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Published:
2024-03-18
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2024-03-20
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2/?
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You and I Will Share the Weight

Summary:

It is one month into Missa’s internship on Quesadilla Space Station and he still cannot tell if his boss loves him or hates him.

Notes:

Title from Talk to Me by Cavetown

Chapters may be a bit inconsistent due to school and work but I am very excited about this fic
Playlist for this fic can be found...
here

Enjoy :)

(See the end of the work for more notes and other works inspired by this one.)

Chapter 1: Missa

Chapter Text

It is one month into Missa’s internship on Quesadilla Space Station and he still cannot tell if his boss loves him or hates him. Maybe both, considering Missa had only been given the most menial of tasks by his direct superior in the Geology department. The only saving grace has been Roier, who has been the kindest to him despite how overworked the man seemed. As one of the heads of the research division, Roier truly had no reason to assist Missa so often, but he had been the first to make sure that he was settling in well.

It made sense given that his species, Temerros , very rarely left their home planet to pursue other settlements, let alone other careers. Their close likeness to humans in terms of appearance made many species uneasy and this was only worsened by the differences they had from said humans. Most species don’t like being able to see the bones and veins under a Temerro’s skin, or the overly pronounced fangs paired with void-like sockets containing eerily glowing eyes. So they stayed on planet 9537 and minded their own business.

Maybe that’s what Missa should have done, but there was an itch to leave home that he couldn’t quite shake. So he applied for a research position at Quesadilla Station. Granted, he hadn’t actually expected to get selected, just to say that he had tried at the very least. To say he was stunned that they would want a Temerron on their crew would be a massive understatement. But when he finally arrived at the loading dock, he understood why he had been chosen. 

Nearly every worker he encountered was of a different species that he had not met before. Which means it was likely they hadn’t met someone like  him  before either. That much was clear when most people he was introduced to would not look him in the eyes, unsettled by their empty appearance. The only exceptions so far were from other science departments Roier, Pac, Mike, and Quackity himself. 

Roier was the most obvious in his nonchalance, and it didn’t take a genius to understand why. With several additional eyes blinking at different times and two extra sets of arms, Roier was one of the more noticeably different species from the rest of the crew. Arachniqutes. Not the most traveled of species, but known to Missa nonetheless. Maybe that was why Roier had taken such a liking to him, the way they both stood out. 

Not that Missa tried to stand out. No, if anything he had gone to great lengths to ensure he appeared as close to a human as possible. The projection device casts a human facade over his face that he keeps engaged at all times, except for when he is sleeping. If it weren’t for his arrival occurring before he had gotten the device installed in his communicator or the fact that he often needed to remove his gloves for tasks around the station, no one would be able to tell that he was more bones than flesh. 

But if Roier liked him so much, why did he look like he had terrible news for him right now? 

 

Oh moons, I am so getting fired. 

 

“Missa! Just the guy I wanted to see!” Roier’s greeting was accompanied by three arms patting him on the back just hard enough for Missa to hide a wince.

 

“Roier! I mean uh, Dir-director Roier how can I help you sir?

 

The casual smile on the Director’s face dropped into something more akin to a grimace. 

 

Oh no, I really AM getting fired. 

 

“Listen, Missa…I know that your first month here hasn’t exactly been ideal,” Missa braces for the finishing blow of losing his one chance off his home planet. “But! I have a favor to ask of you that can definitely help you get a leg up around here.” 

 

“I understand sir, I’ll go get my things and- wait what? You have a favor for, for me?”  

 

“Well technically, it’s your first mission! Since you are a member of the Geology department, I need you to gather some samples for us on a newly discovered moon. Yay! How exciting, right?” 

 

“YES! Yes, of course, sir.” Missa replies a little too loudly. With a cough he nearly choked on, he continues, “Who will I be shadowing for this mission? Are there other departments participating?”

 

One set of eyes on Roier’s cheeks close with how widely he is forcing a smile. The strength of it is not at all reassuring Missa as he probably intended it. 

 

“That’s the rather… unfortunate part of this mission. You will be the only researcher assigned to this expedition.” Before Missa can interrupt in concern, Roier rushes to correct himself. “You won’t be alone! We are going to send someone with you for protection but you shouldn’t need it. The drone scouts of this moon haven’t shown any threatening life forms. All you have to do is record some observations, bring back a few samples, and be on your merry way back to the station!”

 

His facial modulator must be doing a great job of displaying the terror Missa is poorly concealing as Roier starts to look a little guilty. Every ounce of concentration goes into controlling his features before Roier starts speaking again. 

 

“Listen, Missa, if you don’t feel comfortable with this task, I will go in your place. Everyone else is wrapped up in projects they cannot leave right now and I trust that you can handle this. But you are allowed to decline, we will not force you to go.”

 

It is tempting, the idea of being on a moon alone with only a guard and his admittedly terrible survival skills is not exactly the most appealing. But having Roier go in his place because Missa is too much of a coward to accept a challenge is not something he can stomach. After hearing the Director talk about how much he misses his husband while it seems that Roier never leaves the lab, Missa would feel too guilty taking away the only chance the man may have to spend time with him. 

 

“I can do it, sir.” Missa tries to sound determined, though he isn’t sure he succeeded by the wobble he hears in his voice. “I won’t let you down, thank you for this opportunity.” 

 

The many arms return to pull him into a tight side hug that Missa doesn’t have time to process before he is released. There will most likely be bruises where the other man had grabbed him due to the thin nature of his skin, but Missa can’t think to be upset about it. He is determined to complete this mission. 

