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 Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 8:21 pm
York smiled. "Thanks," he murmured as his partner passed him a plate of snacks. He began to eat them. About halfway through, he sighed. "You know, I don't know. I hope we'll be alright...the only thing I worry about is being found and having to move. Before, if Wyoming or Omega showed up, we could always slip out and move on to a new place. I'm not sure if we'll be able to do that with the kids. Maybe we ought to think up an emergency plan." He leaned forward and patted D on the head. "We'll find a way through," he said firmly. "Things are going to change. We'll have to make a lot of adjustments." Not that I think D needs reassurance. I think I'm the one who needs to be reassured that life will go on.
A sudden thought came to him and his own ears drooped. Oh no...the job, the break-in...if we have bowls, I'll have to do it on my own! We'll need D to be here to make sure they're alright; we can't trust a babysitter, even if we could afford one. He sighed. They had made the perfect team, but now he wasn't so sure. Maybe one of them will be mature enough to keep the other in line. Maybe. Personally, I think we shouldn't expect any more luck. We may have run out of it already. York sighed.
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Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 8:41 pm
D smiled as York pat him and nodded. "You're right." he said. He then watched York droop. "I see you thought of something I already thought off..." he sighed. "You make the device and I'll program it...just don't forget it and we'll be able to reuse it a couple of times before it goes bad." he said before reaching over and patting York on the paw. "It'll be just like always. Ten minute window, stick to the shadows, and don't forget anything." he smiled and then settled back across the table.
He sat for several more minutes before he began fidgeting. I don't want to ask...I know he won't want to talk about it...but...I want to know...I've never had anything like this before... D tried to cram the question back into the furthest reaches of his mind but it kept drifting forward. To him York's thoughts about his family had always been half formed, strangled things thrown to the furthest reaches of his mind as soon as they cropped up. And all D had ever known were the warped relationships between the other AI's and himself, the bonds between teammates on the same squad, and his own relationship with York, but this...this was different.
D finally sighed and gave in to the question. He looked up at York wondering how his partner would handle it. "York..." he began hesitantly,"...whats it like to have a family?"
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Lady Argentum Draconis Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 4:31 pm
York nodded and smiled. D always seemed to know what he was thinking even when he wasn't in his head. Apparently, it had happened with a lot of the freelancers; he remembered hearing that Tex and O'Malley still understood the other's thoughts even after they had been apart for a while. "Thanks, D. I'll get on that soon."
He froze when D asked him about families. He gazed at the air in front of him. For once, he was calm, if resigned. I need him and he needs me. We don't keep secrets from each other...not often, anyway. Just yesterday I was feeling guilty that I didn't tell him. Maybe now I should...I don't have to elaborate, I just have to answer the question. Nevertheless, it took him a few minutes to formulate an answer that was both neutral and satisfying. "A lot of people are close to you; you can depend on them and you protect them from danger outside the family. Other than that, it depends on your family. If it's a good family, then it's a good thing; you can trust them to take care of you. I don't have a good family--didn't, that is. Now I do. If your family isn't good...then you can trust them to hurt you, and they only protect you from the outside so that there's more to hurt on the inside. I'm not sure about good families, but bad families can be like miniature versions of the Project." He gulped and closed his eyes. "I hope to make this a good one."
York turned back to the lock. He blinked several times and gave himself a shake to summon back good feelings. "I'm fine," he whispered as softly as he could.
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Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 9:03 pm
D heard York. He immediately went around the table and pulled York to his chest. "I'm sorry." he said gently caressing his partners head. "I didn't want to ask...its just that...Well...You're the only thing I've ever known...well you and the others...and to put that in perspective, we were like children without a parent." he sighed and then gently lifted York's head to look his partner in the eye. "I love you...I'll always be here for you...and when the kits get here we'll love them. And that seems like a step in the right direction." He then smiled softly at York. "Besides, how could I not love something thats a part of you." he said then leaned down and kissed York.
When he finally pulled away he smiled once more and nuzzled York. "Now finish up the lock, I know you want too." he said releasing York and going back to the other side of the table. "Nudge me when you're done, I'm running a diagnostic on myself." and with that he put his head on the table and closed his eyes.
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Lady Argentum Draconis Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 10:45 pm
York shrugged. "It's okay," he murmured, burying his head in D's chest fur. "I think I started to get over that when I joined the project...it was back to the same thing I had known since I was little, but now I could fight back. And after the accident...after that, nobody cared that I was around. No one but you, D. D...I always say that I couldn't have gotten where I am now without you. Without you, I might have died...without you, I might have gone mad. I'm glad I got you, and not Omega or Gamma." Gazing into his partner's deep green eyes, he whispered, "I love you, and I promise to be with you forever."
