#asteri meyer

In the end, she forced him into a navy button-up and a pair of deep teal shorts and a matching bowtie, thinking the whole time about how much she felt like she was dressing a toddler. As soon as he had all the buttons done right, he practically fell back down the stairs in his hurry to make it to the kitchen before Darwin showed up. Amanda made it to the kitchen a full thirty seconds later to find Asteri draining a pot of noodles and Fletcher sucking the daylights out of a relaxant cell, another clutched in his hand. “Hey, slow down. Do you think that’s a good idea?” Amanda asked. Fletcher pulled the cell out of his mouth with a pop and crackle of static. “No, nothing about this is good, but the least I can do is clear my mind a little.” “Isn’t that the opposite of what relaxants do?” “Not when you’re this stressed,” Fletcher said before stuffing the second cell into his mouth. “It’s just bringing me down to normal. You know, it’s almost making me feel like I just woke up from a good night’s rest. Everything’s shitty, but in a fresh kind of way,” he glared toward the chef, “Not that it’s doing anything to make me less mad at you, Ace.” Before anyone had a chance to respond, Fletcher sucked a sharp breath into his ventilation system, biting down so hard onto his battery that it almost burst. “What?” Asteri looked over her shoulder at him. “He’s here. At the gate,” Fletcher rasped, swaying where he stood and grabbing the counter to steady himself. His anger couldn’t do anything to save him now. His only hope was to survive the night without making a fool of himself. “Quinn, it looks like we’re in a cave, could you turn on some more lights?” “Oh, of course, my lord.” When Fletcher didn’t respond to Quinn’s snark, Asteri stopped what she was doing. He gnawed at the empty battery as if it was the only thing keeping him sane. Asteri thought for a moment before putting her spoon down and moving to Fletcher’s side. “Hey, man, it’s gonna be alright ‒ ” As she reached her hand toward his shoulder, he flinched away. “Don’t. I just need to let the relaxant kick in,” he narrowed his eyeforms at her, “And if you say anything to Darwin about what I told you guys ‒ ” “No, I promise, I would never! I just wanted to help, and I swear I think this is the best thing for you. If you don’t feel better once you see him, I’ll take the fall and tell him I invited him without asking you.” “Don’t do that, I don’t want him to wonder why I invited you two over without him in the first place.” “I can make up a reason if you need me to. If you change your mind, just, uh... tap your finger three times.” “Are you sure? That might be too subtle. Why don’t I just wait for a lull in the conversation and call your dad to ask him why he made you this way?” They were interrupted by a sharp knock and the sound of the front door opening. Fletcher scrambled to throw the empty relaxant cells under the sink and stood so stiff he grew three inches. “Anybody home?” Darwin sang. “We’re in the kitchen,” Amanda called. The door closed with a heavy click. After some shuffling, the Android stepped into the kitchen. His brother’s ratty baseball cap sat backwards on his head, he wore a thick maroon sweater hand-knitted by his father that looked irresistibly plush, and he carried a tote bag on his arm. His face lit up and Fletcher thought the ground might fall out from under him. “Fletcher!” Darwin crossed the room in three gargantuan strides before pulling the hybrid into a one-armed hug, holding his bag out at arm’s length. Fletcher hugged him back reflexively ‒ the sweater was every bit as plush as it looked. “It’s been too long, man, you look great! I mean... exhausted, but great. You have to tell me what you’ve been working on!” Fletcher froze. He’d been telling everyone he couldn’t come out because he was working on a sensitive experiment that required around-the-clock attention, but he’d never actually given any thought to what that experiment should be. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind and gave the first excuse he could think of. “It’s so good to see you, too, Win. I mean, it’s pretty boring stuff, I’ll tell you later, but I thought for now we could just... catch up? I’ve really missed you guys.” Darwin gave him a big squeeze before letting go. “Sounds perfect, even though I’m sure nothing you’ve ever worked on has been ‘boring.’ So much has been happening that I’ve wanted to tell you about! Guys, he doesn’t even know about Mateo and Gigi yet!” The sisters beamed as Amanda laughed, “You haven’t talked in that long?” “What’s going on with little Matty?” Fletcher asked. Darwin swung his tote onto the counter and puffed out his chest. “He’s not so little any more! Gigi’s pregnant!” Fletcher gaped. “Oh my god, you’re going to be a great uncle?” Darwin laughed from deep in his speakers. “And from the youngest of my nieces and nephews! He and Gigi just found an apartment in the city, they’re so excited!” Whether it was the relaxants kicking in or the balm of finally talking to his best friend, Fletcher’s crippling stress melted to a fluttering nervousness. When Asteri finished making dinner, the group moved to the courtyard. The sisters sat on one of the benches around the central fountain and the boys sat on the concrete ledge around the fountain so the pairs faced each other. It was so easy to fall into their normal laughter and discussion. How could Fletcher have let all this time pass without talking to them? Catching up on everyone’s lives made him feel almost like a stranger, especially as he had nothing to contribute ‒ in all their lost time, he’d only been stewing in anxiety and trying to distract himself with media. Still, he managed to dodge questions about his supposed experiment while