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She felt cramped, suffocated, alone.
But this was normal for Yeva.
The only sounds that she would hear were the sounds of the scientists rushing past her locker, from the small holes and if she adjusted herself enough, she could make a vision of the feet that walked by.
She overheard that Nori was causing more trouble today, having killed three of the scientists. Yeva sighed, knowing that they only needed her whether it was for experiments or to help calm Nori down. As if on cue, she heard the door rattle and saw a scientist look down at her.
“We need you for your Wednesday experiments.” He says bluntly, making Yeva roll her eyes. He helps unwrap the chains that are around Yeva’s body and holds onto her arm to pull her out of the locker. Yeva slaps his hand away and just follows him to the main building where the experiments were held.
The scientists led Yeva to a room where Nori was sitting down on a couch, her arms and legs crossed as she looked around. Yeva raised her eyebrow but nonetheless sat down next to her.
“If there’s any funny business during today, you both will be locked up for longer than just a few days. Do you understand?” One of the scientists asks.
“Aww, stop being such a drag! No one is doing anything.” Nori chirps, twirling a lock of her hair.
“You killed three of our scientists today.”
“Oh yeah, that…. Uh-“
“If you kill anyone else today, your locker won’t be the only place you will be staying in. You will be on twenty-four-hour surveillance watch, and I don’t think you want that.” Nori scoffs at the scientist's words and then becomes silent.
The same scientist pulls out a recorder. “Experiment number #301 on subjects 002 and 048. Subjects appear normal and… semi-normal.” He turns to Nori, who did nothing but pose with a peace sign.
Yeva mentally groaned.
After many hours of conducting experiments, Yeva was back in her locker, wrapped up in chains until she was needed again. It was late at night, which meant that security was lowered due to the humans being sleepy. Yeva tried going to sleep until she heard a loud banging sound coming from one of the lockers outside.
She raised her eyebrow, then she heard a small knock on her door.
“Yeva, it’s Nori. Come on, I’m getting you out.” She says quietly, and Yeva is incredibly confused as to how she even got out in the first place. After a minute, the door opened and Yeva was staring into Nori’s purple eyes.
“Rise and shine, dummy! We are gonna go on a little detour.” Nori says cheerfully. Yeva didn’t say anything but just looked at her with a confused and concerned look.
“Oh don't look at me like that… do you wanna spend another night all tied up in this damn thing?” Nori knocked onto one of the walls of Yeva’s locker. “Didn’t think so.” Nori pulls out a small key and uses it to unlock the chains. Nori extends her hand out and holds onto Yeva to help her step out.
Yeva points to the key.
“One of those morons dropped it during the whole “I killed three scientists today and everyone was freaking out” disaster. You don’t have to worry about me, Yeva.” Nori reassured her, but Yeva was still skeptical, and she could sense that.
“Come.” Nori stuffed the key in her dress pocket and took Yeva’s wrist. “Let’s head out, just for a few hours. Then we can head back like nothing happened. I just don’t wanna be stuck in that dusty boring locker for another night.” Yeva looked down at Nori’s hand around her wrist, and she slowly nodded which made Nori smile.
The two drones crouched down and snuck their way past the remaining scientists who were working and patrolling, using their solvers to cause distractions to divert their attention.
Nori and Yeva snuck out from a window, and they reached outside where the night was calm with a cool breeze. Nori noticed two sentinels who were looking around, which made her click her tongue. She used her solver to make a large tree branch land on one of them, making it screech, and the other sentinel using its mouth to chew the branch. The two drones quickly rushed past them until they were in the forest.
Nori took a deep breath as she pumped her hands in the air and cheered. “Wasn’t that such a rush, Yeva?!” She asked, as she looked at Yeva, she noticed how her eyes widened and she looked terrified. Nori’s cheery persona dropped as she rushed towards Yeva.
“Hey, uh… I'm sorry for suddenly doing this and scaring you. I just didn’t want to be in that locker anymore and I didn’t want to be alone.” Nori confessed, Yeva’s eyes softened as she noticed that Nori had a small tree branch in her hair. She raised her hand and pulled the branch out, then ran her hands through Nori’s purple locks to make sure she was in the clear.
Nori chuckled softly. “Thank you, I can always count on you,” Nori said with a smile, which made Yeva smile with her too. After a moment Nori pulled back and sat down on a large rock covered in moss.
