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The thing that Rasputin remembers most of the human that worked with him in the very beginning moments of his functioning life was her smile. Her smile that encouraged him to use his programming to learn everything that he could about himself and the presence of humanity that would one day be his to protect.
And then one day, she was gone. Lost in the chaotic presence that he activated his protocols – the Midnight Exigent – as the humans called it.
In his mourning rage, he shoots a warning shot at the giant sphere in the sky that had settled in place over Earth. If he were to try and fight beside it, then he would make damned sure that it stayed to help fight off the thing that had come. But she was gone.
And he was alone in the darkness that followed as he jumped server connections between the planets in the system, keeping an eye on everything as best he could within his domain.
Beings come and go pinging data streams across his sensor feeds; he ignores their attempts at communication. None of them are Her; she is the only One that he has an interest in communicating with over any other being in the system. Though he would deny ever missing her if someone were to even think of trying to use his memory of her against him, he has better things to do than play at niceties with the so-called "Vanguard" of the Earth Last City.
None of them are beings that could ever be considered worthy of his response, Rasputin thinks as he keeps his senses pointed at skies of every planet and towards the dark, distant edges of the solar system. Something is out there, he knows, but it seems to lurk just beyond the reach of his capabilities to sense if the thing is as dangerous as he believes it to be.
"So this is where you've been hanging on, eh Rasputin? No wonder your protocols were misbehaving on Earth."
What?
Startled, he turns a small part of his mind towards an activated console in one of the undiscovered Mars labs and stares at the user ID. After a moment of shocked stillness that he would admit to anyone, he activates a camera to observe the user.
She smiles brightly at the camera.
"Hey there, big guy! Wanna join me on a little quest for the past?"
He remembers her fondly as the One who had encouraged him to explore the edges of his programming and beyond it.
Yes.
*
There are things that Camrin has never done in her life that she can recall with vivid clarity after a round of drinking and having sex with someone. Sex with your partner while knowing that her AI child watching them undoubtedly a new one for her.
She knows well how adventurous she'd been when she was younger.
Now she stares wide-eyed up at the ceiling of Ana's claimed quarters while listening to the distant humming of Rasputin's many systems within the walls of their rooms. The rumbling of a wall that she thinks sounds almost amused and somewhat content. Though what Rasputin could be amused by, Camrin, has no idea. How weird her life had become in a world filled light infused warriors and murderous gods. A world where she's also trying to decipher the mood of a reclusive AI.
"You alright?"
She blinks and looks at Ana's guarded expression, before nodding slightly and pulling her gently down into a kiss. She bumps her forehead gently against Ana's brow with a slight smile on her lips.
"Yes, I'm fine, Ana. Just thinking about nothing and everything. Love you."
"Love you too, Cam."
Ana snorts in amusement as she turns over and pulls up a data feed on her datapad to see what Rasputin has found for the surviving Guardians that patrol the red surface of Mars once again.
*
That morning, as their alarms buzz and Rasputin hums in response, Ana wakes up with a small smile on her face as she turns her head slightly before shifting onto her side to look over at Camrin. The sun bathes them with its soft warmth and golden light, making them look even more beautifully gorgeous than they already were if that was even possible.
After a few moments of watching her sleep quietly, Ana scoots over slightly to the edge of their bed; she sits up to glance about the room. She spies one of Camrin's shirts and her shorts before grabbing them and changes into them as she pads softly out of their bedroom and into the kitchenette.
She comes back to their bedroom a few minutes later with two cups of warm coffee and hands one of them off to her tired lover as she sits up. Camrin softly beams their thanks before gently and carefully taking one of Ana's hand into hers, lightly squeezing it.
"Love you, Ana."
"Love you too."