—— 𝔱𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝔪𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒚.

the nickname makes the engineer trill in satisfaction, muscles of his back pressing up into working hands. head shifts to gaze up at the scientist. " yes, " he confesses. " rocky even worse. "

eyes slip shut, hands gripping at the back of the scientist’s tee to relieve stress held in his nimble fingertips. he sighed deeply, letting ryland’s words sit a while before answering them. " sick. not feel good. work anyway. bad. "

/ i finally finished the edit ive been procrastinating on

" sad, " he answers quickly, arms slipping around companion’s strong torso. another whine echoes, think time against scientists thigh. " bad day. long. "

laying his head in @ASTROLECTURES’ lap . . . letting out a sad croon. someone is in a bad mood.

/ replies tomorrow i promise. my day was crazy busy

rocky like human holiday.

" . . . grace make fun of of rocky. not nice. " he relents, however, setting his unfinished trinket on the desk in front of him, easily turning his entire body toward her. he can’t help the smile that takes him. " break. "

" no no no , " soft clicks of tongue emphasize words, though shoulders do drop a bit as a hand rubs at aching upper back. head shakes stubbornly, fingers still working. " have to finish project. "

" rocky bad teacher, " soft de - escalation, head craning forward again to roll his neck, releasing muscle tension. " would not be fun for anyone. "

" yes, but grace not need to know this. serve no purpose. " tongue prods from lips in focus as he recovers from minor setback, trying again to weld the wires and succeeding this time, looping them together.

🪨

" nooo. grace not understand. is complicated. can watch. " soft mumbling accompanies movements of nimble fingers, hissing as a small spark seems to shock him — hand shaking off pain.

muscular shoulders from laborious engineer work flex under her touch, head craning back while hands continue to work. he wasn’t using his eyes much, anyway. " new camera. upgrade for rocky. "

/ who want me

soft chirping from throat, leaning back against the other as he weaves metallic wires together. " hi, grace. "

tinkering with xenonite . . .