Chapter Text
Thomas and Robert had always been close. When their parents were abusive, they leaned on each other for support. It was an awful situation, but they always had each other. When Robert had run away to start his own company, Thomas followed him, wanting to support his brother in such an important moment, even if it meant he had to be second best.
Now, however, it seemed like Robert hardly talked to him at all. As soon as he'd met Crystalline, it felt like Thomas was barely an afterthought to him. The one Suit he always felt he could rely on was pushing him away for someone he'd only recently met, and it only hurt more once Thomas took notice of Crystalline's motives.
So when Robert called him up to his office, he headed over right away, a bit desperate for a chance to actually talk to him. Even if it was just for work, it was nice to be able to spend some time with him. Work-related conversations seemed to be all they ever had recently.
Thomas pushed open the door, stepping up to the massive desk with his hands folded behind his back. After a moment, Robert's head poked out from the top of the desk.
"Mr. Saggs, come up here so I don't have to yell," Robert called down, ducking back out of view. Thomas felt hurt by the formality, but tried to attribute it to them being at work, as much as he knew Robert used to use his first name regardless.
Quickly flying up to the desk and landing gently, careful not to disturb any papers, he looked down at his brother. Robert looked tired, his tie slightly askew and his eyebrows drooping a bit. Despite that, he held his confident stance, looking up at Thomas with all the power that came with his position.
"I need you to perform the semiannual reviews of the regional managers," he said, his shoulders falling. "I was going to have the others do it, but after recent events we've all been too busy."
Thomas couldn't help but let his disappointment show. One of the best things about his job was getting to spend it in his office, with his plants as company. He didn't often have to leave, but his position did occasionally require it. If Robert noticed his fallen expression, he didn't mention it.
"Are you sure I'm the only available employee?" Thomas asked, trying to extend the conversation even though he already knew the answer. Robert seemed like he needed a break, even if it was just talking for a few more minutes.
"Yes, I'm sure. I wouldn't have called you up here if you weren't." Robert gestured to a stack of papers taller than he was. "Having you around to help with some of this would've been better, but we can't just put off the reviews."
"Right..." Thomas nodded in agreement. He didn't want to keep Robert too long, despite how much he wanted to keep talking. He turned to leave. "I'll get started on those."
"Before you go," Robert said, making Thomas turn back around. Maybe he wanted to keep talking too? A small part of him hoped that Robert also missed their closeness, the-
"Make sure you tell Ruffler that if he gambles away company funds one more time he's finished, no matter how much he makes back." Robert turned around with a huff of frustration, going right back to work. Thomas let out a sigh and nodded, flying back down to the ground. Of course Robert didn't have anything to talk about with him. He never really did.
Running through the list of managers in his head, he decided to go to the closest one first. If he was lucky, he'd be able to knock two reviews out at once. The quicker he finished, the quicker he could go back to his office...and the quicker he could go back to being less than second best.
After a short walk to Fast Asleep - All Star Suites, Thomas stepped into the lobby, preparing the notebook he'd brought with him. The semiannual reviews were fairly informal, as most of the statistics were compiled and analyzed automatically through a complex system that made his head hurt to think about too much. In the early days, it was all done manually, but he had to agree this was much more efficient and less stressful.
Still, there was a need to check in on each manager in person to confirm things that even the most complex computer systems couldn't. Interpersonal relationships, mental well-being, and any serious hindrances or grievances that could affect their performance would be the subject of the reviews. Thomas wasn't the most social Suit, but if Robert needed him to do it, then he would.
The elevator dinged as it reached Graham's room, or as he called it, the Pace Place. A quick glance revealed both Graham and Flint walking in a circle in the corner, following a worn track in the carpet around a sign that read "Pace Corner".
"Mr. Saggs!" Graham stopped suddenly, causing Flint to bump into him. "What're you doing all the way out here?"
"Rob- ah, Mr. Cyger asked me to perform the semiannual reviews." It felt strange calling his brother by his last name, but given he'd done the same to Thomas he figured he probably should.
