A/N: Here it is. The joint fic that you all have been waiting for… well, maybe not. LOL. This is the first of many fics brought to you by MrsBigTuna and ktface3. If you like to learn more about us, you can visit out writer's page or our individual pages. This was very fun to write and I hope you guys enjoy it as well.

" How on Earth did Michael call my bluff? Is he some sort of secret genius?"

Stanley thought this as he walked back to his desk, replaying the conversation he had with Michael in his head:

"Michael... a word." Stanley looked over at Pam as she quickly left Michael's office. As he crossed the room, Stanley saw Michael on the verge of tears. He took a deep breath, regretting the words that were about to slip out of his mouth, " I changed my mind, I wanna keep this job."

Michael looked from his desk and held a twinkle in his eye, "Really?"

Stanley nodded reluctantly, "Really."

Michael crossed the room with conviction and embrace Stanley in his strong yet petite frame. "Thank you."

Stanley couldn't put his finger on what exactly Michael had uncovered or discovered. He couldn't fathom the thought that Michael Scott outsmarted him. Michael Scott, his dimwitted boss who had the IQ of his one-year old niece's pinky finger. He couldn't comprehend the idea that someone with Michael's brain—or anyone for that matter—saw past his façade and saw his ploy for a pay raise instead.

As he looked across the office, Stanley glanced at the faces of his coworkers, wondering if he would have actually had a new set of faces to grow accustomed to, a new set of oddball creatures that sprouted from a place he never wanted to visit, a new desk buddy who talked incessantly about her plans with her new husband, or have to hear the rantings of a too gun-hoe employee vying for recognition that would never come, or a preppy who would never find the love that he searched for from his peers. He wondered what brought him here to this place where he was now, seated in this chair, and if he did leave it all, would he miss it?

What was bugging him the most was how his overly incompetent boss outsmarted him. He couldn't wrap his mind around that impossible fact. As he was looking at his desk, he saw a bill from his doctor's office, a notice of sorts, and it brought him back to a day of ill-fated healthcare plans, nano-robot infections, and unidentified surprises.

Michael smiled as Stanley approached, "Here you go, Stanley the Manley." He handed him an ice cream sandwich.

" This isn't the big surprise, is it? Because we've been having a pretty horrible day. " Stanley sniffed the white package, not really sure what to make of it.

Michael looked nervous, " Uh, nope. Nope. This isn't the surprise. It's surprising, um... because you didn't expect it." He tossed another sandwich to Kevin, " But you will... you'll know it when you see it."

Stanley nodded and headed to reception. "You think this is the surprise."

Pam looked up from her computer, "Definitely."

Stanley shook his head at the memory, convinced that Michael knew exactly what he was doing. Who in their right mind would put Dwight in charge of picking the healthcare plan? The only answer was that Michael knew that Dwight would cut costs and save the company thousands with none of the blame on him, everyone would just blame Dwight, per usual.

Stanley sighed exasperatedly at his life and at the people around him. How had he let this charade go on for so long? Has Michael outsmarted him in other things too? As he looked at the bill again, he noticed a picture that had made its way from Phyllis' desk to his own. He lifted it and recognized it was from their last Dundies Awards show at Chili's. It was a picture of Phyllis, Ryan, Pam, Jim and himself, showing nothing but smiling faces. He couldn't help but chuckle at the ridiculous display that Michael had put on that night. Memories of gray hoodies, bad impressions, drunken speeches and Awesome Blossoms flooded his mind.

Michael stood in front of the crowded corner of the local Chili's, swaying a bit from the hot lights, " This is the fine work award. This goes to Stanley, for all the fine work he did this year."

As Stanley approached the front of the group, Pam and Jim were chanting, "Speech. Speech. Speech. Speech."

He couldn't help but chuckle as he looked at his award. He smiled and cracked a simple joke, " Well, well, last year, I got great work, so I don't... So, I don't know what to think about this award. But at least I didn't get smelliest bowel movement like Kevin." He looked at the crowd again and realized that he was actually having a good time.

As Stanley looked at the picture, he couldn't help but smile. He really did have a nice time that evening with his coworkers. He remembered the offensive jokes and the speech by a certain drunken receptionist and knew that he would never admit to anyone that he held that as a fond memory. But what else got him was the fact that Michael again had pulled another unexpected ploy to have his way in the end. He had Stanley enjoy an office gathering. Dammit.

