Chapter Text
Ever since that Handsome Bastard has met his rightful end at the hands of six vault hunters, Gaige had rarely- if ever, left her private workshop. Every vault hunter had their own spots in sanctuary that were theirs. Krieg and Salvador hung around the underbelly of the flying city, Maya reserved a building, far from everyone else, to relax and read, Axton had his room for maintaining his gun and playing games, and Gaige had her workshop. Zer0 was the only anomaly, but absolutely no one knew where he went when he wasn’t on a mission with the other five vault hunters. Originally, the workshop was the mechromancer’s bedroom, but the only way one could possibly recognise it as such now was from the sight of the large bed in the corner of the room.
The rest of the room was filled with spare mechanical parts, heavy chunks of metal, circuit boards, an almost-comical number of different tools, all serving very specific tasks, and weapons. Aside from the posters and drawings that adorned the walls, one would never have expected that a teenage girl called this room her own. Then again, Gaige was anything but normal, something she had proven time and time and time again. Facing down the full might of Hyperion, and simply laughing in its face, was not something the normal person did, after all.
The anarchist was huddled in the corner of her workshop, working on an elaborate piece of technology. Compared to all of the other items within the room, the devices that Gaige was working on seemed like they had almost come from someone else. Most of Gaige’s work was visibly rough, almost seeming cobbled-together. It was an aesthetic Gaige liked, something that made her work feel like it was her’s. The imperfections in her craft were, in fact, just as intentional as the claws that had been fitted to Deathtrap’s monstrous arms. The technology before Gaige, however, was a true testament to her abilities as a craftswoman.
They were smooth, elegantly designed cybernetic limbs. Not a single imperfection could be seen on the legs’ plastic sheen, coloured a brilliant white. Within, however, was where Gaige had truly found her work inspired. They were not prosthetics, like her arm. They were braces. They were tools for someone to slip into, to assist them in moving around. Even Tannis didn’t truly know how to make them. No one on Pandora before had ever needed such braces and survived long enough to be able to requisition one, until now.
Gaige was bent over a leg brace, a paintbrush held in her prosthetic arm. She swirled intricate patterns over the plastic, trying to draw similar markings as that of a Siren’s infamous tattoos over the tools. They were far from identical- Gaige had, of course, taken creative liberties in her painting of the limb, adding small patterns and drawings to the brace where they would never be on a real siren. Upon the thigh, for instance, the blue paint had twirled and swirled and coalesced to form the image of a woman, with a halo floating above her head. A marking of the woman that would hopefully be using these limbs in the not-too-distant future.
There was a knock at the door. Immediately, Gaige pushed away from the table. With a small frown, the mechromancer noticed that the fingers of her cybernetic arm had small drops of blue paint upon them. Wiping them down upon her shirt, Gaige threw the door open for whomever was wishing to enter. With a smile, Gaige realised that her guest was exactly who she wished to see in that moment. Angel.
She and her fellow Vault Hunters had managed to fake Angel’s demise, and save her from the Control Core. As much as it had driven Handsome Jack insane, it was the only way that Angel would possibly be allowed to live in peace. Unfortunately, severing Angel from the control core had done significant damage to the Siren’s body, though her mind remained as sharp as ever. Her limbs were pitifully weak, her legs even unable to support her own weight, having not used them in years. The flight that she had been granted by the constant flow of Eridium had meant that Angel had not taken a step in years, and the strength in her legs had dissipated as a result. Fortunately, Tannis and Gaige were able to quickly design and craft a wheelchair for Angel, so the young siren could move herself around freely.
Angel pushed herself into Gaige’s workshop, a smile glowing upon her features. Despite losing the ability to walk- for now, Angel had become a beacon of sunshine on Sanctuary, a woman who was genuinely delighted with the world, and those she was close to, in spite of everything she had previously been through. Gaige found the energy infectious, and had been spending more and more time around Angel, speaking to her, and befriending the young Siren. It was always a joy to spend time with Angel, Gaige found. She just wished she could do it more, but knew that the braces for her took priority.
“Hi!” Gaige smiled, sitting back down upon her seat, spinning it to face the guest she was entertaining.
“Hi, Gaige.” Angel always seemed to speak somewhat quietly, compared to everyone else on Sanctuary. Gaige had assumed it was because in the Control Core, the systems there heard her every word no matter how loudly she spoke it.
“Why are you here?” Gaige inquired.
“I wanted to see you.”
“Why?”
“It’s been days since you’ve come out of here!” Angel exclaimed, the smile on her face betraying her pretended anger, “We worried about you!”
“We?” Gaige smirked slightly, “Most of the others wouldn’t give too much of a crap if I went missing for a few days.”
“...I worried about you.” Angel conceded, casting her gaze to the floor.
Instantly, a tidal wave of guilt crashed over Gaige’s conscience. She had intended to remain out of the way, complete Angel’s braces, and present them to the Siren as a glorious surprise. She was used to the Vault Hunters all giving one another space. They were friends, absolutely, but all completely trusted in one another’s abilities to keep each other safe. But Angel wasn’t used to that. She was, as her nickname told oh-so-clearly, a guardian angel. Gaige going missing for days on end must have worried the Siren to no end. It was the first time that Gaige cursed having the ability to digistruct her own food within her workshop- at least she’d have seen Angel during meals.
“I’m sorry.” Gaige crossed the room quickly. Falling to one knee, Gaige wrapped her surprisingly toned arms around the smaller Siren, squeezing gently. Angel mirrored Gaige’s actions, her own weaker arms curling around Gaige’s shoulders. A small smile ghosted across Gaige’s face, though she knew that Angel could not see it.
