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V liked stargazing, once.
There were few opportunities to do so, back at the manor. Most of the time the drone staff were too busy being slaves and trying not to get killed for misplacing cutlery to stop and appreciate the scenery, and getting a good look at the night sky was a rare occasion anyways considering the dreadfully cloudy weather that seemed to plague the skies above the household. Sometimes however, in those rare moonlit nights where V would sneak off to read the books she’d spend all day dusting, the clouds would part just enough to let the stars shine through the library window
In these precious little moments, the young maid would stop her reading and stare, mesmerized, at the beauty of distant satellites shimmering in the night sky. V would be so entranced by their beauty that a bomb going off at her feet wouldn’t shake her from that heavenly spell. And neither would the sound of the basement’s trapdoor swinging open
Suffice to say, V never truly looked at the stars again
Not for lack of opportunity, mind you; aside from the occasional radioactive death storms, Copper-9's atmosphere was particularly suitable for stargazing. The problem lied in V herself, or more accurately, on her extraordinarily shitty eyesight
She always had vision problems, ever since being rebooted by Tessa anyways. Something about a manufacturing error and “uneven lengths of the lens’s meridians”, as the young mechanic put it. V never really understood what exactly that meant, other than the fact she’d need incredibly complex repairs or a complete optical replacement to see normally again, something that must have been too bothersome for her previous owner to deal with. And apparently Cyn agreed, considering that when the little eldritch freak was finally done rearranging her body and soul into that of a killing machine, V woke up with a headband chock full of specialized sensors that let her see every fringe frequency from x-ray to infrared and a couple of colors only shrimp knew existed…. but still the same busted up eyeballs. Over time, some small part of her became grateful for that. She could hunt and kill just fine with her new set of sensors; Syn made sure of that. Being able to see her victims the conventional way was unnecessary and would only make her job more difficult.
She’d do what needed to be done. To keep them safe. To keep him safe
Even if she could never see him agai-
“HEY V!! OVER HERE!! HIIIIII!!!!”
N bellowed in the distance, rudely cutting off her brooding session. V had her back turned to the noise, but could still sense him the distance: 105 meters out, shaking like an oversized puppy as he waved and called out to her, a sizable bag thrown over his back as he carried presumably kilos of paraphernalia he and Uzi had scavenged today. Speaking of, the short emo trailed slightly behind at his left side, hands tucked into the hoodie’s pockets. V’s headband sensors could tell her all of that, yet when she turned around to face them her optics showed nothing but two blurs in the distance; one large and erratic with a smudge of yellow, the other smaller and more controlled, tinted in sunset colors
Right. That was then. This is now. We’re safe now.
Now facing them properly, V put on her usual smirk and waved back. She was sitting on the snow covered roof of an abandoned car crashed into a light post, which acted as the trio’s reference point when going out into the city to scavenge. That was mostly Uzi’s thing, with N acting as muscle to carry all the scrap, nerd trinkets and techno-baubles while V often tags along to stretch her wings and get some good banter going. They had split up earlier, and were supposed to meet up at their usual spot half an hour ago
And now, here they are
“Hi V!” “Sup, loser” N and Uzi greeted her in quick succession. Now that they were right in front of her V could see them a bit better and actually make out some semblance of facial expression: N was his usual excited self while Uzi wore a more neutral, if slightly smug, expression, hands still deep in her pockets
V hopped off the car with a huff and a faux annoyed expression. “About time you nerds showed up.” Then with a sly smirk, “How was the makeout sesh N? Did the little twerp finally learn how to kiss half-decently yet?
Predictably, the two bots flared a blush as Uzi made an aggressive advance towards V “We were NOT making out, BITE ME! We were out doing completely normal, TOTALLY NOT GROSS couple stuff!”, jabbing a finger at the dissasembler's face
“Hehe, she’s been getting better” N admitted with a sheepish expression, eliciting a whiny “N!!” from Uzi and a pointed laugh from V. She was well aware their reason for splitting up wasn’t just to “cover more ground”; and she was fine with it, really! She didn’t mind some time off to herself, and poking fun at the duo’s blundering attempts at a relationship was endlessly entertaining
(The least she could do was respect it; seeing N the happiest he had been in years was well worth it even if it still stung a little)
“Oh, but we also got you a gift V! Uzi finished it herself with the parts we just found!"
Now that was interesting. Uzi made a gift… for her?
"Wha- N! You weren't supposed to tell her yet!"
"Ooooh, is that true little bat?" V cooed, her sarcastic tone hiding her genuine curiosity. Crouching to meet the emo at her eye level, the larger girl continued: "So what is it then? A pipe bomb? Or another equally explosive invention of yours?"
