Work Text:
Oh.
Sweet.
Robo-Jesus.
To say today was abysmal for Solzi would be.. an understatement. In fact, it would be so hilariously large of an understatement it might as well be wrong.
Problem number one: School.
From Lizzy's bullshit, to other bullies in her clique, to studies being a nightmare.. Just the thought makes her sigh harshly. School was really, really rough. Its poor grades don't exactly do much to ease its stress, either.
Problem number two: This dumbass field trip.
School? Already frustrating. Bullies suck. Assignments suck. Homework sucks. It all sucks!! And frankly? There's nothing more it wants to do than collapse and give up. And to top it off, she gets to go on a field trip! Back to Camp 98.7!! Yay!!!
It already just wanted to go to its room. To lock itself away in its mess, to rot and wither and vanish without a trace within sheets and pillows and plushies and comfort. But now, it's forced to go along to a place that already leaves a sour taste in her mouth, alongside even more bitter and conflicting memories. It had a gut feeling it would be insufferable. And wouldn't you know it,
it was right.
More mocking, more avoiding, more acting like it was the scum of the Earth. Of Copper-9..? Not the point!! Point is.. Drones suck. And it'd REALLY like to pass the fuck out now. So that's what it's gonna go do. Or at least try to. With.. probably not great results. But she can worry about that later. So..
It began to walk.
And walk. And walk, and walk, and walk. To the cabins where she can just.. pass out, hopefully. Not like anyone will notice it going missing anyway. Or care.
Cause screw the freakshow, right?
Whatever.
With more force than is necessary, Solzi pushes open the door to a cabin that.. wasn't AS destroyed as some of the others, and speed walks through it, paying no mind to the details, and ignoring the urge to throw up. Finding the door to a side room, it near-bursts in, and throws a cursory glance around. Wardrobe, window, bed in the corner, nightstand, probably broken lamp.
Whatever. Doesn't matter.
It flops onto the bed, and lets out a heavy sigh, mixed in with a groan at its apex.
"Haaauugghhh.."
It shuffled up the bed, and.. tried, to get comfy, but the blankets were like paper, and torn all over. Only one, too.
She bundled up, wanting to cry. But as per usual, nothing came.
Nothing ever came.
Not for her.
Never for her.
It rubbed its face slowly, grumbling.
"..Mmrrgh.. Ffuck sake..", it bemoaned, shuffling a bit more, and firmly nuzzled into the cold, stiff pillow. "Where's V when you even.. ffrickin' need her.."
It grumbled a bit more, its LEDs narrowing into thin lines as it tries to sleep.
..
. . .
. . .
Nothing. Maybe a bit more.
. . .
. . .
. . .
It slowly balled up, grabbing at its head.
"..This can't be happening. No way. I'm so tired..", she quietly whined.
It tried a little more.
Then a little more.
Then it lost track of if it'd only been 5 minutes, or 5 hours.
It smacks the side of its head against the pillow, grabbing it, and burying her face in it.
"AAARGHHH!!", she yelled, straight from the gut, from frustration. Then, sighed.
..
taptaptap
"..Mmhrr..", she mumbled into the pillow, ignoring the tapping. Probably just chunks of snow- asbestos, whatever it is- tapping against the window.
taptaptaptaptap
tap
..
SCRREEEEEE
"OKAY WHAT THE FUCK-", Solzi yelled, looking up from the pillow..
To see V, grinning widely, baring her razor-sharp teeth, scratching at the window with her head cocked, and expression manic. She keeps tapping with her blade-claws index claw.
Solzi narrows its LEDs. "Just open it.", she says irritably.
V's lips close, curling into a cat-like grin, and puts her claws to her "ear", tilting her head horizontally so the side of it is visible to Solzi.
"Ugh- JUST OPEN IT!", Solzi yells.
V grins wider, only leaning closer to the window.
Solzi bursts out of bed, stomping towards the window, and forces it open. "You could've just opened the thing!", she says, thoroughly annoyed.
V only lets out a soft "heh", then responds.
"Made ya do it yourself.", she smugly states.
She could practically see the fuse about to burst in Solzi's head.
Instead of giving her the satisfaction- and due to exhaustion-, Solzi scoffs, turning, and dragging itself back to bed, flopping with an irritated growl onto the stiff mattress.
V's grin ever-so-slightly falls, and she cocks her head a bit with a confused "mhr..?".
