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[If you. Tell him. He will leave. You.]
The voice echoed, emanating both from the mouth of her tail and inside her head, not quite in unison. It wasn’t often that it spoke aloud. For whatever reason, the Solver, or Cyn, or whatever the in-between thing now uninvited guest inside her really was, only talked aloud when she was alone. She didn’t know why it hadn’t announced its presence to anyone but her. Maybe it wanted to keep her isolated, not able to get help. Maybe it couldn’t even really speak aloud, just make her think it was. Or maybe…
…maybe this was just another sick game for that thing.
“Bite me,” Uzi told it, though the words came out hollow. She was tired, worn down by the entity's whispers. Playing on her doubts. Her fear. Her insecurities. Overall, just doing it's damned best to feel like utter crap.
It’s doing a hell of a good job there.
Uzi got up from her bed, walking over to the full-length mirror hanging on her closet door. She stared at her reflection, seeing the weary, half-lidded eyes displayed on her visor that stared back. The heavy lines rendered underneath gave them a gaunt, sunken look that refused to vanish after countless screen resets, her body insisting on displaying the indicators of exhaustion no matter what she tried.
How long has it been now? A week? More? Uzi really didn't know; the days since Cyn had made its presence known had blurred together. She barely got enough rest; every time she tried to enter sleep mode, the thing would speak to her, making it near impossible to fall asleep. And that wasn't even considering the nightmares.
She didn't have a robo-goddamned clue if those were Cyn's doing as well. Was she— It, conjuring those to torment her? Or was it just a side effect of all the stress making itself known in her subconscious?
Just freakin’ do something already, Uzi told herself, trying again to work up the courage to do the thing she knew she must, even if her stupid broken brain was making it freaking impossible to do. Tell N what's going on. He knows something is up anyway. Or will eventually. Then he'll be all worried and stuff. And you're scared and you… need the help…
It's… it's fricken’ embarrassing. And dumb. I'm dumb, and you're dumb, Uzi shot back to counter her own thought, reflexively bottling the stupid, vulnerable feeling before it could build further. You know it's— What if he… I'm afraid that—
Before she could finish the thought, Uzi's reflection flickered, appearing a shimmering, glitching blue. It lasted only for a fraction of a second, but she flinched away from it all the same.
[He will. Be. Afraid. Of you.] the thing speaking in Cyn's voice said, its “head” darting to hang over one shoulder to the next as it spoke.
Uzi closed her eyes, camera lenses embedded beneath her visor shuttering. She hated how it did that, knowing exactly what she was thinking and when to play upon those thoughts. She didn’t know which possibility frightened her more: that the thing could literally read her mind or that it was just that good at reading people and always knew exactly the worst thing it could say to them.
I hate this. It sucks. Uzi wanted to cry, but she couldn’t even bring herself to do that. She hated feeling like this. Scared. Vulnerable. Pathetic. Weak. She needed help, she knew it, but…
Why was it so hard?
A knock sounded on her door, soft and quick. Uzi nearly jumped at the sound, whirling around in surprise and—
Through the small window in her door, Uzi saw N, or at least his upper torso and the bottom of his chin. He was too damned tall, the window’s position at head height for normal working, meaning his face was cut off from view. Despite this, the wonderful idiot hadn’t even considered stooping to look in, instead just waving, oblivious to the fact that most of the gesture was likewise obscured by the window’s height relative to his.
Uzi groaned. She thought she’d had more time to figure this out. Make up her damned mind about telling him or get her crap together enough to make it through their biweekly anime binge party without looking like some lame, emotional wreck. Now we have seconds to sort this out. As long as it took to cross the room and let him in.
You can do this. Just tell him— Uzi started to tell herself.
—No! That's lame, and he'll think you're dumb, she countered, trying to bury the thought as she felt the feeling of fear and shame grow.
N will understand, though. He will… right? Uzi argued weakly. He, like, cares about me and… he wouldn't leave because of this. …Would he? I…
What if Cyn is right? Uzi thought, at last putting the greatest fear into words. That was what scared her most, wasn't it? That if she told N, he'd hate her. She'd lose the best thing that ever happened to her.
Uzi ran out of time. She reached the door. She hesitated, trying to give herself a few more seconds. Then her body moved on autopilot, pressing a button on the control pad next to it. There was a soft beep followed by a sound halfway between a hiss and a swoosh as the door slid open, revealing the full form of her boyfriend.
