It was a little after dusk and it had just started raining. Small barricades had been put up to prevent water from flooding into the library when then rain became too heavy. Most of the stitchpunks had already retired for the night, save for a few.

As usual, Five had bid his mentor goodnight and headed off to his own room, leaving the older stitchpunk alone in the workshop. It wasn't unusual for his to stay up a lot later than the rest. He found it gave him plenty of peace and quiet to work on his own projects. He never actually stayed in the workshop during this time. He preferred to take his tools up to the newly built watchtower and sit up there instead. After the first rain had fallen upon the Earth for the first time in years, the clouds had dissipated, revealing the vast sky above. He had grown fonds of stars, having only ever seen them in the twins books before. So after the revival of the deceased stitchpunks, he'd take the time to watch the stars every chance he got. So, after the one-eyed stitchpunk had gone to bed, he made his descent up the tower and got to work.

"It really is a lovely night tonight." He mumbled to himself, pulling out a makeshift stool and sitting down. He breathed a deep sigh, as if letting go of all the stress worked up over the day. These were the times he enjoyed the most.

After admiring the sky for a while, Two looked down at his current project. He was making some headgear, similar to his candle hat; something capable of lighting a dark place, for his assistant. A present of sorts. He figured the boy deserved a little something for his hard work. He smiled to himself.

Looking up in mild surprise, he thought he had seen something.

"That's odd...I could've sworn I saw something..." He murmured to himself. He shrugged it off, narrowing it down to his old age. Then he saw it again, but this time it was for real. There was a shadow, cast across the floor by the light coming from inside the sanctuary. The shadow was totally unmistakable. He returned to his work, with an amused smile.

"

"Good evening, One. How can I help you?"

Judging by the sudden movement, the figure was startled by his discovery. That was followed by a sigh, followed by his appearance in the doorway.

The leader no longer wore his crown or cape, deeming them too much trouble at this point. No matter how he looked it at, Two found it rather funny.

He looked up from his work to see the leader leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed. Two gave him a warm smile.

"It's rather unusual to see you up here. And at this late at night, no less." He said, tilting his head in curiosity. "I could say the same for you." The leader retorted, raising an eyebrow. Two chuckled, rather sheepishly. "You have a point. I like to sit up here on a nice night and do a bit of work. The stars are ever so beautiful, don't you think?" He emphasized this, looking up at the stars and smiling fondly. One tilted his head back a fraction, just enough so he could catch a glimpse of the shimmers in the sky. He wouldn't say out loud that something looked 'beautiful' but he had to admit, the stars did have an oddly wondrous charm to them. He could see why Two was so fond of them.

"So what are you doing up here?"

The silence was broken by the rather accusatory question by the younger of the two. One was a little taken aback by the sudden question and gazed at the landscape in an attempt to look busy. "Nothing really," He said simply. "I just couldn't sleep." Even when he wasn't looking, he could tell Two was staring at him intently. It made him feel just a tad uncomfortable.

"You've been avoiding me, so why come see me now?" He asked. One flinched. He was being unusually blunt and he didn't like it.

"Avoiding you? Where'd you think of such a thing. In case you haven't noticed, I've been rather busy. We all have been." He said, indignantly. The younger gave a short burst of laughter. "You're definitely right. But now that most of the library repairs are done, we have time to relax." He said. One didn't know quite how to respond so he settled for a grunt of acknowledgement. They stayed silent for several minutes.

"You haven't answered my question. Why have you been avoiding me?" One gave an obvious sigh of annoyance at the inventors persistance. "I told you, I haven't. Don't tell me that old age has made you deaf as well as blind." He grumbled. "Excuse you, I'm not blind. Just a little bit poor-sighted is all." He beamed. "And who knows. One day, I may go deaf as well." One gave a snort of amusement. "That certainly wouldn't be a surprise."

"But blind or deaf, I certainly am not stupid."

One froze, feeling a shiver roll up his spine. Something he hadn't felt since they fought the machines. The sudden firmness of the youngers voice made him shudder. It was unusual for him to be so serious. He figured he couldn't hide it any longer. He chuckled darkly.

