Work Text:
“I just don't … I don't understand,” Megaman said, trying to wrap his mind around the social rules.
“Which part is tripping you up?” Roll asked patiently. She often had to explain social situations to Mega, which could be amusing or thought-provoking, but also frustrating because she often found them just as baffling as he did. She'd just lived with them longer.
“Why was I invited, but you weren't? You've known Ben longer than I have, and you're closer to him,” Mega reasoned.
Roll shrugged. “It's a bachelor party. It's usually just the men,” she explained.
Megaman wanted to accept her explanation, but it still didn’t make sense.
“But Kai is going. They’re not a man, they're non-binary,” Mega replied.
“I know, but they’re Ben’s buddy,” Roll answered, knowing that there was no way this would be the end of the discussion.
“So are you,” Megaman pointed out. “And I don’t really get what gender has to do with it.”
“Pretty much nothing, at least for this type of bachelor party,” Roll admitted, “but I didn’t make up the guest list. You are putting way more thought into it than Ben did. Trust me.”
Megaman knew she was right about that. Ben was a good guy, and he’d been a strong leader during the revolution, but he was more of a big-picture guy. He didn’t always give a lot of thought to details or the implications of social trappings.
Mega went quiet.
“It’s still bothering you, isn’t it, love?” Roll asked, putting her hand over his.
“A little bit, but I'll be okay. I'm just sorry you'll miss the party,” Mega said.
“I'm not missing much,” Roll said, shrugging. “It's just going to be drinking beer, eating snacks, and talking.”
“I can only do one of those things.”
Roll laughed. “Yeah, but it's the important one. Ben just wants to celebrate with his friends. And sometimes it's just easier to talk openly when most of the guests are the same gender.”
Megaman still didn't really follow. He didn't find men any easier to talk to than women, although he also acknowledged that his relationship with his own gender was pretty shallow. Light had called him a man, referred to him as he and him, and his proportions were very masculine coded. All of that was fine, and Megaman felt comfortable with it, but he wasn't all that attached to any of it either.
He looked at Roll again, still feeling a little lost.
“Sorry, Mega, that's all I've got. Humans are, well, human,” Roll said, shrugging.
Megaman climbed the stairs of Ben's building, a case of beer in hand. Mega knew nothing about beer, and he couldn't drink it, but he knew this was Ben's favorite. The building had fourteen stories, and it felt a little nostalgic to climb a tall, winding staircase as he had done hundreds of times when he and his father lived twenty floors above the dark streets of the city.
When he stepped out onto the roof, he saw Ben, Carlos, and a couple other people he didn't recognize. Presumably close friends of Ben's.
“Hey, Megaman, glad you could make it!” Ben shouted, coming towards the door to greet him. “You did not have to bring beer! You can't even have any, can you?”
Mega smiled and shook his head. Even though he couldn't eat or drink, he rarely showed up anywhere empty-handed. Megaman had once been envious that humans could eat food and drink. They certainly seemed to enjoy it. But once he and Roll started spending time together, he saw how much time, energy, and money went into planning, preparing, and eating meals, and then how frequently people had to use the bathroom, and the envy began to fade.
“Congratulations, Ben! Just a couple weeks till the wedding. Are you getting excited?” Mega asked.
“Oh yeah,” Ben replied enthusiastically. “It's not really going to change much. Julia and I have been together for so long. But it'll be nice to make things official. And I feel like we owe it to Sophie,” he said, referring to their young daughter.
Julia had found out she was pregnant shortly before the final battle for the city. She stayed off the front lines but provided support however she could, in between bouts of morning sickness. Ben fought for the city, but he also fought to give his child a chance at a better life.
He had opened up to Mega once about how terrifying it was to find out he was going to be a father, especially at such a dangerous and pivotal time. But fatherhood suited him, and he now couldn't imagine life without his little girl.
“Well, I'm very happy for you,” Mega said.
Ben took the case of beer and started moving the cans into a cooler that was already full of ice and an assortment of drinks. Mega walked over to join Carlos and the others who were chatting.
Soon, all the guests had shown up, and the group had pulled chairs into a rough circle to chat. Several of them, including Ben, were a few beers in, which made the chatter rather lively and silly. A rather disjointed selection of rock and pop songs played over a speaker, but not loud enough to impair the conversation.
Mega struggled to follow some of it. For all the innuendo and slang Roll and Carlos had taught him, he still wasn't familiar with many of the words being thrown around. And sometimes they said phrases that seemed mundane, but said them with heavily suggestive tones, or while waggling their eyebrows, or with a tacked on, “if you know what I mean.” Mega didn't really know what they meant, but he suspected that it usually had something to do with sex or genitals. Or occasionally illicit substances. But mostly, sex. Humans were weird about sex. It seemed to be a favorite topic of conversation, but it was usually discussed through indirect references, innuendo, and jokes.
Discussion also turned to sports and other competitions, none of which were things that Mega followed. He found himself idly listening or starting side conversations with Carlos and Kai who sat to either side of him.
Eventually, conversation turned to the wedding and to relationships. Mega had a rough idea what weddings were about: declaring commitment and formalizing legal protections and agreements between two people. It was also a good excuse for a party and a nice way to celebrate love, for those who were so inclined.
