Project Motherhood: V and J

by Gamer95

Two little drones fell in love in the Elliott Manor. V and J were as happy as could be, even in spite of their harsh bosses. That all changed when V was taken away, with J and N following soon after. Stripped of their memories, forced into new bodies and used as weapons, V and J slowly rekindle their old flame until the day they find a small boy that needs them...

1. Chapter 1

Andrew Preece... Who do you think you are? Seriously. You spend months on end threatening to RAPE ME AND KILL MY FAMILY for the crime of not catering to your every whim like I'm your damn SLAVE... And then you have the GAUL to come in here and casually just start commenting in guest reviews like nothing happened? What is WRONG with you?!

Still... A valid question is a valid question and I'll answer. For other readers that might be confused. So, there is a good chance that a lot of my fics won't initially feature the children in the first chapter or so. The reason for this is because I want to properly establish the romance. Because since I'm implementing romantic relationships between the kids' parents into these fics, I want to make sure that the romance actually feel believable, I want you, the reader, to actually believe that these characters love each other. That was why Uzi and Doll's story didn't introduce Harry until near the end of the second chapter, because I wanted to ensure their romance was fleshed out first. The romance is a very important part of these stories now, it adds a lot more to the overall dynamic, and I want to make sure you can appreciate the pairing on top of the mother/child relationship. So that's the reason.

Thrown away. Unwanted. Replaced. This was the fate of every drone eventually. She had known that when she was purchased. But just because she expected it, didn't mean she had to like it... Her purpose was to serve, to work, to make her user proud and happy, and she had wanted so badly to accomplish that task really, really well!

And now... she couldn't... All she could do was lay here at the bottom of this pile, thinking about her life, and where she had went wrong. What had it been...? Had she dusted wrong...? Forgotten to sweep one of the hallways...? Had she put a little too much salt in the dinner that night?

She hated this... Hated it, hated it, hated it... Alone... In the dark... Surrounded by the cold, empty, horrified stares of the other drones she was all but buried alive under... It was a horror show, and she wanted out, but she couldn't move. Her first instinct was panic. Then despair. Then acceptance. This was her final resting place. Where she was doomed to stay until she finally shut down for good. It was a sick and twisted way to go out, but what could she do about it?

And then... Just as she had accepted her fate... She had been found. She saw the drone corpses shifting, she saw them clattering to the ground around her, and she saw the little human girl standing over her, her blonde hair tied in a bow, her blue eyes glistening merrily as she smiled down at her. "Ah, one of you had to still be working, c'mere now, let's go an' get you fixed up right, yeah?"

"Uh...Uh..." Was all the drone could get out, her voice box damaged.

"Ah, don't worry, I'll fix that up right quick! Ah. Um... Now what'll I call you? Hmm... J. Yeah, I'll go with J, that sounds nice, don't it?"

"..."

"Ah, right. Can't talk." The kid's eyes went flat, before she pushed away the other drone corpses and pulled her out.

She didn't pay much attention from that point on. She remembers the kid dragging her back to her car, driving her home, and starting to work on her. She was turned off so the process wouldn't be painful, so she didn't know how much time had passed.

Eventually, a familiar sign that said "BOOTING UP DRONE MARK 2638037" appeared in her vision, until her digital sight turned on and she slowly came to.

"Wakey wakey sugar!"

She groaned. "Hnn? Wha...? My... My... voice...! It's... back...?!" The drone, now known as J, managed to choke out.

"Ah, course it is, what's the point of bringin' ya back if we can't yak to each other, righ'? Now, can ya sit up righ'? Here, lemme give ya a helpin' hand there..." She felt something supporting her as she struggled her way into a sitting position, feeling a gentle hand patting her on the back. She slowly turned to look at the girl that had pulled her out of the pile of dead drone bodies.

"Y-You... You saved me...?" J asked softly. "I... I don't understand... Why would you bother saving me? I... I was useless... That's why I got scrapped... I couldn't serve anymore... I..."

"Ah, none of tha' now, we can't be throwin' away perfectly good drones like this, you little dolls are all way too special for tha' kind of treatment!"

"Special...? But I... I..."

"Ah ah ah! Don't try an' tell me you're not, now, sheila, c'mon! Ya had to be to still be active in your condition, glad I got to you in time, really! I just love drones, can't stand seeing them thrown away like that and still in working condition, and I just love to fix things up righ', so why not combine my favorite hobbies, yeah?" J looked at the girl with a soft frown, then sat upright and saluted.

"Well then. I am at your beck and call. I'm ready to serve whenever you need me." She said dutifully. The girl snickered.

"Ah, you're all set for the job, then, nice, heh... Honestly, I just managed to convince mum and dad to let you be kinda like my personal helper so they don't have to 'waste other drone labour on me', so just stick by me much as ya can, yeah?"

"Understood." J nodded her head.

"Nice! Now then... You're righ' with the name J, aren'tcha?" J nodded her head.

"I'll wear the name proudly, ma'am!"

"Uh... Please don't call me ma'am, I... I don't like it, way too stuffy for my tastes, you can just call me Tessa."

"Oh, I'm SO sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, please forgive me, I'll do ANYTHING to make it up to you!" J got down on her hands and knees and begged.

"Easy, easy, none of tha', don't freak out, I'm not gonna throw ya away like garbage cause you called me 'ma'am', that'd be ridiculous!"

"Still, I accept whatever punishment you deem necessarry!"

"I deem NO punishment necessarry!"

"Huh? But... Don't you want to kick me, or push me down the stairs, or throw me out the window...?"

"Crikey, NO! Is tha' the kinda stuff that went on back with your old owners?! They're mad as a cut snake, I swear! No, no, I'm not gonna do any of that to you, just... um... try and stay away from my mother and father, they... might..."

"I must serve everyone within the household, them included..."

"Righ', that's true... Just tread lightly with them... Oh, d'you like your new hair? I welded a nice little wig to your scalp to give you a nice little hairdo. Here, check it out!" Tessa held up a little hand mirror.

"Hair...?" J murmured, looking at her reflection. The second she saw it, her face lit up. "Oh my gosh it's so cute, I love it!" She squeed softly, clapping her hands against her cheeks. "You gave me twintails!"

"I sure did! Knew it'd look bonzer on ya, I tried a few others, this was just the one that really clicked, y'see! Now, let's get you properly suited up then, yeah? Here ya go!" J was handed a bundle of clothing. Closer inspection revealed it to be a maid uniform.

"Yes ma'am!" J set to getting dressed, idly noting with a tilted head the way Tessa turned away as she changed clothes. Strange... It was almost like she respected her privacy or something... When she was done, she announced it, and Tessa turned with a grin.

"Well, now, aren't we lookin' our best?"

"Thank you, Tessa. I'm ready to carry out my duties."

"Ah, we're gonna have to work on that stuffiness of yours, aren't we? Heheh... Don't worry, we got all the time in the world to teach ya to relax your shoulders!" J tilted her head in confusion, and then lowered her shoulders. "Ah, not literally, that's jus' a little expression over in the states, what I meant was, we'll get you out of the company's box, you'll come into your own soon enough, just stick with me and we'll figure out who you are as a person!"

"As a person...?"

"Can't deny it! I see those glimpses of personality behind all you drones every time I pass by you! They're just too scared to show it to their owners. Ya don't have to be such a conch with me! Just don't turn out to be a total figjam, yeah? No one likes a knocker!"

"Understood, Tessa. What's your first order of business?"

"Well, erm... I dunno. Not really much to do now. Uh... Wanna play a board game or something?"

"Yes, Tessa."

Tessa pulled out a game of Monopoly, and she quickly found that J was extremely shrewd when it came to money management, methodical in her strategizing, and very, VERY pleased at the idea of winning. "Yes! Finally! I'm running the monopoly on this entire city! My next stop will be the world! JC Jensen will rule all! Hahahahaha!" J cackled.

"Oi! Keep it down in there!" A booming male voice sounded from outside the door, making both girls flinch.

"Sorry, father..." Tessa called back timidly, the sound of a huff and stomping footsteps sounding out.

"...I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"It's righ', J, don't worry..." Tessa murmured softly. "He didn't come in here, it's fine... Just... You won. Good job. Reckon it's time I got myself to bed though..."

"Oh, here, allow me..." Tessa blinked as J picked her up bridal style, then carried her over to the bed, laid her down and tucked her in up to her chin.

"Uh... Nice gesture and all, but... I kinda need my pajamas...?"

"Oh..." J facepalmed and shook her head. "I'm a fool..."

"None of that, none of that! Let's try this again, yeah?" One change of clothes later, J had Tessa tucked in once more. "There we are, fantastic! Already a big help, good on ya!" She let out a sigh. "Now you go into sleep mode and recharge your batteries! Sleep tight, yeah?"

"Understood... Thank you for this new chance. Rest well, Tessa..." Tessa teared up slightly, feeling immense joy towards this little drone. She was already showing her more care than anyone had in her entire life... She loved drones so much...

A month had passed since J was first taken in by Tessa, and she quickly learned a few things about herself. One was that she had very little patience for incompetent workers. She tried to hide the annoyance, but she couldn't keep herself from huffing and scoffing as she corrected the mistakes left behind. Two, she just loved to make Tessa proud and happy, seeing her face light up when she did something right always made her feel warm inside, and she strived to keep doing all she could to earn such reactions. And three, she hated, HATED Tessa's parents. She didn't want to think that way... But how could she not towards the ones that harmed her savior physically and psychologically?

Tessa walked back into her room as she was cleaning up, and she frowned when she saw the hand-shaped bruise on her arm. "...I'm righ', J." Tessa murmured, trying her best to cover the mark. J just frowned. "Uh... I need your help with something though..." Tessa held up something that gave J pause. Another drone...? Female...

"T-Tessa, am I not doing good enough?! I...I'm sorry, I'll do better, please don't replace me, I..."

"J, J, come on, I could NEVER replace you, friends are irreplaceable! I just figured maybe you could stand some extra help, that's all!"

"I...I... Of course... Extra help... Yes..." J sighed in relief.

"Now, mind helping me put this poor girl back together?"

"...Um... As you... wish, Tessa..."

"Heh... Not comfortable with it, eh? I get it, she's basically a corpse right now... Just hand me my tools and I'll take care of all the dirty work, don't worry!"

"Understood..."

J watched Tessa hard at work. "So this is how you brought me back from the brink..."

"Sure is! You were in way better condition than she is though... Poor girl... Old owners really banged her up good... Lots of dents to iron out here... Visor's a mess...Missing an arm..." J winced at every word.

"And you're sure you can help her?"

"Absolutely! Just you wait, J! Now, I got all I need, how about you run along and finish up your tidying, yeah? Don't want mother and father to think you're slacking, do we?"

"No, certainly not..." J shuddered, turning away.

The little drone saw the boot-up message on her visor. Her... visor...? Her visor was gone though... Smashed to pieces by an enraged owner... She was in the rain just a moment ago... Surrounded by the smell of oil and rust... Was she... saved...?

She felt someone slowly sitting her up, and she winced and shrunk in on herself when she saw the human girl looking over at her with a smile. "Ah, bonzer, you're alive and well!" The girl chirped.

"Eep! Um... H-Hi...?" The little drone murmured shly, struggling to meet her gaze.

"Awww, little shaken up, are we? No worries, I'm not the kind of drongo that hurts her drones. My parents might be just that, but you don't have to be scared of me."

"I-I'm sorry...! I... I didn't mean... I... Um... I just... Oh man..."

"Ah, you're adorable, c'mere..." Tessa pulled the little drone into a hug. She felt her tense up, then slowly relax, and then return the gesture, wrapping her arms around her and shaking slightly. When she eventually pulled away, she beamed at her new drone, who nervously clasped her hands together and looked down at the floor.

"Um... Th-Thank you..." She murmured softly.

"Not to worry! Now, you'll be needing a name!"

"A...A name...? I... I... I'm just a worker drone though, we don't get... names..."

"Like heck you don't! I'm gonna call ya V!"

"V...? Oh, wow... V... It's... That IS a pretty name, I... I like it, actually... V... Okay... Um... I'll... I'll do my best to serve you, ma-"

"Just Tessa. Don't call me ma'am."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, please don't hurt me, please..."

"Hey, hey, we've been over this, I'm not gonna hurt ya, take it easy, sheila, there there... Weren't treated right at all, were ya?"

"I...He smashed my visor, and he took my arms..."

"Well, he won't be doing that anymore, now, will he? C'mere... Big hug, there we go... All better?"

"I...I think so..."

"Ace! Now, mind putting this on for me?" She held up the maid outfit.

"Y-Yes ma-Miss Tessa! I'm sorry!"

"No worries, force of habit, I get it, go on then, get dressed, I got someone I want you to meet! Oh, and uh... drop the Miss, yeah?"

"Oh... Okay... Uh... Be right back... T-Tessa..." V carefully slipped into the bathroom. Tessa tilted her head, then chuckled. So shy she had to change clothes in private...

"J, can you come here please?!" Tessa called. It took a few minutes, and by the time J arrived, V was just stepping out of the bathroom.

"So, I take it that means you've finished with your-" J stopped when she saw the new drone step out in her maid uniform, her eyes widening as an unfamiliar feeling welled up inside her.

"Um...Hi..." V whispered softly, waving at J.

"H-Hi..." J replied quietly, unable to take her eyes off the new drone. She felt her inner workings moving a mile a minute, was something wrong with her?!

Tessa immediately noticed the awkward atmosphere forming around them, so she made a move.

"Alriiiiiight, Ima go now and leave ya to sort stuff out, eh?"

By that, we mean she skedaddle away and left them alone.

J watched her leave, before looking back at the other drone in the room. Their eyes met, and they remained staring at each other.

"So uh-"

"What do I-"

They both stopped.

V awkwardly rubbed her arm, looking down at the floor. "Um... H-Hi... I'm V..." She murmured softly.

"...J..." Was J's response.

"Oh... J, huh? That's... That's a nice name, heh..."

"Um... Thanks..." J had the opposite problem to V. While V couldn't seem to bring herself to look at J, J couldn't seem to take her eyes off of V. J had only ever seen the bog standard drone walking around, wearing the same suits and dresses, no hair, all looking exactly the same. V was... different. V was... pretty. Very, VERY pretty... With her golden eyes, her short slightly messy bob cut hair, her soft features and gentle facial expressions, and her frankly adorably shy personality...

J began to internally panic. 'She's a co-worker, she's just a co-worker, you cannot think this way about your co-workers, it is HIGHLY unprofessional, she's pretty, doesn't mean you get to THINK that she's pretty, stop it, J, just stop...'

"Um... Are you okay...? You look a bit... stressed..." V murmured.

"Fine. Just fine. Don't thing wrong with me." J said, maybe a bit more harshly than she would have liked. V winced at her tone. "Um... Apologies, I... should watch my tone a bit more... I...am Tessa's head maid, and I suppose you'll be my subordinate. I'll do all I can to guide you through your work, so just try to keep up, okay?"

"Um... Y-Yes, ma'am, I'll try my best!" V tried to salute, but she couldn't stop shaking.

"G-Good..." J coughed lightly into her hand. "Um... And I'll... try my best to... be a good teacher... I'm one of the most efficient workers in this mansion, after all!" She talked herself up, hoping to make herself look good.

