Gentleman ( The Boyfriend Shop )
x. Treat You Better

Newly acquired confidence wasn’t hard to break. Like house of cards, one tiny gust of wind was enough to break it. In Arin ’s case it wasn’t just a small breeze, it was a hurricane lashing out on her. For how would one frail creature like her be able to withstand ?

But, she wasn’t alone.

Just minutes before Mr. White had arrived to the room Dennis was in, ready to give him that final blow and unplug him once and for all now that he had all the data necessary for his later projects, the robot had managed to escape, unnoticed thanks to Martin. The scientist knew well enough what he’d been doing, he’d managed to connect the dots even before Mr. White, but the romantic male simply couldn’t break apart two creatures in love. Unlike him, who’d chased away the woman of his life, Dennis still had a chance of winning Arin back and he didn’t have the heart to ruin that chance for him. He’d never be able to live the same life with that stain on his consciousness.

As he roamed the streets, Dennis ’s feet seemed to be walking on their own. There was rush in his steps, as if he knew that something bad was going to happen to Arin. Having visited her home and knocking for a few moments without an answer, his worry only grew. It hadn’t calmed down, although it should have had, when he’d been told she was at work.

He soon found out where she worked and headed there, his step even more rushed than before. There was something gushing inside of him that he couldn’t explain. He had never felt something like that before.

It was fear … Robots couldn’t feel fear.

And it only grew stronger after he hadn’t found her on her work place either. He darted out of the night club, his feet carrying him straight down the street confidently, as if they knew exactly where she was. It was weird. Even though he had GPS implanted, with which he was able to track down the person he was bound to at any given moment, he could recall Mr. White had turned it off together with some other gadgets as soon as he’d arrived to the shop.

It weren’t his feet that were guiding him, it was his newly developed part. His heart.

And it wasn’t wrong, for heart is never wrong. The bigger surprise, though, was the situation she was in. Pushed against the wall, already shirtless, a man clinging onto her like a leach.

A wave of other feelings, feelings he wasn’t supposed to show in front of his caregiver, flooded him and he simply couldn’t hold back. Without a warning, he charged at the man molesting the woman he loved. His attack surprised the man and, counting in the inhumane strength Dennis possessed, he was thrown a few feet away, giving Arin enough time to collect her shirt - and her thoughts - and hide behind the dumpster.

The drunken man couldn’t see it was a battle he had absolutely no chances of winning ; he came charging back at Dennis, trying to slam his fist into Dennis, but with the intoxicating substances in his system he couldn’t measure with robot. He’d foreseen it and did exactly what the man had wanted to do, slamming his fist into his jaw with a crack, a few teeth broken thanks to the metal that still hadn’t melted away.

The man was on the ground again with nothing more serious than a bloody lip, but from the look he gave Dennis one would get the idea he had a few broken ribs. He looked at the robot as if he was a god, the drugs in his system blurred his vision so he couldn’t even see him properly, as if he was under a veil of mystery and that made him even more dangerous. Dennis could see panic in his eyes and instantly knew he’d won, his thought confirmed when Daniel crawled away and disappeared into the darkness.

As soon as there was no sign of the threat anymore, Dennis rushed to Arin, who was hiding behind the dumpster trembling in shock. She’d managed to put on her shirt again and was seemingly fine, but he could tell she was really shaken.

He wrapped his bomber jacket around her and held her close to his chest as they both kneeled by the dumpster, his arms safely around her. She was trembling in his arms, her body as cold as ice. They continued silently holding each other until they calmed down a little, none of them brave enough to make that first move.

Finally, it was Arin who spoke first, breaking the hug and looking up at him with seemingly cold eyes. “ Thank you. You can go now ~ “

Dennis stared at her for a moment, unable to believe she was chasing him away so easily. On the other hand, what else could have he expected after having treated her the way he’d had ?

He sighed, even harder than chasing Daniel away would be gaining Arin ’s trust back. But he wasn’t afraid of begging for forgiveness if that meant she’d take him back. For he couldn’t imagine his life without her, he didn’t want to imagine his life without her.

“ Arin, “ he started with a deep sigh, “ I didn’t mean a word of what I’ve said. I regret nothing. I want to spend my life with you, making you happy. I love you and now I know I can. I hope you’ll accept me in your life again. “ He gazed down at her with pure love in his eyes. Tension built up inside him as he waited for her answer. He’d never felt as nervous as in that moment, not even while waiting for her to choose him back at the first day. He could still remember his nervous fiddling and skipping around while Mr. White had talked to her, helping her choose the most suitable robot.

Arin didn’t even have the time to overthink it. For he’d just arrived at the most perfect time, showing her they still had the magic she expected and she couldn’t deny the pure look in his eyes as he waited for her answer. Possibly because her senses were still shaken up - or because she truly loved that robot more than she should’ve - after what seemed like hours to the poor boy, instead of answering she got on her tippy toes and kissed him.

“ I know this takes media addiction to a whole new level, but I really can’t live without you. I love you, please don’t ever leave me ~ “ she hummed with a small pleading pout when the kiss was finally broken.

Dennis chuckled and pecked the pout. “ Never. “

His words and expressions were so gentle as he spoke Arin couldn’t help but forget everything that had happened just minutes before. She felt safe with him and could finally start breathing again now that he was there with her. She took a step back to put on her shirt again and recollect her stuff from the ground, but as she did, Dennis suddenly erupted with more words.

“ And I hope … I hope that one day you’ll agree to make me the happiest creature in the world and spend the rest of your life with me. “

Her eyes widened, but she tried to play it off. “ I - Is that a proposal young man ? “

He chuckled and winked. “ Yes. But not now. And not by the dumpster in a dark alley. Soon. “

“ Guess I’ll have to wait for a while to say I do, “ she chuckled, rushing to get another kiss from her golden boy.