N was smiling, which, along with the simple, blank eyes displayed on his visor, made him appear to the world to not have a single care or thought going through his head. The fact that he kept waving for several seconds like nothing had changed certainly did nothing to dispel that appearance. The dolt. In other circumstances, Uzi knew this would have genuinely made her smile.
She settled for a forced one instead, trying her best to appear normal. Like nothing was wrong.
“Uzi!” N exclaimed, at last registering her presence. “Are you ready to watch more—”
N stopped mid-sentence, his smile faltering. Uzi swore inwardly, knowing what this meant and her complete failure to put up a half-convincing facade.
“Uzi, are you good? You're looking kinda rough, buddy,” N asked, frowning now. He was peering at her, tilting his head to one side quizzically.
“Hah! Me? Good? Did you forget? I'm a damaged OC! I’m better than good!” trying to give out a cackle to express that there was absolutely nothing wrong with her. She winced, catching just how nervous the laugh had been. Totally not the insane edgelord laugh she’d intended. Robo-christ, please may N not notice.
"I was just busy staying up all night watching anime and playing video games and stuff!” she continued, doing her best not to draw attention to the subpar laugh. “So there's—"
[He. Will leave. You,] Cyn intoned.
Uzi jumped, recoiling at the voice. It took a single panicked instant before she realized the voice had only sounded inside her head this time. N didn't hear it.
“I'll try to get some sleep tonight, I promise,” Uzi continued, speaking far too quickly in her haste to cover Cyn's interruption. “So, about that anime, huh? I've got a couple of ideas for what we could watch next and—”
“Uzi,” N interrupted.
Uzi froze, staring back at him, seeing the concerned look he’d worn before had become one of full blown worry now. He'd seen right through her. Of course, he had.
“You aren't acting like you're alright, Uzi,” N said. His eyes were soft and gentle. He slowly extended a hand. “You want to tell me what's the matter?”
“I— No! It's fine and—” Uzi whirled away, swatting away his hand. “I'm fine, really! Nothing's the matter! And uh, bite me..”
That was the weakest 'bite me' that she had ever uttered, and Uzi knew it. No way in robot-hell would he miss that. He certainly wasn’t going to stop pushing now.
She felt N's hand brush against her arm, causing her to involuntarily recoil further away.
“Come on, Uzi. Something's definitely the matter. You've been acting weird for a while now. You can tell me,” N continued. She felt his hand again touch her shoulder. This time, she didn’t withdraw.
“I…” for just a moment, Uzi tried to tell him. She really did. Only to again hear Cyn's voice in her head.
“He will. Leave. You.”
She didn’t know if she was just imagining it or if Cyn had really spoken once more. Either way, the effect was the same: her resolve broke, and falling to the same crashing wave of doubts and self-loathing every prior attempt had.
“I can't— It’s stupid and— I just can't, okay!”
For a moment, there was silence. Then N spoke again, his voice oddly calm for all the worry still carried in it. “Alright, I didn’t want to resort to this, but…you leave me no choice.”
Before Uzi could respond, hands seized her, N scooping her up into his arms. “Up we go!” N said, giggling even as Uzi yelped in surprise.
A temperature warning popped up in Uzi’s visor, and she hid herself with her hands while N turned and carried her back into her room. He shut the door behind him before marching over to Uzi's bed. He plopped her down on one end, pausing before hopping up to join her, kneeling at the end opposite her.
“I'mnotachild,” Uzi grumbled, jumbling the words together with her mumbling. It was so embarrassing being carried like that. She pushed herself up into a sitting position, hugging her legs against her chest.
“I know you aren't. Just figured you'd probably want some privacy. You know, before you'd be willing to talk,” N told her. “Now, let's try this again. You want to tell me what's going on?”
Uzi said nothing. She really wanted to. But it was hard. She was scared and… this really did suck.
“Please? I'm really worried about you. I've noticed you acting strangely for a while now, but I didn’t say anything since I wanted to wait ‘til you were ready to tell me what's bothering you,” N continued. “But… you need to talk about it. You won't feel any better unless you do.”
“I…” Uzi swallowed. She felt her hands begin to tremble, forcing her to grip her legs to steady them. “Just swear. Promise you won't leave me.”
