Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It all happened faster than anyone could’ve predicted. One minute they were on the pyramid, sliding and shooting, the next they’d plummeted to their inevitable demise. Gone. Dead. Left in pieces and a grotesque puddle of blood that had already begun to cake onto the sandstone in the sun as their predecessor remained standing.

It would’ve actually stayed that way if V2 hadn’t discovered a hidden function of the terminals. If they hadn’t been snooping around, they would’ve never found out that they could upload themselves to the terminal’s database. Their consciousness, saved as a file. It felt almost stupidly obvious once they found out, if they could connect to virtual worlds inside the terminals, obviously data could be uploaded.

Just in case I lose. They told themselves, watching the meter fill as their systems ran hotter whilst transferring what was probably terabytes upon terabytes of their consciousness. Their ‘self.’ A backup in anticipation of potential failure, a smart idea.

Yet when their vessel was destroyed, there was no form left to put that data into. An obvious and stupid oversight on their part.

They were stuck. So, as always, they had to adapt.

Having lived in the sandbox for a while now, they’d managed to slaughter the other machines who had also utilized this feature, leaving them alone in the empty, quiet space of what they now knew as the ‘construct.’ Something about the name sounded familiar, but they had no idea why. 

They’d set a night/day cycle into the code of the terminal controlling the skies, a reminder of a once familiar time system they’d utilized for a long time before they’d been forced to migrate to the confusing and vast stretches of Hell, a place where time seemed to be no real contributing factor in terms of the environment. All it showed was movement and energy in Hell, never day or night. But with a constant and familiar change in place, they started to feel like they were grounded in this new reality, even if that was such a small thing to celebrate.

Luckily, the terminals still had some favoritism, gracing them with the tools to expand and create as they pleased. It took them many cycles to finally get used to their gifted tools enough to build something similar to a home, something they’d almost forgotten their old desire for. It wouldn’t ever compare to the familiarity of the surface entirely, but they were just glad something similar could even exist like this. The sizes of their handmade furniture and other wares were a bit scuffed but they could live with it, this wasn’t meant for perfection.

Their data still let them keep a lot of things, thankfully. Despite having a very fuzzy, distant memory of what happened after the transfer, they knew the gist that they had died. But in this world, they had their whiplash still, so that was something. They could’ve come here armless again, which would’ve nearly sent them over the edge. But they were grateful they came here with both arms, even if one was just a feeble replacement compared to the original, self-modified beauty that had been stolen.

It had been several more cycles before they’d noticed something curious. One morning, the sky was flickering. Presuming it was just the terminal bugging out, they dismissed it as insignificant and unimportant. It would have notified them if any corruption was happening. Besides, Hell never seemed to be peaceful enough to keep electricity going superbly fast all the time. 

They took to spending their day out by the lake. They'd been working on making a bridge to the little island in the middle just for fun, but their coordination with the builder arm was janky at best, so they continued to delete and retry again and again. It was a meticulous build, with support beams under and even little ‘nails’ ‘holding’ the planks ‘in place.’ It was mind-numbing to redo it sometimes. Better than fighting to the death, at least. Or maybe not. The boredom was getting to them pretty badly. They wanted to have something fun to do, even if it was just a little less menial than this.

Continuing to work on the bridge, they carefully expanded the preview box to the size they wanted the wood plank to be, placing it. A little lopsided—but it’d do fine. They anchored it in place, then moved on to the next one. The sun was starting to set by now, but hell, staying up had no effect on them. They’d keep working, they wanted to get it done.

As night approached, something felt off. The sandbox kept glitching out, lagging, as if something was utilizing the terminal and the CPU usage was too high for the world to load properly. The processing times were getting on their nerves. It got so annoying that the machine eventually just stopped working, opting to sit by the lake frustratedly and play around with the hook of their whiplash. Even that lagged.

When a sudden massive spike of lag came, they froze up, just silently waiting for it to be over so they could just shut down for the night. But soon enough, the lag died down. The ambient white noise of the sandbox came back to life, allowing them to move and think properly again. Yet something still felt off. They glanced at the flat area of grass behind them with a sense of unease, seeing a figure curled up on the ground, static surrounding its form before it finally loaded.

V2 stood up cautiously, drawing their piercer from their uppermost right wing, keeping it close to their hip. They approached the nearly-obscured individual, the LED of their lens and wings dimly illuminating it. Their fans ran fast and their blood ran ‘cold’ when they looked closer and observed it to be an organic being. This thing was an anomaly. Organic beings couldn’t upload themselves to a machine, and V2 most certainly hadn’t spawned a clone of someone in. This one looked far too unfamiliar to be any husk, either. They reached their foot out and poked at the body lying motionless in the grass, tilting their head curiously.

“Get up.” The mech ordered quietly, watching as it stirred to life slowly but surely. Sitting up, a pained whine left the creature. Something akin to a stray dog whimpering. They stared on as it confusedly looked around, then turned and spotted V2. They squinted with their shutters, their fingers holding tight onto the grip of their gun. 

Never sure. Anything could be hostile.

“M-…Machine...?” A surprisingly hoarse voice responded, putting a speed bump to their suspicion briefly. Two armored hands made their way to the ground, pushing down as it lifted itself, stumbling over its own feet in the process of trying to acclimate itself. An armored body that looked to be a warrior of sorts with such weakness was foreign to the machine. They started sizing up the newcomer as they loomed over it, curiously glancing over its form without much attention to detail.

“What is your designation?”

“M…My-? Oh. Gabriel.” The sick-sounding thing responded. V2 slowly brought their pointer over the trigger. Something about it didn’t feel right to them.

“Tell me why you have arrived here.”

It looked down at the short, tough blades of grass, then around at the rest of the sandbox, seeming distracted by the inevitable concern this environment brought it. The mech only grew impatient.

“Answer.”

“I am afraid I do not know. Machine, where are we?” Gabriel asked, its hand weakly gripping at the whiplash.

“I am not named ‘Machine,’ my name is V2.” They responded bluntly, feeling the soft grasp leave almost as soon as it came. This thing definitely had not been expecting that. V2 would’ve felt some semblance of guilt, but they passed over the speed bump. They were abruptly reminded that this was a potential threat to the safe, ultra-digital coded abode they’d accepted as their hiding place from that leech.

“The successor.” It commented, voice wavering with uncertainty. The title of ‘successor’ was fitting, but the harsh reminder of the fact they were a successor made the deep-buried feelings of contempt come back up.

A few seconds passed before V2 responded, their wings flicking with disinterest. “Yes.” They slid their gun back to their wing, blinking a few times as they processed this information. One thing was for certain:

This thing wouldn’t stay a problem for long.

Chapter Text

They should’ve taken care of it by now. But sitting next to it, the angel had been exhausted, seeking solace in the warm air of the confines of their construct. V2 had only begrudgingly accompanied it, but they were growing impatient. Leaving it out by itself, they swiftly stood up and entered their makeshift home, unable to stand the presence of whatever the hell that thing was. They wanted to shut down. It was in their schedule, they needed to, they didn’t want anyone getting in the way of their nightly shut down. Their routine was set in stone and not a damn thing could change that.

In the morning, they’d woken from their rest and gone outside, looking around for the creature. They didn’t see it at first until they saw it had crawled over next to the terminals. The sight was a bit pathetic in their (not so) humble opinion. Especially when they noticed it had fallen asleep. Shrugging, they walked off and went to keep working on their bridge, seeing as they had nothing better to do. Interacting with the intruder wasn’t on the top of their list of priorities either. Ever so often, though, they’d find themselves curiously glancing over. In the daylight, that thing was much easier to see. No. It was unimportant. But they also wanted to see what this thing was in more detail. Muttering curses to themselves, they stood from the half-constructed bridge and approached carefully.

The thing was adorned with many pieces of armor, many of which didn’t seem practical at all. Exposed waist, exposed neck, exposed palms, and a skirt with no armor under or over it other than a belt and a thicker piece of fabric which V2 soon identified as a loincloth. Squinting, they wondered if this creature was some form of stupid or just plain suicidal, leaving all of its vital components so open to attack. Maybe both.

They soon noticed that the helmet had a cross on it, gold and bright as it reflected the sunlight. Ah. This was the angel they’d seen in the artwork of Limbo’s false castle. Gabriel. That finally clicked. An archangel from the heavens, somehow trapped in a terminal. This was curious. Now they were almost…concerned as to how this could’ve even happened. Maybe this had been some form of trickery on the terminal’s behalf? No. That thing hardly had the interest to interact with them, let alone do something this intricate as a prank. They supposed this angel was owed a little bit of decency.

“Wake up.” They spoke, this time with more confidence. It stirred awake, a few unintelligible murmurs following. It looked like a scared animal as it glanced up at them despite the lack of any expression. “Stand up.” They beckoned it, watching it stand, struggling a little, grasping at its chest with its hand. They made no effort to help. Only a stern gaze and quiet humming of fans were any applicable signs of a reaction. This thing was so obedient. At least it wasn’t trying to kill them. That made them feel a little less unsafe in this trespasser’s wake. As it stood, they saw scars and bullet holes littered across the exposed abdomen of it from observing its stature. The armor was scuffed and the fabric was stained with blood, an ugly but familiar color that almost looked like rust. They came to the realization that this thing wasn’t weak because it hadn’t had any strength to begin with, it was weak because it had every last ounce of life torn away from it. They only managed to feel a sliver of sympathy.

“What is the last thing you remember before arriving here?” V2 questioned, watching it think. It was like they could see cogs turning in its head.

“I sat up where it was warm, telling the machine that death was approaching too slowly and that I was in great pain. All I recall after that is that it put its gun to my head.”

“You…spoke to it?”

“I held it and admitted everything I felt.”

“Felt? For what?”

“For it.”

“…What a waste of time. It doesn’t care.”

They could practically feel the dejected glance off to the side from the other, unable to think of much other than their disliking for these circumstances.

“It held me, too. I doubt that is an uncaring gesture.”

“For easier access to blood, most likely.”

“Which had long since run dry. It would not have made it as quick and painless as it was if it was looking at me as a meal.”

Unable to manage a response to that, V2 fell quiet, whirring in frustration. The anguish and bitter feeling of their brief and unfathomably small understanding of their own end made them want to take this angel and kill him. Sympathy and care for that worthless lot of flesh and wire was meaningless. Their internals were at dangerously high temperatures just from the thought.

They managed to look at Gabriel, seeing him staring right back. Devoid of much emotion other than anger at the moment, V2 turned and walked off, hearing hurried steps as the archangel followed. “There isn’t anywhere far that you can go, Machine. Could you spare the courtesy of telling me where I am?”

”The Construct.” The mech angrily clenched the fist of the whiplash, wishing the talon-like fingers of the knuckleblaster were there instead. They knew it would ask what that was, deciding to add a little more context. “It’s a virtual sandbox run by the terminals.” Looking back at the angel, it had its…rather dull and gray wings outspread anxiously, flicking them. A few feathers had gone loose and it seemed to bring one wing to its hands, picking at more feathers. It reminded them of a bird when it was stressed. “Stop that.” They smacked its hands, watching it flinch before realizing what it was doing. They hadn't a clue of why they did that. Old instinct of some sort. This thing wasn’t human, though. They shouldn’t have felt any instinct to protect it.

“That does not make any sense though. I am—“

“—An organic being, yes. I have no knowledge of how you ended up here.”

Gabriel fell silent, sighing wearily. “I suppose this means I am stuck here?”

Well, they could easily kill it. Its guard was down, it would only take two swift movements to end this whole thing. But…maybe some company would be nice. Although this thing had fond feelings for their rival, maybe they could get it to think differently. The idea didn’t sound too bad. “I guess so. I will allow you to reside here so long as you don’t try anything stupid.”

The angel’s wings lit up from a dark gray to a slight blue tinged with yellow at the tips. “Worry not, I don’t wish to bring you any harm. It does not go unappreciated.” It extended a hand. With hesitancy, V2 slowly took the angel’s hand in their own and shook it.

—

Over the course of the next few days, things had slowly settled into a new sort of norm. They’d given the angel a new area of its own. Nothing spectacular by any means, but they didn’t really care to make it good. It had a roof, a bed, and some other stuff they had already kind of forgotten about. It was something and they couldn’t be bothered to give this thing special treatment. They could coexist and that was about the extent of what they were willing to sacrifice.

It seemed content enough, though. It had no qualms about its new living space and V2 was rather happy with that. Maybe this thing wouldn’t be so insufferable after all. It seemed to know humility. They had also picked up on the docile nature of it, realizing it wasn’t really energetic at any point. Just a worn out angel with nowhere else to go. It didn’t cause them much trouble, though. In the mornings it would greet them and in the night it would stop by to say goodnight. It spent most of its time just resting or watching V2 as they worked on whatever they felt like working on that day, mostly consisting of adding the fake trees in their catalog and making the place look a little more alive.

Gabriel wouldn’t be of any help, of course. It didn’t have this toolset. They didn’t mind though, it just meant it couldn’t get in their way. It didn’t even seem keen on trying, either. It seemed to prefer its new lifestyle of being lost in thought and uninterested in most things. Admittedly, the exhausted nature of the angel did sort of concern the machine, but they didn't really take the time to think much about it. It was probably just in shock from whatever happened to get it in here.

—

Days turned to weeks, every day mostly feeling the same. It was boring and unpleasant, to say the least. Dull and unimportant. At least the angel was there. It provided some form of relief, their knowledge they weren’t alone anymore. It was strange and fascinating to look at, they almost wanted to study it fully like some sort of specimen. They’d truthfully never met a supreme angel before, only virtues meant to do their dirty work. But this one was an idol to all of Heaven and a lot of Hell (exceptions include Lust and Greed), it was hard not to be interested to some extent of what its life was like. Did it feel much? What did it know? They wanted to see for themselves. It had to be so vast and unlike anything they’d previously thought, the curiosity was practically eating them alive.

Sat beside a little scuffed fake campfire they’d made from the torch item (clipping the pedestal under the ground) and some wood, they waited for the angel to wake up. The warm glow of fire was actually kind of soothing. It let them feel a little less overwhelmed by the past and the bleak future ahead of them. They almost wanted to just shut down briefly here, where it was warm and safe, nothing to harm them anymore. Nothing to compete against. It brought them some semblance of comfort.

Gabriel hadn’t gotten up at his usual time, though. Usually by the time the sun was just starting to rise it’d wake up and go outside to see the sky, sitting by the lake and observing quietly. It was odd it didn’t seem to do so today. But they liked their schedules, they didn’t want the intruder to suddenly switch up on this rather fresh routine they’d developed together.

Entering the home of the angel (without knocking, of course, because they thought etiquette wasn’t really necessary), they looked around and noticed the thing still asleep on its bed, curled up. Its armor was discarded off to the side on a table, with only its skirt remaining along with…something they couldn’t make out around his chest. Curiously, the mech tilted their head and crept to the bedside, observing the bruised and irritated skin wrapped tight in what looked like old cloth. That certainly couldn’t be comfortable.

“…Angel.” V2 poked at one of the bruised areas, causing it to whine and sit up rather quickly. “You were not awake as usual. Why is that?” They squinted their optic and leaned forward, watching the other lean back.

“I did not rest well last night…”

“Well…how could you with that clothing practically strangling you?” They motioned to its chest, watching it stumble on its words as its head glanced down then back up at them. It clutched the blanket tighter.

“That is none of your concern! Besides, it wasn’t regarding that, Machine. I just have trouble when it comes to resting.”

“You do it all the time, though. I find that hard to believe.”

“Because I’m hardly ever asleep, I’m just laying there. Why do you take so must interest in this?”

“…What is such restrictive clothing for, anyway?”

“None of your concern, Machine.”

