Chapter Text
You wake up with a jolt, the sound of your alarm filling the empty space of your room. You reach over to shut it off before rising from your mattress with a stretch.
“Today’s a new day,” you mutter to yourself.
As you lock eyes with your reflection in the mirror, you sigh. No, now’s not the time to pity yourself. You have a new job to show up to, an impression to make. With a new sense of focus, you prepare yourself for the day. You brush your teeth, serve yourself breakfast, fix your hair, and head back to your room to get dressed.
You slip into your binder before trying on your new uniform, all black except for the the word “Security” sewn on in light blue on the back. Light blue’s certainly an interesting choice, but who are you to question it? Nevertheless, you should get going if you want to show up on time. On that note, you leave your apartment and begin your walk to SDN.
You arrive right on time to your relief. With a quick look around the building, you’re able to find the office of Blonde Blazer. You knock on the door gently.
“Come in!” you hear a familiar voice call from within.
You pull open the oak door, greeting Blazer with a wave.
“Hey! Great to see you again. I hope you’re ready to start?” Blazer asks.
“Yeah, you too! I’m starting to get a feel for the place already, so I’d say I’m decently ready,” you reply.
“Good, good. I’m sure you’ll get well adjusted to the liveliness here at SDN. Do you have any questions for me?” she inquires.
“Only where you want me posted,” you chuckle.
“Oh! Right, sorry. For the most part, I’ll have you stationed near the entrances, rotating throughout the day. Once we get more security on deck you’ll have one set station or location within the building,” Blazer informs you.
You nod along as she speaks, gathering the information in your head. “Yeah sounds good, where should I start off for today?” you ask.
“Front entrance, try to start memorizing some faces,” she answers.
“Okay, thank you again Miss Blazer,” you add before leaving her office.
“Don’t mention it,” she smiles.
You make your way back to the main entrance of SDN, trying to make yourself seem somewhat intimidating. You’re strong, you had to give yourself credit for that, but you don’t look it. The more useful feature you have is being able to tap into people’s thoughts, given that you get horrible migraines afterwards. It’s triggered through physical contact, so you always focus on keeping hands and feet to yourself. Hm… maybe security isn’t the best job for your abilities. Oh well.
As employees and superhero’s begin to file in, you’re sure to give them a polite greeting, as well as an introduction. However, the first faces you recognize are the ones you saw recently on the news. You believe they called themselves… Z-Team? Yeah, that sounds right. Everything’s continuing like normal until your eyes land on a yellow and blue costume. It seems to be… wet? You look up, taking in the tall, lanky man in front of you. Oh god, he’s adorable. Stopping yourself from gawking, you force yourself to speak.
“Morning Waterboy, nice to meet you,” you smile at him.
Waterboy makes eye contact with you, looking a bit shocked. “H-huh? Oh! H-hello! Sorry… did we- how do you know my uh… name?” he rambles.
“No you’re fine, we haven’t met. I saw you on the news the other day. Sorry that I startled you,” you answer.
“It’s f-fine! Nice to see- meet you too,” he says. His face flushed with embarrassment.
“Have a good shift,” you tell him.
“Y-you too!” he manages to add before going inside.
You cock your head to make sure he’s far enough in before you exhale. You wince at yourself, your mind scolding you for finding a co-worker cute. At least you managed to not make a fool out of yourself while talking to him.
A good hour passes before you decide you should stroll around the outside of the building. You find it boring though, nothing of importance or interest seems to be happening. Since it’s the first day though, you force yourself to keep busy until a decent time to go on break rolls around. Making your way towards the break room, you observe the dispatchers while they do their job. Most of them seem stressed, or very focused. That’s not something you can help, so you make your way towards the vending machine ahead.
You glance at the selection before reaching into your pockets. Huh, nothing there. You reach for your back pockets and groan when the realization hits you. Your wallet is probably sitting at home on the counter. Right as you’re giving up, you feel a tap on your shoulder. You turn, expecting to be needed to stop a fight or something, but you see Waterboy in front of you instead.
“Oh hey- what’s up?” you ask him.
He offers you a $5 bill, it’s sopping wet, but how could you decline such a sweet gesture? You carefully take hold of the dollar, being careful not to tear it.
“Thanks, that’s really nice of you… but, will the machine take this bill?” you question, trying to ignore the heat forming on your cheeks.
“N-no problem! Not a problem, a-at all! Um, you could maybe, put it in the… m-microwave?” he looks at you sheepishly.
You pause before shrugging, and following through with his suggestion. You both stand in silence while you wait for the bill to be dry. Surprisingly, it isn’t you who breaks the tension in the air.
Waterboy chuckles before speaking, “T-this microwave- s-situation gives me deja vu.”
“Oh yeah? How so?” you reply.
“I-I had to do this with Robert too- before,” he explains.
You tilt your head slightly. “Robert? Who’s that? I must’ve not caught his name this morning,”
“A-ah! R-right, sorry. Robert is my boss- my dispatcher,” he says. “He’s right over… t-there,” he points out.
You turn to see a man sitting with his head in his hand at the computer. He’s talking into his headset, likely to another member of Z-Team. Your attention is disrupted when the microwave beeps at you. You take the bill out, and get yourself a snack from the vending machine.
“Thank you again Waterboy, I really appreciate it. Can I get you something tomorrow? I’ll make sure I have my wallet this time,” you offer.
“N-no, you don’t need- have to,” he stammers, red tinting his cheeks.
“C’mon let me make it up to you, wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t,” you insist.
“O-okay.. um, yeah! T-that’s fine. Tomorrow, then,” he agrees.
You smile at him softly. “Tomorrow.”