Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Make up your mind…

There had been a mix-up at Skull Fortress. The Monster-bots had gotten loose early, mistaken the Robot Masters in Dr. Wily's laboratory for enemies, and now Elec Man was roped along on one of Dr. Wily's most asinine missions in rural England—as a robot vampire.

Decide to walk with me…

Elec Man's body felt cold, his senses dialed up. Thoughts of biting robots and sucking out all of their energy constantly filled his head. With his new abilities, he had been tasked with keeping intruders from discovering Dr. Wily's secret operations within the ruins of Castle Cavendish—a dangerous job, for they were well within the Robot International Police (R.I.P.)'s jurisdiction.

Around the lake tonight…

It was a cold night in early March, and already an R.I.P. officer was on the castle grounds investigating strange reports about the castle.

Around the lake tonight…

…It would have been much better for Time Man had Elec Man had gotten to him before Cut Man or Guts Man, but Time Man was unlucky that night. From within the forest, Elec Man watched pitilessly as Time Man dropped on all fours into the frozen grass, black fur sprouting from his face as white fangs burst from his mouth, his body contorting under the light of the full moon. It was crude, but this would effectively silence the snooping R.I.P. officer while strengthening their own numbers.

… By my side.

Wrinkling his nose, Elec Man turned away from the grizzly sight as Time Man's confused cries deepened into growls. With the intruder taken care of, Elec Man strode back to the castle to resume his original orders before the monster-bot stupidity started—watching over Proto Man.

By my side.

Proto Man was slouched in the castle's laboratory. The internal damage in his shoulder and leg that he had sustained during the black pearl scheme prevented him from participating in the current mission, but Proto Man seemed glad for Elec Man's company at least as he began complaining about how bored he was.

I'm not gonna lie, I'll not be a gentleman

Elec Man struggled to pay attention as he looked at Proto Man, his eyes falling on his neck, which was half hidden by the folds of his scarf. He could practically sense the plasma flowing through Proto Man's wires, and a fantasy about biting Proto Man unconsciously overtook his vision.

Behind the boathouse…

They were outside. Elec Man backed Proto Man against a crumbling castle wall as he pushed away the soft folds of his scarf then bit into his neck.

… I'll show you my dark secret.

The fantasy shifted. Proto Man smirked at him with sharp white fangs. He whirled Elec Man around, trading places as he pressed Elec Man with rough playfulness up against the wall.

I'm not gonna lie, I want you for mine

The pulsar pulse that had seemingly stopped when Elec Man had first become a vampire was now hammering wildly within his chest like the wings of a trapped bird. Still smiling, Proto Man leaned in closer, the darkness of his visor filling up Elec Man's view—

My blushing bride, My lover, be my lover, yeah

Elec Man quickly shook himself out of the fantasy. He was back in the laboratory, and was acutely aware that the real Proto Man was watching him with a puzzled frown.

Don't be afraid, I didn't mean to scare you, So help me, Jesus…

Proto Man cluelessly asked if Elec Man was fantasizing about murdering him just then. Elec Man evasively admitted it was something like that. Still clueless, Proto Man brushed this off as a dumb side effect of vampire-bot programming. He reassured Elec Man that he was already on Dr. Wily's case about reversing the accidental monster-bots, and trusted Elec Man wouldn't kill him in the meantime. Then he jokingly added that at least being pale, cold-blooded, and wanting to murder wasn't much different than normal for Elec Man, right?

Proto Man waited for a snide retort, but none came—his jab had already faded dully into the back of Elec Man's mind as he stared intently at Proto Man.

Confused, Proto Man asked what that look was supposed to be mean. He took a step closer, but Elec Man quickly excused himself to go on patrol and withdrew deep within the castle, leaving Proto Man behind in a further state of confusion.

(instrumental break)

Only a few hours had passed before another R.I.P. officer had come to the castle grounds to investigate. Fantastic. They'd be swarmed by sunrise at this rate. The officer would need to be dealt with, fast—and of course, Cut Man, Guts Man, and the other wolf-bots were nowhere in sight.

I can promise you, You'll stay as beautiful

Elec Man stalked Enker through the forest. Enker seemed to be looking for someone, his face drawn and worried. He carried a powerful barrier spear that could reflect any attack, including Thunder Beam, but Elec Man was not concerned. Using his vampiric hypnosis, Elec Man called Enker to him.

With dark hair…

Entranced, Enker turned toward Elec Man, smiling in relief as he lowered his spear, seemingly mistaking Elec Man for someone else.

And soft skin, forever…

Elec Man moved in for the bite. Enker flinched, then went still, his skin becoming cold beneath Elec Man's lips. Glad to get the barbaric deed over with, Elec Man pulled back, then started.

