Chapter Text
Jeremy groaned, sitting up and cracking his joints. It had been a strange night, he maybe got an hour of sleep in his bed before getting up to work. He didn’t like sleeping, he liked being productive. That usually meant he would work until he just…passed out. It was a system that he actually enjoyed.
“I need coffee,” Jeremy muttered, getting up from his seat. He made his way over to the coffee pot, finding that it was already brewing. “Thank you buddy.”
“You’re welcome, Sir,” Squip beeped. “As a reminder, your parents will be here within the hour.”
Jeremy paused his movement, his hand halfway reached for a mug, “Excuse me?”
“Last week you agreed to have them over. They hired you a bodyguard.”
Jeremy wrinkled his nose, “I don’t remember agreeing to that.”
“You had been drinking at the time, the board of directors quarterly dinner was as you said, “Boring as fuck” and chose to find a way to enjoy yourself.”
“Can I cancel?”
“The work contract has been signed, you at least have to deal with your new housemate for three months. Given the events of last month I feel it would be best to go along with things.”
Jeremy rolled his eyes, pouring himself a mug of coffee, “It’s my own fault for setting down my drink. Besides, nothing actually happened to me.”
“Your parents are still coming, and the bodyguard will still be arriving today. If you want to prove your parents wrong perhaps a shower and change of clothes will help.”
Jeremy groaned, chugging the mug in his hand. He needed to wake up pronto. He poured himself a second mug and downed it while walking upstairs to his room, changing into clean clothes while he was at it. The water and caffeine helped him wake up, and Jeremy was able to sip at his third mug of coffee while waiting the final few minutes for his parents to arrive. He looked as well put together as any other normal person, but his parents would probably know better.
“Mrs. Jennifer and Mr. James have arrived at the gate, Sir.”
Jeremy took a deep breath, “Let them in.”
He didn’t go to the door to greet his parents, he never did. Jeremy sat on his couch, scrolling through designs on his phone. He had several saved, and usually pulled them out when he wanted something from his parents. If he needed them to back off or just wanted them to pretend that they were proud he would make one of the designs and present it at a board meeting. The board loved him despite his scandalous streak. How could they not? He was their perfect little poster boy most of the time. Jeremy was charming, he was smart, they needed him to keep their deep pockets full. No weapon design would make his parents change their mind on this though.
“Good morning Jeremiah,” Jennifer walked in, seating herself next to him. She forced him to look at her, searching his face for something.
“Hello,” Jeremy responded, continuing to swipe through ideas.
“Hey Jeremy,” James walked by the back of the couch and tousled his hair. Anyone else would get chewed out for it, but Jeremy allowed the action when it came from his father.
“Hi Dad,” Jeremy sighed, turning to look at his father. “Coffee is in the kitchen.”
James smiled at him, taking Jeremy’s mug to refill it before vanishing into the kitchen. He returned Jeremy’s mug to his hands and also had one for himself.
“You need to tell me where you get your coffee,” James hummed, sipping at his mug.
“If I do that I can’t use it as a gift every birthday and Father’s Day,” Jeremy teased, clicking off his phone.
“Darling,” Jennifer cut their banter short. “Your new bodyguard is named Michael, he’s a very accomplished young man and appears to be very kind.”
“You do realize how stupid it was hiring someone, right?” Jeremy glared at his mother. “You’re just risking someone finding out company secrets, and what if this guy is an obsessed crazy? What if he murders me in my sleep?”
“Michael is trustworthy,” James assured. “And if there are any issues we will take care of it. He’s going to protect you, if he steps out of line we will just find someone else.”
“Sir, a Mr. Mell is at the gate,” Squip beeped, ending their conversation.
“Oh, the computer is still here,” Jennifer mused, glancing at the speakers in the ceiling.
Jeremy rolled his eyes, “Let him in.”
Jennifer continued to babble about how he needed a bodyguard. Jeremy just blocked her out, not wanting to listen to her rambling. He was already being forced into the situation, he didn’t want to discuss it further. Jeremy stared into his coffee, itching to get back to work.
“Oh, Jeremiah!” Jennifer called his attention back to the conversation. “This is Michael.”
Jeremy flitted his eyes over to meet Michael’s. His parents hadn’t been kidding when they said he was young. Michael looked to be about his age. He eyed up his new housemate before turning back to his mother, “I don’t need a babysitter.”
“It’s not a babysitter,” James stated, giving him a warning look. He was an adult. Why did he let them get away with this shit? “Michael is here to protect you, nothing more.”
There really was no stopping this, “Fine, we can try it.” He stood from the couch, gripping his mug in one hand and his phone in the other, “I’m going back to work now.”
Jeremy made himself scarce, his parents could deal with the babysitter. He went back to work, finishing up coding the computer system for a missile line his mom would be releasing soon. It was kind of funny, his mother was arguably better talented than him, but she still asked Jeremy to do all the coding for her. Jeremy was good at computers and robots, he had made Squip after all. He sent off the code for her to review, knowing she would probably not respond unless she found an issue–which she wouldn’t.
“Lock the door, buddy,” Jeremy muttered, glancing around the workshop. “I don’t trust our new guest to not go snooping at my work.
“Are there any other rooms you would like off limits?”
“My room, anything else is fine,” Jeremy answered, walking across the room to his shelves. His diploma sat on the shelf, along with all of the robots he had built for fun while in college. They had been practice for making Squip. The small devices were physical signs of his growth. One of the last devices actually was a complete fail. Jeremy picked up the old reactor, staring into the device. It had been meant to create green energy, Jeremy had dabbled in finding ways to make Heere Industries have a better eco footprint. The reactor had ended up being unstable, nearly blowing up in his face. The core had been the root of the problem, but Jeremy had never bothered to figure out what exactly had gone wrong. By the time that had happened he had finished Squip, and that became his top priority.
