Mechanical Minds

Not the Mile-High Club, but Close Enough

 Susie sighed as she found Meta once again toiling away in the lab, his injured arm still in its sling. She had awoken to an empty space in the bed aside her, and she had immediately known where Meta must have wandered. It had been only two weeks since the battle that had broken his arm, and though it was already out of its cast owing to Meta's incredibly accelerated healing, Susie still wished that the man would take it easy. She walked up to him and rested her head on top of his, drowsily peering at what he was working on. Meta startled and scrambled to cover the scattered components.

"Whatcha working on?" Susie asked, wrapping her arms around the man.

"It is a secret," Meta sputtered, pulling a sheet over the now-gathered pieces. Susie frowned.

"Why's that?"

"It is a gift." Meta pushed the sheet covered items aside and pulled a different project in front of him.

"For me? That's really sweet of you, but you should get some sleep," Susie chided.

"I am not tired," Meta mumbled, biting back a yawn. Susie rolled her eyes and picked Meta up, thankful for her boyfriend's incredibly light frame. 

 "Hey!" he squawked, squirming in her grip slightly before quickly resigning himself. Only now did he realize how heavy his eyelids felt.

"If you aren't going to take care of yourself, I will. Forcibly," Susie huffed, making her way out of the workshop. She paused at the exit so that Meta could turn off the lights before continuing.

"You just want to use my warmth," Meta said accusatorily, though his tone was light.

"Yeah, right. If I was freezing I wouldn't want such an awful blanket hog pulling the sheets off me," Susie laughed. Meta started to respond but was cut off by a large yawn before continuing.

"I do not abscond with the bedding," he sniffed.

"You cocoon yourself in whatever you can grab, which is fine when you include me but not so good when I'm left shivering with the corner of a blanket," she teased.

"You snore," Meta shot back, smirking.

"Don't change the subject," Susie replied, grinning as well. They reached the open door to Meta's room and entered as Meta reached an arm out to shut the door behind them. The room was beginning to change as more and more of Susie's belongings ended up scattered within. It was a lucky coincidence that Meta already had an enormous bed to accommodate his wingspan. Susie tossed Meta on the bed, cackling as he let out an undignified squeak.

"Must you toss me?" he huffed. Susie slipped under the covers beside him as he reoriented himself.

"I couldn't help it, you're just so tiny," she snickered. Meta yawned again before he could respond, and Susie shifted so than his head was nestled against her shoulder. Meta nuzzled her neck and closed his eyes, letting his stiff and aching limbs relax. Susie curled an arm around him, her eyelids growing heavier due to the heat he supplied.

"I am not tiny," Meta grumbled, cuddling closer despite his irritation. His breathing deepened as he drifted off, his sleep deprivation finally catching up to him.

"No good night, huh?" Susie chuckled, before she herself was lulled to sleep by Meta's rhythmic breathing.

Susie awoke to a chill in her bones, an empty space in the bed beside her. She sighed and sat up in bed, prepared to go fetch Meta from his workshop once again. She stopped when she noticed a neatly folded paper laying on the nightstand. The paper had her name written on the front in Meta's distinctive horrendous cursive, and she quickly grabbed it.

"Apologies for leaving without notifying you, I wished to allow you more rest. Please meet me on the balcony as soon as possible. Thank you," she read, chuckling slightly at the lopsided heart that had been scrawled beside the final sentence. Apparently, he'd noticed just how formal the letter sounded. She hopped out of bed and quickly dressed herself before hurrying off towards the balcony.

The balcony was one of her favorite areas in the base owing to the incredible view it provided of the ocean. It stretched along the side of the same building in which the crew members' personal quarters resided and was dotted with a random array of patio furniture. The angled sunlight peaking over the building behind her indicated that it was already morning. Susie found Meta leaning against the stone railing, his cape flowing elegantly in the stiff ocean breeze. A metal case sat on the floor beside him.

"Good morning," he said, his ear flicking at the sound of her approaching footsteps. Susie blinked at the sight of him out in the open without his helmet.

"Morning. What did you need?" she asked. Meta turned to face her, and she noted the deep bags beneath his eyes with concern. Meta bent to retrieve the metal case and presented it to Susie with a slight, yet warm, smile.

"I completed your gift," he said. Susie's eyes widened as she took the offered item, though they narrowed as she glanced up at the obviously exhausted man.

"You shouldn't be losing sleep on my account," she chided. Meta's pointed ears flattened slightly, and his pitiful expression caused Susie to quickly wave off her concerns. "Well, there's no point in trying to stop you from doing something you've already done," she sighed, opening the case. The item inside was composed of sleek white metal and nylon straps. On closer inspection it appeared to be almost backpack-like.

"Is it to your liking?" Meta asked. Susie set the case on the ground and removed the item and the remote-like bracelet hidden beneath it. It had been intricately painted with azure and gold accents to match her uniform, and it was surprisingly light.

"It is very pretty, but... What is it?" she asked, still inspecting the device.

"Put it on," Meta responded cryptically. Susie swung the item over her shoulders and onto her back, and Meta stepped forward to slip the bracelet onto her wrist as she adjusted the straps. Once it was firmly in place, Meta gently turned her wrist to expose a switch on the bracelet. "Watch," he said excitedly, flipping the switch. The azure trimming lit up as two appendages extended from the pack, folding out in segments until they roughly matched Susie's arm-span. Each metal wing was dotted by two small jet engines that quietly whirred to life.

"A jet pack!" Susie chirped, turning in a circle to better glimpse the new piece of equipment. She had sorely missed flying in her various machines. Meta grinned and allowed his cape to meld into his wings. He spread the impressive appendages to their full span and bowed, reaching out a hand.

"Would you care to take flight with me?" he asked, his ears reddening slightly. Susie laughed and grasped his hand.

"Of course," she answered.

(last chapter will be up tomorrow.)