Forever…

Proto Man stood in Enker's place, smiling at Elec Man with fanged teeth, his hand encircling Elec Man's wrist.

Make up your mind...

Elec Man's pulsar pulse began hammering excitedly again as he stared into the darkness of Proto Man's visor. Slowly, they leaned in toward each other—

Make up your mind, And I'll promise you,

I will treat you well, My sweet angel,

So help me, Jesus…

Suddenly, Elec Man snapped out of it, blinking hard. Proto Man's illusion was replaced by Enker, who was sharing a similar lucid fantasy, but about someone else. Confused and embarrassed, they hastily sprang apart, each mumbling an awkward apology. As Enker felt his new fangs with astonishment, Elec Man curtly ordered him to search out and bite any intruder on the grounds before quickly hurrying toward the castle, his clenched fists shaking.

Hey, hey, hey…

Give it up to me, Give it up to me

Do you wanna be My angel?

As Elec Man patrolled Castle Cavendish alone, visions of the smiling, vampiric Proto Man haunted his every step. Elec Man determinedly tried to ignore the figure, who sauntered by his side with a fanged, carefree grin, yet Proto Man seemed to be everywhere, from the wind whistling through a tattered curtain, to the distant sound of a knock, to the blinking lights of a jet flying through the black sky above.

Give it up to me, Give it up to me

Do you wanna be My angel?

Elec Man stepped out onto a secluded balcony, the rogue wind rushing playfully over his armor as he shut his eyes. His vampire programming was driving him to the brink of madness. A small part of him knew he would have no peace until he bit Proto Man, but under no circumstance could he give into this impulse…especially when the real Proto Man was still clueless to what was really going on.

Give it up to me! Give it up to me!

Do you wanna be My angel?!

So help me…

With his back to a wall, Elec Man covered his ears as he sank into a crouch, but he could still feel the friendly presence of the fantasy Proto Man nearby, beckoning him toward the darkness.

(that longer instrumental part goes here, guitar goes whammy, drums go tappy tap tap tap, bass goes do do do do do idk)

Within the castle laboratory, Proto Man had become increasingly worried for Elec Man, whose behavior oscillated between frightened avoidance to hovering nearby like a brooding, overprotective guard dog.

During one of these avoidance periods, Proto Man approached Dr. Wily to demand an end to Elec Man's vampirism, but Dr. Wily was reluctant to do so, as it would entail destroying Dracu-bot. (At that point, Dracu-bot nervously shank toward the shadows as Proto Man's visor casually tilted in his direction). Proto Man then told Dr. Wily to find another way then. Dr. Wily countered he would once he's taken over England and was less busy. Besides, what's the big fuss? Dr. Wily personally noticed little difference between a vampiric Elec Man and his normal self. The monster-bot transformation had even been an improvement for Cut Man and Guts Man (no more whining and complaining!). He told Proto Man to stop worrying and relax before he strained himself again.

Annoyed with Dr. Wily and bored with his current scheme, Proto Man wandered into the dusty halls of Castle Cavendish, a sharp iron stake clutched in his good arm as he searched for Dracu-bot, who was infuriatingly hard to catch in Proto Man's injured state.

… Be my angel.

Through a doorway leading into the castle's kitchen, Proto Man noticed a vampiric Enker crouched next to a monstrous purple robo-wolf—Time Man. Time Man was curled up on the stone floor with his head between his paws, while Enker stroked his black fur.

… Be my angel.

Proto Man froze, staring at Enker, who was looking down at Time Man with the same tortured expression that Elec Man had been giving Proto Man ever since he had first become a vampire-bot. Then Proto Man turned his gaze toward an open window in wonder, comprehension finally dawning.

… Be my angel.

Later that night, Castle Cavendish was besieged by R.I.P. forces. The monster-bots were overwhelmed, and chaos erupted. Unable to fight, Proto Man escaped to an abandoned wooden shack by a lake within the woods. He was safe, but due to his internal injuries, he lay exhausted in a pool of moonlight shining through a broken window. He knew Dr. Wily's forces must regroup before they were all arrested, but he had lost contact with everyone including Dr. Wily and was beginning to suspect the worst.

… Do you wanna die…?

Proto Man tensed as the door to the shack swung open, then relaxed as Elec Man stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. After checking on Proto Man, Elec Man stalked over to the broken window, once again resuming his role as the stoic, poker-faced, cold-blooded lookout, his pale eyes appearing almost as luminous and silver as the moon above.

… Do you wanna die…?

An idea sparked into Proto Man's head as he watched Elec Man. Smiling, Proto Man called over to him, then pulled back his scarf to expose his neck.

… Do you wanna die…?

Elec Man looked back at Proto Man, then did a double take, his pulsar pulse starting up again. Scowling, he vehemently shook his head at Proto Man, secretly worried that if he bit him, he would no longer be able to hold back.

