The Alpha Squad rec room at Crimson Reverie HQ was alive with the usual buzz of camaraderie and thinly veiled insults masquerading as banter. Breaker sat sprawled on one of the frankly oversized couches, boots kicked up on the coffee table despite the very clear "NO BOOTS" sign taped to it, which had a fresh layer of tape holding it together. Viper perched on the armrest like some smug bird of prey, dangerously twirling one of their daggers while sniping comments at anyone who dared to cross their line of sight.
“Pretty sure I could take you,” Viper drawled, eyes lazily tracking me as I emerged from the kitchen with a mug of steaming tea.
“Take me where? Dinner? A movie? Up the ass?” I shot back, my runic tattoos flaring up beneath my—far too shortly cropped for regulation—shirt as I set the mug down and plopped onto the couch next to Breaker.
“Bold of you to assume I’d pay, Rak',” Viper replied with a sharp grin, flipping the dagger into its sheath with a flourish.
From her perch near the window, Crone snorted softly, the sound barely audible over the conversation. “You two are like a bad comedy routine,” the old elf muttered without looking up from the rifle she was meticulously cleaning.
“I prefer to think of us as endearing, Hel” Viper quipped, earning a laugh from Breaker, who hadn’t moved but had been quietly watching the verbal sparring like a spectator at an arena match. The conversation was interrupted by the sound of the door sliding open with a soft hiss. Everyone turned as Watcher entered, the telltale click of its insectoid legs muted by the thick carpet. But it wasn’t the legs that drew attention.
“Uh… Cam?” I said slowly, setting my mug down after I made sure my eyes hadn't deceived me. “What the hell happened to your arms?”
The squad collectively stared at the new limbs. Where there had once been sleek, gleaming cybernetics, there were now intricately carved wooden arms. The grain of the living wood shimmered faintly, with fine vines winding delicately through the surface and forming patterns almost too intricate to follow. The ends tapered into fingers that looked smooth enough to have taken gods know how many hours to file into shape.
Viper was the first to recover. “Whoa, whoa, wait a second. Are those wood?” They leaned forward, a grin already forming. “Didn’t you say—what was it?—that living wood is for ‘traditionalists’ and ‘fragile idiots who don’t understand engineering’?”
“Yes, they are wood,” the cyborg responded flatly, its tone betraying no emotion. It flexed its new fingers almost experimentally, the smooth joints moving with organic grace.
“And?” Viper pressed, leaning closer, the grin widening.
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“And,” Watcher echoed, the smallest hint of hesitation in its otherwise steady voice, “they were a... recommendation.”
Breaker finally sat up, brows furrowing. “A recommendation? From who? You’ve been upgrading yourself long before we met, and I’ve never once seen you take a ‘recommendation' that you hadn't already thoroughly planned on taking eventually.”
Crone glanced up from her rifle, her pitch-black eyes narrowing as she studied Watcher’s posture. “You didn’t get those just because someone suggested them. Out with it.”
“I have nothing to ‘out,’” Watcher lied, defensive.
“Bullshit,” I shot back with a smirk usually reserved for Vivi, picking my mug back up “You’ve got that tone you get when you’re holding something back. Spill it.”
Viper slid off the armrest, circling our drone specialist like a predator. “Oh, this is juicy. Who managed to convince the great, infallible Cameleon to ditch its superior cybernetics for wood?”
“I fail to see why this is relevant,” Watcher replied, though its fingers twitched slightly, the telltale sign of nervousness in its otherwise mechanical demeanor.
“It’s extremely relevant,” Viper said, their grin turning wicked. “Come on, CamCam. We’re all dying to know who got under your plating. Was it another tech-head? An elf? Oh, please tell me it was an elf.”
There was a long pause, when Watcher didn't immediately admonish Vivi for the nickname. Its glowing optics shifted slightly, the equivalent of a sidelong glance, before it finally spoke.
“It was... my mechanic assistance here,” it said, its voice uncharacteristically quiet.
There was a beat of silence before Viper exploded into laughter, clutching their sides as they doubled over. “Your mechanic?” they wheezed. “You let your mechanic talk you into wooden arms? Oh, this is priceless.”
“She mentioned she liked them,” Watcher argued stiffly, its tone defensive.
“Oh gods,” Breaker muttered, rubbing a hand over his face as he tried to hide his grin.
I snorted, my lips twitching from desperately trying to keep a straight face. “Wait, wait, hold up. Your mechanic said she liked those arms, and you just... what? Decided to impress her?”
“She has excellent taste. Simple as."
“That’s not a denial!” Viper crowed, circling back around to face Watcher. “Oh, this is too good. You’ve got a crush on your mechanic, don’t you? All those augments and still reduced to a pile of sap because a certain someone complimented its new arms, I bet.”
Watcher’s silence spoke volumes.
“Leave it alone,” Crone muttered, though there was a smile on her usually stoic face as she returned to her rifle. “We’ve all done something stupid for someone we like.”
Viper gasped theatrically, pressing a hand to their chest. “Hel! Was that an admission? Did the greatest sniper once fall victim to the horrors of affection?”
“Shut up before I show you what horrors I’m capable of,” Crone replied dryly, though her tone held no real malice. "I currently have four partners and have bedded more people in my centuries of existence than you can count, devil."
"Half-devil," Viper corrected before the ancient sniper could go on.
“Enough,” Watcher said, its voice firm, hiding embarrassment. “My new arms are functional. Superior, even. And they were my choice.”
“Sure they were,” Viper mocked, their grin sharp as they flopped back onto the couch. “Your choice, after your crush said she liked them. Don’t worry, Cam. We all get stupid around someone we want to impress. You’re just the easiest to tease about it.”
The room filled with friendly laughter, even Watcher smiling and letting out a resigned sigh as it sat down with us.