Cor smiled when he noticed the physical injuries disappear. “Thank Flynn.” he murmured as he felt the weight of sleep starting to grow heavy. “I need some rest. Bit, if she wakes up and something is wrong, wake me up. I don't care how but… Please.” he almost begged, his eyes were filled with concern at the thought. I already lost someone I care about and couldn't do anything… I don't want to lose her too.
Yes, Bit said, whizzing around Cor's head, bumping into it a few times in an evident display of how it would wake Cor up. It then hovered back over to Nora, bobbing on top of a blanket on the back of the couch. Yes, yes.
Cor chuckled a little at the demonstration and nodded. “That’ll work. Good night, Bit.” he said before heading up the stairs to his room and collapsed on his bed. He didn't remember the last time he had actually felt so exhausted. Sure, he had been very busy with both his functions as a search and messager, plus his unofficial “job” as a vigilante hacker… Those first few cycles of juggling all of that had been really rough, but this felt different.
Bit, as a creature that did not sleep, had nothing to do, so it watched Nora for a while and then whizzed off to see if there was a drinks cabinet, coming back to check on Nora every few ticks. It didn't actually take anything, just looked at the bottles.
Cor did have a small energy cabinet with a variety of different drinks but it was locked and looked like it wasn't used very often. Of course, none of the drinks were as fancy as what Castor had kept in his former office though these did seem to trend on the stronger side with only a few weaker options.
In all the excitement over Nora’s health, he hadn't even considered that Bit would try anything too rambunctious or even poke around the place.
Bit, now bored, inspected the rest of the kitchen and checked on Nora again. She was fine. After going through the rest of the apartment (surprisingly, nothing was broken), Bit hovered over her, a silent, watchful guardian.
It was about 03000 ticks when Nora came into some semblance of lucidity: she was cold. Half-asleep, she dragged the blanket on the couch over herself and curled up under it, barely noticing her surroundings. It wasn't long before she was asleep again.
The kitchen was actually rather plain. And slightly understocked at the moment. It looked like Cor could just pick up and leave at any time. There were a few personal things almost scattered throughout the apartment, mostly a couple of pictures of him and a female program smiling together. But he likely kept more of his personal belongings in the shelf like area where his room was.
(Skip to morning?)
(Sure!)
Nora stirred faintly, the blanket rustling, her eyes fluttering open. For a moment, all was well, then something seemed to grind into gear in her mind and she sat up.
This wasn't her bedroom. Where was she?
For a moment, she couldn't recall where this was or why she was here - and then it all came rushing back. Cor. The tunnels. The accident.
She inspected her wrists and hands. No bruises, no cuts. He had done a good job.
Having never stayed over at another program's place before, Nora was now unsure of what to do. She looked around; it was nice - perhaps not what she was used to, but still nice. She wondered if Cor was awake. What should she do, sit here until he woke up? Deciding that was the best plan, she began to tease her hair back into its customary bun.
“You’re awake.” Cor sighed as he walked out of the kitchen holding two warm cups of energy, not the alcoholic variety this time. Programs also needed simple energy just to function, not just get drunk. He hadn't been awake for very long as his dark curly hair was messier than normal and was still moving a little sluggishly. “How’s the head feeling? Anything still hurt?” he asked, still a little concerned about whether or not she was fully repaired.
Something made Nora's heart twinge at the sight of his hair, and a brief, fleeting smile slipped across her face.
"I'm okay," she responded, gratefully accepting the energy. "Thank you."
“For the energy or the repair?” he asked with a brief teasing smirk as she took the drink, running his fingers through his hair which only messed it up more. “You’re welcome either way. And I'm glad to see that you seem to be doing alright. I've never repaired anything quite like that before.” he admitted. “Bit was a big help last night.”
Nora, a bit surprised, looked at Bit. "You were?"
Yes, Bit said happily. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
Cor chuckled at how excited Bit reacted to the comment. “Well, I still did all the hard work but Bit did guide me through the uhh… the damage.” he explained, clearing his throat slightly. “And occasionally bumped my hands when it thought I was going to make a mistake.” he added in an attempt to lighten the mood.
Nora nodded. "Bit's really taken to you, hasn't it?"
“Seems like it, doesn't it?” Cor smiled, looking at the Bit.
Yes. Bit whizzed around Cor's head. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
A laugh, a real one, burst from Nora's mouth. It was sudden, unexpected, and beautiful, shining in the air like a bell. It was a sound you'd never expect to hear from someone like her.
Cor chuckled at Bit’s affirmation and smiled softly when he heard Nora laughing. It was a very nice sound. One he wouldn't mind hearing again. Actually, beautiful… Just like her. He could feel his face warm slightly at the thought and tried hiding it behind his cup as he took a sip.
Nora sipped from her cup as well. There were a few moments of silence, then Nora asked, "What time is it?"
“Feels like 08000…” Cor shrugged a little at the question initially before he glanced up at the clock. “Ah! So close. 08300.” he chuckled, shaking his head slightly as he tried to wake up a bit more. “I’m not very good at guessing the time. Especially, this early.”
Nora nodded. She understood; she wasn't particularly good with time either. "Have you heard about the new programming that allows you to have an internal clock?"
“No. I haven't. Is it any good?” he asked, raising a brow in interest. Maybe he could check it out for himself… unofficially when things quieted down a little more. Considering the whole problem with Cyrus and the remnants of Clu’s army at the dock.
"I don't know," Nora admitted. The truth was, she wasn't close with any programs who had recieved the update. "But I've heard good things. Apparently, it's very useful."
Deep, deep inside her, a part of her was angry at herself. You spent the night at his house after he saved your life, and you thank him by making small talk? What kind of program are you?
Then again, small talk, she supposed, was the only conversation she had had for… oh, thousands of cycles, it felt like.
Cor nodded a little and gave a small smile, appreciating the simple conversation. It had been a lot time since he’d just talked to another program about stuff like this. “I’ll look into it. Thanks for the information. It sure sounds useful.” he agreed before taking another drink of the warm energy. “Uhh… Sorry our little “excuse date” didn't turn out so good.” he apologized, feeling partly responsible for the accident… At least she has a good story and explanation to give Skye for why she wasn't at the party last night.