The gentle, creamy dawn of lights were shedding down onto the ground with the sky itself harnessed as a vessel. The night's whispers were faded, fading, as the moon gave in to the sun like the tale goes every night, the stars going away with it. There was already dewdrops glistening on the grass in the lawn, a sign that there may have been a gentle rainfall the previous night. Bats were screeching their normal call, creating a dark storm with a flurry of wings, as they escaped the threat of daylight hitting their skin.

The stars seemed to be fighting for the right to remain in the sky, wishing to remain alongside the sun, but as usual they struggled and eventually gave in to the much more powerful force. The sun always overpowered all that surrounded it, whether they are whole or simply remnants of what there once was. The sun saw no reasoning; it pushed everything away. But now that raises the question - does the sun even have a choice in this matter?

"Tag yourself, I'm the stars," Gavin said.

"Gavin, my dear, please elaborate I am begging you," Nines replied.

"Think about it, all of the androids are the sun while us humans are the moon and stars. Overwhelmed and being killed by the much stronger opposition."

"You are human. I am an android," Nines said matter-of-factly.

"You're on our side now," Gavin said. "That alone makes you more human than any other android." He placed his hand on Nines'.

Nines looked away from Gavin. "There are things about me that makes your statement untrue."

"What do you mean by that? Nines, are you okay?"

"Yes."

"No, dude, be real with me," Gavin said in a serious tone. "I've suspected for a while that's something's up. Talk to me, please."

"Gavin, I… I can't. It's difficult to explain, and the information could hurt you."

"Oh, and withholding information from your boyfriend is so not hurtful," Gavin sneered.

"I'm sorry. I do not wish to hurt you," Nines frowned. "There are just things that are better if they remain unsaid." Nines shifted away from Gavin and stood up.

"Where are you going? Please, just talk to me!" Gavin pleaded. He didn't like to beg, but Nines was extremely important to him. If Nines had any issue or inconvenience at all, then Gavin wanted to know about it. Nines turned around to face Gavin.

"Gavin, I can't-"

"Only a few hours ago I shared something very personal, I'm sure that whatever the hell this is is able to be told to me," Gavin said.

"Sharing something and expecting me to exchange information is a manipulative behaviour. I do not need to tell you."

"It… it literally is not, but okay."

Nines turned back around and walked inside of the house. Gavin moved to get up, but the aching of his wounds was settling in again.

"Fuck… Hey, Nines? The painkillers are wearing off again! Nines? Nines!"

There was no response to Gavin's calls. With a moan of pain, Gavin struggled to his feet. He staggered forward but eventually gained fair balance. With slow, careful steps, Gavin made it inside of the house where he slid down to the ground.

"Nines, you better get your fucking ass over here!" Gavin yelled out.

"Hey, shut the fuck up!" a sleepy and grumpy Hank yelled back from another room.

Gavin rolled his eyes. "I will as soon as Nines comes and helps me! I had to crawl inside."

Silence followed his statement and soon afterwards an android entered the room. It wasn't Nines, though, it was Connor.

"I'll help you." Connor awkwardly picked Gavin up. He had his arms around his back and Gavin's legs were dangling down in mid-air.

"This is super weird and uncomfortable but you're my only option. Where the fuck is Nines?"

"He's on charge right now. I'll take you," Connor answered. He began to waddle towards Gavin's temporary bedroom. The awkward position made Gavin's feet brush the ground every few seconds, and the whole situation was just generally awkward.

Connor entered the room that thankfully had an open door. He set Gavin down on the bed, pulled the blanket down, and slowly shimmied Gavin into the blankets. Gavin's pain was slowly getting worse. Fucking wounds, he thought.

Once Gavin was successfully in the bed, Connor said, "I'm going to go get you more painkillers. Try resting."

Gavin grunted in response and closed his eyes. Before Connor came back, Gavin fell asleep.