“Uzi, I’d never leave you,” N assured her. His visor displayed sorrowful eyes, seeing just how badly she was struggling right now. “Whatever's going on, we can figure it out together. You can trust me.”
Uzi nodded stiffly. Another elevated core temperature warning flashed. She closed her eyes, sucking in a deep breath, hoping the increased airflow would mitigate the issue. She really didn't want to have to drink oil right now. Anything to avoid feeling like the gross monster the Solver had made her.
You can do this. Just like, tell him. You have to, and… you should just get it over with, she told herself. Another slow breath. Then another. Then she willed herself to begin.
“So you know like… how we beat Cyn? How I ate her and stuff?” Uzi asked, hesitantly, the words feeling thick as she forced them out one after another.
“Yeah. I couldn't see anything after you two went into the black hole thing. But you ate her core, right? That's what gave you your cool ‘damaged OC eyes’,” N confirmed. He paused, his expression becoming pensive, evidently trying to work out what the problem was. “But she's gone, right? We won… didn't we?”
“Well, I…” Uzi stared down at her hands, her fingers trembling just ever so slightly. For just a moment, her form seemed to flicker, perceiving herself as a fading hologram of a drone overlaid over a mass of fleshy tendrils, far too many limbs, and writhing metal. She recoiled even as the vision snapped back to normal. She glanced towards N, expecting to turn to see him staring at her with some look of fear or revulsion. Instead, she was greeted only with a concerned, worried expression. As if the only thing he'd noticed was her behavior in the moment. He hadn't seen anything else.
Is it just all in my head? Uzi wondered, glancing back at her still normal appearing hands. She didn't know what was real anymore, if she was even real. Was she even still her? Was she just some thing like Cyn now? Or was this just another trick from Cyn, the Solver, to torment her?
“Uzi,” N said gently. He reached out, taking her hand in his. “If you're scared, I understand. I know it's hard, but I can't help if you don't tell me what it is.”
Uzi nodded slowly. She squeezed his hand back, focusing on the sensation. The feeling of her hand in his, how real it felt. She was still her; this was all still real.
“After I… ate her, I guess… it turns out Cyn didn't die exactly. When I ate her core, I ate her too. It's all inside me now. She's—”
[Surprise. It's me. I'm still here. Giggle] Cyn announced, her words emanating from the head of Uzi's tail as it lurched between them and whirled to regard N. While incapable of doing so due to its limited articulation, Uzi swore the thing was smirking. [Hi. Big brother. N. Did you? Miss me? It's been fun. Tormenting your. Girlfriend. Gross. But now we can. Finally. Talk. Smug expression.]
Uzi winced, panic overtaking her once more. This was the worst possible way to tell him: of course, Cyn would choose now to announce her present. Thanks, Cyn… I didn’t even get to explain…
A sensation, something like laughter, filled her mind, alien to her own thoughts. Uzi didn’t have to guess where it was coming from
Despite her fear, Uzi forced herself to glance towards N. The disassembly drone was staring at her tail, his displayed eyes wide and hollow with shock. For that single instant, Uzi knew what that look foretold: any moment now he'd reject her, push her away in disgust. Like she deserved.
Yet when his eyes turned to her, she wasn’t greeted with the fear or revulsion she'd expected, but a gentle, worried expression that nearly made her core glitch. She could just make out her own expression in his visor's reflection: wide eyes wavering with held back tears and a look of truly pathetic terror on her face.
He's gonna hate me— Or be afraid of me or something! Uzi thought, wishing then she could curl in on herself and vanish. The thing that ruined his life and tortured him is inside me. I'll probably become a gross monster too, just like her and—
Uzi tried to cover her face with her hands, managing only to raise one as N held fast to the other, fingers still intertwined with his. She didn’t want him to see her like this. A pathetic emotional wreck with all these dumb, stupid feelings.
“How long has she been, well, inside?” N asked softly. With his free hand, he gently took hold of the arm she'd thrown up over her face, tugging it down so she could look at him. Uzi didn't resist, meeting N's gaze. He was smiling, the kind of soft, gentle smile that said, “It's alright.” Robo-god wished she could believe that. She didn’t feel alright.
