Acer

by Kelsey Nicole Price

Reaper to raise an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”

  I moved a bit closer. “I feel the itch to hug you.”

  Reaper appeared stunned. I took another step, but a tug on the back of my shirt stopped me in my tracks. Within seconds, I found myself pulled into Acer’s arms, my back pressed to his front, a yellow arm wrapped around my waist.

  A low growl sounded in my ear. “No hugs.”

  “But what if I really wanted one?” Reaper gave his best impression of a pout.

  “Too bad.” Acer hissed. “You don’t get one.”

  “And Acer’s back!” Dash cheered as Reaper gave another eye roll. “Thank God! I was worried for a second there.”

  The hold on me relaxed slightly, but Acer refused to allow me out of his arms. I wouldn’t complain. His arms were always the one place I wanted to be. I patted his arm and melted against his frame, using my body to show him I had no plans to leave.

  Iris stepped beside Dash and clutched the box to her chest. What was so important in that box? Curiously got the better of me, and I leaned a tiny bit forward to see if I could see inside it.

  “You want to know, don’t you?” Iris laughed as she pulled the top off the box and tipped it, so I could see what it held.

  I peered inside the box and a bunch of strange-colored stuffed animals greeted me. I opened my mouth, but Acer beat me to it. “What are those?” he asked.

  “Beanie Babies,” Iris replied, a hint of glee in her voice. “Reaper decided I could have my box back. He said I was better at finding them a home with the right cyborg. In fact,” Iris reached in the box and pulled out a yellow duck. “I think this one’s home should be with you, Acer. If you want him, of course.” She held the yellow duck out in front of her and waited on Acer to decide.

  The old Acer would have probably swatted it from her hand and ranted about how he was a deadly cyborg not some young one who needed a toy. The new Acer stared at the duck that dangled from Iris’s hand before he quickly scooped it up with his free hand and held it in front of his face to examine it.

  He opened the tag and scanned it. “Quackers.” He ran a finger over its little yellow head. “It’s nice to meet you.” He met Iris’s eyes. “Thank you.”

  Iris smiled. “You’re welcome, Lemon Drop.” She blew him a kiss.

  “Lemon Drop?” Confusion clouded his tone.

  “Looks like you got yourself not only one of Iris’s famous Beanie Babies, but she gifted you with a nickname as well.” Reaper chuckled. He pointed at Dash. “Lemon Drop meet Blueberry.”

  A chuckle sounded from behind me. “And you are?” Acer asked, amusement thread through his voice.

  Reaper puffed out his chest, pride burned in his blue eyes. “Great White.”

  “The shark?” I quirked a brow at him. “Really?”

  Reaper quirked a brow back at me. “You don’t approve?”

  “I do. I think it’s perfect, Military Model.” I answered truthfully. Great White worked. My brain spun, wondering what other nicknames Iris had come up with. I tapped Acer on the arm. He loosened his hold so I had enough room to turn in his arms. I tilted my head back so I could look up at the face I knew so well. “Lemon Drop huh?”

  Acer tipped his head down. “A sugar-coated, lemon-flavored candy, colored yellow and shaped to resemble a miniature lemon.” He tilted his head to the side, and I could see his processors working overtime. “I don’t see how that describes me.”

  I lifted up to my tiptoes and found his ear. I knew it didn’t matter. They others would hear anyway, but I still liked the illusion of keeping things private. “Let’s see, you’re yellow, and I happen to think you taste sweet like sugar.” I kissed his chin and followed the path that led straight to his lips. I kissed them before smacking my lips together. “Yep. Tastes sweet to me.”

  His eyes blazed, and the duck tumbled from his fingers, but he caught it right before it hit the ground. He tucked it into the front pocket of his hoodie. “He’ll be safe there.” He claimed my lips with fierce possession, and his arm dragged me to his frame.

  I collided with a soft oomph and gave myself over to his kiss. Had it only been yesterday since I showed him how to kiss again? My cyborg learned fast.

  My knees almost buckled when he swept his tongue inside to duel with mine. I moaned into the kiss and felt something hard press into my stomach, the evidence of Acer’s desire made it hard for me to breathe. The world vanished, and I lost myself in my cyborg’s arms.

