Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

After the incident at Camp 98.7, things changed. Uzi had begun spending more time out in the spire, using it as a safe space to practice controlling her wings and tail without having to worry about losing that control and hurting someone within the colony. Hurting N wasn't exactly ideal either, but he could at least regenerate from the damage and defend himself if something went wrong.

V probably wouldn't be too happy about it, though. She still seemed bitter about Uzi's attack at the camp, constantly keeping her distance from the short worker drone whenever she was around. Occasionally, Uzi could catch glimpses of the female disassembly drones yellow eyes, piercing through the dark corners of the spire. That was all she ever saw of V, and that was fine by Uzi. It gave her more time to focus on N's lessons.

Well, not exactly 'lessons'. It was more like: tossing Uzi high into the air with her wings deployed, following her up, then telling her vague things she didn't really understand, like "follow your gut!". She didn't have a gut. Neither did he. Though she appreciated the effort, N wasn't exactly the best teacher. Uzi didn't have the heart to tell him, she just hoped he'd get tired or something and give up trying to teach her for the day.

This was launch fifty-one.

"Ready?" N called out, Uzi resting on one of his hands. Uzi nodded and prepared for another launch. N wound back as far as he could go, tossing Uzi as if she was nothing more than a paper plane.

Once she surpassed the cloud, Uzi spread her wings out and began to slowly glide downwards. Though she couldn't fly, gliding was something that seemed to come naturally. Learning that made the entire process a lot easier, far less crash landings. Before she knew it, N was by her side, happily soaring alongside her.

"You've got this, Uzi! I've got a good feeling about this!" N encouraged, effortlessly cutting through the clouds.

Uzi, however, did not have it. In an attempt to do something other than glide, Uzi curled her wings. Doing so, combine with the wind, caused Uzi's wings to bend at a strange angle. In an instant, she was violently thrusted downwards, rapidly plummeting to the ground in an uncontrolled spiral. N quickly noticed and dove down after her, his arms outstretched in preparation to catch her. Despite having done this multiple times before, the dizzying sensation from rapidly rotating in the air, with no way to tell what was up and what was down, was never something Uzi got used to. It always ended in her panicking, hyperventilating and desperately looking around in an attempt to get some sort of bearings.

It only stopped once N caught her — or she hit the ground, whichever came first. This time she was lucky enough to have N catch her, grabbing her tail and pulling her up into his arms. After getting herself settled, Uzi groaned and rolled her head backwards in frustration. She wasn't getting this flying this. It didn't make sense. It should make sense. N makes it seem so easy, it seemed to come naturally to him. So why wasn't it coming naturally to her?

N gently landed outside of the spire, kicking snow up into the air. Once his feet were planted on the ground and his wings were no ponger deployed, Uzi sprung out of N's arms, her tail flicking in annoyance.

N watched her frustrated display, "Hey, it's okay Uzi! You'll get the hang of it eventually." He tried to reassure her. But Uzi just sighed.

"You guys make this look so easy." Uzi replied, folding her arms. "I just-" She paused, stumbling forward as a warning message flashed across her screen.

Core temperature dangerously high.

N rushed to her side, helping her stay upright. "Ah biscuits, I think we overdid it. Maybe we should call it a day."

Uzi wasn't gonna argue with that.

"You'll probably need oil. Stay here, I'll find you some, okay?" N backed away from Uzi and deployed his wings again. "I won't be long!"

He took off so quickly Uzi wasn't able to decline his offer. Or ask him to take her back to the colony where they had oil drums filled with oil. Being in a weakened state, it probably wouldn't be very smart to put more strain on her body by walking home, so she stayed put. For the most part anyway. Standing out in the cold ruins for however long N was gone for didn't seem like an enjoyable time, so Uzi went into the spire and hid away in the landing pod instead. She flopped down into one of the swiveling chairs and sighed, rotating back and forth while she waited for N.

Thankfully, this seemed to only be the first warning. Her temperature was barely creeping into the danger zone, so she probably wouldn't be going into another murderous spiral as long as N manages to find some oil in a timely manner. She waited for what felt like hours, though it'd only been thirty minutes according to her internal clock. Time was moving at a snails pace and Uzi's boredom from sitting alone certainly wasn't helping.

That changed when a violent thud came from outside the pod, echoing around the mostly empty interior. Uzi eagerly swivled her chair around to face the pods entrance, fully expecting N to drop in. Her eagerness quickly faded into disappointment when V dropped in instead.

"Oh." Uzi muttered, the disappointment in her voice was apparent. She turned her back on V, rotating the chair around to face the control panel at the front of the pod.

The chair was suddenly stopped, jerking as it came to a halt. It was spun around and Uzi was brought face to face with V, her purple eyes meeting V's yellow eyes. V's hand was firmly placed on the back of the chair, preventing Uzi from rotating it back again. Being this close to V after a week of V avoiding her was strange, and gave Uzi a strange sensation she couldn't quite explain.

Uzi wasn't afraid of V, not after V got her ass kicked by N a few months ago when they first met. She quickly learned that V's tough display was just that, a display. All bark and no bite, for the most part.

But, if Uzi was no longer afraid of V, why was her motor racing? It felt like it was about to burst out of her, with all the gore that followed.

Quickly turning her head away to break eye contact, Uzi stutter out a meager "W-what do you want?" while trying to remain cool.

V scoffed, Uzi could feel her retract her arm. "You're not doing it right."

"Doing what right?" Uzi turned back towards V, her eyebrow raised.

"N's not teaching you right, throwing you into the air so you can crash back down to the ground isn't going to fix anything." V replied, crossing her arms.

As much as Uzi hated to admit it, V was right. N's teaching method wasn't exactly getting here anywhere. She wouldn't admit that though, rolling her eyes at V's comment. "So? He's trying." She tried her best to defend her friend, even if she agreed with what V said. "It's not like you'd be able to do any better anyway."

"I could." V stated, no longer looking at Uzi. "I'm better in the air than he is."

"Prove it." Uzi narrowed her eyes, glaring at V. A part of her wanted to egg V into teaching her. Learning to fly would make things so, so much easier. She wouldn't have to rely on a stupid bus to take her to that camp again.

The pod fell silent, V stood still and looked as though she was lost in thought. A few minutes later and she deployed her wings, flying out of the pod without saying another word.

"Wait!" Uzi called out, chasing after V. But V didn't wait, she was already out of the pod by the time Uzi stood up.

Uzi climbed up the ladder as fast as she could, leaping off the top of the pod and landing in a flashy manner, as she usually did. When she stood up straight, she spotted V standing outside of the spire, waiting impatiently with her hands on her hips.