"Oh, for real? I thought the bosses usually did those." Graham gestured to the stairs, and the three of them went up. The upper room looked much more lived-in, with various magazines and music sheets littering the floor. Two pristine guitars sat against the back wall by the foot of a large bed. Graham immediately sat at the end of the bed, with Flint pulling a chair over for Thomas before taking a seat next to him.
"I'm allowed to be here during his review, right?" Flint asked, pushing their fingers together and avoiding eye contact.
"Of course!" Graham took one of Flint's hands in his, moving a bit closer to the larger Suit. "The semis are super laid back, remember?"
"Yes. Actually, I was hoping you would be here so that I could do both of your reviews at the same time," Thomas said. He thumbed through the notebook until he got to a blank page, pulling a pen out of his front pocket. As he did, he noticed Flint tense up a bit.
"Right, so, you got questions for us, yeah?" Graham casually put an arm around Flint, like he was talking to an old friend and not the second-in-command of the entire company.
"That's right. Firstly, I'd like to ask if there are any specific complaints you have about your work environment." Thomas tapped the pencil against the paper, pausing for a moment to collect his thoughts. However, Graham took that as an opportunity to start talking.
"Oh, absolutely! Tawney keeps complaining and complaining and complaining about the 'noise' we make, but they live on an entirely different street, and we are definitely not that loud!" Graham enunciated his words with his arms, making wide sweeping gestures. His Suit was one that allowed for extremely dynamic facial expressions, which he also took advantage of, ending his mini rant with a look over his sunglasses at Thomas.
"Well..." Flint looked away awkwardly, patting Graham's leg. "...we are a little loud when we practice..."
"That's how music should be! Loud! Inspiring! So full of bass that you feel it in your wires!" He laid his head on Flint's arm, looking up at him with an adoring gaze. Thomas had seen the same sort of look in Roger's eyes when he talked about Crystalline. It was the sort of look he'd never understood, such an intimate gaze that he rarely even saw during his childhood.
Their parents only ever looked at each other when they had to or when they were arguing, and they looked at Thomas and Roger much less, their eyes always devoid of any sort of love. Roger used to look at his first lover like Graham and Flint looked at each other, before the look began to fade, only returning for Crystalline. The look he gave to Bobby Jr. was different, still full of love, but a more prideful, protective love. All the emotions and desires behind a romantic gaze...they were something Thomas could recognize, but never really "got". Something he couldn't ever imagine seeing in his own face.
A snapping brought him back out of his thoughts. Graham was raising an eyebrow at him questioningly, while Flint tried their best to look anywhere else. With a cough, Thomas looked down at the notebook, feeling a bit embarassed.
"Sorry. I tend to space out." He quickly wrote down what Graham had said earlier, making sure to get it on record. "I'm not very social."
"Don't worry about it," Graham said, waving his hand dismissively. He took Flint's hand again, running a finger over the bolts on their knuckles.
"Is that your only complaint?" Thomas asked. The gesture, however small, was indicative of those same feelings. Feelings he shouldn't be thinking about right now, because he was at work.
"Mm-hm. Oh, aside from the Toons, but obviously that comes with the job. Your turn, Flint." Graham poked Flint's side, making him jump a bit.
"O-Oh, right. Uh, well, everything's good. It's-"
"No it isn't!" Graham cut him off, turning to Thomas with an exaggerated expression. "Cosmo's been getting on his-"
"Graham!" The flame on Flint's head grew brighter for a moment as he tried to stop Graham from talking.
"-lately for Cog knows what and if you don't do something about it I'll march down there myself and shove that cigar up his-"
"Graham!!" Flint slapped a hand over Graham's mouth, his flame sputtering with embarrassment. "It's fine, really! I can just avoid him, it's okay."
"You shouldn't have to avoid him, baby," Graham said gently, moving Flint's hand away. "I've heard what he says to you, he shouldn't talk to you like that."
"Well...I know, but..." Flint looked down, holding Graham's hand with both of their own. Thomas felt like he was intruding on something private, sitting completely still to avoid being noticed or ruining the moment. He wasn't often privy to personal moments like this, especially not between couples, so he wasn't sure if he should speak up or not.
