You're too cute to be my roomie

@Claire

Yesterday hadn't meant to scare him, and he took the fact that he did as a sign of his leave. He got up, his movements a little too smooth, like a well tuned machine meant to pick out tiny details. It almost made him look uncanny valley, but then again, everything about his appearance was.

He didn't think he'd go wandering tonight, though he sort of thought he should. It was an algorithm programmed into him now, a set pattern he could take. He figured just the next room was fine, and he could watch the street from his window if Maylynn didn't want him to leave.

"Don't worry. I'm fine." The same monotone, slow and steady drawl that he usually had. "I should go to my room, though. You should sleep."

@Claire

In reality, a person might've called Maylynn rather needy. Yesterday had the word in his vocabulary, but he had no context to place it under. Maylynn had said he was lonely, so perhaps that would be his purpose. Easing loneliness was a noble thing, according to the texts he read.

He nodded, his glowing eyes bobbing in the dim light. "Okay. I will." If it were any reassurance to the boy that seemed obviously a little distraught over the idea of staying alone. Perhaps he couldn't sleep well and the night noises made him uncomfortable. His readings said that humans like that weren't built to last, but in today's modern systems they could. He still had to look deeper into it.

Yesterday sat back down on the bed easily, in the same too-fluid motion he used earlier, and waited for Maylynn to join him.

@Claire

Yesterday lay down underneath the covers when he was invited... though he was a bit odd about it. He lay face down in the pillow, arms at his sides, stock still. Yeah, he wasn't good at this, either. In fact, in the time he'd been on the islands, he'd only fully laid down maybe five times. There was never really a need to; he was either sitting or standing. Not like he grew tired from it, after all.

He wouldn't power down, though. He might go into sleep mode, but that didn't mean he wasn't aware. He just diverted his power towards other tasks, like sorting information.

@Claire

If there was one thing Yesterday could do excellently, he could memorize things and follow instructions. That was literally what he was made for. If Maylynn just gave him step by step instructions instead of having him figure out the ins and outs of human interaction, he would've fared a lot better. He was an AI meant to figure things out, but his main jobs back on the ship had, after all, been storage.

The concept of cuddling wasn't difficult for him to grasp, either. Humans were simple creatures, despite wanting to think they were complex. They liked being hugged. They liked being warm, and being held and being told they were special. They sought out things that made them feel good. Oftentimes, humans were affectionate like Maylynn was.

So he rolled over and draped an arm over him. His own skin felt slippery and cool, almost like a dolphin's or a doll's. It was resilient, but couldn't mend itself. He didn't feel warm. But he could hold him, and hold him he did.