#curtissonweek2023
Here's my entry for day 2 of @blue-fanlady's curtisson week! I genuinely didn't know if I'd finish this in time but I DID IT!! Like day 1's fic, this one also went to hell in back but in different ways😭it's incredibly messy, but I tried and I think that's gotta count for something haha
Yes this is a typical type of overworking fic--I wasn't sure what else to do with the prompt sadly😔
Despite this, I hope you enjoy!
Possible CW(s): descriptions of fainting? Or the process of. Also multiple mentions of lack of sleep and eating. If any of these make you uncomfortable please don't read this.
Word count: 3.8k
Curtisson Week Day 2: Paperwork
"Are you sure you shouldn't rest a little?"
"Yes, Burt, I'm sure."
Burt sighed as his boyfriend once again brushed off his concerns. Sven was doing paperwork for The Toppat Clan. He recently got promoted to the leader position of his job under his own will because the previous leader and his Right Hand Man got arrested. Nobody else wanted to step up, so Sven decided, well, somebody had to do it.
However, he's been trying too hard to balance paperwork, the rocket plan, and managing the Toppat's all at once. It doesn't help that he doesn't have a right hand man like the previous leaders did.
He's been overworking himself and there's little Burt can do about it, which upsets him.
Sven is stubborn. If he feels something needs to be done, he needs it to be done right then.
Burt tries to talk to him about it, but Sven always claims it's fine and not to worry about it. But with his constant sleepless nights, noticeably snappier temper, constant headaches, and lack of energy and motivation to do anything other than work, work, work…Burt couldn't help but worry.
They haven't spent much time together lately either. Not just with him, but his relationships with his fellow Toppat members have been suffering.
He understood work can be stressful, especially if you're the leader of a massive criminal organization, but did Sven really need to push himself this hard?
Burt just looked at Sven with hints of concern as he continued to sign and flip through more and more paperwork. "Well, just…don't work too hard, alright?"
Burt didn't stay to see if Sven would answer him or not and just left the room, closing the door behind him.
Before Sven was promoted to leader, yes, he did have a tendency to overwork, but it never got this bad. And Burt was always there for him during those times. Always there to remind him to take care of himself. And more often than not, Sven remembered to at least take care of his own needs.
He was a lot more cheerful, friendly, and happier. He would smile that pretty smile Burt loved so, so much. And on the times he did overwork, Burt talked to him about it. He was able to help him get out of that constant work cycle. Even if just for a little bit.
This time, though, it was much worse. Sven hadn't been listening to Burt's concerns at all. He would say he'd get sleep, say he'd eat decently, say he'd take a break, but Burt can tell he hasn't done any of those things, and he doesn't know what else he could possibly do. He was stuck at a brick wall here.
He stood there with his back to the door for a bit, looking down in thought. "Oh, Sven…" he whispered to himself. "I don't know what to do…"
-------
Carol walked into the cafeteria to get some lunch, planning on taking it back to her office. She walked up to the counter and looked at the options. Looks like she's a little late because everyone seemed to have taken all of the good stuff. She shrugs and settles for a simple but filling beef sandwich. Once she finished making the sandwich and put it on her plate, she turned to the doorway so she could leave. However, she couldn't help but notice Burt sitting at a table all alone, having barely touched his food. Now, it wasn't unusual for Burt to eat alone. In fact, he preferred it.
Carol, Burt, and Sven all used to hang out quite a bit (sometimes with other Toppats as well) when they all had the time, which admittedly wasn't too much but it was enough to satisfy them. Carol knew Burt well and while he does tend to look a little uninterested or bored, resting bitch face and all that, this was different. Very noticeably, in Carol's eyes.
He was sulken, with an unreadable expression on his face. He had a nice warm bowl of tomato soup in front of him. One of his favorites. And yet he's barely touched it at all. He occasionally lifted the spoon and looked into the red broth it had, like he was considering finally starting on his dish, but then he decided against it and would slowly lower the spoon back into the bowl.
Carol knew exactly what was going on. She's seen it too. She noticed Sven's overworking himself more and more. He wasn't as energetic, his temper was all over the place, he never left his office and whenever he did, Carol could see just how exhausted he was.
His overworking really took a toll on the three's friendship, along with Burt and Sven's relationship.
Carol finally decided she's had enough with watching them crumble down to pieces and made her way towards Burt, sitting down on the bench opposite from him.
Burt glanced up at her, but didn't say anything.
"Your food is going to get cold, you know." She said,
Burt sighed again. "Yeah, I know."
Carol sat there for a few seconds, thinking about what to say.
"I understand you're upset about Sven," She said bluntly. "But just sulking in the cafeteria isn't helping at all."
