He did in fact give his mate a look of equal surprise and bemusement when he ignored all pretense and went right to the heart of the matter, wincing again in guilt when his accidental vice grip of his hand was so casually mentioned.
While the shoulder squeeze was a welcomed gesture, he rose a bit of a skeptical brow at his parent's apologetic response, surely he knew how that text would come across, especially when his anxiety was easy to spike even on a good day, and.. it had been in regard of a member of their little family unit.
Before he could voice this however, he was given a task and he automatically moved to oblige it, going back to the mini-fridge that he'd fetched the water bottles from, to instead pull a wrapped platter of finger foods, and the container that presumably held Arrow's as of yet uneaten lunch.
Removing the clear plastic to reveal the mini-charcuterie board of delights they could share, and setting it on the coffee table, taking the little container on a quick trip to the lounge microwave to heat up the contents, half-listening to his introduction of Starling.
Digging a plastic fork from a drawer, he stuck it into the now-steaming slab of meat and vegetable that was handed off to his parent in his armchair, a hand being placed to his hipbone with a slight twist of his mouth, and troubled symbols shifting in his sockets.
"Dad.. I believe you that it wasn't your intention, I know you'd never purposely.. freak me out. But your message was so vague.. and then Amatsu telling me you've been in meetings all morning.. you had to know what my overthinking brain was going to leap to.."
He could have let it go, because he truly was happy to be able to have this visit, and relieved that so far it seemed.. that it wasn't anything life-altering that he had to speak on, otherwise he wouldn't be speaking so casually on things.
But it was that informality that was slightly upsetting in itself, because he could have easily spiraled into a panic attack several times in the course of just a twenty minute trip to see him. Something that could have been avoided with just a bit more context in his message.
"I love you, and I'm just as happy to see you.. I am. But please.. keep my.. issues in clear mind next time?"
With that he took a slow and calming breath, moving to join his partner on the couch, facing his armchair so they could speak in casual comfort, reaching for a slice of cheese from the platter.
"So.. Starling being here really was just a coincidence then? Did.. anything he have to speak on, have to do with us..?"
Arrow nods his thanks to Percy for the food- that he had forgotten to heat up himself, so focused had he been on preparing the more necessary coffee- and then ends up straightening in his chair at the light scolding sent his way. The next nod he gives is slower, more solemn.
"I apologize for upsetting you. In the future, I will endeavor to slow down and make sure whatever I need to convey is more informative."
He could give an excuse or three, but that wouldn't be fair. By this point in their long life together, from healer and patient, to teacher and apprentice, to father and son, he should know- and do- better by Percy. Unfortunately, despite his best intentions, he wasn't without his flaws, and they did not excuse him. He had to take accountability.
Idly, he stirs his meal to help it cool off. The segue back onto Starling is accepted with a slow blink, eye-light settling into a neutral symbol.
"It was one of my meetings that pertained to why I asked you here, not Starling. He simply had opinions on what it could mean in regards to Noctis' future." He raises a hand with a soothing gesture.
"Anything he may want to do in regards to Noctis cannot take affect without mine, Eirlys, and Corey's approval. And, before anything, I would discuss whatever it may be with the two of you. Much like the empty-world destruction plan."
Allowing a Nightmare to actively destroy verses still felt- odd. The physical outlet it provided Noctis, however, seemed to be worth the plethora of extra security protocols that had to be implemented before he was allowed out of his safe haven.
Arrow takes a bite of vegetable to stall any pointed looks before he goes on.
"This meeting was with the coding team assigned to Noctis' verse of origin. I know it has been some time, and that-- not everyone is aware of this, so I will elaborate:
"When Corey and Starling originally.. acquired Noctis, the esteria only allowed it under a few conditions. One of them was that we help them figure out what happened in the first place. But, as Corey's Foresight is limited when it comes to god-code, we couldn't rely on them to solve that mystery.
"God-code does not want to be read. That does not mean it cannot be deciphered with a bit of effort." With this, he takes the package he was given from his inventory and floats it over to the coffee table, right before Rory's suddenly hungry gaze.
"The coding division- lead by Gidget- have been working together to write a program capable of decoding the god-code into something parsable by the average reader. I know that you've been working with your own program for sometime now, Rory, but they've assured me that this one should be far more streamlined. They were thankful for your frequent insight throughout development."
Arrow takes another bite, and does not mention how the lead coder had said that through gritted teeth. Oh, error-types and their grudges.
