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Above the landscape of the once snowy world, upon the last vestiges of the buildings not yet destroyed, sat two forms lax as they shared their presence side by side. It was a comfortable silence, only the night sharing ambience as the winds blew and the light settled over their scene. Both pristine beings, with their bright yellow and black caution lines decorating their lounging bodies. Both had a can of oil in their hands as they observed the world below, the shortest who had her tail intertwined with her taller partner’s spoke first as the straw popped from her mouth.
“You know… I hate to admit it but this oil is… actually pretty alright. Your runt did good,” So she began, mostly for conversation’s sake. Admitting that she just wanted to talk to him was never going to happen- so instead she would start by saying something rather pointless if just so N, her sweet N, would begin talking up a storm.
Sure enough, he did not disappoint. “ V, you can use her name, you know? Anyway- I love it! It’s the best I’ve ever had,” He said, looking at V with a shiny mirth as he popped the straw of his own container back into his mouth. Gosh…he was so adorable. V now looked upon him with a wash of pure affection- looking away to try and cover the little lines that lit up her visor just ever more so. Golden retriever? Understatement of the century.
“...Yeah yeah… and same.” She started, looking at the can and humming. Uzi, the purple gremlin she was, had been getting them oil to prevent their overheating. And this wasn’t just a small feat. No, she had been managing to find this for them regularly. Honestly, this was the best V felt in a long time all things considered. The straw went right back into her own mouth, both taking a moment to enjoy their scenery but a moment of silence.
N was the one to break it this time. “...Despite the names, you both seem to be getting along better.” He mentioned. N looked upon them both as his precious girls. V held a special place in his heart… though it took a rather significant time (for N that is) for him to acknowledge V and the hardships she had caused him. Whatever her intentions- she had done harm. To do it for him, it was the easiest thing to try and work on herself for. Simple? No. Worth every struggle to do so? Yes. She felt all the better for it. And after some time- they were finally trying to be what their core’s had always been reaching for.
That did not come, however, without Uzi. While her and N shared the capacity that V and N did, she and Uzi were not by any means dating. Nor were they expected to. Hell, V could hardly figure out whether they were even friends. Acquaintances. Frenemies that still had their borderline murderous shenanigans plotted. Just as a silly.
One moment they seemed to be able to communicate a closeness in silence… and then the next they were practically screaming at each other over something petty and trivial. With V, she had been so… alone, she realized quickly that it was no doubt a combination of her being socially inept, Uzi being socially inept, or both. It made her absolutely mental trying to sort it out– and the only reason for that being the sweet sweet drone beside her. Had he not pleaded with them to try, she wouldn’t have bothered taking count of her and Uzi’s sweet silent communications. The ones that felt comfortable. However, N had requested it so she was more inclined to comply.
It still did not make things easier. The most she could say they have right now is a mutual understanding to keep a little distance and maaaaaybe use dumb nicknames as a form of affection. Maybe.
So, V gave a shrug as a response- not bothering to remove the straw from her mouth. Or at least that was the intent- because she could see the expectant stare from her dearest little boyfriend, waiting for updates. His eyes wide and expectant like a dog eyeing a treat. It made V deflate. She couldn't hold herself up against him like she did before. It drove her nuts… but only a little. She actually very much enjoyed how well he broke her walls down now, despite being the source of those walls in the first place. “Yeah. Yes. We are… I dunno we’re fine. It’s not like we talk or anything.” She said. It was half true. Uzi wasn’t much of a talker, just like she wasn’t. At least, it didn’t seem like it. When ever they ended up in the vicinity it always ended up being awkward statements and then they went on their way.
Maybe V was projecting, but she assumed it was not because they both were dating the same drone, but more like they didn’t really know where to go from here. Like both were coming in at different angles of a hug. Or maybe a hand shake versus a fist bump. They just didn’t entirely know what this meant for them. Were they supposed to be “besties” now that they shared a drone lover? Or did they just exist in the same universe and they could just…be?
Now V knew for sure that she alone was feeling like none of them made sense. There was a strange feeling in her core about all of this she couldn’t place. She didn’t know if she wanted to yet. She wanted to be close to the worker drone… But what did that mean? She had been confiding this to N, asking him to keep this secret while she figured out the conflict regarding his other significant other. A selfish ask, but an important one. Serial Designation V was confused as ever with Uzi. So naturally, she repressed and ignored it hoping it would go away.
N hummed, and she looked to him properly now, his face reflecting his confliction. “Well…yeah. But you guys even get a little playful, and thats good! Great even! I’m proud that you guys have been able to do that,” He stated, expression brightening as he spoke, “It makes me happy, so thank you and I’m proud of you!”
