Work Text:
/ Non-Vanguard sanctioned Patrol
/ Outskirts, European Dead Zone - Earth
/ 2230 CEST (UST+2)
"May I ask, where exactly are you taking us..?" slight uncertainty was evident in Lodi's voice as he raised a brow at the exo next to him, a sparrow had been transmatted down from the ship while he was speaking. Blight didn't reply immediately, hopping on the sparrow, shuffling slightly to make enough room behind him for Lodi. Adjusting a few things before deeming them acceptable.
"If i told you, it would spoil the whole date" an amused hum left him as he made a quick motion with his head for Lodi to come sit down behind him on the sparrow. Adjusting the collar of his jacket from both nerves and habit. Lodi had simply given Blight a small hum in acknowledgment, deciding it was better to not question too much and just simply go along with it for now as he got on the vehicle. His arms quickly found their place on the guardian's waist to keep himself steady. It didn't take long for the sparrow to set off, a metallic and carbon tang filled the passing air as the wind kept hitting the sides of Lodi's legs and the top of his head - he must have taken the sparrow to get fixed up in between patrols, it was much quieter this time around compared to when he was last riding on it only a week prior.
The drive through the European Dead Zone was quiet, Lodi knew that Blight wasn't one to really talk, he honestly didn't mind it - it let him appreciate the scenery zipping past around them, they had long left the usual guardian patrol zones and were more so off-road, driving on overgrown pathways and broken down asphalt. It still left a sinking feeling in his own stomach just seeing the aftermath of the collapse and nature reclaiming its land once more. He never was truly supposed to see this was he? no.. not really, but there isn't anything he could really do about that now. He's just still needed to get used to accepting this current time and age as his own now. Perhaps he could talk the guardian into taking them to a place in Chicago, or maybe even Wisconsin! Then he could show him around his Home town of-... On second thought, perhaps not Wisconsin, he doesn't have the heart nor the strength in him to see what happened there during the collapse. Or after the vision III had given him about it. Either way, it still made his stomach churn and twist in on itself.
The amount of trees in the area had grown significantly compared to the amount near those patrol zones, it honestly looked peaceful and untouched even. How far was Blight taking them anyways? The sun was still setting and driving through a whole woodland in the dark isn't something he really signed up for today in theory. Either way, Lodi had tightened his grip slightly on the other, leaning into him - purely on accident at first from the constant bumps in the path the sparrow was driving over but he chose to not move afterwards since it didn't look like he minded anyways. This felt like something out of those cheesy rom coms he saw back in highschool, only this time around he wasn't the one watching it happen. Either way, his train of thought was cut short when they eventually slowed down a small bit, it was possible to actually hear the surroundings around him without a sparrow engine blaring right next to his ears, instead what replaced it was a faint humming sound from Blight, odd. At times Lodi forgets that Blight isn't actually human, not anymore from what he was told by him in a long and lengthy explanation that quite honestly flew in through one ear and out the other. He's still yet to fully wrap his head around the whole 'Human consciousness transferred into a mechanical body' thing. The hum was rather nice to listen to, something adjacent to hearing someone else' heartbeat when you place your ear to their chest - only here it's fans and internal wiring and whatever else exo's are made from..probably for the best that he didn't know.
They had been driving along the cracked roads for longer than Lodi had expected - during the journey he had tried to ask where they were going, Blight just tilted his head slightly and replied "You'll see."
If this were a few months prior when they were on Kepler, he would have been rather skeptical and quite honestly rather untrusting of this. But this wasn't Kepler and the two of them had known each other for more than just two and a half weeks.
////
By the time Blight had finally parked the sparrow, the sun had already set, his ghost appearing to what Lodi still believes is practically out of thin air. Said ghost quickly made work in helping with lighting up the area. Finally getting off the sparrow and from what Lodi could make out, they were in some sort of clearing deep in the forest, this small area was placed further up the series of large hills that overlooked the patrol area they had driven through hours before. Compared to the more populated and battle torn area of the EDZ he had seen when they landed, this felt a lot like the woodland areas around his home town - minus the huge cliffs at least. He needs to stop thinking about it, or at least try to - not that it will really do much in the end though. It still brought a sense of grief over him whenever he thought about it. All those people..But he was getting distracted by his own thoughts again, this is supposed to be a nice outing with the guardian, not a funeral held in his mind.
