It was a nice night to be outside; especially at night. It was late July. The sky was cloudless, allowing the vibrant stars to shine down upon the slowly developing world. The watchtower was packed; all the stitchpunks were there. It was originally Nine's suggestion, which was followed by the agreements of Two and Five. It wasn't a particularly special occasion; it was merely a gathering just for fun.

They had all pulled up makeshift stools in a small circle, except for Six, who was wedged comfortably in the nearest corner.

"My, it's such a nice night out! And I thought I'd never get a proper look at the stars." Two sighed, happily. Five nodded vigorously. "If things didn't turn out the way they did, we never would've gotten to see them." He glanced at Nine, who was looking rather sheepish, only to receive a rough pat on the back from Seven. She tilted to her to the side, trying to get a glimpse of where the twins had gotten to.

They were leaning dangerously over the balcony, gazing up at the stars in wonder. No matter how many times they'd seen them, they were always such a miraculous sight. It was a shame they could never properly catalogue a star. Their faces fell into a synchronized pout and she felt sympathetic, although she didn't quite know what to say. Luckily, Two swooped in, placing a hand on each shoulder.

"It'd be incredibly hard to catalogue a star, you know. They're absolutely ginormous." He said, with a playful grin. The twins watched him with wide eyes, silently begging him to continue. "They're even bigger than the Machine." He said, ominously, watching their eyes grow wider with every word. He glanced behind him, meeting One's eyes. His intial expression was steely but softened after Two shot him a sweet smile.

"And you know the Sun?" The twins nodded furiously, "The Sun is a star as well. Did you know that?" The twins obviously didn't, judging by the amazed look on their faces. Two couldn't help but grin and, glancing behind him once more, neither could everybody else. After Two finished his little ramble about the stars, the twins went back to gazing longingly at the little white pinpricks. He returned to his seat next to One, practically falling back onto it.

"What's with that face you're pulling?" Two teased. One smirked, "You've been waiting all your life to share that information with somebody who'd listen, haven't you?" He accused. Two snickered. "To somebody who'd find it just as amazing as I do, yes. And I'm sure our Creator feels just the same." He retorted. One sighed. "You made the exact same face that the twins made when the Creator told you." Two shrugged. "I'm just confused. How could you not find such a thing incredible?" His optics were practically sparkling at this point, compared to One, who held the most neutral expression possible.

"It's kinda funny how similar you are to the twins." Nine piped up from behind him. Two shot him a curious look. "How so?" One scoffed. "How can you not see it? Despite all three of you being one of the eldest in our group, you all have the emotional maturity of a five year old." He sounded like he was about to start ranting. Two gave a sudden burst of laughter.

"I suppose that does sound about right." He chuckled. "You're all kind of alike in a physical way too. I mean...your optics go all wide and shiny when you're talking about something you like." Nine giggled, childishly. It was a terrible description, but they got the idea. "You both kinda hunch over too." He continued. "You're both short and have similar interests too." He counted on his fingers, before looking up. "Hey yeah, you really are similar. I guess I didn't notice that before." He smiled for a moment, before his expression dropped.

"Are you okay?"

"H-Hm? Oh, yes I'm fine." Two reassured the younger stitchpunk, although he sounded unsure. In the space of three seconds, Nine had watched his face fall slightly and his optics grew a little darker. He wasn't convinced. "Are you sure? Are you feeling okay?" He asked again. Two nodded, a little exasperatedly, which was unusual for him. "Yes, yes I'm fine." He sighed, sounding rather impatient. Nine could definitely tell something was wrong now, but he decided not to press it. Instead, he gave the Inventor a gentle pat on the back, before moving off to talk to somebody else. Giving him space seemed like the most appropriate thing to do.

