He was taking a great risk entering the scrapyard, however Aildyn knew the place had more than enough old tech that he could find the parts his A.I companion needed to help improve his dying body’s functions. Lucky enough, Angelo’s bike wasn’t parked in it’s usual spot, and he knew of countless locations the rest of the gang never bothered to go near. As he found the heap of old empire tech, he let out a sigh of relief.
“ Well then..., That wasn’t too bad.., you ready to get lookng?”
The strange language flashed onto the screen hanging from the cyborg’s shoulder, the eye looking up at him before looking to the heap of old tech, One of it’s wires slithers from Aildyn’s shoulder, pointing to an old mech-suit that lay in pieces.
“ Hmm? Yeah I was wondering about that one.., Likely a ruined prototype from the empire.., A lot of their trash ends up here, If anyone has something close enough to what you’re used to it’d be them..” Moving to the suit, Aildyn drags it from the heap, shoving one of the larger, unidentifiable constructs pinning it down away, kneeling down to inspect it’s casing for any seams to crack it open.
“ Strange.. some sort of .. exo suit then? For protection in battle... hah, yes.., our empire is.. very much like your species it seems...” As he and the A.I continued to search the suit for salvageable parts, Another approached them, his footfalls hardly making a sound. It wasn’t until he had reached them, Taking his wooden bat and tapping it to the back of Aildyn’s head, that both Aildyn and the a.I sharing his body knew of his presence.
“So... you really are alive...”
Unable to look Aildyn in the eyes as he turned to face him, Angelo lowers his bat to his side, allowing his old friend to stand, only seeing his expression change out of the corner of his eye.
Aildyn’s brows furrowed as hid face changed to worry as he stumbled over his words, only able to mutter Angelo’s name, causing the tyrian’s angered expression to twist more, as he gritted his teeth.
“ Angelo I... I’m sorry... I didn’t know why I-”
“Shut it! I.. don’t want to talk about that.. The damage has already been done...”
“ If anyone should be sorry it’s me...”
the two fell to silence, until Angelo squeezed his eyes closed, throwing his bat into one of the piles of scrap, turning away from Aildyn with a snarl. Bringing his hand up to his face, Angelo pinched his brow, as he tried to contain his frustration. At first Aildyn assumed that the only emotion the other felt was rage, however as Angelo’s shoulders drooped and a shaky curse escapes his lips, he finally knew of the regret his friend was distraught with.
“ Angelo..., Are you... okay?” Making a hesitant step towards Angelo, Aildyn reached out, placing a hand on his shoulder, gauging how close Angelo was willing to let him get, until he placed his arm around the back of hiw now crying friend, trying to soothe him enough for him to be able to speak. However, instead of admitting what was going through his head, Angelo turned, grabbing the other in a tight hug, sobbing into his shoulder. Aildyn, astonished with the sudden contact, slowly wrapped his arms around Angelo, rubbing his back, giving him all the time he needed to collect himself.
Eventually Angelo finally loosens his hold, Aildyn following his action, letting Angelo take a step back. Drying his eyes with his sleeve, only for tears to continue to streak his cheeks, Angelo finds it in him to finally speak.
“ I.. need to get help for this shit.., I went too far- I.., I was blinded by my rage and when I came outta it I..., I had nothing left.., and the only person I could blame for that is myself... I’ve known about my issues.., we all knew.. I should have looked for help to stop but I haven’t.., and I let it hurt my best friend.., It doesn’t matter what you did.., what I did wasn’t right... I’m sorry man... I’m so fucking sorry.”
Aildyn’s mouth remain agape, as Angelo poured his regrets out to him. Speechless, all he was able to to was step towards him, pulling him back into a hug, this time leaving Angelo in shock, unused to Aildyn showing such affection.“ I.. Forgive you Angelo... I was so sure you’d still want me dead..,I’m so sorry for what I did.., I wasn’t thinking.., but I’m still here.. And I..,” Aildyn chokes up, his body shaking as he struggles to speak his mind. Angelo, takes him, helping him lower down so they both sat on the ground, Finally getting a good look at the state Aildyn was in. His heart dropped as he realized how damaged his body was, and the strange presence of wires weaving in his face, seemingly leading to the strange screen hanging rimom his shoulder. This time it was his turn to turn his friend’s question back at him.
“ Ail... are... are you okay?.., what is this?” Angelo reached out, touching his index finger and thumb the the screen, the yellow eye on it looking down to his hand in reaction, the strange language appearing on screen, something Angelo was unable to read. Aildyn collects himself, wiping the tears from his eyes before looking up to his friend.
“The reason I’m alive is.., this a.i.., It’s been assimilating itself into my body to preserve both of our lives..,” He wanted to keeps speaking, however the pained look on Angelo’s face stops him, the look of regret pushing him to say something he had yet to hear himself admit. “ I’m okay with this..”
Angelo looked to Aildyn, somewhat relieved yet still feeling immensely guilty for putting his friend in this position in the first place. His silence continues on longer than he intended, until Aildyn places a hand on his leg, causing him to place his own onto it, giving Aildyn’s hand a squeeze. Finally, he finds it in himself to admit what he had realized not long after seeing that his friend was still alive, and had escaped from the scrap yard with the kid a week ago.
“The reason I was so angry...it wasn’t because it was her... it was because it was you... I don’t think I would have cared so much if it was Raf who slept with her.., It was because it was you..,I realized-” Angelo cuts himself off, his face growing a deep shade of his blood as he glanced away, the look on Aildyn’s face as he realized what Angelo met causing him to shy away even more.
Aildyn however, could only laugh. His laughter was nervous and had a touch of manic realization. Exhaling sharply, he shook his head in disbelief, bringing a hand up to his face, covering his mouth as he too looked away.
“ Oh Angelo..” Was all he could mutter, followed by another long silence between the two, He had no clue he had felt that way- “ I never thought you.., Of all people,.., it could never have been me”
The two sat in silence for a long while. Angelo pulling Aildyn into a tight hug, only letting go when he would later offer to help Aildyn look in the scrapyard for what he needed to find.