DLN-071

He frowns when Magma tries to explain, and snuggles closer with a pout.  “But I was, right? That’s why little brother Rock had to fight me! ‘Cause I did bad things, so I was bad… I’m trying not to be now, though! I’m trying really, really, really, really, really, really really really hard!” His brother’s explanation about work mostly goes over the little robot’s head, but he nods along and then - and then he whines at Magma and paps his face with his palm and huffs.

Baritone sighs, giving the child in his arms a little squeeze. Midi had never quite understood what had been planned for them when they’d been left in that scrapyard, and Bari had no intention of having him find out, so he’s rather careful with his words. “To be fair, he had to fight all of us. Even Mel. You did a bad thing, but that doesn’t mean you’re bad-- or that you were bad. Everyone makes mistakes. As long as you learn from them and don’t do it again, you’ll be okay. Don’t worry about it so much! Just be you.” 

...A tad bit hypocritical considering how much of a hermit Bari’s become, but... Midi deserved to be nothing but happy, and he’ll do everything in his power to keep him that way.

“I only wish it was that easy. A lot of people need me around, Midi. I wish I could drop by more often, but I can’t just get up and walk away from this stuff whenever I want. It’s really important! Tell you what... As soon as everything dies down and they can handle it without me, I’ll come home for a while. Does that sound good?”

“Ahahahaha… whoops,” Neo said sheepishly, fortunately not so desperate to spend time with his brother that he’d deliberately trash his office. Besides, there would be better ways of wrecking the place, and he was just one call to Tenor away from the office suffering complete annihilation. He gently set Baritone down and began picking up some of the paperwork.

… Sheesh, Baritone was busy. Neo had to do quite a bit of paperwork himself, but even if he didn’t, he could tell this was some workload. He knew his brother said that he had a lot more to do now with more people seeking to go geothermal, but was he really unable to make time for them?

… That, and it seemed like Baritone was quite adverse to this sort of attention, which wasn’t how it used to be.

“Neo, you don’t have to--”

...Apparently he does. Well... It doesn’t matter, Bari supposes; All those papers will have to be sorted again anyways. At this point he kneels down to help out, and deposits his collected pile back on the desk. At least it hadn’t fallen over...

“I don’t think so,” he answers, quickly scanning the room for any more stray papers or knocked over objects. Thankfully there doesn’t seem to be, and so Baritone decides to get to the heart of the matter: Why exactly his brother is here. It couldn’t be as simple as just wanting to see him, could it...?

...Maybe he was being disowned and all that affection was just Neo getting it out of his system beforehand. At this rate, the DLN wouldn’t be surprised. After the incident and how distant he’d been, it’d probably be easier for everyone... Hands clenching into fists and quickly being hidden behind his back as he tries to brace himself for any bad news, Bari takes a deep breath.

“So... Was there... Was t-there something you needed from me?”

“Man, you NEVER used to be this busy. What, ’re they putting more on ya or are ya takin’ on more?”

“Work’s been pretty standard. Construction seasons starting, so that means applying for permits and all that jazz. I had to come back though I MISSED YOU GUYS. YOU IN PARTICULAR I NEVER SEE YOU ANYMOOOOOOOORE.”

When Neo gets the both of them back on their feet, he makes a tiny effort to escape his brother’s grasp-- No such luck, unfortunately. Neo’s holding tight and doesn’t look like he’s letting go any time soon.

...He should be hugging Midi, right now. Or Melody-- Especially Mel. Their poor sister was off on her own more often than not... Hugging Baritone, who didn’t even deserve to be called Neo’s little brother anymore, was a waste.

“Um... Sort of,” He answers after a pause, “The plant has had more customers looking into converting-- Businesses, mostly, looking for cost effective means of generating electricity. Elec’s plant is so popular that its fees are fairly weighty, so most people just starting up can’t afford it... So I’ve been taking care of most business-y things going on around here on top of everything else, too. It’s... Easier to have the robot do it, as far as everyone else is concerned. There’s no chance of losing or forgetting information or terms of agreement-- It’s all up here and won’t go away unless I delete it. Which I won’t.”

At least things seemed to be going well for Neo-- He’d certainly not have much free time soon, given how much easier it was to do construction in the summer... He and Tenor would soon have their hands full... But they had each other and that other friend of theirs, so it would be alright.

The swinging shakes Bari from his thoughts, and once he’s knocked into his desk (sending a mountain of paperwork flying) the DLN begins to protest-- A drastic change from how positively he’d responded to affection before their scrapping.

“Neo, careful--! Neither of us are exactly small... You’re gonna trash my office if you don’t watch where you’re swinging...”

Baritone was immediately tackle-hugged to the ground and smushed under the massive weight that was his brother. There was no escape.

This is the absolute last sibling he wanted to see, too. What’s Neo doing here, anyways? He’s usually one of the busiest of the brothers or hanging out with Tenor somewhere!

“...H... Hi, Neo,” Baritone manages, chuckling weakly. “I’ve been doing alright... I’ve been busy lately is all. Lots of meetings and paperwork... And I had to train some new employees pretty recently, too. I’ve, um... I’ve missed you too. How’ve... How’ve you been?”

...Oh, no. He hadn’t meant to upset the little guy with how distant he’d been! He’d figured... Galaxy wouldn’t have noticed. He was so busy wandering around or off in space that Magma had been hoping assuming he wouldn’t notice.

“...You’re not bad, Gala. I don’t think you could be bad even if you tried really hard,” He murmurs. They’d all been manipulated by Dr. Wily, and Galaxy was no less to blame than Splash, or Jewel... He was so little, too, there was no way he’d really understood what was going on...! “I’ve just been really busy with work. See the pipeline over there? We’re testing to see if it’d be a good place to make more energy from. I’ve been up to my optics in meetings, paperwork, ordering materials... I’m sorry if I made you sad and lonely. I’ve just had too much to do lately.”