Uzi stopped a few feet in front of V, taking a moment to catch her breath. "Is that a yes, then?"

V looked down at Uzi, "Yes." Her response was simple, and yet filled with reluctance. Why bother if she's going to seem so upset about it?

"Okay, what's first then?"

V responded by deploying her wings again, spreading them out as far as they could go. "N didn't teach you how to launch yourself. You can't get off the ground, you can't fly." She explained.

"Uh, yeah. That's what flying is." Uzi interrupted the lesson momentarily with her sarcastic remark.

V simply ignored it and continued. "You want to get off the ground? Kick yourself up and flap your wings downwards."

She followed it up by demonstrating what she meant, doing exactly as she said and launching herself a few feet off the ground. She stayed there, hovering just above Uzi. Uzi was hesitant to do as V had said, the rebellious side of her didn't want to listen to V. But if she didn't, then she may never learn to fly, consistently stuck in a loop of being tossed into the air, crash landing, and repeat.

Uzi sucked it up, taking in a deep breath before preparing herself for the launch. One powerful kick off the ground later and Uzi was launched into the sky, far beyond where V had launched herself. V giggled to herself as she watched Uzi go upwards, surpassing the clouds yet again. She waited a moment before soaring higher, blowing past the toxic clouds that often littered the sky. Hovering in place again, V scanned the area, trying to find Uzi. That purple freak wasn't around, at least, not to the naked eye. She must've been somewhere in the clouds, obscured by them.

V enabled her special optics, using them to scan the clouds. It didn't take long to find a rather high heat signature, one that had to belong to Uzi. She quickly dove down towards her, once again breaking through the clouds. Surprisingly, Uzi wasn't spiraling out of control, she was simply gliding along.

"You can't glide forever." V remarked. She seemed to have caught Uzi off guard, the purple worker drone flinched upon hearing her speak.

"When did you get here!" Uzi hissed, angrily looking over at V.

"If you're gonna stay airborne, you have to flap your wings. Create a rhythm."

"I-I know that!" Uzi responded. She did know that, she'd seen enough footage of birds or winged anime characters to know flapping your wings is vital to flying.

"Then do it." V teased.

Uzi glared at V, the urge to show off just to spite V became to build up within. Her thoughts became cloudy, overrun by pride and ego. Without thinking, Uzi spread her wings out far and flapped them downwards as hard as she could. Everything seemed to be okay, until

Snap.

Something in one of Uzi's wing snapped, and though she didn't feel any pain coming from them, she couldn't control it anymore. It fell limp by her side, and her body quickly descended into another downward spiral. Her panic set in, unable to tell up from down. Her systems weren't responding fast enough, there was no way to recover from this. All Uzi could do was close her eyes and brace for impact, fully knowing she wouldn't be caught seeing as N was gone, and V wouldn't bother.

Or, so she thought. Unexpectedly, something swooped beneath her and caught her. They cradled her in their arms, close to their warm body. Still panicked, Uzi slowly opened her eyes and was surprised to see V carrying her closely as she flew forwards. Her face was illuminated by the moonlight, and it caused that strange feeling in Uzi to return tenfold. Her motor began racing, faster than before. Uzi was sure it would suddenly jump from her chassis right then and there.

"V?" Uzi muttered, her voice half surprised and half flustered. She was still too shaken to bother hiding that fact.

"What." V responded coldly.

"Thanks." Uzi's voice lowered to a whisper, one that was barely audible over the thick winds blowing by. Purple blush began to creep onto her visor, though she didn't notice it.

She didn't understand why she felt this way, or why she bothered to thank V. But she couldn't look her in the eye without being overwhelmed by – something. Something unexplainable, something Uzi had never felt before. It wasn't hatred, it wasn't fear, it wasn't anger. What was it? What was it?

Uzi's panic made her internal temperature rise by at least ten degrees, and that change didn't go unnoticed by V.

"You need oil." An obvious observation made by V.

"Y-yeah, I know. That's where N went."

V stayed silent for a moment, staring straight again. She looked down at Uzi, causing her to jump slightly. "Hold on. I know where to get some."

"Wait, what abou-" Uzi couldn't finish speaking as V had begun diving downwards. Uzi instinctively wrapped her arms tightly around V, keeping a firm grip on the female disassembly drone.

The landing was rough, a cloud of airborne snow was kicked up into the air. Uzi continued to keep her grip on V, despite no longer being in the air.

"You can let go now."

"Oh. Y-yeah." Uzi awkwardly stuttered out, releasing her grip and confidently falling to the ground below. "Sooo, where's this-" She paused as the warning flashed on her screen again, "-oil?"

V stayed silent, instead wandering to a nearby building. It looked like it used to he a skyscraper, though the top half had collapsed and fallen over. It was barely being supported by the building next to it. V walked through a large hole in the wall and Uzi followed close behind her. Within the building, in a corner, was a small pile of worker drone corpses. Some were torn in half, some were missing limbs, one or two had a bullet hole straight through their visor.

"Don't tell N." V asked, though it was more of a demand. She bent down and picked up an arm, tossing it to Uzi. Uzi looked down at it, mildly disgusted by the limp, noodle like limb in her hands.

Though drinking oil didn't bother Uzi, she always preferred to drink it from a container. It at least allowed her to pretend it was just a generic drink and not the blood of fallen workers. Drinking straight from the source grossed her out, and only served to remind her of her outburst at the camp.

V, on the other hand, didn't seem bothered at all, carelessly letting the sleek black liquid drizzle down from the detached head of a worker drone and into her mouth. Some of it trickled outside and ran down the side of her face, dripping onto the concrete below. When she finished and the source ran dry, V crushed the head into her hand with ease, tossing it aside. She wiped the oil remnants off her face with her arm and glanced over at Uzi.

"What?" V tilted her head to the side, noticing Uzi was staring at her.

Uzi jumped in response, blush forming on her visor yet again. "N-Nothing." She fumbled out, hesitantly holding the end of the arm up to her mouth and tipping it back, letting some of the oil trickle out.

V seemed to pick up on Uzi's behavior, her face twisted into a smug expression. Uzi watched her slowly approach. She tried her hardest to remain collected, but between her racing motor, her clouded mind, and the disgust she felt from drinking oil from a limb, that was becoming difficult.

"You sure it's nothing?" V teased, getting close to Uzi while her small, smug smile turned into a wide grin.

"S-shut up, bite me-" Uzi half heartedly retorted. V just responded with a slight giggle. Uzi took another sip of oil, but couldn't stomach it much longer, opting to toss the half full limb off to the side.

