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The day was ordinary like any other.
The time was 17:43. The sky was overcast. Temperature was at a remotely comfortable level, based on Guide's observation of the passers-by.
Guide has deigned himself to sit on a random bench and observe, as per usual. Ever since Flood Escape's destruction, he had been wandering endlessly, going wherever he could to search for answers.
Often though, he'd find himself taking little detours here and there, such as this very moment.
When the facility was still up and running, whenever he wasn't busy giving away information to first-time players, he'd always liked observing the visitors. Perhaps he found it interesting how differently other Robloxians had acted.
Even after everything that's happened… the habit stuck with him, even as he found himself increasingly worn out by this unending journey.
Maybe that was a good thing, to have something temporarily drag him out of that fervent need for answers regarding his and the building's abandonment every now and then.
!
Guide was pulled out of his thoughts by the feeling of something damp on his shoulder. And then he felt another.
Rain…?
The weather forecast channels he passed by certainly did warn of rain, but they only talked about a low chance of rainfall for today.
The previously overcast sky has quickly become dark as rain fell at an alarmingly fast pace. This unexpected heavy downpour also caught other Robloxians off-guard, as they used whatever they could to shield themselves from the rain—handbags, coats, whatever else they had on their hands while they searched for the nearest place to shelter themselves.
The weather forecast must've made most of them leave their umbrellas at home. With such low chances, they definitely thought of the umbrella as unnecessary.
Guide was probably the only one that didn't move, even as he quickly became soaked from the heavy rainfall.
He didn't really see the need to. He was a waterproof model, having been built like that so he could serve as much help as possible. He felt no annoyance towards the feel of his soaked clothes sticking to his body. Considering his work environment, he was well familiar with it, even.
Though, with the way people were looking at him… should he move to a sheltered place like them as well? Wouldn't be the first time he's emulated what your average Robloxian did. It's kind of reminding him of those times when it rained and his creator urged him to go inside too. And the way he'd fuss over him just standing there, getting all drenched while drying him off…
…
…God, he really did miss his creator.
But nevermind that.
He really should decide whether to simply stay here or find shelter.
…Granted, he'd probably get booted out the moment he entered a building, but he maybe shouldn't just be sitting here either.
What to do… it's always so confusing, having to decide between doing his own thing or following what the other Robloxians were doing… he didn't mind staying in the rain at all, but the way everyone's scurrying off was making him reconsider…
…
…?
Guide was pulled out of that troublesome conundrum when he suddenly felt the absence of rain pouring down on his body. Looking up, there was a black umbrella shielding him.
His eyes then saw a familiar person.
"…John?"
He could recognize that orange hoodie and unkempt black hair anywhere. Hard not to, considering how he'd seen this person so frequently back then.
Out of all the players at Flood Escape, John was definitely among the regulars. He'd obviously stopped seeing this particular player after the destruction, but to think the two of them would end up meeting again like this…
"What are you doing out here like this?" John would ask, to which… Guide fails to offer a meaningful response.
"…Nevermind that. My home's just nearby. Would you like to come with me?," he continued, offering a hand towards Guide.
…
"Sure…" was Guide's response, taking his hand.
John was quick to pull Guide up, ushering him under the protection of his umbrella as he hurried back to his home, the rain only growing more severe as they went.
It probably wasn't the best idea to immediately trust someone he's only ever seen as a regular at the place he worked for, but Guide was sure John wouldn't be up to anything bad. Plus, if it really came to it, he had ample training in the Gauntlet to defend himself.
In a way… this feels nice, Guide thought to himself as John led him to an apartment complex. It's been quite a long time since he's had any form of companionship.
The two of them didn't exchange words even in their elevator trip up, but John did give him a worried glance at times.
His grip on John's hand tightened slightly.
His hand… it's not too warm. Temperature drop from walking in the rain, perhaps. He had no desire to let go of it, though.
It's nice, he thought to himself once more as his thumb moved to feel his (most definitely) temporary companion's hand.
…
Ding-ding…
"It's our floor," John promptly said as he pulled Guide out of the elevator (and the reverie he was in) to lead him to his unit.
501… 503… 505…
Guide mentally counted the unit numbers as they walked past, before quickly coming to a stop right after the 505.
"We're here."
507… so this was the one John stayed in.
"Make sure to take off your shoes before going in," John told him as he searched his pockets for his keys.
"Ah, there we go…," Guide overheard him muttering to himself as he eventually managed to fish out a small bundle of keys.
Click… click.
"Come in. It's a bit small… hope you don't mind."
"It's fine, you don't have to worry."
Indeed, the interior seemed a bit cramped, like John had warned him about. It's definitely enough for one person to live in, though.
"There's not much to look around… you should hurry before you end up catching a nasty cold."
He got caught staring… he quickly got his shoes off and entered, to which John guided him to the bathroom.
"Take off your clothes. I'll be back with some of mine," John promptly instructed Guide before leaving.
…
The first thing that caught his eye was the bathroom mirror.
Quite the limescale buildup… was his first thought upon seeing it. Maybe John didn't know how to get it off? Or maybe he just thought it wasn't a major problem. Even with the considerable buildup, he could still see his reflection without too much issue. Yes, maybe that.
His second thought was about his reflection. He's really, thoroughly drenched. He could sort of understand why John looked so concerned.
He'd like to look around more, but he thought that he should remove his clothes first, as ordered.
…
The moment he got the last piece of clothing off of him was when the bathroom door reopened.
John was indeed back with some of his clothes, but he looked… rather perplexed, just staring at Guide.
"Is there a problem?" Guide would inquire, just as puzzled. His antennae rose quizzically as well.
