Chapter Text
"Tea, my commander?"
"Yes, thank you."
The masked man—although currently unmasked and without his hefty weapons—sat down at the small, round table.
He had a rather formal presence; perfect posture and one leg crossed over the other. All of this despite just being in the company of Porky’s maid. His orange-colored hair was a bit disheveled due to the helmet, but he didn’t seem to mind too much.
Again, he was just with the maid.
Lil Miss Marshmallow, after setting the cup and small plate down in front of him, poured some tea.
There was a comfortable silence between them. Truth be told, they did have a bit in common; prime examples could be that both were considered robots and served Porky.
Except the masked man wasn’t a robot; not like Marshmallow, anyway. Half of him was a Chimera, altered for the pleasure of their master. The remaining parts were human flesh.
Sometimes he thought himself a monster more than a simple robot. That’s what chimeras were, after all.
He pondered this as he fixated his gaze on Marshmallow. Her blonde pigtails that barely fell past her shoulder, her somewhat pale, fully mechanical body. The two, although not very deep, lines going down from her eyes to her neck. Even with all the robotic features, her face didn’t look too far off from a human one.
Her eyes were a clear, glowing purple that the masked man knew all too well would easily brighten into yellow if displeased in the slightest. Frankly, what gave her away was not only the two facial lines, but the two screws she had in lieu of hair ties.
What they also shared was their service to Porky. Both were technically forced to be of use: one as a maid that does everything for him, the other as the commander of the strongest army ever known.
But she enjoyed doing so. It was like blind loyalty. She carried out his orders, simple as they may be, without question and took pride in it.
The masked man, however, felt nothing when doing anything for Porky. He just did it without a single complaint. He felt no devotion toward the young tyrant.
Marshmallow noticed his eyes on her, green and red pupils unintentionally staring. He had become so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t realize he hadn’t blinked for far too long.
"Commander? Is there something else you require?" she questioned, suddenly right at his side.
He blinked, shaking his head and momentarily looking away from her. "No, that is all."
A small hum left her mechanical lips as she backed away from him. Seeing his cup empty, she placed her hand on the tea handle, and he nodded.
She poured him another fill.
It wasn’t really a secret, but as much as she cared for her master, Marshmallow didn’t mind serving the commander. She enjoyed his company.
He didn’t speak too much, but sometimes, it was a much better alternative to Porky yapping orders away.
Besides. If she weren’t a robot, she’d reckon they’d be the same age. The commander was quite young and handsome.
But because of Porky, he had matured too quickly. His childhood had been ripped away from him. All of this unbeknownst to her, of course.
"Well… you’re the one who’s staring now."
Marshmallow blinked, closing her eyes and turning her head away just as he did. She had been staring, hadn’t she?
"Forgive me, my commander," she requested respectfully, even bowing.
And for the first time, she had finally seen some type of expression on his face. Right now, it was confusion.
"I wasn’t angry."
Of course he wasn’t angry. Why should he be angry?
All she mustered out was, "Forgive me if I speak out of line... but you seem more talkative today."
She didn’t know what she was expecting, but it definitely wasn’t a smile.
It was so small one nearly wouldn’t be able to tell. But the maid caught it, and something inside her robotic body fluttered at the sight.
"Is that right? Master Porky’s told me to be more... social. And upbeat. He’s even tried to force my lips upward on multiple occasions."
His voice also sounded slightly more... cheery. Marshmallow did her best to hide her excitement, practically hopping back over to his side. "But, Commander... you were smiling just now. Just now!"
Then it was gone, replaced with that same confused stare as before. "I must've not noticed."
It really was sad how a boy his age didn’t even know when he smiled. If he hadn’t been drastically changed, perhaps he would’ve been able to do so more often.
"You didn't, but I did. And it may not seem like much to you, my commander... but as one of the many who have seen nothing but an apathetic expression from you every hour of the day, it’s very nice to see you show other emotions and gestures... such as a smile."
She then bowed again. Her words and actions made the masked man questionably blink before glancing away from her, his cheeks warming a bit. "I was... unaware you paid such attention to me. There’s no need to bow, Marshmallow..."
Now this was something new entirely. Never had the intimidating commander ever looked flustered; yet that may have been because he was usually surrounded by the Pigmask Army.
"I probably don’t have any right to say this..." she spoke, hands behind her back and gazing up at him with a gentle expression. "But you really should smile more often. It makes you look more handsome."
He wasn’t used to such compliments; compliments in general. Sure, some of the Pigmasks loved to toy around with him sometimes and try to force a grin, but it never usually worked.
He cleared his throat, trying to disregard her words as he avoided her eyes. It makes you look more handsome. "The army says I’m a man devoid of emotion... but I’m assuming if you can get a smile out of me this time, I don’t doubt you can do it again."
Marshmallow felt something well up inside her for the second time. Of course, as a droid she was unable to blush, but if she could, she most likely would’ve in that situation.
"Does that mean only I get to see you smile? Not even Master?"
"I would assume so. What reason would he need to see me in such a vulnerable state?"
She froze. Vulnerable state? If he thought of merely smiling a vulnerable state—
"Oh my, Commander," she muttered, dramatically placing a hand on her head and falling backward. He’d willingly show me vulnerability?
He blinked for a second before standing up, catching her with one arm and slight concern. "What is it? You don’t seem... to be running low on..."
Marshmallow looked up at him with those purple eyes of hers. "That’s right... I forget you aren't the brightest when it comes to social interactions, so you may not have exactly payed attention to your words."
"What?"
She stood, back to normal, and patted his chest. "Nevertheless, if you insist on me making you smile again, I insist we continue doing this. You may not be an expert conversation starter, but you are indeed pleasant company."
He despised not knowing what was going on. And honestly, he was confused on why his face continued to heat the longer he stayed with the maid.
Yet pushing that out of his mind for now, the masked man turned his back to her, ready to sit in his seat. "Alright then. Prepare some more tea... and then come sit. You are also fine company, Marshmallow."