[Villainous] What's Under the Bag? (paperhat)

What's Under the Bag?

"Excellent. You're making quite a bit of progress lately." Black Hat smiled, somewhat tightly. "Is there a reason for that? You're not going to ask for a pay raise, are you?"

Flug gulped and tried to repress a third yawn. "No. sir! Not at all!" He paused, remembering the idea of debating work hours. All of a sudden, he didn't feel like that was such a good idea.

"Well," The half-smile returned to Black Hat's face. "I'm at least glad you're putting some effort into your job."

"Thank you, jefecito." Dr. Flug nodded and felt a smile creep up the sides of his face. Looks like his boss wasn't going to get mad at him for any reason. He hoped the pet name would help hold off any negative emotions Black Hat would undoubtedly be holding within him, and it seemed to work.

"...get back to work, Flug." His boss sounded serious, but Flug knew him well enough to hear the oh-so-slight pleased tone in his otherwise stern and flat voice.

"Yes, boss." Flug felt good about the fact that he hadn't gotten yelled at tonight and was too tired to process why. Doing so would stress him out, he thought as Black Hat turned to leave the room, and he wasn't about to have that. Apparently, he wasn't about to watch where he was going, either, because when he rounded the side of the table to get back to work, his hip hit the corner of the table and it hit hard.

"Ow! Shit!" The scientist hissed, exhausted and metaphorically brain-dead by this point. The shock of the impact caused Flug to fall on all fours, hip throbbing. Black Hat had made substantial progress to the door by this point but now stopped dead in his tracks.

"Flug?" He turned to look at the scientist, a flat expression on his face. "Did you really just curse in my presence?"

Oh shit. Oh, shit.

I really messed up this time. Flug shuddered at the drastic change in Black Hat's tone. Just when he thought things were going good, too.

"I'm sorry, sir! I really am! I'm just really tired and I'm not exactly thinking straight and--"

He was about to continue when he looked up to see Black Hat staring with an unreadable expression on his face. It seemed like a mix between confusion and awe. The scientist wondered why he was being stared at like that until his groggy brain managed to process something that almost made him sick: his bag had been somehow knocked askew by the fall. He felt a breeze on his chin and a small part of his cheek and felt a piece of him die on the inside. There was a reason he wore this bag, after all, and it had to do with the way his face looked. Carefully, he reached up to the side of his face and pulled the bag back down.

"I'm sorry, Black Hat, sir. It won't happen again." Flug said slowly, praying his boss wouldn't say anything about the exposed skin he'd more likely than not just seen. Black Hat strode over to where the scientist sat, and the poor man was too scared to so much as blink. "...sir?"

"Flug." Black Hat's tone was now smooth and dangerously quiet.

Oh, god. I must've really fucked up this time. Flug felt himself begin to tremble.

"I'm really sorry! I didn't mean it, sir! Please, please don't be mad at me!" Tears began to form in Dr. Flug's eyes.

"Flug." Black hat repeated, bending over so he and the scientist were eye-to-eye. "Now I'm curious. Show me what's under your bag, will you?"

No. No, no, no. Flug felt his heart stop dead in his chest. "I...I'm sorry, boss, what was that?"

"You heard me, Flug. Bag. Off. Now."