Living Arrangements

"Heh...heh...heh..." 

Ratchet breathed tiredly as he scrubbed the underside of the yellow taxi. A wooden board with wheels on it dug into his back and kept him off balance and his legs were getting very tired from standing up and his knees were getting bruised because they kept hitting the ship with every sudden movement. Sweat stained his orange fur and dripped down onto the dry and cracked ground of Veldin. The final rays of sun were disappearing as the sunset ended, and the array of diamond stars were appearing one by one in the black, blue and purple sky. It was another late night, tonight. A long line of vehicles in need of proton scrubs had eaten up his entire evening, and most likely his entire day tomorrow. Ratchet sighed and wiped his forehead. This was one of the reasons that he wanted to run off and become a Galactic Ranger, because working as a mechanic wasn't exactly the best job in the universe. However, he did promise Grim that he would return and work for him, so he couldn't really complain at the moment. Besides, it wasn't as bad as it used to be. There was something here at the garage that he didn't have before.

"AGH!" Ratchet moaned in frustration as he cut himself on a badly placed point that was sticking out of the ship. It was so dark out now, he could hardly what he was doing. Too bad that Lombaxes didn't have night vision. Thankfully, though, help came his way as a bright green light shined on the area that he was working on. Ratchet turned his head and was nearly blinded by Clank's bright green eyes. It looked like that he had turned up the brightness of his eye lights so he could act as a flashlight in order to help his friend. The Lombax smiled and nodded, then returned to his work, "Thanks, Clank."

"I am happy to be of assistance," Clank replied, keeping his eyes on Ratchet's hands.

The rest of the proton scrubbing went smoothly thanks to the light that Clank provided. Ratchet couldn't be more thankful that the warbot decided to follow him back to Veldin and said that he wanted to stay and help him with his work. Clank even showed that he was capable of helping by suggesting that they should modify the proton scrubber with a Gadgetron Quasar Flash. And it had actually worked! If Clank hadn't given him the suggestion, then Ratchet probably would have been out here until midnight working on these ships. And he didn't want to know what that would have done to his hands. After finishing the ship and putting the proton scrubber down, he could feel the soreness in his hands, wrists and arms. Heck, his whole body was aching. But it was nothing that a good night's sleep could handle.

Ratchet rolled out from under the ship, tossing a rag and the proton scrubber in a nearby bucket that Clank had brought to him earlier. He stretched his legs and he let out a relieved sigh, "Welp, looks like we're done for the night. I am exhausted. I'm probably gonna grab a sandwich and then head on to-"

"Ratchet, watch your head!" Clank suddenly cried out, making the Lombax freeze in his current position.

Ratchet looked up and saw that the top of his forehead was making slight contact with the ship. If he had sat up all the way at the speed that he was going, then he would have hit his head hard. Ratchet scooted out more until he was fully out from under the ship, then he sat up all the way. He placed a hand on his head and sighed, "Whoo, that was close. Thanks, pal...again."

Clank smiled as he turned down the brightness in his eyes, settling on its normal green glow. He blinked a few times, then he walked over to the bucket with the proton scrubber and lifted it up, taking it over to the side of the garage and putting it up on a wooden board for safekeeping. Meanwhile, Ratchet stood up and stretched his legs again. and he cracked his back in the process ("I feel all tired and my joints are cracking a bunch. Is this what old people feel like? Is...is this what Grim feels like?"). The Lombax then let out a great big yawn and started walking towards the garage, motioning Clank to follow him. However, the warbot stood still and tilted his head. Ratchet asked what the problem was.