Helios lay down in the mind-space of Kai. It was filled with their ideas and thoughts, whirling around in a tornado, some disappearing and some floating out, expressed or said. Sometimes, Helios would look at them, just to see what his host was thinking of. There was nothing new, nothing that attracted his attention today. The same ones, over and over.

He sighed and got up. He wouldn't be getting any charging done if he didn't have something to think about. Going into sleep mode with nothing on his mind made for a dull morning and a duller day later. Helios materialized at the back of the cafe, seeing Selene in the front, handing out coffee to the all-nighters. He went up to her and tapped her on the shoulder.

Selene turned around and gave Helios a tired smile, eyes crinkling at the corners. She raised her index finger and turned to the coffee machine, pouring two cups. Selene handed them to Helios and then tapped her uniform, an eyebrow raised. Helios shook his head and sighed.

She nodded and waved her hands at him to get him out of the storefront. Helios snickered and inclined his head in acknowledgment. He walked out of the cafe into the cool New Jersey air.

It wasn't too cold, as autumn had just started, but it would've been enough to make anyone else shiver a bit. Helios radiated warmth and it felt like the end of July to him. With the warm coffee in his hands, it was like a summer night. He strolled to the park, looking around at the trees tinged with yellow and orange, leaves fresh. A firefly buzzed past his face, flickering as it joined the others in the bushes.

Helios chuckled and found a bench opposite a tall maple tree, the slightly rusty metal and worn down planks of the bench familiar to him. He'd sat there before on late nights. Usually, he'd have an iced coffee and maybe a pastry if Selene gave him one. Tonight was different than the others, as he had two coffees in his hands.

He set them on spot next to him and pulled out his phone. It was brand new, a purchase Peter had made for him. It was supposed to make life easier so you wouldn't have to go back and forth between hologram and physical form. And Helios had to admit it was a lot easier, and he could customize it more than his programmed screens.

He hummed, dialing a number. It wasn't likely that the person would be up to receive the call, but he didn't think that sending a text was enough. Texts could be missed. Calls could too, but...

Helios raised the phone to his ear, listening to the sound and waiting for the person to pick up. Three rings, and no response. He dropped the phone into his lap and thought about what he would do next. Maybe he would have to contact them more directly. He leaned back and went into hologram form, pulling up a yellow-orange screen. He swiped around until he found the messaging program. The person would get this.

OrangeJuice: Hey.

----------

Dustin was laughing at the movie screen, having a video night with Peter. The two had a collection of clips capturing the stupid things their friends and associates had done.

"Damn, the spraypaint must've tasted good to him!" Dustin snorted.

"Maybe he was expecting something else?" Peter shrugged and moved onto the next clip. "Ooh, we have a good compilation you got! It's of your...boyfriend." They elbowed Dustin in the side.

"Ew. Don't fucking touch me. And you know he's not my boyfriend!"

Peter started the video. "Your late-night ramblings tell me otherwise. Are you sure you two aren't dating?"

"Abso-fucking-lutely positive." Dustin glared at the other, before looking away, frowning. "Besides, I'm not saying anything to him."

"Why not?"

"I just don't think he'd want to be with me. I'm not sure I even want to be with the damn idiot. He's so stupid, and yet..." Dustin put his face in his hands. "Ugh."

"You should ask him out," Peter whispered, pausing the video.

"And risk rejection? No fucking way."

Peter shrugged. "I know he loves you, so you have very little to worry about. My processor says there's a single future in which he rejects you, and out of the infinitudes of ones where he doesn't...why don't you take that risk?"

"Because I don't think it's worth it." Dustin pulled his legs up to his chest. "Because if I lose him, then what else am I gonna have?"

A moment of silence, and then Peter opened their mouth.

"Someone once told me that in high-risk high reward situations, if you don't get the reward, then it wasn't worth it."

"That sounds like bullshit," Dustin mumbled. He took the remote from Peter's hand. "I don't want to talk about this. Let's just watch the fucking videos."

"Right. We're here to have fun at other's expense. Comedy equals tragedy plus time." Peter gestured towards the screen. "Go ahead."

Dustin unpaused the video and watched as Helios stumbled around the store, dropping the wooden blocks and tripping over his feet. He smiled, seeing the other, even though it was only pixels on a screen. The remote fell from his hands, and Peter picked it up. They fast-forwarded the video and then paused on a frame.

Dustin turned to them and reached for the remote. "Hey! Bitch--give me the remote--" Peter dropped it onto the ground, and it slid under the couch, hitting one of the legs and unpausing the video.

"Pft- hey dumbass. Really fucked up back there huh?"

Dustin turned the screen, seeing himself there. He grimaced. Their first interaction. He saw Helios shriek and drop the wooden block onto his foot. Dustin laughed a little and then slid back to his spot, watching the clip.

