( Drift goes heard before he's ever seen, which gives Leonard time to stop pacing and simply wait for him like he isn't full of energy and that kind of good!anxiety, the one that's all nervous flutters, not impending doom.
He pretends to check a non-existent watch, because he's hilarious. )
Nope, made it with seconds to spare. You ready?
( Tapping at the display, McCoy ushers him in, through an entryway consisting of a wide veranda bordered by maple trees in autumn colors, and winding around to the interior hall of a temple, doors open to a courtyard garden. The air is cool, the skies are blue, and there's the soft twitter of birdsong in the trees, everything in gentle, quiet repose. )
[ Drift wondered what Leonard found so interesting about his bare wrist but didn't think to ask. Humans all had little eccentricities that would remain an unfathomable enigma to his kind. ]
Oh, good. [ Vents relax with a exhale, and the drawn tension Drift had been carrying relaxes by a micrometer. He reflexively hunches, always mindful of his size and even subconsciously appearing less intimidating when around people without his holoform. ]
Ready as I'll ever—Oh
[ The view that opens up before them leaves him slack-jawed as a strange and indescribable ache twists around his spark. It was every quiet little corner and happy memory of his time on Earth stitched together into one landscape. Part of him had expected some new winter landscape, or perhaps even something from Leonard's own home. Not this...nostaglic pang that lances through him and leaves him standing flat-footed just on the threshold of the simulation room. ]
Leonard, it's beautiful. [ Drift takes one step forward before stopping short and looking back. An almost bashful looking pinching his expression. ]
Should I shift? You probably don't want me stomping around looking like this.
[ Or looking like this hulking, nine foot creature of metal in general. ]
( It's that look of surprise he lives for, partly relieved to see that the simulation seems to resonate so strongly with Drift. I owe you one, Jim, he thinks.
Leonard bends to pull his boots off, carrying them by the laces as he explains, )
However you feel most comfortable is fine by me. The ceilings are high enough, but you can change the settings as you like.
( He's just gonna hop on in, depositing his footwear in the low entryway, and bounce just a bit on his socked feet, excited. )
[ Having his hesitation called out on him, Drift starts before a weak smile pulls at the corner of his mouth. Was the self-consciousness plaguing him all of a sudden that obvious? ]
Sorry—I was just surprised, is all. [ A half-truth, really.
With no footwear to remove, Drift checks his pedes for anything that might scuff the wood. It might be okay, but he could change if it became an issue. Tentatively he ducked his head and followed Leonard inside. Deciding to let the other's enthusiasm be his tether to keep him from second-guessing being around him in this form.
Once out on the veranda, Drift is overcome by the serenity of it, momentarily forgetting entirely this was a simulation. His eye close, and he listens to the little sounds that make up the gentle chorus of the gardens. There was the familiar sound of bamboo striking stone over a steady stream of water. Drift hums pleasantly and visibly relaxes. ]
( Padding across the floor, the expanse of woven rush mats toward the open courtyard, he won't get too far ahead of Drift, just as at ease with him in this form as his holoform. Drift will even find his heavier footfalls equally quieted, muffled where they might have landed heavy on the polished wood.
It has its imperfections, its not-quite-accurate!inaccuracies here and there-- the few books he'd been able to get his hands on had only a few detailed images of the painted screens in both outbuildings, so there's a brushwork rendition of an autumnal scene across one, with a full red moon and a samurai--wearing armor reminiscent of a certain Autobot--relaxing beneath it. No one will notice, surely.
Coming up beside Drift on the veranda, McCoy is delighted to find him relaxing into the setting, more at ease than he's seen him in... ever, honestly. )
[ Imperfections in the garden's design conversely worked in its favor—at least in Drift's case. The architecture was absurdly larger than it shouldn't have been but likewise accommodated him. Now he could be inside such a place where back on Earth, an opportunity like this would have been impossible without a holoform. A human guise had its uses—and Drift pushed the limits lately on what it could do—but there was an undeniable pleasure in being here, in the present with all his senses taking it in. ]
Mmhm.. [ Drift makes a thoughtful noise and nods as they move further through the outbuildings towards the interior hall leading to the courtyard. They linger where Drift's gaze falls on the brushwork. One finial twitches upright with apparent interest, and Drift's expression is coy, but he says nothing. If this was some contrivance on Leonard's part to flatter him, it was working.
