Override (Glitch)

The rest of the time everything is pressing down so hard. The past. The future.” He shook his head and swallowed hard. “Sometimes I feel like I’m gonna break under the strain.”
    “You’re not going to break,” I whispered, squeezing his hand tighter. “You’re the strongest person I know.”
    He let out a scoffing noise and shook his head again. “Hardly.”
    “It’s true,” I insisted. I paused, watching the tension tightening at the corner of Adrien’s mouth.
    “How are we really doing?” I asked quietly. “You’ve been working with the Rez. You’ve seen visions. Do we really have a chance? Can we really take down the Chancellor and the Community?”
    He was quiet a long moment, as if he was trying to find the right words. “I don’t really know how to answer you,” he finally said, looking down. “Sometimes I worry we’re fighting a war we can never win. We’re impossibly outnumbered, we don’t have enough resources, and now that the Chancellor has joined the war, we’re stretched too thin. We were always fighting an impossible fight—that’s life in the Rez for ya. But now…” his voice quieted. “I don’t know. It’s harder to hold on to hope. We’re fighting for a dream, for a life unlike anything we’ve ever known. Maybe it can’t be done.”
    “Then why—?” I stopped myself.
    “Why fight?” He finished. “Why risk everything for something we might not win?” He turned his face back to me, his aqua eyes sparking to life just like they always used to when we talked. “Because if we don’t fight, we’ve already lost. Without hope, without trying, there’s no point. There’s no future. And you, Zoe,” his voice softened. “I would fight forever to have a future with you.”
    “Maybe hope alone can make a difference,” I said. “Maybe having something to fight for will make us stronger than anything they can throw at us.”
    He nodded, but I wasn’t sure if he was really agreeing with me. Then he looked back at me and smirked. “You know, we’re talking about war and revolution, but really this is supposed to be when you sneak into my room just to make out.”
    I laughed. “But I’m trapped in this suit.”
    He lifted a hand and caressed down the side of my head. “You must be exhausted.”
    “But I can’t sleep.”
    “I have an idea. Here, lay down on your stomach.” He moved to arrange the pillow for me.
    I laid down, and he put his hands on my shoulders, squeezing and rubbing his thumbs in circles. I felt like I was about to melt into the mattress. He moved from my shoulders up to my neck, and then back down again.
    I felt myself growing drowsier with each passing minute. Even though I wanted to stay awake so I didn’t miss a moment with him, I quickly dropped off to sleep.

Chapter 4
    I WOKE EARLY, confused about where I was until I felt Adrien’s arm draped lazily across me. In spite of everything, I couldn’t help smiling. I tried to slide out of Adrien’s grasp without waking him, but he stirred anyway.
    “Hey,” he said as I sat up.
    I looked down at him, his hair crumpled from sleep, his eyes blinking open slowly. I’d never seen him this way before. All dreamy, before the weight of the world had fully settled back on his shoulders. I loved the way his brow jutted out to shadow his eyes, and the smooth aquiline cut of his nose. I could have stared at him forever.
    “Keep sleeping,” I whispered, but he rubbed his eyes and sat up.
    “Nah, I’m alright. What time is it?”
    I raised my arm and looked at the readout on my suit. “Six. I’m serious, you should get more sleep.”
    He got to his feet. “Can’t,” he grinned, his eyes still sleepy. “View’s too nice to close my eyes again.”
    I smacked him on the shoulder, but felt a slight blush come to my cheeks anyway.
    He pulled me close and nuzzled a kiss in the curve of my neck. Even through the suit I could feel the gentle pressure of his touch. But still it wasn’t the same as really being able to touch him. I cursed my allergies for the millionth time.
    He pulled back and gestured to the curtain that hung as a sleep partition. “After you.”
    Jilia was already up. She stood at the counter with her back to us.
    I looked around the room, impressed again at how many conveniences they had in spite of the fact that this was a mobile building in the middle of nowhere. A small kitchen area was set up in the corner, complete with a sink and a food thermal unit. A table