Mable: This is a request fic for Ink! Ink, I hope you enjoy, and I hope I managed to write it well enough. As for the couple, your review didn't state one so I used a random number generator and came with this one. Anyway, I don't own 9, Enjoy!

When You Love Someone Else

Six hated to hear One's demands when Eight couldn't give any retort.

One didn't know where he was going or what he was doing; he just knew that Eight was randomly disappearing at times and was tired of hunting his Guard down. Tired of not knowing where the larger male was at random times at the night. "Leaving at all hours of the night?! Really, Eight, I thought I could trust you better than this!" It made Six feel guilty because he knew where Eight had been, and it was his fault that Eight had been disappearing so frequently.

It was only in the last month that Eight and Six's bullying changed to friendship, and then changed into something deeper, more intimate and beautiful. Six usually smiled when he thought about Eight and his time together. The soft kisses, the nightly meetings where they cuddled in bed, though Six would admit that he was the one who did more of the cuddling at night then Eight did. This was the third time since their nightly rituals began that One had brought Eight to attention and demanded to know what the Guard was keeping from him.

Raving and ranting, One was growing even more impatient with this behavior. "I would never expect this sort of usurpation from my own Guard! This is outrageous!"

"Boss-." Eight began, but was quickly stopped, "I do not want to hear your excuses!" Six couldn't stand it, hearing Eight get badgered, and decided to speak, "One, he wasn't..." He noticed a weird look from Eight, one that begged him not to say anything. They had been keeping their relationship secret for a while and the last thing the Guard wanted was for One to figure out what was going on this way. Still, Six couldn't stand watching as One beat him down like this, about how he couldn't trust him, about how he was the last person he thought he couldn't trust and he couldn't any longer.

It was when One called him 'Oaf' for the third or fourth time that Six decided it was time that he himself took the fall. After all, he was the one who was making Eight and him share a bed, because of the nightmares. "Eight's been with me at night." He insisted and One didn't seem to believe him at first, "Oh, he has, has he? Very well, that clears things completely. Simple, really, you have been with Six ever night for the last month doing… What was it, again?" The sarcastic tone didn't sound good on One and Six continued, his voice faltering a bit.

"We've been sleeping together." That caught One's attention. Maybe it was because how shocked Eight looked hearing Six actually say it out loud, but One suddenly realized that Six was not lying to him, and his slanted optics widened considerably. "What?" He looked to Eight for answers and repeated, "What?" The others in the room were also staring, they had eventually gathered after hearing the original commotion with One yelling. There was an eerie silence in the room before Six decided that it was time to come out with everything.

"We're in love."

It didn't help the silence, or One's reaction, as he now clutched his chest like he was about to fall over dead. Eight had an empty reaction as he was not exactly sure how to react and eventually murmured to Six, "Six, we need to talk, now." It wasn't angry, thankfully, but it sounded serious enough that the Artist didn't like it. He suddenly regretted saying anything at all. Since One wasn't in any shape to protest the two eventually made their way out of the throne room and back to Six's room, which was farther away than Eight's room so nobody would hear them

Upon entering, Eight immediately spoke to Six, "Why did you say that?" He asked in exasperation, "He looks harmless now, but he'll flip and be after my head in a few minutes." The Artist looked to the ground innocently enough, "I just… I just didn't like hearing him yelling at you." Eight rubbed his head, "Don't worry about it. It's fine. I'll just cover it up later." Six shrugged a bit, "Maybe if he knew about us then he'd be understanding." Eight chuckled dryly, "One doesn't go for a lot, and he wouldn't go for what we're doing."

Six smiled a bit, "I'm sure even One understands love." There was a small silence before Eight raised a brow, "What?" Six was confused at why Eight was getting this reaction and corrected, "I mean, if he knew how much we cared about each other, then maybe he'd understand more." There was this weird look that passed Eight's face. It looked like realization, mixed with horror, and suddenly Six didn't feel very confident about himself or nearly as secure as he did when he was with Eight.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Six asked softly and Eight looked like he was in a war of emotions before settling on one that was of sympathy, "Six, I sort of thought this was a casual thing, you know. I mean, we've been spending the night, and the small things, but I thought that you knew…" He trailed off and Six suddenly felt cold as he pieced together the fact that he was the only one mentioning love. "You don't… You don't love me? But you said- But we were together! How could you not- Why?!"

