Ep. 2 - Without the Other Half [Layby]

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It didn't seem as though Sarita was going to let him retreat back to his room any time soon. If he was honest with himself, Layby was glad of her chatter. Much as he wasn't in the mood for conversation, just listening to her and watching her scurry about doing still-odd-in-a-human-way things served to take his mind back from the blank void he'd been circling for far too long.

Were he a younger mech, Layby could have maintained this kneeling pose for hours. Days, even, given sufficient fuel. But there was no need for it, and his joints were starting to sound off their wear and tear. Couple with fatigue and a lack of decent maintenance for a long while, Layby rose smoothly back onto the flats of both feet and arranged them parade-rest apart. His hands hung loose and still at his side, and his head tipped down to survey the human zone over the bulk of his chassis.

A thick-built man in faded overalls materialized on the sofa, soundless and seamless. Layby's avatar had one foot braced against the edge of the coffee table, the soles of his Dr Martens as pristine as if they'd come out of the box. He was slumped back, powerful arms spread over the back of the sofa.

"Tastes good," he replied, shrugging one shoulder. "Hard t'describe when yer definition of 'taste' ain't quite like mine. Ah mean, yeh've got organic chemical receptors. Mine are electrical. So, hard to draw links."

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"Well, both our taste sensors (or whatever they're called) can register things like texture, so...I dunno...it's smooth, then? Or really creamy? Or — "

She realized she was beginning to prattle. Deuce didn't mind prattling — even killing time with some of his own, or going on and on in his more wound moments — but Layby wasn't Deuce. Layby was slow, thoughtful, and not as prone to the rambling chats she and the jet had. He was a mech that shot at the breeze, filling up his chatter with simpler things. Some of his talk was noteworthy, and at other times, very deep and soulful; Sarita wasn't sure how heavy or far-reaching Layby could be at the moment. For now, it was better to let him float on the conversation, not think too hard about anything they said. His mind needed a break from all the recent worrying.

And sometimes, something other than words needed to fill a void. Sarita grabbed a loose, cotton blanket folded neatly on a sofa arm, sitting down beside the holo. Despite the soldierly stance Layby's true form held, there was a sag to his avatar, all splayed out like an exhausted dog in the sun. Sarita didn't like the idea of him feeling so much weight — Layby was ponderous, but never weighed down. She quickly finished off the soy chocolate bar, scrunching the wrapper up and reaching for the remote. Now that she was more used to Haven's African timezone, television schedules were less of a mess to her —

But first, it was best to ask. "Wanna watch some Animal Planet for a bit? One of my favourite shows is coming on. You ever see Too Cute?"

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Layby arched an eyebrow at the title as Sarita placed herself on the sofa next to him. She sat just within the shield of his arm, which reassured him on a deeply primitive level. Sarita wouldn't understand the security he felt in shielding others; how that satisfaction of heeding to a spark-born role extended to every unconscious corner of his psyche.

"Uh, no?" he said slowly, because he wasn't entirely sure. He may have looked at the television screen in passing whilst the program was on, and all the animal channel stuff looked much the same to him. Had he seen it? Humans were so unspecific with their language. "But ah can guess it's about infant animals and small things."

The heavy-set man fidgeted to set himself more firmly in the sofa cushions - a behaviour he'd observed and now mimicked to indicate that he was happy to stay put and, indeed, watch Too Cute. He nodded to the television, waiting for her to set the channel.

"Or is this too cute? Like, are there venomous critters that prey on the soft-sparked with their big eyes and tiny feet?" His tone suggested that he was joking, but that wasn't entirely the case. There were creatures out there who survived on looking endearing and harmless up until they lunged to kill.

Like scraplets. The armor plates on his physical body crept tighter at the thought of the beasts.

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Sarita laughed. "No, no, it's not that kind of cute!" she said, chuckling as the theme song began to play. "It's a show about puppies, kittens, and everything else small and adorable in the world. Animal sparklings, really. I'm pretty sure you'll like it."

"The following program contains material that is just too cute. Viewer discretion is advised."