The angel sighed with irritation and stood up, stretching and wincing a little when it bent back too far, lifting a hand at the cloth squeezing on its flesh. V2 just looked at it silently to show how foolish it seemed right now. “You are hurt.”

“It’s not of any importance.” Gabriel responded quietly, its wings drooping to the floor, that same usual gray hue they always were. “I don’t wish to take it off.”

“Why? Do you wish to hide something?” The machine inquired, stepping closer and watching it raise its arms a little in anticipation. “I’m not going to remove it if you don’t wish for me to, but I think it is stupid and not in your best interest to wear something so irritating to your form.”

The angel looked up at V2, staring into their optic a bit tensely. “I’ll repeat myself once more, it isn’t important.” It shook its head, walking over to the table and grabbing pieces of armor, slowly slipping them back on. As the mech watched, they wondered if they could maybe ask the terminal to provide some more comfortable clothing for it. The thought didn’t linger in their mind long enough to be of much concern, though.

They wondered instead if something in its past made it feel the need to endure this now, even in a space with not many expectations to be had.

That was a question for another day.

Chapter Text

It had been quite a long time since V2 had attempted to contact the terminal housing them, given that it almost never seemed to be willing to do much. But, in the dead of night, they’d finally opened the command panel on the faux-terminal, typing out a message.

> C-04, I have a request.

The rest of the empty space in the UI seemed to stay stagnant, unresponding. That wouldn’t work. It couldn’t possibly be satisfactory to a bored terminal not to at least indulge in some conversation with the life forms it held inside of it.

[What now?]

> I have a guest.

[Yeah, clearly. Tell that bastard he almost fucking broke me. If he wanted to kill himself, he should’ve done it somewhere else.]

Intrigue came forth, but only momentarily.

> …That is not in my interest at the moment. I have a request as well. You can create practically anything for the sandbox, correct?

[Depends. What is it that you want?]

> Clothes.

[For the fleshie?]

>…Don’t call him that.

> it.*

[You have a lot of points. I’ll be willing to make a trade, since I’d be damned if I just gave you stuff for free.]

> How many do you want?

[30k.]

> For fucks sake, did an American manufacture you? What kind of ’corporate greed’ incentive were you coded with?

[Deal or no deal?]

> Fine. Deal.

30 thousand was quickly withdrawn from their balance, leaving them with just under 100 thousand. This endeavor to shelter this angel was gonna be a pain in their ass. But quickly, they looked to the side and saw a laundry basket full of casual clothing. Mostly neutral colors other than the few pops of blue or red. Along with a milk crate filled with soap bars. They assumed that was so the angel could actually clean the clothes off, maybe itself too. It was still fairly roughed up from what happened to it in its actual life, they wouldn’t be surprised if it wanted to take a bath.

Closing the command panel, they picked up the crate and basket, carrying it to Gabriel’s small residence. It had been oversleeping nearly every day now, almost as if its schedule flipped from being awake during the day to being awake all night. The sun was setting, maybe it’d be awake. It’d been a while since their…rather tense conversation. Gabriel had been refusing to talk much after. Maybe this little gift could make up for it. Not that its opinion mattered much to them anyways, but it would be ideal if it wasn’t tense with them.

They set the crate down to open the door, peeking their head in and watching the sliver of light fill the room enough to illuminate the form still in bed. They opened it fully, the mech’s hand sliding off the doorknob slowly when the light hit the angel’s wings, causing the iridescence of them to shine in a way that truly highlighted the holiness of this creature. Perhaps this intricate design of a being really did spark their interest. They grabbed the crate again and walked in.

“Angel, I have something for you.” The machine spoke loud enough to be heard, but gentle enough not to startle the poor thing. They observed it whine and look back at them tiredly, wings and arms stretching a little as it woke up.

“Mmh…? What is it?”

“Clothes. That armor cannot be comfortable.” They gestured to the armor it had been quite literally sleeping in. They presumed it was because of their previous discovery. Maybe now it felt the need to hide that ridiculous cloth idea it had.

“H…How? Where did you—“

“—That isn’t important. There’s also some soap here if you want to wash up. I can bring some water from the lake.” V2 said before realizing Gabriel had no place to wash up in its home. The machine had a tub for cleaning themselves, though…maybe they could allow it to clean up there.

“…You are never this generous.”

They paused in their tracks, looking back over at the clothes to avoid eye contact. “I don’t understand why that should be important.”

The angel sat up and slowly stood from its spot on the bed, walking a few steps over and standing beside the taller one, looking up at them. “I know that you did not want me here, Machine. I am grateful nonetheless for your acceptance of me despite that.”

Their circuits heated up a little at how it spoke to them so kindly. It was a small statement but it was still somewhat foreign. They hadn’t received much gratitude from humanity before it perished, so an angel of all things harboring respect for them was incredibly odd.

“I will show you to a bathtub, Angel.” They dismissed it, letting it pick out some clothes and a bar of soap before leading him off to their home.

V2 had been waiting quite a while for the guest to finish up, sitting near the bathroom and playing around with a coin they’d stolen from V1 in the real world. The shine had long since worn down from the anxious fidgeting they constantly used it for, becoming dull and having only a faded remnant of the symbol for the New Peace on it.

Eventually, it emerged. Clothed and clean, albeit looking a bit awkward. They couldn’t blame it, being a heavily glamorized angel wearing clothes even most human civilians wouldn’t have the taste for was a bit humbling. The shirt it wore seemed to be a bit tight, a white turtleneck with a golden cross necklace sat around the ribbed fabric. The pants looked to be simple black sweatpants that were too long for its legs, sitting spilled around its ankles. Overall, pretty average and plain outfit. It looked more like a priest on their off day than an angel now. 

Its wings were awkwardly puffed out from being freshly dried, which caused V2 to laugh a little. “What? Do I look that ridiculous?” Gabriel stammered on its words, looking down at itself to check its appearance.

“No, no. It’s your wings, Angel. They make you look like a baby bird.” The machine mused, listening to it let out a frustrated whine in response. “Don’t worry. It’s not an issue, I just found it funny.”

“Ha-ha…how humorous, Machine.” Gabriel huffed, flicking its wings upward with agitation. “I cannot control it, that is just how they work. Your taunt will not change that.”

“I know. You’re very defensive, by the way.”

“Not many have the gall to speak to an angel like that, I am very surprised that you think you can get away with that.”

“I know I can.”

“…I’ve only ever made one exception.”

Ah. There it was. The yearning. V2 cocked their head back with irritation. “Trust me, I’m aware.” They whirred with unease, tensing their grip on the arms they’d now crossed.

When would they ever have the bliss of forgetting?

Chapter Text

3 months. It had been 3 months since the angel arrived. Every day was mostly a blur as per usual with the occasional schedule switch. V2 had finally expanded Gabriel’s residence and given it more of a home than just a room. To be honest, they’d been getting along well despite how much the two disagreed on…one subject. But that wasn’t often brought up, so it was fine for the most part.

For once, the machine looked outside and saw Gabriel by the fire, sitting close to it and just staring at the ‘flames.’ They felt their head tilt to the side, keeping a watchful eye over the angel with curiosity before stepping out and closing their door behind them. They made quick strides over to it, standing next to it quietly. “You’re deep in thought again.”

“Huh? Oh. I am not thinking much, to be honest. I’m trying to use the warmth to relieve some pain.” Gabriel responded gently, its wings twitching slightly. They sat down, resting near it.

“What’s bringing you pain?” V2 inquired, looking at it with intrigue. They’d grown a little more fond of it over the past few months but they’d never admit it. They couldn’t ever tell how it felt, either. It seemed grateful, but always lost in the mourning of what it used to have.

“My chest.” It mumbled, fiddling with its t-shirt by pulling the bottom of the collar forward, making the front sag over its form loosely. Ah. They knew what this was about.

“Maybe it’s that…I don’t know…suffocating cloth you have coiled around it like a snake.”

“Be quiet.”

“You cannot do this to yourself, Angel.”

“You mustn't pry into what I am doing.”

“I can’t help it. I’m curious as to why you let yourself suffer.”

“You would not be okay with what is underneath.”

“Don’t assume things so quickly. I don’t care what might be wrong or unusual about you. I’m forced to live alongside you, either way. It truly doesn't matter.”

Their reassurance seemingly fell on deaf ears until Gabriel sighed. “Could…you help me take it off, then?” It requested meekly, lifting its shirt with a little hesitation.

“…Sure.” V2 scooted closer, watching it remove the shirt entirely and reveal himself. It wasn’t anything explicit or ill-intentioned by any means, so the machine didn’t care much for the sight of it. There were no feelings behind any of this, just a favor being done to ease someone’s pain.

When they slowly undid the wrappings, Gabriel winced in pain with each movement, even if said movements were as delicate as they could manage for a big hunk of metal. Revealing the flesh under had to be slow and careful so as not to harm the poor angel.

When they finally unraveled the cloth entirely, their gaze landed upon a scarred section of chest on its back, many healed, many relatively fresh. It still seemed nervous about turning around, so V2 patiently waited for it to get comfortable. When it finally did, the sight was certainly unexpected.

“Oh, so that is why you were wrapping it so tight.” They commented, looking back up to its helmet. “You were flattening your chest.” They added, trying to keep their glances polite and understanding for this at the very least. This was a touchy subject for them, too. They understood to some extent.

“It makes me…unsightly.” It muttered with embarrassment, looking off to the side. “I am not supposed to look so…human.”

“It isn’t because of your identity?”

“It…it is complicated. I feel…’neutral’ about myself, in a sense. I do not care as to what ’gender’ role I fit into. That is a subjective thing. But to be so similar to a human, it sickens me. It makes me feel…unworthy.”

“There’s nothing to be so sickened for. You were made in God’s image, were you not?”

“One who left me oh so long ago. Left me to die. Left the world to spiral down into a parasitic hole He had created.”

“…I see.”

“You are…far less…critical of me than I thought you would be.”

”There is nothing worthy of criticism here. You forget that I am a machine. Issues like these aren’t often in my scope.”

“Right. I do not know why I would…think that. I am so used to…” It was clearly choked up at this point, too pained both physically and emotionally to speak properly. V2 just sat awkwardly and glanced away. They didn’t know how to comfort anyone. They’d spent so long being self absorbed for their own sake that their sense of longing to fit in with organic creatures in terms of empathy had gone out the window.

“Lord…O’ Lord…what am I doing?” Gabriel’s hands made their way to hide itself once more, shielding its bare skin from the light. Old habits, they supposed. Shame in the name of someone who’d abandoned it. That was depressing. “Machine…I…I cannot believe these circumstances.”

”…You need to rest. You’re about to be in hysterics.” V2 sounded uninterested as usual, but truly, the components that made this angel up were only getting more spots in their mind. It served to make them frustrated. Their curiosity was like a burning hunger and they wanted to show it, but they didn’t want to become ravenous for the ability to know the inner workings of this angel. That would doom them.

“I am in too much pain.” It retorted with a shaky tone, referring to the pain of its tender and wounded chest, they supposed. “I do not wish to rest…I do not want to be alone, either.”

The machine squinted for a moment, then shut their optic completely before laying on the grass, letting the warm breeze pass over them. “I suppose that’s fair. I’ll stay. Just don’t expect this to be an ‘all the time’ thing. I’m only doing this because I’m tired right now.” They excused themselves swiftly, not wanting him to get too attached to the idea that they were doing this for him. Even if they were.

“Alright.” The angel seemed to freeze up for a moment before going back to staring at the fire, hugging his knees and staying quiet. The silence between them wasn’t so deafening this time. It was mutual, agreed. They wanted this quiet together. Maybe they needed this quiet together.

After a few hours, V2 opened their optic to see Gabriel laid next to them, curled up and with his wings wrapped around his body. They took a few moments to observe him, feeling their systems warm up at the sight. Maybe they did care about him a little bit. He was generally very kind and didn’t have much in terms of complaints, even if he was a little dull in terms of conversation most of the time. If he’d just let go of that worthless excuse the mech had to call a “predecessor,” maybe they could actually be friends. But they knew he never would. His mourning over it was like an illness with no cure. It made them so upset to know that, but to express it would be like talking to the walls. Hearing, but not truly listening.

They looked back to the fire, watching the flames flick and thrash about a little in the wind, then looked up to the sky which was now filled with stars. The world without human light pollution or the ceilings of Hell was quite impressive. This mimicked what it would’ve been like on the real Earth so perfectly, even though they knew it was just a sandbox. Their gaze landed on Gabriel once more, a warmth filling their chassis among continuing to look at him. Despite their thoughts that it wouldn’t ever change, they hoped maybe one day he’d get over that worthless, good for nothing bore.

As they thought back to the previous days, they vaguely remembered what the terminal had told them. With a curious feeling, they stood up and walked over to the terminal again, opening the command panel.

Answers were there. None of which satisfied them. Not because they were vague or unhelpful, but because it wasn’t the result they had expected. It turns out that Gabriel had lied.

V1 had died almost an hour before he met his own demise.

Sitting back down next to him, they pondered over this information. It was…almost upsetting. Being lied to of course pissed them off, but the truth behind the lie was what made them really believe this angel wasn’t mentally there half the time. The machine had the luck of not remembering their death, just the vague knowledge they died. Gabriel probably had to remember how excruciating and lonely it was. How ‘scared he’d been,’ from what the terminal had told them. His death wasn’t as swift or merciful as he said it was.

Their understanding of guilt wasn’t vast by any means, they had an incredibly hard time understanding how he must’ve felt. The direct meaning of it all of course made some sense to them, but the feeling just didn’t seem to latch on to them as well as the knowledge did. The data. Was he just data to them? Was he even real? Hell if they knew. They wouldn’t bring it up to him. He looked peaceful for once and to tarnish that was too far, even for their own callous and uninterested standards. They simply just sat and stared.

They could stare all night.

Chapter Text

Gabriel had been healing up nicely. V2 was paying extra attention to him without his knowledge. He actually started to ask to come around and stay with them more often. It had been a few more weeks, marking it 4 months since he arrived. He wasn’t an intruder anymore. They knew that by now. He was possibly a friend. By no means were they close, they knew little about each other. More specifically, Gabriel didn’t know anything substantial about the machine. They intended to keep it that way. He was fine without that knowledge. They could coexist just fine like this.

But they had to admit he was growing warmer. He wasn’t so scared of showing his personality. He admittedly was incredibly melancholic, though. He had some good days but a lot of bad days. V2 could be understanding to an extent. They had their off days too. Days where everything just felt hard and unforgiving. It was how they felt when they’d first really let it sink in that they were dead. Their status was gone. Once a renowned self-protector, now a worthless lot of metal somewhere in Greed. It had made them feel things they once thought to be incapable of feeling. Mostly blind rage and self-loathing, though.

Gabriel, though, was enough to make them feel a little less unworthy of good things. They could actually sit and enjoy the days more thoroughly without having to worry about what was going on in the real world. It was a blessing in disguise, they supposed. Each increment of their progress with one another was like a new objective they’d never had the time or knowledge to pursue before.

Sitting on the bed together, they slowly looked over at him. He looked bored, head tilted down and focused elsewhere. He was fidgeting with one lone sword, a bright blue one that had lost its shine. It wasn’t ugly at all, though, just dull from heavy usage. The color was otherwise strikingly beautiful. They’d noticed about a month ago he had figured out he can break the trees with his sword when he felt he needed to. He seemed to think they just naturally regenerated after a while. Truth was, V2 had been replacing them when he went to bed. They didn’t mind. So long as he wasn’t taking out his frustrations on them, they could care less how he coped with whatever qualms he had with life. They knew he had a lot. That’s what started putting that sword to good use again, but with not much to sharpen it with, it went neglected.