"Look, I know it's hard and it feels mean, but you have to stand up for yourself. Besides, he's already being mean to you. There's no harm in being mean right back." Graham sat up a bit to plant a kiss on Flint's cheek, a slight sizzling coming from the metal, before turning to Thomas. "Say something to him about it, yeah?"
"Oh, of course," he responded. Thomas was expecting them to get upset at him for listening in, though he wasn't sure why. He brushed off the feeling, writing it down in his notebook. The pen ink was slightly smudged by his hand as he wrote, one of the downsides of being built left-handed.
"Have you been having any other problems with other managers or coworkers?" Thomas looked back up at them, trying to focus back on the review. But there was still that odd feeling in his head, that there was something everyone else seemed to understand that he just...didn't.
"Nothing other than Cathal being a lazy slacker who can't even be a proper rival," Graham said with a shrug. Flint gave him a gentle nudge, rolling his eyes with a small smile on his face.
"From what I've heard, that is a common complaint, and definitely something I plan on bringing up." Thomas wrote it down regardless. Cathal's work ethic-- or, lack thereof-- was something that even his father couldn't excuse forever. Robert had even begun to complain about it, which meant it needed solving as quickly as possible.
"Good! I swear, it's like they don't even see me as their rival, despite the fact that I absolutely am, and-" Graham's egotistical rant was cut off by Flint pulling him closer. They were clearly used to hearing exactly where this one was going.
Thomas couldn't help but stare for a moment as the two looked into each other's eyes, the way they only seemed to see each other, and the world melted away around them. There was a noticeable difference in how couples looked at each other compared to families or friends, a difference that seemed to elude Thomas. It was love, the same feeling he felt for his brother, and yet so alien and other that he just didn't understand.
"Mr. Saggs." Graham snapped his fingers in his face again. Thomas waved a hand, about to apologize again, but Graham took his hand and lowered his sunglasses to look him in the eye. "Are you alright? If you need to rest, you can sleep in the lobby. I won't tell anyone."
"Oh, no, I'm alright." Thomas nodded, smiling as much as he could. He wasn't really sure how to explain how he felt to himself, much less anyone else. Besides, he was here to review them, not the other way around.
"If you insist," Graham said, letting go of his hand and leaning back. With a tilt of their head, Flint looked Thomas up and down, seemingly processing something. Thomas turned back to the notebook, tapping it before Flint could ask something personal.
"Is there anything else you'd like to mention during this review? Anything that may be affecting your mental well-being or work performance?" he asked. The two thought for a moment, Graham answering with a shake of his head. Flint thought for a bit longer, seeming like he'd ask something, before deciding not to and also shaking his head.
"Sounds like we're good, then." Graham stood up, stretching a bit. Thomas did as well, his joints creaking slightly. Being an older Suit came with a bit of wear and tear. Although Robert had regular maintenance to keep himself in top shape, Thomas wasn't a Suit who liked change, and he knew how the repair Suits liked to sneak in upgrades during routine maintenance wherever they could.
He said his goodbyes to Graham and Flint, leaving them to do...whatever it was they were doing before he came by, and stepping outside to try and find Tawney. The managers assigned to street patrols would be the hardest to find, and considering they were usually assigned to the streets Toons frequented most often, he'd be in significant danger while he looked. Hopefully if he ran across any, they were more like the Toons who visited him every April, and not that little red dog or white raccoon.
As Thomas prepared to walk around aimlessly for a bit, he looked up at the sky. The Luxury Suites & Textiles District was caught in a perpetual night for some reason, meaning the sky was always full of stars even in the middle of the day. In Suitopia, the sky was so full of smog and light pollution that there wasn't anything to see but a slightly blue void.
He let out a sigh, watching a bright star streak across the sky. Apparently, the Toons believed if you saw one of those, anything you wished for would come true. They had all sorts of strange traditions and beliefs like that, but even if Thomas himself didn't believe in them, he could appreciate the value they placed in it.
He closed his eyes, and wished that he could understand what made him so different.