Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The lab was a mess, there were scientists running around like their life depended on it, papers with top secret information being tossed and shoved from one hand to another and a huge pile of discarded coffee cups piling up like a small leaning tower in one of the many bins they had scattered around the place.

If a representative of the government entered this place they’d be all fired. Squiddo would actually be the first to get thrown out of this whole operation if she didn’t get a move on. “Wifies!” She yelled, screeching to a stop next to the poor sleep deprived man who was currently jotting down notes while he inspected something with a microscope. “Have you seen my heels? Where are my heels?!”

“No Squiddo, I haven’t seen your heels. But if I had to guess they could be near your desk?” Wifies replied, peeling away his tired eye from the microscope’s lens. “Yes of course, of course! You’re a genius Wifies!”

“I’m aware of that, yes.” The scientist muttered, then lifted his head. His face went blank for a second before panic set in. “Wait. Why do you need your heels?” He asked, now following Squiddo around the messy lab. “For the fundraiser. The one hosted by Lettuce!”

“What fundraiser? Wasn’t it set for next week?” Wifies frantically patted his pockets for his phone, doubt creeping in.

“No, it’s today. I’m sure because Wemmbu is picking me up.” Squiddo looked at her watch and grimaced. She was so, so, so late.

Wifies turned around, beelining to his own desk. “I gotta run!” He yelled, picking up his car keys and rushing out of the lab, still wearing his white coat.

Squiddo followed after him, stumbling over her high heels. While Wifies went to the garage, she pushed through the revolving doors and got out. Wemmbu’s car was waiting for her. As soon as Squiddo got spotted, the vehicle began to roar impatiently. The passenger window rolled down, revealing a quite annoyed Wemmbu at the steering wheel and Spoke’s head appearing from the backseats.

“Get in! We’re late!” Wemmbu rushed Squiddo over, and she jumped in the passenger seat, closing the door after her. Wemmbu immediately pressed down the gas and began speeding through the streets, towards the main city center.

The streets passed in a blur of woozy lights and unclear images. The sun was setting, it shone a beautiful hue over the city that almost softened the brute edges of the concrete buildings.

Squiddo sighed, already feeling her feet aching. She wasn’t one for formal events, the lab was her place, that’s where she felt safe. That’s where she belonged.

“How long till we’re there?” Spoke whined loudly from behind. Squiddo would bet half of her research that his suit had already been messed up with. “Just a few minutes.” Wemmbu replied, waiting at a pretty long red light. “I’ll park, you two should get out at the entrance. Squiddo is late for her speech.” As soon as the red light turned green, Wemmbu turned right before speeding down the road, stopping in front of the city center’s entrance. “C’mon,” Wemmbu muttered, waiting for Squiddo and Spoke to exit the car. “Be quick you two. I’ll see you in a few.”

Squiddo distractedly waved goodbye as Spoke dragged her inside. The enormous glass doors were wide open, leading into a long and overly illuminated corridor covered in various paintings of former Presidents.

Spoke halted in front of the last door, the biggest, most adorned one. Behind it voices could be heard chatting enthusiastically while music acted as a comfortable base that never let the party get too quiet, too real.

Spoke pushed the door open, and a bright light clashed against Squiddo’s glasses, blinding her for a good second. “Take that off Squiddo! You gotta make a good impression, you know?” Spoke muttered as he pushed her into the room and helped her take off the not so pristine lab coat. 

The crowd slowly silenced itself as Squiddo stepped onto the podium, exchanging a few polite glances and handshakes while Spoke watched her with a proud grin. She rarely showed her face to the public or spoke about her work so openly.

Squiddo was private about her life. She had only a few, selected friends and kept herself extremely busy with her research and work. Her friends had pushed her to try and be more open, less work-centered… but it was hard to pry someone away from something they had found refuge in for most of their life on this planet.

The crowd shuffled closer to the podium, faking their interest in her and her speech. People chatted while they stared at her, intensely.

Too intensely for her liking.

Squiddo tapped gently on the microphone, checking if it was working. “Good evening to everyone,” she slowly said, trying to keep her voice steady and calm. There was nothing to fear, these were just people. “My name is Squiddo Floren, and I’m one of the head scientists for Project Elpis.”

