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When Keats and Herm got the news of the newly found residents inside the ex they had to check it out. They knew the exclusion zone was now open to the rest of the world, but that's just another reason to go look over it as fast as possible. They still hadn't seen many humans in a while. Even after Michelle's speech people still seemed skeptical about coming near the zone. Just as well they supposed, not so much drama that way.
However, they had welcomed a few meat-puppets that had been brave enough to make their way to Blue sky. Michelle was mainly the one that had helped them settle in, as well as a few other bots. Keats and Herm on the other hand had been too occupied with the final repairs of the mall to have the time to get a closer look at the guests.
Though Keats had noticed the new girl Michelle seemed to spend a lot of her time with. He was happy for her, it was nice to see her acting like a teenager after everything they've been through. She needs some time off and maybe this newly found friendship/relationship is exactly what she needs.
But except for the new arrivals, the remaining lack of people hopefully meant that there weren't a lot of them roaming around inside the wall. They still hoped to check out the buildings preferably before other outside people got brave enough to do so. Their luck as well as the residents were close to the wall around Moab, it was a far skip from the entrance so even if there were people searching for antiques they hopefully hadn't gotten that far.
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The journey was only a few miles and they traveled relatively fast with Herm in his 20 ft body, and with only a few complaints from Keats. The sun was low on the sky when they reached the abandoned buildings.
“I told you we should have started earlier, now we're gonna have to sleep out here.” Keats whined as he jumped down from the shair on Herms shoulder that's been his seating for the past hours.
“Cool your jets, we already knew we’d have to do that. And don't accuse me, it was you who slept ur ass off for too long this morning.”
Keats just grumbled and looked away. “As long as we get to the garage in time, you will still need to recharge.” He gave the bot a glance and proceeded to walk towards the entrance of the closest building.
“As if it's not you who just want to sleep in a proper bed.” Herm joked as he jumped out of the 20ft model to join Keats on the way to the house.
“Yeah, yeah, just shut up and start looking. Hopefully there haven't been many scaves in this place.” Despite the man trying to seem unbothered, Herm could still see the tight grip around his gun as they approached the building. He often noticed it during their rads, how Keats’ features got strained, the slightly heightened heartbeats and the tensed shoulders while tightly clutching the weapon in his hands. It had become more noticeable these days, if Herman would guess it was the attack of scaves a few months ago that caused Keats' anxiety to increase.
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Keats have always been tense during missions, but when they got ambushed during a search he became seemingly more careful. They had been cornered by scaves and it was a miracle they even got out, Keats had gotten lots of scrapes on his arms with a few bleeding, but nothing too serious. Herm however had gotten the bigger hit, he had almost been torn apart by a few bots before Keats were able to take care of them. He were dripping oil and his limbs and screen glitched as they tried to make their way back to safety.
When they finally got the time to patch themselves up Keats had had this look in his eyes, they seemed so full of concern and some sort of weird determination, as he moved to see where the bot had gotten hurt. Herm was surprised but grateful by his friend and didn't protest when the man started patching him up. It was a lot that needed fixing but nothing too complex, so Keats were still able to do most of it. As time went on Herm's body became stable again, the bot also started to notice the untouched scratches on the human. Herman couldn't comprehend how his friend just could leave and forget about them this whole time. He moved to grab the first aid kit and forced the human to let him clean and patch him up before continuing the reparations.
After that, it took some time before they went out into the ex again.
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Even if Herm knew Keats had gotten more nervous and careful he seemed different this time, more ‘jumpy’. He observed the man as he moved up to join him. He knew it was a while since they did this but with all that had happened it feels like he would be more calm about this now more than ever, hell they have been to fucking war, twice.
“Relax beefcake, what's the worst that could be out here. Scaves? We know how to deal with them.” The bot tried to calm the man as he jumped up on the concrete patio making his way to the rusty door that led into the barn. Keats just gave him a clenched smile from the ground.
“Let's just hurry up before the sun goes down.”
Herm moved to open the door, but a loud, shrieking, metallic scream stopped him in his tracks, and before the two were able to react the door flung open as a tall scav towered over them. Herm was only able to register its red glowing LEDs before he got pulled up by large claws. His feet left the ground as the scav then proceeded to grab and tear apart the metal it already had in its grasp. Herm could feel the pressure and cry in the metal and wires that held his limb connected to his chassis.
He let out a short yelp as he felt the sharp stabbing pain when his arm parted from his body. The remainder of the bot got flung to the ground as if he was just another scrap of metal. Herm felt the crack of his screen as he hit the concrete.