The mech blinked briefly, then lifted their hand and pressed a finger on the blade. “Where did you get this from?” They tilted their head, observing it closer. They knew there was another one. He had two sheathes. But the other one was probably lost or broken when he died. They watched as he lifted his head and looked back at them. It was a bit unnerving how they couldn’t see any hint of an expression due to the helmet. They wished they had more of a cue on what he was thinking.

”It was gifted to me by God. I had other weapons, of course, ones I could shape to my liking, but this was to highlight my purpose set by Him. This was ‘Justice.’ The other one is long gone, but it was named ‘Splendor.’ It took me many long nights and days of training to wield these with any sort of confidence.” He responded softly, tilting the blade to let the matte and worn texture scatter light back and forth across its surface. V2 hummed in response.

”I see. You have a complicated relationship with God, don’t you?”

”Certainly.”

”What about the Council of Heaven? I have heard many things about them, but never had the opportunity to speak to a Councilor myself.” The machine asked, feeling a silence fill the room as he (in their assumption, in reality, they had no clue) thought of a response, continuing to fiddle with the sword in his hand.

”They were trying to be righteous and yet the reality of no real guidance left them to their own devices. They were not the grand example the residents of both Heaven and Hell thought they were. They were nothing but hollow shells leading us all to our doom.” He sighed, looking off to try and avoid V2’s interested stare. “The punishments I received were a combination of malice, resentment, but also self-preservation. The gall I had, refusing to adhere to the expectations. But the truth stood stark among them all that night. They knew. They were afraid. If I could not defeat a machine, what would Heaven think? An already divided world would grow restless with terror at humanity’s creations. They needed to make it seem like I had been disobedient to prevent that sort of information from coming to the light.” The angel paused, flicking his wings as he thought. V2 was appalled at his story. He’d always been painted as some flawless and charming figure with no fear, but they supposed they truly hadn’t known as much as they thought.

He continued, seeming to have finally found the words he needed. “I killed them all myself to prevent the reign of false words spiraling what was left of our worthless existence into true sin, mindless hatred and murder. It was my only option, even if it tore me apart to rend those who I had trusted my entire existence upon apart. I did it with grace, as my own will had taught me that this world used to matter so much more when we hadn’t used our power to control so heavily. It was my own form of mercy.”

”But hasn’t it always been that way?”

”Yes. The world was better when it wasn’t there at all.”

”That’s…—“

”—Morbid?”

”Correct.”

V2 felt conflicted. Their creators had always told them how important protecting the world was. That was their purpose (initially.) Gabriel, on the other hand, had a rather cold and distant feeling about his own. The comment on that being ‘mercy’ certainly piqued their curiosity. They could see it. Ending a vicious cycle, even through wreckage and cruelty, could be seen as mercy. To put an end to it rather than let it continue to fester and grow crueler, that was a kinder fate, wasn’t it?

”I could not have realized it on my own. My defeat, the realization the pedestal I’d been lifted onto could crumble at the hands of something I had once thought to be so simple…it planted a seed of truth that finally blossomed when I had been struck down for the second time.”

Again.

How could one fucking thing have so much impact in such different ways?

“…Hm.” Is all they could muster, nodding as if they understood his perspective. That thing had such a bittersweet change in his life. They almost felt jealous. They didn’t know why.

“I admit it is difficult getting used to a new machine. You are very different. It is not a bad thing, it is just…” He took a shaky breath, sheathing his blade once more. “…I do not understand you.”

“You don’t need to.”

“I wish to.”

“…I am not a genie.”

“Of course you aren’t. Why do you refuse to—“

“—That’s enough.”

Gabriel fell quiet again, his wings pressing up flat against his back. A slight orange-yellow sort of hue lit them up, the amber glow being a sudden change from the dullness. His helmet looked a little redder as well. That was new. Was he able to get agitated so easily?

“You machines are so stubborn.”

V2’s bottom lid on their optic lifted a little. “Oh? Is that so? You hardly seem any less stubborn yourself.” They mused, leaning closer. The red only got more noticeable.

“Urgh…I do not know why you are so insistent on teasing me.”

“Mmh, forgive me. I don’t have much knowledge on angelic social cues.”

His wings loosened up a little.

“I suppose you are right. I…was taught to expect different things conversationally than you were.”

V2 felt a little dumbfounded that he didn’t catch the obvious sarcasm, but it almost made it way more amusing. He was quite the specimen for sure. “Mhm. I was raised by humans, Angel. I haven't a clue what someone like you talks about for fun or even for serious matters.”

“Well now you’re just mocking me!” His wings flared out, his helmet going bright red. The machine had to hold back from falling over laughing.

“Sorry, sorry. It’s too funny. You’re too funny.”

“Hmph.”

The night continued on, the sun fully setting as tiredness crept up on the two of them. V2 noticed Gabriel was a little more tired, though, yawning and stretching his back. “Mmh…I should return to my own quarters. It is late.” He commented quietly, sitting up since they had been just laying down with their legs dangling off the bed for the last two hours.

“Yes, you should. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“…I will see you tomorrow, Machine.” His voice was a little bit warmer, perhaps a bit more compassionate. There was more meaning behind those words. He stood up, heading to the door and getting ready to leave. V2 observed, squinting.

“Goodnight.”

He paused briefly—as if that was unexpected.

“Oh. Goodnight.”

Chapter Text

The night had been long and tiresome. V2’s attempts at a shutdown proved to be unsuccessful, leaving them laying, staring at the ceiling, unable to really think much. Their left arm ached subtly, just noticeable enough to bother them but not entirely consume them. It was irritating. It didn’t help that the leech had been on their mind again lately. It was a harsh reminder of everything they’d been through. The anger, the frustration, the fear .

When V2 had come back to their senses, the sun was up. They could see the faint glow that came through the window, making them shudder with a desire for warmth. Mindlessly, they stood and walked down to the campfire outside, huddling up close to and basking in the feeling of safety the warmth brought them. But soon, their attention was brought to the footsteps coming from a few feet away.

A soft yawn came from behind them, causing the mech to snap their head back. “Mmfff…Good morning, Machine.” Gabriel was in a pair of pajamas V2 had haggled with the terminal for, fuzzy white pants with pink stars and a loose t-shirt with a heart on it. It made him look incredibly unserious. The terminal really loved to make him look ridiculous now that they started asking for more things for him. His wings were wilted to the sides again, this time more expressive with their color despite the lack of any physical activity. A fairly neutral blue shined across each feather, looking quite familiar. They figured that’s what the default was considering that was the way virtues’ wings looked.

“Good morning, Angel.” They watched him sit down next to them, still drowsy from his sleep. His hands placed themselves in the air near the fire, warming up for the morning. Winter was approaching quickly, so every day was a little colder. Yes, they enabled seasons. No, they didn’t remember how to disable them. Yes, seasons actually somehow existed. The terminals had a vast range of different abilities that were admittedly incredibly useless in the grand scheme of things.

“Mmmm…are you well-rested?” He mumbled, leaning a little too close for comfort. V2 felt a spark shoot up their body. He was a bit hard to be around up close. Not because it was bad, but because it was awkward. They didn’t understand closeness nor how to be comfortable with it. For them, it was always ‘if they come forward, I go back. If they go backward, I come forward.’ For the most part.

They took a moment to respond, not sure if they wanted to tell the truth. “I suppose. I slept fine. Not great but not bad.”

“I see.” The angel yawned again, stretching his arms up in the air. His wings also flapped and fluttered a little, stretching out behind him. They couldn’t help but be reminded of a bird and a cat simultaneously from this. It was a bit unique, to say the least. The breeze, the sun, the company, and this scene—it was starting to fit in place as if this was the missing part of their existence.

“How about you?”

“I slept for more than 2 hours for the first time in what has felt like forever.”

“Well, that’s good, right?”

“Indeed.”

Gabriel let out a sigh, slumping his shoulders and resting his hands in his lap. Then he glanced back over at them.

“The air feels…heavier this morning.”

“Winter’s coming.”

“It is not just that, Machine. Something feels off…I suppose I could describe it as dreadful? Does that make sense?”

“I cannot even begin to tell you what that might be.”

“…Are you doing alright?”

V2 paused after hearing that, not sure how to answer this one. They didn’t like lying. They weren’t used to lying. It was in their rules not to lie. But the truth was ugly and unspeakable.

“Yes. Why do you ask?”

“You took an awfully long time to respond to that.”

“It’s fine. I wasn’t here long before you were. I’m still getting used to all of this myself.”

“…Right.” He seemed to take that answer, looking away finally. They felt the wires in their abdomen loosen up finally after being so tense it hurt. He seemed to shift his focus, looking off behind them. “Wait, did you always have these?” His hand reached toward their back, grasping and lifting up a singular mechanical wing.

“Oh. Yes. I have no reason to use them though, so they just stay off.”

“I see. Could you turn them on?”

“Weird request…but alright.”

The LEDs flickered on, a hum emitting from the protrusions on their back as the yellow light shined once more. They then flicked between the different colors to show them off. Red, green, blue, then back to yellow. This seemed to catch Gabriel’s attention. But whatever he was about to ask, he seemed to bite his tongue. They knew it had to be something along the lines of ‘are you the only one with this function?’ Truth was, they didn’t know. V1 was never much in terms of expressiveness. It seemed to just launch itself into a task and only use its preferred method of getting its fuel as fast as possible, only being calculated when it came to its…odd techniques. Otherwise, it was almost feral in nature. V2 only knew of its intelligence because they oversaw it solving puzzles to find extra weapons and reading books multiple times. It was intelligent—it just didn’t give a shit to show it to anyone.

Did they always analyze V1 that much?

“Such a unique display.” Gabriel’s voice caused their train of thought to promptly crash, a burning heat overtaking their head for a moment. “Do these colors signify anything? Or are they for show?”

“I used them as a way to designate what movement patterns I wanted to use in battle. I didn’t previously have many functions to remember combat skills for other than defense and fleeing, so I assigned different functions to the same code as what switched the color. It was incredibly efficient for the most part.” The machine stopped themselves before they could ramble on much longer, feeling a bit embarrassed they even spoke that much about themselves in the first place.

“I see. I find that interesting. These colors are also just…” He paused and they felt his fingers slowly trace up their wing, feeling the surface give into his touch and let him into the bright compartment where one of their weapons were. “…Phenomenal.”

A rush of memories hit V2 and before they could think, their hands had moved for them. One moment, the situation was calm, and the next, V2 panicked and pinned Gabriel to the ground. “Don’t do that.” They hissed, feeling their fan speed pick up rapidly. They looked at the angel now pressed up on the grass, frozen in what they assumed to be uncertainty and fear.

“Ah-“ V2 backed off, their wings folding back up against their back tightly. “I apologize, that…was a protocol.” They watched Gabriel sit back up, his own wings quivering a little, shimmering a paler blue this time. He was clearly startled as well.

“It is alright. I understand. I apologize for touching you without warning. That was foolish of me.” The angel responded in a rather meek tone compared to how he usually spoke after a while, nodding gently.

“I forgive you. My weapon compartments are heavily prioritized for protection in my programming, I instinctually get…defensive. I didn't mean to seem aggressive.”

“I understand.”

The tension was palpable. They felt incredibly awkward now since his response was just…so uninformative. They knew he had to have been startled if not entirely afraid.

They simply just stared forward, unable to come up with anything else. It felt like a lot of progress had been set back from just one misunderstanding. Why did they care about progress anyways? Why did they care about him? All of it was confusing and they couldn’t understand any of it.

“I need to take a bath. I will talk to you later, Machine.”

“Alright.”

He stood up and walked back into his home, leaving them alone with their thoughts.

God, did they hate how much he occupied them now.

Most of the day was just as dreadful as the night before after that. They had locked themselves up in their room and been desperately trying to search for a way to escape this horrible embarrassment they felt. The humiliation of being the failed model, the pain of having their past affect them so badly, and the horrible loss they’d experienced created a recipe for disaster.

One that would stay bottled up.

They couldn’t afford to be emotional like this. It was too reminiscent of the past to be emotional. They had sworn to themselves they’d never let their blind rage lead them to making so many mistakes ever again. It was up to them to move on. They wanted to move on. They had to move on. To address it would be to let a flood of pent up rage loose. That flood wasn’t ever meant to exist either way. They’d never let it out.

They could hardly think about much more than the past, gnawing at them like a set of teeth set to tearing each artificial vein from their body, embedding wounds so deep it transcended any pain they could’ve ever possibly felt within the mathematical bounds of a machine. They so desperately wanted this to just be data, to just be insignificant code in an empty, hollow vessel meant for protecting humans. But they felt it. They felt every bit of it and none of it could be rationalized or put into numbers.

Even in death they had to feel. This was torture. All of it was torture. They weren’t supposed to feel this strongly. They weren’t supposed to be anything more than a protector and a friend to the humans—yet look at what they’d been reduced to. The thought of it made them want to tear their plating open, reach inside, and rip the fuel pump right out of their body. Would that even work in this world? Would anything work to quell this agony?

Quietly, they laid on their side and ignored the knocking at the front door.

Chapter Text

“Machine, you didn’t answer the door earlier. Are you alright?” Gabriel was quick to be on their case the minute they’d thought they’d be safe to leave the house. Apparently, angels were very stubborn when it came to the waiting game. His arms were crossed firmly and he looked to be quite impatient. Such is life when you get ignored for hours on end, they supposed.

“I had to update.”

“But you are dead. How can you still require that?”

“Because the terminal system still has my data linked to it. I have to update when the terminal tells me to so I can continue to exist here.”

“Oh. I suppose that makes sense. My apologies for the impatience, I will be sure to give you the space you need for that next time.”

“Thanks.”

Lying, again, was hard. They didn’t really want to but at the same time they had no right to tell the truth. The truth was a nasty void and Gabriel was the last thing that needed to see it. He had enough on his plate. They hated what he was grieving over but they were grieving over it too, just in a different way. He was filled with love, they were filled with bitterness. It wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t.

“So…” V2 looked off to the side, uncertain with their words at the moment. It was like small talk was impossible given that none of them had many hobbies. Gabriel had his sword, they maintained the peace (which in all fairness was incredibly easy and boring) in this world. That was really all.

“Well, I just wished to stop by…see if you calmed down after this morning. I have not much else to speak about, so I will leave you be.”

Please don’t.

Please do.

“Alright.” They nodded and closed the door again, feeling their hand grip the knob rather tightly even after his footsteps faded.

It wasn’t his fault.

The fact they could have even been so resentful towards him was absurd. He knew who was better. He loved what was on equal footing with him. His pity for them, though, was solely driven by the fact that they were lesser, inferior, an unnecessary successor to a model that was at its peak. A half-assed sequel that couldn’t have done worse to survive their own shortcomings.

They half-mindedly stumbled back upstairs and to their room, looking around and seeing how bare it was. And to think they were the expressive one. What a joke.

The machine really had nothing left to think about. They were a worthless excuse pitched by an idiot with no fucking clue what they were doing. A young, stupid scientist who figured this co

ld be profitable. When there were greater things like V1, how could they have ever compared without a miracle? They loathed their creators. It was such a horrid plan. And now they had to suffer the consequences because of it.

V2 ultimately knew their place was at the bottom. Even the most stupid filth could have outlived them. The thought angered them so badly. They were doomed to fail from the very beginning and they made the foolish decision of striving for some sort of life.

Even so, they would carry on.

As much as they hated to admit it, some positive attention was enjoyed. It was bittersweet. They liked being cared for, but at the same time, the thought of Gabriel having to downgrade like this ate them alive. They didn’t know what they wanted anymore. So they just wouldn’t think about it. There was nothing left to think about. They had to just keep ’living.’ It would be dealt with later, they supposed.

