Human After All

Joshua yawned, rubbing his eye gingerly. After being awoken of the sound of a keyboard key's tapping, he realized that sleep would no longer be an option, even though he really wanted to stay asleep. He opened one eye to find Beau speaking to Ethylon yet again. He was typing as though there was no tomorrow, and his fingers twitching over the keyboard. Another reply and Beau was typing yet again.

"Good morning, master." Joshua said quietly. Beau only glanced at Joshua.

"Morning, Joshua." He said with a weak smile before turning his attention back to the screen in front of him. Joshua furrowed his brows together. How disappointing, Joshua thought, that my master is more interested in a computer screen than me. But that seemed like he wanted all the attention, so Joshua brushed off the notion and rolled off of the couch. He landed on his butt before pushing himself up on his feet and walking over to the kitchen counter. Beau's coffee maker had remained untouched.

"Master?" Joshua called. Beau glanced at him again, only acknowledging his presence. "You haven't had your coffee this morning."

"I've been talking with Ethylon all morning. Sorry, I guess." Beau replied stubbornly. Joshua pouted slightly, uneasily placing his fists on the counter.

"You talk an awful lot with Ethylon." Joshua said. It had been a night since Beau went out in an attempt to retrieve Troia, and he hadn't really done anything else besides talk to Ethylon through their servers. While Joshua admired their determination and fire, he never asked to lose his master.

"Is that bad?" Beau asked. He did, however, take his gaze away from the screen, even when it beeped multiple times. Joshua felt selfish then. He said his master was only speaking to Ethylon when really, all he had to do was ask for attention and he would get it. Perhaps he had grown so used to the constant babying from Beau, and that was why he felt so left out. He never really had to ask for the attention because Beau usually just gave it to him.

Joshua shook his head before returning his attention back to the coffee machine. Perhaps he would make his master some coffee.

So Joshua ground up some coffee beans, dumped them into the filter of the coffee machine and pressed the 'on' button. The water boiled within seconds while running through the strong smelling cocoa beans. Already the smell was tickling at Joshua's senses, and he watched as the smell wafted through the air and over to his master. Like magic, Beau pulled his attention away from the computer screen and smiled.

"Oh Joshua, you didn't have to make me coffee." He said, pushing himself out of the computer seat and walking over to his bot's side. Beau's arms snaked around Joshua's waist. The computer dinged a few more times before Beau hissed in its general direction as a sign he wanted it to shut up now. It wouldn't stop until Beau logged off of the server anyways.

"You can keep speaking to Ethylon, master. I'm sorry I bothered you. Your coffee—"

"Shush, Joshua." Beau placed his finger on top of Joshua's lips. "You're right. I talk too much with Ethylon."

"No, really. I was just.... I'm sorry." Joshua apologized quickly. "I shouldn't have said that."

"Joshua, stop apologizing." Beau said. "It's fine. Really."

"No—"

"Joshua." Beau placed his hands on top of Joshua's, smiling while their breaths only filled the air. "You make me feel bad when you apologize so much." He leaned forward, pecking a kiss on Joshua's cheek. He was warm, Beau thought, while Joshua was simply thinking about how soft Beau's lips were. The constant comfort he got from his master was amazing.

Joshua poured his master a bit of coffee, handing Beau the warm black cup with a smile on his face. Beau paused.

"Joshua?"

"Yes, master."

"What would you think about...."

Joshua cocked his head slightly, eyes wide in slight admiration. Beau couldn't resist Joshua's gleaming glasz eyes. No matter how hard he tried to take his gaze away from Joshua's, he simply couldn't. "Yes?"

"Never mind." Beau shook his head. Perhaps asking Joshua the question too early would screw everything up. That was how it played out in his own head, at least.

"Are you sure?" Joshua asked, touching his master's chin with a smile. "I promise I will listen to you."

"No." Beau shook his head. He was almost positive it was too early to ask Joshua about a relationship. Far too early. While he loved Joshua, he wasn't sure if Joshua would actually enjoy it. Plus the thought of Beau being Joshua's master kept coming to mind. Would Joshua actually love him, or would he just say yes because Beau is his master? Beau thought he would rather not know, but the thought did come back a few times. "No, it's all right. I forgot about it already."

"Okay." Joshua said, although he didn't believe his master either. He would never tell Beau that to his face.

After a few sips of black coffee, Beau suddenly grabbed Joshua by his waist and threw him onto the counter. Joshua yelped at the sudden movement, but was also coaxed when he felt soft lips on his jawline. Joshua gasped quietly, nearly pushing his master off before he realized that Beau was no longer kissing his jawline anymore, but softly resting his head on Joshua's shoulder; all of which happened in less than 20 seconds.

"Sorry." Beau mumbled. "Didn't mean to do that." Then he took a long breath, pulling away from Joshua. "How about we go out today?"

"To the candy shop?" Joshua said eagerly, nearly throwing himself into Beau's arms. "Or to the android shops? Oh, can we see a movie, master? Or—"

"We can do whatever you want, Joshua." Beau pushed Joshua's hair behind his ears, smiling while studying Joshua's cute face. His freckles were still splattered across his cheeks, something Beau had really loved, and his small dimples just sent Beau into a frenzy! "Anything."

"Everything!" Joshua squealed, throwing himself into Beau's arms and then quickly running off in the direction of his bedroom so he could get dressed. The girls were still not awake, but he very well couldn't leave them there. Waking them up meant risking the chance they would ruin the day out (bots actually get very angry when awoken before they're ready), but leaving them meant risking one of them would get hurt.

