Human After All

The lights blinked and flashed in front of Joshua's eyes, and he stood in pure awe. Beau tugged on the end of the boy's sleeve just to remind him that they had only left his house and still had to go to the square for the android market.

Joshua marveled at the scenery around him. There were small shrubs here and there, maybe an old tree in the background, but other than that, everything was digital, machine-like, and flashy. Beau smiled at the mindless boy who was only a few hours old, take in everything that was around him. His other robots had done the same thing the first time they went out in public.

"Master, master." Dahlia shouted from the hood of Beau's jacket. She jumped out of the hood and onto Beau's shoulder with a loud 'oof!' "Master!" She shouted once more. Beau nodded. "Kiyah wants to know if she can get another teddy."

"How do you know that?" Beau asked. "She can't speak."

"I can see it in her eyes." Dahlia's voice squeaked. Beau agreed to buy Kiyah a new one before Dahlia turned to face Joshua. Joshua's eyes were wide with excitement. Dahlia marveled at how human he really looked. "Master, master." She poked at Beau's shoulder again. "Can I stay on Joshua's shoulder? Please, master?"

Beau placed her on Joshua's shoulder. She contently sat upon his shoulder while Joshua hadn't even noticed. It wasn't until Dahlia giggled that Joshua turned his attention to the doll with gleaming eyes. Beau liked how Joshua's eyes had that strange shade of color. He had never seen something somebody with glasz eyes before, and it was a very beautiful color. With an undertone of blue, a layer of green and specks of gray, it was nearly breathtaking compared to Beau's bland brown eye color.

"Master." Joshua said. "Master, where are we going for my clothes?"

"The android market, of course. They have a few shops there, so you'll have a good variety." Beau paused and furrowed his brows together. "And please stop calling me master."

"But I am programmed this way, master." Joshua said. "I know your name is Beau, but you're master more than you are Beau to me."

Beau stopped at a corner of the sidewalk, waiting for the sign to change to 'walk'. A train sped by going 250 miles an hour while they were waiting, only a few inches away from Beau's face. Joshua yelped and hid behind Beau, but Beau didn't move at all.

"Silly head!" Dahlia grabbed an auburn lock of Joshua's hair. "That's the S-train."

"S-train?" Joshua's voice was no greater than a squeak.

"The S-train carries all kinds of things that have to go to places really, really fast!" Dahlia continued. "They have medicine and other robots on there, and sometimes they even have people on there." She pursed her lips. "Only the really important people, but still people."

It was still the day of Clu, so many citizens in town were searching for last minute gifts, but nobody bought android clothes on the day of Clu. There was no point in somebody other than the robot's owner buying clothes for said robot. Robots have an idea that only their owners can buy and give gifts to them.

Beau and Joshua neared the android square where people and other robots were bustling. Joshua, startled by the sudden group of people, swallowed and squeaked loudly. Beau had never seen a boy so sensitive to others, but he guessed that it wasn't a bad thing. Beau was never completely sensitive to others in the first place.

The people talked loudly through ear pieces and headsets, few people actually carrying their cell phones at their sides. Beau was one of few who still used his phone more than he did a headset. He never had the best of luck with headsets.

They slipped inside of the android shop where the chatter subsided into small talk between people. The woman behind the counter smiled at Beau, and Beau did the same before tugging on the soft, silky sleeve of Joshua's shirt. Joshua gasped quietly as he realized that it was only Beau touching him.

"Are you okay?" Beau said. Joshua nodded. "Too many people?" Joshua nodded once more. Beau pursed his lips thoughtfully. There were always two sides to teaching a robot how to live; being sensitive to their needs, but also being firm and disciplined. Beau had to make sure not to upset his personal computers, but also had to say when they had to get a tough shell and do what they don't like. Since Joshua was still young, Beau decided to let the discipline slip this time.

