Chapter Text
A soft, distant clap of thunder drew you from your focus, eyes shifting over from your latest project to instead stare at the closest window. The usually pretty blue sky was instead a stormy gray, the sun nowhere to be seen, tucked away behind a legion of dark clouds. Hm, it seemed like it was going to be raining soon.
Unbothered, you were fixed to return to your project— A cinnamon roll. You’d been trying to perfect the art of baking for the past week or so, your oven still stunk from the last attempt of the sweet treat you’d attempted making.
The scent of burnt cinnamon and sugar was acrid, and you’d just barely managed to get it out of your kitchen but that oven would be smelling like burnt sugar for decades to come, you were sure. With as steady hands as you could muster, you moved to gently pour the mix of cinnamon sugar into the center of the dough.
All was going well, watching the sweet, sticky mixture begin to coat the sides of the dough brought you a sense of satisfaction one would get from raising something well. Though in this case, all you were raising were your glucose levels.
With a proud smile, you finished applying the last of the sugar, popping the newly finished pastry into the pre-heated oven. It was going to be perfect this time, there was nothing that could possibly go wrong.
Though that thought immediately vanished at the sharp sound of thunder. Flinching, you raised a hand to cover your ears, though the damage was already done, that telltale ringing enough to stir a little headache. It was loud, loud enough to have your eardrums ringing and goosebumps prickling along your skin.
With that clap of thunder, it brought the rain back to the forefront of your mind. Right! Rain.. You’d been so unbothered with it you hadn’t considered it any threat to you indoors, though as you peered through the kitchen window once more, a thought flitted through your mind.
Didn’t you have.. Clothes outside? And just like that, the cinnamon roll was the last of your worries, the uncooked pastry left forgotten as you hurried to the door.
Grabbing onto the familiar, worn leather of your jacket, it was a mess of limbs as you hurriedly shoved your arms into the sleeves.
With the jacket half thrown on, you made your way out the front door and into your own garden. Indeed, your clothes were off to the side, blowing harshly in the wind that the impending storm brought along.
Though it was a relief to see that the pins held them fast in place despite it all, and you quickly began to pluck the articles of clothing from the line. They were all dry, thankfully, and that meant all you had to do was get inside before the rain actually started to fall.
Though through it all, you managed to catch an odd sound that definitely shouldn’t belong in your garden. It was hard to hear over the wind, but you could distinctly make out a whirring. There weren’t any machines, and the only thing you had set up outside that could make a whirring noise would be your water heater.
This brought an entirely new dilemma to the front of your mind. Should you focus on the water heater now, while the rain hasn't fallen or get your clothes inside? Pursing your lips, you tried to think of a way to go about it, though even then you’d already begun to unconsciously move close towards the soft whirring. Though what you saw was definitely not what you’d ever been prepared to see.
Right there in your garden was an omnic, their large frame clearly beaten and battered, and they were the source of that whirring. Which, now that you were closer, you could tell was actually much louder than you’d anticipated.
The state they were in was awful, and that was something anyone could tell with one glance. Their face plating seemed to be shattered, tiny pieces of shrapnel entirely missing while others seemed to be jutting out or stabbing back into them.
Not to mention the fact that their arms were almost completely destroyed, most of the plating there seemed to be crushed, bullet holes and what seemed to be plasma wounds laced the front of their chassis.
It revealed bits of vulnerable endo-skeleton that seemed to be covered in delicate wiring. Only a few of their lights seemed to be on, and the others were dimmed, showing a sign of.. Unconsciousness?
Whatever it was, it was worrying, and it didn’t take much of a genius to realize they were on their last legs.
Sighing softly, you moved closer, though a bit hesitant. As much as you’d love to help the omnic, not just anyone could get these kinds of wounds, not to mention the purple and black color scheme.
This looked to be a Null Sector allied omnic, and they were bad news entirely. Though, with how pitiful they looked, strewn across your garden, maybe they were harmless now..?
It was stupid to try this, but it wasn’t like you could just lift them up anyway. They were at least thrice your height, and that was just from what you could tell by how they were lying. Awkwardly, you stared at their limp form before staring down at your clothes. Well, I guess they would end up needing to be washed again anyway.
