Chapter 1 : Off the Pepper Steak | Henry/Reader,

(ft. Sammy and Susie as well)

⦁ The Animation Studio was full and busy; The coworkers were marching from office to office, making sure to not stumble on each other. Some were running within the Art Department, some were glued to their working desk, while some were prepping for the band practice. All in all, everyone had something to do, and Mr. Dew made sure of that.

Trying to ignore some of the employees' chats and mumbling conversations, Henry was focused on his work - in his hands, a pen filled with Ink to draw the outline of his favorite Toon, Boris The Wolf. His hand was precise, each movement taken with care and explicitly traced around the pencil sketches of the cartoonish wolf.

"Working on a Boris episode?"

A delicate yet clear voice emitted from behind Henry's seat, causing him to lose focus. Behind him, was what he had assumed to be a shadow. He turns his head toward the figure of a lady. She is fully eclipsed by the shade of a warm light emitting from the windows behind her. Under his brief gaze, the Lady doesn't withdraw or flinch, but rather lean in, hands behind her back and gaze focused on the papers in front of Henry.

It was none other than (Y/n)(L/n).

"Ah, um, yes." Henry tried to recollect his thought, rather than stutter and make a fool of himself. " 'The Wolf who cried' episode, It's almost done."

"It looks great. People really liked the 'Sheep Songs' episode, so I believe this one will turn out equally well." - (L/n) spoke calmly, taking a seat next to Henry.

The male Animator would glance towards Miss (L/n) every now and then while talking. Behind her soft-hued lips was always a smile. Henry and (Y/n) work together pretty often and he had to admit, he enjoyed her company. Sometimes she'd look his way with a smile causing him to automatically return her glances, naturally.

"I believe, he should contrast to Bendy's personality - Bendy is a little devil thing; he's round, short and mischievous... but Boris should be-"

"-the opposite? He is tall and thin, so a shy and innocent personality will suit him." - Henry added in;

"Exactly! Oh, and a flute to carry around would be perfect." - to talk with (Y/n)(L/n) is a great ordeal of respect in this Studio. After promoting her to a head leader of animators and creating the Dancing Demon himself, Miss (L/n) gained quite the title. She would be excessively polite, deferential even, but still charming when it comes to friendship.

"I think there should be an episode where Boris and Bendy will go on a picnic, only to face some weird adventures."

"Skeletons. There must be more skeletons!" - the lady chimed in, trying to think of hilarious and obscure ideas to add in, besides, skeletons are rad!

Earning a snort from Henry, he chuckled in response "Spooky..."

The two continued to share their ideas while enjoying each other's company and working. (Y/n) And Henry would recheck every frame picture and count them, making sure no mistakes were present. After all, Art has the ability to express a thousand words in a second, and hundred different stories can be heard in each note of a song. That's why we have Bendy the Dancing Demon today.

For the time being, Joey Drew was strolling through the Art Department with judgmental eyes. The concept arts on desks fills him with a big "so what." So they slapped some sketches on a paper, big wow - childish plays. He doesn't understand how some of his employees see their work as Art when there isn't. If the man was any more underwhelmed he'd yawn right now, but he was meant to be a boss here.

"C'mon, guys, no slacking around! Don't forget I'm paying you here. Ian Jones-Quartey* - the storyboard should be ready by tomorrow, no excuses! Henry, (Y/n) - I hope you two are actually working there while giggling." - Joey yammered, like a coach to a football team.

"Yes sir,"- (y/n) answered immediately, while Henry told the truth: "In fact, we were just discussing some ideas for upcoming episodes that we may create"

"Oh, well, that's nice and dandy. Okay, you two continue doing whatever you were doing... why did I come here again? Ah, Yes - Miss (L/n), Sammy Lawrence wanted to inform you that his work for the episode "The Dancing Demon" is done! For once he created a decent music, you should check it out."

"Alright, sir, Thank you for informing me." (Y/n) shortly answered, earning a silent nod from Joey until he took off. Sighing upon Drew's leave, The 26-year-old lady turned back to Henry. "Okay, I-"

"Oh, and also, don't forget to take in the papers in the office. Just ask Franks for the keys."

"Okay Fine, I'll remember!" (Y/n) could only roll her eyes before shouting back at her manager. Now fully turning to Henry, an awkward silence filled between them: "I apologize Henry, but I think I should go now to the Music Department"

Henry had to admit, he felt disappointed that their conversation was cut so short and abruptly by Drew - but work is work. "Joey sure gives you a lot of tasks in here, are you sure you can handle it?"

"Ah, these are only minor things! As long as I get the chance to move around rather than crouch on my working desk all day - then I'm glad."

" 'Work Hard, Work Happy' - I guess. Just if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask me, alright?"

