Summary:
When a brutal accident reveals that the rough mechanic you’ve grown close to is actually an android, you become the only one who knows his secret and the one he trusts to put him back together, piece by piece.
— ✧ — ✧ — ✧ — ✧ — ✧ — ✧ — ✧ — ✧ — ✧ —
Everyone in town knew him, whether it was because of his wild red hair or his reputation. Kid had a reputation for being a grumpy person, someone who didn't mince words, and he was the local mechanic, but not just any mechanic.
He was the best mechanic around. He could help with even the most complicated problems. But people mainly talked about him for one thing, his robotic arm. It was a robotic arm that he had built himself, replacing the one he lost years ago in a so-called work accident.
It was massive and covered in scratches, but it could manipulate metal with incredible precision. People whispered about his strength, about how he could attract metal objects like a magnet.
When you first met Eustass Kid, he was wearing greasy overalls, and his robotic arm was sparking because he was welding something into it. You, on the other hand, had access to spare robotic parts that you sold to him.
Components that no one wanted but which were sometimes worth almost as much as gold. At least for those who knew how to work with them. You somehow hit it off with him when you weren't intimidated by his rough demeanour and comments.
When he was in a good mood, you could spend the whole day in his shop. As these days increased, you started bringing coffee for yourself. And one day, you started bringing coffee for him too.
At first, he was taken aback, but he never said no. Instead, he took it and put it on the table so he would have it handy. Although it was true that you never saw him drink it.
That evening, you stayed at his place longer than usual.
"Can you even see? It's as dark as a tomb in here," you joked, as you turned on the lights for him, before sitting down on a pile of discarded cables. Kid smiled without lifting his eyes from his work.
"I don't mind the dark. At least people can't see how much mess I have here." It was his classic tone, dry, but a smile always twitched at the corner of his lips when he answered you. You had already noticed that you were perhaps one of the few people who could make him laugh.
It got completely dark outside. When you wanted to leave, Kid put down his wrench and got up.
"I'll walk you home," he announced, as if it were a given.
"You don't have to," you protested.
"Hey," he raised an eyebrow and looked you over. "A strong wind would blow you away. I'm going with you. I wouldn't want to lose my best supplier, would I?" he smirked.
And so you went. The streets were empty and quiet, and only an occasional siren wailed in the distance. You talked about robots, about robot fights, and about all sorts of things. You turned onto your street, from where you could clearly see your house. In the distance, you heard a car.
It would have been nothing special if the engine hadn't roared so loudly that it made your ears hurt. And all of a sudden, a car careened towards you, swerving on the straight road and finally heading directly towards you. It was going so fast that you had no chance to escape.
Before you could scream, Kid pushed you aside. You landed hard in the grass by the fence, while a deafening crash split the night. The car hit him directly and pinned him against a tree.
"Kid!" you screamed and ran back. What you saw took your breath away. His vest was torn, and cables were sticking out from underneath. His metal arm was hanging by only a few wires, sparking and crackling. Under the skin on his chest, metal plates were outlined.
"My god... you're not..." you gasped, shocked. You didn't expect this.
"Calm down. I can't feel anything. Make sure no one finds out what I am. The laws of robotics... remember?" he said firmly. Kid frowned, and red diodes flickered in his eyes.
You nodded, your heart pounding. You grabbed your phone, called an ambulance for the driver, and quickly made up a story about a drunk driver who almost hit you, while you managed to jump out of the way.
The police arrived, and the ambulance took the drunk driver, who was thankfully unharmed. But before these services arrived, you had gotten Kid to your house, dragging him through the streets with all your might, while he tried not to scare you more than you already were.
When you arrived at your apartment, Kid collapsed onto the couch.
"You don't have to... do anything with me. I'm used to it," he said. "This is just a scratch."
"Shut up," you snapped and grabbed a toolbox you had once bought for repairing small electronics.
His arm was hanging, sparking and crackling. He rested his head on the back of the couch, the red light in his eyes flickering faintly. It was strange to see him like this.
You slowly began to disconnect the cables, clean the connections, and look for where the arm could be removed. He was silent, just watching you. Finally, you released the connector, and the arm fell to the floor with a hollow metallic sound.
"I'm sorry," you whispered.
"Why? It's a relief," he smirked. The red light of his eyes seemed softer to you, almost human. You took care of him all night, even though you had found out that he was just a machine.
The next day, you walked him back to his workshop. It was strange. He walked next to you without an arm, as if he didn't mind at all. You had already bandaged him up because several cables were sticking out of his stomach.
Kid guided you on how to fix him, and together, you repaired him. After that, you took a spray can of artificial skin from his workshop and evenly sprayed his exposed parts so no one would know what was underneath. Kid was silent, but the corners of his lips twitched when you were too meticulous.
"Thank you," you said in the end. "For saving me." Kid turned away so that the blush on his cheeks wouldn't be visible.
"It was nothing," he grumbled. "You humans are too fragile. And if you disappeared, I'd lose my favourite supplier."
You laughed. That was exactly the answer you would have expected and that you needed to hear. And then you leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. Kid froze for a moment, and then he chuckled.
"You know..." his voice was deeper than usual, almost raspy, "...a kiss like that is nice, but you could thank me a little more," he smirked smugly.
Before you could say anything, he pulled you closer, firmly but gently. Your laughter was lost in another kiss, and at that moment, you didn't care at all if he was human or an android. Because under that artificial skin, you felt something real.
Okay, a little kid seeing Cliff bummed out deciding to go make a robot costume so he can come back and dance the robot to cheer him up is the cutest shit ever
