In Futurum ad Praesens

"Better be ready to turn off your auditory sensors temporarily then, unless you wanna let him talk them off!" Quint said, intending it to be a joke. Now that the cleaning's done, he really should be leaving before he finds something else to do inside the room.

Maybe it'd be better if he'd just dragged a hose into the room and wash the dirt off, but that'd make a simple thing more complicated. And muddy. If Quint went with that, he'd never leave the room for days just cleaning everything and that'd defeat the whole point of staying out of sight. ...Any more than what's possible, that is.

The stubborn side of him wanted to tell Quint he was fine, but… staying like this as some sort of stupid punishment to himself had prrrrobably gone on long enough. The more he let himself accumulate dust and dirt, the more Top would probably scream at him.

Of course. Like he even needed to ask that. No robot, in their right minds, would keep themselves all covered in dust. What if dirt got into crucial parts? It’d be a total disaster and must be repaired immedia---

“Nah, I’m good. Fizzy stuff gives me gas.” Hard grinned, a little cheekily. This was usually the point where he’d wipe his mouth on the back of his hand, but… yeah, no, that wasn’t happening anytime soon. He didn’t have much of a choice but to leave the mess where it was and hope the bugs didn’t get to him before his brothers did. “Ehh… normally I would, but I got enough spilled down my shirt right now without the risk of adding somethin’ sweet and sticky.”

Thank goodness Hard didn’t ask for the soda and Quint didn’t bother hiding his relief when he sighed visibly. Well, no point in keeping the drink around for longer; the little green bot popped off the cover of the cup and guzzled down the half-cola, half-water liquid.

Fiiiiiinally. Hard didn’t even care that the fries had gotten soggy, happily getting them chewed up and swallowed in a display that was somehow more unpleasant to watch than last time. Hard didn’t care, though- after months of nothing, it was heaven.

If Quint had already become grossed out with the burger, he was ready to throw the towel in with the soggy fries. Table manners Hard does not have, not that Quint himself is the most dainty eater on the planet. The little green bot made a disgusted face, really wishing that he could turn his visor totally opaque, if only for scenes like this. Erasing memories is out of the question as well; who knows what could be erased and his memory banks aren’t stable to begin with. He tries to extend a helping hand and this is what happens. Never again! But Quint knew that’s impossible.

“I gotta admit, buddy, I barely know anythin’ about you at all.” From what he’d gathered the little guy was kind of reclusive, so he guessed that wasn’t a surprise. Then again, his memory wasn’t quite what it used to be… 

“And I like it that way.” Quint muttered under his breath with a pout, but looked when Hard hinted about the fries again. While Quint may think the bigger bot’s being bossy, he does have a point; the sooner he’s done here, the sooner he can leave and not have to meet any other bots.

Geez, so Quint will have to deal with the other 3rd Gens possibly arriving to visit Hard. The big lug had already had the burger, leaving the fries and drink; Quint could just dump them into Hard’s mouth and then take his leave. Surely Hard’s brothers could clean the dust off of him themselves, right?

It was then that Quint realized that he’d spaced out again, and in front of Hard no less. That seemed to be happening often, and he couldn’t figure out why. There’s nothing wrong with him, according to his self-diagnostics, save for the ones that were already wrong to begin with. Quint shook his head and groaned.

It was real distracting all right, not that Hard, or anyone else for that matter, should know. Quint had thought that just minding his own business wouldn’t make him delve into the past (or would it be ‘future’?) too much and too often, but it didn’t seem to be working. The little green bot then made a disgusted face when Hard made him remember the silly outfits the large bot had worn on special occasions. “Guy, I have the mental age equivalent to a 10 year old; don’t start giving me nightmares!” he groaned out of disbelief before he thrust the container of fries to Hard’s mouth.

It was then that Quint realized that he’d spaced out again, and in front of Hard no less. That seemed to be happening often, and he couldn’t figure out why. There’s nothing wrong with him, according to his self-diagnostics, save for the ones that were already wrong to begin with. Quint shook his head and groaned.

//What could he be doing right now? Would he still be in the vents, cleaning out the tiniest crevices just to avoid from meeting the other Wilybots? What’s stopping him anyway? Did he realize that he’s interacting with a Wilybot? Though technically he is half-Light. But at least Hard knew what make he is! Quint? He wasn’t even sure of himself! This is all Wily’s fault! This is all Rock’s fault! This is all his fault!If only he wasn’tIfonlyhedidn’texistifonlyifonlyIFONLY---// ---‘Don’t worry---or somethin.‘

“This is the first stuff I’ve eaten in months, sue me.” His inability to starve meant he probably could have done with taking his time and savouring the flavour, but eh. With one more bite the burger was gone, the only evidence it’d ever been there to begin with being the sauce and spilled contents around Hard’s mouth and on his shirt. Top would probably have the robot equivalent of an aneurysm if he could see him now

“Sure. Just lemme call my friend Lawman and we’ll have your butt sued off in no time.” came Quint’s reply to Hard’s remark. He really should be happy that his efforts weren’t being wasted, even with the mess, but the rising urge to clean the large bot was making it hard. Hard still couldn’t move, and Quint wondered if he’s really going to remain where he sat afterwards.

Thank the maker that Hard could chew, else Quint would’ve quit right then and there. Even though he’d thought of this idea himself and even with Hard telling him that the 3rd Gen wouldn’t have agreed if he couldn’t chew, the little green bot has his limits. “Har har, very funny. Don’t forget; I’m holding the burger you’re eating.” he said with a huff.