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The apartment that Thad found was shockingly pretty intact. Maybe they were just in a really horrible part of the city, but it
really
did seem like there was no good place with decent coverage for the two of them to hunker down in during the daytime… until now.
He was still getting used to this schedule too, only continuing their search at night, but V simply told him that she couldn’t go out during the day. Something he came to accept, just like the fact that she apparently needs oil to survive or she’ll die. It was just better to nod along and take her at her word, other than incessantly question her… about
everything
... she didn’t look like someone who really enjoyed being questioned.
In any case, he stepped back out into the hallway and called out to his travel partner,
“Hey V! I found a pretty good spot for us to stay in!”
From the far corner of the hallway appeared V, the glow from her eyelights
and
the weird but
cool
headband she wore(?) brightening up the hallway a tad. It
was
dark in here, but less so in the apartment– windows and all, and the sun
was
starting to steadily rise as well. He stepped back as she walked past him and into the space, looking around.
“Hm. Not bad,” She remarked, and then threw a glance back at him, ”We need to find things to cover the windows so light doesn’t get through.”
Thad nods without question, “Right, I’m sure they have like blankets around here, this place was such a
steal
– it looks completely untouched.” and as he chattered on, V wasted no time disappearing into the dark hallway of the apartment itself– where the rooms were, he figured.
He could only shrug and brush it off, he got why she was so hasty. The whole can’t go out in the sun thing… totally understandable. But sometimes it felt like he was just talking to himself. She wasn’t the best at conversation when she was in a hurry, it was
that
important to her that there was
no
light coming into their spots during the day. Totally understandable. A little frustrating, honestly.
But he’d try to help, moving out into the main living room and searching around. There was a single blanket draped over the couch, big win there, but really anything else that
could
help with covering the windows? Nothing, nada, or well– really anything he thought could help. So he took to getting a look around the apartment overall, moving into the kitchen and going through the cabinets.
Lots
of old food here, a part of him wondered what some of this stuff even tasted like… nah, it was probably
awful
.
But one small object on the counter would catch his attention. A– laser pointer? Whoever lived here had a laser pointer?! Hell yeah! Thad quickly snatched up the small device in one of his hands and moved back into the living room– chuckling a little bit out of excitement because he had always wanted one of these things. He plopped himself down on the couch, noting how weirdly comfortable it was, and he pressed the little button on the pointer. The light was flickery, the battery was probably pretty low– but it
did
work!
Thad knew V was in her ‘serious V ignoring everyone mode’, but he couldn’t help but call out to her again, “Hey V, get a look at this thing I fo-”
Anddd before he could even
finish
that sentence, from the darkness of the hallway pounced a certain murder drone. That terrifying ‘X’ symbol was on her face, but thankfully, he
certainly
wasn’t her target… but the red dot coming from the pointer
definitely
was.
…
Thad did not know
what
to think. He was in awe. Experimentally, he moved the pointer slightly, and one of her clawed hands swiftly moved to follow the dot. He was trying to contain the laughter threatening to make itself known to his companion, but this was
absolutely
rich. He’d then move the pointer so that the red dot was on one of the cabinets in the kitchen, and V’s wings sprang out as she launched herself in pursuit of it– only crashing pretty roughly into said cabinets and causing them to fall off the wall. Anddd also a whole bunch of other stuff got knocked around too– yikes.
“Where is it?!” V’s head snapped around on high alert, the ‘X’ on her visor glitching out back into her normal eyes. It was like she totally ignored the fact she broke those cabinets… and other stuff… She was pretty riled up, and Thad smartly chose not to risk the apartment he found if he continued with this game. She could’ve totally broken one of the walls with how
feral
she was going over the red dot– that would
not
be good.
“Where is– what?” He asks hesitantly, slipping the laser pointer into one of his jackets' pockets.
“The red dot! Where did it go?! Did you– Did you see where it went?!”
It was an entire BATTLE to keep himself from losing his shit at her all over again; his laughing at her would for sure piss her off, and he preferred to remain on her good side!
But she
did
notice the tiny chuckles that escaped him despite his efforts, standing up properly as she crossed her arms, “What’re you laughing at…?”
“Sorry V! I’ve just never seen you like that, it kinda caught me off guard.”
V’s eyes narrowed, “Uh huh…”
“I mean it!”
“
Whatever
. I just know that red dot is my sworn
enemy
. I
will
destroy it.”
Thad chuckles at this, “N-Noted… pfff.. I’ll keep an eye out for ya if it
hah
makes you feel better.”
Her frown intensifies until she lets out a deep sigh, shaking her head, “Hmph… I
guess
I appreciate that. Anyway, I’m sleeping in one of the rooms back there. One of them had curtains that fully block out any light, which saved me the trouble of covering the window myself.”
“Ohhh that's a win! That’s chill, I'm gonna stick in here if that’s cool with you. This couch is just
super
comfy and I do
not
wanna get up.” He further expresses this point by stretching his arms out and behind his head. He really wasn’t lying when he said that– it was a good couch! V didn’t look all that impressed in comparison…
“Surely that couch isn’t
that
good…and I really don’t care where you sleep.”
Thad shrugs, “Just letting you know, unless you wanted me to stick closer to you.”
Another shake of the head from V, “Whatever.”
“Night, V, sleep well dude,” He replies as she’s already heading back through the hallway– and he’d continue in a much quieter tone, “... Maybe that’ll calm you down, geez.”
Thad hated thinking negatively, especially about other people– but seriously, sometimes it was hard to interact with her. Maybe she’d warm up to him eventually, but it was only a few weeks since they started this… very… weird truce and even weirder journey, and she was still pretty chilly around him. Like she was just tolerating him being there with her. Thad didn’t want to treat her any differently than he treated anyone else, so he kept being friendly with her regardless of how she acted towards him.
He just wondered if he should keep that up…
would
things even improve? Hell, would he even find Uzi and manage to get back home? Why
was
Uzi running away from him, anyway? Did she just not trust him? Did she not trust anybody at all anymore? But she trusted that other murder drone… enough for him to be able to scoop her up and fly them both elsewhere…
…
That was enough thinking for Thad.
He should do what V was doing, get some sleep in for the journey ahead. A sigh escaped him as he moved himself around so his head was resting on the armrest of the couch. He’d pull that blanket down over himself, too, trying to get himself even more comfortable– and he slipped his hands into his pockets, fiddling with the laser pointer that still sat in one of them. Although that whole interaction went… negatively… he had to admit that her acting like that was kind of…
…
Cute?
Hah. What a weird thing to think about a murder drone.
But as the sun continued to rise, its bright shine peaking through the windows, Thad found himself slipping into sleep-mode…