Kurt opened the door to his New York apartment and took a deep breath as he stepped in. This was the first time he'd seen the apartment outside of pictures, but somehow it already felt more like home than the dorms ever did. He walked in a few steps and then dropped the heavy luggage he was carrying on the floor, looking around with a smile on his face. It was small, but cozy and well kept. Most of the regular tenant's furniture filled the place. It wasn't exactly what Kurt would have picked out, but it was nice and looked comfy.
He turned and smiled at B who walked in behind him, carrying even more luggage, sinceandroids were pretty strong and he insisted on helping, though most of it was Kurt's. B had been so excited he could hardly sit still in his seat on the airplane, and then during the cab ride, he kept asking Kurt questions about everything. B had been sporting such a big smile all day that Kurt was sure if he were human, his cheeks would have been sore for days.
"This is it!" Kurt said, spreading out his arms. "Our new apartment."
"Wow," B said as he carefully placed all the bags he was carrying on the ground. "I really like it."
Kurt laughed, feeling cheerful and a little slaphappy and tired from traveling. "I say we bring the luggage to our rooms and then order dinner. Leave unpacking until tomorrow."
"I can unpack for you if you're tired, Kurt," B offered happily.
"No." Kurt shook his head. "We've talked about this. You are here as my roommate, not as my personal servant. Besides, I am really picky about where everything should go."
B had been under the impression that he was to accompany Kurt to New York as his personal assistant. A fair assumption, since that was the role of most high-class droids in New York. The rich in big cities loved to spend ridiculous amounts of money on pretty droids that would follow them around and attend to them. That wasn't what Kurt wanted for B. Besides, he would feel weird about someone waiting on him all the time anyway. The other purpose for which many people kept such realistic droids in the city concerned more… physical reasons.
Kurt had been horrified to find out what some people did with their droids. He'd been looking up schools B could attend in New York and instead had stumbled across a whole community full of people who used and trained their droids for pleasure. Kurt had felt sick about it, and hadn't mentioned it to B. Though B might already know that some droids are used that way. Kurt hoped he didn't.
In the end, Kurt had found a learning annex that taught basic skills to droids. Burt signed B up for engineering and mechanics, saying it was worth the investment because he'd be even more skilled for work at the workshop later on. Kurt hadn't mentioned it to his dad yet, but he signed B up and paid for him to take a music class too, knowing B would love that.
Kurt took another look at the open living room that flowed seamlessly into the kitchen and then picked up his bags again and nodded down the hallway. B grabbed the rest and they went to find the bedrooms. "We haven't discussed who is getting what room," Kurt said as he looked into the master bedroom. According to the pictures, it was bigger than the other room and had a better closet.
B scrunched up his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
"We could flip for it," Kurt suggested. "To see who gets the master bedroom and who gets the guest room?"
B's eyes widened. "You mean I get my own bedroom?"
"Of course," Kurt said, his heart hurting a little at the look of complete shock on B's face. "What did you expect?"
"I thought I might sleep on the couch or something. I didn't have a bedroom back in Lima."
Kurt bit his lip, feeling guilty. They should have made a space for B back home, but here at least he would have his own place that was just for him. "B, there are two rooms and you get one." Kurt said with a smile, watching B's face as it went from a look of amazement to a huge smile.
B insisted that Kurt take the bigger room, since he had more stuff anyway. Kurt was happy to agree. He really had wanted that closet.
They headed to B's room after dropping off all of Kurt's things. When they walked in, B's mouth fell open. "This is all for me?"
"All for you!" Kurt said. "Roommates, remember? And this is nice. The bed seems comfy," he said, bouncing down on it for a moment before popping back up again. "And there is a desk and a good closet," Kurt said, sliding the doors open. "Which is helpful, because we are going to have to get you some fall clothes soon."
"Kurt, I don't know how to thank you. I don't think most droids get treated like this," B said quietly.
Kurt turned away from the closet. "Like what?"
"Like we're equals."
Kurt moved forward and reached for B's hand, squeezing it in his own. "Well, you're my friend, B. I don't know how else to treat my friends." B's eyes filled with tears and Kurt couldn't take it, so he wrapped him up in a warm hug. "I am so glad you're my friend, B."
"I'm so glad to," B whispered, holding him back. Hugging B was nice, really nice. It felt safe and natural, but it wasn't exactly like hugging a human. B was a little firmer, less give to him than a person would have, but Kurt didn't even really think about it, because B was just… B.
They had a few days to settle in before classes started and then they quickly fell into an easy rhythm. Kurt was busy at school and his job at a local theater. And B had the learning annex and a job as a server at the diner Kurt used to work at. The owner was pretty progressive and didn't care if B was a droid, as long as he could do the job.
Kurt didn't have a chance to see Rachel until he'd already been back in New York a couple of weeks. They met for dinner on a Monday when she didn't have a performance or rehearsal. It didn't take her long to get to the subject he knew she wanted to talk about.
"How come you didn't bring B to dinner?' she asked as she sipped on her wine."I'd love to meet him and Mercedes says he is charming, and quite the looker too."
Kurt smiled and shook his head. "Really… What else did Mercedes say?"
"Only that he seemed to be smitten with you."
Kurt choked on the bite he'd just put in his mouth and it took him a moment and a drink of water before he could respond. "Mercedes said that? She only met him the once at Sam's party."
