Mable: Here's another request, one that's overdue for a friend on Deviant Art. For those of you who are on Deviant Art, she walks among us in plain sight. Anyway, I don't own 9, Enjoy!

Nothing and Everything

It was supposed to be a joyous occasion. Certainly most of the Stitchpunks had injuries after what was practically a war against the Fabrication Machine and its forces, but they were alive. The rain had done its work and they woke again. What followed was a lot of healing and for the next few days it seemed to be nothing but surgery. Two sewed Five's patch before getting extensive leg surgery, Six had to have his ankle fixed and a wrist popped into place, and Eight had to get part of his leg fabric replaced after a sizeable burn.

One wasn't spared of this either, but his hand was able to be repaired quickly. He was under the magnet for a short time and awoke with a slightly discolored, but perfectly functional hand. However, that moment was an odd turning point, and shortly after One retreated into a makeshift room made of book stacks and hanging fabric. At first the others were too busy to notice, save Eight who started to perch himself outside of the door, but once the others were on the road to recovery they became aware of the situation.

"He's been keeping himself in there for days," Seven pointed out to the others. "Locked away hiding for hours after hours. I haven't seen him come out once." There was concern bubbling around the others. The twins flickered curiously to one another as Five volunteered, "This…Seems a long time to be recovering from a hand injury. Sure, it should still hurt, but he can't still be sleeping!" Now Nine volunteered cryptically, "Maybe that's not what's keeping him in bed…" He looked to Eight in concern, "Eight?"

"He's not talking to me about it," Eight announced to them. "I'm just guarding the door, but not cause he told me to or anything." He let them take this in for a moment before looking to Two. "Two, I think you should talk to him." The Inventor nodded in agreement and stood, leaning on his crutches for support. "Two, wait, I don't know about this…" Five began and tried to help the shorter to his feet. "I'm fine, my boy. I'm not going far and I'm certain that I can talk some sense into him. At least rile him a bit."

So Two was sent in limping. "One?" He asked in a friendly way, "One, have you been feeling alright? You've been sleeping for quite a while." He received a quiet and graveled voice speaking back to him, "I'm not sleeping." The shorter came closer to the bedding he was curled into on a small book. "Well, you could've fooled me," Two sat down wearily on the edge and rubbed his thighs. "How are your legs?" One inquired as he turned slightly to look at the other male.

"They're there. That's all that matters to me," Two playfully responded and looked back with a smile. "They're doing much better." He now noticed that oddly enough there was a saddened look stretched on the older's face. "Is something bothering you, One? You don't frequently hide away like this…" Two became a bit more somber now as true concern began to appear. At first he simply thought One was sleeping off the fatigue of everything that happened, to take a break from all of this, but now it seemed elsewise.

"I'm fine, Two… I don't want to bother you or the others any more than I have." The Inventor blinked and inquired, "One, what are you talking about? You're no bother!" Now One grew more firm himself. "I purposely sent you out into the Emptiness to teach you a lesson," He admitted, "and it nearly led to your death. That is more than a bother; it's a travesty." He stared at Two who paused only a moment. Then he answered clearly and firmly, "I purposely fought with you to be sent out."

"What?" One asked in disbelief and Two looked ashamed, "One, you knew, I've done it before. We were both wrong, perhaps, but we can't dwell on it forever. Eventually we have to move on." The Leader briefly thought before nodding, "Then we shall…" He started to regain a saddened look, "But I have wronged the others and myself as well… I can't move on from those quite as easily." The Inventor was distressed to hear this. "I understand," He reached forward and patted One's back lightly, "I just… I care about you One."

"I know, Two," the older almost meekly responded. "Regardless of what happened you are my leader, and my brother," Two continued. Now One seemed to get a hint of a smile, "Thank you." A moment of silence passed before Two inquired, "So are you coming out?" Almost immediately One down casted yet again. "Not right now. Perhaps later," he replied and laid back down. The Inventor was disturbed, but didn't argue and headed back out to the others who were waiting expectantly for answers.

"He's… Not coming," Two explained. "He sounded a bit depressed, though. Perhaps he's just a little downtrodden by everything that's happened recently. The best thing we can do is encourage him gently to come out." Nine agreed but then inquired, "But won't sleeping it off help?" It was Five who shook his head, "No… It feels like it, at first, but things don't get better until you just get out again and start to face it…" Now he boldly stepped forwards, "Maybe I… Maybe I can talk him out of it. Out of bed at least."