"Come here, Joshua." Beau started walking towards a few racks of clothes. Graphic designs were all over the shirts, and a few were just plain shirts with the name of the store imprinted in the center of it. Beau never liked those shirts, but he had to be considerate of Joshua. He pulled one out and placed it over his arm while Dahlia jumped from Joshua's shoulder to Beau's.

"Do you like it?"

Joshua looked down at the shirt, waiting for his master to say something about it first, but when Beau didn't say anything or change his facial expression much, Joshua furrowed his brows in pure confusion.

"I.... I like it." Joshua nodded slowly. His mind duly noted this, his likes and dislikes. Then Beau pulled out two other shirts. One Joshua rejected, the other he smiled and nodded. Beau began to pick out the shirts automatically, without paying much attention to the boy. Beau heard Dahlia chattering at his shoulder before she tugged at a piece of Beau's hair.

"Master." She said. "Master, the boy is gone."

"What?" Beau turned to his right where Joshua should have been, but wasn't. Beau spun around a few times to find himself not much closer to finding Joshua.

Beau was mentally fuming. As much as he was growing fond of the boy, he knew it was only a matter of time before the bot glitched and went against its programming, he just knew it. That was exactly why he hadn't wanted one in the first place! And his mother didn't listen to him. Well, she wasted her own money, and it wasn't Beau's fault the boy glitched. Now anger played at Beau's insides, and he rolled his eyes.

"Master." Leslie tugged at a lock of Beau's hair. "He didn't glitch, master. He's at the candy shop." Leslie's voice was no higher than a squeak. "I know that you're thinking he's broken, master, but he's not. Look." Leslie pointed in the direction of the candy store across the walkway. "I heard his steps, master. I could hear where he was going."

Sure as hell, Beau could see the mess of auburn hair walking around the candy shop with a childish smile on his face. Beau watched curiously to see how Joshua was making his own choices in such a place where choices were rampant. Shelves and shelves of marshmallow treats, lollipops, gumdrops, gingerbread, gum, sugar sticks, rock candies and so much more must have had Joshua in a frenzy.

Joshua almost seemed confused at everything in his sights as he turned his attention back to the shop Beau was in. Joshua ran out of the candy shop, scampering back into the android store and next to Beau. He hastily latched onto Beau's arm, excitement twinkling in his glasz eyes.

"Master, master!" He said. "Master, there are sweets next door. Look, look." Joshua pointed eagerly across the way through the masses of people. "I-I have never seen so many choices, master."

"Joshua." Beau said firmly, staring at the boy with disappointment. "You left. You left my side without permission."

Joshua's eyes widened to look like a deer in headlights, and a ball formed in the back of his throat. Beau wondered if his heart would start racing as his own would when he grew nervous. If he was a robot like a human being, he should have something racing in his mind, Beau thought.

"I'm so sorry, master." Joshua exclaimed. "Please forgive me. I just—"

"I wasn't going to punish you, Joshua." Beau said before Joshua could feel anymore guilty. "Please don't do it again, though. I would hate for someone like you to get lost in a place like this."

"Someone like me?" Joshua pointed at his own chest. "A robot?"

"Not a robot." Beau said. "Somebody so sensitive like you. Others would use you if they found you. I only want you to be careful, Joshua."

"Yes, master." Joshua bowed. "I'm sorry."

"My name is Beau." He said. "I know you can say my name. Why do you refuse to call me by my name?"

"You are my master. We have established this before, master."

Beau sighed in defeat. He had tried to teach his other robots to call him Beau as well, it felt so degrading to have somebody call him 'master'. It made it sound like he was so much better than them, but Beau didn't feel that way. He was just a person named Beau, and he wanted to be called as such, but so is the life of a 'master'.

"Okay. But don't say 'master' so much. You don't have to say it after every sentence."

"Yes." Joshua nodded. "Okay."

Beau chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully, staring down at the vulnerable robot. Beau was thinking about taking Joshua over to the candy shop just for Joshua's pleasure. He was proving to be more than Beau expected, a robot complex enough to be a human.