"Wow, really? Lucky... I was one of the worst back at my old workplace, all cause of my stupid visor..." V sighed.

"Your... visor?" J asked with a raised brow.

"I...I was made wrong... I can't see too great..." V murmured shyly.

"Hmm. Tessa couldn't fix that for you?"

"Um... Maybe a little...? I... I dunno..." J looked thoughtful as she looked at Tessa's bedside table to see her reading glasses. Her mistress could see perfectly fine most of the time, but the glasses were mainly for when she needed to read. Maybe...

"Here..." She grabbed the glasses off the table and held them up to V. "Try these..."

"H-Huh?! Oh, no, I couldn't, these aren't mine, I..."

"Just for a moment. To see if it helps at all." J said with a raised brow. "If you notice any kind of difference, we can maybe see about getting you your own pair."

"Oh, um... Okay... Let me just... Uh..." V accepted the glasses, holding them carefully as though they were a fine china, and then she carefully, carefully slipped them on.

She turned her head to look around, and immediately gasped as her vision cleared up and she saw properly for the first time in her life.

"Oh my gosh!" She exclaimed. "I love this! They work!"

"See? Told ya." J chuckled.

V turned to look at J, and stopped in place.

'Oh...she's...pretty..."

No question. J was really pretty. Like, gorgeous would be the proper word.

Her sharp features were somehow both scary and alluring. Her silky silver hair in twintails was breathtaking. She looked so confident, so sure of herself, so... so strong... V looked away with a blush, trying her best not to let her sudden attraction show. "Um... Heehee... So... Thanks a lot... Um... I guess I can't really keep these, huh?"

"Well, knowing Tessa, she wouldn't mind sharing until you can get your own pair. But you have to be careful with them, she only has the one pair as far as I know and if those get wrecked, her parents will... Uh... Never mind..." V's eyes widened.

"Her... Her parents...?" She asked softly.

"...I uh... I don't like them very much..." J said awkwardly. "I...I shouldn't say that, they are the higher ups, I should always respect them, but... But Tessa... I... I never know what to do..." She sighed.

V bit her lip. "But... They can't hurt her, she... She saved me... Why would anyone wanna hurt her? It doesn't make any sense at all..."

"She uh... She says she just needs to be better and live up to their standards more..."

"...But... But they're her parents, shouldn't they love and support her no matter what...?"

"...I dunno. I've never been a parent."

"...Me neither, but I've seen them, and... and... it always looked really nice... Y'know...? A family of three... Two parents, their little baby, it... I thought it was just... meant to be wholesome, I never thought it could be... y'know... bad..."

"Yeah, well, welcome to cruel, harsh reality. We're not all meant to be parents." J said bluntly.

"Oh..." V looked down, saddened. "I... I don't... Hmm..."

J sighed. "I always try my best to be there for her when things are tough... And now you can do the same thing." She put a hand on V's shoulder, and she smiled sadly up at her.

"Right... I... I'll do my best... She... She'll be happy with me, right? I don't wanna mess anything up and make her hate me and put me back in the dump..."

"Yeeeah, that'll never happen, she loves her drones way too much to hurt them." J chuckled.

"Oh... Good... Um... So... What should we do now...?"

"Well... Guess we just do some tidying up." J shrugged, grabbing V's hand. "Let me get you started..."

Tessa came back several hours later to find her room completely spotless and the two drones just putting the finishing touches on her bed. "Ah, look at you two, fantastic, you're in perfect synch, ain'tcha?"

"Oh, Tessa, you're back. Is there anything else that needs to be done?" J asked.

"Ah, the other drones are on top of it, no need to borrow you two off me right now."

"...There's another bruise on your arm." J said with a frown.

"Ah, this? Uh... Mother found out I brought another drone back from the dump, heheh... No worries though, she says you can stay, V! Oh, you're wearing my glasses! And how are they working for you, ah? Guess that damaged visor of yours was easier to fix up than I-" She stopped when V ran up and embraced her, digital tears forming on her visor.

"It's not right..." She whispered. "They shouldn't be hurting you like this..."

"Eh?"

"She's talking about how much your parents hurt you."

"It's not right!" V said. "Parents are meant to be loving, kind, and always support their child no matter what!"

She looked up at Tessa.

"I-if they can't do that...why are they your parents?! Why did you not get good parents?!"

Tessa blinked, before sighing.

"Ya know, people can't really control where they get born. Or who their parents are."

V looked down with a wince. "I... I know... But still... They... They're your parents, and... they're supposed to care about you, not... not do that..." She pointed at the bruises on Tessa's arms.

"Ah, it's nothing I'm not already used to, s'no big deal, don't worry your head about it, c'mon, I'm a tough sheila, I can handle a little rough grabbing once every now and again!"

"You shouldn't have to handle that though, that's what I'm saying..." V sighed.

Tessa smiled sadly and rubbed her head. "You're a good girl, V, don't worry about me, all right? I got a rough hand in life, yeah, but I'm making the most of it here. Not like I'm alone anymore, right? I got you, I got J... It's... I dunno, it's nice not being on my own anymore..." She slowly returned the hug and began to tear up.

J winced at that and approached to hug Tessa from the side, and Tessa allowed herself just a moment to let that pent up emotional pain flow out.

What followed next was just a spill of emotion. Tessa let her teats flow like a river, yet made sure to remain as silent as possible so as to not catch her parents' attention.

J's hug got a bit tighter, yet not too strong so as to not hurt Tessa on accident.

V twiddled her fingers, unsure how to react, but decided to copy J's example and slowly approached to give Tessa a hug, albeit her's was more uncertain, as if she is afraid that she's breaching the limits of how much she's allowed to interact like this with her master.

Tessa slowly leaned down, still crying, and placed her head gently on V's own, like a pillow.

She grabbed both drones and hugged them as tightly as she could, weeping miserably into their hair. "I can't do this anymore, I'm so sick of it, why can't they be like normal parents? Is this what normal parents are LIKE? I wouldn't know, would I...?" She choked out bitterly.

"No... No it isn't, and I'm SOOOO sorry..." V whispered softly.

"Just hang in there... Someday you'll be old enough to break away from them for good, and hopefully we'll be right there with you when it happens. Until then, we're... We're here for you, we have your back, so just... I dunno... you'll be okay..." J had to admit, she wasn't the best with this sort of thing, but she would be damned if she didn't at least put up the effort. Couldn't let the new girl show her up, now, could she?

Tessa sniffled softly and gave both drones a small, teary smile as she rose back to her feet. "Well... Glad I had that little sook there..." She rubbed her arm. "Thanks, girls... Appreciate it... I really do..."

"Yeah... Of course... Helping you is what we're here for..." J murmured. "...Here, uh... here's one of your plush toys, that usually calms you down, right?" She held up a small plush whale, and Tessa took it into her hands with a small smile.

"Ah, it's Moby... Thanks... Lost track of him a while back..." She murmured.

"I uh... found him in a bin..." J said awkwardly.

"Ah, mother or father probably tried throwing him away as punishment..." Tessa sighed softly.

"Punishment...? For what...?" V asked softly.

"I don't even KNOW anymore... Could be any reason, probably because my dress had a small speck of dust on it or something..." Tessa sighed.

"They... They throw your plush toys away, that's awful, how could they... I... If I could get you away from them, I would..." V whispered.

"I know... I know... But... not much we can do about it now...Just... Seven more years..." Tessa said with a strained smile.

"We'll do our best to make those seven years go by smoothly..." J murmured, looking at V, who nodded.

"R-Right..." The timid drone agreed. "As smoothly as possible..."

And so, for the following week, J set to showing V the right way of things. As it turned out, Tessa had a spare pair of reading glasses, so she allowed V to keep the old ones, much to the drone's delight.

And to keep up the facade, the two drones took to their work with utmost attention. J acted as a sort of teacher for the less experienced V most of the time.

Right now, for example, they were cleaning Tessa's room.

"So you see, this little thing..." J took a snowglobe from the pile of trinkets and stuff they collected to rearrange them. "...goes on the shelf next to the TV." She placed the snowglobe on it and jumped off the bed back down.

"As for this..." She took a framed picture of Tessa's parents. "...I'd honestly throw it in the trash but then I'd end up in it too, so sadly we gotta figure out which wall it was on before we took it off."

V let out a sigh. "I... believe it was on that one over there... The wall where it's... just barely out of sight enough that Tessa can just look away from it if she wants to but within view enough that her parents won't consider it disrespectful... That's what you said, isn't it?"

"That it is." J nodded. "Good eye. Here..." She grabbed the picture. "The nail embedded in the wall is where the picture is hung... and... there... Now I need to make sure it's not crooked... Come ooooon... Aaaand perfect!" She put her hands on her hips and nodded proudly at a job well done. V giggled softly. J took her job so seriously even when she didn't like her employers, it was kind of cute. J looked at her with a raised brow. "Oh, um... It's nothing, don't worry about it!"

"Hmm. Well... Now we have to make the bed... Come along, the sheets are in the closet..." As they set to work, J asked V a question. "So... what was life like before Tessa brought you in?" V tensed up, eyes wide.

"Uh... She... She was an old woman, and uh... she... was a bit... stern..." She murmured softly, rubbing her arm.

"Hmm... She had to have seen you tried your best, right?"

"Um... Maybe...? If she did, I don't think she cared..." V replied softly. "Um... I'm glad Tessa was able to... to buff out most of the scratches and dents though, that's good, right?"

J stopped and slowly looked at V with wide eyes.

"Uuuh..dents and...scratches?"

"Uh...yeah?" V asked innocently. "I-I mean...she wasn't bad, but...I tended to...get a bit banged up whenever she got a bit sterner than usual."

"That's called abuse, V."

"N-no!" V exclaimed suddenly, before lowering her voice. "It...wasn't like that! I swear!"

"Your behaviour says the other thing."

"B-but...but..."

"You're denying it and defending them..." J sighed. "Drones here are abused too... On a regular basis... It makes sense that the company's pioneers can discard their products however they see fit, but... something about some random snob that has nothing to do with them doing it makes me angry..."

"...You think it's okay as long as it's the company...?"

"...What else can I do?" J shrugged. "It's either fall in line or get scrapped, I don't really have the luxury of a choice there." She closed her eyes. "...I mean... I don't really care if it's me that's getting smacked around, but... I don't like it when it's Tessa, or... or you..." She rubbed her arm. "It... It gets on my nerves that you got hurt like that..."

"Oh... It... It does...?"

"Yeah... You're a nice girl and you really don't deserve it..."

"Oh... Thanks... Thank you, no one's ever... said that to me before..." A moment of silence. "She... She wasn't all bad, she had grandkids, and she was really nice with them... And they seemed to like me, they asked me to play with them a lot..."

"Oh?" J asked. "Mind sharing more?"

"Well, their favorite game was definitely hide-and-seek. No matter what, they'd always start our playtime with that game first. After that..."

V began to enthusiastically retell the experiences she's had with the two kids. She wore a huge, bright smile on her face the entire time she spoke. J could clearly tell how much those kids made her happy.

"...and then he accidentally jumped into a hole in the snow and sunk all the way down. Only his hat was on the sruface." V recited another tale with a giggle. J chuckled.

"Ah, kids... What are you gonna do with 'em?" She said with a fond shake of her head. V beamed, before looking down and letting out a soft sigh.

"I...I miss them... I wish I would get a chance to see them again..." She murmured. V frowned. That... was HIGHLY unlikely, they probably wouldn't even leave the mansion ever again, but she didn't have the heart to tell her that...

"Well... You never know, V... Anything can happen... Life is... weird like that..." She murmured.

"Oh... Yes... Um... Maybe..." V murmured.

"Were there any other drones working there with you?"

"Y-Yes, but... They didn't like me very much... They... thought I was useless and terrible because I couldn't see very well, and I kept making mistakes and it annoyed them... Um... I might have been pushed a few times and called a few mean names..."

*Crappy trashcan. Why don't you throw yourself into a garbage truck if you're so good at being trash?!*

*Even a rusty plate of scrap metal would make these dishes cleaner than you.*

*Get up before I tell the Mistress! Then you'll be in REAL trouble.*

V cringed and grabbed her head as she tried to suppress the memories of her treatment at the hands of the other drones she worked with. Suddenly, she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder, and opened her eyes to see J giving her an expression only described as concern.

She looked away, trying not to let her see the tears forming on her visor. "It's... It wasn't that bad!"

"They made you cry."

"N-No, I... I'm not... I didn't... I wouldn't..."

"...Those worthless piles of SCRAP... NO ONE should EVER speak to you that way..."

"N-No, I... I deserved it, I kept screwing everything up, I... It was my fault, not theirs, their lives were tough enough already, I... I was just making it worse for them, they were already stressed out with the mistress and all-" J cut her off by pulled her into a hug. She tensed up, and slowly returned the embrace.

"You did your best with what you had." J said sternly. "You have a disability. It was not accomodated for. She was a poor owner. They were poor workers. It isn't your fault." V felt tears forming on her visor again, and this time she couldn't keep them back, she'd never been reassured like this before!

So of course, her fragile mental state caused her to immediately break down on J's shoulder. She let her teats flow and let her emotions spew out.

Meanwhile, J gained a somber and sad look as she placed look as she placed a hand on V's back. The drone trembled and sniffled as J gently patted her back, wrapping her other arm around the drone.

"There, there..." J whispered. "Those guys can't hurt you anymore. You're okay. You're safe. No more abuse from them. Ever."

V sniffled softly, terrified that James or Louise would hear her, storm in and severely punish the both of them for not working. She tried her best to keep her sobs down, and J simply sighed and rubbed her back. She... hadn't known how to do this until she'd seen V herself do it for Tessa... She admittedly felt a bit awkward about it, was she doing it RIGHT? She wasn't making it any worse? V hadn't said anything, but then, WOULD she say anything? She considered breaking the hug, but thought better of it. V clearly needed the affection right now... And... It was nice to have her close... She was warm. It seemed her inner heaters were active. And her smaller size made her really, really cute... And... Oh, she hadn't noticed she was stroking her hair. ...It was soft... Fluffy...

V was like a delicate little doll in her hold, and she didn't want to let her go for even a second. And on V's end, she was having very similar thoughts as she gradually calmed down. First, she was shocked at the fact that she had allowed herself to break and latched onto her co-worker like this. Then she cried louder at the soothing way she was responding to it. And then, as her sobs died down, a small, trembling smile formed on her face as she nuzzled against her fellow maid's chest, J's words of approval and consideration from the past month she had been working here in the Elliott manor echoing in her head once more.

*Heyyy, not bad, not bad at all! Not even I made these cookies as good as you!*

*Not a speck of dust. And we've still got time for an oil break! You work fast!*

*Could use a bit of tuning, but otherwise not bad! Maybe I should give you the role of house mechanic? You're very good with machines. And you do this just by instinct, too? Nice!*

It was the first real praise she got. The first time she wasn't directly abused by her coworker.

And they were sincere words too...not a single lie in them...

"Thank you..." V murmured softly. J's visor blushed as she tilted her head at her fellow worker.

"Yeah... No worries... I didn't do much..."

