TK BLOG for art

"I am," Grace said with a long-suffering sigh, "soooo bored." 

His foot bumped lightly into a screwdriver on the lab bench and Ilyukhina shot him a glare as she reached over to stop its gentle spin away from her. 

"I miss when you were still puking everywhere," Ilyukhina muttered. "It was less annoying."

Grace chuckled at the insult. "I don't miss the puking," he said lightly. "I do miss the gravity, though."

Ilyukhina returned to the astrophage sampler that she was assembling and calibrating for their upcoming foray into Tau Ceti's Petrova line.

"The faster we get to the sampling zone, the sooner you can use the lab for science, which means you will get gravity back," Yao intoned. "So now it is time to hush so Olesya and I can do that."

Grace stopped himself mid-spin and pulled himself over to look over Yao's shoulder. "Waiting is boring," Grace said, absentmindedly watching Yao do his calculations. "I think you forgot to carry a one over there," he added, pointing vaguely at the page.

Yao tensed, checked his work, and scratched out the mistake. He sighed and started again. 

"What would my students say in a time like this?" Grace mused aloud. "I bet they'd have something amusing."

"Can't you think inside your head?" Ilyukhina murmured under her breath. 

"They'd probably say that…Yao's math ain't mathing," Grace said, chuckling softly. "And that this lab is mid without any gravity."

Ilyukhina looked up from her work. She was wearing her signature death stare, but the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned. "Are you done?" 

Grace pulled himself over to look at the sampler she was working on. He was giggling under his breath. "This sampler is cringe, but I should let her cook."

Yao fully set his calculations down with a sigh. "Ryland, we are in the process of saving planet Earth."

"No cap, broski," Grace wheezed. 

Ilyukhina suppressed a snort at the expression on Yao's face. Grace's eyes lit up and he pointed a delighted finger at her. "You're laughing!" Grace exclaimed. "I guess my slang lowkey hits different."

Yao and Ilyukhina made eye contact. Yao nodded with a sigh. "Okay, Dr. Grace. I see how it is."

Grace was red-faced and laughing. "It's giving, uh, no aura," he chortled.

Ilyukhina stood up and Yao pushed lightly on Grace's chest to send him to the back wall of the lab. They both followed him. 

"Guys? What's going on—uh, this is kinda sus," Grace flustered, still attempting to commit to the bit. 

Yao reached Grace and pinned him to the wall by placing a firm hand on his chest.

"I do believe I have the right words for this," Yao mused. "How do they say it? I think it's… you're cooked."

Grace flushed pink. "What- what are you even going to do to me?" He squeaked. "Th-this is not very mindful, or very demure—"

Ilyukhina cut him off with a firm squeeze to his left ribcage. Grace squeaked like a tea kettle. "Hey! Don't—"

Yao chuckled. "Good idea, Olesya. A fitting punishment for such childish language."

"Thank you, Li-Jie, I thought of it myself," Ilyukhina said smugly. 

"Guhuys? I'm right- HERE!" Grace protested, the last bit turning into another squeal as Yao massaged his fingers into the crease of Grace's hip. Grace kicked out, his legs pinwheeling like a cartoon character as he threw his head back in helpless laughter. 

"No- nnnnNO!" 

"Yes," Ilyukhina replied, digging her fingers under Grace's arm. 

Grace screeched and curled up like a pillbug. "You guys are bullies," he whined, protecting himself as best he could. 

"No, we are just, uh, gentle parenting," Yao grunted, bracing a knee against Grace's stomach and using it as leverage to uncurl the scientist for better access. 

"Wha- I- this is your version of GENTLE?! And I'm not a toddler—" Grace spluttered, fighting to stay curled up. 

"You were speaking like toddler," Ilyukhina smirked, clawing roughly at Grace's ribs. Grace cackled and kicked uselessly at the air. 

"You are giggling like one," Yao chuckled. 

"Shut- UP!" Grace whined, kicking more precisely at Yao's middle. 

The next few moments resulted in quite a quick escalation. 

First, Grace's foot made contact with Yao's stomach. Yao was knocked back about two feet and some of the air was punched out of his lungs. Grace let out a victorious laugh.

Next, the lab went totally still. 

Ilyukhina scoffed lightly in delighted surprise at the drama that was sure to unfold. "Uh oh," she said, poking Grace in the side. 

Yao looked halfway between incredulous and murderous.

Third, Grace attempted another kick with a cheeky grin, because he didn't know what was good for him. 

"Oh, this is not happening," Yao grumbled as he caught Grace's kick. He quickly put the offending foot in an ankle lock.

Grace yelped and tried to pull his foot back. "Wait- I didn't mean it! It was just, your face was priceless—"

"Priceless?" Yao scoffed. "What, you think I don't know how to catch a kick?" Then, he muttered something foul-sounding in Mandarin. 

"Well, you missed the first one—WAITWAITWAIT!" Grace's voice rose in pitch and Yao made quick work of his NASA-issue grippy sock. "Okayokayokay, I'm sorry, come ohohon you don't have to do this," Grace protested.

Grace shrieked with laughter as Yao ignored him and rubbed his blunt nails roughly across the sole of Grace's foot. 

"Is this really so bad?" Yao asked. 

"YEHEHES!!" Grace cried.

"Oh, that is okay, I can do other things," Yao said calmly, as if he were being extremely generous. 

He snatched a lab cleaning brush that was hovering nearby. He waved it in Grace's face. "You did not put this away after washing it, so what comes next is your fault."

"What are you gonna do with— AAAAHH!!" Grace's shrieked as Yao brought the brush down to his exposed sole and scrubbed. It was awful, it was hell, it was exactly what he wanted. Grace twisted uselessly in Yao's grip, loud cackles and cries for mercy spilling out of his mouth like a broken faucet. 

Grace felt smaller hands steady his shoulders and that should have given him some warning, but he was still unprepared when Ilyukhina squeezed at that perfect spot on the back of his neck. He screeched and his back arched. 

"Oh, poor scientist forgot he had this spot," Ilyukhina cooed. "Our little amnesiac."

"We should stop calling him scientist and start calling him ticklish," Yao observed over the sound of Grace's mirthful screaming. 

"NOHOHO— DO NOT—"

"What's wrong with calling you ticklish?" Ilyukhina grinned.

Yao let up on Grace's foot so he could reply. "Ihit's- it's too embarassing!"

"You don't like the word 'tickle'?" Yao asked. 

"What if we say it in another language?" Ilyukhina said smugly. "How about щекотать?"

"Or 痒痒?" Yao chimed in. 

Grace covered his red face and groaned. 

Ilyukhina patted Grace's shoulder. "I think we killed him," she chuckled. 

Yao gently put Grace's sock back on his foot for him, chuckling softly at the way Grace now flinched from every small brush to his abused sole. "Are you going to let us do our work now?" Yao asked.

Grace whined a soft, pathetic "yes" from behind the hands covering his face. 

Yao squeezed Grace's shoulder. "Good man."

Yao and Ilyukhina returned to their abandoned work and the lab settled into quiet again. Grace remained curled up in a ball for a while until he felt ready to uncover his face. He watched them work in silence. 

Grace chewed his lip, and then muttered experimentally under his breath: "That wasn't very based."

There was a moment of silence, and then Yao spoke up in a warning tone, not looking up from his work. "Grace."

Grace lowered his voice even more. "It was chopped, actually," he exhaled.