Joshua took a bit longer than usual so he could fix his bed before he emerged in what appeared to be the cutest thing Beau had ever seen in his life, and he actually didn't remember buying Joshua the clothes.

From the waist down, Joshua had a pair of snug white jeans and a pair of blue and black gingham sneakers. His hair was brushed neatly, but still had a few messy pieces here and there that made Beau smile. His shirt was a plaid blue and white shirt, his shoulders covered with a scarf that had frills on the ends of it. Joshua's foot twirled slightly, and the notion alone made Beau coo to himself.

But there was still the issue of the girls, Actually, not an issue, Beau thought. Just something he hadn't thought about. How would he work it out though? He couldn't leave the girls alone, but he couldn't take the girls with them either because they would be angry and probably bring Joshua's entire mood down.

There was only one solution then; Drew. It seemed awkward to ask him to watch Dahlia and them, especially after that little run-in when Drew was drunk, but things wouldn't get better if he avoided him, right? But how would he put it? "Hi Drew, sorry to bother you and act all nice again, but I really need you to watch my other bots so Joshua and I can go have fun." Besides the fact that Beau practically ditched Drew for Joshua, there were so many awkward things between them.

"Let me go get dressed, and I have to call a friend."

"Is it Ethylon, master?"

"It's Drew."

Joshua's eyes widened slightly.

"Not for that reason though, Joshua!" Beau exclaimed, waving his hands in front of him. "Geez. No, I need Drew to watch the girls. They haven't slept for long enough. They'll be really mad if we wake them up."

"Oh, okay." Joshua said with a smile. He watched as his master grabbed his cell phone from his pocket and dialed as though he were going to mess up.

Beau took a short breath while the line rang twice before somebody picked up.

"Hello?" Drew's voice was soft. He sniffled as though he had just finished crying.

"Drew." Beau said. "Hey. How are you?"

"Shitty." Drew replied. "Getting ready to kill my parents." He said under his breath.

"Why?"

"It's a long story. What do you need?"

"Never mind." Beau said. "I don't want to bug you."

"Shut up and tell me, Beau." Drew said. Beau laughed under his breath. Drew was always so firm with his words, but to be stronger was unknown to him. He was always crying when his parents mentioned something about his sexuality (Beau didn't understand why it bugged them so much) or about how he was the only person in the world who didn't like robot slaves (which actually wasn't true, plenty of people had mixed opinions).

"I need you to watch the girls. Joshua and I need to go out for a while. He's been locked up for way too long. I understand if you—"

"I'll do it." Drew said with a slight happiness in his voice. "On one condition. Can I stay at your house for the night? I'll sleep on the couch or something, but I really don't want to stay in this house tonight."

Beau was almost beside himself with happiness.

"Yeah! I mean, of course you can." Beau said. After a few more minutes of pure small talk between him and Drew, they hung up. Joshua was sitting on the couch, playing with the ends of his scarf. He didn't look up at Beau, even when Beau sat down next to him and pulled his head onto his chest. Beau ran his fingers through Joshua's soft hair.

"Joshua?"

"Yes." Joshua dropped the scarf at his side, looking up at his master with obeying eyes. Beau pecked a kiss on Joshua's nose.

"What's your favorite color?" Joshua pursed his lips slightly, tilting his head to the right. His hair brushed up against Beau's chest. Beau still had to go change his clothes, but he was comfortable where he was, as awkward as it seemed.

"Uhm...." Joshua mumbled to himself, chewing on his bottom lip. "I don't know, master. My favorite color? Maybe....." Joshua sighed quietly. "I like all of the colors."

"But which one is absolutely beautiful?" Beau said, pulling Joshua up his lap yet again. "What is a color you think you could see for the rest of your life and still love?" He ran his fingers through Joshua's auburn locks of hair. "I think I could see auburn for the rest of my life and be okay." Joshua giggled, nuzzling himself closer to Beau.

"Well.... I really love the color black." He said. "It seems very bland, but the color black.... I don't know why I like it so much, master." He looked up at Beau and laughed. "Maybe it's because you only wear black clothes and your hair is black, master!"

"That's ridiculous." Beau laughed to himself.

"I think it's true." He smiled. Beau placed small kisses along Joshua's cheek without even knowing it. Joshua stopped talking long enough to do the same, his lips brushing against Beau's cheek as well. Joshua wrapped his arms around Beau's neck, pulling himself closer as the kisses intensified. Though their lips hadn't met yet, Joshua felt this warmth curling about in his stomach as Beau placed a few final kisses on the corners of Joshua's lips.

A deafening knock came from the front door, and yet again, Joshua jumped. Beau hands clenched into fists, but he didn't do anything else but bite his tongue. The sounds always came at the most awkward times, especially when he and Joshua were together.

Beau allowed Drew to walk in. Drew smiled at Joshua, giving him a small embrace before letting Beau get dressed himself. He emerged in his usual baggy gray jeans and band designed t-shirt. His hair was roughly brushed, and he was chewing a piece of gum that Joshua gave him a night ago.

"C'mon." Beau said to Joshua, intertwining their fingers together. Drew gave a quick smile as he laid down on the couch. He was tired, too tired for words. But he would watch the girls when the time came. "Thanks Drew."

"Go away." Drew waved the thanks away while the door closed.

"Where to first, Joshua?" Beau asked as they walked down the long staircase. Joshua looked at the roof thoughtfully as it merged into a bright blue sky. He smiled.

"The park."