#HOUGHHGHGH!!!! /POS

[mute-call]

Steve gives a lopsided smile, warm and genuine, the meaning behind Mike's comment going right over his head.

Until--

He blinks, frozen. What... what is this? He's never seen Michael act like this, not even when the other man has been at his most serious or direct.

"Um," cowed by the unexpected chill in Mike's voice, Steven dips his head slightly, looking at his shoes. Bell's hit some kind of nerve, but he has no idea how. He better start putting things together fast, though, because he does not want to make this same mistake again.

"Okay, Mike," he says placatingly, looking at the hand on his shoulder. It's reassuring, but he still feels a sick sort of feeling in his stomach at the implications of what's been said. What has Michael seen in his deep dives into the code of this place? What does he know that would set him off like that?

Bell really doesn't want to worry about it. But Mike responded so severely...

Michael's been kind of off for a while, hasn't he? His unusual commitment to this place, his one-track drive, his abrupt change from laughter to ice. Steven watches him curiously. What is Bell missing?

He trails after the other man, still feeling somewhat admonished for a mistake he doesn't fully understand. It has to have something to do with the tech and computer side of things, though, surely.

"I-- could you run me through how you set it up, too? I think, uh, it seems like maybe you-- I mean, maybe I should learn more about what you do on your end. I guess I'm less 'well acquainted' with that side of security."

At that comment, Mike can't help a further snort—it's such a dorky sort of sound to come from someone as chronically serious as him. "Believe me, I couldn't forget even if I tried." A bit of a darker joke, but Steven might not pick up on it.

...Michael's expression darkens. It's like a switch was flipped. Sometimes, he's oddly robotic, isn't he?

"Respectfully, Mr. Bell—I'm very well acquainted with this tech. So, I know very well what's going on here," the taller man says, his tone suddenly cold and business-like. He feels it's the only thing Steven will listen to.

He quickly snaps out of this, though, clearly regretting it; judging by the apologetic, gentle hand on his shoulder and his softer tone: "But that's all I'll say on the matter—you don't need to worry about it," he repeats some of Steven's own common words of comforting denial back at him.

Thank god he brought up the sanitation concerns. He might blow another gasket if he had to continue talking about this and trying to wedge any sort of truth into the other man's poor little corporate-poisoned brain. Hopefully he didn't frighten him too much.

Michael smiles at the teasing, but then grimaces in turn. "No, yeah, it'd be miserable for us to be stuck doing it. Maybe we can get some others, or even S.T.A.F.F to pitch in. Later, though. I can't be assed at this moment in time," he snarks again, waving his hand as if to dismiss the very idea.

...Oh, Steve wants to come with him to set up that firewall. This... produces mixed feelings. He was hoping to drop the disguise for a while, but—

"Sure, that's fine." What are you doing, Mike.