Huzzah, chapter eleveeeeen! Whose with me, say ay! Anyway, I got some stuff to tell you before you go on reading the chapter. First, I'm going to fangirl squeal, because holy shit, this story has reached a total of 102 followers! I'm actually surprised, because I never knew this story would be so acknowledged by you people that are on this site. I thought it would just be one of those few with a measly 10 followers or something. But no, add 92 and you got the real amount of followers. I'm smiling like a creep right now, trust me on this. I'm just so awestruck, let me be.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

And I never announced this beforehand, but the 100th follower actually got a special gift from me, just as the 10th reviewer, counting from this chapter onwards, will receive a gift. That doesn't meant you can duplicate your review and post reviews JUST to come to the tenth spot. No, the reviews have to legitimate, and not necessarily for this chapter only - meaning that if this chapter doesn't reach ten reviews, you'll always have a shot at the next chapter I post.

And speaking of chapters, college is starting up for me next week, so chapters might not be published as often. Or well, college is a little different in Sweden compared to the US or Australia, or any other country, so they might not be the exact same.

Anyway, the gift the follower received, xXRead-a-holic, was the allowance to add a character and a specific event that introduces this character into the story-line. Why I've decided to do this, is simply because I want you readers to know that you all have a chance to affect this story a little with your own ideas, as you're the ones that have helped me and this story to get to where it is today!

And with that, onto the reviewers!

Spartan091 - I love seeing you review, you've stuck with me through quite a few chapters, thank you! I hope you'll continue to, as your name always puts a smile on my face. And I bet you that you'll look forward to the development of the story, and as for the Spartans, they shall soon come back!

Haruna Shikaio - You're also one of those that have stuck with me through quite a few chapters, so thank you for that as well! Your opinions always got me laughing quietly to myself, honestly. As for me never disappointing -does victory dance- Hallelujah! Master Chief is a mystery, you never know what he might do or not do, that is for you all to wait and see~. And you're right, 013 stands up for herself, as we females don't always need men to help us out. It's part of her character, and it'll stay that way. I'm not even sure when Halo 6 is going to come out, it might be a year from now, or even three, only 343 Industries know. I totally dig the caps, caps are necessary when you're excited - how else are you going to show it, you know? So don't cut off the caps or the exclamation marks, they're just fine as they are!

Guest 1 - Well, that is something that's going to be discovered later on in the chapters, as it's up to the Spartans to try figure out what makes her and her nametag so special. What it does do, that you all know from the posted chapters, is that they're a mix between Spartan-and ODST augmentations. But seeing that she was part of an experiment... Well, you experiment, simple as that. Who knows if there were side effects (I know, but I won't tell you guys, yet. Mwhahahah).

Guest 2 - What's bad about her past is that she was used without knowing it. She was an experiment, while she just thought that she was a soldier who got special treatment. She didn't know what the experiment had in store for her, and well, a little spoiler, she doesn't remember it all either. And that's not because of the memory loss she's suffering at the moment. She was at a boot camp before the experiment, so she was training to be an ODST, however she never got that far. During her 5 years at ONI though, she got her fair share of experience, this time with augmentations in the picture. I hope that clarified, as I can't spoil too much!

As for the hacking of ONI, well, she has great computer skills, however ONI never figured she would hack into the files, so they weren't so guarded. They were only stored on the archives that were on the base, so she didn't have to go through wiping the entire ONI system - which she wouldn't be able to do, despite great computer skills. But since they were stored only on the base's archives, there wasn't too much security she had to go through, which made it possible for her to delete them. Thank you for your valuable input, and for loving the story! Makes me feel all giddy~.

As per usual, huge thank you to those that have reviewed, followed and favved, you guys are awesome!

And wow, how could I, the disclaimer!

Disclaimer: Pff, still not the owner of Halo, that'd be crude (But fantastic all the same).

Oh, and a bit of a warning for those that might be below the appropriate age... There is sex implied in this chapter, just a warning!

Chapter 11 – Triggering Events

013 was met with quite a few shortcomings that day. She didn't know the name of the food she had eaten, and before she consumed it, she had poked at it with her utensils – just trying to discern what exactly it was.