The lady gladly nodded in response. She felt relaxed knowing that she was working with a polite and respectable man such as Him, his compassion was a bridge to a closer friendship. And thus, (L/n) took her leave after giving her appreciations.

⦁ A Well defined man, with a sharp jaw and angular cheekbones, was sitting in one of the hundreds of wooden chairs within the auditorium of his Music Department - Samuel Lawrence.

He promised to demonstrate his upcoming performance of the future soundtracks and sound effects to Miss (L/n). After all, He was a real sleight-of-hand man, Conductor of his orchestra, so it is his job to show the results.

Lawrence casually greeted (Y/n), welcoming her to take a seat and have a look. Expecting that the young Lady will sit next to him, but to his disappointment and surprise - she just sat at the end of the room, miles away from him. Smiling.

The projector was on, featuring the actual episode, while Lawrence turned on the record of the music to play along. It was short but simple - and (Y/n)(L/n) couldn't deny the wonderful work. When the record was finished, the projector turned off with a loud click.

"Wonderful, Bravo!" - Sammy turned to see the female cartoonist clap with happiness from the end of the room. "My gratulations to you and the band."

"I appreciate your approval, Miss (L/n)," His long fingers ran through his short hazel brown hair which shifted back into place once his hand had gone past. "But don't go easy from here. This was just a short play, and although it took us a long time - it wasn't outstanding. The Band had difficulties while rehearsing and not everyone proved that they can queue in with the rhythm. There's still a lot of practice and writing to consider."

"Aw, don't be so harsh on them. You still did a great job! Besides, this is our first pilot episode. I'm sure in the future, everyone will get in with the flow." the female spoke, taking in the features of the man in front of her: The complexion of his skin going well with his grey eyes. The light coming from the projectors made it shine to a shade of silver and his slightly tanned skin glowed.

Sammy Lawrence didn't groove on clemency, but (Y/n)'s low voice made him let it slide, for once. The young male sighed "Farewell then, we shall see. As long as Drew won't be rushing us, then I'm... honored to work in here, with you. After all, what avails skill in music, if there is no chance to display it?"

"Indeed." Miss (L/n) didn't have to say more, her alluring smiles answered everything for Samuel.

⦁ At the right wing of the auditorium, Suzanne Campbell was leaning on the doorway of voice acting cabin, staring intensely on (L/n) and Lawrence. She rarely saw them have a direct conversation, yet they seem to know each other. Campbell was still a new employee in here working as a voice actress within the Music Departments, thus beside Henry and (Y/n), she didn't know anyone else from the Art Department.

"Woohoo~ (Y/n), over here!"

Hearing someone calling her name, (Y/n) immediately turned away and said her farewells to Lawrence. Knowing Susie, if she gets you on her web, you'll be staying long with her, so (L/n) mentally prepared herself for a long conversation.

"Miss Campbell!"

"Hello Dear, I see you already checked the work from the boys down here?"

"Heh, Yes, Drew reminded me to come in here more often."

"Oh, you definitely should, always hunching at your table will only hurt you back!" - No wonder Susie is called a "star", (Y/n) thought. Her Emerald green eyes are shining like orbs in the night while Her hair was deep hues of fierce obsidian against her pale face yet smokey makeup. She walked and spoke in that high-class way, yet (Y/n) admired her gentleness. "But what I wanted to ask you is - How's the progress going with Alice?"

"Alice? The Angel? Well, nothing yet - I'm still waiting for Joey's approval."

"Please, Darling, I really wish for Alice to finally be a settled character! Voicing such a lovely Angel would be the perfect job for me!" - The young Lady begged while cupping (Y/n)'s hands.

"I... um, can talk to Joey and tell him about that. But in order for Alice to be an official character, most of the team will have to focus on her so she will be an actual successful character rather than a background figure. You sure that voice acting another role won't be too much for you?"

Susie fluttered her eyelashes in surprise, almost dumbfounded and offended at (Y/n)'s question "Of course not! It's my dream come true to work on her."

"...Alright. I may speak with Drew later on and convince the Art team to focus on here for a while."

"Oh my dear, Thank you so much!" - Campbell almost jumped from happiness, before hugging her fellow female companion. (Y/n) wasn't very interactive physically, but earning a hug every once in a while won't harm her - she could sense within Susie's eyes a deep longing and hope. The 26-year-old (L/n) hummed in response.

Lawrence was still in the auditorium, shuffling through some of his scripts and notes. He didn't care about the girly talk the ladies were having in the back, but he swore he saw a different shadow moving alongside (Y/n) when she left the floor.

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​​​​​​​Note: Ian Jones-Quartey* is a storyboard artist for Steven Universe. I just needed a random name for random background artist in this story lol

-Screenshot from Batim ch 1 (Updated)