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“Gunnie, you're a genius!” Sidney presses a chaste kiss to his cheek and her temperature sensors detect the increased warmth in his face. It's fun to tease Gunnie a little.
“Oh uh Sid, it wasn't hard. Once I sourced the blades it was a snap to get them installed.” Gunnie bashfully rubs the back of his head.
Sidney is the proud new owner of ice skates. Her skeletal frame wasn't lovingly engineered to walk. She is optimized for skating, which is usually okay. And it's not like she can't walk, stairs and ladders are not a problem for Sid. But being on wheels on slippery ice is a no go. Gunnie shows her how to swap them with her wheels and gives her a plastic cover to protect the blades from dulling.
When the Wurst docked at the rec station the crew checked the directory of attractions and “Winter Wonderland” immediately jumped out to Sidney. A nostalgia fueled amusement park inspired by Amercadian longing for Earth winters, informed by ancient images of snowmen and snowball fights. She had mentioned how she would love to go with the Barrys, to give them a new better amusement park to enjoy. She was hesitating to say yes since she's unable to skate on the ice. Too slippery for her wheels, she had learned that the hard way.
Gunnie insisted it'd be easy and in half a malton she was outfitted with augmented skates, with a Barry on each arm, and three admission tickets promptly purchased and redeemed, SIdney skates into the park, her head held high.
Snow gently falls from above, Winter Wonderland is covered by an enormous dome that's designed to look like a sunny winter Earth day. The sidewalks are regularly swept by friendly park employees, human and droid alike that smile and wave to her. What a friendly place!
She can see the cloud of fog in front of Nyne’s mouth as he breathes out. The cold brisk air a nice change of pace compared to places like Baustin or Mas Vegas. Deserts and lava planets make her silicon skin sticky and the dust gets jammed in the wheels of her skates.
Nyne smiles a big toothy grin, the tips of his ears are as pink as the ends of his mohawk which has grown out considerably since he joined the Wurst. The artificial climate controlled cold temperatures don't affect Sidney outside of some increased processing efficiency but she does feel out of place. Everyone is in hats and gloves and scarves, bundled up and cozy. It looks so nice.
Watching as a woman with a particularly cute pink muffler walks by, she's pulled out of her thoughts when Syx tugs at her elbow. “Let's get you a hat Sid! A perfect souvenir.” and he gestures over at a clothing shop. The climate of the rest of the planet is downright tropical, so it’s not a surprise that the park is ready to sell something more weather appropriate.
Dragging her boys behind her, she beelines for the shop. Syx peels away, promising to find her the perfect thing. “What do you think Bare, you need something? Some mittens or earwarmers?” she looks over at Barry Nyne. Genetically identical to her best friend but shaped by his own experiences. His eyes sparkle when he grins at her, and her fan system audibly ramps up. Barry Nyne has become so special to her in his own way.
It’s easy to adore Barry Nyne. She has had so much practice with Syx, it’s a natural extension. It’s easy to delight in his company because it’s like getting to have a second best friend. The gunner channel gets to be a group of 3 instead of just two. They get to all be Barrys together. Plus Barry Nyne is his own person even if he shares so much with Syx. Just like each droid in a line has its own experiences even if there’s a shared collective. Sid loves that the Barrys get to be that for each other.
The dark hairs on the sides of Nyne’s head are still short, his scalp and ears still exposed to the cold. “Ear warmer! It’ll help keep my shades on too.” He laces his fingers in hers and tugs her over to a display of fleece accessories.
Holding one up, “What about this?” she offers. Golden yellow to match his armor.
Shaking his head, the strip of hair on top of his head catches the light. She had learned from the tactile sensors in her hand, how soft his hair is. Doctor Barry really did great work with the battalion. Both of them have hair that’s out of a shampoo commercial. Certifiable dreamboats.
Nyne’s hand goes to a bubblegum pink ear warmer. “This one. It’ll match your dress and my hair.” That big pearly white smile comes out again, his whole face transforming into something boyish and sweet. Raising up, balanced on the brakes at the front of her skates, one perfectly manicured hand cupping his chin, she presses a kiss to his cheek. The pink lipstick blends right into the blush that covers Nyne’s face.
“It’s perfect.” she helps him put it on, and he’s right. It’s a perfect match and when he lowers his shades, they’re secured perfectly.
