Chapter Warnings: None
AN: This chapter fought with me soooo freaking much- I was almost afraid it would be put out late because of that. Those two just didn't want to cooperate! I also had graduation today, so I've been pretty busy getting ready for that and studying for my Wednesday/Thursday finals last week. BUT done with high school and that's such an awesome feeling- just! Ahhh!
December 18th, 2030, 3:44 PM
Los Angeles, California
"Oliver. We have tasks to attend to."
"Oh, come on, Hunter! All you do is work. Even Blue told you to take a break."
Green hunched his shoulders, hands buried in the pockets of his "borrowed" sweater. It was an obnoxious shade of orange. Of course it was. All Bing, the previous owner, knew was obnoxious. At least the sunglasses looked relatively normal. "I understand that," he started, eyeing a couple they walked past, "but I would much prefer sleep as a "break" than some walk. We are wasting time, Oliver."
Oliver tsked, though still grinned. His sweatshirt was white with old oil stains on the ends of the sleeves and chest. From one of Bing's (many) failed skateboard tricks, Green thought with a poorly contained sneer. "You are such a grouch," the yellow Google laughed, seemingly ignoring the other's scornful expression.
A sigh. There was no getting out of this. If he returned to the hotel (they had changed hotels after repairs so employees didn't get suspicious from sudden lack of crutches and "oxygen" masks) then Blue would have sent him right back out. And there was no way he was going to leave Oliver on his own.
"Come on!"
"…Fine."
Green forced himself to swallow his irritation when the other Upgrade grabbed his sleeve and dragged him down yet another street. Thank God for Google Maps, he thought with a huff. With the random route Oliver was taking, they would have been lost in minutes if the GPS wasn't built right into their CPUs.
"Where are you in such a hurry to reach?"
"…I don't know?" The green Google let out his umpteenth sigh, which just made Oliver laugh. "Oh, lighten up. Is it that bad being with me?" He gave the other Upgrade what had to be a pointed look from behind dark sunglasses.
Green let out a soft trill, then cleared his throat and let his eyes dart about. No humans had noticed, and at least it sounded like it could have been from a phone. He repeated that trill, but in English, "Of course not." Arms crossing over his chest, Green turned his head to the other so they could meet each others' veiled eyes about as well as possible. "Why on Earth would you think that?"
Oliver shrugged. "Don't know, I guess." Green could only shake his head in response.
If not for the fact it was built right into his head, Green would have lost track of how much time the pair wasted wandered through the streets of Los Angeles. Oliver was like a child: Running from one thing to another, a grin on his face, and curiosity that could rival any of the other Egos'. Green wanted to find it annoying. He really did. But Oliver was and would always be Oliver. When it was him, it was hard to see it as annoying. In a way, that personality was…endearing. Green would never admit it, of course. Nor would he ever use the term "brothers" for the other two Upgrades and Blue. Blue had taught them attachment was weakness. Useless. A triviality they didn't have time for.
Even so, there was a fondness for each other all four of them had whether they were willing to admit it or not. That same fondness had a tiny smile curling the edge of Green's lip at the awe in Oliver's face as he peered through a store window. It was clear by the lights, decorations, and trees adorning the streets and stores that Christmas was just around the corner. A week away, to be exact.
Green had never really seen the wonder in the holiday, though Oliver used to love it before...well. They were no longer in need to worry about fading, so best to leave that part of their past behind.
"You think Blue will let us relax on Christmas? You know, give us the day off?" Oliver asked, successfully pulling Green from his thoughts. His expression was hopeful as he looked back at the other Upgrade.
The other shrugged, once again straight-faced. "Doubtful. Christmas is just another day in the year. I see no reasoning behind taking a break on it other than using it as an excuse to be lazy."
Oliver's shoulders slumped. "...Right."
