Work Text:
When Cosima had first been asked to give a new coworker a tour of the DYAD institute, she wasn’t pleased.
Not only was she expected to do all her own work, but show this woman around that had somehow bypassed protocols and been placed at a higher level than Cosima. Of course she’d do it. She’d do anything to escape the monotony of the gruntwork she was still doing 5 months into her position in the DYAD lab. She initially thought that having completed her PHD and the exiting jobdescribtion meant that all the years studying and reading would pay off and send her into the thick of it.
Groundbreaking discoveries! New possibilities! Working towards a better tomorrow today!
But nah. She was still reading a lot. Still looking at and recording how proteins reacted to different stimuli. Basically she was bored and now a little jealous of this french doctor that had swooped in and scooped up an interesting and more sensitive position in the company.
Cosima made it to the front desk only a couple minutes late for the tour. She took huge strides in an effort to make it in time - or at least, slightly less late.
When she approached she found a blond woman, hair tied into a ponytail wearing business attire. Gray slacks, a white bouse and boots with a slight heel.
The blonde seemed shy; she stood with her left arm clutching the right bicep, worrying her bottom lip and looking around taking in the scenery of the very dull looking entrance. Cosima found that the shyness made her more attractive somehow. And she was pretty dang attractive to begin with!
Cosima approached with a smile and a wave “Hey! So… I take it you’re looking for a tourguide?”
The blonde nodded and exhaled deeply. “Oui! I was beginning to think I had the wrong date or time…” She looked to Cosima shyly and extended her hand. “I’m Delphine Cormier. Enchanté.”
The brunette took the hand and felt all jealousy she had harbored before meeting the blonde melt away. “Enchanté.” She replied, her accent butchering the french a little.
The brunette decided that she would produce the tour of a lifetime. She took Delphine to the most important place first – the cafeteria. She told Delphine all the tips she had to a great meal, like which of the cafeteriaworkers was susceptible to flattery, at which time it was the least crowded and then pointed to the direction that she herself usually sat.
Delphine nodded, and laughed when appropriate but said very little. Cosima tried to make smalltalk. Where the doctor had gone to school, if she was anxious about moving to America and the likes. Delphine answered readily - but shortly.
Cosima knew Delphine probably wanted most of all to see where she would be working. As they took the elevator to the third floor Cosima explained that they would be working in the same lab, but in different areas. As they entered the lab the blonde gasped “I did not know it would be so big!”
Cosima said nothing and did her best to stifle the urge to make a dirty joke. “Yeah, it’s pretty huge. The bosses thinks it’s best to have an open space, where the workers all progress towards the same thing. You’ll have one of the small offices along the back there.” Cosima pointed to the row of doors along the back of the room “-and I will hang out on the other end making sure all the beakers are squeaky clean.” She said while pointing in the different direction.
“You clean beakers?” Delphine asked confused, frowning slightly.
Cosima shrugged, “No, well, sometimes. Mostly I am in charge of documenting the proteins reactions to stimuli.”
Delphine nodded, seemingly more content with that answer. They walked over to the offices and quickly located Delphines. There was already a name on the door, and as they entered the dull white room, she noticed there was only a desk with a labtop and a giftbasket. Some of the other offices were more lively and colorful - probably because their inhabitants had taken care of bringing in plante, pictures... Uniqeness. She would try to remember giving Delphine a colorful present to make it less monotone.
Cosima wondered if she could ever be comfortable in an office like that.
There was a quiet knock on the door, and doctor Leekie opened the door slightly. “Ah, Dr. Cormier! So glad you were able to start your position already!” He moved the door more open and put his head inside the space. Cosima was never able to decide wether Leekie was a good dude. Sure he was brillant! But he had sketchy ethics at times, and Cosima made a point to challenge him whenever the occasion arose. Delphine walked to the back of her desk, smiled and motioned for him to come inside.
Cosima took it as her cue, and bid Delphine goodbye and walked over to her station. Her coworker Scott quickly made his way over to her. “So?” He asked.
“So?” Cosima answered. She knew what he was asking, but she really didn’t feel like talking to him about it.
“So how is she? She’s really pretty…”
Cosima seemed to contemplate for a minute “I don’t know. She seems kind. And yes, she is pretty… I guess.”
Scott hummed, apparently satisfied with the answer. He walked the few steps over to his station.
Cosima and Scott had known eachother for several years, having attended college together. They hadn’t been in the same circles, and while she had known of him, she didn’t really know him until they started working at DYAD together. Starting at a big company without knowing anyone had seemed scary, so it was nice to have a relatively familiar face nearby.
As lunch came around they all made their way down to the cafeteria.
