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Cassian almost doesn’t notice it. He is used to relying on K-2SO completely. He knows that if he tries something impossible, or ill-advised, or if Kay simply doesn’t like it, Kay will tell him immediately and loudly. He likes the candor, really, which is why he doesn’t expect Kay to be hiding anything from him.
It’s not… It’s almost nothing. It doesn’t get them hurt, it doesn’t delay the mission. The stormtroopers shooting at them don’t get any closer than usual. The door they’re trying to exit out of still gets hacked and opened in plenty of time. But when Cassian tries to ask Kay for a progress update part way through, it’s like Kay doesn’t hear him.
“I have already run a full diagnostic,” Kay says when Cassian brings it up during their long hyperspace trip back to Yavin. “It is nothing to worry about.”
“You aren’t worried about this?” Cassian says.
“My processing has been .002 seconds longer than usual. It is within acceptable parameters.”
“Acceptable—“ Cassian sputters. “Kay, if something is wrong, we should fix it.”
“It is none of your concern.”
“Of course it’s my concern. You’re my friend,” Cassian reaches out and places a hand on one of K2’s arms. “Let me help.”
“I do not require--”
“If I were injured, would you let me ignore it?”
Kay seems to pause momentarily at the interruption. Cassian tries not to let it worry him. “Of course not.”
“Even if I insisted I was fine?”
“You frequently--” Kay stops short again. “Ah. I understand. You may run whatever diagnostic checks you wish.”
Cassian pulls out the handheld diagnostic computer he keeps on hand. It’s what he used when he reprogrammed K2 the first time and it’s what they’ve used for every update and repair since. It should be enough to do the job.
Except that every check he runs comes up clear. They’re landing at Yavin before Cassian realizes he’s going to need a better computer to figure out what’s wrong.
“We may need to visit an expert,” Kay says as they stow everything for entry.
“We shouldn’t have to,” Cassian grumbles. “I did it before.”
“If you were injured in a way I could not treat, I would take you to the medics,” Kay explains simply, and Cassian hates having his own logic used against him. “Unless you would like to drop the issue entirely.”
Cassian never goes to the Rebellion droid mechanics. He’s had a lot of excuses; Kay has valuable information and can’t be wiped, he doesn’t want to risk activating an imperial tracker, they’re always too busy. The truth is, the mechanics scare him a little. They all have the same crazed glint in their eyes, they were usually fired from legitimate mechanic work, and they’re all obsessed with K-2SO.
Maybe it’s the look of the mechanic’s bay he doesn’t like. There are two massive computers in the middle of the room and a number of different charging ports. Every other inch of the place is covered in machinery — half-finished projects, old parts, forgotten tools. There’s no dust on anything, the heavy filters on the fans make sure of that, but the mess of it makes Cassian feel like he’s going to break something.
The on-duty mechanic today is Fena, a Twi'lek woman who very transparently wants to get her hands inside of K2’s chassis. He’s not sure how far it extends, whether she wants to look at his circuits or his code or if she wants something entirely more untoward.
“I do not understand you,” K2 tells him as they walk toward the shop. “None of the Rebellion droids have ever complained about her work. She’s apparently very accommodating.”
“I’m sure she is,” Cassian says, which is maybe the problem. Something ugly and sharp sits in his chest. It doesn’t go away when they enter the mechanic’s bay. In fact, it only gets sharper as Fena’s face lights up at their approach. There’s a FX droid who usually works with her, but she’s nowhere to be seen.
“K-2SO,” Fena says, almost reverent. “I am so glad to finally get you in here. Have you been avoiding me?”
“No,” Kay says plainly. He looms just inside the doorway, close enough that Cassian has to duck to get around him. “Cassian does not like you.”
For a moment Cassian wants to run out, but Fena only laughs. “Don’t believe all the rumors.”
“The rumor is that you fuck droids,” K2 says plainly. Cassian nearly chokes.
“Ah,” Fena inclines her head in a half-nod. “That one’s true.” She notices Cassian pale, and maybe misinterprets it a little because she scoffs and says, “Not like that, Andor. They’re people. It’s more fun that way.”
“Cassian knows that droids are fully autonomous. He has always respected that in me.” Kay looks at Cassian briefly before he looks back up at Fena. “It is one of the reasons I choose to stay with him.”
Fena raises her eyebrows at Cassian. He really wishes she wouldn’t, or that she’d at least tell him what she means. “Oh? I’ll keep my hands strictly professional then. Not gonna get in your way, Andor.”
Cassian short circuits a little when she says it. It wasn’t that he didn’t know such things happened. It was just that he tried not to think about them, for his own sanity. Now, looking at Fena and K2 and the poorly organized repair bay, he feels that sanity start to slip.
By the time he gets ahold of himself, Kay is already sitting to let Fena reach his access ports and plug him into the bay’s computer. Cassian follows, standing half a step away from Kay. Side effect of the mess — there’s hardly anywhere to stand, much less sit.
“Nothing in the initial scans,” Fena says. It makes Cassian tense; he could have told her that. Hells, Kay could have told her that. “I’ll have to open up your code to take a closer look.”
She pauses for a moment. Cassian doesn't realize what she’s waiting for until Kay says, “Very well. You may.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.”
Cassian knows quite a bit about coding. He’d learned a lot with Bee, who’d been riddled with errors and fraying code for years. In his first years with the rebellion he’d learned enough to encode messages and crack security. Since his haphazard recording of K2, he’s learned a lot more.
Whenever Fena is doing is foreign, or at least too quick for Cassian to follow. Where he had to study Kay’s code specifically, she seems to understand it, mumbling functions and properties under her breath.
