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It hadn’t been too long til Biograft-ZH440 found its place in Boombox’s shop.
It found purpose in helping Boombox unpack and store shipments in the back room. They finally had a sense of rhythm back into their synthetic life, something they realized they lacked and hadn't realize it had missed ever since running away from Blackrock.
In the building of Boombox's boombox shop, it also had a spare room to itself upstairs, where Boombox said acted as his “second apartment in Crossroads apart from his actual one”. It didn’t have any windows and only really had a dusty mattress and spare tools, but it found that it was a good place to fix itself up and to charge its crystal battery.
It--this was--it was its safe space, and they were overcome with a certain feeling. It was a twinge in its cables and circuits. Something it couldn’t control.
It was one of the nicer things to feel ever since gaining its own autonomy from the hive mind. One of the nicer thing since its incident at Blackrock.
Those weren't particarly of its favorite memories, but it sure as the Infinity and back had some favorites in this place.
There was one night, one where Boombox had one of his “gigs”--where he’d leave the shop early and “DJ” at a venue of sorts. It was an extra side job on top of his business in Crossroads, something Boombox always seemed to find time to talk about with it, like an actual Inphernal.
Either way, it was one of those nights. They were still sorting through boxes in the back after closing when they heard the clattering of keys at the front.
They had already closed up the store for the night, with Boombox haven handed them the spare set of keys to the shop.
It caught them off guard.
They creaked open the door that opened to the store front and turned on the nearest light switch. It made sure to not reveal itself too much, just in case-
”BIIIiioooo!” it heard, from a demeanor more bubblier than usual, which was actually something considering how bubbly he did act around them. When their optics glanced at the door, it was Boombox, unlocking the front door.
”BOOMBOX, IT’S PAST CLOSssssiNG HOURS. WHAT IS THE SITUAT-“
”Oh, can’t I go back to my own store to see yoouuu?” he answered back with a playfully whiny sort of voice before bursting into giggles as he jingled his keys to relock the door.
Biograft realized something. The blush throughout his face, the way he slurred his words, and the severe giggling. From their data, they were 87.9% sure of it.
”YOU’RE DRUNK.”
Boombox waved his hands. ”Oh, it was only, what? A couple drinks at that gig in just down the street. I’m only a biiit tipsy, you know?”
He giggled as he pocketed his keys. Biograft didn’t exactly know how to handle this situation. They emerged from the back room and towards Boombox. ”GOING BACK TO YOUR PROPER RESIDENCE IN YOUR STATE WOULD BE DANGEROUS. WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO RESIDE FOR THE-“
Boombox continued giggled as he sauntered past the shelves of equipment and over to the counter, picking up a radio.
"Oh, when I gig at that place, I usually just dump myself here. Sooooo much easier than walking allll the way over there,” he answered.
The radio he was holding finally sputtered out a static-y yet warm introduction to a song, full of brasses and a soothing melody. When it started, he immediately started giggling up again.
“Oh my swords, I love this song!” He came up to the Biograft, his hands reaching out and pulling their hands in, firm yet soft enough for them to easily let go if they wanted. He was swaying softly to the melody, as if he was becoming one with the warm tones that filled the store.
”Can I just have oooone more dance for tonight?"
"With you?” he asked in his bubbly voice, his visor looking up at them.
”I just wanna dance with you,” he added, his mouth forming a pout.
Again, this situation was completely foreign to it. They didn’t know how to dance, much less had ever done it. But most of all, in their inexperience with this, they feared that they’d be lacking. Lacking a soulless machine in this world full of soul.
Still, Boombox wanted them to do this. He wanted them--this machine right here--to do this. Together as two. As long as no harm went Boombox’s way and it was something within their power, how could they say no?
”I ACCEPT.”
Boombox giggled in giddiness as his side was practically glued to their chassis, his right hand leading out as the lyrics came.
“You're just too good to be true. Can't take my eyes off of you”
As the lyrics came, Boombox started swaying, singing along to the lyrics as if he knew them by heart. He probably did. His breath and voice were so chose to them, the sensors near could pick the warmth of his breath up. They were surprised at themself and the sensations at came to them. The way Boombox gently guided them through the space, the way that he leaned on them.
The twinge in their cables was back again, back in their chest, but something about it was new. Something about felt better, in the warm of someone present, someone who wanted them.
”Can't take my eyes off of you.”
As a sort of bridge to the sing picked up, Boombox became more playful with his movements with Biograft, swaying them more, his mouth wide and full of joy as he mimicked the instruments going on in the background repeating, “BAH-dum, BAH-dum, BA-da-DA-DAH-dum.”
