5, Or when Bunsen saves their jobs
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Beaker was really unlucky. Bunsen had already seen it in the lab, but it was even more an evidence now that he got used to keep an eye on him himself each time he was being curious about something. After all, it would have been a shame to give him a sick leave and loose more time than they already did. So when he saved his still bandaged assistant's hand from the magnetic paper-knife, pulling him right when it was going to fly in his direction, he got surprised to hear some meeps he didn't understand at first.
In fact he has been so surprised to not understand him that he didn't move, even if in pulling his assistant, he had leaded him in his arms. And now the latter was obviously embarrassed. The red-hair muppet wasn't even looking at him anymore, and this information strangely helped him to fix his little translation problem: All these signs seemed to show that Beaker just had thanked him. And that was a new thing. His coworker never really had the occasion to feel that grateful toward him before, they had never shared a situation where one of them could actually do something of that sort for the other. Anyway, Beaker quickly took a step forward and, with a nervous laugh, said that he was glad he still had his hand, or he would have missed playing violin.
- You play violin ?
That detail struck him. Sometimes he just remembered how Beaker had a whole life he didn't know about. And even if he didn't really know why, it made him feel something between confusion and awkwardness. He guessed that it was because Beaker was the only person he had spent so much time with in years, and that the more he realized he didn't know him personally, the more he realized how lonesome he really was. Maybe.
But still, he refused to let himself get distracted and smiled gently.
- Anyway... Next time just don't open boxes with a "Magnetic" mention on it. The chances that the saying object would have to run through you to find some metal is higher than 68%. And the chances that the saying object would have the ability to hurt you by running through you is more than...
He got cut short by the sound of the phone ringing. It was just near them and, seeing that the high noise made Beaker to hide in his collar, he picked up the phone with good grace.
- Dr Bunsen Honeydew currently glued to Beaker, hello ?
As soon as he recognized who he was speaking to, he immediately put the phone away from his ear, waiting for the upcoming yells to break the silence of the house.
- DOCTOR HONEYDEW, I SWEAR THAT IF YOU DON'T COME BACK FOR THE NEXT NUMBER I WILL FIRE YOU AND BEAKER BEFORE YOU CAN SAY "SCIENCE" !
By his side, the assistant grimaced, putting a hand on his eyes as if he seemed to be hiding from trouble. Bunsen wasn't surprised though, he expected his boss to call and already have planned an answer of his own. So he cleared his throat and, as he always did when he wanted something from someone, and took this particular quiet tone, the one with which he would totally flutter his lashes if he had the possibility to.
- Well first of all, I'm afraid that you can't fire Beaker, Mr Kermit. He is my employee.
Hearing his name, the red-headed muppet suddenly stared at him, probably in choc given how his mouth was wide opened. Did he really though that he would not stand for him ? He gently smiled at him in response, then went on.
- Besides, I never take vacations so what about some weeks away from stage ? It would be a first time, not to mention that I might be up to something concerning our little problem.
He ignored Beaker when he rolled his eyes at his words. He didn't have to say the actual truth, no one cared about that as long as he was working on making the futur to happen earlier. And he knew how Mr. Kermit worked, the frog was so involved in the show that saying he won't be responsible of something would make him want to put some trust in it. He had the lab and Beaker this way.
Indeed, on the other side of the line, the boss let out a long sigh. It was a win, Bunsen knew it even before the frog dared to speak again.
- Ok, fine. Take your time, Honeydew. But not too long, the show is a mess here and I can't afford... PIGGY, NOT NOW !
Noises of all sorts came out of the phone, so loud in fact that even his assistant seemed to hear them. Miss Piggy was somebody everyone in the crew was avoiding if it was possible, and as much as Bunsen knew the formula to deal with people, he wasn't fond of her presence himself. So, quickly greeting his employer, he hang up and sighed. Silence again. He enjoyed it for a moment, like how he was doing it each time he was back home after work, then softly whispered:
- Well, Beaker, it seems like we are going to keep working together for a little while.
His assistant mumbled some 'meeps' in agreement, surprisingly more imbued with relief than he could have expected it to be. And thanks to his recent experience, he understood when Beaker shyly thanked him, his little smile growing by itself.
- It's not a big deal, really... Now come on, we'd better try something, I promised we would be back in no time.
As they were supposed to be, in the first place, in the storage room, he immediately took some old inventions like the All purpose tenderizer and a blowtorch which could make cold fire. He never found a proper name for that one, which was the reason why he never presented it on the show. Beaker was doing the same, and looking at his puny body being weighed down under some material he was bravely trying to carry, Bunsen let himself sigh happily.
He certainly will miss this little smile when everything would be back to normal.