Work Text:
The Chum Bucket was still dark as the sun rose over Bikini Bottom. Karen’s computer screen began to buzz before powering on. A green line flickered across her monitor for a while, before remaining constant.
Laying in bed was her body, or her human form. Her eyes slowly opened and she was able to get a glimpse of her husband, still asleep across from her. His long, silky, black hair falling slightly over his face. She smiled slightly knowing it would be about an hour before he woke up to help her open the Chum Bucket.
Her cold hands rubbed her eyes and she slowly sat up, and her smooth metallic body shone in the light of her computer monitor. Her husband’s snoring from the other side of the bed felt almost endearing to her this morning, whereas usually it annoys her.
She wanted to get back under the covers and snuggle up next to him for the morning, but she knew that if she slept in and he woke up without his breakfast ready, he would be crabby all day, and she was not in the mood for that. She wished they could just have nice moments with him without constant arguments.
She rose out of her bed, and began to make her side of the bed. She folded the blankets on her side perfectly as she normally did, hoping Sheldon wouldn’t ruin it when he woke up.
When she finished, she walked over to her closet and took her pink, silky robe off of a hanger and put it on. The fabric draped over her silver “skin” gracefully. Walking over to her computer monitor, she pressed some buttons to view the restaurant stats.
The computer buzzed slightly as green letters illuminated the screen.
“The tables are unclean.”
“The windows need to be wiped.”
“The cobwebs need to be dusted.”
“The floors need to be swept.”
It felt like the list of health code violations that needed to be taken care of grew everyday. She sighed quietly to herself as she wheeled herself and her computer downstairs.
She walked into the kitchen, wheeling her computer beside her. She took a batch of Chum, and began to prepare it for her husband's breakfast. She wished he would get up early to make her breakfast once in a while.
—------
Plankton felt the sun on his eye, causing him to stretch his body out and wake up. He groaned as he sat up, stretching his back from his long sleep. Reaching over to his bedside table, he grabbed his eyepatch and secured it into its place, right over his dysfunctioning eye.
For a decent amount of time, Plankton stared directly at the ceiling. Counting the tiny spots that he found flickered across the mellow ceiling.
“Ugh…” He looked over to Karen’s side of the bed, empty and perfectly made. She must have already woken up. He left his bed unmade and messy as he slumped into the bathroom, and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked mediocre at best, tired and quite rugged. But to him, he looked “ravishing.” (His ego is humongous.)
After a while of basking in his glory, he picked up the brush from the sink counter and began to slick his hair back. He could hardly see the bristles of the brush, for it was covered in hair that he refused to remove, that was Karen’s job anyway.
Brushing through the tangles of his thick, shiny jet black hair, he wondered what Karen was making him for breakfast. His mind wandered around and he slowly began to zone out listening to the bristles against his head.
He stopped for a moment and blinked back into reality. He began to think:
He has been working very hard lately. Karen knew this, didn't she? Why wouldn't she make things easier for him by bringing his breakfast to him?
He continued to slick back his hair before tying it into a ponytail with a thick black rubber band, the sound of the elastic echoing across the bathroom as he finished styling his hair.
Staring into the mirror, he contemplated whether or not to do his eyeliner. No, he didn't feel like it. Karen was better at it than him anyway, he'd just ask her.
He slipped into his robe as he walked downstairs. He was getting decently hungry now, and the aroma of a hearty breakfast lured him into the kitchen.
—--------
“Karen!” Plankton shouted as he entered the kitchen. Karen was sweeping the kitchen floor, still in her robe.
“Good morning, Sheldon. Your breakfast is on the table.” Karen said, in her classic monotone voice. She didn’t look up at him, and continued her morning duties. She knew he had something to complain about based on his tone. Why couldn’t he be grateful? Why couldn’t they just enjoy some nice moments together?
“Karen, you know I get hungry in the morning! You know I need my breakfast to be able to demonstrate my evil genius properly, why didn't you bring my breakfast to me? Why must you make me do so much?” He complained to her, walking over to the table and sitting down, picking up his spoon.
“Sheldon, you are a grown man, you’re lucky I made you breakfast at all. Someone has to do all of the work around here.” Karen replied.
Plankton didn't respond. Karen was probably right, but he can’t just admit he was wrong. No…he wasn't wrong! Karen should know how hard his work is. She should be serving him more! After all, Karen was his creation.
They had been distant lately, after a big argument that they never really made amends too. Since then they hardly spoke with each other and if they did, it was something about a scheme, or an argument. The tension was there. They sat in silence for a while, before Karen spoke.
