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Heels clanged against the metallic tray connecting the truck to the concrete floors of the SaFel’s offloading bay. The persistent rattling of each HEP getting off the vehicle made it quite easy for all the other inhabitants of the building to know they had made it back in one piece- well… safe, at the very least.
“You really think it was a clean hit?!”
“Hell yeah, dude!” Boggles gave Garbo a grin, her dominant hand wrapping around her bandaged left knuckles at the process of giving the robot her praise. Pointer finger running over her missing index point. “I know a good smack when I get one. That was solid!”
Garbo followed Boggles side by side, matching the clown’s pace. Her eyes were gleaming with joy at the praises being thrown her way. There was something so addicting at hearing his coworker thought that he- Garbo, the rookie, had landed a solid hit on her. “Geez. Thanks, Boggles!”
“Don’t pat yourselves on the back too much.” Matador pushed between the two, their raspy interruption bringing a furrow to Boggles’ brow. “Y’both missed several targets today.”
“Oh. Sorry, Matador…” Garbo’s gaze pushed to the ground. “But hey…! We got a good portion of it, didn’t we?”
“Hell no.” Matador sneered, flicking a few ashes at the bot from their lit cigarette before popping it back into their disc slot.
“and Faustine.”
The use of her real name certainly caught Boggles attention through Matador’s needless critiques of Garbo. Her brow knitted even tighter and lip curled in annoyance.
“You’re gettin’ lazy.” The commander plucked their cigarette from their would-be mouth. Blowing out the smoke into Boggles’ face before continuing down the hall.
Boggles stopped in her tracks in the hallway, letting Matador get a few steps and a corner turn ahead of her so Boggles didn’t give into any urges to run at them full force. She dug her fingernails into her palms, fists clenched tight. The five word exchange had left Boggles with a sour taste in her mouth and an itch to get back at her entitled prick of a commander. Surely she had something in her closet for them tonight. She’d just have to decide what’d be the best for such an occassion…
Garbo followed suit. Watching their commander turn and leave before her gaze shifted back up to Boggles. He could feel the anger starting to radiate off the clown. Ready to take her own leave. “Well I um… have stuff to do. I’ll seeya, Boggles…!”
“Yup. you too.” Boggles grumbled. Her shoulders dropped a little being left with herself in the loadoff hallway. The clown let out a heavy sigh she had been holding for a moment. Looking down at her bandaged hand.
Maybe she was getting lazy. A bit too comfortable with how easy missions had been flowing for the past week… Matador’s opinion of her never hung heavy on Boggles- but her quota did. In some way, Matador’s cruel jab was a reminder of why she was here in the first place- and what consequences could await slacking.
“Ugh...” The quiet groan behind Boggles was enough to cause her to shoot around. Crap- she thought everyone had gone back to their quarters this time around.
Apparently not.
Ah. It was Mari-Anna…! Though, her posture had overshadowed the relief of her presence for Boggles with worry. With the way Mari wrapped her arms around the slender frame and had been trailing the wall for support, her behaviour couldn't help but bring a momentary panic to the clown.
Turning 180°, Boggles sped walk back in the direction of the truck, which had closed its ramp and sped off by now upon feeling the last of the cargo hop out. With hands out, Boggles stopped herself in front of the extraterrestrial. Offering one to Mari for support.
“You good, Mari…?” Boggles inquired, her tone dropping from its usual boisterous attitude to give Mari-Anna a softer part of herself.
Mari’s ear twitched in reaction to Boggles’ question. Her gaze shifting from the floor up to her coworker. “I will be alright… the mission was just a bit much for me.”
“I’ll say.”
Planting her hands on her waist, Boggles took a good look at Mari. No visible wounds, from the looks of it. Just a tear at her leather collar. “Are ‘ya bleedin’?”
“Not that I am aware of…”
“Good.” Stepping back, Boggles took a good look at Mari. Bringing a hand up to her spiked hair to give herself a small pet in thought. There was a wash of relief over her hearing that Mari wasn’t physically injured, at the very least. “You gotta get some rest, girl… that did a number on ‘ya.”
