Shocking Circuitry

> Nobody look at me funny for sending a message. This is important.

> …. How do you get a kitten down from a curtain rod when it’s tangled up between the rod, the curtain and the blinds?

Then he saw the contents of the message, and swiftly replied.

Blues was only a child, and one that was usually alone at that!

> Nobody look at me funny for sending a message. This is important.

> …. How do you get a kitten down from a curtain rod when it’s tangled up between the rod, the curtain and the blinds?

Then he saw the contents of the message, and swiftly replied.

“Good- I’m glad you’re willing to give it a shot,” he said. Good to know best-case-scenario is what he got! …For now. He’d have to wait and see about the actual ‘apologizing and getting along with the others’ part. “And hey- Blues is here, too. I’m not sure how much you talked with him before, but now’s probably the best time to hang out with the kid- before he heads off on his own again.”

With that, Tenor released his brother and gave him a pat on the back. Though he was doing his best to be careful with his strength, that didn’t often work well with those whose capacity for overly-strong displays of affection he didn’t know yet. “Alright- I should head back to my office to finalize some paperwork. Some of the robotics labs in the rest of the city needed expansions and additions.”

He nearly stumbled when he was released, moving forward slightly when he was pat on the back. He tried his best to not look annoyed or exasperated, knowing that Tenor probably didn’t mean to be so rough with him. “Very well. I’ll see you later.”

Seth waved at Tenor as he stood upright, trying to offer a small smile of his own, despite it not being very visible.

“It’ll… vary how much time it’ll take to work things out for each one,” Tenor admitted. “Rock will be willing to give you a chance, for example, but Roll and Pop react badly just to the sound of your name. I can help convince them to give you a chance, if need be. The entire ninth line will likely be friendly as well, though- since, uh.

One question; did you ever apologize for the things you said a long time ago?” the foreman asked. “I know you never apologized to me, but I never took anything you said to heart in the first place. …Actually, that answers my question. Nevermind. You’ll want to do that as well.”

Yeeah- thinking about it, it was very unlikely Elec had apologized to anyone; and the effects of those insults ranged from hurt feelings to causing insecurity. They hadn’t even started trying to reintegrate Seth into the family and already problems were arising.

“The fact is, it’s hard to say what you can or can’t do until we figure out where everybody’s boundaries lie when it comes to you. Again- you’re around so rarely, and whenever you’re brought up it’s either in passing or for some of our less mature brothers to joke at your expense. Rap’s not usually one to hold a grudge, but Pop might not be speaking so light-heartedly.

If there’s any snags, you can let me know. I don’t want you to end up left on the wayside because you couldn’t tell you were needed.”

Seth opened his mouth to reply to Tenor’s question about him apologizing, but shut it and frowned as the question was answered.

“Understood.” He said, not too happy with the idea of jokes being made at his expense. Still, that wasn’t the issue at hand, and he had to be concerned with other, more important things.

“I’ll...Ask for your help if it’s needed.” He answered slowly, a bit hesitant. He wasn’t exactly one to ask for help, at least in situations relating to emotion. Seth let out a heavy sigh, raising an eyebrow as Tenor opened his arms.

He stared at the larger DLN for a few moments, a slightly confused look on his face. What was he--

...Oh! A hug. Right. Seth unfolded his arms, not immediately going toward Tenor once he had figured out what the gesture had meant-- mostly because he didn’t think there was a context there that would require a hug-- instead, he stood there somewhat awkwardly. Did he really have to do it?

Tenor was glad, though, that Seth seemed cooperative. Again- he didn’t want an argument, and he had almost expected that Seth would start one after being told to stop avoiding them. He had plenty of answers and advice for Seth, and while he knew their siblings wouldn’t go with it right away, it was still worth starting.

“Well- you can start with making conversation with us,” he said. “Even if it’s about the most trivial thing, like the weather or something. And you can start showing up when we decide to have our family gatherings. Just because they don’t all involve somebody’s expiration date(s) doesn’t mean they aren’t important. And hey- you’re always invited to karaoke night! I don’t think I’ve heard you sing yet…”

… Seth, be very glad that the topic of discussion is not about music, or that glint in Tenor’s eye would be reason to run as fast as you can.

“And hey- it’d be nice if you occasionally thanked Rock and Roll for everything they do. Granted, I’m not sure how much Roll likes you, but it can’t hurt to let her know you appreciate her hard work. And taking the occasional day off to help out somebody else at their job wouldn’t be so bad, either! It doesn’t have to be often, just once in a while.

You could also be more affectionate; you don’t have to be all big and excited like I can get, just figure out how a hug works and you should be fine.”

He had to refrain from rolling his eyes at the comment about not hearing him sing yet; though he almost pouted. “I’ll go to karaoke night if you think it will help, but don’t expect me to sing.”

He’d probably end up singing eventually, if only because Tenor would make him do it. Thankfully, that wasn’t the focus of the conversation, and it was quickly overlooked.

The DLN nodded again. “I can do that.” He said. The more he thought about it, the more he was thinking that it wasn’t going to be as difficult as one would initially expect. He could be thankful and show it, couldn’t he? Though...Taking breaks off of work would be more difficult. It was no secret to anyone that Elec didn’t like taking breaks, so he’d have to be pushed to do something like that and get used to the idea. At least it wouldn’t be often. He could afford that time off if it was for his siblings, right?

