Chapter Text
Sometimes fate plays jokes a little too cruel or, at least, humorously ironic on those who dare put too much trust into her. For example, letting it sort everything out on it's own for a really long time.
One would think that playing such games is enough of a gamble, but Enigma didn't really believe in such esoteric matters despite knowing better while working with a bunch of arcanists. Either way, he bluntly lost his luck when he decided to come out of his personal office spontaneously. At least, mathematically spontaneously, without any preliminary plan or anything such. The world should've taken this gesture as the rarest possible benevolence that could've be done by this man, but instead it welcomed him with a deafening silence, barely interrupted by some incoherent distant sounds.
While Enigma took his time to concern himself with remembering any bits of the usual office routine that included the irregular yet sometimes existent morning meetings (hell, he wasn't even sure what time it is and how much time he's wasted in his office), he thoughtlessly wandered around until his curiosity lead him into an ajar door.
At first, he wanted to knock in a semblance of decency, but changed his mind as soon as he found his bearings and read the name on it. If this colleague of his never makes an attempt at receiving any permission to enter his sacred pit of dust, then it's only fair to take a peek too.
Ulrich's office was the complete opposite to Enigma's - the only things that gave away a presence of a living being (as much of a living one as a fishbowl full of oil that moved around on top of a metal dummy could be called, he thought to himself) included a dirty coffee mug resting on the table and a couple folders of unsorted documentation.
How unusual of him to leave something seemingly important in an open room, but whatever.
The man was about to give up on his first ever attempt to reach out to his colleagues voluntarily as his tired eyes caught onto a mildly interesting detail. Apparently, one of the folders had no name yet it looked thicker and had much less crimps and scuffs compared to ones that were often passed around, used and revisited.
Having no idea of what possession of such a pretentious person could take up so much space and yet have no title, Enigma picked up the folder and flipped through it's contents, his sleepy pupils darting around from page to page, barely making out anything in a dim light of the office. It was all filled up by paragraphs and paragraphs of numbers and letters mixed into a total gibberish. It's not like it was his first day in cryptography, but either his brain wasn't cooperative enough after such a short examination, or this didn't look like the usual stuff they'd work with.
Regardless, Enigma's curiosity subsided when he didn't find anything that could quickly satisfy his interest about this document.
- Warum bin ich immer noch hier... - he wondered about his own behavior, his thoughts spilling past his lips in a state of deep thinking, when he heard footsteps rapidly approaching the doorway behind him. By now, he'd done enough things that felt out of place and couldn't care enough to even feel the need to make something up.
- Ahem! I have the same question for you. - the mechanical voice came from behind, its tone beforehand amused and particularly annoying. It make Enigma turn his head around. Was his murmuring really loud enough to reach those sensors coherently? - And what tells you you're allowed to touch my belongings? - The "intruder" sighed with exaggerated exasperation.
Yet, mechanical legs quickly approached the man much earlier than he could at least face his colleague properly.
It took Ulrich only a moment to peek at what the other was holding before his ferrofluid took a form of a frantic exclamation mark and he ripped the document out of his hands.
- Okay, Mr. Micromanagement, this is clearly some work related bullshit either way, no need for violence. - Enigma could practically feel a headache coming near just at the pure sight of this talking fishbowl. Yet, the latter was practically in the right, so he raised his hands slightly in defeat - or, maybe, more like in defense.
Oddly, Ulrich took a moment to react to that. His gaze, which could only be traced through the slight tilts of the spherical head, moved to and fro between the unexpected guest and the confiscated bunch of paper. The scrutinized one could only guess that would've been a look of suspicion or distrust, yet didn't understand why it was so intense.
- Why are you here? - Ulrich's voice sounded somehow even colder at the moment, as if such delicate differences were possible for his body.
A short awkward silence followed. The ferrofluid was still clutching the folder in his hand as if it could run away.
- I cannot read your thoughts, Adler. That is not a kind of signal decryption I can do.
- Yell at me a little bit more and I'll lose the last bit of memory on why i came here. - Enigma rubbed the bridge of his nose, looking away in an almost sincere attempt to remember what kind of importance made him leave his comfort zone and step straight into a socialization trap.