At the chorus, Boombox was practically screaming the words, so full of life and color, and something that within their circuits and software found a place of adoration.
”I! LOVE! YOU! BABY!! And if it's quite alright“
“I need you, baby to warm the lonely night”
“I love you, baby. Trust in me when I say”
Boombox began twirling them around, awakening a dynamic-nature in them that they didn’t know existed. The word became a clue of excitement, color, and life. The only focal point in their world, their whole entire world at that moment, was Boombox, drunkenly yelling the words, words so full of magic, as they danced the night away.
“Oh, pretty baby! Don't bring me down, I pray”
“Oh, pretty baby. Now that I've found you, stay”
Boombox was laughing as they went on, a laugh that scratched their sensors in just the right way. There was a part where Boombox leaned back so fatally far that Biograft thought that he’d fall, but he bounced right back up, closer to them than ever.
“And let me love you, baby. Let me love you.”
The night continued on like this, the space just flooded with the warm vibrancy of life. To Biograft, in this very moment, this was the only thing that existed for them.
The world could’ve been hunting them down--In fact, they were being hunted down for this existence as abandonware--but here, here in Boombox’s arms, they weren’t just safe.
They were alive.
Somehow—despite their inexperience, despite their utter feelings of inadequacy in comparison to the world—here they were, dancing oh so delightfully, feeling as equals on the top of the world with the Inphernal that had accepted them with open arms.
As the song faded into its closing and an announcement could be heard on the radio, in the end, Boombox was leaning on them, his arms firmly yet softly hugging around their neck. He was still drunkenly repeating the chorus, over and over again.
”I.. love you.. baby… and if it’s—hic—quite alright.. I need…”
Biograft was entranced by the moment. His warm breaths on his sensors, his hands softly caressing their hardware in his embrace.
The lyrics he was uttering were planting themself within Biograft’s being, far beyond where their hardware and software could ever be, somewhere no technology—both that had been invented and will ever be invented—could ever dare to detect.
In the forefront of its programmed mind, he knew that Boombox was simply drunk, the words probably not meaning anything the next day.
But somewhere deep inside, they wished to trust the very words Boombox was saying.
Biograft snapped out of their trance whenever Boombox slipped, his legs failing from his tiredness, snapping him out of his dreams with a yelp.
Biograft quickly propped him up and—after a quick assessment on whatever faulty processing programs they had within them—decided to carry him, almost bridal style (if they knew what those were).
”I WILL BE CARRYING YOU UPSTAIRS FOR YOU TO SLEEP.”
Boombox drunkenly nodded, dozing off again, still mumbling the lyrics to himself as they ascended. When they got there, Biograft laid Boombox on the mattress and took off his visor to reveal his softly closed eyes. Air steamed out their vents, as if it were a sigh they didn’t know that they were keeping in.
When they got up to go to the other side of the room where the charging port was, he heard Boombox say in a whiny voice, “Bioooo, can you sleep with meeee?”
”I’m cold,” he added with a pout.
Biograft hadn’t at all slept on the mattress, mostly in part that the charging port was on the other side of the room. But after looking at their statistics, they concluded that they had enough power within them to charge the next night.
Plus, a selfish, terrible part of them did want to be close to Boombox again.
Just one more time.
”I ACCEPT.”
As they laid down next to him, they felt his arms wrapping around their chest armor. Just whenever they were closing down their programs and getting ready to shut off, they heard it.
”Love you, Bio… G’night.”
Biograft’s immediately programs immediately stopped for a second before starting right back up.
What did they hear?
Did they really hear that?
Within their memory files, they found it, the MP3 of the audio and all.
The logical sense of their mind concluded that it was only Boombox’s drunkenness, nothing substantial.
But deep inside it, something hoped, something knew that there was something that they could trust in to believe that that feeling Boombox had was true.
They hoped, an action something unnatural to their programming but something terribly intentional.
They made sure to save that MP3, along with the MP4 of their whole song and dance, to a file in their software labeled ‘Favorite Memories’.
Before shutting off, Biograft felt that they should say something. They should say something back that reflected that part of themself, that part that held on that moment of life and vibrancy, before it shut itself off for the night.
It didn’t have the definition for the feeling, that renewed twinge in its cables, but now with Boombox’s words, they had a 89.7% chance that they had the right word for the feeling.
”I LOVE YOU, TOO, BOOMBOX.”