Sunlight was seeping in from the windows as N stared down the object on the table in front of him. He figured he probably should have picked an apartment on the other side of the building, but at this point the sunlight hit the door out, leaving him trapped within this apartment. He absentmindedly rubbed an arm, burn apparent on it, while lost in thought.
On the table in front of him, was the jar of Uzi's oil she'd given him.
Stupid. He was stupid. He'd gotten himself into this situation and now Uzi would end up being the one saving him. While out searching the city for supplies, he had ended up losing track of time, forcing him to take shelter where he was. From his exposure to the sun, overheat was starting to set in, causing him to withdraw this cursed object.
Sure, he'd tasted her oil before, but something about this felt way more wrong than it did when he accused her of it being a fresh kill.
He didn't have to wonder why he felt that way.
The idea of drinking her oil now felt... way more personal than it really should have. She'd blushed when she gave it to him and he ignored that fact. Now, it was a fact he couldn't ignore. Drinking this now felt like admitting that she probably did like him.
She probably did, right?
...Right?
He could feel his body spike a few digits hotter at the idea. Some selfish part of him wanted it to be true only to be squished by the idea of her manipulating him like it felt like everyone he'd ever known did. Everyone seemed to have some hidden agenda with him, and he was starting to pick up on that fact. So if she liked him, why wasn't she more upfront about it?
He supposed, then, that the answer was staring him down in front of him.
This personal, but weird, weird gift.
N picked up the jar carefully, as if it could turn into a deadly creature at any moment. With a small circular motion of his wrist, the liquid inside sloshed around in the container which he looked at in hunger. Life-saving oil - Uzi's oil. Robo-God did he really want to drink it.
Uzi's oil, the thought stopped him. This came from Uzi, his best friend and most important person to him at the moment who he was certainly not repressing feelings for. Nope. This container of her liquid essence, the most valuable part of her according to his mechanical stomach and function. Her prized oil, all for him to gulp greedily down his mechanical throat, letting her cool him down and soothe him as she did in-person.
It was a good thing he had a nice sized jar of her to go after. He'd rather drink from the source, though. Yeah, that'd be pretty romantic. She would give him permission, looking at him with a cute flustered pout probably. She'd offer her wrist, but he would decline, asking for another spot. With a shaking hand, he'd unzip her hoodie, earning another flustered look from the pint-sized emo. She'd ask him why he's so nervous and he would have no doubt that he would look like a shaking, timid dog about the whole thing. A blurted apology, followed by asking her if he could bite into her upper torso. He'd want to bite into her neck if he could, instead opting to bite on the shoulder around it. He'd hesitate, he knew he would, and Uzi would tell him to hurry up and do it. Contact. Her oil on his lips and in his mouth. Savoring, tasting her like it would be the last oil he would ever have...
After feeding, he'd ask her if she's ok. She'd be honest about it. Maybe, hopefully. Their faces would be so close to each other, he'd feel himself blush. Without thinking, he'd move forward and... k-kiss her?
Suddenly disgusted with his fantasies, he put the item back onto the table and held his arms close to him. That got weird real fast. N's eyes caught on a small nearby mirror, catching sight of his state.
"You are so messed up ", he said to the pathetic drone he saw in the mirror. The pathetic, wet dog of a Disassembler who looked back at him with the most flustered screen he'd ever seen.
Gross. He was gross. He felt gross for that. He couldn't just think those thoughts about Uzi. What if she thought he was weird and pathetic and started ignoring him like V used to? Uzi was the best friend he's ever had, though. Maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal? Uzi was cool and understanding, maybe even entertained similar thoughts about him. What would those even be like...?
Their kissing got a little out of hand at this point. N got a little rough on accident and scraped something, he could tell by how he was licking off her oil from her lips. Some good ol nanite saliva could fix that. Just a sneaky little deployment of repair nanites. Deepening the kiss, she let his tongue meet hers and enter-
"Weird, weird! Stop thinking!", he fumed as he slapped himself out of it. Oh Robo-God, the sensory details on that one were so strong. The taste, he needed the taste.