“Are you going to help at all this morning Sheldon? There are tables that need to be wiped.” She was almost finished with the kitchen now.
Sheldon. Ugh! Karen knew he hated being called Sheldon! Was she trying to upset him? He looked up at her.
“Computer Wife!” He bursted out into a scolding tone. “Are your processors dusty? You know I hate being called Sheldon!”
Karen sighed and replied in a sarcastic tone: “Sorry, Your Majesty.” She tossed him a rag. “Are you going to help or not?”
“Actully, no I'm not going to help! I do not appreciate your tone, Karen! This is my restaurant and I will be treated with respect!” He paused and stood up. “If you need me, I’ll be in my lab.”
—-----------
Plankton walked away leaving Karen alone with the restaurant still needing to be cleaned. She walked over to the table he was sitting and took his dish. He never cleaned up after himself. She sighed as she washed his dishes and continued cleaning the Chum Bucket. No matter how much she cleaned, it always reeked of filth. Maybe it wouldn’t be so gross if Plankton would help her once in a while.
With every chore she completed, the task was removed from the monitor screen until it returned to its straight green line. She could finally relax herself a bit. She decided to head back upstairs to finish getting ready for the day.
While she and her monitor headed upstairs, she couldn't help but think about her husband. Why was he being so cruel and distant to her lately? Why couldn't they enjoy some nice time together? Is there something she could do for things to go back to normal?
Looking into her closet, she looked through different things that she could wear. Her classic silver dress, a nice simple purple dress, Or maybe her black turtle neck dress and lab coat..?
Maybe she could help him with a scheme of his? That would be a way for them to spend some time together, to make amends. She took off her robe and hung it up in her closet, and put on the black turtleneck dress. It hugged around her perfectly, and made her hair and eyes pop. Then, she put on her white labcoat. Plankton has one just like it.
Once she was dressed she headed into their bathroom to pull her hair into a tight and elegant updo. She then did her makeup, silver eyes and purple lips to match her hair. Once she was ready, she admired herself in the mirror one last time before heading downstairs.
—-------
Plankton was in his lab, still in his robe, despite it being late morning now. He was writing ideas for schemes onto paper. All of his plans have failed lately, he just needed to find the one. Although, doing so was pretty hard, after all all he could think about was Karen. He missed when they would do things together, when they weren’t so distant. He wished he could just escape into his wife's arms, but his ego was too big to admit any fault to her. He reassured himself that the tension between them couldn't possibly be his fault, and returned to his evil schemes.
Karen walked down the steps to Plankton’s lab and waited in the doorframe. Plankton immediately noticed her presence, but didn’t turn around.
“What do you want, Computer Wife? Can’t you see I am scheming?” He hissed.
“There aren't any customers, I doubt there will be any customers any time soon either…” Karen spoke in her classic monotone voice, but it was softer.
“So what? I’m busy Karen.” He didn’t look up at her for a second. His longing for her was drowned in his pride.
Karen walked closer to him and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. She thought for a while before speaking.
"Maybe I could help you with your scheme, Plankton? We haven't really gotten to spend much time together... "
The touch of his shoulder caused Plankton to look up at her. He was about to say a rude remark about leaving him alone, but upon seeing Karen, he couldn't think at all. She was so hot. He blinked slowly.
"Help? Uhm... "
He was about to accept her offer, but his inner monologue began to play.
"Help? Me? I don't need help. Does Karen think I am some small innocent creature that needs her help?" He thought.
His expression changes from one of awe to annoyance as he brushed Karen's shoulder away in disgust.
"Help? I don't need YOUR help, Computer Wife! Why must you always nag me all the time!" Plankton scolded.
Karen's eyes were immediately hurt. She took back her hand and responded, her voice shaky.
“Wow…Really?” Karen said slowly.
"Fine then. I'll leave you alone, Sheldon. Enjoy your Schemes."
Karen didn't have the energy to argue back this time. She was too hurt. She turned around and left the lab, leaving Sheldon alone to his devices.
—------
Plankton's lab was lit dimly, a few lights hung from the ceiling, though they flickered constantly. He hadn't bothered to change them in a decade or so.
For a while he sketched away schemes, ignoring the arguments he had with Karen over the last few days. The faint sound of pencil sketches echoed across the lab, followed by paper crumbling and being tossed in the bin.
