Chapter Forty-Three – Numb

"John! What happened?" Ayako asked as Takigawa entered, followed by Lin who had John in his arms. The teen was eerily quiet, blue eyes looking at nothing as Lin settled him on the sofa. Takigawa wasn't about to ask how Ayako knew the blonde. Part of him wasn't even surprised that she did. In a way it made sense. Ayako was an older Traci model. She would have needed upkeep at some point, and that was John's speciality.

"There was an explosion at the shop." Lin reported as he crouched beside the vacant blonde and stroked his dirty blonde locks. Takigawa was tense as he stepped into the kitchen to grab some water. He got two bottles, giving one to Lin while he cracked the other. The Asian took it with thanks and tried to encourage John to sit up. The blonde quietly obeyed and swallowed a little water, a few drops trickling down his chin. Lin wiped them away gently.

"Was anyone…" The redhead trailed off quietly, noting that it was only the two of them.

"No humans were injured, but the store androids didn't survive the blast." The taller man replied stiffly, the redhead's eyes dropping. She remembered the GT300. It had been unusually close to John, for a service android. The young human was clearly devastated. It didn't help that he was sitting in soot and thirium covered clothing, the oily feeling probably making him feel even worse.

"Take him upstairs and give him a bath…I'll clean your clothes for you." Ayako said softly as she rested a comforting hand on the android's shoulder. Lin's expression softened in thanks. John made no move to stop Lin as he was lifted once again and carried upstairs. He let the android tug his clothes off with gentle hands, leaving him dirty and naked in the cold white tub. Lin plugged the bath and ran the water, making sure the temperature was good and hot. He stripped off himself, leaving their clothes outside the door before returning to his human.

He climbed into the tub, pulling John into his arms in the process. The blonde was silent. He was cried out. Worn. Tired. Lin kissed his temple lightly as he grabbed the soap. John barely registered the contact. He blinked a few times as he was scrubbed clean, leaning heavily into Lin's arms. Lin kissed and comforted as he worked. John hummed lightly when Lin finally reached his hair, his eyes closing as the long fingers teased his scalp. Once he was clean Lin pulled the plug and turned on the shower, letting the clean water finally rinse them both off.

"Hey, over here. You can use my room…Get some sleep." Takigawa said gently as they came out. Lin wasn't sure if he'd been waiting at the top of the stairs or he'd just happened to come up. Either way Lin nodded his thanks and carried John into the large bedroom. The sheets were fresh, likely Ayako's doing, and their clothes had been washed and tumble-dried. Lin removed their wet towels and left them on the dresser to be dealt with later. He didn't even bother getting John into clothes. He wanted skin on skin contact. He needed to feel closer to his human.

He laid John down gently, pulling the thick duvet over his small form before slipping in beside him. Their hair was still damp, but Lin didn't know if Takigawa had a hair dryer, so he'd decided to leave it. The room was relatively warm anyway, so it would dry in a while. He shuffled closer to the teen, leaving the bedside lamp on. He didn't think John would like to be in darkness, not right now. He scanned John's vitals. He was a lot calmer since the bath, his body slowly relaxing, even though his emotions were dulled.

Lin wrapped him up protectively, enjoying the way his warm flesh felt against his own slightly cooler synthetic skin. He closed his eyes as he raised his inner temperature. John was a little cold, shivering slightly. He soothed the teen, pressing kiss after gentle kiss to everything he could reach. His cheek, his neck, his temple, his shoulder. He continued even after the teen had fallen asleep, finally allowing his own body to shake and crumble. He swallowed hard as he leaned his head down and buried it in John's damp locks.

Looking through the GT300's memories was painful. The wound was still fresh. Losing him was hard. He had been Lin's first android friend, and was only second to John in his mind. They had spent many long hours together while John slept. Along with the memories Lin had received a quiet plea. A wordless feeling of love and hope. The desire for Lin to stay with John, to protect him, to cherish him in the older unit's place. The old unit had been at peace with its deactivation so long as it knew John was in safe hands. The level of trust the old unit had placed in him was startling. He bit down as he felt saline fluid prick his eyes. He closed his eyes tightly, although he knew John was in a deep sleep, unlikely to awaken any time soon. In some ways that was worse. He didn't want to put his own loss on John, but at the same time he did. There was something pure about the idea of falling apart in each other's arms.