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It had only been a few months since that fateful day where A2 had lost all of her comrades, both pre-established and found family.
—well, nearly all of them. Amongst the rubble from all the destroyed machine lifeforms, A2 had found a familiar face in A4. Yet when A4 awoke, it was not the same woman she knew. The loss of their friends had taken its toll on the normally timid and unconfident girl, and her personality was completely changed along with it.
It was just something A4 had to get used to. Even when the girls reunited, that much never changed about her. Kindness replaced with snarky behavior, being headstrong in the face of danger… There were so many quirky things that she lost that day. Did it change how A4 felt?
No, not at all.
As she ran her fingers through A2’s hair, she reminisced on these small things. The other girl grumbled at this gesture.
“This is unnecessary.” If it was anyone else, she would have sliced them in half by now. She always did have a soft spot for her other half, so it was no wonder she was staying still.
“It's not! You're always getting burs in your hair. Don't you care at all about how you look in the slightest?”
“No.”
A4 shook her head as her shoulders slumped. “Oh, I figured as much. You gotta learn to take care of yourself a little, y'know that? What's gonna happen when I'm not around? Oh… before you know it, I'll be off wandering around in a vast sea of flowers.”
“No you won't. What flowers? This place is a shitfest.”
“Haha, I guess. It doesn't hurt to have a bit of optimism. I'm sure it would look good on you. I mean… it always did, but—”
“What is there to be hopeful for? Everyone else is gone. It's not all sunshines and rainbows.”
“That may be true, but you still got me, right?”
A4 let go of A2’s hair as she leaned in front of her, looking A2 in the eye. The air was silent, but not uncomfortable— not every action needed words. As they stared at one another, the visor that A4 wore had slid down slowly. She never even noticed until it fell onto the grass in front of them that it was missing.
After all, it wasn't like she had a way to see what was covering that eye anymore.
“Dang it, of course it would do this.” She reached over and picked it out of the grass, but not before A2 snatched it from her. “What are you doing?”
“Picking off those prickly bastards.”
Ah— the burs. So she could care less about what she looked like, but when it came to her…
“It doesn't matter that much anymore. I mean, look at me. I don't even have an eye there now, haha…” It was true. The blue eye she used to cover up was nothing but an empty socket now, devoid of any purpose.
“You still have hair, though. You just spent a while picking those stupid things out of mine.”
“I can't argue with that logic.” A4 brushed off the grass beside A2 before sitting beside her. “Just like old times, huh?”
A2 huffed as she handed the visor back to A4. “I still don't know why you keep this. Could’ve made something else.”
“Yeah, but it kinda feels like I'm throwing away a bunch of memories of the others if I do that.” She put it back on her face and adjusted it so the empty socket was out of view. “Ah, well…”
“It doesn't particularly interest me.”
“Aw, c'mon. You're just being stuffy.” A4 lets out a laugh. “When there's not a bunch of machines around, it's pretty nice. Don't you think so?”
Another huff.
“You know, it wouldn't hurt to smile every once in a while. You always did have a beautiful smile.”
And yet, for some reason, this made A2 turn her head. “What?”
“Sorry, thinking out loud.” A hint of a sly smirk was creeping up on the other girl's lips. “But you know it's true.”
In response, she rolled her eyes, “If you say so.”
A4 hummed quietly and stood up again, brushing off her legs and skirt— a quirk she's always had. A2 watched intently, knowing just how her companion was. Was that a smile? Usually it had been forced as of late, but a genuine smile from A2… she couldn't believe it herself. A4 glanced behind her and couldn't help but smile back.
“Oh, so now you're smiling? What for? Could it be that despite my appearance now, you still find me charming?” She teased.
“You still have the habit of dusting those tattered clothes of yours off, even if they're already fucked up. It's endearing in a way. Makes me think that maybe there's still a bit of normalcy.”
“Well, isn't that just nice of you to say! You could have just agreed with me and said it was my charm and I would have just accepted that, too.”
“And fuel your ego?” A2 shook her head, not letting the smile leave her face. “Not a chance.”
“You're not very nice.”
“Who said I was in the first place?”
“Hmmm, technically you always were a softie. Now instead of showing it, you just hide it because you're so grumpy all the time.”
“Not true.”
“ Very true.” A pair of tattered arms wrapped around the exposed neck of A2, a finger tracing around her collarbone. “You know…”
“What?” Her gaze was unmoving as she looked up.
“You're showing it right now. That softie side of you. I mean, if you didn't have it—”
“Shut up.”
A4 couldn't help but laugh at the sudden outburst. “I guess it's about time to get on the move again then, since you're getting so feisty.”
“Whatever you say.” As the girls separated, A4 laced their fingers together without hesitation, squeezing her hand tightly.
“Now we can go.”
“Is this necessary? We look like—”
“Who cares what we look like? It's just us and the endless amounts of grass, dirt, destroyed buildings…” A4 closed her eye with a smile. “Don't forget your sword, by the way.”
“I didn't plan on it.”
As the two of them walked off from where they were, it reminded them of the simpler times they had together with their friends. Memories that they wouldn't forget for a long while, staying with them for the rest of eternity.