Suddenly, the room got quiet. Squiddo could hear her own heavy breaths as she tried to keep her composure. It never got easier to speak about Project Elpis, as time progressed the research did too; her worries and hopes fluctuated with each report and new experiment. Working at this project was like riding a rollercoaster, you keep on waiting for it to end but still fear it. Squiddo was waiting and fearing for the end too.

She mindlessly tried to straighten her black dress, shuffling her heels. “As the head of this Project and a wonderful team of extremely dedicated and competent scientists, I wanted to say thank you for your constant support of this cause. If you are here,” Squiddo took a good look around the room, spotting only a few people she knew because they had insisted on touring the lab, “then it means you’ve kept alive this project and many of the people attacked by the illness we’ve now all had the chance to see called Vespera.”

The same illness Squiddo had been studying for years now, the illness that had attacked the body of millions of people out of nowhere and that slowly brought them into deep comas, forcing them into an almost complete stillness now easily found in many hospital beds.

Squiddo took a deep breath, it wasn’t easy talking about the illness that had stolen so many loved ones in front of a crowd that was here just for show.

Politicians, governors, millionaires and inventors of the most important companies in the world had all been squished in a room that smelled like flowers but had distinctive undertones of chemicals. These people donated just because they had to, not because they care.

She adjusted her glasses on her nose, bracing herself to speak again. “I’m here to reassure you all, dearest patrons, that our research has been advancing by leaps and bounds thanks to your generous support and the one issued by our government that, from what I know, will soon have a new face leading it.” Squiddo motioned to the three politicians that were running for president.

At the center Lettuce, the current president that had decided to run for the second consecutive term, smiled brightly at Squiddo and waved at the crowd. He was a confident candidate that had already guided the country once and knew how to speak to the people.

Squiddo wasn’t a fan of his, in fact, she had preferred and voted for his former nemesis: Hannah Rose. Last term the business woman had attempted to snatch the title, but Lettuce won over her by just a few votes.

Her eyes moved to the right side of the room, where Jamato stood with his drink in hand. 

The second candidate had entered the presidential race late and had barely tried to interact and convince the people like the other two had. Squiddo believed he had joined the race just to distract the public’s attention from the huge drama that happened between his company and Spoke’s.

At last, Squiddo looked at the left side of the room, the one closer to the huge windows that let the moon’s light enter the room. Ashswag, the third and last candidate, stood there with his hands behind his back, next to him stood his closest ally, Reddoons.

Ashswag had abandoned an extraordinary and long military career in favor of a political one. He had strong and unchangeable views that had convinced many people to vote for him.

Squiddo had seen various posters with him and various different slogans around the city. She never looked at them for too long, but she always noticed those dark eyes staring right into her soul.

Those eyes, that now shone brightened once illuminated by the moon’s light, stared at her in real life. Ashswag’s lips formed a thin line that was dangerously too close to something close to a frown. Squiddo’s eyes snapped from his lips to his eyes— why was she staring at a presidential candidate’s lips?? —and had every intention of looking elsewhere if he hadn’t nodded at her with such careful slowness, a movement full of recognition.

Squiddo nodded back at him, attempting a small, grateful smile before she had to speak again. “Us of Project Elpis hope to continue working thanks to your support and wish everyone a happy evening, thank you.” And with that, she walked off the podium as people clapped her words and ignored the real importance of Project Elpis.

Wemmbu and Spoke were waiting for her with drinks in their hands. “You did great Squiddo!!” Spoke was the first to speak up, Wemmbu nodded beside him. “I told you there was nothing to worry about. You did your speech and now you can go back to your lab.” Wemmbu comforted her as he gave Squiddo her lab coat.

She sighed, struggling to put on the not so pristine coat. “I still haven’t gotten used to these damned speeches. Usually it’s Wifies or Parrot that do all the talking… but they refused to take over this one. I don’t blame them really, it’s just another useless party for rich, privileged people with no interest in the research.” Usually Squiddo never let these kinds of comments slip, especially in formal situations like this, but after seeing people that were supposed to be here because they cared about the research and the cure, not even listening to a word she said made something in her snap somehow.