Neither woman spoke as Gaige embraced Angel. There was nothing to truly say. The most Gaige had done wrong was not adjust her expectations to account for the still-new inhabitant of the immense city in Pandora’s sky, and that was something Gaige would not allow to happen again. The anarchist was, as the single most prodigious engineer in this part of the galaxy, very good at learning from prior fuckups, and making out of them something majestic. That, or of course, rolling with an error, and getting from it something wonderful. That was how Deathtrap came to be, in fact. Still, somehow, cutting her own arm off with a particle saw hurt less than knowing that she had distressed Angel.
It was Angel that pulled away from the embrace. A small smile had grown upon the siren’s features as well. Gaige returned to her full height quickly, not leaving Angel’s gaze.
“So… why have you been missing?”
“I wanted it to be a surprise…” Gaige lamented for a moment. Angel opened her mouth to speak, but the anarchist raised a hand, silencing her before a single word could pass her lips. “But I should have told you what I was doing, so I can do that now. Make things a little better, you know?”
“You didn’t do anything wrong, I was just worried for you.”
“And that was my fault.” Gaige reinforced, “But I hope you’ll like this.”
A bright grin grew upon Gaige’s face, the mechromancer once more crossing the room. Picking up the braces she had been designing, she carried the legs across the room for Angel, setting them down in front of the siren.
“You haven’t been able to walk ‘cuz of your legs. I wanted to make something to help you with that.” Gaige smiled. “They aren’t done yet, I need to finalise some stuff and finish the paint, but they should let you walk around, using your siren powers. Are they alright?” Angel said nothing, and instead reached out, and carefully picked up one of the limbs from the floor, studying the inner workings of the device carefully. Gaige often forgot that while Angel was not the prodigy she was, she was still incredibly knowledgeable with her tech. She had to be, thanks to her unique powers.
“You made these… for me?” Angel questioned, looking at Gaige disbelievingly. “You’ve got to want something for these! I can’t let you do stuff like that for nothing!”
“You can and you will.” Gaige sat down upon her bed, watching Angel with a warm smile. “They’re a gift. No strings attached, just for you… when they’re finished, of course.”
Angel traced the patterns painted upon the pearly plastic, coloured all in a bright cyan. She had found the angelic woman that Gaige had painted on mere hours before. Her fingers ran across the Halo, drawing lazy circles across the design. Gaige watched, not saying a single word, allowing the siren to simply say what she wanted, without pressure. Angel was stunningly beautiful, Gaige thought. She had changed how she styled herself since leaving the control core, dressing herself in simple skirts and t-shirts, and pulling her hair back into a loose ponytail. The more relaxed, comfortable Angel was something that Gaige was absolutely ecstatic to see every time she saw it. Angel was the person Handsome Jack had left more damaged than anyone, and seeing her genuinely enjoying her life was something Gaige adored every time she observed it.
“I want to do something to make this up to you.” Angel looked at Gaige, “Please, let me. You’ve done… so much good for me. You freed me from Jack, you cared for me, and now this? Please… let me do something for you. Even if it’s something small.”
“But it’s a gift…” Gaige spoke, gesturing to the limbs.
“And I am thankful for it. But I want to do something to make it up to you. Please.”
“Alright, I promise I’ll think of something.”
“Good,” A smirk appeared on Angel’s features, “Because I am not leaving until you tell me what it is.”
Angel already knew Gaige well enough to know that if she didn’t demand this, Gaige would have happily pretended to forget, and present the completed legs without a single request. That almost scared Gaige, if the mechromancer was being honest with herself. Angel had that good of a read on her that she already had figured that out? Then again, simply asking for something small wasn’t too hard, Gaige thought. Especially for a woman with the ability to manipulate any and all technology on the entire planet, seemingly.
Gaige had an idea. It was perhaps taking advantage of Angel, but she felt she had to ask the woman it, now she had the chance.
“You don’t have to say yes to this, but… When I’ve finished those legs, and you’ve got them on… want to test them out by going on a date with me?” Gaige could feel her cheeks reddening with every word she spoke, until the nineteen-year-old’s face was as fiery as her bright orange hair. Angel didn’t respond for a moment. Have I pissed her off? Gaige wondered, hoping that the Siren would forgive her for asking such a stupid question. Gaige pressed her hands against her face, not wanting to see Angel’s inevitable look of disappointment, or disgust, from asking such a brazen question.
Gaige felt a pair of gentle hands grip her own, gently guiding them away from her eyes. The anarchist glanced up, and saw Angel’s beautiful blue hues meeting her own. A moment passed, and neither woman did anything, before Angel pushed herself forward as far as she could, her lips meeting Gaige’s. The mechromancer gently pulled her hands free of Angel’s grip, wrapping her arms around the smaller Siren’s shoulders as she closed her eyes once more. The embrace was… magical! It was possibly the best feeling that the anarchist had ever experienced. She quickly found herself lost in the kiss, adoring every tiny moment of it.
When Angel pulled away, the only worry Gaige had was that she wouldn’t experience such a wonderful thing again.
“So… I assume that’s a yes, then…” Gaige’s face was awash in a fiery crimson blush, the likes of which never having graced her features before.
“Of course it fucking is.” Angel grinned widely.
“I may have a second request for you, actually, if you don’t mind?”
“Anything.” Angel immediately responded.
“Can we… do that again?”