Fina, part 2
Content warnings:
Disassembled parts
Physical affection
Glitchiness
Description:
Fina’s put a bit more together, and asks for some comfort ~ 600 words
Story:
"Okay, how's this?"
Fina's display indicated that she could hear me loud and clear. It had been a relatively mundane process to install her auditory processors back into the main assembly, but doing so was nerve-wracking; getting the processors working was an enormous relief. Either way, I was just glad to know that she could hear me.
"Hey, Fina?"
"Y@!es?" Her glitches were getting less and less noticeable, but sometimes they were still present every so often.
"How do I sound to you? Y'know, the sound of my voice 'n all."
"Well I don't kknow how t99o quantify it. Hmm..." Her screen was blank for a moment, "you soundd 5afe."
"Safe, hm?" She couldn't see me, of course; I hadn't even rebuilt her optical module yet. Still, her answer painted a slight smile across my face that I felt almost tempted to hide.
"Are you s:19P4:iling?"
"How'd you figure that one out?"
"Micro-chaanges 1n the air..." Each dot displayed on the screen with a dramatic pause, "arre things 1 cant sense. I gUessed."
My smile grew into a broad laugh; I wasn't expecting her to make a joke like that just yet. Fina was a mystery, and sure I didn't want to pry, but I couldn't help but wonder what'd gotten her stuck here. She heard my laughter and tried her best to replicate it in text, something along the lines of "LMAOLMAOLMAO." Times like these reminded me of just how much I loved my job. I had always been obsessed with fixing things as a kid, and the more I learned how to fix, mend, and understand the machines I used, the more I found myself begging to work on hardware headed for the dump. Just because something didn't always work as well as the shiny new toy on the market, that was still no reason to disregard it like a loaf of moldy bread. Call me a sap, but I gave whatever it took to get the machines in my shop into the happy homes they deserved.
I was startled from my reverie by Fina's screen lighting up again as she spoke, "Hey, 1 HAve a Ouestion."
"Go ahead, what is it?"
"Ccould you install my taactile c:00/@:res?"
"I was just getting to that!" I said, fiddling with the busted assembly, "Why do you ask?"
"I think I'd like aa hug >///<"
"Fina, I'd love to hold you," I smiled, as I polished the equipment in my hand, "let me just get this done, alright?"
"Thannk you ^-^"
"I'm happy to give one, and I'm so so proud of you for how you've come with your communication. I've barely seen any major memory glitching from your last few comments."
Her request had plucked a string deep in my heart, and I found myself fondly imagining the feeling of her slender titanium chassis against my skin. I was here to fix her up, sure, but machines are a lot more than their base hardware. I knew plenty of shop owners who charged for hard fixes, said the thing was good, and got a return visit just a few days later when it was clear that the system's software was unwilling to perform its role. I, however, was in the business of fixing the whole machine. It was on nights like these when I remembered just how much more I enjoyed the company of a nice robot over a biological human, and I found myself in the spell of her company until the morning's light streamed lazily into my shop.
