My Mechanic (Male)

Rath worked swiftly upon her automail, taking care in the nerve connections, knowing they were painful if connected incorrectly. Finishing the final touch on her arm (having finished her foot earlier), he replaced the plate and cinched it down tight. Replacing his tools, he removed them from the room, dropping them in their usual place by the door before moving toward her. Looking down at the face of the female he had known for several years, he was loath to wake her, but knowing the types of dreams that usually came with automail implants, he cleared his throat and spoke softly to her.

"Sucreana...Sucreana, hey...wake up," he said quietly, trying not to startle her. As her eyes slid open, he could tell that she wasn't having one of the better dreams, causing him to look down before carefully pulling up his mask and tucking it beneath the headband hiding his eye and scar, since he only took it down during the day to work. “How do you feel,” he asked her in the same quiet voice he usually used. He watched as she checked the automail before giving her positive response.

Smiling, even though she couldn’t see it, he nodded once as he stepped back as she rose from the bed. By now, the sight of her in her undergarments was the norm for him, but he drew the line there. Politely averting his gaze as she pulled on her clothes, he responded with a noncommittal grunt of acknowledgement. When she crossed the room and exited, he followed her to the main door and spoke her name before he even thought about it. When she turned and looked at him, he swallowed slightly before speaking again in his quiet voice.

“Would you like to stay for dinner,” he asked her, glancing over at the kitchen entrance, “I believe I made far too much for myself, and would be glad for the company.” It was true on both accounts. People tended to avoid the automail mechanic like the plague in the small town, his only company being those that needed automail, or needed maintenance. He knew it was because of the fact that his face was often hidden beneath the mask and headband, not to mention the fact that his mother had been found brutally murdered in their home as he returned from the market. No matter the evidence pointing otherwise, they believed him guilty of the act, even though he had only been 14 at the time, and absent from the house.

Smiling slightly at her, he nodded once and walked toward the small kitchen area, every other step being slightly louder as he adjusted to the new automail he had installed upon his own person. He had received a new metallic alloy for automail, but it was heavier than normal automail alloy, and he couldn't quite decide if he liked it or not. Holding the door open, he gestured into the kitchen with his free hand. Following her in, he smiled slightly, even if she couldn’t see it. “Have a seat,” he said gesturing toward the worn oak table as he crossed to the stove and pulled the top of a large pot. It was indeed more than he could eat…it may take him more than a week to eat it all, much to his displeasure. Looking inside the pot, the delicious smell of the stew reached his nose through its cloth covering. It was done. Grabbing a pair of bowls, he filled them before setting them upon the table, spoons quickly joining them. Dragging out a chair beside her, he sank into it bonelessly, as per his norm. It was a little awkward having company after all the years of being alone, but he managed to suppress the uncomfortable feeling aside. He should be used to being shunned by now, but it still brought him pain when people looked at him with disgust due to his mixed heritage. It was also due to that mixed heritage that they believed him guilty of murdering his own mother. Idiots. Now, he covered his sole red eye when around people, to make them more comfortable at the price of his own pride.

Looking down at the table, Rath pulled the cloth covering his face down, revealing the slight scarring, and his mismatched eyes. Taking a bite himself, he savored it briefly before glancing back up and meeting her eyes. At her praise, he ducked his head slightly, his white hair falling into his face as a light blush spread across his face. “Thanks...its a family recipe though...not too hard to follow the directions,” he forced a slight chuckle, which came out sounding like he cleared his throat. Taking another bite of the hot dish, he slid his fingers into his hair, brushing it away from his face. He knew she was on high-alert, even though she appeared to be completely relaxed within the confines of his home/automail workshop. How he wished he had someone to spend time with, the only people who had ever given him the time-of-day (when he wasn’t working on them) were Sucreana, Serenity, and his mother. Oh well. Releasing a slight sigh, he shook his head from his thoughts. “So, how’s your sister doing,” he asked suddenly as if he just remembered (which he did), “I haven’t seen her in years.” He remembered the younger girl quite well, she was the younger sister he never had, but wished he did. He was quite jealous of the two females due to their familial ties, and the fact that even if they felt they were quite alone, they wouldn’t be, so long as they had each other. He could get a dog. But they were high-maintenance, and being an automail mechanic didn’t give him a lot of alone time, let alone time for a dog. He would have to deal with being alone then, as were many half-bloods.

