Mable: This is a request from a friend of mine which I forgot multiple times, mostly because my mind wanders everywhere, sometimes I spend too long with my head in the clouds. I'm sorry for the delay on this, but this is why I rushed to get it posted and I only hope it is somewhat worth the wait. I don't own 9, I only own Child, Enjoy!

Fighting for Love

When One barged into Child's room there was an immediate tension in the room. The pale male's head shot up from his workbench and glanced to the Leader casually. "You barged in?" He responded and One growled, "Don't think that I haven't notice what has been going on." He accused and before the other could deny he prodded further, "Those looks you send at him, those comments, and those faux disagreements. I am not a fool and neither are you, Child."

At this, Child seemed to abruptly know exactly what was going on and this was probably because he had already been able to see it. "You do not own him, One. As much as you believe you do, I will think you are solely mistaken." The Leader's sharp optics narrowed further at the comment. This moment had been brewing over the last few weeks of Child being among them. While One had no quarrel with Child's personality, he did began to notice how close he was getting to Nine, and that just couldn't happen.

Even since the Machine's defeat One had realized that he was enticed by the younger and had cautiously began courting the zippered male. It had started easily enough with him being close to him, to him being kinder and showing the younger male some moments of kindness and leadership, but then there was a sudden obstacle that appeared when Nine brought Child home. Rehabilitation for the pale male had taken a lot of both Nine and Five's time and while Two was fine with it, there was no more than fatherly love between him and Five, One was growing impatient.

Then it had suddenly changed when One noticed how Child touched Nine, how he spoke to him, and the Leader was furious. All of this time had been ruined by the male's intrusion. "No, but you should have known that the chances of him being alone were slim, and he is not alone. I have been alongside Nine for all this time, through what you put us through, and I will not have you ruin it." His sharp optics narrowed further and he wished that the younger would burn into the floor beneath him. "Nine deserves someone who can be trusted and someone who he can rely in."

"Typical One." Child bitterly retorted, "Always throwing Stitchpunks' faults at them, especially ones they cannot change. How many times have you thrown them at Nine?" One sputtered, "I wouldn't- I have never treated Nine poorly! I have especially never hunted his family down and forced him to watch as I attempted to kill them one at a time!" Child abruptly stood, "Of course not! You just badger them into submission!" To which One pointed out, "Submission; something you would enjoy from Nine, hmm? Oh, you don't think I know? I know what you want from him!"

The albino one stared with mouth poised and One felt a bit of pride before remarking smugly, "It's obvious that while I am seeking an honest, loving relationship with someone who deserves nothing less, you are just seeking another soul to mate with. I see lust in your optics, not love, and you cannot deny it." The pale male glared firmly, "Get out." He hissed in response. For a few seconds the two just stood there and then, suddenly, something broke out. Neither was sure who threw the first blow, but neither were preparing to back down.

One especially wasn't going to let his age stop him. He had been waiting for this moment and as he wrestled with the younger his mind raced on how to put him to the floor in the most humiliating fashion. Unfortunately his staff did the deed as it had fallen to the floor and his foot caught it. The two stumbled out of the curtain and to the floor in the hallway, for a second laying there before wrestling again. One could hear Five calling out from somewhere nearby but was too busy locking optics with the now red eyed Beast.

Then, suddenly, there appeared the last Stitchpunk that One or Child wanted to see. There was Nine, now kneeling down to break them apart, and the Leader was disturbed when he went to help Child up first. Five had taken to help the Leader and One swore mentally about being on this side of the hall and his bitter luck. "What's going on here?! Now you're fist fighting?!" he asked Child whose optics dimmed immediately, "It was not a fist fight, it was an ambush. Ask One; he walked into my room ready to strike."

One wasn't going to listen to this without action, "That would be only a shred of what you have done! After I accepted you into the Sanctuary!" Child scoffed, "Yes, One, because you ever accepted anyone other than yourself. And, of course, Nine." The Leader hid the growing dread in his insides. The last thing he wanted was to have Nine drug into this and have him learn about what was really happening. "Hold your tongue, Child." He insisted, yet the zippered male was confused, "What does that mean?" He asked as though he thought it was an insult towards him.

Child looked over at One with a cold and offended look, "One, here, was just informing me of his feelings towards you, explicitly, and found that I was getting in the way… So he walked into my private space to get in my way." Nine blinked in confusion and glanced towards Five before looking towards One. Before they could meet eyes One closed his own, keeping a calm and assertive air, trying to look exasperated when really he was at the end of his rope with this entire situation. "I was making it very clear to Child that his presence hasn't changed a thing."