After a while, Two finally stood up. "I suppose I should head to bed. I think I'm feeling a little bit under the weather." He said quietly, to nobody in particular. Luckily, nobody seemed to notice him slip out and if they did, they didn't say anything, to which, he was grateful.. He quietly made his way down the steps, leading to the row of shelves on the bottom floor which acted as bedrooms, and entered his. Since the bottom shelves in the Library were the least...destroyed and more easily accessible, they were turned into little rooms for each stitchpunk; giving them a good amount of privacy, despite the walls being paper thin. His own room was cozy; he wasn't particularly fond of large, open space rooms unlike One. He liked having everything within arms length, not to mention it was easier to keep track of everything. He sighed, sinking down onto his bed, which was huge in comparison to his small frame.

"Are you alright?"

He jumped slightly, not expecting anybody to have followed him, but it turned out to be One, so he wasn't really surprised. He nodded slowly. "Yes." He mumbled. One moved from the doorway to join him on the bed. "You don't sound alright." He said, simply. Two said nothing, but he felt a kind of sinking feeling in his stomach. One could see it on his face and hear it in his voice.

The younger sighed. "Ah...I'm sorry. I know it's a little silly to feel bad over a simple comment. He didn't mean anything by it." He said, resting his chin on his hands. One felt sympathetic; something he rarely felt. "Don't apologise. Everybody has a sensitive spot. Even...me." He huffed. He didn't like admitting weakness in any way, but sometimes it was necessary. Two smiled a fraction.

"I could probably take a guess." Two teased, although he still sounded a bit mopey. One would normally snap in response but seeing the younger cheer up a little made him a little more merciful. "I'd rather you didn't." He replied. The two stayed silent for a while, watching each other carefully. Finally, Two spoke.

"One."

"What?"

"Do you...think I'm short?"

Oh boy.

"You are short. Whether you like it or not, you can't change that fact." One felt like he was about to start lecturing the poor Inventor. Two sighed again, his eyes downcast and One felt a little guilty.

"Besides. You'd look incredibly odd if you were my height. Being short suits you. You look..." He wasn't quite sure what kind of compliment would be suitable. He thought for a second, before settling on, "...adorable." He cringed. It was embarassing. He couldn't believe he'd actually said that, but the surprised look and blush that covered the younger's face proved that it was worth it.

"I mean..." He wasn't quite sure what to say, "...being short isn't that bad. I know it's a little bit of a sensitive spot for you..." At this point, Two snorted, muttering something about it being more that a little bit of a sensitive spot. One glared at him, before continuing. "...but you can't really change it, can you? Just try to focus on being happy as you are. Otherwise, you'll just keep circling back to being upset over it." After he finished, he sat back, searching Two's eyes for any sort of response.

After a while, Two sighed in defeat. "I suppose you're right. Letting myself get worked up over it isn't going to help. Nonetheless, I still feel the same about it, even if it's something I can't change." He gave a small smile, signalling he was back to his old self. One shrugged. "I'm not expecting you to suddenly become indifferent to it. I know it'll still be sensitive spot for you." He suddenly sprouted an uncharacteristic grin, "It always has been, since the day we met."

Two huffed, clearly displeased. This edged One further. "Remember the very first thing you said to me?" He waited for Two to answer, only to hear a low muttering. "Hm? What was that?" He was enjoying this. It was so rare to see the younger stitchpunk in a sulk, so he had to milk it for all it was worth. Two rolled his optics, although there was a hint of playfulness in his expression which proved he wasn't entirely serious. "I said 'You're tall'." He repeated, forcing back a smile.

"You were convinced that either, you were going to grow, or that I was just insanely tall for one of us. That was, until the rest came along and you realised you were just short." He chuckled lowly. "Your face, the moment we met Five and Six." He smothered his childish laughs with his hand, watching as a smile mixed it's way in with Two's pout. "Honestly, it was just so funny." Two waved his hand. "Alright alright, that's enough. But in all seriousness, my height is just an inconvenience. I can't reach anything on a high shelf and I can't carry anything large." He complained. "Actually, you can't carry anything large because you are tremendously weak." One interjected.

