Page 21 of Garbage

Quincy started to open his mouth, but Evan cut in. “Let’s keep the clothes on.”

Ben chuckled. “Alright, kiddo. Try sitting down for this first one. Just unzip the seam on your left, then open your E3A section.”

Quincy bounced over to the chair and was ready in half the time it took Ben to open all the packaging. His handsome face was creased in a wide grin. He might have been shaking from trauma a few minutes ago, but now he was wiggling like a fish with excitement.

Evan didn’t even pay attention to Ben. How could he when Quincy was beaming up at him, half of that smooth but endlessly strong leg exposed? With a few clicks and a low hiss, a perfect square of skin split off seamlessly from the rest of his quad to reveal the dark spaces and gold connectors where new hardware could nestle.

Evan had to swallow and look away. Damn him and his robot fantasies.

He was not going to fetishize Quincy. Or perv on a guy who’d just been attacked.

Sure, Evan got off to robot porn, and had even splurged twice on two very memorable evenings with AI’s designed just for that purpose.

But he also worked with AIs and sparks every day without getting a chubby.

No, it was all Quincy’s eager-eyed excitement, contrasted with that innocently seductive flash of skin on his thick thighs. All robotic and adorable and inhumanly sexy.

Evan just really, really liked him.

“Like this, Evan?” Quincy asked, spreading his legs a little wider.

Kill him now. “Just like that…” Don’t say baby. Don’t say baby. “…Q.”

Ben gave him a look, but didn’t say anything.

“Alright, Quincy. You can actually put these in yourself. Just hold them by the corners and avoid the gold electrodes. This is a skill you should have. Yep, that’s right. Just pop them in. Don’t be afraid to push hard. There you go. And the other one.”

Quincy inserted the second one with more confidence. He looked up. “They’re asking for permission.”

“Say yes. After that, you’ll need to wait a moment or two. Once they’re installed, you shouldn’t even have to think about them. You can close your panel.”

Quincy closed the little square with another click, followed by a low woosh that had to be a pump creating a vacuum. After that, he stared off into space for a moment, until a slow grin spread across his face.

He jumped up and twirled around the room. The top triangle of his pants flapped open, completely forgotten. “Oh wow! There’s so much… There’s so much space! I can do everything! It’s like.. A whole empty room. No, a mansion. No, a planet. It’s just empty and waiting.” He giggled. “I’m recording everything! Hi,” he added with a hokey voice. “This is me with Evan and Ben and I’m gonna save this foreeeever!”

Ben turned to Evan. “Gotta admit, he is pretty cute. I like this one.”

“Oh, and Ben says I’m cute!” Quincy announced to the world… or his own personal recording, as it were. “Evan, am I cute?”

Be still, his heart. “You’re adorable, Quincy. Don’t forget to close your pants.” They were showing off a lot more than Quincy probably meant to bare. Or perhaps not, since he didn’t seem to have a single byte of modesty. Apparently, his programming specified uniforms for the job, but outside of it he was running free. On the other hand, since he didn’t have genitals, maybe he figured no one would look?

Evan was still looking. Well, not trying to look, but…

“Oh, right!” The two black claw-hooks emerged from his back and sealed the seam. Either he’d forgotten his anxiety over them amidst all his excitement, or he was feeling more comfortable. “Now what?”

“Now,” Ben told him, “you lay on the couch and we’ll have Evan put in the next two.”

Evan waited until Quincy was shimmying on the couch, snuggling into his blanket from last night, to give Ben a glare.

Ben shrugged, like the little shit he was. “He trusts you.”

“Fel rhech mewn pot jam,” Evan whispered back. It literally translated to you’re a fart in a jam jar, but figuratively meant that Ben was being a useless jerk.

Ben snorted. They’d giggled over some of the crazy things Evan’s grandmother said in Welsh when they were in middle school, so he definitely knew what it meant.

Ben’s eyes were sparkling, now. He was always happiest when he was stirring shit up. He tilted his head in Quincy’s direction.

Quincy had stopped that sinful wiggling and was now looking at them in confusion.