Cedar woke up a few minutes before he actually regained control of his eyelids and was able to crack them open. He was lying on his own bed and the soft orange glow from the lamp was illuminating the room.

The next thing he noticed was that he was naked, save for a rough towel covering the lower half of his body. His throat felt like sandpaper and his ears like they were stuffed full of cotton wool.

“You’re alive then,”

Cedar glanced over to see Manya leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. She must have gone to her own apartment to change at some point as she was now wearing sweats again and her hair was wet as if she had showered. There were dark circles under her eyes and she looked exhausted.

“How long have I been out?” Cedar croaked, panicking about not having turned up for work.

“It’s 4 am,” Manya replied as if anticipating this. “But I’d suggest you still call in sick rather than turn up with a gunshot wound.”

“Is the bullet out?” Cedar asked, craning his neck to his left and starting in surprise as he saw Vaki sat rigidly upright next to the bed. There was a thin plastic IV tube linking them, disappearing at one end into the crux of Cedar’s inner elbow.

“Blood transfusion,” Manya explained wearily. “Mercies are produced with Synth-O stores, it’s a universal donor blood that can be used for keeping human patients alive when in a fix. It’s not ideal but it’s designed for emergencies. Vaki’s got a reservoir of it at the base of his spine.”

“I see,” Cedar nodded, feeling somewhat nauseous.

“Well,” Manya lifted herself away from the wall, “you’re not dead either of you so I’m going to go sleep before I pass out here and have to explain that particular walk of shame to the neighbours.”

“Please go,” Cedar agreed, he didn’t want to worsen his already apparently terrible reputation in the apartment gallery. “And thank you, for everything.”

“Thank Vaki,” Manya shrugged, “he’s the reason you’re alive.” She disappeared out the front door a few moments later.

“Are you,” Cedar cleared his throat as he caught Vaki’s yellow eyes. “Are you injured?”

“Nothing bad,” Vaki shook his head. “Manya has restarted the memory retrieval programme for you.”

“That wasn’t what I-“ Cedar sighed and shook his head, suddenly regretting how exposed he was with only the small towel to cover him. His muscular, tanned torso was on display and as he stared down at the thick thatch of dark hair below his abdomen he hoped to god it hadn’t been Manya that had undressed him. “When will the blood transfusion be done?”

“We can stop now,” Vaki announced, moving over to put pressure on Cedar’s arm before drawing out the needle. A white creamy fluid, that Cedar assumed must be Synth-O dripped messily across the bed sheets.

Cedar glanced at his shoulder, it was already completely bandaged up. “Did you give me stitches?”

“Yes,” Vaki nodded.

“Looks like you did a good job,” Cedar replied awkwardly.

“It’s my designation,” Vaki shrugged, a mannerism he had undoubtedly picked up from Manya.

“Right,” Cedar nodded. “Thank you.”

Vaki let out a small quiet sound and looked up from where he had been packing away the medical equipment. “Y-you don’t need to thank me,” Vaki shook his head vehemently. “You’re the one that came and rescued me.”

Cedar grimaced, the sound of Vaki calling it a ‘rescue’ didn’t sit right with him. Made it seem like something more noble than it was.

“I hated those people,” Vaki admitted quietly, “I wanted to make myself hurt them, like you told me I did to that other man, but I couldn’t. My programming wouldn’t allow it.”

“That’s understandable,” Cedar cleared his throat, he felt hot despite the room being obviously cold. Manya must have topped up his Home Credits as the A.C. was on full blast again, she probably didn’t want to risk Vaki overheating and blowing their last chance at the memory retrieval programme. “They were scum, it must have been frightening for you.”

“Yes,” Vaki frowned curiously and tipped his head to one side, “it was.”

“What exactly did they do to you?” Cedar asked, sitting up against the pillow and readjusting the towel.

“Manya is running a diagnostic,” Vaki replied, walking over to the nearby wardrobe and drawing out a blanket before moving to place it over Cedar.

“Thanks,” Cedar nodded gratefully. “But did they hurt you? Did they touch you?”

“They hurt me,” Vaki replied, his voice still measured and quiet, “and they had to touch me to open up my processing systems. But it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.”

“Right,” Cedar replied, cursing himself for even initiating this conversation. Did he really want to know the answers to these questions? What did it even matter anyway? Why did he suddenly regret not setting that entire warehouse on fire?

“Looks like I’m taking the bed tonight,” Cedar added, in a lighter tone of voice.

“Of course,” Vaki replied with a small smile, the atmosphere shifting to make way for a less torturous one.

Cedar reached out to turn off the lamp before pausing, his eyes flicking back to where Vaki was staring, now somewhat nervously, at him. “Would you like me to keep the light on again?” Cedar asked.

“Yes please,” Vaki nodded, his expression one of relief.

Cedar watched as the android made his way over to the couch before settling down and cocooning himself in a fluffy green blanket that Cedar didn’t recognise. He figured Manya must have brought it over. He stared at Vaki’s resting form for a long time before his own eyes closed again and he was taken into sleep.

Cedar dreamed of scared yellow eyes in an otherwise impenetrable darkness, every time he tried to take a step they would blink, just long enough for him to lose them again. Overhead, a small pin prick of light appeared until it grew larger and larger, eventually filling up the sky. A titanic shooting star rained down on them in a hailstorm of fire and rock.