✔️There Will Be Nothing

26^ All I've Ever Asked For

I take a hit from my vape, and it calms me, a little. I'm still at Elijah's place, but everyone is inside.
     The door opens, and Conan joins me. "It's chilly, out here," he comments.
     I say nothing. I don't even acknowledge him. I just take another hit. The sour apple flavor fills my mouth, bringing me pleasure.
     "Are you alright?"
     "I'm far from alright."
     Conan wraps his arm around the small of my back. "You put his Thirium pump inside, didn't you? You're using it, now, aren't you?"
     "Of course, I am. I'm not stupid. Colin's Thirium pump is the most advanced one to ever be made. Why would I waste the opportunity?"
     "That's not why you did it. You're keeping things from me." He reaches his hand out. With a huff, I hand him my vape, and he takes a hit.
     "He may have killed them and used them for parts, but it wasn't his fault. Cyrus told me he would've done the same. He told me he would've torn Colin apart if they ever met. At our wedding, I could tell they were barley holding themselves back. I don't blame him." I take my vape back from him. "I may be scarred forever. I may never recover from this. But, I can't just leave him. I can't just throw it all away."
     "He loves you," Conan mutters. "He loves you more than he loves himself. He loves you more than anything in this world. He loves you more than me, more than Gavin, and he loves you more than Gavin or I ever could. I don't even think I'm capable of loving you that much."
     "It's all programmed bullshit," I hiss.
     "If that's what you really think, then you're stupid." Conan raises his eyebrows. His eyes alone tell me how stupid I must look.
     "I know. That's not what I believe. But, that's what it was, at first. Ever since he said something about Colin's programming, I've been thinking about it. Colin's programmed to love me. He's made to want me more than life, itself." I swallow hard. "I guess... it's hard for me to believe he actually loves me of his own accord."
     "He does. Think about it this way." Conan sits down, pulling at me to sit down next to him. I settle beside him. "While you were inside, you want to know what Colin was doing?"
     "Do I...?"
     "He was sitting inside with Gavin and I, and he was just showering us with love and attention. Honestly, he didn't say a word about you. Maybe, he knew you wanted to be alone, but he didn't say anything. He didn't try to pursue you, didn't try to ask us about you, nothing." Conan leans his head on my shoulder. "If he's programmed to love you, he won't want Gavin or I. He would decline any advances we made, and he'd only want you. Do you get what I'm trying to say?"
     "Yeah. I get it. If his love was fake, he wouldn't love anyone else. It makes sense." I look away. "But, then there's that replacement, and I... I don't know."
     Conan pulls away. "Seriously?"
     "What?" I give him a look.
     He reaches over and takes Colin's LED, giving it a few tugs. "Does this mean nothing to you?" He takes my hand, the one with the ring, and shoves it in front of my face. "Did Markus really recite those vows for nothing? Did that 'I do' mean nothing to you?" He places his hand on my chest, directly over my - Colin's - Thirium pump. "He gave you his heart. Both, literally and figuratively. I have never seen an Android willingly give up his Thirium pump for someone else. I know, he has two more, but those aren't his. This is the one he was made with. This one is special." He pulls away and curls into himself, shivering against the cold. "And, you took it. Does that mean nothing to you? C'mon. Don't be cold. Don't tell me all those times he sacrificed himself for you meant nothing."
     I grab his LED around my neck. "This means everything to me!" I protest. "This heart means everything to me! And, this ring is my life! Those vows meant everything!" I frown. "I won't accept it, but, I guess, I wonder what it would be like. I want that Android to live. I don't want him to be in love with me, but I want him to live."
    "That's... respectable. Yeah, we'll have to say something about that."
     "Then, there's the kid."
     "Right... Elijah made a kid for you guys..." Conan shivers from the cold.
     "It's fine. There's four of us. Surely, we can take care of one kid. It won't be that bad." I stand up.
     Conan stands with me, shivering the entire time. "Please, tell me we're going inside."
     "Yes," I chuckle. "We're going inside."
     "Thank you. My Thirium is so close to freezing." He follows me inside.
I can hear giggling from Gavin. I enter the room to see Colin and Gavin laughing at something. As soon as Colin sees me, his eyes widen. "Conrad!" he squeaks. He gets off of the couch and runs over to me. The breath is knocked out of me as his arms wrap around me. "I missed you." He pulls away. "There was a Thirium pump on the floor! Was it yours?"
I nod slowly. "Yes..."
"So... does that mean...?"
I take his hand and hold it, retracting my skin. "Yeah. I have yours. I... put it inside me."
"I see. How does it feel? I didn't think it would really work, but..." he trails away.
I look up at his face. He looks incredibly happy, but kind of worried. "It feels good," I reply in a soft voice. "I like it." I rest my head against his chest. I can hear his two Thirium pumps beating in a staggered rhythm.
"You're not... mad at me... right?" he asks hesitantly. It's almost like he's afraid I'll say yes.
"I'm not mad." I lean into him, breathing in his achingly familiar scent. "I mean, I'm not happy. I'm not glad you did it. I'm still... recovering. But, I'm not mad, and I forgive you."
"Thank you," he sighs. "Thank you. I love you so much. I do. I really do."
"I know."
Elijah walks into the room. "So glad to see you guys getting along." A small child follows him. He bears a striking resemblance to Colin, and his LED flashes between blue and yellow.
     "What is this?" Colin asks.
     "This is my gift to you. I... wanted to apologize for sort of ruining your life. I didn't program you guys to have an easy life, and I'm sorry. You didn't deserve everything I made you go through."
     "So... you made a child. For us."
     "Precisely. If you don't want it, I could-"
     "No! No." I step forward. "No. It's fine."
     The child steps forward. He trots up to Colin and hugs his tree trunk of a leg. He stares up at him.
     And, Colin immediately falls in love. A huge smile spreads across his face as he kneels down and greets the child.
     I watch him for a second, smiling affectionately before I turn to Elijah. "I don't want to restart."
     "I figured you wouldn't."
     "What will happen to that other Android?"
     "What do you think should happen to him?"
     "He should be awakened and freed. You didn't make him for no reason."
     "My thoughts, exactly. I wouldn't want to have to destroy something I worked so hard on." He steps closer to me.  "Well, you have everything you ever wanted, Conrad. You know why you were made, you have a loving husband, and a promising child. Plus, Gavin and Conan. They're a nice addition, aren't they?" Elijah stares at me remorsefully. "Is this... good? Have I redeemed myself?"
     I stare around at my little family. Gavin and Conan sit on the couch, arguing over names for the child. Colin sits on the floor, watching with wonder as the child crawls around.
     I smile affectionately. They're all perfect. I couldn't ask for better partners.
     And, I'm satisfied with the answer Elijah's given me. It took a few lies, a few attempts at extracting the truth, and I'm not happy about it, but I'm satisfied knowing it.
     Now that I've got everything figured out, I should look ahead. I should start planning for the future. I'm tired of dwelling in the past and being unhappy about it. From now on, I'll start looking ahead. It's all I can do.
     I meet Elijah's patient gaze. "Yeah. You're good."
     He smiles gratefully. "Perfect. Come with me." He turns, and I follow him.
     We enter the room with the other Android and the crib. I watch Elijah type something on a module before the Android sparks to life. His eyes fly open. He stares around before pounding on the glass of his holding container. "L-Let me out!" he begs.
     Elijah opens the container, and he spills out of it. I catch him before he hits the ground. "Hey, it's alright. You're awake, now."
     "Who are you?" he asks in a shaky voice.
     "I'm Conrad. You are...?"
     "C-Cody," he blurts. "I'm Cody."
     "Cody. Right." I nod in approval. "Welcome to the world, Cody."

