InsaneJournal

Who: Asami and Tink
When: Mid-June
Where: Fix-It Shop
What: A Job Offer
Rating/Warnings: Low/None
Status: Complete when posted!



Tink was having one of those days. It was hot in the shop, and the old man who owned it refused to fix the air conditioning. He’d also left about a dozen open tickets for Tink to work on, all while keeping an eye on the front. She was alone in the shop, working on an antique clock when the bell on the front door chimed.

Asami liked to keep up on prospective contacts. And even despite that she just liked talking to people and getting to know them. God knew she had enough trouble keeping friends. But she hadn’t had a chance to check in on Tink, though she did talk to her on the network sometimes. So she decided to drop in.

A hot workshop was pretty common. Even with AC running it was hard to keep a room filled with equipment and blowtorches cool. But this wasn’t a place to work on cars or other machinery, it was a tinker shop, and Asami felt like she was going to combust. “Uh.. Hello?”

How did anyone keep customers in a condition like this, let alone an employee?

Tink looked up from her work. She was wearing these glasses that had super magnifying lenses on them, ones she could flip in and out as necessary, simply by flicking her head. (Patent Pending.) The only downside was they magnified her eyes, too, and anyone who looked at her probably got the impression of a bug.

But she smiled a sweaty smile. “Hi! Sorry, the AC’s on the fritz, and it’s like a thousand degrees in here.”

It was a cute bug, at least. Asami pushed some of her hair out of her face. Normally her hair could be classified as perfect but she was certain it was actually starting to wilt. “Feels like it. Are you busy?”

“Technically? Yes. I’ve got about a dozen tickets here to finish up… it makes me wonder what the old man does while he’s here.” Tink motioned toward some bins on the counter, each with a bright orange ticket sticking out of them. There were bits and pieces inside the bins, all devices that needed fixing. “But I can make time.” Tink was pretty sure she recognized the woman with the perfect hair from Valarnet, but couldn’t place the face precisely. “What can I help you with?”

Taking a glance in one of the bins, Asami identified the problem almost immediately. It was honestly something Tink’s boss could have fixed quickly himself, rather than adding it to the pile of work she was under. “I’m Asami. We’ve talked online, I was curious about where you worked and thought it might be fun to talk shop.”

“Right! Right, Asami.” Tink’s smile spread a little more. She’d enjoyed her conversations with Asami, and was honestly quite relieved that this wasn’t another customer to add to her work load. She pulled the glasses off her head and set them aside. “It’s really nice to meet you in person. Welcome to the Fix-It Shop.”

She held her hand out to Tink, a little grease not really bothering her. “It’s nice to meet you. Do you enjoy it here? Is it challenging enough?”

Okay so maybe it wasn’t just a friendly visit.

Tink wiped her hand quickly on a rag, but then reached it over to shake Asami’s. She nodded, then shrugged. “It’s all right. It’s really boring work. I mean, sometimes the people--the customers--are pretty fun… but most of the time they’re just desperate, then unhappy with the price we charge for our services.” She turned to the piece she was working on. “But it’s sort of what I want to do… and there aren’t a lot of other options out there.”

“I know you like to invent, and tinker.” Asami looked around, wondering if there were any projects Tink was tinkering with. “And I think I know a place that’ll pay a lot better. And I can’t say the machine shop area is much cooler but the research building has a really good AC.”

“Oh yeah?” Tink was definitely interested. She perked up a bit at that idea--somewhere that paid better? With more AC? “What kind of a job is it?”

“I have a research and development department. We invent everything from more efficient batteries to new ways to do old things, as well as repair and work on engines and similar technology. There’s a lot of creative freedom. One of our projects is to take an airship design and find a way to mass produce it.”

“And… you’re hiring? Is that… is that why you came here today?” Tink was a little nervous now. She totally wasn’t prepared for an impromptu job interview. Especially not in the super hot, sweaty, work environment she was slowly beginning to despise. “Because I’m really… I’m interested. I’m just not really at my best…” She motioned to the goggles, the apron she was wearing, the cluttered counter top.

“I mostly wanted to see you in person. See where you worked, actually talk to you.” Asami grinned at her. “There is an offer, something you can think about.”

She pulled something out of her pockets, and held up a pair of goggles. “Nothing wrong with a pair of goggles!”

Tink nodded. Man, that sounded amazing. She had to think about it, though. There was a lot to think about when it came to switching jobs. But then Asami pulled some goggles out of her pocket, and Tink was sold.

“I’ll take the job.” She said, giving the other woman a smile. “I’m in.”

Laughing, Asami offered her the goggles. They were replicas of ones she’d received from her dreams, and kind of an official unofficial symbol of being Team Future Industries. “Come down to the office on Monday for all the official paperwork, then I’ll drive you down to R&D.”

Really, she had people for that, but Asami liked the personal touch.

“You’ve got it. Boss.” Tink said, giving Asami a smile. She was really looking forward to this. Getting out of the fix-it shop and into a real job? Yes, please. Though, Tink would have to bring up her schooling and all the other crap later. She really hoped this would work out. It sounded like it would.