"Razer?"

He turns, dropping the red lantern at the sound. There she is, hesitating in the doorway, blue eyes wide.

"Oh- Aya. What are you doing?"

"I, um, wanted to talk to you about something."

"Can robots even say um?"

She shrinks down a bit. "I am merely impersonating the human speech patterns in an attempt to appear more friendly."

Razer picks up his red lantern and sets it back on the desk. "Sorry, I'm just..."

"My revised chant did not work."

It's not a question, and he's finding it difficult to meet her eyes.

"I wanted to ask you-"

"Have you seen Hal?"

"I- no. Razer..."

"I can't talk to you right now, Aya. I'm... busy."

"You are not busy, Razer," she says as he brushes past her. "Your heart rate is rising. You are lying."

It's true. He's been avoiding her, ever since... Since the "love portal" took him to Aya. He doesn't want to think about what it means. Robots, they're... She's not like him. She wouldn't...

"What did you want to ask me?"

"I am analyzing a strange anomaly in my circuits, and I thought you might be able to help."

"Ask Hal, he's the one who's good with robots."

"But it involves you."

That gives him pause.

"When I am around you, and you alone, my nervous system begins to short-circuit. I get a strange feeling in my core, a... how would humans describe it? Like butterfly wings moving around my wires. I do not know what it means. In analyzing it, I have come close to defining it as the human emotion "love." Can you give input?"

What? She can't... Of course not. She's a robot. It's simply a physical response.

"I have a mechanical heart, Razer, and it... It acts funny when around you. I do not understand this. Please elaborate."

"I..." He laughs softly. "Is this your attempt at a confession?"

"I do not understand. What do you mean by confession?"

"Do you think it's love, Aya?"

"I do not know what to think." She reaches forward and places a hand on his cheek. "But I cannot find any other explanation. Does your central nervous system exhibit the same symptoms?"

Razer turns his head and presses his lips against her cool metal palm. She's asking if he loves her.

He loves Alana.

No, he loved Alana.

"Yes."

"Razer?"

"I think I knew for a long time," he says quietly. "When the Star Sapphires-" But before he can finish, Aya has wrapped her hand around the back of his head and pulled his lips to hers.