JOB HUNTING (a continuation of Sirius)
(Max belongs to @devil-doll13)
She didn't really need a job.
She had plenty of money to get her through the time she would spend here in Downings while her van got fixed up. Had been told it would be quite a while to get the parts so "best get cozy, Miss Mayson."
That had been over a week ago....
Izzy hovered over her phone, having just exchanged numbers with Debby and explaining she just needed to do some research. It wasn't a COMPLETE lie, she just didn't want to expose herself as an extraterrestrial too soon, people weren't too keen on beings they didn't understand being outside their mortal comprehension.
She had wandered back to Kenny's like she had been everyday even after staying with Debbie for a week it had become a routine: working on her laptop and looking outside the window in the diner.
Downings was a gorgeous place. Like a town straight out of an RPG. Healthy green trees created large photogenic walls practically hiding the small town from the rest of the world. She has remembered the natural tree-like man made tunnel she and Max had rode through just to get into town. She could only imagine what this place looked like during the other seasons. She planned on staying for a while, so she would eventually find out.
"Staring at the sky again are we?"
An eye popped up on her phone screen, a cheeky British accent to go with it.
"Hey Archie, yeah, you caught me."
This was Project: Archimedes. Short name, Archie. An AI that her father had constructed a long time ago, during his old Organization days.
It was an odd companionship. But this homemade artificial intelligence had watched over the star girl from the moment she had taken her first breaths in the world. He had to keep his eye and ears out for any talks anywhere on the Internet if anyone shady had gotten wind of his beloved redhead. Especially if those talks were coming from the Organization. It had been his prime directive: Keep Izzy safe, By any means necessary.
Archie had been propped up against a ketchup bottle and sugar shaker, the eye quietly watching his redheaded charge as her own emerald green eyes darted from her now set down plate of pancakes to her laptop, ceasing her typing every so often to take a few bites of pancake and a sip of coffee and continue working. His artificial blue eye, dimmed to a half lid. He adored watching her plug away at her newest celestial findings. Watching her chest rise and fall at a calmed pace, fingers tapping away in a gorgeous dexterous dance on her keyboard. She is what he admired about humans. How most ai would find them repulsive, bags of fat and flesh, Archie had lived among them all of his life. Watching them, and the ones he had interacted with, while only a handful were goldmines of happy moments. He had been able to watch Izzy take her first steps, speak her first words and even ride a bike. He had been able to watch her grow into a mature young woman. And while her celestial powers and abilities were new, he couldn't wait to watch those develop too. As much as he couldn't admit to himself, Archie loved Izzy. In the most passionate way. Had he a body himself, he would be happy to sweep her off her feet and go discovering the cosmos together.
The Eyes train of thought was rudely disrupted when the bell to the dinner clanged noisily against the metal door and Debby's voice greeted the guest. An artificial grunt came from his speaker as soon as he saw: it was Max. If the Ai had eyebrows they'd be knit into an annoyed expression, had he lips, they would have pursed sourly.
It was no secret that ever since arriving in town a week ago and meeting a now much older Max, Archie did not like the blonde hanging around Izzy. But anyone around could tell that it was pure jealousy. If he had willed to give away his true feelings to the outside world, his artificial iris would have turned as green as Izzy’s own eyes. Archie stayed quiet, watching the tall mechanic sit down at the booth across from her.
“So, heard you finally got your van back…when you heading’ back out?” Max asked, his blue eyes twinkling with hope that the childhood friend he had just connected with wouldn't disappear on him again.
“Oh, I’m not leaving so soon. I’ve gotten so much work done while I’ve been here, I’m possibly thinking of staying.”
Archie couldn't believe what he was hearing. Possibly staying???
“Izzy if I could interject-” Archie quickly piped up. “Aren't there other places we wanted to visit? Staying here would only serve to-”
“Archie, those places will still be there should we decide to go traveling again. Besides, I'm honestly getting tired of living out of my van. Sleeping in an actual bed for the past few nights has been wonderful.”
Max’s grin widened. “It’d be nice to have you around a lot more. It’s been a while since I've seen you and Archie. It’s just nice to see some old friends again.”
Izzy’s green eyes met Max’s blue ones. Archie inwardly grimaced at seeing her cheeks go a couple shades darker in a blush. That should be him making her blush. Archie could feel his code squirming in response to his annoyance.
It was obvious that the Ai was not fond at all of the overgrown mutt and his boyish charms hogging all of Izzy’s attention. It wasn't his fault he was only made of code. That he had no arms to shoo the blonde away, to lead Izzy away from this place and keep her safe. Archie had many whyreasons he wanted to leave Downings. Max’s appearance had been added to the top of that list. Another was that staying in one place was dangerous for beings like them. Special interest groups were out there, the kind who shot first and asked questions never. The kind who didnt care what your moral alignment was if you looked otherworldly.
“You okay over there, Archie?” Max asked, gently picking Izzy’s phone up, the boys making eye contact.
“Just dandy, mate. So Izzy, what have you been working on?” Archie was already too close to Max’s face to see his perfect teeth in the phone's reflection and quickly wanted to change the subject. It had worked and Max had set the phone down again but, face down this time. The eye turned from blue to green to red and back to blue in rapid succession while not being seen. He had been picked back up and set right where he had been between the ketchup and sugar.
Izzy had put him back in his temporary rightful place, The ai making sounds like a sigh of relief even though he had no lungs. “Thank you, Luv.” Archie chuckled, smiling.
She smiled at him and turned her attention back to Max.
After Max had left to head back to work, Kenny, the owner of Kenny’s diner walked in. He walked over to Debby who was busy washing the coffee pots to refill with fresh coffee. It wasn't much of a conversation and Debby had pointed to the booth in Izzy’s direction. It was a short interaction but Izzy had been offered a job as a waitress in town. It was officially time to put down roots. As much as Archie didn't like the idea.
Tags: @rottent33th @slaasherslut @devil-doll13 @bluecoolr @ajarofpickledtears @shonkgobonk @soupbabe @slasherscrybaby @solmints-messyocdiary @ahmnom @probably-a-plant-thing @damien-mlm @kalid-raven @angxlslasher @allthingsblood
