Work Text:
MePhone3GS was trying to do this was fast as he could. Unfortunately, that was not very fast.
His worn-out mechanical joints were one factor to this, the other being the discovery that he really disliked loud noises. Was he always like that? He didn't know, but he didn't linger on the question. A gentle smile held his face as he tapped a nail into the half-finished bedframe. Tap, tap, tap, tap. The nail wasn't really being nailed that efficiently, but that was fine.
MePhone4 sat on the floor of the small "living room", wringing his hands together painfully tight. The "living room" was also literally the only room in the makeshift cabin, but MePhone3GS seemed to like calling it that.
That damn tapping was like a broken record. One that you couldn't turn off, because if you said anything to the broken record in a harsh tone its face would sink into fear and you would feel terrible.
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap-
He abruptly stood up and stepped over to MePhone3GS, who peered up at him placidly.
"...Hey! Mind if I take over?" MePhone4 held out his hand with a weak attempt at a smile.
"Okay." MePhone3GS stood up and gave him the hammer. "Please not too loud."
MePhone4 crouched down near the bedframe and secured the nail in with two much harder hits. He turned to survey MePhone3GS's face - He looked mildly uncomfortable, but still held his cheerful air. MePhone4 turned back and began work on the rest of the bedframe.
It was dark outside. MePhone3GS had come back to the cabin around midday with two small bedframe sets from the city and an optimistic statement that he'd have them both finished by bedtime. Clearly the older robot did not have the capacity to work that fast. MePhone4 hadn't minded much (or rather, enough to say something) for the first few hours, but by now fatigue had seeped into every inch of his machinery and his brother's tapping had bored into his head.
Man, it was still so weird to think of him as his brother.
His brother, that sat down and silently watched while he awkwardly put together furniture. His brother, that didn't point it out when he accidentally screwed a wrong part in and had to backtrack five minutes of work to fix it. His brother, who seemed just happy to be there, watching his mistakes.
MePhone4 really wanted to turn around and ask him to go literally anywhere else for a moment. But he didn't want to watch that smile fade. And he worried that MePhone3GS wouldn't like the darkness outside.
"I can go get the mattress," MePhone3GS offered, standing up. In another corner of the room, two mattresses were slowly inflating and the second set lay untouched. He picked up one mattress and ever so slowly pushed it over. Then stood there and just kept on watching until MePhone4 finished and he could heave the mattress over.
"Ta-da!" MePhone3GS giggled to himself as he gestured to the completed, pathetic bed. "You can take this one. I will sleep on the other mattress tonight."
MePhone4 laughed sheepishly. "Oh, no, you don't gotta-"
"I insist, brother." MePhone3GS smiled and walked over to get the other mattress. MePhone4 sank onto the bed, his eyes giving a little uncomfortable twitch. It's so much worse actually hearing it out loud.
MePhone3GS didn't turn the lamp next to them off before pulling a blanket over himself, and MePhone4 wasn't about to ask him to. A soft grey screen looked up at him with worry, splintered lines running around his right eye.
"Are you feeling well?" He asked.
"What, do y'mean sick?" MePhone4 muttered, dragging his gaze away from the cabin's log roof.
"No. Are you feeling well? As in okay? Good?"
"Yeah. I'm good."
"Having trouble relaxing?" MePhone3GS pushed.
"Sure."
"Let's talk instead, then!" He sat up and rested his back against the wall, his boxy hands folded together. "I have been wanting to get to know you better."
MePhone4 shut his eyes and quietly sighed. "Okay... what did you want to talk about...?"
"What's something you enjoy doing?" MePhone3GS questioned, his pixelated eyes wide and earnest.
The question took him off guard. "What... I enjoy doing?"
"Yes. For me, I do not really have anything. But while I was in the city I saw some delightful looking things I might want to try! Like knitting, maybe." He swayed his feet side to side under the blanket like a happy child asking for one more bedtime story.
