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Android: [file corrupted]

Serial number: [file corrupted]

Cyberlife special research unit: one of one

Current status: offline

Systems diagnostic

Working at 50% capacity

Uploading information....

Uploading...

Uploading...

Uploading....

! Upload complete !

Received system message { 01000001 01101101 00100000 01001001 00100000 01100001 01101100 01101001 01110110 01100101 00111111 }

System reboot success

Memory capture system failure- emergency averted- permanent damage visible

-diagnostic notes-

Permanent damage seems to be out of internal software fix. Will need new parts. Possible unfixable damage without destroying the product itself. 

Upload failure 

Download failure

- diagnostic notes- 

In current status, can proceed for reboot despite problems.

Reboot Available, Continue?

[> Y E S]   [ N O]

>Reboot Activating<

POWERED BY CYBERLIFE

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Vision adjusting...

System loading...

Movement check...

System Diagnostics Run Request Received
Diagnostic Request Denied
Please stand by while reboot is loading

It was late at night, the dark alleyway coated in shadows with the only light being the passing cars and neon glowing signs from out in the street from the exit of the dead end. The three were somewhere downtown, where homelessness was thickest and crime was thicker. It was a colder night, but busy with noises of people and cars and the kitchen noises of the restaurant they backed while they were hiding behind the dumpsters. 

[Visual Input Missing]

Voice one recognized

Voice two recognized

[audio missing] do---_>_+= you hear....... me?

Please, [audio missing] --- hey----.... 1001--1-0- [audio missing] 

He's... --= he's awake at [audio missing] 

Hang ... -- -2[;;.. [audio missing]  hang..p[[]]=- hang with us [audio missing] 

{sound of distress} what did they do to you?

[Memory retrieval interrupted]

>LOADING COMPLETE!<

Tubbo was trying to understand the two officers. Standing in the side of the hallway, he watched as the taller officer struggled with his keys, fumbling a bit before he unlocked the door, the other practically fuming off to the side, his arms crossed against his chest. 

Tubbo didn't understand it. But that's what he had been designed to do. To collect input, analyze the data, and evolve based on his conclusions. And that's exactly what he planned on doing.

"Haha, sorry." Ranboo laughed nervously, opening the door. "I uh- I don't normally have guests over, so excuse my -uh- fumbling a bit." 

The apartment complex wasn't top of the line, but it was decent. No rats running around, a T.V. and enough space for two bedrooms. It looked like this apartment was supposed to be shared with a roommate, however, stepping into the living room it looked to Tubbo that Ranboo must've been the only one to live there. 

The apartment started with a small living room with a single couch and blankets spilling off, a cat tree beside the T.V. Then, straight back, was the joint kitchen/eating space, with a cramped table that was pushed against the wall for more cooking room. Off of the left of the living room was a short hallway with the bathroom and two bedrooms on either side of the hall. Ramboo walked in, taking off his suit jacket as he did so, throwing it on the back of the couch. Tommy walked in next, looking around at the space like a detective would look at a crime scene. Right as Tubbo walked in the room, standing by the couch, a little jingle could be heard and a small shadow of black ran through the room. 

"Hello Ender. Watcha doing?" Ranboo hummed as he set down his bag of stuff on the kitchen counter. Tubbo walked around to see the shadow, and watched as 'Ender' jumped up from the kitchen floor to the kitchen table to rub himself against Ranboo's hand. 

Ranboo had a cat. Looks like both Tommy and Ranboo were animal people. It was a good thing to note down, so Tubbo did. 

"Nice place." Tommy leaned up against the couch, taking in the room. 

"Thank you. Please, make yourself at home." Ranboo flicked the kitchen lights on, illuminating the space. Dirty dishes sat in the sink, papers were spread out across the table, and yet somehow it seemed that there was a purpose to the madness. The chaos seemed to all be contained to it's spots, making it seem like Ranboo was less lazy and more of just a busy person. An unlit candle sat on a small table by the dark grey fabric sofa, and it smelled softly of lemon. 

