David / Walter / Reader - Part 2
You slept around the clock because you were so tired from the journey. It was so strange to have actually arrived; there were no beeping or humming sounds from the spacecraft’s engines and the air did not have that weird smell of cleaning chemicals or something else and that, being unable to point out what that smell was, had really driven you crazy in the beginning of your journey. You were not exactly sure what that smell had been but it had been a sort of metallic and chemical scent to which you had gotten used, eventually. Fortunately the air here on Gaia was fresh and did not really smell of anything particular, just like on Earth… although the air back on earth had been so polluted when you had left a long time ago that there had been only few places that had not been ruined by toxins and pollution.
You woke up and rolled around in the bed because you just wanted to savor the perfect moment; you were not in a hurry, the air inside the room was cool and fresh, the linens felt silky against your skin… which made you think about the last night… the stars… and suddenly you realized that you had no memory of getting back in which raised a questions; how had you ended up in bed and gotten rid of your clothes? Not all of them, of course, but shoes and jacket, the trousers and the long sleeved shirt… which had pretty much left you on your underwear.
- It must have been Walter. you groaned into the pillow. You had wanted to give a good impression to both Walter and David, to be someone that they could look up, not after, to. You were supposed to be the authority, not a burden… or a silly girl that had to be carried to bed and undressed… and due to embarrassment you did not really want to leave your room and face the androids, especially Walter. Suddenly however either of them knocked the door and called you by your name.
- Yes? you asked and jumped out from the bed immediately.
- We were wondering if you are ready to join us for breakfast. David spoke on the other side of the door.
- Yeah, just give me a second. you replied and started to put on your clothes.
- Very well. I shall prepare some tea. David said and left. You listened to the silence for a moment and after getting fully dressed, you opened the curtains to take the first good look at your new home. The surroundings of the facility were bathing in sunlight and for your relief the nature resembled Earth very much; there were trees a bit further away, some flowers and grass around the camp and you could even see water glimmering quite nearby. You sighed and after staring at the view for a couple of minutes, you remembered the breakfast and left the room.
- Good morning, (Y/N)! Walter said with surprisingly cheerful tone when he saw you coming out from your private quarters. He had been out already and collected some flowers to decorate the living quarters a bit… to make them a bit more… homier for you.
- Morning, Walter. I see you’ve busy. you commented and smiled at him. You both started walking towards the kitchen.
- Yes, I thought you might like some flowers. Pretty, are they not? he asked curiously.
- Yes, they are beautiful. you answered.
- Shall I put them into your room? he asked and stopped suddenly. You walked a bit further along the corridor before noticing that Walter had stopped but as soon as you noticed you stopped as well and turned to look at him with a surprised look on your face. You were confused that Walter was behaving this… affectionately… or maybe he was just trying to be nice, which you understood completely because you had traveled a long way and instead of coming on Gaia with nineteen other scientists, you had actually come alone… due to the sudden change of circumstances.
- It would please me very much. Walter commented since you did not say anything. You chuckled nervously and cleared your throat with a soft “ahem”.
- Sure. you said and nodded. Walter nodded with a smile on his face and turned away to find a vase for the flowers. He walked into a storage room and after filling the glass pot with water he took the flowers into your room, made your bed and then joined you and David for breakfast.
You walked into the kitchen and greeted David who was currently slicing some apples. The kitchen smelled like toast and… well, normal breakfast. It brought back so many memories from the time you had been living on Earth.
You had been created in a lab, a test-tube-baby like some had mocked you, but then you had been adopted into a family where both of the parents were scientists. You had grown up like any other child until you had turned twenty. That had been the day when you had been told about your… special origins like they had put it… as if it would have made it any easier for you to digest. You had freaked out, run away for a couple of days but then returned home because you had not had other place to go. You had started to study and train for the upcoming adventure… and by the time you had turned thirty you had understood that there was no future on Earth… and then, in the age of forty three you had said goodbye to everyone, the scientist that had adopted you as a baby included, and left your home planet.
