could i get a glossy 8x10 of your eyes?
campe-silky (SilkyinaBottle)
The constant sound of printers running is what keeps Neil—colloquially known around the workplace as “Space Kid” because of all of his galaxy-print patterns and NASA logo t-shirts—going through the day. Not that he hates his job here! He hates things very infrequently, and mostly when they deserve to be hated, like bigots or forest fires or SeaWorld. But sometimes, when he’s distracted and finds himself focusing more on what’s going to happen after work rather than during it, the steady hum of the printers keeps him grounded.
And that’s really helpful sometimes! Like last week, when one of the new employees had a panic attack on their break, or the week before that, when there was a huge ink spill and half of them got stains on their uniforms. Through every incident, he’s remained helpful, reliable, and most importantly of all, smiling.
Today is no different… although he is starting to get worried about the boy who seems to be struggling with the printer near the back of the shop.
It’s not the first time he’s been in the shop, and it’s definitely not the first time he’s been here today. He’s noticeably short, even from a distance, probably five feet tall at most. Dark hair with cleanly cut fringe, a button nose, and bright, bright blue eyes. Space Kid has seen him enough time to spot him when he walks through the door, and he’s starting to feel a little bad that he doesn’t know his name.
Well, that, and he feels bad that this boy has been here at least five times this week and has come back to print the same picture every single time. Not that Space Kid knows what he’s printing, at least not exactly, but he can recognize the general colors and shapes from a distance. Clearly what he’s printing hasn’t been coming out quite right.
He’s going to ask him if he needs any help this time, he’s decided. The poor guy deserves at least that much, he thinks. Plus, that’s sort of Space Kid’s job. He only waited this long because he was spending the afternoon setting up the newest printer in the shop. But now he’s free, and if the boy doesn’t feel satisfied this time, then he’ll walk right up and ask him what he can do to help!
Yeah! Sounds like a plan!
But he doesn’t get to think about it any further than that, because as the printer in the distance finally releases that vaguely-familiar photo, the dark-haired boy takes it and squints at it for a long while before throwing his head back and groaning.
Space Kid is already getting to his feet, but it proves to be unnecessary, because, oh, the boy’s already marching over. Well, that makes this a lot easier—
His train of thought is swiftly cut off as the boy slams the glossy piece of paper onto the counter and stares him down with dangerously narrowed eyes. Wow, they’re even bluer up close. “Your printer has proven to be insufficient,” he says in an accent Space Kid can’t quite place—not that he’s any sort of expert, of course.
“Uh,” he starts, finding himself a little intimidated by the look this boy is giving him. “Can you tell me what problem you’re having with it?”
“That was what I had planned to do,” he tells Space Kid flatly, before sliding the paper closer to him, where he can see it more clearly. From the distance, Space Kid had figured it was a photograph, but now that he’s looking at it up close, he realizes it’s actually a drawing. A really beautiful drawing, at that. Not that he knows much about art, but he’d have to be a complete fool to not see the effort that was clearly poured into this digital rendering of a mountain at sunset. He’s having trouble seeing what could be wrong at all, really.
Thankfully, the boy helps him out. “The colors are imprecise.” They look fine to Space Kid, but then again, he’s not the artist. This boy is, probably. “I have returned several times in hopes of perfecting the hues, but with no luck.” He looks Space Kid directly in the eyes, sending a jolt of electricity down his spine. “This assignment is due by dawn tomorrow. I require assistance.”
Space Kid smiles, disregarding the heat that’s slowly rising to his cheeks. “Well, that’s what I’m here for!” This guy may be angry, but he’s also… sort of cute? He wonders if he should be thinking that about a customer. Either way, he’s oddly eager to help out. “Take me to the printer you were using,” he says, leaving his spot from behind the counter and pretending he doesn’t know exactly which printer the boy was stationed at.
He expects the boy to turn away with a huff and lead him over there swiftly, but instead he lingers for a moment. “Of course…,” there’s a brief glance at his nametag, almost as if he’s asking permission.
“Oh!” He glances at it too, no matter how silly that might be. He knows what his own name is, of course. “Yeah, I’m Neil. Most people call me Space Kid, though.”
The boy grimaces slightly, as if calling Space Kid by that sort of nickname is simply beneath him. “...Neil is acceptable. I simply thought it courteous to learn your name, seeing as I frequent your workplace.” Gosh, he talks funny. Probably because English isn’t his first language. Maybe he should feel bad for thinking that, actually.
Instead of lingering on it, he smiles wider and nods. “That makes sense!” he chirps as the boy starts to lead him towards the printer at the back of the shop. “So, then, what’s your name?”
There’s a pause. “...I go by Dolly.”
Huh. “That’s cute!” he says before he can stop himself. Dolly stops in his tracks and turns to stare him down, but Space Kid doesn’t backtrack, even if maybe he should. “...Well, I mean, it is,” he mumbles.
After a moment of staring, Dolly turns away, and Space Kid can’t help but notice the tips of his ears starting to turn red. “So I have been told.” He turns back to the printer, glancing at Space Kid only out of the corner of his eye. “Show me how to adjust this to my liking.”
“Oh, okay!” Space Kid immediately sets to work, all of Dolly’s cuteness forgotten. He’s in his element here. “It’s really pretty simple, you just bring up the settings on this panel here…”
But as Dolly leans over his shoulder to get a better look at what he’s doing, he realizes he hasn’t forgotten about his cuteness at all. Not one bit.
