yipeee

"Whoa-ho-ho! I can see the video store from here!"

Billy's face was pressed against the glass of the ferris wheel, pointing every little thing he spotted, "Oh hey there's Nicole! And Anby! And...oops false alarm."

You were comfortably next to him, nodding along to all his little observations. This was actually the 5th time on this ride. You felt like you knew how to operate it at this point. For a robot, Billy had surprisingly convincing puppy eyes. It worked, every single time, without fail. The rest of the cunning hares were suddenly afraid of heights it seemed. Additionally, they kept trying to make you confess. Confess what exactly, you hadn't the slightest clue. You and Billy were buddies. That was all. Even if your heart stuttered at every interaction, it was probably a friendly stutter.

"...so it went flying and the biggest fattest 'whooshing' sound was made and I was like no way! But it was so way! Get what I mean?"

"Yes Billy," he was seated back next to you instead of head first in the glass, "you told me this on the 3rd ferris wheel ride, remember?"

"Oh, I did, eheh..." he sheepishly scratched his neck, realizing how many times he's dragged you into the ride with him, "it's just such an awesome story!"

You smile and nod, "Only cause you're the one telling it," you nudge his shoulder, "stories without your pizzaz are boring."

He puffs his chest, "Aw, of course they are! No one tells it like--"

The ferris wheel abruptly stopped, causing Billy to launch forward rather dramatically. You held onto your seat tight, safely avoiding a smack like his, "Woah hey, you good?"

You grab his collar from behind and peel him back to the seat. He splutters for a second, "What was that!"

"I think we're stuck," you take a peek down below, "just our luck, the very top..."

"Really? Sick!"

You glare at him. An announcement was made that the ferris wheel was facing a small issue. Great, this timing was exactly what you needed. Alone in an enclosed, close proximity area with a friend that was definitely starting to feel like someone you wanted more from.

"Hey, hey turn that frown upside down," he wrapped an arm around your shoulder when you sat back down, "at least you're stuck with me and not some stranger right?"

"Y--yeah, lucky."

You'd take the stranger. He was dangerously close. Your heart was about to rip itself out of your body and cuddle up to him. Your frown was evident, and Billy hated that. The only expression he wanted plastered on your face was a positive one. He loved making you laugh and smile, you did that a lot around him, he noticed. Definitely not staring, that'd be weird.

"Uh, sorry for forcing you to ride it with me like a million times," he took his arm off, "for what it's worth I'm glad it's you that I'm stuck with!"

He points finger guns at you, a laugh escaping. It was a small one, but to Billy it was a huge success, "I guess that's comforting. Thanks Billy."

He loved hearing you say his name, it always rolled off your tongue perfectly. Weirdly enough he didn't feel that way when anyone else did it.

"No problemo," he winked, "what should we do now..." his fingers tapped rhythmically against the window, but you were having a small crisis. Nicole was definitely onto something. Or on something. Probably both. His arm was around you, he winked at you. He just looked at you and it was enough to send you tk a hospital. Now's definitely an awful time to confess, if he said no then you're stuck for god knows how long up here with awkward air. If he said yes then...you had no idea but you do know that smile threatened to spread when you thought about it.

Screw it, just ask his type. No, he'll say Monica. Or starlight knights. Or Monica as Starlight Knights. Or--

"What's your type?"

"What's my what?"

"Your type. Like, in a partner?"

He tilted his head. You were so caught up in your thoughts you didn't notice his arm was right behind you while he asked the most dangerous question of all. Two options, lie or describe him to a tee. The secret third option was to jump out.

"Why...do you wanna know?"

"Just to pass time," he shrugged, "I'll tell you mine!"

"Oh please you're just gonna say Monica."

"You'll only know if you answer," he wiggled his eyebrows, "come onnnn."

You hesitated, "I've never really thought about it, but maybe a friend," you began, "they should be funny, energetic, kind, uh..." those were vague enough. But a part of you wanted to risk it.

"What about appearance?"