"Let me...." Beau trailed off, rolling his eyes with a smirk on his face. "We'll stop by the candy shop after we're done shopping for clothes." Joshua squealed in happiness, hopping off of the ground once before he put his head down like a scorned puppy, only bothering to peek up at Beau once. "You can celebrate, Joshua, Dahlia does." Beau looked at Dahlia who was chatting quickly with Kiyah. Kiyah gave a few small nods, but nothing more.

"Really, master?" Joshua looked uplifted.

"Yes, really."

Joshua smiled and put his hands together at his sides as he answered his master on what he liked and didn't like. The black jeans, yes; white jeans, yes; ripped jeans, no; sweatpants, yes; white shirts, no; red shirts, yes. Joshua answered every question, eager to run back over to the candy shop and show his master how much candy there was.

Finally Beau went to the checkout stand where the cashier's eyes widened when she saw the pile of clothes Joshua and Beau threw onto the counter.

"Is he a robot?" She pointed at a fascinated Joshua.

"Yes." Beau nodded. The cashier pushed the items through a scanner, eying Joshua carefully.

"He looks so real." She exclaimed. Joshua glanced at the girl, and she gasped audibly. "His eyes, they're so beautiful!" She said in a bit of a whisper. Beau peeked at Joshua who had a confused expression on his face, like he thought he was doing something wrong. "How much?" She asked. Beau shrugged. "You don't know? Oh, a gift for Clu?" The cashier was only halfway through the pile of clothes.

"Yeah. Gift from my parents."

"Some parents." She muttered before it grew silent between them. The dolls in his hood went back and forth between Leslie and Dahlia, Kiyah only squeaking once or twice in agreement.

As the last item went through the scanner and Beau placed a black card on top of the counter, Joshua was once again, eager to leave the store, almost crashing through the window a few times. Then Beau thanked the cashier, urged Joshua outside and watched the boy push the door to the candy store open with a smile on his face. The two teens at the counter gave Beau a quick wave.

"Oh, master, look!" Joshua tugged on Beau's arm, pulling him into an aisle full of bright candy where candied apples, exploding gum and color changing lollipops awaited them. Beau hadn't been in the candy store in such a long time, and everything had changed. What used to be simple little candies had turned into delicious treats that were pleasing to the eyes.

"Well?" Beau said. Joshua tilted his head to the right. "Well, what do you want? You can have whatever you like, Joshua."

Joshua's jaw nearly dropped to the ground as he spun around the aisle a few times, then he sprinted off to another aisle of shelves full of candy, treats and sweets. After a few minutes, Joshua brought a bag of candy, but Beau couldn't see through the bag. Instead he only saw the end of a large sucker sticking out of the top of the bag.

"I can't see what it is?" Beau asked. Joshua shook his head and grinned cheekily. "Why not?"

"Because.... Because I don't want you to." Joshua shrugged. "Or you can look, if you really want to, master." Joshua leaned forward, nearly opening the top of the bag, but Beau placed his hand over it, avoiding the sight of the bright candy.

"It's okay." Beau said, messing up Joshua's soft hair. Joshua giggled, hiding his face behind the bag of candy. "Well. C'mon." They walked toward the counter where the cashier scanned the items while Beau's back was turned (so he couldn't see the candy). After they re-bagged the candy and Joshua took the bag, tying it around a loop on his jeans, Beau urged Joshua out of the store, following suit as well.

Joshua would peek down at bag every so often with a childish smirk on his face that Beau just seemed to adore. Beau thought, how could you not love a genuine smile like his?



As Beau neared the front door to the apartment complex, there came a loud squeak from his hood. Kiyah hopped out of his hood, soon followed by Dahlia who looked angry and disappointed.

"What?" Beau grabbed Dahlia and held her in front of his face. "What's with the face?"

