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Giving away as little as possible, please don't continue reading if you aren't comfortable with the mention of rape.

When Darwin stepped into the room, time slowed.

How long had he known Fletcher? How long had they been dating? The thrill that swept through his wires made it all feel very, very new. He barely made it over the threshold before his knees went weak and he had to stand still.

Fletcher’s room was lit by nothing but low, warm lights scattered across the tops of the desks and display cases running along either side of the room, little pods that shifted and flickered like candles beside bouquets of wine-red flowers. The door to the balcony was propped open, letting in a warm breeze. The bed sat underneath a large window overlooking the balcony, a huge heap of silky pillows sitting at the top of the plum bedspread. Fletcher sat on the edge of his bed, hugging one knee against his chest while his other leg dangled off the side. His eyeforms expanded when they met Darwin’s. Sitting up a little straighter, he let his knee fall against the mattress ‒ he didn’t have anything on besides a pair of silken boxers in his favorite emerald green.

“Wow, Fletcher, you...” Darwin let out a breathless laugh, “you really went all-out.”

The hybrid slid off the bed to stand up, somehow bolt-straight and cautious at the same time. “Well, this is a pretty special occasion, don’t you think?”

“Definitely!” Darwin continued to marvel at the decor. “I didn’t want to make it seem like a big deal, I ‒ I thought it’d be easier for you if we played it casual.”

Fletcher blinked, sitting right back down on the bed. “...Oh. I, uh, wish I’d thought of that.”

“But seriously, Fletcher, this is incredible!” Darwin amended, finding his feet and hurrying across the room. Fletcher relaxed as Darwin approached and cupped his cheek in his palm, admiring the flickering lights reflected in his visor. Fletcher sighed, unable to keep himself from smiling as Darwin leaned down to kiss his forehead. “When you told me to give you a few minutes to get ready, I wasn’t expecting... this!”

Fletcher snorted with laughter, putting his hand over Darwin’s. “We’ve been talking about this for so long, it feels like a big deal. I want it to be perfect.”

Darwin looked at him for a long time, rubbing his thumb over his cheek. It was so rare for Fletcher to be nervous, and no matter how comfortable he seemed, Darwin could read every little micro-expression and nuance of his posture. After all, they had been nigh inseparable for the last eighty years, but the last few months had shown them all sorts of new facets of each other and their relationship. For the first time in decades, Fletcher lacked sure footing in a sexual situation, and Darwin could tell exactly how much it was eating at him. Darwin leaned down even further to press their foreheads together. “You nailed it, Fletch. It’s more than I ever could have expected.”

Fletcher laughed from somewhere deep in his speakers, pulling Darwin down into a slow, warm kiss. He draped his arms around Darwin’s shoulders and hummed, smiling against his spark, savoring the tang that crackled to the back of his tongue. “You deserve the best, Win. I love you like you wouldn’t believe.”

“I do believe,” Darwin whispered, leaning into his lips like he couldn’t help himself. Feeling Fletcher’s smile on his metal was an opportunity he rarely passed up, and it took him a while to pull back again. “Before we start, I want to talk this through one more time. Is that okay?”

“Of course,” Fletcher rocked back. “If I’m being honest though, I think you’re a little overdressed.”

Darwin looked down at himself and laughed. He was in sweats and a t-shirt, and had been wearing the same beanie all week. “Next to you in your sexy boxers, I think you may be right, but I want to make sure we’re on the same page before I join you.”

“Alright, alright. Sit with me?”

Darwin put his hand on Fletcher’s cheek again, stealing yet another kiss before tossing himself onto the foot of Fletcher’s bed, crossing his legs. Fletcher shifted without hesitation and tangled their legs together, resting back on his hands. “So!” the hybrid started, his eyeforms vibrant with anxious energy. “I think it would be fair to say we’ve done pretty much everything else we could possibly do, sex-wise.”

“I’m inclined to agree,” Darwin chuckled, rubbing the pearly blue metal on Fletcher’s calf. “We’re pretty good at all those things, too, I’d say.”

“Mmmmmm,” Fletcher purred, “very good.”

“Alright, stay focused.”

“How am I supposed to focus when you’re the only person who’s ever made me cum using nothing but my g-spot?”

Darwin gave him a chastising look, then blinked. “I am?”

“Mm-hmm,” Fletcher ran his tongue over his fangs, “I’ve never liked it when anyone else put me on my knees and fucked me into the ground, but it’s so good when you do it. I can feel exactly how much you like it and how great you want me to feel, and it’s just ‒ mmm!” Fletcher curled his toes, leaning back and hugging his own chest. Darwin had gone speechless, his fans kicking in. “Win, you make me feel like nobody else ever has. If I can interface with anyone... it’s going to be you.”

Well, there it was. The word that Fletcher always danced around, “the ‘I’ word,” and this time, he was the first to say it. Darwin’s expression softened and he put his hand out. Fletcher looked at it for a moment before lacing their fingers together. “I want you to know that I understand what a big deal this is. I really appreciate how hard this is for you, and I know I’ve said it a million times before, but... I can’t ever say it enough. Interfacing is not going to make or break anything about our relationship, Fletcher.”

The hybrid took a long, slow breath through his vents and squeezed Darwin’s hand. It had been over fifty years since Fletcher last tried interfacing, after his first experience left him with a potent distaste for the practice. “I know,” he whispered. “I’ve been thinking about this a lot. I’m ready, Darwin,” he broke into a watery smile, his voice glitching in a way that was all too embarrassing, “I want to interface with you.”

“Hey... it’s alright, angel ‒ ”

“I know,” Fletcher nodded shakily, “I’m okay, I promise. This is just... it’s a little more emotional than I was expecting, is all.”

“More emotional than you were expecting?” Darwin tilted his head, smiling, “With all the mood lighting and roses you put together? Listen, Romeo, we’re going to take this as slow as you need. If we start and you don’t like it, that’s the end of it. If we’re ten minutes in and you decide you aren’t comfortable, we’re going to stop, and it’s going to be perfectly fine. Nothing is going to change the way I feel about you.”

“I know, Win.”

“We are doing this for fun. If there’s anything you don’t like, it’s not worth it.”

“Right. Same goes for you if anything weirds you out, alright?”

“Right,” Darwin untangled his legs from Fletcher’s, shifting them beneath himself so he was kneeling, crouching to nuzzle his faceplate against the bottom of Fletcher’s head. His voice lowered as he kissed softly against the connection of Fletcher’s wires to his head, making the Energy Vampire shudder. “Just relax. I love you, Fletcher.”

To Fletcher, the craziest part was that he was relaxed ‒ he could hardly help himself. He wanted to return the “I love you,” but all that came out was a muddled, heady moan. Darwin had taken fast to learning all Fletcher’s favorite sweet spots, thoroughly mapping the hybrid out with every chance he got.