Uzi huffed. "My inventions are only intentionally explosive, thank you very much" Then her expression softened, as she took a step and removed something from her pocket: a small rectangular case, which she held out to V while looking to the sides "I noticed you were kinda blind as shit so y'know…. consider this as thanks for like, looking out for us, or whatever…" A small blush adorned the teen's face as she mumbled "Don't look into it…"
V's eyes hollowed slightly in surprise. Standing up to her full height she took the case and examined: it was a simple velvet container, scarlet with golden traces adorning it. It was obviously old and somewhat worn, but surprisingly well-preserved. It looked a lot like… No, that can't be. Where would they even find something like that?
Opening it up confirmed her suspicions: inside the case was a delicate pair of glasses, with plain silver armature and big, round lens, with small black circles just barely poking out of the tips; almost exactly like the reading glasses she used back at the manor (they once belonged to Tessa's mom, a simple backup among her many more elegant pairs; V worried the house's matriarch would be enraged at the sight of a drone wearing them, but Tessa comforted her: "She has so many of these, she won't notice one's missing!" "Besides, it's the same prescription as yours! Talk about luck, Ay V?")
"How… where did you find this?" V asked, baffled
"Uzi found the armature and casing back at the bunker, and we managed to find an old workshop not far from here! She made the lens herself!" N beamed, clearly very proud of his girlfriend
Uzi elaborated: "I read some old manuals on glass-making and stuff, it's nothing fancy. I don't know if I got it right though, soooo…." Uzi looked expectantly at V now, and so did N. Before she could properly process her feelings about the whole ordeal, V's curiosity won and she put on the glasses, whose tips attached to the sides of her head like magnets. The first thing she did was look upwards to the skies, and….
I can see the stars again
For the first time in… robo-god knows how long, V saw the stars. Actually saw them, just like at the manor. The night sky was drastically different of course: V didn't really recognize any of the constellations, and she realized for the first time that the planet's moon had rings, unlike on Earth. Right next to it was a second, smaller moon which V didn't even realize existed before; the two of them always blurring together as one big ball of light. She rotated in place, her gaze turning slightly downwards at the tips of the ruined skyscrapers, as her eyes drank in an almost overwhelming amount of details, until it finally settled upon the Corpse Spire looming in the horizon. It was a terrible thing, but at this moment V couldn't help but admire it's morbid glory as she took a few steps in it's direction
"Woah" She muttered, almost imperceptibly. Behind her, N and Uzi shared a knowing smile, the gift having the intended effect. "Soooo, does that mean it worked?" N asked, already knowing the answer
"Yeah. Yeah it did. Perfectly, actually" V said softly, her aloof persona falling for just a moment, as digital tears threatened to form in her eyes; her real eyes, that for the first time since the manor could now truly see the apocalyptic environment around her… and it's desolate beauty
Collecting herself, she discretely wiped those pesky tears and re-assembled her carefully built mask: "Yeah, they're not half bad. I mean, plenty of room for improvement, but still, for an amateur? That was a decently good job, purple"
That earned an eye-roll from Uzi, but the smaller girl had enough experience with V to recognize when she was being genuine. As V kept staring at the Spire in awe, N dropped the hefty bag and moved closer, stopping slightly ahead of her to the right
"The spire is actually kind of pretty isn't it? Despite the whole 'made out of corpses' thing" he said, prompting V to tear her gaze out of the mortuary tower and actually look at the taller drone. N had his back turned towards her, but it was still one hell of a sight: as much as she hated Cyn, V had to admit the freak had done a damn good job turning the cute butler she once knew into a fearsome (and attractive) war machine. N's frame was not only taller but sturdier than V and J's female setup, with stronger arms and legs that ended into heavy boots made for crushing metal bodies, whereas the girl's peg legs were meant for piercing drone cores. V's angle also gave her a good look into the boy's shiny metal behind, which she now noticed was more… substantial than she realized
No wonder Uzi's class went crazy for him back at camp
As she took her sweet time admiring his back view, N suddenly turned to look at her, and their eyes crossed. Both were taken by surprise for a moment, before N settled into a shy smile, and a long forgotten warmth deep in V's core made itself known once more
His face… was exactly how she remembered. Sure, N's physical body was vastly different now, but something about his posture, the way he held himself, was deeply familiar. And his smile… robo-god, that stupidly sweet smile and those impossibly kind eyes…. Despite everything, they were the same ones V remembered, just tinted in burning yellow
This is what she'd been missing all this time. This is what she almost lost, what she fought so hard to protect, for all these years…
But it's not mine, is it? Not anymore. Not after what I did to him
A familiar ache pained in her core. She protected him, but she also pushed him away, almost got him killed, because she was too fucking scared to stand up for them. If it wasn't for Uzi, then…
Uzi. Of course
That smile is hers, now. I don't deserve it, but she does, even if N insists in sharing it sometimes
In the end, we really do owe it all to her, huh?
