Private //Drknt_Msg#2144-76:998:26TX@UNKNOWN//

[Arekk]

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"I know. Just making sure."

He shuffled his hair back to normal after she playfully messed it up, letting out a short laugh while she did so. Arekk watched H4L do her thing such as trying to get adjusted to this new reality, feeling again.

It was captivating to say the least and that had him in complete trance as he couldn't exactly comprehend how it felt for her.

The balcony door opened before her and as soon as she stepped out, Arekk followed suit. Rain was your everyday weather in Ethos City and that night the sky was cloudy, Astenna moon glowing behind the thickness of fog that had built up up there.

No words were necessary at this time, just enjoying the moment. The rain came down with force but calming enough on both. They wouldn't have to worry about anyone looking at them as the balcony was secluded from people's sights, the only thing visible from their position were your usual neon billboards.

Walking up a few steps behind her, Arekk just looked H4L with a smile on his face. It's the little moments...

H4LCY0N​

 

[H4LCY0N]

status :// IN_THE_FLESH
locale :// RABBITS_DEN_ETHOS_CITY
tag_youre_it :// Arekk
>>-d-r-e-a-m-c-h-a-s-e-r--->

H4L stepped hesitantly up towards the rail, moving from beneath the overhang to put herself into the rain. A soft gasp escaped her lips and she shivered, he had been right. The rain was cold. And yet, it brought a smile to her face. Slowly, her hands extended before her with the gentlest of whirrs, and she cupped her palms together, allowing the rain to catch in between them. "It's been so long..." she murmured softly, glowing eyes fixed on the pooling water, "Since I've felt the rain..." Her fingers uncurled, spilling her collection off the balcony and she rested hands on the slick rail instead.​

​

A deep, albeit unnecessary breath was drawn through her nose, filling her hollow chest with the air of the hazy city. The air of the night. Petrichor. It was hypnotic. "Mm..." She tipped her chin upwards, casting her dampened strands back, and closed her eyes against the sky. Droplets splattered against her features, racing down over the synthflesh and trickling off her chin in a matter of moments. There were no words which she could have woven together to explain what it was like to him, or anyone else for that matter. ​

​

A grand, grievous weight had been lifted from her with the return of her freedom. No longer was she confined to networks and lost in the endless streams of data. No longer was she fated to be a digital voice with some mockery of a face behind a screen to others. No longer was she simply ones and zeroes. Her tongue slipped between her parted lips, brushing along the lower to swipe up the taste of the rain. It all seemed so trivial, perhaps, to the outside.​

​

It was easy to take things for granted.​

​

She lingered as she was, with her hands curled around the rail and her head tilted back, simply savoring the feeling of the cool rain against her skin, the faint noise of the city below, and his presence closeby. ​

 

[Arekk]

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"This moment is yours, Halcyon."

Arekk walked up right beside her, resting his elbows on the rail while glancing her way with a toothy smile on his face. The fact that he was able to provide her with such an unique moment, once again, was enough to make his entire life.

So many wrongs had been swept away with one good deed. The consequences that came with it were minuscule compared to the magnanimous irradiating sensation that invaded H4L's core.

"The rain. Your freedom, your body, your smile. It's yours. Always has been, always will be."

Shakily and slowly his right hand reached out to squeeze her cybernetic one, nodding. Tiny rain droplets fell on Arekk's jacket as he did so, his hair already dampened by the relentless Ethos City rain, equally blessed with a neon-lit horizon of billboards and gigantic holograms.

"Good company makes it even better." He warmly said. "It really does."

What else could you need?

H4LCY0N​

 

[H4LCY0N]

status :// IN_THE_FLESH
locale :// RABBITS_DEN_ETHOS_CITY
tag_youre_it :// Arekk
>>-d-r-e-a-m-c-h-a-s-e-r--->

The warmth of his skin and the squeeze of his hand around hers drew her from her haze, pulling her right back to the moment she had found herself in. And slowly, her face angled back proper, turning towards him, and her eyes half-opened once more, focusing on him through the daze she was still so swept up in. Her fingers threaded between his own, squeezing, before letting him go. "You're right-" she agreed, stepping over to stand right beside him with barely any room between them at all, "It does."

Her arm slipped beneath his, hooking around to find his hand once more, and she trailed her fingers between his to curl her grip around affectionately. Now, she mirrored his lean against the rail, supporting her weight on her forearms and elbows. The replica's head tilted away, trailing her platinum strands out over the rail's edge. Her hip pressed against his.