His hands roamed over Fletcher’s frame, smoothing over every point of tension, listening to the clicking and whirring beneath his metal, kissing lightly over his shoulders. One of Darwin’s hands splayed over the small of Fletcher’s back while the other supported the metal between his shoulder blades, leaning him back until he rested flat amongst the bedsheets. Fletcher sighed, his hands working up from Darwin’s sides to his back and smoothing over the plating of his neck, his fingers slipping beneath Darwin’s beanie to rub against his metal, slowly edging the hat off his head. Darwin let out a low, rumbling tone, straddling the hybrid’s knees. Fletcher crossed his legs and lifted one knee to grind against the modesty panel between Darwin’s legs, bringing a low groan from his speakers. “Fletcher, I ‒ ” his voice caught with a flange, “I promise this is going to be so good. I’m going to make this good for you, angel.”

“I know,” Fletcher rasped against the side of Darwin’s head, taken as ever by the use of his sweet, private pet name. “I want you, Win. I want this.”

With fumbling hands, Darwin began to pull his shirt up, and Fletcher eagerly helped him get it over his head. The breeze swirled, sweet, against the flexible fiber of the android’s waist, pulling a rough sigh from his speakers. He pressed his face firmly beneath Fletcher’s head, leaning into the heated air coming from the hybrid’s vents as he panted, running his fingers hungrily down Fletcher’s sides. He teased the silver wires exposed in his black metal, soaking in the encouraging groans swelling from his speakers. Finally, Darwin’s fingertips slipped beneath the silky, emerald waistband of his boxers.

Except... as soon as his hands reached the firm, synthetic skin, Fletcher’s whole body tensed. Darwin froze before pushing himself away. “What’s wrong?”

“Sorry, it ‒ it’s just ‒ ” Fletcher stammered, “Is it okay if I keep these on?”

Darwin flushed with static and leaned back even further, running cold. “Oh my ‒ I am so sorry, of course that’s okay, I should have ‒ ”

“Slow down,” Fletcher reached out and pulled Darwin closer again. “There’s no harm done! I’m a little nervous, that’s all.”

“I ‒ but I should’ve asked, I didn’t mean to ‒ ”

Fletcher put a finger on his face plate to hush him, smiling, even if it was a little tense. “Darwin Tyrone Harley. There is nothing you could do to hurt me, and I know you’d never do anything if you thought it would make me uncomfortable. It was an honest mistake.”

“...But if you’re still this nervous about it, maybe now isn’t the right time. It’s okay, Fletcher, really.”

“It’s not that, honest!” Fletcher shook his head, “I mean, it’s a lot to process, still, but I just want to keep interfacing separate to start with. This time, just the cable, then we can work up to our normal equipment as we get used to it?”

For a long, hard moment, Darwin scrutinized Fletcher, studying his eyeforms. “Of course we can do that. I’m sorry I got carried away, we should’ve gone over it.”

“And now we have.”

“But I still don’t know if this is a good idea.”

“Do you not want to do this?”

“I only want to do this if you really want to. Only is the keyword there, Fletch. If you’re not comfortable, I don’t want to do this. At all.”

“I want to!” Fletcher insisted, “Please, I know this is kinda weird... I don’t have much experience with interfacing, and I’m really not used to that. This is the last thing as far as sex goes that’s still new to me, and that... it’s just weird. It’s been a long time, man.”

“...I know,” Darwin said softly.

“The only way I’m ever going to feel more comfortable about this is if I just do it. I know it’s going to be different with you. Everything is different with you. I’m as ready as I’m ever going to be.”

Darwin closed his eyeforms, resting his forehead on Fletcher’s shoulder. “Okay. Whatever you need. Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable?”

A slow hand traced circles in Darwin’s waist. “...Kiss me?”

Now that he could manage. Darwin nuzzled their foreheads together before peppering gentle sparks over Fletcher’s visor, trailing them down to his lips. It did seem to work on the hybrid’s nerves, as a bit of his tension melted away and he opened his mouth, touching his tongue to the source of Darwin’s spark. The android put his elbows on either side of Fletcher’s chest, holding him close, while Fletcher curled one arm around Darwin’s waist, the other hooked around his shoulders. The way Fletcher moved, the way his fingers caught and teased and pulled Darwin closer, the way he slipped one leg out from between Darwin’s and curled it around the backs of his knees, effectively tangling them together... it put them both more at ease. They knew each other. The giddiness, the nerves, they weren’t that out of place, this was supposed to be exciting. It was okay not to know everything, it was okay to be awkward and fumbling and new, because they were going to figure it out together. It wasn’t long before the worst of Fletcher’s nerves had subsided again and he was kissing Darwin with all he had in him. Systems ran hot, vents kicked back in, Fletcher panted against Darwin’s faceplate whenever he managed to pull himself back.

“Win,” he gasped. He’d reached the momentum he needed to carry him forward. “Under the pillows.”

Darwin asked no questions, grasping blindly until his fingers closed around a velveteen bag. He pulled it out and sat back, undoing the drawstring to remove a short, thick cable. Fletcher froze, staring, something strange and potent running through his wires that he could only think of as butterflies.

It took a moment for Darwin to cool down, uncoil the cable, and clear some of the haze from his mind. The panel in his chest ached. “How are you feeling, angel?”

“...Good. Really good, Win. I’m ready.”

Darwin let out a rasping groan, pressing another, messier kiss to Fletcher’s lips. “It’s all you, angel. I’ll follow your lead. Whatever you want, I’m yours.”

Fletcher tried to form words before nodding, finding himself speechless. The rest of the world seemed to freeze as Fletcher reached up and removed a small panel from his chest, exposing his data port. Darwin couldn’t look away. “You are so beautiful.”

“Shut up,” the hybrid flushed with static, smiling. Any other time, he’d be agreeing with the praise, but his confidence still needed bolstering here.

“Never. You look incredible, absolutely radiant, just delectable.”

Fletcher laughed a deep, bubbly laugh that Darwin lived to hear. “Let’s see yours, then?”

The android practically scrambled to remove his own covering, the seams on his chest pulsing a light blue before it came loose and he tossed it away onto the bed. Remarkable, heady wavelengths began to infect Fletcher’s own emotions. “Win,” he gasped, “please... I... will you take over? I don’t think I can...”

Darwin kissed him again, rubbing the cable over his chest, “Only if you tell me exactly what you want me to do. No surprises.”

Fletcher nodded rapidly. “No surprises. I trust you, Win. Plug in. You first, then me, I don’t know how to ‒ to hold in? Hold back?”

“Don’t worry angel, nothing is going to happen if you don’t want it to. I’m not going to do anything you don’t ask for.”

Fletcher nodded again, pulling Darwin closer. “Thank you,” he whispered. Hurry. Do it quick. The sooner it happens, the less it’ll feel like a big deal.

...Now. Fletcher closed his eyeforms, hearing Darwin’s end of the wire click into place. His vents kicked in to manifest as shallow panting. His hands found purchase on Darwin’s waist and he held tight, and ‒ it was in.

A moment passed, then another. Fletcher peeked open one of his eyeforms.