Burt nodded. "I know."
Carol looked at Burt with a sharp expression. "Have you said or done anything?"
Burt glared at Carol. "What do you think? Of course I have.
"Like what?"
"The things I usually did when he was overworking himself. Reassured him, reminded him that he doesn't need to work too hard, that his health comes first," He said. "It took a bit of time because, well, you know how stubborn he can be. But eventually with enough reassurance and comfort, he would start to relax, even if just a little."
Carol hummed. "And none of that's worked?"
Burt shook his head. "No. He claims to eat decently and sleep, but he doesn't look like he does at all. I know he doesn't want me to worry, but I can't help it…" Burt buried his face in his hands.
Carol didn't say anything. She realized her food would get cold if she just sat here, so she took a few bites of her sandwich.
Burt looked up at her and noticed she hadn't responded and kept eating on her sandwich. He then looked down at his soup, it had gone cold and transparent, he could almost see his reflection in the broth. He slowly pushed the bowl away and went to stand up.
"Burt."
Burt looked to Carol, who was staring at him with a solemn expression. "Maybe mere words won't be enough to help him this time."
Burt raised an eyebrow. "What is that supposed to mean? Are you saying me and Sven aren't affectionate enough?"
Carol shook her head. "Oh, no, that is not what I mean at all." Carol already knew Sven and Burt tended to be very affectionate towards each other.
"Well, then what?"
"What I mean is, just telling him not to overwork himself isn't going to do anything. You'll have to do something. Even if it's by force."
Burt noticeably flinched at the 'force' part. "No, no. If I force him away, he'll get angry," He said. "Besides, isn't that a bit, well, forceful? I don't think being aggressive will help at all."
"Who said it was aggressive?" She questioned. "Forcing him away doesn't necessarily mean you have to do anything drastic like snatching things from him."
Burt still didn't seem to understand where Carol was going with this. Sven takes his work very seriously. Forcing it away will only make him upset, especially with his already messy temper.
"Just be firm. Be serious." She said simply. "He really does love you, you know?"
Burt just sighed and nodded, turning to leave the cafeteria. Carol let her eyes follow him until he was out of sight, and turned back to eat her sandwich.
------
Once Burt left the cafeteria, he walked down the hallway, not entirely sure where he was going. It was quiet, aside from occasionally hearing somebody typing on their keyboard loudly in one room or the sound of rummaging through paperwork in another. That sound reminded him of not so fun things.
He kept thinking back to what Carol said earlier. Was she trying to give advice?
You have to actually do something. Even if it's by force.
Who did she think he was? He HAS been doing something. Everything he felt like he could. Why did Carol feel like his efforts weren't enough?
And by force? What did that even mean?
Forcing him away doesn't necessarily mean you have to do anything drastic like snatching things from him.
He knew that much, but he couldn't think of any ways to force Sven away from work without making him mad.
Just be firm. Be serious.
He HAS been being serious. He's been very direct with Sven about how he feels with his habit of overworking. At least, he thought he was being direct. Sven seemed to get the hint (most of the time).
He really does love you, you know?
Of course Sven loved him. Sven loved Burt. Burt loved him too. That's why it hurt so much seeing him like this. Especially when he felt there was nothing he could do.
He started to walk a little slower the closer he got to Sven's office. He didn't even realize he was slowing down his pace until he found himself right in front of the office door. He lifted his fist up, letting it hover. He was contemplating whether or not to knock on it. Whether or not he wanted to try and get Sven to rest for probably the thousandth time since he became leader.
He took a deep breath and knocked three times before letting himself in. "Sven, we need to talk."
Sven didn't look in Burt's direction. "Not now, Burt. I'm busy."
Burt was mentally hit with so many emotions at that response. Maybe more than he should've been.
"But, Sven, I–"
"Burt, this is important, I can't drop it right now." Sven interrupted him.
Burt didn't care how important that work was right now. The most important thing was Sven's health. And he wanted Sven to understand that more than anything.
He started thinking maybe Carol was right. He had to be a little forceful in order to get Sven even the slightest bit willing to listen to him.
He took a few steps to where Sven was sitting and tried again. "Sven, this is important."
Sven went to reach for more paperwork to sign. "I'm sorry, but I have to–"
Before he could finish, he felt Burt grip his wrist. He wasn't gripping hard enough for it to hurt, but it was enough to where he couldn't do much with his hand. He flushed when he felt Burt wrap his hand around his wrist, but he was also slightly annoyed. What was up with him right now?
He looked up at Burt who had a firm, serious expression. However, under that expression, there was concern. A lot of it.
