• | our hearts are compatible | •

one

"Everything will be..."

"FIRE!"

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Simon shot up in bed then doubled over, holding his head in his hands and trying to slow his ragged breathing. No matter how many times the nightmare occurred he could still feel the bullets hitting his chest, could hear the cries of his friends as they got gunned down in the plaza.

Once his system indicated that his robotic pulse had returned to normal, Simon slowly rose from his bed and walked over to his bathroom, flicking on the stark white light. He glanced in the mirror and a sullen, hollow-looking face stared back at him with a dead, steely gaze. He rubbed sleep from his eyes and went back into his bedroom, his nerves still nowhere near calmed.

He looked over at the clock projected on his wall and read the time: 4:17 AM. Great, there's no chance I'll be able to fall back asleep, he thought bitterly.

At a loss for what else to do, he quickly ducked into his closet and grabbed his favorite sweatshirt, grey with the words "Detroit University" plastered on the front. Simon slipped the fabric over his head and quietly exited his room into the ground-floor hallway.

New Jericho was home to about 250 androids, who all found themselves homeless after the revolution. They resided here, in an apartment complex that was provided by President Warren and constructed while Markus, North, Josh, and Simon traveled to attend conferences two months ago.

During that time, the group spoke with world leaders and government officials, passing laws that ensured the android's freedom. Things had been very stressful since Markus lead them into a peaceful revolution, but every day more and more humans agreed that androids were an intelligent species that deserved to be treated as such.

Simon continued down the hallway, past his friend's rooms and into the main lobby of New Jericho. He poured himself a cup of thirium-based coffee from the kitchen and started towards the sitting room.

He froze as he noticed a silhouette occupying one of the chairs, unmoving and shadowed by the moonlight streaming in through the large glass window behind them.

That didn't stop Simon from being able to identify the leader of Jericho, stooped over an electronic book in his lap.

"Hey, Markus."

The figure looked up, his gaze landing on Simon. His blue eye, illuminated by the moon, quickly glanced down and back up to meet Simon's gaze, an expression of confusion plastered across his face. "Simon? What are you doing up?"

"I uh, couldn't sleep, I guess." Simon crossed the room and sat at a couch to Markus's side. He already felt calmer seeing his robotic friend in the "flesh", knowing his nightmare was just that: a nightmare. "What about you?"

"...Same here." Markus looked over Simon again, his eyebrows furrowing as they often do when he's stressed or worried about something. "Are you alright? You look worn, Simon."

The blond man bowed his head and fidgeted with his hands in his lap, not wanting to meet Markus's mismatched eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just didn't sleep well, haha."

He heard the other man sit back in his chair. "Alright. Uh, mind if i turn on the news for a bit?"

Simon looked back up, slowly raising his mug of coffee to his lips with a slight smile. "Not at all."

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"Anything on the agenda today, Markus?" Simon called from the kitchen as he washed his coffee mug and set it on the counter to dry.

"Nothing immediate, but I've got to pack for Canada, because I'm leaving tonight. Sounds like their prime minister has finally agreed to establish laws for androids up north. I'm sure I'll be roped into meetings for days." Simon could hear Markus get up from his chair in the living room and join Simon in the kitchen.

"Speaking of North, is she going with you?" he questioned with a sly tone. Markus and North had been inseparable seemingly ever since they met, and officially established their relationship by kissing on national television while armed forces were poised to shoot.

"No, she has another rally, in Novi this time. She said she's leaving later today, and will be back hopefully by tomorrow morning."

North, after realizing that violence doesn't actually solve everything, had taken to leading rallies in cities that were still against androids. In her words, "If the humans don't like seeing us on TV, they sure as hell won't like to see us marching down their streets. They'll do anything to shut us up, even if that means giving us what we want."

"So you're leaving Josh and I holding the bag, huh?" Simon quipped, lightly bumping Markus's shoulder as he walked towards the hall to his room.

"I'll only be gone for a few days, maybe a week. Don't miss me too much." Markus followed behind, stopping at his own room door.

Simon turned back and studied Markus for a long moment before muttering, "Just come back," then turned and continued towards his unit.

"Hey, Simon?"

"Yeah?"

"... Do you want to come with me?"