Trouble drinks his iced tea.

Ethan eyes him speculatively.

"Penny for your thoughts."

"Who, me? Just wondering what to break first."

"It's really very convenient that we have someone willing to perform the experiment."

"Isn't it?" he agrees.

Trouble beams.

"Have you decided," Bella inquires delicately, "what to break first?"

"Mm, not quite."

"Okay. Can you break things with your bare hands or should I go scrounging for instruments of blunt trauma?"

Ethan giggles. "Oh, scrounge for instruments, by all means, I can't imagine that making it any less fun."

Trouble laughs and keeps drinking his iced tea, slowly.

"I think we have a hammer."

"Ooh," says Trouble. "Yeah, bring the hammer."

Bella goes looking for the hammer. It takes her three minutes to find; the garage is kind of a mess.

When she comes back, Trouble has finished his iced tea and is kissing Ethan again.

Bella coughs politely.

He disengages. "Hi, Bella!"

"I'll take that, thanks," says Ethan, reaching for the hammer.

She hands it over, and sits down, and flips her notebook open again.

Ethan eyes Trouble some more.

Trouble grins back at him.

Trouble is exquisitely cooperative.