I got the idea for this fanfiction at the same time I was working on "When The Time Is Right." I needed to get that one done before I could work on this one.
I realized I never tried this before, having 9 and 4 talk and spend time together. Just the two of them. It focuses on them as a sibling bond. It's not romance.
There are mentions of 9x6. The last time I did that was when I wrote "See Who I Am." That was a long time ago. O_o There's also mentions of 1x7, 3x5, and even a possibility of 4x8. Just to clarify, 3 and 4 are both females.
Hope you enjoy this fic. :)
9 looked up at skyward, raising a brow in thought. The atmosphere of the Emptiness left him feeling on edge, as though he were being watched. Considering where he was, he guessed it were possible, but he couldn't let his guard down, especially with the charge he was given.
"Are you sure you don't want to go back?," asked 9, turning around, lowering his lightstaff.
Accompanying him was 4, and she stepped off a chunk of broken limestone.
'No,' she flickered in response, 'I want to be here.'
"Is that a promise?," quipped 9.
4 blinked, starkly serious.
"Okay," said 9, turning around. The hooded stitchpunk followed behind him, glimpsing down at a patch of green grass.
9 scanned the Emptiness from one end to the other. The golden afternoon sun basked in the horizon, brushing the tips of the leaves on the surrounding trees he saw. The pylons stretched on in the distance, their lines connecting them together. The possibility of a beast cornering him was still on his mind, and he didn't know what he'd do if 4 couldn't hold her own in a fight. He was going to have to wait and see.
"Why did you want to come?," queried 9, walking around a glass bottle.
'I wanted a break from the libary,' replied 4, 'it can get boring after a time.'
"I thought you loved reading," commented 9, lifting a stitched eyebrow, "considering all the time you and your sister spend doing research."
'I know,' retorted 4, 'but I also wanted to have some time to myself.'
"I'm with you," said 9, "so you're not exactly by yourself."
4 shot him an annoyed glance.
'I am aware of that,' she flickered.
9 blinked. He looked away.
4 walked in silence. She kept her eyes locked on the passing scenery, not caring for the scattering litter or the still-standing buildings—whatever was left of them. She furrowed her brow, an onslaught of emotions brewing that she would implode if she continued to bottle them up.
"I think I might bring something back with me," spoke 9.
4's train of thought was broken when she heard his voice. Glancing up, she took the time to remember where she was and who she was with.
'What was that?,' she asked.
"I said that I might bring something back with me," repeated 9 evenly, making sure 4 understood everything he said.
'Oh,' retorted 4.
She looked at the way 9 held his lightstaff, how the lightbulb on his staff caught the light. It was as though the bulb itself was lit up even thought the bulb didn't hit the battery. It made her smile briefly, then her face fell.
The zippered stitchpunk stepped onto a brick laying on a pipe. Holding his arms out, he walked up, reached the top, then jumped down. This got a small snicker from 4, despite her stubbornness to remain sullen.
The two ventured past a tank which was flanked by the remains of a rundown building that couldn't be called a building anymore. There were dead Steel Behemoths, whose eyes were dim, no longer in use. Sacks piled on top of each other made up the ramshackle backdrop. It made it look sad but pleasing to the eye. It was something that couldn't be described into words.
"Is something bothering you?," uttered 9, not turning to look at the hooded stitchpunk.
'Huh?,' said 4. She was so caught up in her own world that she didn't even know she was distracted.
"You've been quiet the whole walk," said 9. "Well, considering you don't speak vocally, but you know what I'm saying."
4 nodded. 'Yeah,' she flickered, keeping a smile.
"Do you want to talk about it?," inquired 9, stopping, turning around.
4 stopped walking as well, looking from him to the ground, at the pebbles, anything to not have to be here.
'Well,' she began, but then she sauntered past 9, grabbing at her arm. Her demeanor gave off restraint emotions.
