Chapter Text
Doll sat with Uzi on the couch in their room, sipping on a can of oil. She was a bit annoyed, but understood the situation. Uzi wanted to look over her system to get a better grasp on Doll’s… they’re simply calling it her ‘situation’ until they can think of a more accurate, but not scary/depressing description. So, Doll had to sit and watch as Uzi went through different files and dissected pieces of her code. It wasn’t the first time they’ve done something like this. Uzi and Doll do share the same base code, being twins. And, Uzi was normally good at bribing Doll to the point it was just expected now. This time, however, was simply out of necessity.
“Yikes,” Uzi cringed as she watched one of Doll’s memory files. “I see what you mean by ‘eyes’. If it wasn’t for the already insane things that have been happening, I’d say it was just a visual glitch.”
“[That’s what I thought at first, too,]” Doll solemnly told her. “[But, well…]” Doll flicked three fingers, prompting the red Absolute Solver symbol to hover in her hand.
“Speaking of,” Uzi closed the files. “Try levitating something.” Doll nodded and lifted the can she’d been holding, using the Solver. “Thought so,” Uzi grumbled. “Mom was right about it being malware. The program is running on your system, but there is some kind of outgoing and incoming signal.”
“[Can you delete it, or at least quarantine it?]” Doll asked. She may not be as techy as Uzi, but she absorbed enough second hand knowledge from her sister to at least have an idea what was going on.
“It’s locked behind a new root user,” Uzi explained. “Whoever put it there has kernel level access, and was smart enough to block anyone else out. In other words, they have complete control of your system, down to the code.” Doll’s eyes went hollow, and Uzi quickly added, “But, I can at least prevent any incoming signals!”
“[Really?]” Doll visibly relaxed a bit. The can she was levitating came back to her hands.
“Yeah,” Uzi nodded. “It won’t completely stop whatever is going on, but you won’t have to worry about any spooky eyes or voices.” Uzi went ahead and injected some code, then disconnected from Doll. “That should do it.”
Doll wrapped her arms around Uzi. “[Thanks, Doctor Frankenstein,]” she chuckled, holding back tears.
“Of course,” Uzi smiled, hugging her back. “Can’t let my favorite experiment get out of control, can I?”
When the two separated, Doll looked down at her hands, flexing them, as if testing if they were real.
“Doll! Uzi!” their mom called. “Can you two come here for a minute?”
Doll quickly chugged down the rest of the oil. They weren’t sure how much their moms knew about Doll’s situation, but Doll at least wanted to keep the oil drinking hidden. She didn’t want them to think of her as some mini Murder Drone. Uzi put a hand on Doll’s shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile, which did help calm Doll’s nerves. With a sigh, the two went to the living room.
Speaking of drinking oil, they were surprised to see an actual Murder Drone standing there.
“Hi Uzi! Hi Doll!” N waved.
“[The Murder Pup here wanted to ask you two something,]” Yeva said with a scowl.
“[Ask us what?]” Doll put a hand on her hip, while Uzi simply raised an eyebrow.
N giggled, “I had the best idea! So, you know how everything’s been super serious and spooky and life-threatening?” The twins nodded. “I thought it would be a great idea to have a day where no one had to worry about that kind of stuff.”
“Like?” Uzi prompted him to continue.
“Like~,” N bounced a bit on his feet, pausing for dramatic effect. “A sleepover!”
“... Huh?” The twins said together.
“Yeah!” N grinned. “You two, and me, and V, and Lizzy, and Thad! We can watch movies, eat snacks, and just hangout.”
Doll and Uzi looked at each other, unsure of how to even respond.
“We already told him it was okay,” Nori sighed. “As annoying as it will be to have everyone here, you kids deserve a real break.”
“But, what about the whole ‘Solver’ thing?” Uzi asked. Doll just nodded in agreement.
“We have a theory,” Nori rubbed the back of her head and looked away. “But…”
Yeva sighed. “[We need to talk to Khan about it,]” she finished.
