Chapter Text
It was a split-second decision, something you typically think would fail immediately upon its execution. All 9S had to do was turn his head just a little — or blink, and the plan would've been foiled. It wasn't even like Maya was moving very fast when she did it. He should have been able to catch her hand or something!
But somehow she still managed to poke him directly in the eye.
He reels back on the couch with a yell, holding both gloved hands to his face while he whines in pain. The guilt comes immediately, the sight of 9S' visceral reaction (albeit one she wasn't expecting) poking — heh —sharply at her chest. It doubles when Maya passes her thumb over her index finger and realizes it had come away wet with whatever eyeball fluid coats eyeballs.
"I'm so sorry!" she blurts, in a tone that is usually reserved for accidents, which this isn't. While she is sorry, she couldn't sound more disingenuous, the evidence of how not sorry she is is clear on her fingers and in 9S' freshly poked eyeball. He continues to moan in agony.
But he's an android!
.....or something!
He shouldn't be squealing when someone pokes him in the eye!
2B is in the kitchen, plating mushy leftovers to toss in the microwave because Maya insisted she was well enough to not be condemned to nothing but fluids, her eyes are still blessedly safe from curious human fingers behind her blindfold, when she looks over at the commotion and huffs out a breath that Maya thinks could probably be an annoyed one. Maya really wants to know what that noise means.
"9S," 2B's voice remains level, just shy of monotone but Maya can already tell she's about to say something out of pocket.
When 9S fails to respond, instead curling in on himself with his hands still covering his face — Maya already feels shitty enough about it, thanks — 2B calls for him again. He makes a groaning noise but doesn't lift his head.
"You are a YoRHa unit who at this point is well versed in combat situations. You've taken damage much more debilitating than an ocular laceration," her mouth twitches at the end of that sentence, "Stop complaining," she tacks on the phrase sounding like she didn't really want to say it, that it's just common practice to do so. A go-to.
A habit.
Still frowning, she swivels around, plate in hand, and deposits it into Maya's beat-up little microwave, the high-pitched beeping of the buttons letting Maya know that 2B remembers her instructions on how to use it, thankfully.
"But 2B—!" 9S, dare she say, drags the 'B' like his companion just threatened to turn the car around. Maya jerks, startled at the way 9S throws himself upright like he wasn't looking two pegs from a breakdown a second ago. In the small pocket of space Maya can see his face when he jerks around, there's an obvious tear track running down his cheek.
She poked the shit out of his eye, didn't she?
2B turns around to face them again, looking over the kitchen island, arms akimbo. The living picture of "you're being an idiot and I'm the only one who can see It, apparently." A lesser person would meme this. "I can recall several occasions where your limbs needed to be replaced by emergency runners from the Resistance. Damage to optical components notwithstanding."
At the resulting silence, not counting 9S' aggrieved mumbling while he rubs at his face some more, Maya decides to try again, "I'm sorry, dude. Had this stupid idea that your eyes would be made out of plastic or something."
Maya expects his eye to be completely bloodshot when he drops his hand, but no, it looks completely fine. If not for the pained grimace and the continuous dribbling of tears from that eye specifically, Maya would think nothing at all had happened to it.
"It's...okay, I guess. Androids were designed with the idea of seeming as human as possible," 9S explains, sounding put out, which reignites Maya's creeping guilt. "The functioning parts of our eyes are made from alloy, but they're also primed in several layers of polymer and coated with gelatin for a more realistic effect. A system that functions similarly to nociceptors — ah, I mean pain receptors, is also included in our programming. Uh —"
It's weird, being in this situation. Having something, no, someone explaining to you the bases of their physiology because they're literally a whole ass robot is weird.
Believing then is even weirder.
"So that just means you can feel pain?"
"Yes."
"Everywhere?"
"It's surface level, but everywhere a human would, sure," 9S confirms at the same time the microwave goes off.
2B is a flurry of movement then, shuffling around for silverware, striding into the living room to set the steaming plate on the coffee table, then going back into the kitchen for something else Maya doesn't see because 9S is scooping up a spoonful of hot, microwaved KFC mashed potatoes and holding it up to her mouth expectantly.
