Chapter Text
"Mother?" David called for the lone woman.
David approached the lounging pair of biologics, weapon heavy in his arms. It still felt hot, and David wasn't sure he liked holding it. The sight of his mortal companions was clicking loudly in his mind. David eyed them, believing they might be wounded. The way they laid so limply across the broken starship worried him.
"Yes, David?" Shaw softly answered his call.
The woman shifted, propping up on an elbow. The adjustment allowed David to spot her from around Selaphiel's broad form. Shaw's eyes were heavy with ease as she blinked at him. A tired simile pulled at her eyes. Her softness promised the danger was gone. They were safe.
"I was afraid the gunfire had wounded you," David explained himself. He set the rifle he'd been trusted with aside. There is no danger, no need for weapons. David approached his adoptive mother with empty hands. A dent in his casing complained in the back of his mind. He couldn't care to check it now. He'd forget the pain for his mother. He longed for her hold.
"It hurt for a second, but I'm better now," Shaw assured him with a masked smile. Her English tones were deeply familiar. Her hushed notes soothed any remaining stress out of David's materials. The woman nodded to a gap between her and Selaphiel. "Come sit with us?"
"I don't want to interrupt..." David trailed, looking to Selaphiel.
The titan of a mortal turned to him, his heavy breath slow with newfound peace. Was the idea of that spawn what weighed so heavy on him? No, David decided. There was still an invisible weight on the man's shoulders. A forced gentleness possessed his movements as he held one of Shaw's hands. His touch was delicate, as if Shaw might break. What could be troubling him now? David eyed the titan for a moment longer. Despite everything, he still looked anxious. What did such a powerful being have to fear? Maybe it was his own power? David's eyes fell back to the intertwined hands of his new mother and this giant. Selaphiel's tough ghosted over Shaw's flesh, cradling her hand like one might a baby bird. David blinked away from the sight, moving toward Shaw.
"Where would you like me?" David asked instead of continuing his answerless wonderings.
Shaw patted her free hand between her and Selaphiel. "Come here, the sun feels fantastic..."
"Does it?" David asked as he found himself entering the gap offered to him.
Shaw nodded as she adjusted, making more room. Selaphiel raised his and Shaw's clasped hands to let David scooch under. David did just so, worming into the gap on his back. David folded his hands across his chest to be polite. They wouldn't want to touch him, would they? Tangled hands laid atop his chest. Oh, he supposed they would. David smiled, turning his head to face Shaw. He was at her collar height with how they lounged. The woman chuckled as she laid down, her free hand meeting David's hairline. David hummed, eyes falling shut as Shaw brushed hair from his face. Her fingers caught his locks, pulling them into shape. David sighed without lungs, feeling a sense of peace.
"It feels wonderful, Mother," David spoke into the sky.
Shaw hummed an approving note, continuing to fix his hair. The weight of Selaphiel and Shaw's hands atop his chest and Shaw's fingers in his hair made him smile. He found himself accepting he couldn't feel the sun's comfort. Of all he had to envy their mortal forms for, he could enjoy a close second thanks to their presence. Shaw's hands were warm and soft, a motherly care in every stroke of her fingers. Selaphiel's weight grounded him to the starship, ensuring his mind didn't drift too far. What strange peace they had fostered.
"The name you call her," Selaphiel's voice rumbled.
David opened his eyes, looking at the titan.
"What does it mean?" Selaphiel finished his question, dark eyes reading David's face.
"It means 'Mother.'" David answered proudly. He smiled full force with his response. "She has taken me as her son."
Selaphiel's features hardened as he looked away. David knew he was looking at the mutilated body of Shaw's offspring. The man fell quiet for a long moment. David watched Selaphiel's chest rise and fall as he breathed. There was a deep tenseness betraying his emotions. Shaw might not notice it, but David was MADE to notice. The faintest microexpressions were visible to his gaze.
"What is it?" David probed.
"You recall what I've said about the beasts, yes?" Selaphiel prompted with a firm tone. His jaw was taut as he watched the fallen child.
"Of course," David answered readily.
"How is she taking it?" Selaphiel asked stiffly.
"Taking what?" David hummed. He glanced at their topic. Shaw's eyes might be shut, but she kept stroking his hair. She must be deeply relaxed. Maybe enough to fall asleep if it wasn't for the noise between David and Selaphiel.
"Everything," Selaphiel affirmed.
