Work Text:
Ulrich finished writing up his final report on the Antarctica mission, as expected, every report would be finished within 24 hours with the support of one cup of coffee. After all, this mission was urgent, important. It nearly cost Ulrich his life. Nearly. He made a mental note to himself to formally thank Moldir when he got the chance. The Awakened could throw away as many prosthetic bodies as wanted to in the name of science and experimentation. However, he only had one consciousness, one life.
(One life he was still willing to throw away in the name of science and experimentation.)
"Thank you for submitting your reports, Mr Ulrich." The voice of one of his colleagues at Laplace interrupted Ulrich's racing thoughts. She neatly organised his papers, setting them aside on her desk. "You are free to leave now."
With his ferrofluid forming a checkmark, Ulrich got up and left the office. What now? Every important document required by Laplace and the Foundation has been submitted, he could go back to working on previous codes and messages needing decrypting, he could go continue working with pre-storm protocol, he could continue experiments regarding asymmetrical nuclide-r, but something felt missing, wrong. It had to do with the Antarctica mission. Of course it did, he couldn't move on from such a significant event so quickly. Well, he could. He wanted to, because there was work needed to be done and it was no use dwelling on the event for now. But this was important, this held his interest, this was-
"Adler!"
Ulrich just took a merry trip across LSCC to find his fellow human colleague. The pin-drop silence of the office and corridor behind him left Ulrich tapping his foot on the floor impatiently. Until that patience was fast enough lost, being his cue to start cracking the code to Enigma's "Work space." If you could even call it that, with the sorry state it's in.
7 minutes and 18 seconds. Thats all it took for Ulrich to figure out the code. Usually it took him a little longer to find the right sequence of numbers, letters and symbols that granted him access to this room. Was it by pure luck or did Enigma not bother using that incredible mind of his this time? Nevertheless, the was good news to Ulrich. The faster he broke the code, the faster he could reach out to Enigma. He doesn't know why, but the Awakened finds himself slightly worried about Enigma. Arcanists were often deemed more emotional and sensitive compared to humans, who were defined by logic. Clearly Enigma was an anomaly among humans; thats what brought the ferrofluid a tinge of unease, lingering in his conscience.
After all, the Antarctica mission proved a threat much more terrifying than the storm.
Clang!
The opening of the door hit an empty glass bottle, causing the sound to briefly echo in the morbid silence of Enigma's office. There was barely any light to make out the mess inside, only when Ulrich further pushed the door open did the outside corridor light illuminate the scene before him.
As usual, countless documents were scattered across the length of his office haphazardly; unorganised and chaotic. Amongst the hundreds of pages, folders and the dreadful stench of alcohol, lay Enigma. Sitting on the floor, fidgeting with a pen in his hand, with a look on his face that Ulrich could only deduce as distress.
"How have you managed to create an even bigger mess in this-"
"Verpiss dich, Ulrich."
Right. The classic German that Ulrich could not decipher, only assuming it was another insult, considering the cryptographer's nature.
"Listen, Adler. I'm assuming you've read some of the reports by now, which has lead you to this condition." Ulrich lets himself inside, closing the door behind him, "But you should not despair." He turned on a nearby lamp, dimly lighting up the room.
"Should not despair? Do you hear yourself Ulrich? I haven't read some of the reports, I read all of the most recent ones to date." I wanted to know if you were okay. I can't lose anyone else, not again, not like the 9th storm. "We are facing something much more dangerous than the storm and the equilibrium umbrellas have been proved useless against it!" Enigma raised his voice with an indignant tone etched into it. "The laws of physics are dead and our research is at a standstill, you saw the flood firsthand! You-" You nearly lost your life, how do you expect me to be calm about any of this? "Your life, Greta's death..." He pauses, "Everything has went to vain." He lowers his head. Yet it seems as if he was restlessly trying to find answers anyway, anything that could disprove this pessimistic theory.
