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"Ten mugs, Doctor Somers. Ten- no, eleven! Why do you have eleven mugs in here?"
Mary hadn't even heard her open the door. She shuffled around to face her... holding the lab's twelfth coffee mug in her hands.
"Ah... morning, dearie."
Ashleigh took in the mug (A novelty gift, speckled with tiny cartoonish black holes) and blinked very hard, looking almost like she wanted to pretend that she didn't see it, and force herself to shut down and go to sleep right then and there.
"Twelve..."
Mary set down the mug and waggled her hands sheepishly. "Och, ye know how it is-" She laughed, slightly hoping that Ashleigh would catch on and laugh with her. Disappointingly, she just smiled briefly, nodded stiffly and began shrugging on her lab coat.
"Yes."
But that was just Ashleigh for you: a complete enigma. She'd been Mary's assistant for roughly a year, and yet she barely knew her more than she did one of Lilian's business acquaintances that would make small talk and then tune out the minute she tried to explain the impending energy crisis to them.
Aside from her (impressive) qualifications, all Mary knew was:
- She was thirty one.
- She grew up somewhere in the Frontier
- She liked rats
- And coffee
- Her favourite ice cream flavour was probably mint
- She seemed to be fond of knee high boots
It was a tragically short list, but there were only so many questions she could ask before Mary began to seem actively nosy. She was just a private person. That was fine. Perfectly normal for an assistant that one would likely employ for an extended amount of time, a good few years at least. Definitely.
But if they were going to be working together in the long run- (progress with the project made that fact seem more and more likely)- it definitely wouldn't hurt to.. do something. A nice friendship gesture, if you will. All Mary had to do was figure out exactly what.
And as they stacked up the twelve (12!) mugs between them to be shuttled home and absolutely murder Mary's dishwasher, some vague half- baked plan started to pull together in her mind.
Well. Calling it a "plan" was generous. All she had so far was the word 'mug', as after being surrounded with little stacks of the things all day, Mary could have almost sworn she started seeing them when she closed her eyes.
So mug it was. And there was no time like the present, as she always said.
Mary caught her right before she left the lab with her unfortunately misprinted 'Ashley Reid' id card.
"Ah, on the topic of mugs.. I was wonderin'..."
Go on then, what are you waiting for?
"Do you have one? Of yer own, that is."
Ashleigh stared at her as though she'd just announced that she had decided to quit science and go join a blood sport somewhere on Solace instead.
"No...? I don't."
"Oh, wait, not that I mind ye usin' mine!" Mary added hurriedly. (This wasn't going as planned at all...)
Ashleigh's face remained impressively neutral. "Doctor Somers-"
"-Mary, dear-"
"-Right. Mary, if a mug was a particular priority of mine, I would have gotten one for myself by now. Besides, a mug's a mug. As long as it contains coffee I couldn't care less what it looks like."
Mary tried not to look too crestfallen by the blunt response- it was painfully practical, and so typically Ashleigh.
"Ah, fair enough. If you ever change yer mind, though, I know a lovely wee ceramics shop just outside Malta that I could take ye to some time..."
Mary took the pointed silence as a heavy 'no'. She suddenly felt ridiculous, just standing there, as though she'd actually expected Ashleigh to want to go on a shopping trip...
"Well... nevermind then. Anyway, have a nice evening, dearie!"
Goddamnit. Why mugs?
Mary mentally kicked herself for the stupid idea as she started to head home. Out of everything- mugs? She could've just asked her if she wanted to try out one of Olympus' many new restaurants or something-
"Mary, wait."
Ashleigh still hadn't even put on her raincoat yet. She stood framed in the doorway with it draped over her arms like an odd sort of hammock.
"I would like to visit that ceramics store. With you. And I want to make sure I get the right one. I mean- if anyone's an expert on mugs, it's you. " She was standing too far for Mary to see her face, but it sounded almost like she was smiling.
Success!
"Alright! So it's a-"
Mary just caught herself from saying 'date'... not that it would be a date date, obviously, that would be completely inappropriate, but if she said that there still was a risk that she'd make Ashleigh uncomfortable and kill the whole thing before it started, and then she’d never forgive herself for messing that up probably for the rest of her life.
"- plan, then! Maybe one day after work..."
Ashleigh raised both her eyebrows at her- she'd been her assistant long enough to know Mary's work habits: The old tried- and- tested "work until you physically can't, then work just a little bit more "because I'm so close to a breakthrough, dear!" fuelled by caffeine alone, then ignore all your assistant's protests until you have to be dragged kicking and screaming from your desk and ferried back home with a decisive ban from science for the rest of the day." method.
"Er... Or a weekend? If i can get someone to look after Newton for a few hours, and yer not tied up by anything else..?"
"I should be free."
That, at least, wasn't a surprise. Mary often found herself worrying that Ashleigh felt isolated or out of place in Olympus, and was just too polite- or proud- to say anything about it. It was just that she never seemed to do anything outside of work, and of course Olympus was even further from Psamathe's surface than what Mary understood the Frontier was like... sometimes she wondered if she'd dragged Ashleigh in over her head, stringing her along on the absolute worst case scenario that she'd been praying wouldn't happen even when she first put out the job offer. There was no way she'd signed up for this, and yet she'd come anyway. That had to count for something, at least.
