Work Text:
Reim kept blinking in annoyance, frustrated by the constant flickering of the lone candle that had become the only light source in his Pandora designated quarters. The sun had come down several hours ago and although the warm glow the flame provided was pleasant, it was slowly starting to hurt his eyes a bit. With each passing minute he could feel his eyelids growing heavier, yet the stack of papers on his desk did not appear to get any smaller. He cursed under his breath, sheepish about the use of such language even when no one was around to hear him swear.
He knew full well this kind of overtime was not expected of him - there was no logical reason why he would be held responsible for filling in for the rest of the Pandora staff, especially since his behavior encouraged and rewarded further negligence on their part. Unfortunately, this knowledge could never see eye to eye with his feelings on the matter. The only thing he could do was take peace in his hope that when the time comes for him to retire in 40 years or so, the younger employees would come to their senses and miss his contributions. Definitely.
“One day I will get appreciation and recognition for my efforts. For sure…” He murmured to himself, his handwriting turning more labored and less legible.
His internal monologue was seriously disrupted by the screeching howling of the wind outside the window. At the same time, the noise carried a cathartic quality to it.
A light sort of tapping had joined the wailing not long ago - a tame noise he could have easily ignored if he was less tired, but painfully distracting with the present circumstances. By the fourth minute (not that he was counting) of honorably bearing this disturbance, one which has caused him to make a shameful spelling mistake in the Chain name “Snap-Dragon-Fly”, he decided to investigate.
A reasonable person would have assumed that the tapping was the result of a tree branch being shaken by the wind, or something similar at least. Reim would have liked to consider himself a reasonable person. Thus, nothing could have prepared him for what he actually saw when he peered outside.
Well past midnight with a storm coming shortly, Reim found his best friend, one Xerxes Break, glued to his bedroom window and clearly trying to get his attention.
His first instinct should have been to immediately open the window and drag the absolute lunatic inside. Instead, his exhaustion and shock resulted in him having a staring match with what he regarded could have been a tired man’s illusion, especially with how murky the picture was in the dim light. It was only when Xerxes grew more impatient and slammed his hand on the glass surface with more force that he snapped out of it.
“What in the world are you doing?!” He screamed, using a familiar line that would often jump start their daily conversations.
“Good evening, Mister Reim!~” His friend greeted him from the floor, as the moment the window was opened he stumbled onto the ground with a loud thump. Reim made no attempt to help him get up.
“Answer my question! Why did you just climb the building up to a third story window in the middle of the night, are you mad? More importantly, how did you even manage to do that?! You’re built like a twig, the storm should have knocked you off right away!”
“A magician never reveals his secrets.~” Xerxes smirked. Reim felt as if he was missing out on some sort of joke.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Completely ignoring the question, Xerxes quickly stood up and dusted himself off, even removing a single leaf that ended up in his hair. He stuffed it in his pocket.
“Are you still up working? At this hour?” He glanced at his desk, pouting a little at the stack of papers. Reim did not care for his judgemental tone of voice one bit.
“An astute observation.”
“Aw, why so sarcastic? You know, I just came here to check up on you because I was worried you might be overexerting yourself and I am deeply saddened to see that my worries were not unfounded.” He put his hands on his hips.
Reim only frowned. Xerxes Break was the last person he should be lectured by, regardless of the topic.
When he refused to give Xerxes an answer, simply shooting him disapproving looks that should have perfectly communicated his feelings on the matter, his friend made a decisive step forward and started poking him in the chest.
“This is an intervention! You should cease your unnecessary overtime immediately - I am saying this as your concerned friend.”
“And as your concerned friend, I’d like to remind you that a large portion of those unfinished reports you see me working on are yours, and long overdue too. You should show me some gratitude for trying to make you avoid disciplinary action from Pandora higher-ups.”
Once again, Xerxes seemingly did not feel like addressing any of Reim’s legitimate points. “Look at this dull lighting you have here too! You can go blind if you continue working under such conditions!” He gracelessly changed the subject.
“Xerx, I appreciate the gesture, but this is all overblown-”
And right then, Xerxes blew out his candle. The clouds gathered up in the sky upon this stormy night did not allow for any moonlight to shine through, leaving the room submerged in complete and utter darkness.
Reim would have probably made some fearful noise if he wasn’t so angry.
“Why did you do that?!” He attempted to grab Xerxes by the shoulders and shake him, but navigating in the dark proved difficult - he only caught handfuls of air.
His friend did not share these problems, as he caught onto his wrist swiftly and forcibly maneuvered him away from the desk.
“You weren’t listening to me. And you need rest!”
“You’re one to try to criticize me for not listening!” He tried to break free, but the grip Xerx had on him was just too strong. He managed to drag Reim across the room, pushing Reim onto his bed. The motion was rushed and violent, but Reim could feel his body suddenly relaxing the moment his back hit the covers. He didn’t even realize how tense he was before, having just spent multiple hours slumped over a hardwood chair in a back breaking position.
His friend's stubbornness was something Reim stood in awe of at times. It fueled him to take up the most ridiculous of challenges, like how he has just decided to topple someone above his weight class without good reason. Xerxes continued his inexplicable behavior by pinning Reim down, wrist at his sides.
“What even is your goal here? Xerxes, let go!”
“I made it pretty clear my goal was to get you to rest! And I’d say I’ve succeeded - work is no more, you may sleep now.”
“Just because I cannot see it, doesn’t mean my work is done. That pile of papers is still going to be there in the morning.”
“So let it be there in the morning! You shall deal with it then!”
Apparently sensing less resistance, Xerxes moved his hands away from Reim’s wrist, now peacefully lying down on Reim’s chest as if he were a pillow. Reim felt great frustration at the fact that the other could not see his scowl.
“I think it would be most optimal to deal with it as soon as possible. . .”
“It would not be most optimal to deal with it while you’re basically on the verge of drifting off to slumber! Just listen to yourself, your annoyance is leaving your voice as we speak - clear cut sign of exhaustion!”
“I am not tired at all, really-”
“Don’t say another word, Mister Reim! I know what will get you to fall asleep!”
He took away Reim’s glasses in one motion, presumably folding them and putting them away on the bedside table. Then he softly brushed some of Reim’s hair away from his forehead, his hand concerningly cold. The sensation itself was still pleasant, although if Reim had been more conscious, he would have scolded Xerxes for standing outside for so long with his poor blood circulation. The cold was quickly replaced with a momentary spark of warmth however - a quick, awkward peck, right at the center of his head. It made him let out a small gasp. Before Reim properly processed this gesture, Xerxes was already moving away.
“There! A goodnight kiss. My work here is done!” He gleefully jumped off Reim’s chest, although maybe a little bit too quickly.
Reim wasn’t entirely sure what happened then, but he heard Xerxes shuffle off to the side after which he knew he was left alone. His friend must have made his escape through the closet, as he often did. Reim wished he had enough common sense left in him to still jump through mental hoops trying to figure out how that was possible, but their many years of friendship wore him down enough to accept this unquestionably.
Completely stunned and bewildered, Reim could not get up and continue his work after the bizarre encounter. Alas, against Xerx’s wishes, he couldn’t really will himself to go to sleep either. For a while, he simply laid in his bed motionless, still in his partly undone uniform, wondering what had just happened. It was only when he woke up the next morning and noticed his horrific spelling mistake once more that he realized his friend was in the right to tackle him. He mumbled a couple words of thanks, hoping Xerxes would come around to know even if he wasn’t there to hear.