Together

Knock knock knock

Calix groaned as he peeled himself off his couch, rubbing an eye as he made his way to the front door of his apartment. He kicked a few boxes out of the way, most filled with packaged goods he hadn't touched, besides a few ramen packets. He flicked on the light to his living room area so that it wasn't just lit up by a lonely lamp and a TV.

He hadn't been taking very good care of his home, it was messy and a lot of things were in disarray. He didn't spend much time out of his room anyway, so it didn't bother him much. However it was a bit of an embarrassment when other SoftBots would come over.

He didn't have others over often, his energy was unfortunately easily drained when face to face with other Bots. He prefered to keep in touch over text, but he made exceptions for a small handful of his closest friends- it was Aerunmin after all. And Adrian wouldn't take no for an answer.

As Calix shuffled over to his front door, his two Aiubs, previously snuggled together in a pile in their bed, jumped up and scurried to the door. They bumped into his legs, but he didn't mind.

“Who's that?” He said to his Aiubs, his voice high pitched, “Who's at the door? Is it your favourite person? Who's that?”

He gave a small smile as they jumped up at the door, scratching at it and circling around Calix’s feet. He cracked the door to peek at who was there, even though he knew who it would be. He took a step back and fully opened it.

“Hey.”

“Hi, Cal!”

That was all Adrian could get out before their feet were swamped with Aiubs, jumping at them and chirping little noises. They stumbled a bit, arms carrying bags and hands filled with skewers of meat and veggies.

“Oh, goodness you two!” They laughed warmly at the Aiubs, handing Calix the skewers and the bags off their arms, “You take these, it's stuff I got at the festival for us to eat- clearly my attention is needed elsewhere.”

They cooed at the Aiubs as they picked both of them up, petting them and squishing their soft form. Calix dropped the food items on his barely used dining table, set up with two plates waiting for food. He placed the skewers on one plate, not worrying about who would get which just yet.

“This is a lot of food,” Calix commented absently as he began pulling containers out of bags.

“Yeah,” Adrian shrugged, Aiubs still in their arms, “I figured I should bring a bunch, even if we don't eat it all, at least there'll be leftovers. Although I doubt there'll be much left, you know how Jackson eats.”

Calix’s hands paused,

“........Jackson is coming?”

Adrian blinked at him, “Obviously?” They looked at Calix for a moment, “Oh, I told him to bring food too, so there will be some stuff left, if that's what you're worried about.”

“No- it's-”

Calix sighed as he sat heavily on a dining chair, “Thing's between us are…”

“Awkward, I know.”

Calix looked up at Adrian with incredulous eyes, to which they could only let out a huff of a laugh,

“I'm not blind, Calix. Plus you both come to me with your issues, I've seen both sides of the stuff between you two.”

Calix opened his mouth-

“No, I will not tell you what he says about you.”

Calix closed his mouth again.

After a moment, Adrian smiled sadly. They gently placed down the Aiubs and took a seat on another dining chair, they busied their hands again, continuing to remove food packages out of the bags they brought,

“I know you don't want to see him right now, I know about the fights you guys had… But I think we should try to put those things aside for today. It's his first Aerunmin back since he finished his time at Guardian Academy, I think he would really appreciate spending it with his closest friends.”

Calix sighed again, slumping his shoulders, “You don't have to lecture me like I'm a SoftBit, I get it.”

“Good! Because I have a lot of words for the both of you, you're lucky it's Aerunmin and not a casual get together.”

Calix huffed a laugh, his face warming a bit, “Jackson is good at hiding what he's thinking in these situations. Me, not so much, but I'll try to keep my attitude good.”

“Perfect,” Adrian grinned, patting him on the back, “He needs some time to chill, we'll probably hear a lot about his time at the Academy.”

Conversation flowed gently between the two SoftBots, and occasional nibbles of food were had. Eventually, a much more aggressive series of knocks hit Calix's front door- before one or two more gingerly knocks. The Aiubs rushed to the door again.

Calix lifted himself to his feet, “Okay, I'm so normal right now,” He said out loud, “I am normal.”

He cracked the door again- before opening it wide. The SoftBot before him was larger than when they had last seen each other face to face, and he had to duck his head down to fit his horn through Calix’s doorway. His strong arms also carried several food filled bags.

“Yo guys!”

“Hey, Jackson.”

Jackson stepped into the apartment, swinging the bags in his arms, “I wasn't sure how much food to bring, so I just bought a bunch.”

Adrian perked up, “I also brought a bunch of food!”

Jackson grinned, “Then, we’ll feast!”

Calix sighed, smiling slightly, “You guys are so corny.”

The evening then flowed smoothly, the three Bots enjoying the large meal between themselves, sharing stories and having a laugh. They even soon migrated to Calix’s living room to play some video games together, no matter how much shouting they did, or how heated they got- the evening was enjoyable.

Calix knew that things would eventually return to that awkward standstill between him and Jackson, but he was content in letting the evening go on without any drama. Things would go back to how they were, but for one evening, they could act just as they had when they were young.