"Usually takes the bait..", she thinks. Her LEDS flick to her free hand, holding an insulated cup of blackberry lemonade, and a couple blankets. Then, to her tail, which was.. unceremoniously stabbing a pillow, but she was careful in making sure it was a dry stab, so.. whatever, hopefully Solzi doesn't get too pissy. She sighs harshly, and climbs in through the window.
"Shitty place you picked out. You know no one else is staying in the cabins, right?", she casually mocked, slowly walking and glancing around the.. well, frankly shitty, room.
Solzi merely scoffed into the pillows, causing V's LEDs to narrow a bit at her in worry, then responded, "Best I could find in like, 5 minutes, bite me, V. I wanted to be alone." There was hardly any strength or sass to the reply.
V sighs after a second of staring at Solzi's back in silence.
"Something happened.", she said, voice a touch quieter, and matter-of-fact.
"No shit..", Solzi clapped back, before sighing once more into the pillows, this time heavier.
V rolled her LEDs, then twisted her hips to the side, and flicked her thick tail towards Solzi, causing the pillow on it to fly off and smack it on the side, eliciting a growl from it.
Twisting it's head to look at V, Solzi glared, and spoke. "Do you mind you jerk..?!", it hissed, before flicking its LEDs to V's hands.
"..Wwwhat is that."
V smirked a bit. "Blankets, and blackberry lemonade. I figured I'd need a drink and something else to deal with my little kitty-cat.~", she replied, voice smug at first, before going disgustingly sweet.
Solzi, clearly, looked a bit jealous. Her LEDs narrowed, before scoffing, and looked away, saying nothing- not even at the tease.
V took a small sip of the drink, then walked over, bumping Solzi on the side of the head with it. "Alright, I took my girlfriend tax. Here."
Bump. Bump. Bump.
Solzi growled, then twisted, glaring, before the glare slightly faded as it looked at the drink. Then to V. Back to the drink. Back to V. It sighed a bit, almost.. annoyed, at first, from the pitying gesture, before just sucking it up and taking the drink, taking a few greedy gulps from the straw.
"..Thanks.", it muttered after a couple more less greedy sips.
V smirked a little, huffing in amusement. "Heh. Drinking like you've been starved of oil all damn day."
"Cause I haaaveee..!", Solzi whined in response, pitifully rolling onto its back to further hammer in the nail, still carefully holding its drink to the side.
The whining elicited a wider smirk from V, and a chuckle as she knelt down, slightly whispering near Solzi's ear. "Awwhh, you poor thing.~ Well, you're welcome then, baby. Mmh.", she said a touch smugly, before giving her a gentle peck on the cheek, causing a bit of purple to spread at the edges of Solzi's screen.
Solzi rolled her LEDs a bit, looking away to her left with a scoff. "You're a sap. Stop."
V responded by setting a hand next to her head, leaning in with a wide smile- like the cat that got the cream. "No can do, Sol. Kitty's all gwumpy..~", she said, voice turning a bit mockingly sweet and muttery as she pinched its cheeks with her index and thumb claws, tilting its head to look at her, knowing it doesn't have the balls to fight back, lest it cut its cheeks.
"Fucking- Stop that, weirdo..!", Solzi growled, getting more and more purple. pawing and smacking weakly at V's arm.
V let out a throaty chuckle before responding, playing it up like she was dejected. "Oh, you're so mean to me. You aren't fun anymore, 'zi!" She whined, letting go of its chin, and laying her full weight on it, causing it to sputter and smack at her. V only grinned, biting down a giggle.
"UGH! You're the worst I swear to robo-God!!", Solzi yelled, squirming to try and get away to no avail. "I just wanna sleep!!!"
V finally snickered, shifting on the bed to settle down on Solzi's hips, looking down with a grin. "Fine. Baby."
"Mm'not a friggin' baby, stop with the cute- ANNOYING. ANNOYING names.", she started to yell, before blushing a touch more at her slip-up, words growing more into mutters. Its hand subconsciously finds its way to V's hip, its touch light, before settling.
V slightly tensed at the unexpected touch, but slowly relaxed, her grin turning softer. "I'm not calling you baby in the cute way. I'm calling you a fuckin' infant." Despite her goading, V found herself faintly purring.
Solzi's LEDs narrowed into thin slits, glaring holes through V, a growl bubbling in her throat. "I should smack you off me."
