“Crap, crap, crap, crap, CRAP!” Akita cursed as she hastily ran towards a bakery up ahead. She had to get in there fast! Above her, the sky was already rumbling with thunder, so the rain was to follow suit. She definitely did not want a repeat of last time! Luckily, she was able to make it inside, right before the sky just burst open like a waterfall.
   
“Whoah!” the baker called out, surprised at the appearance of the priestess.

“Just… a moment…” Akita panted, her hands on her knees.

“Well… uh… take your time… I guess?” the baker stammered.

‘Take my time? I AM time,’ Akita thought to herself before standing up straight again. Only now did she get a look at the baker. It seemed that he was a somewhat elderly man. He had maybe eaten more of his own bread than he probably should. “Sorry for the intrusion, Byte.”

“... Byte?” the baker questioned.

Akita just turned around and ignored the question to watch the rain. She could explain her terminology here, but she highly doubted the man would understand her. Heck, barely anyone at the church understood what she was talking about half of the time. In a way, it made her feel a bit lonely sometimes... “Doesn’t look like that’s letting up anytime soon,” she sighed.

“Oh… uh, no, I guess not…” the baker said, still fumbling over his words. Though she had her back turned to the man, she knew that his eyes were all over her. It’s something that she had gotten used to by now.

Akita just turned around again then. “You don’t mind me staying here for a while, right?”

“Don’t like the rain, huh?” the baker said.

“Well… let’s just say I’m allergic,” Akita chuckled as she put her visor over her face which proceeded to project her interface in front of herself, which only further confused the baker. With great speed, she pressed the right buttons to get to her communications hub where she then made a call to one of the devices at the church. Just a few moments later, a familiar face appeared on-screen: her daughter Kaidyn.

“Greetings, unit mother,” the android said, her appearance as neutral as ever. Ever since Akita first activated her, Kaidyn had been learning more and more about human interactions and emotions. She had grown significantly and was able to imitate such emotions quite well, but she still appeared neutral most of the time.

“Hello, Terabyte!” Akita grinned. “It’s, uh… raining.”

Kaidyn tilted her head. “Did you not bring an umbrella on your stroll?”

“Weather forecasting isn’t exactly my strongest suit… Feline’s a whole lot better at that, and she’s still working on restoring her valley,” Akita sighed.

“I see,” Kaidyn responded thoughtfully.

“Kaidyn, come on.” “It’s your turn!” came two voices from off-screen. Akita identified them as Bwiky and Parii.

“Am I interrupting something?” Akita grinned.

That’s when she saw that Kaidyn had actually activated her blushing protocol. “I-it’s just a board game, mother!” she said.

“Uhuh, sure,” Akita laughed, quite amused at her daughter’s inability to hide things. “Can you uh… pause your board game to send someone over to me? I’m not gonna get home on my own.”

“Ah… of course, mother. I shall ask mom. Cya later, alligator,” the android replied before promptly hanging up again.

“Cya later, alligator? Where did she pick THAT up, I wonder…” Akita pondered to herself. Kaidyn said it with such sincerity too! It was just too adorable. As she turned off her holographic interface again, she could see the incredibly confused look that the baker was giving her. She just removed her visor to smirk at him. “Whazzup?”

“... I don’t even know where to begin with my questions…” the baker replied, dumbfounded.

Akita laughed. “Probably for the best, Byte,” she said before staring out the window again. The rain was just getting worse and worse it seemed, and she didn’t exactly want to keep the poor baker from returning home.

“Well uh… can I interest you in some bread?” the baker asked.

Akita looked him over. Somewhere inside of her, a program began running that would really love to try out some of the delicious looking buns, or to have a taste of the croissants that she could smell. Her smile faded from her face then. “Sorry… can’t eat. It messes up my systems as much as the rain does,” she explained, sighing softly. She loved her body and honestly wouldn’t have it any other way, but the one time she regretted transforming into a time elemental was around delicious food. Oh, how she missed eating...

“Ah… that’s a shame,” the baker said.

“‘Sokay, Byte,” Akita chuckled. “I’m used to it.”

A silence fell then as Akita just watched the rain for some time. What a day it was. She had decided to go on a stroll to clear her thoughts about some concerns when the clouds suddenly grew a whole lot darker. It was certainly applicable to her mood alright. The thunder roared while massive puddles started appearing on the streets. Quite the storm, alright…

“Are… you okay, miss?” the baker asked after about ten minutes of silence.

