Work Text:
- Does it have to be so hot today?! - I asked the world as I snatched the cold, refreshing bottle of water from the vending machine and pressed it to my forehead, before taking a few swigs. Normally, I’d stay home during such weather, but my obligations to Stray Beat forced me to change my plans.
And yet, despite my valiant effort to survive through this heat, Shiba hasn’t responded to a single text I’ve sent all morning. I mean, seriously, she hasn’t even read them. Normally, she was very uptight about checking all her messages the moment they came through.
Maybe she was just busy?
- …I should probably hurry up. - I said, pulling my phone out of my pocket and quickly checking the time. I wasn’t sure if I did it to actually check the time or merely give myself an excuse to get to Stray Beat faster.
No, that couldn’t have been it.
Either way I took one last big sip from the bottle before putting it into my backpack. I started walking in the direction I was walking before, but quicker this time.
Not like I wanted to check on Shiba or anything. I just wanted to get to work on time.
…Why am I even trying to justify it to myself?
*****
Luckily for me, that vending machine was already about halfway between my house and the Stray Beat office, so I didn’t have that much left to walk. Despite this, I still walked a lot faster than I probably should have.
So as I got in front of the building, I had to sit down for a bit to catch my breath after severely overestimating my stamina.
- You better have a good excuse, Sato. - I said to myself, finishing my water bottle in one big gulp and throwing it in the nearby trash can.
After my lungs were no longer burning with hellfire, I stood up, adjusted my hair, took a deep breath and walked straight into the building. For the first few moments, my imagination was running wild, thinking up the weirdest scenarios about what I would see there.
Would Shiba be okay? Would she even be there? Maybe she just took a day off and forgot to tell me? No, that couldn’t have been it. We were in the middle of trying to get the Kessoku Band mini album into stores, so taking days off now would only hinder our progress.
I shook my head, trying to get rid of all those thoughts as I walked up the stairs. Shiba would be there and she’d be okay. Maybe she just forgot to charge her phone overnight or something?
-What the hell…?- Opening the door, I found the room in complete shambles. Both important looking documents and random pieces of garbage lined the floor. For a brief second, I questioned if a robber had broken in. But when I turned my gaze towards the desk, I spotted the person who was behind this mess rather quickly.
Shiba was sitting face-down at her desk, her arms hanging below like dead weight. Papers and take-out boxes were surrounding her from each side.
Before my brain could catch up with this sight, I quickly ran up to Shiba and grabbed her wrist to check if she was even alive. I’ve never felt as much relief as I did when I felt a pulse on her. I sighed deeply and stood up straight, looking at the disheveled mess that Shiba was right now. Her usually tidy green hair was a complete mess, her jacket was hastily thrown over her shoulders like a makeshift blanket.
- You pulled an all-nighter, didn’t you? - I said in a sarcastic tone and shook my head. I said it as if she could hear me, though I was certain she couldn't.
I started looking around the room to properly assess the situation. On the second inspection, it didn’t look as bad as I thought. Sure, it was in absolute disarray, but it shouldn’t take too long to clean, although I still had to take care of the dummy sitting in the chair.
I looked towards the couch in the room that we normally let clients sit on. It was currently covered in papers and pretty much unusable. With another sigh I approached the couch and started looking through the papers, trying to see which ones were important and which ones I could throw away.
It took me about fifteen minutes to sort through it all, but finally the couch was freed. Once I was done, I approached Shiba again. I crouched down next to her, put my hand around her and tried my best to pick her up from the chair. As I looked towards her, I saw a few grease stains on her usually flawless white shirt.
- Ugh… - I groaned loudly as I struggled to stand up straight, bearing all of Shiba’s weight on myself. It didn’t help that she was taller than me, so carrying her was just all kinds of uncomfortable.
- You’re an idiot, you know that? - I said as I took step after step towards the couch, partially to myself and partially to her, although I knew this wouldn’t reach her.
- Good thing you’re cute. - I added after a bit, chuckling to myself. Now I was really hoping she couldn’t hear me. I read some stories of people in comas hearing everything around them, so I hoped Shiba was in deep enough sleep so that it wouldn’t be the case.
After what felt like an eternity I finally reached the couch. Despite struggling to hold her, I made sure to lay Shiba down on the couch gently, and adjusted her position so that she would be comfortable. I covered her with her jacket, before turning towards the rest of the room.
- Alright… time to do what they pay me to do. - I said, lying to myself.
*****
As another garbage bag landed in the bin, I wiped the sweat from my forehead and walked back inside the office. After half an hour of grueling, unpaid work, it finally stopped looking like a complete warzone. I had to sort through the papers that were strewn about everywhere and try my best to judge which ones were important and which ones were trash.
- I need a pay raise. - I groaned as I sat down on the couch, making sure to not squash Shiba with my butt. Looking towards her, she looked calm and peaceful, even more than usual.
- You really are an idiot. - I said to her, smiling ever so slightly as I stood up again, walking towards the last remaining heap of trash, which was residing on Shiba's desk.