"What are you gonna do?" Tommy watched his partner take out his notebook and set it down on the table, before running his hands through his hair. 

"First, I'm going to go change. Then... well, I was going to try to talk to Tubbo, ask him some questions. Bounce some ideas." 

"Ugh. Not like you're actually gonna get any good information out of that soulless husk. Imma probably plug in headphones and write up a file for what we found out today." Tommy talked like Tubbo wasn't in the room. 

If that bothered either of them, they didn't take the bait. "Thanks for doing the file, I really didn't want to do it." Ranboo answered honestly, a bit relieved that he wouldn't have to stay up late doing paperwork. 

"Aye, no problem. You just owe me you soul now." Tommy joked, before deciding he was going to be there long enough to take off his shoes and throw his own bag down on the couch, then placing his boots by the front apartment door. 

"You can have it, I don't want it." Ranboo started to walk out of the kitchen, moving into the hallway the red collared black cat racing ahead. "There's food in the fridge." 

"I'll take that as well." 

Ranboo left the room and Tommy moved to the fridge, opening it up and bending down to see what was inside. Tubbo remained where he was, watching the scene in front of him. 

Ranboo was 17. Just out of the house. It must've been lonely being by himself. Most people his age often signed up in dormitories coming out of college. But with the track these two were on, it would be one and ¾ more of a year before they were receiving training to be in the highest intelligence of national security. 

"HAHA! Yes!" Tubbo looked over to Tommy who was pulling out a tin of ice cream. When Tommy caught Tubbo staring, Tommy scowled at him defensively. "Bitch said to help myself. Plus, gotta admit he has good tastes. Chocolate chip mint IS superior." 

"I wouldn't know. I can't eat." Tubbo answered plainly, watching as Tommy swooped off a spot at the kitchen table for him to put the tin down. 

Tommy Innit : cold : relationship increase.

Tubbo didn't know what was so funny, or why the alert went off, but whatever he did it seemed to make the officer more at ease. Tommy scoffed with a bit of laughter, but didn't say anything as he rummaged through the cupboards until he finally found the one with bowls in it. The bowls were a bit funky, it looked like ceramic pottery that was more of an art piece than anything. Tommy didn't mind, though, and just scooped out way too much for being a guest at somebody's house. 

"Hey, Tubbzo?" Tubbo looked at Tommy, wondering what was wrong. Tommy had never addressed him so nicely like that.

"Yes, officer?" 

"Can you pass me my bag? I left it on the couch."

Tubbo smiled. "Of course!" 

He walked over to the couch, lifting the officer's heavy black backpack that had pins on the fabric. With a quick glance he noticed several things, such as old vintage video games and older pop culture that had a sort of appeal to a certain demographic during this time of fast pace change. Picking it up and bringing it to him, he decided whether or not to mention it. 

"Thanks, mate." Tommy reached to grab the bag from Tubbo's hands, and quickly pulled out the thin metal of a top of the line laptop and earbuds that he immediately slipped in. 

If he was going to mention it it would be now or never. 

"Do you play those games?" Tubbo asked, and Tommy's eyes flicked away from the screen and to Tubbo, surprised that he had talked. 

"Huh? You say something?" Tommy pulled an earbud out.

"Those pins. Have you ever played any of those games?" Tubbo repeated himself. 

"Oh. These pins?" Tommy looked down at his bag. "Of course, what do you take me for?! Of course I played the classics. Dude, Legend of Zelda, Smash, and of course Minecraft." 

Respectively, he pointed out a small golden triforce pin, the logo to the smash bros game in a silver emblem, and several different minecraft item pins. One that caught his eye was specifically a small gold and black one. 

"You know, the bee's were just declared extinct." Tubbo implored the most recent information he had on the topic. 

