#hatfics

Ross was standing at the edge of the rooftop looking out across the city, his tail slowly swaying back and forth behind him. Trott and Sips were struggling to drag a grill from out of the rooftop shed.

“Ross what are you doing?” Trott asked with a grunt.

“Looking for the lights in the sky.” Ross answered turning to look at Trott and Sips. “When will we see them?” He added.

“Not for several more hours, and they’re called Fireworks Ross, not lights.” Trott replied while helping Sips pull the grill closer to the table. Ross turned back around and looked up at the sky once more crossing his arms over his chest. “Ross, why don’t you go downstairs and get the potato salad?” Trott said looking over at Ross still staring out at the city.

“Oh and grab the barbecue sauce while you’re at it.” Sips added.

Ross turned on his heel and started walking toward the other two, stopping briefly he asked. “Anything else I need to bring up?”

“Um…  No. Smith is bringing up the other stuff.” Trott replied with a smile.

Ross nodded his head and disappeared behind the doorframe. He passed Smith on his way down the stairs “Oh Ross, could you grab the watermelon for me please?” Smith asked.

“Yeah sure.” Ross replied.

“Trott where you want this stuff?” Smith asked as came through the rooftop door.

“Just put it all on the table, Thanks.” He replied taking a few things from Smith and putting them on the table. Ross came through the door a minute later, watermelon in one hand and a large bowl in the other. He handed Sips the barbecue sauce then put the other stuff on the table as well.

Smith saw the big bowl of potato salad that Ross just set down. “Who made the salad this year?” He asked looking into the bowl.

“I did.” Ross replied with a big smile.

“Well I hope you did not put too many onions in it this time.” Smith replied grabbing a bag of chips off the table.

Sips saw the smile fade from Ross lips and a frown take its place. “Shut it Smiffy, I like the onions.” He said ruffling up Ross’ hair and giving him a grin. Ross looked up and gave Sips a small smile in return.

Trott came over putting one arm over Ross’ shoulders, he looked into the bowl. With his other hand he used a spoon and scooped out some of the potato salad and tasted it. “Its perfect sunshine, just the way I like it.” He said giving Ross a smile and a small hug.

“Of course it is.” Sips replied. “Hey, you want to help me grill?” Sips asked handing Ross a spatula.

“Can I?” Ross replied with a huge smile.

“Yeah come on I’ll show you how to grill a proper burger.” Sips replied.

“Just don’t burn them again.” Smith replied shoving a handful of chips in his mouth.

“Shut up Smith” Sips and Trott said together giving Smith dirty looks.

A  few hours later they had all eaten and cleaned things up. They were all sitting on the rooftop waiting for the show to start. Ross sat cross legged with Smith and Sips on either side of him, Ross’ tail wrapped gently around Sips’ waist. Trott sat in front of them on Ross’ lap. They had Trott’s skin draped around them all to keep out the chilly night air.

As the fireworks started Trott leant back onto Ross’ chest with a sigh and looked up into Ross’ face. Ross was watching the fireworks with wide eyed wonder. Trott was still so surprised at the wonder that came across Ross’ face when he saw things as simple as fireworks. Although Ross was over 600 hundred years old, way older than any of them. He was still so childlike when it came to ways of the world.

He was made centuries ago in a church and was prevented from ever leaving its walls. All he ever knew was that church. He never got to see the rest world and all the beauty that it had to offer. That was until Smith found him and burned it down.

Smith had released him from years of loneliness and misery. Now that he was free from his prison Trott wanted to show him anything and everything he could. And Ross was so eager to learn it all. Ross had only been with them a little over 3 years now and in that time he had learned so much. Trott taught him to read and ever since then he had read everything he could get his hands on.

Sips got him into music and Smith taught him how to drive, well, somewhat. Smith gave him his first taste of food, chocolate cake, and Ross ate it so slowly, eyes closed savouring every bite he took with a lazy smile on his face. To this day Ross has had an uncontrollable sweet tooth.

Trott watched Ross eyes following the fireworks through the night sky, and saw those beautiful blue eyes light up with every explosion. He was so tender and gentle most of the time, but if you hurt someone he loved and cared about he could be so very brutal and ruthless with his revenge. He would kill or be killed in order to protect his king, his court, his family. Trott was glad Ross was on their side when it came to fighting with their enemies. He could wield a bat so well and his tail, god that tail; it really should be registered as a lethal weapon. He could use it with deadly accuracy in a fight, killing an enemy with one swing if he wanted, but at the same time it could be as gentle and delicate as a feather while in the throes of passion. A loud boom brought Trott out of his thoughts and he turned his attention back to the fireworks show.