His metal body scratched against the hard ground as the force of the scav made him continue to glide. In the background he could hear his partner scream as the bullets went off. “HERM!! Holy Shit!”
As he screamed Herms name, something inside the man's voice made the bot hurt more than the damage. Keats' voice seemed so full of panic and genuine fear.
“keeaa·tts?” The bots voice module glitched as he tried to stand up to help his meat-puppet, but as he turned to look at the fight he felt his legs go out and his body sank to the ground again as his survival program kicked in, forcing him to reboot.
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When Herm's consciousness jumped back it took some time to register where he was. He lay on a hard concrete floor outside a building with multiple warning signals ringing inside his head. Then all the data flooded back and he quickly sat up in a panic as he scanned the place for Keats. The sun was still at the same place in the sky so he couldn't have been gone for long.
Then he saw his partner on his knees to the side, he had clutched his head, seeming to be in distress. There were no scaves around and the gun had been thrown to the ground a few meters away. Herm moved with a slight struggle forward to the man and lowered to his level.
“Hey meat-puppet, you okay?” He lay his hand on the human's shoulder, but pulled away as Keats startled back and just stared at him with panicked eyes. The bot registered the rapid heartbeats and his arrhythmical breathing.
“Keats, Keats? Are you hurt?” Herman put his hand back on the man's shoulder to get some contact and maybe an answer as his concern for his friend grew. He could feel the intense shaking from Keats body.
“Yo..you.. . you were., don..don't leave me.” Tears started to stream down the man's face as he forced the words out while still trying to give his body air.
“It's okay, we’re okay.” The bot took one of the humans hands, placing it on the front plating of his body so the man could feel the cool metal and small vibrations of his engine. He then returned his only hand to the back of his partner's neck, entangling his fingers into the man's locks. Keats grabbed his arm with his free hand as if to hold him there.
“Everything is fine now. Come on, Keats breathe with me, in and out.” The bot reassured, making the sound and movements of filling his nonexistent lungs to further encourage the man.
“I'll never leave you.”
After some time Keats breathing slowed down to normal, but the tears still continued their path down the man's face, drawing lines in the dirt. The man made a sound close to a laugh but Herm thought it was closer to a sob.
“Hah, I thought you were dead dip shit.” Keats pushed slightly on the bots chassis but was not even close to moving him, seemingly wanting to keep him close.
“Are you hurt?” Herman asked again, he still wasn't sure if his human were leaking anywhere.
“Am I.., am I hurt?! How can you fucking think of that now. You were gone!” Keats lashed out but still didn't move away from the bot. His body language was full of disbelief but Herm could still see the relife and warmth in his eyes.
“Yes, are you hurt Keats!” Herm, determined to get an answer, repeated. No use in crying over him if his reason for existence weren't going to make it. Keats stared at him, seemingly taken aback by his tone.
“Yeah, I'm okay.”
“Thank god.” Herm lets out a sigh of relief and lets go of the man, but Keats still doesn't move and keeps a tight grip around his arm.
“Keats??”
The man then moves quickly. His arms wrapped around the machine in a tight embrace. It probably wasn't comfortable for the man in any way but Keats didn't seem to mind. Herm could feel a warmth building inside his machinery. They were okay. He returned the hug as much as he was capable of with only one arm. Feeling the man breathing out as he relaxes in the embrace.
“I love you Herm.”
“Yeah I love you too beefcake.” A smile creeped over his screen as he slightly squeezed his human to emphasize the words.
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It took some time for them to get out of this place, they first had to reattach Herm’s lost arm which wasn't the easiest project. They could always have waited with attaching it again, but the main problem was that he wouldn't be able to operate the 20ft without intact limbs. Leaving it wasn't an option either as the scaves would tear it apart as soon as they were gone, so the only option was to patch him up as best as possible with the parts that were available. It took some time but they managed. However, they were still too far into the desert to be able to travel all the way back to Blue sky.
Instead they proceeded to return to their old garage where they had stored their stolen goods before transporting them into the cave as well as Herm’s 20ft body.
When Keats opened the doors to the crappy storage it was already dark outside, all the heat from the sun during the day was quickly seeping away and Herm could tell his partner was affected by the temperature. The man was shivering and clutching himself tight.
The bot moved in as the door opened, placing his body in the normal corner before jumping out to connect it to the charging station. Keats were a bit faster though and already worked to connect one of the cables to the bigger size before handing over a longer extension cord to Herm.
“Thanks.” He moved to grab it but then he froze, his broken arm seized giving out a few sparks. Herm gave out a yelp from the sudden pain.
"Son of A- !”