Just as their usual heated arguments went, Ulrich responded immediately, though no anger seeped through his attitude, "I don't understand, researcher Adler. Nobody's lives went to vain, no sacrifices in storm experimentation and prevention missions were for nothing. Especially not your sister's." he affirmed, though visibly confused, crossing his arms then tapping his "Chin" In deep thought. Besides, for now they had managed to prevent the flood. It raises even more questions than answers but it's nothing the geniuses at LSCC can't solve. Just give it some time. That was their purpose, that was Ulrich's purpose. Progress. Even if it takes them another several years, even if he had to conduct another 100 or more experiments on himself to achieve a slither of results; he would continue. Ulrich was not fragile like humans, an Awakened wouldn't die to the storm immunity incantation. Thats why he isn't afraid to sacrifice his life in the name of progress. Thats why he's even enthusiastic about it. However, he wouldn't let Enigma do the same, not any other human or Arcanist at Laplace. Not only out of logical observation, but also out of care. "Care." Ulrich muttered to himself, suddenly reaching an epiphany.
"Adler, I believe you are too caught up in your own emotions." Ulrich stated matter-of-factly.
"I couldn't have ever figured it out! Thank you Ulrich." Ah, sarcasm. "Do you not understand the severity of this situation? I've said it before and i'll say it again: It's all meaningless." It was hard for Ulrich to pinpoint what emotion Enigma's face was translating. Melancholy? Desperation? Annoyance? Does he want to prove a point or to be proven wrong?
Ulrich kneeled down next to Enigma, who seemed suspicious of the action, wary, but not defiant. "Our Rosetta Stone for the storm has not been rendered useless." He shakes his tank side to side, forming an X shape with the ferrofluid mass. "If the flood is more powerful and cryptic than the storm, then we simply need to amplify a stronger solution. There is always room for progress."
Maybe Enigma grown too tired to fight back, but he didn't refute, just sat in silence. He wasn't thinking straight, thats for sure. Probably due to the intrinsic lack of sleep and effects of alcohol the human was going through, right now all he needed was reassurance. Ulrich continued. "I'm aware it's not easy for you humans, but now more than ever, you cannot let yourself be eaten alive by nihilism. Especially as the acting director of LSCC." Enigma furrowed his brows at that, his face barely visible due to his unkept hair hovering over his eyes. Which might've been on purpose, he didn't want to be seen. Not in this mortifying state.
"Director." He repeated silently. He was nothing like Lucy. Maybe the person he used to be, the great intelligence and pride known as Adler Hofmann could have been. But Adler Hofmann was washed away by the storm. Or, thats what he keeps telling himself. He was known as Enigma now, that is what he was. A mystery, to be left in the dark. But Ulrich never called him by that name. Because Adler Hofmann was still as brilliant and bright as he used to be, maybe not emotionally, but still a gem of intellect and humanity worth admiring. He held this gem close to his chest and observed it intently. The gem never lost its spark, it was covered in dust but all it needed was a little polishing and care. Adler's contributions to the creation of the Equilibrium Umbrellas were of significant evidence supporting his greatness in mind.
Ulrich grabbed one of Adler's hands, gently cupping it in his own. "Madam Lucy told me that in particular moments of stress or sadness, a hand holding gesture is deeply appreciated among humans as a form of comfort." He swirled into a circle, proud of himself.
Adler's face betrayed a hue of red yet he only sighed, not pulling away. "You're hopeless."
"I could say the same for you, Adler." Ulrich jabbed, before carefully placing his tank on Adler's chest. Ferrofluid pressing against the glass, resting where Adler's heart would be, pulsing with life and emotion, just like Ulrich's ferrofluid body. Every smallest thump of his heartbeat and the warmth it emitted felt mellifluous and calming to Ulrich, nearly as good as brown noise. Heart to "Heart" (Ferrofluid). Perhaps this is the closest they could get to each other. But perhaps this was enough. Ulrich wanted to try it anyway, despite how obscure and weird the position looked. This should be of comfort, right?
Adler slightly tensed up for a moment, his face was burning now. Unsure of how to proceed nor respond. This was unusually intimate of Ulrich, daunting, taking Adler away from all his pessimism briefly. However, he let it slide. In fact he wanted to wrap his arms around Ulrich in this very instance but he would never enact this nor admit to wanting it. How could he? They were just coworkers. That is all. And this was fine, mutual silence and proximity.
The silence didn't last for long though. Maybe placing Ulrich and Adler next to each other created some kind of silence immunity along with storm immunity.