It hadn't helped that the marines sitting at the surrounding nearby tables had thrown questioning glances her way while she ate. She knew they probably thought of her as some kind of IQ-liberated dimwit because she was critically analyzing her food, poking at it before finally giving in to taste it - which only led to her making a grimace that spoke of how distasteful the so called food tasted.

'What the hell is this crap?' She muttered under her breath as she forcefully swallowed the mouthful of food.

'It actually tastes like literal crap.'

And with three more bites, she concluded that it would have to do, because she couldn't force another bite down her throat. Not unless she wanted to end up spewing her guts up onto the table, which would definitely provide an entertaining view for the other people in the mess hall.

'Yeah, no. I don't do charity entertainment shows.'

Another shortcoming of hers that day, was the fact that she couldn't find the bathroom when she really needed it.

She had wandered the halls in an attempt, a very sad attempt, to find where exactly the restrooms of the ship were, but just like Doc had said, it was a damn huge ship.

'A damn huge ship that doesn't have any restrooms apparently. Where the hell are they?'

She complained silently within her mind as her bladder reminded her once again of the building necessity of having to relieve itself.

'Fuck, I'm going to have to ask a stranger. That's going to be awkward.'

013 turned another corner, searching for someone who could provide her with directions.

It took another good three minutes before she actually found that someone, and she quickly approached him.

"Hey, excuse me!" She shouted as she jogged up to him, grasping his shoulder to halt him in his movement.

The guy stopped and turned around, his neutral facial expression quickly morphing into that of shock and surprise.

However, that facial expression quickly turned into one of disbelief, and even of fear.

013 just stared at him in question, wondering why he suddenly looked so afraid.

"Uh, sir… I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of the restroom?" She asked, her voice sounding a little uncertain because, hello, the dude looked ready to piss his pants right on the spot.

She saw his mouth work, trying to voice a reply, but no sounds came out.

"Do you suffer from speech impediment? You don't have to say anything, pointing with your finger works too, I just really need to find the restroom." 013 urged once again, no longer caring if she perhaps sounded a little too edgy or rude this time.

The marine before her seemed to come out of his stupor, as he blinked and nervously swallowed. He then pointed down the hall in the direction he had been heading, before gesturing with his finger to take the next left after turning the corner. 013 smiled an appreciative smile, thanking him, before she was off, no more than running through the corridor to get to the restroom.

Her bladder wasn't going to hold itself much longer, which forced her to take severe actions, meaning that she simply had to break the 'no running in the corridors unless it's an emergency' rule. Although, she could argue that she was in fact in an emergency… A different sort of emergency than what the rule implied, but nonetheless, it was still an emergency, and the rule didn't exactly explain the finer details.

So it was all a matter of perspective on whether or not she was breaking thy holy rule or not. Either way, she did know it wasn't the best idea.

'Running is not recommended when you don't know where the hell you are, but I really don't give two shits right now, because I really need to pee.' She justified silently to herself.

Her feet thudded against the flooring, and quickly she turned to the first left. Just like the guy had directed, the restrooms was there.

What she didn't know though, because of her memory impairment, was that the guy she had stumbled upon in the hallway, had participated in the events that led up to her tragic situation. She had no idea that he was the one that helped his companions who caused her to lose her memory.

No. Idea. At. All.

And he himself didn't understand one bit why she hadn't recognized him. She pretended like he was no one special, even though she fought him over a little more than a week ago… Wasn't she supposed to be super pissed off? Wasn't she supposed to be gutting him right about now for playing dirty?

But he had to admit, he didn't know it that it would become so severe that she would end up at the Infirmary…

But again, why didn't she recognize him?

He had to find out why.

So instead of continuing on his previous path, he turned and stalked down the hallway with the Infirmary as his final destination. (Aaah, aaaah, horror movie reference! –pokes elbow at you-)

013 almost wanted to dance happily when she finally got to relieve herself, it was so amazing! She closed her eyes in bliss, a content smile settling on her lips.

"I feel so free…" She murmured, and tapped her feet against the tiled floor in a steady beat.

Her bathroom break was probably longer than the average break, but she didn't care, it wasn't like she was stressing to get somewhere beforehand.

The third shortcoming of that same day, came when she had to find her room. The Doc had been so kind in actually forgetting to tell her where exactly her room was after having dismissing her.

