Warnings: None! Some minor Canto 9 spoilers. Also, this is pre-relationship.
Synopsis: After the attack on Limbus, Ash and Vespa have a lot of cleaning up to do. Their office is a mess! So dusty! There's not much to celebrate, but Vespa became a Color Fixer, and Ash couldn't help but notice that he didn't get a single congratulation.
(In which Ash gives Vespa a gift to celebrate his promotion to The Yellow Harpoon)
~~~~~
Vespa sighs as he sits upon a worn, leather seat in what was once LCD's office. It would be back to its usual charm soon enough. Broken shelves and debris could be cleaned, and it's not like he had anything better to do. It was never the fanciest place, for the company didn't seem their department was worth allocating the budget. They were probably right, and Vespa didn't have it in him to dwell on it much. Besides, he was never one to care for flashy things.
The office is cleaner than it was in the morning. Moses's area was tidy as always, and even Ezra's desk looked semi-organized. He can't help but smile at the irony of it all. All it took for her to finally clean up was their whole building getting trashed.
He leans back in his chair, taking a brief respite from the supposed horrors of dusting bookshelves. He takes his glasses off, rubs at his temples, and sighs.
His calm and quiet is disturbed by one simple, yet massive concern.
It's too quiet.
Where is Ash?
He glances around, realizing that he's utterly alone in the office. Ezra came in a while ago, but she was always bumbling about and doing something. Ash began the day helping him clean, and now... She was gone?
Vespa furrows his brow. His years as an N Corp Taboo Hunter honed his senses, made him sharp. Nothing escaped him.
... Except for Ash, that is. She had a way about her, something that made him lose his edge. Drop his guard. Maybe it's for the best that she was on his side and not one of his enemies.
He liked her. Maybe not in way that a coworker should like another coworker, but with everything going on, it was the last thing on his mind. He'd figure that out eventually. Maybe she even liked him too. That would make him happy. He'd certainly have no complaints.
He didn't notice when she left, but he feels her absence now that she's gone. It's too quiet without her. Silence was a comfort, but without Ash, it just made him anxious.
"Vespa?"
Speak of the devil and she shall arrive, it seems.
Vespa glances over to the door. Ash pops her head in, a little pout on her lips. Her black hair was slightly tousled, but it always was.
"Hello, Ash. I was wondering where you ran off to."
"Oh, it was... nothing!"
She laughs, but he fails to see the humor in anything he said. Vespa crosses his arms over his chest, arms flexing through his tight bodysuit.
"Is that right? Then why are you not coming inside? It's your office too."
"True..."
Ash cautiously enters the room, but her hands stay behind her back. Behind his bangs, Vespa raises an eyebrow. What was she hiding? She was acting strange.
Ash tries to play it cool, to act natural, but she does an awful job. She shifts her weight from foot to foot, avoids eye contact. One of her hands pushes up her red glasses, but the other remains behind her back.
Vespa had no patience for such things. He hated guessing games.
"What's behind your back, Ash?"
Ash opens her mouth to say something, to make up some excuse, but she sighs before she can think of anything.
"Fine... Here."
In Ash's hand is one thing.
A cupcake.
A cupcake, frosted in a spiral of buttercream with a healthy amount of a yellow sprinkles on top. What catches Vespa's eye is the candle sticking out of the center. Yellow and black.
Vespa blinks at it.
"This is a cupcake. Ash."
Ash blinks.
"Uh... Yeah. Yeah, Vespa, it is."
"That's lovely. However, it is not my birthday. I appreciate the thought, though."
"What?! No!"
Ash's cheeks flush with color, her voice high in pitch,
"I know it's not your birthday! Your birthday is in January!"
"Then what's the special occasion?"
"Well... It's you. You're a Color now, so I thought we should celebrate. It felt weird doing it around everyone else, since our coworkers, uh..."
Ash trails off. Vespa finishes the sentence for her.
"Died?"