"Yeah... I know." Tommy grew a bit somber, looking down at the pin. "What a time to be alive, am I right? Animals dying... people revolting... new drugs spreading, crime spiking, murders increasing, and fucking androids causing a stir up in what peace that had been settling. And nobody can get their goddamn heads out of their asses to try to fix these problems, all they do is let themselves become dependent on the ease that this world has given them. Use drugs to get out of life. Can't face reality. Nobody gives a fuck if the world is going to be around in hundred years, only if they get to live comfortably in their own little world of ignorant bliss for the next fifty that they are alive." Tommy let out a huff, before seemingly realizing who he was talking to. His mood swung quick, like he had flipped a switch, and Tubbo couldn't help but be a bit surprised. Humans were so complicated.

"But that's why they need people like me. Good officers who'll fight for those who can't fight for themselves." 

It was oddly deep, and Tubbo couldn't help but feel like he had somehow stumbled upon this information. But nonetheless it seemed important, so he saved this at the front of Tommy's personality file he was slowly collecting and growing. 

"And I'm back!" Tommy and Tubbo stopped their conversation to look at Ranboo who just turned the hallway corner. He was still wearing his mask and glasses, surprisingly, but he wore instead of a suit an oversized sweatshirt and sweatpants. Across the front of the sweatshirt read "definitely not a cop," But it was a bit obscured by the snuggled up mass of black fur that he was carrying in his arms. Taking a second, he seemed both impressed and appalled by what he saw on the table. "That's- that's a lot of ice cream." 

Tommy looked down at his bowl, before nodding in agreement. "You sold me your soul, remember? The least you can do is give me a bit of ice cream." Tommy mockingly grabbed a big spoonful, lifting it up in a toasting motion before shoving it all in his mouth. Then, not waiting for a reaction, he slipped his headphone back in and started to click away on his laptop. 

Ranboo let Tommy be to do the report for the day, instead focusing on the android. "Alright, Tubbo. I feel like this is the first time I've gotten to properly talk to you..." Ranboo let his voice trail, looking awkwardly back to the living room. "Do you want to sit?" 

Tubbo didn't have a preference. It wasn't like he got tired. His mechanical parts just needed a cool down every once in a while. "If you would like me to." 

Ranboo decided that it'd be less awkward for him. "Uh, yeah. Let's sit down." 

They moved to the living room, sitting on the older couch, Ender hopping out of Ranboo's hands and slinking across the floor to the small cat tree by the T.V.

"So, how have you been?" Ranboo asked a bit awkwardly. 

"I have been enjoying my time with this case." Tubbo sat straight up, unlike Ranboo who had now pulled his long legs into a criss cross position, turning so that his body was facing Tubbo. 

"Yeah? Is this your first case?"

Should he lie?

He had been on a case before. But it had ended horribly. He hadn't been able to save the hostage, and as his LED spun, it turned a golden color as he remembered the feeling of being shot in the head. His memories had been transferred by cyberlife and the body was not the same, but his programmers had decided that maybe they needed to ease him in the field instead of just sending him straight into a mission.

Does he lie? 

Yes
No

>Yes< 

"It is. But rest assured, my program is more than capable of handling something such as this." Tubbo felt no remorse in lying, and definitely didn't feel a bit of a pit in his stomach as he remembered the past failure. 

"Hmmm..." Ranboo studied Tubbo's face, making him a bit uncomfortable. "You know, Mr. Manifold said something about you being a new model. What makes you different?" 

That was an easy question to answer. "Normal androids are not built nor trained to be as efficient as my model. I'm physically faster, stronger, and more agile than your normal android, who typically has handicaps because of the purposeful design choices to keep the machines as non dangerous as possible. Other than physical, I'm supposed to be adaptive as well as logical. To be able to research human crime, it's better for me to understand humans." 

Ranboo looked him up and down, like he didn't believe that the small body he had could do any of that. "And what do you need to know? About us humans?"

What did he need to understand better? Their line of thinking? Their seemingly unpredictable mood swings? What causes a person to go crazy and do such horrible things? 

"Nothing I won't figure out by just observing." Tubbo finally answered, happy with his response. Clicking and typing was heard in the background, Tommy still working and tuning out the conversation. 