  Someone cleared their throat loudly. “Might I advise against taking your female out in the open hallway? Then again, many cyborgs are now curious about finding a female of their own. Maybe a live demonstration would be beneficial to show them one of the perks.”

  And there went my lady boner.

  I broke the kiss and shot Reaper a glare over my shoulder. “Since you are the leader of the cyborg rebellion the duty would fall to you to show your cyborgs a live demonstration. Should I call Aria?”

  Reaper’s mouth quirked. “Well played, Marley.”

  Iris threw up her hands. “That’s it! I can’t...that’s my best friend, and I love you Great White, but I do not want to think about what you are packing in your pants and how you use it. Come on, Blueberry. Time to go.”

  I heard Dash growl. “You will never see what Reaper carries in his pants. You’re mine!”

  “I’m yours, no worries, handsome.” Dash and Iris walked by, and Iris turned to look back at me. “Take care of him, but maybe not out in the hallway?” Iris winked.

  I blushed and nodded.

  “I suddenly find myself needing to locate my female.” Reaper grinned. “I will announce Acer’s condition. Not full details, but enough so other cyborgs will know not to bother him if he acts differently from what they have become accustomed to.”

  I opened my mouth to protest, but Reaper put up his hand. “It’s for the best. Do you want everyone to think Acer is malfunctioning every time he’s nice or doesn’t remember something or someone?”

  I sighed heavily. “Fine, but only if Acer gives you permission. It’s his business. His life. He has the right to decide.” I bracketed his cheeks with my hands. “What do you want?”

  “Reaper can tell the other cyborgs. It’s better if they know.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Acer nodded.

  “Well, now that’s settled, I’m off to find Aria.” He moved past us but stopped. He put his hand on Acer’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze, his blue eyes flashing. “You couldn’t have picked a better female. I am happy for you.” He met my eyes. “Both of you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  *Acer*

  “You should have come right here,” Dax chastised.

  Marley sat on an exam table, her feet swinging as the Science Model gently examined the lump on the back of her head. He moved his fingers, and she let out a wince.

  I narrowed my eyes at Dax and barely suppressed a growl.

  “Sorry, Miss. Marley,” Dax quickly apologized.

  I drew Quackers from the pocket of my hoodie and held it out to Marley. “Holding him might help,” I offered.

  She took him and sat him carefully on her lap. “Thanks, Sunshine or maybe I should call you Lemon Drop, instead.” She wiggled her eyesbrows, the action made me grin.

  “Let the others call me Lemon Drop. I want to be your Sunshine.”

  “You will always be my Sunshine.” She stroked Quackers’ head.

  Dax peered around Marley and his eyes zeroed in on the Beanie Baby in her lap. “A nickname and a Beanie Baby, Iris has been back at it, I see.” Dax smiled.

  “Do you have a nickname Dax?” Marley questioned.

  He picked up sterilization cloth, ran it over his hands, and pulled a scanner from his lab coat pocket. “Yes.”

  Marley eyed the scanner. “Just ‘yes’? Not going share? Inquiring minds want to know.”

  “Kiwi. My nickname is Kiwi.” He ran the scanner over the lump then waved it over her frame. “No concussi
on. All your vitals are good. The spot is going to be tender, but I will give you a numbing injection to help with pain.”

  “Thanks, Dax. That would be great. So, Kiwi, huh?” Dax couldn’t see Marley’s face, but I could. Her eyes twinkled, and she smirked.

  He grabbed an injector, pressed it to the lump and hit the button so fast a human might have missed it.

  Marley’s body jumped as the hold she had on Quackers became a death grip. “Ow! Warn a girl next time, Kiwi.”

  I smacked the injector out of Dax’s hand. It hit the ground with a thud. “You hurt her.”

  Dax shook his head, annoyed. “I helped her. Yes, it hurt, but only for a second. She is fine.” Dax rolled his eyes.

  “I am, Acer. My head feels much better, now. Thank you, Kiwi.” Marley’s smile returned as she relaxed the grip on Quackers.

