instead of your bed though, you find yourself outside with your heartbeat loud in your ears, swallowing thickly as you loiter about two yards away from the rolling door.

you'd sworn you made last night up. a dream that had wandered too far to the edge of impossibly insane, your own eyes deceiving you as fear threatened to devour you whole.

yet, the first thing you did when you woke up this morning was looked out your window, watching for the same light that had beckoned you out there the night before.

Hound, he had introduced himself as.

you couldn't see it from your bedroom, but the trail of pink life-source still remained, the same that stained the grass that led up to the barn. you'd walked alongside it out of blatant curiosity, wondering if something in there was leaking or damaged by the weather that seems to tip the structure back and forth.

you still don't really know why you went out there last night. your subconscious swears it was the extra set of lights calling your attention, a irregular in the normal scene that has always been the same day in and out.

now, you can't even conjure up a reason as to why you would even return, fear still rising in your chest as you stand here with your arms wrapped around yourself.

he's still in there, as far as you can tell. he'd dimmed his lights the instant you shakily admitted that was why you were standing in front of him, but he waited to ask until you'd calmed down, even if only by a fraction.

"How'd you know ah was here?"

"Your... your lights,"

now, you can still see the faint glow that still seeps beneath the gap in the door, lapping at the dirt and the toes of your sneakers.

he had frowned, actually frowned when you tried to retreat, stumbling backward over your own two feet and grabbing at air looking for the handle.

"'M not gonna hurt you," he'd drawled, tone hushed and gentle. "I- yer scared... ah'm sorry."

he apologized to you. you still don't know why.

there's a lot of questions that persisted unanswered, more than you could even list aloud. you partially assume that why you're standing outside here now, looking for a little more of confirmation and a little less guesswork.

taking a brave step forward, your trembling fingers reach out and wrap around the wooden handle, leaning forward with all your bodyweight to push the rolling door across the track.

once it's open, just enough for you to slip inside, you know immediately you've lost any chance of pretending like you were never there. a soft cerulean light falls across the dirt, and the sound of mechanical humming reaches you the same as it had the night before.

once you'd heaved the door back over, his voice carries across the space immediately.

"You... came back,"

it's not posed as a question, surprise weaving within his words rather loudly. but he still speaks so softly, far quieter than anyone that big should.

his hand still cradles his side, the pink liquid not overflowing from the wound as it had the yesterday, but the substance now lays caked along his army green plating and the ground below him.

pursing your lips together, you nod twice, eyes fixated more on the lawnmower to your left than meeting his gaze.

if he minds, he doesn't express it.

"Good. That's... great. I was thinkin' ah'd scared you too badly." Hound hums, not having moved an inch since the barn door had moved slowly over. "Ah didn't wanna-"

your eyes flit up to meet his blue ones at his pause, the silence between you swelling until it might as well have been a high-pitched scream.

"That wasn't my intention. Ah meant what I said... wasn't gonna hurt ya." then something tumbles from his voice box, dare you say it was a self-deprecating laugh. "S'probably a lot to ask, to trust my word."

to his purposely stifled awe, your shoulders jump up and then fall back down in a display of neutrality. "You didn't hurt me last night, so I guess I can take your word on that,"

"Right." he perks up considerably, as if you just talking to him was a major victory. "And, uh, ah owe you some thanks too,"

now you're confused. "What for?"

"Didn't have any other visitors or the government knockin' on the door," he rumbles, using his free hand to prop himself up a little more, sitting up straighter. "You didn't... tell anyone. So, thank you."

a laugh almost escapes you, a sarcastic rasp of 'who would believe me?', but you stifle that back down. he's trying, and even though the mere thought of a twenty-five foot robot trying to be friendly makes your head spin, he's still doing the most to not frighten you.

"You don't have to thank me." you whisper, hands finally dropping to rest at your sides.

"Sure ah do," another beat of passive quiet. "Could ah be so forward to ask ya one question?"

you hum, meant as go ahead. he takes it that way.