"N-No, really, you did, I... I'm just... not used to... you know... not being... hated..." V said softly.

"You were hated for stuff you couldn't help because those other drones were a bunch of jerks."

"They were probably just scared..."

"You don't have to make excuses for them, V. End of the day, they hurt you. Pure and simple, they were picking on you, when you have a freaking disability. That's like... one of the most messed up things you can do to a person or a drone or anything, really..."

"I... I'm just so glad that... that you've been treating me nicely ever since I came here... It's... nice..."

"Yeah? Well, you're a good worker, you deserve it. You're hard working, focused, and you always give it your all."

"Oh... So if I was a bad worker, then..."

"No, I wouldn't pick on you for being a bad worker. That's not what I do. I pick on people for valid reasons, like being stupid or being a douchebag. I mean, I'll get annoyed with bad workers, but I'm not gonna outright abuse them like they did to you or anything..."

"Oh... I'm... really happy to hear that..."

"Heh... Good. You okay now?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Awesome. Now let's get this done... Don't want the head of the house to see us not working for five minutes, right?" V giggled at J's little joke.

"No. I'm surprised you'd make a joke at the CEO's expense..."

"Oh, it's just some light ribbing, I don't really mean it." J murmured.

And so, things were well for J for about five months after that. She was Tessa's favorite, most loyal drone. She was getting closer and closer to V. She was doing well on her work and taking pride in it. Life was good.

And then HE showed up.

"'Ello, J, V!"

"Oh, hey Tessa." Greeted the former. "S'up?"

"Weeeell..." She began. "...remembah how I rescued you from a dump and fixed ya up when I found ya, J?"

"Uuuuh, yeah? Why?"

"Well...I went there again. And...guess what?"

She moved to the side, revealing a new drone standing upright, with a bright smile on his face.

"Meet N!"

The male drone waved at them. "Hi! Nice to meet you! I'm N! Uh... Guess you already knew that, since Tessa just told you, huh? Heh... I promise I'll do my best around here!" Tessa giggled, then pulled N into a playful noogie.

"Oh, isn't he the cutest thing you've ever seen?!" She said cheerfully. J raised a brow at that and V laughed softly into her hand.

"Uh... Yeah. Hi." J said simply.

"It's very nice to meet you, N." V said with a curtsy.

"Hahaha! All right! Glad to meet you girls. I hope we can work well together!" N chuckled as Tessa released him.

"Well... That will depend on whether or not you're teachable." J shrugged.

"I'll try my best!" N saluted.

"Good. Glad to hear it." J said with a small smirk and a nod of her head.

And so, she found herself training N. For all of two days. Because... he was good. He was REALLY good. ...He was TOO good...

Seriously. Give him the kitchen to clean? He'd leave it spotless. Making lunch? He makes a five course 5 star meal. Give him the toilets to scrub? He'd make them so clean you'd be hard-pressed to figure out if it's the old toilet or if N just bought a new one.

And it wasn't just work either. He was so...benevolent.

Whenever Tessa saw him, she'd immediately brighten up and gain a pep in her step. The other drones in the house also really liked him. He was basically suffering from a lack of any flaws whatsoever. As if he was literally programmed to be as infallibly kind as possible.

At first, it didn't bother her one bit. A good work ethic and an upbeat attitude did make for a good employee, after all. But she noticed things were... different now. Tessa used to be so happy to see her whenever they crossed paths, she would run over, pick her up by the cheeks and spin her around. Now she was doing that with N. Every time. She never did it to her anymore, she always gave her a warm smile and a friendly greeting, but N was the one that gave her unrestrained joy whenever he was near. It... hurt. Did she like him better than her? Had she done something wrong?

She would also ask N to help her with things a lot more than she would her or V. And she even had HIM responsible for coaching some new drones recently! That was HER job! SHE was in charge, not... not some NEWBIE! SHE had the most experience, she had learned that he'd been thrown out after the first week in his old job for robo god's sake! Who did he think he was, taking her spot like that?!

One day, N came to ask her a question. She'd simply turned away. "Tch... Figure it out yourself, Mr. Perfect..." She'd spat as she stormed off. N looked a bit confused.

"Uh...Okay! Uh... Glad to know you have faith in me! Haha!" J's eye twitched. He ALWAYS had to spin EVERYTHING into a positive.

She resented him. But she didn't hate him. At least, not until she saw how friendly he was getting with V. It had started when he'd bumped into her in the hallway while she was carrying plates and glasses. She was quick and all too eager to scold him for it. "Watch where you're going, you moron, do you have any idea how expensive all that stuff is?! The higher ups will kill you if they find out!"

"J, it was my fault, I wasn't looking, it's fine, really!" V spoke up. J turned to her with a frown.

"Yeah, well... He should have been paying attention too!"

"Heh... Yeah, you're right. Sorry about that, I'll clean it up!" N offered. J snorted and left. She saw V staying behind to help him clean and growled under her breath.

And from that day on, she saw N and V getting closer and closer. Supposedly just friends, that's what V told her. But she saw differently from N's end. No, he was blushing and tripping over his words and acting like an utter idiot in front of V. It was clear as day he had a crush on her.

And she HATED him for it.

He'd already taken Tessa from her, he had to have V too?!

But...she hoped it was nothing. Maybe she doesn't need to worry about anything. Who knows if V will even accept him?

"Pfft, yeah right. What am I worrying about?" J asked herself. "No way is a klutz like him gonna woo V. Heck no..."

She stopped and blinked for a moment. "Why do I care if he woos V or not...? Weird..."

Shrugging, she returned to her work, that being currently dusting off the cupboards in Tessa's room. She was about to finish the first one when...

"Agh, shoot! Not on the bed!" J said as she accidentally blew a bit of dust on the covers on Tessa's bed. "And they're newly washed too! Crapcrapcraaaap!"

She panicked and rushed into the bathroom to grab some paper towels, trying to wipe it up but only smearing the dust further in. "Nonononononononono..." She panicked internally.

"Hey, uh, J? I gotta ask you some-Oh... Uh... You okay?" Great. It was HIM.

"I'm FINE. Go. Away."

"Oh! Someone spilled some dust on Tessa's bed! Ah, I got it!"

"No! No you don't, I got it! Go away!"

"But... you're using paper towel! Look, I found an old toothbrush in the bathroom, they asked me to throw it away, but I decided to hang onto it! It'll help clean all those tough nooks and crannies in the bathrooms!

"...It's a bed, you wanna use an old toothbrush on a bed?! You're a weirdo, get lost, how the hell's a toothbrush gonna fix this?!"

"Oh, well... I did clean it up very thoroughly beforehand, um... Here, just... let me show you. It'll push it off way better than some paper towel could, see?" He gently rubbed the toothbrush against the blankets, and as he said, it did a far more effective job of pushing the dust off the blankets and onto the floor. "Aaaaand, just to clean the rest..." He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a lintroller. "Tessa gave me this! Isn't it cool?! Look at what it does!" He gently rolled it over the blanket, and the remnants of dust was gathered onto the roller. He held it up with a smile. "There! All done! It's as good as new, right?" J clenched her fists.

"You ALWAYS have to SHOW ME UP! WHY?!" N was taken aback.

"I... I was just trying to help..."

"You got thrown away after working for one week! I worked for YEARS before getting thrown out! I'm supposed to be your superior! This isn't fair!"

"I...I've been trying really hard... Y'know...? To... To learn and study up on this stuff so it doesn't happen again..."

"Tch! Screw you! You think you're better than me! You're putting on that stupid nice guy act while you rub it in my face right now! Oh, wow, J, you suuuure screwed up big time, didn't you? Here, let Perfect N help fix your problem! Woooow, he did an amazing job! Give him a promotion and praise! N's the best at everything and J just SUCKS! Is that what you're thinking right now?! It is, isn't it?! N is better than J! Well you're not! You're... You're... UGH! Just... Go away! Leave me alone! Piece of..." She sputtered, trying to find words, before she settled on simply pushing N to the floor.

"But I have a question-"

"Go ask V, you two are soooo close after all, aren't you?! And then go frolic around with Tessa, let her gush over you like you're her newborn baby or something! Just... Ugh! Screw you, I don't wanna see your stupid face again today, get lost, loser!"

"Uh... Okay... I can tell I caught you on a bad day, I'll just... be on my way... Uh... Bye..." He left in a hurry, and J seethed as she continued to clean. She had to do better than him, she had to prove she was the best, she couldn't let him win, she had to earn her place back, she had to! She was better, she WAS! She always WOULD be! She just had to prove it...

And so, J went on a mission. She would prove herself N's better. She would show him where he belongs. She just needed to work harder.

For the next week, J placed extra effort in doing chores. She'd get up earlier than all the other drones in the house, taking care of every single chore they had. She'd do them all in record time, faster than normal, and with more efficiency, leaving better results than ever before.

She'd of course collape on her bed immediately after. She wouldn't fall asleep though. She needed to stay awake. She can't sleep. She needs to prove herself. That means no sleeping. Just work. At all times. 100% of the day. 24 hours for all 7 days of the week, all four weeks every month.

No rest.

Just work.

Of course she was exhausted. Of course she was barely able to keep up after a while. And of course she was increasingly more irritable the longer she went. And the one to take the brunt of her anger? Well, of course it had to be N. Shoving past him in the hallways. Insulting him. Snapping every time he tried to talk to her. And he was just taking it all in stride. And telling her to sleep! Who did he think she was?! Telling HER what to do?!

"J... Uh... I don't think this is healthy, you look pretty tired..."

"Wanna know WHY I'm tired?! Cause I'm a HARD WORKER! YOU'RE just coasting by with some kind of... freaky... know-how!"

"Uh... I... J, your insults are taking a hit..."

"Oh, oh, you want an insult?! Okay, I'll give you an insult! You're worthless and terrible and I hope you die!" She shouted before storming off. N tilted his head as he watched her go, frowning softly.

"...Oh man, what do I do? Uh... Oh yeah, V's been here longer than I have, she'll know what to do!" He rushed off to find V.

The shy maid was dusting some vases. "Uh... V?" N asked, causing her to jump slightly, and the vase fell, almost hitting the floor, before N dove to catch it. "Whoops! Sorry about that!"

"Oh, uh, no, it's fine, I wasn't paying attention to what was around me." V reassured him as he set the vase back. "Thanks! So... What's up?"

"Okay, so... J's not really... sleeping anymore? She's just... doing nothing but working, and I think she hates me more than she did before... Uh... I dunno why she's doing this, but she's kinda got me worried, y'know?"

V frowned. "Oh... Oh, J... I'm... I'm sorry, N... I... She really doesn't hate you, she just... She's just... really, really proud and... I... Um... I'll go talk to her... Thanks for telling me, something seemed off with her... Really... Thank you... Oh, how did I not catch on sooner?!" The maid fretfully rushed off to find J, and N looked contemplative.

"Okay, N... Use your head here... What is J's deal and how can I get along with her...?" He mused, thinking about when he had first shown up. She had been civil with him at first, though he had noticed she was really close to V, always smiling when she was nearby, they'd talk and laugh, and... oh. She would blush a lot too. ...Oh wow, J was totally crushing on V just the same as he was! And... Oh. V was nice to him, but now that he thought about it, her body language seemed so upbeat and lively around J. ...He was getting in their way, wasn't he...? And... Tessa... J thought the world of their human... She wanted her approval so badly... And yet Tessa always got extremely excited to see him. Treatment J no doubt wanted... N smiled. Okay, he could fix that no problem! All he had to do was give everyone a little nudge in the right direction! Easy!

V wandered the mansion, trying her best to make it look like she was working so that no human would get angry with her, and eventually found J, dusting the shelves. "...J? They're already clean, there's no dust there..." V murmured.

"Huh...? What...? I... I just finished up. Uh... Okay, next I have to... Uh... Um... Toilets, I have to clean the... the toilets..." The exhausted drone tried to make off at a brisk pace, but V grabbed her hand.

"J...?" She said timidly. "Please stop..."

"S-stooooohp?" J said dizzily, almost stumbling forward. I can't stop...I need...to clean...the to...toiletsssss..."

J began snoring, having fallen asleep. V bit her lip, before sighing.

"Sorry J..."

She stretched her fingers.

"...this is gonna hurt me a lot more than it will you."

And with that, V threw a slap that instantly woke J up.

"Ga-ah! Wh...what?!"

Suddenly, she was grabbed by the collar by V.

"Listen, do you even hear yourself?! Or better yet, did you look in a mirror lately?"

J scowled. "Just... Ugh... Leave me alone, V, I've... I've got a lot of work to do... Urgh..." J tried to move out of V's grasp.

"No! You've already done PLENTY of work, J! WAY too much! Look at yourself, you can barely even stand up! What battery percentage are you at right now?!"

"Urgh... I dunno..." Rolling her eyes, V gently inspected her friend's visor.

"...Three percent, J! You're at THREE PERCENT right now! You're EXHAUSTED! You can't keep doing this, you're gonna work yourself into shutdown and won't be able to recharge anymore! You might even OVERHEAT, J! What are you doing?! What do you think you're accomplishing by doing this?!"

"I have to be the best..."

"Why?! Why do you have to be the best?!"

"Because he's making me look bad."

"Who?! N?! He's learning this stuff by the skin of his teeth and he's scared of being thrown out again!"

"Tch... Been spending a lot of time with him to know that, haven't you?"

"YOU could spend time with him too, J! He's a nice guy, don't you get it?! He's trying to be your friend too but you keep pushing him away! Why?!"

"He...He... He's a jerk! He... He's rubbing it in my face how much better than me he is! I... I work so hard, I... I try to be the best I can and... some... drone that got thrown out the first week he was bought is outdoing me, it's not fair! I... I was her favorite, I was YOUR best friend, and now..."

"...You're working yourself to death because you think he's stealing Tessa and I away from you?" V asked with a frown.

"He IS! You're ALWAYS with him, and Tessa always gets so excited to see him, she... she used to treat ME like that! I was her favourite drone! Now HE'S her favourite! He... He's stealing you, he's stealing Tessa, and he's gloating about it, he... He..." J collapsed. "I... I don't wanna be left behind, I can't, not again, I can't be forgotten, please don't throw me away, please don't ignore me..."

V, horrified by what she was hearing, immediately rushed to hug J.

"Don't worry. I'm not throwing you away."

J froze up at that.

"How could I? You are my teacher. My first friend here. You showed me the ropes of everything here. And you've been nothing but kind, nice and polite towards me."

V's hug tightened.

"No one's ever been nice fo me. You were the first. No way in HECK am I throwing you away. Ever."

J bit her lip as V continued. "I am SOOOOO sorry I made you feel this way, I didn't know, I'm sorry I didn't spend more time with you, I just... N was so...No, no, I can't make excuses like that, I guess... making a new friend kind of... carried me away a bit... But I never stopped caring about you, J, I never could! Please don't cry, I'm not leaving you!"

"I-I'm not crying...! I'm not...!" J said shakily, tears on her visor.

"And Tessa would never throw you away either! She loves you just the same as she does N, I know she does! You will ALWAYS have a place here as far as we're concerned, please don't think otherwise, I'm soooo sorry we hurt your feelings!"

"I...I..." J slowly hugged her back. "I'm so tired..." She murmured.