“How are you doing, angel?”

“I’m,” Fletcher spoke through a haze of static, staring down at the cable plugged into his chest, “I’m okay. It’s... okay.”

A comforting hand smoothed up and down Fletcher’s side. “See? Nothing’s going to happen unless you initiate it.”

“Yeah...” he let out a long, shaky sigh. “You’re right.”

Darwin lifted a hand to the side of Fletcher’s face and he leaned into the touch, meeting Darwin half way in a slow, passionate kiss. There was no question about how much Darwin wanted this. Fletcher could read it in every pulse of his wavelength and every minute movement of his frame. Still, just as clearly, there was an undeniable message: take all the time you need. It made warmth swell in Fletcher’s chest, an appreciation beyond words that he wanted to express.

He pulled back and looked into Darwin’s eyeforms. “Tell me how to make you feel good.”

Darwin flushed with static, his voice coming out almost strained. “You can ‒ uh ‒ access my systems... navigate to my reward modules. D-Don’t forget about the Energy Vampire feedback thing.”

Fletcher gave a terse nod, running one last, big breath through his ventilation system. “Are you ready?”

“Ready for anything, angel.”

Here we go. Fletcher let his mind address the new systems he could explore and he stepped inside of... “Darwin,” he sighed in awe. On some level, he could register a thin, breathy moan coming from his boyfriend’s speakers, but more than anything, he was just flooded by his presence. Darwin surrounded him physically, saturated his sensors, and now filled his mind. Fletcher did his best to take it all in, but he couldn’t focus on all of it at once. He couldn’t stop yet. Not now, not when it had taken them so long to get this far, he was not wimping out right away. He just had to give it a minute... before long he’d get used to it and they’d be able to start. He could take it. He could handle having access to everything in Darwin’s mind, Darwin wanted him to do this. He trusted Fletcher enough to give him free reign on every last process and subroutine. He trusted Fletcher not to screw anything up, or to accidentally cause irreversible damage. He really, really trusted him.

That’s a good thing. What’s wrong with me? Fletcher was so overwhelmed trying to gain his bearings that it took Darwin a few tries to get through to him.

“Uh... huh?” the hybrid blinked when he realized that Darwin had been saying his name.

“Fletcher! It’s okay, I’m going to unplug, let’s just take it easy and cool off.”

“What? No, I’m...” he shook his head, feeling like he was moving in slow motion. “I wanna keep going. What are you talking about?”

“Fletcher, stop that. You’re burning up, we’re going to take a break.”

“Wait,” Fletcher managed to put his hand over Darwin’s, stopping him from removing the cord. If he took it out now, he wasn’t sure he’d have the nerve to put it back in. “I swear, Win, I’m fine. It’s just been such a long time since I’ve done this, I forgot what it feels like.”

Doubt and concern fogged Fletcher’s sensors, but he did his best to block it out, trying to clear his mind.

“Fletcher, I’ve never felt like you did just then, not even during my first time.”

“Well... maybe that’s because whoever you were doing it with wasn’t as super sexy as you are, and didn’t love you as much as you love me.”

“Fletcher...”

“No, seriously. You love me an irresponsible amount, Darwin, it’s actually kind of embarrassing. I can hardly begin to process it.”

That did it ‒ Darwin couldn’t stop himself from laughing. “You’re ridiculous.”

“What’s ridiculous is that I also love you an irresponsible amount.”

“Then why aren’t I getting so overwhelmed?” Darwin asked pointedly.

“Because I’m an Energy Vampire, obviously. I already had a pretty good idea about how strong your feelings were, now it’s like feeling that through a superpowered amp.”

Darwin shook his head. “If you say so... I think you should pace yourself.”

“How do I pace myself any more than this? Listen... do you still want to keep going?”

“Only if you do.”

“I do. How do you feel?”

A smile forced its way into Darwin’s eyeforms. He was first and foremost concerned with Fletcher’s comfort, but at the same time... “Feels like you,” he sighed, “but... everywhere.”

Fletcher tilted his head, pressing his face into Darwin’s neck. “That’s exactly what I feel like... and,” he dipped his focus back into Darwin’s systems, “I found your reward programming.”

Another, more eager moan swirled into the back of Fletcher’s mind. He felt Darwin move around him, gentle, reassuring. That’s all he needed. Fletcher collected himself to the best of his abilities, probed a little further, and accessed a packet of reward modules. Still, the kind of power Darwin was giving him took some determination to accept. Fletcher grounded himself, tightening his legs around Darwin’s, running his fingers over his waist, shifting to feel the sheets beneath him. A slow, steadying breath left his ventilation system and he selected a low-intensity reward code to fire off.

A lot of things happened at once. Darwin gasped, his hips twitching down against Fletcher’s in a familiar, reactive motion, his signature lighting up with a burst of pleasure. At the same time, a fraction of that pleasure rebounded into Fletcher’s systems and he grabbed at Darwin’s back.

“Wow,” Darwin laughed.

Fletcher managed to keep his head. “Was that okay?”

“It’s great, babe, can you ‒ can you do it again? Are you okay?” he whirred.

Fletcher nodded, leafing through to find another node of a similar caliber, sending it off.

“Hah... ahhn!” Darwin bucked down again, his fingers digging into the sheets.

“You’re making that sound real good, Win,” Fletcher stared up with wide eyeforms, starting to feel more like himself. His nerves melted with Darwin’s reactions ‒ little put Fletcher more at ease than bringing Darwin undone.

The android beamed, awash in his reward coding. “You can’t feel it for yourself?”

“I... I kinda can, yeah. Is it that good?”

“Yes. Fuck yes, Fletcher.” Darwin dropped his head, nestling in for a kiss. Fletcher latched onto his spark almost desperately, continuing to root himself in the physical world. He sampled another pleasure code and relished the way his boyfriend keened and moved around him. Now, this wasn’t bad at all. He should never have doubted this would be a good experience with Darwin. Their kiss deepened, Darwin moaning against him, melting down into his frame with every new sensation. The more nodes he tried, the more Fletcher warmed up to the process, until he was really, actually comfortable. He tightened his legs around Darwin’s again, braced his hands on his sides, and pushed. The android went limp, rolling onto his back at Fletcher’s prompting. The hybrid pushed himself up on the mattress, straddling Darwin’s waist and looking down into his visor. Darwin gazed back up at him through a blissful haze and Fletcher broke into a smile, panting through his vents.

The hybrid let himself cool for a moment before nodding, trailing his hand up to hold the side of Darwin’s face. “I’m ready, Win. Please, uh... start gentle.”

Darwin came to attention in an instant. “Of course. Yeah, let me know how you’re feeling as we go. I won’t go into anything but your pleasure code, I swear on my life.”

Fletcher’s eyeforms shone. “I trust you, Win. I always have. I trust you more than anyone else I’ve ever known... I love you so much.”

“I love you too, angel,” Darwin whispered, sliding his hand up Fletcher’s side to pull him closer. Fletcher melted forward ‒ god, he loved that nickname ‒ and buried his face in Darwin’s neck.