Squiddo reached for one of the drinks in Spoke’s hand, who looked frozen, but she didn’t mind him much. Wemmbu was slowly shaking his head at her, mouthing something weird. “Also, these drinks are terrible. These posh people have the money to invite those fame-hungry, self-promoting presidential candidates but not to buy some nice liquor?” Squiddo looked up from the glass in her hand, noticing Spoke’s now pale face and Wemmbu’s more erratic head shaking. “What are you doing—?” Squiddo turned around and almost threw up.

“I do agree that some of the liquor offered is quite rancid.” The man in front of her said, lowering his white gloved hand that was gripping a wine flute, “Personally, I haven’t been paid to participate to this event. I’m here on my own volition, but I can’t say the same about the other two candidates.” Ashswag, yes— that Ashswag —the general that probably had more medals than shoes, said. 

He offered his free hand to her, smiling coldly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Floren.” Squiddo didn’t immediately take his hand, she had to be nudged by Wemmbu in the shoulder to do so. “The pleasure’s mine, eer… Mister?”

“Ashswag is fine.” He reassured her, gently shaking her hand. Squiddo felt out of place, shaking hands with a presidential candidate she had just shit talked a few seconds prior. “Oh. Well then, you can- no, should, call me Squiddo..?” Wemmbu sighed behind her. “Don’t mind her. Squiddo rarely gets out of the lab and isn’t much acquainted with formal talks.”

Squiddo nodded eagerly as Wemmbu stepped in front of her, doing his job as the charity Head of Operations. Ashswag looked at Wemmbu with a scrutinizing eye, up and down, repeatedly before shifting to Squiddo. Wemmbu stiffened, unconsciously blocking the general’s gaze from the scientist. “Squiddo was about to go back to the lab, run a few more tests. She’s very dedicated to the research—”

“I know. Although, I’m sure other scientists could take over Miss Floren’s work for a couple of minutes. I came here because I wished for a chat with her, about her research of course.” 

Wemmbu frowned. It was unusual for benefactors to ask to talk to Squiddo, and honestly he much preferred to handle these kinds of logistics and conversations himself. The rich oftentimes were insensitive and tone-deaf. Wemmbu had grown accustomed to them and knew how to avoid taking to heart some tactless comments, Squiddo— whom had always been safely cooped up in the lab since the start of this charity —didn’t know how to protect herself. “I’m sure you can discuss whatever you wish to here.”

“No,” Ashswag sternly said. “I’ll speak to her alone. If that’s alright with Miss Floren, of course.” 

Suddenly, Squiddo felt herself redden up. She seldomly became the center of attention, and now everybody was staring at her. Ashswag extended his hand, inviting her to grab it. 

If she did accept the gesture and followed him to a more private spot, people would notice, and then the press would be informed and the public’s opinions could change. Was this chat a way for Ashswag to win a few more votes for his campaign by those hit by the illness? Let some pictures be taken by the journalists and put on papers, giving the idea that he cared about the Vespera epidemic more than the other candidates?

Squiddo frowned, weighing her choices. This interaction was already weird enough to grab the attention of some journalists, and she really wanted to know what he wanted to talk about. Maybe convince him to cough up a few more donations to the charity, the lab needed new equipment and new staff.

She took his hand, and without missing a beat Ashswag began walking towards the other side of the room, where a huge balcony that looked  over the whole city was located. Squiddo was forced to follow as she tried to not stumble over her now uncomfortable high heels.

There were a few people on the balcony, and they became fewer after Ashswag arrived. He put down his flute and turned around to face Squiddo.

Ashswag had his hip against the banister and was staring at her. “I apologize if I came off too strong before, but I’ve been looking forward to chatting with you, Miss Floren, for a long time.” He explained, showing her a much more genuine smile. “I’m not sure what you wish to chat about.”

“Your research, of course. I’ve been following the latest developments.”

“About the Vespera illness?” Squiddo asked, “I’m… surprised. Not many show much interest in this research.”

“Yet the gala tonight looks quite full of benefactors.”

“Benefactors don’t really want to know much about the research. They just wanna feel good about themselves.” Squiddo muttered, downing her drink. “Well, if it makes you feel better I could tell you how much I enjoyed the latest update on your research that has been published. The one about those cells—”

“You’ve read it?” Squiddo interrupted him, looking up at him with shiny eyes. “You’ve actually read it? I thought only my colleagues had read it! Did you enjoy it? Was it comprehensible to non-scientists?” She carried genuine joy as she talked to him, trying to gather what he had understood.

