The Most Adorable Creature

Projects

Viper couldn't just let a limping Killjoy move her heavy robot projects, so she insisted on helping the engineer. However, getting to Killjoy's "lab" she realized that most of the robots had literal feet and walked around like chickens. The lab was much smaller, messier, and dirtier than Viper's immaculate workspace. Against three of the walls of the room were long shelves that held all sorts of half finished projects and mechanical parts. Directly across from the entrance was a desk with a mess of wires and electrical components on top of it. On one corner of the desk it looked like the mess had been moved to make way for a fancy looking speaker.

"I forgot I owned this," the genius remarked, grabbing the speaker and placing it in a box. Viper noticed that the German was definitely having an easier time walking than days earlier. Progress.

As Killjoy searched the room for useful items, Viper wandered around absorbing the room in its entirety. In one corner of the room there was a stack of padded mattresses and very thick gloves. In that same corner there were large dents in the reinforced steel wall and bits of warped metal still stuck in it. For the life of her, Viper could not imagine Killjoy working with explosives. But the German did spend far too much time with Raze, so it would make perfect sense that they'd work on projects together.

It didn't take long for Killjoy to gather a bunch of materials and handing them to an awaiting Viper. The engineer beckoned her robots to follow them out and back down the hallway they went. The halls of the headquarters were unusually quiet. The only sounds came from the agent's footsteps and the clatter of the chicken bots.

A majority of the agents had been sent out on missions that day so it made sense that the halls were empty. Viper couldn't exactly remember who was sent out and who wasn't, she had only skimmed through Brimstone's weekly brief email. At some point she hoped KJ would show him how to highlight the important bits.

Viper normally had a very long stride. She walked quickly, with certainty, and did not slow down for anything or anyone... except Killjoy. The chemist slowed her normal walking pace considerably so as to not rush the sentinel. The sentinel seemed to notice this and tried to pick up her pace.

"Take your time walking. If you fall, I won't be able to catch you with this box in my hands," Viper warned, experimentally shifting the box's weight from hand to hand. It was too heavy to hold with one hand.

"I'm glad you would catch me," Killjoy smirked, a mischievous look on her face, "You're really simping."

The chemist's heart stopped. Doesn't simping mean really liking? Did Killjoy just acknowledge–? Viper forced out a cough to cover for the awkward silence between them. Her mind was racing.

"I would do this for anyone," she responded, unable to bring her eyes from her slightly upward gaze at the ceiling (which seemed more detailed than she ever remembered).

Suddenly, the engineer froze in her tracks. Viper paused, confused at the sudden stop. Killjoy's eyes were on the ground, her weight shifting off the weak ankle. Slowly the young woman met the controller's eyes. Viper noted that behind the sentinel's eyes was a gaze of deep pondering.

The engineer broke the silence before Viper could. "Danke schön. Danke, dass du dich um mich gekümmert hast... Viper." (translation: thank you very much. Thank you for taking care of me.)

Killjoy's tone was soft and emotional. She gently spoke every word as if she could break them if she said it too loudly or too aggressively. It was a rare event for the usually outspoken sentinel to be so soft spoken.

The chemist was at a loss for words. She had absolutely no idea what to say. A few moments of silence passed before Viper managed to collect enough working brain cells to squeak out an incredibly pathetic: "You're welcome." This sound made Killjoy burst out laughing. The chemist's face immediately turned a deeper shade of red than it had likely ever been. She did not know she was even capable of making such a disgusting sound.