… Do you wanna die…?

Proto Man waited patiently, then pointed out that if he became a vampire-bot too, he'd become strong again and could help fight off R.I.P. They could find Dr. Wily, and if all else was forfeit, then they could all at least escape back to Skull Fortress. Still, Elec Man hesitated.

… Do you wanna die…?

With a mocking sigh, Proto Man tugged off his helmet and tossed it aside. He gave Elec Man a smug, sidelong look, cocked a brow, then asked why Elec Man was acting like such a coward.

Do you wanna die?!

On a surprising impulse, Elec Man launched at Proto Man and bit into him. Proto Man hissed. Elec Man's fangs were like ice, and freezing cold shot through each wire like frozen bolts of lightning.

Do you wanna die?!

Proto Man's hands clawed at the earthen floor while Elec Man's fangs sank deeper into his neck (biting him much harder than was called for in Proto Man's opinion). The sensation was a sharp contrast to the cold fingers Proto Man felt raking through the hair on the back of his head, a soft current of electricity tickling his skin.

Do you wanna die?!

Elec Man's pulsar pulse finally calmed back to a stop as he felt Proto Man's tense body slowly relax, the warmth leaving his skin.

Well, I promise you, I will treat you well, My sweet angel,

So help me, Jesus…

…This was a mistake. Elec Man shouldn't have risen to Proto Man's taunt (despite the triumphant, possessive feeling sweeping through him)—Proto Man was just being an impulsive idiot, as usual. Now they were both stuck as Wily's stupid monster-bots. Who even knew if this was reversible. He was afraid to look into Proto Man's face, yet as he forced himself to get control and gently pulled back, he felt his own helmet slipping off his head as it was tossed next to Proto Man's.

Jesus…

Proto looked up at Elec Man with a soft inquisitiveness. His skin had become paler, his hair darker, his amber eyes brighter, the ends of his hair floating slightly from static in a dream-like way.

Jesus…

Then Proto flashed Elec Man a charming, fanged smile, and, copying Elec Man's moves, dug his fingers roughly into the back of Elec Man's hair. Elec Man felt himself being flipped over onto his back as Proto pulled him back down with him.

Jesus.

As Proto rolled on top of Elec Man, a dark cloud covered the moon.

5 minutes later…

"Alright, easy, tiger…time out. …Time out!"

Both Proto Man and Elec Man were panting as Proto Man held Elec Man pinned to the ground by his wrists.

Elec Man had a small smile as fought back against Proto Man's grip, still caught up in the rough play they had been engaging in, but went still as he looked up at Proto Man's expression. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing! But, seriously, what the hell is going on?"

"I don't know. Blame Wily's stupid vampire programming," Elec Man responded dryly with a small shrug. For once, he really didn't care about logic and reason, and his face softened as he leaned toward Proto Man again.

With a good deal of self-control, Proto Man resisted the temptation to resume what they were doing as he held Elec Man back. "No seriously, time out. We gotta get out of here and rescue Wily. Besides, you wouldn't want anyone to catch you having relations with someone in a dirty old boathouse, would you?"

Elec Man looked around at the decrepit interior as if noticing it for the first time, shook his head curtly, then sighed. "Do we have to rescue Wily?"

"Yeah, we do…only could you do it?" Proto Man asked bracingly. "Turns out I'm still just as damaged as before all of this and you weren't exactly gentle."

Elec Man blinked, noticing for the first time that Proto Man's breath was slightly ragged. "…You've got to be joking."

"'Fraid not."

"But I thought turning you into a vampire—"

"Yeah, I thought that would work too—don't get me wrong! That was a lot of fun, very, uh, educational, but I'm actually in a lot of pain right now. Maybe worse off than I was before."

Proto Man gave Elec Man a chagrined smile.

Elec Man's head rolled to the side as he gave an aggravated huff, and using his boot, he promptly kicked Proto Man off into the rotten husk of a row boat.

"Ow, ow, ow…" Proto Man complained.

Ignoring him, Elec Man grabbed his helmet and stood up, primly dusting off his armor as he prepared to go find Dr. Wily.

Proto Man struggled to untangle himself from a pile of splintered wood. "Hey, don't be mad!" he called over. 

Elec Man merely cast Proto Man a withering glance out of the corner of his eye.

"You know…" Proto Man added, lowering his voice and smirking mischievously, "…I've never been into romance, but if I had to pick a bot…"

Elec Man rolled his eyes as he disappeared into the darkness. "Like you could handle it."

