tamosgi:

csec-cowgirl:

His words made her heart leap. He was so special- so incredible. She couldn’t believe her luck that he was hers, and vice versa. He loved, literally, forever. How many men, human or otherwise, could say the same?

The waitress returned as she opened her mouth to speak to him. Quickly, she changed gears. “Nope,” MJ said with a smile. The waitress moved off, thankfully, and she returned her attention to her boyfriend.

“That- Tamos. Darlin’. That might be th’ most romantic thing I’ve ever heard anyone say,” she admitted, “specially t’ me. I think I’d die without yah too- though I’m in no hurry t’ test th’ fact,” MJ added with a sly grin. Her hands in his traced his  joints absently.

“Th’ reason I wanted t’ talk is- well, I was wonderin’… How d’ yah wanna play this? I mean, I don’t give two shits as t’ who knows. They can kiss my ass. But with th’ war an’ all, it might cause a ruckus- an’ people are panicky, stupid animals when they’re scared. I don’t… I just don’t want nothin’ t’ happen t’ yah, or th’ geth, or have this reflect badly on yah. I know the prejudice yah face ev’ry day. Don’t wanna make it no worse’n it is.”

Face pensive, she paused a moment before continuing.

“Might be worth a shot t’ just like… play it soft-like. Don’t hide nothin’- cause that implies what we doin’ is wrong, an’ it ain’t,” MJ added stubbornly, with a flash of her eyes. “But like… Don’t go ‘round advertisin’ neither. …Am I makin’ sense? Has this kinda thing ever happened before- a geth an’ a human or somethin’?”

This was a topic it had not considered. The only related thought it had considered was the potential for data their relationship offered, and how much all Geth could benefit from that. The Consensus endorsed their relationship, after all; evidently the grand mind at the center of Geth ‘society’ itself had dismissed the negative repercussions as either unlikely or easily outweighed by the positive ones.

Tamos was inclined to do the same, respecting their verdict, but Mary-Jane seemed nervous about it so it gave it some thought. While that processed, it answered her question, “Negative. Some Geth were close to their Quarian owners before or during the Morning War, but never a romance; we were much too simple at the time to even… even attempt that. Since then, the only… romantic relation any Geth has had, has been with another Geth—that is, Hunter and Prime. This is… foreign territory.” It lifted its flaps up and out in a wry sort of smile.

It returned its full attention to the issue at hand, then, and lowered its gaze to watch how she traced its knuckles.

It had insufficient data to judge how organic society would react to a Human/Geth relationship. As a Geth, it tended to automatically think of them like the Consensus—a large, connected body that would process the information then set it aside as irrelevant to their own lives and functions. But giving it further thought it had to mentally scoff at itself; that was its entire difficulty in integrating with them, the fact that they were fundamentally different. They were prone to gossip and drama and grudges and manipulation of facts.

And just like that, the picture of a bright future it had imagined for their relationship became something terrifying. They could both be ostracized from organic society, twisted by media and rumors into a monster and a someone sick and disturbed—or a monster and its victim. It could impact more than their reputation, too; it could effect their jobs as employers tire of the drama.

Its flaps clamped down and hands twitched in her grasp, optic dilating and brightening.

…But then, nothing could happen, as well. People might shrug it off as none of their business or as a stupid, impossible rumor they’d never believe unless they saw it for themselves—

And perhaps it was their job to ensure no one ever ‘saw it for themselves’. An unpleasant thought, that: was avoiding the possibility of drama worth the impact attempting secrecy could have on their relationship? Or if such a thing could impact their relationship at all, was their love weak or never true in the first place?

It knew its own answer to the latter, as every process immediately objected—loudly—to the mere suggestion that its love for her was weak or false. It could not answer for her, but trusted her—that was all it could do.

In the end, it could not predict the outcome. Even if it had sufficient data and intelligence, the thing in question—organic society—was innately unpredictable. Attempting to judge their reaction was a lost cause. So the question was: which could hurt their relationship more, the attempt at secrecy or the reaction the public may have to their relationship?

