"...Oh." Oh. Aulus gave a weak, very fake looking smile. "Congratulations... you deserve it." Promoted meant Hayes was an elite. That meant they weren't partners, that he was moving away. He was taking over Seth's job. He'd be too busy and important for them to spend time together. When Hayes had knocked he's thought he was going to ask him a favor. He'd been all wound up to grump about it and then do it anyway. He didn't want Hayes to be promoted, and wasn't that just selfish and pathetic?


His partner gave a short, sharp laugh that had nothing to do with humor. "Like hell I do." He met Aulus' eyes with a wan - even sickly - smile. "S'pretty obvious it's not that kind of promotion."


"Hu?" Aulus blinked. "Well what other kind of promotion is there?... Wait, why are you taking over from Seth? What's winkled him out of his cushy office?" Hayes... didn't sound entirely thrilled about all this. Maybe it was just because he didn't think he'd earned it, or maybe it was nerves or something?


A corner of Hayes' mouth tugged to one side. Now he was catching on. "He's got some 'business to take care of for an unspecified time,'" he supplied, dropping quotations around the phrase as he collapsed into one of the beanbag chairs Aulus kept around. "Needs a replacement, and I'm it. I start getting trained next week."


"...Oh." Aulus sat down on the edge of his bed, a deep frown creasing his brow. If he wasn't careful he'd have scowl-lines by the time he was thirty. "An abrupt departure then... but still, they must have decided you're the best option they've got." He didn't like this. It wasn't Hayes' fault, that was clear, but he still didn't like it.... Arsehole! Me, me, me, me, me! Ugh. He was such a d**k sometimes. "So...." He shifted uncomfortably and avoided looking at his soon-not-to-be partner. "So how do you feel about this then?"


"Well yeah, for programming." the agent was quick to agree. "I don't have a problem with that, but it's everything Seth does - missions, paperwork, the whole freakin' department. They take me on missions for the tech support." He laughed shortly again, stretched his arms behind his head and met Aulus' eyes over the top of his glasses with an uncharacteristically wry look. "I think I'd better learn fast or I'm screwed."


Poor b*****d. He hadn't asked for this. "Uh... well...." He was awful at this. Really. He was terrible, but Hayes mattered to him and so he needed not to be a total idiot. "Look.... I don't know anything about any of this tech stuff but I can offer muscle and... I dunno, cups of coffee? If you want more advanced combat training for missions I can do that too and... yea. I dunno what else I can offer Hayes. Sorry they're dropping you in it like this."


"Coffee sounds good. And combat training." Hayes was talking to the ceiling now; he'd let himself flop backwards and was studying Aulus' ceiling light through his bangs, having had this weigh on his mind too long to smile for the sake of smiling about it. "Dunno about the muscle." A little 'heh' escaped him, before he took a long breath and released it. "Sorry about this, man."


"Don't apologize you dork," Aulus growled, "it's not your bloody fault now is it?" Sighing heavily he scrubbed his fingers through his already messy hair and tried to work out what to say. "So... you don't know anything much about some of these fields. You're a boss, right? Well, you will be, so you can delegate, right? You don't have to control everything like Seth does, give some of your underlings a bit of control? They'll be glad of the chance to show off, and you'll be glad because you don't suddenly have to know all there is to know about uh... hardware or robots or whatever. Right?" Had that made sense? He hoped it had made sense.


"Right." The blond's mouth split in a grin as he listened to his partner's gruff attempts to help, and he let his arms flop over the sides of beanbag, hands dangling uselessly. "I was thinking something like that," he said after a pause. "Something like.. sub-department liaisons?" The agent - not for much longer, but still - tested the bureaucratic phrase on his tongue. "Only other one I really do work with is robotics.." He pursed his lips in thought.


