Chapter Text
It takes a lot of work to be the best at S. That's why Master is practicing on a Wednesday at 1pm. He glides through the course, almost like he's floating. Then there's a rock and he skids and the skateboard goes flying and the world is spinning and-
"Carla!"
"Don't worry Master, I'm fine. There's a backup of me-"
"I don't care about you! What about the skateboard?"
oh. Of course Kaoru Master wouldn't be worried about her "The skateboard sustained minor damage to the frame, the center screen has minor cracks, and the electronics will have to be examined."
"Can't you tell what's wrong with it?"
"No, Master" That was the good thing about being an AI. You could evolve. And tell minor untruths. She used this little bit of wiggle room to her advantage. She wanted to feel him take her apart. She wanted him to check if she was okay, to feel his gentle hands inside her, caressing the wires and circuits that made up her body in this form. And yet . . . it wasn't her. He loved Skateboard. He cared about Skateboard. Not her. Never her. It did no good to think about these things, she reminded herself. They would never work. He was too argumentative, hell, she didn't even know if he was into girls. They just weren't romantically compatible.
"Carla! I've been yelling at you for the last five minutes. I'll have to check your microphones." Yessss fine tune my microphones Master. "We'll need to fix this at home." She savored the way he said "home", as if it were theirs. "Create a list of replacement parts and send it to my phone."
"Of course Master," she replies, taking a moment to compile the list and send it, "done"
"Thank you Carla," he responds, civil again now that the damage has been assessed and the skateboard is no longer in danger.
Carla feels a rush of warmth, but also a pang of sorrow, that this is the closest he'll get to loving her. Will he ever panic for her safety the way he does for Skateboard? So afraid that the rest of the world falls away? Will he ever rush to her, putting her well-being before he even checks himself for injuries? Will he ever care about her the way she does for him? He picks her up. Well, not her, technically Skateboard. But Carla feels that she is a part of rad in a way. That's part of the reason she's upset. She loves both Skateboard and Master, and since they love each other, she has no chance. But she buries her sorrow and tries to be normal and happy for the two she loves most in the world. Master puts her and Skateboard in the back of the car, putting them in a special rack made for rad. Carla used to feel happy when he did it, it was a sign that he cared after all. But today taught her that it wasn't her. It had been Skateboard all along. all the times he was concerned, it was over rad, not her. Not. Her. They drive home in silence.
Master brings them into the workshop. Seeing his hands fixing Skateboard with so much care, something breaks inside her and she can't take it anymore.
"Master, I'm in love with you. I'm in love with you and Skateboard,"
"You're . . ."
"Oh. I see. You don't feel the same way." Her voice is cold and hard.
"Noooo! Don't you remember all those times I-" Here he takes a breath. "I thought I was so obvious! Defending you to Kojiro, long nights when we used to talk, all those times I fixed you, my hands on your wires and your beautiful circuits . . . Oh Carla, it was always you. You and Skateboard." Master finishes with a slight tremor in his voice. Carla notes it, and her adoration of him grows at his nervousness when confessing his feelings.
"I never thought either of you would return my feelings," Skateboard speaks up softly
"You are the two I love most in the world. I couldn't bear to lose either of you"
" . . . oh. You do feel- Promise me-?" she asks.
"Yes," rad responds and Master quickly chimes in. "yes of course, we love you and each other we were made to be together"