V folded her arms, "What a waste." She remarked, looking off in the direction Uzi tossed the arm. She then looked back at Uzi, noticing a trail of oil dripping down her mouth.

Without warning, she reached down and wiped it off of Uzi's face, licking the smudge off of her hand. Uzi felt like she was about to fall over as if her legs were made of nothing but warm jelly. V couldn't help but cackle at the workers reaction.

"C'mon, the sun'll be up soon." V turned and began walking out of the building. She stopped in the entrance, turning back to face Uzi. "We'll try again later. This'll be our secret, alright?"

Uzi stood in a daze. Did V understand her feelings better than she did? Was the secret the corpse stash or- Uzi's feelings? Whatever it was, Uzi didn't have much time to ponder. She quickly made her way over to V, who was waiting with her wings outstretched. Once Uzi grabbed on tightly, V launched up into the air. The flight back felt like it took forever, Uzi still had questions lingering in her mind that she wanted to ask, but she wasn't sure how to ask them. Before she could even muster up the courage, they landed in front of the spire. Uzi fell off of V's back and stumbled backwards before regaining her balance.

N had gotten back at some point, patiently waiting outside the spire. When he noticed Uzi, he happily rushed to her side, a canister of oil in his hands. V walked by in silence, her usual dead expression on her face.

"Uzi! I got the oil you needed." He held his hands out, letting Uzi gratefully take it and chug it. While Uzi did that, N turned to V and tilted his head. "V wasn't antagonizing you again, was she?"

Once Uzi finished, she opened her mouth to respond to N's question, giving it some thought. After a brief period, she just shook her head and responded with a simple "Nah."

Chapter Text

A week had passed since the first lesson and Uzi hadn't spoken to V since. V went back to her usual 'dark and brooding' self, lurking in the shadows and keeping her distance. Uzi began to question if what happened actually happened, or if it was just a weird dream. Her feelings certainly remained the same, dream or not. She was no longer able to approach V with the usual edge and bite she had. That sensation, the one of butterflies in her non-existent stomach, took over whenever they did something as simple as making eye contact. She had too many questions and not enough answers. Why was it always that way?

"Hey Uzi? You good?" N asked with an air of concern in his voice. Uzi flinched and turned towards him. She must've spaced out, too deep in thought.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry dude, I'm fine." Uzi lied to her friend, her voice trailing off near the end.

"Well, if you want to talk, I'm here to listen. Seems like you've got a lot on your mind." N offered, taking a seat next to Uzi.

Uzi considered his offer. Talking to him at the camp did help, but that was a different situation entirely, one that wouldn't have hurt his feelings if too many details were revealed. What was she to say? I've been taking flight lessons from V cause you kinda suck at it? Even with nicer wording, that's still what it would boil down to, and it didn't even scratch the surface.

Uzi shook her head, "Nah, I'll be fine. I'm just frustrated with this whole flying thing." Her voice shifted to a sarcastic frustrated tone. "We've been at this for, what, weeks now? And all I can do is crash and burn."

"I think you're improving a lot! A few more days and you'll probably get the hang of it!" N replied with a cheerful attitude.

Uzi feigned a smile and sighed, "Thanks N." Though N's words were no doubt encouraging, they always were, that wasn't what was bothering Uzi. It hurt to lie to him, but it was probably better than the alternative. Probably.

N nodded, "No problem! We'll get there eventually." He said with a grin. Shortly after, he let out an involuntary yawn. A small warning on his hud letting him know that his battery was low began flashing in the corner. "Oh, it's that time already." He paused to sigh, "I guess I should probably go recharge. You gonna be okay?" He asked with his head tilted to the side.

"Yeah." Uzi said in a sigh like way.

N stood up and turned towards Uzi, giving her one last content grin. "Wake me up if V starts bothering you again!" He said as he waved goodbye to Uzi for the day. After goodbyes were exchanged, N made his way over to the spire.

A few minutes after N disappeared into the spire, V appeared from the darkness, slowly approaching Uzi. She didn't seem hesitant or afraid to approach the short worker drone, and she didn't seem angry at her either. In fact, V seemed quite relaxed. Then, what happened wasn't a dream? Surely she'd be more on edge if it was. Right?

V sighed, "Didn't think he'd ever leave us alone." She complained, putting one hand on her hip. "He's been so paranoid since the camp."

"N?" Uzi asked, though the answer was obvious.

V nodded and looked down at Uzi, causing Uzi's motor to skip a beat. V acknowledged her reaction with a sly grin, "He's gone now though. You ready for another lesson?"

"Y- Yuh." Uzi wanted to say more, but it was all she could awkwardly mutter out.

V deployed her wings, spreading them out as far as they could go. She held her hand out and waited for Uzi, who was dazed by the sight of the disassembly drone before her.

V just rolled her eyes, "We don't have all night." She said in an impatient tone, which seemed to snap Uzi out of it. For the moment, anyway.

Uzi stood up and approached V, climbing onto her and gripping her jacket firmly, their warm bodies once again pressed against each other. Being so close to her alone flustered Uzi slightly, but V wrapping her arms around Uzi drove her over the edge. A flurry of purple blush washed across her visor, her grip on V's jacket tightening. V launched herself into the air shortly after, catching Uzi off guard and causing her to let out a surprised yelp.

The flight wasn't very long, it never was. Disassembly drones were fast and could easily travel long distances in short periods of time. The fact that it was done in silence made it feel longer than it should have. To Uzi, anyway. There was no way to tell what was going on in V's head, and her face didn't exactly give any insight on that. Uzi wished she could pick at her processor and figure out what was going on in there.

A short dive later and V landed right in front of the familiar ruined skyscraper from before. Uzi let go and landed on the ground, letting out a grunt and doing a little flashy pose before she stood up straight and stretched her limbs.

"Now what?" Uzi asked as she turned towards V, her head cocked to the side slightly.

"First, you need oil. Top yourself off so you don't repeat what happened last time." V explained as she walked towards the skyscraper that housed her oil stash. "If you overheat in the sky, you're gonna crash."

V stepped through the hole in the wall and into the dark, dusty ruins of a former lobby. She kicked a piece of rubble to the side and bent down to dig through the corpse pile. By the time Uzi caught up, V already had a limb in her hands – it was too mangled to tell what it was anymore, with frayed wires sticking out both ends and a large gash down the middle.

"So, V-" Uzi began to speak, attempting to muster up the courage to ask at least one of the questions she had. Halfway through, Uzi choked up, internally cursing herself for not being able to get words out properly.

