Lukesse Oneshots~2018 Wattys

Metal and Muscle

The air was filled with light crackling and a flickering light. The faint light lit up the small garage, highlighting tools and mechanical items of all kinds. Two figures were at a bench, one laying down on it and the other leaning over the bench slightly with a tool in hand. The mask the person wore over their face protected their eyes from the light that the welder emitted. The young man on the bench watched in silence as the welder moved close to the inside of his arm, trying to stop the fizzling sparks. It was only a moment before the person holding the welder turned it off and placed it on the table to their right. The young man sat up and reached over to his open arm with his opposite hand and shut the small opening with the cover, which looked like normal skin.

"Thank you for helping me," he said. The other pushed their mask up and off their head, revealing bright green eyes and midnight-black hair. "It's no problem, Lukas," she replied. "But it must be a problem. I came to you in the middle of the night in need of repairs and have taken away your sleep," Lukas tried intercepting. The girl rolled her eyes and placed a hand on Lukas' shoulder.

"What did I say when I found out that you're an Android?"

Lukas sighed in response.

"No matter what, if you ever need me, I'm always there for you."

"Exactly."

The girl smiled before she turned around and started to assort her tools back in their normal positions.

"Jesse, I must tell you something."

Jesse turned around and met Lukas' gaze. "What is it?" she asked. Lukas didn't reply right away like he normally did. Jesse raised an eyebrow in confusion at the hesitation Lukas showed. Being an android, he was very straightforward and right to the point, not sugar coating anything. This sudden hesitation put Jesse on edge. Lukas took a deep breath before he continued.

"Jesse... I'm dying......"

The green-eyed girl immediately dropped the tool that was in her grasp, barely hearing it clatter to the ground. She whipped around and looked Lukas dead in the eyes, a silent plea that what he was saying wasn't true. But, the guilt and sorrow in his blue eyes told Jesse everything was true. "I-Is there anything to stop it?" she whispered. Lukas hung his head and shook it to and fro. Jesse put a hand over her mouth as her bottom life quivered and tears started to form in her eyes. "B-But there has to be a way! Maybe if we find your old schematics and the guy who designed you and-"

Jesse was abruptly cut off by Lukas meeting her gaze with guilt and grief. "I searched everything but found nothing. There's no way to save me," he whispered. Silence filled the small garage, filling the empty space which pressed down against the two. "When is it going to happen?" Jesse asked in a hushed voice. "Tomorrow night, right when the stars shine their brightest," Lukas replied. Jesse walked forward and hugged the blonde tightly.

"I'll be with you, I promise."

~~~~~~~~~~

Time had passed all too quickly when night fell and the stars were about to reach their peak. Jesse stood alongside Lukas, tightly holding his hand and sniffling to try and hold back her tears. Lukas turned to the ebony-haired girl and embraced her, holding one arm around her waist and the other hand to hold her head. Jesse immediately wrapped her arms around Lukas' torso tightly, closing her eyes shut as tears started to fall down her cheeks.

"Just because I am going away does not mean I will disappear altogether. I'll always be with you because I will always remain in your heart."

Jesse smiled ever so slightly through her tears. She squeezed Lukas tighter, knowing she wasn't squeezing the breath out of him. After waiting for what felt like years, a faint twinkling sound came to each their ears. Both of them looked up to see a semi-transparent cloud float down toward them, little sparkles of stars glinting from inside. Lukas sighed as he pulled away from the hug. He met Jesse's green gaze as his arm slithered down to reach her hand, before pulling away completely. His blue eyes glinted in sadness with tears running down his cheeks, his lips turned upward in a smile.

Lukas started to fade, becoming nothing more than a cloud like the one awaiting him. Once he had disappeared into nothing but a cloud, he floated up and joined the cloud waiting before floating upward, away from the lone girl standing on the edge of the cliff. Jesse could do nothing but watch as the cloud floated up and away into the clear night sky, eventually dissolving completely from view. Slowly she looked down at the hand that she had last touched Lukas with, clenching her fist.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Darkness.

It was all I could see. Nothing but blackness spreading out for eternity around me.

It scared me.

The last thing I remember was a familiar, warm touch against my hand before it faded away, leaving nothing but cold and dark.

No other memories were left.....

So I did the only thing I could think of.

I screamed.

I screamed and screamed and screamed, hoping to scare away the darkness and fear that was threatening to overwhelm me. But, no matter how loud or long I screamed, all that remained was the darkness and the echoing of my own voice.

After burning my vocal cords dry of any sound, I sunk to my knees, sobbing uncontrollably as the tears fell down my cheeks, hot against my cool skin.

What felt like years went by before I noticed a faint breeze brush against my skin and gently waver my hair. I looked up and saw a bright light, almost a speck in the distance, but it advanced at an exponential rate. As it got closer, images flashed before my eyes. All of them were different moments, at different places and with different people, but one person remained in all of the pictures.

At the final picture, my vision exploded into a burst of bright, white light.

I shut my eyes tight, seeing the light shining beyond my eyelids. Knowing I'd have to face it eventually, I slowly opened my eyelids, forcing them to not close again. Slowly I looked around, my pupils dilating for a moment to make everything go blurry again before condensing into a smaller circle, allowing me to make out things around me. Everything around me seemed familiar, almost as if I had seen it in a dream. Or, perhaps a memory from long ago.

I jumped suddenly at hearing light snoring from beside me, snapping my gaze over to the source of the sound. Lying with their head on a mostly empty worktable while sitting in a comfy-looking chair was a young woman. Her long black hair sprawled out across the table, some few strands wrapping around different tools and objects that looked like they belonged to a mechanic. She wore dirt-covered, black overalls with a gray, long-sleeved shirt underneath. Slowly I reached my hand over and gently poked her arm, not eliciting a reaction of any sort from her. I knew she was alive by the sound of her quiet breathing in between light snores, so she must've spent a lot of time not sleeping for her to be in such a deep state of sleep.

I prodded her again, still not gaining a reaction. Slowly I reached my hand to her hair and gently moved it aside to reveal her face. She truly was a beautiful girl. Her soft, pale skin contrasted perfectly with her pure black hair. She had the most adorable little button nose with a faint dusting of freckles across from cheek to cheek. If only I could see her eyes. Maybe.....

As if my thoughts had been heard, the girl started to stir. Slowly she sat up and stretched her arms over her head, her eyes still shut tight. Eventually, they opened up to reveal the most beautiful pair of green irises I'd ever seen.

A look of recognition and joy appeared in her eyes before spreading onto her face. Tears fell down her cheeks as she leaped into my arms, hugging me tightly and sobbing into my chest. I wrapped an arm around her back and my free hand held her head as I whispered soothing things into her ears to try to get her to stop crying. Even under these circumstances, I hated seeing her cry. Finally, she pulled away for a moment only to shut her eyes tight and press her lips to mine. I wasted no time in returning the kiss, smiling against her lips.

"I'm back, Jess.... I love you so much....."

"Just shut up and kiss me you dork."

I smiled again before kissing her again, millions of thoughts running through my head. Only a few stood out in particular.

I knew she'd be able to recreate me with the chip I gave her before dying.

And I love her so much.