'Isn't she a doctor? She out of everyone should think of these things, I have memory loss for heaven's sake, so it's obvious that I can't be the one to remember!' She huffed to herself as she stalked through the many identical corridors, her irritation growing every time she ended up in a dead end or somewhere else entirely that wasn't the dorms.

'Fuck this, man. Do I seriously have to ask another stranger?'

013 let out a shriek when ending up at another dead end, the corridor ending with a nice view of space, a view she couldn't particularly appreciate at the moment, as all she wanted to do was find her room and go to sleep, and also to forget how much this day just absolutely sucked.

She turned on her heel and returned to where she was before she turned in to the corridor, while mentally checking off that no, that was not the right corridor.

Now there were just about two more corridors that she hadn't tried yet, not to mention probably three or four floors. Hopefully she was at least on the right floor.

'I'm going to die in these corridors, because they're like a fucking labyrinth.'

She backtracked to where she first was, giving a sigh of defeat. She was back to square one, but at least this time she knew what corridors not to take.

'That leaves me with one.'

And so she walked down that corridor. It was the one she had avoided, simply because it felt so… eerie, and dangerous.

'I wonder why that is…' She idly thought, her eye looking ahead, slowly scanning the walls.

She clutched at the jumper she wore. It was navy blue, her favourite colour, which automatically made it her favourite sweater, too. Doc had fetched her the jumper so she had something else to wear besides the gown that she wore for several days when stuck in the Infirmary.

It was such an unpleasant feeling, wearing it. The breeze wafted in places she didn't like being wafted out in the open like that, and so she was ecstatic when Doc brought her the jumper – the blonde glass-wearing woman actually made her day that morning, by bringing her it, along with clean underwear and a pair of standard-issued black fatigues.

She felt right at home, wearing the clothes.

It brightened her mood too, the awful morning and frantic restroom searching two downsides of her day.

That is, if she didn't count the fact that she was having a pretty huge problem finding her dorm at the moment.

If anything, the search for her dorm was probably the worst of all the three shortcomings.

As she still hadn't found the room yet.

'Ugh.'

013 stalked down the last corridor, ignoring the chills running up her spine. It was like the corridor was a type of foreboding… Nothing felt right.

She turned the corner, and upon turning it, a sense of familiarity came over her.

'Maybe this was the right corridor after all… but it just feels so, haunting.'

Not that anything with the corridor looked wrong, in fact, it looked almost identical to the ones she had been in previously - which made the eerily creepy feelings even more confusing. It's not like it's a scene taken from a slasher movies with some murderer or villain hiding behind a mask with a knife in their hand, about to chase her through the corridor. That, if anything, would be absurd, not to mention completely unrealistic.

'Those movies have always been on the pathetic side of the spectrum. Then again, they're called slasher movies for a reason…' 013 thought.

By irony, she of course managed to regain her memories about the most trivial of things, like how to hold a pen and write, how to shave, what movies she had seen, what books she had read.

But nothing that really mattered.

Nothing about the mystery man she had seen in the mess hall, nothing about Jefferson- Jeff.

And definitely nothing about her shitty predicament that she didn't even know that she should remember.

Life apparently liked making her life a living hell, by keeping her most important memories locked away behind thick bars and chains.

013 turned at a junction, walking slightly further, before coming to a stop, a very familiar door standing before her.

There were a few stickers plastered onto the silvery door, one with the piece sign, another with the emblem warning for toxicity, and one huge sticker plastered just under the plaque of her name.

KEEP CALM AND SLOWLY BACK AWAY FROM THIS DORM, YOU'RE NOT WELCOME

'How the hell did I manage to get that one? Did I special-order it?' 013 let out laughter upon reading the text, as it was just too hilarious.

It sounded like her alright, which meant she had definitely reached her dorm.

She quickly pulled out the keycard that Doc had given her before her departure from the Infirmary, and swept in through the mechanical little box on the side.

A beep sounded, which probably was a positive thing, because the door soon slid open, revealing the content of her room.

Which was quite… well, normal actually.

She didn't know what she had been expecting, but she had expected something.

'Huh, so my room is kinda normal and average-y. I got a desk, a bed, a bedside table, another table with four chairs… A bookcase? I'm actually allowed to have a small bookcase in here? That's epic shit. Thanks who-ever agreed to let me have my bookcase.'

