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[androit]

WHO Will Vega, Jr (androit), Ash Starmer 2.0 (subroutined).
WHAT One of Junior's friends is getting fed-up with his lack of action on his real life crush, so Junior finds an outlet on his doorstep.
WHEN idk just barely after Junior moves back home, like he's 26 or something
WHERE Junior's hometown! Somewhere convenient!
WHY why not, I ask you

When Junior had been talking with an old friend after meeting up to catch up on lost times, he hadn't expected the conversation to go the way it had. Making life artificially was illegal, highly so and for good reason with all the things you could do before it was born, but approximating it had apparently become the new craze of all the top researchers. Joking around that Junior needed something to work his energy out on before he could calm down and just talk to Felix about Real Life Important Things (Such As Love) was all well and good, but a cyborg? Well, android. Except not that either, because those terms had already been adopted from the popular lexicon for other things. This was just... a doll, of sorts.

Not that it made it any less weird. Times were crazy and Junior wasn't sure he felt like keeping up.

What he hadn't expected was for his friend to go through with it, actually make up an order and have it sent to his apartment above Buns 'N Roses like it was a candygram or an express-shipped package. This was... not quite a person, but close enough to be weird. Huh. Standing in the doorway and looking at the redhead on the other side, there wasn't a lot he could say.

"You're, um... Justin sent you?"

Comments

[androit]

Having sat himself on the edge of the bed, Junior answered pretty perfunctorily. Hearing Ash's voice, he whipped his head around to stare at the absence of echo. "What..."

He shook his head a bit and pulled his phone away so he could look at both it and Ash at the same time. Right. Synthetics were originally computer programs uploaded into bodies, two pieces put together to make a whole rather than intrinsically connected. At least, that was how Junior understood.

"That's weird," he said with a light smile. "But it's fine. Kind of cool, if not something I might have to get used to. What is this number... calling?"

[subroutined]

Relieved he hadn't overstepped his bounds, Ash's lips pulled up into a tentative smile as well. "That's me," he answered, then, realizing he probably ought to clarify, continued, "That's my IP address. A direct connection to the cloud server that houses my personality and memories. You can text it too, if you like."

There was still a part of Ash that remembered how Martha had liked him better as just a voice, how seeing him inhabit the Real Ash's copied body had been what had made her turn away, made her stop loving him. He hoped it wouldn't be the same with Junior— NOT THAT... Junior loved him... or anything. But he'd heard the phrase "uncanny valley" one too many times not to be a little gun shy.

[androit]

"Huh," said Junior, looking down at the phone in his hand. It wasn't anything special itself but the fact that he could call an IP address and receive what he considered to be a real person... Well, that in itself was pretty cool. It seemed pretty fool-proof of a way to initiate contact without having to rehire Ash in his opinion.

Not that he was theoretically against that idea, either. It just seemed like there had to be a way to meet in the middle without necessitating Ash have sex with someone.

"I'll call you sometime," he added once his thoughts had reorganized a bit. "Or you can call me."

[subroutined]

"I'd like that." For the record, he'd liked having sex with Junior, too. But just talking would be nice as well. He slid himself to the end of the bed, kissing Junior before standing and heading to the bathroom to find a washcloth to clean themselves off with.

Over his shoulder, he said, "If I ever don't answer, it's because I'm working, or I'm in stasis or something." He brought the now damp washcloth back into the bedroom and knelt in front of Junior to begin wiping him clean. "But I promise I'll call you back."

[androit]

The quick kiss while he was on his way out surprised Junior and he didn't have much time to react, but it left him with a smile while he watched what Ash was doing from his spot. "What do you mean, stasis?" he asked, shifting and kind of awkwardly letting one hand hover near Ash's as if to do it himself even if he wasn't sure he should. It was nice, but odd, and he didn't want to make a wrong move now at the end.

Stasis didn't sound like the best thing, although he allowed himself to be mollified by the promise of being called back. There had to be complications and gray areas involved in work like this with employees such as Ash. He somehow found himself doubting they were even called anything so privileged. He wanted to know what sort of life Ash was being given no matter it might make him angry at the treatment. It wouldn't be right to just close his eyes because he could.

[subroutined]

Ash tended to Junior gently before taking care of himself, taking both the washcloth and the bottle of lube back to the bathroom with him when he was finished. "It can get expensive to host that many synths in one place," he explained. "We're basically a server farm. So when we're not working or selling new contracts, we're shut down to save space." He was kind of glad not to be in the same room with Junior as he gave his explanation. Given how Junior had insisted on treating him, as someone personal worthy of making choices and decisions, he had a feeling Junior wouldn't react all too well to hearing of them packed away into closets like an unneeded coat in the summer.

