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Oh.

[That's less dramatic and annoying than he thought.]

And he did?

[That seems weird too. Detectives are supposed to look tough and act like assholes--Firo can't imagine Edward having a pet, for example. Well, maybe a bloodhound or something trained to hunt people down.]

[Rey blinks]

Don't know. Never asked him. It seemed like he knew what he was doing, though. Or, at least, he cared.

[Which is more than what she can admit, sadly.]

['Caring' is never an adjective Firo would think to apply to a detective, though in the back of his mind he does recall that Nick was oddly... not nice, of course, but polite. Civil. Could be an act.

Oh well. He removes his hat and holds it by the brim. So that explains the fish, but there's still the funny plant and the chair with ears.]

You decorated this place? Or him?

[Which thought is weirder?]

[If it's something that her time spent with Nick has told her, it's that Nick is nothing but caring. Almost to a fault, in Rey's opinion. Then again, she does believe that there is a such thing as caring too much. Compassion can destroy you, if you let it.]

A little bit of both, really. Nick can't do a whole lot of rearranging with that bum leg of his.

[Something which she could easily fix, if he'd let her.]

[Stranger and stranger. Firo squints. It's only practical to know about a weakness if it comes up, but mostly he's just curious.]

How's that happen to a guy like him?

[Rey must know, right? It's not like the glowing eyes and weird face are subtle.]

Deathclaw.

[Rey then realizes that it's more likely not everyone knows what those things are called.]

Those big, horned lizard-like things that showed up a few months back. They're from Nick's world, and one of them messed him up a bit. Had to reattach his arm. [It's a good thing that he even had that arm on hand after it got ripped off him.]

[He shakes his head.]

Yeah, but... how'd it stick with him? He can't heal from stuff like that?

[Heal is the wrong word, maybe. 'Repair' might be more accurate, but Firo doesn't want to use that with a human.]

No, he can't. And there are some things he can't just fix himself, either -- like a severed arm. So he needs someone like me around.

[Someone who knows their way around machines; can put them back together as easily as she can take them apart.

[It at least gives her some sense of purpose, in this case.]

[Firo nods; makes sense. But he doubts their relationship is that utilitarian if they're as close as they seem. Jokingly:]

So what's he do for you?

[It may be a joke, but Rey answers seriously.]

He's like family. He doesn't have to do anything for me.

[Except do the stuff that family is supposed to do. Whatever that entails.]

It was a joke.

[Firo doesn't seem offended at it being missed; he's smiling a bit.

...Only to frown when he tries to reconcile his idea of Nick with how Rey seems to think of him. He knows that even Edward had someone who loved him (allegedly), but he still finds it hard to believe that someone like Rey--who seems so normal to him, at times--could be family to a cop. Granted, he doesn't know much about Nick; even Firo, set in his ways as he is, recognizes that.

Abruptly:]

What's he like?

I'm aware.

[Surprisingly enough, she can be perceptive. Though she does have to wonder how much of that was facetious taunting, considering Firo's general demeanor regarding Nick. Rey isn't stupid, either. She knows enough about Firo to know where he comes from, and that his background isn't what one would call squeaky clean.]

He's a decent person. Cares a lot about others. Stubborn. You two have a bit in common.

[Pause.]

I know your type don't really get along with his type. Neither did I. Back home, I used to kill synthetics like him. Even now, we don't always see eye to eye with some things. But I gave him a chance, hard as it was, and it's one of the few things I don't regret.

[He raises an eyebrow.]

I don't think either of us'd be all that happy to hear that.

[Edward would probably explode if someone said he had anything in common with Firo. Nick didn't seem as easy to rile up, but Firo can imagine that the principle of the thing would still be as offensive to him as it is to Firo.]

In that case, why'd he give you a chance? No offense.

Well, you just heard it.

[Can't say the same for Nick, but Rey doubts he would raise a fuss over something so trifling.]

Probably because it turned out that we have a bit in common, too.

[He wrinkles his nose. The revelations just get more and more uncomfortable. He's not sure if this would require rethinking what he thinks of Rey or what he thinks of Nick. Probably the latter, if anything, which Firo doesn't exactly relish. It's not so much that he doesn't think he could ever like Nick (though it seems unlikely. But he did grow somewhat fond of one of the Alcatraz guards, so it's not impossible)--more that he doesn't want to admit he's wrong about something like this.]

Like what?

Like having the memories of someone who isn't me crammed into my head. Remembering living a life that wasn't mine.

[Or "lives", in Rey's case. But hey, it's an experience that should ring very familiar even to Firo.]

[It takes a second for Firo to process that that means that he also shares this thing with Nick. Wow.

He shakes his head.]

You serious? That stuff happened to him too?

[Rey folds her arms over her chest, leaning her weight to the side as she looks up thoughtfully.]

Yes. Nick Valentine was actually someone who died over two hundred years prior. The ones who made him just stuck the guy's memories in his head, but it didn't always take. So they kept doing it for a long time.

He doesn't really remember that, though. Probably for the best.

[Nick doesn't remember, but Rey does? It's one of those "it's complicated" things.]

...That's weird.

[Why the heck would anyone care so much about 200-year-old memories?]

He told me he was made by some guys called... I forget what. It wasn't a really detailed name or anything. But it didn't sound like they made him to be a cop.

[And in a way, Firo could almost admire Nick for that. After seeing Ennis's situation, Firo's a fan of any artificially-made human breaking from the expectations forced on them.]

[Is it really that weird, Firo? Coming from a guy who can suck up other immortals into his hand and absorb their memories, it's almost too ironic to comment.]

The Institute. [Let's stay on focus instead. Yes.] And they didn't. They were experimenting on imprinting memories into a machine, but didn't seem to have much of a plan beyond that. It isn't like there's much use for robotic cops where he comes from, given the state of things and the fact that synthetics aren't treated very kindly.

They're not exactly well-liked where I'm from, either.

[Though not without fairly good reasons, from Rey's experience.]

That's a surprise.

[His tone is dry. Mistreatment of people who don't fit the 'normal' mold? How shocking.

He raises an eyebrow and asks, slightly exasperated:]

You said you killed people like him? For what?

For ruining everything.

[Though that isn't entirely accurate. Humans are just as responsible. Her own father even more so. Synthetics are just easier to hate, given that there are so few of them that she actually likes.]

They started wars. Used people as living chess pieces. I was "modified" to be able to track down and dispatch them more efficiently. Though that function became impaired, no thanks to my father's tampering. [But one could argue that it wasn't the bad kind of tampering this time.]

[Strange to think that you can 'tamper' with a human being, but Firo manages to only grimace a little at that thought.]

He doesn't seem like the kinda guy who'd start a war.

[Even Firo has to admit that. No, he can see Nick as more the kind of guy who'd barge in on a fight to break it up just because he could. What a jerk. He knows she means other synthetics, of course, but he can't resist poking at the prejudice.

Firo contemplates the new information Rey's shared, though, and wonders if that'll clear up something else:]

Is that why you hit him with a shovel?

[Yep, Firo remembers her sharing that. How could he forget?]

He isn't.

[Nick is no war monger. Rey would be able to tell if he was.

[She sighs.] Didn't actually hit him with a shovel, but, um. A little.

He's a different type of synthetic, though. Not one from my world. There is apparently a significant difference in... design.

[Firo nods along.]

He's not like the homunculi in my world either. I wouldn't have thought there'd be so many people like that.

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