Ben and Julia were planning a pretty informal celebration at the community center that Mega had once called home. Mega and Roll were both invited and planning to attend. This would be Mega's first time attending a wedding.
“So, are all the preparations done? Everything all ready to go?” one of Ben's friends asked.
“Almost. Julia and I went over her checklist yesterday, and I think we're in good shape. I'm running around town picking things up from some of our vendors tomorrow, so don't let me drink enough to end up with a hangover,” Ben said with a chuckle.
“No promises!” said one of his buddies, which was met by laughter from the group.
“Well, congratulations. Marriage is pretty great if you've found the right person. And you and Julia and Sophie seem like a really happy family,” said one of Ben's friends who wore a wedding ring.
“Thanks, I couldn't be happier,” said Ben, and the smile on his face provided pretty strong evidence for it. “What about you, Carlos? You and Eric have been together for a while now. Think you'll tie the knot?”
“I don't know. Maybe. He's pretty great, but I don't know if we're there yet.”
“You should have brought him tonight,” said Kai. “Dude is hilarious.”
“Nah, I wasn't going to be the only one to bring a partner,” Carlos responded. “What about you, Mega? How is living with Roll? I never thought I'd see the day she'd move in with someone. I guess it's for the best that she fell for the one person who could survive her fury.”
Mega laughed. Carlos had known Roll long enough to joke about her like that. Roll was definitely a force of nature, and she had been pretty skittish about relationship stuff.
“It's been good. I like sharing a home with her. She's very easy to live with.”
Carlos and Kai exchanged looks. They'd both lived with Roll for short periods of time while on the run from Wily's robots.
“Easy to live with is not a description I would use,” said Kai.
“Did you move her things or bug her while she was trying to focus?” Mega asked, pointedly.
The impish grins Kai and Carlos exchanged told Mega everything he needed to know.
“Well, there you go. It probably also helps that the city isn't a warzone anymore. She’s a lot calmer than she was two years ago. But she's really great,” Mega said, suddenly looking dreamy and content.
“Do I hear wedding bells?” asked Ben.
Mega listened for a moment. “No, I don't hear any.” Then he realized what Ben was trying to imply. “Oh, I don't think so. Roll and I have never talked about it. I don't know if she has any interest, and I don't even know if I'm legally recognized as a person who can get married.”
Everyone got a little quiet as they considered all the implications of that. Everyone there had been involved with the resistance, so they’d all had some experience with being classed as non-persons before, but at least they were all in it together. Some of them had also been impacted by bigotry for their race, gender identity, and sexual orientation, but each of them had a community to turn to. Mega was alone, the only person dealing with his particular flavor of discrimination.
“Dude, that sucks,” Kai said, compassionately.
Mega shrugged. “Thanks, but it’s okay. But that’s enough about me. We’re supposed to be celebrating Ben.”
Everyone was thankful for his redirect. The friends close to him made sure to file away what he’d revealed so they could check in on him later, but he was right. This was a party, and it was supposed to be about Ben.
Conversation returned to more lighthearted topics. Ben spent a while telling stories about Sophie. She was about to turn two, and had recently figured out that she could wear her blankie like a cape over her shoulders. Now she wanted to wear her cape everywhere she went. The other guests with kids had stories of their own. Mega listened to the stories with wonder.
Human childhood was so different from his own youth. He’d been built almost fully formed. He’d since had many upgrades and heavier armor installed, but ultimately, he wasn’t so different from his own first iteration. Humans started out as tiny, delicate, helpless creatures, and it took years for them to reach any sort of independence. And to see the love in Ben’s eyes when he talked about his little girl was both beautiful and heartbreaking. Light had loved Mega, there was no doubt about that, but that love had been different from what he saw in Ben as he talked about Sophie.
The group talked long into the night, laughing, reminiscing, and discussing their hopes for what lay ahead. It was finally time to call it a night when the group couldn’t go more than a minute without someone yawning. Mega checked to see if anyone needed to be carried home, but most of them had sobered up, content to chat without needing to drink. He wished Ben well, and made sure to tell him how lucky Sophie was to have him as a dad.
He made his way home to Roll. He knew she would be asleep by now, and Rush would be curled up at the foot of their bed. They’d gotten settled into their new place quickly. Other than a few mild disagreements about where to put furniture, their move had been straightforward and easy. For all of the struggles they had faced at the start of their relationship, he and Roll were good for each other.
Mega undressed and crawled into bed. Roll stirred.
“Hey, Mega. Did you have a nice time at the party?” she asked sleepily.
“Yeah, I did. Ben wanted me to tell you hi. And Kai wanted me to tell you that they’re sorry for messing with your things.”
“Huh?” Roll asked, confused. She wasn’t sure if Mega had said something strange, or if she was just too sleepy to understand.
Mega chuckled. Roll was cute when she was this sleepy. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll explain in the morning.”
She smiled and settled in against his chest.
“Sleep tight, love,” she said.
Mega kissed her gently on the temple.
“Sleep well, Roll.”