Work Text:
"OJ! How long have you been sitting at that desk?" Paper stood in the doorway of OJ's office with his hands on his hips, visibly annoyed. OJ had to have been slaving away in here for days by now, and Paper was feeling rather ignored.
OJ blinked sluggishly. "Huh. Oh. Hey Paper." A smile appeared on his face at the sight of his boyfriend, even if said boyfriend was currently upset at him. "Hmm…I'm not sure…twenty-two…twenty-five…hmm…" OJ continued thinking, very clearly out of it.
Paper rolled his eyes. It seemed that he would have to take this into his own hands. He walked up to OJ's chair and practically dragged him out of it, taking him by the hand and leading him up to their shared room. "That's it. You're going to bed whether you like it or not."
"Noooo…the complaints though…"
He ignored his boyfriend's sleepy ramblings and continued pulling OJ around the halls of Hotel HOOT. Paper pulled out his keycard and unlocked the door, taking OJ inside with him.
Down the hallway, Test Tube watched the exchange. She considered jumping in to ask what the hell was going on, but she just shook her head and continued about her day. It wasn't worth it at this point.
Paper guided OJ to his bed and instructed him to sit, grabbing his nightcap and wrapping it around his head to prevent him from spilling while he was asleep before laying OJ down and tucking him in.
OJ tried to fight off the sheets, but his exhausted body refused to let him. He eventually gave in and fell asleep.
Paper sighed. He loved OJ with all of his heart but god damn this guy was a workaholic. If he didn't know any better he might think that OJ didn't know how to live without work.
It had been a few days since they'd spent any time together, and Paper was craving some kind of connection with OJ, any kind of connection. So without any further hesitation, he laid down on top of the sheets, careful not to disturb OJ (even though he was sleeping so deeply that the hotel catching on fire probably couldn't wake him up).
Paper wrapped his arms around OJ. He was always colder than Paper was, but found that he never cared. It was comfortable, and despite his frustrations about OJ's workaholic tendencies, Paper wouldn't trade what they had for the world.
The first thing that OJ noticed when he woke up was Paper's warm body wrapped around his.
His body was sore, most likely from sitting in an office chair that wasn't exactly the most supportive.
He didn't know the last time that he had slept in his own bed, let alone with Paper's arms around him like this.
OJ didn't remember coming up to their room. Paper must've taken it upon himself to drag him to bed. How sweet of him.
"Paper? You awake?"
Paper stirred next to him. "Hmmm…morning OJ."
"Thanks for taking me to bed." OJ propped up his head with his hand, resting his elbow on the mattress.
He shrugged. "You needed it. I don't mind. Plus, you've been so busy the past few days we barely had any time for ourselves."
OJ's heart broke at the thought of Paper being hurt by something he had done. "I know. Running the OSC is harder than I want to make it up to you. Valentine's Day is coming up, right? We can go on a date. Just the two of us. Reality Restaurant, maybe?"
Paper's face twitched. "Eh…everything is either undercooked or overcooked when we go there. And they're always trying to inflate that ego of yours." He flicked OJ's forehead. "How about…a picnic! No one around but us."
OJ took Paper's hand. "Sounds perfect."
"Alright we've got sandwiches…chips…soda…annnnnnndd cookies!" OJ rattled off the food items as he pulled them out of the bag.
Paper's mouth was watering just looking at all the food. "This looks so good!"
"I know. I was barely containing myself when preparing it all." OJ handed a sandwich to Paper, which he took a bite of excitedly. It was salty and crispy and nearly perfect all around. Usually OJ was a pretty mediocre cook, but he had clearly locked in for Paper today.
While they enjoyed their lunch, they spoke about things that didn't matter. It was refreshing for OJ especially, who's entire job was to examine situations and take action based on them.
There were plenty of problems to worry about. The growing doubt towards the OSC. The worry about newbies like Poppy and Jack. The absolute chaos threatening to erupt at any moment now.
But that could be dealt with later. For now the pair was completely alone for the first time in months.
Paper knew it was incredibly unlikely that the borderline-unhealthy workaholic side of OJ would change much. But he was grateful that he had the opportunity to share rare, normal moments like this.
"I love you."
Paper blinked.
"You…"
OJ laughed. "I love you!"
For a moment, Paper was stunned. Then,
"I love you too, OJ."
Those words hung in the air for a long time. Even after the conversation moved away from love confessions, they loomed around for the rest of the day. For the rest of the week.
It was a good presence, though. One that caressed Paper's cheek gently.
"I love you."
Such a funny thing it is, to be loved.