Astro Boy: Loving What Is Unknown (Astro X Gender Neutral Reader)

An Overdue Fight

Astro zipped passed the lightning strikes as he held you tightly to his chest. You clung onto his shoulders and pressed your face into his chest and whimpered at the sharp sounds each strike made. You winced at the close calls with the occasional lightning strike, but decided to focus on the warmth in Astro's chest.

A lightning bolt grazed the bottom of Astro's foot, throwing him off balance. He sucked in a sharp breath and skidded off to the side. You saw this and your hand shot out before you.

"Watch out!" You warned and shifted his point of gravity so as to avoid the next lightning bolt. Once Astro had regained his balance, he let out a sigh of relief and looked down at you with a small smile.

"Sorry about that." He apologized. You looked up at him and shook your head with a small smile.

"It's fine. But we have to be more careful." You said. Astro's smile dropped from his face and he nodded.

"Yeah, you're right. We can't use up all of our energy before confronting Dr L/n." Astro said and focused his attention on the path ahead of him. You watched him silently and averted your gaze.

"Why the long face?" L/n's voice appeared in your mind, surprising you. A smile stretched out across your face and you squeezed Astro's neck, happy.

"L/n!" You exclaimed and tears began to swell up in your eyes at the sheer happiness you felt upon their arrival. Astro's eyes widened and he looked up at you as you said this. From within, L/n smiled fondly at you and folded their arms behind their back.

"I'm glad you finally woke up, Y/n. I...saw everything. What fa- Dr L/n did, what happened to Y/n, the sacrifice you made, I now understand everything." L/n told you, and gave you a sad smile. You matched their look and nodded.

"I'm glad you know. But..."

"Don't worry, I fully blame Dr L/n for what happened to Y/n. I don't consider you nor I a murderer." L/n said. You frowned, and clenched your hands. Your hair whipped around your face as you and Astro proceeded through the forest. You were definitely on a run for time, so you couldn't mess around.

"I'm sorry, L/n. But we're going to have to chat later." You told them, and gave them an apologetic look. L/n shook their head and nodded to you.

"You're going to confront Dr L/n, right? Go, I won't stop you. That man, he deserves to be punished. We can talk after all of this is over." L/n said and gave you a small smile. You returned their smile and focused your attention on the outside world.

The tree lines began to thin as both you and Astro approached the city. Astro narrowed his eyes and struggled to see past the smoke. Wait, smoke?

Astro's eyes widened at the condition the city was put in, and he slowed to a stop. You saw this and inched your face closer to his.

"Astro? What's the matter?" You asked and cocked your head to the side. Astro bit his lip and furrowed his brows.

"Y/n, the city, something must have happened. We have to hurry!" He urged and shot forwards, nearly dropping you in the process. However, he quickly adjusted his hold on you and wrapped his left arm around your torso. For some reason, this feeling made your face feel warm, and you had to resist from fanning yourself.

The closer you got to the city, you gradually could see the flames that engulfed it. Your eyes widened in horror and both you and Astro stopped just outside of it. You felt your stomach drop, and you froze up.

"Astro, the city's on fire!" You cried. His teeth grinded together in aggravation, and he flew to the ground. He then set you down and took your hand in his.