“[You’re willing to talk to Khan?]” Doll gave a sympathetic look. N looked over at Uzi, giving her a confused look.
“Mama hates Khan, even before the… incident,” she rubbed her shoulder. “If she wants to talk with him, then it must be serious.”
“Hence, the sleepover,” Nori added. “You girls deserve a night to just be teenagers.”
“[Just, try not to destroy the house,]” Yeva warned.
Uzi looked at Doll. “What do you think?”
Doll hummed to herself. “[Lizzy has been ignoring my texts. And I’m sure you want to talk to V.]”
“Bite me!” Uzi snapped, the corners of her screen displaying a blush.
“[I say we do it,]” Doll concluded, purposefully ignoring Uzi.
“Yay!” N cheered. “Sleepover time!”
A few hours later, everything was prepared. N had helped the girls gather snacks and pick out a few movies (apparently horror was off the table, much to the twins’ annoyance). They moved the couch and coffee table to the side to make more room, and got changed into their pajamas. Uzi’s was an oversized, black, short-sleeved hoodie with a skull on the front. Doll’s was an equally oversized, dark-red T-shirt. And N didn’t have any. Luckily, they were able to get him an old shirt and gym shorts. The shirt looked more like a crop-top on his taller frame, but it was comfortable enough.
They got similar clothes for V and gave them to N. With a salute, he left to go get the others. The girls lounged around for a bit, just talking about nothing as they waited. It wasn’t until they heard a knock on the door did the reality set in a bit: Doll has to talk to Lizzy about the ‘I love you’ thing, and Uzi has to talk to V about whatever it is they actually are now.
“We did not think this through.”
“[Not at all.]”
The two gulped, only getting up when, presumably N, knocked again. They gave each other reassuring nods, and answered the door together. N was standing there, excited, as usual. V was standing a bit behind him, already blushing and refusing to look anywhere but the ground with crossed arms and a pout. Lizzy was still partly down the hall, cursing at Thad who was trying to drag her to the apartment. After a bit, Lizzy gave up and finally stomped in, muttering under her breath. Thad followed behind, smiling like he hadn’t just been cursed out.
V wore the same outfit they gave N. Though on her, the shirt looked even more like a crop top. She didn't seem thrilled. Lizzy was dressed in some frilly, pink, silk pajama dress that no one could even guess where she got it from. Thad was just in a loose version of his jersey and some polka-dotted boxers.
“Uh,” Uzi held up a hand to wave to V, only to drop it, not sure what to even do with her hands. “H-hi there… V…” she gave an awkward chuckle.
“... Hi,” V grumbled, still not looking at Uzi. “You… doing good?”
“Yeah,” Uzi nodded. “Pretty good. But, you probably know that.”
“Huh?” V looked at her, a bit confused. Then, her screen brightened a bit as she realized. “Oh! No!” She held up her hands in a placating manner. “I disabled my Emotional Analyzer. N said it would probably be a bit invasive for a sleepover.”
“That’s not true, she asked him if she should on the way here,” Lizzy rolled her eyes.
V glared at the pink drone. “You do remember I can pop your head off your shoulders like a pimple?”
“Hey!” Thad got between them. “Chillax. We’re here to have a good time. Right Doll, Zii?”
“[Right,]” Doll answered. She looked over at Lizzy. “[For now, let’s just relax. Anything important can be saved for later.]” Lizzy blushed a bit and smiled at Doll.
“Yeah,” Uzi agreed. “For the rest of the night, we’re just unsupervised teenagers doing what we want.”
“I wouldn’t say ‘unsupervised’,” N tapped his fingers together, nervously. “I mean, we got to be at least a little responsible. Right?”
V scoffed, “Don’t be such a killjoy.”
“The only thing killing the joy, is the atmosphere," Lizzy snarked. “Let’s turn on some tunes, already.” She pulled out her phone and turned the volume up to max. Some energetic pop music began to blast on the little speaker.
