It took a few hours full of pained swearing and non-consensual yoga, but eventually, Cameron was able to stand and stretch, the waves of sharp pain now reduced to a dull throb. He groaned with relief as he massaged his thighs, working the knots of atrophy out, feeling the warm tingle of blood beginning to flow through his legs once again.

“Ah, that’s better,” he said with a sigh, looking up just in time to see a pile of black fabric hit him in the face.

“Put those on,” Aurora said, “I’m gonna go find Logan and let him know your up and at em.”

“Will do,” Cameron said, already fitting his head through the neck hole of a thin, black, long-sleeve fleece. Pushing his arms through the sleeves, Cameron felt a slight tugging sensation and looked down to see the glint of metal through a small hole in the fabric.

“What the…” He said softly, reaching down to pull at the fabric. As he did so however, Aurora reached over and swatted his hand away.

“Leave it alone and keep getting dressed,” She said softly.

Cameron eyed her for a moment, his brow shooting up in confusion, before eventually, he complied. Upon fully donning the fleece, he turned to face Aurora, holding his arms out wide as if to ask ‘now what?’

She answered, not with her words, but with her actions as she reached up to where Cameron’s collar was, pinching one on the flaps in a spot where Cameron heard as distinct click. Within an instant, the fabric shifted, holes lining up with his uplink threads before they compressed, snugly hugging his thread divots, providing a seal from the breeze while keeping his threads gleaming and visible, shining in the room's light.

“Whoa…” He said softly, in awe of the machinations of the apparently not so simple fabric.

“It’s called smart-weave. It’s a type of clothing specifically made for pilots so you can wear them while inside your units,” She said, taking a step back and handing him a pair of coyote brown cargo pants, “These kinda function the same way but… well… you’ll see.”

Another raised eyebrow appeared on Cameron’s face. He looked at Aurora for a long while before, with a shake of his head, he grabbed the pants and put them on, bending and stretch to get himself comfortable.

“They’re a little… stiff.” He said, grimacing as he reached down to tug at the nylon clinging to the outer sides of his legs.

“Push the fastener button,” she said, pointing towards a brass button situated above his zipper.

He looked down and pressed it, hearing a satisfying click before he felt tightening sensation around his thighs and calves as pieces of fabric shot out and wrapped around his legs, clamping down tightly and slowly adjusting their position until, like his top, the gleaming metal divots of his lower body glinted softly in the room's light as he took in his profile in a standing mirror.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Cool…” he said softly, his eyes trailing up and down his body taking in not just his new attire, but a new… him.

A wolf whistle came from behind, and the pair turned to see Logan, leaning against the wall, his face fighting to contain the wide grin that threatened to split his cheeks.

“Awe look at that,” he said in a teasing tone, “It’s babies first uniform.”

Cameron’s eye twitched as he felt his ears beginning to burn from embarrassment.

“Y’know if you’re gonna be a jackass, I’ll just go back to sleep.”

Logan let out a soft chuckle, and shook his head, holding up his hands in mock surrender. “Easy, kid. I’m just fucking with you. You’ve earned some levity after what you went through.”

“Where the hell have you been?” Aurora asked, raising an eyebrow as Logan’s smirk grew wider.

“Window shopping,” He said, his voice falling into a conspiratorial tone.

“Window shopping for what?” Cameron asked, realization dawning the moment Aurora’s hand connected to the back of his head.

“Why do you think we’re here dumb-ass? We’re getting you a mech. You think you just sat through six hours of torture because gunmetal screw holes are fashionable?”

“Okay I’m gonna need you to stop hitting me!” Cameron bellowed, rubbing his hand at the back of his head.

“Being stupid should be painful,” Aurora said, not skipping a beat. She turned back to Logan, her tone turning inquisitive as she probed Logan for more details.

“How many did you find?” she asked.

“Only six,” He said, shrugging as he turned to face her, “There’s not many Alpha class units that fit his… proclivities.”

“Proclivities?” Cameron asked, turning his head to look between the two of them.

“You know,” Logan began, searching for the right words, “How you…”

“Red line the engine and abuse the boost jets so you can fly around the battlefield like some sort of fucked up bumblebee,” Aurora finished for him.

“Yeah that,” Logan said, nodding in agreement.

Cameron blinked, looking between the two of them, “So I fight like a bumblebee?”

“But a very tough bumblebee,” Logan affirmed, clapping Cameron on the shoulder with a smile.

“Y’know,” Cameron said, “It doesn’t exactly feel good to have your fighting style compared to a fucking pollinator.”

“Do you really want to argue about this? Or do you want to go test drive a bunch of giant mechs?” Logan retorted, raising an eyebrow.

Cameron blinked and looked between Aurora and Logan, both of whom watched him, awaiting his answer.

“Well buzz buzz fuckers, let’s go shopping!”