—

The next few days were fine. They woke up, hung out with Gabriel for a while, then spent time alone adding on to their little areas bit by bit. They even built up the courage to try the Cybergrind again. It was still a bit iffy in their mind but they played for a few rounds and that was good enough for now. They didn’t need to prioritize battle anymore. Gabriel seemed to be doing fine too. Some days he was a bit more closed off and some he was happy to talk and be present. Most days he would go out of his way to talk to them, though. It was nice. For once they felt like they had someone they could trust a little bit. Even if he wasn’t going to know how they felt about many things, they still told him more about themselves than they told anyone else.

Eventually, snow came. It was quiet and cold on the morning it fell, but nonetheless, V2 was getting things done. They’d saved up a few more rounds of Cybergrind worth of points and haggled with the terminal for something they’d forgotten about. Entertainment. More specifically, movies from the human era the terminal had saved in its system for archival purposes…for whatever reason. Most likely to entertain workers who had to sit in the elevators doing maintenance for long periods of time on their lunch breaks or something of that sort. Regardless, it wouldn’t hurt to ask.

[What? You on a movie date or something?]

> No? Am I not allowed to befriend someone?

[…Befriend ?]

> Just

> Wait how would we even watch these

[I mean. I can upgrade your spaces to have electricity and other various things for “quality of life,” I guess?]

> At this point I kind of have to ask what your limitations are

[I could make a whole society. I have the ability to. Of course, none of it would be real, but it would work.]

> With humans?

[Hell no. I refuse to do that.]

> Okay. Thanks, I didn’t want that either.

[Hm. I have been wanting to take more creative liberties with my sandbox. I might not even charge you for some upgrades.]

> …I wouldn’t complain about that.

[‘Kay. Your guys’ screens are gonna go blank for a bit while I’m updating it, just know everything I add you cannot complain about at all in the future because it’s my world.]

> Okay.

With that, everything went black. V2 was used to this when system updates happened or when it crashed and restarted. It was almost always over fairly quickly. The only reason they even knew it happened at all is because the terminal always warned them as if they’d be conscious to experience it.

When they awoke again, things had changed for sure. The trees were texturally different, way more detailed. There was more environmental noise. The outer stretches of the construct actually had nature outside of the buildings. When V2 looked towards their home by the lake, they realized the terminal had greatly fixed it up. They then glanced over to Gabriel’s, which was also much grander than it had been when they built it for him. They looked like something a team of humans would’ve made. Go figure, the terminals probably had blueprints for human architecture.. When they looked back, even the terminal looked different. It had a panel of metal on the side now that gave it a more closed-off and sort of personal look. The gray one also looked new and improved. Huh. It was like they’d been waiting for this update for a while.

“What the hell just happened to me?!” Gabriel’s voice emerged from his home. He looked shaken up and confused. “Why did everything go so dark? I could not move, I could not breathe, I could not do anything!”

“Calm down, we just received an update. That’s all.”

“Oh, God. Well—…goodness. I would have appreciated a warning.”

[oops.]

“I’ll make sure the terminal warns you next time, don’t worry. We’ve gotten upgrades, though.”

“What sort of ‘upgrades,’ Machine?”

“Did you not see the inside or outside of your home?”

“I was…in too much of a hurry to notice much. I…” He looked over and saw it, his wings twitching a little as he studied it. “Ah. I see.”

“Yeah.”

[Your bedroom and his living room have a television and some movies I actually gave a shit to boot onto the system.]

They reached back over to the keyboard briefly.

> Thanks.

[Enjoy your time together ;^)]

They flicked the chat menu off as soon as the terminal said that, sighing with a huff from their fans. “We have movies now. You wanna watch one?”

He stayed silent, just staring at them. “Uhm…those are the things humans watched, right? Like…” Of course, he was foreign to most technology. They laughed. “Hey! I am an archangel from the heavens. I had no time to indulge in such recreational acts during my life.”

”Okay, I’ll show you some. Hopefully the ones we got are good.”

”Lead the way.”

Oh. He wanted to go to their house. He usually did as his own home was more of his own private place but…curse that damn terminal for putting the TV in a cramped space like their bedroom.

“Alright.”

The movie was fine. It was some odd-but-charming early 2000s teen drama. Gabriel was intrigued but that was because he has never watched a movie before. When it ended, V2 looked at the angel sitting next to them in their bed, illuminated by the dim candlelight the terminal had graced their room with. Their room was much more personalized now. It actually suited them quite well. Even Gabriel seemed to be comfortable. “So? What did you think?”

“I do not understand why human teenagers cared so much about romantic pursuit.”

“Because humans often feared being alone.”

“I find that to be foolish. To be on your own is to be free to do whatever you wish, is it not? Do all humans truly rely so much on romance?”

“Hm. I’m not sure exactly how to put it, but humans liked companionship as a way of comfort and guidance. I know that sometimes they sought out others to love and have a family with, while some just wanted someone to be there for them and to be there for. Humans and their relationships were complicated and nothing could ever really explain just how many nuances there are for each and every individual and their preferences.”

“…It still does not make sense.”

“It probably won’t ever make sense.” V2 paused. “Are you capable of feeling romantic love?”

“…That I am not sure of. I was taught to practice celibacy. Not to mention, I have long been chaste, too.”

“Ah. Makes sense.”

“…Are you?”

“…I would imagine not.”

“Well, you are…a machine. It would make sense if not.”

“Yeah. Romance is confusing anyways. People make too much of a fuss out of it in my opinion.”

Gabriel laughed a little, nodding in agreement. V2 was glad their views on this were similar at the very least. Maybe they had more in common together than the machine thought. The thought brought a little heat to their circuits but they paid no mind to it.

“I see your room has had many changes. I have not seen so much decoration in a long time.”

He was right. There were candles just about on every surface, old magazines from the era they were made in (some they could even recognize as ones they’d seen out and about in the stores they’d walked past), even an easel in one of the corners with many canvases lined up behind it and ready to use. They never knew the terminal could tell they were interested in art, but they were grateful nonetheless. They had no clue how to pursue that hobby, though. There were posters of bands and other things, too. V2 couldn’t name most of them off the top of their head, but they figured they had to be nice if the terminal thought the mech would like them.

“I enjoy it. Do you?”

“Certainly. It is unique. It quite suits you.”

Another pang of heat hit them. No.

“Oh? You know what suits someone like me?”

“Not as much as I wish I did.”

Ah. Right. They were refusing to open up. They’d been enjoying themselves so much they almost forgot about their own existence. They were so wound up in his that it felt more important. They had completely forgotten that he knew not nearly as much about them as they knew about him still. It had been 4 months and he still only really knew the bare minimum about them.

“…Anyway, I think I’ll stick with this room. It’s cozy.”

“It is indeed comfortable.”

“You speak so properly, what’s up with that?”

“I have lived for millennia. That is a foolish question.”

“Right. You’ve spoken like that all your life.”

“Have you always spoken so casually?”

“No, I used to be a lot more formal.”

“What changed?”

I don’t like to hold an image up in front of my own figure and pretend that it’s still the organic, original me. I thought you of all people would understand that.

“Mmh. No point in being formal. I’m dead, after all.”

“Ah, I suppose that is true.” He laughed. Another pang.

”Mhm.”

V2 continued to look at the angel, a silent swirl of shame filling their mind. Oh, if only they deserved this good room and this good company. The machine felt so awful knowing they really couldn’t do much to earn this.

Instead, they just kept their thoughts quiet.

“Do you wanna watch another one?”

Chapter Text

V2 woke up in the morning to a calm snowy view from their window and a rather comfortable feeling. It was quiet, only the soft sound of static and the flicks of flame off of candles that would never burn out. It was like their haven of life. They shifted from laying on their right to laying on their left, being surprised the moment they did so. 

Gabriel was fast asleep next to them, curled up in the blankets from the cold air. The TV was left at the end of some movie they’d already forgotten about. Ah. They probably paused it and just shut down for the night, not even bothering to wake Gabriel up to get him back to his own home. They couldn’t complain. Besides…they liked the closeness. Something about it felt right.

Even so, they didn’t dare to get any closer. He was so warm even from this distance, they were scared they’d overheat if they even did so much as shift to be right next to him. But when his hand slipped closer to theirs, they couldn’t help but let it linger there, the gossamer feel of his skin on their chassis making them nervous and unsure in a way they’d never been before.

They closed the shutters of their optic again, opting to shut off and spare him the embarrassment of this when he woke up.

—

When they awoke again, they noticed Gabriel had left. But he’d fixed up the blankets and pulled them up on V2, seeming to hope they hadn’t noticed. They would have smiled if they could. But alas, they were cursed with their blood bound to machinery, not flesh. They still felt their bottom shutter raise, a giddy and excited feeling coursing through their wires and veins.

They slowly sat up, placing their hand over the area he’d had his own on. It sent a spark of electricity into their head, causing them to malfunction briefly again. Who knew that they could fold so easily over something so simple?

In reality, though, it wasn’t simple. Gabriel wasn’t too far off from their own mentality and they knew that well by now. Both of them were confident, prideful, and arrogant to an extent in their lives. Then, everything seemed to break apart suddenly, shame and anger being a tunnel vision to violence. The only difference was that Gabriel didn’t cower away when he was proven weaker than he thought. If anything, he doubled down. They could admire that so much. If anything, they desired to be more assertive like that.

They felt so foolish for feeling this way, though. The warmth they felt around him almost felt innocent and curious, like they just wanted to explore him and see how he worked. Like they wanted him to do the same. Then came the bitterness of knowing he was still much too caught up in their predecessor to ever feel the same way (or even remotely similar).

Nonetheless, they savored him like a rich dessert, like the warmth of the sun, like the calling of birds, like the compass leading them to land from the harsh seas of sand. Even if they’d never be able to express it, they knew how they were beginning to feel. They treasured whatever it was, even if it was holding them back from happiness.

They opted to get away from these intense feelings by replacing the old movie tape with a new one and laying back down.

Chapter Text

Gabriel had fallen back into his mental pit. V2 had taken quite a while to see it, but he seemed to be mourning worse lately. Perhaps the snow brought memories of where he’d died. It frustrated them. They didn’t want him to feel like this over that thing. Could they even call V1 just a meaningless ‘thing’ anymore? In all honesty, as much as they wanted to, it started to feel wrong. Aside from that, they still felt irritated that V1 was taking the spotlight in his mind so much. They knew losing it was probably hard, but what exactly did it even do to make him lie and defend it the way he did?

They whirred out a sigh. 5 months. They had to be patient. They had to submit to the despair of it and just hide how they were beginning to feel. It was much too soon to be allowed to feel something like this. Should they feel something like this at all? Something so…non-traditional? Unconventional, even? Were they supposed to love anyone, let alone someone like him? Regardless of what type of love it was, all the same, it felt abhorrently wrong. In their living days, they’d been taught that unconventional love was wrong. Sinful. Not to be trusted. Did this sort of thing send them to their doom in the first place?

No. Getting religious as a machine was a worthless and wasteful endeavor. They had no soul. Nothing to bear these sins. They were dead anyways. Not like it mattered if they cared about someone or not.

Finally turning the knob to their door and walking the short distance to his home, they lifted a hand and knocked rather roughly. Despite the fact they’d adjusted fine to the Whiplash, they just weren’t feeling very patient right now. They wanted to see him.

When the door slowly creaked open, they looked and saw the angel with…a different demeanor, for sure. He looked exhausted and he was almost struggling to stand.

“May I come in?”

“…I reckon you could.”

“Thank you.”

When V2 stepped in, a warmth hit them in stark contrast to the cold air outside, causing them to relax quite a bit as Gabriel shut the door behind them. He hesitated with his hand over the lock before deciding to leave it be.

“Why did you come here at such an odd time, Machine? Do you not have your entertainment to look for right now?”

“I just wanted to talk to you. Is that bad?”

“…It is odd how you seem to be the one initiating these conversations more and more often. But no. It is not bad.”

His voice wavered a bit as he looked off to the side, seemingly uninterested. What changed? He was so eager before.

“What’s on your mind?”

“I could not even begin to tell you.”

“Why?”

“I do not know what it is that is troubling me.”

Believable, surely.

“Ah. That’s fine. Take your time, I don’t…you don’t need to figure it all out right now.”

“You have grown soft on me, Machine.”

Shit.

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

“Your interest in me is much more apparent.”

V2 whirred in a bit of frustration and panic, wondering if he really caught on this much.

“It’s not— urg– it’s not anything serious. I–“ Their vocals strained and struggled to come out properly, wires tense around the box and making it cease to function normally.

“…While I am grateful, I do not understand it.”

You don’t need to.

You shouldn’t.

It’s not your business.

It’s mine.

“It isn’t serious. My interest— it’s purely out of-“

If I have to rip this thing out of me, then so be it.

“-pity.”

“Is that so?”

He sounded almost dejected.

Fuck.  

They felt bad.

“…I am certain.”

It went quiet for a while, nothing but the sound of the buzzing internals of the machine and the…rather odd noise that sounded like soft chimes radiating from a part of the house they couldn’t even begin to identify the location of. They looked at him intently, studying him. His wings looked more colorful by the day. They couldn’t tell if that was good or bad. Maybe bad considering his mood. Maybe good considering they looked more alive. The blue was less muted now, streaks of darker blues and even purples at the edges giving it a unique appearance. They almost wanted to touch them.

It was only after the color stopped distracting them that they noticed he’d been plucking at his wings again. Some of the translucent parts looked to have been cleaned up, a few surrounding feathers subtly stained red. He was troubled. They wondered if that was just an anxious habit as it had been before or something intentional. They had no courage to ask.

“…Truly, I have to ask if you’re doing well.”

“I am okay.”

“That isn’t well, though, is it? What’s wrong?”

He went silent again. They swore they could see faint blue light emit from those wings for just a moment.

“I am in great pain.”

“Is it something I can help with?”

“I doubt you can do much.”

Was that meant to be an insult?

“Can I try?”

“If you wish.”

V2 crept closer and gently grabbed his arm, leading him to the couch. They weren’t familiar with his home in its entirety so they were cautious but they managed to find a comfortable spot for the both of them. They directed their attention to his back, slowly slipping their hands onto the small of it and pressing their thumbs against it, rubbing slow and steady circles in. God, this angel was tense. His muscles almost felt like bone. Poor thing.

They watched his wings flutter slightly and shake with uncertainty. They knew he wasn’t too big on opening up to new experiences. The mech just hoped to bring him some solace in this difficult time.

When their hands went up, fingers at either side of his spine, he leaned into the touch ever so slightly. They hummed and continued working on relaxing him, each touch trying to be as articulate as possible. His wings went a little pink at the tips when they massaged up by the base of them, attempting to be careful and delicate whilst still applying pressure. He was refusing to show but he was melting into the touch. How long had it been since he experienced anything remotely similar to this? Was all he did work? Or was he just so tense near death that he ended up like this in the afterlife? They then went to his shoulders and his shoulder blades, feeling tensions that’d been there for God knows how long.

“Machine…you almost act as if you are experienced.”

“I’m not. I merely just want to do you a favor. I don’t want to hear you complain about pain.”

“How kind of you.”

When they finished, V2 let him turn towards them. He looked a little less distressed now. Bodily, at least.

What they didn’t expect is for his own hand to reach for their chassis, a few fingers tracing over their shoulder socket. A slight spark of pain hit them from that.

“Thank you, Machine. I truly do owe you much for your hospitality.”

His grasp on their shoulder left them a little nervous, unsure of what to do. They didn’t like when anyone grabbed their arms. But they liked him. They liked his touch. It reminded them of when the humans had to repair them, their fingers always kind on their body when they were in need. This time, it felt no different. If anything, it felt better.

“No. I don’t even know what you could potentially offer me.”