Cosima sat at her usual spot while she waited for the line to dwindle down. As she’d told Delphine it was important to get a seat first and then get food. Sure, maybe some of the food had run out, but that almost never happened.
Delphine had had the good sense to listen to Cosimas advice, Cosima noticed, because she saw the blonde stand in line, the rush nearly having died down. Now was a good as time as any Cosima decided.
She walked fast and determined towards Delphine.
Unfortunatly Paul, a guy from security, had taken the spot behind the blonde that Cosima had her eye on. As she approached she could hear Paul try to start a conversation with Delphine.
Delphine had her lips parted and had a special brand of deer-in-the-headlights look on her face.
When Cosima neared the blonde, she loudly said “Hey! Cormier! I thought we agreed you’d wait for my expertise?”
Delphine smiled and shrugged “Désolé! I got so hungry. Uhm.. “ She looked pointedly at the guy behind her “Paul.” He filled in the blank. “Right! Paul. Would you mind terribly if Cosima came up and helped me? I find it is always important to know the ins and outs of the cafeterias.” She said it while she looked at him from under her lashes, making it terribly difficult to refuse.
“Of course not. Maybe we’ll… see eachother around.” He said and backed up a little, so that Cosima could take his place. Paul didn't say anything, but Cosima could only assume he was a little miffed at being reduced to second place.
Cosima felt a little like gloating but willed her face to remain neutral. She then made a big show of telling Delphine which dishes was to die for – and with would cause death. “I can’t really speak for the meat of course… I keep to the veggies. Well, and fries.” Cosima smirked.
“So, you are a vegetarian?” Delphine asked.
Cosima nodded. “Yup, for 4 years now.”
Delphine listened to Cosimas recomendations - only to choose something completly different. This made Cosima chuckle, she felt she had given Delphine enough information to make an educated decision. And well, wasn't that all anyone could ever do?
When thay had swiped their employeecard, Delphine suddenly seemed unsure. She was looking around but didn't move. The brunette realised that Delphine didn't know where to sit.
"Why don't you come join me? I mostly sit with my colleague Scott or catch up on some reading."
"D'accord." Delphine answered smiling, her posture changing into something more relaxed than it had been a few moments before.
As they sat down at the table Cosima 4 months ago had dubbed "Perfect, because of it access to toilets, view and stairs." She felt the blonde relax a little more as they began to dig into their food. The again, Cosima figured, who wouldn't be nervous on the first day?
"Thank you for the help." Delphine said after taking a big gulp of her water. She fiddled with the label on the bottle and kept her eyes zoomed in on her fingers ministrations.
The smirk tugging at Cosimas lips brooke through "My absolute pleasure. It's not often I get to sit with the new doctor. And, I imagine it is a little owerwhelming to start at DYAD. I know it was for me." Cosimas hands touched her chest with her fingers to emphazise.
"It certainly is." The blonde continued. "I was headhunted a small while ago to consult on the work your lab has been doing. I was surprised and flattered to have such opportunities so early in my career - but I feel a little unprepared and I just moved here.." Delphine trailed off, making Cosima unsure if she should ask Delphine the 70 questions she had on her mind, so she kept quiet and nodded.
"So, I am thankful you want to make sure I get a good start here. I was not as impressed with the man in the queque - he was too interested in if I had a boyfriend." Delphine said, taking a bite of the BLT on her plate.
"You can't blame a guy for trying." Cosima shrugged. "He's a good enough guy, if you're into those obviously pretty, muscular type of dudes." She made an eyeroll to emphazise how unimportant that was to her.
"And that is not your type?" The blonde asked, one eyebrow raised.
"Uh, no." Cosima said, not sure if she wanted to disclose her sexual preference to her new coworker she was unsure if she would soon be handing in her rapports to.
If Delphines thought this odd, she did not let on, and did not press the matter.
"For future reference, the bosses and consultants usually sit at the tables at there -" Cosima pointed to three tables in the middle of the room. "But you're... Totally welcome to sit with me anytime." Cosima smirked, and wanted the blonde to feel welcome, especially if that meant spending some time with her.
Lunch came to an end too quickly Cosima decided. She only got to ask Delphine a few basic questions - where she lived, if she had any pets and about her education in France.
Cosima was tickled that the blonde considered her cactus a pet, but she was correct in that it still had to be kept alive.
They walked over to the table where they were supposed to put their dirty dishes, and Delphine followed Cosima up the stairs towards the lab without prompting.
When they reached their floor, the blonde nodded to Cosima and made her way over to her office in a brisk pace. Cosima couldn't help appreciating the curves of her body. Her eyes followed Delphine until she dissapeared. Cosima sighed, put her hands in her pockets and walked slowly to her own station.