Disclaimer: I do not own Ratchet and Clank or any of its characters. Ratchet Appreciation Week 2021 prompt list by weeksofrac of Twitter/ weeksofratchetandclank of Tumblr.

I don't know how long this story might be, but I know that Imma have a ton of fun with this one…

You Make Me Feel Alive

Day 5: Tinkerer

Chapter Summary – Day 5: Lombaxes are known universe-wise for their tinkering, and Ratchet is no exception.

He knew how to turn a wrench before he knew how to read.

When he was young, nothing more than a tiny kitten off in the corner of the playroom, he always picked apart toys with whatever plastic toys he had at his disposal. At one point he had been given a plastic screwdriver, and the next thing the orphanage helpers saw was the bottom hinge of the door completely fall off.

By the time he was five, he was already inventing.

Granted, they were nothing special. Most were just parts glued together in hopes that they would work to create whatever the little Lombax desired. A flashlight screwed onto a plastic dart gun was a portal device to a pizza dimension where Ratchet could gorge himself on gooey goodness for the rest of his life. A toaster glued to the side of a starship was a transformation device that turned the ship into a hoverbike at a moment's notice.

Unsurprisingly, those were flops.

Ratchet really started inventing and tinkering once he got older, spending his preteens playing around with actual tools and learning how machines worked. Starships fascinated him in every way, and there had been numerous nights when he had studied a ship manual under his covers. Bits and pieces connecting in ways that grew into an invention fulfilled something deep inside the Lombax.

After that, the rest was history.

The garage was silent. Even in the late afternoon sun, the usual sounds of the desert creatures were gone. A sleepy lull settled over the area, and heat waves blanketed the air.

"Alright, alright… it's gunna work this time…"

Ratchet eyed the square, box-like invention on his workbench. His fingers tensed around his screwdriver as his gaze ran over the metal sides. His other hand lifted to wipe at the sweaty fur under the tip of his aviator cap.

The stink of oil and sweat both exhausted him and filled him with life.

"You're gunna work with me this time," Ratchet said, waving his screwdriver at the machine. "Clank's been out for the day, and I've been working out your kinks ever since he left. I'm not going to let him come home to me still working on you."

The invention stayed quiet.

Ratchet sighed, leaning over his invention. "Take one-hundred-and-three, Candalizer primed and ready for action…"

He looked away from the metal box and off to the stand directly across from his workbench. A tiny apple perched on the stool, high above other apples that were either charred beyond recognition, melted puddles of juice, or frozen in blocks of ice.

The hand holding the screwdriver set the tool down on the workbench's surface, adding in another tool to the cluttered mess on the bench's top. It moved, settling against the red button right next to a turning switch.

"Alright," Ratchet huffed, shifting on his feet. His free hand lifted to his head to lower safety goggles over his eyes. "Let's see what this one turns the apple into… if it doesn't make it explode like the last eight of them…"

With a hope and a prayer, Ratchet pressed the button.

A red beam of life shot out from the box, hitting the apple dead center. Atoms shifted, morphing into different forms. The apple squished inward, and Ratchet groaned inwardly, waiting for the inevitable failure-

A pop sounded, and in the apple's place was a thick, wax square. White poked out from the top of the shape—a thin string to light the new little candle.

Joy rushed through the Lombax's veins, and a crazed laugh left him as he hopped a few feet into the air. "Yes! Finally!" he shouted. A massive sigh left him, and his body sagged with relief. "It only took…" he cast a quick look to the large clock above the garage door "…thirteen hours…"

Even though he didn't have to, he sighed again.

"I see you made great progress while I was away."

"Oh yeah, pal." Ratchet turned to face Clank, where the little robot peeked in from the attached home's doorway. "Now that I got the basic wiring and set-up all figured out, I can turn this thing into a wicked awesome gun!"

Clank's smile deepened, almost like he was holding in a laugh. "And you created a candle-making machine because…"

"Because-" Ratchet froze. He nodded, his mind running through all the reasons he could give. "You know- You could… Obviously, it's for… Well, maybe you could…"

Clank crossed his arms over his chest, smile still on his mouthpiece.

The Lombax waved one of his hands in a circular motion. "I mean… you could turn enemies… into candles?"

"Might I infer as to why candles were your main intentions?"

Ratchet's face ran through a range of expressions, scrunching with concentration. A huff of air left his lips, a clip of a word that could have been said, only for the Lombax to clamp his mouth shut a second later.

After a moment of struggle, Ratchet sagged over, heavy with defeat. "Fine. I made a candle machine so Tal could have those really nice smelling fall candles whenever she wanted."

Giggles finally left Clank. "Ah, he admits his true intentions…"

Ratchet walked to the door, gently nudging the little robot aside with his foot in a playful manner. "Yeah, I'm a big ole softie now that I'm dating Tal, yuck it up." A laugh like Clank's bubbled up from his chest. "Keep laughing like that though and I might not make whatever I wanted to make for you! Let's see how you are when I don't upgrade the dryer to automatically fold clothes after it's all done drying. Then you won't be laughing!"

Clank's chortles echoed in Ratchet's ears as he pulled off his dark blue work shirt. Green eyes rolled, and the Lombax sighed at the admittedly ridiculous invention in the garage. Crazy inventions no one really asked for ran in his blood after all.

On the bright side, the Candlizer was a lot less embarrassing (and less painful) than the testing Stunderwear had brought on...

Song Inspo: "Ice Cream" by Blackpink and Selina Gomez.

I keep trying to fight the urge to make every story super impactful, so I tried to make this one a little more centered around being fun. *shrug* I don't know how well this turned out, but hopefully it was entertaining. Onto the next prompts for me! :D Thank you all again for reading and supporting!