Once the show was over Sips and Smith headed back downstairs to their condo. As Trott and Ross gathered up the last of their stuff, he asked “So Ross how did you like the show this year?”

“Oh Trott they are so beautiful. Why do they only do it once a year? I could watch them every night.” Ross asked with a smile.  

“Well if they had fireworks every night Ross I’m sure they would run out of them rather quickly. You wouldn’t want that to happen right?’ Trott replied.  

“Oh… No, I guess not. That would be a shame to never see them again.” Said Ross as they walked towards the door.

Trott paused and looked up at Ross. He put his hand on the side of Ross’ face, he rubbed his thumb over Ross’ cheek bone and let his eyes drag over every line on his face memorizing it. Ross leant into the touch, closing his eyes he let out a small sigh and hummed. Trott leant up and kissed Ross softly on his lips. After a minute he pulled back and looking up into Ross’ beautiful blue eyes he said. “I love you Ross, We all do, Even Smith, although he might not tell you all the time and he may say insensitive things now and then but that’s because he does not think before he speaks. But he does love you, you know that right?’ Trott asked.

“Yes Trott, I know.” Ross replied placing his hand on top of Trott’s on his face. “I love you guys too.” He added with another small sigh and a smile.

Trott studied Ross’ face for a minute longer then kissed him again. Ross wrapped his arms around Trott’s waist lifting him up off the ground a bit for better reach. After a minute the kiss was broken when Trott started to laugh from being picked up. Ross put him back down with a smile and kissed the top of Trott’s head. “Well we better get downstairs and see what Sips and Smith are up to.” Trott said taking Ross hand.

“You know what they’re up to Trott.” Ross replied with a grin.

–

If Ross could have cried, he would have. He silently cursed Nanosounds for giving him emotions as he stared off into the distance. Maybe Lalna would change his mind about using him as a tool, and Nanosounds could come back for him. Or maybe he could go back to the lab and offer to serve as a miner instead. Both thoughts were as unrealistic, as Lalna had become war hungry, and Nanosounds would do nothing further to defy him. Ross was alone now, and he had to learn how to deal with it.

The first crash of thunder startled him, and without much thought, he looked up at the sky. Though he seldom went outside during his time at the lab, he knew that dark gray clouds and thunder together were a bad sign. Rain is coming... The moisture warning hummed quietly within his circuitry, an he cursed to himself. His artificial skin would provide some cover, as would the clothing that Nanosounds had provided for him, but it wouldn't work for long. He began to scope out the area as he moved forward. He needed to find cover, and quickly.

As a village came into his sight, rain poured down from the sky. The droplets were large, forcing him to pick up the pace. His skin was doing nothing for him, and he could see a warning flash from behind his eyes, warning him that there was moisture creeping into his circuits.

“Finally!” Ross shouted out loud when he reached the village. Not one villager was outside, and he couldn't just walk into someone's house. He'd be sent back to the lab in no time. Instead, he chose a half-burned house on the outside of town and went inside. While it didn't offer him much shelter, it slowed down the water flow massively, allowing him to sit back against the wall and think.

After a few moments with his eyes closed, he opened them and began to scan the area. Burned down in a fire three years ago. Aside from looters hiding their treasures, it has been vacant. There is a chest underneath the floor with a few assorted items. His curiousity wanted him to hunt up the chest he had found, but his mechanical limbs had other ideas. The water that had seeped through his skin was already affecting his mobility. Water damage: Mild. Mobility: Slow. Speed reduction: 55 percent. The numbers were against him, and unless he could find someone to help him dry out, he would deteriorate in no time. Surely someone in this world knew how to repair android technology? Or maybe he could call Nano-

No. She's gone now... As much as Ross didn't want to admit it, Nanosounds would no longer be able to help him. He'd have to find-

A creak from outside startled the android out of his thoughts, and he panicked. He knew he was stronger than whatever was out there under normal circumstances, but now? He'd be torn apart and used as scrap metal. He hid himself as best as he could in the burned floorboards, but he could easily be seen.

