InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "The other white meat."

Tachikoma (williseeheaven) wrote in utr_logs,
@ 2011-06-06 17:02:00

Entry tags:

tachikoma, wheatley

Who: Tachikoma and Wheatley
What: Ice cream and robots in disguise!
Warnings: Don't let them near any mainframes..

Tachikoma was an absolute pro when it came to portkeys. She didn't understand why people complained so much about them. When she landed in London, she landed perfectly on her roller skates and just started rolling down the sidewalk, no problems. She arrived at the London Eye early, and popped her head in the gift shop while she waited. She liked the ferris wheel. She and Walt had been here once before, and it was neat getting such a fantastic view of the city.

When she spotted the other ex-robot, she exited the gift shop, wheeling up to him. "Hi!" She smiled brightly and waved. Tachikoma offered him a souvenir baseball cap she'd bought by way of attempting to just shove it on his head without warning. She wasn't exactly the most subtle person. "Can we go on the ride first and then get ice cream?" She'd forgotten how much fun the 'big.. wheel.. thing' was.

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sayapple
2011-06-06 10:35 pm UTC (link)

Wheatley flinched- someone had come up behind him and shoved a hat on him with no warning whatsoever, oh god, this was Her doing, and he was going to die from hat-

Oh.

He straightened, adjusting the hat a little awkwardly, and finally getting a look at his fellow ex-robot. Damn. Everyone here had a better looking chassis than he did. Life wasn't fair.

"Hello! Ah... sure."

Awkward smile, faint blush. Was this how humans greeted each other? Or was she just... malfunctioning?

"Nice to meet you, by the way. I mean... in real life."

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williseeheaven
2011-06-06 11:04 pm UTC (link)

"Yay!" she squealed excitedly, bouncing up on her toes. Ferris wheel, whee! She did a little spin before skating over to the ticket booth and buying passes for both of them. Tach wasn't overly concerned with money.

Returning to her new friend, she skidded to an impressive stop just in front of him and handed him a ticket. "Here you go! Oh, nice to meet you, too!" Tachikoma had been here for years and still wasn't very good at following the protocol of meeting new purple. Buying ice cream for newcomers trumped explanations about world jumping, and introductions were usually completely forgotten. She hadn't actually told her new friend her name yet. She didn't know his either, though, so they were even.

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sayapple
2011-06-06 11:18 pm UTC (link)

"So... who are you, precisely?"

Curiosity core? Maybe. Wheatley chewed his lip and gave her a smile, feeling a little self-conscious. People were looking at them. Not many, but some. Made him feel a little bit like he was standing in front of Her and saying something incredibly stupid and just couldn't shut up.

Also? She was pretty. And something about pretty people made his innards seize up and make him feel even stupider.

"Nice, ah. Wheels. By the way. Very, um, mobile."

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williseeheaven
2011-06-06 11:44 pm UTC (link)

"I'm a tachikoma! People mainly call me Tach, though. I'm not really a tachikoma anymore, but now I use it like a name," she said, shrugging as she grinned. She confused most people, but either she didn't notice or she didn't mind. "I was a fully functional combat tank, equipped with AI...and machine guns!" She got a little excited about that part, which drew further strange looks.

"Ooh, thanks!" she said, holding up a skate to look at. "I like them. Reminds me of home. Walking is weird. Don't you think walking is weird?" That had been harder for her to master than breathing and the other stuff.

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sayapple
2011-06-07 12:00 am UTC (link)

"Yeah! It is! It took me hours to get used to it, you know? Lots of practice. No idea how everyone else does it so easily, I always feel like I'm about to drop over and bounce my head off something. Gravity! Legs! It's like it's all conspiring against me, honestly. Never realized it was so hard."

He made a face, beginning to relax finally.

"I was hooked to a rail. Solved the problem of where to go, at least. This, well, I mean it's great, admittedly. No limitations. But there's too many decisions to make, it's completely overwhelming. I can move literally anywhere. Mind-blowing!"

