Love During Robot Fighting Time

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And now, back to our regularly scheduled nerdy romcom shenanigans!

***

Kate

I stood in front of the vanity mirror, applying my makeup like it was war-paint. I brushed the foundation over my face, taking careful effort not to cake it on too thick. Too much and it wouldn’t blend properly and I’d just look like a clown; too little and my many, many blemishes would rear their hideous white heads. The brush tickled my increasingly-sensitive skin, and my nose twitched as I spread the white powder on my upper-lip. My euphoria hummed as my face began to take a form I was happier with, a rising chorus of bliss and warmth that I couldn’t imagine ever letting go of. 

Faith sat on my bed, brushing out her hair with a wooden-handle brush. She’d already gotten dressed in the silver-sequin gown she’d worn to the season-opener, and she’d offered to do my makeup for me, but… I wanted to do it myself. 

I knew that a lot of the changes I’d made in my life, a lot of the happiness I’d unlocked from a long-neglected room in the back of my conscious mind, was due to her and Zeke. There was a part of me that was wary about how fast it had all happened, about the possibility that if anything went wrong, and I lost one or both of them, then… Then I’d never be able to feel this way again. That the person I’d become was dependent on the love of those around me. That I’d be nothing without Faith and Zeke to stand up for me. 

There were things I still had to do myself. And this, this felt like one of them. Something I could do for myself to stoke the fires of my happiness. 

“You okay, girly?” Faith asked, running the brush bristles through the delicate midnight strands of her hair. 

“Oh, just deep in thought,” I said as I put away my foundation and started on my mascara. This one just terrified me- putting anything near my eyes was a nightmare for me. But Faith had shown me a neat trick. Just hold the wand close and… Blink. Then it applies itself. 

Nothing to be scared of. 

“Still thinking about the thing at Gaines’?”

“Yeah,” I said, blinking and taking in the sight of my eyes blooming bigger than ever from the mascara. Next- eyeshadow. This part freaked me out even more than the mascara- what if the powder got in my baby blues?!- but there was nothing to be scared of. Just be gentle, and trust that things will work out. “How’d you know?”

“You’re doing that thing where you raise your shoulders and keep your head low,” Faith said. “You only do that when you’re anxious.”

“That’s a thing that I do?” I asked, incredulous. 

“... Yes. Sorry, forgot who I was talking to for a second,” Faith said with a wry grin. 

I knew what she was talking about, but it still scared me. How many other quirks and mannerisms and traits did I have that I was entirely unaware of? How many other things were wrong with me and I would have no freaking clue until someone literally said it to my face?

… No, no, don’t freak out. There’s nothing to be afraid of. Nothing nothing nothing nothing NOTHING-

Faith squeezed my shoulder. “Deep breaths, babe.”

I looked at her reflection behind me, and I smiled warmly. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” Faith said, turning my head around and giving me a quick peck on the lips. “You almost ready?” 

“Just about.”

“That’s good, because Zeke just texted me that he’s almost here.”

“Okay. Just lemme do my lipstick, and I’m good to go.”

“You’re getting really good at that, by the way,” Faith said. 

“I had a great teacher,” I smiled at her. “Seriously, getting girl-lessons from you has been amazing.”

“I’m glad. But I didn’t teach you to be a girl- you always were one.”

“I know, I just… I wish I’d figured it out sooner,” I said. “I love my life now- or most of it, anyway- but there are still times where I wish… Where I wish I’d come out when I was twelve or thirteen and I’d gotten to actually go to school as a girl. Or at least when I was in college. That would’ve been a few extra years of girliness I could’ve enjoyed…”

“Hey, hey, no tears right now,” Faith said, offering me a hand up. My own was trembling so much I couldn’t apply my lipstick, so Faith took the tube from my hands and pressed it to my lips. “We all have regrets. I have TONS- especially about the thing you’re describing. I wish I’d been brave enough to come out when I first realized it, gotten to actually be my parents’ daughter as a kid, gotten to wear a dress to prom and make female friends and just… Be me. But I didn’t. And all that aside… If I could go back and do it differently, I wouldn’t. Because everything I went through led me to this. Led me to you and Zeke. And there’s nothing I would trade that for.”