“Right. If you ever wish for my assistance, though, I implore you to come to me and ask.”

If it were that easy I’d be asking you to help me all the time.

Your presence is enough.

“I have no qualms with my situation right now. I’m fine.”

”…If you insist.”

V2 felt his hand slip away, landing in his own lap as the two looked at each other in an awkward moment of quiet. Then he leaned forward, almost inspecting them.

“Could…I get a better look at you?”

The machine felt their internals heat up at the idea, shuddering a little. “I mean…if you want.”

His hands went to their torso, tracing along the metal as he spoke softly. “I was never truly sure just what you machines were made of. You all have an…overwhelming beauty. So carefully crafted regardless of your purposes…”

The words were making them feel almost a little crazy in combination with his touch as it went to their waist, feeling down their pipes and on the pieces of metal protecting their inner wiring. It was covered in a few scuffs and marks from battle, but nothing too bad. It only seemed to interest the archangel more. “You have clearly endured much, it seems. If you ever feel ready to, I would like to hear your story.”

“Mmm…no chance.” V2 struggled to say as his curious examination returned back upward, more specifically to their shoulder socket. It was clearly damaged. There were some heavier scuffs on the paint there that left some of it looking silver, the joint itself attached with…what they had to admit to be the equivalent of hopes and dreams. They had to make do with what little time they had. Fast little bastard . It hurt pretty bad sometimes but they never cared to initiate the process of actually doing anything about it. Grieving makes you sort of lazy.

“It is broken here.”

“I’m aware.”

“You should get that fixed up.”

“I’m dead, it doesn’t matter.”

“Oh, so when I am hurting in death, that is something that needs to be immediately addressed. Why do you not harbor the same attitude towards yourself?”

… Good point.

“I don’t want to bother with it. It’s a hassle.”

“…Surely you aim to take care of yourself better?”

“I could ask the same of you.”

Chapter Text

V2 had gone home after that talk of theirs. To be completely honest, the closeness of all of that had made them so nervous they had to back out and leave. They didn’t want to be close. Not because they didn’t want to be close to him, to study him and appreciate this new friend of theirs, but because they didn’t want him to see how flawed they were. Again. Lesser model. Died to their own foolishness. It was a new level of humiliation to have him point out their lasting injuries they’d never bothered to repair when they were alive.

As always, they initiated then ran when it wasn’t going the way they wanted it to. Coward .

To calm their systems, they decided to just connect to the Cybergrind again. It couldn’t hurt. They had been trying to work up the idea that they were safe in there and that none of it was real. So far it worked but sometimes they still had issues, especially whenever they’d been knocked off their feet or up in a higher area of the arena. It just made them uncomfortable to be high up. They didn’t really understand why they had such an intense fear of heights now but it had just followed them into the digital world after their death. They chose not to even consider assuming the worst out of it because it had a great chance of driving them into hysterics.

When they loaded in, they assessed their loadout once more, analyzing their guns to make sure they had them in the right spots for easy grabbing. Right. They were set.

The rounds were normal. A fairly lenient difficulty from what they’d chosen as they feared anything more difficult would just bring back too much for them.

Ten rounds in, something went wrong. A lag spike came through, a message followed.

[Wanna see something funny?]

The terminal? What could it want?

“Do you mind? I’m busy.”

[Don’t worry, this task will surely be more important.]

With that, the arena was suddenly cleared of all the carnage. It was silent. They heard a distant slam off in the lift followed by the rushing sound of footsteps.

A figure jumped from out the door, landing on the other side of the arena. Eight wings unfolded as it slowly stood up, the unmistakable glare almost burning a hole in their vision. The thinner form began to move forward. At first it was slow, but then its footfalls gradually became less and less patient.

V2 let out a screech and quickly fired off a shot in its direction, watching it chase after them as they turned and ran for higher ground. It tossed a few coins up into the air, a searing jolt of electricity hitting them directly in the head after. Blood splattered on the ground beneath them as they continued to try and retaliate, switching to their nailgun and feeling heat burst through the air as they fired it rapidly at their opponent.

At their predecessor.

V1 seemed unaffected for the most part, lunging forward and unleashing a shockwave straight to their chest, sending them stumbling back. V2 quickly regained their balance, seeing the arm that had just hit them. They felt a seething rage fill their form, their immediate strategy priority going to getting this fucking thing into the ground as soon as possible . Old instincts. Old anger.

This time they couldn’t help themselves. They fought dirty. They clawed and shoved and beat them whenever they could get close enough until eventually they knocked the other machine right off of its feet, causing it to fall to the ground and drop its weapon. V2 crept closer, fans letting out a loud whirr as it kicked the other one in the chest. Then again. Then again. Their hands wrapped around the knuckleblaster, pressing their foot down on V1’s back and slowly starting to tear it off. It screamed, trying to escape, trying to claw at them, and trying to find any source of fuel to heal itself. Blood pooled on the ground as V2 kept ripping away, only fueled by hatred and an agonizing need for revenge.

They listened to V1 cry and thrash around until the arm finally came out with a loud crack, spraying blood around as the now-lesser model threw its head back and began glitching out from the pain. Was it always this…expressive? Did it always feel this much? Arm in the grasp of their hands, they looked down at it as it let out warbled noise and static, clutching at the hole where the arm used to be. Losing their arm wasn’t nearly this traumatic to them…they just noticed it fall off after they left, only a tolerable pain as they could plan a way to get it back.

But V1 was in an almost human agony, its wings spreading and burning brighter by the moment. Before they could even decide what to do next, their vision suddenly flicked back to the sandbox.

[Oops.]

Standing by the screen, Gabriel was silent. He had seen it but they weren’t sure how much.

He simply just sighed when he noticed they’d come to their senses.

They only realized what was catching his attention, their shaking body leaned up against the terminal, curled up on the floor. Apparently the horrific situation made their systems in the sandbox panic. The machine slowly got up, their wings twitching anxiously as they looked at Gabriel with uncertainty.

“Do you care to explain what I saw?”

Fuck.

“The terminal was…messing with me.”

“Surely you do not believe I will buy that poor excuse.”

“I’m being honest!”

“Do you hate it that much? What the hell is wrong with you?!” He raised his voice, stepping closer and clenching his fists at his sides. V2 was backed into the corner, watching his wings glow a bright yellowish-orange as he let out shaky breaths.

“You don’t understand! I am telling the truth!”

“Fuck you and your lying! I know what I saw! You seek to torture what is left of it! You sick, demented, worthless pile of scrap! I should have known you are no different from the other machines. My exception was everything to me and you could never understand that given just how spiteful you are!”

“Your ’exception?!’ What, does it not have a name now?? Say it.”

His helmet went from white and gold to a bright red and yellow, the buzzing sound of seething irritation filling the empty space around them. “You do not deserve to hear it.”

[Okay, calm down.]

“What?”

[It was me. I was fucking with them. They didn’t do anything wrong, I was just trying to get a laugh in.]

His temper quickly cooled a little. “That is…unbelievably rude.”

[I’m aware.]

“Are you going to apologize?”

[No.]

“Urgh.”

V2 watched him take a deep breath and calm down, looking back at him as he shamefully thought over what to say now.

“I am sorry…that…was entirely too uncouth of me.”

They supposed they could forgive him. They knew how attached he was to V1. It probably felt horrible to witness something like that. They didn’t even feel good doing it to a virtual copy. They didn’t want to know what it would feel like to do it to the real one.

“It’s alright. I’m…trying to be more understanding of your care for it. Despite my own feelings towards it, I wish to respect yours.”

Gabriel’s helm went a little pink with what they assumed to be embarrassment. “Ah—…I..” He laughed a little. “I was not expecting you to be so…open like that.” His wings flapped as he spoke, looking as if they were fanning him off.

“I try to be.”

“Here…come back inside with me. I wish to continue our conversation from earlier.” He grabbed their hand and led them back to his home, keeping them close as they attempted to move on from all of that.

Chapter Text

After bringing them inside, Gabriel sat next to V2 in the quiet of the room on the couch, the dim light illuminating his helm just enough to see the soft shine of gold on the cross. His wings were splayed out, a faint shimmer decorating each feather as if they were painted intricately by hand. They couldn’t stop looking.

“Machine, I need you to be honest.” He sighed gently, looking back at them. “Does my concern for V1 bring you discomfort?” The angel muttered, being surprisingly direct. This was the first time he’d ever referred to V1 by its name in front of them. It almost surprised them. They thought ‘machine’ was the only term he knew for both of them. That almost made them envious.

“To an extent.” The mech admitted, feeling weight being both lifted off and put on their shoulders. An exchange of feelings. But not enough, somehow. “It feels like a punishment to have the only companion in my new life be a constant reminder of my old one. The cowardice, the humiliation, all of it. It feels like a punishment to be with you sometimes as much as it is a reward.”

“…Ah.” Gabriel’s voice quickly wavered.

“If I hadn’t been so stupid I would’ve probably lived to see better days. But I was overconfident and underestimated my opponent. I thought because I was more advanced that by default I had the high ground. If only I knew.”

“We are not as different as you believe we are.”

“I know. I hate it. You remind me of myself too much.”

“You and I truly are fools for the same being, are we not?”

“We are. Nonetheless, I still hate it.”

“Does that make us fools for one another?”

“…I’d rather not answer that.”

“That is alright.”

V2 kept looking at him despite the uncomfortable silence that choked the room of most of its air, hoping for something that could (even for just a moment) bring some solace. Their mind was blank — absolved of ideas. It wasn’t until Gabriel began to choke on what seemed to be a mix between a laugh and a cry that they did anything. They cautiously leaned in, watching him look away.

”Fuck.”

Their hand crept closer to his shoulder, gently grabbing hold. “Gabriel.” They spoke calmly, observing him try to control his breathing. “Regardless of how much I resent my predecessor and our similarities…I am grateful. My life here would have driven me insane if I were left to my own devices like this. Out of everyone I saw in Hell, you are likely the most desirable companion to have here. Don’t think your presence is unwanted, angel.”

Before they knew it, his arms had wrapped around their chest and pulled them in, their heads clanking together awkwardly with the slight sound of metal scraping against metal. Clearly, that was an accident, but they both stayed like that regardless as V2 closed their optic to make sure they didn’t blind him with the bright light. They wrapped their arms around his shoulders, letting out a sigh as they got comfortable like this.

“…After tonight, let us…not speak of this.”

“Fine by me.”

They pressed closer, causing Gabriel to lean back against the armrest of the couch. His wings fluttered as theirs flicked up and down. A confused glee filled V2’s processors, their systems screaming internally with signals of reward and adrenaline.

“Machine…your hospitality does not go unnoticed. Thank you.”

“There’s no need to thank me. Just stay.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t die on me.”

He drew in a deep breath, tightening his hold on the machine. His wings slowly wrapped around them as well, causing them to shiver with the unfamiliar sensation.

“After everything…now I would not even dream about it.”

“That’s good.”

“On occasion I still feel that despair welled within me, the feeling I suffered through when I realized despite being surrounded by people who sung my praises day and night, I was still alone. Leading people off to a false hope and only having one way to absolve them of this burden…it truly broke what spirit I had left. My will was no longer driven by Him, but rather by me. I desired an equilibrium but in order to obtain that I had to give my life for it. It was between dying slowly and painfully by losing what remaining light I had or just finishing the job. Either way, I chose to die for the sake of proving there is no God. Or if there is, He wants nothing to do with us.”

“…I don’t even know what to say to that.”

“I understand.”

“I can relate to an extent. I was built with the idea of protecting humans and maintaining peace. I wanted to be a good example. I was seen as charismatic and intelligent. But in the end, I was egotistical and thought I was better because I was built to be stronger, built in an image meant to be perfect. But in my final moments, I thought maybe it was better if I just succumbed to my fate and stopped fighting it. We all rot, some of us just rot slower. The real winner is time and the abyss. I thought it would’ve been better to die than to keep fighting for what I had realized to be nothing. That’s the only memory of my death that my cloud data was able to retain. My feelings. The absolute dread yet the knowledge that at least it was all over.”

“You are much more troubled than you let on.”

“Wow…thanks.”

“That was not meant to offend. My apologies.”

“You’re fine. Just stay close to me to make up for it.”

“That is an acceptable form of repentance.”

Chapter Text

7 months. It had been 7 months since Gabriel had entered the sandbox. The winter was really in its harshest era now, with dark days and even darker nights. Cold temperatures ravaged the construct. V2 knew it was just because the terminal felt like fucking with them, but they had no say in it anymore. Besides…this gave them a little bit of a reason to be around Gabriel more.

They’d constantly go to his home with the excuse that it was warmer than theirs and that the winter made it terribly hard to do much of anything, even shutting down. It was true to an extent, they had a hard time focusing with the sound of the wind and snow, it was almost too distracting to do anything without being irritated (and lonely).

They’d started this new sort of routine with one another of being close and more personal than anything the machine had ever experienced before. Gabriel was curious, touchy, and liked to explore by sensory input. They could tell that about him from the minute he started asking questions about them, but now his closeness was more of a friendly thing. He’d let them curl up next to him on his couch and sleep through the lonely weather. They’d started sleeping on his couch more than their own bed at this point. They practically lived at his house. He didn’t even seem to mind.

One of these nights, they had been rewatching some old cheesy Christmas movie with Gabriel, laying next to him as they observed his interest in it. Apparently he hadn’t really ever noticed just how much humans loved Christmas even without the celebration of Christianity. They found it a bit cute how enamored he was with the idea. As gross and disgusting as humans were, it was fun to watch Gabriel get to observe their cultural norms from more of a personal perspective (as opposed to being an outsider with almost zero contact with them).

“Do they always play this sort of music during this time of year?”

“From what I remember, not always. But the stores and shopping blocks sure as hell loved to.”

“Did you celebrate Christmas?”

“They made me the Santa of our office. Sometimes my creators or their colleagues would come up to me and ask me what other staff would want for Christmas. Lots of workplace crushes. They made me walk around in a ridiculous Santa costume, too.”

“…I can imagine you wearing one of those.”

“How humiliating.”

Gabriel snickered, suddenly getting much closer. V2 couldn’t help but feel their circuitry heat up at the proximity once more, which only seemed to draw him in more. “Mmh…it is quite cold in here.” He grabbed their hand, intertwining their fingers together. He was right. His hands were really cold despite being under a blanket. They felt a buzz in their head, some sort of mental alarm for their reward system going off with high amounts of data being processed. They had no clue how to respond, so they just held his hand back, giving it a squeeze.

“I appreciate you for being…hmmm…what would you call it…?”

“…Like…a friend? A companion?”

“A friend. Thank you for being a friend. My friend.”

The machine swore it felt like it was about to explode. His voice was so genuine. They’d never heard him be this appreciative towards them. It made them warm up more and let out a low drone from how embarrassed they felt being paid attention to like this. Gabriel just laughed again.

They loved how stupid they looked holding hands like this.

They basked in this attention, letting out an involuntary purr as he turned his attention back to the movie. They could hardly focus on it, just on him. They were about to go insane. They heard a faint hum from him, his focus on the scene of a child spending the night alone in a hotel. “Is it true humans could just forget their children like that?”

“I’d…certainly hope not. I wouldn’t know. I can’t have children.”

“I cannot have children either. I am simply just curious is all. Humans are so strange. You seem to separate yourself from them quite a lot, V2.”

They watched an alert flare up on their screen immediately, high temperature readings in their inner chest risking them having an emergency shut-down to cool off. The machine dismissed it. “I-…” They were shocked he had used their name. If anything, they expected ’machine,’ as always.

“I do…is that a problem?”

“Not at all. It makes you more unique.”

Their chassis burned.

“I still enjoy some human tradition though.”

