Chapter Text
You hadn’t worked at Hyperion very long when you first heard about Jack, he was just a programmer that had made his way through the treacherousness that was the corporate ranks. You only heard about him because he was to be your new boss, you were a bit shocked when you received the news, if you were honest.
You were just an artist really, you mostly designed logos or came up with new designs for the company. Though, you were also a programmer, an AI programmer specifically. You worked closely with the claptrap units, and normally, very, very far away from people.
Hence the shock.
You didn’t do people, in both terms of the word. You didn’t do well around them, or with them. You were happy to work around the robots, normally only seeing people at lunch, for a total of ten or twenty minutes a week. It wasn’t healthy , per se.
Let’s be honest, you didn’t care about your social health all that much.
Once more, there was a reason you worked as an AI programmer. That reason just so happened to be that you hated people.
So you were very unhappy with your new ‘promotion’, since as far as you were concerned, it was a demotion, you had worked so hard to be as far away from your fellow humans as possible. Then somebody had to go and screw it up by getting fired , so Jack got his position and then got all his employee information, then decided he didn’t like that one of his employees was working so far away from everybody else. So, Jack decided to move you . Into an office . Surrounded by other people .
You screamed when you found out. Then proceeded to be comforted by the awkwardness that was the Claptraps. You loved them, an opinion you were sure no one particularly shared. They tried to cheer you up with their attempts at dubstep and dancing and just their overall claptrapness , that you couldn’t help but forget about why you were angry in the first place.
Then, some people showed up to move all your stuff up to your new office , and you were angry all over again.
What an emotional roller coaster.
The next day, you spent half an hour letting yourself be distracted by some claptraps before you had to head to your office . The word made you a little sick, you were not looking forward to your new working arrangements. All the robots down in your previous workplace were well aware of this fact, which was how you ended up being a few minutes late. Of course by a few minutes you meant an hour. The Claptraps did not want you to leave, so you had to promise each and every one that you would come and visit before they finally let you leave.
So, you ended up in your office an hour after you were supposed to start working, and got away with it . Thank goodness the ‘I got lost’ excuse existed. You settled in your new swivel-chair and proceeded to angrily take in your surroundings. It wasn’t awful at least, the office you were given was very pleasing to look at. Light brown walls, dark hardwood floors, or fake wood, either way they it was very nice. Though you were going to have to get a rug, for underneath your desk at least.
For reasons. Specifically, so you can take off your shoes and have something soft and fuzzy for your feet to sit on.
What can you say, you were used to your creature comforts. Especially after almost two months of being able to decorate and do whatever you liked as long as you stuck to your deadlines. After all, if there was one place everyone on Hyperion was scared of, it was the Claptrap floor. Something you were really going to miss. You resigned to at least try and feel comfortable with your new working arrangements. Which was going to be a long process. You thought your first day was going as well as could be expected however, you got quite a bit of programming done, more than would be possible in your old workspace.
Seeing as how every five minutes a Claptrap would roll up and ask you to play a game with them, or ask if you wanted to hear their new mix, or see a new dance move, or judge their dance contest, or ask what you thought of their drawing and-. You really loved those stupid machines. You shook your head as you thought of the robots for the upteenth time. You noticed the time and got up to get lunch, or what should’ve been lunch but ended up being a mug of tea. Since you weren’t particularly hungry, and some of your Claptrap’s had brought you some of your favorite tea, which they had apparently had one of the loader bots help them with. They all stood around you as you sipped from the mug, the tea turned out a bit too sweet but was actually very good. You thanked them and they all rolled away cheering.
“Ugh, those things are so annoying, I wish management would just get rid of them.” A female employee sneering, shoving a forkful of salad into her mouth. You froze, frowning as you turned to the table the employee sat at. You stepped over to the table and you saw her visibly perk up. “Oh, Hi! You're the new transfer right? I’m Sharon-” You cut her off with a dirty look.
“Shut the fuck up, Sharon . Don’t talk shit about any of the robots on this station, or we’ll be having some problems, capiche ?” You growled, placing your hands on the table as you leaned over it, getting in Sharon’s face. Sharon nodded with wide-eyes, leaning away from you as she swallowed.
“Y-yes, m-ma’am,” Sharon stuttered as you removed yourself from her personal bubble. You nodded once and left the break room, muttering about how much you hated people.
Which was a lot.
The next day was a lot better in your opinion, you spent most of your night on the Robotics floor, and the Claptrap’s got you a super fuzzy rug for your new office, promising to make you more of your favorite tea.
“Just less sugar this time, please?” You requested with a warm smile, they immediately agreed. You took the rug and wished them all goodnight before returning to your room. Which you were happy to say you had to yourself, in a very empty part of the Helios Space Station. Unfortunately however, it was slowly filling up, as more and more employees get stationed on Helios.
It was a small little thing, reminding you of college dorms in a way, but you had it too yourself, with a connected bathroom and small kitchen and dining area. You could also upgrade whatever, which is why you happened to have one of the nicest bathrooms on Helios. That no one knew about of course, you spent most of your paycheck on getting your jacuzzi tub, and it’d be a cold day in hell before anyone else so much as stuck a toe in it.
Anyway. Last night was really relaxing, is what you meant to say. You tended to get easily distracted. Or just really into reminiscing.
