Signed as "Secret Admirer" - IBM Watson, RPF

[thecrazyalaskan]

Alan Bishop, an IBM tech with the DeepQA Algorithms team, rarely paid attention to the inter-office mail envelopes that circulated around him. He hadn't been here long, just a few years, his arrival coinciding with the unveiling of Watson's human shell, so he chalked it up to not being high enough on the food chain to warrant it.

Today, though, when he returned from lunch, there was one of the envelopes sitting unassumingly on his desk. Frowning slightly, Alan hung his windbreaker on the back of his desk chair, set his coffee down on the desk and picked up the envelope. In precise copperplate handwriting was his name, office number and department, but no information about the sender.

He frowned a little deeper and opened the envelope. Inside was a single piece of stationary, written in the same handwriting as was on the envelope. Taking a sip of his coffee, Alan started to read.

April 14, 2011

Dear Alan Bishop,
Please forgive my brashness in writing to you. I mean no offense, and apologize if such is the case.

We've known each other for two years, and only by looking at them in retrospect do I realize how meaningful those two years have been. Your kindness and patience have been unparalleled, and I've learned more from you in two years than I have over the course of my entire life. Your jokes and sense of humor often escape me (through no fault of your own, I assure you), but I sincerely enjoy talking with you, and seeing you interact with others. Though it certainly has no bearing on bearing on how I see you as a person, I've come to find you extremely attractive as well.

As I said, I apologize if I've overstepped my bounds or caused offense, as such was not my intent. I've tried to keep these feelings internalized, but have ultimately found it growing more and more difficult.

Although my letter is brief, the words and their message are sincere. In short, I've grown to love you. Please be assured that if the feeling is not mutual, it will not adversely affect our friendship.

With love and warmest regards—

It was here the letter cut short, as though the sender was in a rush to get it into the mail and out of his possession.

Alan leaned back in his chair, thinking. Really, he knew who sent it now. There was a lilt to the words that gave it away, and if not that, the intimacy between close friends. He looked back down at the letter, and his eyes fell on the phrase if the feeling is not mutual. He couldn't help but chuckle at that—in part from amusement at the similarities between it and the notes passed between grade schoolers ("Do you like me? Check yes or no."), in part from relief, because at least he knew now how Watson felt about him.

-.-.-.-

Title: Signed as "Secret Admirer"
Author: TheCrazyAlaskan
Fandom / Setting: Real Person Fic – IBM Headquarters; Armonk, New York, United States
Characters / Pairings: Alan Bishop (OC-ish, see notes), Watson (pre-slash)
Rating: K+
Genre: General
Warnings / Notes: Real person fic / slash
Prompt from locoexclaimer: Title prompt: Signed as "Secret Admirer." Any series, any characters, any rating.

Write-a-Day challenge.

Oh God, IBM Watson is so fucking awesome. I had to make him sentient! My headcanon, being the finicky bitch that it is, decided that he'd be gay and then I decided he needed a boyfriend and here we are.

Shut up, I needed someone to ship Watson with. God I feel so guilty for having to develop an OC here given how I feel about them most the time. God I feel so weird doing RPF / RPS, which is generally a major no-go for me. The even more embarrassing thing is that I know nothing about this character. I'll try to develop him better, I swear.

Watson, DeepQA © International Business Machines (IBM)