9 watched her sit on top of a rotted wooden plank. Registering the need to intervene, he sidled up to her and sat next to her, leaning his light staff against a flowerpot.
'I feel like I've lost a chunk of my life,' said 4, optics looking at the ground.
"I see," muttered 9. He tried to give off the impression that he understood what she meant, but she was going to see right through him.
4 rested her chin on her knees, opening her mouth to breathe in a silent sigh.
'I feel like I haven't begun to live my life,' continued 4. 'I've spent my whole life in the library, rarely going outside. I'd go outside, but to the courtyard and watch the days drag on. 7 would take us both out on rare occasions when she thought we needed time outside the library.'
"You feel like you've wasted your life?," offered 9, hoping he was cracking at the walls.
'Yes,' responded 4. Lifting her head, she said, 'I feel like I've been left behind.'
"Why?," uttered 9.
4 glanced at him quickly before she glimpsed away. She desperately wished to disappear. When she looked back again, she didn't look 9 in the optics, but let him know she was attentive.
'You know that 3 and 5 have started to...you know?,' said 4, hoping she wasn't too obvious.
"I do know," said 9, smiling ruefully.
Through misadventure 4 discovered 3 and 5 had harbored feelings for each other. She discreetly followed them one day to the Emptiness, thinking that 3 forgot to ask her to join them. She watched them behind a broken down car, and saw when 5 kissed 3. It took 4 by surprise, but she wasn't not happy for them. It was there that she realized that she felt like she wasn't living her life.
"Are you...jealous?," asked 9, keeping his smile.
'... No,' answered 4.
9 tilted his head. "Really?"
4 stared off, not looking at anything in particular, but trying to distract herself the current unraveling. She gave a silent sigh, not ready about this herself.
'I just feel like I'm being left behind,' she explained, looking up at him, 'like I'm being left out. I shouldn't be feeling like this, but I do. I can't help it, I just...I'm just so..." She paused, thinking it better to not voice out the next part.
The zippered stitchpunk looked at her for a moment, contemplating his next response, hoping it would ease 4's troubles.
"I can understand what that's like," he said, "feeling left out."
4 glimpsed up, not sure how to react to this revelation.
"I haven't been around as long as the others," said 9. "How long have you've been alive? A decade or so? Longer? You've had a connection with everyone else longer than I have. And I still feel like I don't fit in."
The hooded stitchpunk looked down at the ground. What he said touched her, but she didn't want to let go of what she clung to. She didn't to accept that his situation was the same as hers, but hearing it told her she wasn't as important as the others.
'Well,' remarked 4, straightening her posture, 'I know what that's like. I guess we both don't fit in.' She smiled, shrugging.
9 returned the smile.
"3 and 5 are together," he spoke, "how do you feel about that?"
'I'm happy for them,' said 4 through optic flickers, 'I am. Maybe I am a little jealous. I just had too much pride to admit it.'
"Ha, I knew it!," cheeped 9. He laughed, which got 4 to break into silent giggles.
'I admit it,' she said, 'I'm jealous of my sister being in a relationship.'
"But they do make a nice couple," ventured 9, "don't they?"
'Yeah,' replied 4, nodding. She laid back on the plank, letting the sunshine engulf her and warm her body. 'Do you think they might want to start a family?'
"Why not?," quipped 9, changing position. "They are a couple now after all."
4 nodded. 'I'd like it if I could be an aunt,' she said, sitting up, 'I could take care of their baby whenever they're too busy.'
"And I could pitch in. 5's practically like my brother."
'That's right.' 4 beamed. Then, more innocently, she asked, 'So, uh, anyone back home interest you?'
"Huh?," quoth 9, blinking.
'Is there anyone you like?,' asked 4 more clearly.
"Oh?," said 9, scratching the back of his head. He looked from one direction to the other, avoiding eye contact with 4 altogether.
'Well?,' she insisted, smiling mischievously, arms folded under her chest. 'Is there?"
