Inbox: Mask or Menace

[megabytes]

"You've reached the comms device of Megaman.EXE. I'm not available at the moment, so please leave a message and I will respond as soon as I am able! Thank you!"

Comments

[microbrobotics]

Then why do you think I'd be any different?

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Because you wouldn't leave it alone! Because this matters to you! Because you said this could make things better!

[microbrobotics]

[ Hiro goes quiet for a moment, flinching guiltily. ]

I thought it was cool, that's all. Something cool about you I didn't know yet.

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...you weren't supposed to know at all.

[Not yet, anyway. He'd kept telling himself he'd tell Hiro eventually, but he never got comfortable enough.]

[microbrobotics]

Now I do.

I'd like you either way. Just as much.

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But it's still gonna be different. I'm not gonna be just a navi to you anymore.

[microbrobotics]

You weren't just a navi to me before.

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That's not what I mean! You're not gonna think about me without thinking about...about...

[Still can't say it. This deep into the conversation and he still can't say it.]

[microbrobotics]

... I already thought of you as a person. What's the difference?

[megabytes]

There's a big difference between thinking of someone as a person and thinking of them as a human.

[microbrobotics]

[ He shrugs, lightly, and bows his head. ]

You really think I'm that shallow?

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...you already called me human.

[microbrobotics]

That doesn't mean I think of you differently!

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So why did you call me something I'm not?

[microbrobotics]

You - you were human. You're not any more?

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Of course I'm not! It doesn't matter what I used to be, I'm a navi!

[microbrobotics]

That's perfectly fine! Navis are completely amazing too!

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[Hiro's words hit him like a punch in the core. Is that...is that really all that matters to him...?]

Hiro...w-why do you like me?

[microbrobotics]

Because you care for me. We like a lot of the same things, and you stick up for me. We talk about everything... You know how many people I have in my life like that?

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[He shakes his head, gaze locked on his feet.]

...'m sorry...

[microbrobotics]

You're my best friend. You were before I knew about this and you still are now. Nothing's changed.

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...promise?

[microbrobotics]

Absolutely.

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[His initial response is ruined by another sob. He's pretty much a trembling wreck that's just barely keeping it together right now. Honestly, if he were actually capable of crying, he probably would've broken down a while ago.]

Y-you can't tell. Not ever.

[microbrobotics]

[ He makes a "cross my heart" gesture across his chest. ]

I promise. It'll be our secret.