A Romantic Spiral

Time always seemed to mix together in a haze when V first woke up. She would lay there staring at the ceiling, looking at the mass of fuzzy color that formed without her glasses. They debated getting up, or if they should remain in bed with their partner. V sat up, her sensors brightening as she woke herself up more. They cast a look around the room. They did this every morning, though nothing ever changed. She shuffled herself to the edge of the bed, her tail lifting her glasses for her to take. V wiped the lenses before placing them onto her face, her golden eyes blinking a few times before looking to the other side of the bed.

S laid there, soundly in sleep mode. Part of her core sparked with glee at seeing it resting there, as though she forgot each night that she had them. They got to her feet, taking her scarf from the table by the bed and wrapping it around her neck. Little notices went off in her display, making her grit her teeth. They told her that she needed oil, and reminded her about her plans for the day. The disassembly drone rolled her eyes, swiping them away as she walked around the edge of the bed towards the door. She gave her partner an affectionate glance, a smile temporarily parting her lips as she left her bedroom.

V looked down the hallway, her hand left on the doorway. The room at the end of the hall was open wide, meaning E was most likely awake, as was Asmi’s. She stepped out into the hallway quietly, shutting the door to her room before slowly heading down the stairs. She put her hands into the pockets of her hoodie, her optics half-lidded from leftover tiredness, and even her tail swayed slowly behind her. They walked through their house, hearing the sounds of happy childish giggling that warmed their core.

She stopped next to the living room, seeing her daughter sit with J, who was drinking oil from a mug. J looked up, hearing the creak of the floorboards, and waved at her. Asmi looked up as well, her expression slightly tired but quickly turning excited.

“Good night Mama!!” The little worker drone says with enthusiasm, getting to her feet and going to hug them. V got down on her knee to hug Asmi, messing with her hair a bit.

“Did you charge well, Asmi?” Upon hearing her mother’s question Asmi nodded, letting go of her Ma to go sit with J again. V stood back up, leaning against the doorframe. “We still on for today, J?”

J shook her head, setting down her cup. “We’re going to do it tomorrow, sorry to spring that on you last minute,” V felt confused, why move the day? They had training planned today, to make sure that neither of them got rusty. They shook their head, starting to walk towards the kitchen as J spoke again. “I hope your day goes well, V,” They gave J a confused look, raising an eyebrow but sighing and continuing towards the kitchen.

She walked down the hallway, stretching her arms as she stepped onto the tiled floor. V grabbed her preferred cup from the cupboard, heading to the pot of warmed oil. They slowly filled their cup, setting down the pot and cradling the cup in her hands. Her tail swishes slowly behind her, just above the ground. She took a sip, feeling the warm liquid go down and help awaken her more. V sighs, starting to turn around when suddenly a pair of arms wrapped around her torso.

“AH,” She yelped from the sudden hug, the feeling of someone’s face burying into her hair, and someone’s tail wrapping around her own helping aid her in figuring out who hugged her. “S!”

“Night, V!” S says happily, though their voice is muffled. V sighs, their posture loosening in its grip.

“You scared the hell out of me. I swear, we need to get you a bell or something, like E, so this doesn’t keep happening,” V heard S sigh, now resting their head on hers.

“I don’t know if that would work,” E suddenly says from over her cup of oil, watching the two from where she leaned against the counter.

V stiffened in surprise, her eyes hollowing. “OH SHIT-! E, how long have you been there?!”

“The entire time. I have been in here since before you woke up,” It responds simply, taking a sip from their cup.

V takes a second to breathe, taking a long drink from her cup before slipping out of S’s hug. Swishing the rest of the oil around, she stares at the black liquid before offering it to S. It looks confused yet takes the cup. “You two are unbelievably quiet.” She mutters.

“I’d think you’d be used to it by now, V,” E says quietly, taking another drink from her cup. V gives her a small glare, rolling her eyes as she left the room.

She walked back down the hall, heading to sit with J and Asmi in the living room when S suddenly caught her by the hand. Her face filled with confusion, turning to her partner. S on the other hand was smiling widely, their tail buzzing and moving as though it was wagging. She raised an eyebrow as they walked around her and gently took her other hand while letting go of the other. It led them towards the front door, V shooting a confused look at J, who was trying to not chuckle.

“Have a good day, Mas!” Asmi chips, waving to her parents. This made V even more confused as S took her outside.

