(surprise update)

It was truthful to say the universe felt righted now that Peter and Steve were reunited. But there was still separation; they continued to function as a unit smoothly and the unspoken tension between them was both acknowledged and ignored.

The following weeks were what could only be described as intensely uneventful. Peter struggled not to remind Steve that he loved him. He hesitated at the end of every message, sometimes deleting what he had written automatically. He developed an angry sore on his tongue from the many times he had bitten down to keep himself in check.

'I'm good at what I do.' He reminded himself. 'I'm good at what I do.' His room was warm in the late hours of the night as he lay awake, as per usual, above the sheets.

Sure he couldn't have Steven, but at present no one else was in the picture. If there were then Peter didn't think he would cope. To stand by watching someone else be the object of Steve's affections… He tried not to think about it, or the future, or the inevitable. As long as he could be Steven's right hand man, then he could be content.

He dreamt up more ways he could keep hold of his position as he lay curled on his bed, breathing in the red shirt the he had 'borrowed' from the laundry department. It had Steven's scent and it calmed him to no end. When he closed his eyes and inhaled…he felt safe and perfectly sedated.

What the Elf didn't know was that Steve was struggling just as much. He was constantly torn between heavy flirting and shutting Peter out with coldly efficient professionalism. He wasn't sure, for all his genius, where to draw the line. The problem was, when he took the time to analyse it, he and Peter were already crossing lines, long before the confession. It was utterly hopeless to try and pretend there was nothing between them when everything contradicted it. To act as if Peter meant nothing to him was to act weird and out of character. To be honest with his emotions sent the love he felt spilling and splattering clumsily, dirtying what little neutrality he had left.

Every morning when he woke up, Steve told himself that today would be the day he would tell Peter how he felt. Every night he would go to bed feeling like a failure, assuring himself he would do it tomorrow. Tomorrow never came of course. An uneventful month passed. Despite Steven's cowardice he still thought of them as a couple. Peter was his. He knew that as long as he didn't say it out loud, he was safe. But that wasn't fair to Peter and Steve felt guilty for it. So he was affectionate and made sure Peter knew he cared. He messaged him at odd hours to check on him. It went without saying how many times the random messages had soothed Peter in the midst of depression, for wanting the sender. It was a strange and tiring cycle.

But one day the cycle was broken…

O8o

Some freak electrical bug caused a dam generator to fail. As a result, the entirety of the northwest Elvin town of Quazgale was flooded. It was a tragedy. Over four thousand Elves were hospitalised, fifteen missing and suspected dead. The entire population were left homeless and had to be relocateduntil the town could be recovered.

When the news hit HQ everyone went into a frenzy trying to help. Unexpectedly, Peter fell into a state of shock. He wouldn't move or speak and the disturbed look on his face was enough to make Steve release him from duty and send him away with the nearest medical staff. Steve was forced to direct personnel without him.

Steve knew Peter's history. Peter grew up in Quazgale. He realised he must have had family in the flooded area and made a personal divergence from the larger rescue projects to locate the status of any Elf related to him in the town. There was only one listed, his mother. She was with the first group of rescued civilians and completely unharmed, thank heavens. He patched a line through to the Rescue Centre to get her to speak to Peter.

"Mrs. Holly? This is Steve Clause, head of North Pole operations. I'm calling to affirm your status. Are you unharmed?"

"Oh, yes?"

"Great. You and your group will be transported from your location to spare accommodations in the central pole shortly. Also, I need you to speak with your son. He's very worried about you."

"Oh, Peter. Poor dear! You put him on I'll let him now his Mum's alright." It was slightly eerie how much the old woman and Peter sounded alike.

"Excellent. I'm patching you through to his room now." Steve couldn't quite smile as he pushed buttons into his console to redirect the call to the medical ward.

When things were underway and stable, Steve went to check on him and the medics he had left him with. They had assured him that Peter would be fine after he finished speaking to his mother. Steve crept silently into the room to find Peter facing away on a phone.

"No. Don' you worry Mum. Everything will be sorted out." He was putting on a brave face and swallowed hard as he swept his hair behind one of his ears. "I will….Okay. Love you too." He hung up the phone and stared at it for a silent moment.

