Your boss always seemed to have some sort of attraction to you. Maybe not romantically (a lot of the times) but he just wanted to be near you. The boss in question? Professor Membrane. One of the most well received and respected scientists in the multiverse. It was an honor to even work with him, but to be recognized by him, your and millions of others' idol? That was a dream come true
It started when you were only about 6. Membrane was still in his 20s and still had his own show (that eventually got cancelled because of the station shutting down completely). Either way, each year at the SciCon, you would beg your mother to let you see him at his stand. You've gone to every one since then.
This year was different. This year, you were running it. Or at least helping to. Professor Membrane was stressing about the costs, the timing, the struggle to make everything perfect for his loyal fans.
"Alright, people, we need to finish making that cellular division reactor," he yelled out, clapping to get everyone's attention. He looked at you, giving you a gesture for you to follow him. You were confused for a second before you followed him into his office.
"Y/n, honey, I need your second opinion. I was working on this nuclear project, but I can't figure out this one specific issue…" he started. He sat with his hands clasped right in front of him.
He gestured to a machine in the corner of his office. "I'll finish in the lab, I just need to figure out what todo. With this, I'll be able to duplicate and eradicate matter," he explained. It was a pretty big deal. He would defy all laws of physics if he did this.
"Hm," you mumbled. "Maybe if you divide the circumference by the root of the big thing."
Membrane's eyes lit up. "Thank you! That must be it! I could kiss you right now," he exclaimed, and you're pretty sure he meant it. He gave you a hug and gently nudged you out. "Now go help everyone else with the nuclear thingy." He said hurriedly before closing the door.
You didn't think much about it until you remembered how flushed he looked when he mentioned kissing you. Maybe you should've…
As you sat down at your desk, your phone buzzed. When you picked it up to check, the name of your father's old friend, Professor Utonium, showed on screen. You immediately picked up, still surprised to see him calling right now.
"Hey,Professor! It's been a while, what's up?" You said optimistically. You haven't spoken to him in a few weeks, so you were happy he wanted to catch up. Or so you thought that's what he wanted.
"Buttercup just got expelled from school," he said, sounding frustrated yet exhausted at the same time. He sighed heavily. "I just don't know what to do with that girl anymore. It's utter insanity with her."
Your eyes widen and you sit up straight to listen. "This is like the 5th time. What did she do?"
"I can't explain it right now," he said. "Can you come over after your shift?" He asked. You heard something shuffling from the other end of the line. Then Professor Utonium spoke once more. "I'm sorry, I know you're stressed enough with your SciCon situation. But I really need you right now."
You stopped and thought. You knew he was right, he needed you. He was recently going through a breakup which his girlfriend who turned out to be a villain trying to take advantage of him, he was slowly slipping back into the state he was when his wife died years ago where he relied on alcohol to satisfy him, and he was stressed with all of the work tossed onto his shoulders. Buttercup wasn't helping.
"I'll come over as soon as I'm done, I promise." You said. But then you felt something hovering over your shoulder…
You looked up to see Professor Membrane peering over you. He looked scary at first, but then his face turned bright red as he noticed you noticed. "I-I'm sorry, Y/n," he said quietly, looking away. "You just looked upset and I wanted to make sure you were okay…"
"It's fine," you said. "I'm not upset. I just… I was just serious, I guess. How much did you hear?"
"N-Nothing really, it isn't my business anyway…" he tried to play it off. "But wasn't that Professor Utonium? We were friends, well really more just friendly, back in high school. Good guy he is…"
