Fix My Mechanical Heart

[grey987]

Mark flinched as he felt Kiora bite his skin. "Don't do that," he muttered.

 

[IceQueen]

Kiora huffed. "Fine. Just keep walking then." she said, mildly irritated by his sour mood.

 

[grey987]

His hands shoved in his pockets, he continued to walk silently. He preferred for Kiora not to act so openly out here. As for the fact that this was a partner competition... it made him feel uncomfortable. It only served as an unwanted reminder as to why he began to operate on his own in the first place.

 

[IceQueen]

Kiora kept moving, moving into her crowd personality. She didn't say a word, she just walked up to the sign up station with purpose, slapping down her fist. 'Sign us up." She said, cocking her head towards Mark.

 

[grey987]

Mark looked over at Kiora, nodding in approval before turning back towards the station. That was the personality she needed for this.

 

[IceQueen]

Kiora saw the attendant nod his head furiously, passing the sign sheet. She signed quickly and tossed the pen to Mark, shoving her hands in her pockets and leaning against the table as she waited.

 

[grey987]

Mark wasted no time in signing for himself, putting the pen down once he was finished before nodding his head at the attendant. "Thank you," he said calmly, turning away from the station.

 

[IceQueen]

Kiora smirked and walked back towards her mech, climbing inside Hollow. "Competitions next week." she grumbled at him, shooting off.

 

[grey987]

"Right," Mark said in response, following after Kiora before violently switching his course at a surprisingly rapid speed. He took off in another direction, bolting from rooftop to rooftop in a blur.

 

[IceQueen]

Kiora simply followed her path to home, her lips pressed into a fine line.

 

[grey987]

Next week. The competition was next week. He wanted it to be now so that he could just beat someone already. He wanted to beat someone so badly, to just tear their mech apart and-


"Mark, your stress levels are elevating rapidly," Hunter spoke. "Are you alright?" Mark sighed, his speed beginning to slow down a bit.


"Fine, Hunter. Just fine."

 

[IceQueen]

Kiora reached the garage soon enough, settling her mech down. Even when she jumped out of her mech, her concentrated face still remained.

 

[grey987]

Mark was heading towards the edge of the city, now running across open ground. His speed had decreased significantly by now, and he moved at a calmer pace.


"That girl," Hunter spoke again.


"What about her?" Mark asked.


"She frustrates you. Doesn't she?"


"Yeah, she does."


"And why is that?"


"Why do you think, Hunter?" he snapped. "I haven't spent this much time with someone, let alone talked to someone this much, for almost a year, now. I'm not used to this, and I'm still trying to figure out what exactly I'm supposed to do!" There was silence between the two for a moment before Hunter responded.


"Aren't you already acting like a friend towards her?" Mark sighed in frustration.


"I don't know. It's complicated."

 

[IceQueen]

Kiora sighed and shut the garage door, walking back up to the apartment. She opened the door to the empty room with a sad sigh, looking around. "Alone." she mumbled into the nothingness, turning on the light and shutting the door as she walked to the couch. Grabbing the blanket that was left on the couch, she curled up in it, sticking her nose into the fabric.

 

[grey987]

Mark now stood at the edge of the city beside Hunter, looking out into the open space beyond in silence. Hunter turned and looked at him for a moment before turning in front again.


"She's no different from Shirley," the mech told its operator, who nodded.


"Yeah. That's the problem." The two stood silently for a moment again, before Hunter said, "We should head back home. Kiora's probably waiting." Mark looked down and nodded quietly, climbing back inside of his mech. Looking out over the horizon one last time, he turned and walked away, passing a cluster of scratches in the ground.

 

[IceQueen]

Kiora sighed, as she stared at the ceiling. "So much like him...." She mumbled, thinking of her last love. She shook her head. "He is gone. Nothing can change that." She whispered. 'He is all I have now."

 

[grey987]

Sometime later, Mark arrived back in the garage, stepping outside of Hunter and powering his mech down. Sighing, he headed upstairs and entered his apartment, where he noticed Kiora lying on the couch. "Sorry about the way I acted earlier," he apologized. "I'm just... not used to entering that kind of environment."

 

[IceQueen]

Kiora sighed, opening her eyes. "It's fine." she mumbled, hearing his voice. She really didn't like being alone, or the way he was while there was a crowd around him.

 

[grey987]

Mark nodded, standing idly for a moment. He then decided to go lie down next to her, placing his hands over his chest and staring at the ceiling.

 

[IceQueen]

Kiora sighed, feeling him breathe next to her and causing her heart rate to spike.

 

[grey987]

Mark slowly and carefully rested his head against hers, closing his eyes as he gradually relaxed.

 

[IceQueen]

Kiora smiled a bit, closing her eyes.

 

[grey987]

A little while later, Mark woke up from his nap, finding himself lying close to Kiora with an arm wrapped around her. Blinking once, he sat up on the couch, yawning and stretching. It seemed to be afternoon now as Mark looked outside the balcony door.

 

[IceQueen]

Kiora twitched in her sleep and moaned a bit, mumbling something. despite his movement, she didn't wake up, locked in some sort of trance sleep.

 

[grey987]

Mark turned to Kiora upon hearing her voice. He narrowed his eyes at her, nudging her slightly. "Hey, Kiora?" He wondered if she was having some sort of bad dream.