"It may be mine, but you returned it to me. No one has ever done something like that for me before...." She trailed, eyes shifting away as she considered what she was trying to say, "I don't know why you did it. I don't know why you were so willing to risk your safety and freedom for my own, but... I will always be grateful for it, and I promise, I won't waste it." She spoke softly as if she was afraid raising volume or tone would shatter the delicate moment.

 

[Arekk]

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"You don't have to thank me at all. Just you, being here, is all I need."

His fingers intertwined with hers affectionately as well, displaying a tenderness that was concealed under his tough-looking-guy persona of always.

Behind the scars, the cancer sticks and the guns there was a man that could go to the end of the galaxy for someone and H4L was that someone.

The rain continued to pour down on their heads with haste but that would not deter them to enjoy a quiet night by the balcony, watching the odd flying speedercar pass by in a rush. Sirens echoed throughout the megabuildings that sorrounded Arekk's penthouse which was as iconic as anything else to Ethos City.

"There's so many things you might want to do and experience again and I'll make sure that you get to do every single one of them."

The slicer paused for a moment before continuing,

"It'll be for the better from now on. I just know. I can feel it."

H4LCY0N​

 

[H4LCY0N]

status :// IN_THE_FLESH
locale :// RABBITS_DEN_ETHOS_CITY
tag_youre_it :// Arekk
>>-d-r-e-a-m-c-h-a-s-e-r--->

Halcyon could only smile to his words, the expression as tender and soft as her touch. "I will hold you to that, don't try me." She snickered, leaning up just to curl both arms around the closer of his, squeezing it before she passed back over to the doors. "You should come inside. It's late, Arekk. I'm sure you're tired and you should rest, as well. AFTER you dry off and warm up. I refuse to let you get sick." She slid the door open and stepped inside, tip-toeing across the main room to the bathroom to retrieve another towel- remembering then the mess in the tub she still had to clean up. The replica scowled at it. After he went to sleep, perhaps.​

The blonde returned to the door of the balcony, holding a towel up expectantly, waiting for him to step inside with her, and once he had done as much, she would gently set to work toweling him off so he didn't have to worry about it, given the nature of his shoulder wounds. She paid extra mind to these, patting their water-proof wrappings with the most gentle touch she could muster, careful not to hurt him more than the night already had. "We can go shopping later on, hm? I'm sure you've some kind of hood or sunglasses I can wear to hide my eyes. Everything else is easy to explain, but my eyes are rather... unique."​

 

[Arekk]

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"I hear you, I hear you." He snickered along as he walked towards H4L, closing the window behind him. "Nothing like a well deserved good night's rest, right?"

Arekk stood shirtless and motionless as H4L slowly dried him off with the towel, letting out the odd giggle here and there as she moved around him. His hair was damp and flicked all the way back which made him look funnier than usual.

"Yeah, we can do that earlier in the morning. We're a five minute walk away from the nearest merchant district, I know some people down there."

And with that their plan for the upcoming day was settled. The risk of running into any sort of issue with the local populace was low but Arekk liked to take risks into account and plan for any sort of event that could require an emergency exit of sorts.

"Am I ready?"

He inquired with a quizzical glance on his face, cheeky grin surfacing for a moment, feeling over the moon.

H4LCY0N​

 

[H4LCY0N]

status :// IN_THE_FLESH
locale :// RABBITS_DEN_ETHOS_CITY
tag_youre_it :// Arekk
>>-d-r-e-a-m-c-h-a-s-e-r--->

"Yes. I think so." Halcyon answered with a playful scrunch of her face, reaching up to soothe and draw his hair back into proper place. "I also would like to return to my apartment at some point in the near future, as I have equipment there that I still may need. Especially if I am to hang around this city, with it being the way that it is. I would feel more secure in having those things with me, not only for my safety, but yours as well." After she was finished drying him off, she flipped the towel over on itself and took it to her hair, toweling out her snowy strands, and only them it seemed.​

A step backward carried her further away. "One moment."​

Across her frame, panels split open and a much louder drone resonated from her body, signaling the charging of redirected power. Heat rushed from the parted paneling, blowing out around her with one supercharged gust, drying herself and her clothes off entirely in the process. Only her hair remained damp. "There." Gentle clicks signaled the panels had closed once more. After that, she took to combing her hair with her fingers just as she had before. "I uh..." her eyes shifted around, but she found herself drawn back to stand close to him, "I am not sure what I will do while you sleep. The prospect of lying down to relax does sound rather appealing, though, I must confess..."​

 

[Arekk]

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"Yeah, transport can be easily arranged. We can go back to your apartment and recover all the equipment you require. Whatever you cannot bring can be bought here, you have no idea how great the underground market is in Ethos City."

