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V1 drums their fingers over their chassis as they lay on the floor. Their eye follows cracks in the ceiling of the little house in Lust they picked to rest in for the night. For a while, they try imagining shapes in the damage, like faces in clouds, until Gabriel shakes them out of their idle thoughts.
"Machine."
They tilt their optic toward the angel. Gabriel props himself up from the nearby divan he reclined on. He had done away with his armor for the night, and had lounged with V1 and a book in comfortable silence until now. The machine notices his book - something about romance - is already neatly tucked away.
Moments like these reminded V1 of Earth after humanity. Moving from place to place. Picking abandoned buildings to rest in the rare times that they could. Rest was never warm or comfortable back then, though. Rest was hiding alone in the dark, guns drawn, repairing themself or running survival simulations in their head.
But here of all places, with someone they trust - someone they loved - beside them, rest felt real. Genuine. Surreal, they think, that an empty Hell became both a battleground and home for V1 and Gabriel.
"I’d like to try something." Gabriel sits up from the divan. He hesitates. "May I...kiss you?"
V1 briefly stares, wondering why the question made him clench his hand against his knee. They’ve kissed before...sort of. Bumping the face of their helms against each other was the closest thing they’d get to kissing when one party doesn’t have a mouth and the other - well. V1 still had no idea what was under Gabriel’s helmet.
They nod and stand up to close the distance. Standing, they’re just barely equal height to the sitting angel. They put their hands on his shoulders, and Gabriel sighs quietly through his nose as he touches their thigh.
"I need you to close your...eye."
V1 blinks. They tilt their head and silently ask for elaboration. Gabriel tries, with starts and stops of words like 'I need' and 'well' and 'you can’t.' Then he gives up. With a groan, annoyed he can’t explain something that should be so simple , he lifts a hand up and abruptly covers V1’s optic with his fingers. V1 startles.
"Just..." He sighs. "Please."
Gabriel’s digits alone easily cover their face. V1 turns unnaturally still. Then, the light of their optic, peeking between his fingers, fades as they turn off their visuals. He removes his hand as the last of it disappears, turning the machine’s eye completely dark. It’s almost unsettling, Gabriel thinks, until V1 nudges his foot with their own and reminds him that they’re still present.
"...Thank you."
V1 feels his hands leave them, and hears a slight shuffle on the divan. Something metal clinks quietly on the nearby stand.
"I’m sorry for being...strange." Gabriel’s voice is suddenly without its usual tinny echo. He’s taken off his helmet, V1 realizes. "I’ve never done this before."
V1 puts two and two together just as Gabriel takes their head between his hands. Silence passes, electric and anticipatory and warm all at once. They feel Gabriel’s pulse drumming in his wrists. They feel their own sensors hone in on the touch, holding their metaphorical breath.
Then - he kisses them. V1 feels two lips on the bottom ridge of their bezel - warm, gentle, just barely parted against them. They linger. Gabriel sighs softly through his nose, thumbing the side of their head, and V1 slowly wraps their arms around his back in return.
They’ve never been kissed like this. An elderly woman once pecked their "cheek" when they idly retrieved her wallet at a security showcasing, and a technician did the same on a drunken dare. But this is something else. This is...
Gabriel’s lips close against them and pull away, snapping V1 out of the moment before they can figure it out.
"That was..." They feel his breath against them, still so close, and he laughs in quiet amazement. "Did you like that, V1?"
They pause - then nod eagerly. Honestly, they didn’t know what to expect. They didn’t have a mouth to kiss back with, much less a means to return the favor beyond touches and closeness. But there was something about the anticipation, the warmth... They liked it. They liked it a lot.
Gabriel laughs, still in nervous amazement. His hands drop from V1’s head to their hips.
"That was my first...well. I know we’ve kissed plenty of times, in our own way, but not quite like that. And that book I read made it sound more complicated than it was." V1 hears pages rustling. "...Ah, right. You can’t see this. It was... My heart was pounding, of course, but they made a kiss sound like it was some kind of ridiculous fight for dominance or—"
V1 taps his back, interrupting the ramble.
"What?"
They tilt their neck.
"Yes...?"
They gesture to the side of their head with a few quick, demanding taps.
"Oh. You - want me to kiss you again? There?"
V1’s head turns in something akin to an eyeroll, but nods. To drive the point home, they take one of his hands and impatiently brings it to their "cheek" again. They’d be more annoyed, but there’s only so many ways they can say shut up and kiss me.
The angel quickly clears his throat.
"I’m sorry," He murmurs, tone tinged with embarrassment. "Nervous prattling."
V1 can’t blame him. It’s their first time too. Metal hands let go of his and settle loosely around his neck. Gabriel brings them closer until V1 feels his breath once again. A thumb caresses their ridge, and they sense movement on either side of them - the familiar warmth of Gabriel’s wings enveloping them.
It pairs well with Gabriel’s lips as he kisses their "cheek." It’s slow, lingering - and as he pulls away he kisses them again, further up their conal head. V1 shows their appreciation by massaging the nape of his neck. They wish they could kiss him back - or at least let their fingers travel further. To take him into their hands like they did him, to cling to his hair or light or whatever he had. But they know better than to break Gabriel’s trust. They were fine with never knowing what was under his helmet, honestly. But moments like this made it tempting, especially when the answer to their curiosity was right in front of their sightless optic.
Something changes. His lips trail up the side of their head, each one just a bit hungrier than the last, until they reach V1’s bezel. Then he kisses them once more on their ridge and presses a bit harder than before. Then again, and again and again and again. His breath harshens. He kisses greedily where he can, sliding a hand to the back of their head and gripping them there, humming a pleased sound between breaths.
"Machine," He whispers against them.
V1 presses into him in return, chassis warming and fans humming with their own interest. They wrap their arms around him and Gabriel pulls their waist close, excitement rising between them. For someone so nervous earlier, Gabriel sure is warming up to the concept of making out. Not that V1 is complaining - they are too.
Abruptly, though, he pulls away, releasing V1 with a long, shuddering breath.
"I..." He huffs. "I don’t...know what came over me."
The sudden lack of contact nearly has V1 whining, but they reluctantly let go of him, giving Gabriel the space to catch his breath.
"Was that...good for you, machine? I don’t know if it feels the same for you without a mouth, but..."
V1 stills him with a hand on his chest, and they nod eagerly. Then, after a pause, they tap a finger to their own shoulder with the same ardor as before.
"You want more...there?"
Another nod. Gabriel pauses, then chuckles breathlessly as he lays his hand atop V1’s.
"Alright." A beat. "Is this still comfortable for you? Standing here, I mean."
V1 thinks. They could stand to make this more comfortable. They take Gabriel by the shoulders. Then, with a surprise show of strength, they blindly push him on the divan and roll with him. A move like this in complete darkness is dizzying, but fortunately the divan is against the wall, and Gabriel is pulled conveniently on top of V1 without falling to the floor.
The larger angel grunts in surprise. V1 feel the cushions shift on either side of them, suggesting he’s hovering over them on his knees. They confirm it when they reach out to stroke his chest. Gabriel huffs out a laugh.
"As impudent as ever," he quips. "Comfortable now?"
They nod. Gabriel hums as he shifts, until V1 feels his warm breath once again on the nape of their neck.
"Good."