goddamngrenades | OPEN POST

"Weird." Where does this one come from, then? It's a memory that he can reach out and touch, the weight of the air, the rumble of the thunder. The sudden crackling cool in the wind as rain starts to fall. There's a swing on the porch and York tugs Wash over there, settling up- and without thinking about it? Tugging him into his arms.

Because he seems off balance and that's not fun. "Where did you grow up?"

Wash lets York pull him close. It just makes sense in that weird way that dreams sometimes do. He's still asleep. His nightmare had shaken him and comfort wouldn't be a bad thing. Or maybe he's just going nuts after not actually touching another person for months, except in medical.

The rain falls heavily, bouncing off the ground as it hits. "A small colony planet. Mostly rock and desert and mines."

"Then you're in for a treat." The wind's really going now, snapping up the long grass like a cracked whip. All cool air smelling of damp and green as the wall of rain starts advancing. Inevitable and unyielding and sharp with ozone, the sound rattling about the asphalt drive that winds through the yard.

There's a sharp scent in his nose, and the rain looks like one continuous sheet of water, not drops at all. Wash sucks in a breath, staring out at it. It doesn't feel like a dream right now.

Advancing until it overtakes the house- porch keeping them dry as the rain surrounds them on all sides. The whole world wiped away in a wall of water and sound. "See? not so bad."

Better than a broken mirror. York shifts enough to tuck his chin over Wash's shoulder, eyes slipping closed because this? Feels familiar. Feels right.

There's something electrifying about it. He gasps when it hits the building, a thunderous noise as the rain pelts off it. "It's pretty cool," he agrees, smiling slightly. He closes his eyes, leaning back against York's chest. It feels comfortable, comforting.

"You should see it in person. Sometimes the sky goes a little green- or all golden? And then it goes dark as the clouds come in thick." Like he's seen it before. Like he's lived it.

But he's never been, has he?

Wash frowns at that. "How many weather documentaries have you been downloading?" he asks. Because that's the only wasy York can know this. He's an AI. He'd come from a facility and hadn't even been woken up until he arrived here.

"Uh-" None. The answer is none but he's having a hard time articulating it- the wind goes from cool to cold, the rain from steady to torrential, and the next rumble of thunder is less a roll and more a crack boom of explosive decompression, rattling York in his bones. "I don't-"

It takes his breath away, the enormity of the sound, the way the rain gets even heavier, until he might as well be looking at a waterfall on Earth. He squeezes York's hand. "Hey, c'mon," he says, and gives him a little tug towards the steps off the veranda.

Part of him is pretty sure going out into the rain is a bad idea. The rest-

The rest just. Follows, hand curled tight around David's as they step closer. "Do you know what's on the other side?"

Like dreams are supposed to make sense and this damn near mirror clear wall of water isn't the most intimidating thing he's ever seen.

It's just a dream, after all. And even if the rain is crazy, it's just water, right? York's hand is warm against his shoulder, finger just brushing against the bare skin of his neck.

Wash shakes his head. "No idea. But... there has to be something, right? And I've not been out in a storm like this before."

"...ok." He's still apprehensive but- he follows Wash. Steps through into that impossibly heavy pounding of rain- his clothes slicked to his skin in a heartbeat, the flick of his hair flattened out against his skull. Loud. So goddamn loud he can't hear himself think or breathe and it's like a rumbling in his bones-

He clings to Wash's hand, lost and terrified for the sudden surge of both familiarity and utter alienation.

Wash gasps when they step out into the rain. It immediately soaks him, drenching his clothes, soaking his hair to his scalp and turning it a dirty dark blond. Another loud peal of thunder rumbled overhead, followed by the lightning, and for a moment, he stares upwards, transfixed by what's occuring. It's beautiful. It's amazing!

And then he laughs, overtaken by it all.

It's familiar and York would be lost in chasing the why of that were it not for Wash's gasp, his sheer joy in standing in a thunderstorm. Water thudding down on his shoulders like it could crush him but- a hand held tightly in his and that's enough of an anchor. He tips his head back, eyes half closed-

And breathes.

There comes a point when you're so soaked that there's no point even trying to get back into the dry. Might as well enjoy it. It's not so bad out here now. He doesn't feel cold at least. He catches York's movement, squeezes his hand. he's still grinning, exhilarated by what's happening.

"I remember this." Hard to hear over the thunder and rain- but this. Being overwhelmed, being plastered with rain-

He knows this.

AI don't have memories and yet here he is, remembering the smell of ozone or the overwhelming bite of green on the back of his tongue from breathing in. "I know this-"

Wash frowns and squints at him. The water is running down his face, threatening to get in his eyes and he reaches up to scrape it away. It's back a second later. "What do you mean?" He's an AI. he shouldn't remember it. How could he? And it isn't one of Wash's memories. Right?

"Something must have gone wrong. it's probably just... weird memory stuff. You think you remember it but you don't really."

"I feel like I've been here before." Like he's done this. "...must be that dreaming thing, right? I don't actually-"

He can't have. that's impossible. "Just. Making shit up, right? That's a dream."

AI don't dream either. What is this, what's going on- armor shimmers and flickers, glitching in and out of existence around him, helmet replacing his face as he tries to remember why this face, why these eyes-

He opens his mouth to reply, but that isn't it, is it? He can't dream. he's an AI. Maybe he could see Wash's dreams, but he doesn't dream of this. He knows what his dreams are like. "Dreams usually draw on life."

That's how they work right? It's your brain trying to sort things out, even if they seem surreal, they're drawn from life.

He stares as York seems to Glitch, and squeezes his hand a little tighter. The rain is still coming down, and another peal of thunder rocks the sky.

"I dont' dream. I don't know this, I don't-" Remember, but he does. In the distance there's a splash of color, a figure that moves. Red over teal and he knows that why does he know that, he knows Carolina of course he knows her she's number one-

Right? Right.

This-

"We need to go inside."

Wash follows his gaze and squints through the rain at the figure moving in the darkness. It looks familiar, but it's hard to tell in the rain.

"Wait, is that-"

But York has his hand is telling him to move. "Why?"

"This ends badly." What this is- he can't remember. But there feels like a pinch or something in his shoulder and that- no. Not doing this again, he doesn't know what THIS is but once was enough. He starts walking back to the house but he can't find it with all the rain but it doesn't matter. All that matters is getting away. As far away as possible.

"What ends badly?" Wash asks, glancing back over his shoulder at the advancing figure. The rain doesn't feel so good now. It's getting darker, the lightning flashes closer, and he can't see the house. "York! What's going on?"

"This fight-" They fought. They spoke, they fought- he'd fallen. Been shot? He's never seen her on his own though and yet-

How does he know her. how does he know this? They aren't anything to one another, he's an AI. He's Wash's AI, he is meant to protect wash but why can't he remember-

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notyourrookie - 2017-02-02 01:11 (UTC) - Expand