Kei avoided them for the rest of the day, coming down from the weapons bay only for a moment to get their meal before retreating. Were it not for everything else, Kei’s sudden desire to avoid them would have been an ideal outcome. Still, TO and DH kept their distance from one another until they went to bed later that evening.
“… Should we separate the beds?” DH asked quietly.
“No.” TO’s response came without hesitation. They could feel their ears pin back in anger just because Kei had made DH feel like they had to do that. “The beds have been like this the whole time anyway, and Kei never comes back here; they have no reason to.”
“But if they do, just to check-“
“They said they don’t want to see anything, so they wouldn’t…” They stopped, taking in how low DH’s ears were. It seemed like since the moment Kei had caught them, sadness draped over DH.
TO could understand… They still wanted to help.
“If… If you want to separate them, just to be safe, then that’s fine.” TO said. “I just want you to be comfortable.”
“But last time, you got really upset when I separated the beds.” DH muttered. TO felt their stomach churn as DH said that. Maybe they shouldn’t have been so upset back then.
“… That was different.” TO said, “You never spoke to me about that, and we were on our own then.” TO listened carefully, then took DH by the shoulders and pulled them into a hug. Their wings wrapped around their friend and gripped them. DH stiffened in TO’s embrace, their hand against TO’s chest.
“TO, If Kei comes down-“
“We’re behind the blankets, and we’ll hear the elevator if they come down.” TO whispered. “I... I just want to hold you.”
DH hesitated for a moment more, then relaxed into TO and wrapped their arms around TO’s waist. They hid their face against TO’s neck, and held them tightly.
“They’re wrong.” TO said. “Kei… they’re wrong. We’re fine.”
“… No.” DH whispered. “We’re not. We’re not normal. They are right. Normal synths don’t act like we do.”
TO gave a chuckle as they pressed their cheek against DH’s face, “Well, we’ve known that for a long time now.” they said, “Kei is... looking for things, I think. But they’re wrong. We can work just as well as they can. We can work better than they can!”
“... Do you think they’re right about the whole distraction thing?” DH asked, “How we might do better if we weren’t like this?”
“No.” TO said quickly. “If we weren’t together, I think we’d be miserable, and too distracted to improve.” They felt their ears twitch down. “When I thought you really wanted nothing to do with me back in training, I couldn’t really do much, remember?” They gently pressed a kiss on DH’s cheek, then leaned back so they could properly look at DH. “We’re different from they are. We can’t act like them; It just won’t work for us.”
“... I-I still think that I’d like to be careful, you know?” They looked away. “Avoid being too… intimate. Just while they’re here! Just in case.” they looked back to TO quickly, “I don’t mean we should stop sleeping together and stuff, I just mean.. You know.. Maybe keep it like it was back in training for a little?”
“TO nodded, though their ears flicked down.” That’s fine.” They said, “though, does that mean I can’t kiss you at all?”
DH’s ears flushed blue, but they gave a little smile as they looked up at TO, “Well.. that might be ok when we’re here, behind the curtain and stuff… so long as we’re careful.”
TO smiled, leaned in and gave DH a light kiss, then gently scratched the back of their neck as DH rested against TO’s shoulder once more.
“... And in truth.” TO added, “They already know. I don’t know how much worse the situation could be.” They laughed, despite everything. “That… That was honestly the worst.”
“I think the worst would be if an actual officer caught us.” DH muttered. “But, thanks for what you said earlier when Kei caught us. I didn’t think you’d go after them like that.”
TO huffed, “They made you upset; what else was I going to do?”
DH chuckled, kissed TO again, then pulled them to the bed. Though TO knew that the situation in its entirety was awful, for the moment they didn’t care. The whole situation had left DH deeply troubled and upset, but they weren’t pulling away from TO. they now had an unknown quantity of time together, but they still had time and potentially a solution.
And no matter what, at least for another night, TO still had DH in their arms as they slept.
