Stuck together

Gentle murmuring and light laughter filled the area as did the subtle crunching of snow. S was just outside of the colony, happily talking with their best friend, Serial Designation E. They sat in the snow, S drawing with their tail while listening to E talk. She was about to bring up something when suddenly a knock on the side of the metal doors snagged their attention. The sound came from behind E, making her turn to see it, and S lean to see around her. There, leaning on the thick metal doors with her arms crossed, was Uzi Doorman. S waved to her, only for her to not wave back.

"Why did it take you so long to see me? I was fully in your view!!" Uzi grumbles, glaring at the blonde drone.

S stifled a giggle at what they were going to say, smiling instead, "Sorry, its hard to see your short-ass from around E," S then chuckles at Uzi's angry as hell face.

"BITE ME!! I KNEW YOU WERE GONNA SAY THAT!!" She huffs, stomping her boot in the snow.

"Sorry," S says stopping their laughter, "Do you need something Uz?"

Uzi rolls her eyes at their use of her nickname after commenting on her height, but shakes her head slightly, "Actually, yeah. I need your help with something."

Uzi? Needing their help? That wasn't something that happened often. S looks to E, who shrugs. She didn't know either. It then stands, tail brushing over the doodle they had made and erasing it from the snow. "My help? Why not N's?"

At S's question, Uzi gives them a glare. "Because, I can't ask for his help with this. So come on!" Uzi grabs their arm with her solver and pulls them over a bit until they started walking themself, which made her let go. S gives E a small wave goodbye before Uzi drags them into the colony. The two walk for a while, Uzi clearly plotting something in her CPU while S walks next to her.

"Sooo... What do you need help with?" S asks, looking around as they walked, missing a clever smirk from the worker drone.

"I just need you to grab me this thing on a high shelf in the closet. Its too narrow for me to just, fly up and grab it."

"You want me to grab something off the highest shelf? Awwww, is Miss Angst too short to reach?" S laughs loudly when the drone elbows them in the side, glaring up at it. "Yeah, sorry, I can help you, Uzi!" 

They approach one of the storage closets in the colony. It was off to the side a bit, out of the way of walking drones. The door to the closet was large and metal, reinforced so the contents inside wouldn't be effected by most things that happened on the outside. Uzi opened the door and S peered inside. It wasn't a super big closet, two drones could probably fit inside at most, but that was just the area that could be stood in. If you were to take out the shelves, you could fit maybe four drones. Speaking of, the shelves had a bunch of miscellaneous stuff, such as tools, spare parts, pieces of equipment, extra helmets, and other items. S figured that Uzi needed a tool of some sort so she could work on whatever weapon she was making now, and they took a few steps inside to scan the shelves.

"You said it was on one of the higher shelves?" S asks, turning to look at the purple drone who nods a yes, "Well, what do you want me to grab?" Just as S turns around to look on the higher section Uzi couldn't reach, they hear the door slam shut. It spins around, seeing immediately that she shut them in. S darts over and slams their hand on the door, tail buzzing in loud annoyance. "Uzi Doorman!! Open the door!!" They hiss, punching the metal with balled up hands.

It heard the worker drone giggle with hidden intent before she responded. "Nope, not yet!" S then heard her yelp as they slammed their fists into the door.

"What the hell do you mean 'not yet'?!" They are met with silence and the sound of the drone running off. They hit the door a few more times before shuffling backwards and sinking to the floor. Their tail knocks over a few things as it wraps around them and they bring their legs to their chest. One hand grips their hat and hair and their other is across their torso, their screen displays slight panic. I don't want to be alone.. I hate being alone.. Uzi why would you do this?! S brings their legs closer to their chest and they wrap their arms around their legs with their head on their knees. I can't be alone.. Digital tears build up at the corners of their eyes as they sit alone in the dark.

---

V was sitting by herself on the old wreckage of a car, drinking oil from a worker drone arm and messing around with a dull red scarf around her neck. She didn't wear much clothing or accessories most of the time, normally just sticking with her crop jacket, and sometimes her glasses. Yet, someone had gifted her this scarf and she wanted to keep it on her. Who was that someone? Serial Designation S had given it to her, a gift for just 'being there' was what they said as a reason. They had insisted that she didn't have to wear it if she didn't want to, but V wore it anyways. The disassembly drone tossed the arm aside and wiped the extra oil from her mouth with her thumb before fiddling with the scarf again. She undid her jacket slightly, removing the hidden pin in the fabric before fastening it to her scarf. She grins, she could show it off now. As V was messing with the thing, her tail swaying slightly, she heard the sound of a drone clearing their throat. Her eyes hollowed for a slight second before she glares at the drone.