Darwin wrapped his arms around Fletcher’s back, one hand cradling his head and the other rubbing across his shoulders. “Relax, Fletcher. Go ahead and pull back.”

Fletcher nodded, nuzzling Darwin’s neck. His panting became quicker, shallower, he held Darwin tight ‒ he was ready, he was. As it happened, a noise escaped him that he didn’t entirely recognize.

If he had been overwhelmed before, this was something else entirely. Darwin not only surrounded him physically, filled his sensors, and filled his mind ‒ he now flowed through every last system in his being. Fletcher’s eyeforms snapped open, his entire body tensing.

Darwin immediately let go, pulling out of his systems. “Fletcher?”

“I-I-I’m sor-ry,” the hybrid’s voice glitched and he sat back, his eyeforms pale. He withdrew from Darwin’s systems and pulled the cable from his chest, practically falling back on his hands and crawling off of him. Darwin sat up, pulling his legs in, deep concern in his eyeforms. No, not just his eyeforms, Fletcher could feel it in the air: worry, pity, all tangling into his sensors like barbed wire. “I can’t,” he gasped for air, desperately trying to cool his processors. “I ‒ I’m so sorry, I ‒ ” he scrambled to get his legs under him, stumbling off the bed and hurrying out to the balcony.

Darwin watched him go in shock. The sudden silence was ringing, the room rapidly growing cold, the flickering pods of light seeming to dim. He hadn’t manipulated a single line of code as far as he knew, he certainly hadn’t meant to. Do I give him space? Do I go after him? Will he even talk to me?

He stared over his shoulder at the door, the curtains stirring in the breeze. An eternity passed in a minute before he heard a trembling clatter, the sliding of metal down the exterior wall, and a suppressed, choked sort of sob. All of Darwin’s thinking stopped. He removed the cable from the port in his chest, carefully wound it back into its bag, and searched over the sheets for the panels of metal they’d discarded earlier. He lifted his and snapped it back into place, then clutched Fletcher’s in his hand and moved off the bed, padding towards the balcony door.

Fletcher sat in the corner of the balcony, back pressed against the wall of the house, his head buried in his arms, which he had crossed over his knees. The gardens sprawled out under them for acres, the lights glowing along the footpaths and in the lampposts, the treetops whispering over the trickle of the creek, but all Darwin could hear was the awful grinding of Fletcher’s teeth as he forced himself not to cry.

Darwin took a few steps closer before kneeling. He reached towards Fletcher and paused, his hand hovering for a moment before smoothing over his shoulder. Relief swept through him when Fletcher didn’t pull away, and he wordlessly offered his cover. Without lifting his head, Fletcher took it, pressing it back into his chest and covering it with his hand, seeming to curl around it.

Fletcher began to tremble and Darwin couldn’t take it any longer. “Please stop holding this all in. Take your time to calm down, let go. It’s going to be alright. I’m here for whatever you need, if you’re not comfortable crying in front of me, I’ll go, it’s okay.”

“Don’t go,” Fletcher’s voice caught, his speakers modulating as he began to cry into his knees. “I’m sorry. This ih-sn’t f-fair.”

“It’s not fair?”

“It’s not! I want to ‒ to do this with you, I really, really wa-hant to, but all I can th-think about is...” he struggled for a moment before his voice dissolved into staticky sobs and he leaned sideways into Darwin, who readily wrapped his arms around him.

“...I’m sorry,” he whispered, not knowing what else to do. “I’m so sorry.”

Fletcher only shook his head. His hands stayed firmly pressed over his data port. “It’s not you. S-something’s wrong.”

Darwin’s eyeforms paled. “Did it hurt?”

“No,” Fletcher shook his head, burying his face farther into his arms. “I just... I ca-an’t stop thinking about that... about the last time, someth-thing must be broken.”

Something cold and heavy sank in Darwin’s chest. “Fletch, nothing’s wrong with you,” he whispered, “I’m... I never wanted to make you feel like you had to do this, I’m so, so — ”

“Shut up!” Fletcher snapped, jerking to sit upright. Darwin flinched back in alarm. “I told you it’s not your fault! It must have been that bitch at the party, she scrambled something in me and made me like this!”

Darwin stared. His voice came out quiet when he managed to find it. “What do you mean?”

“She ‒ she bypassed something, she s-screwed something up so I’d never like it!”

The heavy feeling in Darwin’s chest weighed him back so he sat on his calves. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t ‒ stop thinking like that, it’s not like that,” Fletcher hiccuped, trying to close his mind. “We were at a party, we were young, we were stupid and ‒ and neither of us knew ‒ well, well she kind of knew, she was more experienced, but I’d never done anything like it, and I didn’t know anything about it, I thought we’d try it and I just... I didn’t like it, it pissed her off and she screwed me up!”

Darwin had to think about it for a long time for the information to fully sink in. He blinked, the heavy feeling inside of him almost becoming too much to bear. He shook his head, struggling with the sight of Fletcher, normally so confident and joyful, now crumpled and panicked against the wall. This wasn’t right... he didn’t want to say it, he didn’t want it to be true, but when he spoke, it wasn’t a question. “She raped you.”

“No,” Fletcher rasped.

“Did you give her consent?”

“I ‒ I didn’t say no, but we were just ‒ ”

“Did she stop when you told her to?”

“No, but that’s not ‒ w-we didn’t establish a safe word ‒ ”

“Would you ever do anything like she did?” Darwin’s voice had begun to shake.

“No! Stop it! Darwin, stop it, this isn’t fair!”

“What’s not fair?!” The frustration Darwin had been suppressing reached its tipping point.

Fletcher, who had been fighting with all his might to keep it in, finally shouted. “It’s not fair that she has any influence over my life at all! I should be able to forget her! It was just some idiot at a party, why should she affect who I am now?” his voice broke with another sob, “It’s not fair that she can stop me from doing this with you!”

Darwin cut Fletcher off by rocking forward, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him in against his chest. Fletcher stayed tense, almost shaking as he openly cried against Darwin’s metal. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t you ever say that,” Darwin whispered. “Nothing is wrong with you. Nothing, Fletcher, no part of this is your fault.”

“But I... I wanted to do this so bad, Darwin, and I just can’t.”

“Then that’s it. It’s over, angel, I’m not letting this happen again. I love you no matter what, nothing’s going to change that. I’m so sorry.”

Fletcher gripped Darwin’s back, only sobbing, burying himself in his emissions.

“We are connected. You and I are closer than anyone else who plugs into each other. I know you, Fletcher, and you can talk to me about anything. You don’t have to deal with this alone any longer.”

Fletcher let out a shuddering sigh and pressed his forehead as hard as he could into Darwin’s shoulder. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so out of place. Nothing was right about this, he couldn’t imagine it going much worse, but there was one thing he knew for certain. “I love you.”

Darwin let out a thin laugh, holding Fletcher tighter. “I love you, angel.”