Smiling wryly at her description of her younger sister, Rath shook his head slightly. He remembered when they had all been kids, good times. He would have missed the changed tone of voice if he had been anyone else, but instead, he allowed his smile to fade to a slight frown before jumping slightly at a knock on the door. Looking at her with a raised eyebrow, he rose to his feet jerkily, pain flaring slightly up his leg. Reaching down, he pulled his facial mask up and covered his red eye and face once again before walking out the kitchen to the door. Twisting the handle, he pulled the door open and looked out at the girl standing on the front stoop. He looked down at her with his only uncovered blue eye, his eyebrow raised slightly. “Hello Serenity,” he said calmly, smiling, even though she couldn’t see it, “Do you want to come in? I’ve got far too much stew.” He tilted his head to the side slightly, slipping one hand into his pants pocket confidently, knowing he was safe in his own home. More or less. There was that one time with a drifting criminal, but the drifting criminal was awarded with a wrench to the side of his head for his criminalistic troubles. And getting hit in the head by a mechanic of any sort spelled out trouble for anyone. Stepping out of the doorway, he gestured idly toward the kitchen where her sister was.

Rolling his eyes, only one visible, he gently closed the door behind her and followed her to the kitchen, his uneven gait slightly frustrating to the automail mechanic. “Yes, it is me, Serenity,” he said wryly, “I’m doing great, and I hear you are too.” He leaned over his seat, slowly pulling his mask back down, revealing his scarred visage and crimson eye. Taking a spoonful of stew, he tilted his head as he watched the siblings ‘argue,’ if it could be called that. Moving toward the cabinets again, he pulled down another bowl and filled it with stew, and placed it on the table, dropping a spoon beside the bowl before resuming his seat. It had been years since he had seen the younger sister, so long, in fact, he wasn’t sure if the last time he saw her he had both of his legs or not. “Short as ever, you know,” he remarked idly, a smile curving his lips up in amusement as he kept his mismatched eyes locked upon his own bowl, “I’m sure they make tall shoes now, though.” He knew that her height used to rile her up, and wondered if the comment would have the desired effect as he glanced up at her before looking over at Sucreana, his amusement plain upon his features. Looking back down at his stew, the white haired man fought the urge to see how Serenity was taking his comment.

Chuckling to himself, Rath looked up, his eyes twinkling in amusement. "You haven't changed a bit, Serenity," he said watching as Sucreana diffused her with a simple tug of her tail, "Still sensitive about the height. I thought you would have grown out of that by now." Smiling, the automail mechanic turned his head to look over at Sucreana, one eyebrow raised in curiousity, how they lived together without fighting was beyond him, but hey, who was he to question Sucreana's extreme patience with the temperamental demi-saiyan.

Locking his mismatched eyes upon Serenity, Rath smiled widely, his eyes twinkling merrily in his dark skinned face. Tilting his head slightly, he looked over at her curiously, having caught onto the fact that Sucreana had just distracted Serenity far too easy. Probably easier than it should have been. But that didn't keep him from wanting to know what Serenity had started to say. He had an inkling that Sucreana really didn't want him to know, however, and he deliberated for a long moment on whether he would ask for the rest of the sentence or not. Deciding not to, he smiled slightly, the action tugging at his scar slightly. "I'd like that...coming over for dinner, that is," he said simply, looking down into his stew for a moment before adding, "Don't get a whole lot of company around here, afterall. Usually just you two." He chuckled at Serenity's very one-track mind. It was amusing to the mechanic, who sat at the table tapping his fingers against the raised edge of the join of his own automail.