"What are you doing here, purple thing?" V says, her tone bored.

Uzi rolls her eyes and crosses her arms before she responds. "I need your help with something."

The murder drone's eyes widen in surprise before she smirks and leans down a bit. "Well well well, little miss angst is asking for my help? What's the special occasion?"

The shorter drone glares at her, grumbling about V's attitude. "I need you to grab something for me..." She mumbles, and her face makes V laugh loudly.

"Oh robo-god, you want me to grab something? Aww, you too short to reach?" She touches a finger to Uzi's head before leaning backwards. 

Her purple eyes narrow, as if she was debating how to go about something. V crossed her arms, an eyebrow raising. "Its something for N, so I can't ask for his help. And I can't find S either, so, you are my only option." Uzi says with a grumble. V sees a perfect chance to tease Uzi about N, but the drone raises a finger to stop her. "Don't you even dare. You're gonna help me whether you like it or not."

V rolls her eyes as Uzi starts walking away, and when she notices that V isn't following, she grabs her with her solver and pulls her with her. V hisses at this, and finally starts walking with the worker drone, much to her own annoyance. V and Uzi walked in silence, the disassembly drone's tail thrashing in annoyance while the worker drone seemed to have a smug look on her face. They approached the colony and V was slightly immersed in her head. She couldn't find S? Normally they are around E, N and Uzi, or me, so where else would the be? Wait- Why do I care so much?! That's unimportant, it can take care of itself. V grumbled to herself about her thoughts, getting a small confused look from Uzi. They entered through the  large metal doors, and walked through the corridors towards the area where the storage closets were. V finally broke the silence as Uzi led her to a specific closet.

V put her hand out to open the door to the closet, "I can't believe you wanted my help with... this...?" As she opened the door, and the light poured in, she saw someone else in the closet. A curled up S, who lifted their head to see who had entered. "S?! What the hell are you doing in here?!" V let go of the door and took a slight step forwards.

"Wait, V watch out!!!" S said suddenly, making her freeze. But, their warning was too late as she suddenly felt Uzi's hands push into her back and shove her into the closet. V nearly fell on top of S, but she caught herself with a hiss and turned to see Uzi slam the door shut. 

---

S had been sitting in the closet by themself for around an hour, according to their internal clock, and had remained curled up. Their tail was wrapped loosely around themself as they sat in silence. They had nothing to do, so they sat there. After some more time had passed, they heard the distant sound of footsteps. It wasn't unusual, the colony was a populated place, but these grew closer and closer. S looked up, blinking a few times. Their visor had tired lines at the base of their eyes and they felt exhausted from silent sobbing. There was soon a voice on the other side of the doors, one that made S's core spark with joy. It was V!! Had she found out where they were, and had come to get them out? 

"I can't believe you wanted my help with... this...?" V's voice trailed off as her eyes met with theirs. She stared at it for a moment before taking a slight step forwards. "S?! What the hell are you doing in here?!"

S opened their mouth to respond to her, when they saw Uzi start to move to V. She was gonna shove V in there too, with S. "Wait, V watch out!!!" They yelp, their words making V freeze in place, but Uzi moved anyways, pushing the female disassembly drone into the closet and nearly on top of S. The modified disassembly drone pressed themself backwards, eyes widening as V fell towards them, but she grabbed a shelf and whirled herself around to slam her shoulder into the now closed door. It had to take a small breather from the sudden closeness of the drone it liked, and their CPU were barely registering the words spoken around them.

"UZI DOORMAN, LET US OUT OF HERE!!" V had snarled, ramming into the door with her shoulder again, using the worker's full name in a threatening tone.

S started to come back to being 'okay' when they heard Uzi's running off and yelling behind her. "No way!! Not until you two talk to each other!!"

"YOU CAN'T JUST FORCE US IN A ROOM TOGETHER TO MAKE US TALK!!!" S hissed loudly, but didn't get a response from Uzi. The little shit had really locked them in a closet together and ran off. S grumbles, pressing themself to the wall to give V as much space as they could, and V took note of this.

