Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Jimmy moved quickly and efficiently, unfastening the Commander’s jacket and ski pants and pushing them away from his skin. Of course, he prided himself on the fact that he was always efficient, but the fabric was frozen almost solid in places, and it was a delicate operation. He couldn’t remove his own gloves - contact with his exposed metal would likely cause a freezer burn.

The Commander made incoherent sounds and swatted weakly at Jimmy’s hand, but then he went limp. Jimmy gathered him into his arms, unfastening his own jacket to surround the Commander with his warmth. He nestled his face into his chest, cradling him from the hard ground, and with his free hand he pulled the survival blankets around them.

And he waited. The Commander made no further movements, and Jimmy started to wonder whether he’d imagined it earlier. His system was protected against delusions, but it was so dark and there was nothing to hear but the wind, and his imagination seemed to be taking up a larger proportion of his sensory input than normal. What if the Commander didn’t wake up, what if he was in pain, what if he thought he was alone...

His heartbeat felt slow and distorted somehow, as though the Commander was falling away from him. He wrapped his arms tighter and ran all the unnecessary subroutines he could think of, overclocking his gears to try and raise his core temperature even further.

Dawn rose outside the cave, and the faint glow was enough for Jimmy to realise that he was seeing in greyscale. There wasn’t much time left. He needed the Commander to wake up, so that he could tell him to wear Jimmy’s own cold weather gear and follow his tracks back to the Battletram. There was a rescue flare in one pocket and a candy bar in the other.

He needed to warn him not to get into hot water or to touch direct sources of heat. The Professor would know what to do, they should contact him. And he really, really wanted to tell him that

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Sunlight eventually fell across the Bat Commander’s face, making his nose itch until he woke with a jump. His bed felt weird and lumpy, and it was freezing! The Battletram must have broken down, big time. He lifted his head to peer around, only his eyes seemed like they were gummed together, which had happened to him once before and been super embarrassing.

They eventually gave way to some vigorous rubbing. Moving made his hands hurt, and his feet hurt, and - what in the blue blazes? He was laying on Jimmy!

The Commander had seen Jimmy in recharge mode plenty of times, and although he would stand upright in his fancy box, he still looked relaxed, basically like he was asleep. Now though his body was stiff, and his face looked all sad.

“Jimmy?” The Commander poked cautiously at Jimmy’s soft belly, then again a little harder, but there was no response. His fingers felt stiff and numb as he jabbed frantically at his standby button, but the Robot just lay still, staring blindly up at him.

“Wake up, buddy!” It was supposed to be an order, and he hated how whiny he sounded. The pain his feet was the worst, and Jimmy wasn’t moving... His eyes were glassy, not glassy in an awesome hi tech way like they were normally, but cloudy and sightless.

The Bat Commander couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t stand seeing Jimmy’s eyes that way, and he never could resist touching things he shouldn't, even when they were gross. He pressed his finger lightly to the surface of one of the lenses, then yanked his hand back as though he’d been burnt. The cloudiness cleared where his fingertip had landed and he realised that Jimmy’s open eyes had frosted over, like when you got ice on a window on a really cold day. There was a little flake of frost on his skin now. Super gross!

He yelped in distress and scrambled backwards across the floor of the cave, numb feet burning in the snow. He was pretty sure it was the worst pain he’d ever felt, even worse than that time his arm got mutated into tentacles. Something was rising up in him, and he was terrified he was going to puke, but he also felt kind of like he had a song coming on, even though there was no one around to hear him sing it...

That made him think of Jimmy again, and he wanted to cry. “Stupid dumb Robot, letting yourself die and leaving me all alone...” he muttered through chattering teeth, and there was a definite burning in his guts now. Oh man, he hated throwing up! Trying to stop himself from panicking, he forced himself to take a deep breath, but it was too much. The Bat Commander was supposed to go out in a blaze of rock and roll glory, with statues, and movies made of his life, and kids learning about him in school. Not freezing like a popsicle in some dumb cave where no one would even know about it, not even Jimmy. And Jimmy was supposed to be there for him no matter what! It was outrageous! He couldn’t hold it back any longer, and all of his bad feelings came pouring out of him. It felt like using his diaphragm voice, but instead of a sound there was a bright flash, and sudden heat on his face.

Holy guacamole, it was fire! The Commander laughed, more out of shock than anything else, and more flames came shooting out.