Steve spoke up, breaking the silence. "Do you want to see her?" He murmured gently.

Peter started and then gazed at him, taken aback.

"You could go with Mission Control to pick her up. It might put your mind at ease."

Peter looked down. "Yeah… I do."

The world seemed stable again, knowing his mother was safe. Peter could finally relax. He exhaled deeply and sat on a stool as the tight feeling of horror subsided. He let his shoulders slump forward as he ran a hand over his face and combed through his hair, messing it. He sighed again then his eyes refocused on Steve who was still standing quietly by the doorway. He was keeping a formal distance and he looked…upset and doing a poor job of concealing it. Peter couldn't help wondering if there was a specific reason for it, aside from the obvious tragedy.

It wasn't until they had set off and the hazy cloud of subdued relief from shock had worn off, did Peter come back to himself. He realised that he didn't know what was going on. He wasn't organised, he wasn't in charge and his knowledge of the situation was just as sketchy as any uninvolved Elf in the Pole. A sharp wave or dread gripped his stomach. What. Had. He. Done?! Accessing the nearest consol Peter assessed all of the activities that had occurred in his absence. Elves had been fired from high ranking positions for less. Peter had been out of commission for hours, during a crisis. Peter prided himself on his reliability. This was the biggest tarnish on his record yet. Outside of quitting of course, but that seemed almost irrelevant at the moment.

O8o

Things were quiet as the shuttle glided across the white expense of the North Pole. The F2 was one of many small transport shuttles, designed to travel much less strenuous distances than the S1. It was not nearly as fast and could be piloted automatically once a destination was plotted. The bridge crew was minimal and just monitored functionality. Steve paced around the shuttles narrow halls, calculating the best places to relocate people, weighing time needed against the quality of accommodation. It was a tough call but Steve decided that relocating most of the town into barracks next to the nearest hospital until more space was free was the safest bet. It wasn't the most ideal or comfortable choice but it guaranteed everyone rescued would be safe and secure. He couldn't risk anyone going homeless. He wondered what Peter would think, before remembering that he was probably not in a state of mind to advise him at the time. Without consciously deciding, his feet carried him to the passenger cabin that he had last seem his PA in. He needed to check on him again. To his surprise he found it was empty. Steve thought to message him, but wasn't sure if Peter had his HOHO3000 on him. He wasn't even technically on duty, or last time he checked, fit for it after all. Worried, he exited to search elsewhere, but then to his relief, heard a familiar pattern of footsteps behind him. He turned to see the person he had been looking for, standing alertly a few feet away.

"S-Steven?" Peter asked timidly, unable to manage sir. His professionalism was shot to hell now. He needed the man he loved to know that he regretted letting him down – more so than his boss.

Dejected grey eyes met his own with a flurry of concern.

"I'm so sorry." He said in a small voice, shoulders tense as he looked up at Steve like a reprimanded puppy.

"For what?"

"For – I – I wasn't there when you needed me. I was completely useless in a crisis situation and I just went lala, leaving you short handed. And you actually took the time out to send me off with nurses – and you probably had to replace me – and the new Elf wouldn't know anything about our system and –"

"Wow, wow, wow, hold on Peter. Stop!" He shook his head and raised his palms in flustered surprise, as if he could physically clear the air. "You don't have to apologise for this!"

"But I failed you." Steve winced at the words. Those were his least favourite words.

"You didn't. It's not your fault, you went into shock. A lot of other staff did too. It's not something you need to apologise for. I'm just glad you're feeling better."

"You have every right to be angry with me."

"Peter…" He began gently in a soothing tone. The kind of tone he rarely used. Peter interrupted.

"Please don't fire me; I'll do anything to make it up to you!"

Steve's eyebrows shot up and he shook his head in confusion.

"Fire you? Peter don't you think we're a little past the point of firing? You know I'm not going to replace you."

The brunette looked down, expression hardening.

"I know you hired me because I'm good at what I do. I know that I screwed up. I know that the efficiency of NPO is more important than our…friendship."

That last word was clipped. Steve zoned out a little at the statement, finding it sounded…wrong.

