Synth

In the brief moments of lucidity over the last few days, TO had been able to discern that there existed a constant stream of people were coming through the small living area that TO and DH used to have all to themselves. The narrow shower in their living quarters was the only one on the ship and the timetable put in place to ensure that everyone had access without overloading the water filtration system meant that from the early hours of the day to late in the evening there was a steady parade of people walking through the room. Even after that, they had no no privacy. While many civilians felt less on edge and concerned around TO and other synths, there was still a level of awkward discomfort present around many of them, a tension that got worse when trying to sleep in such close quarters. As such, the mattresses which when pushed together had comfortably accommodated TO and DH were now strewn on the floor and covered in old blankets and pillows. It resembled less of a bed now, and more of a nest which was shared by TO, DH, Flit, Snout, GiDi, and Pearla. Tham slept in the living areas as well, but preferred to sleep on the chair before the large computer console. Vik slept on the console itself, presumably, but TO had yet to see the small civilian sleep. Every day, he was on the computer working through the systems of the ship or building and programming new tech.

Well, no, there was one time when TO woke up in the middle of the night and all the lights were off, and the room was entirely silent save for the normal sounds of the ship’s engines. Either that was proof that Vik slept, or Vik had taken off and left the room.

In truth, TO didn’t mind the people coming and going as it offered them something to focus on, and something to listen to. People waiting for the shower would often ask if they were ok or if they needed anything. The half lucid conversations while civilians waited to use the shower were better than silence. Even when there were no civilians around and everyone else was asleep, Vik was there, working.

When TO and DH got back to the living space, it surprised them to see that Vik wasn’t there. Nobody was there, in fact, save for GiDi. Their small friend had clearly just gotten out of the shower as beads of moisture still clung to their body, and the thin cotton pants they had chosen to wear clung to them uncomfortably. They were in the process of drying off their wings when TO and DH came out of the elevator.

“... I hate wearing pants after a shower.” They muttered, glancing away from them both, “They cling to me all if my skin’s still damp. But...Pearla says it’s best if I wear something right out of the shower, in case someone else shows up.” They gave a humorless chuckle, their ears twitching nervously. “I hate the nudity taboos.”

“Yes... It’s irritating.” DH said as they pushed TO out of the elevator. “Well, I want to see how TO’s knee is healing up, so-“

“Y-you know.” GiDi said quickly, “When I first got here, well, I crashed. Or, I mean, our ship got shot, mine and Flits. I landed in the water, and Pearla found me and took me to her place. She insisted I take a bath since the water was filthy out off the coast. Of course, once I finished I got up and came out from behind this little screen she had, obviously naked, and she-“

“GiDi...” DH said, sighing, “I want to check TO’s Knee.”

“Right...” GiDi said, trailing off from their story, “Right.” they looked to TO, “Maybe when you’re done that, we can talk?”

“Of course.” TO said, but at the same time, DH said, “No, not now.” They both paused and looked at one another and while DH’s ears were giving off some kind of anxiety, their hands tightening on the handles to the wheelchair, TO’s could only show confusion.

“It might not be the best time.” DH whispered. “TO is still recovering, still taking a lot of painkillers-“

“I told GiDi we could talk once we were off Arkane.” TO said as they watched DH carefully, “And I feel fine!” Their ears dropped as DH gave them their stern Medical Officer’s stare, “Well... Well enough for a conversation, anyway.”

“You said you wouldn’t talk to me without TO here.” GiDi said, “You wanted them awake and lucid. And now they are, and you still won’t talk to me?” They took a step forward, their ears low, “Please-“

“Wait.” TO frowned as their ears flicked back. “What do you mean, they won’t talk to you?”

DH looked aside, “It’s... just been a lot.” They said. “And you’re hurt...”

“I didn’t want either of you to get hurt!” GiDi Insisted, taking a step forward as their wings wrapped around their arms and their hands tightened into fists, “I just wanted you all safe!”

