Rivet looked at Ratchet's garage with a growing smile on her face. Ratchet had no idea she was there to see him, but who could blame her? It'd been 2 weeks since she had last seen him and she was getting thirsty for the kind of attention only her boyfriend could provide. (I.e. The kind of attention that was why she didn't bring Kit along.) He'd gotten a sudden flood of repair requests that he had to deal with, and as much as she wanted to, she didn't have the time to come and help him, or even visit up until now.

She crept closer to the open main door, darting from rock to rock, always staying in cover. It'd been quite a while since they'd paid each other a surprise visit, and missed it to an extent. They did it all the time before they got together and stopped once they did since they were already in each other's company more often than not.

She reached the wall of the garage and gently pressed against it, inching closer to the door. She could hear the whirring of power tools coming from within. Her ears pressed back as she peeked around the corner. Center stage in the garage was a fighter painted a quite garish shade of green. Half the ship was scattered across the shop while the half that was still in one piece seemed to be the one he was currently working on, given the spout of sparks coming from beneath it. She recognized the sound of an angle grinder cutting through what she guessed to be part of the ship's frame. In between the cutting she could hear Ratchet muttering to himself angrily. Something about quark, a training accident and 'finishing him off himself next time.'

Slipping in, she was careful to only move when the tool was spinning to mask herself. Stepping on the balls of her feet, she swept through the shop as silently as she could, careful to avoid the random parts and tools scattered about. She wasn't about to surprise him while he was using a power tool, so she moved past the mid teardown ship and into the deeper areas of the garage. She'd been here more than a few times, so she knew her way around and went straight into the kitchen. (Though, it was more apt to call it a kitchenette.) She whipped herself up a quick meal and sat down at the table, deciding that him suddenly seeing her there would be a good enough surprise for her.

And good enough it was. It took him only a few minutes to finally take a break from his work and to walk into the kitchen, not even acknowledging that she was there and instead walking to the fridge, still muttering all the way. He opened and looked for a second, seemingly not finding his goal.

"If you're looking for water, I threw your bottle in the freezer so it'd be a bit colder." She said casually.

"Oh, thanks." He said and retrieved his bottle before walking back out into the shop. Rivet raised her eyebrow in the direction he had walked before she heard him run back. "Rivet!?"

"Yup, that's me." She gave a smug smile before finishing the last bite of her food, brushing her hands together. "How ya been?"

He smiled and laughed. "Better now that you're here I guess."

His smile drew her eyes away from his, making her notice something she hadn't before. The hair all over his face was longer than it had been before, long streaks of yellow turning to orange towards their tips. Looking closer, every strand seemed to culminate in a ring of scruff around his chin, reminiscent of a beard in a species that didn't have fur. Complimenting the scruff was 4 stripes of the same orange that striped his ears, 2 across each cheek.

Something about the sight caught Rivet's breath in her chest. The scruff made him look older, a little rough around the edges and experienced. He looked… Hell, no way around it- He looked sexy.

He followed her gaze while she sat there, openly staring at his chin. "Oh, bolts! I must look like a rabid animal. That's what I get for not grooming for a few weeks."

His hands went up to his face, trying to smooth out his rough fur but to no avail. In the process he somewhat did the opposite, accidentally knocking his cap askew and revealing the unkempt and shaggy mess of long fur hidden underneath. Even though it had just been under the heavy leather, the fur reared itself off his scalp and had much the same effect on her as his 'beard.' "I'll go and clean myself up a bit."

She snapped from her trance at that and slammed her hands down on the table. "NO!"

She ignored the heat she could feel on her cheeks from looking at him and walked closer. "You don't get to groom anymore. Ever."

"What? Why?"

Her first response was to bring her hands up to his cheeks, running her fingers through the scruff. She traced his stripes with her thumbs while the way it scratched against her palm was feeding the growing heat in her face. "Fluffy, that's why."

"F-fluffy?" He asked hesitantly, seemingly nervous from what she was doing. Or maybe it was the look in her eyes…

"My fluffy now. I've claimed it. Here." She continued her ministrations on his cheeks and then moved up and pulled off his cap completely, tossing it off somewhere into the shop. Then she ran her organic fingers through the long and rough hair it hid. "And here."

He dry swallowed and she could feel his cheeks getting hotter to match hers. "Yes ma'am."

"Good. Because tomorrow, I'm incinerating your grooming kit. Today though?

"I have other plans..."