still staying engaged in the conversation. It wasn’t hard with everything else they had to talk about. The time flew by, and before Fletcher knew it, the girls had long finished their second helpings and were beginning to yawn. Something like resolve crept out of nowhere and constricted his chest. He ran cold in an intangible way, but... for a moment, everything stopped. After all this time, he was finally here, sitting right next to Darwin. It became a painful wait for a pause in the conversation before he finally interjected, “Say, when do you guys have to wake up tomorrow morning? I feel bad keeping you up if you need to get home.” “Don’t worry about it,” Amanda waved her hand, “It’s not like we’re going to pass up an opportunity to get together after all this time.” “Actually,” Asteri nudged the Human, “Mandy, don’t you remember? We switched shifts with the opening crew tomorrow!” Amanda opened her mouth to say something, but a hard look from the Android made a light come on in her eyes. “Oh, you’re totally right! I almost forgot. Fletcher, are you sure you don’t mind if we head out?” Four different things tried to leave Fletcher’s speakers at once, resulting in a strangled sort of, “Naaawwww.” He cleared his throat and followed, “We’ll get together again soon! Do you need any help wrapping up all the leftovers?” “No, we can handle it, and if we need it we’ll ask Quinn for help. Don’t get up on our account,” Amanda grinned. Fletcher rocked back on his hands, leaning over the trickling water. “If you’re getting tired, I can head out, too,” Darwin offered. Fletcher’s grip tightened on the concrete, but he tried to cover it by rocking forward. “I mean, I won’t keep you if you need to get home, but there is something I’d like to talk to you about if you wouldn’t mind sticking around.” The yellow blocks that were Darwin’s eyeforms turned into the sweetest smiling crescents. Fletcher couldn’t help smiling back, feeling like he was staring into the sun. He laughed when Darwin slung his arm around his shoulders, “I was hoping I could stay! I’ve missed you too much to want to leave yet.” Fletcher was struck again by how plush Darwin’s sweater was. He could imagine putting his arm around Darwin in return, resting his head on his chest and just staying there, laughing at nothing under the stars in the rippling light of the fountain ‒ “We’ll see you guys soon!” “Uh... yeah! Yeah, drive safe!” Fletcher waved. They all exchanged salutations until the women walked through the french doors that lead back into the entry hall toward the kitchen. “Hey, Win, do you want to take a walk?” Darwin let his arm slide off Fletcher’s shoulders. “Sure, it’s such a nice night. You finally gonna tell me about your experiment?” The hybrid stood, stretching his arms above his head and taking a deep breath into his ventilation system. The stretch extended all the way through his body until he was on his tiptoes before he released and let his arms swing down to his sides. “Yeah. There’s a... a lot to it. Let’s walk and talk.” Fletcher silently celebrated that his knees weren’t shaking and lead Darwin to the opposite side of the courtyard from the entry hall, opening a similar set of french doors into the darkened library. Darwin followed close behind, just as comfortable in this home as if it were his own, and they made their way through the bookshelves to a small door that opened to the gardens around the back of the house. Their shoes crunched onto the gravel footpath, joining the serenade of distant windchimes and fountains. Light came from solar lanterns on either side of the path and strings in some of the trees. Fletcher waited until they made it through the hedges and into rows of rose bushes and arches covered in climbing roses and fairy lights. The path wound through the bushes, a breeze sweeping through that set off a series of Fletcher’s chemical receptors that soothed him like little else could. The sensory programming he’d inherited from his mother had just as much of an influence on his mind as it did on hers, activating wonderful reward programming to be near thriving, pollinating flowers. Fletcher slowed his pace and closed his eyeforms, savoring the scented breeze while it lasted and listening to Darwin’s footsteps as he matched his gait. The breeze faded. His eyeforms opened. “...There was no experiment.” “Oh,” Darwin continued to match his step. “You know, I, uh... kinda figured.” Fletcher’s eyeforms flicked over. “Really?” “I wasn’t going to say anything incase, you know, there was, but... something felt off whenever I called you. It seemed like you were dealing with something. Not like a project, but something personal. I didn’t want to push you so I let it be, but if it’s out in the open now, I just want to say that... I’m here. For anything. You don’t have to tell me what’s wrong, but if there’s any way I can help, I’d do it in an instant.” When Darwin paused, Fletcher just watched his profile, power surging in his chest. “I don’t want to pressure you into telling me anything you don’t want to,” he finally continued, “I totally understand there are some things that you just need to face by yourself or with your family. I won’t take it the wrong way if you need to deal with something without me, and... I get why you felt the need to make up an experiment. Just... I hope you know that we don’t need to share everything to be us,” Darwin said, crossing his arms, “It sounds cornier out loud. I hope that makes some sense.” “No, it ‒ yeah. That makes a lot of sense. I just can’t tell if that makes this easier or harder.” “You don’t need to do anything.” “But I do,” Fletcher smiled, though it came off more like a grimace, and clasped his hands behind his back. “This is only hard because I don’t want