{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0\deflang1033{\fonttbl{\f0\fswiss\fcharset0 Arial;}} {\*\generator Msftedit 5.41.15.1515;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\f0\fs20 Thomas was jacked into one of the computer terminals scattered throughout their studio and home, just quickly uploading some half-thought out bits of song. Better to have more than one copy of them, even if they were never used. It was late and he wanted nothing more than to curl up with Guy and get some rest. He let his guard down, letting information stream freely into the computer. But something felt wrong and before he could check it out, it was surging through the connection and rifling through his systems. He seized up, his firewalls coming up too late. Whatever it was, it was searching his internal hard drive, digging through everything he had experienced, everything he had thought, everything he was. His systems were going haywire as the intruder pawed through them. A strange, high pitched noise was echoing around him but he couldn\rquote t tell where it was coming from. He blacked out, his system shutting down in a last-ditch effort to remove the intruder.\par \par \par Guy was startled out of a sound recharge cycle by a garbled scream. He stumbled out of their bedroom and towards the sound. He stopped short when he saw Thomas, who was frozen in front of the computer occasionally twitching. Guy rushed over to the silver robot, a worried frown appearing on his helmet. Thomas was hunched over, his hands cured into claws, as if he was fighting someone off when he shut down. Guy gently shook Thomas\rquote shoulder but he didn\rquote t respond. Worry began to grow in his CPU as Thomas remained unresponsive.\par \par He picked up Thomas, staggering slightly under the dead weight. When he Thomas situated as comfortably as possible, he started for their room. What could\rquote ve done this to Thomas? It didn\rquote t make sense. But his question would have to wait until Thomas booted back up. And something told him that would not be a pleasant process.\par \par Guy set Thomas on their bed and curled up around him. It was going to be a late night.\par \par Thomas booted up crying. Now, being a robot meant there were no tears, but it was crying none the less. It was quiet at first, tiny whines and hitches shuddering down his shoulders. But it built until the sobs wracked his frame. Guy pulled him into a hug, cradling Thomas gently. But he didn\rquote t notice the arms wrapped around his shoulders or the soft bit of song being played by his audio sensor. All he knew was that something had invaded him, dug through places that were not meant to be touched unwillingly. Places that he had only shared with one other person, his partner in every sense. And some thought they could waltz right in and look around. He clung to Guy, smothering his crying in his partner\rquote s chest.\par \par Guy was heart-broken to see Thomas like this. To see his bright, happy, loud, wonderful, /beautiful/ partner huddled up against him like he expected to be shut down at any moment. It hurt him to know that someone, somewhere, had done this to Thomas. That someone out there had /wanted/ to do this to Thomas. But right now, he had other things to worry about. He held Thomas, whispering softly to him, trying to help him calm down. He couldn\rquote t say it would be alright, because it wouldn\rquote t not for awhile, but he could say he was there, he would always be there. He rubbed Thomas\rquote back, trying to work some of the tension from the cables.\par \par Slowly, ever so slowly, Thomas began to calm down. It took hours, but it happened. He looked up at Guy and that was what broke Guy\rquote s heart the most, shattering like someone took a hammer to his circuit boards. They might not be able to express emotion as well as a human, but even Guy could see the pain in Thomas\rquote face. You would have to be blind to miss it.\par \par \ldblquote I have you, I have you,\rdblquote this was Guy\rquote s mantra as they sat on the bed, curled up against the world. It was a promise, an oath, against the pain. Really, it was just as much for Guy as Thomas. Because suddenly, everything solid in the world was gone. Snatched away by some person sitting behind a computer screen, not realizing what they were doing when they decided this was a good idea.\par \par Thomas lay there, curled up in Guy\rquote s arms, and trying to piece together his sense of safety again. And neither of them knew where to go from here.\par \par \par }