She removed the lipstick from my mouth, and I popped my lips. “Even a vagina?”

“Actually, I’m working on getting one of those regardless,” Faith smirked. 

“Hold up… Did you-”

“I got one booked,” she said. 

“Oh my God that’s amazing!” I said, wrapping my arms around her and pressing our foreheads together. “When is it gonna be?”

“January first,” she said, her breath warm and minty against my face. “Ringing in the new year with some new plumbing. You’re the first person I’ve told.”

“Seriously?”

“I was gonna tell you and Zeke together, but since you asked-”

“This is just… It’s so cool! I’m so happy for you, babe,” I said. 

“Prove it,” she whispered. 

So I did. My lips on hers, my tongue in her mouth, I proved it. 

There was still a future, still hope, still things to look forward to. No matter what had happened or what would happen… It wasn’t over. 

***

“You ready?” Zeke asked, hands on my shoulders as I stood in the hallway with Polyphemus, waiting to be called to walk up. 

“No, but I am willing,” I said, treasuring the feeling of his strong hands working through the knots in my shoulders and upper back. 

“That’s the important part,” Faith said, standing next to me. 

A match official gave me a wave, and I nodded back in response. “Okay. It’s time.”

“Godspeed, beautiful,” Zeke said, kissing me on the lips. 

“Kick her ass, Kate,” Faith said, kissing me as well. 

“I’ll do my best,” was all I said as I put my trembling hands on the sledge-handle and pushed my robot forward towards the announcement area. 

“Ladies, gentlemen, and others,” our announcer boomed from center stage. “IT’S! ROBOT FIGHTING TIME!”

The rush of the crowd offered me a much-needed adrenaline shot, and I plastered a smile on my face while hoping it didn’t look too cocky. Heh. Cocky. 

“IN THE RED SQUARE!” boomed the announcer. “FIGHTING THIS BOT IS LIKE PULLING TEETH! IT’LL GIVE YOU ORAL SURGERY! YOU BETTER PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS AND NOT UNDER YOUR PILLOW! IT’S… TOOTH FAIRY!”

The crowd went wild for Olivia and her team. She stood across from me, wearing the dress she’d bought at my store. And looking amazing in it. How dare she?! 

Okay, calm down, Kate. You can’t get worked up right now. You need to focus. This is who you are. This is what you do. You see something you want, and you go get it. And you’re not gonna let your girlfriend’s toxic ex stop you or get in your head. 

Olivia, for her part, wouldn’t stop glaring at me, while her teammates looked like they were at the end of their rope. I hadn’t even considered what effect her behavior might be having on them. Poor fuckers. 

“AND IN THE BLUE SQUARE! THIS BOT HAS ALWAYS GOT ITS EYE ON YOU! IT’S SINGLE-MINDED, AND ALL-SEEING! WHO CAN PUT ITS EYE OUT? NOBODY! THAT’S WHO! IT’S… POLYPHEMUS!”

I curtsied for the crowd, and I tried to ignore Olivia rolling her eyes and scoffing at me while everyone else cheered for me. I breathed into it, holding the breath in my chest until it burned and then letting it out slowly through my mouth. I counted the seconds between my heartbeats on my fingers, starting over on my right hand with each pulse. Finally, I wheeled Poly into the battle box, and I assumed my station. 

“Let’s have a nice clean fight, okay, ladies?” Olivia’s diminutive teammate Winston said from their square. 

“Yes, let’s,” her other teammate, Tom, replied. That tall drink of water looked different tonight- he’d shaved, taken the braids out of his hair and put it up, and was wearing what looked like mascara. Could he be… Like me, maybe?

Must investigate further. 

“Only one lady here, last I checked,” Olivia said. 

