#but thank you ise!!! hope you enjoy sldkjf

[holdmecloser-gandydancer]

1 (“Why…why did you just take off your shirt?") with Magnus and whoever :O??? thank u <3 -ise

from this prompt list! Still accepting!

Barry tosses the toolbox to the ground with a little more force than entirely necessary. He casts a glance up at the darkening sky and shakes his head. At least it’s just a normal storm. He can handle a normal storm.

Fat raindrops slowly start to pelt the deck of the ship, making the metal ping with every impact. He glares at the dented panel door on Davenport’s steering column. Slight correction: he can handle a normal storm when he isn’t trying to fix the steering drag for a five-ton spacecraft. He throws on the embarrassingly wide-brimmed hat Lup stole from Taako for him to use. (“Come on, Bear, you don’t wanna get rain in your eyes.” “Also don’t want to wear this.” “But you’ll look so cute!”). Barry’s not proud to admit that that was enough to convince him. And okay, it is a good idea, he realizes in this minute. After rifling through the toolbox for a moment, Barry retrieves some screwdrivers and gets to work.

-

Barry groans in frustration at the wiring in front of him. He’s been working at the steering column for the better part of two hours and he’s still no closer to stopping the drift. Technically speaking, it’s nothing that’s going to cause a catastrophe for the team. Not yet, anyway. But Barry’s of the attitude that it’s best to fix problems as they arise. When the problems have solutions, that is. He’s convinced that the Starblaster is simply going to pull to the left until the end of time. But give him some credit, he’s a scientist, not an engineer. Strictly speaking, he’s not qualified for this.

“Barry?”

He snaps his head up and finds himself face to face with Magnus. “Uh, hey.”

“Why’re you wearing Taako’s hat?” Magnus raises an eyebrow and Barry immediately becomes self-conscious; he’s certain he looks ridiculous in this moment.

“You know, I think the context I’d have to give would make the answer not even worth hearing, at this point,” It’s not raining anymore, he realizes. He sets Taako’s hat beside the toolbox.

Magnus nods. He knows sometimes it’s best to just take Barry’s word on things like this. He recalls a few cycles ago when Barry went on an hour-long sidebar to explain that the dryer was on the fritz. “So. Whatcha doing?”

“Trying to fix the steering column? See, the Institute didn’t exactly build this thing for finesse flight. A-and that would have been fine for a two-month science mission. But it’s less good when Davenport’s gotta keep doing the fancy flying to keep us from being consumed by an evil dark cloud every year or so. It’s not too bad now but there is a concern that this could be a compounding issue? Trouble is that I just can’t seem to get it to work right,” Barry gives the exterior of the steering column a half-hearted kick.

Magnus crouches down next to the exposed wiring and squints. “What’ve you tried so far?”

“Uh, I cleaned off the connections, there was some corrosion to deal with. They all work, they’re just not working the right way.” Barry regards Magnus with some confusion. Nothing against the guy, but he hardly seems the type to understand how to fix the single most impressive piece of engineering Barry’s ever seen.

“Mmhmm. Well, it’s probably an issue with some of the ball joints up in there, maybe even the steering linkage itself.” Magnus says, pushing some wires to the side and peering inside the column. After a moment, he stands and motions for Barry to follow him. Barry obliges, scrambling to bring the toolbox. Magnus leads Barry down into the Starblaster, down past the living spaces, deep into the bowels of the ship until they reach a room full of machinery and spare parts.

He looks at Magnus blankly. “How did you—”

Magnus shrugs. “Sometimes things start clanking down here in the middle of the night and I’ve gotten really good at figuring out how to make them stop. Also, since none of the shit down here’s engine bits, I don’t feel too bad about poking down around here to get parts to fix the dryer.” He glances around the large room brimming with mechanical parts, some looking shiny and sleek, others looking to be grimy and older than the ship itself.

Barry steps forward and picks up a small cluster of gears. “I gotta say, Magnus, I feel bad for not giving you mo—” His face twists in confusion for a moment. “Why…Magnus. Why’d you just take off your shirt?”

Magnus quickly folds the shirt he was wearing not even ten seconds ago and drops it on the floor. “I gotta get in that back corner, that’s actually where a ton of the serviceable parts of the ship are at. Not the smartest way to construct the damn thing, I’ll say that.”

“Uh huh. And the shirt?”

“Oh! Yeah uh, I fixed the dryer but the washer is…it’s broken and I don’t want to try to handwash grease out of my shirt,” Magnus says, giving a sheepish grin. Barry sets the gears down and taps his fingertips together, resisting the immediate urge to wipe his hand off on some article of clothing.

“Now wait a minute, if you’re suddenly mister vehicle proficiency, why have I been putting my head through a wall every time something on this damn ship broke?”

“Because Cap said you’re like, some kind of mechanical whiz and that I ‘am a menace to anything requiring a steady hand.’” Magnus shrugs as he begins his pilgrimage to the back of the room.

Barry scoffs. “I lied!”

Magnus snorts and turns back to look at Barry. “You what?”

“I’m a great scientist but I don’t know shit about engineering! And I barely know anything about magic! Lup and Taako have been helping me out since they’re like, both supremely trained or whatever.” Barry follows Magnus from a distance, hoping to skirt any grime and dirt that may try to cling to his clothes.

“Nah, dude, the story they gave Dav about their tutor when they were kids? Big old lie, it turns out.”

“What.”

Magnus nods. “Yup. All self-taught. So, if they can be that good at magic with no instruction, you can get that good at fixing shit with a little help from yours truly!”

“You really think so?”

“Barry, I know so. I learned a ton of basic shit from my ma, since all our stuff was always on the fritz. Not exactly the same kind of stuff we see here but the way I figure, there’s only so many ways to build a machine. Now, let’s get this taken care of so you can take a crack at the washer.”