Hours, days, and weeks came crashing down on Anon as he stared into the computer's glow. He'd lost track of the time; hell, he hardly knew what day it was at this point. He shook off the exhaustion as it clawed at the back of his mind, ignoring that desperate inner voice pleading for rest or reprieve. The endless procession of tasks and deadlines loomed over his head, and people were depending on him. He wasn’t tired, or worn out, he was fine. He…
His head fell into his hands as a crack formed in his focus. He just had to keep moving forward, taking on the jobs that no one else could handle. Fixing mistakes that no one else could see. It’s why he was here after all, wasn’t it? Anon was a problem solver, one who had no time for the chaos buzzing through his mind right now, crashing against the walls of his patience. He was a machine, hardly human really, if he put his mind to it, and machines didn’t need to rest. Didn’t need to feel.

Slowly, with a miserable shuddering breath, he lifted his eyes to the screen once more.

-
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Ceroba, of course, had her concerns when Anon started taking his work home with him. He had a habit of pushing himself a bit too hard, though fortunately, it had yet to get out of hand. Or Ceroba had thought. She’d been waiting later and later each night for Anon to come to bed, so they could at least spend these hours in each other’s warmth, for the hours they were missing through the day.
​
Tonight she’d run out of patience, intending to drag him to bed if need be, but as she stepped into the room, she saw the despair in his posture. She watched as he could no longer bring himself to gaze into that screen. That quiet, joyless laughter as he struggled to pull himself up, to force himself to work past his limit, unaware of her presence. Ceroba sighed as she flicked on the light, startling Anon, who spun around to face her. His expression, racked with exhaustion, told the tale too well. She crossed her arms, leaning against the doorframe, contemplating her attraction to stubborn men as Anon searched for words.

The pauses between words dragged out as he clearly struggled to focus, “Ah, Ceroba. I’m sorry, is it getting late? I’ll be upstairs… as soon as possible.” He rubbed his eyes and shook his head, trying in vain to dispel the weariness, “No need to wait up for me, it's… I’m just catching up on a few things.” He forced a smile that failed to reach his eyes as he tried to reassure her.

Ceroba's expression softened as she frowned, questioning him quietly, “Anon, why are you pushing yourself like this? You promised you’d take care of yourself.”

Even if he believed himself a machine, the gears could hardly turn under the countless hours bearing down upon him. He dredged up his response, gesturing back at his computer, “Honey I’m sorry it’s just, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done. You know how Important this job i-”

Ceroba cut him off firmly, frustration and love intermingling in her tone, “Not as important as you.” It bothered her how he couldn’t meet her eyes at that, as though he couldn’t accept those words as true. She crossed the room, placing a paw gently on his shoulder as she made up her mind. “Love, you’re more than just your work, god knows you do far more than enough around here,” She motioned towards the rest of the house as she spoke, thinking of how hard he fought to support her. She smiled warmly, “Come on, let's head to bed. Alright?”

She could see in his eyes how close he was to just giving in, falling into her arms, and accepting love. However, he clenched his jaw and shook his head, standing his ground, “I’m sorry I- I, thank you but I really must keep working.”

“Why.”

Anon looked to the ground, his own thoughts seeming foolish as he spoke them aloud, “I haven’t done enough. People are- everyone is depending on me! I don’t deserve…I don’t NEED to rest.”

Ceroba sighed as she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Anon, placing her head against his chest. She whispered a soft reassurance, “You don’t have to push yourself like this.” She listened to his heartbeat for a moment, until he finally tried forming a response. Before he could even form the words, however, she squeezed tighter, forcing a surprised gasp out of him as she hoisted him out of the chair.

“Ah! Ceroba, what are you doing! I need to get back to work!”

Anon struggled in vain for a moment, but in his exhaustion, he was no match for Ceroba's love. Goodness, the thought that he didn’t believe he deserved this. She secured her muzzle against his neck as he tried pushing away, listening as his efforts began to fall away as she slowly went upstairs.

“Ceroba, please, I’m not tired. I-I don’t need, I hardly even… I have to be strong enough, n-no one else will do it!” The sorrow poured into his voice, saying far more than the words themselves could truly express. She rubbed his back as she sat down on their bed, wondering how long he’d been carrying these miserable feelings alone. She smiled once more, resolving to remind him, no matter how many times it took.

“It’s ok, my love, you’re not alone anymore, I’m here.” The will to fight escaped him with a pained gasp. Shakily, he wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her fur as the emotions welled up into unintelligible pleas and apologies. She shushed him softly as she leaned back, pulling them both onto the bed. “When it gets too hard to stand, let me be there for you.” She nuzzled her face against his as she ran a paw through his hair, gently petting him, “And when you think that you don’t deserve something, I’ll remind you as many times as it takes, just how much I love you, just how much you mean to me.”

Anon shuddered in her arms, gradually relaxing as the sorrow in his heart gave way to love’s warmth. He could do little more than groan in acceptance, enveloped in her fur, blocking out every thought demanding he return to his work. Her gentle paws running through his hair soothed him, her face resting against his reassured, and for the first time in a long time, he felt that maybe, just maybe, he was enough. Their breathing eventually evened out, each finding comfort in the other's arms.