1.27
Cameron awoke with a start, shooting up straight in his bed eyes wide, and gasping for breath. That was until the numbness of his slumber faded, quickly replaced by a deep throbbing pain that forced him to lie back with a pitiful pained cry.
“Ow…” He groaned, his voice weak and raspy. He slowly turned his head to the side, spying a bedside table with a glass of water resting on the edge. Immediately aware of how dry his mouth was, he smacked his cracked lips trying to wet them with a tongue that was the same consistency as sandpaper. He tried to will his hand to move, tried to lift his arm just a few inches in order to claim his prize. It was all for naught though, as a wave of stiff, throbbing pain lanced up his arm, putting a stop to his attempts at moving.
“Hello?!” He called, voice cracking from un-use and barely managing to rise above the din of a whisper, “I’m up! And… Alive… I think.”
Silence was the only response he received, causing him to give a defeated sigh. Doing his best to inchworm his way to sit up, he figured that whoever was around would come to check on him eventually, and looked around, trying to figure out exactly where he was.
It was a safe bet to figure that he was in a hotel room, likely the same room Logan had asked Aurora to pick out before his surgery. It wasn’t an opulent room by the standards of a prince, but by the standards of a mech pilot it was pretty damn swanky. It was a large room, furnished completely with a chaise lounge, dresser, and a large king-sized bed. A full sized kitchen was off to his left, plastic dishware still dripping as if having been recently washed. Thick blackout curtains were pulled closed, letting only the smallest sliver of iridescent neon light dance along the edge of the bed. There was a table off to his right, with enough space to accommodate three chairs. It was the only part of the space that could be described as dirty, littered with beer bottles, an ashtray, and playing cards.
‘So while I was getting turned into a human battery, these fuckers were out here playing poker?’ He thought to himself, a warm throb of fresh pain washing over him almost on cue to remind him of his harrowing ordeal.
A commotion from the hallway broke him from his thoughts, as somewhere where he couldn’t see, a door opened. There was a quiet shuffling, as two large bags stuffed high with supplies entered the room, held by a tiny figure with a tuft of bright blue hair.
“Oh, hey Aurora,” He said soft and raspy, but it was enough to scare the girl, causing her to jump and drop the bags she was carrying, both of them hitting the ground with a dense thud.
“Ahh! Damn it!” She shouted, turning to face him with a scowl, “Need to put a goddamn bell on you!”
“Well it’s not like I was going anywhere…” Cameron said, feeling his eye starting to twitch. “Had I known I’d have woken up to you I think I would have rather stayed comatose.”
“That can still be arranged if you wanna keep being a smart ass.” She said, sighing as she picked up the items that tumbled out from when Cameron had startled her. Cameron watched her pick up the bags and set them on the card table, pulling out a multitude of canned or flash frozen food and, oddly enough, clothing.
“What’s with the wardrobe?” He asked, nodding with his chin at the folded pair of cargo pants and a litany of compression shirts, both sleeved and sleeveless.”
“Logan, wanted me to grab you some new clothes while you were out,” She said, a smile forming at the corner of her mouth as she did. “I think he was tired of you walking around looking like some kind of tourist.”
“Well, I’m not gonna say no to free clothes, I suppose. Even if they do make me look like a douchebag.” Cameron said, watching as Aurora chuckled, raising her head to look up at him with an amused smirk.
“I don’t think you needed a change of clothes to check that box.”
“Whatever,” He said, rolling his eyes before settling in to watch her work in silence.
“How are you feeling?” She asked after a while, not looking up as she organized the contents on the table.
Cameron tried to shrug, but the stiffness in his shoulders only allowed him to wince in pain, hissing quietly through his teeth.
“I’ve… been better…” He said through clinched teeth.
“Oh, who’d of thought that?” She said, rolling her eyes as she started to clean up the table and surrounding area., “Almost like you haven’t moved in two weeks.”
Cameron balked at her statement, his eyes growing wide, “Two weeks?! I’ve been out for two weeks?”
Aurora looked up and blinked, her face blank and neutral, as if this wasn’t some sort of shock, “Uh… yeah?”
“How are you so calm about this?!?” Cameron shouted, wincing in pain as he tried to sit up only to be pushed back against the headboard from a fresh wave of pain. “Gah! Fuck!”
She watched him cry out in pain, her eyebrow shooting up into a look of confusion as she opened her mouth to speak, then closed, then opened it again, finally putting a voice to her thoughts.
“Cameron… you realize the extent as to what happened to you, don’t you?”
This gave him pause, cutting his whinging off prematurely as his face took on a sheepish look.
“…Maybe.”
She sighed in frustration, running her hand slowly down her face, as her voice took on a more annoyed tone. “So your body gets tired when experiencing trauma right? That’s why everyone says you need to rest when your sick or injured.”
“Yeah.” He said, his sheepish look becoming more prominent as she continued to explain.
“So what do you think happens when we, oh I don’t know, SURGICALLY GRAFT METAL ONTO YOUR FUCKING SKELETON WITHOUT ANESTHETIC?!” She shouted, looking at him like he was an idiot.
“It… gets tired?” He asked, his voice barely above an embarrassed whisper.
“Yes… it gets tired,” she said in mocking baby voice, “Someone learned something today didn’t he?” She gave another sigh, grabbing the foodstuffs and carting them over to the kitchen, continuing her rant as she walked.
“You’re body needing that time to recover and build up calcium deposits to further seal in the thread links. Muscles atrophy when they’re not used. Couple that with a lack of actual nutrients and it’s no wonder you’re all locked up.”