"Ugh! None of this is working..!" Sheldon complained to himself, as he tossed another sheet of paper in the trash. He wondered why he couldn't think of a new scheme. Maybe he could've used Karen's help..?
Nah….
As he sketched away at a piece of paper, his mind began to wonder…Things he had said to Karen recently had begun to replay in his head.
“Won’t you ever shut up Karen? I don’t care about your futile stories.”
“Computer wife, can’t you just shut up? I should've programmed you with a mute button.”
“Are your processors dusty? You know I hate being called Sheldon!”
"Help? I don't need YOUR help, Computer Wife! Why must you always nag me all the time!"
“Karen, you know I get hungry in the morning! You know I need my breakfast to be able to demonstrate my evil genius properly, why didn't you bring my breakfast to me? Why must you make me do so much?”
Okay…Maybe he might’ve said something that could come across as mean to Karen…but she wouldn’t do anything about it..! I mean, he had a reason to say those things. Why should he apologize if it’s not his fault?
Karen slammed the door to the bedroom shut, and plopped right onto her bed, beginning to sob. Her monitor buzzed to live, a green line flickering over a black screen. As the sound waves from her robotic cries are picked up by her monitor, faint waves change the green lines' shape.
—-----------------
So tired…She was so tired of Sheldon being so cruel to her! What did she ever do to him to make him be so cruel? She was trying her best, why must he be so mean..?
After a long cry, she felt refreshed. She slowly sat up, her skin stained with oily tears. She took 3 deep breaths, one after another.
“Calm down Karen, calm down. It’s alright.” She talked to herself to calm her rampaging processors down. “I can fix this.” She thought. Long and hard, what more could she do? She had tried not arguing, cleaning the whole restaurant before he woke up, dressing up nice for no occasion, making him a nice dinner, entertaining his stupid schemes, what more could she possibly do?
Karen stood up and walked over to her monitor, pressing some buttons. She was calculating things more she could do to impress her husband. The monitor flashed in green,
“No more possibilities.”
She sighed. That couldnt be true, could it? I mean, there had to be something she could do, something to make him appreciate her again, something…to make him love her again. She stood there, staring at the computer monitor. “No more possibilites flashing brightly in her eyes.
She used the white labcoat she was wearing to wipe her tears, before ripping it off and throwing it in the bedroom corner. Afterward, she quickly took off her dress and threw it by her coat. This was very unusual for Karen, even when things got too hard to bear, she always maintained her neatness. That was how Plankton programmed her.
Her skin shone in the light of the monitor. She looked at her reflection from the screen of her monitor. Was there something wrong…With her?
She wondered what to do. She decided the best thing to do would be to power down for a while. She slumped over, not bothering to get into bed, and powered down. Her computer monitor buzzed as she shut her eyes, before the green line flickered into nothingness..
—---------------
Sheldon threw the last of his papers right into the trash can. It bounced around against the rim, finally falling into the bin. He grasped his head in frustration. Ugh!! Why couldn't he get it right! None of this would work. Everything he had come up with was flawed.
He could hear the clock ticking in the background of his thoughts, reminding him of the time. Sh!t…what time was it? He wasn’t even dressed, was he..? He was so caught up in his schemes it looks like he forgot to get dressed. Karen should’ve reminded him.
He slowly rose up from his desk in the basement and stretched out. He could hear his own back crack with each long stretch. He really had been sitting for too long, hadn’t he? He slowly walked out of the basement, locking the door behind him as he ascended out of the basement where he had been dwelling all morning.
He stared at the empty kitchen for a while, his inventions lay sprawled across the corners of the kitchen floor. They were all failures. He felt quite sorry for himself at that moment, so he sulked silently to himself for a while. Looking out to the restaurant area, it lay empty as it usually did.
Nothing was different, not a single customer, restaurant flooding with cobwebs, but something felt off to Sheldon. Usually Karen would be in the kitchen cleaning, on the phone with Sandy, or something of the sort. Where was she?
He remembered what he had come up here for, not to sulk, but to get ready for the day. He slowly walked upstairs to get ready.
Peering into the bedroom door, it looked empty. He slowly creaked open the door and looked around. He couldn't see Karen at first, but when he looked over to see her monitor, he found Karen slumped over and powered down on the ground.
Karen's model was stained with black, oily tears. Sheldon was in shock. Why was she crying? And...Oh she was so beautiful…Her skin still shined, even in the darkness of the room, and her purple hair was shiny, though messy, She looked like she had been through quite a lot.
And she had.