Stanley having realized this fact tossed down the picture and tried to distract himself from the thoughts of his boss. He was searching for a file for a client when he stumbled across a coupon for Chili's that Michael gave him months ago. He shook his head at the memory of a cancelled Halloween party and procrastination at its best.

Dwight walked up to Stanley, " Stanley, could you come with me, please."

Stanley looked up from his phone, "No."

Dwight hung up Stanley's phone, "As assistant regional manager—"

Stanley smirked, " To the—"

Dwight looked stern, " Look. I've got some bad news. You're fired. You need to pack up your things and go."

Stanley started laughing. Dwight tried to keep his composure, "I'm serious, Stanley. It's over, I'm sorry."

Stanley laughed, "'You're fired.' Get your fingers off my phone." Dwight obliged as Stanley laughed harder. Phyllis started laughing as well.

Stanley shook his head at the memory, another memory of Michael trying to pass his obligations to Dwight, and eventually being successful in the end. Stanley couldn't understand how Michael had been so inconsiderate and thoughtless, yet found a way to get out of his many situations. There must have been something that Michael knew that his employees didn't, but what could that be? Diverting his attention to the file cabinet near Phyllis' desk, his eyes landed on a ticket stub, 'Booze Cruise: Lake Wallenpaupack'. He rolled his eyes, thinking about freezing temperatures, motion sickness and an ill-fated dance contest.

Stanley came walking into Michael's office. Michael looked up, "Yeah?"

Stanley looked perturbed, "Michael..."

Michael chuckled, "Stanley...bo banley."

Stanley rolled his eyes, "I need to know—"

Michael continued, "Banana fana fo fanley.

Stanley sighed exasperatedly, "What we're doing."

Michael tried to keep a straight face, "Me mi mo manley."

Stanley was getting more annoyed, "You said bring a toothbrush."

Michael finished, "Stanley."

Stanley sighed again, "Is this an overnight?"

Michael shook with glee, "Maybe. The suspense is just so exciting, isn't it?"

Stanley was starting to lose his composure, "Should my wife tell her boss she's not coming in tomorrow?"

Michael was stifling a giggle, "Maybe, I don't know."

Stanley was even more upset, "Not maybe, yes or no."

Michael straightened up, "Well, no, but...okay, don't spoil it for everybody. All right? But, we...are going on a booze cruise on Lake Wallenpaupack."

Stanley was stunned, "In January?"

Michael looked disappointed, "It's cheaper."

Stanley rolled his eyes at that disaster of a trip. He recalled everyone being drunk and vomiting. A drunk Roy setting the date for a wedding that never came, Dwight steering a wheel that was attached to nothing, and his wife wishing she stayed at home. But what he remembered most of all was Michael's analogies to the ship and the office. He remembered how ridiculous they were and how no one really cared about what was going on, like the actual office, and in that way, Michael made a connection. It really didn't matter where you take the employees, as long as they did their part, they would act accordingly. Stanley couldn't believe that in some strange way, Michael made sense.

Becoming even more flustered with his discovery of his boss, Stanley tried to keep his mind away from such thoughts. As he was making his final calls of the day, he came across a photograph of Andy in his sumo suit. He sighed, exasperated that everywhere he looked he was reminded of Michael. As he tried to not think of that horrible day, memories of sand in his shoes, sumo suits, hot dog eating contests and a potential promotion began to float to his frontal lobe.

Michael stood surrounded by his employees as the day was turning into dusk. He was giving another pep talk, "What does a great manager need most of all? Courage."

Stanley was annoyed by Michael's rantings, "How so?" Everyone looked at him and he straightened his demeanor, "I mean, sure thing, that sounds smart." He waved it off and gave up, "I can't do this anymore. I'm going to sit in the bus."

Stanley shook his head, reminiscing on how ridiculous Michael had made him become, wrestling in sumo suits and vying for a position that he really didn't want. He simply didn't want anyone else in the office being his boss. He tried to wipe that memory of blue and red teams and him shoveling food into his mouth from his mind, but sadly it would be imprinted in his brain for many years to come. What he hated most was making a complete idiot of himself, and he realized that Michael had done it again. He made him turn into some kind of buffoon, making him do obscene acts and allowing him to get caught up in the action.

As he looked back on all the things that Michael had done to him and his respective coworkers, he knew that Michael was one of two things: a complete, incompetent moron or a sheer, utter genius. Hmm...

"Sometimes I say crazy things."

More to come... I hope you enjoyed it so far and look out for an update soon!