With a shaking hand, he twisted off the cap to the jar and took a few desperate gulps of the oil from within. It quickly incorporated itself into his insides, cooling him down. Setting the jar and cap down, it sunk in what he did. He really just did that, huh? He really let himself indulge in some selfish fantasy to get himself to drink that.
The mirror caught his attention again and the disheveled drone he saw in it. A small trickle of oil ran down from his mouth, causing him to wipe it off without thinking about it. His eyes caught it on his hand, though. It'd be a shame for it to go to waste.
Especially since it was Uzi's.
He flashed a cold look to the stupid, pathetic drone in the mirror, "I'm not the one in love with her or... something , you are". As he licked up the oil off his hand, he never tore his eyes off that mirror. "I don't like her that way, you're the weird one here. She's just manipulating you... You're the stupid one falling for it", he tried to spit out his feelings, only for it to come out sounding like he was reading off a script.
He still hadn't closed the jar, that cursed thing. With careful hands, he took the jar and the lid. The contents of the jar distracted him again. He took careful note of how much was still in it. Thankfully, he hadn't drank too much of it. Suddenly, he felt bad about it. He'd just drank some of this important and personal liquid and he didn't even savor it. How rude. The temperature in his body was still higher than normal, so it wouldn't hurt to take another sip, right?
Fluster returned as he brought the item to his mouth. The liquid within was inky black, he wasn't quite sure where the glass ended and the oil began. Saliva filled his mouth in anticipation. The liquid poured out of the container and into his waiting mouth. Close. Savor. It wasn't warm, but it sure was sweet. As sweet as the favor of being gifted this in the first place.
His eyes shifted to the mirror again briefly. In a way, he felt like how he imagined she must've felt when she gave him it. It was obvious that she was going through several different emotions at once, he felt much in the same place. His fluster remained, reminding him of that in particular. Some subconscious desire to see her like that again flared up.
Purple just looked really good with yellow.
But he still didn't like her like that, though. Refused to accept that. What did Uzi even see in him anyway? He knows, remembers what she said about that to heart, but how? Why did it have to be him? And her, too. She was an incredible friend who shouldn't have to settle for a guy like him.
Yeah, wait, that's right. They're friends. Just friends who don't have to worry and angst over a potential relationship. Friends. Everything was much simpler that way.
But it didn't mean that the idea of staying just friends didn't hurt to think about...
"Took you long enough", V said, hand on her hip, "where were you?".
From the meager light the moons provided, he could see her and Uzi off by the pod. It didn't surprise him to see them a length apart. What did surprise him was Uzi's presence altogether. The sun hadn't set for long so she must've escaped the colony as soon as it did, he felt comforted by her presence here. Alright N, dial it back a little here.
"I got a little... distracted, lost", he rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "sun caught me out there".
Uzi's body language shifted immediately like a tense coil. She looked at him with concern, "are you good? Did you get hurt?". A foot stepped towards him as she said this, but it was evidently unsure about taking any further steps.
He gave her a polite wave in return, "it was nothing your gift couldn't fix. I'm all good".
"Gift?", V asked, a brow raised at the question.
"What?", Uzi stepped in, "why do you wanna know?". He assumed the purple-haired Worker didn't want V to know. Honestly, he was alright with that.
V huffed, "like I'd wanna know what weird nerd object you gave to this idiot here".
"Then why did you ask?", Uzi's head tilted as some cocky look crossed her face.
"Because...", V stressed out in irritation, "sometimes I just want to... know things. I guess".
"Like how you-".
V's fist slammed into the side of the pod. "Can it, toaster!", she fumed. Both Uzi and N looked at her in shock, V finding herself unable to meet their combined gazes and opted to fold her arms and look elsewhere.
After a moment to decompress from that, N walked over to Uzi, flashing her a smile. "So...", he tried to figure out how to go about this, "how can I pay you back for it? Nothing as weird and uh... personal as that though".
