Work Text:
The labs are a busy place.
A busy, dangerous, and extremely drama-filled place. Though not that Cub was complaining. His clients are invested in everything they do, and it’s pretty funny to watch a bunch of nerds freak out when he funds another of their crazy research projects. Honestly, the government has more than enough money to burn anyway, so it’s not like it matters if they spend a little to study science here and there.
Cub stands at the edge of the crowd and twirls a pen between his fingers, watching the lab party go by. He’s only here for two things, the food, and the people. Well, one person, really.
The room is large and open, the walls and floor sterile white and boring. Despite that, the planners actually managed to make it look good. The lights are turned off and fake flame candles light up the area, set mostly on the collapsible tables that Cub knew from experience aren’t usually there. He’s been looking forward to this party to see how well things are coming with his client’s latest experiments. He funds both the medical research department and the astronomy department, but today is all about breakthroughs for a new, work-in-progress vaccine.
“Aha, there you are. I figured your pencil-pushing self would show up here eventually.”
Cub turns and smiles. Speak of the devil. “Pencil pushing? Mind you, I have a degree in epidemiology.” He chuckles, nudging Doc’s arm when he comes to stand beside him. The man was huge, towering at well over six foot. Chocolate brown hair with a few greying parts, deep and thoughtful eyes, it was no wonder he got so many ladies chasing after him. It’s a shame he’s still single. Though, the crazy scientist vibes he gives sometimes might be why.
Cub himself was much shorter, with messy black hair he never bothered to fix up in the morning, also adorned with a few white hairs. He has black-rimmed glasses with dull green eyes behind them. He’s been noticing he looks more tired lately, maybe work has been getting to him a little. He had loved science, long ago, but that was far behind him now. These days he has a government to keep stable and science to be funded, among other work related projects. It all falls on him, in the end. He could sigh at the thought. He knows he shouldn’t complain about a job that pays this well, but he does miss being in behind the microscope. Diseases were always such a fun topic to him, hence his degree choice. Too bad that’s all down the drain now.
“So Doc, how’s the research going?”
Doc shrugs, crossing his arms with a light smile. “Pretty well, I’d say. The most recent round of testing had more positive results than last time. I think the higher dosage helped.”
Cub nods along, keeping his eyes on the party out in front of them. He spots one of Doc’s under workers, Pearl, arguing with a man with cyan hair. Odd, but not out of place knowing how chaotic the lab can get. “Makes sense. When’s the next round?”
“Next week. We hope to try-”
“Doc!”
A young man with a strange haircut stumbles out of the crowd, looking a little worse for wear. His head is almost completely shaved, save for a strip of long, bright blond hair that goes down the middle, which he keeps out of his eyes with a red cloth that looks like it might have been torn from a blanket. When he speaks, Cub can’t help but notice he’s missing a few teeth. What happened to this poor kid? “It’s chaos! Pearl n’ Scott are goin’ at it and no ones stopping them!”
Doc heaves a small sigh that leans more on amusement than exasperation. “My apologies. Bdubs is new here, just started learning the ropes last week. Don’t worry about it, they do this all the time. They won’t cause any damage.” He assures the young trainee, who takes a step back looking a little embarrassed. “Oh. My bad.” He replies sheepishly. “Who’s that?”
“This is Cub. He works for the President, funding our research. He’s an old friend.” Doc replies, gesturing to Cub with a small wave of his hand. Bdubs hums. “Oh. Nice to meet you.” He says, mellowing out to an almost nervous demeanor. He seems embarrassed to have interrupted the former conversation. Cub doesn’t blame him. He then turns and vanishes into the crowd again, leaving him blinking. Well, he supposes that’s one way to handle a first meeting. He clears his throat. “Anyway, as I was saying. Just keep me updated on the progress and Cleo and I will be more than happy to keep funding this project of yours.” Doc nods, his eyes trained on where Bdubs disappeared. “Will do.” He pauses for a moment, as if considering something, before he speaks again. “Y’know, that kid is brilliant. He doesn’t know it, but he’s the one who’s made this breakthrough happen in the first place. He’ll be taking my place one day, I’d get used to him while you have the time.” He says with a small hint of pride in his voice. Cub snorts. “Right. Because you’re going anywhere.” He says, mostly joking. Though, he knows Doc can’t stay in this position forever. They’re both getting older by the day, and they won’t be around to keep things this peaceful for much longer. Maybe it’s high time he thinks about his own successor.
“I’ll do that, if you’re sure you want him as the next head. Have a good night, Doc.”
“You as well.”
