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Barry Syx is so happy to have Nyne back, for there to be Barrys again instead of just Barry. Instead of revenge he got a reunion, and that feels better, it really does. But there’s always a but. The night terrors didn’t stop just because Nyne was back. The rest of the Barrys are still gone and that day at Fantanimalland still haunts Syx. Barry knows how bad Nyne feels about that, about being a vessel that is controlled to do something you would never do otherwise. Syx doesn’t want his brother to feel even worse about it. So he keeps the night terrors to himself even as the heavy bags under his eyes become too dark to ignore and the endless coffee cups stack up in his gunner pod.
Barrys normally sleep like the dead, so even though Syx wakes up yelling most nights, Nyne has never once stirred. There is someone in the shared barracks however whose rest cycles are very shallow. Sidney was programmed to be ready at a moment’s notice: the second any of her protection, administrative, or pleasure protocols were needed, a Sundry Sidney should be available and ready.
When Barry Syx sits bolt upright in his bunk, (a top bunk now that he and Sid switched. When he was on the bottom he gave himself a couple concussions doing this,) Sid is already standing on the lowest rung of the ladder peering up into Syx’s bunk. “I’m alright Sid.” Heading off the question she always asks him. Normally she nods and he lets her go back to her bunk and he lies there with his eyes open unable to fall back asleep until the lights come back on simulating a day night cycle that doesn’t occur when you’re not in orbit around a star. He expects her ponytail to bounce and disappear from view, but she climbs up a rung, her entire head above the side now, her roller skates clanking on the ladder rungs.
“Bare, you haven’t slept a whole night in over a nargon. I'm worried about you." Sid's cybernetic eye subtly scanning him, he knows she’s logging his elevated cortisol, adrenaline, and heart rate. Maybe Barry hasn't been as effective at hiding it as he thought.
"It's fine Sid, nothing to worry about." The last thing Barry needs is to burden Sidney with his problems. She should be worried about her journey of self actualization, not a clone with nightmares. In the low industrial light, Barry watches Sid purse her lips unconvinced. He should know better than to try to trick her. Another series of clangs as her roller skates bang against the ladder, and she's high enough up that they're eye to eye from where he's sitting. She takes her one perfectly molded and manicured hand and shoos him toward the wall.
Unsure, he makes space and she climbs onto the top bunk, bracing her weight on her cannon arm as she climbs in, ultimately settling on her side, head propped up on her hand. He takes a second just to look at her. Sid left her little paper hat on the dresser. The anti-wrinkle technology they invested in for her waitress uniform is really doing its job, her skirt pristine. If he didn’t know to look for the places it had been patched after being struck by shrapnel, Barry would think it’s brand new. It’s nice having her in his bunk. It’s easy being near Sid.
She knew him as just Barry Syx when everyone else had always seen him as part of the battalion, identical to his clone brothers. The first friend he made who called him Barry instead of Syx because there was no other Barry to confuse him with. It’s a strange thing to be an individual after being one of many your whole life. He has to assume the pain of being the only one after knowing a family is the same kind of hurt, just a different flavor, that Sid knows as the only one when she was supposed to have many sisters. That looking at Nyne must have made him feel the way Warfare Whitney made Sid feel. She gets him. He trusts her.
“Bare, you can keep it a secret from everyone else but we're the gunner channel. We're androids and steroids. You don't have to lie to me. If you wanna talk about it, we can, but if not, I can still help. Bring it in Bare.” Sid lifts her arm as if to hug him. It would be rude to turn her down. Tentatively Barry closes the small distance between them and wraps his arm around her. She's warm, the soft whirring of her motors and servos replacing a heartbeat or breathing. Synthetic hair that feels just like the real thing against his cheek and the solid heft of her gun drapes across his back and he's not surprised by how comforted he feels by it.
As an honorary Barry, Sid and Syx (and more recently Nyne) regularly wrestle and rough house. Horseplay is a Barry's favorite downtime activity. She had apologized early on in their friendship for the gun arm, reassuring him that the safety was on before they would wrestle every time. Barry hadn’t trusted anyone as much as he trusts Sid since that day in Fantanimalland. He asked why she always apologized. It felt unnecessary to him. Sid explained that early feedback on her model indicated that the cannon arm made users feel unsafe. Sid could never make Barry feel unsafe. So when he feels the cool metal of the gun against his back, even through his shirt, it's not a surprise: it's a comforting, grounding sensation.
