"There we go. Now that you're all wrapped up, you shouldn't get too cold."

Slaine had never really tucked anyone into bed before (except for maybe a few times when Klancain was sick, but that was definitely it) but he figured he hadn't done such a bad job of it. Inaho was bundled up in a combination of the peach sheets, and the bright red comforter, his head and neck the only things poking out of the bedding. In fact, Inaho almost looked content in his little cocoon of blankets. Slaine figured that was probably the association talking, since Inaho had thus far been incapable of making facial expressions. Still, it was enough to make himself rather pleased. He was sure he had a nice, warm, happy android house guest, and it was a nice feeling.

Just at that moment, his phone buzzed and started singing at him. Inaho was ready to agree with him, mostly likely. Or to thank him. It wouldn't be bad thing to be thanked for his efforts, but he'd already told Inaho to stop trying to appease him so much, so he hoped Inaho's meaning said thank you, without actually saying it. He wanted the intent, not the words, which seemed silly coming from a text message, since there was no obvious emotion behind texts, but Inaho had surprised him already at his ability to express himself without body language or facial expressions. It likely had to do a lot with just how plainly he stated things. Slaine figured that was for the best. He wondered idly if it was just Inaho's way or if he was used to being misunderstood. Either seemed like a viable reason.

He looked over Inaho once more, before nodding his head, and wandering over to the tea table, where he'd set his phone down when he'd started moving, and arranging Inaho in the bed. He took a seat in the plush chair Inaho had been residing in not too long ago, and unlocked his phone.

I am much warmer. The phone's battery is low.

Slaine could almost hear -which was silly since it was all text- a quiet 'thank you' after the first statement, and he found himself very satisfied at the thought. He looked back over at Inaho, focusing on the android for a few seconds, before shifting his gaze to the phone connected to the back of Inaho's neck with a thin cable. It indeed was flashing in distress.

"That's okay. It's about time I look at that list of yours anyway. I'll unplug the phone and connect you to the lap top instead. We'll charge the phone while I look over the list." Slaine hoisted himself off of the comfortable plush chair - why had he moved this out of his room again? - and headed to the door. On his way there, he heard the shrill beep of the washing machine in the laundry room, as it finished the washing cycle.

His mind latched onto that fact, and Slaine quickly doubled back for the pile of old dusty clothes he'd taken off of Inaho before putting him in the bed. It seemed rather appropriate to simply toss, or donate the clothes that he'd bought Inaho in; they were old, gaudy, and cheaply made, but there was a chance that Inaho had placed some form of value on them. Slaine wouldn't get rid of them until Inaho could see them for himself, and decide if he wanted to keep them, or get rid of them. They were his, so that only seemed fair. He'd already planned to wash them, so it was just convenient that the previous load of laundry had finished.

If Slaine was being honest, he hoped Inaho did decide to get rid of them. The android looked much, much better in the over sized sweater that Slaine had dug out of his closet. It made Inaho look more normal, more like a student, or just a sleepy teenager. It would be easy to picture him sleeping off study woes in a library somewhere, and that was a very nice thought. The gaudy blue outfit Slaine had found him in made him look more like a circus attraction, or a doll, which Slaine found to be a rather upsetting thought. He really did hope that Inaho decided to get rid of the clothes.

"I'll be in the laundry room. It isn't too far away, and I'll leave the doors open. You should be able to hear me." Slaine explained, as he picked up the old, musty smelling clothes, and wandered out of the bed room.

He quickly went about unloading the sheets into the dryer, and shoving the washer full of the unsavory blues he'd purchase Inaho in. During the summer, he preferred to dry the washing on the drying rack in the back yard, but it was winter, and despite being quite a sunny, pleasant day for winter, using the dryer was best in that instant. He didn't want to freak out Inaho more than necessary by just walking out the door.

Once he had started up both the washer and the dryer, he ambled back towards the guest room, but Tharsis caught him before he entered. From her cage at the end of the hall, she chirped at him in greeting, and he changed his course to go and meet her.

"Tharsis" he called, and she trilled back at him happily, before fluttering over to land on his shoulder and nibble on his ear affectionately. He reached up and pet her head with a few of his fingers, and hurried back into the guest bed room. Inaho's room, he reminded himself. Tharsis sang for him in obvious contentment.