  I breathed a sigh of relief. My female was no longer in pain, and I urged my heartbeat to slow. Some part of me had been ready to rip the Science Model’s hand off, but it had settled on smacking the injector out of his hand instead. Marley appeared to like the green one. My processors informed me she would feel pain if I hurt him. It seemed my new attitude adjustment didn’t apply when it came to her. Instinct roared inside my frame and demanded I protect her, to stop anyone who dared to hurt her. That included myself.

  “Are you going to call me that from now on?” Dax released a sigh. “I don’t know why Iris decided on that particular nickname.” He moved around the table to stand in front of Marley. He crossed his arms over his chest. “I understand the flesh inside the fruit is green, but it’s covered in a fuzzy skin.” He waved a green hand over his frame. “Do I look fuzzy to you?”

  “Maybe a little from the back,” a new voice sounded. I watched while the colorful cyborg from last night stepped through a doorway.

  Dax groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t have time for this.”

  Marley twisted her body on the table, so she could see him. She gave a little wave. “Hey, Axios! How are you doing today?”

  “Better than you if my visual systems are correct in spying a huge lump on the back of your head.” Axios’s blue gaze shifted to me. “This is the second time she has come in with injuries. The first injuries were emotional and now physical.” He pointed a red finger at me. “I told you to take care of her.”

  A faint blush bloomed on her cheeks. “It’s not his fault. I might have gotten some sheets wrapped around my legs and did a not-so-graceful fall off the bed this morning.”

  “Not even going to ask,” Dax muttered. “The numbing injection will make you feel no pain, but you will still need to be careful, Miss. Marley. I would advise you to take it easy with any activities where you lie on your back but I am not sure you will follow my advice.”

  The blush on Marley’s cheeks intensified. “I’ll try.”

  Dax tilted his head. “You’re blushing? Why?”

  My processors buzzed. I could answer this. “Many humans enjoy having sexual relations with their partner while they lie on their back,” I helpfully supplied.

  Marley’s ears flamed red, and she covered her face with her hands.

  “What? I analyzed the blush on your cheeks and figured out it was because Dax had inadvertently suggested something sexual. The missionary position is a very common position among humans is it not?”

  Her head snapped up as her mouth rounded into an O.

  “There is no reason to be shy, not when we haven’t even used that position yet. I have only had my mouth on your...”

  She leapt from the table, Quackers under one arm as the other one slapped a hand over my mouth.

  Dax stifled a laugh. “I believe it would be wise of you to stop, Acer. I have found that most humans females are quite unhappy to have their sexual encounters discussed with others. I have tried extensively to persuade Iris and Aria to allow me to observe, or at the very least discuss what happens, when they are intimate with their cyborgs. But the only response I have received was being slapped—by both.”

  “Not the conversation I wanted to come back online to,” a deep voice grumbled from behind Marley’s exam table.

  Marley hung her head; her hair fell like a curtain to hide her face. “Please, let a hole open up and swallow me right now.” She offered a little wave without looking up. “And welcome to the party, Rust. I bet you wish you hadn’t been invited.”

  The red Medical Model chuckled. “At least it’s not so boring around here, anymore. Dax and your cyborg are quite amusing.”

  “I agree,” Axios declared.

  Marley lifted her head and turned towards Rust and Axios. “Well, I am glad both of you are amused.” She turned back to me. “Acer, I don’t want to talk about what we do in private quarters.”

  My shoulders sagged. “You are ashamed of what we have done?”

  She grabbed my arm and tugged me closer. “Never!” Her fingers grabbed a fistful of my hoodie. “I almost took you in the hallway in front of Iris, Dash, and Reaper, remember?” She pulled my head down for a kiss. “I can’t keep my hands off you, but what we do in private is between us. It’s special for only us.”

  “I understand.” Her hands relaxed their hold on my hoodie, but she didn’t let go; instead, she went in for another kiss, her lips melding to mine in a passionate display of affection.

  “I think we should give them a minute alone,” Axios chimed from behind Marley’s back.

  “Kind of stuck here, Rainbow.” Rust croaked.

  “This is my lab. I’m not going anywhere.” Dax interjected.