As he set himself back on task, York hummed happily. They always say that life has its ups and downs...I assumed that they'd be like bumps and dips. I didn't know that they meant that they would be roller coasters in the dark. I wonder where next our lives will go... Lost in thought, the time it took to finish the lock took almost no time at all. He set it aside and nudged D gently.
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Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 5:24 am
D gently brought himself back up to normal. As far as he could tell he was functioning normally without error. That made him feel better, he'd been worried that he might find something wrong with himself and he didn't know what he'd do then. His self repair systems were only capable of handling so much.
He smiled up at York and adjusted his glasses. "I'm fine." he said without having been asked. He got up and stretched even though he could hold the same position for hours without it doing him any harm, but it felt nice so he did it anyway.
"Lets go investigate the other room. It shouldn't be too bad, but we'll have to rearrange everything in there to closets in the other rooms." he said going towards the closed door of the second bedroom. I can't even remember what we put in here... he thought to himself. It shouldn't be much, though... and with that he opened the door.
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Lady Argentum Draconis Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 6:55 am
York smiled with relief that his partner was alright. After all that had happened that day, he knew more than ever that if something was wrong with D, his whole life could collapse on him. "That's good," he murmured. "I'd hate for you to have a problem and not be able to fix it." He got to his feet and stretched. They could install the lock later; for now, he had promised to help with the spare room.
The second bedroom was a clutter of the few dusty boxes they had brought with them to the new apartment, a still-made bed, and more dust. York didn't remember what all the scant boxes held in them, but he was willing to bet they had no place around children. He sighed. "Right, let's get to work." He inspected one box and narrowed his eyes. It was unlabeled. "Do you remember what was in this?" he asked D.
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Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 2:54 pm
D walked over to another box and looked at it. It was also unlabeled. He looked over at York and shook his head. "I've only memorized your lock and tool kits...I don't remember what we put in these." he opened the box in front of him and looked in. "Oh..." was all he could say to the contents.
The box held mostly pictures and items from when they were still part of the Freelancer program. D gently picked up one of the squad from before the accident. York was on the left followed by Washington and Wyoming, with Tex on the end. They all had there helmets off and were smiling. "These are from a long time ago..." he said. He put the picture down and found another. This one of the two of them. York must have been holding his helmet or it was near by since D had projected himself sitting on his shoulder. Who ever had taken the picture must have caught them at an awkward pause in the conversation as they both were looking at each other confused.
D gently put down the picture, sighed and then looked in the box again. There were a few more framed pictures, a photo album, two dress uniforms, and York's ribbons and medals.
"What do you want to do with these?" he asked looking over at York.
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Lady Argentum Draconis Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 9:08 pm
Reverently, York picked up the photo album. Turning one page in the dim light of the room, he could see a smiling picture of Tex, her red hair tumbled after removing her helmet. Another revealed Wash in conversation with York, both of them with their AIs perched on their shoulders. The old days...back in those days, they thought they were indestructible. They thought they could destroy an entire base in one morning and still make it back for lunch. Their greatest danger was themselves--ambushes in the halls, explosives in each others' bunks--but it was all in jest. It was only later that it was in earnest...
York paused at a picture of himself: brooding, perhaps a little angry...he looked younger nontheless. That must have been before the implantation...I've always wondered if D might have been gifted to me to make me calm down some. We've changed...both of us have. Now as he gazed at the pictures, he tried to link a time to it. When was that? Did Tex have Omega in her mind as she took that shot? Was Wyoming about to spill another bad joke, or had he not yet been implanted with Gamma? The look on South's face...eagerness? Sisterly love? Or was it jealousy already?
Smiles faded, and in his ears, laughter grew more frenzied and the sound of gunshots louder. York shook his head to dispel the cobwebs of memory. When D put down the picture of their squad, he ran one paw over the picture gently. Tex...disappeared. York hadn't seen her in years since the fateful evening she escaped with Omega. Wyoming had gone mad after Gamma had left his mind. And Wash...the epicenter of the madness. What had possessed Command to ruin perhaps one of the most brilliant minds with Epsilon, the most unstable of the AIs? After Epsilon killed itself--or was it prematurely deleted? He couldn't remember now--the madness seemed to have spread to the rest. After that, there was no squad...
He reached out a paw to rip the photograph, but something stopped York. How can I remember so much bad that happened and not want to forget it? I lost those that I could loosely call friends...and I don't want to forget... Smiling ruefully at his foolishness, he put the photographs back. "I don't think it would harm us to keep them, I suppose." He opened another, smaller box to see a white photo album. He closed his eyes and swallowed as he remembered what photos he had put in the white album. She's gone...and good riddance. "This, however, will have to go. Burn it, I guess." He picked it up.