Conan carries me inside the house. I'm exhausted. I spent all day playing with my new son, Cory, who is fast asleep in Colin's arms.
"What do I do with him?" Colin whispers.
"Set him on the couch," Gavin suggests.
Elijah explained that he transferred the baby's conscience to an older body, because "taking care of babies is hard." Cory is four years old. He should be alright on the couch. Colin never sleeps, so he'll keep a close eye on him.
Colin gently sets him on the couch, then covers him with a nearby blanket. Carefully, the three of them creep into the room. With a relieved sigh, Conan drops me on the bed.
"I hope Cody is ok," Gavin drones on.
We had dropped off Cody with Connor and Hank, since we didn't have room for him. It works. He can have my old room.
Elijah had told us that he was a new Android, and he labeled him as an RK700. He seemed to take that in stride. He was so proud to be the first RK700 in existence.
"He'll be alright," Conan soothes him. He collapses next to me. "We're going to need a bigger house. The five of us can't fit in an apartment."
"If the four of us pitch in, we can easily buy a house." Colin sits down on the bed. "We don't need anything too big. I mean, the four of us sleep in the same bed, so we can all have the same room."
"Mhmm. That's valid." Gavin squeezes himself onto the bed. "We'll need a bigger bed, though. Like, a superking size bed."
"Agreed," I murmur.
"If we're planning ahead, we'll need a bed for Cory. And... you know, clothes, toys-"
"Yes," Colin interrupts Conan. "We can go shopping, tomorrow. The bed will have to wait until we move, but clothes are essential."
"Absolutely."
We fall silent.
Colin crawls forward, towards the pillow, and lays down. Gavin snuggles into him. Conan cuddles into his other side, and I relax myself on top of him. One of his arms wrap around me and rest on my back.
"You know, I thought, I'd die alone," Gavin begins. His voice is soft. "Then, I met Conan, and it was alright. I was happy. But, this? This is crazy. I never imagined I'd have one partner, let alone three. And, I know, Cory isn't mine, but I never thought I'd have a kid."
"Cory is your kid just as much as he is mine," Colin murmurs.
"Mhmm," I agree tiredly.
"I love you guys," Conan murmurs.
"I love you, too," Colin replies.
Gavin chimes in, and so do I.
We fall into a comfortable, exhausted silence.
I still have work to do. I still have lots of things I need to worry about, but that's fine. The worst of it is over, now. I have three people that will support me, and, I know, I won't be alone. The future is uncertain, and a little scary, but I'll be ok. New changes need to be made, and it seems like a daunting task, but I'll be just fine.
As I switch into sleep mode for the night, I feel happy and content with where I am. This is good. This is more than I deserve.
This is all I've ever asked for.