#my sona still visits cal in the nursin home every so often

[dusty-pistol]

"Something's Gotta Give"

SELFSHIP SHORT STORY THING!

Prepare for some cringe writin about my sona with a fictional president. What an interestin sentence... Anyway, as usual, this is gonna be rather self-indulgent and a little sad. Hold onto your bootstraps, bucko!

Staring at an endless wall of large screens, that of which adorned the surrounding and otherwise dark area with a warm glow of yellow light, stood the robot who monitored it all. It stood before the screens, watching them and the flashing clips of different codes and notifications. But one notification caught his attention. The sound was different from the rest. Special, as he saw it.

Bringing the notification into its processor, it internally looked it over through his systems. It was a simple message. But the moment he read it, he closed it and flicked it back to the screens in a flash of electricity. He was needed somewhere else. Out of his own dimension, as per usual. But at least this time, it was a dimension he enjoyed. All because of a certain person who resided there.

The cervine robot snapped its hoofed fingers and projected a different, more professional outfit onto himself. It certainly wasn't a date or anything, but he wanted to look good and fit in with the times in which that dimension was set currently. He didn't bother putting on a humanoid illusion yet, seeing as he was only going to be seeing one person who had already seen his physical form.

Once he assessed his appearance and considered it good enough, he waved a hand and brought up a command box. Pushed a few buttons and took one more glance at the timeline moderation screen before activating the transfer.

It was quick. Quick and simple as if just connecting to the WiFi or booting up a program on a computer. Just a quick flash, and suddenly, the robot's surroundings had changed. It was standing in an office. One it had found itself in plenty of times before. And there across the room, sitting in a chair at a large desk, was the man he had gotten the notification from.

"You called, sir?" The robot's voice rang out as he stepped across the room over to the man hunched over his desk and fidgeting with his arm. He lifted his phone head to meet the robot's gaze and seemed to perk up a bit. At least, his cord tail did as it lifted and swayed calmly. "As punctual as ever, eh, fawn? And for the record, there's no need to be so formal. We're a little past the whole 'Sir' thing, don't you think?"

The deer faltered for a moment as he heard an amused chuckle leave the phone head's receiver. Watching him push out from behind the desk and walk around to the other side where it was standing. Those metal footsteps clanking against the floor up to him. "Right... Sorry, Cal. It's a habit I still gotta kick. Anyway, you needed somethin'? I got things to manage too, ya know. So I can't stay for long. Not to mention the damage I'm doin' to this dimension just by bein' here..."

"Yes, yes, I'm well aware of your impressive and oh so important business that you need to get back to. But is it so bad that I just wanted a moment of your time?" The taller of the two replied with a dramatic sigh, holding a slight teasing hint to his tone as he lifted a hand to take hold of the other man's. His fingertips traced along the deer's cloven fingers and up past his knuckles. Finding its place intertwined with the other's. To which the eyes displayed on its screen rolled at the phone head's tone.

"...No, I... I suppose it ain't that bad. It's just- well- I've already explained everythin' to you before. If I stay here for too long, I could warp your timeline and ruin ev-" It was cut off by the president raising his metal hand to stop him from going on any further. "I know, calm down. All I'm asking is that you take a break from your job and join me for a moment. You won't destroy an entire dimension just by talking with me. Nobody knows you're here except me, so you don't gotta worry your fuzzy little head about it. Get me?"

Hearing it be explained so calmly, as if it wasn't a big deal, sort of soothed the robot's systems a bit. Just enough for him to relax his previously tense shoulders and give a quick nod of understanding.

"Alright, alright. I get it. I'm just worried, is all. What if someone does see me? I mean, I could always deploy a hologram to make myself look human, but -" Again, he was shushed by Callum. This time, by a hand covering his mouth. He didn't even realize he was starting to ramble about his worries until Callum had to quiet him a second time. Giving an apologetic look, he muttered a muffled "Sorry..." against Callum's hand before it was pulled away from his face, and instead, it grabbed his shoulder.

"I made sure to lock the door before I even called you, so there's no risk of anyone seeing you. You don't need to put on some fake face around me. I've got everything covered already. Just listen to me and relax, won't you?"

Giving a nod, the deer lifted his ears and stood up a little straighter, signifying he was ready to listen as asked. After all, that's partly what it was programed to do.

Seeing the change, Callum gave a hum of approval and patted the robot's shoulder. "There we are. That wasn't so hard, was it? Now, c'mere, I've got something I wanna show you. I think you'll like it."

Still holding his shoulder, Callum guided his companion over to the other side of the desk and sat down in his chair. Pulling the deer down to sit on his lap. Which earned a little yelp of surprise from the cervine, as he expected.