======
Though things followed the same routine the next day, it all felt very awkward. Kei glared at TO and DH when they came down for their meal, ate quicker than normal, and then left without saying a word. True, Kei never bothered with pleasantries, but they used to attempt a “Good morning” when they came down from the weapons bay. If any interesting news had come up while they slept, they might have mentioned it as well. Today, Kei was silent.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“... I don’t know if that was a good sign, or a bad sign.” DH said once Kei went to the engine room.”
“Neutral, actually.” Avery said. They were still eating their breakfast and reading over news that had come up from the night before, “I told them that if the whole thing made them that uncomfortable then they should avoid you.” They glanced at TO, “I hope that’s ok?”
“It’s best if they keep their distance, yes.” TO growled. They had woken up this morning with DH in their arms, and saw hints of dried tears on their cheeks. TO didn’t know if DH had cried in their sleep, or if they had been awake and had simply stayed so quiet that TO didn’t wake. It didn’t matter what the case actually was, TO was feeling a little prickly today, and if Kei had said anything to upset DH, even just something small, they didn’t know how they’d react.
Most likely, their actions wouldn’t be wise or helpful.
“That means that they’ll be in the weapons bay more often.” Avery said, their ears dipping downwards.
“.. Sorry about that.” DH muttered. “Now you have to deal with them more.”
“Well, I was used to that, anyway. It’s not really an issue-”
“What if you went to the emergency ship? Or the exercise room? You could move your bed entirely if you wanted.”
Avery shook their head. “No… I don’t want them to think I’m avoiding them; that might just make everything worse.” They smiled, “They don’t talk a lot anyway, so it’s fine.” They finished their meal and got up to run the scans in the exercise room and the weapons bay.
“Sorry.” TO muttered, “If we had been more careful-”
Avery put their finger right in the center of TO’s forehead, applying just enough pressure to push their head back.
“It’s not your fault.” Avery said, “It’s just a bad situation. Stop blaming yourself, ok?”
“But if we-”
“No.” Avery said firmly. “Not your fault.”
“They’re right. Besides, that, it’s really me-”
Avery suddenly pointed at DH, “Don’t make me poke you too.” they snapped, their ears pinning back, “It’s not your fault; it happened, and it’s bad, but it’s not anyone’s fault.” Avery stared at DH for a long moment, then looked back to TO, “Understood?”
“... Understood.” TO muttered. DH glanced away, but a smile played briefly at their lips and their ears twitched with amusement. That was enough to make TO happy.
“Alright.” Avery said. “I’m going to go do my chores, and I’ll come back later for lunch and check on the two of you. I expect to hear no more talk of blame.” They nodded, headed to the elevator, and left without waiting for a response from either of them. Once Avery left , DH looked at TO with a sheepish expression, their ears low but still twitching in amusement.
“Well... maybe they would be good as an officer.” DH said, “They put us in our place, anyway.”
======
TO was more focused on their research than normal, looking up not only new news articles but also going through old ones to look for any connections between various events on Arkane and the insurgents. They were more determined now to get started right away once they got to Arkane, and make progress faster than any other synth might have before.
Still, it was difficult; the collection of crimes committed by the insurgency as reported in the news ranged from minor to major, and it was difficult for TO to find any patterns. Still, they kept a list, and organized it as best as they could. There had to be a pattern, had to be some answer to the seemingly random collection of crimes that the news presented them with. True chaos didn’t exist, there were patterns and reasons for everything.
They were so invested in their work that it startled them when DH suddenly put a hand on their shoulder, and they gave a sharp, pitched yelp at the contact.
“Sorry!” DH said as they suppressed their laughter. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just finished my work and figured we should check your arm?”
TO nodded, their ears flicking down as they got up from their seat and sat on the examination table. “I was just really focused.” They said.
“I could tell.” DH said as they gently undid the wrapping around TO’s arm. “I asked you how your arm was feeling twice, but you never said anything.”
