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"Show me Sagittarius," you asked, peering down to P03's monitor resting in your lap, his body resting against the plush grass beneath.
P03's screen, in the midst of the darkness of the night sky, flickered to an image of the respective constellation. "Centaur archer."
"Pavo?"
Another flicker. "Peacock."
"Gemini?"
"Twins."
"Big Droplet?"
P03's screen remained on the Gemini constellation, pausing longer than usual for your requests. After so long in silence, you leaned forward curiously, the corners of your lips tugging upwards.
"P03?" You tapped lightly against the side of his monitor.
"Give me a moment," he said, but just as quickly his screen flickered to a look of annoyance indirectly towards you. "You made that one up."
You threw your head back slightly and laughed. "You were on a roll! I wanted to see if I could trip you up!"
P03 whirred heatedly momentarily before he resumed a listless expression. "Most of them barely look like their name."
"You have to take some… liberty, in looking at them," you said.
"'Taking liberty' is putting it too nicely. Look at this. Explain how this makes sense." His screen turned to a new constellation, the Leo Minor.
You laughed harder. "You chose a bad example! It's not really supposed to look like anything – or it doesn't need to. It's supposed to be subjective to its bigger version."
"At that point you could connect any strand and call it anything."
"I mean… you could!"
His screen changed again, revealing a new constellation you did not recognize. It was a simple stick-like figure lying on its side, arms flailing. "I'm calling this one 'Banana Peel.'"
"Nooo!" you softly gasped before doubling over in laughter, muffling your voice through cupped hands that covered your entire face. Your shielded face was inches away from P03's. He waited patiently for you to recover, watching as you drew your head back with mirth still shaking your body. "It's… good!"
His screen reverted to his face, a faint smirk present upon him. Your hand lightly rubbed against his shoulder as you thought.
"You make fun of constellations but you're knowledgeable about them. Have you studied them before?"
P03's smirk faltered at the question, his eye briefly and involuntarily twitching. "At one point, I suppose. With Leshy. A long time ago."
"Oh?" you said. You pondered if it would be worth it to dig a little bit deeper, to burrow into the part of P03 that was always kept shut and locked, forbidden to say anything regarding the other Scrybes and their drama. You decided not to, for the sake of keeping the mood light and steady. "Did you hate them then too?"
"They're more infuriating now that you've tried to justify their existence."
You laughed. "But they're useful!"
"To you, maybe."
"They're how I found my way to the main part of the island," you said. In hindsight, you faintly remember there being less drama where you used to live. It was as though the closer you came to the Scrybes, the tenser the air became. Yet the main island was so different, so varied, it was a change you so desperately clawed for.
"What brought you here in the first place, anyway?"
You paused and P03 raised his claw beside himself to you. A simple gesture P03 began offering upon noticing your hesitant nature, your pauses filled with uncertainty and apprehension. Only in quiet moments and only in privacy it was offered, but he'd be quick to deny any of it if you pointed it out.
He would not admit to his own touch-starved nature.
"I wanted to one day be turned into a card," you said plainly. "So I went to find the Scrybe of Magicks."
A silence hung over after your words settled. You traced your fingers around his claw, waiting and waiting for any kind of response.
"No remark about that?" you faintly smiled and peered down to P03 on your lap. Given that Magnificus was the topic, you expected some kind of comment. But none came.
"...No," P03 said. "It's fitting. For you."
Your hand squeezed his shoulder, idly tapping a nail against the cool metal. "Does being inscrybed hurt?"
P03 waited to answer, weighing down on the implication of your question. He was thankful his gaze was unmatched, only drawn to the stars in front of him. "I… don't know. My inscryptions are not sentient to feel pain in any way. I suppose it may depend on the method."
His claw tightened around your hand, as though he was afraid to let go. He wasn't sure why surprise was settling over him; people always clamored over to Magnificus for this very purpose. Yet he felt himself grow warmer, his inner workings moving at double speed. There was no doubt you felt the intensified humming against yourself but perhaps you tactfully ignored it. Speaking felt harder, as though something was bogging him down.
"Is that what you still want?" His voice slightly crackled despite his hidden attempts to smooth it over.
You leaned over, matching your gaze with his own. "Why do you ask?"
"Why not just answer the question?"
"Is it because you'd miss me?"
P03 frowned despite your coy smile casted downwards towards him. He was comfortingly in your lap, hand in hand, in nothing more but the air of their own voices. And suddenly it felt like it was being stripped from him out of nowhere, right at the moment he finally allowed himself to be vulnerable and trusting–
P03's face twitched upon you pushing your own against his upside-down expression. "I'm not leaving you."
It's physically impossible for P03 to relax, but there was a looseness present in his body at your words. Your hand grazed against his chest reassuringly before trailing down to the coils beneath.
"Do you mean that?" he asked.
"Do you think I'm lying?"
"You did earlier."
Your body shook with light laughter at his correct and petty observation, your smile present against his screen. "As long as you're willing to keep me around, I'm not going anywhere, P03. I promise you that."
"Good," he said with a small, mechanical 'harrumph.' He hummed as you pulled back and lightly pressed your lips against where his mouth would be.
"I love you, you know," you said. After a beat, you spoke again. "You don't need to say it back."
"...No. I love you too." He pulled at your arm, gesturing for you to close the space between them again. You cooperated with ease, letting your forehead press against his screen, feeling and hearing light static trickle through your skin.
"Can you show me Cepheus and Cassiopeia?" you asked as you pulled back, P03's screen flickering to the respective constellations. "They were both lovers with a long tale…"