"But you won't.", V replied smugly.
"Much to my disdain.", Solzi hissed. She sighs heavily, tilting her head to greedily swallow the rest of the blackberry lemonade, then set down the cup on the nightstand.
V chuckled low in her throat, shaking her head a bit, and tugged up the blankets she was still holding, and quickly moved to wrap herself, and them, around Solzi tightly, grinning wider.
"WAH- TOO TIGHT TOO TIGHT-", she frantically pleaded, squirming.
V laughed loudly, quick to ease up with her own squeezing, and shifted a little to not so tightly wrap it in the blankets. "I thought you liked being wrapped up tight, babe.", she softly teased.
Solzi let out a soft sigh, calming down from the unexpected movements. It rolled its shoulders, then got comfy, immediately clinging onto V and wrapping its arms around her waist, slightly balling up with the rest of its body. V was quick to reciprocate; she laid her tail over its hip, the tip slightly raising and falling in small wags once it settles, and laid an arm around Solzi, her other arm propping her own head up with her fist. She slightly grinned down at it, LEDs half-lidded and adoring in their gaze.
"No? Nothing? No 'not like that, b-baka..!', or anything..?"
Solzi glared up from her chest, saying nothing.
V huffed in amusement, grinning a touch more. "Hmh. Not even a 'I don't talk like that.', huh? Non-verbal or somethin'? Eh." Her arm that was wrapped around it moved, purposefully and slowly tracing her hand up and across its back, to its shoulders, then finally to its chin, tilting its head up a bit with her index. "I'm used to carrying the conversation, anyway.", she added on, voice a bit lower and quieter.
Solzi, whose screen had, mostly, recovered from its earlier blushing, still had a purple blush at its sides. Her core slightly skipped a beat while looking at V, slightly leaning into the tiny touch, and melting everywhere else. Her glare had vanished, and now, she just looked a bit sleepy and lovesick.
V's grin slightly fell, not out of any discontent, and chuckled as she spoke: "You still got a staring problem, runt..?"
Solzi, finding words.. difficult, flashes words on her screen. "You're so pretty."
V blinked, then huffed again. "And I'm the sap..", she muttered, before leaning in, and pressing a light kiss to her forehead. She was still.. not really used to this. Being loved. Cherished. "Pretty". She didn't feel pretty. She felt.. wrong. She felt like she.. wasn't her. She never has. Not since..
..
The memory of a screen shattering then darkness overtaking her lingered for a few moments, before she snapped out of it, and sighed.
"..I don't get it, y'know.", she began, words quiet, and.. hesitant, as she mindlessly played with its hair to busy herself. "How you're still so head over heels. Thought maybe it was just a stupid crush." She huffed a little as she spoke before continuing after a moment of silence to find her words. "I'm.. not.. me. You never saw me. Never saw.. me. You've only seen.. Serial Designation V. Not.. V. Sure, you.. looked at my memories, which I'm still not happy about, but.."
Solzi's LEDs were closed at first, rumbling purrs rattling its chassis from its chest. Its own tail slowly moved to wrap around V's thigh, giving a light squeeze. Once V continues, its LEDs open to a half-lidded state, its face twisting to a more.. conflicted expression. It let her speak.
"..I dunno. I don't know. Just.. I don't get it, I guess. I don't.. feel pretty. I feel.. violated. Not cuz of you before you get upset. Just.."
V lets out a soft sigh, her LEDs slightly flicking back and forth occasionally as she tries to find words.
"I just.. don't know why you love this me. I don't know why you'd prefer this me."
Her voice was quiet, and at the end of her sentence, shaky. She really didn't get it. She wasn't herself- not ever since she was broken, mangled, and torn apart and put together into this because of Solver. She doesn't know if she should be grateful, and move on, or sit and wither and rot and scream. Why? Why her? Why N? Why J? Why any of the others? Why did it have to be them all? They didn't do anything.
She didn't do anything.
And now she flinches at hugs.
And now she tenses at touch.
And now she laughs at blood and gore and viscera. Laughs. Laughs. From the heart.
She used to fake it. She truly did. It all used to be a mask, and maybe even now it still was. But it fused onto her, and now she's forgotten what her face- her true face- looked like. Was she always this angular? Was she always this sharp? Was the tail always there? Were the claws? Were the yellow LEDs was the hair was was were w
..
