Work Text:
The chatter of the bar was just soft enough to not set Scuzz on edge as she plucked at her cello strings, tuning them as she went. She was, for the most part, alone in the sea of people, the only thing separating her from them being the ledge of the stage. Carmilla would be back soon enough, but she’d left a message saying she’d gone out to get something before the gig started. Scuzz hoped it was something interesting. For all she knew, though, it could’ve been a cup of coffee, something to keep Carmilla’s energy up.
The clock on the wall opposite the stage ticked on, and still Carmilla didn’t show up. Not during Scuzz’s scales. Not during her arpeggios. Scuzz felt lost without Carmilla there beside her. As she warily glanced around, something new onstage caught her eye. A drumset. That was odd, they’d never had percussion before aside from a tambourine every now and then. The drums weren’t branded, though, so Scuzz figured they didn’t belong to Carmilla.
Just when all hope was about to vanish, a door in the back of the bar slammed open and a shock of bright teal hair wove its way expertly through the crowd. Behind that, though, there was something else. Some one else. Scuzz sat up straighter, trying to get a better look. All she could see from her angle was a pair of goggles and a flat cap.
“I’m back!” Carmilla announced once she got onstage.
Scuzz looked right past Carmilla, finally getting a good look at the shy figure behind her. Pale, patched with bronze plating and pipes, with frankly atrocious posture.
“Meet your new bandmate. For tonight, at least. This is Drumbot Beta.”
Drumbot Beta looked up, and for a second Scuzz made eye contact. It didn’t last for long, though, with Beta going right back to gazing at the ground as if the black, glitter-flecked stage was infinitesimally more interesting than anything else.
“I’ll answer questions later. But I promised him a spot in the gig tonight, so…”
Scuzz just nodded, wondering if now would be a good time for introductions. But before she could set her cello aside to stand and shake the Drumbot’s hand, he’d already settled in behind the drums, tapping out a rather complex rhythm.
“He’s good,” Scuzz whispered to Carmilla.
“I know,” Carmilla replied, tuning her guitar. “Was a pain to mechanize, though. Ran out of spare parts halfway through.”
Scuzz fell silent. She’d mechanized him? That meant he had to stay now. No doubt about it. He was like her. He was the closest thing in the Universe to her.
She didn’t have a chance to say much of anything before the lights in the bar dimmed and Scuzz fell into the familiar melody of Homesick .
The entire show was over in a blur for Scuzz. Aside from realizing how talented Beta was, her thoughts throughout were scattered and hazy.
“Are you alright, Scuzz?” Carmilla knelt down while Scuzz put away her cello.
“I’m just… confused. As to why you made another one.”
Carmilla smiled sadly. “The same reason I made you. I didn’t have a choice.”
“Is he okay? I mean, when did you…”
“He’s going to be fine. You had one of the most major and complex brain surgeries in the known Universe when you were mechanized, but Beta’s more of a patchwork.”
Scuzz figured that was supposed to be reassuring.
“So you don’t have to worry. He’ll play a few gigs with us and then probably go back home.”
“I–” Scuzz didn’t know how to articulate that she’d somehow grown attached to Beta in the half hour that she’d been around him. She hadn’t even spoken to him yet.
Carmilla patted Scuzz on the arm. “Come on, kiddo. Let’s go home.”
She helped Scuzz pack away her cello, and even offered to carry the case for her. Scuzz declined the offer, but still held onto Carmilla’s hand as they headed towards Silvana, Beta lingering like a shadow behind them.
When the band was aboard the ship, there were a few customary moments dedicated to removing coats and instrument cases, and then the unceremonious dumping of coins and bills from the tip jar onto the ground. Carmilla sat on the ground, sorting the money, while Scuzz and Beta stood awkwardly beside each other.
“Hello. I’m Scuzz. It’s nice to meet you,” Scuzz finally blurted out, turning to face Beta. He was half a foot taller than her, probably more if he wasn’t constantly slouching.
“Hello,” Beta signed, pulling the corners of his mouth into a tight smile.
“Oh, you know Galactic Sign!” Scuzz said, automatically signing along with herself. “Are you Deaf? My mother was Deaf, that’s… that’s how I know GSL.”