“Ugh,” Uzi groaned. “Gimme that,” she snatched Lizzy’s phone out of her hand.
“Hey!” Lizzy hissed. She lunged at Uzi, trying to get her phone back, only for Doll to grab her.
“[Give her a minute,]” Doll told her girlfriend, running her hand through her hair. Lizzy kept glaring daggers at Uzi, but relaxed into Doll’s arms.
Uzi rolled her eyes and walked back towards the bedroom without a word. She sat the phone down on her workbench and grabbed a couple of her tools.
“What exactly are you doing?” V asked, coming up behind her.
“What I do best,” Uzi smirked, spinning a screwdriver in her fingers. “Hey, you mind grabbing that box over there?” Uzi gestured to the top of a shelf with several boxes. “The one labeled ‘Speakers’.”
“Why can’t you grab it?” V sassed, but walked over to the shelf anyway.
“‘Cause you’re taller, duh,” Uzi said, prying off the back of Lizzy’s phone. She turned and saw V standing next to her with the box. “Thank you,” Uzi said, fishing through the box. “This should be good.” She pulled out a small speaker, then tossed the phone’s speaker into the box. “Can you put it back, please?” She turned her attention back to the phone.
“Really minding your P’s and Q’s today,” V joked.
“Yeah,” Uzi chuckled. “If I don’t, Doll will give me wrong parts on purpose.”
V looked around the room a bit. “Speaking of, what happened to your rail gun?”
Uzi shrugged, “It’s around. But, I don’t have what I need to repair it.”
“What do you need?” V asked, mentally kicking herself with how quick that was.
“Eh, a few things,” Uzi answered, not picking up on V’s eagerness. “Nothing I can get around the bunker. I’ll need to go out and explore a bit.”
“... I can take you, you know?” V casually suggested, kicking around a couple of bolts on the ground. “You’ll get a lot further with me flying you around than you would on your stumpy legs.”
Uzi looked up from her workbench. “Wait, really?” She smiled. “That’d be sick! I bet I could find tons of different materials that way!” Uzi cackled a bit to herself, already putting together different projects.
V couldn’t help but laugh a bit. “For a toaster, you’re pretty cute.”
Uzi stopped her cackling and blushed. “B-bite me!” She quickly turned back to the phone, putting it back together. “There,” she proudly said. She jumped out of her chair and rushed back into the living room. Lizzy and Doll were sitting on the ground, with Lizzy in Doll’s lap, staring at the bedroom door like an angry chihuahua. Her eyes naturally locked onto Uzi when she came out. “Here,” she tossed the phone. Lizzy lunged for it, catching it midair.
She turned it on and checked a few settings, sighing when she saw everything was still there. She then glared at Uzi with the fury of a thousand suns. “Okay, what did you do?” she asked, half-mad, half-intrigued.
“Just play your stupid music,” Uzi told her, walking away. “I’m grabbing some snacks.”
“Hey, let me help,” Thad offered, following the purple eyed drone.
Lizzy looked down at her phone, a bit skeptical. With nothing else to do, she resumed the pop music she was playing earlier. Surprisingly, it was much clearer and louder than before.
“[I thought she might do something like this,]” Doll told her, walking up and wrapping her arms around her from behind.
“She could have asked,” Lizzy grumbled.
“[Uzi’s not good with words,]” Doll told her. “[She prefers to do things. This is her way of saying thank you, probably for helping me.]”
Lizzy’s gaze softened as she looked at her phone. “Huh,” was all she could really say. She leaned back a bit more against Doll. “You scared me, you know. When you went full murdery at the prom.”
“[... I scared myself,]” Doll admitted. She looked over to see Uzi fighting with Thad over snacks. V was watching them, laughing and instigating it. N just looked panicked, unsure if he should jump in. “[I was so convinced I had to protect Uzi… I didn’t even stop to ask if she wanted that.]”