Description
Giving away as little as possible, please don't continue reading if you aren't comfortable with the mention of rape.

When Darwin stepped into the room, time slowed.

How long had he known Fletcher? How long had they been dating? The thrill that swept through his wires made it all feel very, very new. He barely made it over the threshold before his knees went weak and he had to stand still.

Fletcher’s room was lit by nothing but low, warm lights scattered across the tops of the desks and display cases running along either side of the room, little pods that shifted and flickered like candles beside bouquets of wine-red flowers. The door to the balcony was propped open, letting in a warm breeze. The bed sat underneath a large window overlooking the balcony, a huge heap of silky pillows sitting at the top of the plum bedspread. Fletcher sat on the edge of his bed, hugging one knee against his chest while his other leg dangled off the side. His eyeforms expanded when they met Darwin’s. Sitting up a little straighter, he let his knee fall against the mattress ‒ he didn’t have anything on besides a pair of silken boxers in his favorite emerald green.

“Wow, Fletcher, you...” Darwin let out a breathless laugh, “you really went all-out.”

The hybrid slid off the bed to stand up, somehow bolt-straight and cautious at the same time. “Well, this is a pretty special occasion, don’t you think?”

“Definitely!” Darwin continued to marvel at the decor. “I didn’t want to make it seem like a big deal, I ‒ I thought it’d be easier for you if we played it casual.”

Fletcher blinked, sitting right back down on the bed. “...Oh. I, uh, wish I’d thought of that.”

“But seriously, Fletcher, this is incredible!” Darwin amended, finding his feet and hurrying across the room. Fletcher relaxed as Darwin approached and cupped his cheek in his palm, admiring the flickering lights reflected in his visor. Fletcher sighed, unable to keep himself from smiling as Darwin leaned down to kiss his forehead. “When you told me to give you a few minutes to get ready, I wasn’t expecting... this!”

Fletcher snorted with laughter, putting his hand over Darwin’s. “We’ve been talking about this for so long, it feels like a big deal. I want it to be perfect.”

Darwin looked at him for a long time, rubbing his thumb over his cheek. It was so rare for Fletcher to be nervous, and no matter how comfortable he seemed, Darwin could read every little micro-expression and nuance of his posture. After all, they had been nigh inseparable for the last eighty years, but the last few months had shown them all sorts of new facets of each other and their relationship. For the first time in decades, Fletcher lacked sure footing in a sexual situation, and Darwin could tell exactly how much it was eating at him. Darwin leaned down even further to press their foreheads together. “You nailed it, Fletch. It’s more than I ever could have expected.”

Fletcher laughed from somewhere deep in his speakers, pulling Darwin down into a slow, warm kiss. He draped his arms around Darwin’s shoulders and hummed, smiling against his spark, savoring the tang that crackled to the back of his tongue. “You deserve the best, Win. I love you like you wouldn’t believe.”

“I do believe,” Darwin whispered, leaning into his lips like he couldn’t help himself. Feeling Fletcher’s smile on his metal was an opportunity he rarely passed up, and it took him a while to pull back again. “Before we start, I want to talk this through one more time. Is that okay?”

“Of course,” Fletcher rocked back. “If I’m being honest though, I think you’re a little overdressed.”

Darwin looked down at himself and laughed. He was in sweats and a t-shirt, and had been wearing the same beanie all week. “Next to you in your sexy boxers, I think you may be right, but I want to make sure we’re on the same page before I join you.”

“Alright, alright. Sit with me?”

Darwin put his hand on Fletcher’s cheek again, stealing yet another kiss before tossing himself onto the foot of Fletcher’s bed, crossing his legs. Fletcher shifted without hesitation and tangled their legs together, resting back on his hands. “So!” the hybrid started, his eyeforms vibrant with anxious energy. “I think it would be fair to say we’ve done pretty much everything else we could possibly do, sex-wise.”

“I’m inclined to agree,” Darwin chuckled, rubbing the pearly blue metal on Fletcher’s calf. “We’re pretty good at all those things, too, I’d say.”

“Mmmmmm,” Fletcher purred, “very good.”

“Alright, stay focused.”

“How am I supposed to focus when you’re the only person who’s ever made me cum using nothing but my g-spot?”

Darwin gave him a chastising look, then blinked. “I am?”

“Mm-hmm,” Fletcher ran his tongue over his fangs, “I’ve never liked it when anyone else put me on my knees and fucked me into the ground, but it’s so good when you do it. I can feel exactly how much you like it and how great you want me to feel, and it’s just ‒ mmm!” Fletcher curled his toes, leaning back and hugging his own chest. Darwin had gone speechless, his fans kicking in. “Win, you make me feel like nobody else ever has. If I can interface with anyone... it’s going to be you.”

Well, there it was. The word that Fletcher always danced around, “the ‘I’ word,” and this time, he was the first to say it. Darwin’s expression softened and he put his hand out. Fletcher looked at it for a moment before lacing their fingers together. “I want you to know that I understand what a big deal this is. I really appreciate how hard this is for you, and I know I’ve said it a million times before, but... I can’t ever say it enough. Interfacing is not going to make or break anything about our relationship, Fletcher.”

The hybrid took a long, slow breath through his vents and squeezed Darwin’s hand. It had been over fifty years since Fletcher last tried interfacing, after his first experience left him with a potent distaste for the practice. “I know,” he whispered. “I’ve been thinking about this a lot. I’m ready, Darwin,” he broke into a watery smile, his voice glitching in a way that was all too embarrassing, “I want to interface with you.”

“Hey... it’s alright, angel ‒ ”

“I know,” Fletcher nodded shakily, “I’m okay, I promise. This is just... it’s a little more emotional than I was expecting, is all.”

“More emotional than you were expecting?” Darwin tilted his head, smiling, “With all the mood lighting and roses you put together? Listen, Romeo, we’re going to take this as slow as you need. If we start and you don’t like it, that’s the end of it. If we’re ten minutes in and you decide you aren’t comfortable, we’re going to stop, and it’s going to be perfectly fine. Nothing is going to change the way I feel about you.”

“I know, Win.”

“We are doing this for fun. If there’s anything you don’t like, it’s not worth it.”

“Right. Same goes for you if anything weirds you out, alright?”

“Right,” Darwin untangled his legs from Fletcher’s, shifting them beneath himself so he was kneeling, crouching to nuzzle his faceplate against the bottom of Fletcher’s head. His voice lowered as he kissed softly against the connection of Fletcher’s wires to his head, making the Energy Vampire shudder. “Just relax. I love you, Fletcher.”

To Fletcher, the craziest part was that he was relaxed ‒ he could hardly help himself. He wanted to return the “I love you,” but all that came out was a muddled, heady moan. Darwin had taken fast to learning all Fletcher’s favorite sweet spots, thoroughly mapping the hybrid out with every chance he got.