So, the next day you had set your rug down beneath your desk and you had thrown off your flats, squealing a little as you ran your toes through the faux fur. It was very nice. You neglected to go to the break room for lunch and the Claptraps found their way to your office, causes a ruckus, much to the delight of you, and the annoyance of your coworkers. Which really just put you in great mood. You were able to work through the rest of the day at a quick pace, finishing the project you were working on two days before schedule. It was the first time that had ever happened, if you were honest.
It was a lot easier to work without Claptraps around the entire time. You ended up working long past everyone else had left, if the lights shutting off was any indication. You looked up blinking, the lights only turned off after eleven, to conserve the Station’s power. You shook your head and saved your work, turning off your computer and slipping your shoes back on. You made your way out of the room, locking the door to your scant office room and heading past the many other offices. You noticed a light on, down the hall where your boss worked. Where Jack worked.
You debated whether or not to inform him of the time, he might not realize the time, like you. Or he was purposely working late, and if that was the case, you didn’t want to bother. You groaned, and decided to check. Worse case senario, you interrupt him while he’s doing something. You made your way down the hall, running a hand through your hair nervously before taking a breath and opening Jack’s door.
“Sir,” You called, startling Jack. Jack jumped a bit in his chair, turning away from his computer to look at you.
“Oh, Ms. Adair! The transfer from the Robotics floor, can I help you? I was in the middle of-” Jack was frowning as he gestured to his computer before you interrupted him.
“It’s eleven o’clock, Sir. I just wanted to make sure you aware of that, I’m going to bed now. Goodnight,” You spoke quickly, turning away and rushing down the hall, the door echoing as it shut. You made it to your room relatively quickly and threw your flats at the wall, jumping into bed without changing. Maybe you made a mistake in interrupting Jack, but he didn’t seem to mind. He was only an accountant, anyway. Of course, you didn’t exactly give him a chance to voice any objections. So.. You shook your head, there was no point worrying about it. You needed to sleep, you promised a few loader bots to have breakfast with them.
A large breakfast, judging from the growl that came from your stomach. You shouldn’t get into a habit of skipping lunch.
The rest of the week went by pretty uneventfully, you ignored your coworkers and continuously invited Claptraps to your office for lunch, so you could nurse the seeds of hatred. You got a mug of tea once or twice a day, or whenever a Claptrap unit could convince a loader bot to help them make a cup. You probably shouldn't throw around the word as much as you do, but you love your robots.
At the end of the week, you had settled into your new office, and completely ignored all the specifics of room decoration, putting up curtains to block out coworkers, wearing slippers from your room, getting a blanket for your chair.. You weren't the most professional programmer, you'll admit.
Though you swore it was the fault of spending so much time with Claptrap units. Since they were the ones who brought you the decorations in the first place, it shouldn't matter that you asked them to.
Of course the management didn't care about that, and proceeded to put a mark on your record. You were not amused.
"I guess I'll just have to have the Claptrap units bring me tea and have lunch with me in the break room then, since I can't have any privacy in my office," You hummed, smiling widely. The woman who was previously ordering you to take down your curtains and wear proper shoes froze in place, a look of horror darkening her features.
"F-feel free to decorate as you like!" The woman squeaked, dashing out of the door. You smirked in victory and reclined in your cheer, pulling your legs up as you pulled out your sketch pad. You had a job to do, after all. Now the annoying management was out of your hair.
"Hey, hey, hey! I made a new dance up just for you!" a blue Claptrap rolled through your door, waving his arms, a purple Claptrap barreling after him.
"W-wrong, I made the d-dance for her!" Purple declared, rolling over and wrapping his arms around around the armrest of your chair.
You laughed, putting away your sketchbook.
"Hey, kiddos, what're you guys doing up here?" You asked, leaning forward to give the two your full attention.
“To show you the dance! Nobody downstairs wanted to see, so we’re showing you!” Blue shouted, rolling back and forth in front of your desk.
“Well, go on.” You motioned for the two to dance, Purple one releasing the arm of your chair as he went to stand beside Blue. You laughed as you watched them do the silliest dance ever. Although, you suppose it was actually pretty good in relation to Claptraps.
“What the hell.” You looked away from the Claptraps to see a very confused Jack in your doorway.
“They made a dance for me, they’re showing it to me,” You explained, giving your boss a hard look. Jack looked slightly surprised.
“Hold on, you like these garbage cans?” Jack asked, perking a perfect eyebrow. You shook your head, did you just think of his eyebrows as perfect? You did a double take, looking over Jack’s face. Well, they’re pretty perfect.. Jack looked at you with an expectant look, waiting for a response.
“Uh, yeah. They’re pretty cool, for garbage cans ,” You drawled, looking angry as you completely forgot about your inner monologue from a moment ago.
“That’s new. Anyway , I need you in my office, thanks.” Jack strolled out of your door, without even waiting for a response. You blinked after him, glaring at the door.
“I hate people,” You grumbled, getting up from your desk. “How bout’ you guys show me the dance at lunch time, is that okay? I have to go meet with my boss, apparently.”
“B-but, we w-wanted to show you it now,” Purple complained, letting his arms hand at his sides, appearing very distressed. You sighed.
“I know, but at lunch I’ll have time to tell you how great it is!” You persuaded.
“Alright! See you at lunch!” Blue wheeled out with Purple dejectedly following behind. You felt a little bad, a little . You took a deep breath and left your office, heading down to Jack’s office.
You really hoped you weren’t about to be fired. You didn’t think you would get fired because you interrupted your boss at eleven o’clock at night .
But, this was Hyperion .