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Trip was waiting at a bench outside the machine shop, swinging her legs.
Earlier, Whisper had taken her and Cream to the machine shop. There, they met the fennec fox, Kit, the orangutan and chief mechanic, Grease, and the “tinkerer,” as they call her, Belle.
Cream suggested that Trip let them upgrade her helmet. Unfortunately, they were working on some kind of jetboard fueled by… water. That’s something she thought she’d never hear. But they decided that Belle could work on the helmet, while Grease and Kit did their thing.
The sungazer had to admit; she was nervous. On one hand, Belle seemed to know what she was doing. On the other hand, that helmet really helped Trip over the years, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about adding ‘upgrades.’
Suddenly, Cream peeked out from the machine shop’s door.
“Miss Trip? Miss Belle says she’s done with your helmet!”
Trip gasped and hopped off the bench. She was done already? It hadn’t even been twenty minutes!
Cream kept her eyes on the bench, puzzled. “Um… where’s Miss Whisper?”
“Um, s-she got a text from her t-teammate Ashley, saying that she n-needed her for something,” Trip answered.
The rabbit made a sad expression. “Aw, really? You could have come in and hung out with us!”
“I-I would have, but what K-Kit and Grease were doing sounded r-really loud… I much p-prefer the quiet."
“Oh…” Cream gave her a warm smile and gently took her hand. “Well, come on! Miss Belle’s really excited to show you what she added. She’d go out and show you herself, but you’re the only one that can carry your helmet…”
Trip laughed a little as Cream led her inside. Still, it was odd to her how other than Amy, no one she knew could properly lift up her helmet.
-
Belle sighed and wiped her forehead looking at Trip’s helmet on the bench.
This was probably the oldest artifact she has ever been tasked to upgrade. And because of that, she was extra careful with it. She didn’t want to accidentally destroy something that had been around for centuries.
Not to honk her nose, but the tinkerer was actually pretty proud of what she added. She just hoped that Trip would grow accustomed to it.
“Miss Belle! Miss Trip is here!” Cream said behind her.
Belle’s ears perked up, and she found the rabbit and Trip standing right beside her. The thing is, she looked a little tense. Probably because of all the clanging and drilling Kit and Grease were doing in the background.
“Hi, Trip, welcome back!” Belle greeted politely. “As you’ve probably been told, I’ve finished adding upgrades to your helmet!”
Quietly, Trip stepped to the bench and effortlessly picked up the helmet, examining it.
“I-it looks the same on- on the outside,” Trip observed. “A lot c-cleaner, though…”
“Yeah, I didn’t want to make any modifications in that regard,” Belle said. “Besides, it looks like it's ancient… I didn’t want to accidentally break it somehow.”
“Y-you are right…” Trip replied with a small smile. “No one knows exactly h-how long it’s been around, but- but my people concluded that i-it’s been centuries. It’s stood th-the test of time.”
“That’s amazing!” Cream exclaimed.
“Well, I’m happy I didn’t tinker with it too much, then. And yes, I did clean it up a little,” Belle told her. “There was a good bit of dirt and dust all over it.”
Trip hummed, spinning the helmet around in her hands.
“M-maybe that’s why I end up s-sneezing and coughing s-sometimes when wearing it…” she mumbled. “I-I’ve gotten it cleaned in my v-village before, but they could n-never do it to this extent…”
She looked around the shop. “Th-then again, they were never this t-tech savvy…”
“Well, the real highlight is what’s inside the helmet,” Belle said. “Flip it over!”
The sungazer curiously flipped the helmet upside down. And sure enough, it looked very different from before.
“Wh-what’s the stuff inside it?”
Cream stood beside Trip and examined it with her.
“It looks like the inside of a football helmet,” Cream observed.
“That’s kind of what I was going for! I was a little stumped on how to make the helmet feel more comfortable to wear, so I borrowed Grease’s computer and searched up other kinds of helmets,” Belle explained. “And a football helmet seemed to fit what I was looking for! Basically, I added some foam padding and durable synthetic straps.”
“...d-durable synthetic wha…?”