But when she got home, Mary couldn't stop smiling- this was it! Maybe they were finally turning a real corner, from energy crisis averting colleagues to actual friends, who do friend things outside of work! Despite her concerns for Ashleigh, she still felt more excited for that Saturday than she had for anything in a while.
Ashleigh was already at the station by the time she arrived, having apparently already adapted to the very sudden drop in temperature around mid- to- late- September on Olympus: Her customary turtleneck and raincoat were now joined by a matching mustardish scarf. Mary suddenly felt vaguely underdressed for the occasion.
"I looked at the train times- we should have about three hours including the journey to the Malta station if we want to take the afternoon train back." She said, by way of greeting.
Mary flopped her hand casually. "Och, that's plenty! We'll be there and back in no time at all." Well… not counting how the transport to and from the Malta station took an hour’s chunk total out of their time.
One noticeable thing about the Olympus Train was how clean the windows were. Like everything in Olympus, really. Mary stared at her own reflection, distractedly bouncing her leg and twirling her pen between her fingers. Almost a polar opposite next to her, Ashleigh sat so still she might've been a cardboard cutout, or as if she was posing for a portrait. Mary wanted to strike up a conversation, but couldn't think of anything good enough to say so she stayed silent, and tried to focus on some song that she couldn’t quite place playing tinnily from some speakers nearby.
From the Olympus train, there was a line of public transport that ran right through Malta and dropped its passengers on its outskirts. Mary was horribly reminded of the last time she’d been on this train with Ashleigh a few weeks ago, trying to track down the luggage that had wound up on a rogue transport on Dionysus of all places. That journey was similarly silent- at the time Mary had wondered why she had volunteered to accompany her at all.
“So… what sort of mug are you lookin’ for?” Ashleigh pushed some of her hair behind her ear and scrunched her eyebrows together in thought.
“I’m not sure yet. Nothing too extravagant, though.”
“Extravagant?” Mary pressed, in a vain attempt to somehow keep the conversation going.
“Yeah. You know, strangely shaped handles, or the mug itself… or- I don’t know. Glow in the dark paint, something pointless like that.”
So Ashleigh was a mug purist. That checked out. Mary was quite partial to things leaning more on the ‘out there’ side, but practicality was still an important factor for her. (Though the bulk of her mugs were gifts, anyways, so it wasn’t as if she had a choice most of the time.)
“Er… shame about that id card? Hope you can get it reprinted soon…”
Ashleigh grimaced. “I’m used to it. I’ll try, but it’s not looking good at the moment.”
“Hm. That does sound like a real pain.”
“Like I said, I’m used to it. It is, though. Back in the Frontier, I ended up boycotting an entire coffee chain because they kept writing my name wrong on the cups even if I literally spelled it out to them.” She did a strange sudden exhale- snort- laugh, and smiled to herself briefly, before snapping back to her default neutral expression as though it had never happened. She peered at Mary through the hair that had come untucked from her ear already, and Mary found herself glancing away without a second thought as to why exactly.
“Soooo we’re ruling out the Ashley- ‘e y’ mugs then?”
“Definitely. I’d be very impressed if they have an ‘e i g h’ one, though…Not that I’d get one- I’m not nine- I’d just- be impressed.” She added quickly. Mary laughed, but didn’t say any more.
“Aaaand… here we are!” Mary dramatically flourished her hands in front of the tiny shop, looking entirely out of place amongst the surrounding tall, shiny buildings. Honestly, it was a marvel that it had survived this long at all. It was like something out of an old movie- there was even a bell that rang when you opened the door.
The two resolved to split up and take an end of the shop each for maximum efficiency. Mary had joked that she should’ve thought about getting blinkers like a horse to stop her getting sidetracked and adding more mugs to her own collection. She wandered through the aisles, but nothing really jumped out at her. Nothing felt right. That was the thing- it had to be absolutely perfect. No less than she deserved, of course. But what would be perfect for her? Blue, perhaps, like that dress with the funny sleeves that she was so attached to? Did they make mugs with rats? The colour of mint ice cream? Outlands’ no.1 as- wait.
That couldn’t possibly be an ‘Outlands’ no.1 assistant’ mug- could it? A little tacky, sure, but she’d probably appreciate the positive validation… Mary tentatively rotated the tilted mug on the sale shelf to see if her suspicions were correct.
‘Outlands’ no.1 ass.’ Absolutely not. Mary spun the entire thing round to face the shelf and then spun herself in the direction of anywhere but that one, face burning like a teenager who’d been caught viewing something way above their age restriction. It was a very good thing she’d read it fully before holding it up across the aisles to see what Ashleigh thought… that could’ve gone horrendously wrong… She shook her head to try and take the thought out of her mind. Crisis averted. That’s all that mattered.