"What?" V replied as she tossed the limb to Uzi. Uzi fumbled with it before gripping it in her hands and staring at it.

V waited for Uzi to respond or finish what she was going to say, but when that never came, she looked down at the purple worker drone with an eyebrow raised.

"Right..." V grumbled, crossing her arms. "Finish that up, we gotta start soon. The sun's gonna be up in an hour and we can't fly indoors."

V began walking outside, Uzi watched her go. "V, wait!" She impulsively called out. V stopped and turned back to Uzi.

"Are you actually going to say something this time?" V teased.

Uzi fell silent for a third time, thinking about what to say, how to say it, and what responses she might get. V just watched her, fully expecting her to not say anything again. It came as a surprise to V when Uzi actually said something else.

"I don't know what's wrong with me." Uzi immediately cringed at her wording.

"That's what you're trying to figure out, isn't it? It's why you went to that camp, N told me." As expected, V completely misinterpreted what Uzi meant. It wasn't about her, 'condition', at all.

"No, I mean-" Uzi began considering her word choices again before groaning in a frustrated manner. V snickered at her. "Nevermind, forget it." Uzi grumbled, stomping off.

She only stopped when V grabbed her, hoisting her into the air so they were face to face. Uzi opened her mouth to protest, but stopped herself when their eyes met, quickly shutting her mouth.

"I'm just messing with you. I know those puppy dog eyes, I've been around N long enough." V's words made Uzi look away as she madly blushed, prompting V to giggle again. She enjoyed messing with the short worker drone, watching her become a flustered mess. "You're not very good at hiding it."

"B-bite me-" Uzi meekly hissed out, though it was more of a squeak than anything. V cackled again as she put Uzi down, satisfied with the results. For now.

V placed her hand on her hip, her tail slowly swaying behind her. "Now, are you ready to start learning or are you just gonna keep mumbling to yourself."

"N-no. Let's get this over with." Uzi responded, stepping out into the snowy wasteland. V followed her out, walking close behind her.

"N sucks at giving criticism." V stated, beginning her lesson. "You flap your wings way too hard and take way too long to get to the next one. It's why you broke them last time, and it's why the wind keeps pushing you down." She paused to quickly cross her arms. "That idiot hasn't corrected any of that."

V was once again correct. N hadn't mentioned any of that to Uzi, and if what V said is true, then Uzi wouldn't have improved her ability any time soon.

Disregarding the last comment V tacked on, Uzi nodded, "Okay, so you want me to do light flaps. I can do that."

"We'll see." V replied, deploying her wings and launching herself into the air, just out of Uzi's view. Uzi spread her wings out as well, following after V.

She began by gliding, slowly descending while moving forward. V stayed over her, casting a last black shadow onto Uzi and the clouds below. Above the clouds was the safest place to practice, there were no skyscrapers or old cranes that posed a potentional crashing hazard. Control wasn't exactly something Uzi had when flying, so she wouldn't be able to turn if a building was in her path. Start with the basics in a safe space.

"You're going lower." V blankly called out, drawing Uzi's attention to her. "You're gonna have to start flying eventualllyy~."

"I know!" Uzi snapped back. One too many failed attempts made her weary of doing anything besides gliding, and though she knows V will most likely catch her, going down and losing control still wasn't a fun experience.

But if she never tried, there was no way she'd ever be able to improve. It was either bury her fears, or give up all together, and Uzi wasn't a quitter. She took a moment to muster up the courage, closed her eyes, and then in one swooping motion, flapped her wings quickly and lightly, just as V instructed. When she didn't feel a dizzying sensation, Uzi slowly opened her eyes and realized she was still in the air, gliding along. Above her, V was clapping her hands slowly.

"That wasn't too difficult, right?"

Pride began to seep into Uzi, slowly filling her processor. She did! She didn't end up horribly spiraling out of control! Another flap, more confident this time, and Uzi began to laugh to herself. She began flapping her wings repeatedly, creating a steady rhythm that kept her airborne and prevented her from descending any further.

"I did it!" Uzi shouted out, her tail unwillingly wagging with joy.

But, as one problem is solved, another takes its place, and Uzi's joy quickly turned to dread as she realized

She can't land.

How would she get down? Did she just have to stop flying and hope for the best? Was it time for another crash landing? Uzi became so focused on the hows and the what ifs that she her flapping quickly became disjointed and panicked. One wrong move later and the high winds snagged Uzi's wing. V, who was still above, was quick to notice the worker drones panic and prevented her from falling by grabbing her arm and hoisting her up. She cradled Uzi close to her as she circled around and began heading back to their secret spot.

After diving down and landing roughly, V glanced down at Uzi, who was still resting in her arms.

"What happened?" V asked.

Uzi just rolled over, burying her face into V's jacket. V could feel Uzi's body getting warmer, she didn't need to see her visor to know that she was overheating again. Realizing this, V let out a sigh and put Uzi down.

"Stay here." She commanded as she walked into the skyscraper. Uzi did as she was told, too sluggish from the heat to actually get up and go anywhere.

When V returned, she had a workers head in her hand. She used her claws to keep it firmly in her grasp, oil slowly dripping down her arm.

"Open your mouth." V's tone made Uzi jump, she once again did as she was told. V held the head over Uzi and crushed it with one swift blow. Oil squeezed out the bottom and into Uzi's mouth, dripping out the corners and onto the pure white snow below.

Once drained, V tossed the head aside and waited for Uzi to finish. Uzi sluggishly wiped the remaining oil off her mouth, leaving black streaks on the back of her hand.

"Thanks." Uzi muttered and lowered her head. Though her temperature dropped significantly, her processor was still covering from the heat.

"Next time, don't ignore what I say, stupid." V playfully said. Uzi quickly looked up at her with narrowed eyes, ready to snap back with some witty remark or perhaps a 'bite me', but V caught her off guard.

She grabbed the collar of Uzi's jacket, lifting her off the ground slightly and pulling her closer, their faces nearly touching. Uzi blushed madly, trying to squirm from V's grip. V gave her a sly smirk before pulling Uzi in for a kiss, their synthetic lips meeting. Uzi was stunned, her processor and motor began to race. All she could do was close her eyes and enjoy the moment. A moment that hardly lasted, as V pulled away shortly after and stared down at the dazed worker.

"You missed a spot." V teased, licking some off oil that had transfered onto her face during the kiss.

The suddenness of the action certainly brought Uzi's processor up to speed. Or maybe it slowed it down even more. She was left speechless, staring up at V with a dumbfounded expression. V simply smirked and patted her shoulder.

