【ready to roll! ❤】

Swings, slide, monkey bars- the whole thing. It was one of those home sets, and not a cheap one either; after all, only the best for the Light kids! The others would probably have a blast here, too; the littler DWNs, if they were interested and playing with them. Cut, Ice and Time, if they were home and had some free time they wanted to kill here, too. (Though, Tenor kind of doubted Time would be at all interested.)

“Oh, wow....!”

Roll falls silent at the sight of the playset that now sat in a once mostly-empty yard. She’d passed by a few houses with playgrounds like this in their backyards, but none as big and full as this one! It looked like it belonged in a park! The blonde wastes no time in hopping off her brother’s shoulder tto get a closer look, ‘oooh’ing and ’ahh’ing appreciatively. Geez, no wonder Daddy had gotten them to do errands away from home all morning!

“Hey, now- you and Rock are still kids, and kid ‘bots need their rest. You know that- besides, if I said I had a gift from Pop waitin’ for you two, would you forgive us?”

As (probably) expected, the mention of Pop mollifies Roll. She still looks a little sulky, most likely because her favourite brother wasn’t around to present it himself, but at least she’s stopped pouting. And arguing about her bedtime.

With the offer on the table, he nods absently. He can’t keep the smile off his face, but he does manage to amp down some of the exuberance in his voice and answer her questions calmly.  “Uh-huh. Her name’s Piano, and no, she ain’t a combat model and - and I don’t want her t’ be. She c’n stay safe and stuff and outta most of the fighting.” 

And now that he thought about it…

 “Uh… she’s gonna need friends, though. Think you could look out for her whenever Doc starts making trouble again?” It’s only a matter of time, after all - Forte may be younger than his siblings but even he knows that Al just won’t quit trying.  “I really don’t want her t’ get caught up in the messes he makes… oh, list… list… yeah! I c’n give you a copy at the fortress, if you’d be okay stopping by there before I take you home?”

It’s not a kidnapping if he just takes her by for a minute, right?

Aww, he's cute when he’s excited like that. Roll feels kind of bad for dampening his mood a little, but she really wouldn’t mind having someone she can trust to vent to-- Someone who’s an outsider to the situation. Blues technically was, but from what she could see he was having issues of his own trying to get along with their older siblings; She doesn’t want to make that worse by dumping her own problems on him!

Forte’s easier to talk to, anyways. Even back when he was still picking fights left and right, he’d always seemed to calm down around her and turned out to be really sweet when he wanted to.

“Yeah, probably... Later though, okay? I want to hear more about your sister first. It wouldn’t be fair to make you shut up about something as incredible as this!”

With that, she goes back to listening. Piano, huh? That’s a cute name! Even cuter is Forte being so protective of his twin already...

“Yeah, sure! I’ll be friends with Piano-- She’s your sister, it’d be bad if I couldn’t get along with her... I bet Rock’ll be her friend too, if you want?” Forte could get weird about Rock, not that she could blame him. After all, he was built to be the Wily version of Mega Man, superior in every way... Or something.

...Geez, did that mean Piano was supposed to be the better Roll? Weird... But Roll guesses that would make sense.

She’s teasing. The youngest DLN wastes no time catching up to her big brother and grabbing his hand. She grins up at him, giggling a little. 

"Sorry," he mutters, more embarrassed than he’d like to admit. "There wasn’t really any running water where I was at. The humans needed what there was." He probably could have found somewhere to clean up before returning to the lab, but it hadn’t crossed his mind, and it’s too late now.

He’s a little reluctant to let anyone else take a look at his systems - even his sister - but pushes the discomfort aside for now. Independence is all well and good but even he knows his patch jobs have just been that - patch jobs. For a more permanent fix he does need the help, and so he climbs onto the worktable with no fuss.

And she’s starting to forgive Blues’ absence, too. All of her fury could have been avoided if he had pointed out he was working with people who really needed it-- Roll had assumed Blues was off gallivanting across the globe and goofing off. He kept so much of his life under wraps, after all...

Though she’d always thought that hadn’t fit. He hid it, but Roll could tell Blues was just as kind as Rock, deep down. She’s glad he’s pretty much confirmed it. 

The blonde fetches a portable scanner, then goes over he brother to assess what exactly needed repairs, and what was alright. Thankfully, most of it were things she could fix herself-- He might not respond well to Dad having to step in, and Roll had been worried. 

“You’re in luck-- You’re not too badly off! Just give me a bit, and you’ll be good as new!”

With that, Roll hurries off to fetch the tools and parts she needed and sets to work by the time she returns. She makes it a point to be gentle with Blues, and always asks permission before touching something he might not be alright with her working on. It’s a little slower, and she’s a little more hesitant and less confident than Dr. Light might be, but it’s more because she wants to do a good job repairing her beloved big brother than anything else.

Eventually, Roll pulls away, having finished mostly everything...

“...I’ll need to take off your helmet for what’s left. Something cracked, and I want to take a look at it. Um... Is that okay?”

She probably didn’t have to lecture Bomb about this, but... Well, best to cover all her bases. Some of their brothers could be real workaholics (cough cough, Elec), and with the demand for their services post Wily schemes things usually got worse. Thankfully, the worst of the cleanup seemed to be over...

…And that, sadly, includes the twins. Oh. So that’s what Roll meant, okay. He understands it a little better now.

Turning back to Roll, he tilts his head to one side to try and compensate for the way the world keeps trying to tip on him, and holds out his hand - his left, for now, if just because it’s slightly cleaner.

"We’re good. … you know, you can hit pretty hard with that thing. You should try it out on a practice target at some point."