David considered Shaw's peaceful face. "She is terrifyingly resilient and adaptable... Yet her grace shows no bounds..." David spoke as he watched his newly claimed mother rest at his side. "She is the most fascinating human I've ever met."
"But how is she?" Selaphiel pressed sternly.
"She's taking everything better than I could ever expect of a human... She hurts, yes, but she remains strong." David hummed, careful not to disturb Shaw's peace. "I suspect Shaw has already found solace with the death of her spawn... Perhaps its death is even comforting her. A closure."
"What of her crew?" Selaphiel asked. "Of her partner?"
"She likely intends to bury them with the funeral rights of her faith... To lay them to rest." David turned back to the titan, meeting his black gaze. "What about you?"
Selaphiel blinked, eyes narrowing. "Me?"
"Yes," David confirmed with a nod. "How are you 'taking everything.'"
Selaphiel ground his teeth, looking away again. His brow narrowed as he glared into the distance. He was avoiding the question...
"How do you feel-" David started.
"That's not important." Selaphiel stopped him sternly.
"But it is," David argued. "Mental health is a vital function."
Selaphiel groaned, hand pulling from Shaw's. The woman awoke, asking something as Selaphiel lay on his back, pinching the bridge of his nose with his freed hand. Selaphiel sighed deeply before covering his eyes with his hands. David watched cautiously as Selaphiel's form was contorted with restrained emotion. What was he fighting with? David frowned, unable to read the face hidden by mask and hand. After a tense moment in the sun, Selaphiel spoke.
"They forgot about us." Selaphiel groaned, hand slipping from his eyes. His gaze stared at the sky with a deep sorrow. A thin veil of hate lingered with his sadness.
"Your people?" David assumed.
Selaphiel nodded, sucking in a breath. He hissed it out between his teeth. Then, he continued. "Two thousand years in your time... It's no small figure for us either. There was time, plenty of time to search for survivors. The detonated warheads have aged away, becoming secure. The rest remain in containment... They could have looked. They SHOULD have looked. They must have known there were survivors. I doubt I was the last one until a decade or two... They had to be waiting for us to pass. They left us on purpose. All of us."
"Why would they do that?" David dared ask.
"As retribution," Selaphiel responded dryly. His gaze fixated above.
"... Are you fitting of punishment?" David asked further.
"... yes," Selaphiel said. The titan blinked, turning his eyes to Shaw and David. "Have you forgotten what I planned for your planet?"
"No, but I refer to before our arrival-" David was interrupted yet again.
"Earth wasn't my first mission," Selaphiel said firmly, letting the words sit with David.
After some consideration, David asked: "How many?"
Selaphiel stared him deep in the eyes as he answered. David swore he felt the gaze in a place meant to hold a soul. "I lost count a long time ago."
David looked away from the titan. He lay quietly between human and alien as the words seeped into his materials. Both mortal presences loomed heavy at his sides. Their beating hearts are at the forefront of his mind. "Were all them exterminations?"
"No, but many were," Selaphiel answered.
"Uncountable lives," David confirmed.
"Yes." Selaphiel agreed.
After time to think, David continued. "Did you believe you were doing the right thing? Were you following the guidance of your forefathers? Were you denied the choice to refuse?"
"Does that make it any better?" Selaphiel sighed.
"It would to Mother," David answered honestly. "She's forgiven me for my sins for a similar reason... I imagine she might forgive you."
"I do not deserve forgiveness." Selaphiel declared.
"I don't think that's up for you to decide," David argued.
Selaphiel hummed a note before falling quiet.
"Shall I tell her?" David asked.
"It would be cruel not to," Selaphiel said. "She deserves to know."
David waited, watching the titan for some time. Was he really willing to throw his last bond away? For the sake of fairness? David would find it honorable if it wasn't so reckless. After David told Shaw what would stop her from taking one of the forgotten weapons and killing him. Nothing, David realized. Even if she couldn't lift the gun, David didn't think he had the heart to deny her if Shaw demanded David fire on the titan. David would follow his mother's call before the bond of this titan. It might pain him, yet... David knows he would do it. The love for his new mother overwhelmed his loyalty to this alien. So where had the fight gone? Why was this god among men lying down, ready to die? David really would never understand biologicals. Their ideals and contradictions never seemed to lock with logic.