Green placed a hand on the other's shoulder. It was a brief gesture, but it had Oliver grinning again. Green never would understand why Oliver took such comfort in physical contact, but at least it was something simple. "How are the glasses coming along?" he asked as the pair continued their trek. He wasn't even going to bother asking where they were going anymore.
"Good! I've got Blue and yours almost done!" He looked so proud of himself, but then frowned. "Jasper and mine aren't cooperating as well, though. Need to do some more tweaking to figure out the right settings." Oliver's voice dipped into such a low, whirring chirp, that Green had to turn up his audial settings just to hear him (warrenting humans couldn't hear him, surely), "Human technology is really...obsolete. Kind of annoying to work with."
Green could only huff in agreement, tuning his audios back to their regular settings. "Obsolete seems a vast understatement."
That got a laugh out of the yellow Google. "Right?"
For a while, there was a companionable silence between them. Then buildings and crowds thinned, overtaken by lush grass, and it was getting dark by that point. Green found his brows scrunching.
"Where are we?" It was a rhetorical question, of course. Due to Maps, Green knew exactly where they were.
Being Oliver, the yellow Google answered anyway with a wide grin, "Hilltop Park!"
Green sighed. "We are a very long way from the hotel. You are aware of that?"
"Yep!"
"You are also aware Blue wants us back by nine o'clock?"
Even if he couldn't see Oliver's eyes, Green was almost positive they were being rolled at him. "Yes, I am, and it's not even five, yet. Lighten up a little."
Green wasn't exactly given time to answer as his sleeve was grabbed yet again and he was dragged up a hill and toward a park bench. He would never admit that he stumbled a little on the way up, tripping over his own feet as he tried to keep pace with Oliver while being pulled along. With the way Oliver acted, it was sometimes easy to forget he was just as powerful as the other three: Nearly pulling Green right off his feet at least once on the way up. It really didn't help Green's barely visible, yet still irritating as all hell, struggle.
When they reached the hilltop, Oliver placed his hands on the back of the bench.
"Oliver, there is too much light pollution to see the stars." Green shook his head slightly as he took the spot next to the other Upgrade. It was about as dark as it would get now, and the few humans who had dwindled in the park upon their arrival disappeared. Green took it as an opportunity to push his sunglasses up, bright eyes cutting through the minimal darkness as he looked up to the starless sky. Light pollution was an ugly thing, he decided with a distasteful curl of the lips.
Initially, all he received was a shrug in response. Then, "I know, but look." Oliver gestered out at the city below.
It was like a reverse sky. Rather than stars in the sky, they littered the ground below in reds and blues and whites. Green found his head tipping slightly. Even with his advanced eyesight, he wasn't sure he could count all of them, nor the number of buildings they all belonged to.
"How did you find out about this?" he asked without actually turning to Oliver.
"Research!" The yellow Google grinned. "I know "views" aren't really your "thing," but it's away from people, work, and I was hoping you would relax a little when you saw it?" The hope in Oliver's voice, the way his brows arched high above his sunglasses, had Green offering a relenting sigh. "Baby brother" was honestly the best term to use for Oliver (again, the other Googles would never admit it!), even if technically Green was youngest by mere moments. As "baby brother," he also had an annoying tendency to get things to go how he wanted.
Had he been Red, he would have given Oliver an unnecessarily rough hair-ruffle or cuff to the back of the head. ...Well, probably both, actually. But, much like Blue would, Green went for the shoulder-grasp instead. He wasn't really sure how it was possible, but Oliver's grin seemed to grow. He sure liked smiling. Why was that?
"Though the lack of stars is...unnerving," Green started, "I will admit the city is impressive. Quite the stunning view from this perspective."
Green crossed his arms over the back of the park bench and eased his military-inspired stance into a more relaxed one. He would never admit how good it felt to let the tension leave his back and shoulders as he shifted his weight to put most of it on the backrest. At his side, Oliver was practically beaming with pride at his accomplishment.
"See? It's not bad to relax a little."