Callum didn't wait for the other to regain his bearings before rummaging through the desk drawers and pulling out a file, and sliding a few papers out from it. "This is what I've been working on. Ya see, I've got a speech planned a couple weeks to a month from now, and I wanna know what you think of the script I wrote! Proofread it for me, if you'd kindly..."

Handing the papers to the robot, Callum rested the bottom of his phone head on the deer's shoulder and read the pages with him. But it didn't need to read the papers to know what was on them. He'd seen this all before on the screens back in the server room.

As baffling as having all of this shoved in his face was, he was snapped out of his stupor when he saw the script.

With a grimace, he pretended to read the papers and gave a little nod of acceptance. "This is very well written. Though, you should add a comma here so it doesn't turn into a run-on sentence." He said as he pointed to a spot on the page. Trying to focus on anything other than the actual writing and what it all meant.

Leaning in, Callum seemed to be squinting at the page. Looking at the small mistake with a little surprise. He gave a small hum of consideration before chuckling in amusement.

"Hah, see, this is why I like to have you around! You can point out all the little mistakes and mix-ups that I can't! You're an observant little bugger, huh fawn?" A smile could be heard in the president's tone despite not having a mouth to smile with. He wrapped an arm around the deer's shoulder and held him a little closer as some sort of appreciative hug.

Despite wanting to melt into Callum's embrace, the deer was visibly tense, and he held a small frown on his face as he stared at the pages in his hooves. Normally, he would've just ignored them and reciprocated the affection. But he just couldn't this time. Not when the future was catching up to him so fast. That script in his hands was proof of that much.

"Yeah... It's what I was programmed for..." The robot mumbled, still not tearing his gaze from the script. Which Callum picked up on the moment he heard the dejected tone.

"Oh, c'mon, I didn't mean it like that. You know what I meant. Just- Listen, you're more than just my editor or assistant. You know that." Callum tried to reassure, which only came off as if he was annoyed that his companion didn't understand what he meant. Whether Callum was annoyed or not was the least of the deer's problems, though.

Staying silent, he tried to come up with a response that wasn't something that could destroy the timeline. The only thing he could come up with was a little mutter. "Well, it's... This is a very good script, Cal. I'm sure the people will love it. You'll change lives with this speech. I just know it."

Despite the praise, he sounded upset and visibly full of dread. For good reason, of course, but Callum would never know that. The president took the upset tone as disapproval and sighed. Before he could explain his reasoning, the robot set the pages down on the desk and pushed itself up to stand. Pushing the president's hands off and stepping away as Callum sat up in surprise.

"Listen, Cal... You know you always amaze me with all your ideas. But, I just got a notification that I'm needed elsewhere, so I'll have to cut this short." The robot explained as its voice wavered with emotion threatening to break through. "I'm sorry, I really am. We'll talk later. Just-... I know you think you've got things good now. But something's gotta give eventually. Please, stay safe. I'll see you next week... I lo-"

Nearly halfway out of his seat and still reaching out, Callum tried to grab the deer by the wrist. But it was gone in a flash of electricity before it could even finish its sentence. Callum didn't get the chance to tell it to wait or stay. He was frozen in place for a moment until a sigh escaped him, and he slumped back into the cushioned seat. Running a hand down his metal face in disappointment.

Callum wasn't the only one sulking in his own disappointment, however. As soon as the cervine robot had gotten back to the server room, it turned the hologram off and started pacing.

Running scenario after scenario through its systems for any possible outcome where things would turn out alright. But nothing seemed to work. And that started to frustrate and overwhelm it. Everything eventually melded together, and all he could think of was Callum himself. The moments he'd miss all because he couldn't interfere with the timeline.

Feeling the frustration bubbling up in his chest got to an unbearable degree. So much so that he quit pacing and instead stopped in his tracks. Reeling back and thrusting his fist into the screen before him with a shout. The yellow glow flickering as the impacted area grew cracks in the glass accompanied by dead pixels.

He only spared a glance up at the damaged area to see the timeline laid out on the screen. Each important event marked along the vast line stretched out seemingly endlessly. A certain date now blacked out by his fist and dead pixels. The main event he'd been dreading ever since he first spoke to the man he'd somehow fallen so hard for.

The screen itself was an easy fix. A whole timeline was another story entirely. It was something he couldn't afford to interfere with. While the dreaded event would take the Callum he knew away from him, interfering could take Callum from him entirely. He refused to allow that to happen.

Removing his hand from the cracked screen, he lifted it and started repairing it with the All-Use Solver, threading the pieces back in place with a sigh as he walked away.

So much left unsaid. So much left undone.