Trigger warning: Mentions of violence (brief), self-harm, depression

It took two weeks for them to solve the hacking in Andy's brain, and he was returned to Remington mid-evening, as still as he had been when he was first delivered. Remington was given a slip of paper with details of how to wake him, and lay Andy on his bed. 

When The Perfect awoke, Remington, who was sat beside him on his phone, straightened. "Hey there," he said.

Andy seemed confused. "Remi," he said eventually. "I have missed you while the scientists were working on me." 

"I missed you, too. It's good to have you back. How're you feeling?" 

"Very well, thank you. My mind is clear." 

"I'm glad." 

Andy smiled. "How are you feeling?" He asked. 

"I'm fine." 

"Remi, you will never be able to lie to me." 

"I'm fine," he repeated, sighing. "Alright. Fine. I'm not. But we don't have to talk about it now. Give me a hug." 

Andy did, and said, "I do not understand why they had to take me away." 

"Something went wrong with an update." 

"I know. I remember." 

"You remember? What do you remember?" 

"I remember I had a headache, and usually, they go away, but it did not. Then I slept, and when I was woken, I was not here, but with the scientists." 

Remington hummed. 

"But I do not know how long I was away for." 

"Two weeks." 

"Two weeks," Andy repeated, pulling away to look at him. "That is a long time." 

"They had to make sure everything was okay." 

"Remi," begun The Perfect. "You are not telling me something. What has happened?" 

"Nothing." 

"That is a lie. Don't lie. You know why I was away for so long." 

"Andy..." 

"You must tell me if you know." 

"Look. Something happened, but if I tell you, you're gonna, like, freak out, and there's really no point. It's better now, so-" 

"What happened?" 

Remington shook his head. "You don't need to know," he tried. "It's not important anymore." 

"Remington." 

"You were hacked," he mumbled. 

Andy frowned. "I was hacked?" 

"Yes. You were hacked." 

"What did I do when I was hacked?" 

"Uh..." 

"Remi." 

Under his breath, Remington said, "You tried to kill me," and didn't look at Andy for a reaction because he didn't want to know what it would be. 

Andy was silent. He looked down at his hands. "I tried to kill you," he echoed. "By doing what?" 

"Well, if you must know, you insisted that humans were parasites and must be destroyed, and then you stabbed me with a pallet knife." 

"That does not sound like me." 

Remington laughed before he knew what he was doing. "No, but it wasn't really you. You kept saying you were Model Thirty-Four." 

"That is most strange. My model number is Forty-Two." 

"Huh." 

"Did I harm you badly?" 

"No. The knife was blunt and not very big. I'm fine now. Just got a few stitches. I'm sorry. I didn't want you to know, in case it upsets you or anything." 

"It was not me," Andy said calmly. "I am upset that you were hurt, of course, but I am not upset with myself, because it was not me. I do not remember anything after the headache. I understand now that it was so painful because it was the hackers. I am grateful that I know." 

"You are?" 

"You are not upset with me for harming you?" 

"No. Of course not. I knew it wasn't you. I asked for my name and you were, like, 'you are a Human. You must be destroyed'. You'd never say anything like that. I don't blame you." 

"That is a relief." 

"And now you're you again, and that's awesome, because you know I need and love you. Now will you make that soup you kept making when I was sick? I've been craving it." 

Andy grabbed Remington's face and kissed him hard on the mouth. "Of course," he said against his lips. "I need and love you, also. I am so happy to have returned to you. I also promise never to try and kill you, not like that cunt Model Thirty-Four." 

"You just said cunt," Remington laughed. 

"Yes. It felt appropriate. But in all seriousness, Remi, you are not traumatised? You have been stabbed, it would be normal to feel strange after." 

"I don't know. I've been feeling pretty wild lately. Wild in the bad sense, not the insanely happy sense. Obviously. You should have seen the way I yelled at Sebastian this morning, I was surprised at myself." Pulling Andy closer, Remington kissed him again. "You taste like a hospital." 

"That is not a compliment." 

"I know." He smiled. "It was an observation. Soup now, please." 

Andy kissed him once more before getting off the bed and going down to make the soup. They ate together in the living room, and he said, "You have been harming yourself." 

"Yes," Remington confirmed. "Another reason I am glad you're back." 

"You will tell me next time you are wanting to do it." 

"Absolutely." 

"Out of curiosity, what happened after Model Thirty-Four stabbed you?" 

"I shut him down and called an ambulance, and I guess while I was being stitched up, they came to take you away." 

"It sounds like a very troubling situation to be in. I am sorry." 

"It's not your fault. You didn't even look the same when you were being a psycho. Your eyes were so empty. It was weird." 

"I hope my eyes are not empty now." 

"No. Not at all. Because you're you again, not that cunt Model Thirty-Four. Mm, I missed your cooking." 

Andy smiled. "Let's hope that cunt does not return." 

"Yes. Let's."