Real Steel fic: People Can Change
Title: People Can Change
Words: 1,051
Rating: PG
Summary: Max talks to Atom. He teaches him sign language. He allows himself to hope.
Disclaimer: Characters/etc. belong to DreamWorks or something.
Taking care of Atom felt right. It felt right like being with Mom felt right, which was something Max didn’t like to think too much about. He wasn’t five years old; he knew how to handle himself, but at the same time…
He didn’t have to think so much when he spent time with Atom, whether he was cleaning him, fixing him, or fine-tuning him. It made him feel a little silly, but sometimes he talked to Atom. And - he’d never admit to Charlie - he loved confiding in Atom. Atom was in there somewhere, listening to Max. He was convinced of it. Max just wished he could give the robot some way to talk back.
Which was how Max found himself teaching Atom pseudo-sign language early one Saturday morning.
Turns out that most sign language involved freedom of movement with hands that Atom didn’t quite have - he could take a punch and give one back, for sure, but he wasn’t built for the sort of precise hand coordination that sign language demanded. So Max taught him what he could using Atom’s mirror function, explaining out loud what each movement meant and hoping that Atom understood.
They took a break a bit before midday, Max grabbing a Coke and some chips from the vending machine outside of the room. He had Atom pick him up and he sat in the robot’s arms, watching cars pass on the distant freeway.
“Do you really think it could be like this?” he said out loud after a few moments. Atom, of course, remained silent. Max swallowed and licked salt off of his lips. He looked back towards the motel and their room, wondering if Charlie was still asleep. Man he felt stupid, but he wanted to talk to someone. Before it was always Mom but now… Well, Charlie kind of wasn’t an option.
He took a deep breath and kept going. “I…want to forgive him, Atom.” He swallowed again, throat suddenly dry. He took a sip of Coke. “I want to forgive him for everything. I want to be able to trust him.” Shaking his head, Max pushed his back against the hard surface of Atom’s armor. “I want to believe in him, and I do, but… What if this is just a thing?”
Max remembered the few stories of Charlie he heard from his mom…and the bits he heard from Bailey. Charlie was an amazing guy but he wasn’t a great person, necessarily. And Max was trying his hardest not to hold that against him because people could change, right?
“People can change,” he said, feeling stupid and naïve. Charlie wouldn’t take him like this, all childish and annoying. That’s why he didn’t want him in the first place, right? Because he was a kid?
Max sat up, re-activating Atom’s mirror function and instructing him to set him down. He wiped his eyes, sighing big before turning to face Atom again.
“I’m not a kid,” he said to Atom. He balled his hands into fists and raised them in front of his face, watching Atom do the same. “I’m not some stupid kid.”
It was another hour or so before Charlie came out and they got back on the road.
*
They’d won another fight and they were on top of the world, grinning at cheering fans as Charlie raised Atom’s arms. Charlie clapped Max hard on the back and it knocked the wind out of him a little bit but Max only smiled more. He yelled at the crowd with Charlie as they exited the arena, laughing.
“Great job out there, kid,” Charlie said as they were accosted by several people, one of them carrying an envelope for Charlie. He and Charlie shook hands as the money was passed over and they moved on. “You really are good at that dance stuff.”
“Atom’s not so bad himself,” Max countered, making Charlie chuckle.
“It’s the man behind the machine who makes things happen,” Charlie said as they made the dark parking lot where the truck was. “Put a great bot in an amateur’s hands and all you’ve got is scrap metal.”
Max smiled up at Atom as Charlie lowered the ramp of the truck. “A great bot helps, too,” he said quietly. Atom’s eyes flickered.
A few minutes later Atom was loaded up with the rest of the gear and Charlie was grabbing the usual nondescript white bag and chucking it at Max, who caught it easily.
“One of these days I’m going to get sick of burritos,” he said.
Charlie grinned, walking out of sight to the driver’s side door. “It’s a gyro.”
*
Max continued the impromptu signing lessons, moving past getting Atom to mirror them and trying to initiate conversations. That, however, was somewhere along the lines of asking him to actually fight on his own, the only input of information being the opponent’s actions. Technology wasn’t quite there yet.
So Max did the best he could - he had conversations with himself.
“How…are you?” he said out loud as he signed and Atom mirrored him. “I am…well…thank…you.”
“How…is…your day?”
“Good - but…Charlie is…sleeping late…again.”
“He is…very…lazy.”
“Good…for…boxing…and…little…else.”
“Is that all I’m good for?”
Charlie’s voice alarmed Max; he started, jerking and almost falling off of the table where he was seated. His face heated up exponentially fast, embarrassment making his cheeks burn. Charlie was smiling, albeit rather skeptically.
“What exactly are you doing with Atom?” he asked, strolling over to the table.
Max swallowed, brow set stubbornly as he urged his face to calm down. “Teaching him how to sign.”
There was a heavy moment of silence where Charlie between at Max and Atom. “Max… You know he’s a bot, right? He’s not intelligent. He can’t do anything with that information unless prompted.”
Max shrugged. “I dunno, I thought it could be fun. Show people something else they haven’t seen.”
“I’d bet money that nobody’s seen that,” said Charlie lowly as he turned back towards the motel. He shook his head. “A bot that signs. Well. We’re leaving in fifteen, hope you’re ready.”
Max turned back towards Atom, feeling his throat tighten. “You’re different, right Atom?” he said quietly. He stepped closer to the robot, watching it mirror his movements and help close the gap. “He’ll see, one day… People can change.”