"Yeah. That. Celebrating doesn't feel right, but... A Color is a big accomplishment. You've got the stupidest name ever, but you're a Color nonetheless. So I baked this for you."
Vespa finds himself at a loss for words. In truth, he never had the time to celebrate such an accomplishment. His experience becoming a Color was full of a ridiculous amount of paperwork and a horrible front desk worker who couldn't believe that someone with such a "punk-ass haircut" could achieve such a feat. Still, he smiles slightly and accepts the cupcake.
"... Thank you, Ash. This is very kind of you. What flavor?"
"Cinnamon! Well, kinda.. you see, I threw some into the buttercream! But there's some in the batter too! It's a layer of what's pretty much a basic vanilla-"
For once, Vespa doesn't care for the details. He simply watches Ash talk, the way her voice speeds up and lips move, how her eyes light up behind her glasses. He thinks she looks beautiful.
".. Sorry. I started rambling."
He hates that she stopped.
"It's fine. Your passion for baking is admirable. And I personally have no complaints."
Ash giggles,
"Yeah? You're the best, Vespa."
"Hm, not quite the best."
"You're right. You're not the best. You're the Yellow Harpoon!"
Ash bursts into laughter as soon as she says it,
"Man, I just can't take that stupid name seriously... I mean, what was Ezra thinking? Because you wear yellow and you have a harpoon? Goodness, I don't even wanna imagine what my Fixer name would be.."
Vespa stays silent, but he mulls it over in his head.
Emerald.. Hm, no, maybe red. Perhaps The Red Glasses..
Ash laughs, leaning against the desk so she doesn't fall over,
"Probably something stupid like The Red Glasses or whatever! BAHAHAHAHA!"
Oh.
Vespa nods,
"Yes, I'd hope you'd get something much better than that indeed. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to try this. Would you like to light the candle?"
"Mhm!"
Ash pulls out a lighter from her pocket and lights the candle. She didn't smoke, but she carried one anyway. Something about always being prepared for anything. Maybe she should start carrying around cupcakes too.
"Come on, Vespa! Blow it out!"
"And make a wish?"
"I mean, if you want to. To be honest, I just put it there because the colors matched your hair."
Vespa blows out the candle. He opens his mouth to speak, but Ash shushes him.
"Shhh! If you say it, it won't come true!"
"I wasn't going to say it. I was going to thank you again."
"... Oh."
Vespa pays it no mind. After all, how could you admit to your cute coworker that what you wished was for her to bake for you more often?
Vespa takes a bite of the cupcake. His eyebrows raise, and he nods.
"This is phenomenal, Ash."
"Aw, you're just saying that.."
Ash smiles, looking away from his gaze. Her cheeks are flushed a gorgeous pink, and Vespa loves the sight.
"I don't say things I don't mean."
"Thank you, Vespa. I'm glad you like it! I know you're, like, a total cinnamon nut, so..."
Ash trails off and simply looks around the office while he eats. Her face is warm, and she can't seem to stop smiling.
"Being with you makes being the 'Yellow Harpoon' more bearable."
Ash looks back towards Vespa, snapped out of her thoughts.
"Sorry, what?"
"I said, cinnamon cupcakes make being the 'Yellow Harpoon' more bearable."
"Ohhh! Hehe, yeah? I'll make you plenty then!"
For just a moment, in a trashed office in an even worse building in the shittiest town he could think of, Vespa feels as though he was in paradise.
Yeah, I’m trying to heal from the emotional turmoil I went through in the wee hours of the morning. So here’s the whole Pinterest challenge board.
Is this how Pinterest sees me? I dunno, but I’m okay with Kat Stratford and everything else. My spirit needs charcuterie and knitting and crisp fall leaves. I’m trying to heal.
So thanks to @aurorawritestoescape and @toxicanonymity for the tags.
I’m adding @lemon-ice-pops @ak-vintage @mountainsandmayhem @schnarfer @baronessvonglitter @bratfrag @bergamote-catsandbooks to this little fun thing.
