Chapter Text
It was a normal, quiet afternoon in Cooper-9.
The drones went about their routines as another day drew to a close in the colony.
Students returned to their respective bunkers, and workers finished their day shifts while the night patrolmen began to take their posts. After the relentless cataclysm that befell the small colony, the calm that finally settled over the local community was definitely invigorating for everyone; life finally seemed to be returning to some kind of monotony, which brought a silent and collective relief to the robots that lived surrounded by rubble and snow in that isolated base at the edge of the world.
And in a way, a small, young, hormonally driven drone worker reluctantly agreed with this.
Uzi Doorman, the small, rebellious mechanic with purple hair who had always had a problematic record in the colony, found herself that afternoon in a scene she could never in her entire life have imagined herself starring in. She waved to her best friend—no, boyfriend—a dismantling drone, known as Designation Series N, as he waved back. She watched him tenderly as he skipped out of the colony, past the main gates and into the vast blizzard, glancing over his shoulder at her one last time before finally disappearing completely over the horizon.
She couldn't say why, but she remained in that same spot beside the large gates for a while, as if somewhere deep within her mechanical shell she hopefully awaited a certain robot to return amidst the shards of steel and snow and enfold her in a tender embrace for all eternity. However, all she saw through the frost was a brief glimpse of the sky already shrouded in darkness, and then, with a long sigh, she used the master key and watched the large gates lock shut before her, completely blocking her view of the outside colony.
As she walked through the colony's main corridors back to her respective bunker, the long walk gave her some time to reflect on everything that had happened that afternoon.
A few days ago, she and N, after spending several nights scouring old forums rescued from an archaic database, finally managed to unearth a classic piece of media created by the supposedly extinct human species. Apparently, it was some kind of long video, an hour and a half in length; technically, based on the video's characteristics, it was classified as a "film." The theme, judging by the cover art, was somewhat confusing for the drone duo, but they both decided it would be more fun to figure it out together anyway. Because acquiring the "human film" had been difficult, N seemed to insist that it would be a waste to watch it on any occasion, and although Uzi never cared about any formalities for any of her tasks, she let herself be carried away by the excitement of the disassembly drone, and so they planned a "cinematic afternoon" to properly enjoy whatever the human film had to offer them.
The occasion inevitably arrived, and so the pair gathered at the Doorman's residence, as was their custom, and inside Uzi's room, they both gathered some blankets and pillows and settled on the worker drone's bed next to a jar full of batteries and two cans of concentrated oil.
Uzi moved to connect a small pen drive to the TV that sat on the dresser, while N settled down among a fluffy blanket that was her favorite and a soft pillow.
"I can't wait to find out what the movie is about! Will it be action? Mystery? Or even... Romance?"
N commented, using a saccharine tone when mentioning the last genre, already anticipating the reaction of the little drone, which, as expected, made a disgusted grunt, stealing a small laugh from the disassembling drone.
"Ew dude! Don't even joke about it, it'll jinxs it. As long as there are explosions or violence, that'll be enough for me."
Uzi replied, finally successfully transferring the video file to her television, giving a subtle punch in the air in celebration.
As she returned to settle down next to the other drone, she noticed that he had already cushioned her spot, which stole a subtle, shy smile from her as she sat on the blankets and her favorite pillow.
Wow, he was really going to be the end of her, wasn't he?
Uzi didn't dare voice most of her feelings for various reasons: bullying, insecurity, ego—these and other factors turned the hardworking drone into a massive shell that didn't allow even a crack to reveal the interior of her core. Because of this, she ended up pushing away anyone who threatened to see the horizon that her walls hid, to a certain point where she couldn't clearly express what she felt except for the old, safe anger. Although her current situation couldn't compare to the past, she still found it very difficult to deal with the dismantling drone's sincerity and affection when he openly expressed his feelings, and she could only respond with bursts of indignation or exasperated sighes. Over time, she gradually managed to reciprocate some affection with hugs and subtle caresses like holding hands, but she was still bothered by not being able to offer even a simple compliment. And the main reason for this growing discomfort was that words meant a lot to N. And while she had to go through an intense internal battle to say anything remotely affectionate, here was that damned dismantling drone, so attentive that he made subtle gestures of affection so as not to overwhelm her with his affection, so she wouldn't have to go through the usual emotional mountain and end up feeling awkward.
At some point she would have to reciprocate, since they had been dating for exactly two months, and it was becoming increasingly clear to her that instead of their relationship being a two-way street, it was almost one-sided. And that paralyzed her.
What if her time was running out?
She had to shake her head briefly to dispel the paranoia, bringing her back to the present. After all, they still had a movie to watch, and overthinking wouldn't get her anywhere right now anyway. She finally picked up the remote she kept by the bed to turn on the television, but before she could press the play button, she was interrupted by the sensation of a hand on her shoulder, which immediately stole her attention back to the drone sitting beside her, staring at her with a hesitation clearly visible in its visor.
"Sorry, I know you hate it when I insist, but...are you okay, Uzi? You seemed a little distant a moment ago. If it's the movie, we can just skip ahead and draw together."