- I mean, you overwork yourself so much with no regard for your wellbeing and look where it got you. - I kept talking, half to myself and half to her, while collecting the garbage from the desk. - You need to look out for yourself at least a little bit. You can't just live off of takeout and three hours of sleep each night. You've got to take better care of yourself. - I finished packing the trash into the plastic bag, tied it and placed it on the floor, before sitting back down on the couch.
- You deserve so much better, you know? - I continued my rant. - You're smart, hard-working and… honestly kind of cute. - I once again hoped that Shiba didn't hear that part. Although some part of me hoped for the opposite. - So please, just…try to take better care of yourself, okay? I don't like seeing you like this.
- You do realize I was awake this whole time, right? - I heard a voice from the side, which surprised me enough to make me jump and land on the floor. After getting my bearings, Shiba and I locked eyes. She looked a lot more awake than I thought she was. At that moment, I could feel myself blushing intensely.
‐ S-Shiba?!
- I mean, I was asleep at first, but I woke up about the moment when you picked me up. - She said as she sat up on the couch and stretched her arms.
- Why didn’t you say anything then?! - I asked, still sitting on the floor, too embarrassed to move.
- I liked how you praised me. - She replied, smirking and looking at me with a smug expression, which caused my blush to grow even more. It took me a little bit to collect myself enough to finally stand up from the ground. After dusting myself off, I sat down on the couch, although I maintained some distance from Shiba.
- You could have at least let me know. - I said, pouting slightly. I tried to look in her direction, but the intense embarrassment I was feeling would not let me. I called her cute! Multiple times! I’d have to change my identity and flee the country at this point…
- Would you say those things if you knew I was awake? - She asked, shuffling closer towards me.
- P-Probably not.
- Exactly. You wouldn’t dare be honest about what you think of me if you knew I were listening. Like I can’t imagine you calling me cute to my face like that.
-W-Well, I can’t just… - I trailed off. She was asking me to go against my very nature, that was just…
I couldn’t even finish that thought, before she surprised me with an uncharacteristic move. A hug.
- Now be quiet and let me talk for a bit, okay? - She asked in a surprisingly tender tone. I didn’t respond, still trying to wrap my mind around this course of action, while I found myself slowly sinking into her.
- First of all, I wanna thank you, Sato-san. For helping me with… everything. I mean, without you watching my back and cleaning after me, this office would be in shambles. - Shiba said, chuckling slightly. - I don’t say it enough, but I really appreciate you being here. For me.
- T-That’s… not that much. - I replied. My voice was shaking and my face was feeling hotter by the second. I was glad it was buried in Shiba’s shirt, so she couldn’t see how red I was.
- No, seriously. You cleaned the entire office and even made an effort so that I could be comfortable, even though you did not have to. You cared enough to do it for me.
- I-I…
- You always try to paint yourself as dismissive and distant. But it’s not who you really are, is it? You actually care. - She kept talking, and at this point I wasn’t even sure how to react, so I just stood there, letting myself embrace her.
As much as I didn’t want to admit it, either to her or myself, she was hitting the nail on the head with every word. She was peeling away at my very being, and I was just standing there, letting her do it. I wasn’t sure if it was because I didn’t know how to stop her, or because I wanted this to happen. Maybe part of me wanted her to know
- Honestly, I really like you like that. I like seeing the “you” that’s more caring. But I also know that putting yourself on display like that isn’t exactly easy.
- Huh? - I replied, finally managing to move a muscle in my body and turning my head to look at her. She was looking right back at me, and smiling softly. For some reason, I couldn’t help but return the smile. It was as if my own body was working against me, in more ways than one.
- So, let’s make a deal, Sato-san. - Shiba said, releasing me from her embrace. - I promise to try and take better care of myself and my surroundings. But you have to promise me to be honest about how you feel. Not always, but at least around me, okay? - She added as we locked eyes. Even if for a brief moment, looking into her greenish-yellow eyes provided me with a weird sense of comfort I couldn’t really describe.
- F-Fine. I guess I can… try and talk more openly about my feelings and such. But only as long as you stop pulling all-nighters every week!
- I’ll do my best. - Shiba giggled. Soon after, a yawn decided to barge in and completely ruin the moment.
- Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go lay back down on the couch and go to sleep again. It’s not like I can go home, but I do have to get some sleep, don’t I? - She said, the smugness in her voice returning once more. Without waiting for my answer, she did as she said. She laid on the couch, covered herself with her coat and closed her eyes.
- I also wouldn’t mind if you called me cute some more. - Shiba added, still smirking smugly.
- Sh-shut up. - I replied, turning away from her. I couldn’t help but smile ever so slightly.
*****
It only took a few minutes for her to fall asleep. Or at least I thought she did. Her breathing got slower, and I read somewhere that was a good indicator. All of those minutes I spent sitting on Shiba’s chair, watching her drift into sleep.
After making sure she was asleep, I once again sat down next to her and placed my hand on her head, caressing her hair slightly with my thumb.
- You’re an idiot. Cute, but still an idiot.