“I dunno. About a week. Since she started talking,” Uzi managed, sniffling as she tried her best not to cry like some lame loser who… cried. Shut up. It took another moment to collect herself to continue, at least without sobbing. “I don't know if she was there the whole time or—”
[I waited. I wanted to. Let. Her think I. Was. Really. Gone. Before surprise. Exclamation. I'm here. In your head. And tail. Get pranked upon. Mischievous giggle], Cyn interrupted yet again
Guess that answers that, the little eldritch bitc— Uzi felt the sudden urge to lash out at the thing, to cut off the thing and silence it. But she'd already tried that. All it'd accomplish is cause her pain in the moment before it just grew back.
N shot the tail, Cyn or whatever it was, an angry glare. This only seemed to delight the thing, a holographic popup displaying a stylized laughing emoji of Cyn as she'd appeared before, wearing Tessa's skin. For just an instant, N’s expression turned to something between anger and disgust. However, he quickly reigned in that reaction, offering instead only one last warning look before ignoring Cyn and turning his attention back to Uzi.
Again, there was no fear or revulsion on his face. Instead, N only continued to smile gently. “You should have told me. I could have helped.”
“So you aren't— you aren't, like, mad at me?” Uzi asked. She choked back another sob, shaking her head.
“Oh, no, I am definitely mad. But like, mad that you let yourself suffer alone like this,” N answered. “It upsets me when you're upset, and you don't let me help. I am always here for you, you know that, right?”
Uzi nodded, though still hunched over where she sat on the floor, fighting every urge to curl further in on herself. It took several moments to work up the ability to speak again. It took every ounce of will she had to wrestle with these stupid feelings tearing her up inside and force them into actual words that wouldn't embarrass her.
Good luck with that. I already made myself look like a weird, lame crybaby, weird, weirdo.
“I…” she managed at last, her voice barely above a whisper, “I was afraid. Afraid you'd hate me or something. Or that you'd be scared of me and— I'm really scared too. I… I think I'm in control for now, but… What if she, like, possesses be again and stuff? I’ll just hurt everyone again, and— I’m scared. What if I’m not strong enough and—”
N squeezed her hand tighter as her voice faltered. He nodded reassuringly, encouraging her to continue.
“I guess… I was so scared I just thought… It’s stupid! I'm a mess, and you aren't even scared of me like I was all being dumb and worried about!”
“If it helps any, I am definitely kinda really scared,” N laughed. There was something definitely nervous in that sound, and Uzi didn't miss the worried glance towards her tail, which was now watching the two of them intently. Dumb thing still managed to look downright pleased with itself. The sadistic freak.
“But…” N continued, his eyes darting back to Uzi, “I'd never be frightened of you. I'm terrified for you, and Cyn being still around is very super scary. But we can figure this out. Together.”
Uzi blinked. She sniffled, tears beginning to display in her eyes in defiance of her commands to regain proper edge levels. I'm so stupid, and dumb, and— I'm such a mess and— Why does he put up with me like this? I don't deserve this, and— She choked back another sob, a tremor running through her as she fought back the tides of emotions she did everything to keep bottled up.
Against every protest and command she gave it, Uzi’s body moved on its own. She threw herself onto N, eliciting a surprised “Woah” from the disassembly drone. She wrapped her arms around his midsection and buried her head into his chest, clinging to him like her life depended on it. Maybe it did. Stupid as it was, he was her anchor, and that made the fear gripping her feel far less strangling.
Carefully, N returned the embrace, holding her close. It always struck Uzi how gentle the disassembly drone was with her. She’s seen him hold open industrial strength doors and tear worker drones apart with ease, yet whenever he holds her, she feels none of the threat he undoubtedly possesses. It was only in how careful N was with her that Uzi was reminded of how much the sweet, dumb boy was always trying not to inadvertently harm her. But Uzi knew he didn’t need to try so hard. For as deadly as the body Cyn had forced upon him was, at N’s core, he was the kind and caring drone he’d always been before all that. That was who he was.
“As for Cyn, there’s no reason to worry about her going all demonic possession again,” N assured her, continuing where he’d left off in comforting her fears. “You're the strongest, coolest drone I’ve ever met. The Uzi I know will never let herself be controlled again.”
Uzi blinked, her visor displaying flowing tears now. She nodded against N’s chest, pressing her face against the soft fabric of his coat. She wished she could thank him aloud, to convey just how much his faith in her meant so damned much. But her stupid brain refused to form those words. She hated how embarrassing it was for her: the whole being open with her dumb, sappy feeling. She wished it didn’t. N deserved so much love and to know how much she needed that, especially right now.
