Truth was, the monochrome schema was a leftover that reflected the Grid's design history: rapid iteration from one particular code base and coding style, by one person--by one single, singular User grinding it out in his spare time.
"He used to say we'd add that later," muttered Clu, sad without understanding why. "What's, why, what--" there was nothing wrong with his aesthetic preferences--halogen gold, mellow streetlight orange. They couldn't be wrong and still be perfect, and so instead of asking what was wrong, he changed thequery parameters, blurting: "Why!"
The overcharge, again. Pushing him to reactions he wouldn't normally allow.
Clu didn't quite sigh. He let his head roll back with it, carefully mellowing his next words until they came out sly and curious.
"What's your favorite? We could get some of it up here." After all, under the right conditions, gold and gold made purple. "Don't really know what it was like," he admitted. "The old--! The last system, I mean. Encom's. Yours."
He liked the being braced snug against his code-brother, but man! Man, oh man, he was positive he did not want--whatever it was that was so compelling about standing over his code-brother like that--out on the table between them just yet.
This was all so, new. Better to nip down his runaway tongue for now.
"Bull," a soft snort, though he still had no idea what el toro really had to do with lying, conceptually. "You forget, man, I have stacks of data and a whole pile of logs, now that I know it's you--Reckless and relentless."
But the words were fond. Somehow, at the bottom of this tank of red, Clu had discovered that he was fond of his code-brother. And when he talked of belief, of derezzing for it, something went tight and brilliant deep in Clu, live-wire hot.
"Y'won't have to do that, ever again." It was almost a vow, from someplace deep. "Not with me."
Clu had settled in firmly, discovering that once he was allowed to, he liked that very much. The glint of his code-brother's mischievous smile only just caught his eye.
Something about needing out of his clothes, to which Clu could entirely relate. Even naked, he still felt almost grilled, radiating heat and other energy castoff.
"Yeah," wry, even as he thrilled quietly to the way their heads rested together. The steady nearness of a fond presence. "Yeah, you don't wanna overheat either."
And for the offer of more he let himself gleam in return, circuits and eyes the same kind of bright, a certain sudden laser focus piercing the veil of red.
He meant it for a gradual smooth lean and ended up flopping back onto the mattress, caught a nano in the richness of soft, dark sheets.
"No kidding?" He huffed out a laugh, just a little grit to it. "Man, don't let me stop you."
With a great big grin, all teeth, gazing up at his code-brother with something bright and intense that was too gauzy with energy to be worship.
no subject
"He used to say we'd add that later," muttered Clu, sad without understanding why. "What's, why, what--" there was nothing wrong with his aesthetic preferences--halogen gold, mellow streetlight orange. They couldn't be wrong and still be perfect, and so instead of asking what was wrong, he changed thequery parameters, blurting: "Why!"
The overcharge, again. Pushing him to reactions he wouldn't normally allow.
Clu didn't quite sigh. He let his head roll back with it, carefully mellowing his next words until they came out sly and curious.
"What's your favorite? We could get some of it up here." After all, under the right conditions, gold and gold made purple. "Don't really know what it was like," he admitted. "The old--! The last system, I mean. Encom's. Yours."
He liked the being braced snug against his code-brother, but man! Man, oh man, he was positive he did not want--whatever it was that was so compelling about standing over his code-brother like that--out on the table between them just yet.
This was all so, new. Better to nip down his runaway tongue for now.
"Bull," a soft snort, though he still had no idea what el toro really had to do with lying, conceptually. "You forget, man, I have stacks of data and a whole pile of logs, now that I know it's you--Reckless and relentless."
But the words were fond. Somehow, at the bottom of this tank of red, Clu had discovered that he was fond of his code-brother. And when he talked of belief, of derezzing for it, something went tight and brilliant deep in Clu, live-wire hot.
"Y'won't have to do that, ever again." It was almost a vow, from someplace deep. "Not with me."
Clu had settled in firmly, discovering that once he was allowed to, he liked that very much. The glint of his code-brother's mischievous smile only just caught his eye.
Something about needing out of his clothes, to which Clu could entirely relate. Even naked, he still felt almost grilled, radiating heat and other energy castoff.
"Yeah," wry, even as he thrilled quietly to the way their heads rested together. The steady nearness of a fond presence. "Yeah, you don't wanna overheat either."
And for the offer of more he let himself gleam in return, circuits and eyes the same kind of bright, a certain sudden laser focus piercing the veil of red.
He meant it for a gradual smooth lean and ended up flopping back onto the mattress, caught a nano in the richness of soft, dark sheets.
"No kidding?" He huffed out a laugh, just a little grit to it. "Man, don't let me stop you."
With a great big grin, all teeth, gazing up at his code-brother with something bright and intense that was too gauzy with energy to be worship.
Clu had never passed up the offer of a show.