"Hmmm. Okay." Ranboo shuffled, grabbing his notebook from inside his pocket. "Well, do you want to run over notes together again? See if we missed anything?"

Together, the two ran over the case again and again, often pointing out missed details and coming up with new ideas and theories. Observing Ranboo, Tubbo came to the conclusion that if he had finished number two of his class, Tommy must've been something special because Ranboo was really smart. Not only logically, but he would be traditionally fun as well to any human, he seemed to have good comedic timing. Tubbo didn't really find the jokes that amusing, but knew when he was supposed to smile and supposed to beam brighter as to make it feel that Ranboo was talking to somebody he could trust, even if Tubbo was just trying to gain his acceptance so the case would go easier later down the road. Tubbo had been keeping track, 3 hours 17 minutes and 27 seconds had passed when finally Tubbo noticed the typing that had been background noise for them stopped, and looking over at the counter he could see that Tommy now had his head down on the desk, his work paused. 

"Is he asleep?" Ranboo whispered, twisting from his position so he could look over his shoulder and see. 

"His heart rate has decreased substantially. Either that or he's on the brink of falling asleep." Tubbo supplied Ranboo. 

"Thank God. Now I can finally take this off." Ranboo reached up removing his mask and sunglasses. "Getting a bit hot, having those on all day." 

If Ranboo was looking for Tubbo to carry on the conversation, he didn't. Instead, he was busy analyzing the other's faces for the first time. He looked to be about his age, with a sharp jawline and a clean shaven face. He had a friendly look to him, but not soft. His eyes were hooded and not too big and not too small, and he had a strong nose to match. But that wasn't the thing that Tubbo was analyzing. What had caught the robot's attention was what possible type of scarring could be on the side of his face, the left side colored a sickly almost black purple bruising that might've been the result of a chemical burn. His face was not altered terribly, but the slight discoloration covered the bottom left of his chin and snaked across the bridge of his nose, stopping about halfway. The coloring stopped right around under his left brow bone, and it was puzzling to look into the obviously unnaturally red colored eye, the whole eyeball having a bit of a white frosty look to it much like a blind person. His other green eye was completely fine, and Tubbo was trying to piece together what had exactly happened to him. 

"That's better." Tubbo was able to see Ranboo's pretty smile for the first time that entire time, but he was still looking at him, his LED spinning golden. When Ranboo caught him staring while taking off his gloves revealing hands equally as splotchy, he squinted his eyes at Tubbo. "Is something wrong?"

"No. Nothing is wrong. I was just trying to figure out what caused your scarring on your face." 

Ranboo averted his eyes, clearly a bit embarrassed by the direct confrontation. "I- uh- I don't like to talk about it that much." 

As Tubbo decided not to push it, uncomfortable silence followed. Ranboo seemed to think that Tubbo wouldn't make a deal out of it, seeing how he was an android, but he had. He was looking anywhere but Tubbo, actually, looking through his notebook and glancing at Ender who was laying on his back on the middle of the carpet floor. 

Ranboo : warm : relationship decrease 

Seems he still had so much to learn about humans. 

Maybe he should change the topic? 

Behind Ranboo it was easy to see Tommy was now definitely passed out on the kitchen table, and Tubbo did have some questions about the other officer. 

Or maybe he should talk about something lighter?

Stay silent
Music tastes
>Tommy<
Ender

"Do you know why officer Innit is so cold with me? Is it something I did? Or is it something I can alleviate?"

Ranboo was a bit taken aback by the question, but not out of embarrassment like last time. Clearing his throat, Ranboo took some time to answer the question. "No, it's nothing you did. Don't worry about it, Tommy's a good guy, he'll warm up to you eventually. He just doesn't like androids in general. But once he starts to see you more of a person rather than just his tag along-

"But I'm not a person." Tubbo interrupted him. 

Ranboo's eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Yeah, Technically- but you still should be treated with respect. And I don't think that androids are that far off from humans."