The Healer passed through the curtain and faced the Leader in the bed. "One?" The Leader shifted slightly and Five came closer. "One, it's not healthy for you to stay in bed like this. I'm not sure what Two and you talked about, but I know what it's like to want to hide in bed and sleep through your stress… But all it does is make it harder to get out again… I know how it can be…" When One slight turned his head as though listening Five sat down on the bed and explained further.

"You know how I was after I lost my optic. I laid in bed, covering my face, going between sleeping and just staring at the wall. I… I couldn't get over it…" Five hesitated for a moment to sigh almost depressingly. "I thought I wouldn't ever get better. I just wanted to be normal again…" Then he straightened a bit, "But I couldn't do it. I couldn't hide forever and it wasn't until I actually left the bed, the room, and started to learn to adjust that I realized I wasn't as bad off as I thought."

The two Stitchpunks stood there silently for a short while. Then One started to sit upwards a bit and turned towards him. "I've been too hard on you, Five. I have no doubt that I haven't ever given you the credit you've deserved." Five blinked in surprise at the comment, "W-What?" Whatever he was going to say seemed to be cut off pretty quickly by the comment. "I spend too much time ignoring accomplishments that normally would be great feats, being blind to strides such as learning to live without an optic."

"I-I…" Five began and One added in, "I've been a poor leader to you. Instead of taking care of you, encouraging you, I spent most of our time together intimidating you into staying in the Cathedral." Five wasn't sure what to say; he was just too shocked at this change of character to even fathom a retort. "I-I-One-What?" The Leader nodded to him, "But I… I have no intention of making the same mistake twice… I cannot fathom the fact of how I could be so unyieldingly foolish." Five shook his head, "One, wait, it's okay."

"it's not," One corrected as he laid back down, "But I'm sorry for what strain I've caused you, and I never intend to cause you such stress again." He turned away and tugged the blankets over his head. Any encouragement Five had to get out of bed was gone from the shock and he stood, heading out the door to the other waiting Stitchpunks. "Well, uh… I don't know," He answered and the others looked questioning. "Well, he… He apologized about how he acted back at the Cathedral and then just shut me out."

Two's brows raised, "That was about the same that he did with me." He had left that detail out beforehand and now everyone was uncertain. Nine especially was already starting to draw his own conclusions as the Stitchpunk group all looked at each other. "I don't think he's planning on apologizing to me. I'll see if I can get anything out of him," Seven volunteered and headed towards the door without hesitance. "Don't rile him too much," Two playfully quipped and the female got a slightly amused smile, "We'll see."

Then she was in the room as well and directly stood at the foot of One's bed. "One, we need to talk," she insisted, "You can't just keep hiding in here." One was about to speak when Seven raised a hand to stop him, "I know what you're going to say, but whatever happened before doesn't matter right now. What matters is that you're hiding in here, refusing to leave." Finally the Leader sat upwards for her as well and she expected to see his normal glare.

Instead there was the same downtrodden look. "Seven, you did not have to come in here. I'm very aware that after everything you are possibly the last one that wants to see me." The Warrior smothered her surprise as she knew this was what caused Five and Two to back down. She had to be firm but patient, and couldn't let whatever he would say drive her away. "What happened before doesn't matter. What matters now is getting you out of this room," she insisted further in determination.

"Then let us get this over with now," One insisted, resting his hands in his lap. "I made many mistakes as a leader. Instead of accepting your desire to fight back and using it as a positive, such as using your time out as a way to scout, I gave you an ultimatum that eventually led to what happened." It was still a sore subject and Seven didn't really want to talk about it. "But I remained stubborn needlessly when I could have simply changed my perspective. I could have gone after you."

"That doesn't matter anymore, One," Seven insisted, but his depressed tone was already starting to take a toll on her. She sighed and fidgeted with her helmet. "One, we both said a lot of things that night. We were both prideful and I had no intention of backing down… But we both made mistakes and things have changed now. It isn't the same situation anymore, so there's no use in dwelling on it." She insisted, trying to pull him out of his rut.