9 forced a wheezy chuckle, trying to avoid looking her in the optics. He couldn't help but find it amusing as it was embarrassing.
"Well, kind of," said 9, turning to look at her.
4's lips stretched into a smile.
'I knew it!,' she chirped, pointing a finger. 'I knew there was someone!'
9 roared with laughter. He almost fell backward, but he ended up sliding down the plank. 4, while giggling silently, stood up and helped 9 to his feet. The two sat back down to continue the conversation.
'Who is it?,' queried 4, leaning closer.
9's answer surprised even himself.
"6," he said plainly.
4 blinked, practically smirking.
'6?,' she quipped, straightening; the surprise blooming on her face.
The zippered stitchpunk nodded.
"Yeah," he said, chuckling.
'I...I'm surprised,' she said, 'I thought maybe you and 7...'
"Well, it's not," quipped 9.
4 slumped her shoulders.
'So, 6, huh?,' she uttered, raising a brow.
"Yup. Guilty."
'Don't be guilty,' flickered 4. 'I think it's sweet.'
"I was more surprised when he told me," said 9, "and even more when he told me why."
'Did he tell you?,' asked 4.
"Yes," responded 9, "he said it was because of his visions."
4 stared.
'He fell in love with you,' she said, trying to process what she was hearing, 'because of his visions?'
"He said he loved the savior behind the vision," answered 9, "he wasn't sure who it was at first when the visions started, but when he saw them more clearly...he began to yearn for the savior who would save everyone. And I think he wanted this savior for himself. You know?"
'I know,' said 4, shifting her weight on her right side.
"I still think it was because he wanted the savior," quipped 9, shrugging.
The hooded female chuckled silently, a hand clapped over her mouth. 9 smiled.
'What about you?,' quoth 4. 'How do you feel?'
"Well, I never considered it at first," explained 9, "but then we began spending time together. Drawing. Reading. Spending time in the courtyard. Just two days ago we went on a walk out here, we went into a building and we found some ink bottles. One of them had red ink. The other had blue. I thought they were pretty, and we wanted to bring them back home."
'And?,' said 4, anticipation brewing.
"We made it back home with the inks," said 9, drawing his legs up, resting his chin on his knees, "I followed him to his room and put his ink bottles on a shelf."
4 kept a neutral face while she listened.
"Then," said 9, tapping his fingers against his knee, "he, uh, he wanted to kiss me."
At that, 4 smiled, finding the revelation to be adorable.
"But, uh," began 9, "I, uh, wasn't ready. I backed away. I-I didn't know what to do. I...left his room."
4 winced.
'How did 6 take it?,' said 9.
"I don't know," answered 9, "I've been meaning to talk to him, but I don't know how to approach him. I don't know what to say, or how to say it."
4 furrowed her brow.
'Do you love him?,' she asked, half-smiling.
The zippered male paused. He was truly speechless.
"I think I might be in love with him," he finally said.
This got a wider smile from 4.
'If you're in love with him, tell him,' she retorted.
9 shrugged, head tilting to the side. He couldn't help but give a crooked smile.
"I," he said, "I guess I should. But what's he going to say when I left like that?"
'Just tell him what you told me,' quipped 4, 'that you weren't ready.'
"Well, that's true." 9 nodded, chin resting on his palm.
'Tell him,' said 4, smiling in resolve, 'you should let him know her you feel. He'll understand. I know he will.'
"You really think so?," queried 9.
'Of course I do,' uttered 4. 'I'm sure of it.'
The zippered stitchpunk smiled, looking unbelievably giddy. 4 herself couldn't help but gush over this topic.
9 stretched his legs out, gazing up at the sky.
"What about you?," he inquired.
'What?'
"What about you?," repeated 9. "Is there anyone you like?"
The hooded stitchpunk darted her pupils from the left and the right before turning away completely, her back half turned to 9.
"Do you?," probed 9, leaning in, trying to see 4's face.