N offered apprehensively, and Uzi had to use all the concentration she could muster at that moment not to sigh. How could someone be so considerate? She was sure it had been nothing more than a brief moment of reflection she'd been trapped in, and yet it hadn't gone unnoticed by the dismantling drone. She had to squeeze the pillow beside her to somehow alleviate the affection that threatened to overflow from her metallic chest, letting out only a small sniff, gently removing N's hand from her shoulder.
"Chill out man, I was just daydreaming. Come on, let's see if humans can actually do something worthwhile."
She said, relaxing her body again against the bed's padding and blankets, pressing the play button on the remote which promptly started the movie.
As soon as some of the studio credits for the film passed, a scene with a human in an overcoat walking through a storm began, and both drones were attentively drawn into the narrative. As the plot unfolded, it slowly revealed that the story was about a secret agent who, amidst a world war, was trying to maintain contact with his beloved, who was being held captive by a cruel dictatorial government. When Uzi realized it was a tragic story of impossible love, it didn't take long for her attention to wander. Unfortunately, her boyfriend's prediction had hit the film's genre perfectly—well, more or less, as she couldn't completely dismiss the occasional explosions and gunfire that occurred in chase and confrontation scenes. And now, with her attention partially focused on the film, she took the opportunity to glance at the drone's reactions beside her, which were far more expressive than any she had shown at that moment. She had developed this strange habit of staring at him when he was distracted; she couldn't help it. N was by far the most dazzling drone she had ever encountered in her entire life. Not only did its distinctive and exquisite design spark interest in its anatomical model, but its aesthetic features were charming and captivating, and on top of that, the cherry on top was its radiant personality, which made all other aspects almost completely overshadowed. It made the girl snort at the thought, he kind of really was a walking ray of pure sunshine.
How could this silly, goofy, and playful drone so easily capture her punk, cold, and cool core?
Well, she knew how. The truth she so desperately avoided admitting was that deep down, she wasn't as cool as she pretended to be, and it was a relief for her to finally let herself be silly like any other drone her age, because she felt safe to simply be herself.
And that's how he made her feel, wasn't it? Safe to be whatever she decided to become. She couldn't help the loving smile that smeared across her face.
As soon as it dawned on her that he was staring back at her, the little drone's world abruptly stopped in time, static.
She'd been caught red-handed, and it seemed like it had been for a while, judging by the confused and curious look on the drone's face smiling back at her.
Damn it.
Words! Say something!
She tried to think of something to say, anything about the movie, or the blankets, or that adorable, lost look on the drone's face, which seemed more confused as eye contact lingered.
"Hm...Is there something on my face, Zi?"
N asked innocently, wiping his face as if trying to clean the stain of whatever had so intensely captured his girlfriend's attention, for if he were less perceptive, he wouldn't have noticed the soft hum of the drone's motors beside him, incessantly trying to restrain its system to prevent overheating. She quickly turned back to the television, clearing her throat as if trying to clear it, which made no sense since she was a robot.
"What are you talking about? I wasn't even doing whatever you think I was doing. Not at all. Whatever."
She quickly replied with a clumsy grumble, crossing her arms and clenching her fists, biting the inside of her cheek as a silent plea to be quiet. The disassembly drone beside her opened its mouth as if to ask something, but then closed it, hesitantly returning its attention to the film.
Ugh! That was exactly the problem she feared so much, this immediate distance she placed between them just when it seemed they were about to take a step forward, this push and pull, this tug-of-war. Although N insisted that there was no rush and that they could take their relationship at their own pace, it was clear he wasn't immune to frustration, and hearing that small, almost inaudible sigh that escaped his lips every time he was suddenly pushed away made Uzi's core sink into her chest.
This wasn't right.
The dismantling drone put himself in so many circumstances to make her happy; hell, he almost condemned the fate of the entire world just to keep her company.
He was always so quick to give, to sacrifice, why couldn't she do the same for once?
She glanced out of the corner of her eye towards N, who already seemed focused on the movie again, and then Uzi's eyes rested on the drone's hand beside her, hovering nonchalantly against the bed. And there she saw an opportunity.
Whenever they held hands, he was always the first to reach out. Maybe...that's what she needed to do. Show that she also was capable of doing this. No, that she also wanted this! All of this.
She wouldn't it be one-sided.
Her hand subtly slid across the sheet, slowly approaching until it was finally mere inches from her boyfriend's hand, yet for some reason she still hesitated. Frustrated with herself, she gritted her teeth and yelled at herself; "You saved the world and consumed a galaxy devourer, HOLD YOUR BOYFRIEND'S HAND!!"
And then, releasing the breath she didn't even know she was holding, she gently grasped the hand of the drone beside her in a slightly firmer grip than she intended, fixing her attention on the television, despite being unable to decipher a single word the humans on the screen were saying. She could feel the disassembling drone beside her jump reflexively at the sudden contact, seemingly caught completely off guard, and then she felt the other drone's hand adjusting to hers, intertwining their fingers, and Uzi had to suppress a little cry of victory that threatened to escape her lips with an awkward smile.
And so they both remained for a long moment, when suddenly, there was movement on the side of the drone worker, who, despite being curious to decipher what all the movement happening beside her could be, refused to look back at the dismantling drone, until she felt the slight pressure of something falling on her left shoulder, and that's when her curious eyes couldn't resist the need to find out what it was and found N's arm, embracing her as he gently pushed her against the side of his chest.
Oh.
This was new.