The guy in line in front of them glanced back, giving them a weird look. Wheatley decided not to notice.

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williseeheaven
2011-06-07 12:28 am UTC (link)

"I know! My legs are so skinny and long, I kept thinking they would crumple under my armored exoskeleton! But I don't have one of those anymore."

She giggled at his excitement mixed with trepidation. "It's pretty cool! I can go more places now, too. And beds! I can sleep in beds. Have you slept on a bed yet? It's way better than just powering down! And there's dreaming! Dreams are neat!"

Tach liked being human. There were so many fun things about it. She still missed Batou and the Major, and she didn't get to make things explode very often anymore, but there were lots of other fun things.

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	sayapple 2011-06-07 12:35 am UTC (link)
	"Yeah, I've... I've dreamed." Mostly of terror and ultimate fear before being ejected out into the blankness of space. He'd usually woken up screaming and sweating. So far, he vastly preferred powering down. "Oh! Food! That's pretty spectacular, isn't it? Taste? Not fond of the feeling hungry bit, but eating is pretty great. Exciting." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

williseeheaven
2011-06-07 02:08 am UTC (link)

"Aww, did you have the bad ones?" she asked, reaching out to pat him on the head in an attempt to comfort him. She'd had a few nightmares, though she hadn't really understood them. Most of her dreams were nice, though.

"I love food!" She bounced up on her front wheels then back down. "Especially ice cream. And pizza! French fries are good too!" Luckily they were at the front of the line. She was starting to make herself hungry.

"This is kind of like being hooked on a rail!" she said as they climbed into a carriage.

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	sayapple 2011-06-07 02:16 am UTC (link)
	"Yeah, I guess it is." Wheatley paused and looked up. And up. And up. Oh boy. "Uh... this is safe, right? Like... hm. Not sure I'm feeling too secure, here. That's pretty high." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

williseeheaven
2011-06-07 02:54 am UTC (link)

"It's safe!" she said, grabbing his arm and pulling him into the carriage with her. "I've been on it before. It's fun! See all the people? They're safe."

They were all locked in before Wheatley could escape, and the ferris wheel started to move. "Your rails were safe, right?" Tachikoma slid over to the slide, looking out the windows at the ground as they started to rise.

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sayapple
2011-06-07 03:11 am UTC (link)

"M... mostly."

His knuckles went white as he gripped onto the handrail, standing next to her. He was shaking just the tiniest bit, and his palms were sweaty and cold.

"Had to hop off them, once. The people who built me told me if I ever went off the rail, I would die. Turned out to be a load of bollocks. Along with a lot of other stuff, actually."

Wheatley's stomach dropped as they went up and up- he couldn't stop looking down for some stupid, stupid reason.

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williseeheaven
2011-06-07 03:19 am UTC (link)

"Aww!" Poor guy. He looked scared. And being lied to by the people that built you.. That was just awful! She felt bad for him.

She had never thought someone might not like the ride. She had loved it her first time. She and Walt had so much fun on it. They'd even kissed at the top! It was sweet. But Wheatley looked like he was going to be sick.

"I won't let you fall off," she promised, putting a hand on his clammy one and looking over at him.

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sayapple
2011-06-07 03:26 am UTC (link)

He jumped slightly, eyes wide, then laughed in relief.

"Thanks! Uh, thanks. Thank you. For that. I mean, I know I won't fall, but... oh goodness that's really high."

Nervous giggle. His voice was doing weird things, sort of cracking and changing pitch without him meaning to. And he was leaking from his forehead! Little beads of moisture. He wondered vaguely if this was something to be concerned about.

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williseeheaven
2011-06-07 03:33 am UTC (link)

"Then why are you scared?" she asked, confused. If he knew he wouldn't fall, there wasn't anything to be afraid of, right? It was really fun to be up high, as long as you didn't fall. Ferris wheels and hot air balloons.. If it wasn't fun, why would people do it?

But then, Wheatley was new at being people. Maybe he would start liking it soon.