V’s visor picked up those little lines again and she looked away, resting her head on a hand and puffing her cheeks for a moment and her tail tip curling as best it could with the weight of the nanite injector. He wasn’t fair. Praising her like that. She said nothing, but when N’s tail gently twisted tighter, she returned the little gesture. She was better at nonverbal things anyway, he knew this.
“Plus, it’s nice of Uzi to give this oil to us anyway. Maybe we can both go and thank her later?” He asked, to which V glanced back towards him, glad he relented and left it on only those praises. She wouldn’t be able to handle more.
V sighed and nodded. Considering how confusing the relationship between her and Uzi had been, honestly it had been a surprise when she had started bringing her canisters of oil. She thought it was a joke at first… or hella bad oil. But Uzi insisted and left her in the snow plumes left by her stomping off.
V would never admit to it, but she agreed. The oil was amazing. Again, she sighed. “Yeahhhhh, okay fine…” She started looking at the can before setting it down. “Where is she finding all this anyway?” She asked, tapping the now empty can hard enough so it tipped off the side of the building. “I’m surprised she would give it to me anyway… given everything between us. I’m sure it’s been a hard find.” She said this, looking now to N again. However, he looked very confused.
“What?” He started, to which V mirrored the expression. “Finding it?” He started, the slight tilt of his head marking the processing power he was using before he chuckled. Clearly there was nothing that gave N pause in V’s expression to stop himself. “Oh V, you know Uzi is the one gi–”
His voice cut off abruptly, his robotic faux lips pulled into a pucker and his eyes shrunk to small little blips of dots as he seemed to finally gain that pause. It was like reading a book at max velocity. His expression seemed to read first- “Wait. Am I saying something I shouldn’t?”, to “Oh no, I’m absolutely saying something I shouldn’t.” However, V was staring at him in absolute shock. She had perfectly enough from what little he said to piece it together.
That did not mean she was about to act without confirmation… maybe. Her body felt like a coiled spring ready to loose. An overheated gun ready to fire. Honestly how she had any restraint at all at this, given her personality, she didn’t know.
“She what?” It was hardly a question she asked. No, this was a firm request to finish what he said. However, N’s mouth pulled in tighter and he quickly shook his head. In N’s mind he had realized a few things just before finishing his damning sentence.
First, was that it was strange for V to forget. She never did. She was so very perfect at keeping information and recalling it. The second was, Oh no what if Uzi never told V? The third was that, if Uzi really never did tell V, then he would be saying something that wasn’t his to say. In a way, he was thinking that this would be a perfect opportunity for them to talk! On the other hand- V looked terrifying and as much as he found this hot– he also was actually just terrified.
Her expression hardened, her voice a very careful warning. “N.” It was drawn out, long and low as though coaxing him through intimidation to relay the information he knew that she didn’t.
There was a single moment of absolute silence between them, no one moving an inch. Tension.
And then came a blast of air and N was zooming away in the air with a desperate yell. Of course he would run, better that than lying. V was stunned for a moment before her wings spread and she was chasing after the retreating drone. “N! You get back here!!!”
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Uzi was, for lack of a better term, livid. Her project was not taken with the reverence it should have had considering the absolute perfection that it was. It was no railgun, but her presentation was over the colonization of other human (maybe) colonies. Taking them over and ultimately dominating the inferior and morally corrupt species. It was perfect! Perfect she says! Everyone else on the other hand looked upon her with trepidation or horror. As though any of her idea ever failed. Or backfired. Which they clearly never did! (maybe).
In any case- she stomped through the hall, huffing and puffing her way back home. The solidarity of her room was missed and very much needed after such a stupid day. Not seeing the wonder in her plan. How could they not? Ugh! She would sit and fume for a bit before going out to find N (the cute drone he was). So, while the room was missed- he would be the best part of the day.
It was gonna be a much better day.
A cacophony of startled yells and destruction sounded from behind her, her optics hollowing before whipping around. Not like she really had any reason too, but she felt like the air thickened with the implications that she was in big trouble. And when the dust and the snow plumes cleared, there was V, crouched in a braced position before her head snapped up to look at her. Uzi knew in a second, that her assumptions were correct, and before V started yelling after her- she was already tucking tail and bolting.
“Get back here you pint sized brat!” So bellowed the clearly furious drone. Uzi couldn’t fathom why that would be, and it wasn’t like she was going to stop for a second to find out. Not while the female drone was fuming like she was. What did she even do?? She hadn’t seen the lady since giving her the oil. Was she upset at the oil? She better not be- the ungrateful b–
Her thoughts cut off as V slammed into the lockers behind her. She had half a thought to turn and use the solver– but it tapered away immediately. She couldn’t do that to V. Because of that alone- she was tackled and was head over heel as both of them rolled into a room, the door clattering underneath them after it had been broken from its track. Only then after such a chaotic few seconds– suddenly it was silent. Uzi pinned underneath the larger drone whose wings were out, venting as they both processed their situation.
