𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐂 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
metaloverlord) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
sranks2024-12-16 11:17 pm
metaloverlord) wrote in sranks2024-12-16 11:17 pm
ROLLING AROUND AT THE SPEED OF SOUND
also seasons tdm link for reference! )
also seasons tdm link for reference! )
also seasons tdm link for reference! )
no subject
Sonic absolutely curls up with his boyfriend on the couch while he flushes up a storm, and it's almost enough to distract him from the fact that his boyfriend does want him to talk to him. It's...well, it's difficult. It shouldn't matter, because Neo's right here. He's right here, and...]
...It still feels like I'm gonna wake up near your charging port alone again, I'm not gonna lie. It...still doesn't feel real. I'm sure I'll get used to it, but...
I missed you. I didn't realize I could miss someone this much. I'm used to people leaving my life and sometimes...sometimes they don't come back. I've always been used to it, but it was different this time.
[A lot of his thoughts were static, or unpleasant. Directionless, vague, pervasive noise that blocked out the world and sapped his near limitless energy.]
...It felt...empty. I think that's what it is. Emptiness that's slowly getting filled back up.
[...]
Don't...I know I can't ask you to stop protecting me. Just like...you can't ask me to stop protecting you. But...I...
[He doesn't know how to word this. Does he want to ask Neo to please stop considering himself so expendable? Does he want to ask Neo to make sure they go together, if they have to go at all? Does he want to make sure they never run into an incident like this again? Realistically, there's no way to prepare for something like that properly if they continue to fight. There's no way to ask either of them to stop either; it's what they do. It's what they love to do.]
...I don't...know. What I want to ask, or how to ask it, but...
...Please don't leave me alone again.
no subject
Which is the problem, really. They're both fighters and refusing to fight simply isn't in their nature. They've both come to have one another's backs, but that also means that they're willing to put their lives on the line for one another. In some ways, maybe this was always going to happen to one of them, whether it was Neo or Sonic. It's the natural trajectory of their relationship, where one of them would inevitably end up taking an attack for the other they just couldn't recover from.]
I understand. I can imagine how... how devastated I'd be were I in your position, particularly because there isn't anything that can truly prevent something like this from happening again.
[They will continue to fight. They will continue to look out for one another. They may very well end up taking a fatal hit for one another again.]
In this body, it is unlikely I would suffer destruction devastating enough that I would truly be gone again. In fact, once we get up, allow me to leave detailed instructions on what to do should my body become nonfunctional. I am made up of two core components that could be placed into a temporary body; as long as those components are not destroyed, I will still exist.
[This is the technical aspect that gives him comfort, but more than that, it's something they can physically do. He can explain how it works and what Sonic can do to help, should it happen, so that may provide some measure of comfort.]
But even so, I understand your concerns. I do not want to leave you alone again, and I will do my best to ensure it never happens. I cannot guarantee it, but at the very least it will be very difficult for it to happen. I'll fight as hard as I can to ensure I won't leave your side.
no subject
[It's something of an apology on Sonic's part, too--he's never really gotten a chance to ever apologize for the first time Sonic tried to take a hit for Neo. Sure, he was overconfident enough to think that yeah, he won't die from this, but...
Sonic finds it in himself to smile, just a bit. Neo's always practical, but it's something Sonic appreciates; tangible actions, tangible ways to do something to help Neo. Sonic's been getting better with his handiness by the day, and Sonic can do just about anything if given proper instructions from Neo now. If that's truly a way to save him...]
...I'll do my best, too. To...to try and make sure that doesn't happen--so we don't get stuck in a position that it does. A lot of our friends were pretty devastated too. None of 'em gave me an earful or anything, but they definitely were concerned.
But I'll fight hard, too. I don't want to leave yours, either...if you're willing to give it your all, then I am, too. I know we can't guarantee it, but we're precious. To each other, and others, too.
[He doesn't want to say if we go, we go together, because neither of them should. He could see it in the way they all looked at him, sadness, anger that they held back, and some of them wanting to make sure he was okay. Some of them will likely come and make sure Neo is, too, he's sure.]
...Please, teach me about it. There's still a lot I don't know about you, but if I can make sure you don't die, I'll commit it to memory!
no subject
I will ensure to let them know I'm fine now. I'm... glad that they were there for you.
[It's strange to think that they were upset about him - but then, why wouldn't they be? He may not be as friendly and outgoing as his organic counterpart, but Neo's reached out to others and made connections, so of course they'd feel his loss. It would be the same were any of them to die.
Regardless, Neo nods at the next part. Yes, they're absolutely precious to one another, and they should never have to go through something like this again. He'll do what he can to make sure of it, and he knows Sonic feels the same way.]
My being is composed of two parts: my programming, the part that makes me who I am, as well as my memories. These are stored separately within my body. You've already seen the former; it's kept within the panel on my back. The latter is kept within my head. Both of these are required to recreate me as I am now, although if only one can be saved, my memories are more important.
[One could argue that Neo is tied down by his programming and that most of it has just caused more issues than it solves, but it is a part of who he is.]
no subject
Makes perfect sense to me. I guess in a way, it's like...it's like your head and your heart? [Sonic places a hand on Neo's chest, as if to emphasize it.] Like, that's what it'd be on us. So as long as that can be preserved, you can come back in some way...
[Sonic considers that for a moment. He doesn't know which to think of as which, but it does make sense to him that Neo's memories would be important. After all, memories make a person just as much as their living, breathing body. But Neo's programming...Neo's programming is just as much who he is as his memories.
...Sonic hopes it never comes down to having to choose, because he does worry it wouldn't be the same, complete Neo that he knows without it. Even if he wonders if freeing him from that would be better.
Sonic discards that.]
...I promise I'll keep you safe and learn everything I can. I'll rebuild you from scratch if I gotta. Just means I'm gonna need to really hunker down and start learning more, huh? [Sonic grins just the slightest bit at that.] I don't want you to be anything but yourself, after all.
no subject
Thank you. I promise I'll be careful so you shouldn't ever have to do something like that - but now you know what to do should anything ever happen to me again.
[It's a concrete goal that Sonic can work towards, and that seems to have calmed him down. Neo's pleased to see it, of course.]
no subject
[Sonic infinitely prefers concrete goals rather than what-ifs. If he can get himself knowledgeable enough, Neo will never have to worry about dying again. It's something Sonic can do, if he puts his mind to it, and...
It's something he can reach towards, to live a good life with his beloved. That alone is enough.
...Of course, once the silence hits and Sonic's contently looking around the house a bit, he notices the. Long abandoned cup of tea on the counter and sighs at himself a bit. That's probably undrinkable now...]
...Hey, Neo. You mind too terribly if I keep you to myself for the day? [Sonic's awake, at least, but look at all of this moving he's willing to do now that he has his boyfriend back. None. None of it.] I'm not tired, but...I dunno. I don't wanna be apart from you.
no subject
Neo's claws continue to glide through Sonic's quills even as the silence spans beyween them. Though he wasn't nearly as traumatized as Sonic by all of this, the silence is comfortable now that his boyfriend's in his arms. Frankly, Neo doesn't want to let go. He's not sure he could explain it if he tried, other than that he simply wants to keep Sonic to himself - and it seems the feeling's mutual.]
Convenient, as I'm not interested in letting you leave my sight today.
[They'll undoubtedly be back to their usual more independent lives soon enough, but there's no reason to rush. Neo just got back, after all. He nuzzles against Sonic gently.]
I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere. I'm all yours.