Tamos’s flaps drooped as it dwelt on this question for several long moments, only to find no answer hidden in its processes. Its flaps lifted and fell in a sort of ‘facial’ shrug. “I do not know,” it finally said. “I only know my priorities—your happiness and maintaining our relationship. I cannot judge others’s reactions to us, nor if ‘playing it soft’ would too easily cross the line into secrecy—or, for that matter, if secrecy would hurt us anyway. I am… underqualified to make this decision, but I suspect even if I were qualified I still would not know.”

It fluttered and oscillated its flaps, nodding to itself and finally looking up at her. “I will trust your judgment. We can… ‘play it soft-like’. I… I am not sure what that entails, but… I can follow your lead.” It squeezed her hand, gazing at her earnestly and trustingly. “Whatever you deem necessary, and anything you decide should parameters shift: I will follow.”

He froze for a moment. MJ could literally hear his mental processes at work as he examined the question with his magnificent alien mind. His hand in her clenched slightly- unnatural, artificial strength that she knew lay beneath his gentle exterior. A flash of half remembered pain- his crushing hold on her hands when she mentions Qael and her instinctive refusal to move away from him, no matter how bad it hurt. Her heart went out to him.

Oh, Tamos, yah sweet, sweet boy.

How has she ever not loved him?

Then he spoke, hesitating, unsure. Being associated with geth for the last few months or so gave her an uncanny sense of them, and she could tell something was bothering her best friend- her love.

MJ thought she knew what it was, and spoke. Ain’t no way I’m gonna let him worry hisself like this.

“Hey- darlin’? Lookit me. Kay? This… This ain’t nuthin’ on yah, or on us. What we feel ain’t- it ain’t influenced by outside forces. It ain’t of them, or b’cause o’ them. It’s in us, here-“

She tapped his chestplate.

“an’ here.”

MJ tapped her own heart.

“An’ in the soul I know yah got an’ in mah own s’well. There is nothing- NOTHING- that anyone can do t’ me t’ make me not love you.”

And she smiled. It was full of hope and promise and joy and just a hint of crooked mischief… and love.

“Us Southerners’re are ornery, cussed folk.”

It was, word for word, what she said to him the first time they met, when he made a social gaffe and she began to see what a special being she had on her hands there.

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tamosgi:

csec-cowgirl:

“Coffee, thank yah very much,” MJ told her politely with a smile. She did not let go of Tamos’s hand. “An’ Tamos’ll have a coffee too.”

It was a running joke, that: she felt wierd eating in front of him when he did not, in fact, eat, so she ordered him something for show and then sometimes ate it later. It also forced the waitress to acknowledge him as a person. Toasters did not order coffee, machines did not order coffee, people ordered coffee. 

The waitress looked uncertian but nodded, slowly, and left.

Under the table, she squeezed his hand. It was hard but warm in hers. 

“…So,” she said, suddenly shy. “I- I’m sorry fer, uh, fer runnin’ out on yah. Back at th’ bar. I never expected- that.” Understatement of the year. “But…”

She looked up at him now with her sky blue eyes, brushed a curl out of her face. In that moment, MJ, usually so strong, was vulnerable to him. 

”..Doesn’t mean it weren’t welcome. Or untrue. I- I never realized it. Dunno why. Mebbe s’cause yer a geth an’ I ain’t, an’ yer still mah best friend, an’ any number of reasons.” She shrugged. “Don’t matter none. I think… I’ve loved yah fer a while. Just never realized it.”

Taking his hand in both of hers, now, she spoke honestly.

“An’- An’- I just wanted yah t’ know that, ‘fore we start talkin’ bout anythin’, that I fully intend t’ stick t’ yah like a burr t’ a wool coat. I’m… a bit like a wild horse. I ain’t easy t’ catch, but yah got me. Willingly.” Here, that grin of hers, lighting up her face. “Hoof, horse an’ all. So yah know, I’m in this fer… ever. S’long as ever is. Yer special an’ important in ways I quite frankly can’t describe. Shaws don’t quit nothin’. So. Uh. Yeah.”

Erk.

She rubbed her head, shy agian, suddenly, her heart flipping in her chest, and risked a glance at his optic.