“I know… After I eat. I have not had a meal all day.”
Boggles concern only seemed to grow more apparent on her face at hearing Mari hadn’t eaten that day. They were rushed out quite early for their mission, though… it wouldn’t be too surprising if she hadn’t gotten the chance to get something to chew on that morning. “I’ll make you somethin’. Just…”
Giving a glance down the hall, Boggles have a huff at how far their quarters suddenly seemed from here. Mari would collapse before she got there…
“-Lemme get you to your room.”
“That is nice of you, Boggles. But you do not— Oh!” Mari found her protest thrown to the wayside at the feeling of Boggles’ arm snaking around her waist. The floor suddenly swept from under her as her coworker had taken on the challenge of picking Mari-Anna up. Although the initial scoop was a bit messy, with a bit of shifting Boggles had found a comfortable bridal style hold for the extraterrestrial.
“This work, Mar?”
Mari took a second to fully accept her current position. Her arm that had been manually tossed over Boggles’ neck relaxing at her shoulder blades. “…Yes. This is fine.”
The journey from the offloading bay to Mari’s room wasn’t a long one. Less than 5 minutes, infact. But it left Mari with enough time to fluster herself over the simple act of being carried by Boggles. She couldn’t help but worry about being too much for her coworker.
“You are positive I am not too heavy for you?” Mari’s cautious inquiry managed to get a good PSHHH out of Boggles.
“You’re like a twig, Mar!” She snorted, her arm hooking Mari’s legs tossing her up a bit to emphasize her point. Mari wasn't heavy to Boggles. Not by a long shot. The majority of her clunky stature fell on the tank latched to her. Without it, she’d probably be even easier to carry. “You’re good. I wouldn’t offer if you were a handful.”
“Even so… I appreciate the efforts you put in for me.”
“Yeah, yeah… it‘s nothin’.”
Turning the final corner, the two had managed to reach the bedroom quarters. It wasn’t much different from their sights up to the hall itself. Boggles always found it a dull trip. Same long, winding halls. Maybe if she paid enough attention, she would notice a new crack or two if she was truly bored enough.
“Home sweet home!” Boggles called out in a singsong, hitting the button to open Mari’s bedroom door with her elbow.
Mari’s room lacked the character the other HEP’s were allowed to have in theirs. At least for the majority of them, their rooms were theirs for customizing. But Mari’s had remained the same as it would if you were just arriving. Say for a small bookshelf with some books and cassettes. And an old box tv that had seen better days plonked beside the floor adjacent to Mari’s bed.
Carefully, Boggles kneeled whilst setting her coworker onto their bed. Trying her very best to prop her against the frame in some act to sit up. It was a bit difficult with Mari’s tank, but that was more a Mari problem position wise once she was out of Boggles’ arms.
“So- what’re ’ya cravin’?” Boggles clapped. Prepared for whatever the alien wanted to throw at her.
“You truly do not need to go through the process of cooking a whole meal for me—”
Mari’s objections were interrupted with a wagging finger and a stern ‘NUH UHUH!’ from the performer in front of her. “None of that! What’s on Mari’s menu?”
The lighthearted scolding was enough to get a small head shake out of Mari-Anna. She didn’t have the energy to really bicker with Boggles about this, really…
“Perhaps a salad…? It does not need to be fancy.”
“Done! One salad coming your way, girl!” Boggles finger gunned with enthusiasm, making her way out the door.
The clown’s attitude couldn't help but bring a small smile to Mari under her gear. Beginning to shift in her bed to get a bit comfier from her initial placement.
Many of the military and medical team had avoided touching Mari for… a handful of reasons. Whether it be the texture of her slimy body or simply for how offputting her appearance could allegedly be to some, there was always an excuse at the ready as to why Mari shouldn’t be handled without gloves. And though Mari-Anna was not one to develop insecurities over things like this. She couldn’t help but fall for the isolative feeling the alienation around her had caused.