to mess anything up. I’m afraid if I don’t say anything, I might regret it, and that would... I don’t really know, but I think it’s too late for me to turn back at this point. I’m not asking anything of you ‒ it’s important to me that you know that.” Darwin nodded, emitting an emotional wavelength that prickled Fletcher’s sensors. The Energy Vampire closed his mind as much as he could. “Alright. I think you remember a while back when I broke up with, uh... Ripley,” decades later, the name still tasted bad in his mouth, “I was sure that I just wasn’t cut out for romance, and realizing that was really freeing. I made it clear that I was only ever looking for casual partners and I started having a lot of fun, and I stopped worrying, and... maybe I kind of stopped thinking about romance as an option for me at all? You, uh, you can imagine my surprise,” Fletcher laughed, “when I realized I was having romantic feelings again.” Darwin’s eyeforms swelled. “For real? Can I ask who it’s for?” Fletcher stopped, soaking in an image he would remember for the rest of his life. Darwin slowed before turning back as well, allowing Fletcher to take in his curious expression, the sparkling lights reflecting off his metal, the form of the friend he’d grown up with and who knew him better than anyone else. No words came. He was frozen. He was staring. His mind shut down. Fletcher felt like he was watching from outside his body as realization dawned on Darwin’s face. “Oh... wait, do you mean,” Darwin paused and pointed at himself. He thought for a while before managing, “Me?” Fletcher’s voice came out dry. “Listen, I just needed to get it off my chest. I hate keeping things from you, and now that it’s out there I can move on, and... uh... yeah. Yes. That’s it.” Darwin ran his hand from the top of his hat to the back of his neck. “So... first ‒ as weird as this may be ‒ I have to say that I’m relieved. I was scared you had some sort of terminal virus.” Fletcher laughed in spite of himself. “Second,” Darwin turned to continue their walk, “I’m... well, I really wasn’t expecting this. Do you mean you want to... to try, like, being together? As a couple?” Something tore around inside of Fletcher. He convinced himself to follow Darwin, scrutinizing a loose strand of yarn on his sweater. “I don’t know, I... maybe? It’s been so long since I even thought I could, and I... haven’t really thought of that? I mean, it’s more like I’ve tried not to think about it, all that matters to me is that we’re still friends. But I guess I ‒ if I thought it couldn’t amount to anything, I wouldn’t have brought it up in the first place.” Darwin didn’t say anything for longer than Fletcher thought he could handle. The crunching of gravel was deafening. “We’ve talked about this before, Fletcher. If you wanted me to stop being friends with you, you’d have to murder someone in cold blood, nothing less.” Warmth flooded the hybrid’s circuits. “But... what’s changed?” Darwin formed the words slowly, “I mean, I know so much has changed since the last time we talked about this, and... well, I have to say that 30 year old me would be losing his mind if he was in my place right now, but what’s happened to make you feel like this?” Fletcher shook his head. “I really don’t know. I’ve been racking my mind for weeks trying to figure that out, and I just... can’t. Can I ask how present-day you feels about this?” The white robot crossed his arms. “You mean you can’t, uh, tell?” Fletcher let out a long breath. “Right, I ‒ I don’t want to pressure you, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t’ve asked. I’m actually blocking my sensors.” “It’s alright,” Darwin shrugged, “I think... I’m still pretty shocked. On the surface, you know I’ve always found you attractive, and if we’re being honest, I don’t think being a couple would change anything drastic outside of our physical relationship. I... can’t say I would feel comfortable with anything like that yet.” “O-of course,” Fletcher sputtered, putting out his hands. “But what if ‒ just to figure things out ‒ maybe we start trying new things? Like, do stuff that we’ve never done before.” Fletcher stopped again. “Do you mean,” he had to think about it a few times before finishing, “like dating?” Darwin took a last, slow step before turning on his heel to face Fletcher. His eyeforms were gleaming. “Like dating,” he hummed, “It can be easy and casual, right? If nothing comes of it, we’ll find out together and things will go back to the way they were. And if there’s something more to find... we can.” Fletcher hugged himself loosely and let out a shaky laugh, feeling a weight lift off his chest that had been there for over a month. “If that’s something you’d be open to, I... I think I’d really like that.” Darwin laughed in response and took a step toward Fletcher to close the gap between them, pulling him into a hug. He tucked his head down and murmured, “I’m happy as long as you’re in my life, Fletch. The rest is just details.” Fletcher’s visor stung as he buried his face against Darwin’s shoulder. “I feel so stupid. I can’t believe how scared I was to tell you.” “Hey, don’t worry about it! I know how hard it must have been for you to come to this realization at all, and confessing your feelings to the hottest guy you know is never easy!” he pulled his head back to smile coyly into Fletcher’s visor, “As someone who’s been in your shoes, I’m happy with the way the tables have turned.” Every time he laughed from that moment on, Fletcher felt even lighter. They spent the rest of the night deciding what they wanted to do for their first date. Admittedly, whatever they settled on was something that Fletcher would struggle to remember later in life, but the warmth of that first night never left him.