Tamos lacked the expressiveness for all it was feeling now. It processed her words as quickly as it could, lagging only a tiny fraction of a second behind her before catching onto her meaning—and it loved that about her. It loved the odd turns of phrase she used, the way she kept all 513 of its processes’ rapt attention as it navigated the sweet lilt of her accent and strange idioms.

It could feel its mind growing, learning and adapting every time they spoke—when they first met it stumbled over everything, like odd references to leather-making. Now it only blinked at her comparison to a wild horse before catching on and appreciating the analogy.

Getting the idioms she used, however, did not mean it knew how to reply to what she was saying overall. It flailed internally for a moment, squeezing her hand between its own, then nodded slowly.

“Forever is… a long time, for geth. We are virtually immortal, so loving you literally forever is actually feasible. Even if something were to happen to my platform and programs, something of an… echo of my feelings for you would live on in the Consensus without me.” It lowered its head a bit, optic twitching as it scanned her, the booth, the table—everything, while it struggled to pull its thoughts together. “I… I mean to say, I feel the same way.

“Because my… my love for you is woven into my sub-processes—it is… a basic tenant of my existence, as natural and immovable as the need to network, maintain platform integrity, or facilitate unit cohesion.” It lifted its flaps in a soft grin, aware that might sound a little odd to her and thinking of how to rephrase. “It is like… instinct. An… an organic might say, ‘I breathe, I eat, and I love you,’ as if citing them as the three things necessary to live. I need not breathe or eat, but… I do love you, and that fact is necessary to ensure my continued existence. Without it, my programs would unravel and lose cohesion. I would, essentially… die.

“So I do not intend to allow it to go anywhere.”

It inclined its head a small bit, confident in its words for once. They had both expressed their intentions, their seriousness and commitments, and found them to be matching. Tamos took comfort in this.

Still, a small anxiety remained—she had said she was making this clear before they ‘started talking about anything’, so this was not the topic she wished to discuss. Tamos couldn’t imagine what else there was to say, and even if, now, it wasn’t quite so anxious that its ignorance could so easily ruin this, the uncertainty was still uncomfortable by itself.

The waitress interrupted its thoughts, then, bringing a coffee for each of them. Her smile was strained and uncertain as she placed some optional sugars and creams down with the mugs, but she wisely said nothing and just glanced between them. Her gaze lingered a moment on their clasped hands before she gulped and nodded. “Can I get you anything else?”

Tamos blinked at her, then shook its head. With some relief, she focused her gaze on Mary-Jane. “Ma’am?”

His words made her heart leap. He was so special- so incredible. She couldn’t believe her luck that he was hers, and vice versa. He loved, literally, forever. How many men, human or otherwise, could say the same?

The waitress returned as she opened her mouth to speak to him. Quickly, she changed gears. “Nope,” MJ said with a smile. The waitress moved off, thankfully, and she returned her attention to her boyfriend.

“That- Tamos. Darlin’. That might be th’ most romantic thing I’ve ever heard anyone say,” she admitted, “specially t’ me. I think I’d die without yah too- though I’m in no hurry t’ test th’ fact,” MJ added with a sly grin. Her hands in his traced his  joints absently.

“Th’ reason I wanted t’ talk is- well, I was wonderin’… How d’ yah wanna play this? I mean, I don’t give two shits as t’ who knows. They can kiss my ass. But with th’ war an’ all, it might cause a ruckus- an’ people are panicky, stupid animals when they’re scared. I don’t… I just don’t want nothin’ t’ happen t’ yah, or th’ geth, or have this reflect badly on yah. I know the prejudice yah face ev’ry day. Don’t wanna make it no worse’n it is.”

Face pensive, she paused a moment before continuing.

“Might be worth a shot t’ just like… play it soft-like. Don’t hide nothin’- cause that implies what we doin’ is wrong, an’ it ain’t,” MJ added stubbornly, with a flash of her eyes. “But like… Don’t go ‘round advertisin’ neither. …Am I makin’ sense? Has this kinda thing ever happened before- a geth an’ a human or somethin’?”