"It's nothing about you." Eight insisted, "Trust me, I wouldn't have gone this far if I thought you'd start having other feelings for me. I just thought we were having a little fun while it lasted." Eight clearly understood how distraught Six was growing and decided that, since he was at fault by not making things clear earlier, he was willing to take the blame for this. It wasn't like with One; Six had a reason to be upset, and since they had grown closer he still cared what he thought, even if he didn't love him.

"It's her, isn't it?" Six asked softly, voice cracking, "It's her. It's always her." He meant Seven, who frequently had some of the other Stitchpunks fawning for her. Eight merely answered with a simple, "Yeah, it's her." Six crumpled into his hands with a soft, "Creator, and turned towards the wall behind him to shield himself from whatever else that Eight could possibly say. Eight decided to keep pressing in an attempt to calm Six down, "It's not that I don't like you, Six. We've had a great time, I still care about you, and I never wanted to hurt you, but…" he exhaled, "I don't see this going anywhere that serious."

"Get out."

Eight was taken aback by the strict tone suddenly coming from the striped Stitchpunk before him, "What?" The Six turned on him with a clear glare, "I said; get out!" With that, Eight felt something shove him, almost like an invisible force shoving him against the wall. It was harsh and knocked the wind out of him as Six screamed, "You want her so bad?! You can have her! But you're not crawling back to me when she turns you down just like she's done to everyone else who's found her so irresistible!" Eight inched out the door slowly; he didn't know how Six shoved him without touching him, but it unnerved him.

"You're going to end up just like Nine, and Five, and all the others she threw away, but you're not coming back here! I'm not giving you anymore than you already taken!" Eight waited by the curtain, unsure if he should leave, "Six-." Six turned on him with pure anger in his face, "You thought you could just use me because I was some sort of freak who wouldn't tell the difference?! I won't forget this Eight! I won't forgive you for this! Get out!" With that, his body shook, and an inkwell flew in Eight's direction. Eight didn't need another warning; he disappeared into the hall.

Now Six was alone, panting softly, and suddenly the anger melted into nothing but sadness. Overwhelming betrayal caused his body to suddenly wrack with sobs and he fell to his knees, sobbing into his hands. He had begun to love Eight and to love what they had and now it was all over. He couldn't keep it going when he knew Eight loved Seven. It hurt and he didn't want to be alone, but he wasn't about to stoop to pathetically begging for affection, even if he was the most bizarre Freak left in the world.

He seized and sobbed, eventually standing and heading to the wall where he began to rip his drawings down, the most recent ones. They were inspired by lies and he didn't want them anymore. He wanted nothing to do with Eight ever again. That's when he heard footsteps in the doorway and cried out, "I told you to go away!" In response, another voice echoed, "Six?" The Artist jumped a bit as it was clearly not Eight and turned around to see none other than Five standing there, looking incredibly concerned. He stared at the Healer briefly, not saying anything, before speaking, "Oh… Five… I didn't know it was you."

"I… I heard you from down the hall." Five pointed out and the Artist immediately spoke, "He said…" He released a choke, "He told me he loved Seven… He doesn't love me. He never loved me." Five didn't understand everything that was going on, but understood enough, and when Six held his arms out in a desperately needy fashion Five reacted by embracing him, "Oh, Six. It's okay." The Healer attempted to calm as the Artist fell apart in his grasp, sobbing horrifically. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

"Why?" Six asked, "Why can't he love me? What's wrong with me?" Five held him close, "There's nothing wrong with you, Six. Eight just… He just doesn't know what he's letting go. He thinks that he would be better with Seven, and maybe he will, maybe you need someone else." Then, suddenly, Five apologized, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." Six pressed further against Five's neck, "Five… It happened with you. With Seven." Five paused, "Seven? I don't- oh…"

There was a suspicion among the others that Five had pined for Seven at one point and he was more than willing to set the record straight, "No, no. I never had feelings for Seven. Nine did, but I didn't." There was a brief pause before Five continued, "But I… I do know what it feels like to love someone who doesn't love them back." Six looked up to him desperately, "It hurts. Does the hurt stop?" Five stared at him, mouth slightly opened, unsure how to answer at first. Then he forced out, "I don't know, Six… I don't know."

The striped one closed his mismatched optics and pressed into the Healer's shoulder. He wanted to be held and it wasn't like he had Eight to hold him any longer. Thankfully, Five was here, just like he usually was. Five was once the only Stitchpunk Six could rely on, and it was that way once again, and that was alright. At least he had the Healer to be here. However, he was afraid to ask, afraid to be turned down, "Five…" He started and fell silent. Five coaxed him, "Yes, Six?" Six forced the words out, "Don't leave. Please. I'm afraid to be alone. I don't want to be alone."

