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A chill suddenly hit the Starr Park area, surprising the Brawlers, who didn't have their plans quite right for this kind of weather. It was a time for them to walk around in warm coats and gloves, tucked into their own bodies as they crossed the streets of the town in the center of the park.
Rico blinked at the sight of countless visitors (and a few Brawlers) dressed in the same way on the streets. It seemed that everyone had agreed in advance on the style of clothes they were going to wear that afternoon, and this left him feeling a little dismayed in their midst. He was the only one not wearing a coat heavier than his body, and even though he looked so out of place, he didn't attract any stares from the crowd because he was a robot. It was natural for people to assume that he didn't need something as banal as a scarf around his metallic neck.
And they were right.
He put these thoughts aside and walked to his girlfriend Piper's bakery. There was little traffic, so the sight of several unoccupied tables welcomed him as soon as he set foot inside the establishment. The smell of freshly baked bread and the bittersweet aroma of sugar and spice made for a pleasant atmosphere.
Rico recognized all these smells, but he was sure it must be very different for a human.
Approaching the counter, he spotted Piper with her back to him finishing one of the orders. This time, however, she was wearing a pink peacoat over her usual blue dress, as well as an adorable woolen cap on her head. Rico raised a figurative eyebrow at this, curious about the sudden change of look or why she had embarked on this new fashion.
Piper noticed Rico's presence as she peeked over her shoulder and smiled, turning to him. “Oh dear, I see you've decided to come! What a joy,” she said, her eyes sparkling in a way that only Rico was capable of letting them.
Rico's eye turned a soft shade of pink, and he scratched at the back of his head, awkwardly.
“I've finished all my business at the Arcade, so I decided to come and see you.”
She picked up the mug of coffee she had prepared and placed it on the tray. The smoke caressed her dimples, and Piper lifted the tray close to her face, exhaling the sweet aroma of her creation. “It's wonderful!”
Rico watched all this intently, enamored of his girlfriend's beauty. He sometimes wondered how he managed to fall more and more in love with her.
(After all, he didn't even have a heart.)
He woke up from his trance and pushed this thought into the corner again. It was past time to ask about the choice of clothes he couldn't understand.
“Hey, baby.” Rico leaned his arm on the counter. “What's with the new clothes?” He twirled his finger around, even though there weren't that many examples of it inside the bakery at the moment.
“You mean the cold clothes? Come on, sweetie, there was a cold front here this morning.”
Rico's digital pupil thinned. “Really? But it's not cold season yet.”
Piper laughed softly and ran her free hand over Rico's face. “It's the famous unseasonable cold. Don't worry about it.”
He let out a murmur of understanding. Of course, it could only be unseasonably cold, but how could he guess? He didn't feel it.
She continued, “Have a seat at that table over there, dear. I'm just going to serve one of the customers, and I'll be right back,” Piper assured him, pointing to an empty table before walking away, carrying the tray gracefully with just one hand.
Rico obeyed and walked over to the table, pulling out a chair to sit down. All that remained was to watch her serve the customers in her loving manner, which always made Rico wonder if he deserved her. She was beautiful, intelligent, dedicated, and extremely kind—she would make his heart beat faster if he had one. Piper was the perfect woman: a girlfriend and a friend who supported him when he needed it most, and now also a solace when thoughts like that flooded his system.
But how could he not think that? He was just an old gumball machine with all his purposes redefined. There was no more Ricochet, no more anything that made him worthwhile.
He could never share the same cold or the same heat as her. He could never touch her or be touched in the right way because all she would feel was the icy metal on her soft skin. She would never have the exchange of human warmth as she wrapped him in her arms, nor would he taste her delicious delicacies without a mouth to taste them with.
Piper's touches were like the touches of an angel, but he was sure he couldn't enjoy them enough without the human ability to touch.
He sighed.
What was he doing with someone like Piper?
“Okay, we can talk a bit now. I'm not getting many customers because of the cold.” Piper rubbed her arms, pretending to shiver as she sat down opposite Rico.
The smile on her face gradually crumbled as she noticed the bluish tint in his eye.
“Did something happen, sweetheart?” she asked with clear concern in her tone and slid her hand across the table to lay it on his.
Her touch made a warmth run through his circuits, but it was false. He knew it was.
Rico looked deep into her eyes and said, “Piper, why are you still with me?”
She blinked, surprised. “What do you mean?”
“I can't even warm you up. I also can't accompany you in these clothes in the cold because I don't feel it,” he explained in the saddest robotic tone Piper had ever heard.
“Come on, that's nonsense! It doesn't matter to me.” Piper shook her head to reinforce her point, rubbing her thumb over his hand.
“But it matters to me.” Rico stared at her. In his eye, there was only the deepest sadness. “I'm just a gumball machine. I can't give you what a human could.”
A deafening silence settled between them, and Rico felt his circuits burn with regret. He needed to get it out in the open, but had he offended her this time? He did everything wrong, and each time his thoughts became more real.
This was the moment she would let him.
“What could a human give me that you can't?” Piper retorted in a firm tone, staring at him with a pressuring gaze.
Rico would have swallowed dry at that moment if he had the right parts for it.
He tried to pull his hand away, but Piper held onto it like it was the most important thing in her life.
“P-Piper, I... I can't keep up with you in human ways. I can feel the closest thing to the smells, sensations, and feelings that a human feels, but it's not the same.” Rico's eye remained downcast the entire speech, his shoulders shrugging with shame. “I'll never feel how soft your skin is, or how good it feels to put on warm coats.”
He rubbed his fingers back against her skin, trying to capture the sweet texture in it. Even though it was the only and most advanced way to feel her, Rico knew it was nowhere near real touch.
A human's touch.
“Rico.” The harsh call and not at all caramelized tone Piper always used startled him, but he forced himself to look at her. “You have to understand that this is what makes you special!”
She grabbed both his hands with a strength that still surprised him sometimes.
“I love you for who you are. I don't care about any of that, because that's you.”
Rico felt a drop of oil form in his eye. “Piper, I—”
“We can still do all those things you said, I don't care if it's not like a human,” Piper said with a wide smile on her face, the most beautiful to Rico. “It's those quirks that make me like you more and more.”
If he had no words before, he had far fewer now. He only reacted when he felt a tear run down his cheek and Piper's thumb rubbing it dry.
“I would never regret being with you. From the first time we met, until now, I love you.”
Piper kissed his fingers affectionately, and a pink tinge came to Rico's eye at his girlfriend's gesture.
“I-I'm sorry, Piper. I didn't mean to treat our relationship like that, it's just that I love you so much...”
“Shh,” she squeaked at him, putting her index finger against the front of his face. “It's all right, darling. I understand. Just... Try not to think like that anymore, okay?”
“I'll try,” he said, smiling with his eye.
“Good to hear.” Piper brushed her finger across the screen of his eye and stood up, making him look at her in confusion. “I have to get back to work, more clients are coming!”
“Oh, that's fine. You can go there.”
“Since it's going to be cold for a few days, how about coming over to my place after work? We can curl up in warm blankets while watching a movie, how about that?”
The request made his non-existent heart warm, a unique sensation that only she could give him. It was in these moments that he understood that it made no difference whether he was human or not; the feeling was still the same.
“I'd love to, baby.”
Piper smiled and sent him a wink before turning away, heading towards a table that had just been crowded by new customers.
Perhaps it would be a good idea for him to enjoy the cold with Piper. He could find ways to warm her up without needing human warmth.
With her support, he knew he could do it.