Chapter Text
ever since he contracted that pesky rot, subspace lived in a private section of the underground korbloxian facility behind his lab— locked off from the rest of the world, and by extension, the rest of his coworkers and the higher-ups. but subspace always thought of it as a noble sacrifice for the good of the faction. he was an important, amazing, talented, intelligent, and capable person after all! of course he’ll do anything he can to better his nation.
and yet, despite the good of it, it was a lonely and isolated life. he’d wake up, take meds, maybe allowed a juice if he worked well that week, and get to work in his empty lab. after work, he’d take his afternoon nap, then get ready to meet with the higher-ups for his daily evaluation. his routine didn’t offer much room for a social life or interpersonal connections, and the fact he could literally kill someone if they got into close proximity of him didn’t make anything better.
one late night, he’s laying in bed with his gamma biograft resting in his lap. gamma was his pride and joy, his trophy of engineering marvel. subspace created it for the sole purpose of medical assistance. it’d remind him to take meds, provide said medication, and it’s parts acted as a prosthetic of sorts in a pinch. but not only that, it purred and rumbled when it was his designated bedtime and heated itself up. real therapeutic during times of unrest.
it was dim. there was not a sound— not beneath the depths of metal and concrete. he’s still awake. the only source of light came from the pink crystal hovering over subspace’s head. gamma weighed its body on top of the scientist, giving him that therapeutic pressure he always secretly enjoyed. he was incredibly lost in thought…
the silence was then cut by subspace, his raspy and lisped voice quietly whispering to perhaps either no one in particular or, if he was a moron, to gamma.
“why can’t i be better than this?”
the words immediately weighed heavily on his chest. subspace wanted to take those words back into his mouth and to the minuscule crevices of his brain that he never touched, but it was too late now.
gamma then rumbled a little more intensely, stating, “Exiting Sleep Mode.”
subspace reacted with a confused blink, but swiftly figured it only activated because of its auditory sensors. it was programmed to alert when it heard voices so it may fully process the best responses.
“ignore what i said, gamma. enter sleep mode.” subspace replied, exasperated by the functions he programmed.
“Your Question Expressed Restlessness. Are You Sure You Would Like To Proceed?”
after thinking over it, and scowling over it, and beating himself up over it, and dreading over it, and REALLY thinking over it some more, and briefly stressing over it, and whatever else, he took a deep breath in before hitting himself in the head with the heel of his good hand. by the swords, he could be such an imbecile sometimes. seriously, what was he thinking? letting his deep secret thoughts out into the air like that!? that’s only something a brainless, spineless, STUPID freak would do, and subspace is willing to DIE before admitting he’s any of those things. because he isn’t and never WILL be any of those things.
“i’m not restless, you bolt.”
“Then How Are You Feeling?”
wow, that question stung. it’s been a while since anyone, or anything for that matter, asked how he was. to be honest, he didn’t even know himself. he was always too busy with the external self, he never bothered to even wonder, how was he feeling?
he didn’t need to know, actually. why would he need to know? that question was for soft mice who can’t handle themselves. why should he be vulnerable right now, to this emotionless robot, if he doesn’t even do that with himself?
yet, despite all of that reasoning and self-scolding, he still found himself leaning closer to gamma and it’s plastic exterior.
“stunted,” he sighed, disappointed in himself for even stooping this low of a level. this was completely out of character for him (go figure guys, go figure ヽ(；▽；)ノ). he couldn’t believe himself. “i don’t know how to think sometimes.”
“How Can I Help Solve Your Issue?” it asked, tilting its head to the side.
“can you even do that?” subspace asked. he doesn’t recall ever making any emotional protocols in gamma’s code.
“You Programmed Me To Be Adaptable To Any Situation. I Have Access To A Database That Helps Me With Said Function.” gamma sat up and rested itself directly on top of subspace’s chest with its elbows resting under his arms, looking into his face with its big, unblinking eyes. subspace stared back, not knowing what to do. well, no— he did know what to do. tell it to enter sleep mode and forget this ever happened. but a part of him really didn’t want to. he felt his throat burning up, which wasn’t normal at all.
“well- well of course i did. i am a genius after all. my creations should reflect me.” he felt a little silly bragging to something that doesn’t really retain any of it.
after a quick pause, some additional whirring resonating from within gamma’s chest, and a small ding, it asks yet again:
“How Can I Help Solve Your Issue?”
subspace looked away, sensing this weird feeling of shame in his weak heart. he didn’t like feeling so small. he didn’t want to be so weak.
“i suppose..” he hesitated, biting his tongue. “i could… possibly benefit from a bit of affection.
without a second word, gamma moved over to lay beside subspace and wrapped its arms around his waist.
“Is This Sufficient?” it asked, pulling him close as it began to purr once more. subspace found himself a bit stunned, and perhaps a bit flustered, before returning the hug. he’d never intentionally cuddled gamma before. sure, it was a sleep aid, but he never did anything more than let it sit on top of him while he drifted off. but, he reasoned in his head that, as long as a real inphernal didn’t see this, it was okay.
it wasn’t exactly pleasant. gamma’s outer shells were made of silicone (i have no idea what bitches be made of in the lab), which made it clunky and hard to hold. however, he couldn’t expect too much of gamma. it was a robot. what else could it do?
shortly afterwards, he felt the pads of gamma’s squishy fingers rub circles into his back. he squirmed, moderately uncomfortable. just as quickly as it started, it stopped.
“Would You Like Me To Verbally Comfort You?” it softly questioned, making sure to provide as much solace it could to its creator.
subspace thought about it— and felt really embarrassed at the thought of being babied (his idea of verbal comfort is essentially being patronized but with extra steps).
“hell no,” he scowled, feeling his eroded face tighten up.
“Perhaps I Can Simulate Other Forms Of Affection? Would You Like A Platonic Kiss?”
“you don’t even have lips,” he grumbled, feeling his irritation growing. “but fine, keep it brief.”
gamma happily complied, pressing the part of its face where it would have lips against subspace’s face and whatever was left of his cheeks. it stung a bit against his sensitive skin, but was ultimately accepted. it’s hands gradually slid down his torso, then rode back up. he shivered, paying very close attention to how it felt.
subspace wasn’t used to this kind of touch at all— he doesn’t even know how long it’s been since an actual inphernal even has touched him. he was tempted to make gamma stop, but he let it go on for this long already.
it kept going: gentle touches and the occasional hitch of the breath. gamma was going a little rogue. eventually, it was fully pinning subspace down to the bed by encasing him with its arms, nuzzling it’s face into his neck.
that’s when subspace pulled the plug, telling it to finally pull back a bit before things got out of hand. he didn’t know what to think of that- of gamma’s outrageous behavior just now. why it physically escalated the interaction between them, he didn’t know.
“..enter- enter sleep mode,” he croaked, his face warm with an unnoticeable blush. it complied, putting its head back on subspace like before.
subspace laid there. everything was completely silent save the familiar rumbling from gamma.
he had a boner. ohh, he SO had a boner.