Five gave a reassuring smile, "I won't. I promise." They moved to the wall to sit down. Five continued to held Six as he released a few more sobs before falling into silence and soon a very light sleep. Five felt terrible for Six; nobody deserved to go through the horrors of unrequited love. He faced it himself, the disturbing prospect, and nearly had his heart broken. That didn't mean that Six deserved to suffer to make Five feel better. Six was going to be alright; eventually Five knew that he would get over Eight and learn to love again.

As for Five's own love; he was more content to simply hold him close as long as he could.

When Five awoke the next day, still holding Six, he found the other already awake while being worse for wear. He just laid there, limply, and so Five offered different options to him. "Want to help Two and I work on the new Watchtower." Six's voice was flat as he softly responded, "No." Five didn't like this new tone in Six's voice. He sounded torn apart so the Healer prodded, "I could… I could get you some more ink and you can draw. How about that?" Once again, Six didn't accept this, and merely replied, "I don't want to."

Once Five actually got out of bed his day slowly revealed itself to him. Six wasn't planning to leave bed or do anything at all and Five was the one willing to take the job. A few of the others passed through, but their presence didn't help. Nine didn't seem to make Six feel any better, the twins were unable to help him as well, and Seven's appearance was simply salt in the wound. When Two appeared that afternoon Five was out of ideas. "How is he?" Two asked as they spoke in the hall.

"He's terrible." Five explained pitifully, "He won't leave bed or show interest in anything at all. He just lays there and stares at the wall. Nothing else." Two was clearly concerned, but not as out of ideas as Five was, not yet. "Perhaps we can coax him out with something he enjoys." He suggested and Five shook his head, "It won't work. I already tried drawing and he barely reacted to it at all." The Inventor smiled a little, "I doubt he would agree if we asked him. So, instead, we'll try something a bit quieter.

It was less than ten minutes later that Five returned into the Artist's bedroom carrying an inkwell he had retrieved from Two. He crossed to one of Six's own and began to fill it to the top. "Five, I don't want to draw." Six insisted from the bed and Five was merely thrilled that the striped one had addressed him on his own. At least he wasn't that fixated on the wall. "You don't have to." Five merely responded. He remembered that Two insisted for him to be calm and upbeat through the rest of the plan.

"Then why...?" Six didn't finish the question, but was clearly wondering why Five was filling the inkwells if he didn't want him to draw. There was a little left that was poured into a smaller inkwell, "Because I'm going to draw." Five replied simply and Six's confusion was understandable. Five never drew and when he did it wasn't very well. Still, here he was, and he even had Two's quill to prove it. He pulled forward a scrap of paper, dipped his quill in the ink, and began to scribble out a drawing of something.

First he was trying to go for what he wanted the watchtower to look like, different than the old one, and when that became too overwhelming he restarted trying to draw the Library. Three or four times of restarting and Five realized that he needed to start his drawings a bit simpler. This time, he drew the inkwell that was before him, and was able to steady the lines to look decently well. That's when Six wandered to his side and sat down on his knees beside him. At first he just watched him and took interest in Five's work.

Then, slowly, he became more comfortable and wanted to draw as well. He reached for his own piece of paper and began to work right beside Five. He didn't notice how wide the Healer was smiling at this point. This was Five's new way of getting Six out of bed and for two days he continued with it. There were certain boundaries; if Five stopped drawing then Six would, Six wouldn't draw alone at all, and during drawing the only thing that could be spoken about was pleasant things. Things that wouldn't involve Eight, bad news, or anything that would directly upset Six.

Five seemed to constantly be in there drawing, but it didn't bother him in the slightest. He enjoyed spending the time with Six, perhaps a bit too much, and the Artist needed to social interaction at the moment more than Five needed to leave and work on the watchtower. On the third day, though, Six came with a suggestion that shocked Five. "Maybe… Could you show me the watchtower?" Five was thrilled and promptly leapt to his feet to lead the other male out of his room for the first time in days.

He made sure to avoid the others enough that Six wouldn't feel pressured. When they did make it into the Watchtower, Six was in awe at how much had been finished, and Five decided to explain their work. "It's a little bigger than the older one and this one we're going to finish the roof on, so that we have less trouble with the weather. We'll look for a new telescope once we have that much done." He explained, paused, and then asked, "What do you think?" The Artist actually smiled and Five felt his insides twist at the feeling, "I like it."