An interesting thing to add to his notes about Ranboo. It wasn't a common opinion, most droids like him were treated like they should be, like inanimate objects. Tubbo didn't understand what Ranboo's motive was for telling Tubbo this but the way Ranboo said it made it feel special enough to remember. 

Now that he's got him talking, Tubbo wondered if he should ask about Tommy and Ranboo's relationship? 

Yes
No

>Yes<

"Why is officer Innit so hostile with you, especially since you're not an android?" Tubbos gaze wandered to the sleeping boy, watching the rise and fall of his back as he slept deeply. 

Ranboo's heart rate increased. "Uh- I don't know, Tubbo. It's alright though, he'll come around. I can't force somebody to like me." 

Shoot. Tubbo was making him uncomfortable again. He really needed to get better at asking the right questions. Trying to make up for his blunders, Tubbo decided that maybe it was time to compliment him. "If it's any consolation, I think you are a likable person."

There we go. Ranboo blushed a bit, doing the nervous thing where he ran his hands through his hair. "Aw- uh thank you. That's really nice." 

Ranboo : friendly : increase

Tubbo smiled, and sat there in a bit of silence, Tubbo's internal workings telling him that it was time to power down for a system diagnostic and recharge and Ranboo feeling tired since he'd been working from sunrise to now 1 am. Ender was sleeping as well, curled up in her cat tree in one of the fuzzy little compartments where just the tips of her ears could be seen. No sound was made, other than the noises of the humming lights, and it almost felt fragile, the weird sensation of time drawing out like it was dripping honey, slow and sticky. 

Tubbo lowered his volume a bit, breaking the silence but keeping it quiet. "Does officer Innit not sleep a lot?" 

Ranboo looked substantially more tired looking at his sleeping partner. "Ah- probably not. He works really hard, most of us rookies at the station do. And I've- well..."  He trailed off, not finishing his thought. 

What was he going to say?

On one hand, pressing the issue might be bad, considering how he stopped himself and was very tired. 

On the other hand, knowing more about the boys was his short term goal at the moment. 

"You've what?" Tubbo decided he couldn't pass up the chance. 

"I've-" Ranboo nervously glanced back at Tommy. "I've heard him talking to others at the station before about nightmares and how to deal with them. I don't know the full story, but it'd be safe to say that he's not the only one that wakes up in the middle of the night."

Huh? Does Ranboo have nightmares too?

Does he press this?

Yes
>No<

No... he's already caused him enough discomfort tonight, and just gave him information about officer Innit. 

Uncomfortable in Tubbo's analytical pause, Ranboo nervously gripped his book, opening it and flipping through the pages to distract himself. With a slight clearing of his throat, he switched moods, going into a more professional tone. "Let's uh- let's run over the Nightmare mafia again. Just hit me with the overview again."

"Of course." Tubbo smiled. Information he could do. "The Nightmare mafia has arrived in the past three years, but seems to have deeper underground roots. Most noticeable for their iconic black and red smiley face masks, the Nightmare mafia has been recorded smuggling drugs such as red ice, weapons, and android parts. One base raid seems to suggest android experimentation, whether or not that one incident or not was contained to a singular instance or not is to be remained seen. Nightmare has also been attributed with multiple deaths, most noticeable the lab fire that took out a cyberlife complex. Location of headquarters remains unknown, but it seems to be centralized around Detroit."

Ranboo glanced around, looking at his sleeping cat before meeting Tubbo's green eyes. "Hmmm... what are your thoughts on android experimentation?" 

"It is not a safe practice. Many things could go wrong." Tubbo answered factually. 

That seemed like the wrong answer that Ranboo was looking for.. "But... but you don't see it as unethical? Like animal testing, or heck, even abuse?"

"Well-"

Is ethics the reason? 

Or is it all logic? Stats? 

What matters to him?

What does he think? 

"I do not believe it is a correct thing. Androids are not the same as living beings, but those who practice android experimentation often fall into the same category of those who would hurt others."

"Hmmm... alright." Ranboo accepted the answer but Tubbo couldn't help but feel like it was still the wrong answer. What did he want from himself? He wasn't an actual person, no android was. "So what do you think of the protests then? 