[androit]

"And you have to go back," Junior said, even before his thoughts could catch up to him, even before he could process any of that into what it really meant. Just on the surface it was terrible and the fact of the matter was that Ash had nowhere else to go, no recourse because the eyes of the law saw him as property. To take him in would be to steal, and for him to leave would only mean he would be returned to his rightful owners.

Talk about completely horrid. He was watching Ash's back the entire time, face hardening where his emotions were running rampant and he couldn't really untangle all of them to make sense of it. He didn't really know what to do with that information because it wasn't really something anyone should have to deal with. Most of all someone being convinced he didn't have any say in it.

"Could you... do me a favor?" he asked hesitantly. Maybe it would be too much. Yet... "You don't have to. It's if you want to. But... text me when you wake up? And when you go to sleep?"

He wanted to keep track, for his own peace of mind. Rather to destroy it, because it didn't seem fair that he could know about this and potentially let it slip his mind. Let it fade. Forget to even care at some point when it would just keep happening.

[subroutined]

When Junior asked for a favor, Ash looked up, watching Junior's reflection in the mirror over the sink. "You... want me to..." Why? Ash didn't understand, so he just blinked, then nodded and finished up in the bathroom. He turned, standing in the doorway, unsure of what to do if he crossed the threshold. Should he go back to Junior, kiss him again? Should he get dressed?

First things first, he should answer Junior's request. "I can do that. If you want me to."

[androit]

"I do," Junior said simply, honestly, watching Ash's expression. He wasn't sure his point got across from the request but at least Ash didn't have any objections to it. Maybe he would be able to explain it better in the future, once he'd gotten himself out there more and there was a better avenue of communication. Junior wasn't so great at expressing what he meant and often had to rely on his familiarity with the other person to fill in the gaps.

He stood then, languid and still rather relaxed from that encounter they'd just had, and moved to stand in front of the man in the doorway. He reached up to cup his face, leaning in for a kiss slow enough to be stopped for whatever reason. "Thank you," he said into it.

[subroutined]

Ash still wasn't sure why Junior would want texts at those specific times, or, for that matter, why he was being thanked. But the kiss was nice. Long, sweet, innocent of any carnal intent. When it naturally came to a close, Ash pressed his forehead into Junior's and closed his eyes.

This was not usually the hard part.

"I should go," he said, even as he raised his hands to hold Junior's waist. "It's getting late."

[androit]

The whole thing was something Junior wanted to explain, because Ash was worth it and he was doing it for Ash, but there were some things that were better to wait for. It had to be at the right time, with the right words, or he might mess it up, and this wasn't something he could afford to mess up. For now he would hold it close until he could share it proper.

Junior watched him from where he was so close, could almost swear he felt the internal workings of the synth he was holding. Whether it was his imagination or not, there was something real here. Something that deserved more. He couldn't do a lot, but that wouldn't stop him from doing every little thing that he could.

"Hasn't gotten there yet," he said quietly. He let his eyes close and exhaled slowly. "We can stay like this as long as you want to get away with."

[subroutined]

"I'll be docked," Ash protested, but he made no move to break contact. He was a living contradiction, for a certain definition of the word living, anyway. "Employees who break curfew are shut down and taken off rotation until their probationary period is up." And really that was only important for one reason. "I won't be able to call you."

[androit]

Junior was silent at that, simply breathing for a long few moments before he breathed in deep and pulled away with a smile. "Can't have that," he said, and it was both a tease and an honest statement. He moved his hand up to run it through Ash's hair, mussing it just a little more before combing it back to flatten it down, and gave an encouraging smile.

"Go back and call me when you get the chance," he said, this one much more of a suggestion even in tone. What Ash actually wanted to do when he had free time, or if he even did anything at all, was up to him. That was something Junior was very careful to overstate, trying to let him know that Junior wanted what Ash wanted. Even if that turned out to be Ash wanting what Junior wanted. It was a start, and would be a choice of his own. "Sound good?"

[subroutined]

A memory was pulled up. Hashtag #TBT, Throwback Thursday. A photo of a young human Ash, hair being ruffled by someone whose face isn't in frame. Ash smiled. He didn't often feel connected to the memories that formed the basis of his personality, but in this moment, he did.

He leant in and pressed another short kiss to Junior's lips before walking past him to gather his clothes from the floor. "Sounds perfect." And it did, for any given definition of the term 'perfect.'