“W-WHAT THE HELL, V??” Uzi yelled from underneath the knife-ly appendaged which surprisingly were not nicking her face. The addressed drone was silent, still regaining herself. This, for Uzi, was not it. “V- ANSWER M-”
“Tell me the truth about the oil.”
It was such a simple thing to say. To request. But Uzi felt her system run ice cold. Now, Uzi was pretty honest. Even if it was difficult for her to do. Vulnerability was not her strongest feature, but that never made her dishonest. In fact, she was (mostly) honest to a fault. More so now anyway that she was dating N… However, this? She felt her throat tighten and her core warmed up in both shame and frustration.
“What are you talking about?!” She said, punctuated with a scoff. Sure, playing this off like V was talking crazy was a bad idea– okay actually a really bad idea- but Uzi was not ready to talk to V about this. More than that, she didn’t know if she was ever going to be ready. V was… above all things… hard to be around. That alone was never something she could say to V, but the reason why? Even more so. “It’s oil, what else do you want?!” She said, her voice strained due to her cheek being squished under the weight of V.
There was a sputtering above her and the weight left, Uzi’s optics catching her offender stand with a disbelieving scoff. “Wh- are you serious? You really aren’t going to tell me??” The disassembler exasperated, her, now hands, spreading to express her upset. Uzi sat up, looking incredulous but still offstandish. What else was she supposed to say?? Well… y’know besides the truth. Saying the truth would be like admitting everything in one go! Wouldn’t it? And yeah, so not happening.
“I. Don’t. Know. What. You’re. Talking about!!” Uzi lied, every word given weight as she mimicked the actions of the silverette before her. Her whole body buzzed with stressed circuits. It felt awful to lie to her. It actually was feeling even worse as it continued. Her processors were firing and securing her in a state of indignity.
V groaned loudly, her hands thrown in the air before rounding again on Uzi. “Why are you lying? Just… Just tell me the truth!” She said, still frazzled enough to have her voice raised.
“Why does it matter so much?? It’s Oil!” Uzi said, almost unable to control the insecure wobble to her voice- finally getting nervous enough to grip her fingers.
“Because it’s yours !!”
Once again silence settled between them. This time, it was stunned. Uzi, especially looked upon V with shock which then morphed into closed stance as she rubbed her arm. There were a lot of things she could try to say.
So what? Yeah it’s my oil, bite me!
You got a problem with my oil?
Not good enough? Huh? Tough!
But all that was looping in her mind was, Because it’s mine?
It didn’t hurt. No of course not! Why would that hurt? Why did it matter? Why did she care what oil it was? It being hers was… a problem? Forget all that, Uzi pursed the synthetic lips upon her face, noting the thought that flashed in her processor. She wanted it… to be meaningful. To be important. It didn’t even have to be for V, just… Now it felt so wrong.
Uzi turned away, her visor lit with shameful lines of flush and avoiding the vision of V. She didn’t even know what to say. In fact she had been so blind sided by the conflict of it that the only thing that left her was a soft “Oh.”
Silence stretched for only a beat longer before a “Tok-tok-tok” could be heard from the metal floor, and then V’s voice. “Wait... that’s not…”
“Is it bad?” Uzi asked, the spitfire goth snuffed.
“What? No- that’s not-” V continued, stopped short again by the flame reigniting. Iconic anger rearing its head again.
“Okay then what??” She said, suddenly pulling from the previous arsenal of questioning statements. “Not good enough then?” She said, her fists straining by her sides as she rounded back to face V. She looked… not how she expected after all of that chaos. No she looked… concerned. Confused. Distressed.
“N-no! I ju-” She tried. Uzi, of course overtook.
“Then what! It’s mine- Big whoop! It’s just oil, V. Why is it so important to you?!”
“Because it’s…yours,” Came the soft reply of the preppy killer. The tone was not what her gothic counterpart had expected at all. In fact, it had startled her to silence. So, V took that chance. “It’s…yours. But you’re…giving it to me. I don’t understand why. You could give me rancid shit to keep me going. Old. Hell the fact your getting me oil at all is unfathomable, let alone fresh oil… But… it’s…yours…” She said, her voice becoming just as small as Uzi’s had. At this, Uzi found herself mentally slapping herself silly. V? Of all people getting vulnerable with her? And she just pulled all that shit? Needless to say, after a couple of beats of silence, Uzi let out a loud and long groan to the ceiling of the bunker before her metal heel, clad in leather boot, stomped hard enough it may have actually dented the metal. Now, she owed the other, taller girl. And big time.
