sweethymns | ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ ᴀғᴛᴇʀ ᴀʟʟ

Oh, I'm sorry... I made you worry, didn't I?

[Someone passes over Ai's paints and sketchbook before she forgets them and she thanks them before turning back to Connor.

3 more minutes until the fireworks. The violinist gives the final touches to the music and everyone claps, all smiles and lifted spirits. Ai shuffles her feet shyly.]

Everyone here is really nice... The other areas are filled up, but this one isn't. Can we look at the fireworks from here?

[For the first time, he seems to take note of the scenery around him. That this area appears more delegated to the androids, for whatever reason that might be.

Connor steps forward, smiling. Nighttime is sweeping over everyone now, and they’re only lit by a soft mixture of artificial light and starlight. Here, his LED glows poignantly.]

Well. [He settles next to her. ] It does seem like a good spot.

You’ve been having fun, even when lost. I’m glad to see it.

... A year or two ago, I think I wouldn't have been able to enjoy myself. I always was and in some ways, I still am insecure about myself.

[She hugs her items and looks up at the sky in anticipation.]

If you see that, then that gives me hope. And I really thank you for letting me be your friend Connor.

I should be thanking you instead.

[He’s silent for a moment, looking up at the sky. Connor remembers what Lien said about her, the words from their conversation reverberating in his mind. About not feeling good enough, not living up to expectations set.]

If it’s any consolation, I don’t think you have anything to be insecure about. Did you see the smiles on those androids’ faces? You aided in those emotions. I was happy to see it — glad to call you my friend. Grateful.

[He says it easily and logically but after all the time she's spent with him, Ai knows that he speaks from the core of who he is. Her heart beats. Something is blooming and there are no words she can put to it, not yet.

The countdown is about to begin and the excitement rings in the air. Some of the androids chatter excitedly, others decide to quiet down.]

... Connor?

[Her voice is soft as the clock goes down to the final minute.]

You know that song we just sang? It's true you know.

[He looks at her, seeing what he can make of her profile just moments before he knows they’ll be met with the crackle of fireworks in the sky.]

How so?

[He makes an attempt to recall the lyrics he had heard, just moments ago. ]

We're friends. So that means...

[All around them, the chanting of the countdown echoes around them.]

10! 9! 8! 7...!!!

[What Ai does next is a little strange.

She puts her items down on her ground and leans closer to Connor, getting on one knee so she can cup the side of her face with one hand and bring her lips close to Connor's ear.]

6...! ...5!

[She's whispering something akin to a precious secret, a declaration that's just between the two of them. A murmur that could have gotten lost in the excitement all around them.]

"When I am with you, there's no place I'd rather be."

...

...3!

[And just like that, she sits back down again, grabbing her things and hugging them close to her chest and her face.]

2......! 1....!!!!

[And then colors and cheers of joy and laughter erupts in the star-laden sky. The world around them shines. There are glittering hues of gold, silvers, and blues, some greens, reds, and pinks; there are shapes of planets and flowers, some fireworks are simply showers of sparks. Although half of her face is hidden, Ai looks up at the fireworks, not being able to imagine being anywhere else, but in the here and the now with the one man who has become part of her life. He's shared so much with her and Ai wonders if she'll be able to share more of herself with him in what only seemed like a bright future ahead of them.]

[To say that it’s a gesture unexpected is something of an understatement. Connor feels it, at first. The faint warmth of her drawing closer registering in his senses, the gentle sound of words brushing against his ear. He would not have been prepared for it even if he knew it was coming, and though Connor does not have to breathe, the air caught inside of him stills. A sensation unlike what he’s experienced before, akin to self-consciousness, but something else buzzing just under the surface of all of him, an electricity that isn’t just from the energy being carried by the Thirum in his veins.

He thinks he might have imagined it. That sensation, the very fact that Ai had uttered the lyrics of that song to him at all; the meaning behind it ringing clear and the implications obvious. Happiness, in each other’s presence. Friendship bringing a strange sort of warmth and contentedness for the future that he’s looking forward to sharing with her.