“Since when did you become a doctor?”
“Since I took basic health ed in grade school.”
There was an air of one sided hostility that permeated throughout the room as Cameron stared into Aurora’s apathetic eyes.
“So what do I need to do to do?” He asked, the sound of impatience clear in his tone.
“It’s simple,” She said with a shrug, “I just need to stretch you out.”
“Can you at least buy me dinner first?”
She rolled her eyes and groaned, but Cameron could see the beginnings of a smile forming on her delicate features before she spoke.
“Shut up and try not to scream so loud.”
He blinked, unable to restrain himself, “Typically I charge extra for that.”
It took a few hours full of pained swearing and non-consensual yoga, but eventually, Cameron was able to stand and stretch, the waves of sharp pain now reduced to a dull throb. He groaned with relief as he massaged his thighs, working the knots of atrophy out, feeling the warm tingle of blood beginning to flow through his legs once again.
“Ah, that’s better,” he said with a sigh, looking up just in time to see a pile of black fabric hit him in the face.
“Put those on,” Aurora said, “I’m gonna go find Logan and let him know your up and at em.”
“Will do,” Cameron said, already fitting his head through the neck hole of a thin, black, long-sleeve fleece. Pushing his arms through the sleeves, Cameron felt a slight tugging sensation and looked down to see the glint of metal through a small hole in the fabric.
“What the…” He said softly, reaching down to pull at the fabric. As he did so however, Aurora reached over and swatted his hand away.
“Leave it alone and keep getting dressed,” She said softly.
Cameron eyed her for a moment, his brow shooting up in confusion, before eventually, he complied. Upon fully donning the fleece, he turned to face Aurora, holding his arms out wide as if to ask ‘now what?’
She answered, not with her words, but with her actions as she reached up to where Cameron’s collar was, pinching one on the flaps in a spot where Cameron heard as distinct click. Within an instant, the fabric shifted, holes lining up with his uplink threads before they compressed, snuggly hugging his thread divots, providing a seal from the breeze while keeping his threads gleaming and visible, shining in the room's light.
“Whoa…” He said softly, in awe of the machinations of the apparently not so simple fabric.
“It’s called smart-weave. It’s a type of clothing specifically made for pilots so you can wear them while inside your units,” She said, taking a step back and handing him a pair of coyote brown cargo pants, “These kinda function the same way but… well… you’ll see.”
Another raised eyebrow appeared on Cameron’s face. He looked at Aurora for a long while before, with a shake of his head, he grabbed the pants and put them on, bending and stretch to get himself comfortable.
“They’re a little… stiff.” He said, grimacing as he reached down to tug at the nylon clinging to the outer sides of his legs.
“Push the fastener button,” she said, pointing towards a brass button situated above his zipper.
He looked down and pressed it, hearing a satisfying click before he felt tightening sensation around his thighs and calves as pieces of fabric shot out and wrapped around his legs, clamping down tightly and slowly adjusting their position until, like his top, the gleaming metal divots of his lower body glinted softly in the room's light as he took in his profile in a standing mirror.
“Cool…” he said softly, his eyes trailing up and down his body taking in not just his new attire, but a new… him.
A wolf whistle came from behind, and the pair turned to see Logan, leaning against the wall, his face fighting to contain the wide grin that threatened to split his cheeks.
“Awe look at that,” he said in a teasing tone, “It’s babies first uniform.”
Cameron’s eye twitched as he felt his ears beginning to burn from embarrassment.
“Y’know if you’re gonna be a jackass, I’ll just go back to sleep.”
Logan let out a soft chuckle, and shook his head, holding up his hands in mock surrender. “Easy, kid. I’m just fucking with you. You’ve earned some levity after what you went through.”
“Where the hell have you been?” Aurora asked, raising an eyebrow as Logan’s smirk grew wider.
“Window shopping,” He said, his voice falling into a conspiratorial tone.
“Window shopping for what?” Cameron asked, realization dawning the moment Aurora’s hand connected to the back of his head.
“Why do you think we’re here dumbass? We’re getting you a mech. You think you just sat through six hours of torture because gunmetal screw holes are fashionable?”
“Okay I’m gonna need you to stop hitting me!” Cameron bellowed, rubbing his hand at the back of his head.
“Being stupid should be painful,” Aurora said, not skipping a beat. She turned back to Logan, her tone turning inquisitive as she probed Logan for more details.
“How many did you find?” she asked.
“Only six,” He said, shrugging as he turned to face her, “There’s not many Alpha class units that fit his… proclivities.”
“Proclivities?” Cameron asked, turning his head to look between the two of them.
“You know,” Logan began, searching for the right words, “How you…”
“Redline the engine and abuse the boost jets so you can fly around the battlefield like some sort of fucked up bumblebee,” Aurora finished for him.
“Yeah that,” Logan said, nodding in agreement.
Cameron blinked, looking between the two of them, “So I fight like a bumblebee?”
“But a very tough bumblebee,” Logan affirmed, clapping Cameron on the shoulder with a smile.
“Y’know,” Cameron said, “It doesn’t exactly feel good to have your fighting style compared to a fucking pollinator.”
“Do you really want to argue about this? Or do you want to go test drive a bunch of giant mechs?” Logan retorted, raising an eyebrow.
Cameron blinked and looked between Aurora and Logan, both of whom watched him, awaiting his answer.
“Well buzz buzz fuckers, let’s go shopping!”