Just in that moment, a group of five men in white jumpsuits appeared, led by Mr. White, forcing the couple to break the kiss. “ Stop there, what’s going on ? “

“ I won’t need to be unplugged in the end, she took me back, “ Dennis explained with a bright smile, completely gullible to everything else connected to his case.

“ No, I don’t think that’s possible. You have to be unplugged right away. Say goodbye and follow me. “

Mr. White was strict and serious, the complete opposite of how Arin remembered him. Both her and Dennis couldn’t hide the shock upon hearing his request. She clutched on his hand and looked up at him with panicked eyes. The robot smiled subtly to reassure her.

But, before he could say anything, Martin appeared out of nowhere, his panting indicating he’d been running. “ No, please don’t ! “

The older scientist wasn’t showing any signs he was going to stop with what he’d had in mind. “ Why ? Martin you know it’s for the best, why are you opposing now ? “

Martin walked past Mr. White, completely ignoring him just to get to Dennis, who protectively stood in front of Arin.

“ Dennis, there’s something you don’t know and you’ll probably never forgive us, “ he started, finally his breathing calm enough to speak naturally. “ Listen carefully to what I’m saying, for now you have the ability and the right to decide on your own. We’re not sure how, but you’ve grown a heart. You’re no longer only a robot, you’re half human and have the rights to live. “

Both Dennis ’s and Arin ’s eyes widened. Was such a thing even possible ? He glanced down at her, she was smiling up at him happily. She saw Dennis was more than shocked so to reassure him, she pressed a small kiss on his palm, still holding his hand.

“ But, “ Mr. White butt in, giving his little helper a glare for spilling the truth he would have masked easily, “ We’re giving you another option : you can decide to die. If we’re speaking in human terms it’d be called euthanasia. “ He wasn’t fully human yet so the scientist figured it’d be allowed - not that anyone besides the four of them would ever know.

Arin glanced up at him, suddenly panicked. Dennis stroked her hand with his thumb gently to calm her, but still not saying a word to give the two men ability to talk freely and explain.

“ You might be asking why, “ Mr. White spoke up again, now speaking to Arin instead since she was the reason behind it all, “ But trust me, that might be for the best. Now that this process started, it won’t stop until he’s fully human and that will be very hurtful. Maybe even more than the pain you’d felt in the laboratory, “ he continued, glancing up at Dennis at the last part to remind him of the pain he’d felt when they’d experimented on him.

“ The point is, “ Martin interrupted, “ It’s up to you what you want to do - live in pain but with the love of your life or die and avoid all the pain. Just remember, and I’m not talking you into anything, the pain won’t last forever but it will be almost unbearable. Your inhumane powers will slowly fade away until you’ll be just a human. It’ll be hard for you to get used to that, I know. No more superhuman strength, no gadgets … But you’ll have your knowledge and obviously the appearance you have now. Your personality might change, though, but we’re not 100% certain about that - you might start to lie and get the little quirks people have, but I suppose your woman will show you how to live. “

As he finished with his speech, Martin turned to Mr. White. “ I’m sorry Sir. I just couldn’t keep the truth away from him. It’d be against my beliefs. I understand if you want to fire me now. “

The older man sighed. “ We’ll talk about this later. Now it’s important that Dennis decides what he wants. If it is to live, us in the Boyfriend Shop will help you with the pain you’ll be experiencing with some medicine and therapy. In exchange, we ask for your silence about this. As if nothing had happened. “

Arin looked up at her boyfriend. It was impossible to read what he’d been thinking, she wasn’t good at it like him and his expression was stone cold. For a moment she even thought he was debating it and selfishly, she squeezed his hand, hoping he’d choose her. But again, she couldn’t ask from him to go through all the physical pain just to be with her. “ Just decide what you want most, I won’t force you into anything ~ “

“ In this short period of time I’ve been with Arin, I learned a lot you know. People are horrible creatures, I’d never wanted to be like them and now I’m turning into one … “

Arin ’s grip tightened around his hand. That was it, the last time she could hold his hand. She was sure he’d choose death, for why would he want to go through it all just to end up a mediocre human ?

“ … Though, I’ve also learned not everyone is bad. Arin for example, she’s the sweetest thing. And I love her. I want to be with her, I want to make her happy. That’ll make me happy too ! No matter the pain I know I’ll be happy. I’ve always wanted to live, I’ve always been different than the others, Mr. White knows it .. I .. Just love how people learn, they feel all these wonderful emotions, they can see beauty and abstraction. I honestly can’t wait to be like that too ! “ he finished, “ So yeah, I choose life. It’ll be hard at first, maybe, but I’ll live through that and I’ll make sure it’s worth it afterwards. “

Mr. White nodded and glanced at Martin. His dimples were showing, indicating how happy he was with the ending. “ Come on, let’s go, “ he tapped his shoulder and directed the men towards the exit of the alley before glancing at the couple, “ We’ll see each other soon again. “

The two waved at them and soon they were alone again. Them and the dumpster.

“ So, “ Arin started, “ I’m not addicted to a robot anymore. I’m just hopelessly in love with an extraordinary human. “

He chuckled. “ And I guess when I propose, I won’t just ask for a wife, but a teacher too. “

“ And I’ll say I do to both ~ “ she replied, tugging on his hand to take him home, the home they’d build together from then on. It was a beginning of the second part of their story, the one they’d build on their own, they’d be making their own decisions and leading their own life without anyone’s interference. The one they’ve always deserved. The one everyone deserves to lead.

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