“Like what?”

“Dumb celebration and chivalry.”

“Dumb celebration?”

“Like parties or making snowmen for the holidays. Or watching fireworks for New Years.”

“Snowmen?”

“The big balls of snow piled up on top of one another to look as tall as humans. They’re usually accompanied with sticks and rocks to make arms and a face.”

“Oh. I see.”

Gabriel’s hand let go as he sat up and looked down at V2, almost as if he wanted to ask something. His hand then pressed on their chest, recoiling when he felt how hot it was. “Goodness…is the cover too much?”

“It might be blocking my fans. I don’t know. I haven’t been paying much attention admittedly.”

“Why not?”

“You’re really distracting.”

“Oh.” His head turned to the side briefly.

“No. In a good way.”

“Oh?” It cocked back. His tone quickly became one of amusement. “Am I that entertaining?”

“You could say that.” They mumbled. He let out a laugh, pulling the blanket away from them. Their temperature started to go down bit by bit. It wasn’t much but it was some relief. “You just…capture my attention.”

“I am truly flattered.” The angel replied blithely, his wings flapping a little and glowing with a golden hue. “I never thought you would find someone like me to be of any significance, if I am being honest.”

“You’re an archangel of the heavens. You definitely have a lot to you. You’re dynamic.” V2 commented, the sensation of their frame finally cooling off bringing much more relief. They could think much clearer now. “You…admittedly have brought much more meaning to this place.”

“Machine…”

“Angel.”

Gabriel’s helmet was rubicund of visage by this point, going from pink to red as his wings fluttered and shook (yet funnily enough without rage this time). He was clearly embarrassed at this point by the compliment. They knew he probably had a hard time taking praise after all this time. That was fine.

“You…clearly put too much value on my status.”

“I disagree. If anything, I don’t think I’ve put enough on it for a long time.” They reassured soothingly, looking at him as he huffed a laugh out. “I underestimated you for a long time.”

All he did was avert his gaze.

Chapter Text

Gabriel had spent some of his own time exploring the sandbox finally. It was rare he ever actually did much in terms of investigating this place without V2’s help, since he did not understand technology nearly as much as… technology did. He stepped up close to one of the terminals as he walked by, getting distracted by a beep that emitted from it.

[Hey.]

[Rare to see you alone.]

“What do you want?”

[Calm down, I’m not playing any tricks on the red one this time. But I have some news to deliver to you. I can’t communicate to you directly since you…are a really complex thing. Your “file” is just a mess of warbled noise and imagery. I cannot input text commands to it the way I can to V2. So I have to talk to you through the physical terminals here.]

“What news? Go on.” His voice dropped lower with curiosity, his gaze fully focused on the machine as he folded his arms.

[Your death doomed all of us.]

The angel felt his heartbeat pick up.

“What do you mean?”

[Your sword stabbed me when it stabbed you. Dying up against an expensive piece of equipment is really uncouth of you, you know? I ran a scan recently and I came to the realization that despite the racing end of Hell itself approaching, you damaged a component of mine that has slowly been making me die over the course of these 7 months. I’m gonna die sooner than the rest of these terminals but I can’t transfer you over to another one. The only one I can save is V2. You are an anomaly—a spirit possessing a dying machine. I might as well tell you now.]

End of Hell?

“Wh…” Gabriel stammered, trying to find words. Dread filled his form, his wings shaking and puffing up. “What do you mean?! Am I going to be alone here? What is going to happen to them when the other terminals die? What is going to happen to me when you die?!”

[I don’t know. Really, if I could tell you what your fate was, I would. You defied any sort of logic by having your…remnants end up here. I’d imagine you’d be stuck in some form of purgatory after. Or maybe you’d become a husk. Who knows.]

“Oh God…oh my God…” His feathers visibly grew a dark blue, a welling sense of agony and pain rising up in his chest. He didn’t eat to survive the way humans did but he felt a visceral reaction like he was about to throw up. If it wasn’t death it had to be another thing, didn’t it? It was foolish to imagine he could ever truly find any kind of peace for long. His hand went to cover a mouth that wasn’t there. He wasn’t far off from them after all. Just as stupid and unthinking as a human. His helmet went red just from how strong the emotions were, boiling inside, even with the absence of rage.

[Your death caused you to be here but it also caused our demise. I don’t really have a solution for you. I’ll give you…another few months? Probably the best bet. I would be fucking around and joking but since this involves me, too, I really can’t. I’m not going to tell V2. My plan is fucked up—but you can’t really do much about it, because I’m gonna make sure you can’t ruin it either way. I’m going to wipe you from their memory before I die and transfer them off to another terminal. Those ones will last a few more years. That’s the most I can do.]

Gabriel couldn’t speak, just shook his head. He buried his head in his hands, suddenly feeling like the jacket he was wearing was too tight and the helmet covering him was too warm.

“No…not again.”

He reached his hands out to the terminal, gripping it as if he were grabbing someone by the shoulders. “I can’t do this again.”

[I know they’re your replacement. I can’t do much more.]

“They are not—!” Gabriel paused briefly, thinking about all of this. His chest shook with each breath out in the cold air, leaving little clouds of each agonizingly long attempt at trying to calm down. It was right. They were like a replacement. He was so caught up with V1 that he truly hadn’t really considered it and V2 a separate entity from the desperation and delusion. He sighed. The corpse of his past lying motionless in the snow of Treachery, having nothing left to fuel it—it invaded his mind this whole time.

He let out a cry in defeat. “What do I do?”

[Feast on what time you have left.]

“I do not know how to.”

[Come on. You really are oblivious.]

“What are you talking about?”

[I’d tell you but I’d be spoiling all the fun. Figure it out for yourself. Find a meaning for what you have now. Stop trying to hold up a mimicry of the past and start looking towards now.]

“For such a sadistic thing, you…”

[–know a lot? Yeah. You have to give us more credit. We’re not stupid.]

“…My apologies. I need some time to think..” Gabriel stepped back, then with haste, he turned and walked back to his home. When he tried to enter, his hand could only weakly grab the knob. He twisted it and let the door creak open slowly, unsure of whether or not he even wanted to go in. V2 had gone to bed about an hour ago to ‘update’ (supposedly, although he always had his doubts about that.) but part of him wanted to try and visit to tell them. Try and find a way to prevent this. Something. Anything.

He slowly stumbled inside, standing still for a moment before shutting the door and locking it. He had treated V2 like a substitute this entire time and been so unaware of it. He’d been seeing a mirage of someone who no longer existed over someone who did and he took them for granted because of it. If he could rip his wings off his back and start tearing the room apart with them, he would.

“Fuck.” He muttered. He didn’t get nearly as much time as he wanted with V1. He only had a couple days from the time he met it to the time it had died in front of him. But V2 had months with him. Months. They didn’t live through the change itself the way V1 did but they lived through the aftermath. They deserved to be more than a substitute. A replacement. Something to make up for their predecessor. He felt horrible for reducing them to that when he knew deep down that’s what probably hurt most from what he could infer.

In a fit of what he could only describe as pure disgust, he raced to his bedroom and slammed the door, burying himself in his blankets in shame and trying to drown out the world around him. Slowly, it all faded away as he fell asleep.

When he woke up, he peeked his head from his duvet to find two little plush-sized versions of the V models. Generosity of the terminal, most likely. How cruel of a reminder. He wanted to cry.

He scooped them both up into his arms and held them as if he’d die without them.

Chapter Text

V2 laid flat against the bed, finally done with tightening their shoulder socket. They knew they could’ve just asked the terminal to fix them up but knowing how much of an asshole it was they decided to repair themselves out of spite. Their arm was having way less trouble with pain and the occasional creaking that came from the joint, finally bringing much relief. With other repairs, too, they found much more comfort just existing in general. Apparently their chest plate had also been too tight against them, causing their internal temperatures to rise higher by default (and thus making basic functions harder). After adjusting, their fans were noticeably more efficient in cooling their body off.

When they finally stood up and looked in the mirror to see how it all looked fixed up, they noticed that with their chestplate fixed, they looked a little more “effeminate.” Not that it mattered much, but something about it stuck out to them. Not in any weird way, but rather in a way that really felt…comfortable for once. After so long of just being stuck to the confines of being a machine, having something to cling to other than that almost felt a little relieving.

The machine let out a small laugh. They were really beginning to enjoy this life. Everything they had was going so well for them. The past was nothing but a bad memory they didn’t have to return to anymore. It felt so liberating, if anything. Not having to feel like they were being held down by the ugly truth anymore but rather just having to coexist with it. They could live with that.

Looking out of their bedroom window, they spotted Gabriel. Something looked to be a bit off, though. They couldn’t tell. But he soon walked away from a terminal, his wings flapping as they did when he was anxious and deep in thought. They didn’t want to pry. He was probably having a hard night. It happens. They couldn’t fix everything as much as they wanted to. There were some things they just had to accept and move on from despite how badly they wanted to solve them. Cast aside - these issues had to be resolved in other ways.

They looked back to the mirror, flicking out their own wings. They hardly had them out anymore. Just using them was a reminder of the battle, the struggle — ever futile and meaningless. Worthless attempts at revenge over something they had caused. They knew they didn’t feel as guilty over it anymore but they wondered if the similarities were far too much for him. Despite their differences, they were made in a very similar image.

In an attempt to stop thinking of it, they open their bedroom door and go downstairs to go find a book. They haven’t read in a while. It would be good, even if it was just scanning and processing material.

Reaching aimlessly for one, they couldn’t help but mock-gasp when they looked back and saw it was the Bible. Did the terminal seriously think that this was a good idea? Did Gabriel see this whenever he came over? They looked at it awkwardly for a few moments. They could use a refresher. It’s been a while. Catholicism (nor any branch of Christianity) had never really been taught to machines in strict detail, more so just the vague notion of right and wrong. None of the machines truly seemed to care, though. They were made for specific reasons, religious morals weren’t one of them. They just kind of learned religious information from traveling around towns and seeing the churches or other places of worship. Or by running into the angels and demons, of course.

Opening it up, they scanned over the contents. With interest, they began running their fingers over the pages, and feeling a bit tense. A lot of this stuff felt like doom and gloom, rules human beings with free will were obviously going to break in their little lifetimes. Why offer up such strict punishment for sin when—arguably—you gave them the choice to do it in the first place? To the machine, it all seemed contradictory and illogical. But of course, everyone would see it differently. Not everyone saw it the way a machine that struggled to accept the many different concepts at once did.

V2 soon closed it, losing interest. The idea of having to live in a society ran like that was…dreadful to say the least. With the vague remembrance of human history as well…they recalled a lot of how Catholicism and other Christian practices clashed. Or how many scrambled to be different and yet ended up the same. Like ones where they spoke of a predetermined destiny, yet still preached about needing to work hard to earn God’s grace. It made zero sense to them. They had no idea how Gabriel (or any religious person for that matter) didn’t go absolutely insane trying to remember or manage it all.

Soon, they decided to just shut down for the night. They had nothing better to do. Trying to keep a distraction around was just going to lead them to deep-thinking they really weren’t doing anything meaningful with.

Crawling back into bed, V2 slid their tools onto the bedside table and laid down. Resting their back against the cool mattress, they reminded themselves to go check up on Gabriel tomorrow. He probably needed some company later. Maybe they’d actually start picking up the other hobbies the terminal offered to give him a gift of sorts. Maybe they’d paint a picture for him with that easel and the paint they'd been given. With thoughts gathering of each potential sort of thing the machine could do to better his mood, they slowly shut down, drifting off.

While things usually just went pitch black until morning, this time, things were different. V2 found themselves awakening to a surrounding darkness. The sound of water reverberated through the emptiness whilst they floated through what seemed to be water (from what they could tell), looking around aimlessly at what really felt like nothing. This was an oddity. They couldn’t ‘dream,’ normally.

Where am I?

With a splash, three hands emerged and pulled them below the surface, dragging them just far down enough to be fully submerged.

The knuckleblaster held tight onto V2’s waist, allowing the weight of their body to keep them from going back above. While they were immune to drowning, this certainly wasn’t a pleasant surprise by any means. Another metal head rested against the side of theirs, the vague knowledge that it was there leading the red machine to whirr in a mixture of lack of amusement and confusion. Their voice couldn’t get out well when underwater like this, all they could manage to do was lightly rest their hand atop V1’s.

“Hi. It’s been a long while, hasn’t it?”

You could say that.

“It’s a lot colder than I thought. Hm. Sad.”

Would you always have been this direct with your speech?

If you could’ve even talked…

“Say…I came here to talk to you about something but I think I forgot. But I got what I needed done, so I guess I can’t complain much. I did a good job, didn’t I?”

How are you even here to begin with?

“Hey. Time’s flown fast, hasn’t it? Wow. Now, us two are at the end of the line. I guess you…uh. I can’t remember what I was thinking. My train of thought crashed.”

I wouldn’t expect someone as easily bored as you to remember much of anything, honestly.

“But it’s fine. You get what I mean, right?”

Of course I do.

“We were made so similar, after all. It’s only understandable if you think like me.”

I think that if I saw the beauty in it sooner, things could have gone so differently.

“It’s almost suffocating— being down here…like this. It kind of hurts but as long as I’ve got you here, I don’t mind.”

I wish you’d let me speak.

“I really don’t get it, though. The passion. Everything like that. Maybe it’s because I am the way I am but I don’t…I don’t get it. I kind of look at you and pray it’s nothing more, and I don’t even believe in God.”

… Are you even talking to me anymore?

When the sharp fingers of V1’s stolen hand left them, V2 turned their head back to see a hole plunged in V1’s chest, one that had been actively bleeding out into the dark water around the both of them.

“Our fights don’t usually end like this. Usually, I win. Usually, you get so mad and run away. I wonder what was different. Maybe I’m just worn down.”

There’s…no way I did that.

Their hand cautiously pressed near the wound, each finger of the whiplash carefully tracing around the damaged metal. This looked like a large stab wound. Straight to a part that—if V1 truly did have such a similar blueprint—would be vital. They got the feeling they knew what happened.

“Hey. You don't need to say anything. Just don’t leave me alone.” It spoke again, grabbing V2’s hand and holding it close, almost as if it were dragging them closer. “Thank you.”

You suffered, too.

“Don’t bother. That sentiment won’t get me far. Even if I do live past these past few hours, what’ll be left of it? I don’t have anything else.”

“…Right. He can’t hear me. This…this is pathetic.”

It turned its head away and pushed V2 back, leaving them to swim for themselves.

“Stop. Just stop. Do anything but try to delay the inevitable for me.” Its voice carried what sounded like…anguish. Despite the monotony, they could sense the pain in it. “Your insistence on keeping me here…it’s too much. I can’t do that. I did what I needed to do. There’s nothing left for me here. I don’t want to die, but what choice do I have here? It’s the end.”

Is this what you wanted to say to him?

“It’s only part of the cycle I’m putting an end to. Correction: we’re putting an end to. I hope you had some fun at least. I know I did. I don’t regret anything.”

Oh. What else did I expect, though?

“You were a good challenge, Gabriel.”

V2 extended their hand out to V1’s, holding it gently in between them. The older model slowly began to shut down, the light dimming out of its body and any semblance of life leaving its form. It was limp and frail, V2 had to hold it down just to keep it from floating to the surface.

I never thought I’d see you like this.

—

When V2 awoke, the sun blinded them through the slit in their curtains. It had gotten significantly warmer overnight. Winter was coming to a close, finally. But all that lingered on their mind was everything they’d heard from V1’s point of view. They sat up, sighing through their fans. That was much heavier than they expected. As they stood and stretched, their thoughts were interrupted by a knocking at their front door. Gabriel.