4 sat still, wishing she could sprout wings and fly away. Anything to not answer him.
"Well?"
9 sat back when she started to turn back around. She looked like she was trying to stop herself from laughing, but even if she could she wouldn't be laughing in humor.
'I don't know if there is,' she flickered in response.
"You've had a lot of time to consider the possibilities," said 9, which was in fact true.
'Yeah, well, I guess my options are pretty limited.'
"That's alright."
4's next revelation wouldn't be taken so lightly if she told him.
'I thought about 8 for a while,' she explained, resting her chin on her knees, arms wrapping her legs.
"Oh," said 9, "really? 8?"
'Yeah.' 4 nodded. 'But then...'
9 lifted a stitched eyebrow.
'Then I thought maybe...'
9 didn't take his optics off of her until he registered what the hooded stitchpunk was trying to word. He raised his brows, thrown.
"Oh," he uttered. "I, uh, I... You..."
'I considered you for a while,' reiterated 4, looking wounded but tried to mask it, 'until...'
The zippered stitchpunk looked at her in resolve. His gaze changed from the hooded female to the mountainous hillocks of rubble. He was indeed dumbfounded.
"I...I'm sorry," said 9.
'No, don't be,' retorted 4, stretching her legs, 'I'm happy for you, 9. I just wish it could've been possible.'
"It's a beautiful thing," spoke 9, "to be in love."
'How true that is,' said 4, nodding understandingly.
The two were silent for what seemed like an eternity. The serenity of the quiet but daunting town surrounded them, but it also have them an unexplained comforting feeling. The sun sank lower into the horizon, something both hadn't noticed throughout their whole talk.
"I like sunsets," commented 9, optics gazing at the fading sunset.
'So do I,' agreed 4, 'the books I've read describe sunsets to the last detail, but seeing one in person makes it feel different.'
"Oh yeah," said 9, "no matter how many books you read, you can never really describe a sunset."
4's smile stretched wide. 'I agree.'
The sun lowers into the horizon, splashing the sky it its silky orange hues. Clouds dotted the sky, imbued in tones of purple and pink with tints of red. There were still hints of blue left, and steaks of gold finished the touch.
"We should keep doing this," said 9 suddenly.
4 snapped her head to look at him.
"We should keep doing more things like this," he retorted. "Coming out here to a quiet spot, and just talk, about anything." He faced 4. "If you want to, that is."
The hooded female raised her stitched brows, nodding in understanding.
'I'd like that,' she replied, smiling. 'I actually enjoyed this.'
"Me too," said 9.
The two stitchpunks exchanged smiles. Both their troubles seemingly vanished.
'So,' said 4, 'why did you come here?'
"I was supposed to get a pair of scissors for 2," answered 9.
'Ah,' quipped 4.
"I almost forgot about it." 9 reached for his lightstaff, rising to his feet. "We should get going; it's getting late."
'Alright,' said 4, standing up. She stretched her arms.
"Wouldn't it be fun if we found a pair that were stitchpunk-sized?," quoth 9.
4 giggled silently.
'That would be funny,' she said, 'but that would be hard to find.'
"Can't blame me for trying."
4 smirked.
She and 9 ambled down the road ahead, seeing the whole of the Emptiness peel outward in front of them.
'Can I find something here I like?,' queried 4, looking childishly hopeful.
"Of course you can," said 9.
The two strolled through the litter-ridden path, gazing at the ramshackle town from its decaying buildings to its emerging vegetation making it less desolate. The atmosphere of the sunset let the two stitchpunks know that both their troubles would be forgotten, promising more days where they could be themselves.
Only time would tell.
I think I nailed down their relationship down. And yes, 4 admitted to having a small crush on 9, but it was merely that; a crush. I thought of it, but decided to stick to my original idea of having them bond in a sibling matter.
I really enjoyed working on this. ^u^ Did you guys enjoy this? Reviews are always appreciated.
Thank you for reading.