David gestured you to sit down and brought you the cup of tea that he had prepared for you. He noticed that you were deep in your thoughts and therefore he stopped to stare at you for a moment with a thoughtful look on his face. He tried to read your face as well as figure out what had made you to get lost into your thoughts like that. You did not exactly look sad, or maybe a little, but you looked… a bit trapped. Maybe you were battling with homesickness or simply trying to adjust yourself to your new life.
- Please beware, the tea might be hot. he said. You recoiled from your thoughts and asked him “what?”
- The tea, it might be hot so, please, be careful. David repeated with a polite and strangely caring tone. He had reasoned that you needed to feel that you were welcome and warmly expected and therefore he had decided to be warm, comforting as well as very friendly towards you, almost like a close friend or a… lover. Not that he would actually behave like a lover, he wouldn’t, unless of course it was something that you wanted him to do… David was well aware that he was equipped to perform service in many ways and if you wanted to have an intimate relationship with him, he was more than capable of satisfying that need… but for now, he would not even suggest such things.
- Oh, yeah. Thank you. you said and laughed a little. You looked out from the big window and stirred the tea with a spoon.
- I trust you slept well. David said and served you a slice of toast with some slices of tomatoes and herbs. He also finished slicing the apples and after putting the slices on a serving plate he continued making toasts again. He had almost everything ready already; tea in a thermos-pot, ready-made toasts and now even the apples. He still wanted to toast a couple of slices of bread for Walter… because he was expecting him to return from his flower-expedition any moment now.
- Yes, I did. The bed was… oh man, that was absolutely wonderful! you stated and breathed in the steam from the tea.
- I am very pleased to hear that the bed met your expectations. David said and sat down on the opposite side of the table.
- Expectations? Oh gosh, I had no expectations. you commented with a chuckle.
- Really? David asked curiously, sipped his tea and then focused his attention to you. He was surprised to hear that you had not pictured your life… created an image of it… had expectations.
- Well, to be honest, I did… In the beginning of my journey. But then… you said and sighed. At that very moment Walter entered the room and sat next to you to eat some breakfast as well. David poured him some tea and gave him two slices of toast with tomato and herbs.
- I took the flowers into your room. Walter said and gestured you to say whatever you were saying before he had come in and interrupted.
- Oh, where was I? you asked with a slightly confused tone.
- You had expectations in the beginning of your journey. David said and then added “but then” with a tone that reminded you about what you were supposed to say.
- Oh, yes. But then the journey just went on and on… and the only way to keep holding onto my sanity was to focus on my studies. you said and took a bite of the toast. It was crunchy on the outside but soft from the inside, perfectly toasted and the tomato slices were fresh and sweet while the herbs were fragrant and slightly tangy which complimented the sweetness perfectly.
- So, you did not spend the journey in cryosleep? David asked. He knew pretty much everything about your journey, of course, but he wanted to keep you talking and he did not want to seem like a creep that already knew everything about you. They had made an agreement with Walter that they would be as human as possible and to get to know you personally, the way that people usually got to know each other; by asking questions, having conversations instead of reading your file and then assuming to know everything about you.
- No. I did not. you replied with somewhat neutral tone.
- Oh, why? Walter asked curiously.
- Well… I… had to study. you answered and exhaled deeply.
- But I’m sure you both know all this already. you commented and drank some tea.
- Yes, I must admit that we do, but we would like to get to know you… the real you, if you don’t mind. David answered with a light smile on his face.
- No, not at all. you commented immediately and flashed a wide smile which felt a bit awkward afterwards. You were just happy that your companions did not assume to know you or behave in a way that they had known you better than you knew yourself because that would have been annoying and most likely it would have pissed you off quite fast because in your opinion you couldn’t possibly know a person by his or her files and documents. Sure a file could tell anyone a lot about what one has done and about their strengths and talents, about their weaknesses as well, but to really know a person you had to actually get to know them… to read their expressions and listen to what they say and even when they are not saying anything because sometimes silence tells you so much more than million words ever could.
- So… studies. What have you studied? Walter asked after a moment of silence.
