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Mirage sat on her apartments balcony, overlooking the beach. The breeze cooled her internal systems, letting her half-lidded optic gaze emptily around the waves without interruption. It was peaceful, if not for the exhaustion tugging at Mirage's mind. She only let out a mechanical sigh, which was quickly followed by the screen door sliding open.
A crackle of V2's vocal transmitter cut through the air. "Out here again?" They asked, taking a seat in the other metal chair next to Mirage. "This is the fourth time this week." Mirage glanced V2 up and down before turning her attention back to some seagulls crowding a washed-up fish. It reminded her of herself.
"Mirage?"
"...You stole my clothes again, didn't you?" She jested, not moving her head. V2 beeped and sat up straighter before Mirage put her hand up. "Don't go change it. You look cute." She paid more attention and saw the striped shirt with the spotted pants. "...if not a bit mismatched."
"I did not come out here to bask in affection," V2 crackled. "I'm worried about you."
Mirage didn't answer. She kept looking out at the waves, so painfully bored and tired. It wasn't fair to ignore them, but she didn't feel like doing much else. She hadn't for the past few days now.
After a few bouts of silence, V2 abruptly stood up and walked back inside. Part of Mirage mourned the loss, before she was suddenly picked up moments later.
"Wh- Vee! Put me down!" She hissed, noting that V2 had changed their pants to be a solid color. The colors didn't match, but it was a valiant effort. They stepped through the front door and started making their way downstairs.
"I'm taking you outside."
"I can see that! Why?"
"...I want to play in the tide pools."
And that was how Mirage ended up sitting on the warm sand, watching her lover stare and prod rocks and anemones alike. She'd tried protesting, insisting that V2 could just go down if they felt like it, but the other machine wasn't having it. As much as Mirage tried grumbling, V2 was stubborn.
It was amusing to watch them look around with unshaken curiosity, even after living with Mirage for months now.
Months. It really had been months since Mirage took in a half-broken husk of a robot. It had been months since Mirage got to know said robot, months since their first hug, their first kiss- How much longer was it going to last? Surely V2 would get tired of her at some point. They had so much to learn after years of serving others. They were living for themselves for once.
When were they going to realize Mirage was dead weight?
She was zoning out again. She knew because V2 broke her out of it, chirping and beeping and rubbing their head under her chin like a cat. "I found a crab! It looks like me!"
Of course, V2 held it, keeping it in their hands even when being pinched. Mirage tried to sound happy, tried to say anything, but just... couldn't. V2's expression- their attempt at one- dropped.
"What's wrong?"
They were only met with silence. The crab was let go, scuttling off to a blue one. V2 ignored the similarities and curled up next to Mirage.
"The usual, I guess. Haven't exactly been able to break out of my funk recently."
V2 was quiet, hand moving to hold hers. "You know I'm not leaving, correct? This won't end."
"How can I be sure? Nothing lasts forever."
"...no, it doesn't. But I'll make sure it lasts for a long, long time."
"How can you just say that?"
"I wasn't programmed to lie, Mirage. It won't be now, but one day you'll realize that this isn't all for naught. I promise."
The two were quiet, staring at the setting sun. The waves were painted orange, splashing against the sand.
"...thank you, veevee."