“Never mind,” Belle laughed. “Just know that it should be much more comfy now. Try it on!”
Trip was still a little skeptical, but seeing Belle so confident eased her worries a tad. Slowly, she placed the helmet on her head, while Cream watched in anticipation.
And the moment it was on, she was in heaven. The top of her head no longer felt pressured. She no longer felt cold while wearing it. Her face felt protected thanks to the foam. On top of all that, it was still dark, aside from the eye holes she could see through, and the irritating noises in the machine shop were mostly blocked out. She felt so snuuuuuug-
“Miss Trip?”
Cream said her name, knocking the sungazer out of her trance. She lifted up the helmet, almost sad that the feeling was gone.
“So, um, what’s the verdict?” Belle asked nervously. “Is it good? Bad? Any improvements that could be adde-”
Trip pounced at Belle, throwing her arms around her and into a very tight hug.
“ It’s- it’s perfect,” Trip answered, a stray tear slipping out. “Thank you…”
The tinkerer did nothing at first, still stunned by Trip’s reaction. Ashley didn’t even give her this kind of response. Still, this seemed like something big for Trip, so she gently returned the hug.
…wait, I’m not blushing, am I? Since when was that programmed into my system?
“Aww, that’s adorable!” Cream innocently piped up.
It was with that comment alone that made Trip realize what she had just done.
She pathetically squeaked, let go of Belle and scurried backwards, helmet right back on her head.
“Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorry-”
“No, no, it’s okay!” Belle assured her. “It’s fine. It’s just…” She laughed. “I just never received that kind of positive affirmation over tinkering with something while working here.”
Crouched on the floor, Trip lifted her helmet up just a bit.
“W-well, um…” Trip tried to speak up while Cream gently rubbed her back. “Y-you deserve m-m-more. You d-did a real- really great j-job with th-this…”
Belle smiled, walked to the sungazer and crouched down with her. “Well, I really appreciate that. Now, about the fees…”
Trip’s pupils shrunk in horror.
“Kidding! I’m kidding,” Belle quickly backpedaled, seeing how horrified Trip became. “I assure you, I don’t charge people for doing things like that.”
Trip let out a deep breath. “Th-that’s relieving. I-I don’t have a l-lot of rings o-on me right now…”
“Yeah, no need to worry. It’s on the house.”
Both Trip and Belle laughed awkwardly.
“Um… a-anyway… I-I should probably f-find Amy and Sticks…” Trip said meekly, holding the helmet under her arm. Belle nodded in understanding.
“C-cream, will y-you come too?”
“Actually, can you tell Miss Amy that I’ll stay with Mister Kit and Mister Grease for a bit?” Cream asked. “I want Cheese to get along better with Ashura…”
“O-okay…”
After waving Belle goodbye, Trip made her way out while marveling at the upgraded helmet in her hands.
She opened the door, and…
Huh. It was a little crowded.
Oh, it was VERY crowded.
Trip could hardly see over all the people walking in different directions ahead of her.
She whimpered a little. There was no way she could find Amy so easily.
“Yeah, I know. The Restoration does get crowded at this time of night.”
Trip looked behind her, and Belle was standing at the doorway.
“Luckily, I’ve been here for so long, I know the place like the back of my hand. Now, do you know where Amy could be?”
“W-well, she didn’t s-say where she was- was going…” Trip said, tapping her chin. “B-but we were beside a d-diner called ‘Nourishments of Spag…’ last… Sh-she could be n-near there.”
The sungazer blushed. “I s-still don’t know what a Spag is…”
“Well, it’s actually based on a huge city far from here.” Belle held her hand out. “How about I explain more while I help you find her?”
Trip was a little surprised, so she didn’t accept the offer right away. But she found the courage to take her hand. “Th-that’d be nice. Thank you…”
Belle grinned at her once more, and she began walking with her through the crowd. And during the walk, a thought crossed Trip’s mind.
I’m feeling the same way I feel about Sticks… what’s going on?
And meanwhile, for Belle…
Wh-why do I feel… mushy…?