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The door opened suddenly, startling the cyborg and kraggon.
"I have the final piece! "Timothy exclaimed, closing the door behind him. "Hammerlock made it as quickly as possible to bring it to me! If I dared I would have kissed him on the spot! "
The redheaded rushed to his desk to complete the second, and final, metal leg. Wilhelm looked at him passing with a big smile. After more than four months on this bed, he was finally going to have legs. He will finally be able to move, walk, run and most importantly, help Timothy. He sat up on the mattress to give pets to Krikri and took a look at the other man. “It took you long enough to finish that leg!”
“I know, I know. But you know that Moxxi’s draft comes first! I’ve already been lying to her about you being here, so if I make her wait, not to mention it’s for helping me at the bar, I can’t refuse!”
“Besides, how’s it going with the robot?” asked the curious cyborg.
“We managed to reprogram it! Now it applies well to its bartender role, really! We just need to socialize it a little ... Oh! And I called him Gabi! You could take care of him if you want when he will comes here! "
“Gabi? Why Gabi?”
Timothy, concentrated on his work, shrugged his shoulder and replied with an amused ton “I dunno, I found it to be cute!”
Wilhelm chuckled softly. This kid will definitely never change. He gazed at him for a moment and then a question came to his mind. "Tell me, Tim, you didn’t tell Hammerlock did you?"
"No! Of course not! I told Alistair and Scooter that one of my best customers had been victim of a terrible accident, and that I was taking care of him because I'm too nice ... Well, not entirely a lie, right? Only Axton, his team and Zed know about you. Yet, I bet Zed thinks that the Vault Hunters had killed you after your interrogation. So, anyway ... when you get out of here ... keep a low profile, okay? "
"If the Crimson Raiders aim to eliminate Jack and ALL his allies, you can guess that I’m not going to get out of here screaming my name!" Reassured the older one. "But I have a question. How do you get by with your face…I mean, aside from wearing a mask?"
"Well, first, I am under the protection of Moxxi and second, out of all of the former Vault Hunters, only Roland knows. I had a very long discussion with him and he decided to keep me a secret. If Lilith knew, I imagine she would have blown up my head—VOILÀ!! It's finished!!! "
Timothy got up and brought the two scrap metal legs to the bed. He seemed to be even more excited than Wilhelm. He knelt, fixating the prosthetics in place and stood back just to make a few little precautions. Wilhelm swung the right knee and then the left one before folding them back again and moving his feet. It was hard to hold back his emotions.
"It seems to work!!! " He pointed excitedly to his feet, looking up at the double with a big grin.
"Oh my god, oh my god! Wilhelm, put on your feet! Uh, w-wait I'll help you! "
Timothy, who may be smaller but not less robust, bent down and gently pulled the other man forward. He then came to support him, putting his arm around the waist of the cyborg. "How do you feel? "
Wilhelm laughed. The prosthetics he had now were obviously much thinner than the one he had been accustomed. However, they seemed to support his weight. It took some time for him to find his balance but, with help from the redhead, he took a step, then another one and yet another. The arms that held him let him go and he continued to walk slowly, up until he reached the desk. How strange it was to see this place from this angle.
"I ... I can walk!! Damnit I can finally fucking walk!! "
Timothy was holding back some tears behind an oversized smile. He then rushed to the closet and took out the clothes he had managed to recover for Wilhelm. The Hyperion T-shirt was not the best to wear here, even at night. "Put this on, we're going outside! It will be much more convenient to test your new legs! "
After being sure Wilhelm was dressed much like a bandit, the cyborg climbed the stairs and came up behind the bar counter. It was a rather spacious and pleasant place, which must have been illuminated by the neon lights of Moxxi’s sign. The Badass Crater of Badassitude was known for its fighting tournaments as well as its races. This explained the presence of the traffic lights on the walls as decoration. The bar was almost completely empty save for the one man sleeping at the table in the dark corner. He felt the hand of the double taking his and pulling him towards the large scrap metal doors that, according to the surrounding windows, overlooked an old parking lot.
Once outside, they walked together toward the rear of the building, away from any prying eyes. There, Timothy dropped the hand of the enforcer and gently pushed him forward to take a step back. Wilhelm smiled and began to do some roundtrips. As with his arm, the movements of his legs were rather fluid despite there being a slight resistance in the right knee. He quickened his pace, feeling his heart beating wildly, excited by the freedom to move at will. Still seeing no malfunction, he began to run, softly at first, and then he sprinted. The mechanical legs bent to his will and resisted very well with his weight. It was perfect.
Applause drew the attention of the cyborg. It was Timothy. He approached him and saw him shyly covering his smile with his hands. Maybe he thought he had disturbed him?
So, without warning, he grabbed him by the hips, lifted him and laughed as he began to spin in a burst of pure joy.
"Damn, pretty boy! It feels so good to walk again! "He squeezed him against his chest and was delighted to feel arms closing around his neck back. He noticed also, by looking at the smiling face in front of him, that Timothy could not hold back some tears of joy that were now running down his cheeks. "Eh! It's me, pretty boy, who should be crying right now!" he joked.