"Didn't catch yer designation,"

you tilt your head to the side, realizing you've been locked with his eyes for a hot minute now. "Designation?" you press softly.

"Er- name. Sorry. Meant yer name."

you exhale quietly. "Oh. It's y/n. I guess I kinda ran out of here kinda quick,"

"Ah don't blame ya for that." Hound confesses, a small smile never leaving his face. "S'nice to meet you, y/n. Circumstances aside."

"Turns out I'm very good at getting lost,"

you turn to glance over your shoulder, Hoist already lowering himself onto the soft grass. "I found it by accident. I think it's pretty far away enough from the noise to ignore everything else."

but he's looking at you. your wind-swept hair and shy smile, eyes twinkling with a intoxicating mixture of delight and awe.

somehow, he's done something that caused you to smile at him like that, and he knows he's absolutely done for. he's accepted it, come to terms with the fact that he's alright with being distracted by you and your smile, a sight he's lucky he gets to see so often.

though, you're already feeling the heat of a blush crawl across your cheeks, warm enough to duck your head forward. "An amazing accident. This is beautiful, H, thank you for sharing it."

Hoist had originally claimed this place as a pacing track, sometimes also doubling as a good place to work on whatever needed to be fixed or tinkering with his own projects. he can recall several instances where he'd circle the lawn for hours, thinking about a plethora of subjects that always routed back to you, one way or another.

you have that disarming feature, where you can invade his thoughts at any time of the day and he'd be happy about it. genuinely, undoubtedly so, akin to a peaceful memory or the way an answer would randomly appear after being unsolved for so long.

you don't know you undo him slowly like that. unravel him like a tangled wire that had been discarded in a dusty corner for an unfathomable amount of time. he wonders if this is what it's like to be chosen. not only to be physically chosen by you, but to feel it, the emotion wild and prominent within his chassis.

"You don't have to thank me," Hoist rumbles, observing the way you drop your bag at your feet and sink into the grass somewhere just beside his knee. "I figured it was a nice day out, and by the sound of it, we both could use some peace and quiet."

you settle onto your back, one hand landing on your lower stomach and the other hooking gently around the plating where you suspect his knee cap would be. slowly, he leans forward on his thighs, elbows clinking against his knees, as tilting toward you, damn near magnetic.

"You're pretty good at that. Half the time, I don't even know what I need." You tip your head back, catching his gaze upside-down as he looks back down at you, incredibly doting.

his servo slides a bit closer to you across the grass. "Lucky guess."

you simply quietly shake your head in disagreement, a smile persisting.

hours pass.

the two of you swap stories and effortless conversation, the day slipping through your fingers fast, so fast that it leaves little time to even comment on such a thing.

somewhere in between mumbled affection and sweet nothings, Hoist had rearranged himself so you both lay on your backs. shoulder to shoulder, or best he could offer based on the size difference, comfortable as he inclines his helm so he's facing you. the disappearing sun makes his visor bleed a soft, golden light, one digit hooked around your soft hand.

you're absolutely wrecked, spills of velvety laughter sitting in your throat before breaking free. this is so easy, the easiest thing you've ever done, truly; it's an effortless exchange that you can confidently say only exists with him. it makes your chest squeeze tight, similar to the way another one of his digits has wiggled it's way into your small palm and holds you benignly yet firm, as if you'd slip away.

you can't see his face, but you have a good guess of what expression has made a home there.

"It's getting pretty dark," he murmurs, but makes no move to get up.

you exhale, a short puff of air visible upon the dipping temperature. "Yeah." you agree, but it's half-hearted. "Hey, Hoist?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you." you blink up at him, shuffling a few inches closer even if there's practically no room left between the two of you, warm skin meeting comparably cooler metal.

he knows what you mean. it's not the same acknowledgement as before, it's more wide-sweeping and encompassing, but it holds the same weight. perhaps a little heavier, as if always taken aback by your raw emotion and honesty.

your words unfasten him just a little further.

"You don't-" he starts, but the words die within his voice box. "Anytime."