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A rustle of footsteps alerted Nova of someone behind him. He continued to gaze at the night sky.
Long, metallic legs stretched out next to him. "Hope I'm not interrupting your stargazing."
Nova's own were bunched up to his chest, hands on his knees. "You're not."
He wasn't too surprised Neon had found him out on this grassy hill. It was some distance from the edge of Vinyl City and was the only place to get some peace and quiet. Nova had taken Neon here when he wanted to try out his new telescope.
They sat in silence, except for the occasional gentle squeak from Neon's joints. He stole a glance at his limbs. They had been repaired at this point, but he could see Neon was sporting old, spare legs.
"Have you given those things any oil yet?"
Neon sighed. "It doesn't help much in this model, I made some of the parts too big so nothing fits right. I'm surprised you noticed."
He shrugged. "I'm trying not to think about my life right now."
Nova hadn't meant to say that, it was too personal, yet it spilled out before he had the chance to stop it. He wasn't well-practiced in filtering his thoughts.
Neon looked him over—Nova could see the soft green glow in the corner of his vision—before scooting a bit closer. The air seemed to sit still between them.
"I'm sorry about your satellite." Neon said.
He tensed. Nova returned his gaze. "I'm sorry about the boys."
Neon flinched as well and turned to the sky. "They'll be fine, it's just their physical bodies. I've told you their minds are all on backup servers. I'm just sad they couldn't see the end of today, they would've enjoyed the action."
A small laugh escaped from Nova. Probably the most terrifying day of his life and 1010 would've been focused on getting to beat up some drones. "Of course, they'll be writhing with jealousy that they didn't get to help save the day."
Neon chuckled as well. "Maybe next time." He said quietly, leaning over so his head was resting on Nova's shoulder.
He held his breath for a moment before letting his legs back down. Neon didn't move. Nova looked down and saw the cyborg's mind was elsewhere. He relaxed and placed a hand around his shoulder. "Are you alright?"
"Eh. It's been a rough week. I'm still recovering," he pointed towards his monitor, "up here."
"I…see." Over the course of their odd little friendship Nova had become well aware of Neon J's trauma. He had never seen him have an episode, but he knew they happened. Days when he would be absent from meetings without prior notice. Tatiana never commented on it. "I'm not sure what to say. I hope you're back to normal soon."
"I'll get there, eventually." He always did. "I know you said you didn't want to think about it, but I have to say you're handling the crash better than I anticipated."
"Thank you. I'm impressed at your ability to hold back an 'I told you so'."
" Please. "
"I know you hated it."
"I didn't hate the satellite. I hated that you were neglecting your district for it."
It hurt, even though it was true. He'd heard it all before, but it still poked something vulnerable in him. It was one thing to be called big-headed or selfish, but another to be called neglectful. It was the difference between an opinion and an accusation.
"You know what the worst part is?"
"Hm?"
He stared at the brightest star in the sky and began to mutter. "The worst part is I don't think I felt any different."
Neon didn't reply.
He continued. "It was up for what, five days? I thought it would change things. I thought that if I accomplished this, I would feel solid enough to move on with my other projects…"
" …And you didn't?" Neon murmured.
"No. I felt nothing. I don't know if I can feel accomplishment anymore." He shuddered. "Space is so empty. When you're floating in the void separating lightyears of stars, it's just you. That's all there is."
"Sounds like your dream come true."
"That's what I thought, too. It turns out I don't—" He could barely get the words out. "I don't like myself that much."
Neon lifted his head towards him. He extended his arm around Nova's back and gave him a side hug. "Well, I like you."
Nova looked down at the man by his side, dumbfounded.
"...I like you too."
Big words. Not his usual kind with a bunch of letters and syllables either. A light breeze brushed between them.
He tilted his monitor a bit, gouging the corner of his monitor into Nova. "You know, it's going to take time to get better. Not one thing is going to fix what's going on in here." He poked Nova's chest this time. "Trust me, I know better than anyone."
Nova glanced at the robotic finger with uncertainty.
Neon sighed and dragged the digit up to clink him in the head. Nova sputtered at him. "Neon!"
"You should try getting your boots on the ground again. It's a good start to reestablishing yourself."
Nova rubbed at the spot on his head. "You mean district work?"
"Precisely. It can't hurt to cause some change you can actually see."
"Hm." He looked back towards the city. "I suppose I have a lot to catch up on."
"Plenty to keep you busy."
Neon began to unwrap himself from his grasp and stood. Nova shivered at the loss of contact. "Where are you going?"
"Back to the mansion." He did a quick stretch and dusted the grass off himself. "I have a long day of repairs tomorrow.
"Alright." He spoke again after a moment. "Let me walk you home."
"Walk me home?" Neon chuckled. "Did you forget I fought in an actual war, DJ? If you want to spend the night you can just ask."
Nova scoffed. "I was trying to be polite. You're the one who said anything about spending the night."
"Uh-huh. Seriously though, it's been pretty lonely without five hooligans running around. I appreciate the offer." Neon held a hand out to help him up. "Come on, soldier."
Nova took his hand and got up. Neon pretended not to notice him continue to hold it the whole walk back.