Vacationing

[sentryslinger]

[Continuing this thread, in which Spy has convinced Engineer to spend a vacation with him. Fishing, fine dining, and some enemy bonding ensue.


Engineer steps into the elevator, hitting the button for their floor, pulling at his collar to loosen that next button.]

Hey, thanks again for the dinner and the suit. I'll have to put it to use some other time to justify your spendin' money on all this.

Comments

[sentryslinger]

Nothing, Spy. Nothing's happening. Everything's fine.

[He wipes at the sweat on his brow, his hand going back to the metal plug on his arm as he tries to ignore those phantom pains in his limb.]

Go on back to sleep, partner. Didn't mean to wake you.

[not_onyourside]

Are you sure?

[The missing limb is lost to the darkness, but Spy can see that Engineer is still sitting up, hunched over.]

Do you need anyzzing?

[sentryslinger]

[He shakes his head.]

I'll be fine. It'll pass in a minute.

[not_onyourside]

Very well.

[He tucks the gun away again, settling back down into his bed. But his eyes are trained on Engineer, unsure if he was telling the truth. Spy himself had been in that situation dozens of times, insisting everything was fine after waking from some nightmare. Every claim a complete lie.

He opens his mouth to say something else, only to stay silent, unsure what comfort he could provide.]

[sentryslinger]

[Another minute of silence passes, one only punctuated by a few, uneven breaths as Engineer manages pain like an expert. He finally relaxes, sighing as he reaches down for his Gunslinger. Back onto the stump it goes, the fingers flexing properly, carefully, purposefully.

Even then, he stays sitting up, his mind turning with his thoughts as he looks down at his hands, one of machine and one of man.]

[not_onyourside]

[Spy is still watching him, not sure what to do, or even what had happened. The rain outside pelts down with a vengeance, the sound of it hitting the window drowning out any sound Engineer might have made.

He can see that Engineer isn't laying down though.]

Would you like to talk about eet?

[sentryslinger]

[He hesitates before answering, his immediate inclination to insist Spy go back to sleep; however, that's not solving the problem. Not that there is a solution for this one.]

It was just a nightmare, is all. My arm sometimes acts up when I get those.

[not_onyourside]

Does eet hurt?

[sentryslinger]

Yeah. A lot.

[not_onyourside]

Oh. I am sorry.

Does eet feel better eef you take eet off?

[He sits up again so he can look over at Engineer.]

[sentryslinger]

Nah. Keeps it from goin' haywire, though. I've torn up a bed or two like that.

[not_onyourside]

Oh.

[Well that's only mostly terrifying.]

[sentryslinger]

Haven't done that in a while, so I wouldn't worry about these.

[He puts on a weak smile in the dark, as though that'd help him.]

[not_onyourside]

[Spy can't see that, but he can hear it in his voice. He hesitates, before climbing out of bed and going to sit by Engineer.]

I am not concerned about the bed.

[sentryslinger]

[He sighs.]

I know.

[not_onyourside]

What was your nightmare about?

[sentryslinger]

[He rubs at his arm.]

You ever read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz?

[not_onyourside]

Non.

You were dreaming about wizards?

[sentryslinger]

Nah, but there's a fella in the books called the Tin Woodsman. He used to be a man like any of us until his axe got enchanted and he started cuttin' off his limbs. Eventually, he's got nothin' left of himself- not even his heart. And it's then that he realizes he can't feel anything, not even love for the girl he likes.

[not_onyourside]

[Spy's vivid imagination can process many things, but it still takes him a while to connect the dots between a story about a guy made of tin and Engineer.]

I see.

Zhat sounds most unfortunate. What does he do?

[sentryslinger]

Well, he goes to this wizard to ask him for a new one. The point bein' is that he lost so much of himself that he didn't know if he was still a person at all, or where he'd lost himself along the way.

My dream was a little like that.

[not_onyourside]

Zhat sounds horrible. My sympazzies.

[ He hesitates, wondering if he should leave it at that. ]

Ees zhis about your arm?

[sentryslinger]

Yeah, except I had two of 'em. Then legs. Then a body of steel, and nothing left of who I am.

[He shakes his head.]

And after all of that, I just turned on my teammates, like I wasn't even human. Like I couldn't judge right from wrong, and that I'd sold my soul to the devil in the machine.

[not_onyourside]

I like you better like zhis zhan all made of metal. I should zhink you would be cold all zhe time.

[sentryslinger]

I like me better like this, too. A heart made of metal might run forever, but I don't know if I'd trust it with another man's life just yet.