Arekk stood barefoot as he watched H4L dry off her hair, lost in deep thought. You could pinch and ask him if he was dreaming and he wouldn't be able to tell the difference; everything was perfect in his head.

"Oh, uhh." The sudden realization that there was a single bed started to kick in. A nervous smile followed. "I mean... You can, uhm, sleep in the bed. And I can use the couch unless... you don't want me to?"

His nervousness to explain himself was rather funny, the blushing of his cheeks was a tell-tale that Arekk wasn't very good at dealing with things like these.

Eyes wandered around as he tried to wrap around the idea in his head but failing to let the words come out the right way.

"Yeah."

H4LCY0N​

 

[H4LCY0N]

status :// IN_THE_FLESH
locale :// RABBITS_DEN_ETHOS_CITY
tag_youre_it :// Arekk
>>-d-r-e-a-m-c-h-a-s-e-r--->

Halcyon glanced towards the bed, tipping her head in mild thought. Pink lips pressed together, stretching in some manner of purse. "Well, the bed is big enough, no? Not that I have objections to sharing it with you, if you will allow me to." Her glowing eyes shifted back to him and she shrugged her shoulders, "I was not going to simply invite myself to rest beside you, as I have been told inviting oneself to do anything is rather rude. But, since you offered."​

And without giving it too much thought, the replica stepped over and drew the blankets back, settling herself down against the sheets. A gentle hand brushed alongside the edge of the comforter, savoring the plushness of the touch, and soon, she gathered up her hair to rest over a shoulder and down her chest. Rather stiffly, Hal leaned back, laying herself down and tucking an arm up behind her head, against the pillow. "I don't bite, I promise." She smiled with some mimic of shyness as she reached to pat the second pillow in offer. "I know you must be exhausted."​

 

[Arekk]

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"Big enough for both of us, of course. I have zero objections to sharing it with you as am offering you to do so with me, it's alright."

Arekk's fingers brushed against the soft linen of the comforter before sitting down on the edge of his side of the bed with his back turned to H4L, pondering heavily for a moment. The rain picked up its momentum as the rain droplets began to forcefully splash against the big balcony window, offering a calming atmosphere within the apartment.

"You don't? What a shame." He 'bit' back in jest at her, winking. "Yes, I am tired but if you want to keep me awake? It's totally fine."

He slid under the soft sheets of his bed and rested his head against the pillow, eyes facing the ceiling. The lights of the room turned dimmed automatically as he got in the bed, leaving them just a small amount of light comfortable for the sight.

Gently turning to look at H4L, Arekk blinked and yawned before he finally spoke.

"How does it feel to be doing this? Laying in a bed after so long, feeling the softness of a pillow again after so long?"

H4LCY0N​

 

[H4LCY0N]

status :// IN_THE_FLESH
locale :// RABBITS_DEN_ETHOS_CITY
tag_youre_it :// Arekk
>>-d-r-e-a-m-c-h-a-s-e-r--->

Hal threaded her metal fingers over themselves and clasped her hands gently on her stomach, turning in partial to look at him as he spoke; eyes illuminating the darkness between them. "Mm. Truthfully? I've never really done this before." She confessed in a soft murmur, releasing a gentle breath as she did so. "Even the place I lived for a time, I did not have a bed. There was no reason for me to, really. My creator slept. I understand that organics do it to recover and whatnot, but I've no need to."

Her hips raised, shifting slightly to tilt and twist her onto her side, facing him entirely. "It feels... nice. Yes." She chuckled gently with a half-smile tugging at the left corner of her lips. "Comfortable, I suppose, is the word for it, though really, I have nothing to reference it by." Another truthful confession. "The ones I worked and lived with before never offered or suggested I try to rest as they did."

Halcyon paused, allowing her eyes to rather freely roam over his battered features before catching his own. "They never saw me the way you do, I do not think," Her tone only softened further, becoming liquid velvet as it spilled from her lips, "no one has."

 

[Arekk]

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"There is always a first time to everything. It's not the fact that you don't have the need to do it but you should keep the illusion alive. Let yourself go and do things even if they don't make sense to you."

H4L had the free will to do whatever she pleased regardless of her "programming" and features, she could feel and look like any other human if she wanted. The choice of living like one, dress like one, talk like one was ultimately hers. Would she consider it a mere illusion or something that just made her happy? It was her choice.

Always had been.

"I feel happy when I'm around you. No one has done that in a while." Arekk confessed cautiously, his feelings being poured and laid 'on the table'. "I'm not one for showing feelings like this. Never without actually knowing it's a real sentiment within me."