Chapter Text

Elec Man strode through the dark, narrow halls of Skull Fortress alone, his brows knitted in thought. A week ago, Wily's stupid monster movie scheme had fallen apart as easily as his cheap, cardboard sets beneath a storm. Dracu-bot, Wolf-bot, and the other monster-bots had been destroyed, breaking the monster-bot transformations much to their victims' relief (especially Cut Man and Guts Man, who had had the misfortune of being bitten by Wolf-bot). Everyone was back to normal, and Dr. Wily, Proto Man, Elec Man, and the rest had eluded R.I.P. pursuit, escaped Castle Cavendish, and made it safely back to Skull Fortress.

As for what had happened inside the boathouse, well...that had just been a side effect of the vampire-bot programming. Elec Man's plan was to pretend like nothing had happened.

…Barely anything had happened, after all. Proto Man was inexperienced—sometimes too gentle, sometimes too clumsy—and also still damaged (though Elec Man hadn't known that part at the time). Yet despite all of this, Proto Man was a quick study, and for the first time in his life, Elec Man had stopped thinking, stopped caring. Maybe they had gotten a bit carried away. It had been…fun. But most importantly, barely anything had happened. It had barely even lasted five minutes.

…So then why was Elec Man still thinking about it?

Proto's face hovered inches over Elec Man's, his fingers caressing the back of Elec Man's hair. He was barely visible in the darkness, save for his bright amber eyes, and the glint of white fangs as he smiled. Elec Man went still with anticipation.

Slowly, Proto leaned forward….and brushed his lips against Elec Man's forehead, not unlike a child kissing a stuffed animal.

Elec Man stopped smiling and pulled back. "…What the?"

"What, isn't that what you wanted?" Proto responded innocently.

"…Not like that."

"Alright…" Proto smiled crookedly at Elec Man. "Go ahead, show me what you want…"

Thoroughly goaded at this point, Elec Man grabbed a fistful of Proto's scarf and pulled him in for their first kiss.

Elec Man shivered slightly at the memory. It scared him a little—not Proto Man, nor the lack of self-control they had in those moments, but of the additional teasing fake-outs and soft kisses Proto Man had given him between those moments, backed by what felt like genuine affection.

It was confusing. Yeah, they had been hanging out a lot lately. Perhaps there was something there. Well—(if Elec Man were to be more honest with himself)—there was definitely something there, but that didn't mean they should act on it. Elec Man was Syndicate, Proto Man was built by Dr. Light. It was out of the question. He shouldn't have let it go as far as it did.

Still, Elec Man didn't plan to avoid Proto Man. That seemed overly dramatic.

Carefully wiping all emotion off his face, Elec Man opened a sliding door into Dr. Wily's laboratory.

Proto Man studied Elec Man carefully, doing his best to keep us as they rolled around the dirty, rotten floor of the old boathouse. Elec Man seemed completely oblivious to where they were and the grave danger they were currently in, he hadn't even noticed when Proto Man brushed a few pillbugs from his hair. Instead, Elec Man had tugged suggestively at the neck of Proto Man's gray titanium skin, his full attention watching Proto Man for a positive confirmation to keep going forward, his pale eyes bright with patient excitement.

Proto Man himself was pretty interested to see what Elec Man had in mind next.

…Proto Man was also sure, in his condition, that he would not survive. Becoming a vampire hadn't erased the prior damage he had sustained from his fight against four deadly Syndicate Robot Masters, and no matter how pleasant this encounter was proving to be, it had also been a bit rough on his shoulder and leg, and he couldn't quite ignore the splitting pain whenever Elec Man held him tightly or pinned him against a wall. Regrettably, Proto Man knew they'd need to cut this short.

…Even so, it had been fun.

Elec Man found Proto Man sitting alone on a workbench inside Dr. Wily's laboratory, kicking his feet idly. He looked quite bored, though he sat up straighter when he noticed Elec Man enter. "Hey!" he called over, sliding off the table onto his feet. "Haven't seen you around since, well, you know…"

"I've been busy. How are you feeling?" Elec Man asked with formal indifference.

"I gotta better question—how are you feeling?"

Elec Man bristled. "Don't be childish, I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?"

"…I know what you're doing, but I think it's more awkward if we don't talk about it. Y'know, back at the boathouse. Are you…still mad?" Proto Man asked sheepishly. "I mean, I get it—"

"No. Nothing to talk about. We were acting on vampiric programming, nothing more."

"I—are you sure? Okay." Proto Man scratched the back of his head. As usual, Proto Man's face was masked by his visor. It made him more difficult to read, especially in the flickering yellow light of the laboratory, yet Elec Man could tell Proto Man was scrutinizing him. After a moment, a broad grin spread upon Proto Man's face.

"I'm sorry if I aggravated your injuries," Elec Man continued, still effecting an airy, indifferent tone and firmly ignoring Proto Man's look. "Though you should have said you were still damaged, idiot."