But maybe she didn’t need to say it. N always seemed to know how she felt. He probably already knew.
[Ew. Gross. Yuck. Get a. Room. You two. Eye roll], Cyn chided.
Uzi knew what it was doing. It was trying to embarrass her. It kind of worked, Uzi feeling her face burn as her internal temperature shot up several degrees. Her display was probably showing a blush alongside the tears or something mortifying like that, too. But she didn’t care. Edge be damned. Right now she needs N. To be close to the one drone who wants to be with her. The only one who, despite everything, never left her.
Uzi looked up, seeing another flash of anger on N’s face as he shot another glare towards Cyn. Before the thing could respond, his wings emerged from the openings in his back, unfurling to their full length before gingerly wrapping them forward to engulf both himself and Uzi. The bladed feathers intertwined, providing a barrier between the two of them and Cyn’s.
It was a symbolic gesture: Cyn was still there. Still bound to Uzi and inside her, even if the tail was blocked out. But the message it sent, that Cyn wasn’t welcome, that was worth it.
"It's okay, I'm still here," N assured her softly. "I'm not going to leave you."
[Yawn. I see Big Brother. N. Still. Won’t. Talk to me. Must still have feelings. Hurt. Sad], Cyn sneered. [Ignore me if. You. Want. Just remember. I am. Still. Here.]
Uzi did her best to ignore her. N did the same. For several long moments, they stayed like that, taking comfort in each other's presence.
“So, how're we doing, buddy? Better?” N inquired after a while, lifting his head from where he'd been resting it against Uzi's forehead.
“Mhm, think so…,” Uzi mumbled. She didn’t loosen her hold on him. Not yet, at any rate. For a long while, she just wanted to be there. It felt nice. Thankfully, N seemed to understand her intention as well, since he made no move to end his embrace, his larger frame remaining wrapped around her.
“N?” she asked after another moment.
“Yeah?”
“Am I… I'm still real, right? Like does it still feel like it's, like, me… here… with you?”
A second passed without an answer. Then another. After the third Uzi lifted her head to see N regarding her with a confused expression. As she met his gaze, he quickly flashed a question mark across his display.
“It's… It's stupid. I know it's…” Uzi groaned, cursing herself inwardly. Just explain to him, you idiot. You can do this.
N just smiled gently, his expression patient.
Stupid understanding dumb boyfriend. Making me feel even worse about how freakin’ terrible I am at all this dumb crap…
“It's just… ever since Cyn started talking to me, I've been seeing things. Like my body is a hologram and the real me is— I dunno, like what J turned into. Or like what Cyn was in your memories.” Uzi shook her head, trying to rid the sight from her memory banks. “I know it's, like, she's just messing with me or something… but I still don't…”
Again, N was silent for another moment. Then he untangled his arms from around her, reaching down to cup Uzi's head in his hands, gently lifting her chin to look him in the eyes.
“Uzi, do you know what I feel right now? I feel the cute little worker drone hugging me like she'd been for the past ten minutes,” he told her.
“Iamnotcute. Stop, it's embarrassing,” Uzi grumbled quickly under her breath. She was blushing once again, and she hated it.
N, heedless of her complaints, continued onward. He let his hands drift down from her head to her shoulders, letting them come to rest. “—and here, I feel a drone wearing a cute hoodie… oops, sorry, dark, brooding hoodie that only cool people wear,” he quickly corrected at the indignant huff she gave him.
Next, N moved his hands down to her arms, then gently down her torso to her waist. “And no extra limbs, just two normal arms…”
Finally, N dragged his tail just above the floor, tracing a tight half circle behind her, showing that only empty space surrounded what he perceived as her. “—and no spooky holo-worm! Just my cool girlfriend.”
Uzi said nothing. It was comforting, knowing that at least he was seeing and feeling the same thing she was. That should have been the end of it, but despite everything both N and her own senses were telling her was true, the doubt gnawing at the edge of her mind refused to vanish. It was stupid, irrational. In defiance of logic. But the thought remained all the same: what if this is still a trick? What if I am that thing?
N paused, gazing at her intently. He seemed to read something of what she was thinking and trying to work out what to do or say. Then his expression blanked, followed by a big goofy smile. “And finally…” he announced, trailing off as his smile morphed into a grin.