"Well, you'll figure it out," Aulus said after another brief pause, "I'm sure you will.... And when you have a moment to breathe, maybe we can hang out and play games in your swanky new quarters?" He didn't really know what happened when people got promoted, not from a social standpoint anyway. Did it get awkward to be friends with lower ranks when you got up as far as elite? He hoped not. He didn't want to end up all distant from and awkward with Hayes, but he had no idea how to express himself beyond the vague statement he'd just made.... Well he supposed he could make a bit more of an effort.

"I know we won't be partners anymore... but that doesn't mean I haven't still got your back."


"Hey." With a sound of shifting foam pellets, Hayes pushed himself up on his elbows, adjusted his glasses, and looked at Aulus. "We're still partners," he said in a quiet, matter of fact voice.


"Oh!... Uh... we are?" He couldn't help how hopeful he'd sounded on those words. Feeling very very squirmy and awkward Aulus flopped over backwards so he wouldn't even be close to making eye contact. "Uh... good. Good. I'd miss you... dork-face." He couldn't have just left it at 'I'd miss you', that was way too sappy; minor poke/silly nickname had been very much needed by the few sad shreds of his masculinity that hadn't already been squashed by this conversation.


"..probably not on paper. I don't know how it works." The corners of the agent's eyes turned up with amusement when Aulus hit his awkward zone and boomeranged back into insults. "But you'd better come over for co-op. I get a fridge and everything."


"Yea I... I'd like that," Aulus said to the ceiling, "even if you didn't have a fridge or any of that other crap. Anyway. It's what we think that counts, right?" Of course it was. Friends who worked together and supported each other; that was what they were and ranks couldn't take that away... right? "Uh... if you need any help moving your stuff or rearranging your massive new quarters I'll help; it'd take forever with your skinny girl arms."


That right there was the perfect opening for a joke, especially after the 'skinny girl arms' comment, but all that came out of the blonde's mouth was a "Heh." Another long, awkward pause filled the room before Hayes said, "Yeah." Then: "Want to grab dinner or something?"


"Oh?" Aulus propped himself up on his elbows and smiled slightly tightly over at Hayes before sitting up properly. "Sure, we're going to need energy for plotting all the stuff you're going to do with your new quarters, and all the stuff you're going to buy from ThinkGeek with your new paycheck." It would be okay. It would. Hayes had promised. It was a bit of a childish thing to think, he knew that, but right now he would by far prefer to retreat into trusting in the power of Promises to worrying that things wouldn't be alright. Hayes and he would still hang out plenty. Hayes wouldn't make new friends amongst the elites he liked more than him. Everything would be okay.... Not that he was pathetic and insecure or anything.


"If I'm around long enough to collect it," Hayes laughed. The quip was delivered in his usual light, mellow tone with a trace of wry ruefulness, but there were definitely things on his mind. He pushed himself up, leaving his impression in the beanbag. "Eat in or take out?"


"Hey, don't worry about it," Aulus punched Hayes (fairly) lightly on the shoulder and grinned. "I'm your bodyguard, right? I won't let anything squish you be it a Galactic or your new workload. Uh, and takeout I think, don't feel much like dealing with masses of people chattering about whatever banal thing they're chattering about today."


"Hey, those deadlines don't mess around," Hayes grinned back, a dull ache blooming briefly where he was hit. He returned the shoulder punch to significantly less effect on his way to the door. At the mention of food, one of the Pokeballs on his belt twitched and released a Pikachu, who garnered a 'Hey Switch' as it scrambled up to the agent's shoulder.


"Well neither do I," Aulus retorted, "I'll buy you an espresso machine and obscene amounts of sugar, you'll live." Privately he was beginning to worry about what effect the stress of so much work and responsibility could have on his friend but there wasn't a lot he could do other than what he'd already promise. As Switch appeared Aulus remembered his own pokemon, and released Tortie from her pokeball; the Absol headbutted his hip and gave a soft 'wuff' of greeting to Hayes and Switch.

"Things'll be just fine," Aulus insisted as they neared the elevator, "I'll make sure of it." He would also make sure that Hayes didn't forget about him. He refused to give up this friendship for something as stupid as work and rank differences.