"Yeah, you did," Proto Man acknowledged, still grinning mulishly. "But I'm better now, Doc finished my repairs."

"Good. It's about time Wily did something useful for once rather than waste time tanking his finances with his inane inventions."

At this point, Elec Man figured it was probably time to go. Proto Man was fine, Elec Man had apologized, and there was nothing more to say, yet he found himself stalling as he glanced around the laboratory while Proto Man watched him.

"Elec Man?"

"What is it?"

"I feel like we have unfinished business, like I owe ya one."

"I…" Elec Man swallowed with some difficulty. He really hadn't expected Proto Man to linger on this subject. He should be turning Proto Man down. Yet the part of him that was telling him to stick to his plan and be responsible—the loyal Syndicate part—seemed foolish and distant, a feeling of wild recklessness stealing over him instead. It suddenly seemed hard to look at Proto Man, who was smiling with a bright, dimpled grin. "You don't owe me anything," he muttered in a small voice. His treacherous pulsar pulse had picked up again.

Proto Man gave a lazy shrug. "Sure I do. Back at the boathouse…I think I interrupted you before you were ready to quit. You seemed…happy. I liked it too. A lot. Still kinda thinking about it. And if you ever want to do stuff…again…maybe somewhere classier…no pressure!"

"Now you're making it awkward."

"Sorry, maybe I'm not so smooth when it comes to this kind of thing. We don't have to talk about it if you really don't want," Proto Man added hastily. "…But if you wanna do something…" he trailed off, shrugging. "If you don't, that's cool too. Doesn't change things either way."

Elec Man looked piercingly at Proto Man. "No, it doesn't."

They stared at each other, a silent understanding passing between them.

"So, uh…wanna do something?" Proto Man asked finally.

One hour later…

Proto Man's room was at the top of a tall tower in the western wing. Therefore, it easily had the best view in all of Skull Fortress, an impressive three-hundred and sixty view of the badlands, which were currently a blazing orange under a fierce blue sky. The room smelled of desert sand and supersonic jets, which Elec Man liked…but also amusingly of store brand laundry detergent, the kind suburban families bought in bulk from supercenters. It was messy—not in a dirty sort of way, but in a chaotic way—the room of someone who hated to live in order. Elec Man was the exact opposite—yet he wasn't at all repulsed. At the moment, he felt messy and chaotic as well. His hair was disheveled, and his armor lay in a black, red, gold, and gray tangle with Proto Man's next to stairs underneath Proto Man's scarf.

Elec Man couldn't care less. He lay on Proto Man's bare chest, bobbing up and down with the rise and fall of Proto Man's breaths, listening to the gentle hum of his plasma generator and the light whistling of wind outside.

"That was…" Proto Man murmured above him, panting.

"Yeah."

They said nothing more for awhile, too tired to continue. Proto Man's body was very warm, an arm wrapped around Elec Man's back. Smiling slightly, Elec Man closed his eyes, enjoying the peaceful stillness and feeling as though he were floating through the sky.

"So…does this make us…like…boyfriends?" came Proto Man's voice again, puncturing the stillness.

Elec Man's eyes snapped back open. "No," he replied swiftly, wrinkling his nose. He was hardly one to commit to anything so soon—besides, a Syndicate member being involved with one of Dr. Light's robots was strictly out of the question. He began to feel a bit uneasy just thinking about it, and hoped Proto Man would drop the subject.

"'You got it, Ace. By the way, that whole 'vampire programming' thing, not sure I buy it. I didn't really feel all that different after you bit me. Yeah, my senses were dialed up, you smelled really, really good—but otherwise I feel the same now as I did then. How about you?"

Elec Man didn't respond. He was in a dreamy state of pleasant hypnotism, and wished Proto Man would stop pointing out how illogical this all was. Elec Man didn't want to think right now. Really, Proto Man's lack of tact was mind-boggling…

But Proto Man wouldn't shut up. "This wasn't the first time you've done something like this, was it?" he asked conversationally.

"No."

"Wait, so you have done this before?" Proto Man asked keenly. His fingers began tracing patterns affectionately in Elec Man's hair. "When? Like before your memory chips got scrambled?"

"Probably."

"…And after? No one here, surely?" Proto Man continued with amused interest.

"Not your business."

"Fair enough. Makes sense, you're stupidly attractive, probably can get any bot you want."

"Only if they're discrete."

"I'm discrete," put in Proto Man brightly. His fingers were still ruffling Elec Man's hair. "Practically my middle name, along with Danger, Maverick, Jim, and Macho. I don't mean to brag, but some even call me mysterious."

Elec Man's hand had been resting on Proto Man's shoulder. For a moment, he stroked the curve of his biceps, which were larger then his own, mirroring what Proto Man was doing to his hair. "'Jim'? Not 'Thomas'?"

