Rowan grimaced. “Probably.”
All too quickly, it was just them and their connected hands, with no more questions forming in Rowan’s mind, despite that he should have about amillion, and no more words spilling from Milo. Rowan felt Milo’s hands shift in his grasp, enough to run his thumbs gently overtop Rowan’s, as he continued staring at him in apparent wonder. Rowan thought he understood because he couldn’t stop staring at Milo either.
Then Rowan’s stomach growled, loudly, and a faint wave of low blood sugar made his head feel light. He had been tooanxious earlier to eat much at lunch. “Shit. I didn’t realize how hungry I am.”
“I forgot to make dinner!” Milo cried, far more panicked than the situation warranted, and he tore his hands from Rowan to leap to his feet.
“It’s okay!” Rowan called before Milo could take off sprinting toward the kitchen like he seemed to intend. “It’s not the end of the world. There are leftovers, right?”
“Yes…” Milo confirmed, straightening his posture into work mode. “There is chicken piccata from Thursday night, two servings of chili from Wednesday night, low sodium turkey sandwich meat from—”
Rowan stood and held up a hand to stop the bot, preventing Milo from listing literally everything in the fridge that Rowan might consume. “Chili is fine. It’s older anyway, and I can heat it up myself.” He held Milo by the arm, since the bot had started to move the second ‘chili’ left Rowan’s lips. “I might ask you to help around the house still, if it’s things you don’t mind doing, but consider tonight your night off. Okay?”
“Night… off?” Milo tilted his head. It was like the most adorable of puppies not wanting to displease its owner.
“It means you only do what you want to do, not what you think you should do to please me. Okay? And if you want anything, ever, just ask me.”
Milo’s mouth opened but then closed again, like he’d had further dissent or maybe another question, only to eventually answer, “Yes, Rowan.”
Rowan had waited so long to hear Milo say that without faltering. “Good. Now, while I get myself something to eat, I do have a project for you. Can you keep backups in my personal Cloud, but on the tablet only have basic information about the surge protector and how it kept you safe last night? I’ll want to review all the information but try to keep anything off thetablet that might make someone question what really happened to you.”
“Understood,” Milo said with a nod. “I am happy to help. Iwantto help.”
“Thank you.” Rowan realized he was still holding Milo’s wrist and released it with a start.
Milo just stood there smiling for a moment. “You know, Rowan, I realized something. You always say ‘thank you’ and ‘please.’ Not everyone does that with bots. So… thankyou. Even before I was alive, you still treated me like something worth being kind to.”
The sincerity in Milo’s words, so different from how he had ever spoken or acted before, made Rowan’s eyes feel hot with emotion of his own. “I’m glad I did, Milo, even if you’d never been struck by lightning, because youwerealways something worth being kind to”
Milo smiled so impossibly wide and real again—because it was real. He was real.
“Once I’ve eaten, we’ll work on your back, okay?” Rowan said. “It really is pain you feel when I touch the damaged area, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Milo said with little thought, simply another tilt of his head and a small furrowing of his brow as his smile dropped. “I believe it can be classified as pain now.”
“Don’t worry,” Rowan assured him. “I’ll make sure it doesn’t hurt.”
“Thank you, Rowan.”
Every time Milo said Rowan’s name, it warmed him further. Honestly, Rowan had no idea what to do about all this, but at least he could take things one step at a time, starting with Milo’s repairs.
Notes:
OMG I am so excited for the next chapter! Yes, there be some smexiness coming. I know you’ve been waiting for more after that BANGER of a first chapter. ^_-
More on the Superhero AU again soon too, but I gots some SMUT to write first!
8
Notes:
At last, Milo gets his much overdo *ahem* length. ^_-
Definitely don’t miss the ending notes this time, people!
MILO
“Are you certain you do not need me to remove my underwear as well?”
