"No voice protocols, no," Tony agreed, even as Dum-E made a strange little whirring sound. "He makes himself understood, though. And listens. When he feels like it." He gave the bot a little nudge, but the fondness in his expression belied any kind of condemnation.

The other question pulled his attention right back to Rey, though. He quirked an eyebrow at her with an almost thoughtful look. "Kind of complicated. Dum-E took a year or so, but in my defense I was seventeen. And I'd had the idea earlier, but it took me a while to be able to get to the point where I could actually build him.

"The armor..." he trailed off, glancing over at it. "The first version was...a month or so? Something like that?" He'd lost track of time pretty quickly. "And then I've redesigned and improved since then. So. A work in progress. Still."