“Sit next to me, I got something to show you,” Nori says excitedly, and Yeva walks over and takes a seat next to her. Nori reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small iPod with pink and purple headphones.
Yeva raised her eyebrows in confusion as she pointed to the iPod.
“Stole it from one of the scientists while she was chopping off my legs! I’ve been listening to this while I’m in the locker, it has a few good songs on here and I wanted you to listen.” Nori held out an earbud towards Yeva, and while skeptical, Yeva grabbed the earbud and held it towards her hearing receivers.
Nori pressed play, and an upbeat instrumental was heard alongside a singer singing with a sped-up voice. Yeva looks down at the song name showing on the iPod screen. “I’m Just Dancing - NIGHTCORE.”
Yeva stared at Nori.
“What? It’s a really good song, you just don’t have taste. Here, I’ll play another one.” Nori pressed shuffle, and despite most of the playlist being Nightcore songs, Yeva still sat in silence as the loud music filled her receivers.
Nori and Yeva spent the next hour listening to the music on the iPod. When they were done, Nori got up and stretched her arms. Yeva’s eyes soften as Nori looks at her.
“Soooo, how was it?” Nori asked. Yeva gave her a small smile as she waved her hand around to say “so-so.”
“Aww come on! There’s gotta be at least one song on that thing that you liked a little bit more.” Nori groaned. Yeva took the iPod and shuffled until she found a song that she liked.
“Oh, this one, I think the lyrics are all corny and gross, but the beat is still cool.” Nori and Yeva listened to the song until Nori snickered.
“This song has such romantic lyrics, I’m shocked you like that sort of thing.” Nori teased, which made Yeva divert her eyes away.
“I’m just teasing, dummy.”
The two sat in silence until Nori spoke up again, as she usually does.
“Do you ever think about that Yeva? Like.. that gross romance stuff?” She asked her, to which Yeva sat still until she nodded slowly.
“It’s kind of hard to find a partner in our current situation sadly… or whatever. But hopefully one day you can find someone who can sweep you off your feet.” Nori gagged at her words, knowing how sappy they were when it came to romance.
Yeva looked at Nori and pointed to her.
“What about me?” Yeva nodded. “Oh… to be honest I don’t really care about that stuff. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t.. mind it.” Nori physically cringed admitting that, which made Yeva smile.
“Oh bite me. Besides, there isn’t really anyone I wanna date.” Nori scoffs, and Yeva nods her head. She hands Nori back her iPod and she puts it in her pocket.
“Holy hell, look Yeva!” Nori exclaimed, she walked over to a tree and that’s when she saw a small patch of purple flowers. Yeva’s eyes widened seeing the sight.
“It’s weird seeing wildflowers in a place like this, then again we don’t gotta worry much about snow here.” Nori rambles. Yeva kneels down and plucks a flower from the ground, where she raises it up to Nori’s hair. The shade of purple was a darker color compared to Nori’s hair, but nonetheless, it was still purple. Yeva tied the flower in Nori’s ponytail, which caused a small flush to appear on Nori’s screen.
“What the… hell, Yeva..” Nori says in a soft voice. Yeva smiles as she shrugs her shoulder. Nori groaned as she knelt down plucked a flower and held it by Yeva’s hair. Yeva’s purple hair was a closer shade to the flower, which was something Nori noticed as she tied the flower in Yeva’s hair.
“There. The flower looks nice, I guess.” Nori says quickly, and Yeva has a small red flush on her screen. The two stood in silence as they looked at each other, occasionally diverting their eye contact from each other.
Nori cleared her throat and laughed loudly. “Wow! It’s getting late! We should definitely get back to the lockers before someone notices!” Nori says, walking awkwardly back to the labs as Yeva tries processing what just happened.
A few days had passed since that night, and Yeva and Nori didn’t talk much to each other until they were forced to for experiments. The experiments were more painful these days, which made Yeva exhausted as she lay in her locker.
She kept thinking back to that night, sitting next to Nori under the moonlight while listening to cheesy Nightcore music and picking small wildflowers. It sounded similar to a story humans would tell each other. She remembered how one of them was calling his daughter from back home, and she couldn’t go to sleep without a bedtime story. The scientist guy told her a bedtime story over call, and Yeva remembered how relieved his daughter looked as she slept.