- A bit of everything but I have specialized in biochemistry and agriculture… as well as psychology and human behavior. you said and added “just to name few” with a slightly embarrassed tone. You knew that David and Walter were both many times smarter than you were because they had unlimited capabilities and they were able to absorb an infinite amount of information, process it in the matter of a fraction of a second and then give the right answer to any question every time… and now both of them were staring at you, clearly waiting for you to say something more. You made a silent “uhm” –sound and mumbled
- Ninety years was a long time to study… but I am sure that you know much more than I do.
- About the life on this planet, perhaps, but that is only because we have been living here for quite some time. Walter commented, placed his hand on yours and squeezed it lightly. You took a quick glance at your hand and then looked at David who was analyzing your reaction towards such gesture, almost as if he had been trying to find the limits of physical interaction. He made a note to his memory that holding your hand did not cause a negative reaction and therefore it was accepted, or even recommended procedure for situations like these. You all three continued eating in silence until your plates and cups were empty.
- I know… I am the weakest link here. you stated suddenly as you stood up carried the dishes that you had used into the kitchen sink. You returned into the dining area, thanked for the breakfast and then walked away. Your sudden behavior surprised the androids and therefore neither of them knew how to react to avoid further complications.
You did not know even yourself why you had reacted the way you had. Neither David nor Walter had said anything to upset you and even David had been attitude-free this morning but still… still something had managed to ruin your mood. Maybe it was the realization that when you had been among humans you had been the brightest and smartest that there was; your cells renewed themselves in such rate that you healed very fast, you did not really age and the genetic engineering had given you almost unlimited capability to learn new things… But despite of all engineering and modifications you were still a human being. It meant that you forgot things if you did not refresh your memory frequently and sometimes you struggled with learning and understanding new, complex and highly detailed things.
Yes, you might have been a superhuman among the humans but now you were just… a human… compared to the androids. They were stronger than you, had higher IQ than anyone… higher than it was even possible for humans and they never got tired or bored. They were like gods in the servants’ clothes and they had basically ruled this planet until yesterday evening. Yes, until you had arrived. Now they had to babysit you and work under your so-called better judgment that was limited by your own humanity.
You got the jacket from your room, admired the flowers for few seconds and then decided to go out to get to know your new surroundings. You stormed out from the facility but stopped just as you were about to step out from the shadow into the light. It was a big moment for you because for such a long time you had seen the sun, well the closest star to Gaia, only from the window of a spacecraft and later from the window of the space station. You had read that the star was very similar to the Sun which meant that it was completely safe for you to step into the light… although you also knew that you had to get yourself accustomed to the UV-radiation again. It was a pleasantly warm day and you could have easily gone out in a t-shirt but you would have most likely gotten sunburn in matter of an hour and therefore you had to wear long sleeved clothes for now. Besides, you did not know if you were going to be allergic to some of the native plants.
You inhaled deeply and stepped into the light, walked a bit further and turned your face to the sun. The sunlight warmed your face sweetly as the light breeze played with your hair and made the blades of grass rustle gently. Immediately your mind was filled with memories of your childhood and you felt them crushing you emotionally. It was too much to take and therefore you fell on your knees and started to cry hopelessly. You were homesick and excited about your new surrounding at the same time and it was impossible to take everything in all of a sudden. You had not prepared yourself mentally for the flood of memories because you had been so focused on everything else. You had assumed that it would be enough just to get familiar with your new surroundings and build a new life here but for your complete surprise you had to deal with the homesickness and overflowing memories as well.
Both, Walter and David, stared at you silently as you cried on your knees in the middle of the grassy field. They did not quite know what to do because neither of them had really imagined you to react quite like this. It was frustrating because even though they both had been programmed to understand human feelings, reactions as well as the way human mind worked, and on top of that they both were capable of experiencing feelings, David more profoundly and in more complex as well as more multilayered way than Walter, and they both comprehended even complicated human feelings without difficulties, and yet they were now staring at you, trying to figure you out but being profoundly baffled about your reaction.
- Are you hurt? Walter asked softly as he walked slowly closer to you. David followed him cautiously.