Once at the gardens, Drift stops and sits in a politely proper seiza on the raised veranda surrounding the garden. ]
When I spent time in Japan, it was still during the war, so there wasn't much time to stop and take it all in. Even then, it would have been conspicuous even in the urban areas for a drift racer to be parked out near the temples. Any opportunity I had to enjoy the sights was at a distance. Even at the height of the chaos, we were still robots in disguise, mind.
[ Hands tucked into his lap, he relaxes more in infinitesimal measures as he stares out into the garden. ] It was the sounds I remember most of all. [ His smile is wane and almost melancholy, tinged with something deeper than regret but content at the same time. It could also be that he hadn't properly recharged in days, but he was more unguarded and expressive at that moment. ]
Thank you, it's nice to finally see what I was missing.
( It's wonderful to see him like this, to be permitted to see him so unguarded, as he watches Drift take it all in, the way the place has been tailored to fit what he feels most comfortable in, and all the little details, finished and some that need to be ironed out. When he sits, Leonard stands for a moment longer at his shoulder, listening, placing a hand briefly against his arm. )
You're welcome. I'm glad- ( and he is, chuffed and maybe even a little self-conscious for it, because he'd been at this for a while, ) I was gonna give you a book about Kenninji, but... well, I thought a something more immersive might be nice.
( Bones casts around behind them for a sec, and steps back inside to fetch a zafu cushion from a stack, plopping it down before he sits too, in a crosslegged not-exactly-lotus, hands on his thighs. )
[ The touch against Drift's arms lingers after it's gone. A phantom, like the smell of perfume that hangs in the air after someone leaves a room. Nostalgia for a moment that ended only a moment ago. Drift doesn't acknowledge it outside of persisted ease to his posture.
Leonard is interesting. Not too long ago, he had been a thundering storm ruling the roost of the infirmary and keeping its rambunctious patients in line. There is a divide between the overworked and high-strung doctor and the thoughtful, almost shy individual seated beside him. Drift wonders when he crossed it and held a quiet hope he could stay on this side. ]
Either would have been thoughtful, [ Drift began as they crowd back into each other's space. ] But I have to admit I think I've already settled on a favorite between the two. You've made my first Christmas remarkable.
[ The rigidity of his seiza relaxes, and his knee bumps against Leonard's thigh. Not by much, but it was still a metal joint attached to a nine-foot robot knocking into a person. ]
Sorry, [ Drift winces ] I must still be exhausted and lost my focus. Are you alright?
[ For the second time that morning, Drift regretted coming out here like this. ]
no subject
He pretends to check a non-existent watch, because he's hilarious. )
Nope, made it with seconds to spare. You ready?
( Tapping at the display, McCoy ushers him in, through an entryway consisting of a wide veranda bordered by maple trees in autumn colors, and winding around to the interior hall of a temple, doors open to a courtyard garden. The air is cool, the skies are blue, and there's the soft twitter of birdsong in the trees, everything in gentle, quiet repose. )
Merry Christmas, Drift.
no subject
Oh, good. [ Vents relax with a exhale, and the drawn tension Drift had been carrying relaxes by a micrometer. He reflexively hunches, always mindful of his size and even subconsciously appearing less intimidating when around people without his holoform. ]
Ready as I'll ever—Oh
[ The view that opens up before them leaves him slack-jawed as a strange and indescribable ache twists around his spark. It was every quiet little corner and happy memory of his time on Earth stitched together into one landscape. Part of him had expected some new winter landscape, or perhaps even something from Leonard's own home. Not this...nostaglic pang that lances through him and leaves him standing flat-footed just on the threshold of the simulation room. ]
Leonard, it's beautiful. [ Drift takes one step forward before stopping short and looking back. An almost bashful looking pinching his expression. ]
Should I shift? You probably don't want me stomping around looking like this.