He feels her adjust and slide her other arm under his head to wrap around him fully, dull nails gently rubbing circles into his back. His heart that was still pounding from the vision of the battalion dead and dying, stuck reliving a day with no way to escape, but having Sid here helps him catch his breath. Being in the dream is like he could smell fried foods and ice cream, it all comes back so fresh every time.
Explaining he thinks, wouldn't do much good. Sid has heard the story before. It would just be rehashing the worst day of his life, which his mind makes him do every night anyway. Telling her about it didn’t fix it before. Barry’s unconvinced anything will make the dreams stop altogether. He feels the tightness melting out of his muscles though now. The easy warmth and soft soothing whirring helping him even out his breathing.
“Thanks Sid. Androids and steroids.” he says softly, his face tucked into the crook of her neck. Her back is so solid and sturdy under his hand. It would be nice to fall asleep just like this.
There was a time that Norman got mad at Barry for screaming in the barracks, complained that he could hear it from the captain’s quarters. Still half asleep Syx had shoved the Skipper so hard he bounced off the wall and fell to the floor. Barry thought he might have killed him. It almost got Syx kicked off the Wurst. He only got to stay because Sid vouched for him, said she would make sure it didn’t happen again. He didn’t know how she could promise that. He’s been worried about hurting someone without thinking after that. The enhanced strength of Dr. Barry’s cloning process made excellent soldiers that in the wrong hands could obviously be very dangerous. It makes Syx scared honestly. It’s hard to wake up with your body having done something you didn’t choose, like screaming or sitting up, and even harder to fall back asleep for fear of it happening again.
Having Sid here with him, he worries he could hurt her too if he woke up and shoved her. There are times in his nightmares where he catches Barry Nyne and manages to hit him, what if he hit Sid? This is nice of her, but she can’t stay up here. He squeezes her and moves to release her. He’s surprised when she doesn’t let him, she keeps him held tight. “Sid, it’s not safe. What if I push you off the bunk in my sleep?”
“You fuckin’ idiot Bare. Try it.” she releases her grip on him and she looks smug, half a grin on her face. Her bright white teeth against the cherry red of her mouth obvious even in the low light. He can’t understand why there aren’t a million Sundry Sidneys when she’s obviously the greatest possible person.
Putting one hand on her shoulder, he pushes, like a friendly shove that he would with the other Barrys. He’s a little surprised when she doesn’t move. He tries again putting more of his strength behind it and once again she’s able to just absorb the shove. Lying on his side like this, he can’t get the leverage to shove her hard enough to roll her over, let alone send her out of the bunk. “See? Absolutely nothing to worry about. Solid titanium skeleton not even a stupid meathead like you could dent. Relax. Go back to sleep.” She smiles at him, and he wishes for a second that he had his sunglasses to hide behind. He’d rather not cry right now. The emotional weight of the dream and the immediate comfort of being razzed always gets him.
“Alright Sid, you win. You can stay.” She makes a pleased hum and he rolls over to face the wall, Sid at his back to try to fall back asleep. Adjusting and wiggling to try to get comfortable, he eventually just gives up trying to find the right position. He’s used to lying up here quietly till the lights come back on.
The mattress shifts under and behind him and she wraps him back up, the cool metal of her cannon across his stomach, and her handed arm slipping under his neck, and resting right over his heart. A pleasant warmth from her exhaust against his back and he lets himself close his eyes.
He’s not asleep for that long when the lights come back up, but it is the first time he’s ever succeeded in going back to sleep at all, which Sidney counts as a victory. Clanging down the ladder she’s off to make Miss Margaret her matcha and a double caf for Barry, just like every morning. Ideally she’ll get him down to just the one morning coffee. Barry still needs a few more cups throughout the day, but the Frangus dynasty wasn’t built in a day. She’ll keep trying as long as it keeps helping.
Nyne conks out the second the lights go down, so Sid doesn’t even bother to go to her bunk, climbing straight up the ladder. This time Syx is prepared and has even put an extra pillow in his bunk, sliding over to make space for her. “Thanks Bare! Now you’re an absolutely terrible shot when you’re tired, so try to get some sleep.” His eyes crinkle when he tips his head back and laughs, full and delighted. Nyne’s snores don’t stop for even a moment.
“Night Sid.” he rolls over onto his side away from her, allowing her to hold him from behind and her biometric readings track as his breath and heart rate slows. When she hears soft snores, she’s confident he’s asleep and allows herself to go into low power mode.
She’s fully awake before Barry even finishes sitting up, his scream dying in his throat. Her moisture sensors detect how he’s sweat through his shirt, the monitor showing his heart pounding. Visual scans track the way his hair is sticking to his forehead.