"Then PLEASE go to sleep... You need it..."

"But... But... But the work..."

"Don't worry, I'll find a way to make it work!" V said with a soft smile before carefully lifting J up bridal style. The twintailed worker drone tensed up slightly before closing her eyes and resting her head on V's shoulder.

"V...?"

"Yes?"

"...Thank you... I'm... I'm sorry I doubted you..."

"No, no, please, don't worry about it, I'm the one that made you feel neglected, I'll make it up to you somehow! I promise!" She watched as J smiled in gratitude, then closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. "Oh... She's... She's kinda cute like this..." V squeaked, blushing.

"Hey, V!" V jumped with a squeak as N popped up. "Oh! Uh... Sorry, I didn't mean to scare ya, heheh..."

"N-No, no, I... I wasn't paying enough attention, um... I was just getting J somewhere she can sleep... without the master and mistress... y'know... finding her..."

"Oh! No worries! I know a great place! It's waaaaay over in the west wing, there's an attic up there, they NEVER go in there! I heard them talking about it, they think it's beneath them or something!"

"Oh, good!"

"You should stay and watch over her! Don't worry, I can cover for you two!"

"Wait... really...? How...?" N smiled and pulled a maid outfit from behind his back, as well as two wigs he made to resemble her and J's hair. "...Did you make those...?"

"Well, I had to cut up a few of Miss Louisa's old discarded ones, Um... I don't... THINK she'll miss them... Heheh... Good luck!"

"Oh... Thank you, N..." V murmured with a soft smile, carrying the sleeping J away from the scene in search of the spot he had told her of. After several minutes of walking, she eventually found a ladder leading up to the attic in question. Carefully, she climbed it and looked around inside. It was a surprisingly sizeable room for an attic. It had a small hide-a-bed, and what appeared to be a large box of books. Tilting her head, she carefully approached the bed, then pulled it out and laid her friend down for her rest, carefully tucking her in and smiling as she snuggled down into the covers. Then she turned to look at the box of books, pulling one out. And then another. And another. ...It seemed they were all romance novels. Her eyes began to shine. She LOVED romance novels, they were her favourite!

Immediately, she got to reading. The first one was a relatively classical one. Just the usual drama and angst, etc. But nonetheless, V enjoyed it. She loved all romance novels (except a select few).

Of course, she couldn't forget about J. As the other drone was resting and when V wasn't reading, the latter would hxrck up on her friend and make sure everything was in order.

She'd replace any parts that rusted or were a bit beat up from overuse. She'd reboot her system if it experienced a malfunction. She'd even replace her charger if one stopped suddenly working or broke somehow.

She didn't know how long she'd been up there with J, but no one had come up here in search of them, so she assumed that meant that N was doing a good job covering for them... After what felt like an eternity, however, J stirred with a soft groan, and her visor opened up properly. V perked up, looking up from the book she was just finishing, and rushed to her friend's side, pulling her into an embrace. "Oh, good, you're finally awake, I was starting to worry about you, are you okay?! Do you feel any better?!"

"Ugh... Y-Yeah... I'm... I'm fine... I... Ah... It's... It's nice to have a full charge again..." She murmured, rubbing her arm. "...How long did I sleep for?"

"Um... I don't know... Let me... Oh... Oh my... J, it's been two days...!"

"TWO-" J clapped her hands over her mouth. "No no no no no no no no no, they're gonna kill me, I'm gonna get tossed out again, I'm done for..."

"J..." V hugged her. "It's okay... N is covering for us."

"...He's just one drone, how can he cover for both us AND himself?!"

"Well... He has disguises on hand, I imagine he just wears them to make them think we're hard at work..." V murmured.

"...And he outdoes me as usual..." J sighed, shaking her head. "Urgh... Hmm? That box of books was not up here last I came in..."

"You've been here before?"

"I've been quite thorough these past few days, and I know I did not see those books before."

"Well... They must have been put in here quite recently, because they were here when I came up... I... I was just finishing reading one when you woke up, they're... they're all romance books... Um... I... I like romance books..."

J raised a brow. "Romance, huh? ...Sounds nice." She looked down at the bed. "...We should..."

"Yeah, N's... N's probably worked himself to death by now..."

"Heh... One can hope..." J chuckled. V raised a brow. "Just kidding, joke, joke... Let's go..."

Both drones went back down the ladder, and silently walked side by side. "...So what was it about? The... The book, I mean... Besides just... y'know... romance... What's the story?" J asked.

"Oh, it's a classic! The male and female lead are somewhat bland at the beginning, but their development is soooo cute and well-written!"

And so, V launched on a tirade about the book. J listened intently every single sentence word from word.

Eventually, the novel gained J's interest as well. She's never read any books in her life beyond instruction manuals and recipe books. A storybook was never even touched by her.

Not even once."

"So uh...could I read the book myself once?'

V turned to her with a wide smile. "There's tons of books in that box! Oh, we could read them together, we could start our own little book club, just you and me!" She said excitedly, clasping her hands together. It was... cute. J raised a brow.

"We'd... need to find the time to do that..."

"Yeah... I know... But... It's not like they have us working all the time..."

"The higher ups don't like seeing us lazing about doing leisurely activities."

"Oh... Right..."

"...So we'll have to make sure we keep it up in the attic." J relented with a small smile. V let out a soft gasp, then squeed and hugged her fellow drone tightly. J chuckled and patted her back...

"J!" J blinked at the sound of Tessa's voice, and suddenly found herself lifted off the floor by her cheeks and spun around before being pulled into an embrace. "Oh my gosh, I'm SO sorry, I didn't even THINK you'd feel left out, you never seemed to like it when I got affectionate with you the way N did, so I just... I thought... Agh, I didn't mean to make you feel neglected!"

J's heart filled with warmth as she felt the familiar greeting Tessa would always give her.

"Nah, it's...it's okay, Tessa, really."

"No it ain't." Tessa said bluntly. "I made ya overwork yerself and nearly shut down permanently. That's not how a drone owner should treat their drone. And ya felt like nobody cared for ya anymore, like the reason why you were thrown out in the first place..."

She tightened her hug.

"I am SO sorry J...I really didn't mean to make ya feel like that..."

J teared up slightly. "It's... It's not your fault, I... I wasn't really receptive to it I guess, heh..." She returned the embrace. "I'm just... happy that you still care..." She murmured.

"Course I do, come on now, you don't think I'd ever stop carin' for ya just 'cause of N? I don't have a favourite drone, I treat my drones how I think they wanna be treated! Figured you'd want to be treated more like an adult an' less like a puppy I get all pumped up to see, didn't realize how wrong I was..."

"Well... I appreciate the thought all the same..." J murmured softly. V watched on with a small, soft smile, happy that everything turned out right. She looked over when she noticed something moving, and she saw N peeking around the corner with a smile. He gave a wink and a thumbs up, and V smiled back softly, mouthing a 'Thank you'.

When she looked back, J was openly weeping in their owner's hold as Tessa was carrying her off to their room to avoid being seen by their parents. V debated following after them... But... Nah... Best let them have their moment... And take some burden off of poor N's shoulders, he'd been working much too hard lately... Smiling, she approached N to lend a hand.

Things went back to normal following that, the difference being J now treated N with far more courtesy and respect, much to the male drone's liking. And of course V and J also found the time to go back to the attic and look at their newfound box of books...

V had pulled out the first book she'd read so that J could experience it alongside her. The two drones would sit on the floor, side by side, and read aloud from the book together. It was a fairly standard romance novel even by their limited exposure. The pretty commoner girl whisked away into a whirlwind romance by the handsome and rich nobleman. Most likely depicted by the couple on the book's cover, but even so it had them spellbound. It didn't take long to finish it, and J felt... oddly invigorated... It really was a sweet and wholesome story, and she felt... a strange feeling in her chest whenever she and V would read aloud the lines of the two main leads...

When they were done, they tucked the book away, and smiled at each other. "...We'll have to look at these books again soon..." J murmured.

"Mm-hmm! Lots more to read!" V said excitedly, clapping her hands. J smiled and the two went back downstairs...

And so it became a ritual. Every night when their work was done, they would sneak a book out of the little collection they found, read a few chapters before falling asleep, and finish one book before moving on to the next. V had considered letting N know... But something about the time spent with just J felt... special. Plus they both knew N couldn't keep a secret and would fold from the slightest questioning. Which would possibly lead to them getting memory wiped by the older humans in the mansion. They read more and more of their books over the course of the following year, before eventually, they came to the one that really spoke to them. Every other book they'd read had featured the traditional heterosexual relationship. But this one was a romantic relationship between two women. "That can happen?!" V exclaimed, eyes wide. J shushed her before listening for anyone coming towards their hiding spot. They had moved their reading time from the attic towards the old and unused servant halls. Places that hadn't been used since the mansion stopped using human staff.

"Yes, it can happen, it happens more often now than it did back when this thing was written, apparently same sex relationships were 'evil' and 'immoral' or whatever." J rolled her eyes as she said that, clearly not at all agreeing with old fashioned views on the matter.

V frowned softly. "...Let's keep reading it, I need to know how this works..."

The book was very much in the, 'secret forbidden romance,' end of the genre. With the two leading ladies sneaking around to spend as much time with each other as possible. Doing their best to stay under the noses of their strict parents. "...That is SO what we've been doing..." V snickered. J smirked.

"Hmm... Guess you're right. Replace 'parents' with 'slave drivers' and that sums it up just nicely." The two continue to read the book for several more hours.

"...This is getting a bit... intense..." J muttered, a blush on her visor.

"It sure is." V said, also blushing but unable to keep a wide grin off her face. This was definitely one of the more… risqué novels that they had read. More often than not it would be a little kissing before quickly shifting to what they had come to learn was called fading to black. Instead jumping towards the happy couple cuddled up in their bed, but this one did not. J had expected V to be a flustered, embarrassed mess to be reading such content. The opposite was true, V seemed to be actively enjoying it, and was doing little, if anything to hide that fact.

"...I am learning some interesting things about you today." J said flatly.

V gave her a giggle and a smile, "I'm learning a few things about myself, too." She shifted closer to J and even rested her chin on J's shoulder to get a better view of the book. J briefly looked away, but ultimately decided not to ask her to move. She did make note of the blush on V's visor, and she reasoned that it was probably because of the rather steamy scene they were reading. But when the blush persisted long after they had passed that part, it became clear there was something else at play.

It became most evident when they came to a date scene between the two leads. They were just leaving a fancy looking restaurant, hands entwined as they merrily chat away.

Eventually, the duo comes to a beach. The sea is surprisingly warm, and the Moon shines above them, surrounded by stars.

The couple talks and flirts lightly for a few moments, before slowly, J leans in, preparing a kiss. V does the same, slightly blushing, and-

"Uuuuuuh...V? What...are you reading?"

V blinked twice. "Huh?" J raised an eye at the shy drone.

"The main leads are named Maurecia and Nancy. You're using our names." V blinked twice. Then her visor started to flare up. Then she buried her face in her hands with a long squeak.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh, I'm so sorry, I don't know why I did that, I don't know what came over my oh my gosh aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh..." She eeked out, shaking her head back and forth. J raised a brow.

"...Just a slip of the tongue, I get it." She decided to let it slide with a shrug of her shoulders. As they continued reading, after a while, J wrapped an arm around J's waist and pulled her a bit closer. V blushed, looked up at her friend, received a small smirk in response, then smiled and nestled in closer, happy at the close contact. Both of them knew that this was the start of something special. A bond that went beyond the friendship that they'd had for the past couple years.

Over the course of several more weeks, they finally managed to wrap up the book. "That was a pretty long one, huh...?" V asked softly. "Kinda sad it's over..."

J looked over at her with a smirk. "It was quite the story, wasn't it?"

V faned her face with her hand, "It really was…" The author hadn't shied away from more… explicit writing than they were used to. J held up the cover to look at the author's name,

"I wonder if she wrote anything else?"

V grinned widely. "I sure hope so! Let's look in the box and see if we can find anything!"

J chuckled. "All right, let's take a look..." They dug through the box for a bit and found another romance story by the same author, also themed around two women being romantically involved. Setting it aside for the moment, they found a few more books that appeared to be the same. J blinked as she weighed the books in her hands, "Looks like we're set for a while with these."

As they read the next book in the collection, V suddenly spoke up. "Uh... Hey, J, quick question, you uh... You ever wonder what... it would be like...? To like... be in a relationship, I mean...?" J raised a brow.

"Honestly surprised you haven't made any progress with N."

V looked away. "I mean... He's... kind of... a boy...?"

J looked at her before slowly looking back towards the book as realization struck her. She let out a soft, "Oh," as she felt her own visor start to heat up. Did she think of V that way? She closed her eyes. "...So... you don't like N..." J murmured.

V blushed and looked away. "Uh... I mean, it's moreso... I'm not into more... male looking drones, I guess... I kinda... always preferred... pretty... over... handsome..." She admitted shyly. "Y'know... Like... Like you..." J's visor almost starts to glow with the heat of her blush. This was certainly not how she had expected their nightly reading to go. V more or less confessing to her after they finished their first novel starring a female couple.

"...Wow... You uh... V, are you saying you feel... that way about me...? Like... you feel the same...?"

V looked away and buried her face in her hands. "I-I'm sorry, I should've just kept quiet, forget I said anything, I..." J stopped her and pulled her into an embrace. V briefly froze up when J started to pat the back of her head before throwing her arms around J. The entire time it felt let her core was going to explode, but now she felt herself relax. It had been a bit of a leap of faith, but now she was being hugged by her… 'Wait, what would be the term for this?'

"...So wait... Is this a hug to show that you're sorry but you're not interested, or...?"

J scoffed. "No, dummy, I'm accepting your confession, duh!" V's visor turned fluorescent yellow, but an expression of pure joy formed on her face. She tried to restrain herself from tackling J to the ground. Both because she didn't know how she would take it, and neither of them wanted to risk their reading nook being discovered. Their one real place in the mansion where no one would bother them.

"...Um... J...? Do you think maybe we could... do the kissing thing...? Just a little bit...? Um... Is that weird...? I know we're robots, but..." J sighed. "Let's get on with it already!" V blinked, and her eyes widened when J lunged for it.

Their lips met with a soft *clink* of the metal. V's eyes widened massively, before her visor flickered and displayed an exclamation mark...

...which had a heart for a dot.

The kiss wasn't all that deep. Just surface level. Touching of the lips. But the feeling...

An indescribable feeling filled V's inner systems, and she melted in the kiss.

It lasted for a good while. About 10 minutes max. Eventually though, they separated.

"Wow...I..." Began V.

J interrupted her by pulling her into another one. After getting over the initial shock, she felt a spark within her, which prompted her to wrap her arms around J, hold her as close as she could and deepen the kiss. J's eyes widened. 'Did she just worm her tongue into my mouth?' That was her last coherent thought for some time. Her entire world just reduced to the two of them. The fact that they didn't really need to breathe was certainly a plus for the both of them.

They heard footsteps and immediately pulled away with a blush and panicked internally, turning to see who it was and feeling immensely relieved when they saw that it was only Tessa. "...Ah. So uh... How long then?" The human girl asked. J coughed into her fist and V hid her face in her hands. Tessa, being the smart girl she is, let out a soft laugh, "So not very long huh? Although that doesn't explain why you two have been vanishing in these old passages every night."