"Apparently he was making puppy dog eyes at you all night."
Kurt tried to ignore the way his heart beat happily at those words. "That's ridiculous."
"You don't think he likes you? Because I've been thinking about it. Maybe he is programmed to… I don't know, fall for his owner. You never know what his position as a droid was before you got him."
Kurt's stomach twisted and he set his jaw, not knowing what part of that idea to tackle first. He hated the idea that someone would have used B that way. He also refused to believe B only liked him because his programming told him too. "If that were the case he'd have fallen for my dad. I don't own B."
"So you admit he's fallen for you?"
"What? No! God, Rachel." The words came out harsher than he meant them to.
"Well, you don't have to get snippy about it," Rachel huffed. "I just thought it was interesting to figure out what an android's motivation for imitating the appearance of infatuation would be."
"B isn't imitating anything."
"Of course he is. It isn't like he has real emotions of his own. How could he?"
Kurt's stomach dropped and he looked down at his plate pushing his food around with his fork, suddenly not hungry.
"Kurt?" Rachel said, her tone softer now. "Kurt, you aren't… you don't have feelings for him, do you?"
Kurt looked up, and Rachel's face had lost the defensive look it had earlier and now only seemed concerned.
"B's my friend, Rachel."
"He's a droid."
"Yes. I know. And he is my friend. I don't think the two are mutually exclusive."
"But Kurt, you've worked in an androids' shop your whole life… You know that they are just machines. I mean, he may be a highly advanced machine, but…"
Kurt just nodded, not wanting to argue with Rachel. It was usually pointless anyway. He couldn't help but think, though, that humans really were kind of advanced machines too, but there was something incredible that allowed them to feel things. What was it, that spark that made a human a person? Because whatever it was, he really did believe B had it as well. "Listen Rachel, just reserve judgment until you've met him, okay?"
"Fine. I can do that." Rachel clearly didn't want to fight either, because she quickly changed the subject.
When Kurt got back to the apartment, B was in the living room watching The Apprentice. He was leaning forward, eyes glued to the screen.
"Hey, B," Kurt said as he hung up his coat.
B turned on the couch and gave him a warm smile, greeting him with "Hi Kurt!" before turning right back around.
"You like The Apprentice?" Kurt asked, joining him on the sofa. "I mean, I love trashy reality TV, so no judgment."
B shook his head, but didn't look away from the TV. "It's okay. I like watching Project Runway with you more, but look!" He scooted forward on the couch and pointed to the screen. "See that woman there?"
"The one with the red hair?" Kurt asked. Behind Donald Trump stood a tall thin woman wearing a smart black business suit.
"Yes," B said and then looked at him again. "She's an android, but you can't tell at all. They mentioned it earlier or I wouldn't even have known."
Kurt looked back at the woman. Her bright hair was cut in a severe bob that ended at her chin and her skin was almost luminously pale. Once he really looked at her, she did look a little too perfect, but that was to be expected of people on TV sometimes anyway. He wouldn't have known she was an android either, but her skin was smooth and her posture perfect. She didn't seem as at ease with herself as B did.
"She works for him," B continued. "I've never seen another droid that looked… so human." He glanced at Kurt with a shy smile. "Do you think I look that real?"
"You are real," Kurt said quickly. "But yes, you look just as human as she does."
"Besides the eye," B said, touching his patch.
"The patch is cute," Kurt insisted. "Haven't you seen other droids like you in your classes at the annex?"
"No, not like that. There are a few that are really close to human-looking, but not like that woman. And they…" B shrugged. "I don't know. The other droids at the annex don't like me that much because they say I could pass as a human, and I guess to them that isn't a good thing?"
"What?" Kurt asked, upset by what B was saying.
"But her," B said nodding towards the screen. "There are other androids out there like me. And I guess… That's kind of comforting, you know?" B asked, leaning back as the show went to commercial.
Kurt licked his lips, trying to think of what to say. "Are you having trouble in your classes, B?"
"No, not really. I just thought I'd make friends with the other droids, and I have with one. His name is Tye. He doesn't seem to mind that I am more advanced than the rest of them. He's a kid, built to look 13 or 14. I didn't even know they made androids that looked that young."
"I've never seen one, but I know they're out there. People have all kinds of reasons for making droids the way they do," Kurt said, thinking about a story he read about a couple who had tried, and failed, to design a droid that would look and act like their deceased daughter.
"I think Tye knows how it feels to be different all the time. He says people are disturbed to see a young-looking droid. And I get that, I'm not like humans, but I'm not like the other droids either. I'm an outsider."
Kurt wrapped an arm around B's back, tugging him close. "I'm sorry. I never thought about how hard that must be on you."
"I'm okay. Besides, it isn't like that with you," B said quietly, leaning into Kurt's side. "With you, I just feel like… me."
Kurt smiled. "I feel the same way about you. You're B, and you know what? I really like B."
B chuckled and reached for the remote control. "I think The Real Housewives are having a marathon on another channel."
"Oh yes, please!" Kurt said, feeling comfortable and at home as they settled down to watch together.
He couldn't get their conversation out of his head, though. He suddenly wanted to know more about B. Where was he from? Who made him and what for? And what about other human-looking droids? Did they all have that special spark of life that B seemed to have? He was determined to do some research, but he wasn't going to tell B until he knew what he was going to find out.