With that in mind, you quickly began to makeshift a sling for them, tying a few of your shirts together around their middle to use as a lead.
If worse comes to worst, you pull your entire arm out of its socket.. But, you could also succeed in dragging them out of the little area and inside where you could see if you could actually do something about their.. everything.
Grabbing a firm hold of the fabric, you dug your ankles into the floor and gave one strong pull. Only to wheeze at the immediate strain you could feel attacking your body.
They were definitely too heavy to pull, your arms and legs were screaming, a throbbing pain settling in your muscles at the rather stupid attempt to tug them along.
It didn’t work, so what would you do now..?
They were still, not even moved a single inch and the storm clouds were—
The moment you thought of them, the first droplet decided to land on your nose. The wet sensation wasn’t pleasant, and it was quickly followed by more. The rain beginning to steadily fall and paint the already dark sky an even murkier shade of gray.
The rain that fell from the sky was refreshing as much as it was frustrating. It’d been so long since it had rained in this area.
Each droplet that hit the ground seemed to soak in the moment they landed, the dry earth greedily taking every drop it could get. Thankfully, it seemed like it’d be raining for a while, and that meant most of your plants would be flourishing for the next few days.
Though.. It was frustrating because now you were soaked to the bone and so was the omnic you’d been desperately trying to pull out of the garden.
What would you do now? Heaving a sigh, you raised a hand— palms angry and red from all your intense pulling- to brush your soaked hair up and out of your face. “You know, I really wish you were awake so I could just.. Ask you to walk, because there’s no way I’m doing this.”
Though the moment you finished brushing your hair away from your face, you turned to look back at the omnic who’d completely ruined your clothes. If you ignored the fact that the decision was entirely yours in the first place.
Though where you once expected to see the hollowness of their sockets, your eyes were instead met with violently red eyes.
They were hauntingly beautiful, such a vibrant shade of scarlet that it almost mimicked blood. They seemed to glow, drawing you deeper and deeper into their void.
Beautiful.. Those were the only way to describe those eyes, their sheer intensity and brightness had blown you away. So much so, it was only after you realized you’d been gawking like an idiot that you hadn’t even been breathing.
Parting your lips to speak, you were interrupted by their— His voice.
“To think.. There’d be a day in this future where I was groveling before a human.. Pathetic..”
It made you freeze, breath caught in your throat as you were locked in an intense stare off with the omnic who was so, so still on the floor. You definitely didn’t think he was groveling, and you were not going to say that considering the sheer hatred you could see in those eyes.
Swallowing, you dragged your tongue over your lips, ignoring the taste of the murky rainwater so you could speak. “... Well, I was just asking you to stand up.. It’s raining, I don’t think it’s good for whatever you have going on, I’ll be honest..”
The silence between you both was so thick that you almost wanted to just bash your head against it.
Was that the wrong thing to say? It seemed like he was going to gut you with how intense his stare was, and maybe you should just leave. Awkwardly, you let go of the makeshift lead you’d been using in an attempt to move him.
Yeah, it would definitely be best to not try that again, not when he seemed to be so agitated already.
That simply left you both staring at each other in silence, though simply standing there under his scrutinizing gaze was becoming more unbearable by the minute. Swallowing thickly, you gave an awkward smile, slowly inching backwards.
“Okay.. Well. I’m going back inside. Have fun with the rain.”
If looks could kill you’d be dead by now, you were sure. That’s how intense his gaze had gotten, and that was all it took to have you scamper away from his body.
There was absolutely no way you were going to try convincing him to get up and come to your home when he looked like he was an inch away from flaying you where you stood.
Yeah, absolutely not!
It didn’t take long for you to reach your front door, hurriedly twisting the knob and stepping inside. Taking in a shaky breath, you stepped inside the warmth of your home, immediately dropping to your knees.
The clothes you wore were heavy, stubbornly sticking to your body like a second layer of skin. Your hair was even messier now, sticking to your forehead and neck uncomfortably.
Though you couldn’t get those eyes out of your mind, the haunting red that seemed to be hiding so much behind them.
Well, it seemed like he wouldn’t be the last of your problems, not when you could smell an acrid scent coming from further inside of your home. One that seemed oddly reminiscent of burnt sugar.
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?”