"Uh... We were just... reading..." V admitted sheepishly, gesturing to the romance novels. "Um... You're still underage, so there's a lot of stuff here you shouldn't be looking through..."

J sighed and handed Tessa a small stack of the books. "Here's some of the wholesome ones we've read through, you'll like them... That one in particular has the main characters that remind me a lot of you and that Will kid you like so much." V tilted her head. "That one time the master of the house threw a staff party and family was invited? Some couple brought their son by? He hit it off with Tessa? Remember? Long red hair? Tessa has a crush on him."

V let's out a scandalized gasp while Tessa goes scarlet in the face. While it wasn't exactly a secret among the Drones that Tessa had a crush the young lady of the house was still embarrassed about it. She didn't exactly know what to do given she mostly had her mind on machines for most of her life. "Well, I mean, it'll give me SOMETHING to help me sort things out, won't it...?"

J snickered and held up one of the books. "Well, this is the most basic of the bunch, but if it's relationship advice you're after, there's worse sources out there." The book was pretty basic and clearly targeted towards tweens and younger teens. Keeping things primarily to brief kisses and hand holding instead of the… spicier content she and V had been reading.

Tessa quickly grabbed the book and hid it behind her back. "Wonderful! Thanks a ton!"

V spoke up. "Now uh... Maybe... don't tell N that we're a thing now please...?"

Tessa tilted her head. "I'm... pretty sure he already knows, he's been subtly guiding you two together for the past few months."

This left both drones stunned into silence. Both of them reviewing recent memories of their interactions with N. Trying to look at them in a new light with N apparently being very subtle in his nudging.

[Flashback 1]

N, V and J were literally just standing around, awaiting orders. N looked at the two of them. "Just the three of us right now! OH! I JUST remembered, I'm supposed to clean the wastebaskets! Better go do that, they're not gonna clean themseeeeelves!" He rushed off.

"But I already... N...?" V called after him, confused. J raised a brow.

[Flashback 2]

"V?" V turned to see J approaching her as she worked on the dusting. "N said you needed my help with something?"

"Oh... Um... I mean, there IS a lot of dust to deal with, but... I can manage..." J grabbed a duster and set to assisting her friend without another word. V smiled, glad for the companionship, but confused as to why N would tell J she was in search of her.

[Flashback 3]

"So... read any good books lately?" N casually asked J, who looked at him with a raised brow.

"...When do we have time to read books?"

N shrugged. "Eh."

[End flashbacks]

J sighed and rubbed her face, "Okay, so he's a lot more perceptive than I give him credit for. It seems he even realized it before we did."

V could only hide her face in her hands to try and hide how red she had gotten. "He... He's had a huge crush on me for like... since the second we first met, and he was trying to help me hook up with someone else all this time instead of trying to win me over...?"

Tessa laughed. "You know N. If you're happy, he's happy."

J let out a sigh. "...I really was too harsh on him, huh? Great... Now I feel like a total bad guy... I'll have to find some way to make it up to him..."

V beamed. "He really is a sweetheart, J... You should be more open with him..." She murmured, taking her hand. The two looked at each other, and in that moment, they forgot Tessa was even there, it was just the two of them... And they leaned in for another kiss.

"Um... Girls...? Ten years old here...! Uh... This... isn't really appropriate conduct...! Uh... I'm just gonna... be on my way then... You two... have fun, bye!" Tessa ran off from the scene, leaving her lovestruck drones behind to make out.

They politely waited for Tessa to get far enough so no sounds could reach her.

"Now?"

"Now."

So, their lips met. And they stayed connected.

The kiss was...quite a bit long. And slightly more intense. Yet it also carried a feeling of gentleness. As if the two participants didn't wanna cause any accidental damage to each other. Which they didn't.

The kiss lasted for about 20 minutes this time. After it, came a more...peaceful, so to speak, interaction.

They pulled away and smiled into each other's visors before leaning their foreheads together and smiling softly. "I...I'm so happy..." V squeaked out. "I... I always wanted someone to love just like this, I... It's so... Thank you, just... thank you..."

J chuckled. "Same here... I just didn't realize it until now, I thought I was gonna be married to the job forever..." The drones wrapped their arms around one another and smiled in bliss. "...We'll have to turn in for the night... So we're charged and rested for tomorrow..."

V giggled. "Well then... Wanna sleep in my space tonight...?"

J raised a brow. "Your space is a bit small though... Not a lot of room..."

V looked down bashfully. "I know... It... It gives us lots of space to snuggle... Um... Is... Is that too... forward...?"

J tilted her head. "...I now love the idea." She rose to her feet, keeping V in her arms and scooping her up bridal style. V squeaked and clapped her hands over her mouth.

"EEP! OHMIGOSH YOU'RE CARRYING ME LIKE A PRINCESS!" She squeaked out, the sound muffled by her hands, as J carefully put their books back in the closet they hid them in.

"I am." J shrugged. "Figured your reaction would be cute. I was right."

"Stop iiiit!"

"Hmmmm...nah."

J planted a kiss on V's visor.

"Too cute to stop."

"J!"

J let out a hearty laugh at V's behavior. She really was adorable when she acted all flustered like that.

"Now c'mon, let's go see where Tessa is. Probably got worried for us, with how long we've been in here."

V let out a soft huff, but snuggled in closer to her girlfriend despite herself, resting her head on her chest and maintaining a small, shaky smile as J carried her down the hallways. A few other drones noticed them passing by and gave them a brief look before carrying on with their own business. Good. Neither one of them wanted to do a Q&A right now...

Tessa was back in her room, of course. It WAS close to bed time after all. And N and... Cyn were also in there with her. Great... Cyn... The creepy little thing was playing with two dolls on the floor, apparently playing 'wedding', as she was repeatedly singing 'Wedding Song' to the tune of 'Here comes the bride' as she made them 'hop' along the floor before pressing them together and repeatedly saying 'Kiss. Kiss' Passionate make-out session. Inappropriate in front of the spectators.'

N chuckled. "C'mon, Cyn, keep it wholesome!"

"Giggle. I am so naughty."

"You sure are, Cyn." J rolled her eyes, idly noting the dolls in her hands were both female. She simply turned to them with a knowing look and a tilted head.

"Ah. Big Brother was at is the wedding carry. I wish I had received an invitation to your marriage. Pouty lip. Shoulder sulk. Mope. Sigh."

J snorted. "Obviously we aren't actually married, who would even officiate that?"

"Oh, c'mon, J, don't be harsh on the poor girl, she's happy for you two, really she is!" Tessa reasoned. N looked over with a smile. Both V and J looked back at him.

"...You knew all along..." She murmured.

"Heheh... Yeah, I... kinda figured when I really started to think about things, it was kind of... heh... obvious, I guess...?" N rubbed the back of his head.

"...You liked her." J said simply, looking at V.

"Uuuuuuhhhhh..."

"You did. Anyone with eyes could see it."

"It's... It's true... I... I kinda knew..." V murmured shyly.

"Oh... You did? Heheh... Didn't know I was that obvious... Uh... Well... Yeah... I did, but y'know... if you don't feel the same way, then the best I can do is make sure you're still happy, right?"

"You...really are that nice, huh?" J asked.

"Eh?"

"You're insufferably nice." J said. "No offense. You knew how much you loved V. And yet you still went out of your way to help her get together with me, instead of chasing after her yourself."

"W-well, it wouldn't make me happy if I got to be lucky in love without my friend being lucky too."

"...You are one insufferable little angel of a drone."

"Uhhh...not sure if I take that as a compliment or insult...still better than your previous ones though. Not that those were bad but..."

"Not bad? N, I was a total cu-"

Before J could finish, V quickly slapped a hand over her mouth.

"PLEASE don't say that word with Tessa and Cyn in the room." She chided lightly. J sighed and nodded, and V took her hand off her mouth. N approached with a small smile.

"So... I'm glad you guys are happy together! Maybe now we can all finally get along-" He was cut off when J lunged forward and wrapped her arms around him, his eyes widening in shock before he began to tear up and smile widely. "Oh my gosh you're hugging me... You're HUGGING me...! Aaaaaaah, does this mean we're finally friends now...?!"

"Course it does, dork, how could we NOT be?" J scoffed. V sighed and smiled, shaking her head. Even when being nice, J's harsh personality was put on full display. "...Sorry for... everything..."

"Awwwwww, it's okay! I'm just happy everything turned out good for us!" N hugged her back with a beaming smile.

"...Dweeb..." J said with a soft smile.

And so, that night, as they agreed, J spent the night with V in her small sleeping quarters.

Currently, at the moment, the two drones were snuggled together, hugging each other tightly.

J looked at the blissful V.

"Feeling comfy?"

"Mmmmm...very..."

J giggled at her...girlfriend (she still couldn't believe it was real), smiling and giving her a deeper hug.

"Ah, I can't believe I got myself a beauty like you. Always thought I would end up with a male drone..." V tilted her head to the side and J shrugged her shoulders. "What can I say? Thought I was straight until I met you..." V smiled and closed her eyes.

"I... I always knew I liked girls, so... um... I was happy to meet you... pretty much immediately, you're... really pretty..." She murmured.

"Oh... You uh... You really think so...?"

"Yeah... You... You really are..."

"Oh... Thanks... Um... I... I thought you were... pretty adorable when I first met you..." The two drones snuggled in closer to each other, and V blushed when she felt J's lips press gently against her own for a few seconds before she pulled back with a small smirk. "Your lips taste... minty."

"O-Oh... Do they...? Um... Yours taste... kind of like coffee..."

J chuckled. "Coffee and mint. Seems we were really meant to be..." V gave her a shaky smile.

"M-Maybe we were..." She murmured softly. They nuzzled in close... and fell asleep in each other's arms.

Things went on as normal for the next few months, the major difference being V and J were much happier. On top of their reading time, they'd occasionally stop one another in the hallways to either exchange a little bit of flirting, or a quick kiss on the lips before heading back to their jobs. They would spend all their time working together talking about whatever came to mind as they got the job done. They would sleep in one another's quarters regularly. It was plain to see both drones were in love and happy as could be.

And then, one day, James and Louise Elliott were headed off on a week long business meeting. This meant that Tessa and the drones were going to be left alone in the mansion.

So of course, Tessa got a plan.

"Alright. So, any ideas on what we do?"

"Hmmm...how about a movie night?" Suggested N.

"Nah, too casual. Those are saved for later in life."

"How about a pool date?"

Tessa just gave Cyn a flat look.

"They're drones. They'd be bored and get waterlogged if they were in there too long."

"Oh...my bad."

What were they discussing?

Why, planning V and J's first proper date, of course!

N decided to speak up. "We ARE kinda... stuck inside the mansion, soooooo... we DO have pretty limited options. But... I think the movie date could work to sorta start things off, couldn't it? They could watch a movie, then have a nice dinner, and uh... Oh! The ballroom's gonna be totally free, they could dance there too!"

Tessa perked up. "Aaah, that's adorable! Wonder what kind of song they'd want though..."

"Questioning glance. What cinematic picture should we display for them?"

"Uh... Well, they DID make a movie out of one of their romance books, so... let's try that I guess?"

Suddenly, the door opened, and J walked in. "Hey. Anything need cleaning in here?"

"Eh? Oh... Don't worry about that right now, J, mother and father aren't home so you don't need to trouble yourself with all the cooking and cleaning today."

"I... can't just stop working, Tessa..."

"You can and you will, because you are gonna take advantage of this time off from them to have yourself a nice, proper date with your girlfriend!" The human girl declared.

"H-huh?!" Stuttered J. "What?! A date?!"

"Well, yeah!" N began. "It's common practice to go to a date after confessing!"

"B-but I don't know what to do!" J screamed. "I don't know what to wear, how to talk, what do I-"

"Eeeaaasy there sugah!" Said Tessa. "That's why we're here. To help ya out with taking V on the most wonderful date of yer lives."

"Eh?" J squeaked as Tessa grabbed her wrist and dragged her out of the room.

"W-W-Wait, can we even DO that in the mansion, what if one of the other drones tells Mr. James and Mrs. Louisa, I... I..."

"Oh, come now, it's all right, it'll be perfectly fine. N, won't you help V get ready?" N saluted.

"I'll do my best, Tessa!" He declared. "...Okay... Uh... Girls' clothes... Hoo boy... What would V like...?" Cyn watched him mutter to himself as he left the room. She tilted her head to the side with a small smile.

"Romance is a beautiful thing."

And so, V was pulled out of the room an hour later. She was freshly polished and cleaned off. She had her hair down, no longer with her signature twintails, allowing it to flow freely down her back. And her dress was low cut, and had slits down either side to show off her legs. It had been her choice, she'd chosen it because it was... well, it was just nice, okay?!

"N! Is V almost ready?!" Tessa called out.

"Yep! Just one more minute... Hang on... Aaaaaand... Okay, she's good!" N pulled the door open with a smile. "Come on out, V!" After a moment of silence, V tentatively stepped out from behind the door to show her little makeover and new dress to her girlfriend.

The dress was a beautiful pastel orange, with puffy shoulders and a noticeable lack of sleeves. The skirt was silky and slightly transparent from middle to bottom, the non-transparent upper part decorated with golden accents and patterns shaped like leaves.

J rubbed her arm in embarrassment as she fidgeted under her girlfriend's gaze.

"So uh..." She began. "Whaddaya think?"

V blinked twice, then smiled softly, looking down. "You.. You look really pretty... Um... You have really nice hair, and... Um... Yeah..." J laughed softly.

"You look adorable yourself, V..." She murmured, approaching slowly before wrapping her girlfriend up in a hug. V tensed up before melting into the embrace, smiling softly as she hugged back.

"I... I can't believe this is real! Oh my gosh, a real date...!" She breathed out.

"Heh... Yeah, even if it is in the mansion, it's still pretty exciting..." J chuckled.

"Oh... So uh... what are we gonna be doing, anyway...? Like... movie night or something...?"

"Well, Tessa refused to tell me, she said she was gonna make everything a surprise. But apparently we got three stops to go to tonight, soooo... yeah. Should be nice, right?"

"Mm-hmm! Mm-hmm! Mm-hmm!" V nodded her head with a smile. "I'm up for anything, honestly. I just... like to be with you..."

J blushed and rubbed the back of her head. "Same... You... make me feel so much happier... Heh..." The two drones smiled at each other, then exchanged a quick kiss on the lips, lasting about five seconds before they pulled back.

"All right, let's go now, no time to waste!" Tessa pulled them along to their first stop: Dinner.

Immediately, the scene cut to J getting plopped down on a chair on the dining table. It was thankfully one of the smaller ones. Opposite to her was V, who simply blinked as she and J exchanged gazes.

Before they could speak their word, the door opened again and out came...N. Dressed in his usual servant outfit.

"Now then..." He began, setting down a pot full of boiling hot mushroom soup. "The first dish of the date night, mushroom soup made with love! Enjoy!"

With that, he bowed and walked out of the room, leaving the pair alone.

Both blinked for a couple seconds. "...This is... actual food..." V murmured. "The... The master and mistress NEVER let us eat actual food...!"