Lizzy tilted her head back, catching Doll’s eyes. “You can protect me too, you know.” She put her hands over Doll’s, encouraging her to hold her tighter. “Just… like this.” Doll didn’t say anything. She just closed her eyes and focused on this moment. They stayed like that for a few minutes, perfectly content to spend eternity there.
“Aw,” N cooed from the kitchen. “They’re so cute.”
“Be a shame if someone interrupted their moment,” V chuckled as she began to move their way.
“No you don’t,” Uzi grabbed the collar of V’s shirt and yanked her back.
“Hey!” the Murder Drone hissed, her screen turning to that deadly X.
“Let them have this,” Uzi said, barely reacting to the predatory glare.
“Yeah,” Thad agreed. “Lizzy kinda needs this. She’s been worried sick over Doll for… obvious reasons.”
“Well, we can only pretend to fight over snacks for so long,” Uzi commented, popping a few batteries into her mouth.
“I know!” N gasped. “We can get ready to watch a movie!”
“Good thinkin’ N-and-M,” Thad shot him finger guns. “Let’s go pick some out.”
Uzi groaned as she watched the boys search through the movies they got out earlier. She was not looking forward to the selection, and knew Doll wasn’t either. There had to be a way to spice things up. A little light bulb icon appeared in the corner of her screen as she smirked. Uzi walked over to Doll, tapping her on the shoulder. “Hey, I need to talk to you in private for a sec.”
Doll looked at her sister. “[Can’t it wait?]” she asked, clearly annoyed.
“Nope,” Uzi said, walking away. “Come on. You’ll enjoy this.” Doll groaned, but reluctantly let go of Lizzy. She gave the pink drone a kiss on the cheek, turning her screen brightness up, and followed Uzi.
“This movie looks lame,” Lizzy complained as N put in some cheesy B-movie that no one bothered to pay attention to the title of.
“Could be fun,” Thad shrugged.
V looked over at the bedroom door. “Are they coming back any time today?” she asked. “Because if not, I might just kill one of you out of boredom.” Right when N was going to scold her, the bedroom door finally opened, and the twins walked out, smiling a bit.
“Finally,” Lizzy groaned. “Get over here, babe. I’m not suffering alone.”
Uzi and Doll shared an amused look before splitting. “[Oh? And what is it that’s making you suffer?]” Doll asked, taking a seat beside Lizzy.
“Knowing her, it’s something that’s not pink,” Uzi teased, sitting down next to V.
“Coming from the queen of black and purple,” Lizzy shot back.
“Bite me!” Uzi snapped, chuckling a bit.
Lizzy gasped. “Hey! Doll said you can’t say that to me!”
“[It’s fine,]” Doll gave a small giggle. “[Let her have a bit of fun.]”
“Ugh,” Lizzy crossed her arms and leaned into Doll. “Can’t believe you’re taking her side.”
As the movie began to play, everyone cozied up in a loose pile of limbs and pillows. Doll blinked when Lizzy casually laid her head in her lap again. She glanced at Uzi across the room, unsure, but got a shrug in return. She hesitantly began running her fingers through Lizzy’s hair. The motion felt natural… but not her natural. Lizzy relaxed into it, content.
On the opposite side of the room, Uzi smirked and leaned against V. “By the way,” she said, tone oddly airy, “those pajamas look great on you, V.”
V blinked. “What?” she scoffed, but her screen was already blooming with blush. “I mean, obviously. I make anything look good.”
Uzi leaned harder into her. “You sure do.”
V narrowed her eyes. “Okay, no. Nope. What’s wrong with you?”
“Huh?” Uzi sat upright, just a little too fast. “Why would something be wrong?”
V raised an eyebrow. “You could barely make eye contact when you wanted me to dance with you, and now you’re all…” She gestured vaguely at Uzi’s entire existence. “...This. Are you overheating or something?”
“[Or something,]” Doll snickered.
Thad looked between the two. “Wait… Did you guys-” He was immediately silenced by a pair of pillows smacking into his face from both sides.
