Everything hurt.

The first thing that Keira noticed when she woke up was that everything hurt. Her joints, her head, her throat. She let out a sneeze and wiped her nose with her nightshirt sleeve. It was undeniable that she was sick.

Great. Perfect.

She cursed whatever being was watching for getting her sick today of all days. Well, first things first, she had to take her temperature. Even if she felt like crap, Keira knew she had to have probable cause to call in sick. Company policy was that if she had a fever above 99.5 degrees or she had vomited in the past 24 hours, she couldn't go into work. Anything less than that, it was at her discretion.

Once Keira pulled the thermometer out of her mouth, the small window lit up pale green with the numbers 98.9 displayed on the front. So close.

There were two problems with this. First of all, Keira didn't know how many paid sick days she had left for this six-month period. Everyone had three for the aforementioned fever/vomit clause (they used to have to send in proof, but some idiot decided to send a polaroid of his fresh vomit and the policy was changed) and five for other needs. Keira had two major ones that she knew off, but she had lost track of how many general ones she had left.

The second problem was that she was so close to a breakthrough on her latest project. Months of work had led up to this, starting from scratch with simply formulas and a plan she had written on a napkin from the hot dog stand she frequented. Once she finished with this, the project could be sent off to be mass produced and sold to whatever supplier needed it. Then, she hoped, she could land the promotion she had been wanting. Senior lab technician to hopefully a supervisor for all the labs on her floor.

It should only be for about, what, a half an hour? That's manageable, right?

Despite her better judgment, Keira sighed and figured she could go into work and finish the project. She was almost done anyways, so once she got it submitted, she could probably sleep at her desk for the rest of the day.

Keira languidly put on a blouse with a pencil skirt before grabbing her lab coat off of the rack with a small jacket to battle the early April morning air. She popped a couple of Advils and left the apartment.

If I just get some coffee in me, I can probably make it through the morning. She thought.

Keira stopped by the coffee place that was on her way to work, ordering a large size of her usual drink: plain coffee with a vanilla creamer. She could make it herself at home, but this place had a specific brand of coffee that she couldn't find anywhere else. She grabbed the cup after it was passed to her and walked the last couple of blocks to her building.

Security was tight, so she was immediately greeted with the usual monitors and guards at the front entrance.

"Top of the mornin', Keira." Siobhan greeted with her thick Irish accent. She managed the front desk, answering calls and sending faxes. The greeting always made Keira at least smirk.

"How's it going?" She replied, trying to not sound congested. The security guard passed over her with the detecting wand before giving her the okay to keep going. Keira stopped at Siobhan's desk, placing the coffee cup on the edge.

"Big meeting with Stark Industries later this afternoon, so everything is in a buzz." Siobhan replied. Her freckled face contorted as she examined Keira. "Are you alright, milseán?"

"Ah, just a little sniffle. I'm gonna finish the fuel and then maybe crash at my desk for the rest of the day." Keira brushed it off, not before letting out a sneeze. "I just need to add a few small touches and run a test or two."

"If you're sure. If you feel like you need to go home, just let me know. Maybe I'll bring over some soup."

"Aww, you're the best. I'll see you later." Keira picked up her coffee and headed for the elevator. Her lab was on the 8th floor, housing 7 stations including hers that she managed from her desk. The people who worked in her lab weren't exactly her "team" because they worked on their own individual projects, but they were all friendly with each other and she managed their activities. It mostly consisted of her working on her projects and them coming up to her saying they were out of one thing or another and she would send a list to the storeroom or her making sure they were on task.

The elevator dinged as the 8th floor arrived. Keira sneezed and walked down the wide hall towards her lab. The 8th floor was mostly labs all sat next to each other down the hall. The ones along the hall were small, only two or three stations and the entire wall was just windows so the whole lab could be seen from the hall. Keira's was at the end of the hall, much larger with more equipment. The walls were grey and it always smelled faintly of rubbing alcohol, no matter how many scented candles Yvette brought in. Comfortable.

Keira thought about the familiar enclosure of her lab as she let out a great sneeze, unlike any she had ever let out. The lid of her coffee cup flew off, the contents spilling forward before she could even open her eyes back up. Instead of the sound of the coffee hitting the carpet, she heard the sound of a person let out an exclamation of surprise.

Keira's eyes slowly flickered open to be met with a man in a business suit standing in front of her. Her coffee stained his dress shirt and jacket, dripping down towards the floor. Another man next to him in a lab coat ran into one of the nearby labs to grab something to wipe it up with.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Barista must have put the lid on too loose." Keira's words were a little slurred, still reeling from her sneeze.

"It's... it's alright, dear." The man replied, wringing out one of the corners on his jacket. Keira finally looked at his face and it felt like a slap to the face, bringing her out of her daze.

It was Norman Osborn who was standing in front of her, covered in her coffee. The owner of the company, her boss...

"Oh... oh shit... Mr. Osborn, I'm so sorry, I... it was an accident." She spluttered.

"It's alright, it's only coffee. Nothing to get worked up over." Norman insisted, stopping her from spewing out more apologies.

"But you have a big meeting today and... I'm dead, I'm so dead."

"I promise you, it's alright. I've spilled many a coffee in my time." Norman looked at her, finally taking in her features. Red nose, pale face, watery eyes. She sure looked dead, that was for sure. "What's your name, dear?"

"Browning, sir. Keira Browning, manager of Lab H-13." She introduced.

"You're the one working on the new fuel, aren't you?"

