“My deal?” You don’t mirror his smile. Instead scowling at your supervisor as he goes back to scrolling through whatever it was he was doing, “What the hell are you talking about?”

Pale and boney finger pointing at the screen he turned your way. It’s honestly pointless this far across the room but Oguru makes a big scene of flicking through about five pages before returning to looking at the tablet himself, “You did your residency here and stayed? Seriously?”

Skeptical and confused about the man you look over at him leery of what he was going on about, “...lots of medical staff ended up working where they did their residency...so your point?”

“My point is with scores like this and a work history like this you should be grabbing the entire medical branch of the company by the throat!” Oguru chuckled and leaned back into his wheeled thrown, “Just your work alone on tephrosis could earn the President so much more.”

“It does already earn him that much,” You remark, “I’d be doing the same thing closer to the Empire or out here.”

“But you’d have so much more space.” Oguru gestured at the office space he’d bullied his way into sharing with you when he came down from the main office, “A better title. Undoubtedly a pay raise. So many people under your command.”

“Ew.”

“Ew?” Oguru parroted you with a disgusted look on his face at your unwanted remark.

“Yes eww.” You shake your head and return back to your computer, “That sounds awful. Besides-” A smirk crosses your lips even while you remain looking at your screen, “Working here means I’m as far away from you as possible.”

Tapping his index finger on his lip as Oguru crosses his legs and ganders back at your Haijima portfolio, “It’s true. You could earn me so much more money working closer to the Empire.”

“There’s a good reason right there not to take the upgrade.”

“Your work mainly focusses on tephrosis. Not exactly the adolla burst research everyone is clamoring for but-” Oguru stops on a file dedicated solely to your newest work with Nataku Son and by default Kurono, “It seems your knowledge spans far past just what you’ve already done. You’re one smart cookie huh?”

Throwing a lazy glance his way you look at him unamused, “Is there any point to this conversation Director?”

“Besides the fact I’m your acting supervisor?”

“Besides the fact you’re looking at material that has no real meaning to the adolla bursts or the pillars at the moment.” You correct him.

Oguru clicks his tongue clearly ignoring what you just said as he scrolls on his tablet without a care, “You’ve been with the Power Development facility for what...ten years now? And Kurono’s been here...well since he was seventeen.”

Unamused by his deduction skills you stare at him, “And your point?”

“Seems like you two have had more than your fair share of time to get to know each other.” Oguru, smiling to himself as he fiddled with the hand held computer, “Seems your residency was up...around the same time Kurono was offered to join the Fire Squads.”

“And?” You tapped away at your laptop trying not to feed into his childish gossip and willfully hoping he’d shut up sooner than later, “We both made career path choices. Everyone does when they’re young.”

Oguru spun himself around in his chair and wheeled himself closer to your desk across the room. Still not giving you a peak at his electronic device in his hand but the coy man was more than happy to look over your shoulder at the patient work you were doing. 

“You control him better than I do.” Oguru’s casual slimy smile, “What’s your secret?”

Your complacent look finally dipped into something different. One of disgust as you frowned at him and finally had enough of his poking. You turned around so you were both at eye level and gave him listless shrug, “I don’t have one.”

“I don’t believe it.” Oguru squinted as he rubbed his chin looking at you skeptical, “This isn’t a fairy tale like beauty and the beast. Kurono could never make the part of either beast or beauty.”

“What are the possible inclinations of our history is important to you Director?” You sighed, leaning into your desk with a propped up elbow and lazy glare in his direction, “Last time I checked. There’s some married and dating staff in most Haijima facilities. So unless you’re nit picking protocol-”

“I’m not nit picking anything,” Oguru chuckled, “You both do your jobs swimmingly and make me look great. I wanna know what makes the duo tick. Wanna know how the duo even functions.”

Blinking unenthused you shake your head, “Well unlike you, treating people not like tools and stepping stones really helps.”

“You and I both know Kurono is not the coworker you go out to drinks with to climb the cooperate ladder.”

“We actually went out for drinks once.” 