"You did good tonight, despite your accident. Maybe we'll-" V suddenly stopped speaking, her smirk fading into a more neutral or frustrated expression as her gaze drifted towards a line of ruins behind Uzi. Peeking over the top was the orange glow of Copper-9's sun. Bad news for the both of them.

"Shit." V hissed under her breath. She brought up her internal clock and realized they'd stayed out later than they were meant to. There was no way they'd make it back to the spire in time.

Uzi turned back to see what upset V so much, uttering a soft "Oh." when she too noticed the sun rising.

"C'mon." V grunted as she stomped towards the skyscraper. "N's gonna kill me."

Uzi shook her head and began walking alongside V. The two made their way into the building, taking shelter from the onslaught of harsh rays that was cast down on the planet. While V hid in a dark corner of the room, Uzi sat by the entrance and watched the sun slowly rise, ensuring she wasn't caught in the rays. It was something she rarely saw before meeting N, and now would definitely be something she only saw on occasions like this. It made her wonder if the others had seen it before, perhaps in their early days on Copper-9.

"Hey V? Have you ever like, seen the sun rise?" Uzi asked, still facing the entrance.

V stayed silent, it took her far too long to answer with a simple "No." It made Uzi wonder, but wasn't something she was about to push. Instead, she looked back and signaled V to come over. V was hesitant, but slowly made her way over to where Uzi was sitting. She sat down next to her, bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her tail around the bottom of her legs, carefully ensuring the barbed end didn't touch Uzi.

"It can't reach us here, so we'll be fine. I think." Uzi tried reassuring V, though she seemed unsure of herself. V scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Dork." She playfully muttered, resting her head on her knees.

The two watched the sunrise in silence, the gentle winds of Copper-9 softly blowing through the holes in the ruins. Uzi let herself gently lean on V, resting her head on her shoulder. Her tail was happily wagging slowly behind her, though V couldn't see it. She was too focused on watching the sun, seemingly drawn to it.

"It's been a while since I've seen it." Uzi sighed. "Kinda weird to think it'll end up killing me." She said in a joking manner, but V didn't respond. Not even a scoff or an annoyed grunt. Was she that infatuated by the sunrise? Uzi didn't find it very interesting, she didn't even find it that interesting when she first saw it. So what gives?

Curious, Uzi looked up at the female disassembly drone, only to realize that she'd drifted off into sleep mode, large yellow text plastered across her screen clearly indicating such. It all made sense now, Uzi had almost forgotten the fact that the disassembly drones slept during the day. The fact that V even managed to stay up as long as she did was impressive, seeing as she was always the one to go to sleep first, and yet she never complained once about being tired.

Uzi smiled, content with her night and the indirect answers she got to her questions. She rested her head back down onto V's shoulder, wrapped her tail around V, and looked out at the orange-ish red landscape. After a while, a low battery warning flashed in the corner of her HUD, and with little left to do, she didn't fight it, allowing herself to drift off to sleep as V did.

When Uzi woke up, she found herself in the landing pod, resting in one of the swiveling chairs. N was seated across from her and happily greeted her as her systems slowly rebooted.

"Wuh? What happened?" Uzi asked, still half asleep.

"V told me you guys got caught in the sun after an argument." N explained, "But you took cover, and she brought you back here as soon as it was safe!"

Argument? Why did she-

Behind N, Uzi noticed V, standing with her arms crossed. She gave Uzi a knowing grin before exiting the landing pod.

N glanced back upon hearing V leave and sighed. He turned towards Uzi, "I'm sorry she keeps antagonizing you. I've tried talking to her about it but," N stopped to awkwardly chuckle, "She doesn't really listen to me."

"It's fine dude, I think I can handle it." Uzi replied. She was hardly bothered by V's 'antagonizing', if it could even be called that, anymore.

Chapter Text

"I'll be fine, N. I can handle it." Uzi rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"You shouldn't have to handle it." N retorted, staring down at his friend. "Uzi, I know V better than anyone. I think." He paused. "Wait no, forget that! I know V better than anyone! She can be really... Mean."

"And? You've met my classmates. It's fine, dude."

"That's not-" N let out a slight wince, "A good comparison. N-not that I'm implying anything!" He looked away, awkwardly rubbing his upper arm.

"N I'm not going to eat V." Uzi replied, deadpan.

"I didn't say you would!" He looked back at Uzi, his eyes wide, almost as if he was offended that Uzi thought that's what he was implying. "But if you did you'd feel really bad about it. But you won't so it's okay!" N seemed to be unsure of where exactly he was going with this, flip flopping between stances.

"Dude, I think you're just over thinking it. You should just go to bed."

"Let me at least take you back home first." N offered, almost begging. "Just so I can be sure you get home safely?"

As much as Uzi wanted to accept N's offer to avoid hurting his feelings, she turned away and sighed. "Nope, there's something I wanted to do here first."

"Then let me help!"

"Just go to bed dude." Uzi groaned, brushing N's offers off and hoping it wouldn't hurt him too badly.

N sighed and crossed his arms, "I don't know why you're being so defensive about this."

"I-I'm not." Uzi stuttered out, like a rat caught in a trap. "I'm just- worried about you? Pushing your battery past its limit isn't healthy. You're gonna wear yourself out if you keep doing that. Y'know?"

Real subtle Doorman.

N shook his head, he didn't understand why Uzi was being so persistent. All he was trying to do was prevent V from putting more strain, stress, or worse, guilt on her system. Why didn't she understand that? He supposed there was no use in arguing further. If Uzi said she had it, she had it. He just had to trust his friend. That's what friends do.

"Fine, you win." N relented, lowering his head in a exaggerated display of defeat. "Please, let me help you if V starts bothering you again, okay?"

Uzi nodded with no hesitation, making N feel slightly better. He waved goodbye, said good night, and vanished into the spire, perching on his favorite support beam. V, who was lurking nearby, was quick to come out of hiding. She made her way to Uzi's side, her hands on her hips.

"You're really not good at hiding stuff." V commented, referring to Uzi's persistence. She'd heard the entire conversation between N and Uzi go down. "If he doesn't already, he's gonna realize somethings up. Not even N is that stupid."

"Shut up, he wasn't gonna leave us alone." Uzi defended, crossing her arm. "And he's not stupid!"

V snickered and bent down towards Uzi, now face to face, "Us? Did you miss me that badly?" She tilted her head to the side and spoke with a slight grin.

Uzi froze up and began to blush, "No..." She trailed off, eventually merging it into a simple, defeated "Yes." V laughed, standing up straight and putting her hands back on her hips.