"Inaho, I need to get the laptop from the kitchen. Now, before you say anything, Tharsis and I will sing, so that you should be able to hear us. Klancain complains about it all the time in the morning, and his room is right across from yours. You should be able to hear us fine." Slaine knew he should have given Inaho time to respond, but instead, he swiftly slipped back out into the hallway. Tharsis was already humming and singing one of her favorite songs, and he loudly joined her.

As he traveled down the hallway, he could hear his phone go off from Inaho's new room, but he ignored it. He'd have to take baby steps with this whole 'hear you breathing' thing, until he could wean Inaho off of it entirely. It was born out of insecurity, and Slaine intended to make that less of an issue. For now, doing what he said he would do, and pushing boundaries just a smidge seemed like the ideal choice for the moment.

His laptop was right where he'd left it on the kitchen table, and he quickly grabbed it, and headed back to the bed room. Once he was in the room, he stopped singing - to Tharsis's slight irritation - and 'Hm'd to himself. "Okay, now was that so bad?" Slaine asked as he reentered Inaho's new room. He went about placing the laptop on the bedside table, and then went for his own phone, still sitting forlorn on the little tea table. Tharsis chirped as he sat down in the plush chair by the tea table, and flew over to Inaho, perching on top of his head. He was exceptionally happy to have found an eye patch from an old Halloween costume, because as he watched Tharsis, she inspected the black patch, then quickly dismissed it entirely. No more sticking her head in Inaho's eye socket, he thought to himself with satisfaction. One more small issue resolved!

His phone rang at that moment, and he shook his head away from the image of Tharsis on Inaho's head, and looked down at the new message.

It was satisfactory. I could hear you. Please tell Tharsis hello. Is she playing with the eye patch? The phone battery is low.

Slaine nodded in satisfaction at the message, and looked up at Inaho again. All this unnecessary eye contact was really silly, he thought, but there wasn't any harm in it either. "Inaho says Hello, Tharsis."

The white parakeet looked up at him in confusion, but none the less offered an enthusiastic "Hello!" back, before focusing her attention back onto Inaho. Slaine chuckled at her puzzlement, then looked back down at his phone again before answering Inaho's other inquiries.

"She isn't. Playing with the eye patch, I mean. She isn't playing with it. She's leaving it alone, and playing with your hair. I think she's trying to clean it, actually. It needs a good wash if I'm being honest. Calm wiped you down pretty well, so you aren't dusty or dingy, but your hair could do with a good washing." He looked over at the pair, and watched as Tharsis methodically went through Inaho's brown locks. It was a really cute image and he couldn't help but smile at it. "She's definitely preening you." He stated with a chuckle. Tharsis was usually very picky about new things or people, but she had taken right to Inaho from the start. Slaine wondered if that would still be the case when he got Inaho moving. She had to realize Inaho was human, or something like a human, even if he couldn't move. Maybe she thought he was sick, or even dead. The thought was both heartwarming, and strangely morbid. Sometimes he wondered why he even bothered to imagine how things worked in Tharsis's mind.

He let the thought go, and took a moment to look at the message Inaho had sent before Slaine had returned to the room. Slaine found himself smiling at that too. Instead of questioning or needing reassurance, all Inaho had sent was a simple,

Please hurry back.

Maybe he was making more progress than he'd originally thought.

With both messages read, Tharsis mothering on Inaho's hair, and the laptop secured from the clutches of the distant kitchen, Slaine placed his phone on the tea table, and hoisted himself out of the very comfortable chair. Absentmindedly he thought it was a pretty good thing Inaho was in here now, because he'd get to sit in that chair a lot more. Dismissing the thought as entirely trivial, Slaine walked over to the bed and sat down. He then proceeded to boot up the computer, disconnecting the cell phone, and hooking Inaho up to the laptop instead.

Slaine then grabbed the phone charger and went about plugging the thing in so that it could charge while they worked on the computer. Once that was done, he wandered back to the bed and sat down again.

By that point, the laptop was already up and running. Inaho's familiar chat window was already open, and to the side of it was a document full of links to various online retailers.

