Ready To Disappoint

@Claire

The dorms had become the place he went for the night. Sometimes he did stay out wandering, but Maylynn always seemed terribly worried when he did, so he began to retire in the dorms towards the evening. Not like he needed to sleep or eat or shower or anything, he just did it for the boy's comfort. None the less, it brought him some sense of satisfaction; he was wanted for something, right? He was being useful?

The day had been spent at the beach; they did seem to like to spend a lot of time there. Maylynn had tried to give him an ice cream cone, which he had to decline. He did not eat, didn't he remember? No matter, he smiled in that weird plastic way anyway and told him he could have it.

He'd remained close to him, as he always did. When Maylynn went to class, Yesterday simply wandered. When he returned, so did he. The routine was set just so, and they both seemed satisfied with it.

So when they returned that day and Maylynn ushered for him to sit beside him, he wondered if there was anything different or if he just wanted to cuddle. Yesterday did what was asked of him.

"Yes?"

(( so sorry this took so long, I've been horrendously distracted ))

@Claire

Maylynn had always been very affectionate towards him since day one, and he'd learned to react to it appropriately by now. He put an arm around Maylynn's waist and held him a little closer against his slick, plastic skin. Maybe it was still a little weird for him, he wasn't sure.

"Huh? What is it?" Was there a disaster? Some sort of catastrophe? He hadn't heard of it, and the news hadn't given him anything. Maybe a personal problem? Did he have the cold? Did his cold have cancer?

But then he said he loved him, and Yesterday had to pause for a few long seconds. Oh, was that all? That wasn't bad at all.

He grinned, though he was still working on it not looking like some plastic doll. "But that isn't a bad thing!"

@Claire

Yesterday still wore that fake looking smile on his face, stretched weirdly out of the corners of his mouth. He really did need to practice, and sometimes he did so at night when Maylynn was sleeping and he'd sorted all of the information for the day. This one was new, for sure. He'd make sure to search up a hefty amount of literature on the subject, though it was impossible to not go stumbling over it in his research.

But did he love him? Yesterday cocked his head to the side for a brief moment, as if trying to find the answer in his memory.

"But Maylynn, I don't feel." He never had. Or at least, he thought he never had. There was something weird when he got lost in space for years as his brothers and sisters were put into suspended animation around him, but he hadn't realized what exactly that was. The budding of emotion. The start of learning, if he knew how to pursue it.

Evidently, he did not.

@Claire

Yesterday blinked at him, unsure of what was wrong. One moment he seemed to be quite anxious but at least alright, next thing he knew his voice had risen and he was crying. Humans cried for a lot of reasons, but evidently Maylynn wasn't crying for a positive one. In fact, he looked absolutely distressed, and his voice only reenforced the idea.

Yesterday was confused. He told the truth. Was that the wrong thing to say to him?

"I... am not programmed to feel emotions." He stated, hopefully clearing it up. Part of him somehow predicted it wouldn't, though. He never quite figured this part out, and he gently reached for Maylynn's hand as if to pull it into his own. "My algorithms cannot compute them. My model wasn't made with them in mind; I was meant to be a storage and defense AI, not a companion android."

He had known companion androids, ones that were programmed to feel and relay human emotions just as realistically as if they were flesh and blood. He always found it quite inspiring, but at the same time, he held no capacity for it. Or so he thought, at least.

@Claire

He was very, very upset. He'd never once heard Maylynn raise his voice above a very specific level before, and here it was. He broke what Yesterday understood was his 'programming', even though he was aware that humans didn't function like that. When his hand was smacked away, he immediately withdrew it and settled it back into his lap.

"Yes, I haven't been coded with the sequences I need to feel emotion." Only he was an AI, he was capable of learning. It might take a lot of learning, but he had the ability. He just didn't know he did. Was that the right answer, though? He knew it was technically correct, but humans tended to not like technically correct.

Yesterday slowly got up. "I'm sorry. Maybe I should leave you alone." Should he, though?

All at once, Maylynn collapsed against the bed. When he turned towards him, he seemed to have clearly injured himself.

"Should... I leave you alone?" He didn't know what he was supposed to be doing. His comforting gesture had already been rejected, and he didn't know if extending another would help the situation.