Sheldon felt a pang in his heart seeing her like that. Alone on the floor, tear stained body. This couldn’t be his fault, could it? … Oh but it probably was, wasn’t it…! Staring down at Karen, he began to argue with himself.
“This is my fault isn’t it.”
“No! This isn’t your fault, If Karen was a better wife to you, you wouldn't need to be so mean!”
“Well, I was mean enough to make her cry like this. Karen never cries!”
“You don’t need to apologize. She’ll get over it.”
“But what if she doesn’t?”
“Just reset her hard drive.”
“Oh.. just shut up!”
He shut his eyes hard and flushed away his inner monologues. Seeing her so…sad looking made him feel like he had to do something decent for once. Whether it was seeing Karen like that, or noticing her beauty that made him finally do something nice, at least he was trying, right?
He bent over and slowly picked up Karen’s body. He lifted her over to their bed and sat down, laying Karen comfortably beside him. He stood up, and headed into the bathroom.
—------
He stared into the mirror just like he did that morning, but now he was grabbing a rag and some warm water. He squeezed out the extra water into the sink, and left the bathroom once more, turning off the fluorescent light behind him.
Once he returned to Karen’s side, he admired her for a while before gently taking the rag to her face, and cleaning off the oil from her body.
It didn’t take much to get the oil to come off, but he made sure he was extra thorough as he cleaned her. The wet rag in his hand made him feel oddly warm. He took his time as well, making sure to get the rag into each crevice of her robotic shape.
Now that she was clean, she looked more calm. He looked down at his computer wife who was peacefully “sleeping” in his arms. He thought about ways he could apologize once she woke up. He had definitely been neglecting her, hadn't he. Surely Karen would understand.
He held her close to himself, admiring her shine. He really had missed when he could just hold her, and when she could hold him. All of these arguments had tarnished their relationship, and it was his fault.
After a while of thought, he heard Karen’s monitor buzzing. He looked down at her, to find Karen slowly booting up.
—------
Karen felt warm. She couldn’t see just yet, but she could feel. This wasn’t the floor. Hadn’t she powered down next to her monitor? She felt hands wrapped around her. Warm hands. Familiar hands. She could feel someone's breath on her skin. Underneath her was the familiar fuzzy comforter that nulled her to sleep every night.
The hands around her felt too familiar. Those were Sheldon’s hands. What was HE doing holding her like he hadn't been treating her like a piece of sh!t? Now that she was fully re-energized, she had a lot of things to say to him. How much he used her, how much he HURT her.
She finally opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Sheldon’s face. In about a millisecond, she jolted straight up, moving away from him.
“Sheldon!” She seethed. “What has gotten into you?” Her voice was overflowing with anger. It took a lot to not raise her voice.
“Karen, sweetheart! Baby, I’ve been reflecting-” Sheldon began to speak, but Karen cut him off abruptly.
“Really, Sheldon, really?” Karen raised her voice slightly, her arms crossed. She still sat on the bed, not noticing that he cleaned her. “You’ve been reflecting?” Her tone was one of mocking. “So you are only reflecting now that things got bad for YOU, huh Sheldon?”
“No that’s not it at all! I just wasn’t noticing, y’know…” Sheldon looked away. He couldn’t look into Karen’s eyes. She was different from how he usually saw her. He could feel his ego deflate.
“Sheldon, you are being pathetic.” Karen said dryly. She didn’t meet his eyes. Why was he only apologizing now? Someone put him up to it, she’d bet.
Sheldon paused. He wasn’t sure what to say. Pathetic…he wasn’t pathetic! He wanted to protest, but he didn’t. He didn’t want Karen to be more upset.
They sat in silence for a while, tension filled in the air. Sheldon shuffled a bit, Karen’s monitor buzzed. After a long time, Sheldon broke the silence.
“Karen, I really am so-” … “Really sorr-”
Karen rolled her eyes. “Really.”
Sheldon spoke fast, admitting he had done wrong was way harder than he thought.
“Karen, I am very sorry for how I have been treating you lately, I want to make up.” Sheldon sounded sincere, which was confusing Karen's combatting codes.
Karen paused and looked up at him. He actually said the word. Sheldon had never said it…genuinely before.
“Is this a joke?” Karen asked. She couldn't believe he apologized. Part of her wanted to stay mad at him, reasonably so. But it had been so long since they hugged last.
“No, Karen! I'm telling the truth. I miss when…When we were close. I feel like I have…been too distant…and too cruel to you.” Sheldon couldn't believe he was saying this out loud. To Karen!