“Any luck, dear?” She called across the shop to where Ashleigh looked deep in concentration. She turned to face her, the same familiar serene smile displayed on her face.
“I’m still looking.” She said plainly.
“Right, then.” Mary turned her attention back to the shelf she was standing by, and carefully browsed each row, feeling a little like she was looking for a needle in a haystack. If Ashleigh wasn’t having any luck either, then- ooooh… Her eye was caught by a lovely one with a solar eclipse pattern. It was very pretty, with a curly handle and a glossy finish.
No, Mary, it’s the handle- She reminded herself, tearing her eyes away from the mug that she honestly wouldn’t have minded on her own shelf- Nope. Stay focused, this is for Ashleigh. Ashleigh, who was…
“Mary. I think we should just call it a day.”
Right behind her. When had that happened?
“I mean, I appreciate the intent, but these mugs are all just too… much. I think we should just cut our losses before we miss the train.”
What? No, that couldn’t be right. There had to be something- she didn’t want to force Ashleigh to do anything that she didn’t want to, but the thought of coming all this way and returning empty handed with nothing for her was equally distressing. But Ashleigh was her friend… and if she wanted to go home, then-
“If thats what you want, dear. Let’s head off then.” Mary tried her best to keep the disappointment out of her voice, Ashleigh nodded, and they started to move towards the exit around the snaking aisle filled with rows and rows of ceramics. She couldn’t help give the shelf one last longing glance as the turned the corner: Owl mug, paint splodge mug, stripey mug, robot mug, prowler mug, moustache mug, dragon mug, pale blue dots mug, starry mug, floral mug- pale blue dots? It looked like a plain sort of mug, nothing too fancy. Just maybe… Mary moved closer to have a better look, and the pale blue dots morphed into ovals which morphed into… rats! Or mice. She actually didn’t know the difference. Hopefully Ashleigh didn’t either. Either way, it couldn’t have been more perfect.
“Hey, Ashleigh, wait! How about this one?” She passed her the blue rat mug.
Ashleigh stood very still, studying it intently. Mary felt a knot of nerves in her stomach- what if she didn’t like that one either?
“Oh.” She said quietly. Her face was doing something unfamiliar- there was no hint of her usual carefully measured smile, but instead her eyes had an odd shimmer to them, almost like ice that was beginning to thaw. Mary had never seen her look like that before.
“It’s perfect. Really.” She met Mary’s eyes, looking like she wanted to say something more, but stopped herself and strode over to the counter to buy the mug before Mary could protest and remind her that the plan was for it to be a gift.
Ashleigh returned a few minutes later, carefully holding a cardboard box as though it was a precious egg that she’d been entrusted. She froze.
“The train.”
The train! How could she have forgotten? Mary nodded sharply.
“We’d best get a move on, then.”
No sooner had she said it, Ashleigh had already rocketed out of the door, still clutching that mug box with all its awkward corners. She took off after her, not quite matching the ferocious pace that Ashleigh had set- and it looked like she’d barely broken a sweat, once Mary finally caught up with her at a crossroads. She almost wanted to ask her if she worked out- not that she had the time, of course, and that question did have the potential to come across quite wrong.
“We should make it if we sprint for it.” Ashleigh said, looking like she was ready to take off the minute that the crossing let pedestrians through- maybe even a bit before. Not for the first time, Mary wondered how she’d been lucky enough to end up with an assistant with such a bizarrely wide range of talents. (And, hopefully, a friend. Or something similar, anyhow.)
“Last call for Malta Central Station” An automated voice blared out, as Mary leaped through the door that snapped shut the minute she was inside. She had barely made it to her seat when the train started to rumble and take off- they really had cut it close. Ashleigh had her box open on her lap, and was just gazing at the mug inside. It was safe to say that she really liked it- it was as if the only two things in existence in that moment were her and that mug. She made eye contact with Mary before she could realise she was accidentally staring and adjust her gaze accordingly.
“Thank you. I’m glad you found this one, in the end.” Ashleigh’s face then did its second unfamiliar thing that day: somewhere between an exhale and a smile, her eyes closed for a brief second, the smile making her usual one look absolutely freezing cold in comparison. Mary would’ve joked ‘Who are you and what did ye do with Ashleigh?’ if she didn’t look so genuinely happy right then. She smiled too, suddenly at a loss for any half decent responses, but it didn’t matter.
"First test run- let's take 'er for a spin!" The next day, they both crowded around their poor little beat up coffee machine, waiting for it to pour out enough coffee over an agonising four minutes. (Ashleigh had been lobbying for her to replace it for some time now, but Mary was far too emotionally attached. It was practically part of the family by now- replacing it would be a crime.) Ashleigh gave the machine a solid slap once she deemed it had made enough, (the buttons had given out already) and she swirled it experimentally around in her new mug.
"Looking promising so far." Ashleigh said seriously. Mary raised her own- 'I <3 Science', with a big red heart- in response. The mugs made a satisfying 'clink', tiny drops of coffee sloshing over the rims, but neither minded.
"Cheers, darlin'."
"Cheers."