Big note at the bottom.

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Anne returned to her apartment house, arms laden down with packages. Knives greeted her at the door to the building, a disgruntled look on his face and two bundles at his feet.

"I thought I should get our stuff out of the car before it was reclaimed by those who work at the plant," he said, forestalling her question.

"Good planning," she said as she fumbled at the pocket of her jacket for her keys. "No need to have the guys going through your bags to find out what sort of socks you prefer."

"Ha ha." He scowled as she turned the key in the lock. "Why do they feel the need to lock you out of your own building?" he complained.

"It's so the average man on the street, much like you, can't just wander on in and set up residence in the stairwell."

"Oh, like that's a common occurrence," he said sarcastically as she opened the door. He swept in as she struggled to hold it open, then started up the stairs as she moved her packages in the door.

"Actually," she mumbled under her breath, more because she felt the need to whine then because there was any chance he might hear her. "It happened just earlier this year. I'm sure you realized that the locks on the door are new, and I guess I won't bore you with the story of how one of the guys who had moved in thought that I might be easy prey or how I proved him wrong. You obviously don't care, or might have stayed around long enough for me to talk to you, or even help me with these damn packages." The bag holding the bread tore as she tried to drag it to the stairs. Knives was long gone, unable to hear her diatribe had he even cared to.

She closed her eyes and tried to not curse out loud.

"Are you coming?" drifted down Knives' voice. "I'm locked out here as well."

She snarled at the floor, then tossed her keys up to him and went to pick up what had fallen out of the bag. She spent a few minutes trying to even things out between bags, but gave up trying to fit the eggs somewhere. They were tucked underneath her arm, the rest of the bags hoisted in her hands, and she attacked the stairs.

When she got to her floor, the door was closed and locked.

Feeling slightly foolish but mostly angry, she knocked.

Knives answered the door in just a little over a minute. "Sorry. Bathroom," he explained as she glared at him.

"That was petty," she said as she swept past him.

He ignored that and followed her into the kitchen. "What did you buy?"

"Food. Towels. A couple more pillows; I didn't have enough."

"Pillowcases?"

"No. Damn; and the store is closed. Oh, well. They'll still work."

"The rest of the family shouldn't arrive before tomorrow. You'll have time to buy some."

She rolled her eyes as she put things in the refrigerator. Did he not understand the concept of a store? She had to work.

"I thought you were working on a solution," she said, trying to change the subject.

"Oh, that," he said offhandedly. "I fixed it."

She set the last item in the fridge and closed it. "Let me see," she demanded.

He walked into the living room and she followed. As the computer powered up, he asked her, "You keep referring to the people at the plant as they. Who exactly are they?"

"I'm not entirely sure. For the most part, I don't want to know, but from what I've gathered, they are a bunch of people who are dedicated to making sure that all plants stay in bulbs. And that those who are out of the bulbs, like you, Vash, Ace, and I guess me, too, are killed."

Knives sat back in the couch. "And you didn't think that this was worthy of your notice? That's all you know?"

"Not all. I mean, I know a couple people who are in it, and I think I know a couple more members, but I'm really not that interested in their agenda."

"They want to kill you, and you don't care."

She sighed. "It's… While I wasn't obviously a plant, they weren't a threat. And I didn't want to see them as a threat. I guess I felt that paying any sort of attention to them validated them, but if I ignored them, then they would be harmless."

"A very self-centered view of the problem. As if your acknowledgement of their existence was all that kept them from being a threat," he sneered.

She sighed and threw herself next to him on the couch. "I had other things I was thinking about. I didn't want to start worrying about some nebulous group that wants to kill me. I want there to be no nebulous group that want to kill me, want it so badly that I was willing to ignore a potential risk just so I could go on pretending that my life wasn't totally screwed up beyond belief."

"Is that how you view being a plant? As an inconvenience?"

"I told you, I like being a plant. I'm just tired if there always being these annoying complications to my attempts to live a normal life."

"A superior being should not desire a normal life. I do not."

"You like having enemies? I guess a paranoid like you enjoys having them about to validate his delusions."

"I am not delusional. Humans are a dangerous aberration that need to be eradicated from the face of the planet."

"That's what they say about us. Maybe you're both right, did you ever think about that?"

He sniffed and pulled up the new schematic.

"Here. I fixed your silly problem. Now are you willing to stop this nonsense and return to where it's safe?"

"As if anywhere with you could be classified as safe," she shot back, leaning over to see what changes he had made.

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Ok, let me just end this with a bit of a whine. I've been having a tough month (long story, short part is less cash coming in than going out) and I *really* look forward to reviews. They make my day. Then, when I don't get any, I get even more depressed. And when I'm depressed, I don't really feel like writing. So if you think that updates have been a bit sporadic this past week, yeah, they have been. I've found other things with which to occupy my hours than working on a fic that I *feel* no one looks at. I mean, mentally, I'm sure it's being read. But there's this part in my heart that sees no reviews and is sure that I have bored you all away.

On another note, let me know if you want me to keep going. I have a lot more to this story to tell, with more angst and good stuffs if anyone really cares to read.

Ja ne.