Chapter Text
Mari-Anna was alone, again.
Their "friends" (a loose term coined by Garbo. Mari awkwardly accepted the robot's label, although it being far from the truth. It was more like coworkers. The closest thing she had to a friend was- never mind.) were all off on their own, leaving Mari-Anna to watch the sunrise alone.
Every morning she came here. Sat down after calculating when the sun would spill its golden light onto the platforms of High Rise and watched it illuminate the dystopian wasteland below.
No matter. A scientist didn't need company. Research was best gathered when focused, and Ma- their coworkers, Mari corrected herself, were more likely to distract them.
As the sun coasted steadily up the horizon line, Mari-Anna suddenly felt a presence. Turning around sharply, their tentacles tucked into their chest protectively, she saw Matador leaning against the corner, hand-rolled cigarette hanging loosely from where their mouth would be through the TV head, silently observing Mari-Anna's routine.
"… Matador." Mari-Anna said neutrally. Their heart was beating fast; she wasn't expecting anyone to come look for her, let alone Matador.
"Mari." Matador crushed the cig under their boot, kicking it off the edge for it to explode in a shower of sparks. Mari wearily eyed the lights, aware of the blinding pain they could bring when a real creature was hit off the edge. "Watchin' the sunrise?"
"Yes. Would you care to join me?" Mari-Anna asked, extending a tentative hand. Hesitating, fingers trembling, Matador grabbed their hand, the contact sending a jumbling mix of emotions through them. They hadn't been touched so carefully like this- or really at all, besides in matches- in a long time.
"…Sure," Matador said coolly, but suddenly they wanted to cry. It wasn't right, wasn't natural, for them to feel anything at all.
Normally they didn't. In matches they ran on autopilot, eliminating Garbots, Diablos, even clones of themself. The only person they ever struggled with any emotion with was Mari. Looking in the big dark eyes behind the goggles killed them a little bit inside, too.
And even now, standing with them, their tentacle-arm entertwined with Matador's clunky fingers, Matador felt… vulnerable.
They hated it.
But it was worth it when they saw Mari relax, the scientist usually solving, calculating, four steps ahead all the time finally allowing themself to let up.
"Why do you come out here?" Matador broke the silence, their hands still tightly gripping each other's.
"… Peace," Mari-Anna mused. "There is just.. a nice silence out here. Less buzzing."
"Buzzin'?" Matador's expressionless face seemed confused. "What kinda buzzin'?"
"There is always a constant hum in my head. I believe it to be the headset SafeL commissioned for me to be able to work here."
Something inside Matador twisted slightly, their gut telling them this was something to watch out for. But Mari didn't need that right now.
"We don't need to talk. Silence is okay with me," Matador huffed, relaxing their shoulders. Mari nodded gratefully, and the two sat in a comfortable quiet as the sun rose.
As the sun began to coast steadily upward, the sky turned from dark to light, rays beating down onto the shoulders of the diligently watching. Suddenly, a holographic Garbo appeared in front of the two, making them start.
"Hey you two! Awh, were you holding hands? Cute!! Boggles will love that." Garbo grinned, his staticky voice glitching in and out of reception.
"Tell Boggles and I'll rip yer head off your clunky body myself," Matador growled, standing up and cracking their back. Mari-Anna adjusted her goggles, her suit now hot from the sun. Swiping on a watch given to her by SafeL, she activated a self-cooling system which sent ripples of cold through the couple's still entertwined hands.
"Woah woah! Calm down," Garbo hastily shook her head, its ears flopping. "I was just coming to tell you that we have a match in five. Be at the Haybales!"
With a blip, holo-Garbo was gone, leaving the two alone.
"Well, I guess we should go." Matador sighed. Turning to Mari, their face seemed to crest into a smile. "Same time tomorrow? Don't cancel if I kill you during the match."
"Hah! If I can find the true you. These players and their skins. You would never wear a cat costume."
"Maybe if you asked."
"Never."