- Are you alright? David asked just as softly. You gestured them to stay back because you did not want them to see you like this. The men stopped immediately to observe you from two meters away. You swallowed your tears and forced yourself to push your memories as well as your emotions away and after wiping the tears off from your cheeks you took a deep breath and stood up.
- I am… perfectly fine. you said with a slightly shaky tone as you turned to look at your companions.
- I understand that you miss home. David said and smiled a little.
- Do you? you snapped and shook your head a little. You did not need anyone to tell you that they knew how you felt because no one on this planet knew exactly how you felt… and despite of the overflowing intelligence that David had, he couldn’t possibly know what it was like to be reminded about your previous life with all the sounds, the smells, the sensations as well as the general feeling of the place. You noticed the look on David’s face change a bit from soft to reserved and slightly offended.
- I’m sorry. It’s just… I did not expect this place to remind me of home so much. you stated and for your relief David’s expression changed back to soft and friendly.
- Would you please tell us about it? Walter asked curiously, although he did his best to hide his curiosity because he did not want to appear as overly nosey or too pushy.
- Well… this… everything… you said and stopped to take a look around before continuing.
- It reminds me about the place where I used to spend my summers with my family. you said and tried to find ways how to make David and Walter to really understand what had shaken you so deeply.
- All the sounds… the smells, the feeling of warm sunlight on my face and grass blades tangled with my fingers… you described with highly thoughtful and emotional tone, took a deep breath and then continued
- It makes me… unconsciously expect my parents to call my name or my best friend to run from our neighbors’ house to ask me for a swim with her.
Your words painted a picture in David’s mind. He imagined you as a small girl who had no idea that one day she would find herself here, so far away from her home that even the sun that she loved so much was just a dot in a distance among thousands of other dots. David imagined you playing with a similar little girl in the sunshine and laughing loudly as you jumped into crystal clear water and splashed it around while all the sounds echoed around you and filled the place with overflowing joy.
He imagined you a bit older; a young woman filled with dreams and hopes, still unaware of the future that had been planned for her, a plan carefully laid out before she had even taken her first steps. David saw that woman walking in a light summer dress among the hay, feeling the blades of grass as well as the pedals of blooming flowers with her fingertips as the sun set and the world changed from warm golden glow into blue twilight. David imagined the way she had stared at the stars above with mesmerized eyes, wondering if someone was staring back and thinking about the exact same thing.
After this he imagined you finally finding out that you were different from everybody else; you were never going to grow old and you were destined to leave your home, never to return… And even if you did return someday, it would be completely different because even the small girl that you had been playing with during the long, beautiful summer days had died a long ago and there was no one to know you, to understand everything that you had gone through. David understood now what you had meant… and why the transition from the journey to the destination was so emotionally challenging as well as draining for you.
- Would you like to go for a swim? Walter asked suddenly with a slightly hesitant and confused voice.
- No… not right now at least. you replied and smiled as sincerely as you could but there was a sorrowful undertone that was easy to pick up by the incredibly attentive and focused eyes of both, Walter and David.
- Would you like to… take a tour? David asked. He reasoned that it was possible that you needed some distraction from your memories. You stared at David and there was something different about him now; something about the way he saw you had changed in the matter of less than a minute… for some reason and you did not know what that reason was.
- Yeah, sure. you replied and tore yourself away from your thoughts.
Walter and David showed you around and during the next weeks you took long walks in the surrounding environment and got to know your companions. You knew that you had at least ten years time to work your ass off and therefore it was perfectly acceptable to take a long holiday before getting to it. You shared long talks with David as well as Walter, both together and separately and with time you grew quite fond of them both. You started to work, running experiments on the soil and trying to figure out if the nature, the plants, animals and insects, were any similar to what they were on Earth, or what they had been before so much had been spoiled by human greed. You were interested in evolution and the history of the planet and sometimes you went out on explorations to see if there were any visible evidence of intellectual life… lost civilizations or such. If there had been but were none anymore, you were more than interested to know what had happened to wipe the intelligent beings off from the planet Gaia.