“Oh my God,” Winston said, running a hand through his shaggy hair and groaning. 

Tom just looked like he was in physical pain. “Liv, we talked about this-”

“ROBOTS! ACTIVATE!”

“Here we go, boys!” Olivia shouted. Tom winced, and Winston… Also winced. 

I charged forward and stopped just short of them before firing my side-knife. It caught in their vertical spinner and jammed it in place, while I brought down the wrath of my ax and delivered a crushing blow to the top of TF. I bombarded them with flames as the sparks jetted out of their bot, keeping them locked into place as I bathed them in fire and pushed them towards the screws. 

“Crank up the volume, Tom!” Olivia shouted, and Tom, still cringing, pushed a lever on his control panel all the way to the top. Their spinner suddenly exploded with speed and power, and my side-knife was torn asunder and chucked into the air. It plunged directly into the plexiglass ceiling and stayed stuck in the cracked material. 

TF plowed into my robot even amidst the inferno I was supplying, so I brought down the ax once more and smashed the top of TF. My faceplate was being devoured by their vertical spinner, but I delivered as many blows and launched as much fire as I could. 

That was when I ran out of fire. 

“Dammit,” I muttered. I flipped a switch on my control pad that caused the empty gasoline canisters to fall off, lightening my load and increasing my aerodynamics. Now I just needed to break free. 

“We need to fall back, Olivia!” Winston said. 

“Not when we’ve got Calloway on the ropes!” Olivia said. 

She pushed forward, only for me to deliver a blow that left TF smoking at the top. Their motor must have been near the top, but encased behind an extra layer of armor. A layer I’d been chipping away at, and had now left exposed. Too bad my flamethrowers were out of gas, but I could work with this. 

Needed distance. 

I hit reverse, concentrating on nothing but the path behind me as I drove Poly backwards. 

“Got ya on the run now,” Olivia said.

I didn’t rise to it. I simply positioned myself in front of the vertical hammer, just out of reach, and then swerved out of the way as TF charged me.  

The hammer tore their vertical spinner loose, ripping it clean away. 

Now I was the only one armed, and I capitalized on it, going in for a kill-shot with my ax that tore the engine even further open and lit a spark on its fuel supply. 

Even without my flamethrowers, I still managed to immolate these fools. 

I smirked. And hey, I think I’d earned it. 

At least, I did for about five seconds until TF emerged from the flames and barrelled directly into me, knocking me clean across the box and onto the killsaws just as they shot up from the floor. Poly was knocked into the air and landed on mangled wheels, barely mobile.

I barely had time to dodge as TF came charging at me again, but I swerved behind them and delivered another blow to their smoldering wreck of a bot. 

Another fireball- Jesus, how much gas did they have in that thing? 

My wheels were barely intact enough to get out of the way, but I narrowly avoided the flames. 

When they cleared, somehow, TF was still moving, still heading for me. And when I checked my weapon control, I noticed my ax was jammed. Shit, all the hits I’d taken had messed with the wiring- now I was sans all my weapons. 

That was when I noticed where I was: directly below my knife that had been jammed into the ceiling. And it was wobbling. It would fall out any second now. 

All I had to do was wait. 

Wait. 

Wait. 

“Olivia, she’s armed, we’re not,” Tom said. 

“She’s not armed- if she was, she’d be coming at us swinging,” Olivia said. 

She charged forward. 

I waited. 

Waited. 

The knife fell.

I dodged. 

It landed blade first in her engine and stopped TF dead in its tracks. 

“10! 9!”

Olivia slumped onto the floor as she was counted out, while her teammates each bore the painful, awkward expressions of a deserved defeat. 

Part of me wanted to gloat. Part of me wanted to ham it up. Part of me wanted to flash a great big middle finger Olivia’s way. 

But the better part of me didn’t want to. The better part of me… Well, it was better than that. 

So I curtsied (despite wearing pants), and I walked away. 

And dammit, I was proud of myself for doing that.