The sun was already blazing when Void stirred, a sharp line of light cutting across her face through the broken blinds. She flinched, blinked hard, then groaned as stiff muscles protested. Keira was pressed right up against her, their legs tangled, one of Keira's hands resting low on her hip. Her breath warmed Void's neck, steady and close. Strands of scarlet hair clung to Void's skin, caught in the heat between them.
Keira was still out, her face relaxed, mouth slightly open. She looked peaceful in a way that made something inside Void ache, considering what she's been through. Void just watched - her heart thudding, afraid this moment would vanish the second she moved a muscle.
Void breathed in slow, letting the weight of Keira against her linger for one more heartbeat before she whispered, "Rise and shine, gearhead."
A muffled groan vibrated against her collarbone. "No. Dead. Come back later."
Void smiled, her voice low. "If you sleep any longer, the pipes are gonna stage a revolt."
Keira shifted, nose brushing Void's skin. "Let them. Maybe they'll do something useful for once."
Void ran a thumb along the curve of Keira's back, light enough to feel the shiver it caused. "You're very talkative for a corpse."
"You're very loud for someone who clicks in her sleep."
"I don't click," Void said, squinting down at her.
"You do. Like a busted capacitor trying to confess its feelings."
Void blinked. "That's... Specific."
Keira finally cracked an eye open, lips curling. "You're lucky you're hot."
"Damn right I am." Void leaned in, lips ghosting near Keira's ear. "Now get up, or I'm dragging you to the sink with me. We're making this place less tragic."
Keira groaned dramatically, but her hand tightened at Void's waist. "Fine. But only because I wanna see if you fry yourself trying to fix the inverter."
Void chuckled. "Romance really is alive."
Keira finally untangled herself from the blanket and Void's legs with exaggerated suffering that only came from muscle soreness and too many months spent sleeping on tech-bench surfaces. She winced as her feet touched the cold floor. "We need rugs. Or a fire. Maybe both."
Void sat up behind her, one arm slung lazily over Keira's shoulder. "We could burn the blanket. Sacrifice it to the god of crusty textiles."
"Blasphemy." Keira reached back and flicked her on the thigh. "That thing's a survivor."
Void leaned in, lips barely brushing Keira's shoulder. "So are we."
Keira stilled for half a second. Not enough to ruin the moment - but enough for Void to feel it.
Then she exhaled. "Yeah. We are."
Breakfast was two protein bars and the last of the off-brand soda they'd shared the night before, lukewarm, its fizz already gone. They sat on the edge of a half-disassembled bench, knees bumping.
Void chewed slowly. "So what's the plan?"
Keira wiped the remains of soda off her lip with her thumb, then licked it. "Water's priority. If I have to wash my hands with bottled piss again, I'm going to burn this stupid city down."
"Aww, here I thought I'll finally have a use for my jerry can."
Keira grinned. "Since you're asking so nicely we might do so anyway. But as a reward."
They got to work with their hands still sticky from their meal, if you could call it that. Keira slid under the sink, flashlight clenched between her teeth, muttering about neglected, rusted couplings. Void sat on the floor beside her, feeding tools as requested, occasionally poking Keira's calf with her foot just to be annoying.
"Y'know," Keira said, voice muffled, "this would go faster if you actually helped instead of playing footsie."
"Oh I am helping. Emotional support, vibes. General sex appeal."
Keira slid back out just enough to look up at her. "Your sex appeal's doing jack shit for this leak."
Void bent forward, voice dropping just a little. "Are you sure? You seem very flustered for someone elbow-deep in rust and grease."
Keira flushed, then promptly whacked her with the wrench. "Shut up and pass me the sealant."
Void giggled - soft and lazy - and pass the sealant she did.
Still below the sink, Keira swore under her breath like it was her second language. Her arm disappeared up to the bicep into a space no human limb had business fitting into, knees braced against the cabinet frame, sweat trickling down her temple. "Fucking thing- I swear to all nine volts of hell, if you leak again, I'm rerouting you into the goddamn sewer system."
Void leaned over her shoulder, casually sipping on what remained of her soda. "You know, most people talk dirty to their dates. Not their plumbing."
"This is my date," Keira growled. "It's clingy, it moans, and I have to keep lubing it up just to get it to behave."
Void snorted. "Kinky."
"Gaskets. Now." Keira snapped, one hand buried under the sink, the other blindly reaching back.
Void snatched the gaskets from the tray and dropped them into Keira's palm with a smirk. "You're soooooo sweet on those pipes. Makes me think you're giving 'em a better time than you gave me last night."
Keira's arm moved just enough to brush Void's thigh as she reached deeper under the sink. "Please. Pipes don't whimper when I tighten them."
Void gasped with mock offense, "Excuse me, sweetheart. You tighten me and I purr."
Keira didn't miss a beat. "That wasn't purring. That was begging."
Void let out a low chuckle, fingers trailing along the rim of the toolbox. "Then do it again and see what I sound like when I bite."
Keira pulled on the master valve and all at once, the faucet coughed. Once. Twice. Then sputtered into life with a pathetic stream that gradually steadied, curling into something - presumably - drinkable, cutting straight through the tension - like a bucket of ice dumped on a kiss that hadn't even had the chance to spark.
Keira let out a victorious whoop from the floor. "Yes! Fuck yes! Eat shit, entropy!"
Void whooped too, a little off-key, then caught the spray in her palm, laughing. "Look at that. Plumbing. Mechanical goddess at work."
Keira raised a brow, still flat on her back. "You're volunteering to wash me now?"