“Sorry about that.” TO muttered, wincing as the bandages came off. DH first checked the limb. Feeling about the joints to check how they felt, then got TO to move their arm in a variety of different ways to see if they could move their arm properly, and how hard or painful it was. A frown flicked across their face as they watched, their ears twitching back at the same time.
“Range is a little impaired.” DH muttered as they watched. “You can’t move it back any further?”
“NOt without a lot more pain.” TO said, rubbing their shoulder gently.
DH nodded. “It might take a little longer, but I don’t think you need the bandages on now.” They said, “In fact, it might be best to keep them off so you can get proper mobility back.”
“… Will I get more painkillers?” TO asked.
DH leaned in, as though they were about to kiss TO, but then stopped as their eyes flicked to the elevator, “You need to be weaned off of them.” they admitted, “So you’ll start getting less. Sorry.”
TO remembered how DH had to be weaned off of painkillers after they lost their original eye, and what pain they had been in. TO hoped it wouldn’t be that bad for them, but they would manage it. DH had managed much worse, so they could take this. “Nothing to be sorry about!” TO said, forcing a smile.
“It won’t be so bad, I think.” DH said as they caught the way TO’s ears dipped back, “I’ll take care of you.”
“I know you will.” TO said.
They heard the elevator whir to life. TO got up from the examination table and went back to their desk. They wanted to go take a shower, but they didn’t want to leave DH alone in case it actually was Kei coming down the elevator. Sure enough, when the door opened, Kei stepped out. They ignored DH and TO, and went right to the table and activated the food dispenser. TO and DH ignored them as they ate, knowing that they’d likely leave and go back to the weapons bay when they finished. TO and DH were more than happy to wait until Kei left to get their food.
A moment later, the elevator came to life again and Avery came down to get their food as well.
“There was some strange issue in the training room with the weights, but I think I fixed it.” Avery said as they went to the table “I felt something off in the weights this morning when we were exercising, so I checked it to make sure.”
“Was it a big problem?” TO asked.
“One weight wasn’t calibrating properly, and I think it might be wearing. I could fix the weight percentage to make it work for now, but I think that piece might need to be replaced when the ship gets back.”
“I’ll report that now, anyway.” DH said, “Maybe we will get a replacement while on Arkane. “
Kei finished their meal and sat in silence for a moment longer before getting up and walking not as TO expected to the elevator, but to TO themself. They stood before TO, arms crossed and wings slightly puffed up from their shoulders.
“What’s my task for today.” They demanded.
“.. What?” TO turned from their desk. “Your task?”
“You said you would have more in-depth tasks for me to work on after I finished the main chores. What’s my task for today?”
TO stared at Kei for a moment before they turned back to their desk and pulled up their files. They didn’t expect Kei to want to do any of the tasks that TO had found for them, and didn’t even consider that they would want a new assignment today!
TO brought up the list and didn’t even bother to look at the time or intensity of each project, “You could check and clean the oxygen filters?” TO suggested, “They’re located-“
“Just send me the details and I’ll deal with it.”
TO nodded, and sent off the information they had to Kei, who wordlessly turned and went into the elevator while ignoring the stares from the other synths.
“…. I didn’t expect that.” TO admitted once Kei was gone.
“I wasn’t sure if they’d ask for their task for today or not.” Avery admitted, “but.. Like I said, they like to be useful, and despite everything I guess they still think of you as a kind of superior officer; at least when there’s not another one around who can give them tasks.”
“Well, that makes things easier than.” DH said, “They won’t be in the weapons bay all day, and they won’t be hanging around here. I think it ended up for the best, despite all the other awful stuff.”
TO nodded. They still had periods - no, several Arkanian weeks- before they dropped off Kei and Avery, and while TO expected the time to be tedious, it seemed like Kei was intent on keeping themself occupied and ignoring TO and DH as much as possible.