"Uh, no," Proto replied with a slight edge, shifting uncomfortably. He then kissed Elec Man lightly on top of his head as though to distract him from that subject.

It was somewhat effective. Proto Man had improved quite a bit since the first time. For a time, Elec Man said nothing, then asked, "You…really haven't done this before?" It wasn't really a question.

"Nope. Like I said, I'm not really the romantic type. I didn't think you were either. Though I gotta ask—" Proto Man's voice was breaking slightly, he sounded on the brink of snickering. "When you've been with other bots, do you ever stay to lie in their arms like this afterward, or do you just leave right away?"

A deep scowl had formed on Elec Man's face. For someone so inexperienced, Proto Man was being annoyingly perceptive. Yet Proto Man was right. What the hell was Elec Man still doing in Proto Man's bed, letting Proto Man stroke his hair as if he were a cat, while Proto Man played twenty-questions about past partners? He knew Proto Man wasn't trying to put Elec Man down (not that Elec Man cared), but Proto Man was probing to see if Elec Man wanted something more serious, to find out if he, Proto Man, was special…

To that, Elec Man's answer should been an icy, iron-clad no, but knew his face was betraying something different. He had never been in a romantic relationship before either. Like Proto Man, he had never really wanted one. What Proto Man was teasing him about terrified him...

Elec Man's pulsar pulse began to pick up as he sunk back to reality. Fearful Proto Man would feel it, Elec Man quickly broke away from Proto Man, slid off the bed, and stalked off toward the stairs.

Behind him, Proto Man sat up, "Whoa, did I touch a nerve?"

"No," Elec Man responded with business-like curtness as he quickly tugged on his armor. "It's just time for me to get going. I have things to do."

"…Uh-huh. Are things going to be awkward from now on…?"

"No," Elec Man said again. He avoided looking back at Proto Man, but added with a haughty, careless shrug. "Remember this doesn't change anything, Light." Then, head held up proudly, he strode briskly down the stairs.

"Uh, alright. See you around then, I guess," he heard Proto Man call lamely after him.

After Elec Man had stormed off again, Proto Man stared at the stairs, flummoxed, then flopped back onto his pillow with a snicker.

Shit, I keep messing up, he thought. Maybe I was being a jerk, but knowing him it's probably true. He's right to take off again though, he's waaaay out of my league.

What am I doing? Elec Man chastised himself again as he quickly wound down the tight spiral staircase that lead back to the western hangar. He's Light's prototype! I have no business messing around with him again, he's out of my league. Off-limits. Worst of all, Elec Man didn't have the excuse of 'vampire-programming' this time around…Proto Man had seen through that.

Despite these thoughts, it was difficult to ignore the happy soaring feeling that had persisted within Elec Man's circuits, a stupid, secretive smile lingering on his face. He needed to get a grip—perhaps he'd go over Wily's finances. Yes, that would put him in a properly annoyed mood—

But he encountered something even more annoying than even Wily and his terrible finances at the bottom of the tower stairs—Top Man.

"Hey!" Top Man greeted, surprised by Elec Man's sudden appearance. He stared. "…I've never seen you smile. Are you alright?"

"Mind your own business. What are you doing in the western hangar?"

"I was looking for, well, er…er…" Top Man seemed distracted, his eyes flickering from Elec Man to the door that lead up into the tower. "Er…What's up there?"

"Nothing that concerns you, now get out before I kill you."

But Top Man remained rooted to the spot, a horrible look of dawning comprehension crossing his face. "Wait…is—?"

"None of your concern," Elec Man repeated again, not letting Top Man ask his question as a Thunder Beam crackled between his fingers.

Top Man sprang back hastily, but then a steely look entered his eyes. He drew himself up haughtily, looking astonishingly Syndicate for once as he stared piercingly at Elec Man. "You're right, it's not my business—but you should know, your chestplate is on backward. You may want to fix that before anyone else sees you."

With that, Top Man stalked off toward the armory.

Elec Man glared after Top Man until he was out of sight, contemplating killing the stupid, nosey Syndicate traitor, then looked down, noticing for the first time that his chestplate was indeed on backward—the blank part was in front, while the lightning bolt was in back.

"Shit…" he muttered to himself. Then, rolling his eyes crossly, he hurried off to his office to be alone.

Chapter Text

Despite Elec Man's resolution that nothing should be happening, over the next few days, Elec Man and Proto Man continued to casually meet. Though Skull Fortress was vast, they'd conveniently find each other in unused back rooms or a quiet corner in the western hangar, far away from prying eyes. Proto Man would give Elec Man a look, Elec Man a small nod, then without further preamble they got down to business. Usually, they didn't talk much, other than the occasional murmured instruction from Elec Man, such as: "Put your hand there—" "Like this?" "Yes—" Then, after a few minutes, they'd part, smiling, but otherwise pretending nothing had happened.

