Work Text:
Work meetings, executive orders, and networking with industry leaders. These were only a few of the responsibilities that Valko, Chairman of EonCore Tech, carried on a daily basis. If not for his secretary, he might have burned the entire company to the ground by now. Then again, his secretary was not the only person keeping his raging emotions at bay.
“Valko, sir, you have a briefing at 11:15 a.m., a lunch meeting with XXX Company at 1:00 p.m., and a conference at 4:00 p.m.”
He's standing, hands holding his binder hovering four inches above his desk. His chair was still sat neatly pushed in. He had not even gotten the chance to sit down, yet his day was already being dictated by a relentless schedule.
At least he had coffee, his elixir of alertness. Valko liked his coffee prepared a very specific way, so for the past two years he had made it himself each morning and brought it to work. Finally settling into his chair, he reached for the familiar cup.
His hand grasped empty air.
“Fuck…”
There was nothing there. He had probably left it at home, abandoned on the kitchen counter in the rush to leave.
By this point, his eye was twitching and his leg would not stay still. His foot tapped incessantly against the floor, heel raised and toes drumming a restless rhythm. He tried to steady himself.
It was going to be another long day for Valko.
~~
By the time night arrived, Valko sluggishly punched in the code to his apartment. It took a couple tries to get it right. He was so exhausted that he could barely lift his fingers high enough to avoid mashing the wrong keys.
Click
The door unlocked. A wave of cool air caressed the dark circles beneath his eyes and soothed the ache in his face. He lingered in the doorway for a moment, breathing it in.
"Did I forget to turn the AC off before I left?"
The thought settled quietly in the back of his mind, for he was preoccupied with enjoying the fruits of his supposed mistake.
Sniff.
“Food?”
Carried on the gentle current of air was the unmistakable scent of his favorite meal. It drifted toward him as though it had been patiently waiting for his return. Curiosity overcame his fatigue, and he finally stepped inside.
There, he was greeted by the sight of his partner. The cup of coffee he had forgotten that morning now sat on the table, steaming gently as if it had never gone cold. Beside it stood the person he loved, dressed in their matching polka-dotted pajamas.
“Hey, you. Hungry? I just finished making dinner.”
Pop!
His ears sprang from the top of his head, and his tail emerged from his backside.
“Haha, c’mere-"
Though exhaustion still lingered across his features, his tail betrayed him completely. It wagged with unmistakable longing. Only then did he release a breath he had not realized he had been holding.
And with it came everything else. The tension drained from his shoulders and light returned to his eyes. It felt as though life itself had been breathed back into him.
All day he had given everything he had. He had entertained investors, navigated endless conversations, dulled his senses beneath constant stimulation, and worn a carefully crafted mask for the sake of appearances. Now, at last, he could put it down.
If he were not 'human', or something close enough to it, he would have been a bird. A Golden Eagle. One of nature’s most formidable hunters, armed with incredible speed and razor-sharp talons. Yet even the fiercest bird of prey must eventually return to its perch.
His love was that perch. A tree standing firm against every storm. Unshaken, resilient, and always waiting. A place where weary wings could finally rest. And, as always, he had found his way back to where his heart resides.
The cool air. The warm meal. The comforting embrace waiting just for him. He melted into his lover's arms, body going limp as every ounce of tension slipped away.
For the first time all day, he could truly say,
“I’m home.”