It takes almost all of his courage to do so; Blackjack shuffles up to The Spine and tentatively tugs on his sleeve to get his attention, ducking his head to avoid eye contact. He seems to be hiding something behind his back with his free hand.
“Hm?”
Attention shifted almost immediately downwards after the tug on his sleeve and green optics blink in confusion before he raises his glance to look at his younger brother.
Face plates shifted into a softer expression and he offered what he hoped came across as an encouraging smile as not to chase off the other Walter automaton.
“Well..hello Blackjack. Can I help you with something?”
gcldandblxe:
He didn’t know that…
As he heard the sounds of paper crinkling as the folded up gift was retrieved, Blackjack’s gold body only quaked more, knees knocking, hands squeezing the brim of his hat tightly as he pulled it even farther down the fraction of his head that wasn’t currently inside of his shirt.
What would The Spine think of him? Bringing up that old secret between them, daring to try and…make light of the situation? The Spine didn’t want to be reminded of their shared plight; there was a reason they didn’t speak of it, and it wasn’t just because Blackjack didn’t speak to his brother much anyways.
Who did Blackjack think he was, bringing it up like this? Just so casually. ‘Oh, here you go, The Spine! Here’s a stupid drawing of that problem we both have! Hope you don’t get offended!’ What right did he have to do that? He was just…Blackjack. Just Blackjack - and Just Blackjack didn’t have any right to force The Spine to think about their conundrum like this. Nobody did.
So, effectively, he was ruining The Spine’s day. He’d obviously already ruined it by talking to him in the first place, but now he was just making it worse. Classic Blackjack.
The Spine was silent and Blackjack knew that meant he hated it. He was about to turn and leg it when The Spine blew out steam from his vents and mimicked a swallow, and Blackjack awaited the order to get his arse down to the Sixth to be scrapped, only…it never came. He flinched at the mention of his name, and his quaking continued as The Spine spoke, only to stop when he realised that his brother’s words weren’t…negative.
The…The best present he’s ever gotten…
That didn’t sound real. Were his audio receptors working correctly?
Slowly, Blackjack peeked out of his hat and looked to his brother, then his head slowly rose from his shirt and he removed his hat, looking down at it as he played with the brim. “I…Y-You’re welcome…I…find that a little hard to believe, though…I’m sure you’ve gotten better things…from fans. Or Malfunction. Or even…Rabbit…”
What was so special about a silly crayon drawing, anyways? So what if Blackjack had worked hard on it, right?
It felt good, if he were honest, to approach the situation they both shared. Therapeutic even. To have some sort of call back to their shared species dysphoria. The discomfort they both felt but never had the courage to discuss after what had happened the last time.
“No..No this is truly..the greatest thing I could ever hope to be given.” He answered quietly, hand dropping to clutch at the corner of the picture once more. Of course he’d gotten many gifts over the years. From his siblings, from his fans and his partners; they had always been nice gifts, yes, but there was something truly special about the piece of artwork he held in his hands.
He’d have to get it framed or--or something. Something to keep the paper from crumpling or tearing or smearing from his treatment towards the crayon lines. It’d be stashed away with his hoodie, where no one could possibly find it save for himself. Which was harder than it should have been in a Manor the size of their home but. He made do.
Another bout of steam escaped him, trailing from his mouth this time and he mimicked another swallow before looking across the distance at his brother, the golden automaton peeking out at him.
“I’d..I’d really like to hug you. If you’re comfortable with it.” It felt silly, to ask, and if Blackjack said no..well he would understand. Siblings or not. The Spine had his own issues with personal space; he understand how it could be. But it felt appropriate to present the offer; to channel his gratitude into something while his words refused to cooperate for the time being.