He’s never said what happens in the dreams, but she can guess. She’ll catch him mid thousand yard stare at times, and she knows he’s remembering Fantanimalland. She had hoped going back would help in some way, but there was no effect. Didn’t get any better, but at least it didn’t get any worse. His hand dragging down his face, then pushing his hair back, she can see how his chest is heaving as he tries to catch his breath. “I’ll be right back.” she says softly and he nods. Swinging her legs off the bunk and jumping down to the floor, she skates straight to the bathroom, filling a glass and snagging a clean shirt and towel from the laundry.
Sidney was literally made to help in this way, and getting to do it for the person she’s closest to feels better than she ever thought possible. Barry’s hand is trembling slightly as he takes the glass, towel and shirt from her. For maximum politeness, Sid spins on her skates to let him change and watches as the discarded shirt sails over her head, hitting the wall and falling directly into the hamper. The tiny ‘Yes!’ from Barry makes her grin.
“It doesn’t count if you don’t call bank Bare!” she teases, pointing at the small chalkboard keeping tally of Sid, Nyne, & Syx’s trick shots. (Current totals are Sid in first with 10, Nyne with 3 and Syx with 6. Sid always remembers to call bank.) Grumbling coming from the top bunk, she watches the towel sail over her head and land cleanly in the hamper. “Now that one counts!”
Skating over she updates the tally. This exercise started as Sid practicing her grenade throws but when Syx saw he wanted to try too and they turned it into a competition. Nyne joined in as soon as he came on board. Every cycle the count resets and the winner gets a prize, as picked by the losers. As she updates the board, she smiles thinking about the times the Barrys have taken her to do something fun at a rec station to celebrate her undefeated streak. Being a Barry is one of the best things that’s ever happened to Sid.
Climbing back up the ladder, Barry grins when she emerges over the edge of the bed. This time he’s the one to open his arms to her, letting her slot in next to him. Ponytail loosely wrapped around his hand and a strong muscular arm draped across her back. She can register his heart at its standard resting rate. Comparing the data to before, it’s recovered much more quickly than in the past. Sid is confident this is a good sign that he’ll actually get some more sleep. “Thanks Sid.” he says softly, her sensors registering the slight pressure squeeze. It feels good to help take care of Barry. Because her programmed routines are made for it, but also just because she wants to. It's gratifying to show him the care that he gives her and everyone else on the Wurst. When Barry catches tortoises for Aurora Nebbins or protects Gunnie from the impact of jumping off of multiple levels of rec station or foam rolling Skipper after he stands up all night, Barry is the ultimate team player. He can’t help but want to take care of this new family he has and Sid likes being able to repay that kindness. Especially when he would never ask for it.
“No problem, now go back to sleep you empty headed moron.” She feels his breath across her synthetic skin as he laughs.
“You’re hilarious Sid.” another squeeze and he’s quiet. Timing him, it takes him 20 martrons to fall back asleep. Sid could cry with joy if she had the ability, mechanically speaking.
It takes a nargon of this before Barry drops one of his 6 cups of coffee from his consumption, but only a few malton units more before the 5th. It’s a full cycle before Sid notices that he’s down to 2. He also goes through a fraction of the antacids he had been burning through. Sid is in charge of inventory and ordering more, so she’s the first to notice. The dreams haven’t stopped, but he’s handling them so much better, knowing he’s got a soft spot to land after.
She’s tidying up the gunner pods when Barry comes in from his one on one with Margaret. Feather duster still in her hand, he scoops Sid into his arms and spins her around. “Sid, Marge just gave me a bonus. She said my performance this past nargon earned me 100 credits. I’ve been sleepin’ so much better. Let me get you something? As a thanks?” When he looks at her with those big brown eyes, she can’t help but feel some part of her melt.
“You don’t have to do that Bare, gunner channel always helps each other.” Truly, helping Barry is its own reward.
“I was thinking stun grenades.” Barry smiles, perfect genetically engineered teeth on display. Dr. Barry really didn’t cut a single corner with the battalion.
Well that does change things. Frankly it would be rude to turn down a stun grenade. Skip comes over the intercom to let them know that they’re docking at a rec station. “Well, then what are we waiting for? You got rocks for brains or something?” Sid’s grin lighting her whole face up.
“Sid you’re hilarious!” grabbing her hand, they’re running down the ramp out of the ship as it lowers to the dock and quickly are lost in the crowd in search for discount munitions.