She feels tracing on her cheek, and then rubbing just below her LEDs. Her face felt hot. She felt something running down her face. She slowly comes to, looking at Solzi who looked.. well, shook, but not panicking. By now, it had found its voice.
"..You with me, honey..?", it said slowly- carefully.
V only slightly nodded.
"Okay. Okay. Good, that's.. good. Wheew-ly shit.." It let out a slow sigh.
"..Okay. Listen. I'm.. I'm not gonna say this again, you got it?" It tried to act tough. Tried to act like it wasn't shaken up. Like it wasn't worried. Like it wouldn't have repeated what it's about to say- over, and over, and over again, just for V's audio processors.
V only nodded again.
"..I. Uhm.", it started, before sighing, closing its LEDs, and steeling itself to.. well, be a bit sappy. Anything to help its partner. "..Well, you.. clearly still have pieces of your old self. It'll.. never be the same, and I.. okay, I don't really understand, I never could. You.. You went through Hell. And.. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, honey." It scooted closer, close enough to feel the squish of V's chubby tummy against it. It lightly squeezed her in its arms. "But you're plenty kind. You.. got me my favorite drink. Y'got my blankets. You're.. not the best at showing it anymore, besides gestures like that." It chuckled a bit as it spoke. "But.."
V quietly sniffled, shuffling to wrap her arms around Solzi tightly, a little teary. She didn't fully cry, or break down, or nothing- she never did that. She wasn't like that. Not anymore.
"..It's something. And I'm grateful for it anyway. And you're still a bit shy. You're still loving. I mean, like, come on, hon. You purr like a friggin' engine when I scratch under your chin. Like this." She grinned a little, scratching under V's chin. And, like clockwork, a purr rumbled from her throat- though it wasn't as heavy as usual. "Hehe."
Solzi leaned up, pressing her lips against V's cheek. V closed her LEDs and leaned into the kiss before Solzi pulled away. "Mmwa.. You're cute honey. You're cute, you're pretty, you're beautiful, just.." With each compliment, both her and V blushed a touch more. "..I really really love you. And I could go on forever about how I don't get why you love me. But you'd just.. say the same stuff. You love me cuz.. you think I'm pretty too. N' cute, n' a bunch of other stuff. Even though I'm not. But y'know." Her grin turned into a slight smile, and she giggled.
V was quiet for a few moments, before she lets out a shaky sigh, and smiles a little as well, chuckling a bit. She presses her lips to Solzi's forehead. "..Such a dork.." She slightly rolled over onto her, purring harder as she ran her large tongue over her face.
"PLEGH- EWW! Stop- STOP!" Solzi pawed and yelled, but laughed as she did, grinning as she tried to get away. V only growled a little and pressed her weight down on her more, holding her a bit tighter, and continuing to groom her. Solzi gave up, knowing once V got like this, there was no hope at stopping her. Soon enough, she was purring too.
V's grooming moves to Solzi's hair, gently licking and cleaning, her large tail slowly thwack-ing against the mattress as she does so. Solzi lightly nuzzles her forehead against V, LEDs closed. She lets out a quiet, sleepy hum. "Mm'tired..", she mumbles.
V only huffs in response, not verbally responding for a moment. "Y'okay? Sleepy tired, or? I can grab you oil." She grins against her head. Her voice, which was low and a bit rumbly, took on a slightly sadistic undertone. "Want me to pop the head off that black-haired chick? One with the pigtails?"
Solzi rolls its LEDs, but huffs in entertainment. "..Nnno. Don't. She's.. okay, I guess. N' 'm not that thirsty. Bit warm but I'll be oki. Sleepy."
V grins a little at the mumbly, tired response. "Okay then, kitty-cat.", she replied, voice softer. She nuzzles against its head, purring just a touch harder, her LEDs narrowing tightly as she "closes" them.
Solzi grumbled at the nickname, but hummed, nuzzling back, and purring just as hard. "..Mm'so tireeddd..", it whined. And this time, it did in fact fall asleep, surrounded by comfy blankets and its beautiful, soft partner.
"Then sleep you..", V started, before trailing as she glanced down.
[ SLEEP MODE ]
"..Snrrrk. Dork..~", she whispered lovingly, before pressing a few kisses and licks to her screen, nuzzling against her, and closed her LEDs again, settling down for the night and early morning, purring softly even as she drifted to sleep mode herself, whispering one final thing before finally conking out.
"..G'night, my pretty little kitty."