He thought about just charging forward, but decided that now was as good a time as any to bring up a subject he was sure Inaho wasn't going to like, but it was one Slaine knew he couldn't avoid for much longer. "Inaho, I've thought it over, and I think it would be a really good idea if we let Calm in on all of th-"

No.

The answer was immediate. Slaine frowned at being cut off, and was about to protest when a belated

Please

popped up on the screen.

Slaine's frown turned more into a look of concern, and he took a few moments to compose what he had been planning to say, before speaking. "Inaho, hear me out first. Calm is a good guy, and he'd go gaga over you once he realized how human you are. I'm sure you're anxious, because he was going to have you taken away, but he provided the cord that is letting us communicate now. He's already helped us, and given you your voice back. I think it's a good idea to involve him."

Why?

Slaine blinked at the screen for a few seconds. "I just said why, I think he's trustwo-"

No.

Why are you involving a third party in this?

It is safer to only involve you and me.

I want to understand your motives for jeopardizing my safety.

I am not even comfortable with you informing your kin of my circumstances.

I am not comfortable informing a person who would have disposed of me had you not stopped him.

The only thing that saved me from death was my lack of a barcode and you.

I am not comfortable jeopardizing my safety over your expectation that most humans are good and decent.

Why?

Slaine recoiled as if he'd been struck. Tharsis was quickly at his side, landing effortlessly on his shoulder, and nuzzling at his cheek. She could always tell better than anyone when he was upset or distressed. He whistled to calm her down, but it wasn't only for her sake. He read over the statements again, and winced at how emotional it felt. He'd asked Inaho to be more honest with him, and less reverent, but he hadn't expected such a strong dismissal. Even still, he was glad that Inaho had been willing to say exactly what was on his mind, even if it stung to see it.

It was a good thing he was getting a clearer image of Inaho's personality and the insecurities that shaped his clingy behavior, but that didn't make answering Inaho's concerns any easier. He figured he would also have to be frank.

"Inaho, I can't say that I understand the depth of your concerns, but I do understand that you are afraid. Once you can move on your own, this won't be as much of a problem, but if I died tomorrow, you would be alone again, and I would have been unable to keep my promise to you. I promised to fix you, and if I'm unable to do that, I want to leave you with someone who can. Calm is someone I know. I've known him for two years now, and I know he can fix you if anything happened to me. This is a sort of insurance, Inaho. It would be irresponsible of me to let you be abandoned should something happen to me."

Slaine's mind wandered to unpleasant memories for a few moments before he continued, deciding that if he expected Inaho to be honest, he also had to do the same. It wasn't easy, but it was only fair. "My father died very suddenly when I was young. He hadn't set up anything for me, and I was shuffled around from place to place for a few years after that. Those years were the worst of my life. I don't resent my father for not planning for something like that, but I wish he would have at least made some preparations for me. I can't imagine how you've dealt with abandonment. Your situation is so much worse than mine ever was, and I didn't handle mine well at all. I want to give you some security that you will be cared for until you can manage on your own. If you have a better option, I'll listen."

He fought through his hesitation to say all that. Every word had felt like a struggle, because he was admitting his own faults and weaknesses. It was not fun to relive those days of feeling like he didn't belong anywhere, of what he now knew was abandonment. He didn't think of it often. Slaine put it out of his head the majority of the time, and completely ignored it. Or, as well as he could. It was difficult to just let it all out, but he was also proud that he had been able to. It wasn't easy, and he'd done it. He was strangely proud of himself.

It took Inaho a long time to respond. Slaine took that as a sign that he had again left Inaho speechless, it seemed like a good sign. When Inaho did answer, it was nothing like what Slaine had expected.

You are not telling me something.

It is uncharacteristic for a human of your age to be thinking rationally of his own passing.

Even given your history, I find it bizarre.

Moreover, I told you that my basic motor functions will easily return once I have a replacement power supply.

It will take longer to ship than to install, thus my motor skills will be repaired quickly, and contacting Calm would be unnecessary.

Despite having this information, you are preparing for the case of your death.

Figuring in how much average shipping time lasts, you are anticipating it within the next few days to weeks.

You have a rational concern of dying in the immediate future, but are too young for such concerns.

Your statements, though heartfelt and sincere, are evasive.

What are you not telling me?