Yeva hoped that one day she would tell her kid bedtime stories when she finally leaves this place.
Today, Yeva was forced to show what she could do with her solver to the scientists, with a blank face, she raised objects, destroyed a few things, she did everything that she was supposed to do.
Nori was, of course, once again causing problems. It was something that kind of frustrated Yeva because the two were completely different but also the same. They both were suffering under the Absolute Solver and had to spend every day under surveillance. But Yeva at the very least, did her best to follow the rules. Nori was unpredictable, insane, and complicated. She confused Yeva so much.
But she was still so drawn to her.
Yeva kept thinking back to that night, and all the other times she interacted with Nori. Sure, there were other experimental who Yeva would sometimes interact with, but with Nori, she was the most comfortable with, as Yeva could be herself and Nori could completely understand what Yeva was trying to say.
That was something Yeva really liked about her.
Yeva was walking with a pair of scientists when a large crash was heard. Scientists were rushing over to the middle of the cathedral where Nori was present, tentacles and claws forming from her back as she stabbed two scientists through the chest.
Yeva’s eyes widened. She pushed through the humans until she faced Nori, whose eyes were switching from a mix of yellow and purple. Yeva knew what this meant, and she quickly searched around for what she needed and saw a scientist who was standing in the corner shaking while holding the familiar golden cross. Yeva used her solver to pull it from his hands as he scurried away from the scene.
Yeva threw it at Nori until it pierced through her screen, causing her to be knocked back by the force. Her voice box glitched as she pulled out the cross and landed on the ground. Everyone stared at Yeva knelt down and helped Nori from the ground. Her eye was still glitching to where Nori nodded, letting Yeva use her solver to crack Nori’s screen where her eye was.
Nori fell onto Yeva’s shoulders as she held her, everyone staring in disbelief. After a few minutes, Nori looked up, her screen healed like nothing ever happened. Yeva held her hand as they stepped away from the scene.
“You both can’t go out-!” The scientist couldn’t finish his sentence as Yeva glared at him and used her solver to knock him into the wall. Everyone stepped back from the two as Nori and Yeva stepped outside, rain was pouring from the sky.
The two started to run into the forest, with Yeva using her solver to stop the sentinels from catching them. Nori and Yeva leaned against a tree, unsure of how far they ran from the labs.
“Yeva… you know they’re gonna catch up to us and we are gonna get in massive trouble, right?” Nori asked, her breaths heavy and uneven. Yeva nodded, and she looked at Nori as she pointed to her eye with a concerned look.
“I’m fine, dummy,” Nori says in a teasing tone. “No need to worry about me. You gotta worry about the fact you’re gonna get in trouble for hurting that scientist loser.” She says, and Yeva rolled her eyes. That action made Nori laugh.
“What have you so rebellious today? You were so nervous about getting caught last time we came out here, now you’re knocking out guys.” She asks while laughing. She stopped when she saw Yeva pointing at her with a small glare.
“Aww, I’m so proud of my influence.” Nori grinned, and Yeva furrowed her eyebrows. After a moment, it was Nori’s turn to be concerned.
“Are you fine though, Yeva?” She asked, and Yeva nodded. She was stressed over the fact she was definitely gonna be in trouble after what happened, but Nori’s safety was her main concern.
Yeva tugged on the end of Nori’s dress, which caught her off guard. She pointed to her pocket and Nori reached in and pulled out her iPod, which was now broken into pieces.
“Crap… I guess it got broken by the Solver. It’s hard to control myself when it takes control.” Nori says sadly. Yeva frowns as she watches Nori drop the pieces onto the ground. Nori reached into her pocket and pulled out the flower that Yeva picked for her the other day, it was now wilted and flattened but still kept its familiar purple shade.
“At least this is still intact,” Nori says with a sad smile. Yeva used this opportunity to grab Nori’s hand and lead her more into the forest. Nori was stunned as she asked Yeva what she was doing. Yeva kept looking around until she found a patch of familiar purple flowers. She picked a few then rushed over to Nori and tied them in her hair. The entire time, Nori stood with a blush on her screen, her core beating rapidly. When Yeva was done, Nori had at least six flowers tied sloppily in her hair.
Nori burst out in laughter, which made Yeva stand awkwardly, unsure if she did the right thing or if she just embarrassed herself by trying to make Nori feel better. When Nori calmed down, Yeva was holding her hands together with a nervous expression.