V knew something broke between her and N, and she had grown to accept that, really. Seeing N like this, really seeing him after all this time just poked the wound a bit, that's all. She should be grateful she can even see him like this (happy, alive) to begin with. Even though it still hurt
N's voice interrupted her spiral: "Ha, I guess I've changed a lot since you last saw me…"
"No!" V's response was fast and high pitched, too much for her liking. She recomposed herself: "I mean, you haven't changed THAT much. You still have the same dork-ass face I remember" That got a laugh out of him, as he admitted "Hehe, I guess so huh"
The same old N… just objectively hotter now. Hmm…
V suddenly got an idea: "To be fair though, I have to admit N, you're hot as fuck now" the last part was said in a sultry voice which promptly triggered a fiery blush and a surprised "HUH" from N
(Uzi, which had also become distracted by her boyfriend's lovely behind, was suddenly drawn to the conversation once more)
V started circling around him, a hungry look in her eyes "I mean, I really had to be blind as shit to not realize before, but you've grown into quite the nice snack, if I do say so myself"
N started stammering in embarrassment while Uzi shouted a indignant "HEY!" from behind them
"What's the problem, purple?" V turned around to face her "Jealous of your hot boyfrie-"
All it takes is one look at Uzi for V's expression to crumble into astonishment
For the longest time, some part of V wondered what exactly had drawn N so strongly to the purple toaster. Not out of jealousy (not exclusively at least), more so out of curiosity; N had made friends with rocks before, but his attachment to Uzi was unusual even before they caught feelings for each other. Sure, the whole "showing him kindness when everyone around him shunned and berated him for years on end" probably had something to do with it, but it was only later that V realized the true reason: Uzi's personality
Love her or hate her, Uzi was striking purple standout among the cookie cutter worker drones of Outpost 3. Her fiery attitude, her unapologetic love of cringy anime and insufferable nightcore music, her insistence to stick together despite the horrors, as well as the fact she was the only one who could hope to compete with V in witty banter; it all made the emo weirdly charming in an infectious sort of way. Over time V didn't just grow to trust and respect her: she even started to like the little freak of nature, even if she'd die before admitting it
All of that, however, was one half of the explanation. And now, with dawning horror, V has at last understood the other half of the equation:
Uzi is… actually really pretty????
Her fashion sense was surprisingly on point for a emotionally stunted outcast: the blacks of her outfit contrasted really well with the purple of her hair and optics, and surprisingly even more so now that she had that amber yellow mixed in. Hidden under her signature beanie, the emo's hair seemed to shine in the moonlight and appeared unbelievably fluffy to V's eyes. Uzi always had a fire in her eyes, but it was stronger now, enticing. Even her small stature now looked more alluring, like a bite-sized snack V could easily snatch away and carry off into the night… it's no wonder N fell for her so hard
Oh robo-god. I get it now
The purple thing isn't just cute…
She's fucking HOT
"Uhhhh… V? Hellooo?"
Uzi's words brought V back to reality as she realized she's been staring at the purple thing, slack jawed, eyes hollow in surprise and a FIERCE blush burning in her face
Oh shit oh fuck I was staring they're staring shit shit SHIT WHAT DO I DO
"Uhhhh" V stammered like a cat caught midway through stealing a fish
Shit V THINK how do I get out of this
WAIT I KNOW
Before the others could open their mouths to question her, V shouted "EWWW YOU'RE CUT- I MEAN UGLY! YOU'RE UGLY!" in a pitch much higher and more desperate than intended, while sporting the worst full-face blush she's ever had
With a final "EWW!", V took off into the night with a thunderous boom, never to be seen again (for a few hours)
From below, the couple watched in bafflement as V shot into the sky at Mach 2, covering them in toxic snow in the process
"Wha- V, YOUR GLASSES! I JUST MADE THOSE!" Uzi called out in vain to the rapidly vanishing figure. The emo groaned: "What the HELL is her problem?! UGH! Can you believe that N?"
N didn't respond, as he had just realized something. That time he tried asking V out and she flew away pretending to not know him… wasn't it similar to what she did just now? But… now he knows V DID like him back then and was just pretending, so… does that mean…
N blushes furiously
Looks like V has a new crush