Chapter Text
NOW PLAYING ᝰ MR. LOVERMAN
(ricky montgomery)
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ARTEM LET OUT a tired sigh, twirling the pen between his slender fingers as his eyes scanned over the digital words displayed on his tablet. His dulled sapphire eyes flickered to the time displayed on the corner of his tablet screen; 11:26 pm.
It was incredibly common for Artem to remain in his office even past work hours. He's extremely dedicated to his work and spent every minute scrutinizing over the smallest of details in his client's cases to ensure absolute victory. He had a 99% win rate after all, he ought to keep that reputation up.
Artem moved his free hand close to his neck, pulling at his necktie to ease the tension around his nape. The tie fell loosely against the fabric of his button-down shirt to which Artem proceeded to unbutton the two closest to his neck. He gently massaged his tense muscles before returning to his work, dutifully scanning over each and every aspect of the case in order to find evidence he can compile into a winning defense.
Since his youth, he's dedicated his every waking minute to studying law. His family consists of famous lawyers and practitioners, and Artem was expected to become one of them. Needless to say, he had long surpassed his family's reputation as a man of his own. Yet, he lacked any awareness to look after himself even at the age of 29.
Minutes later, Artem found himself spacing out occasionally. His vision would go blurry, blacking out momentarily only for him to snap back into reality. His body is exhausted, he was well aware but he couldn't stop just yet. There was work to be done and until he finished compiling a solid rebuttal, he wasn't going to rest.
Is what he told himself but each second only drew sleep closer and closer. In the past week, Artem had only slept a maximum of 10 hours total. Celestine had urged him to go home many times throughout the week to take a day off but he refused. Even your counsel went unheard despite your standing as his significant other—
The sudden buzzing of his office door awoke him from his dazed staring. For a second, Artem pondered who in the world would bother staying at the office this late but disregarded it. Perhaps it was a janitor or a custodian of sorts who was just trying to do their job.
His hand reached over to the corner of his desk, pressing the button that released the lock on his door. To his surprise, it was you who sauntered past his doors with a handkerchief wrapped box in hand.
"(y/n)?" His voice sounded tired, a bit hoarse from dehydration. He tried to clear his throat, straightening his back to make himself more presentable though his disheveled appearance did nothing to hide his obvious condition.
"Staying late again? I thought I told you to take better care of yourself?" You teased, walking to his desk with the box in hand. Artem scrunched his nose at your teasing words to which you laughed a bit. "Alright, sorry. I did bring you something since you're staying up so late."
He watched as you set the wrapped box before him, lifting an eyebrow in confusion. "What's this?"
You smiled proudly, untying the handkerchief to reveal a bento box that you had prepared an hour prior to arriving at the office. You presented your handiwork to him in content, showing off fhe adorably made octo-sausages, rice balls, rolled eggs, and a small portion of fresh salad.
Artem stared in surprise, almost in awe of your homemade supper for him. Evidently, the meal you had prepared was more fitting for a high school lunch scenario but the effort is there and he greatly appreciated it.
"Do you remember when I used to bring you lunch in high school?" The question caught Artem slightly off-guard.
It was rather rare to see Artem flustered, even for a mere second. He's known to the world as the 'stoic, emotionless attorney' and rarely demonstrated any sort of fragility but for you, it was less of a surprise. You had known him since middle school, having grown up with him. Before he went off to study law for college, he had already confessed his feelings during his youthful years of high school. Since then, the two of you have been together. Though the Artem Wing back then is significantly different from the man before you now.
"I do..." He confessed, briefly reminiscing the past with a smile.
"You were always sleep-deprived. Even now... some things about you just never change, hm?" You chuckled a bit, grabbing the pair of chopsticks you had prepared along with the bento box. You picked up a piece of sausage, waving it in front of him amusingly. "Say 'ah'."
Artem grimaced slightly at your actions. "I'm not a child in need of someone to feed me. There's no need to trouble yourself with feeding me."
You set the chopstick down for him, chuckling as he picked it up himself to try your cooking. He took a small bite, chewing on the piece of meat before giving you his verdict.
"Tastes the same as before," he responded, finishing the rest of the sausage. You smiled a bit, watching as Artem briefly closed his eyes to think of the past. "You don't need to make them in those childish shapes anymore."
You pouted at his words. "Eh? But that's the best part about them."
Artem let out a small laugh at your childishness, it mused him to see you so energized at such a late hour. You always brought him a sense of tranquility when things were difficult.
"In any case, I appreciate the gesture and food, love."
You beamed at his words, grinning like a Cheshire Cat as you leaned over his desk to press a kiss on his cheek before pulling away to see his pale complexion flush in crimson at the sudden kiss. "Anything for you, dear. I'll stick around till you're done with work. I can drive us home if you're too tired."
Artem sighed, nodding. "Thank you, love. I'll be done soon."