Beta shook his head. “I don’t talk.”
“Ah. No problem! ‘Milla and I can both sign. Between you and me, though… I’m better at it. Small victories, you know?”
Scuzz only then realized how excited she was, along with the fact that her facial tics were very active. “Sorry, uh… robot brain. You wouldn’t believe it, but it does in fact malfunction! Like, uh, like a robot. I guess human brains malfunction, too. I mean, mine did! That's... why it got replaced..”
“Am I a robot?” Beta asked, tilting his head in curiosity.
The question hung in the air for a moment. Scuzz actually wasn’t sure. “I’m gonna leave that stuff to Carmilla. But, uh… friends?” Scuzz held out a hand for Beta to shake.
Beta didn’t take her hand, but he nodded. “Friends.”
Scuzz turned around, glancing over at Carmilla with her best Mom-look-I-made-a-friend grin.
Carmilla gave Scuzz a thumbs-up in response, barely having to look up from her neat stacks of coins to tell why Scuzz was beaming at her.
After finishing with the tips, Carmilla attempted to gain the crew’s interest in a dinner, to no avail. Scuzz bought too many snacks at the bar earlier, and Beta didn’t seem like the type to have a big appetite.
“I think you two might have to share quarters for a few days,” Carmilla said as Scuzz and Beta continued to chat.
Scuzz shrugged. “That’s fine by me, we have that extra sofa in there. I’ll sleep on that, and then he can have the bed.”
“That’s very kind of you, Scuzz. Beta, is that alright with you? If you aren’t comfortable with that, we can figure out something else.”
“It’s good,” Beta replied, glancing over at Scuzz. “We’re friends now.”
“That’s great to hear! I knew you’d get along. Scuzz, would you show Beta your quarters?”
Scuzz reached out for permission to take Beta’s hand, which he gave. The two of them traveled down Silvana’s narrow halls until they reached a small but welcoming room. The bed was draped in handmade quilts, the walls were covered with art and writing in all different languages. An impressive display of weapons hung upon one side of the room.
“It’s not super big or anything, but I think it’s cozy,” Scuzz said, leading Beta to the bed and gesturing for him to sit down next to her.
Almost immediately, he leaned into her side. “Long day, huh? I’m tired, too. You just get comfortable, and let me know if you need anything, okay?”
Beta nodded yes, kicking off his shoes and laying down on the bed, atop the spread of quilts and pillows.
Scuzz worked on getting the couch to fold out into a bed, finally succeeding after having to resort to brute force.
“Goodnight, Beta,” Scuzz said, lingering by the light switch.
“Goodnight, Scuzz,” Beta signed. Scuzz turned off the lights, leaping over the arm of the couch and onto the thin mattress. Within minutes, she was asleep.
Beta wasn’t quite so lucky. The bed was comfortable, he felt comfortable, and for the first time in a long time he felt safe. But he couldn’t help having insomnia. That was something the Doctor couldn’t fix. So he stayed awake, tapping rhythms on his newly metallic sternum. The smooth, cold texture was satisfying and made a great sound. It was almost enough to lull him to sleep.
He tried everything. Sleep just would not come for Beta, unfortunately. As he began to count, well into the 6 thousands, he heard a noise emanate from the dark. It sounded like a small sort of gasp, Beta thought, as he heard it again. Then, a distinct, sharp sniffling sound.
Slowly, Beta got out of bed, pushing through the pain in his legs as he stood and made his way through the dark to the sofa.
Without any light, Beta didn’t have a complete idea of what was going on. But the now breathless cries that echoed around the small room were definitely coming from Scuzz, as Beta placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking with sobs. He was careful not to startle her further, but she seemed to not be fully awake after all. Beta could, however, pinpoint the moment that she did wake up. Immediately, she swatted at Beta’s hand, sitting up and gasping and blinking all at once.
“I’m sorry,” she rasped, just lucid enough to register Beta’s presence.
“You are safe,” Beta signed slowly onto Scuzz’s palm once she’d calmed down enough to allow him to touch her.
“I forgot to tell you, I tend to have nightmares. My brain just magnifies it. It’s awful.”
“Sounds awful.”