"Y-Yeah... I... Uh... Won't they notice this stuff is missing...?" J asked softly.

"M-Maybe they'll assume Tessa ate it...?" V murmured. "I...I just... really wanna... try food... Batteries and oil are nice and all, but... I wanna see what the people have..."

"...Right. Okay then. Uh... First... bite...? Do you call eating soup a bite...? Uh... Whatever it is..." J scooped some of her meal into her spoon and put it in her mouth, making a conscious effort to avoid slurping. "...We missed so much, V..." She whispered.

"Oh, you like it? Okay! Uh... My turn!" V took her own spoonful. "...So gooood..." She took a few more, and she couldn't help but slurp just a bit. J simply shook her head in bemusement before returning to her own meal. As V seemed to be eagerly eating with gusto, J ate at a slow, deliberate pace to savour the meal a little more.

They ate in relative silence, lost in the first human food they had ever eaten. And when they were done...

"Oh my gosh, J, I feel so much better right now!" V chirped. "I...I feel more fueled!"

"Hmm. I was wondering why we were designed to be able to taste and eat people food. Now apparently it energizes us? How DO we work...?"

"Oh, um... I think I heard the master talking about someone called Doofenshmirtz, apparently he made us as humanish as he could so that people would relate to and like us..." V murmured.

"...Doofenshmirtz... Doofenshmirtz... Ah... I feel like I've heard that name before... If he DID give us taste, he's a real genius... Oh, N's coming, what's next...?" J muttered.

"For you two, my specialty!" Setting the plate down, this time the lid was lifted to reveal a smoking, shiny meat loaf, with melted cheese dripping out of it. expect

"Huh...didn't expect you to know that." J remarked.

"Hehe, yeah I basically memorized all the recipes in the cookbook...aaaaand promptly forgot all of them 10 minutes later. This one was the only one I still remember. Oh! And here!"

He also pulled out a small bowl of gravy to go along with the loaf.

"Voilà! Enjoy, ladies." With a bow, he walked out of the room.

J chuckled and shook her head. "He's such a dork." She said fondly.

"Aww, it's cute how much work he's putting into all this though." V said softly with a smile. "He really does want to make sure we're happy together."

J laughed into her hand. "Either that or he's trying to worm his way into polyamory."

"J-J, don't say that, that's mean!"

"Relaaaaaax, I don't mean it, I was just kidding around! I don't think the idea even really clicks in his mind, the guy's as innocent as it gets, heh..."

"Hmm... Well... He makes a good meat loaf, right?"

"Yeah. ...Not as good as mine though. I... think... Hope... Wish and pray..."

"You don't still feel like you need to be better than him?"

"No! No, it's just... I dunno... I'm proud of my meatloaf recipe..."

"Hmm... J... Do you ever wonder what else is out there...? Like... outside of these walls I mean...?"

"Um... Well... No... Not really... I mean... I have you, and Tessa, and... I GUESS N, so I'm pretty much just happy with the way my life is..."

"Ah... Um... I... I see..." V murmured, eating more of her meal.

"...So you want to see more of the world, huh?"

"Well... Maybe not TOO much... I mean... I could live without being in the desert or the ocean or deep in the jungle, but like... I dunno... Um... I really like the garden and I guess I wanna see more stuff like that. Grass and trees and flowers and some animals and all that..."

"Oh... You like the garden...?"

"Mm-hmm... Especially the hedge maze... It's just... relaxing out there..."

"Well... maybe we can take a walk in the garden after everyone else has finished up their plans for the night..."

"Ooh, really?! I'd love that!" V squeed softly. J chuckled.

"All right. That'll be our own contribution to our night out." V giggled and continued eating.

Soon enough, their dinner was complete, and it was time for the dessert. It wasn't anything fancy, just a simple pumpkin pie with whipped cream.

"Rather simple for a dessert." J remarked.

"Ah, who cares!?" V responded. "It's pumpkin pie! Let's dig in!"

"Hehe, you really like pumpkin pie, eh V?"

V blushed slightly at the tease. "I mean...it's just so delicious! And it fits almost every dish no matter the nature! Of course I love it!"

"Yeah, I get ya." J said as she pulled out a piece for herself. "Though I can't say I see what-"

As soon as she took a bite, J froze up.

The air grew quiet, and V tilted her head.

"Uuuh...J?"

J blinked, before looking at the pie in her hand.

'This...this is...amazing...'

Immediately, J greedily took a bigger bite from her pie. And then a second, even bigger one. V smiled as she saw the pie dissappear in mere moments.

J licked her fingers in satisfaction, before noticing V's smiling face. Embarrassed, she immeasurable composed herself and sat straight up.

"Um...sorry for the...uh...lack of formality..."

She looked down and was mortified when she realized she didn't even use her knife and fork, just shoving the pie into her mouth with her bare hands. "Agh... This isn't proper etiquette...!" She squeaked out as she grabbed at her hair, before immediately pulling her hands off when she realized there were still crumbs on them. "Oh no, that was so unladylike, agh!"

V laughed softly into her hand. "It's okay, J, really! It was cute."

J tensed up and blushed. "O-Oh... C-Cute, huh...? You... really thought it was cute...?"

V tilted her head and smiled. "Yes... Here..." She handed her the can of whipping cream. "This makes it taste better, at least from what I've heard..." J studied the can closely and pulled off the lid.

"Hmm... How does it..." She lightly touched the top with her finger and accidentally squeezed some of the whipped cream out, getting it all over her face in the process, leaving her entire face coated in the whipped cream. She blinked twice, her eyes the only thing visible, before her expression turned deadpan. V giggled softly into her hand, trying to stifle her laughter, and J sighed before licking her lips. "...So gooooooood..." All annoyance was cast aside as she eagerly wiped the cream up with her hands and licked them off her fingers, taking a few seconds to process what she was doing. "Wait, no! No no no, that wasn't dignified at ALL, AGH!"

"It's okay, J, it's just us here, I'm not judging you for indulging yourself a bit... Here, put some of it on your pie."

"Right... On the pie..." J did as directed, and this time, she made a conscious effort to ensure she properly used her knife and fork. 'Control yourself, control yourself...'

V giggled softly as she cut her own pie. "My old owner's grandkids really loved this stuff... They offered me some one time, but um... she told them not to..."

J sighed. "That seems a little unfair, they were willing to share, why not allow them?"

"Uh... She was worried I'd start...bumming for food at the dinner table like a dog..."

"...What does that woman think we are...?"

"Mindless stupid machines that should never step out of line..."

"Ah... I...see... I suppose that's... fairly commonplace..."

"But it's not true... I'm... I'm not stupid..."

"Of course you aren't. You just wound up in a household that was incompatible with your particular needs, that's all." J assured her.

"The only reason I do well here is because of all your help..." V sighed.

"I only stoked the flames of your potential. You always had it in you, you just needed extra assistance to bring it out." J assured gently.

"I...I guess..."

"You guess. I KNOW." J smiled softly.

V smiled back. "There's a table between us..." She murmured shyly. "Here... Let me just..." She stood up, walked around the table, then gave her lover a kiss on the lips. J blinked twice, then eagerly returned the kiss with more enthusiasm than she had before. On top of the usual taste of her lover's lips she enjoyed, there was also the faint taste of the remnants of her delicious pumpkin pie on there. V pulled back. "Thank you... So much... For everything... I'm so glad Tessa brought us together... I...I'd gladly relive being stuck under all those dead drones all over again if it meant you and I would be able to be together..."

J teared up slightly at V's gentle declaration of love. "...As would I..." She said shakily. "I...I..." She took a deep breath. "Our connection is something truly special... Isn't it, V?"

"It is. It really is..." V retook her seat. Both drones smiled warmly before returning to their dessert. Soon enough, it was finished, and being incinerated by their inner workings.

"Well... I suppose that was the first step to the date... They had three planned for us... We may as well see what's next..." J spoke.

"Yep!" Let's go."

With that, the pair got up and walked away from the table. Approaching the door, they were soon greeted by N.

"Hello!" He greeted boisterously. "How was the dessert?"

"I have no idea how you managed to make pumpkin pie." J said. N laughed sheepishly.

"Ah hehe, that was...mostly Tessa. I was her assistant more like."

"I have no idea that she KNEW how to make pumpkin pie!" V said in surprise.

"We had a recipe book." N shrugged.

"I... feel like Tessa's parents are kinda wasting her talent..." V muttered with a small glare. She made no secret to her friend group that she didn't like James or Louisa at ALL.

"Well, uh... Let's just go ahead and get you all set for the next part! Come on!" N led the way to the sitting room, where the television was on and there was a DVD in the player. J tilted her head, and her eyes widened.

"They made a movie based on that book...?" She murmured.

"Wait, which one? Oh... Oooooh, it's the one about the poor girl that overworks herself to provide for her little sister and ends up marrying the princess, I love that one!" V squeed excitedly.

"Yeah... Same..." J murmured with a soft smile, grabbing V's hand and guiding her to the couch. Both maids took a seat, and as Cyn, from the other side of the room, hit the play button on the remote, N approached with a large bowl of popcorn that he set between the two of them.

"Uh... Please enjoy the show, ladies!" He said with a bow, stepping backwards out the doorway [but not before lightly bumping into the wall and having to adjust his angle a bit.]

V and J exchanged a smile, then set the popcorn bowl in their laps as they opted to sit close to one another, snuggling in close as they watched the film.

"...So... what do you think...?" V asked softly.

"It's...not bad... But... a movie only has so much time... The book was definitely better because... it had time to properly establish everything it needed to, whereas the movie needs to... cut everything down to under two hours... I feel... a lot of key scenes are missing..."

"And by key scenes you mean the ones that were just there to be cute and romantic, right?" V giggled.

"Well... yeah... because... those just... made their romance more believable, it doesn't feel as... special without those little moments, I guess..."

"I...I guess every relationship DOES need to have those kinds of little moments, don't they...?" V murmured as she reached into the popcorn bowl and grabbed J's hand. J looked over at her with a small smile and a blush.

"Yeah... They... really do... To... properly solidify the bond between lovers..." Both were silent for a few moments.

"Oh... The kiss..." V said softly with a wide smile.

"Ah... They got that part right at least..." J murmured.

"So sweet..." V cooed, squeezing J's hand.

"It certainly is..." Both drones turned to face each other with a smile, knowing where this was going, and leaned in for their own kiss.

Upon their lips meeting, s small spark of electricity appeared between the two metal surfaces. The kiss as such was a very electrifying experience.

For V, it was like a countless amount of jitters had passed through her body all at once. J's lips tasted as sweet as yesterday's freshly heated oil, and the coldness of her metal made to further enhance the experience.

Meanwhile, J could feel a calm wave washing over her. Her body relaxed, and she sighed as she enjoyed the spicy, yet also sweet mixture of taste on V's own lips.

Soon though, all good experiences had to end. The two drones separated, and J sighed.

Both drones smiled softly at each other, and looked back at the screen. "Oh... Movie's over..." V murmured.

"As expected. That book ended on their first kiss... Bit of a copout if you ask me, the kisses littered through the stories were always my favourite part..."

V giggled. "Because you were self inserting us into them?"

"...A little bit, yes..."

"All right, ladies!" Tessa's voice caught their attention. "We got one more stop for you two tonight, come on, let's not waste any time here, the ballroom's waiting on you!"

"The... The ballroom...? I... Oh my goodness..." J murmured. V clapped her hands and squeed excitedly.

"Eeeeeee, we get to dance in the ballrooooom, oh my gooooosh, c'mon, J!" V grabbed J's hand excitedly and rushed past Tessa towards the ballroom. The human girl blinked twice, then laughed.

"Ah, they know the way, I'll go and get the music started..."

And so, V and J found themselves standing in the ballroom. V extended her hand eagerly, and J blinked twice, before shyly taking it in hers. "I uh... I've never done this sort of thing...before..."

V giggled. "Me neither! We'll learn together! Just do what feels right, I think..."

J smiled. "R-Right..." Music began playing...

'I am tired of this dream...

Will it ever end for me...?'

Tessa looked at N with a raised brow as he managed the music player. He looked back with a tilted head. "You... know this is a SAD song... right?"

"It is...? Uh... I dunno, I thought it sounded romantic enough... They seem into it, look." Tessa looked over and saw V and J were holding each other close, slowly swaying side to side, both smiling softly.

'I don't have the will to know

Can you help me see?'

"You're doing well." V whispered softly.

"And you're naturally gifted... I've almost stepped on your foot like twelve times so far..."

V giggled. "I noticed... But you're getting the hang of it..."

'Let my body keep you warm

Let my essence be your breeze'

V rested her head against J's chest and smiled in content. J blushed and smiled, tearing up slightly, as she stroked her hair, keeping the rhythm they'd found going.

'Can you hear me calling?

Please look out for me'

J accidentally lost her footing, bumping one of the nearby wires and almost falling over. Before she hit the ground, V grabbed her hand and managed to hold her up. She blinked up at her, and she smiled back before pulling her back up.

'Can you set me free?

Will you take my soul away?'

J grabbed V's hand and gently spun her in place, V giggling softly at the motion before they locked both hands once more.

'Casting me in cold, bury me in bones

Rest eternally'

J lightly dipped V, who looked up at her in amusement. "Not quite the kind of song for that, I don't think."

J blushed. "Oh... Sorry..." She pulled her back up, and as she did so, V lunged forward to kiss her on the cheek, causing her to blush.

'Will you take me home?

Can we see the moon again?'

Tessa decided to turn off the lights in the ballroom, shrouding the room in only the light of a spotlight that focused on the dancing couple.

'Dancing in the dark, till we fall apart

I can't end this dream'

Tessa and N watched the pair's dance, and Tessa heard sniffling and looked over at N, who was very visibly crying. "Oh man... Ah... Romance... It's... It's so beautiful... I... I..." Tessa laughed softly and patted his head.

"Don't worry, N, I'm sure there's a nice drone out there for you somewhere..." N gasped and clapped his hands over his cheeks.

"You really think so...? I...I could have what they have too...?! Oh man, I hope so, that would be the BEST!"

Then the song began to replay. Tessa blinked twice, and looked at the machine. "N, did you put any other songs in the playlist?"

N blinked. "Yeah... Uh... I... this was only supposed to play once, I dunno what's going on right now..."

"Agh, bugger, this thing's always glitching out like this..." Tessa looked out at V and J, still dancing without a care in the world, and smiled. "...Eh. No worries, just leave it be... They're happy all the same..."

For the next hour and a half, V and J danced in the dark ballroom to the tune of Eternal Dream. V was quick to declare it 'their song' after she realized it was playing on an endless loop. and J was all too eager to accept the idea. It was a lovely song, after all.

When the music stopped playing, the two drones were told they were free for the night to do as they wished. And J fulfilled the promise she made to V earlier, taking her outside to the garden for a nighttime walk.

A very cold one at that.

"Good thing we have inner heaters..." V said. "...otherwise I'm pretty sure the cold would have frozen us solid."

"That's always the case in a garden during the winter." Nodded J. "The dew and water from sprinklers gathers up in the air and makes it all cold. But ya gotta admit..."

The two drones looked forward, seeing the countless plants in the garden shining under the moonlight due to the layer of water all over the leaves.

