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The space was smaller than Rowan expected, a little cramped, but also somewhat cozy. For instance, while it had several closely set workstations and computer terminals, it also had a plush looking chaise in one corner like a napping couch, which looked especially inviting when Rowan was still drowsy from poor sleep the previous night and having woken earlier than planned.

Coffee was being brewed somewhere, judging by the familiar roasted smell, which was also inviting. One cup had not been enough, especially not when Rowan’s next scan of the roombrought his attention to a flat autopsy table with something on it covered in a sheet that very much looked like a human body. It was just a bot being worked on, surely. Probably.

Hopefully?

“Rowan! You’re here!” Troy appeared from behind a tall section of shelving covered in bot parts.Internalparts, thankfully, not heads or limbs. “It is so nice to see you outside of a work function or forced holiday socializing.” He laughed, sounding a little nervous.

Calling Troy vigorous in his attempts to make friends with Rowan was perhaps unfair, but also true. He was a generally serious person, dependable but work-driven, and clearly with too few friends if he wanted to make one out of Rowan—who was notoriously difficult to befriend.

Troy was a good-looking man, well-built, tall, though nowhere near Rowan’s gargantuan stature, and he had neatly styled dark hair and gray eyes. He was dressed simply in a sweater over a button-down shirt and trousers, with a crisp white lab coat covering it all, ready to work. Good. For Rowan, working was always easier than small talk.

“Good to see you too,” Rowan said. “This is, um, sort of complicated to explain but…” He gestured vaguely at Milo, who was looking around the room with something akin to the fascination he had displayed while watching the city during their drive.

“Oh my god!” Troy noticed immediately, and his eyes sprang wide. “Is your botalive?”

Shit. So much for easing in slowly.

Notes:

It isn’t Milo’s fault! He’s curious! And Troy is just that good, lol. Stay tuned!

Notes:

What’s next for Rowan and Milo’s hero/villain incarnations after spotting DAT ASS? Don’t miss the ending notes to find out!

For now… TROY! And Milo learning a few new emotions. Not all good. ;_;

MILO

Oh no! Milo messed up again! He had thought they were alone and was enjoying looking at the lab when Dr. Palmer appeared from the back. Now, the engineer was staring at Milo like he had made a breakthrough worthy of a Pulitzer.

“Is your botalive?”

“Uh… u-um… I-I-I—”

“And it can stammer and search for words?” Troy rushed forward, getting right in Milo’s face and causing him to nearly teeter backward. “Did you teach it to do that?” He was still obviously asking Rowan, despite looking at Milo.

Rowan sighed. He was disappointed.Again. Of course he was. Milo couldn’t even make soft baked pretzels correctly!

In a panic over how he had already messed something else up so poorly on only daytwoof being alive, Milo stumbled back a step to gain his composure, ready to spew out a lie that he was merely malfunctioning.

Could he lie? Bots were programmed to never lie to their masters, to any humans. Milo had tried to be evasive yesterday, but could he outright lie if he wanted to?

“It’s okay, Milo,” Rowan spoke before Milo had to contend with that most recent of identity crises. “Let me explain.”

Rowan did, about the lightning, the changes in Milo, and everything else they had done since then—aside from the sexualencounters, which Rowan very pointedly left out and gave Milo a stern glare when he nearly piped in to include those parts.

A quick scan of Milo’s records containing Rowan’s conversational patterns reminded him that casual sex talk was not something Rowan liked to participate in and was his number two most changed subject whenever it was brought up.

Number one was politics, and celebrity gossip a close three, though those were often interchangeable.

They had moved to the chaise where Troy was slumped down and looked as though he might lie back or even faint at a moment’s notice. He was pale, eyes bulged, gaze distant just taking it all in. Milo’s usual protocol in such instances would be to provide first aid and determine if medical professionals were needed, but before he could ask if that was necessary, Troy released a gasp and leapt to his feet.

“This is fantastic! Phenomenal! Amazing! Where should we begin?”

Humans really were fascinating creatures, as the things Milo’s programming told him were signs of one thing, were often signs of something else entirely, or bypassed so suddenly that even if medical attention had been needed, human resilience could—sometimes—avoid it.