Disclaimer; I don't own Red vs Blue
Thanks to UnnaturalKetchupTaco and Private Tucker for helping me out with this piece. You two are awesome!!
Summary; And that's why they worked.
That's What Makes Us Human
"Watch my bad side."
It was always the first command upon entering a battle, the last before returning home at night. It wasn't a big command, really just common sense when it was all broken down; York couldn't see clearly due to his damaged optical nerve. Delta, on the other hand, had no physical body to damage, and eyesight of beyond 20-20. If anyone was going to cover York, he might as well do it. The fact it was a command never registered with his programming, not really. The Freelancer was too benign to actually order anything.
"Of course. Watching left side."
There was never any hesitance in the reply, never any doubt, never any fear. York doubted Delta even needed the order to watch his left, but it was instinct, drilled into them from basic; give the orders, give your AI room to maneuver, and then let training take over. True, York preferred the subtleties of infiltration work, the silence, the solitude, and he doubted his 'ordering' Delta actually mattered. He had a soft spot for the AI, yes, but more than that, he just wasn't that assertive. He cloaked his presence, his strength, his abilities; it was what made him so good at his job.
"I would prefer to stay with York."
Really, in the end, that was what made their partnership work. York didn't give orders; Delta didn't need them. They both knew what needed to be done for them to survive, and they knew when to offer assistance and when to ask for it. It was why, unlike Omega and Tex, Delta and York rarely had any serious problems. Delta didn't want to be in control, he wanted to help. York had no desire for a computer program, he just wanted someone to aid him in the field. Why, as York lay unconscious, his vitals slowly dropping, Delta chose not to move in with Tex, to stay with his Freelancer even though he knew he would most likely be destroyed. It worked because, above all else, York was human.
And it worked because that made Delta a little more human, too.