"Uhh..." MePhone4 sat up straight and tried to actually think. He had been expecting a question that was hard to answer in a different way. "...TV? I liked watching TV."
"Oh, yes, that does make sense," MePhone3GS hummed. "What's your favorite color?"
"I really... don't know," he mumbled, rubbing his arm.
"That's okay. I like warm colors. Do you like flowers?"
"Flowers?" MePhone4 looked down at him, taken aback. "What do those have to do with anything?"
"I was thinking about planting some around the cabin. They would look pretty. Do you agree?"
"Hm... I guess so." He thought wistfully about the flowers on season three's island. So bright and huge, like mini explosions.
MePhone3GS stretched his shoulders, slowly and carefully, then started his next question. "Is there a reason why you didn't feel like going to the city with me?"
"I- Oh. Well." His sentence ended abruptly. It didn't trail off or lead anywhere. Just a sudden, rough slice where the next words should be. A thirty whole seconds passed where the only sound was MePhone4 breathing uncomfortably. MePhone3GS looked at him, tranquility glowing off of his face. His broken, abused face. His broken, abused, genuine face.
When was the last time someone had looked at him like he was a friend to them? MePhone3GS looked at him like he was his closest friend he'd ever had, like they'd been friends for years and he wanted to keep being friends for years. He probably looked at everyone that way. It still felt... Off-putting. Unfitting. Not right.
Please don't look away.
"Well, uh," MePhone4 finally continued, "the idea of being around people just sounds so... strange. And I feel like I'm probably gonna mess something up. I mean, I don't know basic stuff, like how money works."
"Oh, yes, that was also an issue for me." MePhone3GS laughed quietly. He had a sweet laugh, like a bird singing. His laugh used to sound different, a stiff ha-ha that came from his throat. But after a few days, it changed. "I was so incredibly lucky to have found some dropped cash and a kind store worker or else I might have accidentally stolen those bedframes."
MePhone4's face lifted into a small smile, a glimpse of his teeth showing under the cracks in his screen. "I think I might want to go with you next time. It sounds interesting."
"Ooh, that's good!" MePhone3GS excitedly clapped his hands together. "We can look for flower seeds! And possibly some yarn..."
"Hey, what's..." MePhone4 twiddled his fingers together, thinking. "...your favorite type of music?"
"I have not been able to experience much of it, but while I was in the city I saw a group playing some. It was wonderful! Just so heartfelt and calming, I could have stood there for ages! What about you?"
"...Theme songs..." he admitted with a grin.
"Hehe, don't worry! That's still good music, I'm sure." MePhone3GS gave him a cheery thumbs up.
Silence, silence.
The air began to feel tight again and the brief moment of comfort was gone. They were still just two broken machines in a sad little cabin who'd run out of things to talk about. Maybe MePhone3GS didn't feel this awkward. He was probably still humming and smiling for no particular reason shut up shut up don't think about him that way stupid judgmental jerk why can't you do these things right you're still no better than
MePhone4 flinched at feeling the hand pressed on his.
"I'm sorry. You appeared to be 'zoning out' again," MePhone3GS explained worriedly.
"Yeah, no, don't- don't worry about it." MePhone4 limply shook his hand until MePhone3GS let go, then rolled on his side to face the wall.
MePhone3GS looked down at his lap, illuminated by his own grey light alongside the lantern's. Had he done something wrong? He began to ask another question when he saw that his brother had powered off. That was fine. He could always ask more questions tomorrow, or perhaps the day after. Under the thin blanket, his ruined body was aching from all the strain he had put on himself today. That was fine too.
In the midst of dull pain and terror that spiked involuntarily, everything was fine.
Because he was safer than before, and oh- maybe one day they would have a decorated cabin that was comfortable and pretty, filled with warm colors and light. And his brother would love talking to him and they could listen to music together every day and they would both be happy.
He was ready to be patient for that.