At her groan, V looked taken aback. Which was fair since she had no context to the thoughts that rapidly circled Uzi’s computing system. With a huff, Uzi turned away from V, arms tightly crossing. Here goes nothing…
“...Yeah…The… The oil is mine…” She started, her voice grumbled and mumbling. She stayed quiet for a moment, mostly to regain herself. V did her the courtesy of saying nothing. With a deep breath, she threw her arms- the twisting feeling in her core making her moment of vulnerability so much more difficult. “I dunno…I thought it would’t…be a big deal…” She started before scoffing at herself. Another lie. “Actually… I guess maybe I wanted it to be…? I… I dunno! Okay? I just… I…”
This was so hard. Why was this so hard? Why was it so easy with N? But not V? Why was V just so hard to be around?? Uzi took another deep breath. Long and slow before she tried to imagine what it was like talking to N. Right. Just like N… yeah as if- her and V were fires ready to over take each other. Here went nothin.
“UGH, I just… I see you. Okay? I see all the stupid stuff you did and the stupid stuff you are doing… You’re dumb and try and take on this bad girl exterior and keep yourself all boarded up. You don’t let anyone in cause you’re too afraid to do that- so instead you act like a jerk. You do it to chase off anyone who gets to close and you’re all bite and bark and just…” She paused, realizing that with the silence, it made it so much easier to just… admit it all. Honestly… she didn’t even know if V was still there. She was kind of too afraid to find out yet. Instead she kept going. “I don’t like the stuff you pulled with N. Keeping him at arms length and ignoring him. Not being there for him– but I… I know why and I see that too. I can see just how much pain you were in and just how….lonely it was… and ROBO-GOD FORBID I do because gosh does that hurt because… because I… I relate so hard to that… so robo-god forbid I do the smallest thing I can do just to… I dunno… make it…easier. Or whatever. You can just ignore everything I said I think i need to crawl under a rock. Thanks.” She said, the last words leaving her in a tumble because she was trembling with nervousness.
However… No response ever came. There was a silence that stretched uncomfortably long and the tremors that had Uzi shaking in her boots was turning quickly into fear. Had she really left? “V…” She started, turning around to check and see if the drone had actually left.
Hollow gradient optics met stunned golden, those sunlit orbs seeming a thousands worlds away. Though, it wasn’t the lost eyes that had Uzi reeling- no it was the visor rendering V’s expression as nothing less than weeping. Stunned, silent, sobbing. Her own body didn’t even seem to catch onto this behavior yet, she looked… frozen.
Uzi on the other hand felt her core wind tight, the sight alone causing her to clench her chest involuntarily. Truly, it was one of the most grief stricken sights she felt she had seen in a long time. Hardly a moment later, V seemed to regain lucidity- body moving again. Almost immediately she was scrambling.
“D-Don’t look at me!!” She screeched, wings bursting forward to wrap herself in a tight cocoon. That did not stop Uzi swirling around in shocked obedience.
V was crying? No more than that- it seemed so much more. An emotion so strong it felt wrong to call it something so little. Uzi, non vulnerable and awkward Uzi, found herself feeling more and more like she knew V. It hammered in with every muffled sobbing statement that left that metal sheild. “I-it won’t s-stop… Wh-...y won’t… why won’t i-t stop ?!” She could hear, the shuddering voice trying desperately to vocalize itself while also trying to get her vents back on a rhythm. All while peppered in with those whimpers and uncontrollable wails and groans that signified an inability to reel in the involuntary actions.
To put it simply, Uzi had no idea what to do with herself. Her core ached at the sound- something she never thought she’d have the horror yet…honor to hear. It was awful. If she could do a comical “gulp” she would. For the idea she had suddenly… well it was all she felt she could do. Her leg slid backwards as far as it could reach before she stepped back towards it. She did this again. And then one more time before she was standing by V, her back still respectfully turned away. After a moment of listening to panicked reasonings to V’s crying from inside those wrapped wings, Uzi sat down, half an arm’s length away. Close…but not to close.
She stayed there silently for a second before slowly, carefully, she pushed herself close enough so her back pressed just ever slightly to the wings encasing the pretty drone inside. Only then, did words cease- surrendered to the sounds of keening and desperate attempts to let her vents catch up.To her wonder, V did not push Uzi away.
Her clock told her five minutes had passed before the next movement happened that was not trembling upon her back. Instead, it was a tail, snaking its way around her waste and pulling taut. Something Uzi immediately felt her core leap at.