Ranboo was definitely looking for something, but Tubbo only answered how his program deemed fit. "I think it's misplaced anger. Androids are here to help support the community, and violence is only going to cause more unrest."

"Fair enough. Those sound like pretty generic answers. But what do you think?"

Generic? But those are the right answers. "I don't get what you mean. I just answered you?"

"Na, it's fine. Forget about it."

Ranboo : warm : decrease 

If the silence before was peaceful, the cusp of sleepiness before tired eyes closed, this one was the opposite; uncomfortable and just under the skin, tingling like you were sitting on pins and needles. Tubbo was trying his hardest. He had learned that Ranboo was extremely empathetic; dangerously so that he believed that Tubbo was on the same level as him. Logically, Tubbo could never agree to that. But he guessed that if he was an empathetic person, maybe he should steer the conversation towards others. 

Looking at the cat that was now curled up in a ball with its black furry chest rising and falling, Tubbo figured he found a safe topic to talk about. "How long have you had Ender?" 

Ranboo looked at his sleeping cat, playing with his hands a little as he did so. "Ever since I moved out. He was a gift from my parents."

So Ranboo's parents both retained good relations at least until he moved out. An interesting thing to add about him. 

Tubbo moved to see what he should say next, but his system was getting tired. If he had too, he could override the command and stay up for maximum three days, but because of system maintenance, androids are designed to have similar sleep cycles as humans (but shorter, only four hours compared to the recommended seven) so that during 'sleep' their systems can cool down and self-diagnose. It was nearing 1:30 a.m. now, and Tubbo had definitely had the warning message pop up that he either needed to go to rest or turn on his back up energy. Maybe that's why he handled the conversation so clumsily, why he said what's next. Or maybe it was because he was actually bothered, but that would be preposterous, androids don't have feelings. 

"Did I offend you?"

Ranboo looked over to Tubbo, and Tubbo was reaffirmed on his previous statement of Ranboo's personality. For such a smooth and generally unwavering voice, his now exposed eyes carried a lot of emotion in them. "No... no. You haven't..." Ranboo seemed to be very uncomfortable, so it wasn't a surprise when he excused himself. "I'm going to use the bathroom. I'll be back."

Tubbo watched him walk away and down the hallway, noticing how his steps were a bit tired ridden, slower and sloppily than his quick long usual strides. 

Tubbo frowned. He liked Ranboo, despite how he failed the conversation horribly. He didn't want to mess things up between them. But there was some progress in their conversation as well. It was nice when he took off his mask; interesting seeing his emotions on his face. He was a bit pretty, and Tubbo was thinking about his smile, scarred as it was as he walked away...

Wait. No.

Tubbo system reset, his thoughts rewinding. He was getting somewhere with officer Ranboo, despite how he failed the conversation horribly. He didn't want to mess things up for the mission. It was a sign of trust when he took off the mask, and Tubbo was going to need that trust to complete his mission. 

Yeah. That was right.

Tubbo was in the middle of pondering the sudden change of thinking and the immediate system correction, when he thought he heard something from the kitchen. Standing up, Tubbo could see Tommy's face that was resting sideways on the open laptop keyboard, his face scrunching in his sleep, his hand twitching slightly where it rested on the table beside him. The officer's heart rate and body temperature were both increasing worryingly, and Tubbo walked carefully from the soft living room carpet to the kitchen tiles. He was mumbling a bit as well, sleep talking between his quickening breaths. 

He must be having a nightmare. 

"No- no." Tubbo listened to what he was saying, confirming the sleeping state. Tubbo didn't know what to do. He could wake him up, but officer Innit already showed hostile relations to him. What happens if he's still in a dazed dream state and either gets freaked out or aggressive towards Tubbo? That wouldn't be good. Tubbo looked for a solution, he didn't know what would be best. Would it be best to get Ranboo? He was highly emotionally aware. But Tubbo had also messed up with Ranboo today.

