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John attempted to sneak out of the house before having a proverbial heart attack as he nearly ran into Austin upon turning around.
“Jesus, Austin, you fucking scared me.” John clutched at his chest, face pale.
The T-1000 ignored John’s distress, tilting his head down just slightly in silent threat as he cooly inquired, "Where are you going, John? It is 2:38 A.M. on a Wednesday night. You have a chemistry test tomorrow."
John rolled his eyes as instinctual terror was swiftly replaced with exasperation. "None of your business, Austin. Jeez, how long were you waiting for me down here, anyways?”
The shapeshifter didn’t blink, “The instant I detected what you mistakenly believed was a stealthy exit from your second story window. You seem to forget that two of Skynet’s most efficient Terminator models are your guardians, John.”
John scowled at Austin’s passive aggressiveness, swiping his bangs out of his eyes to evenly meet the T-1000’s gaze. “Yeah actually, about that… I don’t forget. How the fuck can I forget? Between you, Uncle Bob, and mom...it’s a miracle I haven’t gone insane from all the ridiculously high expectations you’ve piled onto me. At least mom goes to sleep sometimes. The only other interactions I’ve had with other people who get me is at school, for christ's sake. People MY age who aren’t murder bots or traumatized to the point of being an unapproachable brick wall.”
Austin shifted just slightly at John’s words, his microprocessors easily picking up on the bitter angst in his charge’s facial expression and verbal intonation. Though the mimetic machine was finer tuned at emulating and interpreting human emotions, he still took issue with what he deemed an illogical emotional outburst. John was lashing out at him. John was being recklessly selfish. And to what end? Because John - emotionally immature adolescent that he was - was merely dissatisfied with the strict training and discipline necessary for his future self’s success? Infallible logic classified such behavior as both ungrateful and wholly inappropriate of a person destined to a position of high authoritative power. Had the T-1000 been more inclined towards the emotional trappings of human thought, he might have expressed frustration and anger at John’s apparent insolence.
Austin stared, steely blue eyes narrowing as he elected to meet John’s accusational challenge with cold indifference, “So you’re choosing to shirk your responsibilities for the fleeting escapism of human companionship? You’re not thinking about the big picture, John. Sneaking out at odd hours to participate in underage drinking with a group of likeminded careless teenagers is not conducive to your success. Sarah Connor understood the sacrifices required to ensure your safety and future.”
John’s jaw tightened as his brown eyes flashed with indignant rage, “Yeah? Well guess what? Mom got to have a childhood! Mom even got to be a normal teenager for fuck’s sake! For just once, I’d like to feel what it’s like to be normal. I never fucking ASKED to be born. I never asked to be some bigshot leader of a human resistance for a fucking APOCALYPSE!”
The teen’s voice lowered to a gravelly tone, pinpricks of blood seeping from his clenched fists as his nails dug into his palms. “I’m going out, Austin... and you aren’t going to talk me out of it.”
There was a moment of lingering silence as the T-1000 and John evenly held one another’s gaze. Imperceptible to John, the T-1000’s internal temperatures raised ever so slightly as John continued challenging him. Unwittingly, Austin’s body language began shifting just slightly to mimic the boy’s, jaw tightening and shoulders squaring. Austin offhandedly rationalized the action as a sympathetic somatic subroutine. Though Austin didn’t care to admit to it, potential response dialogues presented themselves to him with a bit less calculation than what was standard. Logic clearly wasn’t working. John was only growing increasingly hostile. Perhaps threatening would prove more successful?
A mirthless smile crept along the corners of Austin’s lips - an expression personal experience proved unsettling to humans - that didn’t reach his eyes as he tilted his head ever so slightly. John was being difficult. He would return the gesture. Emulating his demeanor when threatening John’s mother, he spoke with an icy calmness punctuated by false cheer. “John...if you don’t go back to your room right now, I will kill you. I will kill you, I will kill your T-800, and I will kill your mother. My repurposed mission is merely to ensure your success. If you refuse to comply, I will have no incentive to not fulfill my original directive in terminating you.”
John’s eyes widened just slightly, the youth taking a step back towards the house as Austin loomed in closer - a darkened silhouette framed by the full moon. For a moment, the teen appeared ready to comply...before a hardness returned to his eyes.
“No you won’t.”
Oh. Austin went inhumanly still, gaze widening with muted disbelief as John allowed a poignant few seconds for his rebuttal to sink in.
A knowing smirk joined the unwavering eyes as self-assured sarcasm colored John’s words, "C'mon Austin. Will you just stop with the death threats, already? Like jeez, threaten to ground me and shit, sure. But death? We both know that you wouldn't kill me. Because then Bob would hate you. And I would hate you from beyond the grave for killing me and mom. You'd have nobody. Especially if you actually went and killed Uncle Bob. You'd have no family. No loved ones. No mission. Nothing. You pretend to be the ruthless unfeeling killing machine you were when you first got poofed into this timeline, but you're not anymore. You care now, and I know you care because I see it in the way you look after me and Bob both."
Austin remained silent, possibilities for reactions delayed as his pale lips pursed tightly together. His throat moved needlessly as an all too familiar sensation of unpleasant tension began mounting internally. A sensation John knew to be wounded pride.
Because John was right. The T-1000 did care. The religiously maintained fishtank John had gifted him half a decade ago under the pretense of a Birthday proved he cared. The fact Austin obsessed over John’s success was the second unspoken giveaway.
While Austin knew these things intimately, he certainly didn’t enjoy said facts backfiring during such an inopportune moment. Leaving him exposed like this. Stuck between a rock and a hard place. Unable to respond without further self-incrimination.
The silence grew stifling as the T-1000 briefly calculated a partial fulfillment of his initial threat by non-fatally injuring John. Though such notions were quickly discarded as Austin knew the negative repercussions far outweighed any potential benefits. Thus, Austin elected to merely glare at John in stormy silence.
Narrowed icy blue clashed with fiery defiant brown before Austin relented. He straightened his posture, arms crossing. "If you don't return to your room right now, I will inform the others and let them take disciplinary action against you. Particularly Sarah Connor.”
The namedrop worked like magic, John’s resolve wilting as he finally relented with an exaggerated sigh. "Fine. Whatever. At least that's an honest threat."
Though as John touched the faded siding of the house, he half turned to meet the T-1000’s gaze. Austin’s face was a stony mask, though John could sense the shame burning just beneath the surface. It probably wasn’t a good idea to leave Austin stewing. The self-proclaimed emotionless machine had a propensity for holding grudges, unlike Uncle Bob. “And just so you know...I...love you, too.”
The news hardly seemed to move the T-1000, though one could swear his brows upturned just slightly as he watched after John.
John continued, his voice a bit labored as he resumed scaling the house’s siding. “You...may be a huge nag… Maybe a bit worse than Mom. But...I do love you, too. As an uncle, of course. I’m not saying I don’t love you when I say I want to hang out with my friends…”
Grunting, John swung his leg over the window ledge, turning around once safely inside and poking his head out. “I’m just saying that I need a break. One day I’m gonna crack under all this stress… And I may do something stupid. Stupider than trying to go out and see friends. At least THINK about letting me have some free time, will ya?”
Austin’s pallid face was illuminated by the moonlight as he took a deep breath, understanding the wordless implications of John’s conjecturing. His expression and tone held a hint of exasperation as he tentatively nodded. “I...will consider running it by the other two.”
The last thing Austin saw was John’s growing smile as he eagerly slid his window shut.