 

He’s just getting a few samples, he’ll even have a guard!

 

How hard could it be?

Chapter 2: Phil

Chapter Text

Expansive domes and large glass windows made up a majority of Quesadilla Space Station, that much had remained the same during the time Phil had resided here. Plenty of other things had changed, though, most of all the people that inhabited it. This facility was much calmer than a few he had been on before. Many don’t believe him when he says that he has seen several in his 500 years of digital existence on top of 30 years of flesh-made fighting. 

 

Falling in battle was the way he had always expected to go, he had even planned for it eventually. Planet 5748, Earth , had long feared the possibility of intergalactic warfare and it had come borne from their own hubris. But that was 500 years ago. Phil was born in the midst of the war and fell fighting in it as he was expected to do. So why was he still here, nearly as many years after Earth had been blown to nothing but dust floating in space? 

 

Revival into an android body was not unheard of at that point, but it was always a choice given before death. Never a punishment by an enemy force that had dragged the fighter away and revived him to fight on the opposing side. Most jarring was the newfound wings attached to the back of his otherwise human-looking form. 

 

To make a 500-year-long story short, Phil had no choice but to fight against the remaining humans on Earth until it had inevitably been blown to atoms. He had grown adept at aerial combat, the wings seeming like they had been a part of him all along. But once the main enemy was gone, with less than a million humans remaining that had escaped the plant, Phil was no longer needed. So he left to fight what he wanted to because he didn’t know what else to do. 

 

That was how Quackity’s father had found him. The man had been seeking humans to work on the space station and sought Phil specifically to protect his son. So his fighting spree came to an end, as he swore protection to the young boy with the yellow wings. The job was not terrible, he was paid well and he did not have to fight. Only to prevent harm from coming to the small child while his father was busy. His only gripe was the old man’s disdain for other alien lifeforms. In his time in space, Phil had become acquainted with many species that he considered to be close friends and family. 

 

Instead, he regained some semblance of human normalcy, caring for Quackity and becoming like a second father to him. For twenty years, Phil protected the child as he grew into a man while Phil remained unchanged. Before he knew it Quackity’s father had passed and the boy he had nurtured took over the flourishing space station, with Phil being dismissed from his position to retire once and for all. 

 

Many changes had come since Quackity had taken over, most of all the diversity and intentions of Quesadilla Station. Nearly all of the inhabitants and workers at this point were some form of hybrids or other alien lifeforms since humans just were not easy to come by. Phil and Fit were some of the only remaining crew members who were mostly human.

 

Mostly.  

 

Fit’s cybernetic enhancements made it easy to question if the man was truly from Planet 2B2T, a human settlement that preyed on violence, or if he was some metallic sentient being. But his enhancements had allowed him to live as long as he had, a war veteran just the same as Phil, now leading a simple life cleaning up around the space station simply because he wanted to. Phil wishes he could rest that much, though he knows Fit struggles with the lack of adrenaline from time to time as well.

 

But Phil was pure machine, only the codes carrying his consciousness were left of his humanity. 

 

His body doesn't need to train, he doesn’t need to sleep, he doesn’t even need to eat. But the synthetic neurons of his mind made him restless just as he had been when he was made of flesh instead of steel. So when Quackity approached him with a job, he wasn’t going to be quick to refuse. Until he found out what it was at least. 

 

“You want ME to accompany some research intern to an unknown moon just so he can look at rocks or some shit? Why is it an intern, why aren’t there any guards available? I’m not a personal bodyguard anymore.” 

 

The broad black wings on his back twitched in irritation at being offered what was essentially a babysitting mission. If they wanted him to kill something, fine. Quackity needed accompaniment to an off-base meeting, sure. Babysitting some rock-loving kid was far below his pay grade. 

 

“Listen, I owe Roier a favor for the overtime he’s been putting in and he’s been bitching about not seeing his husband often enough so I told him I would figure it out. You’re the only person that I trust enough to send without supervision. Besides, Missa shows promise and shouldn’t be too much of a handful. You will, of course, be compensated for your time,” Quackity pleads to him. 

 

If it was anyone else, Phil would say no point blank. But he had practically raised this kid, having been his guard since the boy was five years old, so what if he had a little soft spot for him. 

 

“Fine,” Phil sighs in return. “This intern better not cause any trouble, and I expect not to have any more bodyguarding missions for at least a year. And not unless it's an emergency!” 

 

Quackity practically deflates with relief at Phil’s agreement, promising to handle everything before nearly sprinting towards the research wing of the space station. Phil assumes it is to tell Roier the good news and to check one more person off the list of people who need something from him. 

 

Resigned to the assignment given to him, Phil is quietly glad for something to do. It had been a few months of wandering about the giant domes or bothering Fit during his shifts cleaning. The only excitement in his days are the times he can tease Fit about his crush on the slightly-crazed scientist Pac, or the occasional spar when they both have a free moment. 

 

An incoming file flashes across his vision. 

 

Missa Sinfonia, Geology Department 

Intern 

Home Planet: 9537 

…. 

 

He ignores the rest of the information given to him, though the file is automatically stored regardless. The rest of the information didn’t matter to him, his job was to protect the intern and make sure he didn’t die on their mission. 

 

There was nothing special about some rock planet anyway.

Notes:

Comment and kudos appreciated ! <3
TY Toni, Calam, and Sol for the motivation :D

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