Quickly snapping himself back into his own senses and looking around to find where Blight had gone, luckily it was not too far from where they had parked. A blanket was already set up on the ground, a few rocks placed on the corners to keep it from moving around too much in the breeze. Blight had already sat down on it and was looking over at Lodi waiting for him to come join him.
"You sure know how to pick the most remote spots.." Lodi spoke up, an amused chuckle in his tone as he ran a hand through his hair, fixing it slightly after the wind on the drive here had messed it up.
"Trust me, You'll see why in a second Louis"
Louis.
He wasn't used to being called his proper name still, he got so used to being called Lodi by his co-workers at the DEO that he just picked up on using it as his name too..oddly, hearing that felt nice..
Lodi made his way over and sat down next to the exo, a small shiver ran up his spine from the breeze, subconsciously moving closer to the other - completely forgetting that the man next to him was made of metal and who knows what else so any warmth was quite honestly far out of the question. Still, it didn't hurt to at least try. As if his mind was being read - or that he just felt Lodi lean up closer to him, Blight had used some of his Solar Light to warm his chassis up. It wasn't much but it did aid in helping to warm up Lodi as well. It had a weird tingly sensation to it.. warm.. but not at all uncomfortable. The feeling of one's hands gets when they warm them up by the fire after spending time outside in the frost in winter..
"You were shivering. och sorry I should've brought another blanket with m-"
"No.. no! It's fine." Lodi had quickly cut Blight off, okay sure maybe he should've but this feels much nicer than the previous idea.. he gets to use this as an opportunity to get a closer look at the exo and his features a bit more. To Lodi, the whole concept of Exos seemed like something only possible in Sci-Fi films and Comics. Hell, America was still just trying to get to space before the Soviets during his lifetime. "It's completely fine just as it is." He muttered softly afterwards.
Oftentimes he still wonders who eventually did win that race..
Blight had turned his gaze towards Lodi for a moment, grabbing the jacket he had over his own shoulders as a cloak and took it off in one swift motion. Placing it over Lodi's shoulders instead - he needed it more than him anyways. The action took Lodi by surprise before he held the edges of the jacket and pulled it closer to himself, it smelt of gunpowder with a hint of a scent he really couldn't place a finger on what it was. Either way a small smile appeared on his lips at this as he appreciated the gesture. Moments later he tilted his head up to take a look at the stars above them, with the lack of anyone or any buildings around them, the sky looked just as clear as it would if he had driven out to a field near the lake back home. The night sky was a rich velvet-dark littered with clusters of stars wherever he looked. For a while, neither of them spoke. The silence was comfortable even, filled only by the soft rustle of wind through the trees and the occasional chirp of crickets hidden in the grassy underbush nearby. If he focused on looking for it, Lodi could probably find the Ursa Major constellation in the night sky tonight with how full it was.
It felt weird looking up at the stars from earth now.. with the knowledge that he can travel to almost anywhere in the Sol system on a whim - it was still a lot to take in for him even after so many months.
"See that big 'W' or 'M'? That's Cassiopeia, The Queen. In old myths she boasted about her beauty being more than the Nereids. As punishment she was tied to her throne up in the sky." Lodi tries his best to point out where the constellation was exactly in the sky with his hands to some half success. Blight in return nodded and listened intently on what he was saying all the while looking up at the sky. "Then riiiight there- the three stars on the belt. Orion, The Hunter - I showed you this one back on Kepler. Although, I think we have a better view here than there.." Blight just nodded along to the other, his gaze long gone from the sky and more so back to Lodi, instead just now listening to him going on about the different stories about each constellation he could see. Lodi reached out and brushed a hand against Blight's, fingers intertwining natually. In return, Blight's thumb traced small gentle circles over the others knuckles. A small gesture that they had grown to deafult into, it said more than words could at that moment as everything fell silent between the two once more.
The silence between them was shortlived and was broken by the Hunter,
"Do you think that we were fated to meet eachother..?" his tone much softer than usual, almost like it was trying to be a hushed whisper but it failed to do so. "I mean, the whole Nine taking you from your time ..and me getting that 'invitation' of mine-" Blight brought emphasis on 'invitation' with his free hand making air quotations as he said it. Once had had actually sat down and thought about it a few nights prior things started adding up in ways that felt insanely weird to just for it all to be one huge coincidence mashed together. All he had was a hunch and a gut feeling guiding him through this but it got him this far already, may as well stick with it.