Two people suddenly walked into the old structure, careful of their footing. One of them was tall with a green tint to his skin; if Ross' internal computer was working properly, he would have been able to identify him. The other one appeared human, but Ross felt something off about the male. He wasn't completely human.

To his delight, the two didn't seem to notice him at first. Maybe, he thought, he had dried out enough to sneak out without them knowing. Then he could brave the rain one more time and find a different place to hide. But as he tried climbing out of his hiding spot, a floorboard cracked, sending Ross crashing into the ground.

And now the strangers were looking right at him.

“What the fuck?” The tall one approached him, glaring down in his direction. “What are you doing here? Did you take any of our loot?”

“I-I-” Ross wanted to punch himself; his speech was altered. “I w-was only t-t-trying t-to esc-scape the r-r-rain.”

The other male stood next to the green giant, watching Ross awkwardly shift into a sitting position. “Why are you talking funny? Are you all right?”

The android shook his head. “In-internal-l-l c-c-circuits co-compromised... Water d-d-d-damage... Ca-came in h-h-h-here to-to-to try a-a-and d-dry off...”

“Internal circuits?” the green one asked, now more curious than angry. “Like a robot?”

Ross nodded, but couldn't force himself to respond. His head lowered as the water damage began to destroy his core, and before he could say anything else, he saw his world blacken before him.

~.~.~

“Mate? Hello?” Smiffy waved his hand in front of the strange male's face, but got no response, even though his eyes were open. “Trott, something's wrong.”

Trott nodded absently, walking over to the male and putting a hand on his shoulder. “He was trying to say something about water damage. Maybe he was in the rain too long and came here because it was the closest unoccupied space...”

Smiffy blinked. “But what can we do? We can't just leave him here, right? Someone will find him and tear him apart.”

“Aww, look who actually cares now.” Ignoring a bit of colorful language from his companion, he turned back to the android. “We need to bring him back to Hat Corp. We can fix him up somehow.”

“Because we both know how to take care of a robot.” But Smiffy wouldn't just leave him here to rust. “It's still raining pretty good... I'll wrap him in my jacket for now. Hopefully that keeps him from getting damaged more.” Nodding to himself, he slipped his suit jacket off, wrapping it around the android's body. Smiffy then lifted him up, hoisting him on his shoulders. “Come on, Trott. We've gotta get home, and fast.”

In record time, Smiffy and Trott had made it back to their base, and immediately set to work trying to get the android running again. Smiffy sat the android upright, removing the shirt and the fake skin so he could access the panels in the back. Immediately when he got the android opened up, bits of water dripped out. “Trott, I'm going to need a torch. I'll use the heat to dry out the core.”

“Here.” Trott handed off the requested item and immediately looked at the plug shape on the android's back. “I'll see to creating a power generator for him so we can charge him up. The water damange has probably drained his power supply.”

“Right.” And with that, Smiffy tuned out Trott and set to sorting the wires out.

After what seemed like days, but was really only a few hours, Smiffy stepped back from the android, allowing Trott to connect the generator to him. “That should do it... He's lucky the damage wasn't worse... I only had to replace some minor circuits.”

“And the generator is working perfectly, so he should be up and running any-” Trott was cut off by a mechanical sound coming from the android, and saw the head moving. “He's powering up.”

The android glanced at nothing as he powered on. “OPERATING SYSTEM LOADED SUCCESSFULLY. POWERING UP BUILD NAME DJH3MAX.”

“Djh3max?” Trott laughed. “I seriously hope that's not his actual name.”

“Well, he is a robot.” Smiffy rolled his eyes and strolled up to the android. “Hello. Are you working yet?”

The mechanical look was immediately replaced with a more human composure, and he went to move. “What- who are-”

“Don't move, you're charging up,” Trott explained. “You had quite a bit of water damage, but we got to you just in time.”

“I don't know what to say...”

Smiffy scoffed. “A 'thank you' would be sufficient.”

“Smiffy, stop.” Trott glared at the other male. “Don't mind him too much. Anyway, I'm Trott. Do you have a name, mate?”

“My name is Ross.” The response seemed almost automatic, but didn't seem forced. “My build name is djh3max.”

“Okay, so you do have a real name.” Trott nodded. “Well, I'm going to let you sit here and charge for a bit. Once the rain passes, I'll let you go, okay?”

Ross nodded. “Thank you for the help, friend. But one more thing; can you tell me where I am?”

“You're at Hat Corp. Don't worry; we'll help you get back to where you belong.”