"Oh." Nyx replied. "There's a tracker somewhere in me, but I don't know where or if it's active or anything." He shrugged a little, closing his eyes with his face still tipped back to the sunshine. "My files might tell you, but I don't know."
Jude nodded, reminding himself to check later. "I'll look into that." He said,
"It's just that there's this place– near the interstate. It's a bunch of hills, you can just run for miles in the sun through the fields, sleep underneath the trees, play around on the tracks and watch the train screaming as it rolls by." Jude smiled lazily, taking a final drag of his cigarette before putting it out. "It might be fun to visit. What do you think?"
Nyx smiled. "It sounds lovely." He replied, glancing over at Jude. "If…if I can go, I would like to." He wanted to see as much as he could. As much as he was allowed, as much as Jude would show him.
"Yeah, yeah. You know, if you can leave, we wouldn't even have to wait for the printer to be done. I could just drive us." He smiled, looking back at the door. "Hell, we could go today." Jude turned, grabbing the stack of books and handing them to Nyx as he stood up, "Read a bit, if you like, I'll go check."
Nyx nodded a little. "Alright." He opened his eyes and took the book, beginning to page through it carefully, reading it. He was sitting cross-legged, the sun reflecting off the shining metal on his arms and legs.
Jude skipped through the door and across the floor, glancing over at the printer's developing work. Amazing. He moved to the computer, bringing back the minimized page and scrolling through. No…no it…there. Jude saw; the 'tracking' was discontinued, because of the company's partnership with another tech conglomerate and used their satellite. It's inactive. He confirmed, reading the short lines in coloured letters and smiling to himself. He walked back to and out the door, swinging his head from side to side like a kid in a schoolyard. "We're all good." He said to Nyx, enveloped in the book he was reading.
Nyx glanced up. "Hm? Oh. Alright. Good." He replied. "So…we can go?" He asked, looking up at Jude with a quick, happy smile on his face. He stretched a little, putting his finger in the book to hold his spot.
"Yeah?" Jude smiled, eyebrows rising eagerly, "Yeah. Let's go," He said, taking Nyx's free hand, almost dragging him to the car in excitement. "It'll be done when we come back, hop in."
Nyx smiled. "Alright!" He replied. He got up and gathered the books, carrying them back to the car and holding onto Jude's hand
Nyx's hand– Jude realized, was cybernetic, but wouldn't be, after today. He didn't know why, but he wanted to hold it a little longer. Maybe just to take it all in. The metal, the wiring, the coldness, even though he always felt warm with him. Maybe to…just hold. Jude didn't like what came to mind and let go immediately, circling around the car to the driver's side.
Nyx felt vaguely disappointed when Jude let go, but set the books in the car and got into the passenger side. He stared at the belt buckle for a full minute, not sure what it was for or what he was supposed to do with it. He finally picked it up in one hand. "Jude? What am I supposed to do with this?" He asked, gesturing to it.
"Oh," He said, then clicked his own in to show him. "It's for safety, so if there's an accident so you don't go flying through the windshield." Jude gestured, then turned his keys in, starting the car and smiling as it came to life; the lights flickering on one by one, a faint chime, and the gentle purr of the engine greeting him.
"Ah." Nyx put the seatbelt on with a soft sigh. He looked at Jude, almost bouncing with excitement. "So can we go now?" he asked, smiling excitedly and happily and waiting for the car to start up.
"Okay, okay. I'll point out a few places as we go." He smiled, edging the car out of the parking lot and pulling onto the main road. It was only noon, and the streets were already packed. A jaywalking pedestrian yelled at a taxi and hit the side of it with a rolled newspaper. Jude chuckled, the taxi driver yelled back at the pedestrian, waving his hands wildly.
"Oh– put the radio on if you like." Jude chimed, gesturing at it.
Nyx nodded absently. He looked around the streets with wide, almost hungry eyes. He smiled happily. He looked at the thing, frowning a little. "Uhm…how?" he asked, eyes flickering over all the dials and controls with a bit of confusion.
"Just this one," Jude said, pressing the smooth central button, music erupting from it's dull 'click.' You Are My Sunshine already half-played, streamed out of the tiny speakers, its muffled sound unclouded with the car's clear sound.
"That's a great place for Italian," Jude said, pointing at a tiny restaurant barely big enough for a few tables.
Nyx closed his eyes for a moment to listen to the music, then opened them again, looking at the place that Jude had pointed out. He pressed a hand to his forehead for a moment as his head began to ache a little bit.
Jude smiled at the small restaurant and braked at a red light. In his peripheral, he saw Nyx's worried expression. He turned to him, "Hey, are you doing okay?" Jude looked back at the light and then worriedly to Nyx, "Should we go back?"
Nyx cleared his throat softly. "I'm okay. Just…a little sensory overload." He replied slowly. "I'll be fine. I'm just not used to having to process so much at once." He tugged on the Hem of his shirt for a moment, looking down at himself to sort of try and ground his mind again.
"Okay," Jude said, turning the music down a little, stealing glances at Nyx as he furthered the car, weaving through the rush-hour traffic. "I don't know if I can fix that." He said, picking at the tight threads binding the leather exterior of the steering wheel. What if this happened, and he could find a way to repose?
Nyx shrugged. "Nothing you could do. I can reboot and that would probably help." He replied slowly, closing his eyes. "Or I can simply wait it out." He shrugged again, running a hand through his black hair.
"Whatever's best for you." Jude nodded, finally pulling onto the highway. It was plain, with dying grass and a few trees to separate lanes, but the sun was blazing– pouring down directly at the sea of cars, casting a shine against all the automobile metallic finishes, and Nyx's. Thankfully, no one would be able to see them or notice anything irregular, they had places to go and people to be. "This highway connects to all the states– you can go anywhere from here."
Nyx nodded a little, opening his eyes and looking around. "I'm going to restart." He said after a moment. "It might take a minute." He closed his eyes and leaned against the seat. Systems shutting down. He limbs went slack, body relaxing as if in sleep.
.
.
.
Systems rebooting. His fingers twitched, and he opened his eyes again after a moment.
Jude's eyes studied Nyx in brief glances as he drove along the long road. He's fine, he's going to wake up. His worries had invaded his thinking, and though he knew it would be fine, his mind wandered across the possibilities of this happening in public. "Welcome back." Jude joked, sighing quietly in relief.
Nyx gave a quick smile. "Hi." He greeted after a moment, blinking and getting his bearings again. "I wasn't out for too long, was I?" He asked, raising his eyebrows at Jude with another happy smile.
"No," Jude chirped, "Just for a minute." He was awfully smiley today, they both were. He reckoned it was because of the weather, and Nyx was just excited, which made him excited.
"We're almost there," Jude said, pointing to the far tapering of a highway rest stop blurred by the heat dancing off the asphalt, and a cover of forest nearby.
Nyx smiled, and leaned forward in his seat to peek out the windows. His blue eyes glowed happily as he looked around at the view. "Thank you." he said suddenly, glancing at Jude. "For…for bringing me out here."
Jude pulled into the rough gravel patch growing closer, his car's tires crunching the dirt and rocks, clouding dust. "…Of course." He replied, tucking a strand of golden hair away, "I want you to see everything. You deserve to."
Nyx smiled at him again, eyes alight and happy. "I…thank you." he said again. He ran a hand through his black hair, smiling still and unable to stop.
Jude shook his head, trying to shake away his shy smile, "Just…thank me later, instead. After you see." And with that, he unclipped his seatbelt and nearly leaped out the car door, almost tripping. "Let's go, yeah?"