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If anyone in the history of the world would’ve asked Kinger how he imagined his day to go, not in a million years he would’ve said sitting in Caine’s office with the AI owning the space in his lap.
Of course, Kinger never expected to get stuck in a digital circus with his own creation as ringleader, forgetting his name in the process, but there he was.
Caine’s hand were on Kinger’s shoulders, holding him a bit too tight. The human’s brain was trying to put together a timeline of how he had ended up in his current predicament, but the more he tried the more he drew a blank.
There had to be a reason if he was in Caine’s office specifically. That wasn’t a place any of them just hang around in. Kinger remembered being in his fort, thinking of… what? Something about Caine? Something about his system? Maybe.
“What are you thinking about?” Caine’s voice sounded louder than it was, either due to closeness or just how sudden and unexpected the sound had been. Right. It wasn’t Kinger’s first priority to know how he had got where he was, not right now.
“I… nothing important,” what were they even doing? Did it matter in any way?
“I’m sorry, why are we here?” Caine tilted his head and arched his top teeth in the shape of a furrowed brow.
“You came here,” admitted Caine, pulling back just slightly to take a better look at Kinger.
“Why are you in my lap?” The AI flushed red, the blush appearing right under his eyeballs. It should’ve been concerning how much Kinger had gotten used to cartoon logic.
“You asked if I needed a hug,” supplied the ringmaster, taking back his hands and fidgeting with them.
So there was a piece more to the story. Kinger had no idea why he would ask Caine if he needed a hug in the first place, but- Wait.
“Why did you need a hug?” not like it would change anything, but what if it did? Caine went to float away but Kinger promptly held his sides, keeping him where he was and taking the both of them off guard. The programmer immediately lifted his hands, giving an apologetic look.
“Can’t an AI want some human contact once in a while?” that wasn’t really part of what Caine should’ve been able to feel: the need for human contact. Obviously, Caine had revealed himself to be much more than what anyone at C&A had ever imagined he could be.
“Is this something you feel… often?” Kinger couldn’t help but wonder, his curiosity was the main reason he had gotten into computer science, after all.
“Not often,” Caine waved his hand and made a motion that Kinger read as a roll of his eyes. It sounded like a lie.
Either way, Kinger had to had a reason to think Caine had wanted physical contact, something about his recent behaviour? Had Caine acted any differently? Hell, even if that had been the case, Kinger doubted he would’ve noticed or remembered. Maybe someone had pointed it out to him, probably Pomni, seeing how she was the only one knowing Kinger was not a complete nutcase. Still, that was a lot of assuming.
“Any reason why you’re feeling like this now?” Kinger had lowered his hands and was holding them on the chair’s armrests while Caine crossed his.
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe I’m tired of you guys not enjoying my adventures,” who even programmed an artificial intelligence with an attitude? Had Kinger done that? “That’s why I’ve been leaving you alone for three whole days, and none of you even came to check until now.”
That could explain it. Three days weren’t a lot, but Caine had never left them to themselves for more than a few hours at best, even if it was just to intrude in some unrelated activities. He liked being included.
Kinger decided to stay quiet and simply put his hands on Caine’s shoulders, pulling him forward and against his chest. The AI didn't fight it. Not that Kinger had many doubts he would.
“You know you can just ask for these things?” offered Kinger, drawing soothing circles on Caine’s back. Now that he was thinking about it, Kinger couldn’t really remember how long it had been since he himself had hugged anyone, let alone cuddled. He wanted to say Queenie had been the last and he knew that was almost certainly right.
“Of course I know,” Caine’s voice came out muffled as he spoke right against Kinger’s cloak.
“Alright.”
There wasn’t much to say, and if there was, Kinger wasn’t aware of it. He liked the silence and he liked being saner than usual. Caine’s office was dimly lit, enough to allow his brain to work properly. Whether it was a stylistic choice or what else, the human couldn’t tell, but he was grateful for it nonetheless.
“Do you like my adventures, Kinger?” Caine was looking up at him with a sort of desperation in his eyes.
“I don’t hate them,” he offered, he didn’t hate most of them, at least.
“But you don’t like them.” Caine tightened his hold on Kinger’s robe.
“I didn’t say that,” he argued. Looking around at the orbs surrounding the office, each one a different simulated space, each one a different set for an adventure, Kinger could appreciate the time his AI put into them.
“I liked the… what was the name? The candy kingdom one.” Caine beamed at that, his eyes going wider than they already were.
“I knew you would, did you see the butterflies?” Kinger nodded, chuckling to himself at just how fleeting Caine’s emotions seemed to be.
“Are you feeling any better?” Caine seemed to think about the question for a moment before looking up at Kinger again.
“Can we stay like this a while longer?”
“Of course.” There was nowhere else to be.