"I can’t help it! I'm just so happy for you." Apologized the other.
Wilhelm stared at him with soft smile. He hesitated for a moment while holding him in his arms, how can he not be enjoying this? He leaned forward, face to face with the other man and kissed him. “Thank you, Timothy. After all the trouble you went through, I appreciate it a lot. You did a really good job.”
The redhead, more than surprised, suddenly brought his hands in front of his mouth. His eyes, fixed on the face of his lover, began to fill with tears and he then uttered a cry of joy.
The enforcer felt the thinner hands resting on his bearded cheeks and soft lips were pressed against his once more.
___
Wilhelm leaned against the bar as he carefully watched the customers while sipping a beer. He now wore a large coat that covered him, hiding the bulletproof vest fitted with metal plates and a pair of pants he had rolled up slightly above his scraped knees. He hid his empty eye socket with a strip of fabric stuck under the bandanna he had tied over his gray hair. With him dressed this way, it made him look a bit like an old pirate coming from the Wurmwater. Which was quite useful, knowing he had to hide his identity. He also decided to let his beard grow again, much to the delight of Timothy who loved to play with.
Three men came into the bar. The first wore a pink tank top that seemed to rip at his muscular chest and looked like he could be the same size of the cyborg. The two other, who were much smaller, were dressed in leather jackets and wore helmets topped with small spikes. They were undoubtedly from the crowd of Momma. The masked face of the double looked up the taller, “How can I help you?”
The man, who undoubtedly could be said to look exactly like a Bullymong, leaned over the bar to face Timothy. His hand sneaked under the mask of the redhead to caress him under the chin. "It's been a week. Have you thought about what I said? "
Timothy shrugged, "Sorry, honey, but the answer is still no. You're not really the kind of boyfriend I’d lov-" The big hand suddenly closed around his neck, preventing him from finishing his sentence. Wilhelm stepped in immediately. He grabbed the man by the shoulder and pulled him back. "Hey, buddy, this is not a way to treat people,” he said with a growl.
The other man gave him a dark look and threatened, "D’you know whom you're talking to, old man? I am Iron Fist and d’you want to know why they call me that? Huh?! "
"Hey! I just told you to have a more appropriate behavior towards the bartender! "
"Nobody tells me what I have to do!!! "
"Respect is too much to ask?"
"D’you know where I'll put your respect??!! C'mon, fight me, I’m gonna kick your ass!! "
Wilhelm began to chuckle and took an attacking position. "I didn’t think you were this cocky. Remember, you asked for this!”
He did not wait for an answer. His metal fist punched the massive jaw of the man in pink. His flesh hand caught him by the collar before he pulled back and went in for another hit. Then he saw his opponent taking three steps back, shaking his head and screaming with rage as the “bullymong” charged at him. Obviously, the cyborg was a regular of combat as he stepped aside, grabbed him by the belt, and forced him to charge into the metal wall of the counter. "Is it enough or do you want more?"
However, it was not the first fight for Momma’s man. As he sat up he grabbed one of the metal legs and pulled Wilhelm down, however Wilhelm quickly reacted by kicking the other man in the face.
"What a weakling! " Wilhelm chuckled as he stood up. He gave a second big kick in the ribs of his opponent and rotated him on his belly before bending down to pull him by the collar and belt. He heard the clanking of reloading weapons. Therefore, he hastened to throw the mount of muscle dressed in pink at both bikers before they could shoot. He approached Iron Fist, crouched beside him and maintained him firmly by the neck with his iron hand. "I warn you. If I find anymore of your marks on the kid, I promise you, I’ll break both of your legs! "
Once the Momma’s enforcer was finally released, he got up painfully and spat out one of his teeth. "And who are you?! "
"Wilh, leave him alone, he’s had enough," said the soft voice of Timothy from behind.
"The next one who even thinks of disrespecting or hurting Tim, he will have to deal with me…alright?!"
With that turned heel to return to the counter, when suddenly the double reached out towards him in attempts to warn him. He turned just in time to see the barrel of the gun pointed at him and deflected the shot. He quickly grabbed the arm of the enemy and, with a well-placed hit to the elbow, he broke it the arm like a stick.
Iron Fist screamed in pain. Wilhelm dealt him a rather violent punch so to make him fall to the ground and to also finally silence him. He picked up the gun that fell to the floor to force the barrel into the mouth of his opponent. “In fact, you pissed me off.” BANG!
The two other bikers scuttled away, thinking they were next on the list. The cyborg examined the gun he had in his hands before coming to rest it the countertop.
“Low profile, babe, low profile huh?” reproached Timothy.
“He provoked me, I just answered” replied the other.
“You are merciless” Timothy chuckled and shook his head as he picked up a glass and cleaned it.
“I don’t like when people hurt you, that’s all. Nobody hurts my boyfriend.”
“Aaaw, sweetheart! You’re so sweet when you are like that!” said Timothy. He leaned over, lifted his mask and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Wilh, I'm glad you're with me again."
Wilhelm, whose face was now bright red, smiled sweetly and turned his attention back to his beer.