Maintenence day (Raiden x Reader angst)
"Can you hold still?!" You grumbled, squinting into the dark metallic cavity before you, trying to find that wire you'd just lost thanks to Raiden's sudden jump.
"I would, if you didn't keep messing with the wrong circuits." Raiden replied, sullenly. You sighed, reaching into the maze of wires with a pair of thin tweezers.
"How am I supposed to know which ones deal with your motor functions and which ones don't?" Raiden scoffed in response, casting a sour look at you over his shoulder, but otherwise said nothing. You frowned, finally finding the wire you were looking for and connecting it to what you supposed was the right socket.
It was not.
A horribly loud buzzing sound resounded from Raiden's back before an electric jolt wracked his body, causing him to practically leap off the operating table with a loud yelp.
"Shit!" You quickly reached in with with your pliers and yanked the wire out before it could cause any more damage. The crisis averted, Raiden sighed and sank down on the table, head in his hands. "Sorry, Rai," You apologized, pulling out Doktor's handwritten guidebook and flipping through the pages. "Aw, damn," You groaned, realizing your mistake. "Red wires were for the electricity supply..." Raiden sighed, shaking his head.
"You should have let Doktor do this." You shook your head, reading through the guidebook with a tight, thoughtful frown.
Today was Raiden's weekly tune up, a time when Doktor usually performed maintenance on Raiden's cybernetic body. However, recently, Doktor had been very busy with other projects and didn't have time for the maintenance operation--which was where you came in. You decided that since Raiden was your boyfriend, it was nessescary to learn how his parts worked, so you could not only help out the hardworking doctor, but have a chance to spend more time with your favorite ninja. Of course, since you had little to no experience with this type of technology, Doktor compiled a short handbook describing everything that needed to be done, which things did what, and so on.
You stared at the aforementioned book in silence before picking up your tweezers and reaching into the jungle of wires once again, this time pulling out a thick red wire. After consulting the guidebook once again, you plugged it into another socket; thankfully, nothing happened. You continued carefully rearranging Raiden's circuitry with very few mishaps hindering your progress. At the very most, Raiden's body would suddenly twitch because you pinched a nerve wire by mistake, which was something he really didn't like.
"Seriously, you're terrible at this."
"Shh, Rai, I'm almost done." You replied, plugging in the last wire before closing up his back. "Now, we move on to the arms and legs." Raiden let out a low grumble while watching you pick up a screwdriver. He sat there sullenly and watched as you unscrewed the panels on his legs, popped them off, giving them a quick wipedown with some anti-tarnish polish, then slipping them back on. You did the same for his arms, and when you were done, you headed for his face, which prompted an unusual response.
The mere sight of your fingers nearing his face made Raiden shiver. He stared up at you with his one working eye, unusually pale and deathly silent. Fearfully, he watched as you crossed over to the shelf across the room to retrieve some tools, and by the time you returned, he was actually shaking, his wide, shocked eye lingering on the screwdriver and box of screws in your hands. As you neared him, Raiden shrunk away from you, eyeing you with a cold glare. He didn't like anyone touching his face--there were too many awful memories associated with it. The two of you stared at each other in silence for a while, before you finally spoke up.
"I'm not gonna hurt you, Raiden," You said, setting the tools down. "I promise." Raiden sighed, lowering his gaze to the floor.
"Just get it over with," He mumbled, crossing his arms defensively. "And...try not to be too rough."
You nodded, gently taking his jaw in your hand and loosening the bolts that held it in place. It popped off with a loud clank, and you set it down on the table next to you. Acdording to the handbook, you were supposed to polish, then reattach it with new screws. You quickly and carefully cleaned the fake jaw, then lined it back up with the sockets and slid the new screws in. You soon became so absorbed in your work, you didn't realize the tears that were welling up in Raiden's eye.
"Oh shit, baby, did I do something wrong?" You hastily released your hold on him, backing away nervously. Raiden shook his head, a pained expression plastered on his face.
"No, you're fine....just...this stuff...brings back memories." You nodded, wishing there was a way to soothe his pain. "Finish the job," He mumbled, sounding like a dying soldier more than anything else. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine."
This was, of course, a lie, and both of you knew it. But it was his will, and Raiden's will must be done. Sighing, you took his metal hand in yours and brought it up to your collar bone, allowing him to feel the faint beating of your heartbeat.
"You're gonna be ok, Rai, it'll all be fine. I won't hurt you, I promise." Raiden blinked furiously, trying to force his tears back, but they just spilled out anyway.
He sat there on the operating table, crying silently as you worked on replacing his jaw. Once you were done with your work, you kissed his cheek, wrapping your arms around his torso, eager to comfort him after enduring what must have dredged up memories of a traumatizing experience.
"All done, Rai, all done. You did great, baby. I love you so much. I'm so proud of you." Raiden nodded, curling his metal arms around your waist, small sobs, along with many tears, spilling out of him. You held him tightly, kissing him, comforting him; giving him the affection he needed; the affection he deserved.