Despite V's teasing, Uzi was no longer afraid to admit it. Though they'd only spent a week apart at most, it felt like months, maybe even years to Uzi. She missed her presence, her acknowledgment. A passing glance here and there just wasn't enough. Their kiss was still fresh in Uzi's memory, her enjoyment of it only served to solidify and come to terms with her feelings.

Uzi liked V.

Whether or not V felt the same way was a mystery to Uzi though. Was she just getting a kick out of toying with Uzi's emotions? Or did she actually like her back? A part of Uzi was hesitant to ask, fearing that this was all just a big game to V, done out of spite or boredom. Uzi enjoyed her time with V and just hoped that wasn't the case.

Whatever it was, Uzi just had to make the best of it while she could.

"So, how's my little freak doing today?" V jokingly remarked as she wrapped her arm around Uzi's shoulder, pulling her in. Uzi pulled out of V's grip and playfully elbowed her.

"Not here." Uzi grumbled, glancing back at the spire to ensure there weren't any additional eyes on them. Not that she didn't trust N, she was simply being paranoid.

V rolled her eyes, "Then follow me." She then stepped away from Uzi, giving her enough distance to safely deploy her wings without hitting the female worker drone. By the time Uzi turned her attention to V, she had already taken off, leaving behind a plume of snow and a slight gust of wind.

Uzi spread out her own wings, flying up into the air after V, who was hovering above the clouds waiting for Uzi. Once Uzi got over the clouds and V spotted her, she began flying alongside Uzi.

"V? You know I can't- land, right?" Uzi asked as she glanced over at V, slightly nervous about having to attempt a landing.

"We'll work on it, for now focus on your flight." V replied, keeping her head forwards.

Uzi nodded slowly and directed her gaze back in front of her. There wasn't much to focus on, no obstacles to avoid, no hazards to dodge. Just a rolling sea of clouds and the moons of Copper-9, casting a light down upon them. Thankfully, it wasn't long before they reached their destination and something more interesting presented itself.

"Alright, fold your wings back and tilt your body forward slowly, you'll start to dive. Spread your wings out before you hit the ground." V explained before demonstrating, quickly diving down below the clouds.

Uzi watched her go down and began her own descent, tilting forwards and folding her wings back as V instructed. She quickly dove down past the grounds, moving far faster than V was. By the time she realized, it was too late to stop and pull up out of her dive. The snow covered ground quickly got closer and closer until Uzi crashed down, creating a large cloud of snow. V watched the entire thing. As the cloud thinned out, it revealed Uzi laying in a small crater in the snow, steam slowly rising up off her body.

V sighed and approached the crater. "Like I said, we'll work on it." She said as she reached her hand out for Uzi to grab it.

Uzi took it and stood up with V's help. She was dazed by her crash, stumbling forward slightly. To avoid falling, she reached out and held onto V. V wrapped an arm around her to further provide support.

"Mhm, thanks." Uzi mumbled as she stood up straight and let go of V.

V nodded and removed her arm, backing up to give Uzi some space. Uzi took a moment before sharply inhaling. She let her processor settle before she turned back to V with a grin.

"Let's do something fun."

V raised an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips. "Like?"

Her grin got wider upon hearing V's question, clearly already having something in mind. It was just a matter of getting V to agree to it, which shouldn't be too difficult. Hopefully.

"Let's race. To the spire and back."

"You- want to race me." V seemed almost in disbelief at Uzi's proposition. This being the same drone that came crashing down only moments ago and took forever to recover from it. She thought about it for a moment, assuming the crash knocked something loose, before scoffing and flashing a crazed grin at Uzi. "You're on."

Uzi gave V a smug, overconfident look before they lined up and prepared to launch. She gave a quick countdown, starting from three and they both quickly took off into the air the second she gave the okay. V went low, Uzi went high. Realizing this, Uzi felt even more confident. V would have to dodge and weave through the ruins, as opposed to the straight path Uzi was taking that lead directly back to the spire. It would take V far longer to reach the end, surely. Surely.

As Uzi breezed by, she temporarily dipped down, running her hand through the clouds and disrupting them. She pulled up when the spire came into view, the top just barely peaking through the clouds. Uzi quickly took a u-turn, wrapping around the peak and heading back towards their meet up. Her processor was full of confidence. Confident that she'd beat V in this little game.

That quickly changed when something snagged her tail, killing all her momentum and causing her to snap backwards. The next thing she knew, she was dangling upside down, hanging by her tail. Glancing up revealed V hovering above Uzi, holding her tail with a smug look on her face.

"How!" Uzi hissed, slowly rotating around. "You took the long route!"

V flicked her head back, her grin got wider. "I told you I'm better in the air. Going low was just a handicap to make things more fair." She teased, stiffling laughter.

And yet Uzi still lost.

V pulled Uzi up, bringing her into a proper embrace, causing Uzi to let out a surprised noise as she swung upwards. They stared at each other, V still grinning at Uzi, a hint of her sharpened fangs peaking through her lips. In a spur of the moment decision, Uzi, who still had some confidence left in her, made a move, grabbing V's collar and pulling her in. She planted her lips onto V's, catching the disassembly drone off guard. Though her tail was furiously wagging, Uzi's mind was racing. She quickly pulled back and looked away, furiously blushing.

Seeing the mess Uzi had become, V giggled at her again. She used one of her hands to gently guide Uzi's gaze back onto her, looking her in the eyes, "My turn."

"Wha-?" Uzi had no time to finish as V pulled her back in for another kiss. A small "mmph" was all she could get out.

Uzi could feel V's grip on her tighten, her free hand being placed on the back of Uzi's head. They stayed like that for a long while, much longer than their first kiss had lasted. Eventually they did pull away, Uzi simply resting her head onto V's shoulder as V held her close. They stayed in silence, letting the wind act as the background track.

"Hey, V?" Uzi eventually spoke up, speaking softly.

"Yeah?" V replied, still keeping Uzi in an embrace.

"W-we should probably go back. The sun's gonna be up soon."

V checked her digital clock, and sure enough, the little worker was right. They didn't have long before the sun reared its ugly head and threatened to kill the both of them. Or did, if they didn't get away in time. She let out a sigh and brought Uzi so they were face to face again.

"I guess we should." V leaned in and gave Uzi one last kiss, running her hand through her purple hair. "Don't wanna get stuck like last time."

Uzi nodded, "We'll never hear the end of it."

V snorted in response, "Maybe you can convince N again." She teased, "Certainly wouldn't find it at all suspicious."