"The package contains a pre-programmed tablet for both of you, as well as two, ah, 'sticks', containing backup copies. They cautioned that... it gets hot quite fast? Something about using it sparingly? Ah, I'm sure there are instructions included."
"I don't pretend to understand how coding works, but, from what I understood, they first had to locate and copy down every single language that has ever existed within that verse before they could even begin testing their program, hence why it has taken this long."
"Noctis' base code within the verse was used to test the program to what it is now. They thought using what is essentially just his original name and role within the verse- already known quantities- would be helpful in.. debugging. But... it would seem that they found more information than was expected. Specifically... more names."
Opinions on Noctis's future huh? Well he had a few opinions on where he could shove those.
Sockets had narrowed for a moment before he'd forced himself to stomp down on the the over protective nature that had crawled up his ribs.
While the coffee is very much his priority of distraction, that package does whisper secret desires to be opened and picked apart. But that could wait a little. He does scowl at the limited time, however.
Of course they wouldn't be able to figure out a way to keep the damn thing from overheating. Which meant if he wanted potential extended use...he might have to set up a cooling room. Though he did wonder if it would even matter....
It was better to just follow directions most likely than experiment. That wouldn't stop him from setting up regardless and seeing if it helped. If they could get past the temperature barrier than this might be potentially more useful.
While he had been using his own system, some words couldn't be translated or were hard to parse and put together. Often times leaving him with massive headaches and more questions than answers.
He has to hold back a laugh at the mention of Tracer saying any word of thanks on the matter. Frequent frustrated emails back and forth painted the picture well enough of what might have actually happened.
While he might not be social like his partner when it came to in person interactions, he had lately been quite enjoying himself with the small torment he'd been causing the coding department when they'd had no choice but reach out to ask for assistance.
Tracer, was one of the more mild in temperament types. More focused on logic and research than wanting anything to do with fighting. Thus why he was shoved into the coding department, and wormed his way to lead. But while he may be mild in temperament....he was very much a prideful little shit. And that had been the thing that had sparked their mutual disdain. Aside from the very core of one another's very existence.
So it was extremely satisfying to know that he'd had to express a form of gratitude. It would've been even more so, if he'd been forced to do it in his presence.
Leaning forward with a more alert and attentive gaze, the amount of buzz words and malice toward certain individuals having been enough to give him a decent amount of ability to shake off the lingering exhaustion for the time being.
"̳M̳o̳r̳e̳ ̳n̳a̳m̳e̳s̳?̳ ̳I̳f̳.̳.̳.̳.̳t̳h̳e̳y̳ ̳u̳s̳e̳d̳ ̳h̳i̳s̳ ̳o̳r̳i̳g̳i̳n̳a̳l̳ ̳c̳o̳d̳i̳n̳g̳ ̳t̳h̳e̳n̳ ̳i̳t̳ ̳i̳s̳n̳'̳t̳.̳.̳.̳b̳e̳i̳n̳g̳s̳ ̳t̳h̳a̳t̳ ̳t̳h̳e̳ ̳e̳n̳t̳i̳t̳y̳ ̳i̳t̳s̳e̳l̳f̳ ̳s̳w̳a̳l̳l̳o̳w̳e̳d̳ ̳u̳p̳ ̳r̳i̳g̳h̳t̳?̳ ̳T̳h̳e̳y̳ ̳h̳a̳v̳e̳ ̳a̳ ̳u̳h̳.̳.̳.̳.̳.̳"̳ he snaps his fingers a few times trying to remember the proper terminology. "̳A̳ ̳w̳e̳i̳r̳d̳.̳.̳.̳r̳o̳l̳e̳ ̳p̳a̳s̳s̳i̳n̳g̳ ̳o̳n̳ ̳t̳h̳i̳n̳g̳.̳.̳.̳.̳M̳a̳y̳b̳e̳ ̳t̳h̳a̳t̳?̳ ̳I̳ ̳g̳u̳e̳s̳s̳ ̳I̳ ̳s̳h̳o̳u̳l̳d̳'̳v̳e̳ ̳a̳s̳k̳e̳d̳ ̳f̳i̳r̳s̳t̳ ̳i̳f̳ ̳t̳h̳e̳y̳ ̳f̳i̳g̳u̳r̳e̳d̳ ̳w̳h̳a̳t̳ ̳t̳h̳e̳ ̳n̳a̳m̳e̳s̳ ̳w̳e̳r̳e̳ ̳l̳i̳n̳k̳e̳d̳ ̳t̳o̳.̳"̳ he scratches his cheek a bit. Damned puzzle lover within made him get a little a head of himself.