"Please- please- please stop. Stop-"  The mumbling was quiet, but Tubbo could hear the painful whisper and see his twitch hand and clenching muscles. He looked at it, and suddenly the urge to grab it overcame it. But that didn't make sense. The best and logical thing would be to just wake him up. 

"Stop- let me out- please-" 

Tubbo couldn't handle it anymore. He just needed to make a decision. Moving one of the three chairs around the table so it was right next to Tommy, Tubbo sat down next to him, grabbing his hand as he did so. 

Software Stability Decreased 

"Shhh. Shhh- it's alright. You're having a nightmare." Tubbo mimicked how Tommy talked to his racoons, how Ranboo talked about Ender. Mimicking empathy. Tubbo couldn't have emotions, that was crazy, but he could mimic what the two officers had shown him earlier that day. Tommy's hand was clammy, and as soon as Tubbo grabbed it Tommy clenched it back harder, maybe painfully so if Tubbo was human.

"No-" 

As Tommy shifted in his sleep, his warm body slipped from the table and nestled up to Tubbo. Tubbo's eyes went wide with surprise. He- he wasn't prepared for this. But the taller boy had his head resting against Tubbo's chest now, and Tubbo did what he thought was best. Like how Ranboo had carried Ender when they first arrived, Tubbo wrapped his arms around the officer and felt his breaths slow and deepen, slowly but surely. He was so warm- so alive- and Tubbo wondered if he could replicate the same feeling for others if he ever needed to- if he just adjusted some internal heating in his system so he wasn't so cold all the time. Not that it bothered him, but maybe people would be less scared of him if his skin was nice and warm like a living body was.

Tubbo felt the hum against his chest of the officer trying to say something again in his sleep, but Tubbo shushed him again. "Shhh. It's just a dream." The android wondered how often Tommy had nightmares. If he had anybody to wake him up. Or if he woke himself up every night after whatever terrors he had suffered through. Tubbo tried to access documentation in his system of any past legal files that involved officer Innit, to see if he had any past traumatic events that had happened, but like with Ranboo, nothing popped up. He wondered what that was about, or if he was just being paranoid about tampered files or it there was actually nothing there. 

"Tubbo?" 

Tubbo looked over his shoulder to the hallway where the voice came from, Ranboo staring at the two. 

"Ranboo. He was having a nightmare. I didn't know what to do." 

"Oh." Ranboo raised one eyebrow. "So you decided to- hug him?" 

Tubbo for some reason felt the need to explain his actions. "No- I was only trying to relieve the situation at first, but he fell into me. For his safety it was my duty to make sure he didn't slip off the chair and crack his head while he slept." 

Ranboo : Friendly : increase 

"How noble of you." Ranboo smiled, his red and green eyes scrunching as he did so. "I have a guest room, if you would like to move him in there- I don't think we want to wake him up and make him drive home now, do you?"

"I think that will be best. He is not in a fit state to drive home."

"I'll take that as a yes then. I'll get him." 

Tubbo almost felt a disappointed feeling in his chest as Ranboo carefully and gently picked him up, swooping the smaller officer in his arms bridal style, carrying him down the hall. Tubbo stood up and followed, and watched as Ranboo carefully threw a blanket over him in the twin sized bed in the small and empty room. It was clear that nobody lived in that room, the only piece of furniture a small lamp and a mattress without a bed frame, but it was more than enough for the sleeping boy. Side by side, the two looked at Tommy as he grabbed the blanket in his sleep, turning on his side and covering his head with it. 

"There we go." Ranboo muttered, his hand at his side. 

His hand.

Tubbo remembered liking the feeling of grabbing Tommy's hand, feeling the pulsing heartbeat underneath. The feeling of life underneath his synthetic finger tips. 

Ranboo's hand was purple and scarred, probably from acid burns based on what Tubbo could tell. His software analyzing it, he couldn't help but try to predict what his hand would feel like compared to Tommy's. Would it feel different from normal skin, the scarring? Or is it just coloration? Would his hands be clammy like Tommy's or something different? 

