A woman and child were in the alley and Kenton tried not to let his gaze linger on them. They weren't familiar to him and he could already tell where they'd been and why. Instead, he kept his hood in place to obscure as much of his face as possible and his focus on the greasy bag he'd picked up from Ellie's Carryout on the other side of the block.

As he passed them, the child looked up at him with wide eyes and smiled and Kenton couldn't help smiling back. He wanted to tell the kid not to be reckless but instead kept quiet. He'd lost a leg, gotten a replacement, been reckless, had more work done and more and been reckless and then more and more and then...

Beside the door was a single word in white paint on old brick- Adjustments. Kenton had been the one to paint it. It was still enough. He pushed it open and stepped inside.

"We're closed," came a voice from somewhere in the small and brightly-lit front area. Everything was plastic or metal. Kenton could already tell he'd be mopping the floor later.

"Good," Kenton replied. "I brought dinner."

One day, he was going to lose his stomach and probably not be able to manage something artificial and be stuck with nutrient pouches and injections and pellets and... He'd miss greasy takeout more than he ever wanted to admit.

He'd miss eating with Nicky.

"Kenton?"

There was a brief pause and the Nicky popped up from behind a battered old steel desk.

"Kenton!"

"I'll lock up?" Kenton offered, already turning to take care of the latch and deadbolt.

"I was just getting there. I had a last minute almost-emergency."

"I'll get the floor later," Kenton said. He took the bag of food over to the desk and set it down for inspection. Depending on what the backroom looked like, it was probably also the safest surface to eat on.

Nicky stretched and then looked down at himself. "I gotta wash my hands."

That wasn't a surprise. Kenton worked on unpacking the bag while Nicky wandered off towards a half-visible sink. Nicky was a mechanic, not a doctor, though he'd certainly picked up an impressive amount of knowledge from his work. He was probably better than a doctor, when it came to the little stuff...

Like adjustments and understanding how children could be hard on their new mechanical parts and how adults could be downright reckless...

Especially when it came to the work they needed to do to support their boyfriend's back-alley adjustment clinic.

Everything was in cardboard containers, greasy and delicious. Kenton would just have to wipe down the desk, too. But first they'd feast.

"Smells good," Nicky said as he returned. Instead of a doctor's white, he was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt with black overalls. Tools stuck out of half of the pockets but Kenton didn't comment. He had a few things under his layers and hoodie.

"I didn't think you'd be back today," Nicky continued. "Just... let's eat?"

Get out of 'work mode'. Kenton knew that one. He needed to do the same, but the walk back to the clinic, with the stop for food, had mostly been enough. Mostly. He'd be ready to be closer once they'd eaten.

Nicky was the one who always told Kenton not to be so reckless but Kenton was pretty sure from the lack of conversation and the way Nicky was eating that he'd skipped at least lunch and possibly breakfast.

But eventually they both relaxed and Kenton let a hand rest on the desk. He was sitting on two of the plastic waiting chairs that he'd nested; one wasn't quite the right height for him, something he'd learned years before.

Kenton hadn't bothered with any sort of synthetic skin over his replacement parts. Occasionally he did it for jobs, but if he didn't need it, he didn't bother. Nicky never minded. Nicky didn't hesitate, once he set down his fork, to weave his fingers with Kenton's.

"Been a long day," Nicky admitted.

"Yeah," Kenton replied. They still needed to get the clinic cleaned up and then they could...

"And you're leaking," Nicky added.

"I said I'd mop."

"Kenton..."

Kenton sighed but then smiled. It was a little gash into an auxiliary line. A bit of new tubing and a tiny refill and he'd be fine... Nobody else had even noticed, not in the jeep, not on the bus...

But Nicky, well...

Nicky squeezed Kenton's hand.

Kenton's work paid for the clinic, after all. Nicky's work did the actual good.

"Come on..."

Kenton let go long enough to circle the desk and then took Nicky's hand again.

"You noticed right away?"

"Always. I know your body as well as you do." Nicky pulled Kenton close, settling an arm around him as they squeezed through the doorway to the back.

"Mmm."

"I promise to give you a full inspection."

Kenton grinned. That was hopefully the plan for the night. "Yeah, probably need-"

"After you mop."