The two walked out into the light snow, their peg leg feet leaving small circle indents as they stepped forward. V fixed her scarf, which was threatening to be blown away, as S came to a stopping point outside. They were in a clear area, just a few yards away from the front of their home. It put its hands on its hips and grinned, V’s eyes half-lidding with a hint of annoyance. “Care to explain yourself, oh idiot of mine?”

S crouched a little, their wings deploying from their back and a cheeky smile over their face. “Follow me and find out!” V’s eyes hollowed in surprise as they lurched into the sky, leaving a cloud of snow in their wake. She huffed and deployed their own wings, shooting into the sky after it.

She flew upwards, eyes narrowing after where S went. What in Copper-9 are they planning? God I love them but sometimes they confuse the hell out of me. V beat her wings, raising higher and higher into the sky and casting a glance down at the space in front of their home. When you were this high up it was hard to tell what some things were. Another look above her told her that S had kept going up, a patch of cloud strewn about where it had gone through. V grew slightly worried, why did they need to go up this high? She wasn’t afraid of heights in the slightest, but this was odd, even for S.

She went through some of the thicker clouds that hung lower, feeling cold lace her metal wings, though her pumping core appreciated the cool temperature. Once they got through, they paused, looking around for S. She didn’t see them, that was until she looked up. S was waving at her from near some wispy clouds, and V didn’t need to hear them to know its tail was buzzing loudly. She flew over to them, crossing her arms with a lash of her tail.

“Okay, explain,” She says, annoyed but not angry. S takes her hands, uncrossing her arms, much to V’s confusion. They leaned forward, making her core race. Even after years of being with them, she still wasn’t used to their affection. It left a light kiss on her forehead, making V’s visor show lines of yellow blush, though not many.

Words attempted to come up, though they died on her tongue as S pulled away with a smile. She wanted to ask why they had done that, yet they felt like she couldn’t speak. As she struggled, S spoke instead. “You can be real adorable, you know that, right?”

Its words made V give a flustered huff, her tail thrashing. “Shut up,” She grumbles with her returned words. Their need to ask returned, and they opened their mouth to ask when suddenly S tightened their hold on her hands, locking their fingers together, and folded their wings to their back. V was pulled downwards with a startled yelp, her eyes hollowing as the two started to fall. She tried to keep them up, yet she could only do it for so long before they started to descend again. “S, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!”

“Trust me, I know what I’m doing! Just put away your wings and fall with me,” S spoke calmly, one of their thumbs rubbing the side of her hand. V hesitated, though managed to fold her wings to her back, the metal pressing to her jacket yet not being put away, and the two starting to fall.

The wind whipped around them, their hair being blown around. V gulped, her eyes still hollow and shaky. S tapped them with its tail, making her look at them. Its soft look made her calm down a bit, their tail now snaking around hers. She held on to their hands, yellow eyes meeting teal. “Just stay focused on me,” S says, gently smiling.

They spun as they fell, yet not enough to make them sick. Their eyes stayed locked and S pulled them closer together. “Where did you get this idea from, hm?” V asked, her voice oddly quieter than it was normally.

S laughed sheepishly, eyes looking away. “..From a book about eagles,” V looked at them flatly, raising an eyebrow. “Hey! In my defense, this is what they do for courtship, and you’ve been on edge and I wanted to cheer you up. So, sorry I wanted to do something like this for the love of my life,” S’s voice was mock hurt, making V laugh at them.

“I think it's rather sweet,” She hums, “Thank you, S,” At her thanks, the blonde drone lit up, its tail buzzing from where it was around her tail. V maintained a smile, that was until S suddenly pulled her closer and pressed their lips to hers. It was a simple, small, and light kiss, but it made V’s face light up yellow. S’s visor turned blue and teal, though they laughed. “Don’t laugh at me! You're blushing too!” V huffs, glaring defensively at her partner.

The two fell into a comfortable silence, the ground approaching them. V’s worries flared again, though a controlled shove from S led them both to unfold their wings and catch themself before they hit the snow. They landed softly, a few feet away from each other. V crossed her arms, tail flicking contently behind her.

“Did you think that was fun?” S asked, folding their hands behind their back and stepping toward her. V rolled her eyes, though she nodded. S suddenly placed another kiss on her forehead before launching into the air.

“HEY! No fair!” V yells after them.

“Try and get me back!” S yells to her, and V can hear the smile in their voice.

“Oh, I see how it is,” She grins, knowing their plan. They launched after it, having her own small smile.