013 observed all that within the frame of a couple seconds. A lopsided smile curved her lips upwards, as she deemed her dorm to be to her liking.

It should be, it was her dorm after all, even before the accident.

It wasn't like she had relocated to some other ship, geesh.

Maybe that was what she had half expected? A transfer, as she didn't remember batshit about her position on the Infinity.

013 laid herself on her bed, in a spread-eagle position. She couldn't deny that it felt amazing to be in her own bed again, the mattress was heaven, and didn't compare to the brick-like mattress that the Infirmary provided her with.

Okay, it was actually the opposite, the mattress at the Infirmary was a lot more softer, but since her soldier-body is so used to the hard surface of a not-so-soft mattress, a brick mattress felt much more like home that some plushy one.

She tipped to the side before curling herself into a foster-like position, a content smile on her face as she closed her eyes and just laid there, embracing the peace she felt at the moment.

She momentarily forgot that she had memory-loss… She momentarily forgot about the dream-or memory, of the blue-eyed man, and she momentarily forgot about the shitty day she had had.

Instead, she just focused on her breathing, focused on herself.

A flash before her eyes came then, bearing recognizable pictures in rapid succession.

The pictures were only flash shots, passing by before she managed to take in the whole content of each one, but nevertheless, she just knew her mind had unlocked a memory, as the same sense of familiarity that she felt around objects she had interacted with previously overcame her.

Flashback –

Her grin was huge, her two rows of teeth showcased for the whole world to see as she smiled broadly at the person sitting opposite her.

They were currently cleaning their guns, and 013 figured that she had most likely just said something sassy, because the person sitting in front of her just gave her the stink-eye.

It felt weird, being inside herself, but not knowing what was going to happen. It was as if she was literally a small entity looking out through someone else's eyes, even though those eyes were her own.

She felt the smile, and she felt her hands gripping the cold steel pieces of her disassembled gun.

But she herself wasn't smiling, no, she was only watching, and feeling everything happen. She herself couldn't control her own movements, despite being inside her own body.

'This feels like something taken out of the Davinci Code, what the hell?' She thought to herself, her eyes wide with disbelief. She felt a little freaked out, but at the same time, she knew she shouldn't. It was he after all, and she was just seeing a memory.

If anything, she should be jumping up and down or do pirouettes of joy, simply because her mind decided to be lenient and bless her with remembering a memory.

The sound of laughter brought her out of her reverie. She felt vibrations run through her body, and she knew it was her who had laughed. Probably because she got the guy before her good, one of her sassy and sarcastic jokes burning him a little.

'Want some water for that burn?' She chuckled quietly to herself… Within herself.

'That thought just felt so fucked up, I'm laughing inside myself. I should probably join the nearest mental institute, no one would believe me if I told them about this... They'd most likely assume I've finally jumped onto the crazy train.'

Her eyes, her own eyes, not her body's eyes, shifted over to the guy sitting opposite her. He looked… Familiar.

Very familiar.

'Is that... Is that Jeff?'

Her eyes widened with realization.

It was actually Jeff, but he looked lightly younger - less buff, less adult-like, and he had some kind of… innocent aura around him.

'So this is a memory from a year back? Or maybe even more than one? How long have I been on this ship exactly?'

And then she looked around, wanting to take in the rest of the vicinity. It was her room, but it looked slightly different.

There was no bookcase standing close to her door, and there was a different alarm clock standing on her bedside table.

013 let out a scoff, her eyebrow arching as the corner of her lip curled slightly.

'So I've broken my alarm clock once. Nice.'

Her eyes wandered a little more over the space, taking in the things that were standing in the same spot as they did at her current time.

Not too much had changed, it was just the small things.

In the peripheral, she caught sight of something brown and box-shaped.

Her eyes zeroed in on the unknown object.

It was a box, shaped much like a shoe-box, the width smaller than the length.

'I wonder if that is still under my bed? I have to check later.'

She let her curiosity for the box go, as she once again shifted to focus on the scene playing out before her.

Jeff was shaking his head, as he then flipped her the bird, and 013's laugher was renewed.