Gavin woke up the next morning hungry and in pain. He fluttered his eyes open and glanced at the bedside table, which had a painkiller pill and water on it. Gavin sat up, taking his time to do so, and grabbed the pill. He popped it in his mouth and then took a gulp of the water. He waited for about fifteen minutes, just sitting in the bed, and then he got out of the bed when the painkillers hit him and took an edge off the stinging. Fuck the android creature things.

Gavin walked out to the kitchen, where he saw Nines idly standing there. Gavin grabbed his wrist roughly and yanked him towards him. Gavin was pissed.

"What the hell, man!?"

A confused Nines looked at Nines. He seemed surprised at Gavin's aggressiveness. "Dear, whatever do you mean?"

"What I mean is that this morning you left me! It was sunrise but you thought it'd be a good idea to leave me cold and alone as my pain came back. What a brilliant fucking idea," Gavin sneered sarcastically.

Shadows fell across Nines' face. "Well, I'm very sorry, Gavin. I didn't realise the pain had returned. Are you hungry? I'm making you noodles, they're almost ready. The water is currently softening them."

Gavin took notice of a cup of noodles on the bench.

"Don't do that shit again. I'm sick of us fighting," Gavin said. He walked right up to Nines and pressed their bodies together, and Gavin allowed his head to drop onto Nines' shoulder. Nines put his arms around Gavin's hips and they stood in the middle of the kitchen, safe in each other's embrace.

Gavin closed his eyes. He felt a gentle kiss being pressed to his forehead, then he felt a head leaning against his. Gavin relaxed before squeezing a little tighter.

"I love you," Gavin said.

"I love you too."

Gavin relished the moment before lifting his head. He gazed into Nines' gorgeous blue eyes. "How much do you love me?"

Nines stared back with a gentle intensity.

"I love you with all of the love my wiring will allow me to have."

"I thought your wiring didn't let you love."

"Exact- wait, no!" Nines' face paled. "That's not what I meant!"

Gavin snorted. "Big brain."

"Don't have one, but a big brain is what I am in need of right now," Nines said.

Gavin gave Nines a quick kiss before lifting the lid of the noodle cup. "This bad boy is ready." He grabbed a fork from out of a drawer, washed it with water, then drained the water from the noodles. He added the flavouring then sat at the table. Nines took a seat next to Gavin. Gavin began to eat his noodles, his face lighting up.

"I vibe with these," Gavin muffled through a mouthful of noodles.

Gavin swallowed and tilted his head back, then carefully lowered noodles into his mouth. Nines watched Gavin eat with warm, gentle eyes. Gavin gave him a strange look and swallowed his noodles.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Gavin asked. "Let me eat, it's weird."

"It's because you're so gorgeous, and everything you do is so very intriguing," Nines replied.

Gavin's cheeks went a gentle pink. "Okay."

Hank and Connor both entered the kitchen, holding backpacks.

"We are leaving today," Hank announced. "Shower and get changed, and grab anything here you think could be useful."

Gavin looked at Hank and shoved more noodles into his mouth. Hank rolled his eyes before going around the kitchen and throwing items into his bag. Connor was mirroring his actions until both bags were near full. The pair then left, presumably to locate more things that could be of use.

Gavin sped up his eating process until he was done. He threw the fork in the sink and the cup in the trash. He went to the bedroom he had stayed in, grabbed his bag, and started looking around for useful items.

Gavin packed his bag with clothes, a torch, batteries, water bottles, and random food that was not yet expired. He found another bag he filled with clothes, soap, shampoo, towels, and deodorant that he handed to Nines.

"Here. Take this," Gavin said. "We need to take all of the stuff we can get.".

Gavin remembered the phone Connor had given him. He went to where he left it, on the couch, and picked it up. He pocketed the phone and the earplugs. Gavin found Connor and inquired about the whereabouts of the charger, which Connor provided. Gavin quickly found the phone charger and shoved it into his bag.