Excited to see what he selected and to see the rest of the park, Sid says “Well, lets go find that lunkhead Barry.” Nyne tilts his head back, full throated laughing in delight.
“Sid you’re so hilarious. Doctor Barry couldn’t have made a better Barry in his lab than you.” Nyne slings his arm around her shoulder. It’s something both of them have told her before. That sense of belonging she finds with the Barrys is something she had searched for for so long. All her system's reward centers light up.
Rounding the end of the aisle they find a hat display where Syx is standing lost in thought.
Sid can’t help but laugh when she sees what Syx is so focused on. Torn between a ludicrous pink and white pom pom hat and the cutest little pink beret Sid has ever seen. His eyes darting up when he hears her, that same smile splits his face.
“Alright Sid, which one?” he holds up the options to her. Snatching the beret out of his hand she swaps out the paper hat and looks in the mirror. Cute, sophisticated, chic, like one of the girls from the romcoms she sometimes picks when it’s her choice to choose for movie night. Plus, she doesn’t even have to take out her ponytail.
Whirling around on her skates, she looks at her companions and strikes a pose, gun arm on her hip and hand under her chin. “What do you boys think?”
“Sid, you’re the prettiest girl on the whole rec station.” Syx says, pulling the pom pom hat onto his own head.
“Rec station? Too small Syx! Prettiest girl in this star system EASILY.” Nyne’s voice, loud and boisterous draws a few stares from other customers.
Playfully shoving Nyne’s shoulder, “Nyne, there aren’t even any other habited planets in this system!” Syx grins and it’s clear to Sid that they are going to start roughhousing if she doesn’t step in. She would love to join in, but she’d rather not spend her latest smash and grab payout on broken snow globes from a gift shop.
“Boys, you’re both wrong, I’m definitely the prettiest in the galaxy, and we should go see the rest of the park before we make a mess.” Sid extends both elbows, a Barry on each arm and they quickly pay and exit the store, three matching pink accessories on their heads.
“It’s your day Sid, what do you want to do next?” Syx offers her the choice. Sid loves getting to exercise the ability to pick for herself. That freedom still feels thrilling even after all this time. Scanning the map, Sid obviously picks the snowball arena. What could be more like throwing a grenade than throwing a snowball? Plus the Barrys clearly are ready to get a little rowdy. It’s the easiest pitch ever to get them to agree.
Like targets at a shooting range, Sid expertly knocks down every bottle set up. Access to Gnosis and a lot of practice also taught her how to throw a perfect curveball, the snowball spinning and veering as if remote controlled. Sundry Sidney is in her element. They should come here more often. Snow doesn't have a huge explosion but it is much cheaper.
She only has to break them up once. It starts when Syx stuffs a snowball down the back of Nyne’s shirt and Nyne wheels around on him for a perfect spear tackle. Syx has a handful of snow he smashes into Nyne’s face and Nyne gets a handful of snow shoved into Syx’s mouth before she can get there. She knows she has to redirect some of their attention.
Perfectly hitting Nyne in the back of the head with a snowball of her own, she knows she’s in trouble when he turns back to look at her and she watches him lower his sunglasses and enter the zone. Screaming with glee, she immediately tries to skate away, the snow providing nothing but trouble in her attempts at a speedy escape. She feels his big arm circle her waist and even with a solid titanium skeletal armature, he has no trouble lifting her in the air or depositing her in a snow bank. Every temperature censor in her body pings as she’s submerged fully in the cold fluffy snow and she can’t help but laugh. Being with these two makes her so happy.
A pair of hands on each arm, she’s heaved back out of the snow and is greeted with two big grins, steam visibly rising off of them. Barrys run hot and she can tell how much fun they’re having. “Alright alright, truce!” Sid drawls, dusting herself off, brushing the snow out of her joints and exhaust vents.
“Alright Sid, let’s take those ice skates for a test drive. We still have to meet back at the Wurst for family dinner.” Syx reminds her.
Sid loves family dinner. Zortch & Lucienne always go all out for family dinner. Even though she doesn’t need to eat, seeing everyone at the table together makes her pleasure centers light up. She has found her people. Even if there’s only one Sundry Sidney, even if she is a line of one, she’s a Barry and she’s a Gunner and she’s a member of the best Wurst crew in the galaxy and she needs to go show off her triple axel.