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Markus had once again found himself upon the broken rooftop-room he’d found so much comfort in visiting, this time with Simon by his side. They both looked out of the space where a wall should have been and over the expanse of Detroit’s buildings and the people and androids that frequented them. The sun was setting, now, painting its own sort of abstract work of art across the sky as the sun wished the world it was setting on goodnight. It was so, very peaceful.
“It’s beautiful,” Simon uttered, taken aback by brushstrokes of color and molded shapes dug into them by the soft surface of the clouds. “Almost like one of your paintings,” he added with a hum. When Markus hadn’t replied, the PL600 glanced over to him, and their gazes caught one another.
They both stood still there, then, stuck in one another’s eye contact. Simon’s eyes were so, awe-inspiringly blue. The color was only made warmer and even more noticeable by the lighting the sunset drowsed them in. They were deep and perhaps a bit chilly and so incredibly knowing. Every bend, every curve of Simon’s face, it all told a bit of the story of the android in front of him, what he’d been through and the age his body had seen. It was so, painstakingly beautiful.
Markus leaned forwards and pressed his face against the side of Simon’s as he swung his arms around the other android, a laugh dancing on his breath as he held the other so, so very close.
Taken aback, Simon released a giddy chuckle. “What’s this for?” He asked, the components of his face moving softly against Markus’s nose as a smile painted itself upon his lips.
“You’re just.. so wonderful,” Markus mumbled into him, riddled so, very in love.
This strange, beautiful feeling in his chest only grew tenfold as Simon returned the hug just as strong, bringing his head forwards to settle into the space between Markus’s neck and shoulder, where nothing else could ever feel so in-place. It felt as if everything was glowing as their two bodies of plastic and circuitry engulfing one another in an embrace that felt so unbelievably warm, a type of warmth that went deeper than the natural heating of their systems.
Markus could have sworn that some biocomponent in his chest was melting as he let himself sink into the other android, listening ever-so-fondly to as he, too, let his head rest in the bend of the PL600’s neck, his auditory processor pressed softly against the other’s chassis so that he could become lost in the thrumming of Simon’s systems as they kept him alive.
It felt almost like Markus thought it might to shut down and have his form overtaken by moss and wildflowers; how he envisioned that blooming sensation of being reborn into something so beautiful, even if plastic and wires couldn’t do so in as completely of a way as organic matter could. It didn’t change the sensation, how absolutely incredible it all was.
Markus wasn’t sure of when the last time he smiled so widely and so true had been. He wasn’t sure he cared to know, right now.
They lingered like that for a period of time that Markus couldn’t pay any less mind to. Ra9, if he could, he would stay, stuck here forever, in this unbelievable sense of longing and having and *being*. This was the best thing. The best thing he could have ever hoped for. Markus could feel it as the words rumbled softly in his throat and he whispered them gently to himself, maybe a bit to Simon, too. The best thing. The best thing. The best thing.
But moments couldn’t last forever, especially when they were as perfect as this one. Perhaps it could have. Perhaps Markus should have tried harder to linger there for the rest of eternity, until they both rusted with age and fell apart between themselves. But, instead, he ever-so-carefully untangled himself from the other android, the warmth remaining trapped within his chest cavity and airing out only through the ecstasy of his smile.
Simon looked back, as deeply wonderful as the sweetest pastry any human or android could ever even think to bake, before he reached forwards and let his fingers slip into Markus’ own— Another perfect fit— and lead him away. Away to somewhere where they could find themselves settled on plush cushioning, where Markus could lay down and Simon could settle the deviant’s head so very tenderly on his lap. Where it felt as if they had settled into the thickest, softest pastures of clouds and could envelope all of the warmth the sun had to offer.
Markus hadn’t thought it possible for him to become any more loose, any more free in the pure affection of the moment. And, yet, Markus felt as if he had melted even further— evaporated, even— as the blonde android settled his hand softly on his head, and gently moved his thumb in gentle, massaging circles over the leader’s buzzed hair. He could feel himself growing so much heavier as every ounce of tension that may have somehow survived the last hour left his system for what may as well have been for good.
He knew that it’d come back eventually, that it wouldn’t let him remain free for long. But for now, he had Simon, and— ra9– that was enough.