'Fred is here boss' Lucas peeped into Gaius' office to announce, when Fred made his way in obnoxiously;

'I know my way in, there's no need to announce a thing' Fred said, pushing Lucas aside and walking into Gaius' office. Lucas eyed Fred saucily and closed the door to Giaus' office after Fred had gone in;

'Leave the door open, so he knows he isn't welcome here at this particular time' Gaius told Lucas; 'don't you have stuff to do at work?' Gaius asked Fred, surprised at Fred's incessant disturbance; he had just left Fred by himself in the rudest of ways at Dynasty complex, and here he was, less than thirty minutes later, obviously about to go on about the same topic for which Gaius had dumped him for. Fred rolled his eyes and sat in front of Gaius, staring at him, waiting for a reaction; of course Gaius was at the edge by now; impatiently he asked Fred what had brought him to his office?

'Dude, are you foolish?' Fred asked his friend, Gaius. Gaius was taken aback by the effrontery of Fred;

'How dare you come to my office and insult me, Fred; you're beginning to really get on my nerves' Gaius said, blinking his eyes furiously at his closest friend.

'Wait, you mean to tell me that you cannot find a way around getting married to someone in exchange for one of the top most positions in the entire globe?' Fred asked Gaius, eyes shone, neck bobbing forward curiously; he looked into Gaius' eyes, searching for an answer, a real answer to why he was this obstinate about getting married. Gaius saw how serious Fred was this time; looking at his friend and thinking of the words that came out of his mouth, he knew that Fred meant business and was not just messing around with him as he had thought earlier;

'Fred, you know how I feel about marriage; I don't fancy the idea, it's a little too far fetched' Gaius replied, his tone a lot more calmer than the previous times. Fred relaxed a bit too, noticing the change in Gaius' disposition; at least the conversation was tilting towards making some sense.

'Dude, I understand your position; we've been friends for a long time and i've always supported you in whatever decisions you stood by; even though I think a couple of them have been a bit too extreme and outright stupid' Fred said, looking at Gaius for a reaction he was sure to get;

'Fred!' Gaius bellowed, pointing at his friend in warning;

'Okay, i'm sorry about that last part' Fred replied, chuckling at the fact that he could tick Gaius easily. 'I have never had a problem with you not getting married, and you know that; this is the first time in our friendship that has lasted so many years, that i've ever mentioned this to you, does that not say something? is the message not loud enough?' Fred asked Gaius. Gaius was silent; thinking of it, he could understand Fred's desperation, the position at stake was huge and life changing; if he thought he had reached the peak of his career in life because he had managed to be the official space engineer for the country and other top space stations, he was gravely mistaken; his life was going to take a wilder turn if he accepted the offer Fred opened his eyes to. Also, the fact that he stood a very high chance of winning at the final elections made it juicier; he saw reason with Fred, even though, marriage? he'd rather not, honestly;

'Fred' Gaius was saying wearily when Lucas popped his head in to tell Gaius that the lady from the space station at the neighboring country, Hermin had arrived and was on her way up to his office.

'I have a small meeting, you'd have to sit quietly here or excuse yourself' Gaius told Fred, pointing at him to be of good behavior. Fred raised both hands in surrender and gestured to zip his lip; he would shut up, he promised.

'Hello miss' Gaius stood smiling when Lucas ushered the guest into his office;

'For fucks sake Gaius' Fred shouted as soon as he saw the lady that walked in on them. She was perfect for the situation at hand; the right lady, with the best prestige and everything it took for the dynasty to give Gaius a thumbs up; Gaius really had everything going easy for him, if only he could stop being pompous and stupid, and took out time to think;

'Lucas, show Fred out for a bit, i'd meet up with you guys after my meeting with miss...?' Gaius said, looking at the lady to please say her name;

'Miss Valerie' she said in the sweetest voice all three men had heard in their lives. Gaius swallowed his own saliva when she spoke; her scent had already filled his entire office, as if the rest of them didn't wash before coming to work, she had taken over everywhere with her subtle dominance. The three men looked at themselves knowingly; this was definitely one of such ladies that stayed in Gaius' life for a while until they suddenly stopped seeing them together.

'Show Fred out' Gaius said, snapping back to the moment and smiling at the lady, trying to keep the atmosphere as light as possible. Lucas gently tugged at Fred, both men making their way towards the door of Gaius' office.

'What's the issue between you two, why is he trying to get rid of you, unlike him' Lucas asked Fred when they were both out of Gaius' sight and hearing.

'You wouldn't believe it if I told you; Gaius is about to miss out on the opportunity of a life time, and i'm here to ensure that nothing like that ever happens, that's why i'm acting crazy, and if I told you what it was, you would join me and make sure your lunatic of a boss doesn't miss out on this opportunity' Fred said to an anxious Lucas.