"Mother," David called, switching to English. At David's tone shift, Selaphiel turned his head away. Apparently unable to view Shaw and David any longer. So he DID fear Shaw's reaction...
"What is it, David? What's wrong?" Shaw asked.
David turned to her, adjusting to sit up. The woman followed, her face racked with worry. She set her hands on David's shoulder, holding him tightly. Her arms shook as her voice wept.
"Why was Selaphiel looking at us like that? Did we do something wrong?" Shaw stopped her questions as David met her gaze.
"I have much to tell, Mother," David said plainly.
Shaw bit her lips, eyes teary with her worries. "Okay," She croaked with a restrained sob. "Okay..." She said, settling.
---_---
Selaphiel lay in wait, expecting many things. For Shaw to yowl with horror or cuss his name. For the presence beside him to leave without a second look. He expected to be left to rot by the two lives remaining on this cursed base. And so, he waited. Selaphiel didn't dare wander away from whatever punishment Shaw sought fit. Remarks he couldn't comprehend carried heavily from David and into Shaw. The woman was yet to say a word, set on absorbing every detail delivered. Selaphiel kept quiet, trying not to think of the hundreds of dead in the tunnels below. He'd known a few closely. He'd known more distantly. But their bodies weren't them, not anymore. The essence that made them alive is long gone. No memories of this base lingered anywhere other than with him. He realized that was precisely what his elders wanted. They wanted to forget the sins of their past, even if that meant letting their soldiers rot away. Selaphiel was supposed to be dead...
Selaphiel was startled as something touched his chest. He flinched in place, folded hands splaying as his heart jumped. He gasped harshly behind his mask as he snapped his head up, looking at his interruption. A worn, human hand laid across his chest, deft fingers sliding onto his armored sternum. Selaphiel recognized the sand-roughened skin the moment he saw it. Shaw had gently laid a hand atop him. Hands still held in the air with his surprise, Selaphiel turned wide-eyed to Shaw.
The metal around her neck shimmered quietly under her armor, its golden wavelengths threatening to hypnotize him as always. The beat of her heart sang from her chest at a slow pace. The melody left Selaphiel confused. Where was the anger? The fear? When Selaphiel met the woman's eyes, his gaze focused. Her brown eyes seeped into his. Still, golden rays cradled her silhouette as she leaned closer to him. Sun or the plated gold she wore, Selaphiel couldn't tell. Either way, she was stunning as ever. A divine heaven that Selaphiel was entirely unworthy of. The woman bumped their masked noses together before setting her brow on his. Her body was warm as the sunlight itself, and her touch soaked into his veins. Shaw's hair danced with the wind, brushing against his skin. She didn't seem real...
"I forgive," Shaw spoke with a voice much too high for his native language, and yet? "I forgive you, Selaphiel."
Selaphiel felt himself melt as Shaw's voice carried his language like water to his thirsty soul. Her words carried deep refreshment that washed worries away. How he could have ever wished to harm her before, Selaphiel hadn't a clue. How had he been so convinced cleansing any world was right? The guilt in his guts left him feeling weaker than his smaller company. He laid his head down, chest shuddering with a sigh. Shaw followed as he moved. The lone human lay closer to him than at any time before. Her arms hugged around his throat as she nosed her mask into his jaw. Selaphiel could hear Shaw's breath beside his own. Selaphiel found his hands at her sides before he could help himself. With a gentle pull, the woman let herself be moved. Selaphiel laid her atop his chest, wrapping her tightly in his arms. Shaw laid atop him without so much as a kick. Selaphiel shut his eyes as her small form hugged him. He let his hands trail up and down Shaw's back, stroking what little comfort he could offer into her body.
"I don't deserve it." Selaphiel eventually spoke. His voice was harsh upon himself with guilt. The woman gently hushed him, fingers stroking his neck. Her thumbs pet the space below his ears.
Selaphiel fell quiet, listening to Shaw's guidance. Instead, he let himself savor the moment. Shaw's weight and the sun's warmth. The gentle songs of the daylight desert. Even the sensation of sand scratching at his skin. Selaphiel was alive and feeling despite everything held against him. What an odd thing. If the little robot had never awoken Selaphiel, he'd die in his chamber. If the human weapons had been more powerful, his lungs might have been pierced. If Shaw hadn't taken mercy and dragged him into safety...
Selaphiel should be dead... Yet he was living.
All because of this little red human...
Perhaps Selaphiel's God hadn't abandoned him.