“Right.” DH huffed, “That’s why you put that failsafe in-“

“Yes, it is!” GiDi said, “That’s absolutely why I suggested it!” they looked at DH, tears of desperation forming in their eyes, “I wanted you safe, and I knew you’d be safe with the insurgency. I knew if you were with us, then you could both be together without worrying about getting caught or corrected, or repurposed! but if the others didn’t trust you, then you wouldn’t be safe!”

“Well, I fail to see how giving us an off switch helped them trust us.” DH said, “Or why you had to hide it from us”

“The failsafe didn’t help them trust you.” GiDi said, “No, you’re right! But what it did do is get them to agree to have you around! If you had that, then you could leave that locked room, you could be around the others! You’d be able to meet my friends, and my family-“

“I thought we were your family.” DH’s voice was low, but their ears tilted back and down. GiDi took another step, reaching out for DH’s arm, but DH stepped away, pulling TO’s chair with them. GiDi’s arm hung in the air for a moment longer as a look of absolute heartbreak dropped their ears.

“You are.” They said, “I... I wanted you to meet the rest of my family.” they looked down, “And I knew if they spent some time with you, if they got to know you, then they’d trust you. But they wouldn’t do that unless they had some security. And...” They glanced up at DH first, but upon seeing how pinned back their ears were, they switched their glance to TO, “If you knew about it, they’d say that you were only behaving because you wanted to trick them, to make yourself seem trustworthy until we deactivated the failsafe!”

“... Just like Kei did,” TO whispered.

“When were you planning to tell us then?” DH hissed, though clearly they heard TO’s comment, and perhaps because of that the sharpness was gone from their voice, and their ears relaxed a little.

“Now.” GiDi whispered. “On the ship once you were safe. Before everything went crazy, before the lockdown...” They stopped, then shook their head as they stepped back, leaning against the wall behind them. “I didn’t want you hurt.” They said, “I didn’t want you involved in any of this stuff. I wanted you safe, on a ship and away from Arkane, away from King Decon...”

“And away from you, originally.” DH said, “You weren’t planning to come with us.”

Ah, right, that was another issue altogether. It seemed as though Arkane had been spared, and so the issue of GiDi returning there was rekindled.

“... I didn’t want to be separated from you.” They said, “But... Well, now you know everything, right? About King Decon, I mean.” Their eyes narrowed. “Everything he’s done, not just to us, but to other synths, to the civilians.” They stopped and took a deep breath, seemingly trying to will the anger to go away. Slowly, their ears relaxed. “... of course I didn’t want to leave Arkane. I didn’t want to leave Pearla. Pearla’s my mate.” They looked away, “But that doesn’t mean I didn’t want to have my Arkanian family, have Pearla and Tham, together with my first family.” They looked up, and looked at DH again, “And...be honest, if you had to choose between never seeing me again, or never seeing TO again-“

“Do you mean that?” TO whispered. When GiDi looked at them, confused, TO cleared their throat and spoke up, “Mean that... that we’re your first family?” They looked up, “Not... just your old family?”

“If... if you’ll both still be my family,” they said, “Which... I really want that.”

The elevator opened up, and a skinny civilian with a narrow tail got out. They looked awkwardly at the three synths before they cleared their throat, “Ah...s-sorry. it’s my turn for the shower-“

“Yes, sorry.” GiDi said as they moved aside to let them pass, “Go ahead.”

Awkwardly, the civilian stepped past them and slipped into the tiny little washroom. The three of them then waited in silence until they heard the water turn on.

“Is there somewhere we can talk?” GiDi asked, “Without being disrupted?”

“Doubtful.” DH said, “It’s too crowded, there’s nowhere-“

“Actually...” TO said softly. “There’s a place we can go.” They looked up to DH, “... I want to talk to GiDi.” They said, “Please... come with us?”

DH looked as though they wanted to say no, to protest, but as they looked between TO and GiDi, their ears dipped and relaxed, and the resistance they had to this softened.

“Fine.” They said, “Where are we going?”