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[To be fair drawing was very much a learned discipline, and she failed technical drawing two times before she became any good at putting her thoughts into an image. The handwriting, though, has always been cute!]

You think kids would want them? [She pulls out another little creation, it's shaped like a floppy starfish.] Maybe they could be sort of educational, or work like little protectors? Freak out and make noises if certain creepy phrases are used ...

[Just make them for fun, huh? She couldn't help thinking that was something of a waste, and maybe a bit lonely. What was the sense in making anything if you couldn't give it purpose?] I guess it wouldn't really hurt, and if nothing else I can show them to you now.

[If he was still a kid? Of course he'd want one of these little guys; he never had a whole lot of toys when he was young. Heck, he wants them now.]

Or they could just be companions.

[A purpose doesn't always have to be an active job. Until she pulls out that little starfish! His eyes light up.]

Wait--wait, that--! Do you think it could be made to be a tank cleaner?

[Well, she could at least finish Amadeus for him, and then he could have a toy of his own! A custom one, at that.

But the excitement he displays at her BotFish is completely unexpected. A tank cleaner, huh? She holds its form in both hands, looking it over. It's got a decent framework and a shape but not much else, so it could really be anything.]

Sure, it would just have to scrub at the glass, right?

[She doesn't know anything about tanks or cleaning them so that's her best guess!]

[Amadeus will have his own little robo-doggy bed right next to the soon to be dubbed Sex Couch.

She'll learn a lot about tank cleaning if she wants to once she stays at his place for a while.]

At the very least, yeah. But it'd be even better if it had it's own filter for the stuff it scrubs off the side...or else it'll just settle in the rocks.

[Which is kind of an unavoidable chore in the end but if the little thing could just help him keep the walls clean it'd mean he'd have to clean his tank a whole lot less.]

Shouldn't be too bad. [She turns it over in her hands a bit. It might need a bit of retooling since none of these parts are waterproof and might end up rusting if left in his tank. She'd have to start from the beginning but the possibility doesn't bother her at all. Having a set goal felt nice, doubly so when it was something of an unknown one - she'd have to learn a little more to pull this off even somewhat effectively.]

It already had an air filter, but it probably needs to be stronger, and it can't be so rough that it harms the glass, either.

[Granted, his tank is probably very durable.] If I give it a little home pad it can get out and rest there when it needs to charge or have the filter cleaned, too ...

[Excuse her, Boxer, she needs her sketchpad back, and thank goodness she's already got a pencil out. Just - a minute or two, that's all she needs! Some of this is really good and should be examined later!]

[He's beaming at her. They've only begun to get to know each other, and it was mostly through a sex-tinted lense, but the picture he's looking at right now is just as great, if not better. To capture her in a moment enraptured by her passion and creativity...

There's no way in hell is he going to interrupt this. He watches for a while before speaking up.]

You want anything from the kitchen?

[She's completely ignorant to his expression and anything that might linger behind it. There's hardly any distracting her when she's int his state, and more than once she turns to look back into the box, huffing. She'll have to go shopping for a lot of various parts but that's hardly a big deal.]

What?

[Oh, hey, Boxer.]

Sure? [Except.] ... There's not a lot in there, though.

[Water, tea, strawberry lemonade, a box of cereal, miscellaneous cans? There's basically nothing in her kitchen, though he's free to look all the same!]

We'll see what I can get my hands on.

[Poor Nariko! Does this mean she eats out all the time? Now he really has to treat her to a home-cooked meal or a dozen. Still, that doesn't mean he can't make the best of what he finds.

What he returns with is the best brewed cup of tea that would ever come out of the tea she has, placing it on what he thinks is the most benign place that he can find on her desk.]

[Look, they live in a city where every culture in the world has a restaurant that allows for delivery! Why endanger herself when she could just order in? The exception is, of course, her jasmine tea, the one thing she can make decently on her own, and is always in the house.

When he comes back, though, she'll be at her drafting table. When he sets the cup down she's brought back to reality again.] Thank you!

[She goes for the cup, paying no mind to the heat, and instead gestures towards the multiple sheets of paper she's managed to draw and write all over. There's an entirely new design for it's overall look, the schematics she needs for the insides, as well as a possible charging station for it.] I think I'll have to make it a little bigger than it is now, but if I do then it should be easy enough to install the right brushes and a sizable enough filter to hold all the bad stuff. I don't know how often it has to be cleaned but I think it should be able to go over at least three times before it needs recharging, or to be cleaned itself.

[Boxer's tank is huge, so hopefully that's not too unrealistic a goal.] I just need to figure out the power station, and where to get the brushes. Shouldn't take more than a week or two.

[... Three, if they end up spending a lot of time together.]

[He looks over her notes as best he can, though to layman eyes like his it takes a while to get through it all, understand it like it's meant to be.]

This is awesome, Nariko.

[But it's only now that he realizes that he's essentially asked her to do work for him! Even if she's really enjoying it...it's still skilled labor that came of hours of studying and practice. Skilled labor she should probably be paid for, because this little thing will make his life easier!]

Hey, uh...how should I repay you for all of this...?

Don't worry about that.