Uzi tensed as fluster painted itself on her screen, "i-it's not... that personal. Shut up! Just a stupid gift...".
"It was pretty useful, though".
Uzi looked at him with wide, unhallowed, eyes. "Really? It was that... no, it was just convenient and weird and gross".
A growl was heard from V, "what on this god-forsaken planet are you two-".
"Oil!", N blurted out. He wasn't sure why, but perhaps his rising CPU use held a hand in that.
The purple Worker's blush somehow found itself intensifying, "you didn't need to tell her that!".
Right, he really didn't. If V can hide things, then why couldn't he? "I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me", he apologized.
"What the hell?", V fumed, "you drank this thing's oil? What if you catch her crazy?".
"What's so wrong about that?", Uzi asked, glare directed at V, "why's my oil different from anything else here?".
V returned the glare, leaning towards the short Worker, "because I know better than anyone else the dangers of what you are". Uzi's eyes squinted. Her sights set on N, "get going. I'm not allowing this to go on".
As she set a hand on him, Uzi noticed him do something that shocked her. He'd refused the contact, an act she'd seen him do multiple times before.
Uzi got between V and N, "this isn't about the oil, isn't it?", she asked V.
"Why do you care?", V shot back, "you'll do the spooky bat thing again whether you want to or not again eventually. It's what you are".
Uzi looked back at with a glare, "what? I can't hang around N anymore because you think I'm oh so scary now?".
The taller female drone leaned forward, bringing her own glare to Uzi's eye level, "whether you want to, or not".
"V?", N cut in, a hand briefly raising, "c-could-".
"And?", Uzi questioned V, "I don't have to give in to that, you guys are proof that it's possible".
V's head tilted off to the side, "how long's that gonna take? Who will you hurt before you get that ugly stuff under control?".
Uzi's teeth bared at the taller female, hands clenched, "I haven't hurt anybody ! Not since camp, not since N helped me with oil rations. What've you been doing aside from claiming the lives I took as something to lord over me?".
V's look softened. Barely, but enough to be noticed. "Don't... push your luck, freak", V's glare returned.
"Look who's talking", Uzi huffed, "what the hell happened with you back at that manor?".
V scoffed, "what? Why are you bringing that up? Do you want me to kill you?".
" V ", Uzi hissed, "you hid that from me. I- I turn into that thing and you've apparently known all along about that. ...You also turned into it? You hid that from me. Your memories weren't even wiped about it".
"Stop talking about it!", V yelled, "I'm not going to!". Her outburst shocked everyone, including herself as her eyes hollowed out. Regaining her composure, she added, "what use is it anyway? Stuff happened, so what? Stop sticking your nose where it doesn't belong, toaster".
One of Uzi's boots stomped into the snow below her, "what's your deal? You don't talk to N. You don't talk to me. Who do you talk with?". V said nothing as she found herself unable to give a retort. Uzi's arms folded, a smirk playing on her face as she quietly muttered the name of her blonde-haired bully. Some reaction came out of V as Uzi boasted, "knew it".
"What's your problem?", V pointed a finger at her, "why are your problems suddenly my fault? Why can't you stop poking around where you shouldn't?".
The small purple drone was silent for a moment, her gaze drifting from V. Her fist clenched. Release. Returning to V, she spoke, "nothing changes unless we question everything. We know that the humans have been lying about why you guys are here, and we still don't know much about that. If everyone chips in, we can get the whole-".
"Have you considered that maybe this is as good as it gets?", V cut in oddly calm.
Uzi shot her a questioning look, "you can't seriously think-".
"I do think, contrary to what you assume, and I have given it a lot of thought. Things only get worse the more you struggle and quirm to get out. You're better off accepting it to live another day".
Uzi's mouth flew agape. A brow appeared on her screen, "V... what do you think happens when you guys run out of oil?".
"Don't worry about it".
"What?".
" Don't ", V stressed, "don't worry about it. It's not happening anytime soon".