Gavin returned to the kitchen and grabbed the painkiller packet and then stuffed that into his bag as well. Nines walked into the room and Gavin t-posed at him.

"Stop doing that, you're a bottom."

Gavin was completely caught off guard by that comment, and he let his arms drop as he snorted with amusement. "Oh my fucking god, Nines."

"Am I wrong?"

Gavin shrugged. "I'm going to shower."

He removed his bag from his back and headed to the bathroom, grabbing a towel on the way. Gavin went into the bathroom and took a quick shower before emerging, drying, dressing, then going back out again. Gavin went to the kitchen and picked up his bag again, swinging it over his shoulder.

"I'm ready to go."

"As am I," Nines said. "Hank, Connor!"

"Ready!" Connor chirped in response from another spot in the house. Connor entered the kitchen with Hank close behind him. Hank walked in front of him.

"Let's get going. Be careful, there are definitely going to be androids around," Hank warned.

"Be gay do crimes," Gavin said. "Take the lead, Hank."

"Alright."

Hank led the small group out onto the back porch, then down the stairs. Gavin gave the house one final glance before looking forward again. The ragtag group walked inconspicuously out of the back yard and onto the sidewalk, trying not to draw attention towards them. In the air lingered what was nearly an uneasy tension and silence, but the four seemed to hold the same thought - get out of here unnoticed.

Gavin didn't like walking outdoors in broad daylight. He felt very on edge, like something bad could happen at any moment. The silence that had fallen amongst them was piercing, and he feared that the lack of conversation could draw unwanted attention - the reasoning is that silence in a group could be easily questionable.

They made it to the edge of the street, where they turned a corner and walked down the continuation of the sidewalk. Gavin saw an android with the corner of his eye but he forced himself not to glance over in its direction.

As they walked down more streets without being stopped, Gavin felt more at ease. He felt a hand take his. Gavin looked up to see a smiling Nines. Gavin smiled back and squeezed Nines' hand, gazing at him fondly before pulling his hand away.

Just as Gavin was feeling more confident, he heard someone shout, "Hey, that's the missing human!"

"Shit!" Gavin gasped. He quickly shoved a hoodie onto Nines' body and pulled the hood over his head before the group made a run for it. Hank didn't last too long running, so Nines picked him up and they kept running. Connor took up the front and dashed down the path, narrowly avoiding collision with androids. Gavin and Nines followed closely behind.

Gavin threw a glance back over his shoulder and saw that a couple of androids had joined the chase. Connor reached the next corner and took a sharp turn. As Nines and Gavin went around the bend, they were suddenly grabbed onto tightly and yanked downwards into a bush. Nines struggled to keep his grip on Hank, and promptly let go of him when he realised that it was Connor who had grabbed them both.

The four were now hiding in a line of bushes.

"Don't move," Connor whispered.

The androids ran right past the bush. They waited to make sure it was safe, and when it seemed to be, Gavin let go of the breath he didn't realise that he was holding.

Nines picked Hank up again, and Connor got up and sprinted across the road. Gavin and Nines sprung to their feet and ran after him. The group ran into a random backyard and halted at the brick wall acting as a fence.

Connor took a few steps back before running at the wall and jumping. He scraped his synthetic skin but didn't make it. Nines quickly went into action; grabbing Connor and hoisting him up onto the wall.

"Give me Gavin," Connor said. Nines picked Gavin up, and Gavin took Connor's outstretched hand. With the help of the androids, he made it up the wall. Nines then held up Hank, who Connor and Gavin helped up. Then Connor reached as far as he could then began to pull Nines up. Gavin grabbed onto some of his hoodie and hauled him up onto the wall.

Nines jumped down first, and helped everyone else down. Once all four were down from the wall, and Hank could use his own legs, they ran across the backyard and emerged out onto the new sidewalk.

Gavin slowed down to a halt and panted. "Fucking shit, that was intense."

"We still have a lot of walking to do," Hank said. "Be ready and be careful."