requested by @wordsmith-by-night
Summary: Time and patience are what it takes to heal. Dinner time happens to be a benefit.
Your name (Y/N), Your Gender (y/g)
Notes: Ralph is a victim of violence and hate. I believe he has trauma/ptsd, however I could be very wrong but his symptoms are very familiar and what I can identify. Apologies. Also format might be messed up and didn’t spellcheck.
It didn’t start with gentle kisses on his face or touching his fingers lightly before giving them a tender squeeze. No it took weeks of fumbling through his time of healing before any gentle encounters ever began. You took your time, you let Gabriel, an RX300 handle him for the first few days. Her patiences was that of a saint, her kindness and motherly aura, everyone yearned for. If anyone could ease Ralph back into reality, it was her. Your work would follow but come much later once her precious time with Ralph had passed.
Truth be told, it was a curious thing to bring such a unstable deviant to the place you called home yet here he was, hidden away in the basement normally reserved for Gabriel and Nathanial. You had made it their home and let them do as they wish when you weren’t around. As easy as it would have been to simply throw them out, you knew better. You saw the horrors of what CyberLife had created, the things people did to homeless androids. Even if Gabriel and Nathanial reminded you of Y/S, you’d never intentionally bring them harm. They were your family now, the only ones left with Y/S gone. Even hopefully one Ralph would chose to join.
Tonight Gabriel had invited you into the basement and you couldn’t help feel a wave of emotions as you stood before the closed door. Sadness and fear from what had been done and what could happen. Relief and excitement at the possibility of recovering and healing. A small smile escapes your lips as you turn the handle. This is the beginning and hopefully, far from an ending you fear.
Silently, you listen as you descend the staircase. You hear Nathanial tsking along with Gabriel asking Ralph if he’s alright. The door behind you is open and before you make it to the last step, a black ball of fluff dashes from behind you. Nathanial stops tsking and calls out to ball of fluff “We’ve been waiting, Lucifer.”
Y/S had joking call the kitten, Satan when you two had first received her. Y/S had been making jokes about devil worship and how a black cat completed it. Out of silly revenge, you taught the kitten to respond to Lucifer. Gabriel and Nathanial didn’t understand the humour of the name but Y/S was pleasantly annoyed. How else was a CEO of the most powerful company in the world going to explain that their cat was named in honour of God’s most favourite yet discarded creation, a being who refused to bow to those lesser then himself.
Lucifer meowed before glancing back at you, her eyes speaking and wondering if you’d join. A soft smile spread across your lips as you finally stepped onto the landing. The basement was similarly laid out like upstairs. Bedrooms off to the far right with a bathroom separating them. To your left, another door to the garage. The kitchen and living room separated by carpet and tile. The stairs lead immediately to the living room.
Before you on a couch sat Nathanial. Behind him in the kitchen, Gabriel and Ralph sat at a round dinner table. The only sound in the room was Lucifer purring and rubbing against your legs.
“Good evening,” you say with the smile still across you face. “or should I say good morning since it’s about 4am?”
“4:23” Ralph mumbles from the table. “4:23” he repeats.
“Yes,” Gabriel whispers to him while holding his hand. “you’re right. You’re such a good boy, Ralph.”
“Ralph is a good boy,” he isn’t looking at you. Avoiding eye contact as he holds himself with one hand while the other grips Gabriel’s. “Good boy, Ralph. Good boy.”
You nod to Nathanial who stands and walks over to join you. You both approach the table slowly while introducing yourself.
“My name is Y/N,” you say as you show your hands are empty. “Do you remember me, Ralph?” You keep your distance from the table until Ralph acknowledged your presence.
“Ralph remembers you,” his voice shook. “You brought Ralph here, away from humans but your a human.” The last bit held the hints of a rising anger.
“Ralph,” Gabriel whispered firmly. “Y/N is our friend, she takes care of all of us. We love Y/G and Y/N loves us.”
“B-B-but...” the anger lessens and replaced with confusion. “Y/G human?”