"…You're a robot?"
…? Wasn't that pretty obvious? He's even got the signature face markings and antennae on each side of his head…
"Yes…? I'm pretty sure everyone knows that."
…
"…Damn. And here I thought you just got them as like, cool add-ons…," John would then admit, nervously scratching his head.
"But anyways… you're waterproof, right…? Seeing that you stayed in that rain without moving until I approached…"
"Yes."
"Alright, that's good…"
John then fell silent, thinking about something. Guide waited.
"Do you… want to wash up by yourself or do I…"
"Second option."
"I— …I didn't even finish… but sure. I can do that."
And that was how Guide ended up in the showers, sitting on one of those tiny plastic chairs while John used the showerhead to spray water all over him.
"Man, this is making me nervous… I'm honestly a bit scared that you'll end up short-circuiting and electrocute me to death while I'm washing you."
"Would be rather unsuitable for a robot constructed specifically for Flood Escape to not be waterproof, I think."
"You make a good point… doesn't make me any less nervous. I've, like… never washed a robot before."
"It probably shouldn't be much different from washing yourself…"
"That's what I'm hoping for. Shampoo?"
"Go ahead."
The flow of water stopped, later replaced by John lathering shampoo all over his hair. It's got a mint-like smell to it.
"I'm still not sure about this… aren't you scared it might fuck up your hair?"
"Only one way to find out."
"What the… Dude."
"Haha… but really, I'm sure things will turn out fine."
"Well… I'm doing all I can. If this does fuck up your hair it's on you."
"Yeah…"
Honestly he wouldn't even mind it if his hair really did get ruined beyond measure after this. This was comfortable. He found this very, very comfortable of a position to be in.
He's grateful, really. Even though they have barely interacted at all back when Flood Escape was still up, and they've only just seen each other again after so long… John was still so willing to take care of him like that.
Someone was willing to be his company.
He's comfortable and happy.
How he missed those feelings.
How he missed being with someone and not having to worry about what he should be doing next.
"Close your eyes if you haven't already," John suddenly spoke up before he turned on the showerhead once more, washing away the shampoo.
Guide quickly heeded the warning, squeezing his eyes shut.
…
The showerhead's eventually turned off again.
Nothing seemed to happen at first, which prompted Guide to ask.
"What is it?"
That made John realize he might've been stalling.
"Oh, shit, sorry— I'm just thinking of something."
"It's fine," Guide quickly reassured him.
"I was wondering… if I should use soap on your body or just stick to rinsing."
"I'm fine with any option."
"Mmmm… hmmmmm…"
That took some deliberation…
"…I think I'll just stick to rinsing your body."
There wasn't anything particularly notable happening when John helped him dry up. Except for maybe when John used his hairdryer to blow-dry his hair.
John kept muttering about his hopes that all would go well for his hair. Guide wasn't really paying much attention to it.
It somehow took him back to the time when his creator complained about just how loud hairdryers were. His friend wasn't too happy about his creator letting his hair air-dry instead of having it blow-dried, but he shrugged it off.
Every little thing just made him think about his creator.
He really did miss him. He really did want to see him again…
…
"…Oh, damn. Your hair's… pretty fine. Looks roughly the same the last time I saw you before this."
"…Hm."
"Even though I seriously don't have a clue on how to clean you… well, I'm glad things turned out well, at least."
True to John's word, his hair didn't look like it changed much, if at all. That made Guide a little happy.
The clothes John brought to him while his outfit was in the laundry were a plain T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. They looked quite comfortable. Felt pretty comfortable, too.
After all of that was done, he followed John into the living room and rested on the sofa while the other made himself dinner.
"…Is that all you're eating?" Guide asked.
"Uh… yeah…" John answered quite guiltily, already opening the lid of a cup of instant noodles.
"I just didn't really feel like cooking anything else today," he quickly added.
Definitely not the best dinner option, but he's not one to judge. Satisfied with the answer, Guide didn't say anything else, simply waiting for John to join him on the sofa.
…
Time is precious. He should probably be on his way tomorrow.
His head was whirring with the thoughts about future plans once again.
But this feels so nice. He wants to stay here for longer. Being with John for another day or two shouldn't be so bad…
…Wouldn't that be akin to wasting time, though? He's still got not a single idea on what his creator could be doing for that Flood Escape 2 project he's pursuing, aside from some vague clues. It'd be in his best interest to leave by tomorrow.
But he's been wandering for so long…
What should he really do…
…!
His thoughts were interrupted the moment he felt the cushions dip, indicating that John had sat down right next to him.
"Is there something on your mind, Guide?" He would then ask.
"Nothing much…"
"You're free to tell me about it, don't worry," he then said, starting to slurp his noodles right after.
"I'm just not sure if… I should stay here or leave."
…
"Hmm…"
John temporarily set down his cup noodles before speaking.
"I'm not sure how to answer that myself, but if you really want to stay with me for a couple of days or something, then you're free to."
"…Really?"
Guide was genuinely suprised at that, staring directly at John, wide-eyed.
"Wh- don't stare at me like that…"
Guide was quick to rectify his stare at that reaction. John would continue, picking up his cup noodles once more.
"…But yes, you can. I don't really mind."
…
"…Thank you," Guide said after a moment of silence.
"It's nothing, really…," John mumbled as he continued eating his poor excuse of a dinner.
From there, it was mostly silence, save for the sounds of John going through his cup noodles. It was a pretty comfortable silence to Guide. So much so that the moment John finished his meal and set the cup down, his first action was to lean onto the guy.
John was pretty puzzled at that at first, but eventually put an arm around Guide's shoulder, allowing him to continue.