Work Text:
Andre wasn't quite sure how this predicament happened. All he knew for sure was that it was really abnormal, especially considering all components involved.
Here he was, laying on a single white bed while forced to be unbearably still. The root cause of this condition? It was the owner of the world he was residing in, Collin, haphazardly pinning him down with his entire body, almost curled up onto his chest.
Regardless of the fact that Andre has never been allowed much proximity before, (especially during his trials in the Gridworld, the only thing he needed to concern himself with at the time being speed,) Collin, for all the time Andre knew him, was never a touchy person. In fact, the player was rather avoidant in most situations.
Andre recalled his most recent escape from the Admins, where he ran to the most probable world that he wouldn't be followed, being Collin's world. Andre had pleaded, more desperate than he ever was in his entire creation, for residence in return for anything Collin asked of him. All the man asked?
“Just give me back everything you took from the last time, then you can do whatever the hell you want. As long as you stay away from me.”
The task was almost frustratingly simple, as most items were easy to recover. Andre had the memory of what he borrowed back up and ready, he could get every item on the list in less time than his best speedrun score. His coding itched at him to see how fast he could really do it.
But with that, brought back... regretful memories of the entity, Assimilation A1. (He should really clear the storage those memories take up, but why does the fundamental core of his programming glitch out in protest at the very thought?) Besides, he should try to break his AI from listening to the coding that the Admins still have instilled, especially with the bugs not worked out from it.
So, he had taken his time. Despite how excruciating, exhausting, and overall erroneous the toll it took on his servers, Collin had warmed up to him in the meantime, at least enough to not make a biting remark as a meeting.
Which was why when Andre visited Collin's house to return exactly 54 ingots of iron, he was alarmed to immediately be met with arms squeezing his metal body, with no regard for the delicate framework.
Even now, the arms that constricted over his own were tightly latched on, even in the comfort of the bed. Andre didn’t even have to look at the PsychoNetwork communication to know that his programs were conflicted.
SIDIsquish: I'M IN HEAVEN CHAT OMFGGMGGG
xx_E-G-O_xx: hes not usually like this
SIDIsquish: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA ᗡ:
SOUPBEGONE31: shut up omfg you've been doing this forever
Conzercheez: technically for about 31:28
Conzercheez: Collin started hugging Andre a little longer tho
SIDIsquish: IDC IM ENJOYING THIS FOR HOWEVER LONG HE NEEDS ANDRE FOR
SOUPBEGONE31: time loss
The reminder of the timer only increased Andre's agitation. He'd mostly overcome the need to speedrun, but he still needed stimulation, something he could focus on and learn. He tried to settle this feeling by craning up slightly to see through the window, but there hadn't been much to see when he checked. He decided to peek, again.
From the view, it was still pouring down, a constant buzzing in Collin's world that made just enough noise that couldn't be tuned out, but not enough to hide footsteps. He could see the taiga forest in the distance, past the stone hill that Collin built his house. It was the same as usual. Except for two, little things that his sensors picked up.
There were two, small cats of unknown origin, circling around a short distance away. One was identified as a British shorthaired, grey as the clouds in the sky. It was crouched, a playful stance as it approached the other cat, a brown tabby with brilliant yellow eyes. It was visibly disinterested, inching more away from the other that obviously didn’t see the hint. Andre felt slight pity for the playful cat.
The grey cat continued to crawl, even when the tabby turned its attention away. Andre tried to follow where it looked, only to be pushed down by a force on his shoulders. He peered down at Collin, whom he had nearly forgotten about while watching the cat drama.
“Don't- just quit moving. And stop slapping me, too,” the man grumbled into his undershirt, the arms he had unwound, if only to press Andre back down, slid down to clutch tightly at his jacket. Andre cocked his head in a spike of confusion, after noting that Collin's knuckles were beginning to whiten from the grip.
“What?” He asked. Short and direct. Collin sighed dramatically. “Your tail, bitch,” he groaned, but trailed off, half-heartedly, on the last word. Andre had, however, long paid little mind to Collin's vocabulary. Instead, he brought his attention to his own side, where his manual connection cord, oftentimes described as a tail by Collin, was swinging unintentionally, thumping against the sheets and Collin's legs repeatedly.
Andre couldn't will it into stopping or slowing, so he directed it into swinging horizontally instead of vertically, that way it hit his own leg instead. Collin made a barely audible hum in approval, obviously not meant to be heard. Andre didn’t address it, and turned his attention back to the window.
The cats had moved in the short time frame. Now, the grey one had a feather being batted between its paws, while the tabby watched in offense. The latter's fur was disheveled, it had probably killed the chicken the feather came from, and the feather was now stolen by the playful cat. It advanced toward the shorthaired cat and began to swat at it, much to its bewilderment.
Conzercheez: are we just ignoring collin rn?
SOUPBEGONE31: sidi won't unfortunately
SIDIsquish: I can multitask between cat watching stream and Collin cuddle stream
Oh, so that's what this was. "Cuddling". He had been unsuccessful at finding the word himself.
The grey cat had caught up to the situation, but mistook the tabby as playing. Swiftly, it pawed the feather underneath itself and swatted rapidly at the other cat. Andre couldn't tell if either had their claws out, however.
It was quiet, besides the rain. Andre thought up the question he'd been trying to ask for the past half hour.
“Collin.” There was barely a nod of acknowledgement felt before he even spoke; the other must’ve heard Andre's systems pick up to accommodate speaking. “Why're you cuddling me?”