The zippered male exhaled with a huff, "Look, One, I know it's hard accepting that Child came out of the Machine, but he is not our enemy. How are we supposed to move on if you won't get over it?" At this Five chimed in, "Umm… Nine, I don't think…" He faded off when One opened his optics again. Betrayal passed through him at Nine's words; again the other was automatically aligning with Child. He was so tired and frustrated with all of this and growled, "This has nothing to do with him being the Machine, Nine, this has to do with how you have changed."

The zippered male blinked and One insisted, "Since the Machine attacked I have been by your side assisting you, leading you, and we had finally gotten past your initial judgment of me. Finally we were moving on to something better and now you have been blinded by your need to protect him." Nine blinked, "One, I don't understand…" One insisted, "Nine, I have been courting you whether you realize it or not. So has Child. We both want you as our own and while I refuse to speak for Child I will speak for myself."

Nine looked flabbergasted by what One admitted and stepped back enough that his optics could flicker back and forth from One to Child. One then spoke clearly, "Nine, it took me some time to realize what you meant to me. For so long I mistakenly saw you as a usurper attempting to steal my throne, but upon seeing you stand before the Machine resigned to death so that we could live I knew there was something more inside of you. Something I couldn't survive without, so I saved myself by sacrificing myself for you."

Memories flickered through Nine's head as One recounted the tale. Of course that meant that now he was seeing them in a new light. One continued, "After the War you were the first one willing to accept my past behavior and offered me the chance to take my throne again. From that time past I knew there was something between us. Something special, something that was meant to happen. I was and still am in love with you and that time we spent together were the joyful days I have ever had." His face grew from firm to a bit solemn.

"Then came that night. You were tired and you shared my bed, and I assumed that meant the transition way complete. You were finally my mate and we were to be happy together. The future was ahead of us." Then he gave Child a quick glare, "But that morning you were gone. Six had told you of a dream and you went searching; before I could even leave you brought him back." He looked back to Nine, "And I was willing to deal with him being a Machine or whatever he is, but I could not deal with your change. Suddenly you no longer gave me time, suddenly he became the male in your life."

During this One grew quieter and suddenly his resolve surged. It was as though his own words made him realize something and he announced to the other male. "Nine… I cannot play these games anymore." Nine's face furrowed in sudden hurt and One had to turn away so that he didn't have to face that too. "I love you and I was willing to fight for you, but it is foolish to fight for someone who doesn't return those feelings… I'm not that stubborn." With that he started down the hall away from the group.

Nine called out, "One, wait!" The leader didn't stop and the younger male was becoming more upset. He hadn't intended for any of this to happen. He had noticed already that they had been getting very close and he hadn't pinpointed the odd warmth he had felt that night, but he wondered if he had been purposely avoiding One, if the warmth had confused him enough that he was subconsciously steering clear of the Leader. Before he could continue Child grasped onto his arm and Nine looked down at the grasp, staring for a few seconds.

"Nine, he's surprisingly sound for someone who took a hit to the face." He murmured, voice serious and dry, then added in, "But he's right. Nine, I need to know, is there something between you and One?" Nine slowly drug his hand away, "So One was right? You're in love with me too?" Child's eyes averted briefly, "I am, though it wasn't supposed to come out in this manner, but One and I deserve to know whether we have a chance or not." The zippered male paused for a second, going through everything that had just occurred and spoke.

"Child, I care deeply for you, but I don't feel that way for you." He stared at the ground, "I don't know. Maybe One was right; maybe I have been avoiding him." At this moment he mentally registered his thoughts and looked to Child, "I'm sorry, but I don't love you." Child stared at him for a few seconds, blinking and confused, before insisting, "No, Nine, wait. You must be mistaken." His voice actually sounded desperate and Nine put a hand on his shoulder, "You're one of my closest friends, but One was right… There…There's something that we had that I guess I was trying to deny."

The other male finally turned away, leaning on the wall, "Oh Creator, no…" He murmured, "This can't… This can't be. These weeks together- Nine, did they mean anything to you?" Instead of responding Nine merely dropped his head, "Child, I'm sorry." Then left to go seek out One himself, leaving Child in the hall. The pale male was heartbroken. Five pondered the idea of following Nine, but decided that he needed to speak to One alone and instead turned to Child, "Are… Are you okay?"

