Kiwi? My cyborg’s nickname was Kiwi. God, I loved that woman. I bit my lip, tying to resist, but I couldn’t do it. “So Kiw-”
A green hand covered my mouth. “Don’t say it. That nickname is...I just don’t understand it. I have repeatedly told her I am not fuzzy on the outside, but she keeps calling me it.” His eyes glanced down to look at Legs. “I adore Iris and I know that she does it out of love, so I let her continue calling me it even if I don’t understand.”
I thought about the fruit. It had been ages since I had one, but I could still remember its taste. Sweet with a bit of tang. Kind of like her cyborg. “Have you ever eaten a Kiwi?”
He shook his head. “Why?”
“Because the part you eat on the inside is green, and is sweet with a hint of tang. Remind you of any cyborg you know?”
A slow smile spread across his face as his hand moved from over my mouth to cup my cheek. “My female is brilliant.”
“We are brilliant together.” I pressed my cheek deeper into his palm, drawing in the delicious vanilla scent that was uniquely his.
My gaze scanned the room, taking another look around at all the different colored cyborgs seated at the tables shoving forkfuls of waffles and whipped cream into their mouths as they chatted happily, and warmth spread through my chest.
Life was messy, bad things happen, and you couldn’t always control what came, but having people in your life who cared about you made shouldering the storm a bit easier. Could any of us guarantee that the future would always be smooth sailing from now on? No. But any storms that came our way we could weather because we had each other.
Dax’s brow creased. “Everything okay? You got rather quiet, my beautiful Poe.”
“Everything is perfect,” I said, placing a kiss to his palm. “Just happy to be home.”
THE END
Epilogue Two
*Viper*
Isat at my desk andfiddled with Floppity’s ears. No matter what I tried, I could never get them to lay just how I wanted them. There were only so many ways you could manipulate a stuffed animal’s appendages. I shook my head, turning my attention back to monitoring the security cameras. Nothing. The woods around headquarters were quiet except for the wildlife.
I gazed at the cameras trained on the entrances into headquarters. Both were devoid of anything of note. Headquarters had a door installed in the forest floor and a set of stairs that allowed access. Personally, the trap door was much more fun in my opinion, but Iris had not agreed. She had lovingly nicknamed it the slide of death. And after she learned about the two dead raccoons, she had ordered us to install a weight sensor on the trap door so it wouldn’t trigger on unsuspecting animals simply wandering around the woods. Dash’s female definitely had a soft heart, but so did the Service Model. They truly were a perfect match.
I leaned back in my chair and sighed. I highly doubted there was a female out there for me. I had hope when Marley found her way back into my life, thinking she might want me after Acer made a fool of himself. Every day I went to her room, checking on her and the tiny cyborg she carried, making sure they were both taken care of. Many times, I was tasked with finding whatever food she was craving, and then we would sit on the couch together and watch a human movie that made her laugh.
I let her put her head on my shoulder and wrapped my arms around her when she cried. I despise touching, especially touches from humans, but I enjoyed having Marley in my arms. The soft, gentle touches she gave me made me hunger for more instead of feeling like I needed a decontamination vat.
Then Acer came back and ruined any chance I had at winning Marley’s heart, though looking back I don’t think I had any chance at all. Her heart had always been Acer’s. Leaning forward, I picked up Floppity from his perch above my workstation.
I stroked the soft purple fur between his ears. “Well, it looks like it’s just me and you again, little buddy.”
“Not for long.”A voice I didn’t recognize whispered across my processors, causing Floppity to fall from my hand.
“I’m coming for you and all your little cyborg friends, too.”
It was my duty to protect the cyborg rebellion, to warn them if a threat was incoming. I went to sound the alarm but nothing happened. My arms refused to work and my lips clamped tight, not allowing a single sound to escape.