With the weeks turning into months and finally into a full year you learned that both of the androids had very good sense of humor and they had learned to make you smile even when you were having a bad day. You worked long days at the lab with David, who was the brainier one of them two while Walter took care of the facility or planned the next expedition. You did not feel even a bit lonely and after a year you were able to say that you were actually quite happy with your new life; you were the center of attention of two great guys and there was a tingly spark between you and them… although you tried to remind yourself that they were not exactly… guys… and that they probably liked you just because that was what they were supposed to do… the way they had been programmed.
Yes, as months had passed the line between a servant-android and the master-human had gotten blurred and now you considered the androids as your close friends and trusted companions. But it was a slippery slope because the moment you ignored the fact that David and Walter were programmed synthetic beings it was very easy to get emotionally involved with them… both of them because they were so similar, yet still different. They were both extremely handsome, tall and well-built… which had been very difficult not to notice when you had gone for a swim with them and they had worn just their swimming shorts, which, the lack of proper clothes, had then revealed their flawless skin that looked so soft and… kissable… and their well-defined muscles that made you want to be hugged by either of them… by both of them.
David was a wonderful conversationalist. He listened to you and always articulated his opinions as well as point of views very elegantly. It was fascinating that you agreed about many things but also disagreed about a wide variety of to topics which had blurred the line between the machine and the human even more. Walter however was more practical and a great problem-solver, he was also the one who was more likely to put his hand on your shoulder when you needed physical support and sometimes his hand lingered on the small of your back longer than it would have been necessary.
One evening, after a long day you, David and Walter were having a dinner, like you always did. You had cooked for a change and given David a day off from his duties as the chef of the colony, as you joked sometimes… “The colony of three people, what more do you even need?” you had chuckled a couple of times and that phrase had summed up quite well the easiness and the level of comfort that you felt towards living with David and Walter on Gaia. Anyway, you collected the plates into the kitchen, rinsed them and put them into the washing machine, which was quite large for only three people because it, like everything else in the facility, had been designed to serve twenty scientists and two androids and actually the reason why you had such a big bed was due to the fact that your room had been designed to serve a married couple that had been killed. This however was a detail that had not been told to you so you wouldn’t get upset about it.
You were deep in your thoughts, singing a song with a barely audible tone as you cleaned the kitchen. David and Walter were sitting by the dining table, chatting casually about the events of the day and planning for tomorrow when David suddenly noticed Walter staring at you with a tiny smile on his face. David turned to look at you and the sight made him smile as well. It was a weird feeling that he had not felt before… a warm, tingly sensation that passed all the filters of his system and presented itself as a smile… A smile that had no tangible reason. David understood immediately that Walter was experiencing the same… feeling.
- You like her, don’t you? David asked Walter when he turned his head and returned to look at the android sitting on the opposite side of the table.
- Yes, I suppose I do. Walter replied openly because he had not been designed to lie. He shifted his ice-blue eyes from you to David and a neutral expression returned on his face. Walter did not know what the feeling meant exactly and if he was supposed to act upon it or not… and what was David going to think about it. Was David going to challenge him? Was David jealous?
- I am not surprised. (Y/N), after all, is a very beautiful, smart and lovely person. David commented with a neutral look on his face.
- Yes, truly delightful. Walter agreed and for a fraction of a moment there was a spark of undeniable attraction in his eyes. David leaned back in his chair with a thoughtful look on his face and made a silent “hmm” –sound as he kept his eyes fixed upon Walter.
- Should we act upon it? he asked with a light smirk on his face. Walter swallowed once and the neutral expression changed into confusion as he tried to process the suggestion that David had just made.
- I know you want to. David added and tilted his head as he waited Walter to give him some kind of answer. Walter kept thinking about the proposition and then nodded.
This entire time you had been in the kitchen, completely oblivious of the conversation that had just been held in the dining room. Now you however had finished your tasks in the kitchen and walked back to the dining room, still singing the tune silently. The only thing that you had heard was what David had just said and therefore you stopped humming and asked with a curious voice, right as you sat next to David by the dining table “Want… what?”