"Yes?"

"I was just in your lab because I was hoping to speak with you. You've been doing a fantastic job with that fuel. Almost done and with two weeks left to spare, not even considering your other projects. It's remarkable."

"Oh!" Keira was fully expecting to be chastised. "Well... thank you very much. It's almost ready to be sent out. I just need to test it's reactions to various things like were it to catch fire and whatnot."

She punctuated the statement with another sneeze.

"Are you feeling alright?" Norman asked her.

"Oh, just a cold. I was hoping to just finish and then rest at my desk till I get off work." Keira said, offering a half-hearted grin. "I don't know how many paid sick days I have left." She added.

"Never mind about that. You're already well ahead of your deadline. As your boss, I'm giving you the time off to recover. It's no use coming in when you're in such a state."

"Are you... are you sure?" Keira asked.

"Come back when you feel better, finish your fuel, then I'll take you to get some coffee over the weekend." Norman said. Keira blinked as he gestured at his stained clothes. "I owe you a cup."

"I... that's very kind of you, but if anything, I owe you." She insisted.

"This is what dry cleaning is for. Go home and rest."

"O-okay."

A little stunned, Keira stumbled back to the elevator, tossing the empty coffee cup in a nearby garbage can.

What just happened?

***

Two days later and Keira felt better than new. She arrived at work in a better mood, greeting Siobhan and the security guard with a chipper tone.

"Someone's feeling better." Siobhan noted.

"I can finally finish my fuel and I'm not sneezing up a storm, obviously I'm doing better." Keira laughed. "How did the meeting with Stark Industries go?"

"Wonderfully. Brand new contract and we're getting some new equipment along with it. They eagerly accepted the offer of some of your fuel as well."

"Stark Industries wanted the fuel? I didn't even know that was on the table." Keira raised an eyebrow.

"Apparently it was and they were more than excited to get some of it. Last minute incentive, I heard."

"Guess I better finish it, then."

"I'll get the champagne." Siobhan called as Keira went for the elevator. She listened to the hum as it rose, giddy. She opened the door to her lab and set up to finish after the warm welcomes from her team.

After about half an hour, Keira put the stopper into the tiny vial housing the opaque blue fluid. She always kept a little of her creations both to keep for further testing in the future and as little souvenirs. It was tacky, but the shelf behind her desk looked like that of a witch and it gave her a small sense of pride.

"I'm glad to see you doing better, Miss Browning." A familiar voice said. Keira perked up and was met with Norman looking at her from across the desk. She smiled and set the vial down.

"I appreciate the time to get better, sir." She replied. "You're just in time, too. The fuel has been fully tested and is ready to be sent out."

"Already? You only clocked in a half an hour ago."

"As I said, I only had a little bit more to do. That's why I came in on Wednesday in the first place." Keira said, shelving the small vial and sitting back down. "I hear Stark Industries was interested in it?"

"Who told you that?" Norman asked, an amused glint in his eye.

"Siobhan mentioned it when I walked in this morning. I didn't know that was on the table for trading."

"Last minute edition. I figured you wouldn't mind."

"Not at all! They're going to love it, too. One cannister can power a heavy piece of equipment like an aircraft or a large tank for about six months with heavy use. It reacts slowly to an ignition, so were something to catch fire, it wouldn't explode and the person operating the machine could get out to safety before something goes wrong. It's environmentally safe and easy to replicate, too." Keira explained with the enthusiasm of a child. Norman smiled.

"I should have had you at the meeting. You sold it better than I did." He said. Keira blushed.

"You still sold it. They just get bonus features when it arrives. Besides, I was horribly sick, you remember."

"That's true. Anyways, I have a few things I need to do. See you at the cafe on 16th tomorrow at nine?" Norman asked. Keira wasn't fully paying attention, having dropped the cassette she was trying to jam into her Walkman.

"Sure, sure thing." She replied. Norman walked out of the room as Keira shut the flap on the device. "Wait... what?"

As if summoned, Yvette came up go Keira with an impish expression.

"Oh, hi, Yvette. Do you need more liquid nitrogen again?" Keira asked.

"No, but it sounds like you have a date tomorrow~" Yvette teased.

"I what?" Keira asked.

"You weren't paying attention were you?"

"Dropped the damn cassette. It shouldn't be this hard to listen to ABBA."

"Mr. Osborn asked you to the coffee shop on 16th tomorrow at nine."

"He what??" Keira slipped out of her chair to the floor in surprise. She peeked back over the edge of the desk to look at the smirking woman.

"Sounds like someone caught the attention of the CEO." Yvette drawled. "Quite the catch, too."

"You're messing with me."

"Vette's right, we all heard it." Ethan, another chemist under Keira, called over from his station. Keira felt herself pale then blush in sequence.

"I guess this is happening now?" She said, sitting back in her chair.

"Invite us to the wedding." Yvette smirked. Keira's face got redder.

"Shut up, Vette, get back to work." She snapped, but Yvette knew Keira wasn't being rude. She just shrugged her shoulders and sauntered back to her desk. Keira jammed the earphones over her ears and pressed the play button on the Walkman, tracing patterns on the metal top of the desk with her finger. She thought about what Yvette had said and sighed.

My boss just asked me out on a date.

Her blush didn't fade, but Keira's face morphed into a squished smile, like that of a schoolgirl with a crush...

Even if Keira didn't notice, Yvette watched her expression change and she just put on an indifferent smile and kept working.