"Alright yes, I admit I'm not particularly strong, but my height, or lack of height, is just a bother. You understand that, don't you?" He looked One up and down, almost enviously. "And it's also a little bit...embarrassing. Whenever I have to ask Five to get something for me and such. It's humiliating." He admitted. One watched him silently. After it appeared that Two had nothing more to say, he spoke.

"It's funny you say that. Everyone else thinks it's really sweet." Two looked almost offended, and he bit back a laugh. "And when you're as short as you are, everybody feels the need to protect you. Between your height, your insatiable curiosity and your kindness, they really want to keep you safe. You're an essential part of the group, no matter how small you are." He smiled. Two sat back on his hands and smiled broadly.

"You really don't have to say all those things. It's actually a little embarrassing, but if there are things I can do to help the group, despite my size, then I'm fine. Not to mention, your description makes me sound like a small child!" He protested. One let out a chuckle. "You practically are! You definitely act like one!"

Two had to laugh; he was right. Despite being one of the oldest, he had the aura of a child; trapped in the body of an old man. His boundless curiosity ended up causing him to push his body to dangerous limits, much to the annoyance of One. He was also a surprisingly good liar, which meant he hid many things about himself from the eyes of the others, such as his deadly fears and insecurities, but unfortunately, One had caught onto that early on.

Speaking of One, he hadn't seen him this relaxed in a while. He very rarely smiled around the others, and he knew the others probably had never heard him laugh. Most likely, because that happened to be one of One's insecurities. He could smile, but that was it. Despite his arrogant and obnoxious attitude, he had a shy side, which was incredibly uncharacteristic but Two found it rather sweet. Nonethless, it was nice to see him genuinely smile for once.

"One..."

One was brought to attention by Two and lifted his head to look at the younger male. "What is it?" He always sounded so demanding, Two almost found it funny. Despite his demanding tone, there wasn't a hint of his usual bad temper behind it. Two cleared his throat, shifting a little closer to the leader.

"You're...happy." He said, finally. One looked surprised. He opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't find the right words. Two fought back a smile. He hadn't even realised it. It took about a minute for him to respond.

"Yes I...I suppose I am." He seemed a little unsure of his words and Two wondered if that was because the times he was truly happy, were rare (although becoming more frequent nowadays). Two assumed he had bottled most of it up during the time they fought against the machine (and to be honest, with the machine and it's countless creations on the loose, there wasn't much to be happy about) but now he had no reason to keep it locked up.

"Seeing you happy...makes me happy." Two smiled widely at One, emphasizing his point. He was immediately worried when One seemed to falter. He looked worried about something; his eyebrows had shot up and he was covering his mouth slightly with his hand. Two placed a hand on his shoulder, looking into his optics. To be honest, he looked a little scared.

"Are you alright? Tell me what's wrong." Two wondered if he had said something wrong. One shifted uncomfortably for a moment.

"It's...a little embarrassing is all. I'm not used to a person's happiness being dependent on me. It's just...odd is all. It's nothing." He waved his hand dismissively. Two chuckled quietly, sliding an arm around One and resting his head on his shoulder.

"Don't be embarrassed. I know you aren't used to it." Two told him, gently rubbing circles on his back. One just sort of shrugged and didn't say anything. Two felt like the conversation was dying and hadn't a clue how to fix it.

"Do I make you happy?" Two asked, curiously. His optics were wide and innocent, which belied his age. One seemed taken aback by the question and truthfully, he should've expected it. He struggled to answer for a moment before replying.

"Yes. You do make me...rather happy." He sounded strangled and the words seemed to cause his throat pain. Nonetheless, Two was happy with his answer and his small smile stretched wider across his face. One watched the younger's optics dance with delight. They contrasted greatly to his own slanted optics and Two began to feel worried.

"Are you...happy now?"

"Yes, I'm happy."

The Inventor smiled again and his eyes lit up when he got a broad smile in response, from the leader.

"I'm glad."

I wanted Two to be insecure about his height and then it turned into this tbh i am horrible at keeping on track with stories but w/e