"If you weren't my master, I would call you a jerk." She stuck her tongue out at Beau. Beau raised his brows, but waited for her to keep talking. "Kiyah wanted another teddy bear, and you forgot, master. She's going to cry." Dahlia shouted. Beau gasped audibly, gently taking Kiyah in his hand. He did forget to get Kiyah a new teddy bear, and that said a lot because he usually considered took Kiyah into consideration first.

"I'm sorry, Kiyah." Beau said. Kiyah nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her small hands. Beau kissed the top of her head, sighing gently. "I'll get it tomorrow, okay?" Beau's voice was soft, loving. Joshua watched in love (and a bit of jealousy) as Beau played innocently with Kiyah, until he reached into his own bag of sweets and pulled out a large gummy bear. It wasn't the same thing, and he didn't know if she would like it, but it was a bear, Joshua thought. It was nearly the same thing.

Joshua squeaked quietly when he handed her the gummy bear that was almost as large as she was. Kiyah marveled at it, squishing it in her arms tenderly. She looked at Joshua and poked her own chest.

"Mmmhm." Joshua smiled. Kiyah kissed the gummy bear and smiled at Joshua. Kiyah knew how to sign certain words, so she placed her at the bottom of her mouth and smiled. Joshua furrowed his brows together.

"It means 'thank you'." Beau answered the question in his mind. "Kiyah can't speak. She signs every now and then."

"Wow." Joshua leaned closer to her, studying her wide eyes. "You're very beautiful, Kiyah." Joshua nodded, and Beau caught a dimple on his cheek. Beau smiled mentally. Dimples on a robot? The creator obviously put much thought into this one. "Very beautiful."

Kiyah giggled and covered her face with the gummy bear. Then Dahlia came rushing out of Beau's hood.

"What about me?" She poked her own chest. Her pink locks of hair were matched only by her lovely rose eyes. Joshua agreed and said she was very beautiful as well. Joshua reached into Beau's hood and held the blonde Leslie in the palm of his hands. He stroked her blonde curls of hair, smiling every so often at her. Leslie covered her cheeks.

Beau thought it was a bit awkward as they stood there in silence, but Beau also thought it the cutest thing he had ever seen while Joshua was only a few hours old, he was catching onto habits and emotions quite fast. He was taking a turn for the best. Beau could only hope he would stay that way.

"Wait, master." Joshua pulled away from Leslie. "We were supposed to visit your friend."

"Oh shit, I forgot." Beau murmured. He quickly looked at Joshua. "Don't say that word. That's a bad word."

"Yes, master." Joshua nodded. "Was it my fault you forgot?" Joshua pouted quietly.

"No." Beau shrugged. "It wasn't your fault. We'll just go see him tomorrow or something." Joshua still looked like he felt guilty, and his eyes were full of disdain. "Really, Joshua. It wasn't your fault." Beau messed with the boy's hair again. "I swear."

Joshua nodded, following Beau into the building. While he turned to close the door, he stared at the wonderful city behind him, the city of colors, technology and digital noises. Joshua cocked his head to the right when he saw something black fluttering in the air. He watched it intently. Then Beau stood next to him, leaning his head forward so he could find what Joshua was watching.

Beau grabbed Joshua's hand, curling his fingers around the bot's slender hand. He brought his hand up to eye level, pointing one finger at the black object in the digital sky.

"That's a bird." Beau said, looking at Joshua out of the corner of his eyes. "It's an animal."

"Animal?" Joshua sounded the word out. Beau smiled and nodded. "Bird." Joshua continued quietly.

"The bird has wings." Beau pulled his hand away from Joshua's. Joshua placed his hand back at his side, searching for the bird that had disappeared. "They fly in the air with their wings. They can go wherever they feel like going. Cool, huh?"

"Cool?" Joshua faced Beau.

"It means interesting, nice, acceptable."

"Cool." Joshua said again, but this time, confidently.

"Yeah, now you got it!" Beau exclaimed.

After talking about the bird for a few minutes, Beau urged Joshua inside of the building again. Beau liked feeling like a teacher, showing a robot the world yet again. He hadn't had so much fun with a bot for quite some time.