"It kinda hurts you to say that size doesn't matter, doesn't it, Jeff?" 013 breathed, as she was slightly out of breath because she had just about finally stopped laughing, and was now trying to regain her breath. Jeff only threw her a glare before muttering a reply.

"No it doesn't, what I'm implying is that the size of someone's gun doesn't matter, not about dick size, you asswipe."

"Ah c'mon, I'm just fucking with you, don't take it so hard." 013 kept going with her innuendos, and Jeff then declared that he gave up, stating that it was impossible to keep going with the discussion any longer.

"That's not what your mom said last night."

"Ohmygod, Tutes, really? You just had to pull a 'your mom' joke out of your ass?" Jeff said, his facial expression deadpan as he stared incredulously at her. She only shrugged her shoulders, and threw him her classic lopsided smile.

"Only you, Tutes… Only you." Her best friend muttered, before he shifted his eyes downwards, going back to cleaning his gun. The rag he pushed down the barrel of his gun came out almost clean this time, meaning the repetitive shove-rag-down-gun-and-then-pull-out until it comes out clean was finally almost over.

He totally ignored the sexual innuendo he had just done, as he had had enough of those to sustain him not one, but two lifetimes from 013.

013 did the same, although she only had to reassemble her gun, as she had cleaned hers already. They sat in comfortable silence, just enjoying each other's company. It was moments like these that she knew Jeff was truly her best friend.

She wasn't obligated to keep a conversation going all the time, or always having to have some kind of activity in mind so they didn't end up bored. Instead, she could just sit in her silence, doing her own thing, while Jeff did the same.

That is what signifies bestfriendship – if that's even a word. If it wasn't, then she would have to call Cambridge and ask them to add to the English dictionary, because how could bestfriendship not be a word?

"Hey Jeff?" She called to him without looking up from her fiddling. She heard a hum, and took that as a sign to continue.

"You know I value you a lot, right?" She said, her voice clear of her usual sarcasm and sass. A moment of silence passed, and she glanced up to look at him.

Only to be met with his warm orbs looking right at her, and a genuine smile curving the tips of his lips upwards.

"Of course, Tutes. The same goes for you. You're my best friend, and you'll always be, there's no changing that." He said, not a single waver or hesitation in his voice.

013 felt warmth envelop her heart, and she matched his smile with her own.

"Even though if something bad happens to us, we'll still remain best friends?"

"Even though if something bad happens to us, we'll still remain best friends." Jeff echoed confidently, and he then reached out with his hand, his finger splayed apart. 013 happily entwined her fingers with his, and they closed their grip, tightly holding on.

Their bond would forever remain, no matter the amount of hardships that get thrown their way – they would always prevail.

Flashback end –

013 blinked a couple times, her mind sorting out the memory flashback.

So she was actually best friends with Jeff.

Her eyes started to tear up, or well, eye, as her other eye was still patched up.

She kept forgetting that, because she had gotten so used to just using her one eye.

Shortly after the memory flashback, another came in its wake, and then a few others.

It was like a chain reaction, as she started to remember bits and pieces of just who Jeff was.

She still didn't regain everything, but what she had was enough.

It was enough for her to truly feel that the friendship she had with Jeff was real, and honest.

'Even though if something bad happens to us, we'll still remain best friends…' She echoed what the two of them had said to each other.

'Truer words have never been spoken.' She added afterwards.

013 had to then wipe the wet liquid from under her eye away before it fell and splashed against the fabric of her pillow.

Along the few memories that she regained… She also, surprisingly so, regained a very… intimate one.

They hadn't always been just best friends.

'I've slept with him. Once.'

She didn't feel any remorse at all upon knowing that she had actually been intimate with Jeff. It hadn't felt wrong, not at all, but it hadn't felt right either.

It felt great -obviously, but it hadn't felt like it should have. And the two of them knew it.

The both of them had agreed that it was a one-time thing, and that they'd be better off as best friends instead.

They were simply too good of friends to be in a relationship with one another. It was kind of unfortunate, for at one time, she had actually really liked Jeff.

And she meant like-liked, as in more than a friend.

He had too, but then again, when they tried to be more, the comfortable atmosphere they had, disappeared.

It was saddening, and both their hearts broke a little, but only a week after the agreement, they settled back into their typical banter.

She kept up with her sexual innuendos, even making fun of the one time they slept together.

