404 opened the door to the server room, trying to be as quiet as possible. He held something strange-looking in his hands, which were violently trembling. Closing the door behind him, he stumbled into the center of the room and fell to the ground. He breathed heavily for a moment before feeling a sudden lump in his throat as his mouth quivered ever so slightly.
Don't do it, don't do it, don't—
Before 404 could stop himself, he winced a bit before letting out a cry. His breath wavered as he tried to hold the sobs in, trying to not let himself be heard by any of the other robots. He couldn't be seen like this. He couldn't let anyone see him like this. Especially not with his... He looked down at the object in his hands, holding it close to his chest.
This is so pathetic. Why am I crying over this? A weak person would cry over this. I'm not weak.
Despite the things that he tried to tell himself, 404 couldn't stop crying. The noise he produced got worse, becoming more warped and distorted as he continued bawling. At least no one was hearing him.
———
Melody's hovering slowly came to a stop as she rested on the bottom of the vent she was in. She had been in the vents for an hour or so now, aimlessly floating and listening to the robots below her. Fandroid recording a video, Frogbot info dumping to Fandrew, and B-PO cooped up in the repair room. It was quite peaceful today. The vents actually seemed quite pleasant today. The cool gust it produced blew against Melody in a comforting way. She shut her eyes, planning to take a small nap.
Suddenly, an unfamiliar noise startled her awake. It sounded as if someone was choking. Trying her best to focus on the source of the sound, Melody floated to the nearest vent cover. The noise became louder the closer she got. As she did, the choking noise morphed into one that sounded more like someone holding in a sob. It didn't sound like anyone she recognized though. It was all distorted and staticky. Perhaps she should open the cover and see who it is...
Melody quietly popped the cover open, looking at the dark room before her. She turned the brightness of her screen up, trying to look around the room. Looking down, she saw a strange figure on the floor, trembling while curled up. It looked somewhat familiar.
Is that...? No, no, it can't be. Could it?
Melody gulped a bit before finding the courage to do anything. She floated closer towards the robot, yet still trying to keep a safe distance.
"404?"
404 yelped and scurried to the nearest wall, dropping what he was holding to the ground. He covered his face as quickly as he could and began shouting at Melody. "No, no! Don't look at me! Get the hell out of here!" His voice cracked as he yelled, and his face began heating up from shame as he choked back another sob. God, out of all the people to see him like this, why did it have to be her?
Melody was shocked by 404's frantic behavior. When she first met him, he seemed suave and calm. Why was he so hysterical now? And why was he crying? "It's okay! I'm not gonna hurt you." She floated back a bit, trying to give 404 his space. "I just wanted to know why you..." Melody's eyes drifted to the floor and saw something strange.
404's mask.
It wasn't in pristine condition either. The mask seemed to be cracked along the left eye hole, and it was broken in two. She looked up from the mask to see 404 hiding his face from embarrassment. "Is this why you're...?"
Damn it. Now she knows I was crying over my mask. She probably thinks I'm pathetic and weak n—
Melody floated over to 404 and softly cooed to him. "It's okay. I can fix it! ADHOC probably has some glue... You don't need to cry, okay?" She gave him a reassuring smile in an attempt to comfort him.
404 felt his face heat up a bit more and turned his face away from Melody to make a swatting motion with one of his hands, trying to get her to back up. "I do not need your pity." What is this? Why do I feel like this? Why did I get excited from seeing her face? 404 shooed those feelings away and placed his face in his hands once more.
Melody drifted over to the mask and used her rings to pick them up. "I'll go repair this, okay?" She floated back up to the vent she came from, preparing to leave.
404 looked at Melody exiting the room and stared for a bit before letting a quiet phrase slip out.
"Thank you."
...I hope she didn't hear that.
