Chapter Text
PowerToys waited patiently on the fountain edge, tapping her feet on the ground and swaying slowly from side to side, her core light fluctuating between pink and yellow. She was waiting for her date! They'd matched on a user dating site called Grindr. PowerToys was upfront and honest about being a webperson, of course, and the person they matched with seemed more than okay with that, which assuaged their worries about going on a date with a user for the first time.
Before this, PowerToys didn't spend any time on itself. It poured all of its energy and dedication into its work, which actually proved to be detrimental! Not just to her, but to users as well. Not allowing himself time to "relax" made him more "high-strung", which was off-putting to the users. That was not good, obviously, so they finally heeded the suggestions and concerns of their webpeople friends and took a break, which opened them up to a whole new world of user connection!
He'd used social media platforms, posting inspirational quotes or advertisements, so users would know he was there to help, but now he could reach out to them. Make friends and connections with them. Personal ones that were beyond the relationship of user and program.
So, they were sitting on the edge of the city square fountain, waiting for their date to arrive.
He hadn't actually seen any photos of his date or asked for a description, which may have been foolish, but they knew what PowerToys looked like, so it should be all right.
Or that was what PowerToys assumed.
ScorchedEarth, the most brutal and imposing firewall officer (in PowerToys' opinion), approached after appearing in the park via fast-travel, stopping a few steps in front of PowerToys, glaring down at them. PowerToys looked up in return, awkwardly rubbing one of her upper hands over the back of her neck, fingers tracing one of the grooves in the metal texture. His light quickly paled to an anxious green.
"PowerToys," the officer spat, the flames of their head flaring, making them appear even larger.
PowerToys shrank into itself, shoulders raising. "Officer Scorched."
Why did it feel like they were about to be reprimanded? Perhaps Scorched was against user-webperson relationships. PowerToys was well aware of Scorched's negative views on users, which was ironic, considering Scorched's programming was for their protection.
"You're here for a date." Scorched crossed their arms, a burst of flame flicking from their mouth as they spoke. "With me."
PowerToys' visor dimmed momentarily, their core light flashing green, red, then bright blue, as they processed. "Oh!" she exclaimed, tilting her head and plastering on a polite smile. He tried not to let his disappointment show, forcing his lights to remain that cheerful shade of blue.
Well, PowerToys couldn't complain about being catfished. It was her fault for not asking what her date looked like and for assuming they were a user. "So this is only a prank to keep me from going onto user dating websites? I doubt this method is effective, Officer Scorched."
Scorched grumbled under their breath, turning away for a moment to sigh before turning back around. "No, PowerToys, I want to go on a date with you."
"Well, I'm sure there are more conventional ways to go about it. You didn't have to go tricking me," PowerToys replied, their hold on their mask slipping, their lights flashing orange for a split second. Still, it would be the polite thing to do—to accept Scorched's offer. She couldn't go and disrespect such a hard-working firewall officer, though she'd prefer to find something more useful to do with her time, now.
PowerToys stood from the fountain, making a show of dusting himself off before meeting ScorchedEarth's gaze, keeping his expression and body language neutral. "Well, let's go. I already had a place picked out."
The restaurant PowerToys picked was quite nice. Well, it would've been nice if she were on a date with a user.
PowerToys and Scorched sat directly across from each other, both stiff in their seats with untouched glasses of water and an equally untouched basket of pixel-breadsticks between them. Why didn't PowerToys cancel her reservation? She chose a restaurant because she knew how much users liked to eat, and neither of them was a user. Of course, Scorched wouldn't be the type to indulge in food. They both knew it was a waste of pixels unless they were injured.
Since they weren't eating, that left plenty of room for them to talk, though.
"So…what interested you in taking me on a date?" PowerToys finally asked, smiling slightly. His lights were still blue, hiding his annoyance and boredom behind false cheerfulness. Her hands fidgeted under the table, one of them flicking her tape measure.
Scorched focused in when PowerToys spoke, no longer observing the other restaurant-goers, giving it their undivided attention. "Well, you're a hard worker, for one. I think that's a value we both appreciate, isn't it?"