"Peter—"

"I've broken the contracted terms of my job. Its protocol that I should at the very least be reprimanded formal—"

"Peter I'm not going to—"

"Don't lie to me!" He burst out. "When you know I'm just going to be ripped from your side eventually! I need the truth, Steven!" The Elf's voice hitched on 'need'. His eyes were tearing up and he looked as desperate as ever. Steve was hit with a strong wave of guilt that almost caused him to drop his data pad. He couldn't bear to do this to his PA again. Steve had to fix it.

'The truth' he thought.

He closed the distance between them and dropped down on one knee, setting his pad on the floor. Given that Peter was a full foot shorter than him while standing, there was actually less distance between them now.

Peter looked utterly confused until Steve took his face in his hands and pulled him down for a kiss.

Steve's lips on his felt like heaven, he decided, as the pain in his chest swelled and flowered into pleasure. When the Human parted to end the gesture, Peter didn't know what to do with himself. He wanted to remind him that he loved him. But he didn't dare hope—

"I'm sorry." Steve said in a low voice.

They were the last words Peter wanted to hear. Given that the Elf couldn't think of anything he should be sorry for except…Maybe was trying to fire Peter in the gentlest way imaginable. Or as it was more likely, Steve was apologising for his latest 'slip-up'.

"Don't." Peter found himself saying with more firmness than he felt. He was a faintly quivering mess and his knees had buckled. "Steven…" he griped the unbuttoned collar of Steve's green jumpsuit. "Don't apologise to me… We don't have to talk about it – just, Please…" The tall Elf leaned in to rest his forehead against the Human's and closed his eyes. "Just don't say you're sorry for kissing me, because you're allowed to kiss me!" he urged. "I love you." He murmured with feeling.

At those words, Steve felt his chest swell and bleed with a connection he never thought he would have.

"I know you won't accept that because I'm not…what you need. But I would do anything for you!"

"You're wrong." Steve said suddenly. Peter winced.

"You're exactly what I need."

Peter opened his eyes in surprise. Putting space between them, he found Steve's expression was so tender his stomach melted to the floor.

"You're always what I need, Peter." He assured gently, though the words held an immense weight. There were so many things Steve Clause didn't know how to say. But he wanted to, deeply. He's spent his whole life learning how to keep a lid on himself, and grown comfortable in his introverted state. But if there was anyone on planet Earth he could bear his soul to without total fear of judgement, it was Peter. Peter deserved to hear those three words returned. He was worth the pain and the fear and the exposure because he was comfort in the sweetest sense. The Elf was an irrefutable force of affection, as warm as the coffee his eyes resembled. Steve needed coffee to function; he needed the Elf more.

"I…" He tried. He really did. But the words were stuck in his throat. "I…" Those wide assessing eyes could never just glace at him. They had to gaze past his exterior and ask his heart questions he wasn't ready to answer. "I…"

In a strange flurry of confused concern, Peter's hands stroked his face, thumb brushing across his reddening cheek. The other hand raked through his silver fringe, nimble Elvin fingers aiming to soothe. Steve was clearly struggling. The tall Elf smiled at him as if he was, by some impossible notion, adorable.

"It's alright." Peter all but cooed, everything about him turning soft. "You always know what to say to make me feel better." Steve had to disagree. It was the other way around.

"No, I—"

Peter's hand covered his mouth, silencing him.

"You don't have to talk about it. I understand." He assured, smiling sadly. Steve knew he understood him, most of the time, but he didn't think Peter had any idea what he was trying to say. "I'm here. Just...keep me close. Please." He whispered, voice failing him due to the growing lump in his throat.

Steve felt like he was going to crack into pieces, so he pulled Peter close and hold himself together. The embrace was full on, warm and needy. Peter told himself he wasn't going to cry this time. Burying his face in the Human's shoulder he clung to him and breathed him in.

Steve felt like he would die if he didn't say it. Turning, he brushed his lips against his PA's pointed ear. "Peter?" He whispered, feeling the Elf shiver in response. "I love you too."

Well, what can I say? I'm a busy, busy college girl... But if there's any demand, I think I'll try to continue this sooner rather then later.

BONUS from next chapter: "Word gets around fast in the North Pole."