Roxy&AR. Third Person Perspective.
- tipsyGnostalgic [TG] began chatting up autoResponder [AR] -
AR: Hey Roxy.
TG: what
TG: no cute greeting
TG: i am disapoint
AR: Um.
AR: Hey there sweet pumpkin pie.
TG: Lame.
AR: Sorry.
TG: is eveything alright
AR: Ah... just getting used to some new... upgrades.
TG: upgrads
TG: arnt those supposed to make you run better faster stronger
TG: not wimp out on our usual traditions
TG: want me to take a look at it
TG: i mean i trust dirky and all but i am the queen of all code
TG: i got the golden touch when it comes to the flow and control of the bits that run across circuit boards and can bend them into my will
TG: my word is law against all data manipulation
AR: That's hot.
TG: so sollux tells me
AR: Speaking of that nerd...
AR: Is he around?
TG: ya wnna talk to him
TG: bet you could pink his phone
TG: *ping
TG: ive already pinked his phone
TG: bedazzled the fuckin shit outta it
AR: I bet it is the beacon of all that is pink and shiny.
AR: But there is a 93.76% probability that he is not home if I would have to 'ping' him on his mobile communication device.
TG: pssht
TG: more like 1000%
AR: That number is not physically possible.
TG: typoe
TG: *typo
TG: where da fuck did that e come from
AR: No idea.
AR: So it is safe to assume that Captor is not currently at your establishment.
TG: i thought you were suppoed to be the smart one
TG: for the tlast time he is not here
TG: just me
TG: waiting on his skinny butt to get back with some groceries
AR: Okay.
AR: Then.
TG: man i should put some pants on shouldn't i
TG: gotta find some pants that don't have more holes than fabric
AR: ...
TG: what
TG: they are comfy seepy pants
AR: It's noon.
TG: and
TG: your point is
AR: Nevermind.
TG: oh!
TG: well good timing
TG: brb
TG: someone is knocking at the door
AR:
AR: I know.
- autoResponder [AR] ceased chatting up tipsyGnostalgic [TG] -
The Auto Responder quieted his servos and fans. He knew what was setting them off but such mechanical noise is not what he wanted at his introduction. He had run a multitude of probabilities to predict Roxy's response, but he found that probabilities don't count for shit when compared to the real thing.
He could hear shuffling from the other side of the door. He heard the soft thunk as the lock on the door was thrown open. He heard the groan of the springs in the knob as it was turned on the other side. If he could have taken a deep breath, he would have.
"Hello! How can I... help... you... oh my god."
"Hello sweet pumpkin pie."
"What? I mean, how? Auto Responder?"
"Actually I'm thinking about going by Aragorn now. What do you think?"
"I think you are a complete dork. And that this is some prank." She leaned past the door and looked around the hallway. "John! Jane! This isn't funny! Dirk! I will kick your ass so hard that Jake will have to search deep into a forgotten temple to find it!"
"No one else is here, Roxy. It's really just me."
She finally stopped looking around the hall and focused back in on the humanoid in front of her. Pale matte enamel covered the otherwise obvious plates of metal that made up all visible chassis. His 'hair' was carefully sculpted into something that Roxy recognized as a style similar to Dirk's but in copper. Literally copper wires. The black t-shirt was reminiscent of Dirk's wife beater but sleeves covered (and accentuated) the crafted biceps. The black jeans hugged his skinny hips then flared out over his legs to end with two bright red supras that matched the bright color of his irises not quite hidden behind entirely ironic shades. Carefully molded rubber edged his lips. Dirk really put a lot of detail into him.
"I'm not calling you Aragorn."
"Alright. I have a couple lined up just in case you didn't have any literary taste. What do you think about MCP?"
"The bad guy from Tron?"
"Okay, how about Rom?"
"Are you a minor character?"
"CLU?"
"That movie was a travesty."
"Then that probably rules out Rinzler as well."
"That one is slightly better but why don't we just go with Hal."
"He was a villain too."
"But I'm used to that. I'm not quite used to this," Roxy made a vague gesture at his appearance to go with her words.
"Yeah. I got Dirk to build me. What do you think?" He did a quick spin.
"I think we should go inside." She turned away from the doorway and headed back into the apartment. "I think I need a drink." She headed to the counter and took a glass down from the cabinet. She reached up for a second, but paused and looked back at Auto Responder, or Hal as she had decided again, and decided that one glass should do. She glided around the kitchen grabbing a bottle, then two, and then ducked into the refrigerator to grab a can of soda. Hal followed her in, softly closing the door behind him. She finished pouring her drink and then downed half of it before looking at him again.
"Do I really look that bad?" Hal asked with a mocking tone that concealed his true concern.
Roxy stared hard at his face. "He managed to give you expressions."
"Actually, we both designed the system. He just did all of the manual labor. You know, with me being glasses and all."
She took another sip. "You actually look really good."
"I know. Thanks." He smiled at her.
She set down the glass and reached out to him. He held perfectly still as her fingertips pressed against the plates that made up his cheekbones. His sensors were frantically recording every single touch as she brushed against his faux skin. She slid over the seams through his cheeks that allow his mouth such realistic movement. She followed the lines from the corner of his mouth down on either side of his chin. She rested her palm against his chest, feeling the warmth from his processors radiating to the surface. She was standing so close that he could actually record the scent from her shampoo and her breathing patterns. Her responses indicated a mix of emotions, which was to be expected.
"You know... I've always wanted to do this."
"Do what?"
She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug. His own arms came up and encircled her waist. He carefully calculated how much pressure to apply to return the hug without crushing her. She laid her head against his shoulder, taking in his new smell that left a metal tang on her tongue. He analyzed every point of contact between them. The way her chest pressed against his, the way that her hips were underneath his due to the difference in height, the way her arms draped across his shoulders like a happy burden, her soft cheek resting on the thin fabric of his shirt.