“Q, do I still have files on my arc reactor project?” Jeremy asked, flipping the device around in his hand.
“Yes, Sir,” Squip beeped, pulling up the files on his computer.
Jeremy scrolled through, checking over the blueprints he had drawn up years ago. The device was way too metal heavy, conducting inside was another problem his young brain had missed. Jeremy opened a new file, changing the original design to have less conductive metal near the core. He spent a long time trying to figure out what had gone wrong in the core of the device. The sky grew dark as he pondered it further, considering different ideas.
“Q…palladium,” Jeremy hummed, blinking away from his screen for the first time in hours. “Run a simulation with a palladium core.”
The simulation popped up on the screen, Jeremy watching as all levels stayed stable. It would work. The new design would work with a new core. At least he would have a new project to keep himself busy while his new babysitter was around.
☼
Michael followed Jeremy around the gala like instructed. It hadn’t been all that long, but Jeremy seemed to completely detest him. He was rude at every opportunity. Michael had only ever tried to be kind. There was a nice person in there, Michael knew it. The morning they had breakfast together was proof of it. Jeremy clearly hadn’t wanted Michael to be around, so he could understand his frustration a bit. Still, he didn’t have to be an asshole about Michael doing his job.
Jeremy was currently flying around the room with a girl, Michael humming quietly as music played. He liked dancing, his mother had taught him at a young age. If he couldn’t enjoy the dancing he could at least find joy in the music. Jeremy eventually walked the girl over to the bar, soon leaving her with another young woman and walking up to him. There was something in his expression, a sense of anger maybe. Why was Jeremy mad at him? He hadn’t done a thing!
“Dance w–”
“Jeremiah!” Jennifer walked over with James. “Michael, you look stunning, go find a dance partner! We can watch Jeremy for a few minutes.”
“Fuck you,” Jeremy muttered.
Michael took his leave anyway, Jeremy was upset over something and he didn’t want to be a part of it. Jennifer and James had raised him, they could handle Jeremy better than he could. Michael glanced around the room, not finding any guys who gave Michael the vibe that they would dance with him. The room was very heterosexual.
“Excuse me, you’re Michael Mell, right?”
Michael whipped his head over, finding a young woman standing next to him. Her dress was beautiful, Brooke would have been foaming at the mouth if she saw it. Purple was absolutely this woman’s color.
“Uh, yeah, I am,” Michael nodded, smiling at her. “And you?”
The young woman stuck out a hand for him to shake, “I’m Chloe Valentine. I’m James’s right hand woman, we balance out Jennifer and Jeremy. James has been talking you up nonstop since you were interviewed, it’s nice to meet you.”
Michael felt a bit proud, having one of the most influential men in the country speak highly of him meant the world, “And you as well, Chloe. Would you like to dance?”
Chloe let out a nervous laugh, “I…I don’t, uh…”
“I’m gay, if you’re worried about flirting,” Michael added. “I just like dancing and everyone here is way too important for me to approach.”
Chloe nodded her head, “Then yes, I would love to dance.”
Michael led them out on the dance floor, Chloe utterly flying around. Her dress was gorgeous, flowing out in the skirt as Michael spun her around. He couldn’t help but grin at her, dipping Chloe without warning.
“You’re strong!” Chloe yelped, a nervous smile tugging at her face.
Michael grinned back, “I get that a lot. You’ll have to let me know who designed your dress, my best friend back in Jersey would be losing it right now.”
“Oh, my parents gifted it to me,” Chloe hummed, her hand wrapped in his as they waltzed around the room. “Brooke Lohst I think, she’s fairly new but her work is all amazing.”
Michael couldn’t help but beam, “Uh, Brooke Lohst may or may not be the friend I was just talking about. That explains why I thought she would love it, she designed it.”
“No way! I’m glad I wore this dress! You’ll have to send her my compliments, or if you ever end up in New York for a meeting with us perhaps I could thank her myself?”
“She would love that,” Michael chuckled.
When the music drifted out Michael escorted Chloe over to Jennifer and James, the two greeting her warmly. Jeremy looked just as upset, a champagne flute in his hand as he stood at the bar. Michael walked over as well, ordering water. He didn’t drink as it was, and he was working so it was definitely out of the question.
“I’m ready to leave,” Jeremy stated, downing his drink and setting the glass down.
Michael followed, Jeremy leading them out to the car. He was silent the entire drive back to the house, Jeremy vanishing down to his workshop once they were inside. Michael shrugged it off, making his way into the kitchen. He undid his tie and started cooking, figuring that if he left food for Jeremy outside the workshop he would at least eat. He didn’t want to get fired for letting Jeremy starve himself, and he had never seen the other man even touch a pot of water. He made one of his mother’s pasta dishes, leaving a plate outside the workshop and putting away the leftovers. Michael turned in for the night, sending Brooke a quick text about who he had met and sending his moms a photo of the suit to their family group chat. It was way too late for them to be awake, but they would see it in the morning and probably tell him how nice he looked. They were still riding the pride around his new job, him actually dressing up would only fuel the fire.
He had high hopes, sure Jeremy was a bit uptight–but they didn’t need to be best friends. He wanted the job to work out, he wanted to move on from his previous career. This was his chance to leave his past behind.