Connor doesn’t know how to reply. Other something simple, something that hardly needs to be said.]

You’re right. That song is exactly how I feel too.

[Fireworks burst overhead in a show of color and light and energy. Celebration and somber remembrance for all androids have earned, and what they still need to push forward and fight for. Hope for the future, in all things. Expectations that things will change, each crackle in the air a promise.]

[She doesn't remember if she said anything else of importance during the 20-minute light show. Ai may have pointed or gasped in delight at some shapes in the sky or she may have held her silence as she looked at the fireworks in awe. Androids and humans alike celebrate around them and in their mostly-android cluster, some of them have their arms around each other taking comfort in the moment.

All good things come to an end and the fireworks end on a grand finale of booming noises and the shiniest fireworks saved for last. As the din of lights and noise dies down, the DPD and volunteers begin to usher the crowd to safe exit pathways, making sure there are no riots or lost stragglers. Their flashlights and lit up roads help them find their way back.

Ai remains behind sitting with Connor. She lets out a yawn and turns to the android.]

I think we could call that having too much fun, don't you think?

[It’s the telltale sounds of excitement dying off. The quiet buzz that settles, like something rising up from the ground, people shuffling off, talking about the fireworks show. Just how fun it was, how many colors there were, how it didn’t seem to be 20 minutes long, it went so fast.

Connor’s eyes linger on the empty part of the sky where the fireworks had been overhead just a moment ago. His back is straight and he’s cross-legged, his hands neatly settled on his legs.]

I don’t know. It seemed like just the right amount of fun to me.

[He looks at her, smiling wide.]

You’re tired though, aren’t you? Once more people leave, we should head back too.

Yeah... It's been a full day so I'm going to sleep well when we get back tonight.

[The android child she sang and played with passes by the two and waves a happy goodbye and good night at Ai. She waves back and watches as he leaves hand in hand with the violinist. The child turns his head to call to the two of them.]

Mister! Remember to hold her hand so you don't lose her again!

[Connor looks at the young child curiously, tilting his head in consideration. And a part of him, driven by reason, sees nothing at all wrong with this suggestion.

Another part of him, something more than just logic and efficiency, simply thinks it’d be nice.

So he extends his hand at Ai. An invitation.]

So you don’t get lost, like he said. Right?

[She looks at his hand and then back at Connor, thinking. Ai extends her hand and puts it in his, fingers curling.]

Let's go back then. We don't want to make Sumo and Hank worried right?

[Her fingers curl around his own, and Connor returns the gesture with a little squeeze. For a moment, this connection jumps itself to the forefront of his mind. That feeling of acute awareness, her skin against his own synthetic illusion of it.

(Connor wonders, briefly, if it would be possible to share information and emotion like this, the way androids do. If her powers would allow such a thing, should she ever be willing to delve into his mind and him open up this access to see what lies within. But that’s too bold, even Connor knows that’s too intimate, and he wonders then why he had thought of it to begin with.)

He walks forward, along the fringes of a dying crowd.]

Hank will probably get home later than us. But we’ll be there when he does. Sumo could use some attention right now, maybe.

[Ai's hand feels small around Connor's like the rest of her. For a second she wonders if she had been truly been able to grow up in the few years since she separated herself from other psychics. And it makes her think about how spending time with this android who has discovered his own sense of self and who wanted the same for those like him, has made her make leaps, made her take chances. What other changes will there be?

She wants to be there with him throughout all those changes. Ai doesn't pay attention to anyone else around them as a line forms for taxis. She focuses on holding his hand, letting him know she won't let go.]

Feel up to a late night movie? It might help me fall asleep.

Of course.

[He sounds briefly amused at the notion.]

Something scary again?

That's going to do the opposite.

[But she laughs at his suggestion and it fades away into the memory of the night they shared with everyone around them, like a firework itself...]

ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ ᴀғᴛᴇʀ ᴀʟʟ

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