After picking up a set of clothes for the bots and a new head of hair for the android with the missing eye ("Attaches to your head and grows like real hair!" the tags claimed), Barry beelined back to his apartment, avoiding the market. He'd only waste his time and money there, and Julia was waiting for him.

As he made his way up the stairs, not bothering to stop by his workshop to drop off his purchase, he passed by Avi's room, where a gentle violin song drifted from behind the door. That was… uncharacteristic of him, to say the least; he'd never known Avi to enjoy anything outside of punk rock. Maybe he was playing it for his companion droid? Bots were known to develop their own unique personalities after being jailbroken. He'd have to ask what the droid was like later.

Before Barry had even raised his fist to knock on the door, it flew open and he was practically tackled and crushed in a bear hug by the occupant.

"Barold, you old dog!" ("Not… my name…" he managed to wheeze out as the hug grew tighter.) "I haven't seen you since the party! Julia tells me you found some new bots the last night, huh? You should tell me about them!"

Magnus Burnsides was an absolute bear of a man who acted like a giant dog who thought it was still a lap dog. He was covered in scars, many of them reminding of him of the seams one would find on an older robot (he'd mentioned that once, and had only got a nervous laugh in reply). They'd met only a few years ago, when Julia and Magnus had first gotten married, but Magnus was the one to finally bring Barry out of his shell. He begged Barry to come to every minor social event, regardless if he actually wanted to. It was… actually really nice to be thought of like that, even if he rarely accepted the invites.

Magnus shepherded him inside, shooing away the dogs that bounded up to the door to smell him, and brought him to the living room, where Julia was setting out cups of tea on the coffee table. Barry sat down on one of Magnus's handmade chairs and accepted a cup with a small, "Thanks," proceeding to down it in as much honey as was socially acceptable.

"So? Tell me about the new bots!" said Magnus, leaning forward in his seat. He was among the few people that would actually stand to listen to him talk about his work, and could actually keep up with it. It was strange for a soldier-turned-carpenter to know the in's and out's of a robot, but Barry was thankful for a conversation partner who could keep up with him.

After taking a sip of tea and making sure it was to his liking, Barry cleared his throat and explained to Magnus the bots he'd found, the damage, and what he'd done so far. When he was finished, the carpenter looked thoughtful. "Are you sure T180 parts will do alright inside a T190? The corps aren't big on compatibility."

"The parts are my own custom designs. The bot was missing the majority of its parts, so it's likely whoever stole them probably took the blocks that prevent backwards compatibility with them. If there's any complications, the parts that were stolen will probably be back on the streets." Barry shrugged. "I don't mind spending a bit more money on parts if something goes wrong."

"Well, if you can't find the parts by yourself, just tell me and I'll get Bob to hook you up," Magnus says with a mischievous smile.

Julia tsked her husband and sat in his lap, a hand threading through his sideburns. "He doesn't know who Bob is, e'morko."

"It's high time he met him, Jules," he whispered, arms entwining her waist. "They'd get along great. Just think of what they could do together!"

She frowned, and Barry suddenly felt like he was intruding on something private. "We discussed this, Magnus. We said we would wait."

"I'm tired of waiting! The more time we spend dancing around the subject, the closer they get to finding him. Don't you want something better?"

"I do! Just… Now isn't the time."

"Then when is the time?! We've had a million chances, and we've let them all slip by!"

Barry coughed and stood up, setting his cup back on the coffee table. "I… should go. I've got work tomorrow, and I still have some things I need to do. Thank you for the tea, Julia."

"Barry, wait…" said Julia, standing up to stop him.

"I'll see you guys later, alright? Night." Julia opened her mouth to say something else, but he didn't bother waiting to hear what she would say before he darted out the door.

As he made his way back downstairs, he found Avi swaying in front of his door, cursing as he tried to figure out how his keys worked. "Avi? You doin' alright?" asked Barry as he approached.

Avi jumped, dropping his keys with another curse and bending to pick them up. "By the gods, Bluejeans—"

"You know that's not my real name, right?"

"— give a guy some warning! I, uh, just got off work."

Barry raised a brow at him. Avi fidgeted with his keys for a second. "And, uh… hanging out with the guys. After work. Doing guy things."

Another brow. Avi looked visibly distressed. "I drank water!"

"You said you were going to quit last week, Avi."

"Look, things have just… been a little stressful lately. I needed something to take off the edge."

"Didn't I already give you something meant specifically to take that edge off?"

The man went bright red. "I- I— shut up!" he cried when Barry started laughing.

Just then, the door opened and out peeked a droid made to look like a young elf with droopy eyes and long hair done up in a ponytail, looking annoyed until he saw Avi, who became even more upset.

"Johann!" Avi hissed. "What have I told you about answering the door?"

The bot blinked, opening the door wider to reveal itself— its body and skin reminded him of the bots sitting in his workshop; perhaps they were the same model? "You were late coming home; I was worried about you," it said in a surprisingly deep baritone voice, then nodded towards Barry. "Is he bothering you?"

"N- no, he's just a neighbor, remember? The one who gave you your upgrades?"

Johann scrutinized Barry for a moment, before a look of recognition crossed its face. "Oh. Right. Thank you."

Before Barry could reply, Avi was shoving the droid back into the apartment, giving the other man a hurried goodbye before slamming the door shut.

Well then.