Imperfect Perfection

Fynn followed quietly, looking at the ground and observing the imperfect perfection. A lot of people complained about how old the roads looked, despite them looking like that because no one wanted to waste the funding to upkeep them. However, Fynn liked the character it brought to each road. The concrete cracked and broken due to years of abuse and use, but it still worked, despite everything it had been through. Fynn looked up as they heard the sound of a door opening. They winced as they walked into the well-lit and bright environment of the grocery store.

Ches waved casually at an employee as they passed. Fynn glanced over, swallowing and trying to do the same, but their heart sped up and their body didn't seem to want to listen to them. By the time they had sorted themselves out, they were already past the person. They looked down again, counting the different colored tiles. Ches got a cart for them and Fynn grabbed onto it, enjoying the feeling of cool metal in their hand.

People had advocated for replacing these, but some expressed concern about robotic carts replacing store employees, they had seen it debated online. Fynn preferred the traditional carts. It felt much more reassuring, and it wouldn't ask for their input, instead passively waiting. Ches walked through the store, humming as he grabbed some groceries and deposited them into the cart. Fynn swallowed as they held onto the side of the cart, looking at the people passing them by and trying to ignore the way their heart raced.

Ches glanced over, before looking at what he had already put in the cart. Ches hummed as he took out his smart cuff, passing it over to Fynn. "Look at the 'supplies' list in my notes and tell me what is on it," Ches said casually as Fynn took the cuff. Fynn ran their fingers along the edge of the cuff, staring at it for a long second before nodding and turning on the device.

The cuff was black, and when its screen was off it almost looked like a normal cuff. It was a slip-on cuff which allowed for more of the cuff to be part of the screen. When Fynn turned on the device it revealed the lock screen, which caused Ches to reach over and press his finger against the bottom of the cuff. The cuff verified it as Ches' fingerprint and unlocked. The background of the cuff held a picture of Ches, Fynn, and Rani back when they were younger. They were sitting on a staircase in various 'cool' poses. If Fynn remembered properly this had been the first time they had all gotten their hair dyed. Fynn scoffed slightly with a small smile as they looked at the photo.

Fynn wondered why Ches hadn't been wearing his cuff. Fynn read out the items to Ches after finding the notes, looking at him to check whether he was hearing what Fynn said. Ches nodded at everything, telling Fynn they had already gotten some of these things and instructing Fynn on how to check them off. Fynn nodded, checking them off before going to the home screen and just browsing the cuff. There were a few games on it, but none of them caught Fynn's eyes.

Fynn opened the photos app, looking through Ches' photos. There were photos of when they were children, probably downloaded from one of their parents. It also held some selfies of Ches in front of various places, some downloaded photos of nature, and some candid photos of Fynn. Fynn frowned as they saw the candid photos, looking at Ches. Ches looked over after a second and noticed Fynn's look, peeking over Fynn's shoulder, after realizing that he had been caught Ches looked at them.

"Do you want me to delete them?" Ches asked curiously, "Sorry if these make you uncomfortable, I didn't mean to." Ches frowned as he tried to take the cuff, but Fynn shook their head.

"No, I'm not uncomfortable, I just- I was surprised," Fynn spoke casually, looking at Ches. They swallowed as they held the cuff tightly.

"It's better to have the memories than lose them." Ches still explained as he smiled, taking back the cuff and scrolling through the photos. "After Rani, I was looking for photos of him, but I realized I didn't really have a lot of them. Of course, I had a few, but not many. I thought it was really sad, so I decided I'll make sure to document everything now." Ches put the cuff on, looking over at Fynn. "I hope you don't mind." Fynn shook their head, looking at Ches for a second, opening their mouth, before pursing their lips and looking away.

"We should continue shopping," Fynn said, and Ches glanced over, before shrugging. They continued their trip, and Fynn stared at the various packaged goods. They soon entered the fresh produce section and Ches quietly bagged up various ingredients and weighed them. Fynn took out their more classic-looking phone, they could admit that Ches' taste in personal items had rubbed off on them. They had bought it on impulse, a simple white rectangle with a black rectangle for a screen. It had many of the things old-style phones would have, as the style still held a large population of the world captive. Fynn could remember when they were younger their phone had been the same style, renowned for its simple design and ease of use.