[Why would he have to repay her? It's something she's choosing to do and take on, it's not as if he really even asked her to make it for him! And even if he had, it's not as if she had established rates or whatever the hell. That was part of the joy of being paid by the government, they just kind of went with it and she didn't have to think about it.]

I'm doing it because it's fun, and it's not like you're going to need it right away. [He probably has a way to take care of his tank and such right now, after all.]

[To get her back into her passion was kind of the reason why he angled for this...so he's easy enough to convince in that regard.]

So...oral, then.

[He gives her a wide grin.]

Huh?! [Her thoughts had been so far off from any kind of physicality that to hear anything about it is briefly shocking.] Oh, geez! [And then she laughs, before sipping her tea.]

I might actually need a little more practice with you, so I'll just end up owing you again.

[There's a chance she misunderstood something here.]

No, no. [A chuckle.] I mean that's how I'll have to repay you. Oral.

[Something that he can work on that they'll both enjoy! Just like how they'll both enjoy the fruits of her labor--her making it, and him using it.]

Oh. [Give her just a second, and then:] Ohhh!

[See, now she gets it!] ... It's really sad that I can't remember the last time that happened.

[That really should have been her first sign that her previous relationship was bullshit. She'd have never stayed with someone who didn't eat out when she was still in college!! Damn.]

Seriously?

[He sighs irritably.]

Is it too late to arrest your ex on charges of crimes against human rights?

[What man with half a brain would pass up the opportunity to have his head buried between this woman's fine-ass legs? Holy hell.]

I don't think we'd really be able to bring those charges to court.

[This shouldn't be mistaken for a defense in any sense of the word. It was one of those things she just hadn't thought about ... Somehow ... It's not as if their sex life had been disappointing or anything, it just lacked that one particular activity!]

Besides, you apparently don't have the same problem, so I think the universe is righting the injustice.

[Face it, Nariko. It was disappointing. Well, compared to this stride...]

Righting injustice? Hell, I've gotta catch up on how many years of cunnilingus you've missed out on?

[Well, yeah, compared to human-human sex it was disappointing. Compared to pretty much all of Boxer it was more like watching paint dry for hours on end.]

I mean, a few! One, two ... Plus one more ...

[Three.]

Years. Y'know. [She hides her face behind the cup.] ... It's really not that bad?

[REALLY!]

[He rolls his eyes, then stares at her intensely with a matching tone:]

I'm gonna make you scream until you're hoarse.

Ah.

[That wasn't a response, it was just a wanton moan that came out before she had the sense to restrain herself. How the hell else was she supposed to respond to something that hot and fucking perfect.]

... W-well, now that I'm wet. [Deep breathes, think about - about quacking ducks.] There's not too much else but I should at least give you the proper tour, right?

[He's--taken aback a bit. She's got some really easy buttons to push, doesn't she? He didn't mean to make her wet! Boxer laughs.]

Sorry, I didn't mean right now.

[Unless she wants to get some kraken tongue action. He's not going to complain.]

I know. [It's incredibly goddamn tempting but ... They're having a really nice time without messing around, and she wants to keep enjoying that for a while longer. While her fear of being stood up was impractical the concern that they might only be sexually compatible held a little more weight. To have it disproven was an awesome relief.]

Besides, I was serious about that tour. [She looks around her room and smiles.] Not that I expected to be showing off this place, I don't remember the last time someone encouraged me to give this stuff a try again.

[And she appreciates Boxer's support. From simply mentioning it to giving her a little project to focus on.]

So be it! [It's a valid concern, and something he was worried about too. He really doesn't want to end this date with sex, but he doesn't...really want it to end at all. Which is a good sign, but that doesn't mean that parting will be any less sad.

Boxer backs up his chair so she has plenty of room to get out of her office.]

Well, it's not your career--which means it's perfect for a hobby, right?

[He wishes he had such a productive hobby--but he keeps that thought to himself.]

I guess so, but the reason it isn't my career is because I didn't feel very confident in my own skills.

[So in a sense she has to face her own inadequacies with her hobby-once-dream.] Everyone was so much better than me, and even with Lena pushing me I couldn't seem to catch up. [She leads him back out into the hallway, there's a bathroom just off to one side and a storage closet, so the best point of interest is her room.]

I got into my own head, and I couldn't handle it.

[So she found something else to do! It wasn't as emotionally fulfilling, but it was still fun and engaging. It just didn't work her brain as much as engineering did.

It's difficult to step into Nariko's room without noticing her bed - it's huge, much more suited to two people than just one, well covered in deep red and an off white color. It's a theme that carries through most of the room, with the exception of her full on, old school vanity, a tiny reading corner, and a walk-in closet. A good deal of her impressive wardrobe is visible since she left the door open before leaving. But the real star of Nariko's bedroom is the little balcony. It's not too much of one since they're on the lower end of her building's height, but the glass doors are big enough that even Boxer can roll right on through to the outside, where she's got a nice set of patio furniture.

The view itself is kind of interesting, at the top the city had seemed small, but from here it's the definition of a concrete jungle, all looming buildings and patchwork noises. Since it's not too cold, sitting outside might not be so bad.]

And this is why I deal with having an abnormally small door.

[Because her weird apartment has a cool balcony, and she spends an awful lot of time out here on her days off.]

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