Two awoke alone. She didn't have a moment of peace to appreciate the morning. Her sleep had been horrible, just as it always was around the end of July ever since her son and daughter in law had left home to pursue adventure. Really, she could hardly blame them -- Fletcher never had the chance to leave Earth growing up, as his father couldn't leave, and Two would never go anywhere he couldn't follow. It was only to be expected... he was enjoying himself out there... he was, he had to be, that was what mattered. As many times as she told herself that, it didn't stop the pang of sadness that twinged through her processors whenever she thought that this would be the 20th time she wouldn't be able to wish him a happy birthday in person. Dwelling on it didn't help anything, and though she would never grow used to not having him and Asteri around, Two had plenty of practice working past missing her family. She rolled out of bed and hovered straight to the computer console against the wall. The least she could do was send him the letter component of his care package -- the rest should've been reaching him soon. She had sent a heavy box of gifts and trinkets from Earth weeks ago so that it would reach him on his birthday, but the message could be sent instantaneously, so she had saved it for this morning. It had been written and rewritten several times by her, Nos, and Quinn in the past few weeks, and was loaded with pictures and videos. Her pale, flat fingers separated from her arm and glided across the featureless panel, activating an array of interactive lights. No sooner had the holographic screen blinked into life than Quinn began to speak in a voice that came as close to excited as the system's placid voice could manage. "Good morning, ma'am. I have some incredible news." "Quinn! Good morning," Two shook the remaining bleariness from her visor. It was rare that Quinn began a conversation. "What is it?" "We have a message from Master Fletcher." As they said so, an image popped into the screen. Two opened it before she could even think to call Nos into the room, her eyeforms hungrily devouring the letter attached to the image: Mom and Dad, A few weeks ago, Asteri and I arrived on planet Rhizome. EVERYTHING is made of plants, no joke! I know how you feel about traveling, Mom, but if you were ever willing to go one place, this would have to be it! I'm sending you a bunch of stuff anyway. Expect all sorts of pods and seeds soon! They do a bunch of weird stuff, but I can't read the language on any of the packaging yet. Dad might be able to help you when it arrives, but if not, Quinn should be able to decipher it! I expect we might spend years on this planet, and if at all possible, I'd like to set up a lab or at least attend a place of study to learn as much as I can about the botanical life on this planet. I'm on the hunt for books on the subject that I could send your way, but to nobody's surprise, paper products are still as rare out here as they are anywhere else with modern technology. You might have to suffice with digital copies. Despite how great it is here, I can't shake the twinge of homesickness that always resurfaces around times like these. As of this moment, I'm 156 Earth years old. I miss everyone a lot. Getting your messages has become one of the things I look forward to the most. Tell everyone I say hello and I love them. Yours, Fletcher

(Also... that design on Fletcher's shirt? He bought it from a tourist trap thinking it just looked cool, but it's actually a traditional Rhizomian script for something crude and poorly worded. Nos recognizes it as soon as Two shows him the message and he can't take the rest of it seriously.)

“Asteri! Amanda!” his smile felt too tight, making his sing-song tone all the worse.  “What took you so long?” “What do you mean?” Amanda crossed her arms, “It’s only been an hour since we got off work!” “You only work thirty minutes away! What were you doing the other half hour?” “Getting dressed, you moron, did you want us to show up covered in sugar and flour?” “I don’t care about that, we have pressing matters to attend!” “Alright, let’s go. Good to see you by the way,” Asteri laughed. She stepped inside, punching Fletcher in the shoulder as she went. Fletcher and Amanda shared one more scowl before following Asteri to the kitchen. It was dark outside, but almost no lights were turned on indoors ‒ Nos and Two were out of town, and Fletcher was either too distracted or bothered for bright light. A single bulb shone above the kitchen sink as the only beacon of warmth, everything else dappled in strange shadows by the automatic lights in the garden. It was just enough to see by. Amanda went straight to the island, plopping down in one of the barstools, while Asteri went to the fridge, opening it to start pulling out ingredients. As jumbled as Fletcher had been all day, he’d at least remembered to keep up his part of their usual arrangement: whenever he invited the girls over around dinner time, he bought the food. “Fletcher, oh my god ‒ it’s like the entire market in here!” “I need... a lot of advice. I wanted you to have options,” Fletcher shrugged, walking into the kitchen. His arms were crossed and he picked at a dent on his elbow, pacing through to the dining room to stay out of the way. Amanda craned her neck to look past Asteri at the fully stocked shelves. “Did you get any frozen pizza?” “No way, Mandy, check it out!” Asteri grabbed a package of ground beef and dug into the produce drawer, shuffling through the vegetables. “Let’s make stir-fry!” “But cutting all that up is so much work...” Amanda groaned. “Fine, you stay there and I’ll cook,” Asteri rolled her eyes. “If he bought all this food, we might as well use it.” “You can take whatever you don’t use home with you, too. If I forget food in here again and let it rot Mom’ll have my head.” “If you insist,” Amanda beamed, spinning her stool so she could prop her legs up on the one next to her. “You really don’t cheap out, bat-boy. If you had a