25. Volt #2
“I think so? Magnolia was the one who arranged everything. She had the connections. Angel and I just did the booking and coordinating. I would usually bring the bots over to the event space while Angel stayed here, but to be honest, we didn’t look for a lot of new gigs when Magnolia wasn’t feeling well. ”
“Alright, so that’s actually… yeah, that’s most of your drop in revenue. See? Not your fault, since the person setting them up got sick and you both wanted to be here to take care of her.”
“I should have realized, though. We could have kept doing them. We were just so worried when she went into the hospital the first time, and then she never really got better.”
“So you put your family first,” Wallace confirmed. “But even then, it’s only a ten percent drop and not the source of your problems. If it was just that, you could have adapted and been fine. Your problem is rising costs. Let me look at that.”
Wallace read through expenses, year by year, with amazing insight. For each line item, Volt told him the story. Machinery breaking down. Rocks through the window. Old pipes. Bot malfunctions. None of them were that bad individually, but together they added up.
“It seems like a really long run of bad luck, and an uptick in petty harassment,” Wallace finally concluded. “Plus a lot of things that were purchased about twenty years ago and all needed to be replaced at the same time after their warranties expired. But you weren’t mismanaging the money.”
Volt let his head flop forward onto Wallace’s shoulder. “You’re sure?”
“I’m sure, Daddy. And you know I’d be happy to pay off these loans, right? I can take care of all of this for you.”
Volt’s motors locked up, gears grinding against each other, and there was a sharp, metallic taste in his mouth. It still felt wrong. He didn’t want to be saved or bought. And even though he didn’t think that was Wallace’s idea, he was already shaking his head.
He was just so tired, though. So damned tired of never being able to keep his head above water.
Maybe he should finally give in and let Wallace pay for things. Or loan him the money. Whatever.
As soon as he thought it, an abyss opened up in front of him. He loves you now, but that’s no guarantee for the future. Wallace could do so much better. What if our relationship ends, and all he remembers is how he had to bail you out, when he’s never had to worry about money for a day in his life?
And buried beneath it, the deeper fears. What if he doesn’t want you as his Daddy any more? What if he doesn’t need you? What if he can’t respect a man who doesn’t have a penny to his name?
The fears were paralyzing.
But so were their debts. And he’d been paralyzed by them for so long.
“Do you mind if I ask Magnolia, then?” Wallace asked gently.
“She’s doing something meaningful, with the way she’s set up her business to avoid putting sentient beings in a position they don’t want to be in.
And all these equipment failures aren’t your fault; a lot of small businesses need some extra help sometimes.
I could work it all out with her as a grant to support a small business.
I just don’t like seeing you and Angel so stressed all the time. ”
“I’m not stressed,” Volt told him, even though it was a lie. He just didn’t want to take Wallace’s money. As the Daddy, it should be the other way around. Or at least he should be able to pay his own way.
Wallace’s smile went soft. “You think I can’t see it, Daddy, but you get stressed all the time when you think about Prism.
When Angel tells you things while we’re on dates, you’re usually distracted for hours.
And I know that a lot of it is about Magnolia’s health, but it’s about the money, too.
You were stressed about it when I walked in today. ”
Dammit. He hadn’t realized how much Wallace saw, even if he didn’t realize that there was a third reason that Volt got stressed, what with all the vandalism.
God, his baby girl was sweet. So observant. So generous.
And at least for now, so genuinely selfless and committed to Magnolia’s vision and Volt’s family.
Maybe Volt should trust more. Maybe he just needed to believe in their love.
It was hard, though, when he couldn’t believe in himself.
“Maybe I’ll talk about it with Angel,” he finally grumbled. Although, really, he’d be stupid not to. Wallace was offering him money, not so that he could keep Volt to himself, like a possession, but so he could ease Volt’s burdens. Make things easier for the people he cared about.
God, he didn’t deserve someone as sweet and pure as Wallace.
“Now, Daddy?” Wallace asked.
Volt sighed.
Angel? He sent off a message.
A moment later he got a burst of staticky curiosity and a gif of a cartoon bunny faceplanting on the floor in exhaustion.
Wallace wants to pay off Prism’s loans.
For fucks sake, will you tell him yes this time? They’d already had this conversation several times, and Angel clearly didn’t have the patience for it today. This paint isn’t going to come off, and I can’t handle another thing. Let your sugar baby buy the carpet. It’ll make him happy.