She tilted her head, staring at him. "Are you okay?" He'd been pink before, and now he was all pale.

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	sayapple 2011-06-07 03:36 am UTC (link)
	"I don't know, to be honest," he said, still laughing. He couldn't stop. He really was broken! "I'm absolutely terrified and I'm not sure how to turn that off!" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

williseeheaven
2011-06-07 03:49 am UTC (link)

"Oh, no. I don't think you have an off-switch for that anymore." She frowned, worried for her new friend. "Come here," she said, taking his hand to gently lead him away from the rail and to the middle of the capsule. "Sit here and.. maybe close your eyes?"

Tach didn't really know what to do. It was a long ride, and they weren't even at the top yet. "Do you want me to try to get them to go back down? I have lots of money, they'll probably listen to me."

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	sayapple 2011-06-07 03:57 am UTC (link)
	"No! No, that's okay!" Wheatley sat down, face flaming with embarrassment. "I'll get used to it eventually, right? As long as I don't look down again. That was a terrible idea, looking down. Absolutely horrible. Makes you feel like you're about to fall and splatter all over the pavement." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	williseeheaven 2011-06-07 04:01 am UTC (link)
	"It does?" She hadn't felt those sorts of things, but maybe Wheatley had a bad fall off of a rail once. He must have thought he was going to die. That could be traumatic, even for a robot. "Looking out at the horizon is nice. You can see the castle from here. It's pretty." She stayed in the middle with him, though. She'd seen it before. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	sayapple 2011-06-07 04:20 am UTC (link)
	"Oh yeah?" He looked out, then smiled, taking a few deep breaths. "You're right. Yeah, it is pretty, actually." This was a massive improvement. A massive, massive improvement. Unbelievable, that he was up here in the air and afraid of the ground! (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	williseeheaven 2011-06-07 04:39 am UTC (link)
	From where they sat, they couldn't see the ground even if they'd wanted to. She was so relieved when he smiled. Maybe he wouldn't throw up, after all! She grinned brightly, controlling herself enough not to bounce up and down, which would shake the capsule and probably scare Wheatley again. "I'm glad you're feeling better." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	sayapple 2011-06-07 06:26 am UTC (link)
	"So'm I." A few deep breaths, and he returned her smile, his face flushing slightly. "Sorry I, um. Sorry. About panicking. Not sure what came over me." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

williseeheaven
2011-06-07 03:21 pm UTC (link)

"It's okay, don't be sorry. Everybody's afraid of something. I don't like sharks." She shrugged, still smiling brightly.

"It's probably weird, still being so new." It was a lot to take in at once. Tachikoma pretty much functioned on stimulus overload all of the time, but she recognized other people might need things a little slower. "Don't worry. Ice cream is easier."

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sayapple
2011-06-07 03:48 pm UTC (link)

"Yeah, it kind of threw me for a bit of a loop, to be honest. One minute I'm normal, the next minute I've got all these..."

He waved a hand.

"...bits sticking out of me I don't know how to control, and I'm soft and squishy to boot. Mind-blowing. Feel a little sorry for whoever this used to belong to," he said, a little ashamed as he poked at his belly. "Wonder what happened to him. Wonder if he woke up and is wondering why he's a little metal ball."

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williseeheaven
2011-06-07 09:12 pm UTC (link)

"You're figuring it out, though," she said encouragingly. "You've got breathing down! And walking! You're a good walker!" It seemed like it had taken forever for Tach to figure that out.

"Ooh, I've never thought about that... You think people go back and take over our bodies? I hope mine has good aim. The Major would be pretty cranky if she doesn't." Or they might scrap her if they couldn't fix it. That wasn't a good thought!

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	sayapple 2011-06-07 10:00 pm UTC (link)
	"I hope they don't, to be honest. It's hard enough going from being nearly immobile to being totally mobile. Going the other way must be pure hell." He coughed. "Plus, I rather liked my old body. Wouldn't want anyone else messing it up." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)