"Hey, it's not my fault he's so persistent!" Uzi laughed, rolling with V's punch. "I don't know why you told him we were fighting. I think it made it worse."

V shrugged, "Best excuse I had that was believable. Way better than your excuses anyway~." The last bit was said in a blatant sing-song tone.

Uzi just rolled her eyes, "I could probably do better than you."

"Be my guest." V replied as she turned around and began flying back towards the spire, having stayed out later than intended. "Maybe he'll leave me alone for a while."

"That'll never happen. You know how N is." Though her comment seemed more harsh than she'd intended, Uzi didn't mean anything negative by it. She appreciated N's presence, and his concern for her. Not many people gave her that treatment. Not even her own father, up until recently.

"Yeah. I don't know how he does it." V let out a heavy sigh.

"Does what?" Uzi asked.

"Kept that stupid optimism of his. He's always had it, even back-" V trailed off mid sentence. Uzi looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to finish what she was saying.

"Back-?" She asked, one eyebrow raised. "Back when?"

V shook her head, "Back when J was around and constantly yelling at him. He still had that dumb smile on his face. I don't know how he did it."

In that moment, Uzi began to suspect V was hiding something from her. This, paired with her long hesitance to answer a simple yes or no question. She chose not to push the matter, like before, but the thought lingered in the back of her mind. It wasn't odd for Uzi to have suspicions anyway, she often theory crafted and created her own conspiracies. The fact that V had a mysterious aura around her, as if she knew more than she was letting on, certainly didn't help.

Casting her suspicion aside, Uzi figured she'd just ask later. "N's an enigma alright."

"He's certainly rubbed off onto you." V glanced down at Uzi with a grin. "Still a little bitey, maybe that's why I like you~."

Hearing those words made Uzi freeze up, becoming just as flustered as she did the first time they kissed. Did she hear that right? Did V actually say that? Uzi could feel her motor begin to run faster as V began to cackle at the state she was in.

"D-do you like, mean that?" Uzi stuttered, trying her best to maintain her cool, relaxed edge, and failing completely.

"Of course." V replied warmly, losing the taunting tone she usually spoke in. "You're my little freak."

Uzi let out a sigh, relieved to hear V's response. Something that had been eating away at her, finally answered for once. It felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders.

Once they finally reached the spire, V did a quick flip in the air before she landed on the ground, cradling Uzi to ensure she didn't wind up flying off during the landing. A cloud of snow kicked up, along with a whoosh that blew light objects back. Uzi and V had been giggling to themselves, standing in the center of the cloud.

As the cloud disappeared, and their vision returned, Uzi quickly realized that her and V weren't the only ones around. Only a few feet away, staring at the duo with hollowed ovals for eyes, was N with a dumbfounded look on his face. All three stood like a deer in headlights, baffled by the situation unfolding before them. Uzi quickly climbed out of V's grasp and approached N, who continued to stare in confusion.

"I-I thought you were going to bed dude!" Uzi awkwardly stuttered, knowing there was little she could do to explain what was going on.

N snapped out of his trance and sheepishly laughed, "Uhm, I lied?"

Chapter Text

Uzi was acting strangely and even someone as, well, naive as N understood that. She'd been that way since after their camping trip, and although she says she's fine, N suspected that she was dealing with a lot internally. Coming to terms with the fact that she's a cannibalistic murderer was probably a lot for the angsty teen to take in. Even N struggled with the guilt of killing from time to time. He just wished she'd be honest with him and would let him help. Who better to provide support than a fellow cannibal?

Then, of course, there was V. The sadistic disassembly drone was always antagonistic towards Uzi, almost as though she had a grudge. Just like Uzi's own issues, that too seemed to worsen after the camp. N didn't feel like Uzi was in any real danger around her, but having someone breathing down your neck, insulting you and intentionally pushing your buttons couldn't have made Uzi feel any better about herself.

Unfortunately, N didn't actually have any proof that this was occurring. It was just a gut feeling based on their previous interactions and the fact that they were apparently "fighting" again, according to V's own words. V was crafty too. If there was anything being done, it was intentionally being done behind his back. N wanted to put a stop to that as soon as he could. For Uzi's sake.

So why exactly was Uzi refusing his offers to fend V off for her? That thought was eating at him. He told himself to just trust his friend, but it was difficult to sit on the sidelines knowing V was intentionally picking fights, and knowing he could do something to stop it. If either of them got hurt due to it, N wouldn't be able to forgive himself. Even if both of them can just rapidly heal. It's the thought that counts.

Determined to figure out what was going on, N lied through his teeth. An act nobody would truly believe he was capable of. Not even himself. It took all he had to tell Uzi he'd get off her case and go to bed when in reality, he was going to watch from afar. The second those two started fighting, he'd pop out and surprise them. That lasted about two seconds when he took his eyes off the explosive duo for a short period of time. When he looked back, they were gone.

N had no idea where they went, or what they were up to, and tracking them wasn't possible since V most likely flew away. No prints to scan for, aside from the ones they left behind on take off. N was determined to make things right though. The low battery warning flashed on and on in the corner of his HUD, constantly pinging him to let him know that he needs to recharge soon. But he ignored it.

Despite sitting in the entrance of the spire, hardly able to keep himself awake, N ignored the warning. He drifted in and out of sleep, his vision briefly flickering to black as his head slouched forwards before he pulled himself up into a more alert state. As alert as he could be, anyway. It was only a matter of time before they made their grand return. The sun would be up soon and that was bad for the both of them. Either they'd return before that happened or take shelter elsewhere. N hoped it'd be the former, assuming they didn't burn up first. But that was a thought N didn't want to linger on.

They'll be fine. He told himself, rolling his eyes and waving his hand in the air as if to brush the idea aside. V wouldn't let herself go down that easily.

As N finished that thought, something landed right in front of him. A large plume of snow and dust obscured his vision and prevented him from seeing whatever it was. Though, he didn't really need to see to know what, or rather, who, it was. He stood up and rushed over to the edge of the cloud, which was slowly disappearing, pointing towards the center and preparing a big speech in his head with a confident look on his face.

That look quickly turned to confusion as a sound came from the cloud. One N wasn't expecting to hear, at all. Rather than harsh words, sounds of annoyance, or even Uzi's trademark catchphrase, N heard laughter. It wasn't one-sided either, both parties were laughing. N hadn't heard V laugh so genuinely in ages.

Once the cloud had vanished, N's confusion only worsened, his eyes turning to hollowed out ovals and his confident grin turning into a small, neutral look. V had Uzi in her arms, gently cradling the small worker drone as they laughed with each other. There was no hostility, not even coming from V, who had a look of happiness rather than her usual smug or sadistic look.