The albino male didn't answer and he insisted, "If it makes you feel better, Child, Nine said you reminded him of One once or twice." Child responded dryly, "I think that very much sums up this evening. Please Five, just leave me alone." Five pondered it for a few minutes before standing his ground, "I know what it's like… To love someone and not have them love you back." Child bitterly asked, "Oh? Did you have feelings for Nine, too?"

The one eyed one rubbed the back of his neck, "No… I-It was one of the others. I began to feel interest towards them when they clearly cared for another. But then I realized that if they didn't feel that way for me, for all of me, then I didn't want their attention. You wouldn't want to be with Nine if he had chosen you, but still had feelings for One, would you?" A few seconds ticked by before Child caved, "I suppose not…" Five smiled a bit, "There you go! Feel better?" The albino one pitifully released a, "No." To which the Healer put an arm around him, "It'll get better. I promise." Child could only hope he was right.

Meanwhile, One had found a place to sit out in the courtyard where Eight usually sat guard. It was a little unnerving to sit on a stone hand, but it was somewhat better than sitting on the ground. Now out here he was cursing himself, "I just handed Nine over to him!" He scolded himself before exhaling sharply, "Well, I already fought for him, I shouldn't have to degrade myself any further." His thoughts plummeted further as he rested his head in his hands tiredly, "Why did this have to happen? Why when I am finally content does the world decide to steal from me? I would have given him everything… Even now I'm willing to…"

At this moment he started to hear footsteps and mentally swore, "Creator, please don't let that be Five here to 'help'. Or Two. I don't think I could stand having to face either of their fake words of hope." The Stitchpunk was now standing nearby and One straightened himself, later thanking himself for doing so. "One?" Nine called over from the entrance and One responded back, "Nine." A few minutes passed and the younger started over towards him. The Leader asked quickly, "Where is Child?" The zippered one merely responded with, "He's not here."

Uninvited, Nine came over to sit down alongside the older male, allowing their legs to brush. While it made One feel uncomfortable he remembered that he had actually gotten comfortable enough to rest a hand on Nine's leg in a loving manner, one that Nine obviously hadn't noticed, before they had begun to get separated. "One," the younger started, "Did you really mean what you said back there?" He asked to which the older immediately nodded, "Yes, every word."

The zippered male's breath hitch and One prepared himself for the worst by admitting, "Nine, you do not have to say more. I have thought through it and, honestly, we are very different. Age wise especially." Nine waited until he was finished before speaking, "One, I'll be honest with you, I have been avoiding you, but it has nothing to do with Child." He looked honestly to the male who stared at the ground. "I didn't forget about that night. I just… When I woke up after it to go help Six I realized how close we were getting and… Maybe I was a little scared."

He rubbed his hand together, them being cold from the night air, "So I told Child the truth… I don't feel that way about him, and not just because Five has feelings for him." One was still surprised, "What?" Nine nodded, "Yeah, Five's crazy about- Oh you mean- Yeah, I… I told Child that I didn't love him, and I don't." The Leader stared at him almost desperately, hoping that Nine was saying what he thought he was, watching with that desperate need. "I don't know what it's like."

Nine admitted, "I thought I did in the past, but I was wrong. I was all wrong about what I thought when we began to get closer, I was naïve, and I finally think that I understand everything. Everything you feel and… everything I feel." He squeezed his hands together before admitting, "One, I-I think I have those same feelings. I think I'm in love with you!" His unsureness in the way he spoke only endeared One more, his face softened; perhaps he had been judging Nine too harshly. After all, he and Child had just put Nine in a very uncomfortable situation.

Yet he had still made his decision with clarity and One reached out to grasp Nine's shoulders, "Nine… I love you more than I have loved anything and I promise I will give you everything that I possibly can. You will not regret this." He insisted and with a small smile on the younger's face he leaned forward to claim the other's lips for his own. It felt so wonderful to finally be able to do so. He had admired these lips for much too long without action and upon tasting their sweetness he was overwhelmed by how something so simple cold make him feel so alive.

He regretted none of his actions and as one hand caressed the back of Nine's head he could only imagine and estimate how many more of these they were to share in the coming years together. They only pulled apart because of Nine needing to catch his breath, smiling still towards the older male with a confidence and comfortable air about him. "That was…" He was breathless and One smiled, "It certainly was." He agreed, assuming whatever Nine was planning to say was a good thing, and the younger hugged the older to show more of the affection that he had.

"One, I do love you, so much." He murmured quietly and the Leader pressed his lips to Nine's shoulder, "And I you, Nine." The zippered male smiled playfully then and added in, "Just… No more fist-fights. Okay?"

"I can't make any promises."

FIN

Mable: I hope everyone enjoyed!