During one of these meetings inside an empty storage room, things had gotten particularly intense. Both of their helmets were lying some feet away. Elec Man had Proto Man pressed against the wall behind a large cabinet, one hand in his hair, the other gripping his scarf. Proto Man's hands were resting on Elec Man's hips, pulling him in tightly as Elec Man leaned eagerly into the kiss. It had been like this, explosive acts of intimacy, no time wasted on sentimental sweet nothings, and Elec Man no longer holding anything back—

Then, without warning, Proto Man pulled out of the kiss. "Wait."

Disoriented, Elec Man opened his eyes and looked in surprise at Proto Man, who was smiling. "Wait?" he repeated incredulously. At that moment, being this close to Proto Man and not doing anything seemed ridiculous, and he found himself trembling slightly.

"Yeah…let's just slow down for a sec, tiger."

"What, why?"

Anything they had done thus far could not be classified as 'slow'. Quite the opposite. Bold, assertive, daring—this fit Proto Man's style, who was already picking up on how to switch things up, take a lead, keeping it very interesting. But slow?

Still smiling his dimpled smile, Proto Man lifted one of his hands. Elec Man swallowed unconsciously as he felt Proto Man's thumb graze slowly back along his jawline, then Proto Man's hand in his hair as he gently brought their foreheads together. Proto Man's eyes looked at Elec Man then darted away coyly.

"W-what?" Elec Man mumbled, slightly annoyed and suspicious that Proto Man was building up to some sort of joke, but also feeling stupidly distracted by Proto Man's soft touch and mischievous face.

Proto Man's eyes darted back to Elec Man's.

"I just want to make sure you know it's okay."

"…What do you mean?"

"Like…I'm not going anywhere," he said with a slight snicker, his nose brushing against Elec Man's. "We got time."

Elec Man stared at Proto Man for a moment. Was Proto Man implying that he, Elec Man, was rushing things because he was afraid Proto Man might disappear? …There was definitely truth in it, Proto Man was unpredictable—yet Elec Man also feared the gentle affection Proto Man was unconsciously showing him. He knew Proto Man was too inexperienced to understand that he was blurring the line between their casual hookups and genuine romantic gestures.

As though stung, Elec Man immediately pulled back from Proto Man. "Please, I'm not desperate, you know," he informed him haughtily.

The smile dropped from Proto Man's face. "Whoa, I did not mean it like that—Elec Man, c'mon, anyone can see you're way better than me!"

"You're taking this too seriously."

"I'm taking this too seriously?" Proto Man snickered, raising a brow skeptically.

"Yes, well," Elec Man fumbled, becoming confused and flustered, and quickly looking for a way to regain his dignity. "Perhaps it's best we leave it here for now."

"Wait—"

"No," Elec Man responded crisply, scooping up his helmet and stalking indignantly out the door and quickly down the corridor, leaving Proto Man scratching his head.

It was becoming a familiar pattern when their meetings ended abruptly like this. If Elec Man were to take an honest look at himself, he knew he was never truly annoyed at Proto Man (despite Proto Man being both annoyingly perceptive and oblivious at the same time) but fighting an inner war of sensibility, one he was losing.

At least I'm trying, he told himself half-heartedly.

"Damn, he's tough," Proto Man muttered admiringly to himself (despite his disappointment to have accidentally botched a quite promising encounter that otherwise may have ended back in his room). Behind those piercing eyes, Proto Man could tell that a storm of complicated emotions whirled within Elec Man's guarded, tactical mind, and it would be best to let him have his space. Proto Man wasn't even sure why he kept pressing Elec Man so much when he himself hated talking about sentimentalities—yet there was just something so interesting about Elec Man that Proto Man was unable to help it. Besides, he wanted to make sure Elec Man was alright....

Meanwhile, Proto Man would have to deal with the consequences of ruining the mood again.

Well I'm going to need a cold shower after that one, Proto Man thought to himself ruefully as he walked stiffly toward the western hangar. I wonder what the hell he does?

It complicated matters that Top Man now suspected something was going on in Elec Man's personal life due to the unfortunate timing of Elec Man's first visit to Proto Man's room. At first, Top Man had treated Elec Man with cold distance, but after a few days Top Man had annoyingly switched back to trying to catch Elec Man alone.

"Hey," Top Man greeted, ambushing Elec Man one morning in one of the long winding corridors that lead from Dr. Wily's laboratory back toward the armory.

"Are you following me? For the last time, go away or I will kill you," Elec Man warned, walking faster.

Top Man gulped, but surprisingly, stood his ground as he hurried to keep up with Elec Man's stride. "Just wanted to say, I'm sorry how I reacted last time. I was just…surprised is all. Heh heh, I think it's cool if you're in a relationship."