  Marley broke the kiss. “I would like to check on Rust. I want to make sure he is okay.”

  “I’m fine, female. Don’t worry about me, Dax fixed me.” Rust assured Marley.

  I peered around Marley’s frame and the sight of Rust’s face made my stomach clench. I could see Dax had done his best. The dent was gone. Rust’s eye replaced, and his face reconstructed, but parts of his red, synthetic skin stripped away, leaving massive pieces of his face completely exposed like mine. Jagged flesh met metal, creating what resembled a human with scars.

  My actions had permanently disfigured the Medical Model. Actions I could not remember. Part of me thankful for that, but the rest desperately wanted to know. How could you atone for something if you couldn’t remember it?

  If Marley sensed my distress, she would try and comfort me when she really needed to comfort Rust. My female cared about cyborgs. I didn’t have to have my memories to know that. It was in the way she looked at them, the way her face lit with genuine joy when her eyes landed on their faces. She didn’t look at them the way she looked at me; I knew the way she cared for me went far deeper than other cyborgs, but I guessed her heart must be big enough to care for all of us.

  Everything in my memory core taught me most humans believed cyborgs were simply tools, to be used and disposed of. The files I could access from the Global Allegiance outlined the way a cyborg should conduct themselves. They made it clear that cyborgs were never to think of themselves as human—display the correct amount of humanity to put the humans you serve at ease, but never, under any circumstances, believe they should treat you as equals.

  I assumed Global Allegiance processing facility manufactured the original version of me, but I couldn’t recall my time there. I started to think that might be for the best. I doubted my time there had been pleasant.

  I pushed the dark thoughts to the back of my processors. My Marley wanted to visit Rust, and I couldn’t refuse her. “Go say hi. I’ll be right here.” I wasn’t the cyborg the Medical Model wanted to see right now; I’d bet my circuits on it.

  Marley’s face fell, but she recovered, understanding flashing in her eyes. “Okay.” She stood by his exam table. Her hand reaching out to take his.

  My frame stiffened. I resisted the order as hard as I could that screamed I should follow her, to not allow her so close to him. In the end, my feet started crossing the lab of their own accord until a hand gripped m
y shoulder, stopping me.

  “She is safe.” Dax said quietly.

  I could tear his hand from my frame, but I let it remain. “Be honest with me. Was I always like this with her?”

  “No.”

  My eyes widened.

  Dax gave me a sad smile. “You were worse.” He pointed at Rust. “That is who you were before. It is true that you were suffering from a malfunction at the time—a malfunction you managed to hide for years.”

  “What type of malfunction?” I needed to know. I needed to know how I could be the type of monster that would hurt another cyborg like I hurt Rust.

  He gently tapped a finger on my skull. “Your core programming was never completed. It left you vulnerable to a virus that invaded your systems and began to drive you mad. I must say I never thought I would ever see a cyborg lose his circuits and go insane, but I guess the human saying is correct. ‘Never say never’.”

  I shrank under the weight of his words, my heart sped up as my frame trembled. “Am I...am I safe, now?” My voice shook slightly. What if the wipe hadn’t gotten it all? What if some part of me, buried deep down inside, remained dangerous?

  Dax narrowed his eyes. “Do you think I’d allow you here if you weren’t? The wipe was successful. Dr. Shaw and I made sure of that even though at first I didn’t want to help fix you.” He pointed to Marley. “But she changed my mind. Your female saved your life, despite the fact she knew you could forget her and the bond you shared. Despite the fact it would kill her to watch you wake up and not remember her face. She loved you enough to break her own heart.” The hand on my shoulder tightened. “Never forget that.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  *Marley*

  Something changed. The air around Acer felt charged. I could almost hear his circuits buzz. Whatever was buzzing around that head of his, I could tell wasn’t good. His grip on my hand was loose and he hadn’t really looked at me since we left the lab.

  I could tell Acer had been reluctant to go near Rust. My cyborg felt responsible despite the fact that it was the old Acer that damaged him. This complete version felt horrified at the older version’s actions. Guilt bled from his wires like lubrication fluid, staining his frame with sins of the past. I couldn’t bear to watch him keep torturing himself.