crisis like this on a weekly basis you’d cover our grocery bill.” “I didn’t even look at the prices...” Fletcher winced as the thought occurred to him. He tried to remember if he’d kept the receipt, but he quickly shook his concern. It was a small price to pay if it meant they’d help him figure things out. Amanda clicked her tongue. “Rich boy...” He threw her a look before resuming his pacing. “PhD.” “Yeah, yeah, whatever. You know, you look like you haven’t slept in a week,” Asteri observed as she put the vegetables next to the sink and pulled out the cutting board. “...How are you supposed to tell? I don’t need sleep, I can keep draining batteries indefinitely.” “You may not need it, but it helps you run better. You look dull and you’re all fidgety and distracted. Did you wear that outfit into town today?” Fletcher looked down at himself. “Why?” “Your shirt’s on backwards.” Amanda laughed, her eyes softening. “You’re really falling apart over this. Will you tell us what’s the matter already? We haven’t seen you in so long, and now that you finally call, you’re all stressed. If it’s such a pressing matter, why don’t you just spill it?” Fletcher stopped by the counter, eyeing the knife that Asteri had just taken from one of the drawers. “I’d rather start talking about it after we’re done with the cutlery.” Asteri and Amanda glared at him in unison, “What did you do?” “Seriously? Guys, come on, I didn’t do anything! I just know you’re going to freak out about it. You know what... Quinn?” “Yes, sir?” the home system responded. “Would you mind helping Asteri cut the vegetables?” “So now you ask for my assistance?” Fletcher shook his head and rubbed his temples. “Oh, hello Quinn! What’s this all about?” Asteri grinned. It wasn’t often that Quinn emoted clearly, and that was if they emoted at all. “Nothing much,” Quinn hummed as they extended a thin, segmented arm with three short fingers from a hatch in the wall to take the knife from Asteri. Another arm came out to hold a cabbage in place. “This conundrum he’s called you about has been troubling him for weeks, and he’s given me nothing but lip when I offer advice.” “Quinn, I’m sorry, but you giving romantic advice makes about as much sense as Dad wanting another cat.” For a moment, everything fell silent. Fletcher realized what he’d said and bit his tongue, prickling with static, holding still as Quinn began a rhythmical chopping and radiated an infuriating aura of satisfaction. “Romantic advice?” Asteri almost whispered. Fletcher looked over his shoulder at Amanda, hoping that she would kick in as Asteri’s anchor, but she stared back at him with lips parted in awe. “See,” Fletcher gave a shaky laugh, “this is what I was worried about. You probably would have dropped that knife straight through your foot.” Asteri stepped closer to Fletcher, taking his shoulders in her hands and looking him dead in the visor. “Are you having feelings for Darwin?” Fletcher reeled, his whole body tensing as he choked out, “What?” “Oh my god...” Amanda gasped, a light going on in her eyes, “You haven’t slept with anyone in months, you’ve been acting weird even longer than that, and every time we’ve seen Darwin lately, he talks about how distant you’ve gotten, almost like you’ve been avoiding him. Two weeks ago you completely fall off the face of the Earth, and now that we finally hear from you again you’re all messed up about something... that needs romantic advice.” He looked back at Amanda again. Her dark eyes dared him to say she was wrong. “Guys...” his voice cracked. He had to think for a while before he spoke again. “This isn’t how I planned on telling you, but ‒ okay, you know how much Darwin means to me, and you know I wouldn’t ever want to cheapen our relationship! I’ve been thinking about it for a long time, and I... I just really need your help.” The next thing Fletcher knew, he was between two crushing hugs. “Come on,” he warbled to no effect, “I thought you might be mad... I just want some impartial advice from the only people who know the ins and outs of our situation!” “What?” Amanda laughed, her forehead pressed between his shoulder blades, “We can’t give you impartial advice!” “We love you, we’re as partial as it gets! And Darwin!” Asteri beamed, “Oh my god, this is perfect! Why would we be mad?” “W-why is this perfect?” Fletcher spluttered. Asteri backed away first, though she still held on to his shoulders. “You’re made for each other! You’ve been two parts of a matching set since you were kids!” “You nerds make each other so happy, I just never imagined you’d want anything romantic!” Fletcher let out something almost like a laugh. “Me neither. When I first thought I might feel this way, it seemed like I didn’t have a chance. I... I was expecting you guys to at least be confused, if anything, not excited!” “It’s definitely a surprise, but it makes perfect sense to me! Sit down, man, tell us about it!” Amanda dragged him back and pushed him onto one of the stools at the island, sitting down next to him. He rubbed his hands over his face and split into a smile. “This is so embarrassing. I don’t know how it happened, whether this was building up and I didn’t notice or if I woke up one day and realized, but...” he laughed a strange, defeated laugh, “here I am!” “How long have you known?” Asteri asked, thumbing through the drawers for another knife. “I don’t know. I really... can’t tell? I’ve always loved him. I never feel like I need to act when I’m with him, we’ve practically lived together for years, we know everything there is to know about each other. I didn’t think there was anything else left, he’s a part of me, but one day ‒ ” Fletcher gestured in a crazy combination of energy and exhaustion, slumping into his barstool so that he hung precariously over the edge. He rolled his head onto his shoulder and looked over toward Amanda. “I was scared at first that something was wrong with me.” “What d’you mean?” “Like, it doesn’t make sense that after all this time I’m just feeling this now. I was