And Jeff was okay with that.

In fact, he actually countered her jokes based off of that moment, rebuking comebacks that had her blushing.

And she rarely ever blushed.

It all was very ironic really, but it just showed how much of an amazing friendship they had. No matter the mistakes they do, or the mishaps, their friendship remained strong.

During her reminiscing, a smile had absently formed on her lips.

'Guess that's going to be a fun conversation with Jeff the next time I see him.'

She forgot to check under her bed for the brown box that she had seen in the first memory of Jeff, as it was forgotten during the memory relapse.

Time skip –

013 had remembered the walk from her dorm to the elevator, and then knowing what floor the Infirmary was on.

Not that the sign on the elevator wall aided her in finding her way back to the medbay…

She was going to pay Jeff a visit today, as she missed it yesterday.

The doors of the Infirmary swooshed open, and 013 saw that the bed she had been lying in was now occupied by another marine. Upon meeting his gaze, she waved, and he waved back. 013 smiled before continuing on her way, following the path that she had walked many times when she had been stationed here.

How many days had she been there? A week?

It was something like that, perhaps just a little more.

Her feet thudded against the flooring, and as she passed the rooms, she waved at every single one of them.

The guy that had only glared at her when she offered a wave had left, and she felt relieved upon noticing that.

He had never been fun to walk pass, as his eyes more or less dug holes into her with the way he had been glaring.

'Rude dickface, that was what he had been.'

Soon she entered into the vicinity of Jeff's room, and her eyes widened upon the sight, and her mouth slightly dropped open.

Jeff was there, but there was something wrong with the usual picture.

Instead of two human arms, he had a cybernetic arm attached to him, the black material of it a glaring detail in her sight.

"Jeff…" she murmured, as she took in the fact that he was the one marine that lost a limb. Doc had mentioned someone losing a limb, but she hadn't thought that it was Jeff who had lost it.

Royal blue orbs soon met the stormy grey of her own, and a surprised expression overtook his futures.

"Oh, hey Tutes, I wasn't expecting you to visit." He said, his expression remaining surprised.

013 only swept her gaze over him again, remaining just a little longer on his cybernetic arm.

"I forgot to visit you yesterday, my day was pretty hectic, so I figured that I could visit you today, to make up for the loss of yesterday…" Her voice faded, and she shifted her gaze back to his arm once again.

At the mention of loss…

Jeff seemed to know what her unspoken question was, as he cleared his throat before answering.

"Flying shrapnel. A twisted piece of metal came flying and I didn't spot it in time before it, uh, landed." He said, his voice sounding slightly awkward.

013 just remained in silence for a few more moments, before letting out a small cough and then sitting down on the edge of his bed.

It had been his right arm.

And he was right-handed.

"How are you going to… I mean, you're right-handed, do you have to relearn everything?" She asked quietly, her eyes lifting to slightly trace over the black surface of the cybernetic arm. The material was coiled into twisted muscle strands, with blue flat lights lining the construction in between the strands. There were hard surface plates, which were smooth to the touch, warped around the edge of his shoulder, and then at his elbow and his hand. The plates were there to most likely protect the inner mechanics of the cybernetic joints, as they were slightly more advanced in their machinery than the bigger muscles- or well, the cybernetic muscle strands.

Jeff contemplated his answer, before deciding to lift his arm, causing 013's hands to flinch away from the unexpected movement. His arm rose, and he held in front of him, before slowly bending it and then flexing the fingers.

"I have the basic movements down, so I can move it and flex my fingers, but as for the more advanced moves, I'm going to have to relearn them. But since they're connected to my nerves, it'll be slightly easier to learn it all since they'll recognize the movements. But since my… original muscles are gone, so is the muscle memory." There was a hint of sadness in his voice, and 013 inwardly cringed.

It seemed the two of them had their own share of hardships thrown at them at the same time.

She had her memory loss, and Jeff had his loss of an entire arm, along with its muscle memory.

"No matter the hardships, Jeff…" She started out, before taking a breath and then continuing.

"We always stick together, right?" The last part was only murmured quietly, as her voice was full of hesitation. She didn't know how he would react to her uttering words similar to those that the two of them had said to each other months and months ago.