"Sven," He repeated his name. "Please."
Sven didn't know whether he should listen to Burt or not. He looked like he really needed to talk to him, but he needed to get his work done as well. He couldn't leave it unfinished.
Before Sven could properly respond, he felt Burt gently pull him up from his chair. "Burt?"
Burt didn't say anything and led Sven out of his office. Once they got out, Burt just now realized he didn't know where to take him, but they couldn't have this conversation in his office, because Sven would probably try and start working again while Burt was trying to talk. They couldn't talk in the middle of the hallway either, though.
"Burt, what are you doing? Can you…" Sven felt his sentence trail off for seemingly no reason. He wanted to try and get out of Burt's grasp, but having finally stood up from his chair, he realized just how exhausted he was and he didn't think he had the energy to resist.
Burt started walking towards his own room. Not an office, but his actual bedroom. He felt that was the best place to go to talk about this right now.
Sven started to try and make an effort to resist and get out of Burt's grasp, even if most of his efforts would end up futile. He had to at least try. Burt just took him away from his office without telling him a thing!
The only response Burt gave to his efforts was gripping his wrist tighter. Again, not enough to hurt him, but enough for it to be harder for Sven to slip out of his grasp. He's already gotten this far and he wasn't going to let Sven get away before properly talking to him.
He finally made it to his bedroom, took Sven in with him, and closed the door behind them.
He loosened the grip on Sven's wrist, but didn't let go.
Now Sven was more than just a little annoyed. Burt forcefully dragged him over to his room and hadn't explained a thing.
"Okay, I'm here now. What is it you want to talk about?" He asked, scowling slightly.
"I want to talk about you overworking." Burt said.
That was what he wanted Sven over here for? Are you serious??
Sven refused to believe he was overworking. He was not. He was just doing his job. Being a leader was hard work. Reginald could do it so why couldn't he?
"Burt, I've told you a million times," Sven groaned. "I'm not overworking myself. I'm fine."
Burt let go of Sven's wrist and put both of his hands on his shoulders. "Sven, I'm serious. This amount of work isn't healthy for you." He said. Sven still wouldn't budge, but Burt was going to be persuasive.
"I can handle it!" He said, and tried to force Burt's hands off of his shoulders. He held his grip. Sven could not handle it. Nobody could handle that amount of work. At least not all in one sitting. Everyone needed to rest eventually. Sven seemed to make himself think otherwise.
"No you can't!" Burt cried. Probably the loudest he's been in a while, but Sven didn't seem to take note of this. All he cared about was leaving this conversation and getting back into his office. "You've been skipping meals, not getting any sleep–" Burt stressed.
"Bu-But I have! I've told you a million times, haven't I?" Sven started shaking, and he wasn't sure why. He wasn't scared, or shaking in anger. He just wanted this to be over. Burt noticed this and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself.
"No, you haven't. I know you haven't…" Burt said. "You need to–"
Sven didn't want to hear it. "No! I don't need to do anything. I'm fine. I'm alright."
"No you're not!" He couldn't hold back his voice as it started to break. Was there really nothing he could do about this? He had to resist the urge to shake Sven by the shoulders. He didn't want him to feel more overwhelmed than he probably already was.
"Why are you being so persistent??" Sven complained. He tried to get Burt's hands off his shoulders again, this time being successful. Burt stepped back, his hands awkwardly in the air. Sven sighed. "If I tell you I'm fine, then I am. End of story." His legs started to feel weak, but he ignored it.
Burt let his arms fall down to his sides, with an expression that looked like a mix of sadness and frustration. He looked into Sven's eyes. They looked…wrong. Something didn't feel right. Other than the bags under them. They seemed to drift ever so slightly, and Sven didn't look like he was doing it consciously.
This was a little concerning, and Burt felt like it had to do with his lack of sleep and eating. "Sven, I'm serious. You really need to lie down."
Sven shook his head. "I'm fine–" he muttered, before he felt himself tumble over. Instead of falling on the carpeted floor, though, he felt something warm on his back. Burt's arms were keeping him standing steadily.
He felt himself getting weaker and he felt awfully dizzy all of a sudden. His ears were ringing and he could feel everything and nothing at the same time.
He could tell Burt was saying something, but he couldn't hear what it was. It just sounded like white noise under the ringing in his ears.
What the hell happened? He was fine a moment ago.
Burt gently sat him on the bed and left the room. Probably not a good idea because Sven could just get up and walk back to his office without Burt stopping him. But he was way too out of it to even think about going back to work. He couldn't hear anything and his vision was still blurry. If he were to even try to go back, he'd more than likely pass out.