Leaving the doctor to his own devices, Cub finds himself scanning the room for a familiar black-haired friend. Before tonight, he hadn’t thought twice about his age, but now that he does, it’s clear he needs to start thinking about the ever-looming future. Maybe some bright-eyed kid like Bdubs to take his place one day.
He spots a familiar shape lurking in the corner, and makes a beeline towards it. “Mumbo. Have you been hiding in the corner this whole time?” He crosses his arms, scolding the man lightly. Mumbo looks up from his drink, not responding for a moment. “...no.”
“You’re a bad liar.” He slings an arm around his friend’s shoulder, dragging him out into the dim yellow lights. Professional, regal, not too chaotic. He knew Mumbo was jumpy, but even this is barely a party. “Come on, I want to talk to Doc’s new apprentice before we leave. I need you to give me a read on him.”
Mumbo sighs in return, but doesn’t fight him. “Alright. If you say so.”
They find the kid they’re looking for chatting excitedly to a calm-demeanored man in a nice suit, the only oddity about him is the stark yellow tie. Not bad looking, just unique against all the black. He doesn’t seem to mind Bdubs doing all the talking, instead just nodding and humming in agreement every few moments with a slightly amused gleam in his eye. He seems familiar, for some reason. Right, Cub’s met this man before. Impulse, he and his fellow entrepreneurs who call themselves ‘TIES and co.’ own the company that makes lab supplies for M77 Research Industries,among other business venues. He seemed nice enough when they last spoke, Cub actually quite likes his thoughtful demeanor.
“I’m telling you, Impulse, this is gonna be good for so many people if we can get this right.” Bdubs is saying proudly when they approach. Impulse nods slowly, that slight smile still lingering. “When you get it right, more like. From what I’ve heard, there should only be a few more months before it’s approved, right?” He muses. In the middle of this, Cub walks right up, dragging Mumbo alongside him, and gently interrupts the two’s conversation. “S’cuse me gentlemen. Nice night, isn’t it?”
They look up from each other, Impulse breaking into a more polite smile and Bdubs freezing in place. “Good evening, Cub. Fancy seeing you here.” Impuse says, reaching out a hand. Cub takes it, and they share a quick shake before pulling back. Mumbo makes no move to be a part of the conversation, simply hovering nearby. He could be trying to wriggle his way out of social interaction. If Cub weren’t busy already talking, he’d drag him right back. “You as well, you as well. How’s things with your businesses been as of late?”
“Very well,” Impulse replies with a hum. “We’re slowly expanding. Though I hate to say our Clocker partners have dropped out on us. We’ve nullified the contract.”
“Unfortunate.” Cub says, shaking his head slightly. He turns to Bdubs, who appears to just be listening awkwardly. The kid goes from chatty to silent as a mouse just due to his presence, had he done something to scare him? “And you? I’ve heard from Doc you’re quite the exceptional apprentice, how’s the lab from your view?” Budbs shuffles his feet nervously. “It’s uh- it’s good! Yeah, really cool. Doc’s great, the research is great, yup. All great.”
Cub nods. “Good to hear.” He says, before pausing. It’s obvious Bdubs doesn’t have great social skills, he’ll keep note of that for when he’s working with him as the head of research. Though, he had no issue talking to Impulse…? “I’m curious, how do you two know each other? You seem too close to have just met tonight.”
The two share a brief glance, one that doesn’t go unnoticed by Cub, before Impulse turns back to speak with a calm smile. “I’m surprised you don’t know. We work with Cleo on a quite a few of our little business sprees, legalities and such, and Bdubs has just always happened to be there. They take him everywhere.”
Cub tilts his head slightly, curious now. “Was he an assistant of theirs?” He asks, but Impulse just chuckles. “Oh, no, they’d never let him do that. They raised him, rumor has it from some secret marriage gone wrong, but nobody actually knows.” He nudges the smaller boy, who laughs. “It’s not our business anyway.”
Cleo has a kid? He’s never seen her with him, for as many times a year as they meet. How come she never said anything? No hints, no ‘oh hey, I have a kid now’, nothing. Something about this rings an alarm in Cub’s head. He might just be a little paranoid though. After all, many people like to keep their home lives separate from work. “I see, I had no idea. It certainly looks like you’ve known each other for quite a while.”
That little connection between him and Bdubs might prove useful someday. As he walks away a few minutes later with Mumbo complaining about socializing at his side, he makes a mental note to write that down somewhere for future use. For now, he can go about business as usual, and maybe pretend for a little while he isn’t as old as he feels.