"You can't figure it out?" He almost spat. Two looked down at his work and for a moment, One thought he wouldn't respond. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but is this about what happened before Nine's awakening." One sighed for what felt like the thirtieth time that night. The inventor was certainly sharper than he looked.

"You're correct."

Two made a sound that sounded like a small laugh, although it seemed a bit nervous. "Would I also be correct if I assumed this is about why you sent me out into the emptiness?" He seemed to linger on the word 'you' for a while. One's optics had shifted to his feet at this point and it didn't look like he was going to look up anytime soon.

"It's okay, One. I already know." He could see the older flinch out of the corner of his optic. "I know you sent me out because I'm weak. I mean, I'd have to object because I don't believe that even for a second!" He said in an attempt to lighten the mood. "But you felt it was your duty as a leader to make certain sacrifices. I understand your reasoning." He said, fiddling around with the contraption in his hands.

"You're wrong."

He looked up in surprise. He had suspected the reason the older one had sent him out was because of his age and his suspicions had even been confirmed when Nine had told him exactly that. So why was he wrong?

"It wasn't that at all. I just..." He trailed off for a moment, thinking of what to say. Two gave him a sympathetic smile, pulling out another stool for him to sit on. One glared at the stool, before reluctantly taking a seat. "Would you explain it to me then?" Two asked gently.

"Why'd you think I came up here?" He snorted. Two couldn't help but roll his optics in mild amusement at the comment. "To make smart remarks at me?" He responded cheekily. Now it was One's turn to roll his optics. He huffed and Two chuckled.

"Look...I never sent you out because you were weak. In fact, I know you are perfectly capable of defending yourself..." He began. "Well I wouldn't go that far." Two mumbled. "Did anyone ever tell you it's rude to interrupt?" He snapped, before regaining his composure and continuing.

"Well...hmm. How do I say this." He mumbled to himself for a short while before clearing his throat. "I have a couple of reasons as to why I sent you out. Honestly, they were selfish reasons and I regret sending you out but now that you're back with us, I felt it was right to tell you now what I couldn't tell you before." He looked up to see the younger looking at him attentively, with curious optics.

"For as long as I can remember, you...you've protected me." He could see the inventors eyebrows raise in surprise. "You probably didn't know it but in the past, you've jumped between me and danger."He folded his arms.

"Don't you mean, 'danger and I?'."

"Shut up."

"Okay."

The annoyance on his face was clear but he continued anyway. "And I simply felt that if things continued in this way...you'd end up getting killed because of me." He said the last bit rather quickly, as if to get it over and done with. "I don't think I could live with that."

"But you already have. Technically, you sent me out there and if I hadn't been sent I may not have died in the first place." He knew it probably wasn't helpful to point out that fact but he felt it was necessary. One merely sighed.

"I know. It was awful. I thought that you'd be able to handle yourself on your own and...maybe you could've if Nine hadn't taken the talisman with him..."

"Don't go blaming this on Nine, One."

"I wasn't blaming it on him. I shouldn't have sent you out to begin with and I accept that. It's just...I knew you couldn't survive on your own." He admitted. "But you said earlier that you thought I could handle myself." He pointed out with confusion.

"Yes, yes I did say that and yes you are capable of surviving but the chance of you getting killed is equal to that, I'd say. I just...I'm not really sure how to say this." He sounded a little embarrassed by this. "Really? That's unusual for you. You've always been a man of words, One." Two joked. "But really. It's probably best if you just say what comes to your head."

The leader drew a deep breath, before speaking. "I sent you out because if you were to die, I didn't want to be around to see it, or know about it."

He didn't want to look up to see Two's reaction but he did a Nine and his curiosity overwhelmed him. He instantly regretted it, seeing the dilated pupils of the younger stitchpunk. He looked surprised and frankly, he looked like he might cry. After the initial shock, his eyebrows dropped and he looked down at the work in progress in his hands.

