Chapter Text
It was a few months into our trip back to Erid when Rocky revealed his new suit; made almost entirely out of the flexible Xenonite paneling he’d utilized sparingly with the hamster ball, it gave him access to far more of Mary than before. To say he was excited would be an understatement. “Exuberant” would be getting closer to describing the whirlwind he’d been in the lab.
Every notch that could loosely be considered a handhold was taken advantage of as Rocky skittered around, any of his free claws fluttering towards different machines as he went, hesitant to touch but clearly overflowing with curiosity.
I snort at the memory, it had felt like when he had first barreled on board all those months ago, although I knew to expect this visit. The lab had been his first target with his new-found dexterity.
While he had nearly bowled me over with a barrage of questions, I’d decided to use the Taumoeba farm as a more focused jumping off point. Something he was familiar with and had seen me work on countless times before. He had dangled from the ceiling over my work bench, “watching” intently as I walked him through my process of extracting samples, doing population density counts, feedings, etc.
When I was finished, I asked if he had any questions, of course the answer was no, damn him and his bear trap of a memory. He gestured to the breeding container I had just retrieved to begin work on, though, and asked, “Rocky can touch, question?”
I paused, surprised by the notable hesitancy in his tone - entirely unusual for him - but nodded, “Yeah, bud, of course you can,” a chuckle, “I mean, you made the things, you know exactly what they can handle.”
Rocky stretched his arms out tentatively, claws clicking either with anticipation or to see clearer - maybe both?
Once the breeder was safely within his grasp, I stepped back and observed as he rotated it to-and-fro, perhaps I was projecting on him, but I got the sense of being awestruck. It hit me then that this was his first time interacting with the Taumoeba - the theoretical savior of both our planets. I smiled to myself, “Amazing, isn’t it?” He nodded slowly, only half listening it appeared, “your engineering is something else, Rock.”
“Is not something else. Is engineering.” He shot back, finally glancing up from the breeder to look at me.
“It’s just an expression. It means it’s impressive - clever. Well executed.” Especially considering the hard pivot he had needed to do with the Xenonite breach, but I kept that to myself, not wanting to sour the mood with a reminder.
He chittered proudly at the compliment, “High praise. Thank you.”
Overtime we fell into a rhythm with the farm management. There were some steps I had to do (pipettes were not designed for claws) but Rocky’s help and company had made the process far more efficient and enjoyable. It felt like being back in the lab with someone I got along with. Easy. Comfortable.
I think it also helped Rocky settle some. Getting his hands in the process made the world around him feel, for lack of better words given the situation, grounded and real. His previous restlessness that had been spent creating his new suit was remarkably lessened.