Keeping Him Loved

Chapter 12

After showing them to the inn and giving them time to settle, Stella proceeded to give them a tour of the canyon village. Small as it was, there was still a market, blacksmith, alchemist, and other basic city necessities. The only thing that (y/n) had a problem with was the lack of vegetation. Other than the rare cactus, she didn't see a single source of green coming from the ground anywhere.

"I wasn't expecting it anyway, but it's still a bit of a let down." (Y/n) sighed as she flopped onto the bed that she and Add would have to share. It would be no different than them sharing blankets back in his old home. The memory brought a sting of pain at the loss of the cherished place. Even though (y/n) hadn't lived there every day, it felt like she had.

"Do you need any more water?" Add offered. Stella had shown them to the city's water supply, a large well where everyone got their water from in surplus. (Y/n) sat up to accept the water from him. When she did, Add place his hand against her forehead. "Are you sure that you're alright?"

"As long as I stay inside, then I should be fine." The inn was located at the bottom of the canyon making it far cooler here than when they first arrived. "If I don't feel well, I'll come right to you since you're the medic now. You'll be able to make me all better again," she teased with a grin. Add rolled his eyes and removed his hand.

"You're perfectly fine." He began to unpack the two bags that they brought aside from their own personal satchels. "I was expecting more opposition when we arrived. Small places tend not to welcome outsiders. Everyone here seems to know one another." Add opened the box containing his dynamos and Dynamo as he voiced his concerns. "We'll still need to be careful. Stella mentioned a terrorist group, but we already have our own problems to deal with. Until I can figure out who sent those nasods, we can't let our guard down even for a moment. I may have willingly walked into their trap the first time, but it won't happen again."

"Add," (y/n)'s expression saddned a bit when he looked at her. His eye was still visible despite his bangs doing well to cover it. "Just this once, could you take a moment to relax. We just got here. The day is only halfway over, so there's no harm in spending the rest of it by resting." She tapped the spot on the bed next to her. "Come on, sit down."

He blinked at her. "This is important, (y/n)."

"So are you." She could tell that he had been distracted ever since they left Elder. It was normal for his mind to work in such a way, but she knew that it was taking a tole on his mental state. He had told her what happened in the underground waterway, so she was well aware of the new information that he was constantly sortting through in his head. "You'll have plenty of time to do everything tomorrow."

He shook his head at her. "Now isn't the time for me to be resting." He pulled free the nasod parts that (y/n) remember him picking up from nasods in the waterway. Before they left them there, Add had done a scan on them and pulled out pieces that he said he needed. "I can fix him. With these, I think I can. I have to try." She knew there would be no changing his mind now.

"Well if you need help, then let me know."

"It shouldn't take any longer than five minutes. That's...if it works." Add placed a hand onto the small nasod within the box. "I need this to work." (Y/n) hadn't seen him deal directly with nasods other than when he handled his dynamos, so she was interested in seeing just what he was capable of. It was a rare opportunity considering that nasods no longer naturally existed. Rather than saying anything more, (y/n) kept silent and let him start his process.

He immediately took out the unresponsive Dynamo and placed the little nasod servant's frame in front of him. The nasod had cat ears making (y/n) wonder if Add's hood was designed after Dynamo as well rather than cats. In fact, were those even cats that she had seen on his sketches at all?