"That's understandable. I'd never want to witness your death but I did anyway." His voicebox was crackling and his words held no tone to them. One hadn't realised he'd been holding his beath for nearly over a minute now. "You...witnessed my death? How?"

"Of course, you wouldn't have been able to experience it. You were the last of us to die, weren't you? But while we were in the machine, we were able to see glimpse of the outside through the machines optics. That's how I saw it. You jumped in front of Nine to save him." He gave a small smile. "In fact, I'd seen the deaths of all of them. Eight, Six and Five... it was horrible but truthfully, yours was the worst. I remember it quite vividly."

"You do?"

"Of course. It happened all so suddenly. I saw that the machine was approaching Nine and I thought he was going to kill him but all of a sudden you jumped in the way and..." The words seemed to fall out of his mouth in a hurry. It looked like he was about to finish his sentence but he said nothing more.

"I never wanted to see you die. I didn't expect you to jump in the way. It was certainly a heroic act though." He smiled weakly. "Don't say that. I'm not a hero." One snapped. "I'm too selfish to be a hero." He murmured. "I sent you out, despite the danger just for my own selfish reasons."

"Why were you so afraid of me dying, One?" Two asked, his voice barely audible.

"Because the thought of it...terrified me. If there was one thing that I was scared of most, even more than the machine itself, it was your demise." He admitted. Two suddenly grew annoyed. "Yet you still sent me out?! Where's the logic in that?" He asked, clearly upset.

One head snapped up to meet the others gaze. "Because I thought if I could just get rid of you, I'd never have to think about you again! You'd stop plaguing my mind!" He yelled back. "What are you talking about?!"

"You idiot...If I ever got attached to you, I'd never be able to get over it if you died! That's why I never told you-!" He stopped short, slightly out of breath. He shouldn't have gotten so worked up over this.

"Never told me what...?" Two no longer sounded upset. Just...confused. His optics were wide with curiosity. He looked exactly like he did the day One met him. He always had a rather innocent look about him. Always seemed to be interested in new things and often worried about those close to him. The look he was wearing now was a perfect representation of his personality.

"I never told you...just...how much I really cared for you." He grew quiet towards the end of the sentence. Two's eyebrows shot up in surprise, before lowering again. He wore a knowing smile and placed a hand on the other male's shoulder.

"You should've told me to begin with." He said softly. Suddenly, his expression changed to a wry smile. "Then again, I can't talk. I should've done the same." He grinned. One looked up in surprise. "What?" He choked out. "What does that mean?"

Two gave a low chuckle. "You really don't know? Creator, One it's not hard to piece together." He gave him a playful poke. One huffed, crossing his arms as if in a sulk. He didn't like being teased. "What are you going on about?"

"I feel the same way. I have for a very long time."

The two stared at each other few several minutes. It was like they could communicate just by the shifting of their optics. After a while, One's hand made it's way to Two's cheek, rubbing hsi thumb against the rough fabric. He bent his head, leaning over the younger stitchpunk tentatively, before pushing his forehead against the others. The pair stayed like that for a while, before seperating.

"I have to say..." Two smiled, a light green glow crossing his cheeks, "I thought you were going to kiss me." He raised a hand to his mouth to stop himself from laughing too loud. One grunted, almost pouting. "I was going to..." He admitted. "...but you got embarrassed at the last second and did that instead." Two finished for him. One was going to object, before realising how pointless that would be. Instead, he gave a dry laugh and sat back, resting against the wall of the building behind him.

"We should go back. It's getting cold. and I can feel my joints freezing up." One complained. "That's just the old age, although I must admit that we might catch something if we stay out here any longer." and with that, Two got to his feet, holding his hand out for One to take. The two returned to the library, hand in hand.

"You'd better not trip down these stairs." One warned him. "I won't be able to catch you." Two raised an eyebrow. "Of course. If I tripped, I might fall and die." He snorted.

"You're not dying before me." One told him.

"And neither are you." Two retorted.

"Then I guess we're going to have to die at exactly the same time, aren't we?"

"I wouldn't mind that..."