His right hand reached out to slowly and gently caress H4L's cheek as their glances clashed, his fingers trailing carefully down her soft skin. There was a small hesitation on his behalf, his heart racing like never before, a chilling sensation down his spine.

Was it the right thing to feel? What was it?

"This can't be wrong."

H4LCY0N​

 

[H4LCY0N]

status :// IN_THE_FLESH
locale :// RABBITS_DEN_ETHOS_CITY
tag_youre_it :// Arekk
>>-d-r-e-a-m-c-h-a-s-e-r--->

The replica was receptive to his words and to his touch, even more so. "Mhm..." Her gentle notes of agreement left her with a nod, and the return of his warm fingers to her flesh made her shiver slightly. It was a good feeling, too. Strange in its nature and how it gave her goosebumps, perhaps, but good- a feeling she would have liked to savor for hours. Her eyes closed as he continued to speak, and she simply turned her face in partial to press her cheek against his palm, rather than leave only his fingertips to roam.​

"I feel... Safe with you-" Halcyon started a tender response, struggling to dissect and process the weight his tone gave his words. Obviously, that confession was not easy. She wasn't exactly sure what it meant, though by his struggle alone, she assumed it was important. "It's a strange feeling for me, to feel that. I do not feel like I am drifting in your company, or like I am stuck." Glowing eyes opened once more, casting hues of glimmering blue into the dark, and the replica dared press her hips forward to shift across the mattress until she had tucked herself against him.​

A bold move, perhaps, but one she deemed necessary. She felt it was necessary. And more than that, perhaps, she just wanted to be closer to him. He brought her comfort. With both of them lying on their sides, it was easy for her to slip her arms around his ribs, drawing herself to him in something of a hug that put her ear against the drum sounding in his chest. She said nothing, allowing the action to speak enough for itself, and instead savored the strangeness of the heartbeat she felt thumping against her.​

 

[Arekk]

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"You are beautiful."

The room was dark, little splashes of color revealed only by the peeking of the moon through the the slits it in the curtains. Silver light reflecting off the metal and glass decor scattering the suite, strewn on the walls causing it to appear a technicolor water grotto.

It was quiet, even though Ethos City never slept; one of the things he had in common with the villainous ecumenopolis, among the others.

Arekk curled up against H4L with his hand possessively wrapped around her mid, squeezing gently. He moved a strand of silver hair that had gotten in the way and hid it behind her ear, their steamy glances clashing once more and not wanting to break again.

The slicer moved closer and slid his hand just under her chin, tilting it just so he could place a chaste kiss on her lips. Fingers lingered there for a moment before skating along the flesh of her neck.

Sweet, affectionate gestures that could run deeper than any ocean. Arekk jumped into those uncertain depths of emotion, albeit willingly to drown, so long as H4LCY0N was there...

​

 

[H4LCY0N]

status :// IN_THE_FLESH
locale :// RABBITS_DEN_ETHOS_CITY
tag_youre_it :// Arekk
>>-d-r-e-a-m-c-h-a-s-e-r--->

His words earned a blink, and simulated color splashed across her cheeks, bleeding over into the bridge of her nose and burning ears in the process. Embarrassment. She remained quiet, opting not to disturb the fluttering rhythm in her ear, and choose to listen to it intently-- that was until Arekk's hand slipped beneath her chin and drew her gaze to his. Glowing lenses spun slowly in their usual directions, watching him closely, peering at him in silent question.​

And when his lips snared hers, she furrowed her brows, though she remained there, as confused as she was. Of course, she knew what such a thing was, and what it meant usually, given her submersion in pop culture in spare time, but she had not expected it at all. And not only that, but this was really the first time she had ever been extended such a gesture- or even been this close to someone before. Perhaps it was all a strange and confusing thing for the A.I. who was built for ones and zeroes and warfare, and not for the tenderness of the living.​

She wasn't a companion droid. And that thought made a frown tug at the far corners of her lips, even as she kissed him. Halcyon pondered giving it a voice for a moment, though ultimately decided against it, and chose to indulge him for the time. She understood well enough that humans often felt such strong emotions after near-death experiences, and ultimately chalked this up to as much. ​

All the same, the warmth of his lips against hers made her shiver slightly, as did the trail of his fingers along the titanium flesh of her neck. She kept the kiss brief, choosing not to linger within it for too long, and drew back gently to rest her cheek against his chest once more- that pinkish hue ever-present across her cheeks and nose.​

"Goodnight, Arekk." The replica murmured softly, tightening her hold on him to something more intimate and hopefully comforting, "Rest now. You've earned as much."​