Keats reached out as if to help him, but there wasn't much he could do.
“Herm…?!” His voice was full of concern as Keats gripped the bot's good shoulder and lowered to his level. The bot's arm stilled and he looked up at his partner.
"I’m okay." He said but a tiredness had creeped into his voice.
“We’ll get you fixed as soon as we get back, okay.” The man tried to comfort him.
“It will be fine.” Keats sighed more to himself than the bot as he moved to let their foreheads touch. Keats knew he didn't have the skills to properly fix Herm's body, especially with the complexity of the connections in the shoulder, so at the moment he was unable to help his partner or take away his pain. The bot let his working hand rest on the man's waist while just feeling the comforting warmth from the man's head against his screen. Herm then proceeded to drag Keats into a quick kiss before they parted.
“Let's just get to sleep.”
Herman plugged the extension cord into his back and then grabbed his partner's hand leading him to the dirty mattress on the floor.
“Fine, but you better get in there as well.” Keats smirked and followed his partner without protest.
“Can’t let your squishy ass freeze to death after all this now, can I?” The bot grinned as he sat down. They didn't have any blankets in the garage so in this case it wasn't so much of a choice if Keats wanted to have any toes when he woke up.
Keats lay down as Herm mover closer on his side, leaving his bad arm up and out of harm of the human or mattress incase of another malfunction. Keats curled up to his chassis as Herm started his inner heater.
“Good night beefcake.” The bot planted a soft kiss on the man's head, making a small “Muah” sound to let him know he’s being kissed. He had started to do that in the start of their relationship after he noticed Keats’ confused expression the first time.
“Mhmm, good night.”
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The next day they left the 20ft in the safety of the garage, as Herm was unable to monitor it properly in this state. His arm glitched and seized every time he tried to use it, so to avoid any more pain on the bot's part it was a better decision to leave it. They also didn't know what could happen if Herm got malfunctions while inside the bigger size. They really didn't wanna cause an electric fire anywhere, so the two of them set off on foot.
They had to stop multiple times on the way, mainly because of Keats but Herman also appreciated the rest. The bot hadn't realised how much his balance relied on being able to move his arms properly, it was also a slight worry because it caused him to use more energy than normal. The sun wasn't the most comfortable either, even if Herman wasn't as affected as Keats, his fans still have been running on high the past hours.
Though the heat wasn't exactly what they were most concerned about. Herm had noticed the worries in Keats eyes everytime he glanced his way, it had become clear that something was seriously wrong with the connection in the bot’s shoulder. At this point almost every movement made it spark from his broken wires, it had just worsened over time.
The bot were slightly worried about the chance of it spreading and burning his circuits or causing a fire. He didn't uter his worries to his companion though, but he was pretty sure Keats already understood the gravity of the situation.
“How're you holding up there buddy?” Keats tried to play it cool but Herm still heard the worry in his voice.
“Awww, are you worried abou,ttt,.t, me?” A spark disrupted him and glitched his screen with a stab of pain in the junction between his head and shoulder. For once Keats didn't make any snorting comeback but just glanced worriedly at the bot as they kept walking.
“I'm hanging in there. It will be fine beefcake.” The bot replied after a while, he reached out and grabbed the man's hand. Keats gave him a sad smile, squeezing his hand.
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It was already dark when they reached Blue sky. As soon as they stepped in through the gate they could see Michelle walking down the corridor with a big smile.
“You're back, I was almost becoming worried that you guys had gotten into.. trouble…” Her smile slowly faded as she got closer to look at them.
“What the hell happened?!” The tired Keats stood beside his damaged partner with a hand on his good shoulder, both of them could hear the panic in her voice.
“Uhmm, we kinda got into trouble with some scavs. But we will explain later we really need to get to the workshop, do you think there's someone there that can help fixing him up.” The man motioned with his head at Herm as they kept walking, Michelle now joined at their side with worried eyes shifting from the man to the bot.
"What's wro...”
“Sh.iiiiit..” Herm involuntarily cut her off as he froze in his place, sparks flew while his arm seized and LEDs glitched over his screen. Keats gripped his shoulder a bit tighter until he could move again.
“Holy shit, Herman.” Michelle gasped, eyes full of shock and concern.
“I’ll look so that someone will be there to help.” She then sprinted down the hall to get someone to help them as fast as possible.
“keats.” Herm's movements were slow, it had taken a lot of energy to get all the way here while still trying to stay on his feet and moving through the malfunctions. His battery was at its last power and red warnings blinked all over the inside of his screen.
