Work Text:
Hummer was a strange person.
He wasn’t quite sure how much of a man he was and how much of a robot, but either way he was somehow incredibly smart and an absolute idiot at the same. It was almost cute in a way.
Usually.
“Hummer, are you okay?”
Usually when they were doing one of their underwater voyages the other would be going on and on about Levi, how much you had to believe and how close they were to finding him.
“Hummer please respond.”
Or he’d be spouting random fish facts.
“Hummer, where are you?”
Now he was starting to panic. He couldn’t lose his friend, he couldn’t lose Hummer.
“Humm—”
“Wi— fi— fi— fi— fies.” The static sound glitched over their comms, along with the ping of a location being sent to him.
Wifies had never moved quicker in his life, the threat of his friends' life motivation like no other.
After a moment of desperate searching he found a sunken mass on the ocean floor. Moving quickly he wrapped his arms under Hummer's limp ones, pulling him close. Wifies searched through his inventory, knowing he had to have something useful, anything that could help him save his friend. Finding solace, he moved for the splash potion of water breathing, throwing it over the two of them. There was no visible change to Hummer, his screen still completely blanked out, but it allowed Wifies to take a deep breath to try to calm down.
“Hummer, you are not allowed to die, do you understand me!?” Wifies shook Hummer’s shoulders, but his head just dropped back lifeless. “Please don’t die, Hummer, please.”
Noticing something poking out of Hummer's pocket, Wifies let out a sigh of relief. The android had featherfalling, which would make him lighter and easier to move.
Wifies didn’t let himself pause until he at least had Hummer up onto the shore, dragging his friend across the pale beach until his arms gave out. He slumped down onto the rough sand, reaching to turn the man onto his side.
“C’mon, Hummer, wake up!” He lightly rapped on the TV head, only to freeze at the sound of sloshing inside. “Oh you have got to be kidding me, there's no way right? You swore you were waterproof!”
Gently he pressed his ear to the back of Hummer’s head,shaking him as carefully as possible to try and gauge how much water had invaded his system.
“Oh shit, that cannot be good.” Wifies’s hands hovered over his friend, shaking as he thought about how much damage the water could cause. “I’m taking you inside, I can try to fix you there. But I gotta get some of this water out of you now, so sorry about this.”
He carefully grabbed his pocketknife, pressing the blade between Hummer’s screws. As he removed each one, he would make sure to put them in his pocket, where they would be safe till it was time to redo them. Wifies lifted the back panel off of Hummer's head, letting out a fierce rush of water onto the beach. He turned his friend gently, trying to drain as much water as he could. As more water came out the fear surrounding his heart squeezed tighter, no one could survive this, least of all someone who was part machine.
~~~
It took a long time to get Hummer back to the house, as the potion effect was wearing off and his arms were growing weary. Wifies wasn’t going to give up on his friend, he wasn’t going to just leave him behind, but night was falling and he couldn’t leave Hummer outside.
Wifies moved Hummer into the lounge, placing as many blankets under his head as possible. He sat his friend upright, bracing him carefully against himself and some pillows. Reopening the back panel once more Wifies got a proper look at what he was dealing with. There was corrosion everywhere, Hummer’s wires were practically falling apart as they were haphazardly splayed everywhere.
“Okay, first things first, let’s clean you up.” He took a deep breath, steeling his nerves as he got to work.
As the moon slowly began to creep upwards Wifies moved from wiping the last spots of moisture with a cloth, to gently scrubbing rust out of his circuits. He moved as delicately as possible, wanting to salvage as much of Hummer's original wiring in order to not ruin anything in the fixing process. There were a few cables that were beyond repair, making Wifies’ pulse quicken.
“Sorry about this Hummer,” Wifies gently shifted out from supporting the TV head. Quickly slipping down the hallway into Hummer’s room. “Damn, this is a mess.”
He gingerly stepped over the random maps and books strewn across the floor, moving towards the drawers. Wifies found an array of random objects, from miniature wood carvings to books detailing every animal in the ocean. At one point he found a strange looking object, like a heart of the sea that Wifies knew he shouldn’t touch. Finally, he found a box labeled spare parts in Hummer’s closet.
“Okay Hummer,” he slipped back into his spot behind his friend, pulling his head onto his lap. “I got your box of spare parts, I know a little about engineering, but nowhere near enough about you, so that’s fun.”
He gently tugged the broken wires out, replacing one with as similar a cord he could find before moving onto the next. A few sparked at his fingers, but Wifies didn’t waver, he needed to ensure his friend would survive.
After what felt like too long, he was screwing the panel back into place, eyes fuzzing out at the edges. His movements slowed, hands shaking as he did his best to breathe deeply, but before he knew it the whole world had gone dark.
~~~
Wifies’ head blurred, for a second he thought he heard his name, hummed softly paired with the sound of gentle static. He felt warm, but then the comfort tried to leave, so he latched on and pulled it close to his heart.
~~~
When he woke he was in a panic. How long had he been unconscious? Did Hummer wake up? Was he okay? What—
Where was he?
Wifies blinked, moving to sit upright, but a groan followed by the arms cradling his head tightening stopped him in his tracks. Wifies’ eyes widened, but something kept him from spiraling too much. It was weird, he felt safe. He looked up carefully, coming face to face with a box TV. Before he had a moment to think the low buzz of Hummer waking up sounded and Wifies slammed his eyes shut, slowing his breathing and heartbeat until he was convincingly ‘asleep’.
“Mmm,” Hummer groaned, his grip tightening around Wifies subconsciously. “Was going on?” The arms clasping him froze, Wifies pillow, Hummer's chest, stuttered slightly. “Oh my Levi it was notadream!?”
Wifies wanted to laugh, the others' reaction striking him as cute, a welcome feeling pooling in his heart. It wasn’t the first time, this had been happening since the moment they met, and he knew it wouldn’t be the last, but in all honesty Wifies didn’t mind.
“What do I even do!?” The hands gracing Wifies’ back were shaking slightly, but he could hear the slightly giddy edge to Hummer’s voice. “There is no way you’d be okay with this, if you were awake—” Wifies frowned, confused “—ust because you fixed me doesn’t mean you actually care, I just—”
Wifies let out a deep sleepy sounding sigh, cutting off Hummer's deprecating monologue.
“Wifies?” Hummer’s voice was high and quiet, like the squeak of a mouse. “Are you awake?”
“Hummer?” He kept up the sleepy act, taking the opportunity to burrow his head further into the other’s chest whilst tugging himself closer. He was feeling a little selfish, so what? “You’re okay? That’s good.”
“Yeah, I— I’m fine!” One of his hands landed cautiously in Wifies’ hair, sinking in a little further further when he let out a content sigh. “Thanks— thanks to you!”
“Good, now go back to sleep,” Wifies’ voice was still slow and dragged out, but inside he was amused, the warmth in his heart having expanded, making him feel calm and safer than he had in a long time. “We don’t need to get up, not yet.”
“Are you— are you sure!?"
“The Leviathan will still be there later,” he let a satisfied smile bleed into his features, tilting his head up into Hummer’s hand as the other began tracing small circles on his back. “Let’s ust sleep, we’ve got everything we need right now.”
“Oh yeah?” Hummer’s voice and comforting motions gained courage, Wifies could feel him slowly shifting back into power off mode. “What… what’s that?”
“Each other.”