"It's still hot," she points out intelligently.
"Then I'll blow on it for you." Maya pinches the flared cuff of his glove, holding his arm in place before he can even attempt to do that.
"I can do that myself, you know." Because obviously, she's not a child.
9S makes a face at her, the naked skepticism aimed at her makes her want to poke him again. Then he says, "But you're hurt," and the urge fades into merely wanting to cuff him over the back of his head.
"I'm recovering. I already feel way better than I did yesterday!"
2B comes into the living room again with a glass of water in her hands. She places it next to the plate with a tiny clink, then she sits at Maya's other side on the couch, all straight-backed and stiff, giving her what she thinks is a cold stare but that damn strip of fabric she refuses to take off is still there and it's starting to get on Maya's nerves.
"It's only been a day. Proper recovery will require you to rest as much as possible for the next few weeks. In the meantime, 9S and I will be here to cater to your needs."
"....But, like...why?"
"In accordance with the instructions given to us by Sofia."
"Oh so you'll listen to her, but not me!?" Maya refuses to show how much yelling makes her ribs twinge painfully. She might have failed in her attempt if 2B's lips quirking upward ever so slightly means anything. The offer to cuff someone has been officially extended.
"In the absence of a medical professional, or any high ranking official for that matter, Sofia is the next in line for immediate authorization of your care," 2B says.
Almost cheerfully, 9S pipes in, "I've also gathered data from the local database and found some information on how to do these tasks more efficiently." The spoon falls away from Maya's face but she doesn't care to track where it goes but she can hear 9S blowing on it anyway. She's not too privy to eating those kinds of leftovers as comfort food, she finds. No matter how poor she tends to be even on the worst of pay periods.
"Local database?" She says, finally processing what 9S said, "You mean the internet?"
"If that's what it's called. The modem next to your transmission box allowed access to your private network."
Oh God, they're connected to the wifi now!
"How did you figure out the password!?" She didn't remember telling them shit about shit other than how to feed her.
9S' uncomfortably perfect eyebrows furrow in his confusion.
"I—ah...It's written on the modem?"
"Oh." And now she feels stupid.
"A quick search told us that warmer beverages are healthier for humans in more delicate conditions," 2B drives the point by nudging the glass of water closer to the plate, "Allow me to hold it up for you when you would like to drink."
Warm tap water and fast food mashed potatoes.
Yes, Maya is definitely in good hands. Though she can't complain much. These things came from her apartment. They're things she would have put in her body anyway, though she might've just gotten the water from the filtered tap attached to the freezer — it wasn't perfect but it was a helluva lot better than plain tap.
The spoon that 9S hadn't put down during their conversation for some reason gently prods at Maya's lips. She begrudgingly opens her mouth, staring straight ahead at the Netflix Sign In on her tv like it pissed in her drink. The spoon goes in. The 'too velvety to actually be potatoes' mush touches her tongue. It's notably a lot less hot than before.
It's disgusting, but she deals with it.
2B and 9S are obviously trying their best, and Maya's ribs are killing her. It sucks, but at least she doesn't have to rely on Sofia for this.
★
The late morning ticks on towards the evening. 9S eventually draws the curtains and opens the balcony door to ventilate the apartment. Maya is reclining to the best of her ability on the couch while Supa tucks himself against her hip, using the coffee table 2B pushed a little more within reach as a footrest while she goes through the struggle of in through the nose out through the mouth while she waits for her pain meds to kick in.
2B is in the process of stacking her canvases so that she and 9S don't step on them as they move around and accidentally destroy any more of her paintings (Rest in peace, black skimmer, you derpy little goblin bird). It made a nice complement to her dusty cobweb corner.