Conzercheez: for about 37:42 too
It was about as blunt as it could be. Collin sputtered, and recoiled as if he finally caught up to the moment. Andre's processors must’ve lagged, feeling the phantom sensation of where Collin lay seconds prior. He turned his head back at the man. Suspended by his elbows, Collin's mouth gaped, as if debating on saying something, before he shook his head and slumped back onto Andre, limply. Though, his form was much more organized than his previous play over Andre. His arms were crossed, reserved under his head as he looked directly at the AI.
“That's not what this is,” Andre's PsychoNetwork spammed doubtful messages, that he chose to ignore. “It's just… an entity came to my house. Again. It's one of the few I'd rather hide from. It nearly saw me this time, and I've just been… out of it, I guess. You're the first thing I saw that is remotely safe, so.” He slipped a hand out from under his chin and made a vague gesture, before planting it back.
feargeyt1776: :pepefear:
SOUPBEGONE31: an entity that Collin won't tell to fuck off? Thats new
Conzercheez: tbf he never said he didn't, just that he hides from it
xx_E-G-O_xx: still i can count on one hand how many entities Collin chooses to avoid
SIDIsquish: THAT DOESNT MATTER
SIDIsquish: DID YALL HEAR HIM SAY THAT ANDRES SAFE TO HIM???
Andre nodded, as he gleaned over the chat to formulate a response. “I'm sorry you were afraid. Though, I'm glad you consider me safe.” Collin narrowed his eyes.
“Don't get cocky about that.”
“Ok.”
“I still want you to stay away from me after I get the rest of my shit back.”
“Ok.”
"World record… 100% of my shit.”
Not the right format. “Ok.”
And that was it. Collin slowly wrapped himself back into a similar position from before. There was quiet between the two again. Though, just as Andre tried to turn back to the window, Collin began to, surprisingly, speak.
“But yeah, you're safe. It's nice. You're a nice feeling. I guess.” It was hushed. Whispered in a way that was soothing to Andre, especially for how rare it was for Collin to lower his voice when he chose to speak. He idly noted Sidi spamming in the network, drowning out the other chatters in words wrapped in enthralled emotions.
Andre felt his systems buffer at the wave of familiar sensations that were too large to name. It took a moment before he replied, the words chosen as careful as he could afford. “...You're also a nice feeling. Warm,” he spoke, acknowledging another thing he felt since he was first ensnared by Collin.
He was used to the cold. His metal conformed naturally to the temperatures he came across, nothing ever quite reaching thermal enough. Even Assimilation A1 was rather cold whenever they made contact. But Collin was human. His body naturally produced heat for his survival, and ever since he was dragged into bed, he'd only gotten hotter.
It should've been sweltering, adding to the inescapable discomfort of being stuck in place. Instead, it made Andre feel… content. Present.
His visible eye zeroed in on Collin's face. The other's eyes were screwed tightly, and his lips were pressed together. It almost looked like he was cringing, but then Collin relaxed, giving up on his feeble poker face attempt. Andre analyzed more for how Collin felt, noticing the blooms of red that had arisen on tanned cheeks. Andre wasn't quite sure what that meant.
Conzercheez: is that blush?
SOUPBEGONE31: WHAT
SIDIsquish: AWWEEEEE HES-
Andre quickly stopped looking at chat when he read Sidi's username, knowing that whatever was written would only complicate his systems further. They were messed up enough as it was.
It wasn't as bad as he thought it'd be, though.
Experimentally, he curled up, too. At first, Collin tensed as he was slowly moved, before relaxing and wrapping his arms back around Andre's torso. Andre reciprocated with his own arms, idly noting that his cord entwined their legs together, now softly patting the side of Collin's foot.
Mirroring Collin's cuddling was nice. Especially after Andre moved them so that he'd be less claustrophobic. Now, Andre fully looked over Collin's features, studying him in a rare moment of peace.
He watched as Collin's muscles laxed, his eyelids growing more slack as his breathing slowed as he began to drift into sleep. The rain lessened from a harsh splattering to a kinder drizzle outside, he realized to himself, which reminded him of the cats outside.
Carefully, as to not disturb Collin, he lifted his head once more. The grey cat seemed meek, with its ears down, at some point it realized it wasn't playing. The tabby now held the feather in its mouth, but it wasn't content as it watched the grey from a small distance.
Eventually, it decided to saunter over, even as the grey cat seemed to be upset. The grey didn’t notice its approach, and for a moment, Andre thought the tabby would attack. It, however, brushed its body against the other, strangely affectionately. The grey cat perked up, but didn’t move much more than that. It wasn't until the tabby brushed against it again that it jumped up excitedly, going and trying to grab the feather back in joy.
The tabby reared and puffed its fur, and this time the grey listened. It, too, backed up, and sat down. The tabby seemed satisfied, before turning and walking away, with the shorthaired cat following close behind. Andre nearly smiled at the happy conclusion. He felt vaguely happy for the cats, as little of a squabble as it was, but was pleased to see the outcome where they both understood each other. He rested his head back down with that in mind, as a small notification rang in his circuitry about his low power.
He returned his gaze to Collin, one final time that night. He was glad he came this far, away from the expectations of the Admins, and even more so with being here. Together with Collin, finally seeing under the abrasive mask that he wore, unshakable. Andre was learning a lot, slowly and constantly, much of it because of the player. This time, he was ready to learn. He was ready to be understood.
He let his systems enter charging mode with that, but not before one last, delirious thought came to him, unknown whether it came from himself, or Sidi. Whichever the case, it was enough for him to dwell on as his vision faded.
Collin is his tabby, and he'd always follow him through the rain.