[ Or looking like this hulking, nine foot creature of metal in general. ]
no subject
Leonard bends to pull his boots off, carrying them by the laces as he explains, )
However you feel most comfortable is fine by me. The ceilings are high enough, but you can change the settings as you like.
( He's just gonna hop on in, depositing his footwear in the low entryway, and bounce just a bit on his socked feet, excited. )
Don't get shy on me all of a sudden, c'mon.
no subject
Sorry—I was just surprised, is all. [ A half-truth, really.
With no footwear to remove, Drift checks his pedes for anything that might scuff the wood. It might be okay, but he could change if it became an issue. Tentatively he ducked his head and followed Leonard inside. Deciding to let the other's enthusiasm be his tether to keep him from second-guessing being around him in this form.
Once out on the veranda, Drift is overcome by the serenity of it, momentarily forgetting entirely this was a simulation. His eye close, and he listens to the little sounds that make up the gentle chorus of the gardens. There was the familiar sound of bamboo striking stone over a steady stream of water. Drift hums pleasantly and visibly relaxes. ]
Hmmm...haven't heard that in a while.
no subject
It has its imperfections, its not-quite-accurate!inaccuracies here and there-- the few books he'd been able to get his hands on had only a few detailed images of the painted screens in both outbuildings, so there's a brushwork rendition of an autumnal scene across one, with a full red moon and a samurai--wearing armor reminiscent of a certain Autobot--relaxing beneath it. No one will notice, surely.
Coming up beside Drift on the veranda, McCoy is delighted to find him relaxing into the setting, more at ease than he's seen him in... ever, honestly. )
Oh. The deer scare?
no subject
Mmhm.. [ Drift makes a thoughtful noise and nods as they move further through the outbuildings towards the interior hall leading to the courtyard. They linger where Drift's gaze falls on the brushwork. One finial twitches upright with apparent interest, and Drift's expression is coy, but he says nothing. If this was some contrivance on Leonard's part to flatter him, it was working.
Once at the gardens, Drift stops and sits in a politely proper seiza on the raised veranda surrounding the garden. ]
When I spent time in Japan, it was still during the war, so there wasn't much time to stop and take it all in. Even then, it would have been conspicuous even in the urban areas for a drift racer to be parked out near the temples. Any opportunity I had to enjoy the sights was at a distance. Even at the height of the chaos, we were still robots in disguise, mind.
[ Hands tucked into his lap, he relaxes more in infinitesimal measures as he stares out into the garden. ] It was the sounds I remember most of all. [ His smile is wane and almost melancholy, tinged with something deeper than regret but content at the same time. It could also be that he hadn't properly recharged in days, but he was more unguarded and expressive at that moment. ]
Thank you, it's nice to finally see what I was missing.
no subject
You're welcome. I'm glad- ( and he is, chuffed and maybe even a little self-conscious for it, because he'd been at this for a while, ) I was gonna give you a book about Kenninji, but... well, I thought a something more immersive might be nice.
( Bones casts around behind them for a sec, and steps back inside to fetch a zafu cushion from a stack, plopping it down before he sits too, in a crosslegged not-exactly-lotus, hands on his thighs. )
no subject
Leonard is interesting. Not too long ago, he had been a thundering storm ruling the roost of the infirmary and keeping its rambunctious patients in line. There is a divide between the overworked and high-strung doctor and the thoughtful, almost shy individual seated beside him. Drift wonders when he crossed it and held a quiet hope he could stay on this side. ]
Either would have been thoughtful, [ Drift began as they crowd back into each other's space. ] But I have to admit I think I've already settled on a favorite between the two. You've made my first Christmas remarkable.
[ The rigidity of his seiza relaxes, and his knee bumps against Leonard's thigh. Not by much, but it was still a metal joint attached to a nine-foot robot knocking into a person. ]
Sorry, [ Drift winces ] I must still be exhausted and lost my focus. Are you alright?
[ For the second time that morning, Drift regretted coming out here like this. ]