Ash didn’t spare any words as he told Squiddo what he had gathered from her research. He had been following Squiddo’s research from its early days. 

They didn’t notice time passing by or journalists taking pictures of the duo. Both were lost in their little bubble and had no intention of leaving it. Squiddo had managed to warm up to Ashswag quite quickly, and he had done the same. His face looked more relaxed, and he looked more handsome when he didn’t look so serious.

“Do you think it would be possible to visit your lab?” Ashswag suddenly asked. Yes, Squiddo thought, yes it would be possible— but my colleagues would kill me. She smiled gently at him, shaking her head. “Sadly I don’t think so. My colleagues are pretty possessive about their work.”

“Oh- I have no intention of stealing your work, Miss Floren.” Ash muttered. “I know.” She reassured him, “I know, but they don’t. The lab is off limits to outsiders for security and safety reasons.”

“I know how to handle myself in a lab, I won’t pry nor disturb. Just-”

Squiddo shook her head. “Trust me, your political campaign won’t skyrocket even if you come to the lab, take a few pictures and tell the world how important research is and how everybody deserves a cure. Many have tried before and just gathered a few more votes.” She really thought Ashswag had been interested in her work. She had been foolish, she should’ve let Wemmbu talk to him. “If you really want to visit the lab, then talk to Wemmbu. He handles those things. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a lab to tend to and this conversation has taken much time away from it.” Squiddo turned around, trying to keep a serious expression even if she wanted to show to the world her disgust. People were all the same.

“Miss Floren— Squiddo. Wait. Please.” Ash fumbled with his words as he reached and grasped gently her wrist. “I’m serious about my interest in this research. I wish to see the lab because I really care about your work, not because I need more votes.” His thumb slowly drew circles around her pulse point. Squiddo would have to admit that it was a soothing touch that she never expected from someone like Ashswag. “I understand if you won’t let me in the lab, it is your job and you know better. But please don’t think I came to you with ill intentions.”

She turned around, staring at his face with furrowed brows. Ashswag kept quiet, waiting for her to just say something. The tension was killing him, her silence felt like a blade pressed against his neck, but he kept a stern expression on. His thumb didn’t stop.

“Talk to Wemmbu. He’s the one that handles these things.”

“I won’t enter the lab without your permission.”

“We probably won’t ever see each other again, how could I give you my permission?”

“By giving me your number, perhaps?”

Squiddo felt her cheeks redden, for the second time in a night. Was he… was he flirting with her?? Ashswag, the presidential candidate, was asking for her number?? Was this work related or something different?

“I— what? Are you sure?” She asked as she took her phone from her pocket. He nodded, grabbing his own. “I wouldn’t have asked.”

“Asked about what?” Spoke asked from behind Squiddo, trying to take a peak at what the two were doing. “Spoke! Mind your business.” Squiddo immediately passed her phone to Ash, so he could take her number. “I’m curious too.” Someone behind Ash said. “Tubbo, this is something between Miss Floren and me.”

“I thought we settled on using our first names?”

“Woah already on first names, what’s next? Marriage?” Spoke’s joke did not land, but made Squiddo and Ash even more embarrassed. “We were just talking.” She said, looking away. Ash had to bite down his pleading words. He wanted her to look at him, wanted to see her eyes shine again at the mention of her research.

Wemmbu set a hand on Squiddo’s shoulder, offering her a smile. “Ready to go? Wifies and Parrot just arrived, they’ll take over for the rest of the night.” She nodded, before looking at him one last time. “Goodbye, Ashswag.”

“I’ll see you soon, Squiddo.”

As Squiddo, Wemmbu and Spoke walked away, Ash’s eyes remained on her. 

“So? How did it go? Is she as amazing as you thought she was?” Tubbo asked from beside him. “She’s so much more.” His assistant shook his head. “Don’t come off too strong, you’ll scare her away.”

“I already asked for her number. I’ll write to her tonight.”

“Okay. Sure. Keep on ignoring my wise suggestions.” Tubbo muttered, turning around. “It’s not absolutely weird texting the girl you’ve just met the same night. You absolutely won’t come off as a creep.”

“Shut up Tubbo. Go networking or something…” Ash was already on his phone, opening his chat with Squiddo.