Mechanical Gods (lgbtq+)

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Trigger

     Tyler pushed the sheets off of him and stretched out on his bed, yawning as the morning sun streamed through the gaps of the curtains. He tiptoed to the bathroom to take a leak and then ran back to the bed to get more sleep. Tired from the rigorous training Echo made him suffer yesterday that included a hundred freaking pull-ups, Tyler was dying, and a good long rest was the cure. Unfortunately, Toby stepped into the room at the wrong moment, looking like one of the Brady Bunch with his plastered smile.

     "Breakfast is ready, Mr. North," said Toby enthusiastically that Tyler could see rays of sunshine and rainbows hovering like a halo on his head. "I have already set it downstairs, and none other than Mr. Reese has prepared it!"

     Tyler paused. "He's back?"

     "Mr. Reese arrived two hours ago. I tried hailing your datapad but you were asleep, and given how tired you were, I left you alone. But now, you are awake! Perfect timing!"

     "Yeah, perfect timing." Tyler sighed as he stared at the comfy bed. Grumbling, he pivoted toward the closet door and grabbed the first thing he saw: a pair of pants and a white t-shirt. He hurriedly followed Toby out. 

     Tyler couldn't quite believe that Gideon Reese arrived two hours ago. He would have heard the helicopter coming since the field was right outside his window. Tyler must've been under a deep sleep. He blamed the fatigue and training Echo launched on him for the past two weeks, feeling like the entire world was about to implode by how tired he was. At least today was a rest day.

     Tyler shuffled into the dining hall where Gideon Reese sipped his coffee, looking tired and like a storm just whipped past him.

     "Damn. You don't look good. " Tyler sat on the chair two seats farther away from him. It was a rather long dining table, and Tyler appreciated the distance he had between Reese and him.

     "Work," Reese moaned. "Its a bitch."

     "Can't relate. As you can see, I'm unemployed, and instead, I vicariously lived through a billionaire's lifestyle," said Tyler sarcastically. "It's sad. The only thing that would probably spice it up is if I was Anastasia Steele and re-enact some kinky Fifty Shades or something."

     Reese cocked his head to the side. "Fifty Shades?"

     "That trashy old movie back in the 10's?"

     Reese's eyes widened. "Ah. They made a remake of that."

     Tyler scoffed. "Three remakes. All ten years apart. Imagine that! Americans have no taste."

     "Well, sex sells. That's why all Androids are created to be beautiful. It makes the androids more real and realistic."

     "I don't agree with that. I believe that imperfections can make them authentic and realistic. Life-like. It makes them human."

     Reese didn't answer him and instead massaged the sides of his temples and then asked, "How's Eileen and Frank?"

     Tyler took a moment to chew the bacon Toby brought in front of him on a glass plate. "They're fine, worried and asking when I'll be back."

     "Ah. With friends like that, they're certainly the people you need to keep close," Reese commented.

     Tyler didn't say a word and merely nodded. A week ago, Gideon Reese finally shared the facility's secure phone line to Tyler so that he could contact Eileen and Frank. And throughout the rest of the week, Tyler had been talking to them nonstop. Reese was kind enough to give them the number when he was in New York, which Tyler was grateful. Battling loneliness and homesickness in the middle of nowhere was hard to do, so hearing Eileen and Frank's voice alleviated most of that.