“[Quiet!]” Doll snapped, causing Lizzy to giggle.
“Alright, alright!” Thad held his hands up in defeat. “No need for violence.”
“[That’s what I thought,]” Doll said with a prim nod, but she held her body weirdly stiff. Like she didn’t quite know where her arms were supposed to go.
Lizzy whistled, “Wow. Look at you, babe. Acting all bossy tonight.” She sat up a bit to look Doll in the eyes. “Makes me think I should be a bit bold myself,” she slowly leaned in, intent obvious.
Doll’s eyes went hollow. She leaned away, trying to buy time as she thought.
Thankfully, Uzi lobbed a battery across the room. “Hey!” she barked. “No one wants to see you two make out!”
Lizzy yelped as the battery bounced off her head. “Ow! What the hell?!”
“[Calm down, Uzi,]” Doll muttered through gritted teeth. “[You shouldn’t be getting so upset about my girlfriend wanting to kiss me.]”
“Ah. R-right. I mean, bite me!” Uzi blurted out, then crossed her arms.
V stared at her for a long moment. “Okay, seriously. You’ve been acting so weird since the movie started. You’re making me nervous. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Uzi insisted. Then, she smirked, giving her sister a glare before turning to V. “Actually, you’re right,” she sighed. “There is something wrong.” Everyone sat up a little straighter.
V’s posture changed immediately, protective and alert. “Talk to me. What’s going on?”
Uzi folded her arms and stared at the TV like it owed her money. “I’m just… processing things. A lot happened. And, well…” She turned toward V, cheeks tinged purple. “V… Am I your girlfriend now?”
“WHAT?!” V screeched, practically launching herself to the other side of the room.
“I mean,” Uzi continued calmly, “you gave me a corsage, you liked dancing with me, you’re ridiculously hot-”
“[Uzi,]” Doll cut in, half-panicked. “[We agreed no relationship bombs during the movie!]”
“Did we?” Uzi blinked. “I thought we only agreed to no horror movies.”
Thad squinted again. “Okay, seriously, how are you two not caught yet?”
Everyone turned to look at him again.
“Caught doing what?” V asked slowly.
Lizzy narrowed her eyes, glancing between Doll and Uzi.
“…Nothing,” the twins said in perfect sync.
N just giggled, “This night is so fun.”
Thad crossed his arms and looked at Uzi. “Alright. Then, Uzi, what’s that janky antenna thing you made for the colony’s router backup?”
Uzi rolled her eyes. “It’s a custom amplifier I built from some scrap and a spare blender blade. Doll helped me get it set up.” She gave him a toothy grin, like she had just won some contest and was rubbing it in.
Thad narrowed his eyes. “Touché.”
“[Enough talk,]” Doll groaned. “[Let’s just get back to the movie.]”
As they turned their attention to the TV, Lizzy whispered into Doll’s ear, “You know, you never did reward me for going along with your crazy plan.”
Doll looked over at Uzi. Uzi just stared, then her eyes went hollow. She kept mouthing “No no no.” But, Doll just smirked.
“[Speaking of,]” Doll turned back to Lizzy. “[We never talked about-]”
“Hey! Lizzy!” Uzi shot up. “I got something super important I need to show you and get you away from my sister!” Uzi grabbed her by the arms and dragged the pink drone kicking and yelling into the bedroom.
“What was that about?” V asked.
“[Who knows,]” Doll shrugged, but had a smug smile on her face.
V hummed. “Hey, speaking of. You doing okay since the whole… thing?”
“[Oh, yeah,]” Doll nodded. “[Uzi helped me through a lot of it. She’s the best.]”
V blushed a bit, then grumbled, “Not wrong.” She made sure the boys had their attention back on the screen, then scooted closer to Doll. “Speaking of, can I ask you something?” she said quietly. “You can’t tell your sister, though.”
“[Oh, uh, sure?]” Doll shrunk in on herself a bit. “[It’s nothing too bad, is it?]”