“I'm here buddy, I’m not leaving.” Keats tightens his grip around the bot's shoulder. Herm knew Keats also must be tired at this point and probably dying of thirst, but it was nice knowing he was still there.
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Like Keats promised, he never left the bot’s side. As they got to the machinery other bots came to check the damage done to the 4ft bot. Shortly after they got to work while Herm turned to power-save mode. Keats has sunken down into one of the chairs in the corner trying to keep out of the way while still staying close.
Michelle came by some time after, she’d had a conversation with Mr peanut, updating him on their return. She’d gotten him to drink some water but he refused to leave the room for anything else. After some time the man slowly fell into a deep sleep as the machines worked around him.
Michelle later brought a blanket, pulling it over his legs assuming he'd just stay there for the night. She stayed for a while after the other bots were finished with the repairs but decided to return to her own room. She realized it would still take some time before Herm would be able to wake up again, and both of them probably would want some privacy when that happened.
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Herm let his fingers run through the sleeping man's dirty hair. Looking sweetly at his human, knowing he probably stayed there the whole night, that idiot. Keats slightly moved at the touch.
“Good morning, bootylicious.” The man flinched, eyes flew wide open as he moved to sit up at the sound of the bot's voice.
“Damn, you really need a shower.” The bot grinned, still toying with the dirty locks.
“Herm! Holy shit, you’re,. you're fine.” His man's expressions shifted quickly from surprise to relife.
"Haha, Yeah. You like what you see?” Herm winked as he stepped back and made a turn to show off his newly repaired body. Keats rolled his eyes and reached out to grab one of the HRM bot’s hands.
“Haha.Yeah, yeah dipshit just, just come here." Herm didn’t protest and let his human pull him closer. The bot could feel his machinery getting hotter as Keats put his hands on the sides of his chassis while he got placed standing between the opened legs of the human sitting in the shair. Luckily his fans didn't start as they would have revealed him instantly.
The bot tangled some of his fingers into the blond locks again as Keats pulled the two of them into a kiss. Herm also encouraged him with a firm grip on his shirt.
Keats loved kissing Herm, (except for the obvious reasons of course), but he could always feel the electricity running under the screen or metal traveling over his lips. He might even suspect Herm lets some go through on purpose, because every time they part he can feel a slight tingle in his lips.
Herm in his turn loved the feeling of the soft skin pressed against his screen, or anywhere if he were honest, it was always such a different and gentle touch compared to everything else in this world, he so often just carried or put away hard crates made of wood or cold metal. Not that it was anything uncomfortable with it but it was still miles away from the sweet and careful touches and kisses of his human. It also made him feel calmer and safe. It felt like a relief, as if some remaining energy that just had been circulating his systems got an outlet.
“I knew you were worried about me baby.” Herm placed one of his hands on the man's thigh and gave him a smirk when they parted. Keats slightly looked away, but Herm registered the color creeping up his neck and the little smile tugging at his lips, but his attention shifted as the man started talking.
“Pfft!! Yeah, yeah, so what if I was, maybe I just don't want you to go down on me again.” The human’s face flushed at the realization.
“Not, not in that way though. But you know what I mean.” Herm wasn't sure what the term ‘go down on someone’ meant, but he filed it away for the future. Based on the man's reaction, it might come in handy. However, he did know what the human tried to explain.
He hadn't expected this turn though, it wasn't often Keats talked or showed his more emotional side. Admitting feelings weren't exactly the man’s strong suit.
Keats looked away taking breath before he returned his attention to the bot that still was placed right in front of the chair, Herm’s LED’s showed nothing but fondness and understanding. All signs of humor were gone.
“When you didn't get up, all I could see was what happened at senter all over again and I just couldn’t,...,.,” He let out a heavy breath. “I know I'm horrible at saying it but I love you Herm, I can’t imagine my life without you. You make me smile, and seeing you hurt like that, it.., it feels worse than…,. please never leave me.” The last came out in a whimper as Keats tried his best not to let the tears fall.
Herm just stares at him for a moment processing the words, then reaches out putting one of his hands to his human’s cheek as he guides Keats head to make him look at him. As their eyes met Keats couldn't help the tears, they ran down his face until Herm strokes them away.
“I love you too, and I'll never leave you.” Herm keeps eye contact for a few seconds until he lets his normal teasing voice shine through.
“But I was serious before babycakes, you seriously need a shower. And probably something in that squishy belly of yours” He pokes the man as Keats lets out a snort, drying his tears.
"You're a moron.” He pushes on the bot’s shoulder but there's humor in his words.
“And you love me for it.” The bot grins at him.
“Yes, yes i fucking do!”