*
Words: 1,051
Rating: PG
Summary: Max talks to Atom. He teaches him sign language. He allows himself to hope.
Disclaimer: Characters/etc. belong to DreamWorks or something.
Taking care of Atom felt right. It felt right like being with Mom felt right, which was something Max didn’t like to think too much about. He wasn’t five years old; he knew how to handle himself, but at the same time…
He didn’t have to think so much when he spent time with Atom, whether he was cleaning him, fixing him, or fine-tuning him. It made him feel a little silly, but sometimes he talked to Atom. And - he’d never admit to Charlie - he loved confiding in Atom. Atom was in there somewhere, listening to Max. He was convinced of it. Max just wished he could give the robot some way to talk back.
Which was how Max found himself teaching Atom pseudo-sign language early one Saturday morning.
Turns out that most sign language involved freedom of movement with hands that Atom didn’t quite have - he could take a punch and give one back, for sure, but he wasn’t built for the sort of precise hand coordination that sign language demanded. So Max taught him what he could using Atom’s mirror function, explaining out loud what each movement meant and hoping that Atom understood.
They took a break a bit before midday, Max grabbing a Coke and some chips from the vending machine outside of the room. He had Atom pick him up and he sat in the robot’s arms, watching cars pass on the distant freeway.
“Do you really think it could be like this?” he said out loud after a few moments. Atom, of course, remained silent. Max swallowed and licked salt off of his lips. He looked back towards the motel and their room, wondering if Charlie was still asleep. Man he felt stupid, but he wanted to talk to someone. Before it was always Mom but now… Well, Charlie kind of wasn’t an option.
He took a deep breath and kept going. “I…want to forgive him, Atom.” He swallowed again, throat suddenly dry. He took a sip of Coke. “I want to forgive him for everything. I want to be able to trust him.” Shaking his head, Max pushed his back against the hard surface of Atom’s armor. “I want to believe in him, and I do, but… What if this is just a thing?”
Max remembered the few stories of Charlie he heard from his mom…and the bits he heard from Bailey. Charlie was an amazing guy but he wasn’t a great person, necessarily. And Max was trying his hardest not to hold that against him because people could change, right?
“People can change,” he said, feeling stupid and naïve. Charlie wouldn’t take him like this, all childish and annoying. That’s why he didn’t want him in the first place, right? Because he was a kid?
Max sat up, re-activating Atom’s mirror function and instructing him to set him down. He wiped his eyes, sighing big before turning to face Atom again.
“I’m not a kid,” he said to Atom. He balled his hands into fists and raised them in front of his face, watching Atom do the same. “I’m not some stupid kid.”
It was another hour or so before Charlie came out and they got back on the road.
*
They’d won another fight and they were on top of the world, grinning at cheering fans as Charlie raised Atom’s arms. Charlie clapped Max hard on the back and it knocked the wind out of him a little bit but Max only smiled more. He yelled at the crowd with Charlie as they exited the arena, laughing.
“Great job out there, kid,” Charlie said as they were accosted by several people, one of them carrying an envelope for Charlie. He and Charlie shook hands as the money was passed over and they moved on. “You really are good at that dance stuff.”
“Atom’s not so bad himself,” Max countered, making Charlie chuckle.
“It’s the man behind the machine who makes things happen,” Charlie said as they made the dark parking lot where the truck was. “Put a great bot in an amateur’s hands and all you’ve got is scrap metal.”
Max smiled up at Atom as Charlie lowered the ramp of the truck. “A great bot helps, too,” he said quietly. Atom’s eyes flickered.
A few minutes later Atom was loaded up with the rest of the gear and Charlie was grabbing the usual nondescript white bag and chucking it at Max, who caught it easily.
“One of these days I’m going to get sick of burritos,” he said.
Charlie grinned, walking out of sight to the driver’s side door. “It’s a gyro.”
*
Max continued the impromptu signing lessons, moving past getting Atom to mirror them and trying to initiate conversations. That, however, was somewhere along the lines of asking him to actually fight on his own, the only input of information being the opponent’s actions. Technology wasn’t quite there yet.
So Max did the best he could - he had conversations with himself.
“How…are you?” he said out loud as he signed and Atom mirrored him. “I am…well…thank…you.”
“How…is…your day?”
“Good - but…Charlie is…sleeping late…again.”
“He is…very…lazy.”
“Good…for…boxing…and…little…else.”
“Is that all I’m good for?”
Charlie’s voice alarmed Max; he started, jerking and almost falling off of the table where he was seated. His face heated up exponentially fast, embarrassment making his cheeks burn. Charlie was smiling, albeit rather skeptically.
“What exactly are you doing with Atom?” he asked, strolling over to the table.
Max swallowed, brow set stubbornly as he urged his face to calm down. “Teaching him how to sign.”
There was a heavy moment of silence where Charlie between at Max and Atom. “Max… You know he’s a bot, right? He’s not intelligent. He can’t do anything with that information unless prompted.”
Max shrugged. “I dunno, I thought it could be fun. Show people something else they haven’t seen.”
“I’d bet money that nobody’s seen that,” said Charlie lowly as he turned back towards the motel. He shook his head. “A bot that signs. Well. We’re leaving in fifteen, hope you’re ready.”
Max turned back towards Atom, feeling his throat tighten. “You’re different, right Atom?” he said quietly. He stepped closer to the robot, watching it mirror his movements and help close the gap. “He’ll see, one day… People can change.”
*