N did the last thing Uzi ever expected. He leaned in, quicker than she could react, opened his mouth, and— He licked her! Right up the side of her face from chin to the edge of her visor. “—Yep, still normal! Tastes like a regular drone to me!” N giggled.
“Ew! Gross, get away!” Uzi yelped, arms flailing as she shoved the disassembly drone. N retracted his wings, allowing her space to scramble back. “What was that for, weirdo?! You licked me! That's so gross and— aaaahhh!” She frantically wiped at her face, trying to remove the saliva still coating her cheek.
“To distract you from being all worried about stuff,” N said simply, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He inclined his head, the dumb blank expression returning. “Is it working?”
“No! Well, yes, but like— Aaaaahhh! It's still gross and stuff and— Don't do that, okay!” Uzi stammered. She didn’t know what embarrassed her more: the act itself or the fact that the stupid plan had actually worked.
“So, how are we feeling now?” N asked after a moment, giving Uzi a chance to collect herself a bit.
“Littlebetter,” Uzi mumbled quickly, the words bleeding together in a barely intelligible jumble. She huffed, crossing her arms
“What was that?”
“A little better,” Uzi said louder, giving another indignant huff.
“Happy to hear it!” N chimed cheerfully. “So, do I get a thank you or…”
“Bite me!”
“Worth a shot.” N laughed.
Another moment of silence. Uzi tried really hard to hang on to her anger, but found it impossible with N. As embarrassing as he'd just been, he was, like, trying really hard to cheer her up and stuff. That meant a lot, enough to hamper all attempts to restore her edge levels.
“N, I—” Uzi started to say.
[As cute. And. Gross. As this has. Been. I must. Remind you. That I am. Here. You cannot. Get rid. Of. Me. Evil laugh.] With that final remark, Cyn withdrew, the tail retracting back into Uzi's body.
Uzi winced, both at the odd itching sensation of flesh being reabsorbed into her otherwise metal body and at the entity's words.
“We’ll figure it out,” N assured her.
“I guess…” Uzi said. She reached out, taking N’s hand of her own volition this time. He squeezed gently in response. “You really think she won’t be able to, like, control me again?”
“Well, you did eat her,” N said. “If that's not asserting dominance, I don't know what is.”
Uzi laughed. It wasn’t a fully happy one, but it was at least something that she could laugh at. “I did, didn't I? I "fatality"ed and ate an eldritch god. That's pretty badass, huh? You're all lucky I'm not making you call me ‘Uzi the God Eater’. Which I totally deserve by the way.”
“I know, right? No way the ‘God Eater’ would lose control,” N agreed, eliciting a snicker from the emphasis on her self-proclaimed title. He smiled, tilting his head, expression almost thoughtful now. Or at least as thoughtful as N ever managed to look. “Don't let Cyn get to you. I… know how much she enjoys hurting people. If she could do more than play games like this, I am pretty sure she would.”
Uzi nodded. “When did you get all smart?”
N laughed. “Not sure I'd go that far. But hey, if that means I've helped, I won't argue!”
“Of course you helped, you big doofus. Thanks, N. For helping and… stuff,” Uzi admitted. Despite her attempts to remain cool, Uzi realized she was blushing. N definitely noticed. Happy, excited eyes showed on his visor as he gave her the big, dumb, goofy grin he always did whenever she did something “cute” and lame like that.
“You saw nothing! Bite me!” She snapped, swatting at his arm playfully.
“So… anime night?” N asked, his stupid smile unabated by her reaction.
Uzi knew what N was doing. He knew that right now the best thing she could do was distract herself for a bit and not think about Cyn, even if only for a while. It wasn’t a bad idea, not that any of N's ideas were. All this emotional intelligence crap always came naturally to him.
Besides, he was right. She could use some mindless shonen to distract from all this crap with her uninvited head-mate.
“Hell yeah. Let's do this,” Uzi said, snatching up the remote. She settled down at the end of the bed, N scrambling to take up her usual place on her left. He draped his free arm around her shoulders. He smiled at her, giving her hand another gentle squeeze.
Uzi was still scared about Cyn and all the crap having that thing in her head entailed. But N was right. They'd figure it out together like they always did. That, at least, made it a whole lot less scary.
But right now, they had some dumb, brainless anime to watch.