He set fire to some dead looking plant stuff at the back of the cave, then spotted his frozen snow gear on the ground and burned that too, just to be doing it. The rising temperature in the cave felt like acid on his hands and feet, and he screamed loud enough to burn an entire bush outside. If the guys didn’t see that and come get him he’d be so mad...

And probably dead. He half-laughed half-sobbed, no fire this time, then yawned. His feet hurt so bad he couldn’t stand, and all of a sudden he could barely keep his eyes open.

The Bat Commander wrapped himself back up in the shiny blankets and snuggled into Jimmy. He thought he could hear the faint sound of engines, but it might have just been a dream.

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The Bat Commander saw the bright blue sky and the snow that was white like coral sand. He was so cold his skin burned, and he smiled because he was back in Aquabania.

“Oh man... they’re not moving! Guys... I’m getting emotional...”

“Jeez, Crash, get out of here before you bring the whole place down on us... Ricky, go bring the Battletram around.” Bones was stressed and snippy, like always when the pressure of leadership got to him. Don’t even sweat it, the Commander wanted to say, it’s easy, you just gotta listen to Jimmy; but his teeth were chattering so hard he couldn’t speak.

Ricky was running ahead of them, so fast his feet didn’t even sink into the snow. The snow was harsh and gritty, and it looked like the surface of the moon.

He slept again.

Next thing he knew, Ricky was snickering. “Now his toes look like his teeth!”

“Aw, that’s gross! I don’t wanna see that!” Crash grumbled.

“They won’t look so bad once they heal. And look on be bright side- with these cuttings, I might be able to grow a whole new Commander!”

A cool hand rested on his forehead, and he realised the Professor was standing over him. The Commander whined. The Professor was helpful, but he wasn’t the kind of dude you wanted to be talking about cutting on stuff while you were unconscious.

It was tough, but he managed to open his eyes. It could have been minutes or hours later, hard to tell. But the guys were gone, except the Professor. He was stood with his back to the Commander, talking to what sounded like...

Jimmy!

Jimmy’s head was balanced on a shelf, talking to the Professor as they both focussed on the bench where the rest of Jimmy was spread out in front of them. It was sort of upsetting at the best of times when he did that, but especially now that he was chatting away all casual while his body lay twitching and jerking, fists clenching like he was in pain. The Commander tried to call his name, but it came out as a rusty croak.

It was enough though. Jimmy beamed at the sight of him at the same time as the Professor turned, giving him a full view of Jimmy’s shirtless body, his belly open with wires and tubes spilling over the edges. Jimmy was smiling like a kid on Christmas even though his robot guts were hanging out, and that somehow made it ten times worse. The Commander panicked.

“Jimmy! Don’t hurt him! Hang on, Jimmy, I’m coming for ya, homie... Jimmy!”

He yelled and tried to leap up from his bed, but his muscles were sore and he felt weak as a kitten, so he just screamed instead. His voice burst into flame in front of him, and while it was a little embarrassing, the mean part of him liked the way the Professor flinched from the heat.

The Professor did something out of view behind his head, and suddenly he felt sleepy again.

The next time he woke he was in a soft, warm bed, and Jimmy was sat beside him, holding his hand. The Commander squinted, trying to take in every detail of the Robot’s face against the light.

“I’m glad you’re awake again, Sir.”

Something inside the Commander twisted painfully at the way Jimmy smiled down at him.

“Hey Robot, where are the other guys? And where are we? I mean I’m pretty sure it’s not part of the Battletram, but let’s face it, that’s never quite as clear-cut as it should be...”He was babbling, trying to distract himself.

“The Professor wanted to isolate you for a while, in case the fire breathing happens again. Just until you have it under control. So I thought I could keep you company.”

“Thanks, dude.” Jimmy was squeezing his hand, gently stroking his thumb back and forth against the Commander’s palm, and he suddenly felt hot and awkward. He didn’t think he’d ever looked this close into the Robot’s eyes before, but they were like rings of super bright neon, blue and purple and turquoise, getting smaller and finer as they approached the black holes of his pupils where a few tiny silver wires flickered. The Commander swallowed.

“So... the Professor cut my toes off, huh.”

“Only the ones he couldn’t save. And you still have eight left! You’ll be able to walk absolutely fine.”

Jimmy still had that soft, sad smile on his face, but his voice was bright and chipper. Like he was trying to pretend nothing had happened, even though something had totally happened. Like he hadn’t given his life, let his battery run flat to keep the Commander alive in the snow.

“Why the heck did you do it, Jimmy?” he blurted out.

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Jimmy tried his best to keep his face impassive. At times likes this, he wished he were a better liar.