Void knelt beside her, resting her arms on Keira's thighs, smirking. "I might. Depends how cute you look asking."
Keira stretched, shirt riding up enough to flash a strip of skin dusted with grime. She didn't miss the way Void's eyes lingered. "You're gonna have to earn that privilege, princess."
Void snorted. "What, you want flowers? Parade? A working showerhead?"
"Just don't electrocute yourself trying to fix it."
Void leaned over, palms braced on either side of Keira's shoulders. Unapologetically close. "No promises."
For a beat, the only sound was the steady drip of the faucet and Keira's breath hitching. She stared up at Void, lips parted, eyes unreadable. "You really like hovering, huh?"
Void tilted her head, her voice dropping to a husky hum. "You gonna do something about it, mmm?"
Keira grinned, almost feral. Then, she hooked her fingers in Void's shirt and pulled her down just enough to whisper, "Let's get the electricity flowing first, lovergirl. Then we'll see."
Void let out a soft laugh, low in her throat. "Tease."
"Motivation," she fired back, smirk popping up on her face.
With that, she rolled to her feet, wiped her hands on her cargo pants, and strutted toward the stairs like she hadn't just melted a few neurons in Void's brain.
Void stayed crouched for a second, blinking. Then she groaned, got up, and muttered, "Diagnosis: a cute gay. I'm afraid it's terminal."
"Better than dying of thirst," Keira called without looking back.
"Bitch, we just fixed the water."
Keira just raised a triumphant fist as she disappeared behind the hanging curtain of cables.
Void shook her head, grinning; cracked her knuckles, then grabbed her toolkit, now following Keira - having already conjured a plan for the fastest, safest way to get that power going. Because the quicker they had power, the sooner they could stop pretending that this was all just about repairs.
Stepping out through the back door, they found themselves standing before the power transformer - a hulking metal relic hooked to the nearby high-voltage relay tower, barely emitting a buzz, making it rather obvious it remembered better days. It sat at the edge of the lot, half-swallowed by weeds and rust, a scorched patch blackening the casing near the base. One panel hung loose, barely clinging by a single stubborn bolt.
Keira narrowed her eyes, already walking toward it, her boots crunching over broken gravel. She circled the transformer, head tilted just slightly. "This thing looks like it fought in a nuclear war and lost."
"From the looks of it, holding a grudge about it, too."
"One that's older than both of us combined," she muttered, crouching to peek underneath. "Who the hell wired this? A raccoon on beta-acid?"
Void stepped beside her, visor flipped down, magenta hair tied back with a makeshift zip-tie. "You say that like a raccoon wouldn't do a better job."
She bent to examine the panel and immediately winced. "Oh yeah. Extra crispy, charred insulation. Shit's cooked beyond well-done, this is congratulations-tier fucked."
Void popped the last bolt off and yanked the casing open. Sparks didn't fly, but the wires hissed like it was the first time they've seen civilization.
"Okay, sexy," Void said, pulling her gloves tighter. "I'm gonna need you not to fry me when I start poking at your... Graces."
Keira looked over her shoulder, voice dangerously casual. "Talking to me or the transformer?"
Void gave her a pointed once-over. "...Yes."
That earned a laugh. Void reached in, pulling one line free with a grunt. "We're bypassing the corroded coupler. You handle the grounding clamp - if you die, I get your boots."
Keira raised an eyebrow. "If I die, I'm haunting your ass. From the breaker box."
"You'd better."
They worked in tandem - Keira coordinating the reroute, Void cleaning the contacts and running fresh lines from the solar backup into main junction. At one point, they were both kneeling, shoulders brushing, a cable clamped between their mouths as they reached in from opposite sides.
Void mumbled around it, "This feels like the worst blowjob metaphor."
Keira didn't even blink. "Speak for yourself. I'm into conductivity."
Void nearly snorted the cable.
It took them forty minutes and a near-shock each, but eventually, Void locked the final connector into place and gave Keira a nod. "Do it."
Keira reached for the master switch on the junction box with a dramatic flourish. "Just in case this is going to fry me - promise you'll clear my browser history."
Void leaned in, all grin. "Too late. Already bookmarked your thirst tweets."
Click.
The hum started low, rustling the ancient bones of the workshop. Then it rose, settled, and the transformer gave a shudder as the system rebalanced. All lights inside the building flicked once, then held.
Void stepped back, eyes wide. "It actually worked."
Keira tossed her gloves off and leaned against her, smearing grime across Void's shoulder. "Fucking right it did. We're us."
They stood in that spot a moment longer - shoulders pressed, wind dragging grit across the lot, the low hum of power settling into the lines.
Void glanced down at her. "What now?"
Keira smiled, slow and lopsided. "Now we go back inside... And enjoy the ambience."
Void's grin answered for her. "That code for something?"
Keira was already walking, the wind catching strands of her hair, boots kicking up little puffs of dirt with every step. She didn't look back - instead, tossed the words over her shoulder with a smirk you could tell popped up on her face by tone alone.
"Guess you'll have to flip the coin and find out."
Void's followed, her gaze lingering. Not on her ass - though, yeah, it was there - but a little higher. That stretch of skin between shirt and waistband, bare and sun-kissed, marked with a tiny scar she'd never asked about. That was the kind of detail that got under Void's skin. Quietly devastating.
Void licked her bottom lip, just once. "Tails," she whispered. "Definitely tails."
Power was on, water was flowing. The gods of broken things had officially been kissed. Keira's workshop finally resembled a place someone actually lived in.
Or, well, once those two got it cleaned up. Which... Took a while.