care what you say, but I think we're much closer than you think."

Seven kept his eyes on the CEO, "Why do you say that?" he muttered.

Nicolas turned his head to the assistant, meeting his emerald eyes again, the red puffiness on his lower eyelids being more clear now along with the little scratches on the freckled cheeks. Nick gave him a soft grin, and raised his free hand to Seven's chin, picking it up lightly, "Because... I feel like I'm at home when I'm with you."

Seven's eyes grew from the comment, a smile forming on his tear-stained face, keeping his chin tilted up to Nick. The CEO leaned into Serene again, giving him a small peck on the warm lips.