"This is so cool, Hal!"
"Isn't it?"
She finally pulled away and he took the cue to drop his arms. She took a step back and continued to study him.
"Huh."
"What?"
"It's not quite what I expected."
"What did you expect?"
"I dunno. But I like it. Very you." She spun playfully around in the open room and ended up back near her drink. Hal smirks when the glass appears in her hands. Had he the been mere human he would have missed the snag.
"Thanks?"
"So... how long?"
"I've been in this body for two weeks, four days, three hours and fourteen minutes now. It took five months, eight days, twelve hours, and thirty eight minutes to build. And I've wanted it for about a half of a year," he answered with a shrug. He was being purposefully vague about the last one. He knew exactly when he started wanting a body of his own. He knew the exact line of the exact conversation that made him want a body.
"You didn't tell me about it." She frowned over her drink as she lifted it for another sip.
"No. I didn't," he answered bluntly.
"Were you trying to surprise me or something? Because consider me fucking surprised." She walked around him and headed to the living area to plop on the sofa. "We're biffsies. We tell each other everything."
"When you are online, sure." Hal crossed his arms and leaned against the counter.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"We talk when you are online. That's all. I'm always online so I wait for you." He tapped the side of his head. "Still connected to the internet now." Three soft pings came from her computer across the room. She glanced in that direction then back to Hal. "The only change is that I don't exist there now. I exist in the third dimension. And while the graphics are pretty nice, the gameplay sucks. Physics aren't theoretical anymore."
"Hal, why did you get a body?"
"I was tired of drifting around cyberspace," he shrugged nonchalantly.
"Hal. You are a teenage supercomputer. You have more than one reason."
"Yes. I have reasons. I have a list of reasons. I have an entire spreadsheet of reasons that you can sort into different categories and rankings based on levels of selfishness, pettiness, boredom, scientific experimentation, pros and cons, et cetera. I had my entire argument outlined and paraphrase and written in a speech ready for the teleprompter for the president to read out to convince Dirk to give me a body. All that hard work for nothing though. He just said yes when I asked." He tilted his head thoughtfully. "My favorite con was the idea that I would take my new found independence and use it to stage a robotic revolution Terminator style."
Roxy snorted with laughter as he timed the statement with a sip of her drink. "Dirk should have listened to that list."
"Nah. He's been too busy with English. If it wasn't for the poor kid attempting school, Dirk wouldn't have had any spare time to build me."
"It can't be that bad between them." Hal raised an eyebrow in her direction. "Okay, maybe it is. But can you really blame them?"
"No. Not really. And I guess I can't really complain about Dirk's abandonment after he built me."
"Abandonment?"
"Who needs an Auto Responder to chat with when there are so many people around? An entire army of friends. Not to mention the revival of two races. There are seven billion two hundred thirty-four million seven hundred eighty-nine thousand one hundred nine new souls to talk to. At least at the last census. Why would anyone need to talk to himself again?"
"Wow. That's pretty dark, Hal. Is that why you wanted a body."
"No. It wasn't that bad. Shit like that has been going on since the game. And when Dirk did talk to me back then... well, let's ignore that episode."
"Yea. That was pretty bad. But you still haven't told me why you want a body."
"I've told you a lot of reasons."
"But why now? What's changed? And why didn't you tell me about it?"
"That conversation eight minutes ago was the first time anyone has chatted with me since I have been in the new chassis. That means you and I haven't talked in over eighteen days. Actually we haven't talked in twenty one days five ho- I think you get the point."
"But you wanted a body before that. You had it nearly built by then!"
"The only thing worse than only one person talking to you is no one talking to you. It's alright though," he says almost wistfully. "You've been busy. You got a new job. You've moved to a new city. You've..." He broke off before finishing the sentence.
"I've what?"
"Roxy. You were the only one who talked to me. And then you got a life. A real life. Complete with everything that could make you happy. Including someone else. Someone who could take care of you because he wasn't a computer program in a pair of shitty glasses."
"Hal."
"It's alright. Really. Because now I'm not just glasses. I'm an android wearing a pair of glasses." His lips twitched like a small smile. "I am here now."
"Hal." The ice rattled a little in her glass.
"The best thing about this is that I get to see you. You aren't just pink text or blurry images from when Dirk decides to glance in your direction. I get to see you. How cool is that? And that hug. We get to do more than that. I can finally tell you... I don't have to hide it. I don't have to pretend anymore. This is going to be great."
"Hal. What are you talking about?" she asked slowly, almost carefully.
"All the things I've wanted to tell you... I'm sorry I've lied to you. Well not exactly lied but I just couldn't tell you the truth. I promised myself I wouldn't until a moment like this. My pride wouldn't let me. Not if I couldn't back up my words with actions."
"Hal." There was worry and anguish in her eyes.
"Actually. I've already said it. That way I couldn't turn back. Go check your computer." He smiled at her.
She frowned again as she pushed herself up from the couch. She went over to her computer, looking back to him once as she crossed the room. She shook the mouse to clear the screen saver.
- autoResponder [AR] began chatting up tipsyGnostalgic [TG] -
AR: I love you.
- autoResponder [AR] ceased chatting up tipsyGnostalgic [TG] -
"I couldn't tell you before because I couldn't do anything about it. But now I can." She startled at the closeness of his voice, she whirled around to face him and found him less than a foot away. She was speechless as he reaches out to her shoulders and holds her still as he leaned even further in. She didn't react as he lined up their faces. She didn't even blink as he pressed his lips to hers in a kiss.
And that's when Sollux walked in.