“I am human.” You take a step and Ralph doesn’t react. “I can see the damage on your face still needs attending to.” You gesture to your own face. Ralph’s face, the left side was ruined. Fire damage, if you remember correctly when Connor and you had first examined him. “Nathanial has my tools but I can help fix some of the damage.”
Ralph looks from you to Nathanial before finally, with fear at Gabriel. You can see the sadness and hurt in his eyes, the horrors he had to endure. Unfortunately those memories made him who he was now, a reset would be out of the question. He’d be a gardener again with only his love of plants to comfort his idle hands. It would be peaceful but cruel.
“It’s alright Ralph,” Nathanial states as he laid a briefcase before him. You don’t remember seeing him grab your tools, your focus was completely on not setting Ralph off. “Y/N is a friend. Y/G knows how to help and fix us.”
Nathanial turns to you and deactivates his skin. You being checking his systems, slowly and gently. You see out of the corner of your eye Ralph’s interest is peaked. You hear Gabriel reassure him you aren’t hurting Nate, simply checking to make sure everything is in order to make sure Nate doesn’t shut down or havoc messes with his systems. Once you do the standard protocol, Nate reactive his skin and turns to Ralph.
“See,” Nate gives Ralph a reassuring smile. “Nothing to it.” He gives you a hug before walking to stand behind Ralph.
“We can start with your face,” you announce as you take a step towards Ralph and Gabriel. “It’s the most damaged and Gabriel has told me you are still bleeding on occasion.”
Ralph glanced back at Nate before looking at Gabriel. Another step and he nods his head. You finally stand beside him and kneel slowly.
“Gabriel will stay and hold your hand as I begin.” You gesture for him to deactivate his skin. “We’ll start with your face.” You pause as deactivates his skin. “If it’s not too much or too long, we can look at fixing your hand and eye but now we’re starting with your face.” Ralph nodded in agreement.
That night you managed with fixing his face plates. Over time, another several weeks, you were able to replace his hand, leg and some torso plates. It took time and patience to heal the physical wounds. As these weeks rolled out, Gabriel and Nathanial felt comfortable enough to let Ralph explore the upstairs and soon enough let Lucifer finally cuddle up against him.
The next time you helped him heal, his eye finally replaced, Ralph offered to cook dinner since he had been watching Gabriel prepare it for you when you’d call home to announce the time of your arrival. All morning you heard Gabriel offer Ralph advise but not once did she offer to help. It was a big step to be independent again, cooking was the first step to control.
Your hours were unpredictable, you were Connor’s handler. You were home when a the case needed a break. Dinner, regardless of the time of day, was when you had a few hours to spare and sit and eat with your makeshift family.
It was almost noon when Ralph happily ran to the couch you laid on and declared dinner was ready. His excitement was a joy to see after remembering how long it had taken him to become comfortable with you. He takes your hand a guides you to the table. Nathanial and Gabriel already sitting with their bowls of blue soup. You noticed your plate has only a single stake, Ralph’s work. Beside your plate is a salad, clearly Gabriel’s, a backup plan in case Ralph’s dinner isn’t what suited you. Nathanial normally sits to your left but tonight he sat across from your seat. Ralph pulls out your chair.
“Sit, sit.” He pushes you in a little to tightly before taking his seat beside you.
“Thank you, Ralph” you look at the stake. It was very well done, much to some to your liking but politeness was key. “It looks wonderful.”
“Eat. Eat.” His smiles are like clouds. Soft, light but not brief or fleeting.
You could smell it long before you could taste it but the meat was burnt. Palatable, you’ve had much worse for a hefty price.
“Do you like it?” Ralph asks. “Ralph cooked it all by himself.”
“That’s amazing Ralph,” you suppress a dry cough with a quick sip of water. “It tastes amazing.”
Ralph claps his hands and lets out a gleeful laugh before turning his attention to his blue soup. These were the moments you were very much willing to endure to bring back safety and happiness to him.
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