“This is not enjoyable in any way whatsoever,” Troy stated, beginning to resent existence itself. Why did he need to exist? Why was he here, just to suffer? The sheer embarrassment, as more and more people passed by them. It was unbearable, causing the young man to cover his face. His cheeks were red, his eyes felt a little puffy, and that shit-eating grin Charlie had on his face was making him feel happy.

Maybe it was a positive thing, after all, forgoing how terrible he felt from the stares at them. The ice which had been created since the morning was slowly breaking. If only it could have been done in a way that wouldn't cause so many stares to be sent their way, he might even have enjoyed it a small bit.

Seeing the seriousness fade back into the skin, letting the mirth flow to replace it all, made the young man feel an elation that had been needed for too long. In too many hours, he had been worried that his and Charlie’s friendship had been over, spurred on by his apparent ability to act for his own desires. Yet that smile that continued to grow wider, even as the people’s gazes grew stronger, only reaffirmed that things were just like before if only centred a little more about being protective.

“Oh, I don't believe I ever intended for it to be. You can take this as simple encouragement to never be involved in such annoying things ever again. Otherwise, I’ll be stripping you down immediately, no matter where we may be residing,” Charlie said with a jovial voice, making the nearest group of people turn their heads away in a similar embarrassment to the one Troy himself was feeling. Being carried around like a child was still not an experience close to being appreciated, no matter how nice it was not having to walk. Cars existed for a reason!

Troy groaned in irritation, feeling anxious about the number of people they were passing. The cafeteria was long away, yet the density just seemed to grow more and more. If he had been down on his feet, he would have been forced to follow yesterday's technique of walking in Charlie’s footsteps. Just what was going on?

“Is there an event of some kind here?” Troy asked as the muscular man continued to push through the flow of people. It was a good thing, that they were not following the masses. There had to be an end to the line at some point, and the young man was gambling on it showing itself soon enough.

“Nothing of the sort. People are just migrating to the only sanctuary they know of,” Charlie answered, starting down a few people who had switched directions and begun following them. Troy had really noticed them, but that did not stop anybody from being scared by the man not bothered by another body’s weight put on top of his own.

“And… what would this place of comfort be?” Troy asked, not liking how little the man carrying was talking. There was already enough enjoyment in embarrassing him, so there wasn't any damn need to delay simple answers.

“The only place where people can get any healthy amounts of liquor,” Charlie said, almost seeming happy about his description. From what the young man knew of him, he would have thought that the restricted location would have been a bad thing. “All of these people are going to the city of lights, the shopping district, ready to drink enough to vomit a few times over.”

It was nice to know that people had a good way to get over the hardships that were stressful work… not. What was wrong with people? They were located at one of the most high-tech places in the world, where the average person was working on projects groundbreaking enough to deserve a Nobel prize. If drinking enough to vomit was the daily way to have fun, then Troy was honestly surprised the median age was so damn high. How had their livers not shrunk? The answer to that was obviously advanced levels of medicine again, but those people should still have had some level of shame to their name. The exploitation of medical advances so people could continue unhealthy lifestyles was not something anybody had the right to do.

“And, should I be under the understanding that you know what they are going to do because you join them sometimes?” Troy asked with the question more closer to him thinking out loud. Charlie had said multiple times that he had drinking buddies, and those people had to live up to their name in some way or another.

“In a way,” Charlie mused, putting his head to the sides in what could only be described as a terrible attempt at a shrug. The muscular man was being careful about moving his arms too much, as he had been making sure that no surprising movements occurred to Troy’s body. It had only been noticed mere minutes ago, but there was obvious gentleness used to hold his body steady. It was a very sweet gesture to do. “I can't say I have ever had a day out with those people over there, but I certainly know their schedules. After all, you cant help to do that, when they work in the rooms beside me. I even think I saw Gordon a few minutes ago. Honestly didn't know he had changed his routine that much, but whatever floats his tube I guess.”

Wait. Co-workers? Troy wasn't too surprised that the people seen would be people that worked in the facility, but that they were so closely related to Charlie was not something promising. And with those stares which had been sent the two’s way… it was quickly beginning to look back. Yet, the only thing the young man could do was lean a little further back and watch the show unfold in front of him. Charlie was even kind enough to readjust his grip to allow for a different position.

With time, the flock began to grow less. People were finite in number, and even the largest of departments could not hire an unlimited number of people. Yet, with how the facility was based on a twenty-four-hour schedule, it made Troy think of just how many were in the augmentation department. If hundreds could get off at the same moment, how many thousands were there in total? It certainly made his own department seem small in comparison. Or… was the young man even in such a thing? The project was in a league of its own, so putting it away from the masses would be a reasonable thing to do. Not like three people could ever do the paperwork required to hold a department up in operation.