"You don't have to sit uncomfortably close to the wall, sit normal," V leaned against the wall, putting her arms oddly and giving a small glance to S.

S perked up a little, their eyes scanning V and noticing something different. She was wearing the scarf it gave her!! Their tail was buzzing lowly as a small smile crept onto their face. She liked my gift.. Their head hummed happily. Thick silence filled the small space, the only noise being the buzz of S's tail. It took in the awkwardness of the situation, and the way they were standing. Due to the narrow space of the closet, they were both in uncomfortable positions to give the other more space. If they were to shift a bit, they could probably sit side by side...

"Are you okay?"

V's words made them jolt and look up at her, being brought from their thoughts. "..huh?"

V scooted a bit closer and sat next to them. "You've been alone in here for god knows how long. I know you can't deal with being alone."

S smiled lightly again, shifting to give V better space to sit down. She actually remembered that little detail. "I hated being in here alone.. It was an entire hour of just sitting alone in the dark.." S brought their legs to their chest again, staring at the floor. V hissed out something under her breath, something about 'getting Uzi' or whatever. "..its better now that you're here.." It mumbles softly, avoiding the eyes of V that were now staring at them.

"Oh, I make you feel better? Is that so?" V said in a teasing tone that made S cover their face with their hands.

"You know what I meant!! I'd rather be here with someone than just sit here alone." S says, slightly flustered by V's words.

They take their hands from their face and look over at V, who was now staring at the door to the closet with slightly narrowed eyes, as if she was thinking of how to get out of here. They glanced at the scarf it had given her, and how carefully V had placed it around her neck. It then noticed the slight sheen of plastic on the scarf, the light from its eyes casting a slight teal-blue glow over it. It was a pride pin, one with the omni-flag on it. They knew where that pin came from, S themself had given it to V back at the manor! They smiled and their tail buzzed even louder, which seemed to snag V from her thoughts.

"What are you starin' at?"

They point with their finger slightly, "That pin!! I had no idea you kept it, V!" They say with a wide smile. V stiffens slightly and looks away, covering part of her face with her hand.

"I'm not gonna get rid of it, it was a gift. It would be rude," It hears her mumble and she keeps looking away.

Silence followed this interaction, both sitting with awkward tail flicks and shifting positions. S's tail was still buzzing, and they tried to muffle the noise after V made a comment about it, a light blush going over their face. Time seemed to pass by more quickly now that S wasn't alone. The two kept having small talk and little conversations to pass the time, and S could have sworn it had gotten V to give a genuine smile, but she denied it immediately while hiding her face. S felt happy here, just being around V without a care in the universe, it reminded them of being back at the manor. Their eyes watched her softly as she ranted about things, a small smile tugging at the sides of their mouth. Maybe I could actually talk to her.. I do have a perfect chance.. S kept looking at her, even after she had finished talking and looked back. "Hey... V?" They started messing with their hands.

V tilted her head slightly. "Hm?"

"Can I... tell you something?" It took them a second to finish their words, and once the words were out, V stiffened, watching with her eyes lightly widened.

"Sure..?"

S took in a breath for a moment, determined to actually get out their words. "I wanted to tell you that I-"

They were abruptly cut off as light suddenly swarmed the closet as the doors were opened.

---

Surprisingly, V was actually very content with sitting with S in the closet. It was just the two of them, like it used to me, and that thought made her smile inside. It had been a while since they were able to just mess around like normal drones, so this was quite a refreshing change. Did V still want to murder Uzi for locking S in a closet by themself for an entire hour? Oh  most definitely. The second V could get out of there, she would and go hunt down the little worker drone. V had started to rant about the stupid shit N had done before they had become friends again when she noticed the fact that S was just constantly staring at her. She shifted slightly, was this how it used to feel when she stared at it when it talked? She trailed off from her story, and S didn't seem to notice, keeping one hand holding up their head and the other one crossed. V felt her core pump louder as she looked away from them slightly. Why are they just staring at me- Fuck this is a bit strange. Did I say something about N that upset them? I know they are like siblings or something. No, wait, it doesn't look upset. So why are they just staring at me?! 

V was taken from her momentary panic as S started to speak to her. "Hey... V?" They started softly, moving the hand from their face and fidgeting with their fingers.