"Regardless, I apologize," One admitted, "I acted like a dictator, a dictator who clearly couldn't see potential in his own followers. I now see that you were always a warrior. In keeping you confined all I did was dampen your own abilities." He certainly looked saddened and Seven was feeling very uncomfortable by the situation. She managed to get out more, "One, it's fine. It's time for us to start over and leave the past behind us." She slowly moved towards the doorway.

"We can't dwell on it forever. If we do then we're just as prideful as we were back then, and we can't afford to make the same mistake twice." She actually gave him a smile before heading out of the room to meet the others. They looked to her expectantly and it suddenly dawned on her what she hadn't done. One had talked and apologized her right out the door as he had done to the others. She swore under her breath and the others realized what happened.

"What about you, Eight?" Nine tried and the larger shook his head. "I was in there earlier and he wasn't listening to me then… Besides, I can't stand seeing him like that," he admitted with shame at his own comment, ashamed that he couldn't go face the leader he was so close with. Nine was baffled; One hadn't even said anything to Eight and yet there was the same uncertainty that was now with Two, Five, and even Seven. They were all equally concerned.

"I can try," Six suggested and approached the door. Before anyone could protest, though nobody actually did, he slipped through and into One's bedroom where the leader was still sitting upwards. Though he was currently rubbing his face and looking almost completely miserable as he sat there. Six crept forward silently until One suddenly looked over at him. Then the Artist froze on the spot and simply stared back at the Leader until the older spoke.

"Ah, Six, I've been wanting to speak with you." Just that comment alone made Six dread what One was going to say. Six had a feeling that if One started apologizing it would bring around some subjects that the striped male felt very uncomfortable bringing into the open. "I have done you wrong," One started sadly and Six protested, "No, we're fine. Nothing's wrong." One insisted further, "I want you to know, Six, that I never doubted your feelings though. I never thought that you were insane-."

"Thank you. Well, I have to go now," Six rambled out as he suddenly took off to the door, "Please feel better." He stepped outside of the doorway and was faced by Nine. "What did he say?" He asked and Six shook his head, "Nope, nothing, we're fine, have to draw." Suddenly Six was off like a bolt of lightning, going over to where the twins were to hide out. Nine watched him go before frowning. This was it, he couldn't watch this keep happening, and with a firm look of determination he stormed in.

"Nine?" Five asked after him but didn't follow as Nine entered into the darkened room. One was watching him as he stormed across the room to the candle, fumbling with the matches at the base before lighting it and filling the room with a glow. "That's it!" Nine finally spoke to One, "Enough of this; you're getting out of this bed and you're going to stop wallowing in self-pity." One looked to him emptily and opened his mouth to say something.

"And don't start apologizing to me too. It's not going to work on me," Nine pointed out in a surprisingly firm tone. One's optics widened in surprise, "What?" He was baffled by Nine's assertiveness, especially as the younger male continued. "You're apologizing, repenting for what you've done, and that's fine and all…" He frowned firmly, "But you're doing just so that you can keep going on about what you did before, so that you can stay confined to this bed and push the rest of us away!"

"That's not true," One protested and yet Nine didn't back down. "It is!" His fists clenched tighter, "That's why you keep saying you're sorry about what happened but are still hiding back here. It's time for you to be honest, One, and not just honestly lamenting on what happened before." One sputtered at the comment before remarking, "I'm being honest. I'm making amends for my mistakes." He was clearly saddened still and Nine was beginning to feel saddened as well, but wasn't backing down.

"One, that's great, but this isn't the way to do it. You're hiding in here moping about things you can't change." Shockingly enough this was what finally set One off, he flinched before looking down and scowling a bit. "Perhaps if you all would just leave me alone you would be satisfied with my answers. I am apologetic, but perhaps I don't want to go out and walk aimlessly around a dark Library for hours on end," His tone was shockingly bitter and Nine blinked in surprise.

"It's all fine and all for you and them. You love this Library, they love this Library, they love that they were able to come here- Never mind. I'm not doing this with you," he raised his hands in an attempt to silence himself, but Nine protested. "No, One, be honest with me," He sat down on the bed beside One, looking to him, "If you really want to change and be a better leader then let's not hide this." The older male scoffed in an empty fashion, "I have no intention to become leader again."