Sven had no idea what was happening. One second, they were arguing about work, then the next, he felt his senses go numb and his legs give out. It was all so sudden. He missed Burt's comforting presence already, despite everything that had happened a few minutes ago.
Now that he was sitting down and resting, the dizziness had subsided just the slightest bit. He still felt weak, though, so he just sat there and waited. Either for Burt to get back or for him to feel better enough to leave.
He heard soft footsteps and assumed that it was Burt coming back. He walked in with a bottle of water and shut the door. He sat down next to Sven and looked at him with the same amount of concern as earlier, albeit for different reasons this time.
"Please drink something." Burt said as he handed the bottle of water to him. Sven took it and drank a bit. He started feeling a little better and sighed with relief.
Burt wasn't fully comforted by the amount he drank, though. "Can you drink more?" He asked gently. While it was alright if he couldn't, Burt would prefer if Sven could get a little more in his system. Even if it was just water.
Sven gave Burt a soft look before nodding. He was worried about him and he understood that now. He took a few more sips before letting Burt take it back.
That was odd and scary. Sven had never had a spell like that before. It was so out of nowhere too. They both calmed down from arguing.
"Sven…" Burt started. "After seeing that, it's pretty apparent you haven't been taking care of yourself at all."
Sven couldn't refute anything at this point. Burt knew better, and Sven should've known that. "I just…" he let his voice trail off, not knowing what he wanted to say. He felt tears well up in his eyes, his emotions were all over the place.
Burt frowned at this and put his hand on top of Sven's. "Are you okay?" He asked, which was honestly a stupid question because no Sven was not okay, but he didn't know what else to say.
Sven tried to hold it in, now feeling mentally weak for crying. Burt noticed this and gave him a reassuring look. "You can cry. It's okay."
Sven broke down then and there. He clung onto Burt and sobbed into his shirt. He's a failure. A failure to his boyfriend for making him worry, a failure to his friends for neglecting them, a failure to Reginald and Right Hand Man who would've trusted him to do better.
Burt wrapped his arms around him as he cried. "Hey, it's okay…" he soothed him.
Sven responded by clinging onto his shirt tighter and tried to speak through his sobbing. "I'm sorry, Burt. I can't do this anymore! I feel terrible!" He cried. "I should've worked harder! For the previous leaders, for the clan, for you…"
"Sven…," Burt muttered. "Look at me. Hey, look at me." he said gently, tilting Sven's chin up so he could see him properly. Tears were still streaming down his cheeks and he just looked miserable. "No, you shouldn't have worked harder. In fact, I'd say the opposite." He said. "Like I said, I know you're not taking care of yourself, which caused you to faint. You don't have to work harder for anybody. You've worked hard enough."
Sven couldn't bring it in himself to say anything. He's heard everything he's needed to hear at this point. He's worked hard enough. He buried his face back into Burt's shirt and kept crying.
Once he finally calmed down, he lifted his head up from his boyfriend's shirt, letting out a sniffle every few seconds.
"I'm sorry… for making you worry and…and for–"
Burt gently hushed him, reassuring him that it was okay. "You don't have to apologize, Sven. Really. I'm sorry for making you upset but you need to remember your health comes before anything. Including work. Okay?"
Sven nodded. Burt didn't upset him. He was just feeling overwhelmed and upset about everything else, but he was finding it hard to speak now.
Burt kept his arms wrapped around him to assure him that he was okay. They were both okay. And they'd figure this out together. He gave him a soft kiss on the forehead. "I love you. You know that, right?"
Sven nodded and relaxed in Burt's arms. "I love you too. So much."
They sat there for a bit in each other's arms, Sven barely even having the urge to work at the moment. He felt himself begin to drift off. He tried to fight it, but it was getting harder and harder.
Burt noticed this (he seems to notice a lot of things about Sven) and chuckled. "It's alright. You can sleep now. In fact, you should sleep now." Burt whispered. Sven was about to argue, but he felt his eyes grow heavy once more. His boyfriend's relaxing voice did not help at all.
Burt was hoping Sven would sleep. Especially after fainting due to lack of food and exhaustion and crying his heart out in his arms. There's no way he's not tired. "Sven, please."
Sven begrudgingly let himself give in. "Alright…"
A few seconds later, Sven finally let his eyes close and rest for who knows how long.
Tomorrow, Burt was going to try and get Sven to eat and develop a healthier work cycle, but for now, he's just happy his boyfriend is letting himself sleep. He closed his eyes and let himself drift off as well. Both of them finally getting the rest they both desperately needed.
_______________________________________________________
I forgot to do this yesterday so don't mind me doing it today—
11 notes
·
View notes