If Ulrich had to breath, he'd be taking deep breaths to make a hint, but since that wasn't an option, he just crossed his hands and calmed himself, still staring, but... somehow more patiently.
- Ugh... Right. I think there is a page missing in the recent report copy that i got, and you were ignoring my messages about it. I knew you'd bother me way worse after i lose my motivation to try and read into it, so I came here to bother you instead to prevent it.
- Wow. - after a moment, Ulrich let out an amused sound. - That's it? Of course I saw those, I'm sorry I couldn't end the morning meeting just to come assist the little helpless creature that couldn't wait for another half an hour or do it himself.
Enigma's eye twitched, but he mirrored the other's pose and crossed his hands before he felt the itch to throw something at him.
- I can't believe you actually decided to honor us with your attention and personal presence today. - Ulrich went on, the sarcasm audible through the whatever electronics that gave him his voice. Man, how far have the technologies come just to give the Awakened a chance to express a hundred shades of his bickering. - What's next to expect? Oh, i swear, if you attend something important willingly I'm gonna give you a medal for that.
By now, it was just a monologue, because the other end of it wasn't listening to this anymore, and just staring into a wall in a state close to dissociation. He knew that the last bit of energy he has was either gonna be wasted on this meaningless argument or saved for something slightly more productive.
How uncharacteristically kind of him it was to try his best and stay silent for just a little more.
- Did you read this?
- ..? - Enigma's head finally moved in direction of the sound at a question that finally sounded less disdainful than the rest of whatever that glass bowl said.
- This. - he waved the unlabeled folder in his face. - I'm done with scolding you for being so... irresponsible and rude enough to barge into someone else's office and touch their personal stuff... - Ulrich's voice trailed off as if he actually made an effort to stop this current of criticism. - Did you read it?
- I mean... - the man unfolded his arms to scratch the back of his neck with one. To answer this, he had to admit he's not even half as quick in matters of decoding as this particular Awakened is. Hell, that one got special abilities that help him with those kind of tasks, which isn't fair, but still too much to admit over Adler's pride. - I didn't take it seriously enough to try and understand it. What was it? Some bullshit you do in your free time, i presume.
At first, it seemed like the ferrofluid... didn't believe him? That was strange to look at - the way Ulrich glared at the papers, his magnetic form swaying and juggling shapes like a loading screen. But at the end-
- Hah! - he barked out a laugh, which sounded deeply unnatural and somewhat silly at the same time. - So you couldn't decrypt even a bit of it, otherwise you'd reveal this file's true value. You are losing your grip, Enigma. - the name was said with a bit of irony in the accent of it, but somehow it still made it's owner feel a little bit good.
His biggest rival still had some decency to use it at least from time to time. But Adler would never express this particle of gratitude in a conversation, of course.
The relieved Awakened finally seemed to have moved on from this situation. He turned around and walked to his office table nonchalantly, making some quiet gleeful sounds of yet another victory of his erudition. He got to sorting his belongings, throwing the aforementioned odd document into a drawer with a keyhole on it and obviously locking it afterwards.
If Enigma were quick enough to be curious and turn his head, he'd probably see where the key is stored, but his dormant mind only got to that idea much later.
Meanwhile, the ferrofluid picked up his coffee mug and sauntered to the sink to clean it.
- Do you need me to show you the door? - he still seemed to be in a slightly good mood, that is only until he realized that something is terribly off in this whole picture. The fluid took a shape of a wobbly question mark. - Why aren't you trying to decapitate me for downplaying your cryptography skills? Or whichever is your favorite idea on making my life terrible.
- I'm leaving already. I'm not in the mood for taking bait from a talking black snort in a fishbowl today anyway.
The timing of this being said was nothing less than perfect, as Enigma closed the door very much on time before catching a wet washcloth with his face.
- Go and actually do your job for once!! - the Awakened yelled after him.
The other man pretended it wasn't audible and shrugged it off, but still requested another copy of today's materials a bit later.