"I'm glad." Five admitted and leaned on the railing of the Watchtower, Six standing beside him and staring out at the Emptiness. It was serene and calm; exactly what Six needed at the moment. He noticed that the Healer was watching him and looked to him, "Five?" Five blinked and looked away, "Sorry, I was… I was just glad that you're here… Are you feeling better?" The Artist nodded slowly, "I… I think so…" He stared out at the distance, "Now that I think about it… I'm upset that it happened, but I know I can't go back. I can't go back to Eight now that I know how he feels about me."

"I'm sorry, though. You shouldn't have gone through that. Eight should have been, I guess, a little more clear about his intentions." The Healer insisted, "But maybe… Maybe you'll find someone else?" Six looked to him slowly before smiling once again, "I want to. I don't want to stay alone because I'm… Because I'm like this." Five caught that comment and protested, "Six, that's not why Eight did this. It's nothing you did wrong, he just… He just wasn't thinking." Six still seemed hesitant, "Maybe… But they look at me, all of them, like I'm a freak."

Five didn't like hearing the other say this and reached out to touch his shoulder, "Six, they don't think that. Nobody thinks that. You're not a freak. If anything, you're-." His breath caught and he couldn't believe that he was about to spill more than he needed to. He had to finish the sentence and did so, "You're very, very attractive. More than the others." This caused Six's cheeks to warm and he stared at the other male, "I am?" Five smiled and nodded at this, "You are. More than any human picture I've seen either."

His words were slipping and he couldn't control them, because he had wanted to say them for so long, and he suddenly found himself leaning forward. He only realized what he was doing when his mouth was a mere centimeter from Six's. His lips twitched and wanted the contact so badly. He couldn't stop himself, and chastely kissed Six's lips. After that a swell of panic overtook and he pulled back, "I'm sorry- I shouldn't have done that- after everything- I was just…" Words failed him as he mentally pleaded that he hadn't ruined anything.

Something about the light kiss with Five was different from even the heaviest ones with Eight and Six was taken aback by it. He ended up smiling before speaking, "Five… could you.. Maybe… Again?" Five was taken aback in surprise, "What? But… But Six…" Six insisted, "I liked it… It was different than with Eight. It made me feel like…" Six quieted his voice and spoke pitifully soft as though he was afraid he would scare away Five, "Like you loved me." Five stared at Six as the Artist felt a little unnerved; afraid he had ruined it again.

That's when Five spoke, a distressed look on his face, "Six… I have a confession to make… But I don't think you'll want to hear it." He rubbed the back of his neck, "I know it's wrong, but… But I was almost relieved when you and Eight weren't together anymore. Because I… Because before Eight, before you and Eight were together, I was beginning to… I started to…" He paused and braced himself, "I was in love with you, and I still am… I haven't just been helping you because I'm your friend. I'm just as bad as Eight was."

Six was certainly taken aback, but viewed the situation much differently. Learning that Five had cared this deeply about him for so long and was willing to remain quiet to help him was amazing. If anything, Six felt incredibly wanted, and he smiled a little, "You love me?" Five nodded slowly before noticing Six's smile, "I…I have for a while." Six didn't exactly know what to say. He had only just had things ended with Eight and wanted to move on. He couldn't deny the warmth in his insides that signaled how much he did care about Five.

So soon after Eight, though, he was afraid that he wasn't completely past the incident. "Five…" Six started, "It feels like I love you. Inside and I know that I… I want to be with you. I'm just… I'm a little…" Even though he didn't say it, he was afraid Five would change his mind like Eight did, and he was scared. Five decided to reach out and embraced Six completely, "It's okay, Six. If you want to wait, I'll wait. If you want to not be together, that's fine. But I still will be you friend no matter what."

With those words Six knew exactly what he wanted. That had made his mind completely and he leaned forward before meeting his lips to Five's suddenly. This took Five aback, but he pushed back, and the two let their lips rub together in beautiful circles. Six only pulled back to speak, "Five, I love you, I know it." Then embraced the other tightly, "I think… I know I love you. I want to have what I couldn't with Eight, with you, can we do that?" Five smiled, "I think we can." Then their lips met again, ignoring anything else in the world.

Maybe Six was glad Eight turned him down too. He already liked this relationship with Five better.

FIN

Mable: By the way, if you were wondering about the 'shove', that was another reference to Six being telekinetic, which I frequently write. I guessed that if he was that upset that it would be the right time for the telekinesis to flair. I have two request fics for 27's Fury and Allyson which will be finished soon as well! Funny enough, both are in the mood for baby Stitchpunks. ^-^ Which is great, because so am I! I love the little things! Ah, but enough of that, I hope everyone enjoyed!