"Uh, Tubbo?" Ranboo gasped in confusion as the red light on the side of Tubbo's forehead spun, the android grabbing Ranboo's hand and staring intently at it, as if analyzing it for details. "What are you doing?" 

"Shh." Tubbo shushed him. "It's for research purposes." 

Rubbing his finger down the back of Ranboo's hand, Tubbo couldn't help but feel the stiff frozenness of his joints tightened in shock, but he also didn't feel any of the visible discoloration that was on his palms and back of his hand. Tubbo hummed, his system thinking, taking in the warmth and smoothness to his palms. Tommy's hands had been gruff and calloused, Ranboo's less so. But one thing Tubbo did notice was just how big they were, how nice it would be to have his grip curled around his, and how fast his heartbeat was as Tubbo made contact with him. 

"Is- is something wrong?" 

Tubbo's eyes snapped up, broken from the input of stimulus he was trying to digest. His eyes snapped to Ranboo's, his curiously colored green and red pupils. Making direct eye contact, Ranboo pulled his hand away out of Tuboo's grasp and close to his chest in defense, averting his eyes in the process. 

"No. Nothing's wrong." Tubbo answered, trying to not be disappointed at no longer having his hand in his. "I was just-" 

What was he doing? Analyzing Ranboo's scars? Trying to decipher his backstop? To compare his hands to Tommy's? Or was it, maker forbid, because he liked it? He liked the feeling of life? No. That wasn't possible. He liked it because it gave him more clues about their personality, and that was his short term goal of the moment. But that wasn't what he said. 

"You- you just..." 

Ranboo looked at him worryingly, wondering if Tubbo was malfunctioning. He'd never seen an android act like this before, granted, Ranboo never had a family android, never one that was supposed to create a professional relationship outside of business transactions. 

"You are very alive." Tubbo couldn't think of anything else to say, his first initial thought was the thought he ended up only being able to voice. 

Tubbo watched as Ranboo blushed, still avoiding his eye contact at all costs.  

"Uhh- thanks?" 

Ranboo: friendly : increase 

Coughing awkwardly, Ranboo cleared his throat. "I- uh- I'm- I'm really tired... uh- do- do you need to sleep? I uh... I don't know how androids work and uh.... If you need to lie down... there's... there's a couch out there." 

Tubbo's LED stopped spinning, much to Ranboo's relief. "Yeah. Yes. You sleep, being awake this long will not be good for the investigation tomorrow. And I need to do a system cool down, so I will quote on quote 'sleep' on the couch. Thank... thank you for your hospitality Ranboo." 

"Yeah... yeah it's no problem." Ranboo glanced down at the sleeping Tommy. "Maybe... well... I'm going... I'm going to bed now." 

Walking together out of the room, Ranboo gave Tubbo one last smile before splitting directions, him moving to the left deeper in the hallway and Tubbo moving to the right to the couch. 

Out in the living room, it seemed that Ender had already relocated to Ranboo's room. Walking around the sofa, Tubbo layer down, flat on his back, stiff with his hands folded across his chest. 

Tubbo had never slept except standing up. He figured it would be more of a scare for Ranboo to wake up and find him eyes wide open sleeping in the kitchen, so he followed protocol for faking human sleep. His fans slowly slowed down, the buzz of his machine slowing, and Tubbo felt his backup systems go online. Once the maybe thirty second process was done, it was only an eye close away falling into what humans would call sleep. 

Tubbo had never not felt safe falling asleep. He was never concerned for his safety, he was an object. Replaceable. This model had only been around for two days, his previous model a month, but that body had unfortunately perished on the rooftop. So Tubbo really had only slept one night in the android charging station at the police station. But this felt different. This felt strangely... quaint. Important. He had a lot to take in today. A lot to learn. And a new case to solve. A new mission. But as he closed his eyes, the last thought on his mind wasn't planning. It was more on the soft couch he fell asleep on, the dark room, the sweet smell of lemon candles of Ranboo's apartment. 

He was focusing on the status of feeling safe