"Yes, I believe so." PowerToys nodded in agreement, placing the elbows of her upper arms on the table, arms propped up and fingers knitted together so she could rest her chin on top of them. There was a pause in their conversation, and PowerToys opened his mouth to make some excuse to end the date, but Scorched went on.
"Not only that, but I admire your dedication as well." The firewall officer broke eye contact, picking up their water glass. "You're loyal to the webframe, always looking for ways to make it a better place to be." The glass began to bubble, heated by Scorched's fingers. "I admire it. Even if most of your dedication goes to those…humans, webpeople still reap some benefits."
PowerToys continued to watch Scorched with a polite smile, the officer's features becoming warped by the plume of heat and steam rising from the glass. He hated to admit it, but he was flattered. But what was she supposed to say back? With users, it was so simple. He could compliment them on their features or personality, and they'd be content to accept the fawning and then talk about themselves. He had no idea how to handle another webperson. Honestly, Scorched's view on users drove a significant wedge between them. PowerToys wasn't sure if she could see past it.
"Well, I appreciate knowing that users and webpeople alike enjoy my efforts. I try to help where I can," it said, watching Scorched set the boiling glass of water back down, now half empty. It unfolded its hands and sat up straight again, upper arms sliding off the table and into its lap. He was beginning to take some interest in their conversation. "Have you felt the benefits of my work, officer?"
"Of course. It's what interested me in pursuing you at all," Scorched replied smoothly, their flame subtly glowing brighter.
PowerToys hummed, about to ask another question, when their waitress approached with a notepad and a large pitcher of ice water. The webperson refilled Scorched's still-hot glass, setting the pitcher down and clicking their pen.
"Hi, I'm Dora," they said enthusiastically, thumbing the nametag over their right breast, "I'll be your server tonight! A—"
They were suddenly cut off when Scorched's glass shattered, spilling water and glass over the table and Scorched's hands and lap. PowerToys could only look on in surprise as the firewall officer's hands and one of their legs extinguished, the waitress hurriedly cleaning and frantically apologizing, only to knock the pitcher over, splashing Scorched's face. Their head went out with a sizzle, and everyone in the restaurant seemed to freeze to watch the spectacle.
With one hand covering their mouth, PowerToys looked from the waitress to where ScorchedEarth's head used to be, his lights flashing bright yellow-orange with shock. Or, something else.
PowerToys' shoulders shook with laughter as she could no longer contain herself, snickering behind her hand, which then escalated into a full chuckle as Scorched slowly relit, peeking from under their cap.
"Sorry," she snorted, taking a deep breath to regain her composure while the waitress continued to fret, running to get a towel. "You're so small now, officer!" He broke into another fit of giggles, looking away from Scorched, who was no doubt glaring at him. They couldn't help it! This firewall officer, whom they'd always perceived as intimidating and formidable, was reduced to a tiny, water-soaked flame.
Scorched stood from their seat and grabbed PowerToys by the back of her shirt while she was distracted. She yelped in surprise as Scorched dragged her from the table toward the restaurant exit. Water still dripped off the officer, sizzling on the floor as they walked.
"Ah—my deepest apologies, Officer Scorched!" PowerToys stammered abashedly, ashamed by his behavior as he twisted in Scorched's hold so he could walk while facing forward, having to hunch because Scorched still had him by the back of his shirt. "I don't know what came over me!"
He was glowing pink and green now, embarrassed and anxious. What happened? Normally, they wouldn't even think of behaving that way! Well, they didn't exactly think back there. Maybe taking a break from work was a mistake. She behaved impulsively and humiliated a firewall officer in public! It was acting no better than an obsolete program with nothing but time on its hands! Like—like Untitled!
Its light flashed red at the thought before deepening to a hazy, guilt-riddled blue as it continued to walk with Scorched into an alleyway. They were going to tear into him, weren't they?
PowerToys did the webperson equivalent of a nervous gulp when Scorched released her. Scorched turned to PowerToys and crossed their arms sternly, already back to their bright, blazing, inferno-like self, uniform steaming while they loomed over PowerToys.
