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[OOM: Matrix and AndrAIa: clean AND dirty? No warnings; it's a fade-to-black.]

Someone is looking rather content today.

Very content.

And, to other cyberspace denziens, he smells quite clean. Like Refresh soap and some other flowery scent, to be exact.

If he'd known getting his link command would make him feel this good, he wouldn't have needed Dot to strongarm him into the wedding ceremony—he'd have done it as soon as Daemon exited stage left.

This means he'd be agreable to non-viral company tonight.

You're non-viral, right?

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Last he checked.

"Hey, Big Me. How's it processing?"

Good. We'd hate to leave a nasty mess for the Oompa Loompas to clean up.

"Good."

He opens one of his closed eyes—the normal one.

"How about you, Mini Me?"

"I'm all right." For now. "Did you hear about Mairi yet?"

"Not yet," he replies. "She doing well?"

He nods.

"Power upgrade," he informs Matrix. "She can fly now!"

Sitting upright now.

"She can what?"

Forgive him if his youthful "this is so alphanumeric!" over developments like this have long since passed, to be replaced by grown-up concern.

~~[And I need to get better icons.]~~

Translation: Matrix is No Fun anymore.

"Fly!" he repeats. "I didn't see it, but they said she did it a little just before I showed up."

That's not what AndrAIa might say.

Er, wait.

PG rating here.

"Mairi flew? How high?"

He might be No Fun At All, but he is worried that a two-month-old baby is discovering her abilities before she can control them, and that that might end in Something Unpleasant.

Heck, it should have developed in utero with her other powers, if she hadn't been forced out early.

"Dunno, they didn't say. Probably not too high, they wouldn't've let her."

But then we'd have a levitating Dot to deal with instead.

Which is kind of funny, in its own way.

"I wouldn't have let her, either. I'm glad she's safe."

That kid is going to need a lot of supervising, and he suspects he'll be doing his share of that whenever Bob and Dot can't.

Oh, they won't lack for babysitters. That, at least, is a non-issue.

"She's fine. They're gonna need a leash, though..."

Matrix just goggles.

"A leash?"

What are they going to do when Mairi starts walking?

"Something to keep her from flying off." He can't think of a better solution offhand.

"I suppose that's better than any alternatives they can think of."

Putting Mairi into a cage instead of a pram is out of the question, that's for sure.

A canopy, however, might be in order.

"Plus, she'll make a cool balloon."

Matrix can't believe it. His other self is talking about their niece like she's a novelty toy, and worse, he knows that if he were still Enzo's age, he'd be talking like this, too.

"I don't think Bob and Dot intend for their daughter to be a source of amusement for the rest of Mainframe," he admonishes.

Sometimes you have to tell your~~other~~self these things.

"Heyyyy, I'm not gonna make her," Enzo protests. You'd think Matrix would give himself more credit. "That's just what she'll look like if she flies around on a leash. She can be a balloon if she wants to."

Any hilarity will be purely incidental. Really.

As will the innocent looks, we're sure.

He sighs. "Hopefully Mairi will soon have that mastered enough that she won't need to be restrained for too long."

Mairi doesn't need to draw more attention to herself than she's already gotten.

"Yeah."

That, and having to stay on a leash can't be much fun.

For squirmy children with flight capabilities? No, it can't.

"And what about you? When do your exams start? You've been studying hard, right?"

Sigh. "I've been trying. It's in a few cycles. I think I know the stuff okay, but it's so hard to focus." He sighs again. "I miss Dani."

"You're worried that she won't come back, even if she said so, right?"

User, he knows that feeling a little too well.

"No! She wouldn't do that!" But what if she does? "She loves me!" All those older, human boys are going to be after her. "I just miss her is all."

Keeeeep sayin' that, Cadet.

"I didn't mean it that way," he protests.

One day, he's going to put brain before mouth and actually think before he speaks.

"It's the 'being apart' part that's getting to you, isn't it?"

Was he ever that age—? Oh wait; yes he was.

"Yeah. Sort of. We're not together all the time, not like..." Cancel that. "I'm just used to her being here. I'm the one who comes to see..."

He trails off, and buries his face in his hands. "Code, I suck."

What you're about to see is a side of Matrix most don't.

"No, you don't," he begins. "I worried about AndrAIa when I was still your age—even through our time in the Games. I worried a lot, but in the end, I worried for nothing, because AndrAIa's still with me, even after all this time."

Pause.

"Dani's away, but she loves you. She'll come back. You just have to get used to the waiting part."

"Yeah, but she always had to wait for me to show up, and she handled it! And she's gone for a little while and I'm totally freaking out. What's wrong with me." He says it in a flat tone that doesn't sound like a question.

"Absolutely nothing. It's normal for you to feel like this, because you love her." Pause. "Just about everyone does at some point in their runtime."

"Really? 'Cause I feel like all my circuits are in knots."

"Positive."

Pause.

"And I'll just bet that being apart is making Dani feel the same way you are, right now."

"Can't. She's got no circuits," Enzo points out.

Pause.

"What did you do when you felt like this?"

"Circuits or no, the emotions have to be the same," he says, wondering if his other self is just being smart with him.

"What did I do?"

Punched walls, punched people, shot things...

"Well. Let's just say that anyone who angered me when I was like that had an abrupt end-of-file."

"'Swhat I thought."

This Enzo doesn't default to anger in the same way, but some of it's in the code, and he really could use a release.

"Maybe I oughta study for my other exams for a while."

Well, they are almost the same person, so...

"And which ones would those be?"

Oh, he knows. He just finds it interesting to have his other self say it.

"Mêlée and ranged combat."

You're speaking Matrix's language now.

"Do they allow you a study partner?"

Someone could show Enzo the finer points of target practise.

As well as how to throw a punch strong enough to break Mike Tyson's jaw.

"It's encouraged."

"Right then. What do you want to learn first? Hitting or shooting?"

At least AndrAIa can't disapprove of Matrix helping Enzo with his classes, can she?

"Hitting," he decides. Blow off some steam with physical exertion before blowing things up.

"Then if you're not doing anything else important, we can go out back and start the lessons."

Edited 2009-04-21 04:07 (UTC)

"You bet!"

As they head for the back door, something finally percolates through to Enzo's consciousness.

"Why do you smell like flowers?"

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