Cycles [A Charlie & Elizabeth AU]

Chapter 9- Unsure

  There was a stiff silence in Elizabeth's car. Charlie sat switch her legs pressed against her chest, staring out the window at the passing late nights of the city. Elizabeth would side eye her every so often, but so far she hadn't moved the whole car ride.

  When Charlie called, Elizabeth was waiting to speak with Vanessa. But the second she heard the shakiness in her voice, she immediately dropped everything, dashing out of the bunker the second she hung up the phone.

  Even now, grabbing the steering wheel, she winced at the thought of Vanessa coming home to an empty bunker, how much trouble she would be in. But she took a deep breath, looked at Charlie once again, and felt the tenseness in her nerves release even if just a little. But there was still a pressing issue: Charlie had called her in the middle of the night in tears.

 She was still sniffing in the passenger seat, with her robot dog who Elizabeth had met 7 minutes ago, sitting in front of her...whimpering? It was a little hard to tell.

  In short, not a very typical night, but sometimes that happens.

  Sighing quietly, she pulls over into the parking lot of a poorly-lit Motel, a large red sign reading "Open 24 Hours: vacancy"

  Charlie didn't stir, not even when the car came to an abrupt stop and Elizabeth undid her seatbelt. Throughout this late-night trip they had exchanged barely two words to each other, and it didn't look like the brunette was about to start explaining herself anytime soon.

  Quietly, Elizabeth spoke in the softest tone she could muster. "Charlie, we're here,"

  She was met with two bloodshot eyes staring at her and a small nod, before her friend turned away and exited the vehicle. Elizabeth felt a small tug in her chest, before squandering any emotions, lifting up the small glove box and finding $75 in cash.

  "Score," she whispered.

~~~

  They shuffle into the cheap lobby room, Elizabeth clutching the paper money in her hands and Charlie trailing silently behind her, as she carries the animatronic puppy dog in her arms. She keeps her gaze to the floor.

  The woman at the front desk doesn't notice the two until Elizabeth stands directly ahead of her. She slowly removes her headphones connected to her Walkman with an exaggerated sigh, but startles when her eyes land on the robot dog.

  "Room for two." Elizabeth says gruffly after a cough. The woman's face contorts into more confusion, eyes looking between both girls and the dog.

  Elizabeth makes a fake cough again, and the clerk begins to slowly rise from her chair, not once taking her eyes off the two, and retrieves a key from a small drawer located to her left. Again, slowly, exaggeratedly, she sits back down in her desk chair, looking as if either Lizzie or Charlie moved one muscle, it would send her into a fight or flight mode.

  "That's gonna be $60-"

  Elizabeth slams a wad of cash down onto the desk using more force than necessary.

  "Alright... here ya are...." The clerk barely whispers, laying the key to a room down in front of her. "Room 341..."

  A simple nod in thanks was the only expression Lizzie showed, before making her way to the best of her ability down the murky-toned hallways, her heart rate speeding up when she feels Charlie's hand slip into her own.

~~~

  Elizabeth closed the door behind them with a creak, and switched on the light as Charlie let Sparky slink out of her hands onto the floor. The room filled with yellow light and they both blinked twice at the tiny room around them.

  But there was one problem.

  There was only one bed.

  "Oh."

  The only sound that broke the silence, as both girls turned to look at each other. Elizabeth clicked her tongue.

  "I could... go ask for a new room...?" She suggested quietly, against her want to never face that woman's questioning glares again. Charlie just swallowed audibly, not really a response.

  "... It's fine. I'll just sleep on the floor. You've already done so much..." Charlie muttered, suppressing a small yawn crawling up her throat.

  "I'm not letting you sleep on the floor!" Elizabeth raised her voice, surprising the brunette who opened her mouth to respond but shut it quickly thereafter.

  Elizabeth crossed her arms. "I mean... we could just share it. We used to do that all the time when we were kids after all." She plastered a smile onto her face in an attempt to be encouraging, and Charlie, after lowering her eyebrows, let her lips twitch upward just a tad, as fonder memories of playdates and sleepovers from when they were younger flashed in her mind.

  Elizabeth, on the other hand, didn't actually need to sleep, but the feeling of leaving Charlie alone just didn't sit right with her.

  "...Yeah, ok..." Charlie sighed, and rubbed her face with her hand once again, before Elizabeth placed a hand on her back.

  "Alright it's settled. Now go to the bathroom and wash your face, young lady, we don't want you getting acne, or whatever." She smiled more jokingly, reciting almost word-for-word the mantra Vanessa would recite to a younger Elizabeth.

  Charlie sniffed, rolled her eyes, and retorted with an "Actually, I'm older than you," before slipping into the bathroom.

  Elizabeth let out a sigh of relief she didn't know she was holding. She sat on the neatly-made bed, taking off her cardigan to adjust her white dress shirt underneath. Not exactly the most comfortable outfit to be sleeping in, but she would have to make do.

  She ran her hand through her long ginger hair, and locked eyes with Sparky who sat still in front of her, eyes locking onto hers. They sat still for a time in their odd staring contest, before Charlie emerged from the bathroom, taking out her mini ponytail.

  "...Are you two getting along?" She asked with a weary laugh, and Sparky immediately ran into her arms.

  Elizabeth blinked in response, eyes lingering on Charlie's golden-brown hair. It looked so soft. But then she snapped back to reality, returning with a hearty smile and a nod.

  "Robots." She said awkwardly, "Weird things."

  "You're telling me," Charlie replied, falling on the bed next to her, "Robots are so weird..."

  She trailed off, looking for the right words to say. Elizabeth waited patiently.

  "But I feel like I just... Understand them, you know?" To which Elizabeth responded with only a nod.

  Charlie began toying with her fingers. "Although, any robots I've made as of late get sold off to the Freddy's restaurant chain. Ironic, huh?"

  There was a beat of silence.

  "...We should go to sleep now." Elizabeth said.

  They slipped under the covers, turning off the lights and taking both sides of the queen sized bed. Then, Elizabeth rested her head on her wrists.

  "Hey..." she whispered. Charlie turned to face her in the dark.

  "Why don't we start our own animatronic restaurant... place?" She asked impulsively, not really knowing if she was joking or serious.

  There was a second of silence, followed by a small, "Yeah. I'd like that."

  "...Goodnight, Charlie."

  "Goodnight, Lizzie."

  Lizzie inhaled sharply, turning back around to look at Charlie, but she was facing away from her and quietly snoring away. Lizzie watched her breathe for a few moments, her lips curved into a small smile, before she, too, turned away and closed her eyes.

~~

  A/N: Bet you didn't expect me to pull this cliché, huh? Well, I did >:) I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reading!