Green slipped his sunglasses back on before returning to his previous, practically slouching, position. "I suppose it is good in moderation."
A sharp elbow struck him in what would have been the ribs in someone organic. "Oh, lighten up," Oliver laughed. "You especially need to relax more often."
AN: Felt I needed a bonding chapter for Oliver and Green isn't a TOTAL jackass. :D
Seriously, the Googles are t̕ri҉cky͏ for me but I adore wriṱi͙̳͈̦ng them̴͚̞̬! 3 Hope this chaà̴̘̝͎̰a̴̻̪͖͔̥̺͜ą͉͇̳̦͉̮̹̥͝a͈̜̣͖̝̩̱̳a̳̣̺͕̰̤̪̬p͏̧̪͇̭t̶҉̹̜e͏̴̤̫͓̰̤͎̞̲r̝̗̭̰̭͜͠ didn't seem f̧̢̻͉̥͙͇́o͏̡̼̖̦̳̞̀r̛҉̝̻̩̪̩͖c̼͚͎̼͡-͕̠͓̗-̩̗̼-̶̛̮̮̯̫̗̟̣̳͠-̛̣͎̙͙-͇͙̣̯̩̺̯͡
E̸̴̥̠͖̬̻͊̓̈͘Rͫ̾̀̚҉̵̢͍͚̥̪͓̟̼R̪̩̗ͣ̿̐ͭ̓ͩͯ̽́̀0̴͕͎͓̇̇̾́̏̈͒̚͟R̬͖̽ͨͯ͌̓ͫ͂ͩ̓
-̫̘̝̗͍̥̽-̠̥̘͔̫ͣͧ͂F̽i̪̭͖̜͕̩͇ͣ̋̐ͤ̀̈̇lͅë͔̼̭̞́͗̃̐͌ͅ ̿C͇͔̲̣o̲̯̱͎͒͌r̩̳͉̭̜͒ͫ̀̑r̗̝̠̠͚͉͖͆̈́͌ͥ̌ͮu̼͕͙̞̘ͅp͔̘̮̪͇̉ͅt̻̲̗͓͒ͯͧ̄̈́.̯̳̺͍̬͙̤̾͑͆̾ͨ̚
