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“I can’t believe mom lost her wedding ring in here of all places.” Penny cringed as her hands glided through the mud, grasping for anything solid.
Will went quiet, aside from the sloppy pop that resulted from him take a step in the muck. “Actually...it was my fault.” He admitted with a sigh, turning away from his sisters and looking to the robot. “Find anything yet?” The only response he got was a negative, causing him to sigh again.
“It’s going to be a pain getting all that mud out of his seams.” Judy shook her head as she compared everyone’s mud levels. It was about to her knees, Will was in a shallow end and only ankle deep, Penny was also knee deep, and Robin went the deepest with the muck about past his waist.
Penny groaned in aggravation before slapping her hands down and accidentally splashing everyone, her siblings yelling out in protest. “Wait! Wait! I think I found it!” She said before they could enact vengeance. Wiping off whatever she had found, it was in fact the ring and she held it up in victory. “See? I can find a needle in a haystack.”
“Or a wedding ring in a pit of mud.” Will laughed as he watched his sister waddle into the shallows with him.
“Here, take it!” Penny reached out to her boyfriend, who had been watching them the whole time and keeping a lookout for their parents.
“You aren’t going to pull me in like last time, are you?” Vijay grimaced, but she fluttered her lashes at him and pouted.
“I promise I won’t, please, Vijay, my love?” She wiggled the filthy ring at him until he sighed and stepped into the mud to grab it, losing his shoe in the process.
“Seriously?” He muttered, slipping the ring into his pocket and grabbing his shoe before hopping inside to wash everything off and put it away.
“Gross.” Will shook his head, looking to both of his sisters. “You’re both gross.”
“You’re gross!” They said in unison, Penny flicking more mud at him. “You already have girls who like you, soon you’ll be just as gross as us.” She teased as he threw mud right back but missed.
“Or boys too. Whoever or whatever.” Judy piped up, slipping her hand behind her back, flicking her wrist and sending a shower of muddy water at her sister, before looking away innocently. “Either way, you’ll be gross just like us.” She said, reaching over and ruffling his hair with her muddy hand.
“This. Means. War!!” Will declared, scooping up handfuls of filth and chucking it at his sisters who squealed out laughter, the three of them getting into a playful battle, pushing and dragging each other through the mud.
Even Robin, who had learned the art of tossing things, surprisingly joined in and kept gently throwing mud balls to them, well mostly at them as they were too distracted to catch. Regardless one went right down Judy’s shirt and she yelped before laughing once she realized who did it.
“I will avenge you, Judy!” Will said, splashing a large wave of mud and covering everyone.
“My hero.” She said, wiping her eyes.
“I was gone for five minutes?!” Vijay returned and shook his head at the mud monsters previously known as the Robinsons. “What happened?”
“A battle of the ages! It was legendary!” Penny responded, raising her fist before extending it out to him. “Can you help me out now please?”
“Fine.” He muttered, forgetting for a second as he grabbed her hand before realizing what she was going to do. Getting yanked forward, he landed face first into the mud. He tried to scramble up but Penny and Judy had to help him stand up. “Really, Penny?” He spluttered out, wiping his face and spitting.
“What? Now you’ll have to get washed up and stay longer.” She said, kissing him on the cheek before sloshing out of the muck herself.
Everyone followed suit, struggling to get out at their own pace.
Penny and Vijay has gotten to the shower first. She used all of the hot water, but he didn’t mind much, taking a quick rinse with what was left. However that left Judy pacing around the Jupiter as she waited for the hot water tank to heat again. The mud had dried and caked onto her, she picked a lot of it off herself, but she still desperately wanted a good wash.
“That’s cold!” Will exclaimed from the other side of the ship.
Curious she walked around to see her brother using the hose to get clean. Meanwhile Robin stood close by, using his servos to radiate heat and keep the smallest Robinson warm.
She shook her head, but kept her distance, she really didn’t need to get splashed with freezing water again. “Will you’re wasting water, you should wait for the shower.”
“I’m almost done!” Will answered back, spraying some mud off of his shoes before shaking himself clean. He would need to change clothes but he had gotten the mud off. Then he turned the hose on the robot, beginning to wash down his companion.
“Seriously, Will, the shower recycles water, the hose doesn’t.” She interrupted again, causing him to turn it off.
“I’m clean but Robin is still covered in mud.” He said, gesturing to the filthy robot.