"But you guys are gonna die - uh, we'll die if oil runs out? V, there's no way to get off this planet until I fix the pod. We die unless we do something about it", Uzi's frustration was apparent and N instinctively put a hand on her back.
"N", V suddenly addressed him, "you can't seriously believe this, right?".
"I do", he blurted out, "what Uzi wants, I want". That was a partial lie, and they all knew it. He had questioned her about her plan for humans on more than just one occasion.
V's face twisted, her teeth baring and catching in the light. She spun around, evidently crossing her arms, and huffed. "Why do you choose her?", she sulked, "she's just a toaster. Just a stupid nosey toaster...".
"V? No, I just... I can't agree with you about that", he pleaded, "I don't think anyone needs to die, even us. There's gotta be some way to fix it".
"She's infected you with these ideas!", V snarled, "dammit N! Why can't you trust me?".
He paused, mouth opening and closing, before giving his response, "because... you've given me no reason to, V". Uzi looked at him in concern as he added, "how can I trust you if you can't trust me?".
Her head swung around with such speed it shocked them. A pained look was on her face. She said nothing and she walked off, wings extending. His hand extended towards her, "wait, just talk to me!". She nodded a no and leapt up and into the air, moving off towards the outside.
N made to move after her, but found himself being restrained by Uzi. "N! N wait one second!", she pleaded.
He froze as he turned to her, "w-why did you-".
"N, V needs... space", she sighed, "I'm as frustrated as you, but I think we're going about it the wrong way".
"If she just talks-".
"She's not talking. If talking helped, she would've already talked already", she added, "I don't know what she needs. I'm... not great at this kind of thing".
"...Me neither...".
He found himself softly easing into her comfort as they spent the next few moments recovering. No, bad. Stop enjoying it, N!
"You alright?", she suddenly asked him.
He blinked as it sank in. "Uh, yeah", he said, "you?".
She winced, "could be better. Just... I just want to know what I am, but we're not gonna get that answer through her".
"Yeah, guess so", he agreed, not exactly fully convinced however.
After a few more moments, all traces of her having restrained him vanished in her grip. It became softer, gentler. An arm tenderly hugged his torso. It's not real, it's manipulation. Don't fall for it - her.
"N?", she asked as she evidently felt him tense up.
He swallowed, "I'm fine".
"You don't seem fine. What's up?".
His eyes, the fake eyes at least, found themselves unable to look at her, "n-no. Don't worry about it".
"N, you can talk to me", she said laying her other hand on his chest, "I hope you took V as an example at least".
An example of what you could do to me , he nearly said feeling awful about that thought moments later. Putting on his best smile, he tried talking to her, "it's stupid. It's... really not interesting".
Her digital eyes squinted, "so... there is something you want to talk about?".
His hands flew up in protest, "no! No, I have nothing I want to bring up".
She sighed knowing better than to push the topic after the prior events. Returning his line of sight, he noted a tense look to her. "N, you're not the only one who has stuff on their mind that, uh... should probably be brought up at some point. Maybe now or maybe never. Um, yeah, I'm awkward", she blurted out.
He could only respond with silence, eyes hollowed out. She's hiding something. She's hiding something! Awful. Dreadful. How could she do that to him?
She changed for the worst...
"N?", she asked, apparently still tense over it. A short silence later and she put herself in front of him, "hey. Uh, you good?". He couldn't meet her eyes, he was burnt out with a heavy heart.
He could then feel her hand on his own. Snapping to attention, he looked down at their hands horrified. With a quick movement, he withdrew his hand, earning a gasp from Uzi. He couldn't bear to look at her as he rushed towards the outside."I'm sorry, I can't!", N blurted out, unsure about the apology. He could hear her yell for him to stop as he sprinted away from her, artificial tears forming in his digital eyes. His fists clenched trying to ignore the phantom touch that still lingered on them.
A hop and with his wings deployed, he sailed away from the mountain of death and betrayal.