“Huh?... oh, yeah, I’m fine,” Akita lied.

“Hmm… if something’s bothering you, well it’s best to talk about it with someone,” the baker said.

Akita looked at him then. He was right of course. She was about to respond when the door of the bakery opened. There in the doorway stood her lovely wife, who looked quite concerned.

“Akita! Are you okay?” Bridget asked.

“I’m fiiiine, Bridge. I was able to find shelter in time,” Akita grinned.

The priestess of clockwork sighed before coming in for a tight hug. “Thank the goddess,” she said.

Akita was initially hesitant, but it seemed that Bridget was still very much dry. Only then did she notice the umbrella that her lover was carrying. “Thank you, my Terabyte,” she smiled meekly as she returned the hug.

“I… came to rescue you,” bridget smiled, looking Akita in the eyes.

“Heh… appreciated,” Akita replied.

Bridget’s smile faded then. “Dear… are you okay?”

Akita put up her fake smile again initially, but then she remembered what the baker had told her just a few moments earlier. “Actually… I guess there are a few things bothering me…”

Bridget looked down for a moment before giving her lover an almost motherly smile. “Then let’s talk about it, shall we? You know you can tell me anything.”

The corner of Akita’s mouth lifted appreciatively. “Thanks, Bridge,” she said softly.

“Let’s go,” Bridget smiled as she began walking for the door again.

“Hey… thanks for letting me stay for a bit, Byte,” Akita told the baker before following her wife.

“No problem,” the baker replied. It had probably been the strangest workday for him in quite some time.

As the two women stood in the doorway, Akita looked hesitantly at the downpour. “Oh boy…” she cursed.

“Don’t worry,” Bridget said as she folded out her umbrella again and held it up. “I brought the big one.”

“Stay close, okay?” Akita said nervously.

“Always,” Bridget winked. They then locked their arms and began their slow walk through the streets towards the cathedral of time.

In the first minute, Akita was mostly just trying to get her bearings. Walking through the rain like this was quite risky, but everything seemed to be running smoothly for now.

“So… what’s bothering you, my love?” Bridget asked.

“I… well… how do I put this…I wish I could talk to you and the others more…” Akita admitted.

Bridget halted her pace then, to look at her lover, confused. “But… you can do that, right?” she asked.

“Well, yeah but like… uh… well, I can’t talk to you about computers, which is kinda a huge part of my identity,” Akita specified.

“Ah… right,” Bridget said, looking to the ground.

“You don’t understand half of what I’m talking about, and the others understand even less. I wanna tell you all about the amazing features and specifications of my software, but, well, you wouldn’t understand,” Akita said as the two slowly continued moving again.

“Isn’t this kind of like how you don’t really understand ballet?” Bridget mused, smiling meekly.

“Huh?” Akita asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Remember when you thought a pirouette was something you put on a sandwich?” Bridget laughed.

Akita blushed. “That was when we were sixteen!” she huffed.

“Regardless… I had to educate you, and you’re still oblivious to most of the terms I’m throwing about,” Bridget said.

“I… guess that’s true,” Akita replied as she moved just a few inches closer to Bridget from the rain.

“The point is… All of us… with the exception of the lazy twins perhaps…  are trying hard to understand your equipment, but it’s just very complicated stuff,” Bridget smiled.

Akita looked down and thought about it for a few moments. Everything was perfectly clear to her, and it all seemed pretty straight forward, but of course it wasn’t all that easy for everybody else. “So… how do I fix that?” she pondered.

“Hmm… maybe… what about a class?” Bridget proposed.

“A class?” Akita gasped.

“Why not? I mean you just start from the very basics and take us through everything as you go. You could even open up this class to others outside the church.”

Akita thought about that for a few moments as a grin appeared on her face again. A genuine grin this time. “Bridge, have I told you I love you?”

“Millions of times, but say it again anyway,” Bridget winked.

Akita leaned in to kiss her lover. “I love you, my terabyte,” she whispered. She may not have solved her problem instantly or anything, but she was reminded of how much Bridget meant to her. With just a few words, she was able to pull her out of her slump.

Just then, a very bright flash appeared, followed by a very loud thundercrack, causing both women to gasp in surprise.

“Let’s… wait with being all lovey-dovey till we’re back at the church, shall we?” Bridget chuckled nervously.

“Y-yeah… good idea,” Akita grinned just as nervously.