-͖̤͍͓̫̉̀͛̊͢-̒͑͞-̧̲͎͓ͥ̈́̊̊-̳̩̽ͤ̅̌͡R͙̩̹̻̜̠̘e̘̭̯͚̳̟̍̇̍̐́ro͔̝͙̺̭̍ͯ̌ͣͨu͚̰t̛̲̏͂̔i̛͈̦͙̮ͬ̋ͮ̓ͫ̽ṋ̨̻̠̖̥ͤ͋͒̌̒ͯ̈́ͅg̱̹̫͇̤̩̹ͣͯ̈́ ̒D̓̈̏a̟͉̩̖ͪͫ̐͆̈́̚ͅt̵͔̍̄ă̸̙̘̗̫̞̭͊͗͋̇ͅ:̳ͬͥ̒̓ͤ̂̊ ̼͕B̨̺͓̩̯̈́̉̅ͅ-̟̰̍ͣ̽̓ͣBͬ-̦̰̻̞̙̆̉ͯͥ̄ͩͬŠ͚̊̅̒͟S̨̮͇̘̼̤̰̻͒͌̽̀̋ͩS̩̊ͬ͘S̟͙͎͚̈́͘-ͪ̑͐̂̓-̼̯͉̦͚͕̅ͧͯ̂́-̷͔̆̎̽ͣ̈́̓e̢ͪrͩ͏̤͉̯̼͍͙͖ro̳̭̼̖̍̑ͥͫ̒̂͛r̵ͨ͗̔ͥ
͕̩ͦͮͥ-ͪͨ̎̃̐̋ͮ̕-̨̮ͧͬ-̳͇̙̩̯͇ͩͯͯ-̗̞ͥͬ̉̌̍̆̈́͜F̢̯͙̼̻̺̊̃i̴͚̲̠̽̾ḷ̺͚̱̞̭̟̍͗̊e̳̝̐̄ ̶̪̪͙̅ͥ͌N̴͕̟̈o͘t̷̟ ͣ̏̓̊F̊̆͢ö̴̜͕̗͔͖̲̯́u͌ǹ̝̞̣͓̪̍͌̾ͤͬd͂͒̓̅
́̕R̭̘̤͐ë̟́̏̕r̭̩̓͆͛̃ͭ́͡oͧ̉̆͂͐ͫu̵̳̠̭͕ͭͩͬ̀̂ͤt̨̻͇̗̬̘̉̍̽i̡͓̬̬̩̰̙̲̅͋̈́n̳̭̝͔̥̞̜g̺̃͘
-̷̧͇̥̞̱͘͡-̡̮̪̱̣̻̖̭̗̝͈̪͕̞̳̟́͘͠ͅͅ-̴̴͚̘͔̤̣̣͕͇͟͞ͅ-͢͏̡̻̤͇͇̠͚͡Ń̷̴̹̲̗͈̣̭̲͓̝̜̰̤̮͔̲e͠҉̳̘̥͍ͅw̸̸̧͎̺̘̣͖͍͔̟͎̕͠ ̯̺̩̬̣̯̝̝̠̻̭̹̙̗̫̤͘͢͝A͜͏̗̮͖̘̞u̶̞̞̹͖̗̺͘͟͜d̶̢͏̘̟̕ͅi̢̯̻̙̯͡͝͝͞o̡͜͏͉̯̟͚̱̱͔͉̻̼̗͈̦͔̭̲ ҉̷̵͔̞̳̱̮̦̣̤̥̫̰͈̪́͜D̡̢̹͎͚͔̗̜̱̮̦̗͞ì͝҉̰͉͈͓ś̷̰̪̱̖̭̜̮̲͔̠͖̯̦̺̖̠͇̠̲͢͡͝c̡͏̙͓͕̯̝̩̹͖̫̝̮̟̫̟o͉̹͉̜͉̹̕͞v̴̶̡̢͙̲͕̱̮̫̼̤̣̲͉̝̟̤ͅe͏̝̗̙͘͡͠r͏̶̝͚̥̖̩̤̰̭̳͕͓͙̱̱͇̰̭ͅȩ̶̖̠͙̰̪̦͖̰̠̺͙̩̩̪̀͘͞d̶̸̗̗̲͚̟͇̘͢