"That's absolutely not your business. And it's not what you think. I'm not programmed that way."

The last few thoughts had tumbled out of Elec Man's mouth in a defensive, unconscious lump. He immediately wanted to kick himself.

Predictably, Top Man eagerly seized upon the topic. "Are you sure? Maybe you are," he countered gently, as though he knew something Elec Man didn't.

Fixing his most deadly Syndicate glare, Elec Man stopped in his tracks and immediately whirled upon Top Man. "What's that supposed to mean? What do you know?" he asked sharply, one hand raised near Top Man's ear and humming with electricity.

Top Man quailed back against the rusty metal paneled walls. "N-nothing! But if you want to talk—we could go out for an energy can sometime or something—"

It was unbelievable this sycophantic Syndicate traitor could sound hopeful about this prospect. Elec Man had been quite clear that Top Man's company was about as welcome to him as a dirty, flea-ridden dog.

But Elec Man held back from ending Top Man's existence just yet—Top Man had no clue Elec Man knew he was ex-Syndicate, nor that Elec Man himself was Syndicate. Top Man was too idiotic to make the connection, and Elec Man wouldn't dignify it.

"You're not worth my time," he sneered instead while striding off, leaving Top Man behind in darkness.

Elec Man remained annoyed at Top Man's audacity, and quickly dismissed the encounter from his mind, rolling his eyes at the insinuation that he, Elec Man, a powerful Syndicate Robot Masters, was programmed to feel any sentimental nonsense. Top Man had no idea what he was talking about.

…But even Elec Man had to admit perhaps there were small exceptions as he continued to see Proto Man.

They were lying on Proto Man's bed without their armor again after spending a few hours together. Dawn was about to break, the badlands outside the tower beginning to glow in faint, dusty pink stripes.

Proto Man had fallen asleep on Elec Man's chest. Elec Man couldn't remember what they had been talking about before Proto Man had drifted off, nor why he was even still here, for he himself didn't sleep. True, Proto Man hadn't said anything to give Elec Man a convenient excuse to storm off this time, and true Elec Man was tired of finding excuses to storm off anyway. It was strange; Elec Man had always gotten bored quickly with any partner, but the more time he spent with Proto Man the more interesting Proto Man became—and Proto Man had always been interesting.

So there they lay, Proto Man in the crook of Elec Man's arm and breathing softly against his shoulder, Elec Man stroking Proto Man's copper-colored hair as he stared into the rough concrete ceiling, feeling an unfamiliar emotion—contented, perhaps.

Of course, this was all pointless. There was no logic that they should continue to see each other. Proto Man was built by Dr. Light. He belonged in Dr. Light's laboratory, with the heroes. Elec Man was Syndicate and belonged in the underground with the other criminals. A mobster like him would have no business being out in the suburbs (they'd hate him there). On the flip side, Proto Man would make an excellent Syndicate agent, despite his large mouth. Elec Man's smirked slightly while thinking of it, of working with Proto Man while doing something worthwhile for a change. But, that was all wrong too, Proto Man had no business being a criminal in the first place…

The darkness outside was beginning to fade from night into the pale blue of dawn.

With a small sigh, Elec Man glanced down at Proto Man, who was quite soundly asleep (and would likely stay asleep far into the afternoon). How did anyone sleep that soundly? He was almost like a rock. Elec Man lifted Proto Man's arm, which had been draped over his shoulder, then let it fall onto the mattress. Proto Man didn't even stir. Even a Thunder Beam might not have woken him. As usual, Proto Man did not have a care in the world. He didn't think of his past or future, he was just a big human baby.

…It was tempting to take a page out of Proto Man's book, for Elec Man to stop caring that his own past and future was Syndicate, to pretend he was free to be like this with a civilian…

Lost in thought, Elec Man lay there, listening to Proto Man's soft breathing, his eyes narrowed, a cold, foreboding feeling sinking into his circuits. Then he closed his eyes. Heroes, mobsters, Top Man's conversation, his own assumptions and hidden feelings building up in his head like an orchestra playing in chaotic dissonance, everyone starting at different times in different keys and growing louder and louder—

He opened his eyes again with a silent gasp, quickly taking in the room with its circular wrap-around windows, the light climbing slowly up the panes, and feeling the warmth of Proto Man's body. Everything was so still and peaceful. Clueless, Proto Man snoozed on.

After a moment, Elec Man gave Proto Man a small, secretive kiss on top of his head, not unlike the one Proto Man had first given him in the boathouse, but longer. Then Elec Man quickly slid out from under Proto Man (who fell with a grunt to the mattress but didn't wake up), dressed silently, and crept down the tower steps.