"The vibrations of your heartbeat are interesting. Pleasant, even." Ulrich spoke up.
"That isn't strange of you to say at all."
"Exactly. This is a spectacular relaxation activity. I must admit, I see why humans enjoy hugging each other."
"Not what I meant and it's not relaxing."
"I thought so. Why isn't your heart rate slowing down? Are you okay?"
"Take a wild guess."
"If this is uncomfortable for you then I can back away." Ulrich slowly retreated his tank, using his impeccable 360 degree vision to ascertain he won't accidentally impale Adler with his ridiculous antennas.
Adler's grip on Ulrich's hand tightened. He wouldn't ever say it out loud, that he needed this closeness for such a long time. He only needed to imply it, that would save him the shame. His heart bpm was slightly accelerating for a different reason now, not because of the doom of the flood. Not because of stress. Not because Ulrich was making him uncomfortable, but a feeling quite the opposite of it.
The Awakened was still getting a hang of human gestures and what they meant, but the way Adler was clinging onto him seemed to imply he wanted him to stay. An interesting conclusion. One he enjoyed, he never got to experience such intimacy with anyone before. Human, Arcanist or Awakened for that matter. He didn't know why he went for it either, with Adler out of all sentient beings. But it just felt right. Good. Captivating. Like a new scientific breakthrough he wanted to explore and learn more about.
Ulrich then got up, still holding Adler's hand, guiding him to stand up too. Which he did, albeit a little disappointed at their increasing distance, he wanted to feel that warmth a little longer despite how awkward their position was. Ulrich had special sensors around his artificial body which allowed him to feel things as similarly as a human could, and kneeling down for that long wasn't exactly ideal. So he took the initiative to take a different approach. After the two were standing up straight; he pulled Adler into an embrace. One hand around his waist, the other about the shoulder blades.
"Ulrich- Have you finally lost your mind!?" Adler was, overtly, taken aback. Heat rising to his face again just when he thought it might've all been over with. Why was Ulrich so touchy today? Did he read a new book on human gestures and in a frenzy of excitement, turned to use Adler as his test subject?
"Hm? I thought you might personally enjoy an actual hug more, I'm fairly positive this is more socially acceptable among humans. Then again, I don't know what I expected from you. You're a special kind of human." The ferrofluid fell into a puddle, "An irritable oddball." He spat.
"Never call me that again." Despite vestiges of vitriol in his speech, Adler hesitantly returned the hug. How nice.
"Irritable oddball." If Ulrich had a face, he would have a wide, shit eating grin painted on it right now. But instead the ferrofluid was in the jovial form of a musical note. A quaver, to be exact.
Adler opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. This is just comical. But never mind that, maybe if they just sat in silence now, he could actually enjoy the comfort of the act. Closing his eyes and letting his head rest on Ulrich's shoulder, he came to appreciate the other's presence. He needed it. Brooding about the storm was of no help and he was the living example of it, it was nice to have a coworker to snap you out of your depressing attitude towards the future. To have a coworker to argue with for hours without end. Then to borderline cuddle with said coworker. Maybe he wanted that too. The thought of it broke him out of his state of peace, pulling away from the hug. How long were they stuck in that position?
Adler sighed, "Danke." Just thanking this annoying, stubborn blob of fluid was hard enough as it was, thats why he had to encrypt his own message. But it felt appropriate to say it anyway. "I'm sure you have lots of work to get on with now, like your Antarctica reports. I won't hold you back with my pathetic human feelings anymore."
"Actually I already submitted all of them just before coming to see you." He stated, "If you want, I can schedule more time for attending to my colleagues feelings." He placed both of his hands on his hips. "I don't see your feelings as pathetic either, Adler. On the contrary, though I lack thorough understanding of them, I find them fascinating and intriguing-"
"Well, I just remembered that I have some work to do on my own, I would appreciate it if I could have the space to work peacefully in this office."
"What are you working on?"
"The solution to making you less frustrating."
"You!" Ulrich failed to continue the conversation before he was firmly pushed out of Adler's office. Oh well. At least he gained a rich amount of new data on human emotion, and emotion of his own too. Could an Awakened really feel this way towards a human? Seldom was this heard of.