worried that some wires had crossed and it was just sexual, some sort of glitch. That’s why I started avoiding him. I mean, it’s not like I hadn’t thought about it before ‒ hell, we’ve talked about it before! But there was something in that moment that I couldn’t really appreciate at the time, mostly because I was freaking out about the whole thing. We were at his place, and I woke up in his bed because we’d fallen asleep while watching videos the night before, and when I saw him... listen, you guys know me. I love where I live, I love my family, but looking back on it now, I had never felt so at home in my entire life as I did in that moment.” Asteri had stopped chopping half way through a carrot to clasp her hands to her chest, eyes shining. “If you didn’t even realize it then, what happened? How did you figure it out?” “...Don’t laugh, but I was in our repair room. Quinn was running detailed diagnostics and Mom came up to see what I was doing. I was almost too embarrassed to tell her. Since I thought it was just physical and everything else was panic, I didn’t want her to think I was feeling something shallow for Darwin. When she finally got me to crack, we ended up talking for hours. She wasn’t trying to convince me to do anything, she talked to me about what it was like when she fell in love with Dad and tried to help me work through everything and really think about what I was feeling instead of dismissing it as an error. The diagnostic came up clean.” “Leave it to Fletcher to assume falling in love is an illness,” Amanda chuckled. The hybrid rolled his eyeforms and shook his head. “This has probably been a long time coming. Maybe even since we realized that the venom had never properly merged with Mom’s OS.” “What does that have to do with anything? I hadn’t even been born then,” Amanda said, picking at the sliced vegetables as Quinn and Asteri worked. Fletcher smiled, but his visor was dark. “It wasn’t a great time to be alive. None of us knew if Mom was going to make it, and for months, everyone on Darickson’s team was totally dedicated to rewriting so much corrupt programming, it took over our lives. Dad was with her constantly, and I’d never seen him so stressed. I saw him cry once. It wasn’t just tears, either, like... sobbing. Weeping. I don’t think he knows even now that I saw him. I was a wreck too, but he was going through something different. I couldn’t believe it when he was back by her bedside a few minutes later like it was nothing, and suddenly he was trying to comfort me. Going through all that and seeing what he went through, I haven’t been the same since. That was the first time I think I understood the concept of romantic love. It’s not like I didn’t believe in it before, I just never got how deep it was.” “Are you saying you might have had feelings for Darwin for that long?” “...I kind of hope not. I’ve been with so many people since then, I’d hate to think that it was all while I was suppressing something or because I wanted to avoid it. Things just changed for me after that. I know you didn’t know me before, but hooking up with people was kinda the only thing I used to do.” “Yeah, but what’s the plan now? You’re throwing around phrases like ‘life changing’ and ‘true love.’ You actually gonna try to start something with him?” Everything about Fletcher seemed to tense up. Asteri watched him as she pulled out a frying pan. “That’s why I need your help. I have no idea how to break it to him. I really don’t want to screw things up!” “I get why you’re nervous, but I really can’t imagine anything would get between you two.” “What if it weirds him out though? If he doesn’t want to try dating, what if we can’t recover? What if I don’t move on and we can’t be friends any more?” “Hold on! There’s nothing to move on from yet, you haven’t even talked to him!” Asteri pointed out. “Besides, I’ve never seen you back down from asking someone out. You’ve gotten shot down like it was nothing, I remember turning you away myself.” Amanda cocked an eyebrow, sitting straight to hear more about this rarely referenced event. Fletcher didn’t even flinch. “That’s all different though, this isn’t about sex. When you get down to it, I only really have one reliable line, and I can’t risk using it for this.” “Wait,” Asteri narrowed her eyes, “you don’t mean...?” Fletcher nodded sagely. “What’s the line?” Amanda asked, leaning forward. “Well, I ask a person if they’ve ever slept with a robot. If they say ‘yes,’ I say, ‘You won’t believe how much better it is with an Energy Vampire.’ If they say ‘no,’ I say, ‘then you’ll never be satisfied after you’ve done it with an Energy Vampire.’” “You’re telling me that’s reliable?” “Well I don’t use it if I don’t think it’ll work, but for humans, yeah, about seven out of ten times. Eight out of ten if they’ve had a few drinks. The key is playing up the vampire thing, it checks off a lot of different kinks. Vampire alone sells it for some people, others are into teeth, some like the idea of dominating a ‒ ” “I get it!” Amanda waved her hands, “Honestly, why not use that on him? He’d probably laugh.” “But I’m not trying to sleep with him! Those are the only tactics I know, that’s the problem! This isn’t about sex. We were already going to spend our lives together, but... this is different. I never thought anyone could mean as much to me romantically as he does to me platonically. I didn’t think I’d ever settle down. I’ve only ever had a few romantic relationships, and every time, I would realize I just didn’t trust them as much as I needed to. Darwin, though... I trust him with everything!” “Listen, Fletcher, he knows that,” Amanda pointed at him with a slice of bell pepper she’d snatched from the counter, “He’s crazy about you too! When you guys aren’t around each other, you’re pretty much the only thing either of you talks about. I really don’t know how you manage to get anyone to bed like that.” “He used to be into you when you were kids, right?” Asteri asked. “That was decades ago,” Fletcher muttered, waving