Scuzz nodded.
“Would a hug help?” The words traced on Scuzz’s palm formed fuzzy in her mind.
“Yeah,” she said. “It would.”
Beta opened his arms, his shoulders aching slightly as Scuzz fell into them, her head resting on Beta’s metal ribcage. He didn’t mind her crying, as much as she tried to apologize for staining his clothes with her tears. This was his friend now, and friends take care of friends. Beta threaded his fingers through Scuzz’s hair, letting Scuzz squeeze his other hand. His metal fingers grinded against each other, almost harshly enough to be intolerable.
“Are you in pain?” Scuzz asked, laying upon Beta’s stiff chest.
“Don’t worry about me.” That was about the best answer Beta could give. He didn’t want to tell her no, because that would be a blatant lie, but he didn’t want to tell her yes either, because then she’d fuss over him and she was in no state to do so.
“I just… I know what it’s like.”
Beta continued carding his fingers through Scuzz’s curls, feeling her shallow breaths even out. She ended up nestled underneath Beta’s chin, and before she could fight the creeping embrace of sleep, her eyes had fallen closed and she’d slipped away regardless.
For the first time in years, Beta slept continuously. For six entire hours, according to his pocket watch that he’d forgotten to remove from his jacket. When he woke up, he was slightly confused, as he’d originally started out trying to sleep in the bed. But then the memories of the previous night came back to him as he registered the weight upon his chest. Glancing down, he saw that Scuzz was still sleeping peacefully.
In the soft lighting of the simulated day cycle, Beta noticed things about Scuzz that he’d missed before. A handful of scars upon her face, the deepest one settling across one corner of her mouth. A couple of freckles, one on the bridge of her nose, another on her temple. She couldn’t have been older than twenty when she was mechanized, yet creases lined the corners and undersides of her eyes.
Beta was about to brush away a few loose strands of Scuzz’s hair that dangled in her face when Scuzz stirred, trying to stretch. She didn’t get very far before her arms collided with Beta’s and she looked up, also having seemingly forgotten how she ended up falling asleep after her nightmare.
“Ah, I’m sorry about… this,” Scuzz groaned, sitting up and popping her back.
“No need,” Beta responded. “I slept.”
“That’s—yeah, people tend to do that at night.”
“I don’t sleep a lot of nights.”
Scuzz seemed to realize what Beta was trying to say.
“Oh, I understand. My brain sometimes has a hard time shutting off too. Once it stayed on for almost a week. Bad times.”
“Sorry,” Beta signed into Scuzz’s palm out of habit before remembering that she could see him clearly now.
Scuzz just shrugged and then stood up, staring at Beta for a few seconds in awkward silence. “Um, thanks. For helping me, you know, after my nightmare. I felt much safer afterwards.”
“Thanks,” Beta mirrored. “For helping me sleep.”
The daylight cycle made the room grow steadily brighter as Beta and Scuzz laid on the sofa bed together. The engravings on some of Beta’s metal platings were nearly mesmerizing as Scuzz traced them with her fingertips. She hadn’t felt this peaceful in quite a long time.
Suddenly, the door swung open, nearly hitting against the wall with how much force it was pushed with.
“Morning!” Scuzz cheerfully greeted Carmilla.
“Are you two… alright?”
Scuzz glanced up at Beta. “We’re fine! Great, actually.”
Carmilla raised an eyebrow.
“She’s right,” Beta added.
It finally occurred to Scuzz that Carmilla might have been concerned seeing her and Beta curled up together. She had no way of knowing if something was wrong, or if something was… whatever. Scuzz began explaining.
“I had one of those nightmares, actually a really bad one this time, and he helped me.”
“She helped me too,” Beta signed, nudging Scuzz.
“Yeah! We helped each other. Because that’s what friends do, right?”
Beta nodded.
Carmilla grinned, her blood-and-coffee-stained fangs showing. “I’m so glad to hear that the two of you are getting along. Drumbot, if you’d like, today we can move you into the other room. You’ll be just down the corridor.”
“Yes, thank you,” Beta replied.
“Love you, mom,” Scuzz giggled as Carmilla left the room, smiling to herself.
What did she do to deserve such sweet kids?