"Yeah, I guess I d--"

The Helios on-screen picked up the block and stared at Past Dustin. Looking back on it, Dustin had been a little too focused on the outrageous way Helios had been going around Home Depot. Now he saw in high definition that for a few seconds, Helios had been staring at him. On-screen Dustin came out of the box fully and rolled up his sleeves.

"Learn how to handle wood, goddamn."

The pixelated Dustin snatched the wood from Helios and glared at the other.

"Comin' to Home Depot--you didn't even get a cart--" The past Dustin looked like he was barely holding in his apprehension. "Tch. The fuck is wrong with you?"

The onscreen Helios seemed to snap back to reality, and Dustin watched him closely. He didn't notice Peter leave the room.

"Uh--well, I usually just get the one..." Past Helios reached for the wooden block, still speaking. "I don't think I need a cart for a single block of wood? And I don't think there's anything wrong with me." Past Helios' fingers brushed against Past Dustin's ever so slightly, and he took the block of wood.

Dustin sat back on the couch and watched as Helios' eyes briefly turned blue, freezing. He narrowed his eyes. He hadn't imagined it. Helios had definitely blue screened for a few seconds there.

"You good??"

The past Helios nodded, and Dustin could see, that faintly, the video had captured the other blushing. He smiled at that, and then the screen shut off, the entire room now pitch black. Dustin grumbled and hopped off of the couch. He was going to go into charging mode when a message appeared on his screen.

OrangeJuice: Hey.

Dustin hesitated, before answering back.

Salty_Mint: Do you know what damn time it is?

OrangeJuice: Yeah, I know. Can you meet me at the park?

Salty_Mint: Fine.

OrangeJuice: See you there.

------------

Helios waited at the bench, keeping the coffees next to him warm. When he saw the short figure approaching from a distance, he waved at the other. The figure waved back awkwardly, arm stiff. As they approached, the streetlights revealed it to be Dustin. The smaller Squip stopped in front of the bench and looked down at Helios.

"Why the hell did you want me to meet you here at three in the fucking morning?" Dustin kicked a rock, hands in pockets. Helios looked at the two coffees and handed one to him.

"Because I have to tell you something." Helios was staring at his own coffee. He patted the seat next to him. "Please sit down..."

Dustin groaned and sat, taking a sip from his coffee. It was black and bitter. Like what he usually got from coffeeshops. Why did Helios want him to be here, and why give him coffee? It had an immediate calming effect on him, and Dustin felt some of his perpetual rage settling down to simmering and eventually being put out.

"What is it?" Dustin glanced at Helios, the other lit by moonlight, eyes twinkling like stars and hair glowing. Helios turned to Dustin and then turned away, something clearly bothering him. "Oh, so you want me to come here in the middle of the night and now you won't tell me a damn thing!" Dustin took another sip.

"I...love you." Helios murmured. Dustin spat the coffee out of his mouth and coughed, eyes watering.

"You fucking what?!"

Helios took a sip from his own coffee and then repeated, slightly louder: "I love you."

"I must be losing my goddamn mind. You're saying you love me?" Dustin turned away. "You're lying."

"I'm not." Helios said, setting his coffee down and twirling some of his hair around a finger. "I was thinking about this for a while, and well, I thought..that--I had this whole speech I prepared, and uh, I never found a good time to say anything to you before." He cupped Dustin's face and turned it to him.

"What are you doing?" Dustin removed Helios' hand, eyes narrowing. This wasn't real. This was just a dream, or maybe he'd finally snapped. He stared at Helios, daring the other to make a move.

Helios lowered his hand and placed it in his lap. "Sorry...I didn't realize you didn't feel that way." Dustin felt his shoulders drop. If Helios was lying about loving him, why did the other looking so sad breaking Dustin's heart? He took another sip of his coffee and hesitated.

"I never said that."

Helios' looked at Dustin, shocked. "So you do--"

"I guess." Dustin crossed his arms. "If you're lying about this, I'm gonna kill you."

"Then I guess it's a good thing I'm not." Helios gently placed a hand on Dustin's cheek. "Can I kiss you?"

Dustin rolled his eyes. "Sure, you c--mmh!" His eyes went wide with shock, and then they closed. He returned the kiss, and when Helios pulled away, he felt a little sad.

"Are we boyfriends now?" Helios smiled, caressing Dustin's cheek. Dustin shrugged.

"Yeah?"

Helios grinned. "Awesome!" He moved to hug Dustin, and when Dustin leaned back in panic, the two coffees went flying and the liquid spilled on Helios' shirt. Helios inhaled sharply at the sudden pain and collapsed on top of Dustin. "Owwww....."

"Dumbass." Dustin muttered.

"Yeah, but I'm your dumbass now."