See, Uzi and V were….well they sucked at vulnerability. Horrendous at it really. Drones like them found ways though- and these come in small micro actions… small things like touch. For Uzi to sit down and be close to V- it was a clear statement of “I’m Here.”
And for V… she was saying… “Stay.”
A hand holding close to the “dangerous” nanite injector?
“Okay.”
The wings opening ever slightly… until they swept a little wider…
“Thank you.”
The shorter body scooting into the space opened to her…
“Always.”
The leaning from the trembling taller drone into the body she let close…
“Sorry”
The head resting onto the furred collar of the cropped coat?
“Me too.”
It took a long while for V to find herself, calming in the company of the tiny purple gremlin she begrudgingly enjoyed. She…was horrific at showing it. Suppose it didn’t help that those confusing things that would help her right about now were all bottled up and repressed. Then again… So was Uzi. How did N even do it? Finally after about an hour, she finally spoke up- “Thank you… for the oil…” She said, her wings having encompassed them both now. Clearly making V feel a little safer in such an intense moment for her. Uzi, who really didn’t know how to navigate this merely shrugged, attempting playful…
“Well… yeah…it’s whatever…” She stated, picking up her usual cadence of hardy goth girl. But she continued anyway, “Sooooo…. Do you…like the oil then…?” He said, visor ticking lines to show her blush.
Despite herself, V chuckled while her head rested atop Uzi’s as she spoke, “Yeah….Yeah I do…” She said, her core rattling within her frame. She was content.
Uzi took on a devilish smirk, squinting at the other mischievously, “...’caaaauuse….it’s mine…?” It was a bold question, every ounce of Uzi’s terror hidden behind what she hoped was charming chaos.
V did not open her optics, but she smiled. “...’Cause it’s yours.”
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N had spent a good portion of the day searching for Uzi and V. That is…maybe… after some time to possibly let them sort it out themselves. It was for good reason! Truly! It’s not as if he has been sitting on either end of both his girls talking about each other like love sick puppies who only knew how to growl at each other. V would spend some time telling him how hard it was to talk to Uzi. How much her “annoying” antics would make her talk about the “purple thing” for hours with the smallest blush. Or how He’d catch he staring at Uzi sometimes if they were somewhere on a perch.
And it wasn’t like Uzi spent a long time talking about how nice V looked one day or how something she called her would have her pacing about the room, entirely flustered. Or how one day she asked if it would be weird if she gave V her own oil– “Just cause it’s easier or whatever!” No, of course, he hadn’t spent weeks upon weeks, upon months listening to these two on separate occasions. Honestly, he loved it.
Did he like keeping secrets? No, but he would. Was he good at it? Absolutely not! But while naïve, N was not stupid. He may have let slip something Uzi should have told V a long time ago– but the moment he had lost V in the chase– he realized this could be the perfect opportunity!
…or so he hoped.
After the first thirty minutes, he was still thinking he was a genius. By the second thirty however, he grew nervous. They hadn’t shown up again, not while he was waiting with the doorman family. By the third thirty minutes, he was out the door and looking for them in a frantic worry. Through the halls we went, trying not to run but letting his large gait carry him as quick as possible. Walking with purpose. Everything was fine right?? V wasn’t actually mad at the oil, right?
Then he saw the damage to the wall, his optics scanning them before his eyes tracked V’s wide steps to the destroyed lockers at the other end of the hall. Somewhere halfway, he could see Uzi’s steps lackadaisical up until he could see their distance widen. A run. N felt his core still. Then he was running, looking quickly for any more tracks, desperate to be sure his girls weren’t hurt. Just as he was about to start calling for them in worry, his feet skidded to a halt, grappling for hold just as he passed a door that held their signatures.
There was no distress or fighting though which after the damage to the hall, had him confused. What?
He crept his way back to the door, peeking in in hopes he was not about to see a fight gone wrong. Instead, he found them both, nestled up against each other and resting- the golden and purple to gold “Sleep Mode” on their visors. Uzi had tucked herself beneath V’s chin, nestled into the faux collar bone and fur on V’s chest. Meanwhile, V was holding Uzi tightly in her arms, face relaxed entirely as her head rested atop purple hair.
N was all but gripping his heart, silently yelling while he covered his mouth and literally cried. No way. No way!
The memory was going to live on forever in his cortex. Only after N had successfully taken as many pictures as he felt reasonable to keep to look back on later did he finally come over, pick them both up as carefully as he could to not wake them, and began his way back to Uzi’s home- if just so they might sleep comfortably in some proper privacy. This was their moment.
Only theirs.