his hand. “We’re completely different people now.” “Yeah, that’s a good thing,” Amanda scoffed, “You sounded like you were a real brat.” Fletcher huffed. Amanda put her arm around his shoulders and brought him closer. “But seriously, what can we do for you? It sounds like you’ve given this a lot of thought on your own.” “Just... how? How do I sit him down and say, ‘Sorry I’ve been acting so weird, I just want to keep doing the same stuff we always do but now we kiss and call each other boyfriends?’” “Well, maybe a little less blunt, but that’s really all there is to it,” Asteri shrugged, oiling the frying pan. “I think you’re freaking out about it because you’re too in your own head. It’ll probably seem a lot easier once you’re with him! Like you said, you trust him. He’ll have the decency to hear you out, and even if he doesn’t feel the same way, you’ll feel better having told him.” “That’s the thing, though,” Fletcher tapped his head, “I know he doesn’t feel the same way. We’re not kids any more, and I’ve learned a lot about reading wavelengths. Sure, there are robots out there who are good at suppressing certain feelings or who are naturally resistant to Energy Vampire sensors, but Darwin is an open book to me. I’m afraid of how he’ll feel when I tell him.” “What’s the alternative though? Wait for these feelings to pass and never mention it?” Fletcher crossed his arms over his head and sank out of Amanda’s grasp, letting out a stuffy groan. “I just want it to be easy! I’m so sick of the back and forth, and I know you guys only just found out, but I need answers fast! I called you this morning because I knew I would do something stupid if you weren’t here to set me right, and I know I’m asking too much. This is just... torture.” The kitchen was quiet for a while next to the sound of the oil starting to sizzle in the pan. Fletcher kept his arms over his head, the frustration building up again and making his visor sting. Maybe he’d rather not deal with it after all. Things would be easier if they stayed as they were, and if he ever thought about Darwin that way again... about the way his smile was sunshine that warmed him from head to toe, the way he made Fletcher’s core suddenly swoop like he was in free fall whenever he saw him lately... He was so distracted that he didn’t notice the sound of a mobile communicator dialing out until it was answered by a muffled, distant, “Hello?” Fletcher jumped from his seat, looking at Asteri in disbelief. “Hi Darwin! You busy?” Fletcher launched at her without thinking, grabbing wildly, but she managed to keep her phone out of his reach. “I guess not. What are you guys up to on this wild Tuesday night?” “We’re actually just having dinner at Fletcher’s. I know this is short notice ‒ cut that out! ‒ but how fast do you think you could get here?” Fletcher swiped at her, hissing frantically through his teeth, “Stop!” “I’m actually at my folks’ for the week, so I could be there in fifteen, but, uh... are you alright?” “Yeah, everything’s fine. Fletcher’s schedule opened up out of the blue and ‒ ow!” The Energy Vampire was clinging to her now, scrabbling at her hand, but she just put it on speaker and held it out at arm’s length. “What was that?” “Sorry, I just pet S’mores the wrong way and she swiped at me. So can you come over?” “Stop this!” Fletcher snarled as quietly as he could, “Stop it, fix it!” “Well, I don’t see why not. I’m kinda just glad to hear the hermit is allowing visitors again. I’ll see you soon.” Asteri hung up and Fletcher fell to the ground. Amanda finally let go and started laughing. “What the hell are you thinking?! Call him back!” Fletcher yelled, scrambling to his feet. “And tell him what? You said you were afraid of doing something stupid, but how could you be any more stupid than wallowing in your own confusion instead of doing something about it?” “CALLING YOU GUYS WAS THE SOMETHING I WAS DOING ABOUT IT!” “We can’t talk to Darwin for you!” Asteri was smiling, but Fletcher had never seen anything more infuriating, and Amanda’s continuing laughter grated his nerves even more. “You expect me to do this NOW? I’m not ready! What is wrong with you, this is the worst thing you’ve ever done to me! I’m going up to my room, this is all your own damn fault, you’re going to have to deal with telling him that you invited him without asking me!” “No I’m not,” Asteri scoffed, gathering all the sliced vegetables on the counter onto the cutting board. Fletcher fumed, gritting his teeth. “What is that supposed to mean?” “You’re right about me not being able to make you talk to him, and maybe after all these weeks, there’s some chance that you aren’t ready. That’s fine. I can’t force you to bring it up,” Asteri picked up the cutting board and tilted it so that all the vegetables fell into the pan and began to sizzle, “But I can show you how much better you’ll feel once you’re with him. You haven’t seen each other in ages and that’s no way to deal with this! I can also make an excuse for us to leave so you can catch up in private.” Fletcher could hardly bring himself to speak, staring daggers at the back of Asteri’s blonde head while she started to stir. He finally threw his arm toward Amanda, pointing with all his might. “You!” “What?!” “I hate you the least right now! Come help me get dressed, I can’t look like this when Darwin gets here!” Amanda snorted and stood up as Fletcher stalked out to the front hall and toward the bedrooms. “This is the craziest thing you’ve ever pulled, A. If it turns out, they’d better make you Maid of Honor.” “I will throw you both out of my house and lock the door, but if you don’t help me clean up before Darwin comes in I’ll never forgive you!” “Alright, I’m coming you big baby!” Amanda sauntered after him, following his indignant shrieks through the house. It wasn’t until she caught up to him on the stairs that she noticed how light his steps were and the quivering anticipation in his eyeforms. She quietly hoped to herself that Asteri knew what she was doing.