V's tail flicked as she shifted again, an emotion she didn't want to deal with starting to bubble in her core. She attempted to shake it away and tilted her head a bit. "Hm?"

"Can I.. tell you something?" They mumble, which made V stiffen. Were they going to do what she thought they were gonna?

She swallowed as her head panicked a bit. Are they gonna actually tell me themself? Oh this will be awkward.. I don't wanna deal with that conversation right now, especially cause this whole situation is making remember previous feelings from the manor!! I do not want to do this right now. I need some time to think about my feelings fo- She cut off her own thoughts as she realized that she hadn't responded to its question. V cleared her throat slightly before responded. "Sure..?"

V watched as S took a moment to gather themself, which only confirmed her suspicions. She heard the sound of footsteps approaching, and didn't know whether to let them continue, or to tell them someone was coming. "I wanted to tell you that I-"

She should have picked telling them, because the door to the closet was suddenly opened, flooding the small space with light and making V wince slightly from the sudden brightness. N had opened the door, his eyes instantly hollowing upon seeing them in there, and E was close behind him, equal shock on her face. V then realized this was her moment to avoid the conversation and to go hunt down Uzi. She stood quickly, and dashed around N, knocking him slightly off balance as she took off down the hallway. "UZI DOORMAN, YOU LITTLE PURPLE SHIT, I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" She yelled, running at full speed to the colony's only exit.

---

After V ran off, S was left sitting on the ground with their mouth open slightly and their eyes hollow ovals. Well, that was terrible timing to be let out. They came out of their stupor when they felt a hand on their shoulder. 

"S? You good dude?" Asked N, looking concerned.

It blinked a few times before sighing and standing up. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine," they take a pause before staring into N's eyes, "Other than the fact I was THIS close to confessing to V before you opened the door!!" 

N stared at them, wide eyed, clearly processing the fact he had ruined S's confession. E looked surprised. "You were gonna confess to her?" She asked with slight shock, making S groan and lean backwards against the shelves.

"Yeah. Like, I was just getting to the confession part before the door opened." They say, running a hand through their hair. 

N looked ashamed, putting two fingers together and staring at the ground. "I didn't mean to ruin your confession.." He says sadly. 

E reaches over to him and pats his shoulder to reassure him, offering him a small smile. S dropped their arms to their sides and stepped from the closet. "Its fine. We should probably go find her before she literally murders your girlfriend, N." The mentioned drone jolted, light blush on his face after they called Uzi his girlfriend.

"Yeah, we need to go stop your girlfriend, S." E says in a teasing tone, making S's screen become coated in fierce lines of teal-blue blush before the very quickly walk away from the two to go find V. Internally they are screaming at the thought of actually being partners with the drone they liked. They followed the only way V could have gone, E and N right behind them, and when the trio hears the sound of distant talking, then yelling, they walk faster.

"What is that sound...? OH FUCK!" They all heard Uzi yelp, accompanied by the sound of buzzing chainsaws. S darted ahead and saw V storming towards the worker drone, who was fearing for her life. It quickly ran over to V and pulled her back, holding her back by the arms to prevent her from trying to kill Uzi. The female disassembly drone had a look filled with murderous intent and the worker drone looked slightly terrified. 

"V, you can't hurt Uzi!!!" S hissed to her, still trying to hold her back while N and E rush in a well.

V's response was loud and angry. "First, she locked you in a closet, alone, for an hour!! Then she has the audacity to lock me in there with you!! FOR TWO HOURS!! That is THREE hours total!!!" S paused. Had they really been in there with her for two hours? Seeing S's grip loosen slightly, V attempted to break free and go get the purple drone but S stopped her again.

"Regardless, no hurting Uzi!!" After S spoke, V stamped a peg leg into the ground and put the chainsaws away, glaring intensely at Uzi.

"In my defense, you guys wouldn't have spoken otherwise." Uzi said, as if it were a fact.

That makes S snap this time. "IF I KNEW MY GAYNESS WAS GONNA GET ME LOCKED IN A CLOSET, I WOULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING ALREADY!!" They hiss, not caring at this point. They take a step to Uzi, and it was V's turn to hold them back, even though she was barely attempting to.

"Thats a lie and we both know it, S." The worker crosses her arms.

"...shut up." S grumbles.