͏̵̡̛҉̘̲̠̦͖̺͓̮̜͓̖̜̼̦̦̥̦-̸̳͙̘͇̳̲͘͡ͅS̨̢̟̹̭̣̥͙͍͘͢͡o̶҉̖͈̜͇͈̱̳͖̳̰̣̲̖̪͍̟̖͕ͅu҉͚͇̭̗͇̱̩̼̤̫͎͕̤̜̦͔͓͠ŗ̟͉̥̪̼̼̟̻̤c̷̮̬̞̗̭e̶̵̶̴̲̖͕ͅ:͏҉͚̘̮̼̝̻͖͇̳̣̱̦̪̼͕͓͟͞ ͟҉̵̢̰̤͚͍̝̗̜̻͖͍̫̕B͡҉̥̩͕̠̯̞͎͔̙̺̟͇̬͟͠-̵̛̭͓̦͘͡S̡̢̬̻̖͚̥-̴͈̝͙̻͙̫̜͖̬͚͔̙͈͡͡-̢̗̣̟̮̖̮͙̠̩̙͟-͏̺͚̭̣̗̫͚̻͈̲̥̜͎̯͉̻͟͞ͅ-̴̶̢͔͉̥̯̪̝̩̹͓͇͎̜͇̲͙͖̲̀-̨̲̭̲̫̻̪͉ę̶̜̠̩̦͔̲̺̘͓̦̥̬r̶̴̺͔̺̩̩͇͟͟r̛͔̥̜͙̮̣̫̩̞̺o̟̠̖̱͈͔̯̥͖͔̖̤͡r̡̢̨̭̺͇̣̘͖̙͘͠.̵̶̢̨̗͉̜̬̮̬̦̰̺͇̟͎͙͇͔͙̠̥͓ ̵̢͖͚̩̮̰̫͙͓̤͉̣ͅŞ̴̳̰͍͙̪̀̕͝ͅo̧̨͘͜͏͉͎̜͍ͅu̶̲̘͈͕̩̩̮̼̯̦͖͇r҉́͏̴̢̩̮͙̞̹͔͎̜̪̱͙̝̜c҉͉͎͎͈̤̞̀͞͝e̸͘͘҉̮͔̺̬̝͙͙͔̩͈̼͖ ͏̘̬̬͢ͅų̸̸̶̢͈̣̫̪̥̖̗͙̲̭͎̪͔ǹ̴̩̻̲̘̼̪̥̘͔͘͢ͅḱ̢̰͔̯̟͉̥̱̥̺͎̙͇̮̭͉̥̲̣̯̀̕n̴̨̡̛͖̼̲̫̮͓̹͜ͅo̢͔̯̞̠͓͎̺̥͎̮̟̳͖͠ẁ̛͎̩̯̭̗͕̥̩̼̝̲n̡̹͎̗̫̜̠̼͈̦̠̟̞͕̗̤̰͙ͅ.̶̧͟͏͖̬͔̹͙̞̻͚̼̦̜̹͍̱̥̙́ ̷̺͕̝̘͖̭̼̟̥̙̘͞
͝͝҉̴̪̟̟̪̭͈̼̫ͅ
̢̠̭͎̞̻͘͢Ą̸̵̝͙̦̖̩̤̬̞̤̙͇̤̼͎͞ͅu̵̡̧͈͇͇͖͈͔̟̭̬̦͍̖͠d̵̵͡҉̣̲͙̙͔̠̺̺̳̲̠̦̣̜ͅį̷̶̛̛͓̣͍̞̘̘̺̜̝̘̱̖ͅo͏̡̣̤̜̝̮̭̤͉ ̡͕̬͎̗̞̺̲̖̜̲̗͎͎͕́̕͠ͅC͍̙͚̮̗͍̖͉̯̞͜͡ͅo̵͜͏̰͕̺͈̬̩͓̭̟͕͎̼̜͖͎̱̬͢r̶̖̦͖̜̤̮͙̻̳̩̞̳̰̜̺͚͈̖r̡̻̠̰̠̗̹͍̮̘͉̥̖͈̱͔̞̮͟ͅù͍̘̥̥͇͖̣̳̬̰̲̥̹p̨̨͚͈̼̫̹͔̹̥͍-̵̯̘̺͟͠u̶͞҉̢̥̲̦͎̭̝͉̙̫͎̗͓̗͇̰̞̻̳͇͢p̸̧̮̜̼͇̞̳̪͔̜̫̻͚͓̮͢͟-̨̯͍̦͍̬̩͈̪̲̫̺̬̤͉̬̫̹̀͘͞͠ͅu̜͕̲͉͠͞p̧͏̵͍͇͎̠̭̩̠̖͔̖̖̗͇̪̬́͢-̶̵̯͙̭̘͘͞͠-̷̵̧͈͔̥͕̞͉̗͖̪̞͔̰͢-̼̪̬͔̦͖͖́͜͞͞-̵̧̛̜̣̲̱̺̯̭̪̥͎̳̜̹͟͡-̨͙̙͚̗̟̫̱̬͚͘ͅ-͏͏̶̢̟͖̩̤̙̯̥͎̼̮͔͉͕̫͎͇̬͙̥̕