You looked the opposite direction and swiftly took in a deep breath, "In...Intelligent Construct...I guess?"

Billy was completely motionless. It was a little scary when you looked back. He's normally moving constantly. Leg shaking, arms motioning, but this? Absolute stillness? Honestly scarier than facing ethereals.

"B--Billy? Are you okay?"

You wave a hand in front of him, shifting in your seat to face him, "Could you respond? You're kinda freaking me out."

"...do you know other robots?"

The question came out quietly, which was a shocker for the boisterous Billy, "Uhm, Banyue I guess..?"

He immediately straightened at your answer, arms moving around, "W-wait but he's not energetic! It's gotta be someone else right?"

Was he trying to figure out who you liked? Hold on, he hadn't already figured out who you liked? You were a flustered mess before but frustration quickly took over at the absurdity of him not being able to figure it out. You knew a total of two Intelligent Constructs, one which you've had one conversation with, and Billy.

"Billy. Think about it."

"What? Think about what?"

"Oh my god."

"Seriously, what other robots are energetic and funny? I don't even know that many!"

"Billy!"

"What!"

"It's obviously you," you gesture to him with both hands, "you're my type, how did you not get that!"

"Well sorry I wasn't sure if you just happened to have another robot-- I'm your type?"

He shot towards you with a finger pointed at himself in disbelief, "Me? Billy? This Billy?"

"Dude, what other Billy is there?"

"Hey shouldn't you be swooning over me right now?"

"What are you talking...about..."

The realization dawned on you. That was a confession. You just confessed. While stuck in a ferris wheel 80 feet in the air.

"I'm...yeah," you look down, the floor suddenly more interesting.

"...don't you wanna know my type?"

"Huh."

The ferris wheel began moving again. An announcement was made, but it fell on deaf ears.

"My type is someone who likes listening to me, laughs at my jokes, smiles at every stupid thing I do, gets mad at me when I don't get the obvious and...human?"

He described you. That was basically him reciprocating. You were starstruck, "Sounds an awful lot like me."

"Wow you're quick," his eyebrows shot up, "I added in human so it was more obvious you know?"

"Of course you did," you smile at him with all the softness you could muster, "should've started with that."

You lift your hand and rest it on his cheek, he bristles at the sensation before leaning into it with shut eyes.

"I could get used to--"

"Hey lovebirds!"

Both of you jumped at Nicole's voice, forgetting that you were, in fact, still in a ferris wheel. You ripped your hand from Billy's face and sprang up. He joined in after a few seconds of processing that you needed to get off the ride.

"Uhm, would you like to go another round?" The worker asked with a tired face.

"Wait for real?"

"No! Thank you!"

thinking about him sitting after a loooong day of work… cleaning his hand joints, inching a qtip with oil between the tiny gaps… flexing and curling his fingers to make sure they’re smooth and working right…

ok to be honest it’s probably a clear material LOT more reinforced than just regular plastic/glass. i’m thinking something akin to fighter jet windshields since, well, his creators/engineers definitely kept the possibility of him getting beaten up in mind.

bily aeroplan

is it removable? im guessing it has to be, and that it’s bracketed by the white rim along his forehead and jaw. he probably takes it off for maintenance purposes, since they definitely get smudged and may bother him and his vision. im now imagining him asking nicole/anby where they put the vinegar cus he read online that it’s a great window cleaner 😭😭

what happens when it breaks? no ethereal has gotten the better of him (so far…) to the point that he gets hit that bad. if it were to happen, however, imagine how much of a struggle it’d be to find a replacement. it looks formed specifically to fit his face, so getting a fix would most certainly be extremely expensive…

and it’s not something negligible either, like “oh he can just go on without it”, since it probably is his eyes’ main protection. his optics are def super accurate, and hence delicate as fuck; it’s like getting your eyelids removed and going “it’s fine you don’t really have to blink” 😭😭😭

oh he has a killer side profile too… ethereals found dead from seeing how sharp his jawline is…