Work Text:
You bite your lips, trying your very best to remain calm. You tap your foot irrepressibly as your eyes scan your desk desperately.
You search for the 5th time, opening all your drawers, pushing your workstation, and almost throwing all your papers away. You run to the breakroom of the station and search here too.
No success
You return to your cubicle with low shoulders when Steb appears, eyes focused on his papers, noting down something. You immediately jump on your feet to place yourself right before him, forcing him to stop with a slight jump backward.
"Tell me you saw my toy, I beg of you." You ask.
You lost your fidget toy, surely when you conducted the census in Zaun with Steb earlier! As his new Zaunite partner, you must show him around and guide him in the lower city.
Steb seems to think before shaking his head with a sorry expression.
"Uuuuuuuuuurgh..." How are you supposed to focus on your tasks if you can't stimm off?
Steb approaches his desk and opens a drawer. He takes off a small toy full of buttons and hands it to you.
"Where did you find this one?" You ask, grabbing it from him with profound relief.
He puts his paper down and signs you always loses your toys and enters panic mode right away, so he bought several little ones just in case.
"Thank you Steb!" You exclaim, "You save my life!"
He shrugs, unconvinced. You immediately tinker with the toy, pushing the buttons, slidings the edges, and turning the keys.
Aaaaaaaaah, feels so good...
Finally, you feel the stress slowly evacuating your body, making you sigh of relief. You both sit down at your desk, ready for a day of long and very dry tasks the bureaucracy adores.
Or at least you try, Steb doesn't seem to have any kind of difficulties with those. He grabs your list of tasks of the day and starts noting his name down until he gives it to you. You take your pen and start reading until...
"Hum, Steb?"
He hums in response, booting up his workstation, ready to work.
"You took all the longest tasks..."
He nods, entering his password, barely looking at you.
"I should take some. Thats not fair for you."
He gently taps the list with his fingertip, ordering you to focus on that and not him.
"But-"
He stops you with his hands and starts signing. It did not escape him how you cannot focus for long, and how you hate repetitive tasks as you always sigh next to him or get distracted by anything.
So he will handle the long, tedious tasks, and you will complete all the more numerous but smaller ones, often needing to walk around the entire compound. You consider him before smiling and throwing yourself at him to hug him.
"Thank you Steb!" You squeeze him tight, earning a breathy yelp of surprise from him, "It means a lot."
He gently pushes you away, inviting you to calm down as he replaces his collar correctly. He explains that you took the time to learn sign language to understand him, so he could make some adjustments to your work dynamic to accommodate you.
You smile brightly at him, pressing the list agaisnt your chest.
"Thank you Steb, you are so nice."
Again he shrugs.
"No it’s true! Nobody made the effort to accommodate me before."
The corners of his lips drop down like he is sorry to hear it. Boldly, you lean forward and kiss his cheek. He blushes hard when you part from him, pressing his palm where you kissed him.
"You are adorable Steb, I mean it."
He looks at you like he is trying very hard to appear furious but is failing miserably. He just looks incredibly shy and embarrassed, so far away from his serious and stern usual expression.
It makes you chuckles.
He signs that you were not like that before, you were so much more reserved and cold when you met three years ago.
"I warmed up to you!" You explain cheekily, "Is that so bad?"
He bites his lips for a split second before shaking himself, his cheek scales waving once as he recomposes himself.
No, he signs, it isn't as long as you can work properly.
You giggles.
"With your support, I'll be able to work way better."
He clears his throat, still a bit rosy on the cheeks, trying to appear dead serious, taking a sip of his glass of water while you observe him warmly.
You just like this guy.
"Your cute Steb, I love your smile."
His sip goes the wrong way and he coughs, the blushing coming back with a vengeance. He is so sensitive in an adorable way when you get to know him.
He is just so gosh darn cute!
He finishes coughing before turning to you with ears flapping around like crazy while he looks at you like an animal between headlights, lower lips slightly trembling.
You shoot him a smile before turning toward your workstation, full of energy.
"Enough talk, Steb, it is time to work!" You declare like he was the one losing time in here.
He looks at you slightly offended before turning to his workstation, a blushing mess and trembling hand while you hum a tune, happy with yourself.
Torturing him is quite funny, you should play with him more
Not too much
But a little
He is so cute after all...