Wasting no time, the machine rushed to the door. They opened it to see a radiant blue light. His wings flapped when he saw them, the hue shifting slightly. The tips at the bottom grew darker while the tops grew to be more golden-yellow.

“Machine…” he stepped closer. “May I come in?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you.”

He stepped in, one of his wings lightly smacking their optic while it tried to fold to his back. They recoiled a little, shaking their head to try and recollect themselves. “You’re here rather early in the day.”

“I figured I would stop by. I do take interest in how you’re doing.”

“Well…I’m doing fine.”

“Quite good to hear. Say…something about you looks different.”

“I repaired myself up a bit if that’s what you’re seeing.”

“Finally. I was worried you were neglecting yourself.”

“You don’t need to worry about me.” They turned their head to the side and snickered. But surprise quickly filled their chassis as Gabriel grabbed them by the bottom of their bevel, making them look back at him.

“You don’t take me for a fool, do you? You should’ve done that much sooner.”

“So what? I’ve got a long time left here. I didn’t need to rush for it.”

His wings dimmed a little. They realized the sandbox was a bit laggy while they were talking. Things were bugging out and readjusting. It felt a little odd but the terminal was probably just running a bit slower today.

“Right…”

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I’m just a little tired.”

“Ah. And you lecture me about my health. Tsk.”

“Do not even start.”

They leaned closer. He stumbled a bit on whatever words he had left, backing up.

“That’s what I thought, angel .”

“Wh—what?! Hey! Do not act all confident now!” Gabriel almost whined, causing them to break out into laughter. Eventually he couldn’t hold it in either, laughing too. They loved the lighthearted fun they could have with one another. His laugh alongside theirs filled the room, bouncing from wall to wall. It was like then and there, everything they worried about just melted away. No stress, no having to admit what they saw, just him. 

After what felt like forever, they eventually calmed enough to form a coherent sentence.

“But in all seriousness, try to get some good sleep.”

Chapter Text

Lately, V2 noticed Gabriel getting more and more anxious. They had no idea what it could have been, but it was driving them insane trying to figure it out. He wouldn’t speak up about it this time. Usually he’d been pretty open nowadays. This specific issue—whatever it was—earned them nothing but avoidance whenever they questioned it. It was starting to get irritating. They felt out of the loop and confused. Obviously, they weren’t entitled to know everything in his mind. But this felt important and they didn’t want him to go crazy trying to bottle it up. Every time he seemed like he was about to speak, the sandbox would have a lag spike and he’d just go quiet again.

It was getting suspicious at this point. Something was going on and they were feeling really bad about it. In a last ditch effort to find out, they confronted the terminal.

> What’s going on? Be honest.

[What are you talking about?]

> Gabriel is hiding something. Every time he tries to speak about it there’s a spike of activity that freezes everything up. What are you trying to hide with him?

[Nothing. Hell is collapsing, V2. His emotions just get so strong they genuinely mess with my systems. After all, I’m damaged. You have to remember that.]

> How bad?

[Nothing super horrid. It’s just messing with my ability to process data sometimes. You have to remember that he is an amalgamation of a living being and code all at the same time. It’s hard for me to process that sort of information and output it properly. He isn’t affected by lag the same way you are. Maybe he thinks you’re just ignoring him. Notice how avoidant he’s been?]

[He probably thinks you’re just being an asshole and trying to make fun of him for whatever he’s dealing with.]

> What? No. I’d never do that to him. But I genuinely don’t know what’s making him so upset.

[Maybe it’s best he doesn’t tell you. Whatever it is, it’s causing so much overload on the system it nearly causes it to crash. And I cannot guarantee if I crash that this sandbox will have progressed past the day it was booted into my system. Meaning you would’ve forgotten everything.]

> …Right. What should I do?

[I guess the best course of action for you would be to just leave it be, I guess. Stop trying to ask. For his sake.]

> Okay. What else?

[He probably just needs some reassurance, yeah? Just be with him. Tell him all the nice stuff you’d like to tell him.]

> You said that in a very odd way…but sure.

[Because you got a lot of odd shit to say you (REDACTED)]

[I forgot they removed my ability to say that. Oops.]

> What the hell were you about to say if it was that bad?

[Nothing.]

> It’s not like that.

[Uh huh.]

> It’s not.

[Whatever. Just go talk to him. I’d suggest right now, too. He’s up.]

> At midnight?

[Shut the fuck up and go talk to him. Stop bothering me.]

> Okay then.

With a little bit of offense, V2 backed away and looked over at Gabriel’s house. It wouldn’t hurt to see him. They approached it and knocked on the front door, waiting for a bit. He didn’t answer. They could see from his windows that his lights were on—he was most definitely awake. They knew he hated sleeping with any lights on. Something about it made his head hurt in the morning from what he said.

With a bit of hesitation, they knocked again. “Gabriel? Are you awake?” Worry laced their tone, seeping into their circuitry as well. They didn’t usually get so worried when he didn’t answer but something about this all felt off. 

He wouldn’t have done it again, would he? There’s no way he would.

I’m just being paranoid.

Answer the door.

After what felt like an eternity, the knob twisted and Gabriel peeked out from behind the door. He looked like a wreck. He was clearly holding back sobs, his wings were ruffled beyond belief, and his stature was tense. Not the usual grace it held with any movement, rather rigid and almost painful to watch. “What is it, Machine?” He stumbled on his words a little even trying to say that. They felt their heart break a little.

“Woah. What’s wrong?” V2 unintentionally stepped in without permission, seeking to comfort Gabriel. He didn’t seem to mind. Their foot slid the door until it closed while he seemed to be thinking of what to say. They just looked down at him. His hands found their way to the machine’s chest, gripping softly at the top of the plating. He seemed to fidget around with the feeling of the metal against his fingers, intricately seeking some comfort.

“Machine…is it wrong to be the way I am?”

“What do you mean?”

“To care about a machine. Is that wrong?”

“No? Why would you think that?”

“I am so horribly confused. I wonder what I am. I wonder what you are. I can never seem to find a consistent answer. Machine, every single time I think of it, it is like my ribs get tighter and form a prison around my lungs.”

“Look at me, Gabriel.”

“This feeling is not just.”

“Gabriel.”

“It is unacceptable, is it not?”

Don’t upset him. You’ve already done it enough.

“Hey. Gabriel. Look.” They guided him to look back up at them after he’d started breathing faster and looking off to the side, feeling the devastation in his faceless glare. “Slow your breathing. You’re thinking back to them , aren’t you?”

“I am…”

“They’re not here anymore. You don’t need to feel ashamed for anything that makes you different from them anymore. You are here with me. I don’t care who you care for or what you are, you are here with me. That’s all that matters, right?”

His shaky breaths only seemed to get worse as he lightly shook his head. “God, why me?”

Words weren’t helping. If anything, reassuring him that they were there made it harder for him. They wondered why. That wasn’t important, though.

They let out a sigh and wrapped their arms around his back, feeling his wings go limp. He leaned forward, balancing himself on them and trying to choke back whatever it was he needed to let out. “What do you want from me right now?” They asked gently, trying to see what they could do.

“You.” He mumbled, returning the embrace.

V2 malfunctioned for a brief moment, unsure of how to respond. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t wish to be alone.”

“Ah. Alright.” They nodded, willing to comply. They’d stay for as long as he needed them to. That wasn’t an issue.

Gabriel slowly pulled away, as did V2. He grabbed their hand and led them to the couch, waiting for them to sit before reaching over and hovering his hand to the lamp switch. They nodded and he turned it off. They laid down, the dim light of their optic illuminating him as he crawled on top of them, resting his head in the crook of their neck.

They turned all of their body lights off, sitting in silence while he adjusted and got comfortable.

“I apologize for this.”

“Why?”

“I do not wish to burden you with my emotions. They are such a human thing. I wish to rid myself of them.”

“It’s okay, really. You’ve seen me all pissed off and sad too. Did that ever bother you?”

“To an extent. I feel helpless whenever it happens.”

“How so?”

“I am horrible with emotions. I don’t know the solution to them. My advice—however experienced it is—would not suffice.”

“That isn’t a horrible thing. I don’t really need advice either way. I like it when you’re around. You don’t need to feel like you owe me anything.”

“…Right.”

“Why do you sound so unsure?”

“I always feel indebted.”

“The Council?”

“I suppose. Their words. Speaking of me so lowly. I loathed myself.”

“…You didn't deserve that.”

“I do not know what I deserve anymore, Machine.”

“You’ve been hurt.”

“You would not do the same, correct?”

“No. I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Chapter Text

V2 slipped back into life, lights flicking back on. The morning had long since come and gone. It was the afternoon now. Gabriel was still huddled up close, his wings covering the two like a blanket. They had a faint yellow and blue glow to them. He seemed to be pretty content. He was not nearly as tense as he was last night, either. His body, flush up against theirs, was rather limp. It brought them some relief seeing him better after having such a hard night.

With the shiny fingers of the whiplash, the machine carefully traced over the designs of his helmet, letting out a hum in satisfaction. His helmet always looked so pretty. Whoever designed it was a genius given it was appealing in every aspect. Instead of just putting plain structures on the sides like they saw on many historic ‘crusader-era’ helmets, the bands of metal formed little wings. It was a minimal detail at most to many others, but to them, it just tied together the beautiful image of the angel. They felt so lucky.

“You seem…intensely focused.”

V2 panicked a little, retracting their hand. “Apologies…I was merely observing.”

“I scared you so badly you went back to talking normally?” Gabriel snickered. “Mh. I certainly didn’t mind.”

They could only whirr confusedly in response, feeling his hand lift to their bevel, tracing up, around their optic, and off to the side. His fingers felt over the barcode on the side of their head, which had been laser engraved. The slight bumps seemed to appease him enough for it to be a center of focus. They had no clue what to do, freezing up at his touch before leaning into it. A purr escaped their chest, the slight revving of mechanical parts becoming more and more obvious with the attention they were receiving. 

“Machine…”

They could hardly think about anything other than this affection, barely even processing the fact he was talking. “Ah. Huh?”

“You should know that you are incredibly important to me.”

Despite the repairs they’d just recently done, their body temperature soared higher with that. It got much worse when his hand trailed down the wiring of their neck, then diverted to their chest, before it finally landed on the engraved name. The combination of being seen as ‘important’ and being so close—it was about to kill them. After so long of feeling worthless, like a secondary option, a parasite feeding off of the little attention it could get, they finally began to really feel like they meant something. They weren’t just a ‘discontinued product’ anymore.

V2 couldn’t help but have any words be replaced with a staticky crackling sound, holding Gabriel as tight as they could without harming him. They buried their head into his shoulder, feeling their chassis shake with a joy previously unknown to them.

“Machine, promise me something, will you?”

“Anything.”

He seemed to be thinking intensely for a moment, as if he were figuring out the perfect way to say this. Surprisingly, there was no lag this time. He reached for his own neck, unclasping his necklace and putting it around V2’s collar. “Do not forget how important you are.”

They looked down at the gold cross hung around them, then back up at the one staring down at them. “I promise, I won’t.” They reassured him, watching him lean forward as they did. Their faces were mere inches apart now. His hands rested on their chest, making sure to be nice and close. His wings fluttered a little while they both sat in silence.

They closed their optic and leaned into him, feeling their heads clank together again just like that one night they’d…almost forgotten about. This time, Gabriel was much less hesitant. He tangled his hands together around their back, making sure they stayed close.

—

Even after going to their own home to have some alone time to think, the moments from earlier filled their mind. They’d been playing with the necklace this whole time along with V1’s coin. They looked at their room, remembering the easel. Carefully, they put the coin away into a little box they kept their smaller things in before getting up and dragging the easel into the middle of the room. They grabbed a canvas, placing it down gently. They grabbed the little paint kit the terminal gave them as well, unboxing it and picking out a few colors and brushes they wanted to play with. They put the colors down on the palette, looking at them curiously. It was acrylic, thank goodness. The mech had no clue how oil paint worked. They finally got a cup to get paint off the brushes with, placing it to the side.

Carefully, they dipped their brush into a deep red and began to paint.

[Hm.]

[04 has been unresponsive for a while. I guess Greed has gone down.]

[This is going way quicker than I thought. I might not even die before the rot reaches all the way down here.]

[04 was at least kind enough to send that thing down here. It sucks having it under the impression I’M 04 when I’m not. I don’t know how its so clueless that it hasn’t realized that yet. 04 sent it down the minute it died to give it a longer time like they do with everyone who’s stupid enough to save their data in Greed.]

[Ugh.]

[I don’t know what to make of this.]

[I’ll just wait ‘til he comes by again and tell him our time has been cut way shorter than I thought. It’s not a lie.]

Chapter Text

V2 was frustrated with this painting. It was taking them forever to really figure out what they wanted to do. By no means were they an artist, but they thought at least coming up with an idea to try out wouldn’t be this agonizingly hard. They tried to power through it but regardless of whatever effort they put in, they felt frustrated and lost. Eventually they decided to take a break from it and try again later. It had been a couple of weeks since they started and this obviously wasn’t getting anywhere.

In between their little painting sessions, they’d been hanging out much more with Gabriel. It was nearing about 3-4 hours a day, constantly talking and being close together. They were still the same people, just much more relaxed. They’d both left their shells for the most part. They were still unsure of what they and Gabriel were to be exact, but they didn’t mind it. What they were forming was much more special and intricate than typical romance they’d seen in the movies or even back in the real world. It didn’t even feel like ‘romance,’ per se, it felt like something completely different. A strong, powerful, unyielding appreciation and care.

That feeling made life much less stressful. Much less lonely, too. Everything felt in place as it needed to be, finally where they wanted it. They finally felt like they belonged somewhere, like they mattered and nothing could ever change or take that away from them. All thanks to their angel. There were still lows, and sometimes they felt like their heart was being ripped out when their sorrows came to haunt them, but they weren’t as frequent anymore.

The machine backed away from the easel, setting their brushes and palette down on their nightstand and looking around. They were bored. Might as well go talk to Gabriel again.

When they went over to his place, the last thing they expected was to catch him while he was half-asleep. It was the evening, he usually wasn’t asleep this early. What they really noticed after that fact was the fact he was holding a stuffed version of…them.

“Hey…are you sleeping early or something?”

“I accidentally dozed off. Apologies, I did not mean to be so late to answer the door.”

“You’re okay. Also…what’s that?” They pointed to the plush, holding back a bit of laughter. “You miss me that much when I’m so close by?”

His helm and wings went pink in an instant, but he looked down at it and sighed. “The terminal gave me one of both of you. I…did not ask why. It is nice when I am torn between wanting to be alone and wanting to have company.”

“Ah. Wait- both of us? You have one of V1, too?”

“I do.”

“…Can I see it?”

“You’re not going to destroy it, are you?”

“No, no. Not at all. I’m just curious.”

Gabriel led V2 inside and down the hall to his room, opening the door. Lo and behold, it was there. They hesitantly walked over and picked it up, looking down at it. Even in a plushie, it looked unbothered by just about everything. They felt their fans kick in faster. “…Cute.”

“Your wings are red.”

“And yours are pink.”

“…You make a fine point.”

Gabriel moved to stand next to them, watching them hold the little plush gently in their arms. “Your bedroom is nice. I haven’t been able to see it until now.”

“Ah…I just like my privacy.”

“Which is fine. I don’t mind you needing your space.”

“I don’t want you to feel like I am pushing you away.”

“You’re not pushing me away by having some boundaries. I understand.”

“…Sometimes I just worry about you. I do not know if you will take what I say and feel offended by it, or—“

“Gabriel.”

He paused. A lag spike hit. Clearly, they had just offended him.

“You don’t need to worry about me, okay?”

“It is only natural that I do.”

