Writing Championships #5

Pink Procrastinators

Prompt: Roses (Fluff to Angst)

"Right, just have to add this and I should be finished..."

Grian's fingers flew across the keyboard while he muttered under his breath. He was almost done with one of his biggest projects, if not his biggest. With a flourish, he took his hands off of the keyboard, smiling at his work.

"Aaaand there! All I have to do is flip the switch and..."

His hand paused on the power switch for a second's hesitation. Then, he shook his head and laughed a bit, surprised by his sudden caution. He flipped the switch easily, then grinned as he heard the sound of his machine booting up properly for the first time.

"Test. Testing. Hello? Can you hear me?"

Slowly, the still robot body in front of him began to breathe. Two eyes fluttered open.

"Hello..?" Grian repeated tentatively.

"HELLO! I AM NPG!"

Grian thought his face would split from his huge grin. It worked!

"Hey NPG, I'm Grian! I'm your...." He trailed off. He wanted to say creator, but something about that seemed wrong. It was like NPG was an item and not a living thing.

"...Dad," he said after a moment's contemplation. "I'm your dad. But you can call me Grian, calling me dad would make me feel weird."

The little robot smiled, though it looked a bit weird in the half-developed robot body. "OK GRIAN."

Grian laughed a bit. "We'll have to work on how you talk."

A small lavender rose bloomed, marking the day the happy relationship was formed.

The pair spent days together, working on helping NPG get used to the world around him. They were happy, and everything was calm.

---

Unfortunately, that era of peace didn't last long.

Grian and NPG started growing apart. They didn't talk as much as they did before. The tension started growing between them, and it didn't stop. Things got worse.

Things didn't go back to normal. Not in the slightest.

Their chats started to happen less and less. Grian started to spend more time with his other friends--new friends. NPG didn't like that, Grian could tell. He wanted Grian to spend more time with him and only him.

That's what started the fighting. It started off as minor quarrels over little things, but it quickly grew in more than that. Much more. NPG started to grow more hostile. He started to snap at Grian, blaming him for little things. Grian denied doing any of it, though he knew that some, if not all, were his fault.

Then, NPG's robot body started breaking.

The age of his motherboard started to catch up to him. It was old and corroded, and because of that, he started to glitch and malfunction.

Grian didn't make a move to fix him. And NPG hated him for that.

Things continued to go south. Their relationship started to turn into a dead red and white rose--together, the two colors symbolized unity. But if it was wilted, it meant the opposite. The thorns would push against your skin, threatening to hurt you. The petals would droop and fall.

It was both of their fault that things went sour. Grian knew that. He was at fault for not fixing NPG. NPG was at fault for blaming him for everything. But both of them were too proud to admit otherwise.

And that was a mistake he would regret making for the rest of his life.

--

Mistakes were made. Mistakes that Grian can't take back.

Grian killed NPG. He was the one who showed NPG in that closet and let his battery run out.

He stood in front of the makeshift tombstone, a blue rose in hand.

They represent the unattainable. The impossible.

He longed to go back to the days when the two would spend so much time together, happily building away. NPG was like a son to him. And the more Grian thought, the more he wished he could return. Even if he rebuilt NPG, it wouldn't be the same. He could never get him back.

It was impossible.

As bittersweet memories returned to Grian, he began to cry.

A week or so after NPG's creation, and a huge moment for them - the first time NPG went outside. Grian had taken him to the local park, and he'd spent hours absorbing each and every detail, gazing in wonder at each insect and leaf.

When he introduced him to his friends - Mumbo had been particularly fascinated by the coding, whereas Taurtis opted instead to see how well the robot could prank and make mischief.

Memories that were happy at the time instead had been tainted with sadness and regret, a longing for what once was.

After hours of laying there, Grian finally found the strength to leave and move on. NPG was gone now.

And all that remained was a single blue rose, resting on the gravestone.

Score: 11 (Spectator Favourite)