It’s beautiful to watch. Cassian is almost sad when it’s over and Fena looks back at Kay. “Not seeing anything odd in the actual lines. Good news: it's not a virus or a fray. Also means you didn’t miss it. There was nothing to miss.”
“That is not helpful,” Kay tells her. “I was under the impression you were good at this.”
Fena snorts. “Yeah, well I got a few more tricks up my sleeve. I’m assuming you’ve tried a full reboot.”
Kay nods. “When I first discovered the issue.” Which is… Kay’s last full system reboot was weeks ago. He’s been keeping this from Cassian for a while.
“That’s odd,”
“What?” Cassian asks. She’s not looking at his code anymore, but at something in the memory storage.
“The memory files are massive,” Fena says. “That’ll be what’s slowing you down.”
“Ah,” Kay hums. “I had hoped it wasn’t that.”
Cassian balks a little. If kay had known what the issue might be, why would he try so hard to avoid it?
“It’s a simple enough problem. We just have to figure out what these are, delete the redundant ones, maybe compress some of them.” She selects one of the files. A host of information comes up. “This one’s audio and visual. I’ll have to get a viewer to figure out what it is.”
“There is no need,” Kay tells her. “That is the first time I met Cassian.”
Cassian feels the breath catch in his lungs. Fena glances at him, barely noticeable, but enough. “And you need that in full resolution?”
Kay nodded. “I refer to it frequently.”
“Okay,” Fena says. It’s drawn out and skeptical and Cassian’s not really sure what it means. She taps something else on her computer. “What about this folder?”
“A list of Cassian’s preferences.”
“My…” Cassian’s voice comes out breathier than he means it to. “My preferences?”
“Your preferred sleeping patterns, your favorite foods, that you prefer tea to caf,” Kay says plainly, like it means absolutely nothing to have all that stored, intentionally, in a way that apparently has been straining his systems.
This doesn’t seem to be rattling Fena the way it does Cassian. She seems to be teasing when clicks to open the folder. “And all of those need accompanying video files?”
“He is human, and his tastes are subject to change. It is important for my analysis of the data to have record of all relevant feedback.”
Fena mumbles something about strategy droids and closes the folder. She selects the next one down. “And this?”
This time, Kay’s response is not immediate. “Every time Cassian has called me friend.”
Cassian can’t… he feels like he shouldn’t be here for this, but if Kay wanted him to leave he would say so. Still, he feels a hot flush on his face and a pricking feeling behind his eyes. He wishes he had something to do with his hands or anything else to look at.
Fena looks at him meaningfully, like she knows, and it doesn’t help. “Do you keep this level of information about everyone?”
“No. I only retain information that is important to me or the Rebellion,” Kay says. “Cassian is important to me.”
“The easiest solution would be to clear some of this out.”
“Cassian won’t let you wipe my memory,” Kay says quickly and confidently. Something about that faith hits Cassian like the slam of re-entry.
Fena looks disturbed by the suggestion. “I’d never do a total wipe. It’s just… the same way organic memory compresses and forgets redundant information. I’ve got a program that’ll do it for you, it’s been popular with other droids.”
Cassian steps closer and crosses his arms in front of him. He gives Fena his best stare-down. “If he doesn’t want them deleted, you don’t delete them.”
Fena’s gaze flashes between them for a moment, defensive and surprised, before her face morphs into a smirk. “I like you, Andor.” She starts to search the mechanic’s bay, digging through piles. “Best I can do is get you an auxiliary memory core. I’ve got a couple old ones around here. It’ll be a squeeze, but it should fit in your main chassis.”
Cassian breathes a sigh of relief. He’s pretty sure she wouldn’t have -- couldn’t have done anything without both of their permission, but Kay belongs to the Rebellion, technically, and they could have ordered --
Everything could have fallen apart for them. For him. Kay’s the only real friend he has in the Rebellion, the only one he trusts.
“Thank you,” Kay says.
Fena waves him off as she pulls up a small square of machinery. “I’ve been there. If anyone tried to get their hands on F7, I’d kill ‘em.”
“See, Cassian. There is no reason to avoid the droid mechanics. If there was, I would know. The gonks especially are prone to gossip.”
Fena finishes installing the drive, unplugs Kay from the computer, and shuts the “This is a temporary solution, mind you. Rate you’re storing information, you’ll need a new one within five years. My official recommendation is that you get less obsessed with this guy.” She jerks a thumb at Cassian.
“I can’t,” Kay says as he stands and looks at Cassian. “As I said, he is important to me.”
Cassian feels a little caught. He stares at Fena, who shakes her head slowly like she already knows. “Don’t worry. I’m the subject of rumors, not the start of them.”
The conversation sticks in Cassian as they leave Fena to her work. It’s not until the door slides shut behind them that Cassian feels like he can think again. He reaches one hand out to stop K2 and is marveled, like he always is, that the droid bothers to listen to him.
They’re standing in the alcove of the doorway, facing each other, and Cassian can’t figure out what to say. “Kay, about the memory files…”
“There is no reason to discuss it,” K2 tells him. “I love you. This is not a secret, except where necessary for our security.”
“Oh,” Cassian says. The same part of him that was angry and sharp in the mechanic’s bay, that has been on edge since he noticed something off, smooths a little. He clears his throat around it. “I love you, too.”
“I know. That is why we work well together.”
Of course it’s nothing to Kay, who takes in information at face value and doesn’t understand why others can’t make the same strategic leaps he does. Cassian finds himself laughing as they make their way to Intelligence for their next assignment.