Work Text:
Gentle light filters into the tidy Pandora office through open curtains, casting a soft glow upon the organized papers and files stacked up and spread across the writing desk. The room is small, but not cramped- the lived-in nature of the space, with a bookcase filled to the brim with reference material and stories to be enjoyed during rest periods in between work, creating a cozy atmosphere. The scent of old books and ink fills the air, accompanied by the faint aroma of sweets, only adding to the comfortable ambience.
It’s almost peaceful.
The man whom the aforementioned office belongs to is currently sitting at his desk, trying to work through the stacks of important reports for Pandora; ‘trying’ being the key word here. Focusing becomes a Sisyphean task when Xerxes Break- who is currently amusing himself by periodically flinging hard candies in Reim’s direction from where he’s sat on the windowsill- has decided to make oneself the target of his attention.
Xerxes is a very talented man, Reim must admit. Both in regards to swordsmanship and being a nuisance, always pushing the exact buttons needed in order to elicit a rise out of Reim- or whomever else he had decided to torment at the moment, usually Gilbert or Alice.
The delicate sound of careful pen strokes steadily becomes rough and irritable as Reim, quite fed up with being pelted by candies, finally snaps, “Xerxes, do you mind ?”
“Not at all, Mister Reim~!” Break cheerfully replies as another candy comes flying in his direction.
Reim’s eyebrows furrow, and he removes his glasses in order to rub the bridge of his nose in exasperation, “Need I remind you, most of these are your reports?” He huffs, putting his glasses back in their rightful place, “You’ll be the one in trouble if they are not completed in a timely manner.”
Break chuckles, entirely unfazed, “True… but ,” He raises a finger to accentuate his point, “What would that bird-brained duke think if you weren’t able to do something as simple as keep your own subordinate in check?”
Reim grits his teeth and tightens his grip on the pen he’s holding, biting back a response, not wanting to give Break the satisfaction of admitting he has a point.
Fabric rustles as Break shifts positions, crossing his legs and resting his chin in his hand, pouting, “You're no fun, Mister Reim.” He whines, “Some might even say you're boring .”
A soft tap on his desk brings Reim’s focus away from the stack of papers he’s been working on. His amber eyes shift to the side, landing on one of the many hard candies Break had been using as ammunition. “You’re insufferable .” He mutters angrily, before picking up the candy that had found itself on his desk, unwrapping it, and popping it in his mouth.
“Hey-! That's miiine!”
Reim brings his gaze back to the paperwork, ignoring Break’s outburst, “You should’ve considered that before you threw it at me.” He says, matter-of-factly, voice muffled as he talks around the candy in his cheek.
Silence fills the room for a moment, leading Reim to falsely believe he had somehow come out of this exchange victorious. Of course, though, he hadn't, and Break smirks, standing up from where he’d been sitting, “I’ll just have to take it back, then.”
Confused, Reim turns as Break closes the distance between them, “Take it-?!” Before he can even fully process the statement, Break’s lips are on his, his hands resting on Reim’s shoulders to support himself as he leans over the younger man.
Reim stiffens, mouth opening in surprise at the unexpected contact. After a moment, he begins to relax into the kiss, welcoming it. But, just as suddenly as he’d initiated it, Break pulls away from the kiss. Only able to stare in shock, Reim quickly notices the ball-shaped mass in Break’s cheek- his own mouth now notably empty.
“Y-you-!” Reim splutters, taking off his glasses and focusing on cleaning them, in a futile attempt to hide the redness of his face, “That was hardly appropriate work behavior, Xerxes!”
A self-satisfied grin spreads across Break’s face, “When is my behavior ever work appropriate, my dear Reim?”
Reim remains in indignant silence, cleaning his glasses a few moments more before putting them back on, finally managing to compose himself. “Have you thoroughly amused yourself yet? Some of us have work to do.”
Chuckling, Break waves a hand dismissively, the long sleeve of his coat flapping along with it, “Yes, yes, I’ve had my fun. I would absolutely hate to keep you from your precious reports any longer.”
Reim sighs in relief as Break turns to leave, eager to finally be allowed some peace and quiet. However, just as his delicate fingers grasp the doorknob, Reim- against his better judgment- calls out “Wait… Xerx.”
Break pauses and turns around, hand still on the doorknob, “Yes, Mister Reim?” He draws out the syllables in a teasing manner, making Reim regret his decision to speak up. His lone crimson eye is focused on Reim, studying him, and he shifts awkwardly in his seat under the man’s gaze.
Feeling a blush beginning to spread across his cheeks once more, he clears his throat, bringing a closed hand up to cover his mouth, “Would you… like to meet for drinks later, after work?” Reim is not usually the one to suggest such meetings, rather letting the other man come to him on his own time, but the lingering feeling of Break’s lips on his has left him feeling rather impatient.
“Why of course!” Break smiles wide and claps his hands together gleefully, inferring the ulterior motives behind Reim’s suggestion, “It’s a date, then!” Once again turning to leave, he calls out behind him in a sing-song voice, “I’ll make sure to bring out the good stuff~!” The door clicks shut behind him, and Reim’s attention shifts to the numerous candies littering his office floor, letting out an exasperated sigh.
All that fuss over a single candy and he hadn’t even bothered to pick the rest of them up before he left…