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Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 9:25 pm
D watched York as he flipped through the album. Some of the pictures he could place and others he figured must have been before he'd been paired with York. "We were both so..." he searched for a word and only came up with one conclusion. "Young..." he said. "We were different entities back then." he picked up the pictures and put them back in the box. "It never hurts to remember were you came from." he said closing the box. He made a note move it to their room to the top shelf of the closet.
As he turned he saw the white album. D had to think as he didn't recall what was in it. "I don't remember that album..." he said. "Whats wrong with it?" he asked somewhat hesitantly.
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Lady Argentum Draconis Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2008 7:57 am
York sighed. "There are a few pictures from the end of the program--mostly bad memories. Probably the only one of that lot that I'd like to keep is our last picture before the accident. The rest are some old pictures I had before we met and some pictures of...of Melissa." He said the last part as quickly as he could to get it over with. "I don't want to remember most of what's here." He swiftly opened the album and snatched out the photograph he had decided to keep. Slamming the album closed, he dropped it into the box from which he had taken it. York carefully pulled out the album with the Project pictures and found an empty space at the end to slip it into. It was a rather ordinary picture of them talking about...something. He didn't know what, but he knew that it was before the accident: D had projected himself on York's left. Tex was standing almost out of view in the background. He guessed that it wasn't very long before the accident...perhaps the same day?
When I'm staring out the window or working, I can't stand to think about it. But now that I'm looking at the old days in the face, back when we were...young...I can stand it...I want to remember more...but not the end. Not when we broke up and went our separate ways. We were just random people then...
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2008 3:59 pm
D shuddered a bit at Melissa's name. He was still resentful of the female even after all this time. She'd tried to come between him and York, and to an extent D had been willing to deal with it, but he drew the line when she'd tried to get rid of him...permanently.
He'd wondered idly back then which had hurt York more...her sudden death or the fact that she'd have turned them in. D decided that he didn't really care anymore, he had York and she didn't and that was that.
The only good thing that had come out of the entire experience is that shortly after D had slowly began to figure out how to take a more physical form. It had taken several months of work but, D had decided that if someone ever tried to take him by force from York, they'd have a hard time keeping him contained, and it had been worth it. More than worth it, D thought to himself as he looked over at York.
He moved closer to York and put his head on his partner's shoulder. "We should take new pictures." he said rubbing his head gently on York.
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Lady Argentum Draconis Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2008 5:33 pm
York nodded vigorously and threw an arm around D. "Let's! We need something new...something to document a new part of our life. I'm sure I have an old camera around here somewhere in one of the boxes..." He carefully got up and began to dig around in the boxes. The movement disguised some of the faint tremors of anger he still felt.
He had spent the funeral frozen with shock, broken only by three days of drunken stupor afterward. When D roused him out of it, he had felt cleansed; he knew how he felt and why. It wasn't that she died. That wasn't it at all--though part of it was guilt at the tiny flame of relief he had felt at her passing. However, the guilt was also that he might have lost D had she not been killed--and he came very close to choosing her over D, a fact he still hated himself for. That in turn made him angry--that she had played with his heart and nearly weakened him completely...just for a reward! D may have forgiven me, but I don't think I'll ever forgive myself. I've been a fool so many times... A quick shake of the head and pausing to remember their bowls in the other room managed to dispel most of his moody thoughts.
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2008 6:13 pm
D didn't need his sensors to know that York was angry with himself for some reason. He'd spend several weeks learning not only his partners body language but that of others. It helped a lot...especially since sensors had no way of understanding emotions.
D slowly moved closer to York, feeling that the album and memories of her were the root cause of York's current mood. He slowly wrapped his arms around his partners and rested his head on York's back. "I love you...and I forgive you...always and forever." he said quietly. "Don't hate yourself over this, its over and done with, and I'm still here, and you'll never lose me...not as long as I have something to say about it." he said with a faint smile.
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Lady Argentum Draconis Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 9:25 pm
York sighed and embraced D. "I love you too...but I can't help it. I was just so stupid...I can't believe you can forgive me. If it weren't for the car crash, I might have lost you for that, that..." He sighed again and buried his face in D's shoulder. "I know it's over, but I don't think I could ever move on. That is, I didn't...until now. I couldn't live without you before, but now I think I'd die without you, even if my body kept living." He stayed several moments longer in his partner's arms, unable and unwilling to pry himself out. Finally, though, he mumbled something about checking on the bowls and pulled himself away gently, stepping carefully over the open boxes that now cluttered the small room.
He entered the bedroom and plopped onto the bed, gazing at the bowls. "We'll always be here for you," he murmured to them. "We'll be a family, and I won't let anything bad happen to you. No one's going to break us apart, not now, not ever." He sighed and caressed them softly.
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