"Alright, fine, but still," Nine insisted, "why are you really hiding in here like this? It has to be more than this." One tightened his grip on the bedding; Nine just had to push him. He had to probe and ask, want and need, look with those wide optics of innocence and promise helpfulness and understanding. It was driving One insane. "Can I not just have time to adjust? Must I really be out there watching everyone rebuild while I have to remember that my actions and decisions eventually led to the loss of everything I meant to keep?!"

His voice was growing a bit louder, but Nine continued to patiently listen. "I was so stubborn and determined that I was willing to risk our lives to keep us safe and in the end everything is gone! These were from my choices and while Five and Two can lament the loss of their Watchtower knowing that it's unavoidable, Six can redraw his drawings anew, and Eight can find more weapons to collect and shape, I cannot move on because I lost my sanctuary solely on my own decisions! In my madhouse of power I lost the only thing I had to protect me!"

Nine now got a more saddened and sympathetic look, "One, you can't blame yourself for that. You couldn't stop the Winged Beast, we couldn't stop the Winged Beast, it just… It just appeared out of nowhere." One covered his face with his hands in despair, simply filled with nothing but regret. "I just want to wake from this nightmare and go home, but there's no home to return to. Everything is gone…" Now Nine protested, sliding closer to the hunched over male.

"Everything's not gone, One." He put his hands on the older male's shoulders in a comforting way. "I know you lost something great and I know you think that it was your fault, but it wasn't. I know that you've made bad decisions in the past, I have too, but the point of realizing it isn't to feel guilty but to make better decisions in the future." He finally moved his arms forward, hugging around the Leader in a reassuring way. He didn't care if it was awkward; he knew that One needed more than words.

"And… We have each other, right? What a home worth if you're alone?" One stayed silent and Nine rested his head on One's shoulder. "I know the Library isn't what you wanted, but staying in this room, hiding away from it isn't going to make it the Cathedral. All it will do is make the Library even less of a possible home." Then he fell silent and the two quietly sat there for a few moments. Nine started to become concerned as One took longer to respond. The Leader just stayed silent, not immediately responding.

"…What if it doesn't?" One quietly asked in almost a needy tone and Nine murmured back, "It will, I promise. We just have to make it one." He got a smile and turned his head to look at the older male. Even though smiling he felt a tingling warmth at seeing that One, still saddened, was starting to come around a bit more. One hummed a bit and pressed his forehead against the younger's, in a surprisingly affectionate way. Nine hadn't remembered anyone else mentioning him doing this.

"One?" Nine supposed it was just a return of affection like he had given, but it truly felt foreign. One had his optics closed and simply rested there before briefly drawing back, leaning upwards to press his lips to Nine's forehead. The younger male gasped a bit at the action and pale green began to smother his cheeks. "I'm sorry," One apologized and Nine sputtered, "No, don't- Don't be sorry." The older stopped him, "-For worrying you and the others. You are entirely correct. I… I should be grateful that we're alive and well."

He gave a nod and pressed his forehead to Nine's again, wrapping his arms around him and returning his hug as Nine's slightly loosened. "And I am. I am grateful." Nine smiled a little at the comment, "I-It's okay to be upset, One, but just don't sit in it alone. We're here for you. I'm here for you." The other nodded silently, petting over his back in small motions. Finally the younger tried one more time, hugging One once again. "Why don't we just go out for a short walk? You've been in here too long."

At first when he was rewarded with a tired sigh he thought that One was going to argue, but instead he agreed. "Very well, but don't expect me to enjoy it. Especially when there's no doubt that the others will be gawking at me." Nine gained a goofier smile and teased him, "Only Six. Come on, I'll be with you." He climbed off of the bed and took One's hand, coaxing him out. One slowly followed and stood as well, stretching a bit tiredly and groaning. "…Maybe I should walk around a bit more."

"That's what a few days in bed will do to you," Nine playfully teased and squeezed the Leader's hand before releasing. "Ready?" One looked down for a few seconds before reaching out and taking Nine's hand again. "I am." Nine fought back another blush, gave a crooked smile, and guided One out of the room.

Suddenly One felt like he had everything back. Or, at least, One had Nine, and that was worth everything.

FIN

Mable: One request down, many more to come in the near future! I hope that everyone enjoyed!