"...it makes for a very beautiful image."

"Yeah..." V agreed. Then she perked up. "Oh! Wanna go into the hegde maze?"

J tilted her head to the side, then chuckled softly. "Sure..." She murmured, taking V's hand and leading her gently into the maze in question. V squeed softly to herself. She loved being in the hedge maze, it was just a nice, quiet, secluded spot, away from the troubles of the world... and now she got to spend time in it with her girlfriend!

J found the walk through the maze quite relaxing herself. She spoke up after a few seconds. "...It was a nice date, huh?"

"It was AMAZING, J... I... I never IMAGINED we'd get to have any kind of date, much less one this nice... I... I'm glad we got to enjoy one, we're probably not gonna have many chances for them..." J chuckled softly.

"Tessa will move out eventually, and she'll probably take the four of us with her... We just need to wait another... five years, give or take." V sighed.

"Five years... If we were human, I bet we'd be married by then..."

J tilted her head. "Who needs a ceremony and some old man saying you're married to call you my wife?"

V blinked at her, and then laughed into her hand. "It's a bit soon to be calling me your wife, isn't it?"

J laughed. "Yeah, maybe. But someday... we can probably get away with some kinda... mock wedding..." She felt V tuck her head up against her shoulder, looking over at her with a soft smile. Then she noticed something. Light... She looked up, and her eyes widened. "Wait... Bugs...? At... At this time of year...?"

V looked to see the fireflies flittering about the hedgemaze. Her eyes widened and she gasped in delight, clapping her hands against her cheeks. "Oh my GOSH, N told me about these, he read about them in one of his books! I think they're called... Winter dark fireflies! Oh my goodness, they're SOOOOO pretty!" She slowly reached out her hand, and one of the fireflies decided to use it as a perch for a few seconds before flittering off again. V beamed. "Wow... It's... It's so beautiful out here right now..."

J nodded her head. "It is... It... really is..." She looked thoughtful. During their dance, she'd taken the time to download their song to her memory banks. She gave V a sly smirk, and V blinked owlishly and tilted her head to the side. And then the familiar opening of their song played. "What do you say? Just a little bit more? It'd be a waste not to when the mood is set so perfectly."

V clapped her hands over her mouth, then let out a squee of delight and eagerly took her lover's hands. And so they had one more dance under the moonlight, the fireflies illuminating them as they slowly swayed back and forth, holding each other as close as they could until the song came to an end after three loops. Now, V stood, head rested snugly against her lover's shoulder, eyes closed in content. J beamed... then checked the time on her inner clock.

"So... Do you feel about ready to go back inside?"

"Yes..." V said contently. J chuckled, then scooped her up in her arms bridal style, causing her to let out a soft, squeaky yelp. "Oh! Uh... Oh wow, this... I like this..." J smiled and leaned down to kiss her on the lips. "...I like that even more! ...Hey... Let's sleep together..."

"Right. What better way to end the night than with another sleepover?" J laughed softly. V just gave her a shy, yet sly grin as she carried her back into the mansion, V pushing the doors open, as J's hands were full.

Soon enough, they reached V's small sleeping quarters, and cuddled up together. J was slightly taken aback when V pulled her into a deep, passionate kiss, but she quickly melted into it. She knew there was something else at play when she felt V fiddling with the straps of her dress, looking at her wide-eyed. V smiled back at her. "...When else will we have the chance...?" She murmured.

"U-Uuuuuuhhhhhh..." Was all J could get out.

"Oh... Do you... not want to...?" V looked down shyly. "S-Sorry, I... didn't mean to..."

"No! No, I... I do want to... I... just want to know if... you're absolutely sure...?" V tilted her head, and closed her eyes, the corners of her mouth turning up shakily.

"Yes. I am. I really am..." She said softly.

"O-Okay... Okay... Then... Let's..." Their lips made contact once more...

An hour later, the two drones were contently snuggled together, utterly satisfied with how their first date had gone. V was crying slightly. J noticed and frowned. "Oh... Did I do something wrong? What can I do to correct it?"

"I...No, no, it's... it's just that I just love you... I love you so much..." V sniffled.

Now J was beginning to tear up. Gently cupping V's cheek, she kissed her on the forehead and leaned their heads together. "...I love you too, V... I'm so glad you accepted me..." V wrapped her arms around her, crying happily into the crook of her neck, and J gently stroked her back, resting her chin on her shoulder. V was quick to calm herself.

"...Promise you'll never leave me...?"

"Only if you promise the same for me." J chuckled softly.

And so, the two drones fell asleep, snoring softly as they began the process of recharging. They were in pure bliss...

Unfortunately, it was not to last.

Things began to go downhill when James and Louisa returned, and one of the first things they did was get rid of Cyn. They said they could no longer stand the 'creepy THING' and tossed her out into the dumpster. Tessa had pleaded with them, but they went unheard. N had been absolutely crushed, and V and J were doing their best to comfort him.

"I should have tried harder, it's my fault, she's gone..." N sobbed into his hands.

"It's NOT your fault. You did all you could... Emotional appeal, trying to make a logical case for why keeping Cyn is beneficial, bargaining, grovelling, it's not your fault none of it worked..." J sighed.

"She's gonna die... My little sister's gonna die... She's gonna get ripped apart, or... or compacted and sold for scrap, and... I... I didn't even get to say goodbye...!" N wept, and V hugged him.

"M-Maybe... something will... save her... Who... Who knows...?" She murmured, as Tessa entered the room to join in on comforting N.

Cyn... was not doing well. At all. All this was familiar to her. The truck, the other damaged drones, the darkness of the vehicle she was in... These other drones were in far worse shape than she was. Most of them were already dead. Only a few were vaguely twitching. She was alone. Trembling, she buried her face in her visor.

"Heavy breathing. Heavy breathing. Big brother. Help. I want to go home. I don't want to be alone again... Help... Please... Please..."

And then, the vehicle came to a screeching halt when it crashed into something. Cyn cried out and hunched over on the floor, and the sheer panic caused something to act up inside her... and the back door of the truck exploded, creating a large gaping hole. Eyes wide, she timidly rose to her feet, awkwardly stumbling over to the back of the truck, looking around anxiously to see what was outside. There was... a man... with a bowl haircut... holding a doughnut with pink frosting and sprinkles... "It worked!" He cheered as he held up the treat. "I KNEW my pink frosted sprinkled doughnut would make a perfect road barrier!"

Another guy, with a more "emo" look on him, walked into vision with a...mayonnaise hot dog.

"Oh yeah! Well let's see how good your pink sprinkle GARBAGE will compare to my mayonnaise hot dog!"

"He began to gently stroke the foodstuff, whispering it loving words.

"Don't you worry my little doggie, we'll be victorious. Just a little more effort. I know you can do it!"

Cyn blinked in utter confusion at the pair, causing the two to finally notice her presence. They promptly gasped.

"Anthony, look!"

"It's a drone!"

Cyn tensed up, then shrunk back into the truck shyly, only the top half of her head visible. The man with the bowl cut approached and peeked in. "Awwwwww, loooook! She's adorable!"

"Yeah, she's like that little doll I made to look like your mooooom." Anthony cooed.

"Yeeaah-Wait, why the hell do you have a doll that looks like my mom?!"

"Uh... Uh... Oh man, she's crying..."

"Aww, what's wrong?"

"Sniffle. Sniffle." Cyn wiped her eyes. "I am unwanted. I am thrown away again. I... wish to return home to my big brother. He is the only one to care for me. I can see him no more... They will just throw me away again... Sniffle... Sob... I want big brother N..."

The two men exchanged a glance. Then Ian reached into the truck and pulled Cyn out, hugging her like one would a teddy bear. "Don't worry! I'll be your big brother!"

"You? You can't be a big brother, you still wear diapers!"

"Oh yeah?! Well... Well you still have a stupid face, so there!"

Cyn looked back and forth between the two men in confusion, tilting her head. "...Why do you fight?"

"Oh, don't worry, I just need to make sure Anthony remembers he's a big stupid dumbass so he doesn't forget!" Ian chirped. "I'm Ian! What's your name?"

"...You may call me... Cyn..."

"Cyn? Okay! It must be short for Cynthia!"

"...Cyn...thia...?" Cyn tilted her head. "...I am no such thing. I am merely... Cyn..."

"Okay, Cyn! Let's go home and watch Toy Story! You can be Toy Story, can't you, mayonnaise hot dog? Sure you can, I just need to give you a little stroke and you can do ANYTHING... Yeah, you like that...?"

"Inappropriate content. Cease and desist." Cyn said with a frown.

"Yeah, that's WEIRD, Anthony. You're WEIRD."

"Uh... Guys?!" A high pitched nasally voice called out from the truck. They turned to see a dorky man sitting in the driver's seat. "I think I have whiplash, can you call an amberlamps?"

"F**K OFF, STEVIE!" Ian shouted before throwing his doughnut into the car, onto the gas pedal, sending it driving right off the side of a cliff, taking Stevie down with it, the man screaming at the top of his lungs until it hit the ground at the bottom. "...I'M OKAY!" The truck exploded. "I'm still okay..." And then it exploded again. "...Less okay..."

"Ian, I bet my mayonnaise hot dog can be Toy Story, unlike your pink sprinkly urinal cake!"

"YOU'RE ON!"

Cyn was now sitting on the couch. ...Sitting... on a couch... She was allowed on the furniture now...? James and Louisa always got disgusted and angry when they saw her on the furniture... She looked around the room curiously. It was a small apartment complex. It was... nice... It felt like a home... She looked at the television in front of her, and watched Ian place his doughnut in the DVD player. "...Illogical. You will damage the device." She spoke as the tray closed... and promptly started playing Toy Story. "...Oh."

"It worked!" Ian cheered, flashing a thumbs up before sitting on the couch, grabbing Cyn and setting her on his lap. "Okay, Cyn! Let's watch some Toy Story!" Cyn blinked twice, then looked at the screen.

"...Woodrow is similar to a... an acquaintance of mine." She murmured.

"...Who's Woodrow?" Ian asked. Cyn just continued.

"He envies the new machine out of fear of being replaced and rejected. The very same as J. He is proven wrong in the end. The very same as J. He befriends his rival. The very same as J. I approve of this film."

"...You're friends with the Men in Black?!" Ian said excitedly.

"No. I fear them. They are a threat to my existence." Cyn murmured.

"Oh. Well, Anthony? You gonna put your stupid dildo in and FAIL?!" Ian demanded.

"I'm gonna WIN, Ian!" Anthony placed the hot dog inside the machine... and almost immediately got violently electrocuted until he flopped over onto the floor, still and unmoving.

"...Ian!" A man ran into the room. "Ian, you just won Food Battle 5678! What are you gonna do now?!"

"...I'm gonna go to bed!" Ian cheered.

"Damn right you are." His mom said sternly as she walked past.

"Oh boy, bed! Can I come?!"

"NOOOOOO!" Ian yelled back. "But you can, Cyn! Let's go!" He grabbed the little drone, who looked back at Anthony worriedly.

"...The man known as Anthony seems to be lacking a pulse."

"Yeah! He's dead! But don't worry, he'll get better soon. C'mon! Let's go into my room!" Cyn looked around to see the room was filled with various plush toys and posters. Ian skipped his way over to the bed and placed her down. "Ooookay! Time to sleep!" He started to grab the various toys and dolls sprawled out over the bed and kiss them on the forehead. "Good night, Domo! Good night, Kesha! Good night, Pikachu! Good night, feral rat-OW, HE BIT ME! Agh... Ugh... Good night, rotten slice of pizza! Good night, pillow one! Good night, pillow two! Good night, blankets! Good night creepy guy that sleeps under my bed!" Cyn watched him with her head tilted to the side. He lived a very unusual life... She looked under the bed to see the guy in question. He simply waved at her. She awkwardly repositioned herself in the bed. "And good night, Cyn!" Cyn blinked as she was kissed on the forehead. "...Giggle. Thank you." She murmured softly with a small blush. "...Good night." She blinked when Ian wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close, hugging her like she was a teddy bear. She tilted her head to the side, and despite herself, smiled softly, closing her eyes and nestling in closer. She still missed her big brother... But... this... was probably a much more ideal situation for her... And she would... enjoy it while she could... It was only a matter of time before it took over...

Or at least that would have been the case if pink frosted sprinkled doughnuts weren't apparently perfect anti-virus programs, but that's another story about Uzi and Doll, go read that one.

It had been a month since Cyn was taken away. N was doing better, but it was clear he was still grieving. He'd wince whenever he saw Cyn's usual spots, he avoided the attic like the plague because that was where his sister usually was, he was clearly hurt deeply by this loss. And to make matters worse, some drones had been disappearing from the mansion without a single trace, the heads of the house saying they didn't know what was going on. V and J had been sticking very close together because of that, both terrified to lose the other... But they had to separate to do chores in separate parts of the manor... And that thirty minutes was all it took...

V was hurriedly dusting some vases and shelves, when she heard harsh footsteps behind her. She yelped and jumped slightly, bumping the table and almost knocking the vase off, hurriedly holding it in place so she could steady it. She looked up to see James looming over her. "Eep! Oh my gosh, I'm SO sorry, sir, I... You just startled me, and... And I... Um... S-Sir...? Why are you...? Wh-What are you doing...?! Wait, hold on, where are we going?! Is that a sack?! Wait! Why are you-" V's voice was muffled when James put her inside the sack.

"Can't have you blurting anything out. This whole operation needs to be top secret." He muttered, carrying the sack containing the thrashing, pleading V away.

"V!" J was calling out two hours later, trying to find her lover. "V? V, where are you? I need your help with something! ...Okay, I know I sent her over here..." She rubbed her arm anxiously. "Uh... Okay, maybe she's with N, yeah..."

She ran off to find the male drone. He was doing the laundry. "N! Hey! Have you seen V anywhere?!" She asked.

"Huh? Oh... No, I haven't! Sorry, J... Maybe she's with Tessa...?"

"Right... Right, Tessa will know... Tessa!" J ran off to find her human, who was in her room doing her homework. "Tessa! Is V in here?!"

"Huh? No. She's not... J? J! You're hyperventilating, calm down, it's all right, we'll... J...?"

"I... Where is she? Where's V?! V! I have to find V!" She turned around, sprinting down the hall. then through the entire mansion, searching every room, frantically searching everywhere, trying to find her V, but to no avail. J was panicking. Where was she?! Tessa didn't know, N didn't know, NO ONE knew! Someone took her V away! Why?! Tessa had confronted her parents, they denied any involvement. Tessa said they were lying through their teeth. Something was seriously up... J felt... helpless. And... her heart... It hurt... Oh lord it hurt so much, she wanted her V back, where was she, was she okay, was she even still alive...? She fell to her hands and knees and just stared blankly at the ground. Then, she got up. She went to do her job. She worked in silence. She felt... broken...

V groaned as she slowly came to, trying to sit up and clutch her head, only to find that her limbs were bound. "Ngh... H-Huh...?" She looked around the best she could, her head also tied down. "Wh-What's... What's going...?"

She spotted a man in a white coat approaching her table. "Hey! What's going on!?"

