Divine Singularity || Reader x Murder Drones

IX

The trek back to the manor was a long one, especially given your current condition. Your legs moved like they were trying to run underwater, your body overcompensating for the damage in your torso, and the constant error messages you'd get on your visor reminded you just how fragile this body was compared to what you really were.

Tessa bore most of your weight, one of your arms slung around her shoulders, the other dragging slightly behind, sparks occasionally flicking from the exposed wires in your chest. It made you feel bad that she had to do such a thing, despite how much reassurance she gave you that it was fine. She did, after all, have lots of experience in dragging broken drones back home in the middle of the night.

Regardless, you hated this.

You hated needing her help.

You hated the look in her eyes—that worry—as she carried you through the forest. Because it made you seem weak. You weren't. You were meant to be more. You were meant to be strong. A protector. A savior.

Not this... limping, broken heap of parts.

The forest was silent again now that the fires had died, leaving only a faint chemical tang still lingering on the wind. It was surreal to think that not long ago—mere minutes, in fact—you had been actively trying to tear yourself apart. That, if you had succeeded, you would have spilled whatever incomprehensible thing lived inside this shell out into the world, and Tessa would have seen you for what you truly were.

But she had found you.

Again.

She had come through the smoke and the heat and the dark, for you. And now here she was, walking beside you, carrying you.

Saving you.

Again.

You owed her everything. Again.

That was twice Tessa had saved you. Two times you owed her everything. Maybe you couldn't pay her back now, but one day, when it counted most, you would repay her. You would prove that this—this mess you were—had some worth to it. One day.

But speaking of saving you once again, it did make you wonder why she was out here in the first place. You thought she had simply been a figment of your imagination, but she really was with you right now—in the middle of the night, no less.

"T-TessA..." you managed to rasp through the glitches in your voicebox.

"Yeah?"

"Why... w-were you oUT HEre?"

It took her a second to answer, pursing her lips as she thought. "I saw the fire," she said, eyes fixed ahead. "From my bedroom window. I was... curious, so I came to have a look."

You narrowed your gaze, your optics landing on her. "T-That's a very r-r-r-reckless thing to do, Tessa," you scolded, or at least tried to. The way your voice broke over the consonants didn't help your cause. "Who kNOws w-whaT could've haPPENED to y-you."

She scoffed at that. "Reckless? Maybe. But it let me find you again, so I'd say it was well worth the risk."

You went quiet at that. What could you even say? What did you do to deserve someone like her in your life? Truly, Tessa was a blessing. Of all the things that had happened to you so far, from dealing with your own powers fluctuating to the little abomination in the basement, you were happy to say she was one of, if not the best.

You didn't deserve her.

But you were grateful for her, more than you could express.

Without warning, Tessa surprised you with a sudden shift in posture—leaning just enough to press a kiss to your forehead, right above your visor. The gesture was brief, but it sent a ripple through your chest like a shockwave. Your display lit up with a faint lavender blush, one you tried to hide by turning your head away. Tessa laughed quietly at your flustered reaction, the sound like honey on the frigid wind.