His hands roamed over Fletcher’s frame, smoothing over every point of tension, listening to the clicking and whirring beneath his metal, kissing lightly over his shoulders. One of Darwin’s hands splayed over the small of Fletcher’s back while the other supported the metal between his shoulder blades, leaning him back until he rested flat amongst the bedsheets. Fletcher sighed, his hands working up from Darwin’s sides to his back and smoothing over the plating of his neck, his fingers slipping beneath Darwin’s beanie to rub against his metal, slowly edging the hat off his head. Darwin let out a low, rumbling tone, straddling the hybrid’s knees. Fletcher crossed his legs and lifted one knee to grind against the modesty panel between Darwin’s legs, bringing a low groan from his speakers. “Fletcher, I ‒ ” his voice caught with a flange, “I promise this is going to be so good. I’m going to make this good for you, angel.”

“I know,” Fletcher rasped against the side of Darwin’s head, taken as ever by the use of his sweet, private pet name. “I want you, Win. I want this.”

With fumbling hands, Darwin began to pull his shirt up, and Fletcher eagerly helped him get it over his head. The breeze swirled, sweet, against the flexible fiber of the android’s waist, pulling a rough sigh from his speakers. He pressed his face firmly beneath Fletcher’s head, leaning into the heated air coming from the hybrid’s vents as he panted, running his fingers hungrily down Fletcher’s sides. He teased the silver wires exposed in his black metal, soaking in the encouraging groans swelling from his speakers. Finally, Darwin’s fingertips slipped beneath the silky, emerald waistband of his boxers.

Except... as soon as his hands reached the firm, synthetic skin, Fletcher’s whole body tensed. Darwin froze before pushing himself away. “What’s wrong?”

“Sorry, it ‒ it’s just ‒ ” Fletcher stammered, “Is it okay if I keep these on?”

Darwin flushed with static and leaned back even further, running cold. “Oh my ‒ I am so sorry, of course that’s okay, I should have ‒ ”

“Slow down,” Fletcher reached out and pulled Darwin closer again. “There’s no harm done! I’m a little nervous, that’s all.”

“I ‒ but I should’ve asked, I didn’t mean to ‒ ”

Fletcher put a finger on his face plate to hush him, smiling, even if it was a little tense. “Darwin Tyrone Harley. There is nothing you could do to hurt me, and I know you’d never do anything if you thought it would make me uncomfortable. It was an honest mistake.”

“...But if you’re still this nervous about it, maybe now isn’t the right time. It’s okay, Fletcher, really.”

“It’s not that, honest!” Fletcher shook his head, “I mean, it’s a lot to process, still, but I just want to keep interfacing separate to start with. This time, just the cable, then we can work up to our normal equipment as we get used to it?”

For a long, hard moment, Darwin scrutinized Fletcher, studying his eyeforms. “Of course we can do that. I’m sorry I got carried away, we should’ve gone over it.”

“And now we have.”

“But I still don’t know if this is a good idea.”

“Do you not want to do this?”

“I only want to do this if you really want to. Only is the keyword there, Fletch. If you’re not comfortable, I don’t want to do this. At all.”

“I want to!” Fletcher insisted, “Please, I know this is kinda weird... I don’t have much experience with interfacing, and I’m really not used to that. This is the last thing as far as sex goes that’s still new to me, and that... it’s just weird. It’s been a long time, man.”

“...I know,” Darwin said softly.

“The only way I’m ever going to feel more comfortable about this is if I just do it. I know it’s going to be different with you. Everything is different with you. I’m as ready as I’m ever going to be.”

Darwin closed his eyeforms, resting his forehead on Fletcher’s shoulder. “Okay. Whatever you need. Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable?”

A slow hand traced circles in Darwin’s waist. “...Kiss me?”

Now that he could manage. Darwin nuzzled their foreheads together before peppering gentle sparks over Fletcher’s visor, trailing them down to his lips. It did seem to work on the hybrid’s nerves, as a bit of his tension melted away and he opened his mouth, touching his tongue to the source of Darwin’s spark. The android put his elbows on either side of Fletcher’s chest, holding him close, while Fletcher curled one arm around Darwin’s waist, the other hooked around his shoulders. The way Fletcher moved, the way his fingers caught and teased and pulled Darwin closer, the way he slipped one leg out from between Darwin’s and curled it around the backs of his knees, effectively tangling them together... it put them both more at ease. They knew each other. The giddiness, the nerves, they weren’t that out of place, this was supposed to be exciting. It was okay not to know everything, it was okay to be awkward and fumbling and new, because they were going to figure it out together. It wasn’t long before the worst of Fletcher’s nerves had subsided again and he was kissing Darwin with all he had in him. Systems ran hot, vents kicked back in, Fletcher panted against Darwin’s faceplate whenever he managed to pull himself back.

“Win,” he gasped. He’d reached the momentum he needed to carry him forward. “Under the pillows.”

Darwin asked no questions, grasping blindly until his fingers closed around a velveteen bag. He pulled it out and sat back, undoing the drawstring to remove a short, thick cable. Fletcher froze, staring, something strange and potent running through his wires that he could only think of as butterflies.

It took a moment for Darwin to cool down, uncoil the cable, and clear some of the haze from his mind. The panel in his chest ached. “How are you feeling, angel?”

“...Good. Really good, Win. I’m ready.”

Darwin let out a rasping groan, pressing another, messier kiss to Fletcher’s lips. “It’s all you, angel. I’ll follow your lead. Whatever you want, I’m yours.”

Fletcher tried to form words before nodding, finding himself speechless. The rest of the world seemed to freeze as Fletcher reached up and removed a small panel from his chest, exposing his data port. Darwin couldn’t look away. “You are so beautiful.”

“Shut up,” the hybrid flushed with static, smiling. Any other time, he’d be agreeing with the praise, but his confidence still needed bolstering here.

“Never. You look incredible, absolutely radiant, just delectable.”

Fletcher laughed a deep, bubbly laugh that Darwin lived to hear. “Let’s see yours, then?”

The android practically scrambled to remove his own covering, the seams on his chest pulsing a light blue before it came loose and he tossed it away onto the bed. Remarkable, heady wavelengths began to infect Fletcher’s own emotions. “Win,” he gasped, “please... I... will you take over? I don’t think I can...”

Darwin kissed him again, rubbing the cable over his chest, “Only if you tell me exactly what you want me to do. No surprises.”

Fletcher nodded rapidly. “No surprises. I trust you, Win. Plug in. You first, then me, I don’t know how to ‒ to hold in? Hold back?”

“Don’t worry angel, nothing is going to happen if you don’t want it to. I’m not going to do anything you don’t ask for.”

Fletcher nodded again, pulling Darwin closer. “Thank you,” he whispered. Hurry. Do it quick. The sooner it happens, the less it’ll feel like a big deal.

...Now. Fletcher closed his eyeforms, hearing Darwin’s end of the wire click into place. His vents kicked in to manifest as shallow panting. His hands found purchase on Darwin’s waist and he held tight, and ‒ it was in.

A moment passed, then another. Fletcher peeked open one of his eyeforms.

