Work Text:
Organising the library was one of Ivy's favourite tasks.
Sometimes when the Mechanisms landed on a new planet, he would learn of a new way of sorting books and would immediately want to rearrange where every text in her archives was kept. This was one such occasion. The new system was just fascinating and Ivy was thoroughly enjoying himself as she neatly piled books against the wall and placed them back on the many shelves in their new categories.
The constant flicker of the small lights scattered around the library gave no indication of how much time had passed, and he was too engrossed in her self-assigned task to pay attention to his internal clock, so she had no idea what time it was when he felt a gentle hand rest on her shoulder. He jumped a little and looked up from when she was crouched on the ground, meticulously placing books on shelves, to see Raphaella's eyes staring into his.
"Ivy darling, you didn't come to dinner, is everything alright?" The archivist looked up at her in confusion, missed dinner? But she had started sorting his books at 1034 and it had only been an hour or two, it couldn't be- 1846 was the time she got back from his mechanical brain. Ah. Ivy normally stuck to her schedule so rigidly, he could see why her wife was concerned about him.
"I seem to have gotten very focused on sorting my books, I'm sorry for worrying you. Have you heard about this system? It's called the-" He stood up quickly, excited to tell Raphaella about what she'd learnt but as he did so, her vision went suddenly out of focus and he just stood, wobbling slightly as a wave of static washed over her. Again he felt Raphaella's hands on her shoulders, and he could her voice, even more worried now, though she couldn't make out what was being said to him through the ringing in her ears.
"-y. Ivy. What's happening?" He was on the floor now somehow. She didn't seem to have fallen there, which was good, and the feeling of Raphaella's arms around him suggested she had eased her to the ground in some way. He didn't have an answer to her wife's question, she simply managed to say.
"I- I'm not sure." The static that had filled his mechanical brain had eased, but she could still feel the intricate machinery working overtime to fulfill it's duty. The look Raphaella gave him was a mix of concern and curiosity, before a sad idea seemed to occur to the scientist.
"Have you eaten at all today my love?" Ivy furrowed her brows, trying to remember the last time he'd left her library at all, let alone went to get something to eat.
"I had... a pot of yoghurt. Yesterday. At 1252." He smiled sheepishly, knowing that Raphaella would not like this answer. As expected, she shook her head sadly and pulled Ivy into her chest.
"Oh darling, that isn't enough."
"It was- it was my last one." Whether Ivy liked most foods depended on many factors; varying texture, varying taste, just how she was feeling on a given day, but yoghurt pots were nice and consistent, sometimes he went weeks without eating anything else. But they hadn't been back to the planet she got them from in a while, a fact he had learnt the previous day. Raphaella sat silently with this information for a moment.
"That is certainly an issue." Adjusting the two of them so Ivy was leaning against her shoulder, an arm and a wing wrapped around to keep her stable, Raphaella hummed in thought.
"Do you think you'll be able to eat something else today? I do think we have the big tub of plain yoghurt in the fridge, I know it isn't the same as your little ones but we could try and make it work." Ivy fidgeted with the hem of his skirt.
"I think a smoothie might be okay today."
Raphaella smiled. "A smoothie it is."
Gently she eased Ivy off the floor, careful to avoid another incident. Together they made the short walk to the kitchen where Ivy sat at the counter while Raphaella followed her detailed instructions on smoothie-making. Once it was done and transferred into a cup more Ivy-approved than the one that fit on the blender, Raphaella sat down next to her husband, who accepted the cup and poked her straw into it, taking a small sip.
"Thank you." He smiled, taking another, slightly longer sip.
"Anything for you dear." Raphaella planted a soft kiss on Ivy's cheek. "I'll talk to Brian and ask if we can get to the planet with your yoghurts soon. And in the meantime, I'm always here to help, don't you forget that."