"Hey," Jude smiled back, lighting a cigarette and leaving it in his mouth as he walked over. "Whatcha doin'?" He asked, but already knew; Nyx was basking in the sunlight, like his neighbour's cat in the window, feeling all its warmth and living Jude just wanted to hear it from him, anything Nyx would say about life or what he was feeling was like gold to him.
Nyx looked at him with another happy smile. "Sitting in the sun." he replied, turning his eyes back up to the sky as if he could drink in its colors and warmth. He wanted to stay like this forever. In the sun, just…living. Even if this wasn't everything that living was, he loved this. He was thankful that Jude had awoken him the other day, and so, so thankful for everything.
Jude chuckled, slowly walking over, flicking ash as he stepped. He sighed, sitting down next to him. The sunshine seemed to beam down on the two of them like a clearing in the trees of a forest. If only they'd been in a forest, instead of a near boxed-in courtyard of a parking lot. If only…
"Hey," Jude said, taking a long drag of his cigarette, "Do you know anything about how far you can go from here?"
He thought about the adventures they might have, once he'd look a little more..human, little by little, they could explore the city. And maybe…the hills. Jude remembered; it was where he ended up after 'running away' when he was a teenager. Just outside the city limits, there stood miles upon miles of silent and green rolling hills, bordered by a few abandoned houses and a train track– it would be perfect.
Nyx looked at him. He hesitated. "What do you mean?" He asked curiously. He knew there was probably a tracker inside of him somewhere, but he didn't know if it was currently active or not. He had no idea about that. He wrinkled his nose a little as the acrid smell of the cigarette reached his nose, looking up at the sky again and just… absorbing the colors and warmth and tucking the memory inside of himself, wrapping it around his heart and mind like a warm, fuzzy blanket.
"Like– how far you can go without them knowing," Jude said, twirling his dying stick in his hand. The places they go– Jude thought, the sunlight reminding him of his trip to Los Angeles in the summer, making friends everywhere he went and going on adventures with strangers. He wondered if Nyx would like it there, or maybe it was too much for him. Then again, there was always Italy, where his aunt lived.
"I want to take you someplace, but I want to know if it's risky." He said.
"Oh." Nyx replied. "There's a tracker somewhere in me, but I don't know where or if it's active or anything." He shrugged a little, closing his eyes with his face still tipped back to the sunshine. "My files might tell you, but I don't know."
Jude nodded, reminding himself to check later. "I'll look into that." He said,
"It's just that there's this place– near the interstate. It's a bunch of hills, you can just run for miles in the sun through the fields, sleep underneath the trees, play around on the tracks and watch the train screaming as it rolls by." Jude smiled lazily, taking a final drag of his cigarette before putting it out. "It might be fun to visit. What do you think?"
Nyx smiled. "It sounds lovely." He replied, glancing over at Jude. "If…if I can go, I would like to." He wanted to see as much as he could. As much as he was allowed, as much as Jude would show him.
"Yeah, yeah. You know, if you can leave, we wouldn't even have to wait for the printer to be done. I could just drive us." He smiled, looking back at the door. "Hell, we could go today." Jude turned, grabbing the stack of books and handing them to Nyx as he stood up, "Read a bit, if you like, I'll go check."
Nyx nodded a little. "Alright." He opened his eyes and took the book, beginning to page through it carefully, reading it. He was sitting cross-legged, the sun reflecting off the shining metal on his arms and legs.
Jude skipped through the door and across the floor, glancing over at the printer's developing work. Amazing. He moved to the computer, bringing back the minimized page and scrolling through. No…no it…there. Jude saw; the 'tracking' was discontinued, because of the company's partnership with another tech conglomerate and used their satellite. It's inactive. He confirmed, reading the short lines in coloured letters and smiling to himself. He walked back to and out the door, swinging his head from side to side like a kid in a schoolyard. "We're all good." He said to Nyx, enveloped in the book he was reading.
Nyx glanced up. "Hm? Oh. Alright. Good." He replied. "So…we can go?" He asked, looking up at Jude with a quick, happy smile on his face. He stretched a little, putting his finger in the book to hold his spot.
"Yeah?" Jude smiled, eyebrows rising eagerly, "Yeah. Let's go," He said, taking Nyx's free hand, almost dragging him to the car in excitement. "It'll be done when we come back, hop in."
Nyx smiled. "Alright!" He replied. He got up and gathered the books, carrying them back to the car and holding onto Jude's hand
Nyx's hand– Jude realized, was cybernetic, but wouldn't be, after today. He didn't know why, but he wanted to hold it a little longer. Maybe just to take it all in. The metal, the wiring, the coldness, even though he always felt warm with him. Maybe to…just hold. Jude didn't like what came to mind and let go immediately, circling around the car to the driver's side.
Nyx felt vaguely disappointed when Jude let go, but set the books in the car and got into the passenger side. He stared at the belt buckle for a full minute, not sure what it was for or what he was supposed to do with it. He finally picked it up in one hand. "Jude? What am I supposed to do with this?" He asked, gesturing to it.
"Oh," He said, then clicked his own in to show him. "It's for safety, so if there's an accident so you don't go flying through the windshield." Jude gestured, then turned his keys in, starting the car and smiling as it came to life; the lights flickering on one by one, a faint chime, and the gentle purr of the engine greeting him.
"Ah." Nyx put the seatbelt on with a soft sigh. He looked at Jude, almost bouncing with excitement. "So can we go now?" he asked, smiling excitedly and happily and waiting for the car to start up.
"Okay, okay. I'll point out a few places as we go." He smiled, edging the car out of the parking lot and pulling onto the main road. It was only noon, and the streets were already packed. A jaywalking pedestrian yelled at a taxi and hit the side of it with a rolled newspaper. Jude chuckled, the taxi driver yelled back at the pedestrian, waving his hands wildly.
"Oh– put the radio on if you like." Jude chimed, gesturing at it.
Nyx nodded absently. He looked around the streets with wide, almost hungry eyes. He smiled happily. He looked at the thing, frowning a little. "Uhm…how?" he asked, eyes flickering over all the dials and controls with a bit of confusion.
"Just this one," Jude said, pressing the smooth central button, music erupting from it's dull 'click.' You Are My Sunshine already half-played, streamed out of the tiny speakers, its muffled sound unclouded with the car's clear sound.
"That's a great place for Italian," Jude said, pointing at a tiny restaurant barely big enough for a few tables.
Nyx closed his eyes for a moment to listen to the music, then opened them again, looking at the place that Jude had pointed out. He pressed a hand to his forehead for a moment as his head began to ache a little bit.
Jude smiled at the small restaurant and braked at a red light. In his peripheral, he saw Nyx's worried expression. He turned to him, "Hey, are you doing okay?" Jude looked back at the light and then worriedly to Nyx, "Should we go back?"
Nyx cleared his throat softly. "I'm okay. Just…a little sensory overload." He replied slowly. "I'll be fine. I'm just not used to having to process so much at once." He tugged on the Hem of his shirt for a moment, looking down at himself to sort of try and ground his mind again.
"Okay," Jude said, turning the music down a little, stealing glances at Nyx as he furthered the car, weaving through the rush-hour traffic. "I don't know if I can fix that." He said, picking at the tight threads binding the leather exterior of the steering wheel. What if this happened, and he could find a way to repose?