“How are you doing, angel?”

“I’m,” Fletcher spoke through a haze of static, staring down at the cable plugged into his chest, “I’m okay. It’s... okay.”

A comforting hand smoothed up and down Fletcher’s side. “See? Nothing’s going to happen unless you initiate it.”

“Yeah...” he let out a long, shaky sigh. “You’re right.”

Darwin lifted a hand to the side of Fletcher’s face and he leaned into the touch, meeting Darwin half way in a slow, passionate kiss. There was no question about how much Darwin wanted this. Fletcher could read it in every pulse of his wavelength and every minute movement of his frame. Still, just as clearly, there was an undeniable message: take all the time you need. It made warmth swell in Fletcher’s chest, an appreciation beyond words that he wanted to express.

He pulled back and looked into Darwin’s eyeforms. “Tell me how to make you feel good.”

Darwin flushed with static, his voice coming out almost strained. “You can ‒ uh ‒ access my systems... navigate to my reward modules. D-Don’t forget about the Energy Vampire feedback thing.”

Fletcher gave a terse nod, running one last, big breath through his ventilation system. “Are you ready?”

“Ready for anything, angel.”

Here we go. Fletcher let his mind address the new systems he could explore and he stepped inside of... “Darwin,” he sighed in awe. On some level, he could register a thin, breathy moan coming from his boyfriend’s speakers, but more than anything, he was just flooded by his presence. Darwin surrounded him physically, saturated his sensors, and now filled his mind. Fletcher did his best to take it all in, but he couldn’t focus on all of it at once. He couldn’t stop yet. Not now, not when it had taken them so long to get this far, he was not wimping out right away. He just had to give it a minute... before long he’d get used to it and they’d be able to start. He could take it. He could handle having access to everything in Darwin’s mind, Darwin wanted him to do this. He trusted Fletcher enough to give him free reign on every last process and subroutine. He trusted Fletcher not to screw anything up, or to accidentally cause irreversible damage. He really, really trusted him.

That’s a good thing. What’s wrong with me? Fletcher was so overwhelmed trying to gain his bearings that it took Darwin a few tries to get through to him.

“Uh... huh?” the hybrid blinked when he realized that Darwin had been saying his name.

“Fletcher! It’s okay, I’m going to unplug, let’s just take it easy and cool off.”

“What? No, I’m...” he shook his head, feeling like he was moving in slow motion. “I wanna keep going. What are you talking about?”

“Fletcher, stop that. You’re burning up, we’re going to take a break.”

“Wait,” Fletcher managed to put his hand over Darwin’s, stopping him from removing the cord. If he took it out now, he wasn’t sure he’d have the nerve to put it back in. “I swear, Win, I’m fine. It’s just been such a long time since I’ve done this, I forgot what it feels like.”

Doubt and concern fogged Fletcher’s sensors, but he did his best to block it out, trying to clear his mind.

“Fletcher, I’ve never felt like you did just then, not even during my first time.”

“Well... maybe that’s because whoever you were doing it with wasn’t as super sexy as you are, and didn’t love you as much as you love me.”

“Fletcher...”

“No, seriously. You love me an irresponsible amount, Darwin, it’s actually kind of embarrassing. I can hardly begin to process it.”

That did it ‒ Darwin couldn’t stop himself from laughing. “You’re ridiculous.”

“What’s ridiculous is that I also love you an irresponsible amount.”

“Then why aren’t I getting so overwhelmed?” Darwin asked pointedly.

“Because I’m an Energy Vampire, obviously. I already had a pretty good idea about how strong your feelings were, now it’s like feeling that through a superpowered amp.”

Darwin shook his head. “If you say so... I think you should pace yourself.”

“How do I pace myself any more than this? Listen... do you still want to keep going?”

“Only if you do.”

“I do. How do you feel?”

A smile forced its way into Darwin’s eyeforms. He was first and foremost concerned with Fletcher’s comfort, but at the same time... “Feels like you,” he sighed, “but... everywhere.”

Fletcher tilted his head, pressing his face into Darwin’s neck. “That’s exactly what I feel like... and,” he dipped his focus back into Darwin’s systems, “I found your reward programming.”

Another, more eager moan swirled into the back of Fletcher’s mind. He felt Darwin move around him, gentle, reassuring. That’s all he needed. Fletcher collected himself to the best of his abilities, probed a little further, and accessed a packet of reward modules. Still, the kind of power Darwin was giving him took some determination to accept. Fletcher grounded himself, tightening his legs around Darwin’s, running his fingers over his waist, shifting to feel the sheets beneath him. A slow, steadying breath left his ventilation system and he selected a low-intensity reward code to fire off.

A lot of things happened at once. Darwin gasped, his hips twitching down against Fletcher’s in a familiar, reactive motion, his signature lighting up with a burst of pleasure. At the same time, a fraction of that pleasure rebounded into Fletcher’s systems and he grabbed at Darwin’s back.

“Wow,” Darwin laughed.

Fletcher managed to keep his head. “Was that okay?”

“It’s great, babe, can you ‒ can you do it again? Are you okay?” he whirred.

Fletcher nodded, leafing through to find another node of a similar caliber, sending it off.

“Hah... ahhn!” Darwin bucked down again, his fingers digging into the sheets.

“You’re making that sound real good, Win,” Fletcher stared up with wide eyeforms, starting to feel more like himself. His nerves melted with Darwin’s reactions ‒ little put Fletcher more at ease than bringing Darwin undone.

The android beamed, awash in his reward coding. “You can’t feel it for yourself?”

“I... I kinda can, yeah. Is it that good?”

“Yes. Fuck yes, Fletcher.” Darwin dropped his head, nestling in for a kiss. Fletcher latched onto his spark almost desperately, continuing to root himself in the physical world. He sampled another pleasure code and relished the way his boyfriend keened and moved around him. Now, this wasn’t bad at all. He should never have doubted this would be a good experience with Darwin. Their kiss deepened, Darwin moaning against him, melting down into his frame with every new sensation. The more nodes he tried, the more Fletcher warmed up to the process, until he was really, actually comfortable. He tightened his legs around Darwin’s again, braced his hands on his sides, and pushed. The android went limp, rolling onto his back at Fletcher’s prompting. The hybrid pushed himself up on the mattress, straddling Darwin’s waist and looking down into his visor. Darwin gazed back up at him through a blissful haze and Fletcher broke into a smile, panting through his vents.

The hybrid let himself cool for a moment before nodding, trailing his hand up to hold the side of Darwin’s face. “I’m ready, Win. Please, uh... start gentle.”

Darwin came to attention in an instant. “Of course. Yeah, let me know how you’re feeling as we go. I won’t go into anything but your pleasure code, I swear on my life.”

Fletcher’s eyeforms shone. “I trust you, Win. I always have. I trust you more than anyone else I’ve ever known... I love you so much.”

“I love you too, angel,” Darwin whispered, sliding his hand up Fletcher’s side to pull him closer. Fletcher melted forward ‒ god, he loved that nickname ‒ and buried his face in Darwin’s neck.