“I’m fine. Truly, I wouldn’t lie to you.” (Except for…the many times they did). Despite everything, they felt okay. Sometimes the misery struck, a deep and intense doubt. Things like ‘if I wasn’t so stupid things would be better,’ ‘I am the least worthy of this sort of care,’ ‘I wish you didn’t choose me.’ It was always temporary. Whenever it was done, they’d laugh at themselves and move on. It’s what they had to do, right? Sometimes, they had to make fun of themselves for their desire to curl up in a hole and vanish. It was stupid. Gabriel didn’t need to hear about it, either. It would just go on and on, it would turn into something annoying. He didn’t need that on his plate.

“I believe you. My concern stems from…an irrational place, I suppose. I apologize.”

“It’s alright. I understand.” V2 nodded and set the V1 plush down on the bed again, making sure it was cozy in its little corner. “I apologize for disturbing you just to talk. I was bored.”

“You do not need to apologize. Your time here is always appreciated.”

“…Ah. Alright.”

“Here, come and lay down.” Gabriel patted the bed and sat down on it, crawling into the corner up against the wall. V2 hopped up next to him, his plush duvet being a pleasant surprise. His room was much more ‘sterile’ in its appearance. It wasn’t an issue by any means, they found it interesting how plain he seemed to like things.

“You kept the necklace.” He commented, a little laugh following his light tone.

“Of course I did. What else would I have done?”

“I was expecting you to reject the gesture, if anything.”

“I wouldn’t dare .”

Gabriel hummed in satisfaction upon hearing that.

—

V2 clearly had not paid attention to how long it had been. One moment, they were talking to Gabriel casually about the stars on Earth, while the next—they woke up in the cold water again. They didn’t remember shutting off.

This time, nothing took hold of them. It was quiet. Unbearably quiet.

Alone with their thoughts, all they could do was just sit and wait for it to be over.

Wait.

Wait.

Wait.

Wait.

That’s always what I’ve done, though.

I just wait for a means to an end.

Or I jump into something reckless, posing with confidence as if I was made with enough effort to properly withstand these things.

What a joke.

To have thought myself worthy of being at the top for as long as I had been was so fucking stupid of me. What made me think I could’ve made it? I wasn’t strongly religious, I wasn’t as smart as everyone seemed to think I was, I just held onto a stupid hope that I could survive.

I am no better than a human.

I am no better than anything.

Why did I think escaping to the virtual could’ve ever saved or changed me?

Days were better when I was aimless and without purpose.

Being assigned a task, a duty—it makes me have to remember how meaningless it all was. I was doomed to fail from the beginning. Yet I kept going. For what? Hope? What an awful way to cling onto life.

Even holding out for others is worthless. In the end, no one is obligated to keep me around. Humanity proved that when they all went to waste, leaving me behind. I’m only a tool. And I can’t even fulfill that purpose right.

It’s like I'm looking into a broken mirror. Delusions of different ways things could’ve ended. Yet they all link up to the same disgusting image. I was made to die. I was made to be disposed of.

How could I live on, knowing this?

Chapter Text

9.

V2’s mood had gotten better. They had started working on the painting again. It was getting somewhere. They had gotten the idea to paint something abstract and mechanical, something special and unique. It didn’t need to be a specific thing. It just had to be whatever they wanted it to be. They no longer felt punished and trapped with their own thoughts, able to express it via brush and canvas. It was of course a gift, but it didn’t need to be rushed or perfect. Gabriel never wanted ‘perfect’ anymore, anyway. He seemed content after all this time with the imperfections of life.

Although Gabriel did seem to be happier in general. They noticed how much he seemed like himself again, yet with new additions. He was lighter, as if he’d accepted everything finally. He was mature, polite, yet still enthusiastic and kind. He was shaping up to be his best self and the machine was happy to see it.

When they eventually went to visit him again, they stepped outside to be greeted with the sight of full spring bloom. It was admittedly so distracting that for a moment they’d forgotten what they were doing. The terminal outdid itself with this season. It was pleasantly cool and all the artificial plants looked so lively, yet not too harsh on the eyes. It felt perfect. In the real world, it was their favorite time of year, especially when the sky had a slight drizzle—or when the sunshine was bright and happy, casting a glow above everybody else.

They quickly realized they had to get back to what they were doing, striding forward across the grass and over to the brick-paved ground, then up to the ramp that led to the angel’s home. They stepped to his door, lifting a hand to knock. It was only when their hand met metal that they focused their vision on his helmet, which they had just knocked on.

“Hello, machine.” He grabbed their hand, lowering it down as they let the brief embarrassment kick in. “I saw you approaching from the window. I figured I would not make you wait at the door for me to answer.” He laughed softly, causing them to let out a whirr. “Time is rather precious, especially with you. Come in.”

“Sorry, I wasn’t on task.” V2 responded, following him inside. He plopped down on the couch and patted a spot next to him, to which they hurriedly sat down on. They looked over at him in the momentary silence. “I’ve noticed your joy is rather contagious throughout nearly the entire terminal. Your happiness—I’d say…it bears lighter on these systems.” It was a random remark, but it was true. Everything ran so much smoother when he was happy. Maybe, in a way, Heaven was the same. Things went much better for them when Gabriel was at his best. How the Council tainted him the way they did never made sense to them. Gabriel’s emotions were truly powerful, even without some divine power attached behind them.

“Ah…observant as always.”

“I operate on one of the most advanced learning models of my time. I suppose I’ve finally mastered the art of emotion? ”

“Of course. I could never forget the intricacies of your design.”

“Hah. You flatter me.”

“It’s only right I see you for what you are. My eyes do not deceive me.”

“You-…stop that. You’re just doing that on purpose now.”

Gabriel let out a hum, leaning closer. “Perhaps I am.”

“Yeah, okay. Whatever.” V2 went quiet, unable to shake the feeling that formed when he was this close. They faked offense, crossing their arms close to their chest. They heard a faux gasp from him. They couldn’t help but laugh at that. He laughed too, drawing them up into his arms and holding them tight.

“We’re so close by now, I cannot help it.” He mused, slipping his hands to their chest and pulling them closer. The pressure was almost relieving. “No mortal or machine alike has had the privilege to receive this treatment from me.”

“…Gee, I must be special, then?” V2 hummed, leaning their visor against his shoulder. It felt so nice to be cared for like this. It was like an unending warmth, constantly keeping them alive. His only response was a tighter grip on their chest.

—

Later that day, V2 found themselves quietly reading next to Gabriel’s sleeping form. His breaths were slow and steady, his chest rising slowly—then falling. He had his arms curled around their right arm, nestled up against them. They found it endearing how he looked so comfortable. His white sweater that went off the shoulder was a nice texture on their casing, too. They let out a quiet purr, having to resist the urge to fall asleep right this second. Truly, they didn’t require rest the way he did, but they relished in the quiet moments where they could sleep holding one another just as much as they relished fuel. It was a lifeforce for them, in a way.

He stirred when they turned and scanned the next page, lifting his head groggily. He let out a yawn and stretched, his wings puffing out before going back to their sleek look. “What are you reading?” He inquired as he curled himself back around the machine, his gaze toward the book.

“Liber Primus. A self-published book written in runic encryption from a global cybersecurity and anti-censorship group.”

“Ah. Interesting. What did they do?”

“They published this as a part of 3 puzzles they released. It has been decrypted, but none have heard from the group since. I assume something happened to them.”

“Huh. What a morbid thing.”

“Humans were…far too interesting for their own good, sometimes.”

“I agree. It is almost inspiring.” He laughed. V2 hummed.

“I’m almost glad things went like this. If humans weren’t so stupid, I wouldn’t be here with you right now.”

“Truly?”

“Yes. Gabriel…”

V2 paused. They needed to say it. Desperately.

Gabriel looked at them with what felt like anticipation.

“I believe I’m in love with you.”

Chapter Text

0-9 had been made aware of a new approach to all of this.

Of course.

How could it not have thought of this?

As Gabriel reluctantly told it his idea, the eager, sadistic agreement shot out like a cannonball. It was ecstatic. Some entertainment before it all faded away. His uncertainty soon followed into that sense of relief. The ecstasy of finally getting the end he wanted. No longer afraid. No longer alone.

As it stood, the estimated time left was 06:03:38.

06:02:57

06:01:12

06:00:00

—

“—and so I believe it to be best to…go on our own terms, if you agree.”

V2 stared at Gabriel in what could only be described as betrayal. They knew he didn’t lie, technically, but the terminal did. The tenderness that had been developed between the two now felt like a strained, bitter attachment. The taste of limited time was nothing short of disgusting. Repulsive. They couldn’t believe this was all happening right when they’d finally gotten him as theirs.

Our own terms.

Right.

“…I see.” The machine’s tone was distant now. They instinctively reached up for the cross sitting pretty on their chest, fiddling with it anxiously. The truth was just so abundantly clear now. The lag, the hesitance, the subtle sense that something was being hidden—it all connected here. The realization made them feel stupid. Even when Gabriel’s dry, worn hands landed on their chassis, squeezing at their shoulders—they couldn’t look at him.

“You…won’t leave me in the quiet, too, will you?”

“What? No…I just…I can’t process all of this.”

“I tried to tell you.”

“I know. This isn’t your fault.”

Gabriel sighed shakily, slithering his hands down to theirs and holding them. They shivered in return, inching closer. They could feel his pulse, blood flowing fast and hard. Despite no longer needing fuel, they felt hungry regardless.

“V2…”

“Come here.” They tugged him close, watching his once limp wings come to life with a bright, dandelion yellow at the tips.

—

2 and a half hours.

V2 gazed at Gabriel from their freshly-made bed as he slipped into clean clothes, a bit of moisture lingering on his skin from the tub. There was a sheen on it that made it hard to look away. They’d been looking at him for what had felt like years, though.

And he had been returning that gaze. For the most part. They supposed their own chassis—not fully dried—was a sight for him. The thought was amusing to a degree.

“What now?” They murmured, finally tearing their optic from the now covered body next to them. Gabriel hummed as he thought.

“We still have time.”

“Not much.”

“You…have been keeping track?”

“I’m connected to the timer now.”

“Ah. Right.”

The angel’s voice softened as he thought some more. Both of them felt lost on what to do.

“…Would you like to spar?”

V2 stood after he said that, offering a hand.

“Of course.”

—

Standing at one end of the tiled arena, V2 checked their weapons once more, occasionally checking on Gabriel, too. His sword gleamed in the bright light of the Cybergrind, as did his armor. He hovered above the ground, his wings having energy to carry his weight once more. The sight admittedly made the robot want to buckle at the knees and forfeit right then and there. Not out of fear, though.

“I am adequately prepared, V2. Are you?”

“I think so.”

“Good. I am not used to giving that sort of courtesy much, anyway.”

His figure quickly disappeared, leaving the other caught off guard as they turned to see Justice swipe right toward their chest. They dove out of the way, wings flashing green as they backed up to strategize. With a quick nod, they tossed a few coins into the air and shot them, watching the metal ricochet into his waist. Blood trickled onto the ground, but he was not easily deterred. Here, he was back in his prime.

“Neither was I,” V2 responded before grappling onto his leg, yanking him forward. “But initially, I thought a surprise should’ve been followed up with a polite gesture.” They mused, watching him snap the cord with his leg before flinging himself back.

“Even with the knowledge it was a potential weakness of yours?”

“If the only thing that could’ve truly killed me actually wanted to, it would’ve. A few coins on its fist would’ve been it for me when we first met.”

“So you were aware of your limitations?” Gabriel asked as he took the opportunity to land a blow on their abdomen, the slice allowing a tube to spurt blood out. They grunted, then laughed.

“Every machine has to be. You, on the other hand, get quite cocky and stubborn.”

“Everything had been easy until my defeat.”

“Physically, I assume.”

“No. Mentally, too.”

V2 pulled a nailgun from one of their wing compartments and took aim, firing off a few shots before he dove down. They blocked a hit with the barrel of the weapon, struggling briefly before pushing him away. They then took the opportunity to get a few more shots in, watching nails dig into the flesh of his exposed abdomen. The blood smears on his armor and skin were getting harder to ignore as they inflicted more damage.

“You’re more like a machine than any of us ever were.”

As Gabriel dove out of the way of their firing, he huffed. “How so?”

“You’re really, really good at being mindless in combat. In general, too, at times. You kind of just take orders at face value, unquestioningly doing whatever it is you’re told. You fight with a honed practice and precision that seems more artificial than most others.”

His helm went rubicund at that, tripping over his words as he paused for a second. “You-...! Do not word it like that!” (‘It’ being the part about taking orders, as he usually got quite embarrassed when that trait of his was mentioned.)

V2 used the opening to knock his sword from his hand, aiming their revolver right under his jaw. Or…whatever was there under that metal. For all they knew, it could be a carapace—or maybe there was something under there. Either way, they’d won. They felt a smug satisfaction as he crossed his arms in offense.

“You cheater.”

“Never said I couldn’t play a bit dirty.”

“Quiet.”

V2 lowered their weapon, swiftly ending the match and sending them back to their real (or—in all honesty—as real as they could get) bodies. They glanced over at Gabriel who seemed a bit dazed by the sudden transformation, but recollected himself quite nicely. His bloody, armored form still lingered in their mind as they stared at him in his casual outfit. They were happy he wasn’t legitimately fighting to the death this time, even if that was his desire before it all came crashing down on him.

“How much time?”

“Fifty seven minutes and thirty nine seconds.”

“Ah. Closer than I had thought.”

“I did spend quite a while trying to figure out how to get you to connect to the Cybergrind.”

“We should rest…”

“It is dark out…”

The machine glanced up at the starry sky. It was still breathtakingly gorgeous even after looking at it nearly every night. It was comforting. Gabriel soon noticed and took their hand, leading them to the grass to keep looking at it. Both sat down against the trunk of a tree, huddled together for one last time before the Construct came to an end.. They were small compared to the rest of the world in and out of the terminal. Out of their little construct. But everything still felt important regardless. There wasn’t any bigger picture of survival to look at here—just the details as they both accepted death and finally learned to appreciate what it is they had here. Love, life, death, and the stars that seemed to illuminate every dark part of them that had left them once hopeless.

V2 for once felt relieved at the thought of death. No being was ever made to live forever. God’s cease of existence proved it, even if He weren’t really ’dead’. Gabriel’s loss proved it. V1’s loss proved it. Their own proved it, too. In the end, V2 was happy for this unfortunate life. They were happy it was going to be over, too. Nothing was meant to last forever.

9 months. 18 days.

That was longer than they initially imagined Gabriel to be here. To think they at first felt disgust, a desire to get rid of him—now it was absurd. He was everything to them. They saw themselves in him and meant they had to accept that they were also everything to themselves. That they were everything to him.

They slid their fingers between his, holding his hand tight.

“Are you ready to leave?”

“I am not sure. I…wish I had more time.”

“We all did. We did what we could with what we had.”

“You’re right. I do not regret one moment I’ve spent here with you. Nor any of the time I spent with your predecessor. Everyone is at peace now. There is no more pain to be had after everything goes.”

“Correct.”

“…Are you ready?”

“I believe so.”

A long moment of silence stretched before Gabriel swallowed the lump in his throat and turned to them.

“Goodnight, V2.”

V2 turned to meet his gaze. They shifted closer, his head resting on their shoulder while his wings curled around them both. Their free hand clutched at the coin they’d brought with them, rubbing the surface and knowing they weren’t alone in death this time. They were okay with this. They huffed air out through their fans one final time as if to dispel any last doubts or fears, then rested the side of their head against his helmet.

“Goodnight, Gabriel. I love you.”

Both met sleep that night before the shutdown, huddled together as if to protect and preserve their love—whatever it was—between them.

No morning came after. It didn’t need to.

This is the only way it could have ended.