"Ignore that, it's a parody thing. They put a disclaimer before the more violent TV shows and, well...this is anything but. Just keep watching."

Squeaking, wide-eyed and fluffy kittens immediately came on screen. The old, soft-spoken narrator made out the story of the baby kittens as being epic and expansive, with the little furballs looking up at the cameras watching with wide, blue eyes. Sarita grinned from ear to ear, biting on the edge of her thumb to politely surprise a squeal of delight.

And then they introduced the parents, and their little mewing fuzzballs.

"Oh my god, they're so cute! EEEE! Oh my Gooood, their little faces! Their little faces!"

She was like a sparkling in her joy, utterly entranced by the sight of fluffy Himalayan Persians rolling over each other. There were purrs all around as the mother Himalayan, a furry flame-point with an incredible amount of hair, batted at one of her kittens to get back and nurse. Sarita had to bite on her finger again to keep from squeeing as the mother cat was ambushed from behind by two of her babies.

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Organics, on the whole, were a significantly more varied species than cyber-organic lifeforms. Crocodiles,wasps and pigeons were basically made of the same stuff, when one got down to the nitty gritty of it, and Layby continued to be amazed at the plethora of life forms that this planet had to offer. He'd seen his share of weird and wonderful creatures during military tours, but nothing like the spectrum found on Earth.

As such, he'd watched a few animal documentaries when things were quiet and he'd run short of energy to tackle the ongoing maintenance and development of Haven. The old mech wasn't discerning about species, though if given the choice between crocodiles and... this, he'd have clicked over to Steve Irwin without hesitation.

Watching Sarita with one optic was actually more entertaining than the program itself. The small cats were 'cute', he admitted, but not as cute as his human friend imploding with high pitched noises and delighted facial contortions.

Haven absolutely needed a Himalayan Persian if that was the result.

Layby's mouth slanted in a lopsided grin, more at Sarita than the television screen. He tipped his head towards her. "Reckon James would like one of'em fuzzballs for company?"

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"Oh, I bet he would!" half-squeed Sarita. "Just...just look at them! Their little faces! Their little faces, Layby! Wouldn't you want something like that bouncing around Haven and giving you morning kisses, and cuddling up beside you at night and tickling you with its whiskers, and ohmygoshohmygosh they're so cuuuuuuuuuute!"

It was then that one of the kittens decided to curl up and fall asleep. Tucking its squat little legs underneath its fuzzy body, the creature began to doze off...and then promptly faceplanted into the carpet, oblivious to the world in its slumber. This elicited a squeal so loud from Sarita, it echoed around the cavern for a couple of minutes, the girl clapping her hands together and giddily giggling in delight. She really was a little kid again, if only for a few minutes.

"Just look at that, just look at that! So precious! So sweet! Oh yes, I definitely would want one, but I'd probably go to, like, a rescue or something first. Kittens like these are bought because people think they're cute, and then they drop the poor fuzzylumps off at a shelter to be put down or something because the cat ruined the curtains. But I would very much love and cuddle that pile of fuzzylumps to death (not literally), and I don't even like cats, oh yes I would."

Himalayan kittens: the one thing in the world that Sarita's overall dislike of the animal kingdom was immune to. Except for James. James was a good boy.

[Deleted]

Since leaving the army, Layby's life hadn't had much of a plan. Pit, everyone's plans had gone to the smelter when the civil war had decimated Cybertron. Just surviving the next cycle was plan enough. Layby had just wanted to do it without killing anyone. Plan.

He shook his head with a wry smile, wondering a little at the sight of his human-form holo sat on the sofa with Sarita. Never could he have imagined a day when he'd be tucked up with some tiny organic alien watching a show like 'Too Cute'.

"Shelter cat sounds good," Layby affirmed softly. They were all strays of a sort, here, banding together for more than just safety and strength in numbers. Community. Family. Not just having someone to watch your back, but someone who cared to do it.

The projected man on the sofa slid one arm across Sarita's shoulders, giving her a moment before hugging her gently into his side.


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