“No… maybe… I don’t know,” V admitted, bringing her knees up to her chest. “Just… Do you know if she was teasing earlier? Like, has she mentioned anything about me in that way before?”
“[Oh,]” Doll blushed a bit. “[Uh…]” She looked at V, and the way she was curling in on herself, arms hugging her knees. It wasn’t the confident, smirking V she was used to. It was the soft one. The one she’d caught a glimpse of when V tried dancing at prom. The one who didn’t know how to say what she felt without sounding like she wanted to fight someone about it. “[She hasn’t said much,]” Doll finally replied, choosing her words carefully. “[But, when she talks about you, it’s always with this… look in her eyes. Like she’s trying really hard not to smile.]”
More blush brightened V’s screen. “That… sounds like her,” she mumbled.
“[If it helps,]” Doll added, “[she gets super defensive any time someone says anything even slightly mean about you. Like, scary fast.]”
V chuckled. “Why is she like this?”
“[Who knows,]” Doll smiled. “[You like it though.]”
“Whatever,” V rolled her eyes and relaxed. She frowned a bit, looking at the ground. “... Do you think I could be good for her? Or is this just me being broken and liking the first girl who didn’t treat me like a monster?” To emphasize her point, V switched out one of her hands for her claws.
Doll froze a bit, unsure what to say. “[I think… That she thinks the same thing. And that you’re already good for her. Just, don’t take it personally if she doesn’t say it.]”
“Good thing I got that analyzer,” V half joked. “But, yeah, I can live with that.”
Meanwhile, in the bedroom.
“What the hell, Uzi?!” Lizzy snapped as Uzi shut the bedroom door. “You can’t just drag me around like some hot, plush toy!”
“I’m sorry!” Uzi blurted out, pacing in a panic. “It’s just… You were going to kiss her!”
Lizzy blinked. “...And?”
“It’s just,” Uzi groaned and grabbed her hair. “Why did you have to choose tonight to be all flirty!”
Lizzy just stared at Uzi in confusion, then, something finally clicked. The body language, the hair grabbing, the jealousy. Lizzy grabbed her by the shoulders. “Calm down. You’re spiraling.”
“I live in a spiral,” Uzi lamented.
Lizzy sighed and shook her. “Listen, nerd. This is not the first time Doll’s acted a little different. She’s always been different. Not as much as you, but still different. But you know what? I love her anyway. Because even when she’s awkward, or cold, or quiet, she’s trying . And that means more than anything.”
Uzi blinked at her. “That was… actually really sweet.”
Lizzy placed a hand on her hip and smiled. “I can bring the sass and be romantic,” Lizzy smiled, then tapped Uzi’s forehead with a finger. “And you. You’re cute when you panic.”
Uzi blushed. “Shut up.”
Lizzy rubbed a hand over Uzi’s cheek. “Come on. Say it right,” she said in a teasing tone.
Uzi groaned. She took a breath and, as best as she could, said, “Bite me!” Their lips interlocked, and the two girls melted into one another.
After a few minutes, they pulled back, panting a bit. “As fun as this is,” Lizzy giggled. “We should probably go back before V falls in love with you.”
“If she does, I’ll make sure neither of them ever forgets it,” Uzi chuckled.
They exited the bedroom and saw V and Doll whisper to each other. Uzi walked up and crouched down between the two. She gave a toothy grin to her sister. “[You win. I got found out. But, I got a kiss out of it.]”
Doll narrowed her eyes at her sister. “I’m not sure if I should be happy, or annoyed.”
“What?” V looked between the two. “What do you…” V gasped, then growled at ‘Doll’. “Oh, you edgy little toaster!”
Uzi in Doll’s clothes just laughed. “I’m sorry, but we couldn’t help it! We thought it would be funny!”
“[And it was,]” Doll in Uzi’s nodded, switching her lights back to red. “Until Lizzy got too flirty.”