Slaine found himself staring at the screen in bold faced disbelief and growing anger. This was not how people reacted when they were told a painful part of a person's past. He had finally been able to say how difficult his situation had been, only for Inaho to coldly call him a liar and to say nothing even slightly sympathetic or understanding. He felt like an idiot; used and violated. He had just bared his soul, and Inaho had told him it wasn't enough, hadn't even had the decency to give him sympathy. It wasn't right, and it wasn't fair. This was not normal human behavior, and the angry part of him screamed that he was not dealing with a human; he was dealing with a machine. A machine that had manipulated itself into his home, his life, and into thinking that it actually had human emotions, only to coldly call him a liar and demand more when he presented his own weaknesses in an attempt to console.

He wanted to leave. He wanted to walk right out the front door, and not come back for a few days, maybe a week. Slaine knew it was petty, spiteful and cruel, but the thought of hurting the machine was very satisfying. As it stood, Slaine felt utterly violated. He'd welcomed this machine into his home, decided to trust it against his better judgment, and now his feelings and concerns had been completely ignored. The thought fueled his anger.

Slaine sat there in absolute silence for a long time, doing his best not to lose it, not to scream or cry or get to his feet so that he could throw things or run away. None of that would solve anything, even if they made him feel safer, even if they made his emotions less painful. Tharsis stayed on his shoulder, reaching over to peck his lip in affection, and to play with his hair in an attempt to calm him down. He thought of her and it helped. Even if Inaho didn't care, at least someone did. He reached over and pet her head, and snuggled his cheek closer to her. She responded in kind, and he took all the time he needed with her to calm down at least a little.

Inaho did not respond in that time. Slaine figured it was better. He almost wanted to disconnect the cord so that Inaho couldn't speak to him at all, but that was cruel, and he didn't want to be a cruel person. When he did feel comfortable talking, after a long silence had followed, Slaine figured he had best state his feelings as plainly as possible, if Inaho was going to understand any of it. He made sure his voice was level, low, and angry. "I am very angry with you."

Inaho's answer was swift.

Because I am right.

Whatever calm he had gained, shattered in that moment, and he was on his feet, Tharsis fluttering away from him, and onto the dresser. "Because you are insensitive! I was trying to relate to you!" He was going to walk away. He was going to regret it, and come back sooner than he should, but he was going to go. Inaho answered faster than he moved.

How is my concern for your well being insensitive?

You have successfully related to me, but these are not mitigating factors.

I am concerned about your abnormal fatalistic tendencies.

I am hooked up to your computer.

A search of your internet history will easily provide me the answer I seek.

I am asking you first.

Please tell me what is wrong, Slai-

He couldn't take it. Slaine ripped the cord out of Inaho's neck, and the menu disappeared instantly. "You only care because I'm fixing you, and because I'm dumb enough not to have gotten rid of you when I should have!"

Even in his anger, he regretted the action. He'd wanted Inaho to shut up, for him to just admit that he had been wrong, and acknowledge that Inaho had hurt him, but this wasn't the way to do it. Forcefully silencing him wasn't the answer. Tears rolled down Slaine's face, as he padded over to the charging cell phone, and unplugged it. Sniffling, he unplugged the cord from his laptop, and attached the cell phone to Inaho's outlet. This way, Inaho could say all he wanted, but Slaine didn't have to listen.

His cell phone rang instantly, 'Coin-Operated Boy' echoing in the room to taunt him for being such a fool, and it seemed disgustingly appropriate. He tried his best to ignore it, and was thankful that the surge in emotions made him exceedingly tired. Bonelessly he slumped down to the floor, his back leaning against the bed. He couldn't stop crying, what an idiot he was. He pulled up his knees, buried his head in them, and wrapped his arms around himself.

Tharsis fluttered over to him, and played with his hair, trying to console him, but it was no use. He didn't even want her to see him. "Tharsis, nest." He managed to force the words out around the shaking of his shoulders. She hesitated for a long time before dutifully doing as he had asked, and flying out of the room.

He sat there for a long time, crying like an idiot, and trying not to sound too pathetic. Some vindictive part of him wanted Inaho to hear how much he'd been hurt, but he knew that part of him would pass. Eventually, he fell asleep to the repeated sound of 'Coin-Operated Boy' as his phone kept ringing and ringing and ringing.