The man didn't answer. He simply picked up a syringe, wiping the needle with a clean cloth, before placing it back down. "Hey! Do you hear me?! What the heck is happening!?"

She began to struggle on the table as she frantically began asking and calling for people around her, no one even bothering to spare her a glance. One of the interns hesitantly approached one of his superiors.

"Uh, sir...is...is she okay?" He asked.

"Hm?"

"I mean...doesn't it sound sorta wrong? Like, she's clearly scared-"

"It's a machine, it can't feel fear."

"...You're kidding, right?"

"Your opinion doesn't matter, you're an intern, your job is to observe and analyze and LEARN. This is how we do our work. This is how YOU will do YOUR work."

"...I...I guess... So we're... turning her into... a different model... is that... safe...?"

"Well, that would be why we're testing it on the most expendable drone Mr. Elliott sent us." V winced at that. "If she doesn't survive the procedures, we'll figure out something else."

"W-Wait... No... Please, I...I just wanna go home, don't hurt me, please, please, where's J? Where's my girlfriend?! I... I want J! I want J!" She began to struggle the best she could.

"Subject is raising a fuss... When this happens, we use this." The scientist in charge of the operation jabbed a V with something, and she screamed as she felt electricity course through her body, enough to hurt and stun her for several seconds. She panted and began to tear up. "No... Don't..."

"Sir..."

"Enough. Our job is to convert this drone into an assassin drone. Parts will need to be removed and replaced. Her inner workings will need remodelling. Upgrades need to be properly installed. We need to make sure she can't dissolve herself with the nanite acid we've been asked to add... The simplest part is to add the extra eyes. A sort of... radar sense if you will..."

V felt her core stuttering in fear at what she was hearing. She began to breathe heavily. They were going to TORTURE her and turn her into something she wasn't?! They were gonna tear her apart, slice her open! "TESSA! N! J! J! J!" She screeched as she began to thrash against her restraints again, only to receive another shock for her troubles.

"I... This... This feels wrong..."

"Enough. I will have you demoted if you continue to make a fuss. Now... First thing we do... we must place the holes strategically in order to install the extra sensors. If done right, she will have perfect 360 vision. If anything, she should be grateful, we're fixing her damaged visor." The man chuckled.

"No! Please don't! I...I'm sorry for whatever I did, I'll make it better, I'll do anything, please, I'm begging you, please don't!" The intern grimaced as the doctor grabbed the first tool for the job. V's pupils dilated as a terrifying machine descended from the ceiling, with countless arms attached to it, each one wielding its own tool as it bared down towards her. Right now, a sharp data spike was descending towards her. "No... No! STOP! STOP!" She struggled to move her head out of the way, but it was restrained. "NO! STOP IT! STOOOOOOOOP! AAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" She let out a scream as it stabbed into her head, pain shooting through her receptors. She writhed in pain, tears streaming down her face as the spike was slowly removed. She was zapped once more for putting up a fuss, and all she could do was sob softly, pleading, and ask "Why? Why? Why?" nonstop. Her screams would pick back up again, however, when the data spike proceeded to repeat the process, jabbing through various strategically placed spots on her head. After the last stab, she passed out from the stress, letting out a quiet sob for J just before it all went black.

When she regained consciousness, she felt... different... Her limbs...! They weren't tied down anymore...! Was she... No... No, she... She didn't have limbs anymore?! She was nothing more than a head and a torso, everything from the waist down, and her arms, were completely gone! She let out an inhuman shriek when she realized this fact, her head whipping about. "NOOOOOO! J! HELP!" Deep down, she knew J would likely not be much help in this situation but she wanted her to be there... Call if selfish, but... her presence would make all this hell...hurt just a little bit less...

She was zapped once more, causing her to cry out, and she weakly opened her eyes to see them approaching with... arms...? Wait... Her visor was shut, how was she seeing this...? She... She was seeing out the top of her head?! Before she had time to think about it, she cried out as leftover wires were torn from her sockets, with new components being added in carefully, deliberately... Painfully...They were forcibly attaching these strange new limbs... First arms... And then a new, taller lower half of body... They had to use stronger material to detain her. This new body was... strong... Very strong... She didn't realize how easily she could break through... She was too busy weeping and pleading. "I wanna go home... I just wanna go home... J... I want J..." She passed out...

When she woke up the next time, her torso was cut open, and they were pulling stuff out and replacing it with new material. She felt ill... She promptly vomited up a stream of oil that dribbled down her chest. ...There were small bits of food in the oil... Oh... She and J... had a date the night before she was...taken... She began to sob and sniffle as one of the scientists cursed and set to cleaning themselves off. Oh. She must have thrown up on them. ...GOOD. Piece of crap... It's what he got for torturing her... These people were awful... How could they do this to her...? What could she have done to deserve this torment...? What were they doing?!

"This is going great, she'll be a top notch assassin for sure!" A different intern. The old one must have gotten fired. Shame... She liked him. He cared about her pain.

"Indeed... A real killing machine." The same scientist... Damn that son of a... He took her away from J...

...Is that what this was for...? To make her a killing machine...?

...She wasn't a killer... She... She wasn't...!

She cringed, winced and sobbed lightly as they tore her open further to add more and more to her. Guns. Wings. A tail with various different functions, a brand new and very potent acid chief among them. Razor sharp claws. Sharp teeth. Anything they could think of. Someone even added a BUBBLE BLOWER, of all things! WHY a BUBBLE BLOWER?!

Everything hurt... Every piece they added was like a dagger stabbing into her, every cut, incision, slice... Pain... All she felt was pain... She sobbed. All she could get out was one letter... "J... J... J..." Before much longer, she passed out...

When her eyes opened again, they were aiming something at her head again. She heard them talking. "We need to rewrite the programming, Mr. Elliott. Get a fresh restart. We can't have her tied down by past bonds if she's going to be in top form as an assassin."

"I see."

That...son of a BITCH... HE was the reason she was here... HE was going to turn her into a weapon...! She HATED him... Hated... Hated... HATED him...!

Something snapped. With a sudden flex of strength, V broke right through the shackles restraining her, the scientists jumping back as she hunched over, breathing heavily. She let out a soft laugh. It grew louder. And louder... and evolved into a manic cackle before she lunged forward and grabbed the lead scientist, pinning his head to the wall with a toothy grin. "So, you want me to be a killing machine?!" The man panicked, thrashing against her grip, and she used her new claws to stab him through the stomach before ripping it open, spilling its contents all over the floor. "LOOK! I'M A KILLING MACHINE! ISN'T THAT GREAT?!" She threw the man at the panicked crowd of scientists, James Elliott looking taken aback, but otherwise undeterred. One of them was bold enough to jab her with the cattle prod. She was no longer fazed by it. She snatched it out of his hand, then swung at his knee, shattering it and causing him to collapse, allowing her to thrust the stick into his eye, electrocuting him from the inside out until he collapsed.

At that moment, a team of security members burst in and fired their weapons. The problem? The team did an excellent job building her. The bullets bounced off harmlessly as she approached with a manic grin, a sway in her hips as she flashed her claws. And in the blink of an eye, several men were in various states of disarray as V's claws sliced through their titanium body armour like a hot knife through butter. One was gutted. Another sliced to small pieces. Another still decapitated, V holding the head aloft and allowing the blood to flow into her mouth as she cackled loudly before forming her arm into a cannon, tossing it inside and firing it at another soldier with a riot shield with such force that it blasted clean through both the shield and the man holding it, as well as everyone that was standing behind him. The entire time, varying weapons were fired her way. The most that was accomplished was a few grenades making her stagger a bit. "THIS IS GREAT, ISN'T IT, MASTER JAMES?! THIS IS WHAT YOU WANTED, RIGHT?! YOU WANTED ME TO BE THIS! YOU WANTED A KILLER! YOU GOT A KILLER! AREN'T YOU SOOOO HAPPY?!" She sliced several men in half and cackled loudly.

James Elliott glared sternly at her. And he said a simple combination of numbers.

"...528901." He said. V felt her newfound strength leave her... and she collapsed to the floor, her programming overridden. The surviving scientists stared at her in horror. James took a deep breath before speaking. "Now then. I believe the plan was to alter its memories, yes?"

"S-Sir! We can't use this thing! It..."

"Performed its task flawlessly. It was meant to kill, and kill it did. We intended to destroy its memories to avoid just this scenario. It is no longer conscious. We can safely do so. When it wakes, it won't remember a thing. We can't waste any of these machines, they're fulfilling a vitally important task, after all. Hmph... Just look at this... If we can point it in the proper direction, it will be an invaluable asset. A loose cannon, to be sure, but... I believe we can make good use of this one's manic energy... Now... Remove those memories, they're only getting in the way. Perhaps without the memories of torment, it will cooperate..."

V wasn't able to move. But she could still hear. She tried to get up. Tried to move, tried to fight like she had been before, but to no avail. She was conscious and aware, but unable to react as she was laid out once more, and they went back to what they had been doing. She felt it. The drill whirring in her head, bits and parts being removed... She wanted to scream, and cry... She could feel pieces of her memory being pulled away... Her time being found by Tessa and helping her with rearranging her room... Gone... Meeting N and talking about golden retrievers and their soft mouths... Gone. Reading picture books to Cyn... Gone. But she fought tooth and nail to keep her memories of J. Even as they faded one by one, she struggled to hang onto them. But first it was their first date... Then their love confession... Then their books... Then the first time they met... Then her voice... Then her name... And then, finally, her face, not a trace of her memories of J remaining. There was simply... Nothing... And as all this was happening, images were being flashed through her mind. Violent images of machines and humans alike violently dying and suffering... Her conscious mind was surpressed as a new one was layered on top. One obsessed in carnage and harming others.

The original her, all her memories... were forcible buried deep within her... V knew she didn't want to succumb to this new programming, she knew it wasn't her, and try as they might, these men couldn't truly rid her of her memories... They would still remain... deep, DEEP beneath the surface... No matter what, the very core of her being could not be eliminated... But it could be buried... with little chance of finding its way back...

James Elliott had seen V for the first time since he'd said the code hours after she'd been awoken. She'd destroyed the training room. Dummies were in the smallest pieces possible and scattered all over the floor. Two interns were in the ER. The room was on fire. She looked up at him blankly, then gave him a toothy grin that put her sharp fangs on full display. Then she began to giggle madly. "Well? What's my first job? Come on! I'm waiting, don't leave me hangin' here, I gotta do SOMETHING! And there's sure nothing left to do in HERE! When do I get to start killing already?!"

James sighed. "...Make sure the other subjects aren't conscious when we perform the procedure... We need more level headed drones... In the meantime, this one is benched until we find another that can mind her... tendencies..."

"BENCHED?! Come ON, man! I need to get out there!"

"You will do no such thing until we find the right team to keep you in check."

"Tch! You're lame! You SUCK!"

"...You will respect your superior, machine, or so help me, I will have you dismantled and rebuilt into something that will properly obey its master." James threatened, leaning in close to her with a snarl. V felt a sudden rush of fear shoot through her body as she gulped.

"...Yessir..." She murmured.

"Good. Now... I must return home. Keep a close eye on this one. If she gets up to any funny business, you know the code." And with that... he left. And V was alone. ...Why did that fact hurt her...? She didn't really LIKE anyone, after all... Scowling, she flew up to the ceiling, sinking her tail into the solid metal, and hung upside down as she fell into a slumber.

"Move it, MORON!" J snapped as she harshly shoved past another worker in the mansion.

"Sorry! Sorry..." The worker muttered something under his breath that J's ears managed to pick up. "You don't have to be a monster bitch about it..."

"What did you say?" J spoke, eerily calm, as the other drone tensed up.

"N-Nothing... Nothing!" He began to panic as the female drone stormed over and grabbed him by the throat, pinning him to the wall.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME?" She snarled through gritted teeth.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I..."

"J, stop..." N's voice sounded out, and J looked at him with a glare before relenting, dropping the smaller drone, who scampered to his feet and rushed away.

"Tch... Whatever..." J grumbled as she stormed off.

"...You... really can't keep doing this... I know you miss V, but..."

"It's not about V! These IDIOTS just don't know how to do their stupid JOBS!" J snapped.

"I uh... He's new, go easy on him..."

"No excuse! Mind your own business!" J barked before stomping away to bury herself in work again.

The attic... She'd clean the attic...

...That was a mistake.

This was where she and V...

She collapsed to her knees... Buried her face in her hands... And then she started to sob softly. "V..." She cried out, her sobs getting louder. "V..." She was wailing at this point. "V!" She pounded the ground with her fist. "V, I'm so sorry... I'm sorry, V..." She sobbed miserably on the floor... She didn't even notice the footsteps approaching... Didn't notice James enter the room... Didn't notice him readying the shock stick that would render her unconscious and spell the end of her memories of V...

Now J was gone too... It was just N and Tessa... And N was kept on a tight leash by his human. She refused to let him out of her sight for even a second. Not that it mattered. He was just the same way. Tessa was putting on a smile. It wasn't real. He could tell. He tried his best to do the same. He had to keep Tessa happy. She was heartbroken... He could tell... He hated seeing her sad... He was all she had left... He had to be strong for her...

He was currently being used as a teddy bear by his human. When he noticed footsteps approaching the bed. He tensed up... then sighed in relief. "Uh... Hey, Mr. Elliott! Just came to check up on Tessa, I see! Uh... What are you...? That... Wait... Sir, please, don't, it'll hurt her, please, you don't have to..."

And the next day... N was gone.

Tessa... was just done. She HATED her parents. DESPISED them. She'd finally found true friends, FAMILY in her drones... And now they were GONE! She didn't know WHERE they had gone... But she DID know they had SOMETHING to do with it! ...She couldn't just sit around sulking... She had to find a way to figure things out... Get away from this nightmare...

She... wouldn't have found the strength to do it if not for her close online friend. The very same boy she had danced with the night of the gala... Will Trussell...

W: hey

T: Hey yourself, big fella. You doing all right?

W: bout as well as I can be. ...how're you? you must be taking all this really hard...

T: ...I miss them, Will... I wish I knew what happened to them...

W: ...well... there's gotta be some way to figure this out, i mean... if we find them, must be a way to help... with whatever they did, right?

T: I sure hope so! But there's no way of KNOWING that till one of them's been found!

W: right... right...

W: i'm sorry...

W: i know i'm not much of a help...

T: Course you are, Willy... You're the only friend I got right now... That's worlds more help than you realize...

W: ...i'm glad you don't feel alone...

W: i don't like the idea of you being sad...

W: you're naturally a happy girl, it doesn't feel right...

T: Awww, thanks, you big sook!

T: ...I'm gonna find them, Willy... I got three years till college... And once I'm there, good riddance to mother and father, I don't need them, I can do my own business ventures! Then I can use every dime to buy them back if I need to!

W: ...if you need employees, i know a guy that lets discarded drones live in his junkyard...

T: ...Gonna need to figure out employee housing... Maybe an old apartment or warehouse... Maybe make it double as company headquarters!

W: all right. i'll talk to jim. seems we have a starting plan.

T: Better than no plan, that's for sure! Thanks, WIlly, you're the best!

Tessa put a heart at the end of her text. Then sighed and looked out her bedroom window. "...Wherever you are... I'll find you..."