“Well, I’m a loving, caring robotic protector...”

“...of humankind, yeah yeah, blah blah. I know that.” The Commander seemed slightly disappointed, although it was difficult to tell with his face so thin and drawn, so unlike his usual self. “You’re not allowed to do it again. I’m the Commander, I’m commandering it. Ok?”

“Will you stop taking foolish risks?”

“Good point, I guess.” His head sank back against the pillows and he grumbled. “Man, being sick is the worst. Snuggle up, Robot. Get in here and warm me up.”

He shifted back and patted the sheet beside him, and he looked so endearing in his pajamas that Jimmy couldn’t resist. The Commander was a very tactile person, and in times of stress he liked to be held. He eased himself carefully onto the mattress, and allowed the Commander to arrange him until he was resting with his head in the crook of Jimmy’s shoulder. Jimmy felt the physical satisfaction of a directive fulfilled.

The Commander lay humming under his breath for a while, then he fidgeted. “Hey, Jimmy. What if... what if I never learn to control it? What if every time I get mad I get all flamey?”

“Well, Sir, you’re the most stubborn person I know. If you decide to do something, I don’t believe you’ll stop until you’ve succeeded. And if not... everyone likes toasted marshmallows.”

“Hah! Thanks, man. And thanks for, you know, the other thing... Did it hurt?

It was easier when the Commander couldn’t see his face. “Not really. And it would have hurt more if I’d failed.” The second part was true.

“Failed what?”

“To protect you.”

“Huh.” By the Commander’s standards, the sound was oddly thoughtful. “But you’re definitely ok now, right? Can I see?” He flipped on his side and peered through his mask at Jimmy’s belly. Jimmy obligingly raised his rash guard, which he realised in hindsight was a mistake. The Commander was a very tactile person.

His fingers traced along the seams and ridges in Jimmy’s chest, then slid downwards, exploring the panel in his abdomen that allowed access to his internal systems. It was his most vulnerable area, so it was also the most sensitive; but Jimmy’s programming was adaptive and context-specific, and in the context of the Commander caressing his bare skin it was good, it was wonderful

He resisted as long as he could, but when he felt his warm touch at the point where his synthetic flesh met the real him, it was too much. He moaned, then immediately clamped his lips together, mortified.

The Commander jumped back as though he’d received an electric shock. “Sorry, dude! Did I hurt you?” Jimmy could only shake his head miserably, and the Commander’s eyes widened. “You like it? Want me to do some more?”

Jimmy couldn’t look away from the Commander. Even now when his eyes were heavy with sleep they were curious, mischievous. The Commander’s appetite for new experiences was almost as great as his appetite for pizza, and Jimmy knew he should have had more self respect than to get off on the Commander poking at him, but at this point he couldn’t bring himself to care.

The Commander’s fingers roamed his body then drew back in towards his access panel. He flicked the catch with his thumbnail, and Jimmy made a sound that was half groan, half yelp.

“You dirty Robot,” the Commander murmured, but his voice was soft, affectionate. He closed his eyes and leaned in, and Jimmy felt his soft, warm lips brush against his own. “That ok?”

Jimmy sighed, and as his lips parted the Commander kissed him again, slower and deeper this time. His tongue was wet but surprisingly pleasant, as Jimmy drank in the taste and the scent and the wonderful heat of him. He let his hands slip under the Commander’s rash guard, feeling the curve and dip of his spine, the way his muscles moved under a soft layer of fat. His head was flooded with all the ideas that would assail him when he was lonely in his lab at night. Places he might touch the Commander, the sounds the Commander might make, the way he might look when Jimmy brought him right to the edge... He felt the Commander shift on top of him, bracing his hands against Jimmy’s hips, wedging his thigh in between his own so that they could grind together...

And then the tension left his body, and he sagged against Jimmy’s chest with a huffing sigh.

“I’m so sorry,” he groaned. “It’s just, I’m still super tired, and when I get tired the Little Commander gets tired, and I don’t think I can... you know. You know?”

“It’s alright, Sir. Maybe you should try resting a while?”

“Next time I’m gonna rock your world,” the Commander mumbled sleepily. Jimmy lay very still. Holding the Commander, knowing he was safe and warm and right there, made him feel full to the brim with happiness, as though he might spill it if he moved. The feeling lasted until he became aware of wetness on his shoulder, and realised the Commander was drooling.

“You always do,” he murmured, and wandered off in a daze to recharge, tingling with joy at the fact there would be a next time.