Lodi turned to look away from the stars and instead to Blight. Had his optics always looked that bright of a cyan?..
"I'd er- I'd be lying if I said that it didn't cross my mind a few times." His hold on Blight's hand tightens for a quick moment, the sudden question took him by surprise - this wasn't the type of question Blight would ask normally. Not to him anyways..
Lodi had quickly softened his hold on Blight's hand, he wasn't lying either way - the thought of this all did cross his mind one too many times when he lay awake at night. Nagging in the back of his head like a parasite that just won't leave. Blight gave a quiet hum in response, turning his gaze back to the linguist, though his hand never left Lodi's. Looking like he was carefully thinking of what to say next - the faint hum of his exo internals being the only sound coming from him for a beat.
"When I say it out loud..no Eee sounds a bit silly no?" Struggling to find the correct words that he wanted to say. His voice still carried that softness it had earlier but this time around it sounded more like him just trying to brush it off and move on to something else entirely in fear of having ruined the mood on accident.Lodi let out a small, almost amused chuckle. The kind that was one part nervous, another part fond.
"No, I don't think it's silly.." he muttered, adjusting how he sat slightly, this time more deliberately before resting his head against the other's shoulder. "After everything these last few months. I've just accepted that things are out of our control by now." For a long while after this neither had moved, staying close to one another while the wind carried the faint rustle of leaves and tall grass. Blight's gaze dropped to their hands, still intertwined and linked to each other, then back up to Lodi's face still on his shoulder. He found it rather funny that their eyes practically matched now almost..Both of them changed by the Nine without really any choice or say about it. He had not lost the complete irony there yet.
Neither of them really chose to have this happen to them, it just.. happened. Sure, Lodi will probably get used to being the Nine new emissary and everything that comes with it, just as he will get used to being the Nine's chosen Weapon. But it still wont get rid of the fact that it wasn't their decision that led them to that point..
He didn't realise how deep in his thoughts he must have been until he felt Lodi shift next to him slightly, having fallen asleep some time ago during their shared silence. A faint smile - or as close to a smile as his facial plating allowed - spread across Blight’s face. There was a softness there, a fleeting vulnerability that he rarely permitted himself to feel, and yet it didn’t feel out of place It felt... right, comforting, even. He never felt something like this before but it wasn't an unwelcomed feeling whatsoever. It was quite the opposite really if anything. He knew he should probably start gathering their things and start heading back. It was late, and Lodi would catch a cold if they lingered too long out here. Solar Light can only do so much to keep them warm. But he didn't want to disturb him and wake him up for that, he looked too peaceful like this. Relaxed even. A nice change of pace for the both of them actually. It made Blight hesitate. He could wait a little while longer he thought to himself.
Instead, he shifted slightly - careful not to wake him and adjusted his jacket that was still over Lodi's shoulders to make sure he was warm. A small gesture that only he will know that happened. The night wind started to pick up the longer they stayed out here. Feeling the wind hitting against his face, his optics flickered faintly - catching a glimpse of his eye lights reflecting in the corners of the other’s glasses. Watching the faint rise and fall of Lodi's shoulders, his eyes tracing the subtle lines of his facial features. Blight hesitated for a moment, not wanting to be too abrupt, too intrusive. Then, ever so slightly he pressed a gentle yet brief kiss to the Linguist's temple. It was slightly awkward with his lack of lips but he did the next best thing he could to a kiss the very least instead. Quickly drawing back, just enough to watch for any reaction, though he doubted that he would stir - he looked far deep in sleep to have been woken up by a simple kiss anyways.
Satisfied, he signaled for his ghost to start preparing a transmat back to the ship so they could return back to the Last City. It would be easier this way, less of a chance of accidentally waking him up - the ship's white noise shouldn't wake him up either compared to the sparrow.
Was it too early of him to have done that? Is he even doing this correctly? How do people act in relationships?
Too many questions started to cross his mind now, most more so worrying about having maybe done something incorrectly or too fast.. Traveller give him mercy, he has no clue what he is even meant to do - this is still all so new to him, he's used to being a lone wolf, maybe an odd fireteam here and there but still by himself regardless.. And now he's head over heels with someone he met only months prior out of pure sheer dumb luck. Whatever, this is a train of thought he'll need to delve into on a different day - not when he was supposed to be on a date for crying out loud.
For now as he waited for that, he brought Lodi closer to him and appreciated the moment.
//END