“Key word being once.” Oguru highlighted.

You roll your eyes and turn away from him back to your computer, “We decided dinners were more our thing than drinking.”

Sliding himself up to the edge of your work space. It was Oguru’s turn to prop his elbow up and lean in casually to look at you, “And lunches. And now you two basically have a kid together so- Oops-” He grinned ear to ear when the mention of Nataku caused your typing to go awry in the heat of the moment, “Sorry, I don’t mean kid. I mean Nataku Son so-”

“I know what you meant.” You cut him off sharply without taking your attention away from the screen.

Sighing like he was admitting defeat. Oguru pushed off your desk and spun himself around in his desk chair so he was facing out towards the rest of the office, “It’s just got me thinking is all. Kurono’s a good worker now. It’s almost like he’s working towards something now. You wouldn’t happen to know what the something is, do you?”

Hands resting on the keyboard. You can’t help but take a deep sigh. Striking anyone would be cruel. Striking your boss would be foolish. Though Oguru pushed the limits of that. You supposed from the outside Kurono does stir a different emotion in people that what you feel.

“So, you wanna know what’s my deal or Kurono’s deal?” You set your work aside to give the Director your entire attention.

“They seem kind of interchangeable don’t they?” Oguru smirked.

One long sigh. Why couldn’t he be like every other coworker who was just terrified of the man in question.

“Yes my residency was mostly taken up by Kurono’s tephrosis case.” You relay to him flatly.

“And you were able to get it to carbonize only within his right arm. Yes yes yes. I could read all that if I cared.” Oguru waved off the facts he could just read about.

Scowling you crossed your arms with a huff, “What are you, twelve?” His annoying smug face told you enough. Once more rolling your eyes at your boss you fall quiet for a moment before speaking, “...It’s true we both were up to go somewhere else. But when Kurono requested to stay here, the staff here extended the offer to me.”

“So you can control him.” Oguru nodded enticed by the idea.

Your frown of disgust says enough but you continue, “He’s still a person. There’s no controlling anything.”

Oguru waved his hand flippantly, “Yes yes no using people as tools and so forth. Tell that to someone who hasn’t climbed the cooperate ladder.”

“You know if you actually cared maybe stop interrupting so much.” 

“Fine fine fine.” Oguru held his hands up innocently. Instead of saying another word he made a motion like he was zipping his lips and throwing away the key.

Once more you sighed and dreaded the idea you didn’t have a cyanide pill like in the movies, “...They asked me to stay because Kurono asked about it.” Reaching up to palm the back of your neck there was a second you felt a little silly saying this all out loud after a decade, “I just- I wanted to help him. And his tephrosis. So I asked if I would be able to continue my research with him and astoundingly they all said yes. Looking back on it I see it’s very marketable if Haijima could reverse tephrosis. And subsequently work their companies even harder if that meant pryokenetic abilities no longer had a worry for bodily harm.”

Like he’s gestured, Oguru didn’t actually pipe in with a single word. Though you were speaking money. Something he was sure to be fond of.

“So...I stayed.” You think back to the past decade. The ups and downs. Some with Kurono some just on your own. And some of them together. Compared to now as you look over at the screen right next to you. A big picture of Nataku on the case file of him hanging off you while Kurono stood right next to the both of you. An untrained eye might actually think it’s a family photo. 

“So the deal-” Oguru followed your line of sight to the picture still up on your screen, “Is that you fell in love?”

Before you could answer. The hefty office door swung open. None other than Nataku bolting in as Kurono held the door open for the kid. His flame retardant sleeve flapping as he came bounding over to you seated in your chair. Going on about something and lunch of course. Until you hushed him up with a hug and you glanced over at Kurono. Who was undoubtedly scowling with all his might at the Director across from you. 

“Yeah.” You combed your fingers through Nataku’s hair as he looked up expectantly at you and Kurono finally broke his glare from Oguru’s direction. Only to meet his complacent stare and find a smile spreading on your own lips the second your gaze met, “I guess that’s my deal.”