9S is currently crouched in front of the tv, knees tucked and held against his body with his arms, eyes wide and curious as he explores the vast selection of movies on both her Hulu and Netflix applications, switching between them in between genres before Maya had helpfully directed him on how to use the search engine. At some point, he got frustrated with the remote control and had asked her with a tentative smile if he could hack into it manually. Not knowing what the hell that meant, Maya obliged him anyway, and in between frantically texting Sofia one-handed, she's watching 9S seamlessly navigate her Smart TV with seemingly nothing but his brain.
5:43pm
†SeaWeb†: Oye, so you know how my friends are cosplaying 9S and 2B?
If Maya had the capacity for it, she'd start thumping her leg, but as it turns out that also hurts. Everything hurts. Her head, her chest. Her wallet hurts. She's sure her painting died screaming to 2B's foot. Her organs are taking a suspiciously long time to follow this pattern.
Her phone pings only a few seconds later.
5:43pm
Sohfee_Angel: yea
Sohfee_Angel: they still at your place?
5:44pm
†Seaweb†: Yep. Nines is scrolling through movies. Look, where are those characters from?
Sohfee_Angel: '-'
A few long seconds pass as Maya watches the little bubble of ellipses dip in and out of her screen. The seconds turn into a minute, and the faintest bit of anxiety coils tightly in her ribs because Sofia only takes a long time to type when she's rambling or about to say something serious, which is rare, since she's the type for phone calls when she wants to moan and groan. When the text bubbles appear, Maya wants to pinch her nose and sigh.
5:45pm
Sohfee_Angel: google it?
5:47pm
Sohfee_Angel: or ask the people dressed as NINE ESS AND TWO BEE because theyre dressed as NINE ESS AND TWO BEE????????????????
Sohfee_Angel: ʘ‿ʘ
Maya doesn't know how to respond. She knows she can't tell Sofia the truth because she's less emotionally stable than Maya is and probably wouldn't believe her anyway. Or maybe it's the other way around, considering that a few hours ago she didn't know these people at all, and now one of them is hunched on the floor, hovering over Cocomelon like he's standing in the Louvre.
She let a couple of potential yahoos into her private space and it turns out they're actually robots and Sofia KNOWS them but in the way that you would know a character in an advertisement or something.
9S and 2B are the Allstate Guy if the Allstate Guy and Dennis Haysburt existed as separate entities.
She's trying her hardest not to delve too deep in that, lest she come to her senses.
5:47pm
†Seaweb†: I literally cannot that's why I'm asking you
5:48pm
Sohfee_Angel: why? embarrassed? trying to impress Nines by knowing what nier is? he looks like a total dork im p sure if you just ASK he'll talk your fucking ear off about it
Maya grits her teeth and huffs out an annoyed breath. She isn't getting anywhere with this. If she could just word it right, or somehow strong-arm Sofia into telling her what she needs to know. But nothing is easy.
5:49pm
Sohfee_Angel: unless youre trying to get into Toobs's skimpy little leotard. she's p hot and knows how to run in heels tbh i wouldnt blame you( ͡°( ͡° ͜ʖ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)ʖ ͡°) ͡°)
Against her better judgment, Maya looks over at 2B. She looks just about done stacking the canvasses by the couch and is staring out of the screen door to the balcony. There's still some light in the sky, it's a slowly darkening blue as the sun disappears into the horizon but even if the stars were out Maya guesses 2B wouldn't have much of a problem seeing either way.
Her eyes drift down 2B's form, lingering a bit on the fabric tightly hugging her waist, how her skirt flares and ripples just so that there's just barely a slip of the exposed skin of her thighs. Maya's gaze drifts even further down.
Damn. That's a lot of leg.
Maya realizes what she's doing and quickly rips her eyes away and glares at her phone. While she was busy oogling 2B, Sofia sent her another message.
5:56pm
Sohfee_Angel: stopping by soon. i'll bring fiber and lube
★
Thankfully, Sofia doesn't bring lube, but she does burst into the apartment with a shout of "SAM MADE CHILI!!" Which scares the shit out of Supa and startles 2B so bad she almost punches out the glass of the balcony door. 9S rolls backwards like he slipped whilst trying to stand, consequently banging his head against the edge of the coffee table and Maya just about regrets giving Sofia a spare key.