“What can I say? You’re irresistible,” Lizzy shrugged.
“You almost made out with me!” Uzi complained, switching her lights back to purple. “If anything, I’m the irresistible one.”
“Oh, you’re irresistible all right,” V growled, looking like she was about to pounce on Uzi. “An irresistible snack!” Uzi blushed hard and gulped, not daring to move. “What? Aren't you going to say it?” V dared.
“[Allow me,]” Doll jumped in. She cleared her throat, crouched down next to Uzi, and said in her voice, “Bite me!”
“With pleasure,” V tackled the real Uzi, tumbling across the floor.
“V!” N scolded. “We said no murder!”
“I knew this wouldn’t end well,” Thad sighed.
“Uh,” Lizzy cringed a bit as she watched the two. “I don’t think she’s murdering her.” The group watched as V clamped her fangs down on Uzi’s shoulder. Uzi, instead of pushing the Murder Drone off, buried her face in her hair.
“[Hey!]” Doll grabbed a handful of batteries and threw them at the two. “[If that turns into anything more, I’m ripping you in half!]”
“Who are you talking to?” Lizzy asked.
“[Does it matter?]” Doll replied. She grabbed Lizzy’s hand and turned to her. “[And, thank you, for always being there for me.]” Lizzy blushed and pushed some hair behind her head. “[I… I love you too.]” Doll said as her screen brightness turned to its maximum.
Lizzy stammered, making what was closer to dial-up noises rather than words. When nothing understandable came out, she just groaned and pulled Doll into a passionate kiss.
V smacked her lips as she finally let go of Uzi, licking some oil that drooled down her chin. “Mmm. Out of all the Workers I’ve eaten, you’re definitely the sweetest, U.”
“S-shut it,” Uzi weakly complained, eyes shaking as if she were holding back tears.
V suddenly looked sick. “Uzi, I-I’m sorry,” she stammered, getting off of the smaller drone. “I thought you’d be okay with it.”
“Ugh,” Uzi’s mood suddenly flipped. “I am! Just…” Uzi got up, rubbing her shoulder. “I was just surprised. I totally could have stopped you if I wanted.”
“Uzi,” V said softly.
“What?” Uzi scoffed. “Not gonna say something like, ‘Sure you can, tin can’?”
“...” V looked away, not sure how to respond.
“... You didn’t take that much,” Uzi almost sounded like she was complaining. “My oil reserves only dropped by 2%. I swear, you just wanted to bite me to piss me off.” V finally looked Uzi in the eye again. “... If you’re hungry… You can take a bit more.” Her hand fell away from her shoulder, still blushing.
“Uzi I-” V stopped herself, remembering what they talked about earlier. She smiled, and grabbed Uzi, pulling the smaller drone into her lap. “How about we relax and finish the movie. I don’t want to get stuffed and get all sleepy, ya know?”
Uzi gave a small smile and nodded.
Thad sighed and turned to N. “Still think this was a ‘fun’ night?”
“Of course!” N smiled wide. “Doll and Lizzy seemed to be doing better. Uzi and V are more open. And, me and you got to hang without any interruption! A little violence, a little romance, a lot of snacks, and friends! What more could you ask for?”
“Huh,” Thad scratched his head. “Yeah,” he smiled. “I guess you’re right. This was a fun night.”
The group decided to start a different movie. They dragged the couch back into the center and crowded onto it. The movie sucked, as expected, but they all had a good time making fun of it. At some point, V leaned into Uzi’s bitten shoulder, as if protecting it from being bumped and hurt more. Doll began to teach Lizzy how to say ‘I love you’ in Russian, which Lizzy was very obviously playing dumb about just to hear it again. Thad and N devoured half the snacks, somehow finding parts of the movie to actually praise. After everything they’ve been through, they all needed this. Just a moment to be themselves; just a group of teenage drones, piled on a couch, laughing like the world wasn’t ending. Nothing more than that. Everything else can wait for another day.