…The door to the balcony, carefully padlocked, was covered in scribbled pictures of trees and animals. The crib against the back wall looked more like a basket of stuffed toys, games littered the colorful carpet, and a short desk next to the holo console on the left held a huge drawing tablet covered in digital finger paintings. Fletcher shuffled around the room, straightening things out as he went. He and Asteri were leaving town for a friend’s wedding, Nos-4-a2 was gone on an assessment, and Toby was away at camp, so Two was taking time off work to watch Mel. “Okay, this is her favorite book, and these at the top of her crib are her favorite stuffed animals. She likes to make sure they all have even amounts of play time, so leave them all exactly the way she does so she can swap them out. This is her favorite movie, and this one always puts her to sleep. Once she falls asleep, make sure to leave this music on ‒ if she wakes up without it, she gets really scared. If she asks for candy, just distract her ‒ her digestive system isn’t going to be fully functional until her next upgrade, and she thinks all food is ‘candy.’ Her journal is in the same file as Toby’s, so just make sure to record naps, walks, electrical intake ‒ ” “I think I have it, Fletcher,” Two grinned. “But I still need to show you ‒ ” Two took her son by the shoulders. “Honey, I know. I see her every day, and if you’ll recall, I raised you, too! You never seemed this worked up when we babysat Toby.” Fletcher frowned. “We never had to leave Toby when he was so young… and Mel is… different.” “Mel’s barely a toddler, Fletcher. They can’t know that she has any sort of irregularity until she’s more stable, but I’m proud of you for worrying so much. The most important thing is that we treat her like she’s just a normal kid ‒ which she is ‒ and trust her to let us know how she’s feeling.” Fletcher nodded solemnly. “It just scares me when she shuts down… it’s like she’s afraid of us. I’ve never met anyone who guards their emissions so carefully.” “You know she loves you, darling, and she’s the sixth Energy Vampire ever. Of course there hasn’t been anyone like her before!” Fletcher smiled sadly. “…That’s what I’m worried about.” Two cupped his cheek. She had to hover a bit higher to look him straight on, but it wasn’t an assertive move. Her eyeforms were soft and understanding. “No matter what, you’ll love her the same, won’t you?” “Of course.” “That’s all she needs! You can trust me to take care of her, too. I’m just excited to spend some time with my grandbaby!” The hybrid sighed. “Thanks, Mom.” Two smiled and kissed his cheek. “Now, where is she? You need to get going!” “Yeah, it is getting late… well, come on, Asteri has her downstairs.” They exited the room and followed the hallway to the third floor common room, taking the stairs down to ground level. They crossed the last hall to the den and found Asteri standing next to her and Fletcher’s luggage, Mel on one arm and her mobile in her free hand. “Fletcher! I was just about to come get you, the car’s going to be here in a few minutes.” “Perfect timing!” he grinned, coming up to their luggage and lifting a bag over one of his shoulders. “Gram!” Mel reached her hands out as Two hovered closer, making Asteri laugh. “Mellie! Here, dear, I’ll take her,” Two reached out, but Asteri hesitated. The blonde android put her mobile into her back pocket and gave Mel one last hug, nuzzling her shock of bright orange hair. Mel tucked her arms around Asteri’s neck in response. “I miss you already. Promise you’ll be good for Gram?” “I promise, Mama!” Asteri kissed her forehead and handed her over to Two. Mel smiled and put her hands on Two’s visor, giggling at how it made the white probe squint. “We’ll call you as soon as we land, alright?” Fletcher lifted the handle of their rolling bag. Asteri nodded, fidgeting as she lifted her carryon. She seemed to struggle more as she came closer to actually leaving her daughter. “Don’t worry, you can take your time. Try to have some fun! We’ll be here all night, right Mellie?” “Yeah! Can I sleep over with you Gram?” “That sounds like a lot of fun!” Two laughed, bouncing Mel in her arms to make her giggle again. Asteri relaxed a little bit ‒ at least Mel wasn’t stressed about them leaving. “We’ll certainly call to say goodnight,” Asteri smiled, stepping close and smoothing down a wild lock of Mel’s hair. Two began to hover out of the den toward the main hall, not sure that the couple would make their own way to the front doors. They followed behind her like puppies. “We’ll wait to hear from you then,” Two hummed. “And you can call us whenever you want, too!” Fletcher added, “Just ask Gram for our numbers.” “Yes, even if it’s the middle of the night,” Asteri agreed. “Mellie, are your Mama and Daddy being silly?” “Yes!” the probeling giggled for the sake of calling her parents silly. They all stopped at the front door. Asteri opened it with her free hand because it was the only thing left to do. “Won’t you at least miss your silly parents?” Fletcher asked. “Yes! Miss you, Daddy.” Fletcher stooped down to kiss Mel’s forehead. “Miss you too, little angel. You’re going to have a lot of fun here with Gram, though.” She nodded vigorously and bunched her fists in Two’s cloak. Fletcher stepped over the threshold, and Asteri swooped in for one last kiss before following him. “We love you so much, Mel!” “Love you too, Mama!” the little robot waved. Fletcher walked backwards down the gravel path to smile at them as long as he could, his hands too full to wave. They all called out their “goodbyes” and “I love yous” until the couple left hearing range, shrinking toward the gate in the distance. Two closed the door and looked down at Mel. “Alright. We have this whole place to ourselves, so what do you want to do first?” Mel’s eyeforms opened wide as she considered the world of possibilities. She turned serious before leaning close, cupping her hand to Two’s audio receptor. “Can we watch the good cartoons that Mama and Daddy don’t like?” Two pretended to deliberate for a moment. “You know… I think I might be able to allow that only if we make a pillow fort in the theater.” Mel’s wings sprung out of her back and gave a few excited flaps as she shrieked in delight. “You go pull all the pillows off the couches and I’ll grab the blankets from the den!” Two tossed Mel like she was releasing a bird, and the little robot caught the air accordingly before hitting the ground running on her pointed feet. They split at the end of the hall, Mel turning left into the theater and Two turning right toward the den, both filling the house with matching giggles.