He narrowed his eyes slightly. “I know how a hug works.” Seth replied. He didn’t live under a rock, for Asimov’s sake! As far as he was concerned, he knew how to give affection just fine. The reality was that he didn’t, and he gave it rarely; and even then it was rather awkward, coming from Elec.

“Yeah, I have work, too. I’m one of the busiest ‘bots in the house; constantly needing to clean up after Wily and the Spears, building and rebuilding; not to mention I’m the only Robot Master around here that’s the boss instead of the worker. But I can still find time to come home and take care of everyone else- and you know what? You’re not excluded from that.

Seth, I’m going to be completely honest here: most of our siblings don’t even think you care about us- even Flare’s stopped trying with you. And you don’t give much, if any, evidence to the contrary. You don’t ask how we’re doing, or even pay any attention to us when you are off work. All your free time you spend on your own- Time’s gotten more friendly recently than you’ve been. And all that’s without bringing up how you used to be- did you know that whenever I bring that up around Rap or Pop, they immediately joke that they can’t even tell the difference between how you used to be and how you are now? And you insulted us to our faces back then.”

It was semi-obvious that these were sentiments and words that Tenor had been building up for years, now. Every missed opportunity had the upside that the foreman had more emotion to argue with, and even though Tenor hated arguing- which might’ve contributed to the hesitation all this time- he knew it had to be done now. Otherwise, there was probably a real chance that he’d miss Seth entirely.

He was ready to defend himself; say that powering the city was different from cleaning up messes, although he managed to catch himself and see the flawed logic behind that argument. He kept silent throughout Tenor’s speech, deciding to save any words he had until his brother finished.

The shorter DLN took on a look of confusion and surprise, blinking a few times. Since when did his siblings think that he didn’t care for them? He showed it enough, didn’t he?

...Apparently not.

He shifted slightly at the reminder that he had insulted his siblings constantly back when they were recently activated-- the shift was his way of showing he was uncomfortable.

For a time, Seth was quiet after Tenor had finished speaking. He was formulating his response, and had needed a bit more time than normal to digest what had been said to him.

“...I did not realize that I came off as not caring.” Seth said, although now that he thought about it he could see why, if only somewhat. That was a start, at least.

“I understand why you wanted to talk to me about this; it shouldn’t be a problem in the first place.” The last part was somewhat forced, with Seth’s pride getting in the way of him admitting that he had done something wrong. Still, he had been called out on it, and given that it was a problem relating to family he felt less inclined to put his pride first.

He nodded slightly in regards to Time not returning to work. That seemed to make sense. Inwardly the DLN was still concerned for Timeman despite the fact that he was repaired, but as per usual gave no indication of that concern with body language.

Seth paused at the topic change, looking mildly confused. “...I have work, Tenor. Providing power to most-- if not all-- of the city is something I have to do on a daily basis. I don’t get a lot of time at home.” Initially, Seth wasn’t understanding why the current topic was so important that they had to move to a different room and speak in private. To him it seemed like a misunderstanding, perhaps, but...

“There’s so much more than this that you miss, staying at work and avoiding us. What was the last big thing you were here for? The good-bye party for the ninth-gens? And before that?”

Oh.

Seth folded his arms, getting a little defensive in response to being told that he was purposefully avoiding them. “I don’t avoid you all intentionally.” He did, to an extent, whether he acknowledged it or not.

His defensive tone was dropped at the mention of the 9th gens, his posture turning slightly stiff. He didn’t speak for a few seconds, eyelids lowering.

“......” He didn’t have anything to say in response to that, especially because he wasn’t sure where Tenor was going to take the conversation, what point he was trying to make. In Seth’s mind, his lack of involvement was due to work-- and to Seth, he felt as though he tried to be involved when he could. It didn’t occur to him that his version of affection was barely noticeable (if at all noticeable) to everyone else.

“…And that’s about all I know,” Tenor finished. “But sit put. I’m not done with you.”

“Quint? Did he have green armor?” He asked, but stopped himself, going silent at the news of Time nearly dying. He folded his arms, frown growing deeper. “I assume that Timeman was repaired some time ago given the order of events.” He cleared his throat. “In regards to Quint...I may have met him before. We had a short discussion some time ago, but it didn’t quite go anywhere.”

Tenor lead his younger brother to a more private room than this one; this was important, and he didn’t want to risk interruption. There were two things that needed to be said: first of all, the Quint bomb, and secondly, a long-overdue lecture that Tenor wished he’d gotten to earlier.

At the question, he frowned. “No. I’ve been at work.” He said. Given the fact that Tenor found it important enough to tell Seth, and the fact that they were in a shut off room as opposed to out in the open, the DLN easily caught on to the fact that something was wrong.

Sakugarne made a huffing sound, somewhat affronted that apparently he didn’t count, but Quint shushed him again. “Hush, Sakugarne - I meant people who can speak back.” Sakugarne was good company, but it didn’t change the fact that he was basically a dog, albeit shaped like a pogo stick. Quint missed contact with people, as much as he was afraid of messing something up, or causing some kind of damage.

“Out of curiosity, would you mind telling me who your creator is?” He asked, looking down at Quint. It was obvious that he was a Robot Master, and as such he likely had a specific creator.

Not that he intended on showing it to this somewhat-estranged brother of his.

“Hey,” he greeted, and decided to adjust his scarf. It wasn’t to fidget with 0 just something that needed done. (Really. He wasn’t feeling awkward at all.) 

“…Work going well?”

“Work is going fine.” He said. “Thank you for asking.”