̷̸͚͕͉̲̝̙͈͇̮͇̫̘̹̥͕̫͖̘"̸̸̴͈̰͓̦͈̝̯͉̘̗̦̪̼͟͡-̛͓̯͍̘̝͕͜͞-̸̴̵̡͕̻̖̼͖͍̱͝-̷̷̴͓̪̜͓͎̫͠͞-҉̛̬͓̯̤̳͔͜-͏̧̧̟̬̗̭́͡-̨̟͇̼͕̲̟̳́͘͡͠-̶̧̢̡̘͎͓͖̘͜-̸̞̺̪̬̩̱̳͈̩̹̹̞͚̺͔̠͠-̨͉̮͓̹̞̥́-̷̖̲̻͇̹̩̝̝̬̻̗͕̱͕̗̬̤͞͡͞ͅè͎̠̲͖̦͠x̸̛͈͓̪͓̼͜p҉̶̗̜̟̜̞͕̲͝͞e̴͏̫̖̪̬̝̤̦̦̮̲̱̠̲̟̙̗̳̹̲͢r͏҉̳̩̹̟͇-̬̻̙̫͓̭̹̪͕͇̻̜̻̳͓̯̕͟͞e̡̯̤̦͕̘̯̹̹̼̦̻͍̟͜r̀҉͈̖̩͓͎͚̰̰̱̰̜̠̻̝́i̡̨̕҉̮͔̳̦̼͎e̸͏̡̨̠͓̻̱͈͘ͅn̴͏̡͕̤̱̥̮͎̯̗͇̜͈̘̩̳̬͙̦͢ͅc͏̨̰̜̟͓͚͈͈́͞ȩ̯̗̠͎͙̠̯̤̪͎̹͚̭͘̕͟d͏҉̵̧̭̗̞͕̰̝͎͖̙͓̹͇̗͎͙̪͙͜ ́͢͜͏̣͍̘̩̬͚͖̫̪̺̦͔̼̬͇͚͠ͅh̷̳͔͈̞̭̻͙̲̙͈̝͙̝̗͉̀u҉̨̹͖̮̠͓̜͇͕̮̹͕̱͠-̡̛̰͎̹͉͚̫̖ͅh̛͔͙͔̦̝͘͜ú̖̱͕̮̣͚̣̥̝̠̦͜͡͞-̛̝̙̞͉͕̜̜̮̩̬̯̞͘͢͠h̨͏͉͎͍̳͙̜̩̼͉̗̦̙̠u̴͉̰̤͙̺͚͚̲͉ͅm̸̧̖̬̼͓̘̯̻ͅa̷̴̶̴͍̳͎̦̭͔͜a̶̡̦̖̞̰̯̜̳̖̺͖̝͉͙͕̝͍͘a͔̞͚͘͝a͘͝͏̞̲͕̫̰͖à̶̷͚̣͙̲͡ń̴̨͉̜͓̰͙͇̝̣̱̲̀͞i̧͓̠̳͓̰̥̩̥͓̫̜̳͞t̴̨̧̟͖̖̬͖̟͎͈̖͍̼̰͇͕y̡̧͏̥̳̼̞̣͈̥̬͈̱͘-̸̧͙̮͍͎̭̘͍͕͕-̴̸͓̰̞̞̖̕͝ͅ-̴̴̺̤͇̫͇̙̰͎̩͓̙̮̤͕͕̞͡͝-̥̘̭͓̳̖̙̭̀́-̷̴̼̯̖̬̝̗̲̥̼̹̹̤̼̱͘ͅw҉̛̟͕͉͖͓̤o̵̬̠̠͕͕͔͇̤̣̭̱͕̲̪ͅŕ̢̖͈̠̫̫̹̹͔͚̘̯͍͕̕͡ͅͅṣ̘̪̘̮͢͢͡t̡̲̥̠̀"̴͍̤̖̻̩̹̝̤̹̥͢ͅ