Work Text:
Waterboy's mop hit the tile with a wet splat, gliding across the floor about as gracefully as a mop was capable of.
He whistled to himself, enjoying the solitude of the empty hallway. For once he was able to have some peace and quiet while he worked. Nobody handing him trash to throw away for them or telling him about something else that needed to be cleaned or getting mad that he was in the way. No, it was break time, and nobody came to this side of the building when there wasn't work to be done.
That is, he thought nobody did. As he turned a corner he noticed Forecast at the end of the hall, sitting on the windowsill and staring outside at the rain pouring down.
What caught his eye more was the alarming amount of electricity radiating from her body.
Was she… upset about something? Should he talk to her? Maybe it was better to just stay out of it.
Taking a deep breath, Waterboy set his mop down and cautiously approached Forecast, who didn't seem to notice him at all.
"Hi- um, hey. Hello."
Forecast gave him a disinterested glance, staring back out the window. "Hey."
"Are you- okay? Alright? You're um. Spark- sparking." Immediately he felt stupid. Of course she knows she's sparking.
He could see the slightest hint of a smile as she let out an amused huff, looking over at him fully. "Why do you think I'm not in the break room?" She held up a hand, passing static electricity between her fingertips. "I doubt everyone would be enthusiastic about the living joy buzzer hanging around zapping everyone."
"You can't-?" Waterboy gestured vaguely, his implication still clear. Control it?
"Can you?" Forecast asked back with a deadpan stare. "Storms aren't meant to be controlled. You just wait them out until they pass."
Waterboy shifted uncomfortably, regretting starting this conversation. "Oh." He stood awkwardly, the occasional drips of water on the floor echoing the falling of the rain outside. "Is there anything I can- could do to help?"
Silence. It was as if Forecast hadn't even heard the question. Waterboy was about to leave, to apologize profusely for bothering her and just go away, but a heavy sigh stopped him in his tracks.
"I'm just… angry."
"Why?"
Forecast gestured to the charged air around her. "The storm," Forecast sighed. "People think the storm is because I'm angry. But it's the storm that makes me angry." Her brow furrowed. "I want to be able to be around people. To talk, and hang out, and joke, and have a life. But the storm always gets in the fucking way."
Waterboy adjusted his goggles, fidgeting aimlessly. "What about when the storm passes- goes away? Can you stop a storm from- from coming?"
Forecast thought for a moment before resuming sending sparks through her fingertips. "Think of it this way," she mused aloud. "Let's say you want to stop dripping water everywhere." Waterboy immediately felt sheepish as she continued. "So you focus really hard on not dripping water. You think the driest thoughts you can, focus on no water, stop the water. And the water stops, and you're finally dry again."
"Well it- it doesn't really do- work that way." He was acutely aware of the water pooling at his feet.
"Just bear with me. You finally get all the water to stop, and then you end up in a situation where you really need to make water happen. What do you think is going to happen when you want water after you've been thinking 'no water' for so long?"
"It… won't happen?"
Forecast nodded, giving a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "You need water. I need a storm."
Waterboy looked down at his reflection in the floor, lightly kicking the puddle and sending ripples through it. "Nobody really likes- wants me in the break room, either. I get water everywhere- get everything wet."
"And I get everything zapped," Forecast replied with a shrug. "I bet if I shocked that puddle you're in right now, I could probably kill you." Waterboy leapt away from the puddle as Forecast let out a laugh. "I wouldn't do that, of course. Not when you're the only nice one around here."
"Well, uh. Thanks for- I appreciate that. Not killing me. While I'm on the clock."
Forecast chuckled. "It's no problem. The others though? On thin ice." She waggled her sparking fingers at him playfully. "One of these days I might go full Sith Lord on them."
Waterboy couldn't help but snort at that. "No, they- they're mean, but they don't deserve that."
"Yeah, they're doing their best. We all are." Forecast stared out the window. "Seems like the sun's coming out."
Waterboy turned to the window as well, watching the rain continue to fall. "But it's still- still raining?"
"You don't feel it?" Forecast asked. "The storm is passing."
Waterboy observed the sparks around Forecast begin to dissipate as she stood up with a stretch.
"Oh! That's a, uh, a good thing, right?"
Forecast gave him a shrug. "It means I can go in the break room. But hey-" She approached Waterboy and gave him a pat on the back, the residual static sending small shocks down his spine. "-if you see me storming again, don't be afraid to say hello." With a sad smile, she added, "You're the only one who has."
"That's really… sad."
Forecast snorted with laughter, small rays of sunshine dancing around her head. "I mean, it is, but you didn't have to say it like that!"
Waterboy could feel himself melting away into a puddle of shame. "Ah, I'm so- sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean it that- that way, I-"
"I get what you meant, don't worry about it." Forecast picked up Waterboy's mop, handing it to him with a smile. "Here. I don't want to get you in trouble for chatting for too long."
Waterboy took the mop with a nod. "Right- I- you're right. I should get back. To working." Forecast's sunbeams warmed his cheeks almost as much as his own embarrassment did.
Forecast began to walk down the hall, but paused as she looked over her shoulder back at him. "And thank you," she added, nodding back. "For being kind. You didn't even have a reason to talk to me, but you… made sure I was okay."
Waterboy stood a little straighter, giving her his best smile. "Oh, it's no trouble! None at all!"
"Not for everyone."
Before Waterboy could even ask, Forecast was already gone, the air feeling much colder without her rays of sun. He sighed and began to mop up his own puddle.
Outside, the sound of the rain was drowned out by thunder as a storm approached.