Boggles wasn’t a soldier. Well— not by Mari’s standards. She was, to them, a victim of SaFel. There was a level of fellowship that had left Mari never having enough of the brief skin to skin the two had.
Jeez, how shallow was she? Craving fondness with someone just for the lack of hesitation in their touch without a metallic or latex barrier…
Boggles didn’t know how anyone could find any enjoyment in SaFel’s artificial vegetables. The lettuce felt like starchy paper against her hand while ripping the head apart. It held no nutrients on its own without being injected, or whatever they did to it… at least from the Boggles carnivorous diet, there was some kind of sustenance to be found in every meal. Even the lizards she enjoyed were better than this!
Well, maybe when mixed together there was something there to fill Mari up. There was more effort put into some other vegetables, from what Boggles knew about the bioengineering program SaFel worked with. Carcits were a pretty common food she had found in the HEPs communal fridge and Stocky’s shop. Although nobody in their hall really went through the effort to eat them... Aside from Mari.
From what Boggles could scavenge from the fridge. She had managed to make something that would hopefully hold Mari over until she could get something for herself. A delightful bowl of (thin) lettuce, diced Carcits, some eggplant and baby tomatoes along the side. For someone who never ate her greens, Boggles thought she had quite the salad craftsmanship, if she had to say so herself!
“Bon appetite!”
Mari stared down at the bowl of salad given to her. Her tentacle knotting itself around the accompanying fork. “This looks lovely, Boggles. Thank you.”
Boggles waved her hand with a grin at Mari-Anna’s compliment, sitting herself at the end of the bed as she watched Mari slip a forkful of lettuce under her razor teeth to her actual mouth. From what Mari had described, being allowed to eat solid foods was a luxury she had only recently managed to work out with her gear. Any sort of food she could get her hands(?) on and into her body that wasn’t the liquified meals the sentinels brought her was a small joy for Mari that she held on the same levels as her journaling.
Taking a moment to give Mari’s room a look. Boggles found her attention on Mari’s shelf. Getting up to close the gap between her and the small pile of tapes Mari had nearly organized.
“You got quite the collection buildin’ here, Mar.” Boggles’ commented, running the tip of her pointer along the spines of Mari’s little media corner. Some had tape with titles written along the sides of the VHS. Most were unfamiliar to Boggles unless mentioned in conversations prior.
“I have not gotten to enjoy it entirely myself, unfortunately… It is hard to find the downtime to sit and watch a film.”
Mari couldn't help but watch Boggles closely as she hovered around her belongings. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust the clown- well. as much as you could in a place like this… But Mari had come to grow protective around the small pile of media she was able to have in her captivity. Not to mention an incident with Garbo breaking one of her beloved VHS a few months prior. She had forgiven the bot for the accident, of course. But after that day she had watched those in her room with just a bit more caution than she had before.
“You’ll have to tell me about ‘em when you find time!”
“You could accompany me for a movie night sometime if you would like.”
The offer had caught Boggles’ attention more than any title on that shelf, her head whipping around to bed with a bit of a more bug eyed expression than usual. Such a simple offer for a hangout gave the clown that feeling of her heart failing at its basic functions. She had felt it a few times before with Mari. Times of tenderness between the two always seemed to bring it out front and centre for the woman.
God, It hurt.
It felt like someone reaching into her chest cavity just to grab the organ and twist it. What was she supposed to do with such an aching feeling over such a simple proposal?
“That’d…. be nice.”
Mari had hoped Boggles would accept her offer. Her own feeling of excitement beginning to fester in herself.
“Wonderful… We will have to find time, then…”
Boggles gave Mari a closed lip smile, her expression settling into one of warmth. Getting up from her spot on Mari’s floor, Boggles gave Mari a little wave off.
“Welp…! Enjoy your salad, yeah? And rest up. I think tomorrow's a chore day.”
“I will take it over a mission… thank you for the food again, Boggles… I appreciate it.”
“Course, Mar.”