Are you sure? Volt asked, though he wasn’t really sure why he was asking at this point. He already knew Angel’s opinions on the subject. He was the only one holding back.
He was the one who Wallace would be disappointed in years down the road.
Volt, he’s head over heels for you. And he’s fucking loaded. Our debts are pocket change. Get him to pay for all of them.
All of them? That’s too much.
Ask him. Tell me what he says.
“What did Angel say?” Wallace asked.
“How do you always know when I’m talking with Angel?” It had been one-point-three seconds, and he hadn’t actually said he would start the chat.
Wallace didn’t even dignify that with a response. “He told you to let me cover them, didn’t he?”
Volt sighed. “He said I should ask you to pay for the carpet.”
Wallace raised a skeptical eyebrow.
“Alright, he said to ask you for the whole thing.” Not that he was going to.
“And what’s the whole thing?” Wallace asked, unfazed, before turning back to the computer to see for himself.
Volt didn’t even want to know. It was a staggering amount.
Wallace clicked around. “Alright,” he murmured, half-distracted. “And what about Magnolia’s medical bills?”
“Those are mostly covered by insurance.” And a payment plan with the hospital that he hadn’t included, actually, since those were personal financials. Dammit.
“But not completely,” Wallace surmised. “And you said she had some personal loans, so I’ll look at those. Can we upgrade your security, too? Hire a private security guard for open hours? Buy a security bot?”
“No, sweet girl. That’s too much.” There had to be a limit somewhere, didn’t there?
His fingers felt numb, though all his sensors were reading correctly. He couldn’t believe he was agreeing to this. Had he even agreed to it?
“Not with the amount of revenue you’re losing to sabotage. And the risk to your and Magnolia’s lives.”
Volt sucked in a breath. They were being targeted, but surely the vandals wouldn’t actually hurt anyone, would they?
No, he had to believe that they wouldn’t go that far.
“I’ve looked into the cost. Just one guard makes more in a week than I do, at least the professional ones from a licensed company.
And private investigators charge by the hour.
” It was one thing to cover the loans and get them back on even footing, but the business would never be able to cover the cost of security staff, whether human or robotic.
“I can…” Wallace started.
“No, baby,” Volt cut him off. “The police are monitoring, and it doesn’t happen that often.
I’d be happy to talk with a security agent for some advice, and maybe have someone assess the security system, but we already upgraded it, and I can’t ask you to do more.
” He was already asking far, far too much.
Wallace still looked annoyed. “Volt, this is your family we’re talking about! Your livelihood! Nobody should be allowed to throw paint on your beautiful building.”
Volt fought back a smile. He was breaking inside, but Wallace, his beautiful Wallace, was so lovely and devoted that he just couldn’t think sometimes.
The Prism building wasn’t anything special to look at, especially on the outside.
But he could see how much Wallace loved the space that meant so much to him.
He still shook his head. “No way, babe. It’s probably just stupid kids.”
Even as he said it, he knew it probably wasn’t true. But what good would it do making Wallace worry even more? Their time together was supposed to be Wallace’s safe place, and Volt had somehow apparently agreed to taking his boyfriend’s money.
He couldn’t dump the threats and harassment on Wallace, too. He didn’t even want to think about them himself.
All he wanted was to stop stressing about the day, try to make peace with the dizzying amount of money that Wallace was willing to throw at them, and dote on his beloved boyfriend.
“New security cameras, then?” Wallace prompted, unwilling to let it go.
“We just got them installed. I knew the second the paint hit the glass and watched it with less than a second delay. I just couldn’t do anything to prevent someone from throwing it out of a moving car.”
“Right.” Wallace bit his lip. “I guess not. It just seems like we should be able to do something.”
Volt shook his head. Was there something he could have done to prevent this? The people had been wearing masks and the license plate was covered. Even a security bot wouldn’t have been able to stop a vehicle. “You’re already doing enough, baby. More than.”
“Alright, Daddy,” Wallace sighed. “Hand me my bag.” He looked toward the floor where he’d left it. “I need my tablet.”
Volt snagged the shoulder bag—so boring and masculine, not at all Wallace’s style—but he wasn’t sure he was ready to hand it over. He set it back on the floor. “You can’t just transfer all that money to me. Maybe we could talk about…” Something. He didn’t know what. It just didn’t feel right.