There was a sinking feeling that Alvin had gone and shoved his foot in his mouth and he immediately put the kaleidoscope down from where he'd plucked it from. Maybe he was a little out of touch socially. Maybe he was too used to Zinnia and her easy presence that he needed to reel himself back in a little bit. He and Zin had somewhat grown up together, their families always close, and he tended to forget the lines of propriety, but he also knew she didn't mind. He didn't know Penny well enough for that yet. It was a habit, trying to break any tension, keep things light. Alvin was often the source of any dark clouds over a conversation and was making a concentrated effort not to.

"There's no rush, I'm comfortable anywhere." He assured her, pointing to the slice of workbench he'd been at and then the floor; he really wasn't fussed. Alvin could cram himself onto a stair with his sketchbook and be perfectly fine. His back might ache afterward, but some part of him ached all the time these days. "I wasn't trying to force a clean, I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't be in the way." Maybe he should have just kept his mouth shut.

Hopefully this would work though, he desperately needed something to look forward to and to keep him busy. Hopefully collaborating with Penny would do the trick.