11.

I haven't seen 2B in a while. Nines isn't with her, either.

"Hello, 2B! Long time no see."

She nods at me. Her gaze lingers.

Act innocent, like Nines does when he's trying to inconspicuously get information. "I was just scrounging through spare machine parts for the villagers, Pascal." I point at my earnings. "Do you need anything replaced?"

"Why, that is very thoughtful of you, Ribbon," Pascal says. "I am in good shape, however. Let's let the children pick."

"Sure."

We stand in silence.

I don't look away from 2B. I have to assess her. What does she know? Is she surprised Pascal isn't bothering to hide me? What connections is she making in her mind?

Her dual swords float behind her and a childish inkling pricks at me. I want to tell her I have a matching sword, but that would be madness. Nines' sword is hidden under my blanket in my house and I'm not gonna tell her a thing about it.

"2B, since you're here—have you had a tour of the village yet?" I ask.

She starts. "I've already looked around."

"Okay." How can I keep her here longer?

She turns to Pascal. "Anyway, I'll have the fuel filtered delivered. I'll transmit to you when it's been done."

They transmit directly to each other? Is that why I haven't seen 2B or Nines around on "official" business?

Did 2B do that in order to avoid Nines running into me?

I step closer to her and she looks me up and down. "How have you been? Wanna hang out for a bit?"

"Ribbon, I'm afraid that isn't a privilege I can afford."

Right. Right, I knew she'd reject me, but asking's okay, right?

"9S is waiting back at the camp." She turns.

"Oh, uh, how is he?" I have to act like I don't know, after all.

She glances back at me. "He is good. I won't be telling him you asked. You understand why."

Reminding me?

"Ribbon, has he been around since we last talked?"

"Not that I've seen." It comes out of me without hesitation.

"I see." She offers a quick, polite smile. "It is good to see you are well."

Pascal and I watch as she crosses the bridge to the exit.

"Oh, my." Pascal peers at me. "You should not try and trick androids, Ribbon. Especially—"

I know.

I dart after her, leaving Pascal spluttering.

"2B!" For all I know, she's zipped back to camp by now what with how fast androids can be. But of course, she just left. She's probably lingering to watch me from afar or something.

She's on the path in the forest leading to the barricade that blocks the village from the city ruins. Where we met weeks ago when she warned me about Nines' curiosity.

She half-turns. "Ribbon."

I slow to a stop next to her. The breeze is playing with her hair, causing strands to stir across each other. Her features are fine and beautiful. Why did humans design androids to be so flawless?

"Ribbon?" she prompts.

Oh. Right. I'm staring like a transfixed idiot.

"Um." My heart rate is increasing. My pulse pounds through me in an insistent rhythm. "Can't you stay for a little while?" She has already rejected me but I have to keep trying. I need to know what she knows. I need to know if Nines will be okay.

And I also just want to spend time with her.

If we get along—if she does know Nines comes here—is there a way we can all hang out together? Is that just wishful thinking, something the naive part of me clings to? But I don't care. I want her here.

"What do you want from me, Ribbon?" she asks. "You are a machine, are you not?"

I falter.

She does know.

She's baiting me.

I know I'm human now and she must know that I've accepted that.

I grab her hand. She makes a startled sound when I press our hands flat together. Her fingers are slender and splayed against mine. Cold, like 9S. I resist the urge to intertwine our fingers and just hold our hands flat together.

"We're similar." My mouth is dry. "I just want to be around something similar and new." I toss my head back, indicating towards the village. "Although I'm a machine, I feel—"

"Pascal told me 9S and you spoke to him."

My vision blurs for a moment as I fixate on our hands.

I exhale, soft and thin.

Shit.

There's a prickling sensation in my scalp. Pascal. Something swarms my chest and throat, tight and horrible. Pascal, you idiot. I can imagine he just mentioned it carelessly, too. Oh, my, 2B! You should've warned me you discovered Ribbon—I thought 9S was going to do something rash!

Damn it.

"Even if he hadn't," 2B goes on, "I've already followed 9S here."

I can't move. I don't know what to say. It's all uncertain and strange and nauseating.

But this is good, isn't it? It's all out in the air, and I can ask her to train with us.

"It was difficult at first to track him." She's speaking in monotone. "He's a scanner. He specialises in being discreet, after all. But when his curiosity overrides his caution, he gets a little careless. Especially if his focus is on something he's absolutely enchanted by."

I finally take my hand away, flustered. "Ah, that's—that's . . ." I rummage through excuses and ideas and lies. What do I do now?

I grit my teeth and lift my head. "I ordered him."

She pauses.

"It—it's just that—I wanted to know about androids so badly and you said he was curious and I thought it'd be the perfect opportunity to take advantage of that." I speak fast and messy. "It's not his fault. I ordered him knowing about your chain of command, knowing you told me not to, and knowing he'd listen."

She doesn't say anything.

I think I'm going to pass out.

"You're protecting him." She sounds cautious.

Some birds above take flight from the branches, abrupt. A feather seesaws down next to us after the flurry. I'm perspiring and it's probably not from the heat.

I jump when her hand touches the top of my head. She lays her palm flat and I tense.

Ah. She's touching me. I want to hold her hand there like a weirdo.

"Command isn't aware," she says.

My heart's stretched so thin it hurts. What does that mean?

Is she saying she'll continue to keep it a secret?

Her hand falls away and she turns around. "Asking you to tell 9S not to come around you had a low probability of success. I'm aware of that, yet I tried anyway."

I don't move.

"All I can do is try."

I'm dizzy.

"It was not my place to ask you to stay away from us, and yet I did it anyway." She begins to walk away. "Ribbon, 9S is in a precarious situation. In a perfect world, you would order him to stay away."

I go to speak, but she takes off.

I stand alone. The fallen feather drifts around my boots, carried by a slight wind.

Nines comes here often. He was even going to stay with me when I asked. He's not being cautious.

2B is still a wildcard. Was that a warning or was it a promise to keep quiet?

I turn around and make my way back to the village. I'm shaking.

I hope she can see Nines is my best friend in the whole world and if she takes him away from me, I don't know what I would be capable of doing.

AN: Maybe Ribbon doesn't know he's about as threatening as a piece of lint, idk?

Sorry for the delay on updating! It may be a bit slower since I've started a second job ;.; Life is cruel.