Darwin wrapped his arms around Fletcher’s back, one hand cradling his head and the other rubbing across his shoulders. “Relax, Fletcher. Go ahead and pull back.”

Fletcher nodded, nuzzling Darwin’s neck. His panting became quicker, shallower, he held Darwin tight ‒ he was ready, he was. As it happened, a noise escaped him that he didn’t entirely recognize.

If he had been overwhelmed before, this was something else entirely. Darwin not only surrounded him physically, filled his sensors, and filled his mind ‒ he now flowed through every last system in his being. Fletcher’s eyeforms snapped open, his entire body tensing.

Darwin immediately let go, pulling out of his systems. “Fletcher?”

“I-I-I’m sor-ry,” the hybrid’s voice glitched and he sat back, his eyeforms pale. He withdrew from Darwin’s systems and pulled the cable from his chest, practically falling back on his hands and crawling off of him. Darwin sat up, pulling his legs in, deep concern in his eyeforms. No, not just his eyeforms, Fletcher could feel it in the air: worry, pity, all tangling into his sensors like barbed wire. “I can’t,” he gasped for air, desperately trying to cool his processors. “I ‒ I’m so sorry, I ‒ ” he scrambled to get his legs under him, stumbling off the bed and hurrying out to the balcony.

Darwin watched him go in shock. The sudden silence was ringing, the room rapidly growing cold, the flickering pods of light seeming to dim. He hadn’t manipulated a single line of code as far as he knew, he certainly hadn’t meant to. Do I give him space? Do I go after him? Will he even talk to me?

He stared over his shoulder at the door, the curtains stirring in the breeze. An eternity passed in a minute before he heard a trembling clatter, the sliding of metal down the exterior wall, and a suppressed, choked sort of sob. All of Darwin’s thinking stopped. He removed the cable from the port in his chest, carefully wound it back into its bag, and searched over the sheets for the panels of metal they’d discarded earlier. He lifted his and snapped it back into place, then clutched Fletcher’s in his hand and moved off the bed, padding towards the balcony door.

Fletcher sat in the corner of the balcony, back pressed against the wall of the house, his head buried in his arms, which he had crossed over his knees. The gardens sprawled out under them for acres, the lights glowing along the footpaths and in the lampposts, the treetops whispering over the trickle of the creek, but all Darwin could hear was the awful grinding of Fletcher’s teeth as he forced himself not to cry.

Darwin took a few steps closer before kneeling. He reached towards Fletcher and paused, his hand hovering for a moment before smoothing over his shoulder. Relief swept through him when Fletcher didn’t pull away, and he wordlessly offered his cover. Without lifting his head, Fletcher took it, pressing it back into his chest and covering it with his hand, seeming to curl around it.

Fletcher began to tremble and Darwin couldn’t take it any longer. “Please stop holding this all in. Take your time to calm down, let go. It’s going to be alright. I’m here for whatever you need, if you’re not comfortable crying in front of me, I’ll go, it’s okay.”

“Don’t go,” Fletcher’s voice caught, his speakers modulating as he began to cry into his knees. “I’m sorry. This ih-sn’t f-fair.”

“It’s not fair?”

“It’s not! I want to ‒ to do this with you, I really, really wa-hant to, but all I can th-think about is...” he struggled for a moment before his voice dissolved into staticky sobs and he leaned sideways into Darwin, who readily wrapped his arms around him.

“...I’m sorry,” he whispered, not knowing what else to do. “I’m so sorry.”

Fletcher only shook his head. His hands stayed firmly pressed over his data port. “It’s not you. S-something’s wrong.”

Darwin’s eyeforms paled. “Did it hurt?”

“No,” Fletcher shook his head, burying his face farther into his arms. “I just... I ca-an’t stop thinking about that... about the last time, someth-thing must be broken.”

Something cold and heavy sank in Darwin’s chest. “Fletch, nothing’s wrong with you,” he whispered, “I’m... I never wanted to make you feel like you had to do this, I’m so, so — ”

“Shut up!” Fletcher snapped, jerking to sit upright. Darwin flinched back in alarm. “I told you it’s not your fault! It must have been that bitch at the party, she scrambled something in me and made me like this!”

Darwin stared. His voice came out quiet when he managed to find it. “What do you mean?”

“She ‒ she bypassed something, she s-screwed something up so I’d never like it!”

The heavy feeling in Darwin’s chest weighed him back so he sat on his calves. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t ‒ stop thinking like that, it’s not like that,” Fletcher hiccuped, trying to close his mind. “We were at a party, we were young, we were stupid and ‒ and neither of us knew ‒ well, well she kind of knew, she was more experienced, but I’d never done anything like it, and I didn’t know anything about it, I thought we’d try it and I just... I didn’t like it, it pissed her off and she screwed me up!”

Darwin had to think about it for a long time for the information to fully sink in. He blinked, the heavy feeling inside of him almost becoming too much to bear. He shook his head, struggling with the sight of Fletcher, normally so confident and joyful, now crumpled and panicked against the wall. This wasn’t right... he didn’t want to say it, he didn’t want it to be true, but when he spoke, it wasn’t a question. “She raped you.”

“No,” Fletcher rasped.

“Did you give her consent?”

“I ‒ I didn’t say no, but we were just ‒ ”

“Did she stop when you told her to?”

“No, but that’s not ‒ w-we didn’t establish a safe word ‒ ”

“Would you ever do anything like she did?” Darwin’s voice had begun to shake.

“No! Stop it! Darwin, stop it, this isn’t fair!”

“What’s not fair?!” The frustration Darwin had been suppressing reached its tipping point.

Fletcher, who had been fighting with all his might to keep it in, finally shouted. “It’s not fair that she has any influence over my life at all! I should be able to forget her! It was just some idiot at a party, why should she affect who I am now?” his voice broke with another sob, “It’s not fair that she can stop me from doing this with you!”

Darwin cut Fletcher off by rocking forward, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him in against his chest. Fletcher stayed tense, almost shaking as he openly cried against Darwin’s metal. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t you ever say that,” Darwin whispered. “Nothing is wrong with you. Nothing, Fletcher, no part of this is your fault.”

“But I... I wanted to do this so bad, Darwin, and I just can’t.”

“Then that’s it. It’s over, angel, I’m not letting this happen again. I love you no matter what, nothing’s going to change that. I’m so sorry.”

Fletcher gripped Darwin’s back, only sobbing, burying himself in his emissions.

“We are connected. You and I are closer than anyone else who plugs into each other. I know you, Fletcher, and you can talk to me about anything. You don’t have to deal with this alone any longer.”

Fletcher let out a shuddering sigh and pressed his forehead as hard as he could into Darwin’s shoulder. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so out of place. Nothing was right about this, he couldn’t imagine it going much worse, but there was one thing he knew for certain. “I love you.”

Darwin let out a thin laugh, holding Fletcher tighter. “I love you, angel.”