“The shower’s good again!” Penny announced, before going back inside.
Judy sighed, “I guess he’s coming with me.”
Typing in a good temperature, Judy let the water run for a few seconds before letting the warming water drip through her fingers. Once it was to her liking, she flicked her wrist and leaned back to turn towards the robot. "I think it's best if you get in first, I want to make sure you're waterproof before I get in."
Robin seemed to hesitate, unfamiliar with the machine and nervous about it. She seemed to notice, pausing as well. "It's alright, I'm right here. Just take your time and do what I did." She gestured vaguely before beginning to brush some of the clumps out of her hair and dividing it into sections. With the reassurance, he reached out into the falling stream and let the water drip down his arm. He knew what water was, running a quick diagnostic he was also sure there were no openings that would allow it in to cause damage. Regardless, he waited for the warnings flashing in his head to settle before stepping into the shower. The water beat down against his plating and he simply stood there awkwardly, waiting for her to tell him what to do.
Judy peeled the filthy shirt from her torso and threw it into the hamper before shaking out her hair and walking into the stall as well. "You definitely don't need any shampoo or conditioner..." She regarded him with a smile, "but I'll show you anyway." The water soaked her scalp before she took part of her hair, lathered the shampoo through it, going section by section. Her thoroughness turned the suds brown and she quickly washed it out. Adding conditioner to her hair, she twisted it and pinned it down before leaving it to sit.
Having been caught up in her routine, she noticed him observing. "Right, your turn." Taking a cloth, she lathered it with a small amount of soap before turning to him. "This will get you clean, I'm going to touch you now." She told him, gently applying pressure to his chest as she rubbed the fabric across his muddy chest. He seemed far from stressed, his lights sluggishly bobbing around beneath a blanket of condensation. "Is this okay?" She asked, despite how calm he appeared, she didn't want to assume.
"Yes." He said, his volume causing the reply to echo in the bathroom.
"Good." Judy responded, dipping the tip into seams as she scraped the gunk from between them. It gave her a good look at the alien circuitry beneath. She was a doctor, not an engineer or anything really technical, but she could still appreciate the complexity of another species inner workings. "Here." Having shown him what to do, she handed him a cloth as well so he could get the easy to reach places and she could get the harder spots.
He had to crouch down so she could get his shoulders and back, but they managed. There were so many complexities to his armour she hadn't even realized as she followed crevices and ridges, watching the water slide over the blue plating and down the drain. His systems seemed to hum, a soft vibration accompanying an alien frequency, but even she could tell it meant he was content. "Does this feel nice?" She asked, a smile evident in her voice. Receiving no verbal reply, the rumble only increased as her answer, causing her to hum in response.
Once they had finished, he took a step back before carefully beginning to change into his natural form. Judy had to step back to look up at him, the stall becoming far stuffier. "You're definitely going to need to lean down for me." His lights swirled and he leaned down, resting his forehead against hers for a moment before sitting down the best he could.
Reaching for his head, she stopped as he automatically flinched despite himself. Lowering her hands a fraction, she instead turned the cloth to the seams around his globe, taking her time to get him used to her hands near his head. He gradually began to settle, so she let the cloth hang on her forearm as she applied her index fingers to the glass orb and made a heart in the mist covering it. His lights followed the path, peaking through the condensation and swirling from within the shape. A glowing, moving heart focused intently on her.
She kissed the glass, letting her hands gently rest on the sides of his head. "I'll be careful, I promise." She spoke, giving him a moment before she picked up the cloth again and let it gently glide over the top of his head. He didn't object, instead encircling his four arms around her and resting his chin on her shoulder, mindful of his claws as he held her tightly. Eventually she moved down to the new seams revealed by his true form and he relaxed again as the fabric removed the last of the mud. "Alright, you're all done."
The water had pretty well removed the mud on her on its own, but she still needed to wash out her own hair and give her body a quick scrub. Rinsing out the conditioner, she grabbed her own cloth and lathered it before beginning to wipe herself down. It was faster process, but regardless, using the cloth he held, Robin helped by getting her back.
"Thank you." She said, turning off the shower once she was done. Stepping out, she grabbed a towel and turned to wipe the fog from his globe. Once she lowered it, his lights shifted into the shape she had drawn earlier, the illuminated heart pulsing at her. "I love you too." Leaning onto the tips of her toes, she kissed the center of the heart, before wiping the mark left behind by her lips.