"Really? I-I didn't know that..." This gets a smile out of the blonde finally, and she takes the outstretched hand gently. Glad Blues didn't seem to take the attack too personally, the Lightbot begins leading him to the nearest work space.

"And after I fix you up, you're taking a bath, Blues." she states, giggling. "You smell really bad, and while you might not mind it, the rest of our brothers and Daddy probably will. But it's okay! I have bubble bath! We'll have you good as new in the blink of an eye, and then I can give you your present! And then we should go find Rock-- He really wants to see you again, you know!"

"A’ight, a’ight, Roll, Roll…" Flare said gently, facing his sister and kneeling down in front of her. He gently put his hands on both of her shoulders, hoping that if she wouldn’t listen to Blues, she’d listen to him. "If Blues didn’t want t’ah be ‘yere, ‘e wouldn’t be. None ah us forced ‘im t’ah come back, an’ Ah don’t think he wants t’ah high tail out’ah ‘yere, otherwise he already would’ah. Ah think he’d like t’ah speak t’ya, preferably without ah broom whackin’ ‘im whenever he tries t’ah speak. Think y’kin just listen t’him?”

It’s bad enough that he goes into the places he does - but, well… somebody has to help, and he’s in a unique position to do it. Unaffected by human disease, able to teleport and move supplies, able to physically fight back… He can help the people that everyone else forgets. But he doesn’t want Rock and Roll to ever, ever catch on. And if that means he doesn’t talk to them except when he’s dead certain they need advice or help, then fine.

If it means they hate him… that’s not fine, but he can’t stop helping just because of his siblings being unhappy.

As Roll’s rant goes on, though, any indignation he had melts away (and at one point he tries to sniff at his armor surreptitiously - is it that obvious he’s spent a few nights under a bridge?). She’s… got a point, and if he keeps avoiding coming home to help with the next problem then he really won’t ever come by to visit any more.

Besides, it’s getting hard to think around the persistent clicking and dizzy sensation, so he sighs and adjusts his scarf with dirty fingers. 

And now that she's gotten pretty much everything she wanted to say out of her system, shushing and listening to their wayward brother doesn't sound like such a stupid idea anymore. The blonde gives a tiny nod and a soft 'okay' when Flare asks if she can listen to their brother, placing her hands behind her back and staring at the ground awkwardly once the redhead steps back.

...Not that Blues had much to say in the end, but well... Now he had as long as he wanted to talk, and Roll would try her best to listen. She really doesn't like being angry at her brothers, so the little Lightbot decides to let it go and start fresh.

"...Okay," she murmurs, glancing back up at Blues, "I'm sorry I got mad at you. And hit you-- Can we make up? I didn't hit you too hard, did I...?"

Flare hurried into the room, not hearing anyone else coming along to stop the one-sided fight that was brewing. He stood there for a moment before walking up to the two of them and stepping between them.

"Blues! It’s awful nice t’ah see ya again!" Flare said, trying his best to sound more chipper than the two of them currently were. "Back from whatever it is ya do?"

Eh. He can fix it all later. If there is a later, which right now may not end up happening—- "I do - wait - Roll just listen for a second!”

Not that he can really get a word in edgewise around the broom-whacks and the screaming, and while he doesn’t say as much he’s terribly glad when Flare steps in. If nothing else maybe he can get away… but that would be the cowardly thing to do, and he’s awkward and this is unpleasant but he’s not going to prove Roll’s accusations right, not when they aren’t - he does want to have something to do with the twins, with the family. He’s just… very, very bad at showing it.

"Back from whatever it is ya do?"

"Yes, it sure would be NICE if we got to hear what you were up to more often, wouldn't it?" Roll huffs, her death grip on her weapon of choice loosening visibly. She's calming somewhat, thanks to Flare's presence... Be thankful, Blues.

When Flare asks her what's going on, Roll wastes no time in explaining. 

"Just look at him! He's filthy and looks like he's been living on the roadside for weeks now with nothing in the way of maintenance, and just shows up after MISSING CHRISTMAS like nothing ever happened, like it's okay that he didn't even call to tell us he's alive out there... He made Rock cry when he didn't come home to see us on Christmas day, did you know that?! He doesn't seem to know or care how much Rock and I worry about him out there, or how much we want him around... A-and now he's probably going to leave again, because I lost my temper, a-and I don't want him to go away, Flare! Tell Blues he has to stay for a while! At least a few days, so he can be cleaned and repaired and spend some time with us and I can give him his Christmas present...!"

"No, but it’s not like I  can say anything else.”

Maybe his tone is a little snippier than need be, but he has more of a temper than Rock and that’s never really been a secret, mysterious, cool sibling or not. (And he’s worked hard to maintain that image in the twins’ eyes, there’s no way he’s letting them see him in any other light if he can help it).

"What do you want me to do? I came back - I could have stayed away longer. I can leave again if you want!”

Wrong thing to say, Blues.

...And after those last words, that other thing coming was a very hard whap from Roll's broom. Very wrong thing to say, Blues.

"You could call once in a while. Tell us HOW you're doing-- That you're not dead in the middle of nowhere! Or maybe, you could stop to consider that some of us might be INTERESTED in what you're doing! Maybe you could invite Rock to come help you feed the children once in a while, I'm sure he'd love the chance to do something that doesn't remind him of Wily every five seconds--! You know Daddy would be okay with it if he was with you!" Her voice is rising with every word, tears pricking at the corner of bright green eyes as she hits her brother once more. "You know what--?! Just go, then, if that's what you want! Just go and don't bother wasting your time with us because you very obviously don't want to! You could have said so YEARS ago instead of stringing... Stringing us along, making us hope our big brother would want to be part of our lives after all--!"