Fynn entered their fingerprint and looked at their notifications, ensuring nothing surprising had come up on their streaming channel, before checking in with their home system. The phone reported the dishwasher, dryer, and washer were running, it also reported Kalem's status as idling. Fynn lifted their eyebrows at seeing Kalem idling, thinking back to how much of a mess their home had been. They frowned as they looked at it, before looking away as Ches began to guide the shopping cart toward the checkout. Their eyes lingered on the people who were wandering about the checkout area

"You wanted to get flowers, yeah?" Ches asked, looking at Fynn. Fynn nodded as they looked up, making eye contact with Ches. They then looked at the line for the checkout and frowned. Ches followed Fynn's gaze, taking note of the wandering masses, "Don't worry, I'll find a short one." Ches navigated the cart without pause as he continued to speak. "What kind of flowers?"

"Our kind of flowers," Fynn said on instinct, before frowning and looking at a sign at the back of the store labeling its dairy section. "That sounds childish."

"No, not at all. I'm sure Rani would appreciate it." Ches glanced back at Fynn. They were standing in a line now, and Fynn stood as close to the cart as possible as Ches leaned on the handle. "Do you think the morbid fucker would find it funny that we still visit his grave?" Ches asked casually as he looked at his nails, which were bitten short. One on his thumb had been bitten a bit too short a few days ago, and it looked like it still stung.

"He'd probably find it funnier that afterward, we spend time hanging out and drinking until we black out," Fynn admitted, not looking up from a random game they had pulled up on their phone. They had been playing this gacha game for a few months, though they only checked in once or twice a day. They enjoyed the simplistic gameplay where they would log in daily to get rewards, play a few levels, and pull some characters. They had been attracted by some of the characters, so they had built up a bit of an arsenal in this game over the past few months. Though, they were nothing in the face of the other players.

"That's true," Ches said, beginning to place items on the conveyor, "Did styling not work for you?" Ches asked as he glanced at Fynn. Fynn looked up, lifting an eyebrow, "Your roots are coming in." Fynn rolled their eyes, looking down at their phone.

"You never ignore anything, do you?" Before Ches could say anything they continued, "I just couldn't work up the will." They looked at the holographic display to the side, displaying advertisements. They looked at the stand of things right in front of them. A bunch of health nut shit. They pursed their lips as they looked at a protein bar, narrowing their eyes at the flavor. Chocolate- They didn't know whether to trust it. They told themselves it would probably taste horrible. They looked away, trying to ignore it. However, they couldn't help their eyes drifting back toward the protein bar. 'But did it taste horrible? Did it really? How would it taste?' They thought, narrowing their eyes in an inward debate. 'I don't need it, though. However, I can afford it, and it isn't much, just one-'

They took one, and Ches glanced at them, but they didn't explain it to him as they threw it onto the conveyor. Ches continued loading up the conveyor in silence. Fynn walked over to the front, walking on the opposite side of the cart as Ches to avoid an accidental run-in. They walked over to the register and scanned their phone. After it verified who the phone belonged to they stepped back, letting Ches handle it as they went back to their game.

"Quite the haul." The cashier was apparently feeling chatty, not that Fynn cared, Ches was the one who had to deal with it. Ches laughed casually,

"Just getting house supplies for my friend," Ches said honestly as he watched everything getting bagged. "Can I get the protein bar? Thank you." He grabbed the bar when the cashier offered it, passing it over his shoulder to Fynn. Fynn grabbed it, and put away their phone, before opening the bar. They took a bite out of it, before frowning at the flavor. It didn't taste like chocolate. It wasn't out of their expectations, however, they couldn't help but deflate slightly at the discovery. Ches seemed to have been watching because he laughed.

They glared at Ches, chewing it. The more they ate it the less satisfied they got. It wasn't the most horrible experience, but it was a bad one and not worth it. They swallowed the bite before they looked at Ches, who was watching, "Is it really that bad?" Ches asked, clearly suppressing continuing to laugh as he began to take bags from the counter and put them in the cart. Fynn nodded, offering it to Ches because Ches would want to check for himself whether Fynn wasn't just being picky. Ches took it and took a bite from it as well, pulling an interesting face. Fynn could barely hide their laughter now as they smiled at Ches.

"It tastes nothing like chocolate, right?" Fynn chuckled, and Ches nodded as he grimaced, but also finished his bite. Afterward, Ches shifted the packaging of the bar, folding it up and around the protein bar. Ches shook his head, glaring at the bar as if it had offended his ancestors. Fynn laughed as they looked at him, and Ches rolled his eyes. Ches finished putting the groceries into the car and put the bar into his pocket. Fynn lifted an eyebrow at Ches, who just smiled slightly