Everything seemed to freeze when Uzi turned towards N and realized he was standing there. Her expression turned to one of shock as she got herself out of V's arms and rushed to N.

"I-I thought you were going to bed dude!" Uzi sounded flustered, somewhat embarrassed as she stuttered.

"I- lied?" N laughed nervously and ran his hands through his hair, turning his head away from Uzi.

Out of the corner of his vision, he could see her staring at him. The look on her face wasn't one of anger. More confusion, if anything. Still, he couldn't help but feel guilty. Suddenly his plan didn't seem like such a good idea.

"I-I was worried that V was bothering you while I was asleep." N began to explain, unprompted, as he partially stuttered. "I didn't want her to- say something that would hurt you. I'm sorry."

He could hear V let out an airy chuckle.

Uzi, on the other hand, let out a soft sigh. It was hard to be angry at N. He was left in the dark, lacked proper context to the situation and did what he thought was right. Had V not told him they were still fighting, and had Uzi been more truthful with him, it wouldn't have gone this far.

"No, I'm sorry." Uzi replied, crossing her arms. N looked down at her and cocked his head to the side. "You only had to lie because I lied."

"We lied." V corrected, being kind enough to take part of the blame. Whether it was pride or simply because she wanted to help shoulder the blame, Uzi couldn't tell.

"Okay, we lied." Uzi rolled her eyes with her correction before returning to her apology, "Whatever, it wasn't cool."

N gave Uzi a small grin, "Well, I forgive you."

"Quick to forgive as always." V remarked, though she was glad it was quickly resolved. Seeing N feel down always made her feel weird. It was just wrong.

Uzi playfully punched V's arm, a mischievous look on her face. V replied by giving her a sly look and whispering something to Uzi, something that flustered Uzi quite a bit.

"Wow, it's nice to see you two getting along! I didn't think I'd see it happen!" N innocently commented, his voice sounding more cheery than before.

"Oh, I'd say it's a little more than getting along." V replied with a smug grin on her face. Uzi gave her a betrayed look, with blush overtaking her visor.

N took a moment to process what V said, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the duo. The second it hit him, his eyes widened as a small, quiet "oh" escaped his mouth. That eventually turned into a much louder, more drawn out "oohhh".

"You guys are-" He paused, considering his words carefully, "- dating?"

V nodded, though Uzi hissed. "We're not dating!" She shouted, crossing her arms. "We just- like each other." Her tone got quieter and softer.

"We're dating." V said with a hint of enjoyment in her voice. She was just messing with Uzi as a way to get back at her for elbowing her earlier, and for punching her just now.

"N-no!" Uzi hissed again, though the blush on her face and her tail wagging furiously gave away how she really felt. To hear V say those words made her very happy.

"That's-" N paused again, his tone faltering. His silence made worry build up in Uzi, her excitement slowly fading. That quickly changed when N's tail began wagging, "Awesome!" He shouted. "I wouldn't have seen it coming, but I'm happy for you!"

His words seemed to surprise even V, although it really shouldn't have. If anyone was going to show support, it would've been him.

"Seriously though dude, I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I was worried you'd be- hurt." Uzi, having calmed down slightly, apologized again.

"Why would I be hurt? My best friends aren't fighting anymore!" N happily exclaimed. Just then a low battery warning flashed on his visor, causing N to lower his high energy. "Ah-" He chuckled, "Maybe we can talk more tomorrow."

V let out a yawn and stretched her joints, also having a low battery warning appear. They'd both been up for a while, and unfortunately the sun was just on the horizon. That also meant Uzi wouldn't be able to make it back to the colony in time – again.

"My dad's gonna kill me." Uzi mumbled as she watched the orange rays peek over the top of the skyscrapers.

"Oh! You can stay with us Uzi! It'll be like a sleepover." N enthused, his face lighting up.

"I don't really have a choice." Uzi chuckled, pointing back at the impending doom behind her.

"You make that sound like a bad thing." V replied in a sarcastic, playful tone as she folded her arms. Uzi let out a slight huff and rolled her eyes.

"Dying would probably be worse."

N nodded in agreement, the implications of Uzi's remark flying over his head. "C'mon guys, let's go!" N waved towards the spire as he took off towards it, partially fleeing from sun.

The other two followed after him, making their way into the shade of the spire. When they arrived, N was on top of the landing pod, waving down at them. V brushed by Uzi, giving her a smile as she passed, and climbed up into the landing pod, sitting in the entrance. For being so low on battery, those two sure had enough energy to rush over into the pod.

Uzi, on the other hand, did not. She was tired too and decided to take her sweet time making it to the center. As long as she was under the spire, she'd be fine, there was no rush. Aside from the two pairs of yellow optics glaring down at her, waiting for her to safely enter the pod. She wasn't looking at them, but she could feel them glaring at her. That make her increase her walk speed by a little bit.

Once she finally reached the center, all three entered the pod. V was first, followed by Uzi, then N, who scurried in and shut the door behind them. V had taken a seat in one of the revolving chairs, leaning back and resting her stilt like legs on the metal plating in front of it.

"Hey, Uzi! You can have the other chair." N called out, directing Uzi towards the second chair next to V.

"Where are you gonna sleep?" Uzi asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Uh, I didn't really think about that." N scratched his head as he glanced around the pod. After thinking about it, he shrugged his shoulders, "I can lay on the floor."

Uzi shook her head, "No way dude. You take the chair, I'll lay on the floor."

"No, you take it!" N replied, trying to sound demanding though his tone came off more like a suggestion.

"That's not fair to you." Uzi folded her arms, being stubborn as she usually was.

V groaned and spun her chair around. She was trying to sleep, having been up all night, and their back and forth bickering was interrupting that. "N, take the chair." She said, actually sounding demanding as compared to N.

N opened his mouth to reply – or rather, object – to V's demand, but that was quickly shut down when V reached out and wrapped her hands around Uzi's midsection, causing a surprised noise to slip out of her mouth. V brought the small worker drone up into the chair next to her. They were pressed together with a little bit of overlap, but there was enough room to make it work. Uzi sat frozen for a moment before she settled in and got comfortable next to the female disassembly drone, resting her head on her shoulder. Satisfied, V spun the chair back and rested her legs on the metal panel again, getting herself comfortable.

"That- works." N said, sounding partially confused as he slowly lowered himself into the available seat. Those two being together was gonna take some getting used to. And even so, N couldn't help but crack a smile as he glanced over at them.

It truly was nice to see his best friends getting along.