A spark of recognition lit up in his blue orbs, and a shocked expression washed over his futures. His brows tilted upwards, and his eyes widened.

"You- you remember?" He said, slightly astonished. 013 nodded in reply, a small smile on her lips.

"I don't remember everything… but what I do remember is you arguing that size doesn't matter… Or does it?" She slyly remarked, her eyebrow arching as she smirked.

Jeff only stared at her, before moving his cybernetic arm to cover his eyes with his wrist.

"Of course, out of everything in that memory, you decide to remark on that. Tutes, it's like you never got memory loss, you're exactly the same." He groaned, but 013 spotted the smile that was forming on his lips. She let out a chuckle.

"I also remember… Our more, intimate memories…" She said, her eyes intently watching Jeff for a reaction.

The only thing she got was a blush.

And it was probably one of the cutest sights she had ever seen.

Her best friend was blushing!

"Greeeaaat, anything else?" He deadpanned, his arm still remaining at his eyes, blocking his vision. He most likely didn't want to see the shit-eating grin 013 was currently wearing.

With good reason, too.

"No, just that. It was kind of… Pleasurable, remembering that occurrence. Hopefully you'll regain that dexterity of yours in your fingers… It'd be unfortunate for such talent to go to waste." 013 commented, before she then guffawed, no longer able to contain her calm façade. Jeff just groaned, as her words definitely weren't shy.

"Fuck me…" He muttered, only to immediately regret his choice of words.

"Been there, done that." 013 quickly shot her remark at him, her smile widening.

"I set myself up for that one."

"Yeah, you did." She nodded condescendingly at him.

"You should know better than to give me such openings, from what I remember, I'm the King of sass and sarcasm."

"More like King of the junkyard…"

"Which would be you, since you have a recyclable arm, meaning you'll one day end up at said junkyard."

"That was lame, Tutes, c'mon. What's the matter, you running out of good comebacks?" Jeff mocked his friend, his eyebrow arched. His arm had returned to lying at his side.

"I had nothing better to say." 013 shrugged, before letting out a deep sigh.

"Back to more serious matters though… I remember enough to know that you're really a valuable friend, one that I'm never going to be rid of."

"Gee, thanks." Jeff commented sarcastically. He was hushed, and 013 then continued on.

"You're my best friend Jeff, and even though I don't know everything, I want you to know that I'll be here for you. And also to tell you that don't you ever hesitate to ask if you need help, or someone to lean on when it gets a bit too rough. I know you're going to have a hard time with your…" 013 gestured at his cybernetic arm,

"-arm and all, so I just want to really make sure that you know got me here standing by you." She finished, her gaze locked with his. She saw the raw emotions swirling in his eyes, ranging from happiness to gratitude to remorse.

013 knew that the loss of his arm was going to take a toll on him sooner or later. Most likely he was still coming to terms that he has actually lost his arm, despite it having been replaced with a cybernetic one.

And when that time comes, she was going to make damn sure that she was here for him. Especially now that she herself has come to realize the depth of the friendship she has with him.

Jeff only nodded, and 013 felt that now was the time to swoop in for a hug.

A hug she has looked forward to since she regained her memories of him.

Screw that it was sentimental to hug someone – a hug is a hug, and it says so much more than words ever do. A hug can comfort in ways words can't, not to mention that you're putting trust in the person you're hugging, as you're holding them as close as they could get.

She wasn't sure how long they hugged, but it didn't matter. All she felt was his hands gripping and pulling her close, as he sought the closeness of her. She laid down on his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat and raspy breaths. Her hands were gripping onto the material of his gown, and they laid there in silence, Jeff slowly recovering himself.

She felt herself nearly doze off, it was so comfortable lying there, but the sniffing of Jeff brought her slipping conscious back. She lifted her head slightly to glance at him, and she saw that his cheeks were wet.

"Oh Jeff…, I'm so sorry." She silently murmured, and she felt him grip her extra tight, before loosening his grip to the one he had before.

"Don't be, it's not your fault." He murmured back, and 013 returned to snuggling into his chest.

"I might fall asleep." She voiced quietly, her eyes slowly closing.

"That's fine, I don't mind." And with that, 013's conscious left her, leaving her in the embrace of her best friend.

Opinions? Especially about that juicy detail of Jeff and 013's past... Watcha think?