Thoughts of how precarious a position Troy was in did not get their opportunity to rise, however, as they finally neared a location the young man was intimately familiar with. Those hideous wall designs could be recognized from anywhere in any position. Even the embarrassment of being carried like a child did not do anything to hide it.

They had finally reached the Augmentation department. As no people were around, other than the two, Troy could finally relax just a small bit more, knowing that nobody was around to ridicule him for his current position.

“Don't go falling asleep now,” Charlie requested, jostling the man in movement which did not cause discomfort while still stirring the body enough to cause a spike of sensation from his abdomen. “Just because you look like a baby doesn't mean you have to act like one.”

Why were his inner thoughts used as a weapon against him? Betrayed by the man he thought he could call his friend, criticized on a point he had been insecure about for so long. Troy had been so sure that his baby-face had disappeared, replaced by the product of deep emotional scarring. He had been so happy about being looked at another way than just people cooing over how adorable he looked. It had been a full decade since the last person had even mentioned him acting like a toddler in any way, and there had been an idea of that time getting to grow for as long as he lived.

“I can walk the rest of the way. You don't need to carry me,” Troy said, giving the muscular man a few light taps on his chest. This did not cause the intended reaction of being put down, instead just making Charlie fill the room with laughter. As the young man’s ear was absurdly close to the mouth of the shouting man, there were some thoughts about instantly developing severe tinnitus.

“I think the situation has developed to the point, where you don't have a say in what will be going on,” Charlie stated, bringing Troy closer to his body as he picked up the pace even more. They passed by the doors in a hurry, getting to a freshly paint-coated door that could not be recognized as anything but the muscular man's laboratory. Troy noted the way the door sat slightly ajar, not fully closed. Was that perhaps intentional or was there simply a disliking towards following the regulations?

Even if it was very late in execution, the muscular man did let the younger one down on his own feet. This was greatly appreciated, as it finally allowed Troy to get a better look at what was around him.

In a stark difference to what was seen the day before, there was not a single gadget left on the ground. No path was there to provide minimal transport across the room, as there was no more need for it. One could walk exactly where it was desired.

With how things had been cleaned up on the floor, however, the shelves to the side were absolutely filled with various assortments of metal spliced together. Or… Troy was pretty sure most of it was metal. The colours might have been weird, consisting of blues, greens, and a surprising amount of reds, but everything had that metallic sheen to it. There was almost a craving to go over and mess around with the things, so he could find out just how much of it was made of what he thought it was made of.

The first step towards the shelves might even have been taken, but that didn't really mean much in the grand scheme of things. By the time the left foot had been raised in the air, Troy’s body had similarly gotten the same treatment. Though, that had been with Charlie to thank for.

“Could I ask why you are lifting me up again?” Troy asked, not too happy with that look that was being given. “I do remember that you put me down mere seconds ago. Maybe you would like to repeat that action? I would certainly appreciate you do that again this very second.”

From the lack of Charlie lessening his grip, it was clear that wouldn't be happening anytime soon. And, with the reentry of that serious gaze coming on, the ice that had temporarily been there was more than ready to get back into action. The man wanted something out of him, and Troy had been unwilling to abide by those wishes.

“Troy, we came here to preserve that shallow dignity of yours,” Charlie reminded him, clearly trying to sound casual but also failing with intense severity. The man was holding himself back, and that did amount to some small quantity of respect towards him. “You can hold even more of that imaginary stuff to your heart if you do this thing of your own free will. There is really no reason that I have to do it myself.”

Troy stared at Charlie. Charlie stared back. All in all, the young man felt himself going up a few rankings in life, with how long he was able to endure that contest of wills. Yet, he lost it in the end, just like all the other ones he had previously had. With a heavy heart to accompany it, Troy slid his fingers under his shirt, pulling it off his body. Like all the other times this action had been done, he just threw it on the ground, awaiting the next request.

As their heights were still more than a little different, Charlie was required to bow down to examine the inflicted area. A finger was slid across the upper line, causing more than a little discomfort, Troy now feeling that it might have been a bit more bruised than he had otherwise anticipated. There was an attempt to stop the man from analysing the damage, but the hand used was easily swiped away.

“Just a moment more,” Charlie said, pressing down on a small point at the side. This had the unintended effect of causing Troy a very large amount of pain, making his body give out on him, causing Charlie’s grip on him to slip away. In some cruel way of thinking, the muscular man had predicted the result and had summarily prepared himself to grab the younger one out of the air.

“Would you mind being a bit more gentle?” Troy requested, trying to stop himself from making hissing noises. It went unsuccessful, as Charlie poked him one more time, making the man nearly bite the frontal part of his tongue off.

“No such luck for you today, my friend,” Charlie answered, not even looking him in the eyes. “The data I got originally is not as false as I thought they were. If you would be so kind as to lay down on the table, I will fix some trivial internal bleeding pronto.”

… What did he just say?