There was a tense silence between them, their respective light sources casting orange and blue all around them. Scorched stepped closer, and PowerToys braced itself for the worst before seeing their expression soften as they adjusted their hat.
"I think that's the first time I've seen you genuinely laugh," they said, hands reaching forward to fix PowerToys' shirt collar, folding it down where it had popped up. PowerToys noticed their fingers were burning colder, not singeing his clothes.
"Oh, I'm sure that's not—You've probably heard me laugh before!"
"I said genuinely," Scorched clarified with a scoff, and PowerToys watched their gaze fall to the color of his chest, which was fluctuating between bright blue and yellow. "I can tell you fake it when you laugh at the users' jokes. They're not that funny."
"Okay, but—"
"PowerToys."
PowerToys silenced herself, looking up to stare into Scorched's eye, glowing purple with confusion. The officer leaned in closer, and PowerToys could feel the warmth of their flames against her face plate. They held it by the front of its shirt, not allowing it to back away.
"I want you to be open around me. I want to get to know you, PowerToys."
Scorched looked at them with an intensity it'd never seen before. Their flames grew brighter, like they were being stoked. PowerToys had never noticed that they were blue where their head met their neck. Her lights flashed pink, then yellow.
He couldn't help it when he moved in closer, visor dimming as he brushed his faceplate against Scorched's mouth, sending a static shock through both of them. She pulled back quickly, glowing pink again. Scorched wore a surprised expression for only a moment before they surged forward, and PowerToys felt them kissing back, their grip tightening on his shirt. A spark popped between them each time Scorched's mouth met PowerToys' smooth faceplate, warm flames licking against her as she slid her lower pair of arms around Scorched's waist, the upper pair snaking around their shoulders.
Gosh, Scorched was warm. PowerToys could stand here forever, just warm and comfortable against them. Comfortable. Not perfect, like how she would have acted if she did end up on a date with a user. Just comfortable.
What if a user saw them like this, though? It'd gone on that dating website, hoping to make a personal connection with one, but it realized that the thought of losing its facade terrified it. The outburst at the restaurant was one thing, but this? She couldn't be seen like this.
"Scorched," it murmured, using one hand to grab the back of their uniform collar, pulling Scorched back, only for them to move in again to press their mouth against its neck. Scorched's action sent a shiver down PowerToys' back, and it felt its knees grow weak. "We shouldn't do this in public—it's unbecoming of us."
"We're only kissing," they replied, finally pulling away, PowerToys slowly unwinding their arms from them.
"I know, I just...don't want anyone to see me like this. I'm sorry."
She crossed both sets of her arms, her bright pink light melting into that guilty blue again, taking a step back from Scorched. The officer's expression fell, and their eye narrowed at PowerToys, flames dimming slightly.
"Seen like what?" Scorched hissed, embers bursting from their mouth.
PowerToys slid a hand over the back of his neck, fingers tracing the grooves. The metal was still warm from Scorched's contact. It shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other, not meeting Scorched's gaze. She knew Scorched wanted to know more about her. That they wanted her to be vulnerable. But he just…wasn't ready. It was only their first date, after all! She could open up over time.
"With a webperson?" the officer spat when PowerToys didn't answer.
Her head snapped up at the accusation, and she flashed orange. Was this what Scorched thought of him? Why was that their first assumption? "No! Just because I show the users respect doesn't mean—"
"Those parasites are nothing but a burden on the webframe!" Scorched shouted back, flames bursting larger, making them appear taller. The alleyway suddenly felt so much smaller, and PowerToys backed closer to the wall, avoiding the sudden heat flare from Scorched. It was like being stuck in an oven.
PowerToys waited for Scorched's blow-up to end before they replied, glowing red and scowling at the firewall officer. They almost forgot how different their views were. Almost. This only proved that they would never get past that wedge.
"Thank you for accompanying me on this date, officer," he said with a tight smile, his light flickering between red and cheery blue as he struggled to mask his anger. "It was…okay."
It fast-traveled away before Scorched could reply, slumping onto the pier railing with a quiet gasp, burying its face against its upper pair of hands.