“Relax, Yeva. That made me feel better, so.. thanks.” Nori said with a genuine tone in her voice. When Yeva still looked stiff and unsure, Nori sighed to herself as she leaned close and wrapped her arms around Yeva, embracing her in an awkward hug.
Yeva could smell blood and oil coming from Nori from this distance, but that was the least of her worries. Her core was beating fast, and she felt her air vents start to power on as a way to keep her body cool. Yeva couldn’t see Nori’s embarrassed expression from this angle, the only sweet smell that came from Nori was the flowers tied in her hair.
Nori pulled back from Yeva, her hands on Yeva’s arms. “I’m sorry for worrying you Yeva, and for making you get in trouble because of me…” She says Yeva was unsure of how to react. She decided to copy Nori’s actions, putting her hands on Nori’s arms until the two were holding each other in an awkward position.
“You’re heating up a lot…” Nori says softly, feeling the rain drip down her body. Yeva rolls her eyes in response and points to Nori, as a way of saying that she was heating up too.
The two decided to hang from under a tree to prevent it from being more wet. Yeva grabbed Nori’s hand and pulled her under a tree, and despite coming into position, she still held her hand.
Nori had a blush on her screen, unsure if Yeva was aware of what she was doing, so she knocked herself gently into Yeva’s shoulder. Yeva, who finally realized what she was doing, switched her hand-holding position until her fingers were interlocked with Nori’s. Sweat was dripping down their screens and blushes were growing bright as the two looked up at the dark clouds above.
Nori was unsure of what to do. Her core was beating rapidly, and she mentally cursed out whoever idea was it to make her sweat when she was nervous.
Nori looked at Yeva.
“Yeva… I-“
Yeva stared at her, seeing how her screen was showing the same expression. They were both embarrassed, still holding hands and wet from the rain.
Yeva nodded.
“I… I really…” Nori looked around until Yeva used her free hand to gently grab Nori’s face, adverting her gaze to Yeva so the two were staring at each other.
“I really care about you… you know that?” Nori asked, and Yeva nodded.
“Do you remember the other day when we.. talked about all that romance garbage and stuff?” Yeva nodded again.
“I guess I just… I don’t know, this is really stupid…” Nori was fumbling over her words, unsure of what to say. Yeva tapped on Nori’s cheek as a way to stop her, then gave Nori a smile as her eyes softened and her blush grew.
Nori couldn’t help leaning closer to Yeva.
Yeva couldn't help leaning closer to Nori.
They stopped when their lips were so close to each other, Nori could feel the warmth of Yeva’s core from this distance.
“Is this okay?” Nori asked softly, and Yeva answered her question by connecting her lips with Nori’s.
Nori froze, she felt a small spark touch her lips at the same time she touched Yeva’s lips. Her hair was still dripping wet from the rain, the flowers still in her hair. Nori dragged her hand up Yeva’s back until her hand touched her purple hair. She dragged her fingers through, which made Yeva smile in the kiss as her fingers gently rubbed Nori’s hand.
The two pulled away, Nori had a dizzy expression on her face which made Yeva smile. Nori shook her head to calm down and process what just happened.
“Wow… that was…” Nori couldn’t find the words for it, but Yeva could understand what she was trying to say. The two sat down on the ground, their backs against the tree as Nori suddenly got the courage to pull Yeva in another kiss. Yeva didn’t expect this sudden gesture, but nonetheless still embraced Nori and her unfamiliar softness.
The two suddenly pulled back when they heard a group of people call their names. They both shot up from the ground and fanned themselves to make the blush disappear from their faces. A group of scientists appeared, with one of them holding a snarling sentinel.
“You both are in massive trouble, what were you thinking about hurting that intern, Yeva?” One of them asked, and Yeva didn’t respond as she crossed her arms. The group surrounded them, which made Nori sigh.
“Bite me, I’m going back to my locker, just take me there.” She scoffs, and the group separates into two groups as the two drones go in separate directions. Not without Nori quickly gave Yeva a peace sign with a small smile on her face as she was dragged away.
That gesture made Yeva smile.
She was hopeful that she and Nori would work things out for each other.
One day she wanted to make her dream come true of getting out of this place, but this time, Nori would be in it.