Chapter 6

After Rivet left to bring all the stuff she received, Ratchet left alone with Kit and Clank. They were terrified by Rivet a second ago of her behaviour, but she stopped because of Ratchet. What Kit noticed is that Rivet held back her emotions when Ratchet was around her, she didn't know that Rivet didn't want to be Ratchet's girlfriend.

"Ratchet, tell me, do you love her?" asked Kit. Ratchet looked at Kit, he looked at her with sorrowful eyes.

"Yes." said Ratchet this one word with pain in his throat. He looked at his metal arm, he and Rivet now have one more similarity and this will probably grow with time. She will probably never be his girlfriend or soulmate.

"Then why doesn't she love you back?" asked Kit with a confused face. She knew that Ratchet loved her like nobody else, she wanted to help Ratchet by choosing Rivet the new ear piercing to remember Ratchet whenever she missed him. Ratchet crouched down to look into Kit's eyes.

"Kit…..she…..doesn't want me like that." said Ratchet with pain in his heart every word. Kit covered her mouth in shock, Clank placed a hand on her shoulder, he was as sad as Ratchet, Kit didn't want to believe that he was rejected.

"No that can't be, but you two deserve each other, she probably didn't mean it like that." said Kit supporting Ratchet, she even hugged him that Ratchet gladly accepted.

"I'm afraid she did mean it like that." said Ratchet with a clear voice. He thought that it would be easy to endure the truth, but he was wrong. Now that Kit knows the situation, it will be a little strange.

"And are you ok?" asked Kit worryingly. She feared his condition because he told him that his heart was broken once.

"I'm ok, don't worry about me." said Ratchet with a gentle smile. He didn't want her to worry about him. Kit on the other hand didn't believe him, she knew that Ratchet hides his pain behind that smile, but she didn't want to force it, she didn't want to torment him with this stuff.

"Ok, if you say." said Kit looking down in sadness, she hugged Ratchet's leg. He knelt down and hugged her too, Clank seeing all of this decide to join in. They were there for a minute when they heard a noise.

"Why are you hugging?" They heard Rivet asking the question behind them, Rivet was carrying the stuff she received on Corson V. Ratchet looked at her and tried to come up with something.

"Uhmmmm, well you can see that they are still scared and just want someone who is there for them." explained Ratchet shortly, looking at the robots and agreeing with them. Rivet hearing this, she knelt down to look at the robots.

"Guys, I'm so sorry for scaring you and I won't do it again. Please forgive me." Kit and Clank looked at each other and they nodded.

"Of course Rivet, we are your friends." said Clank with a cheerful smile and Kit smiled too. Rivet's face changed to happiness and started unpacking the stuff to the table.

"Rivet what happened to Boomer after we blacked out?" asked Ratchet.

"I think he escaped, but we will get him next time, now we should regain our energy." said Rivet. Ratchet nodded to her and sat down next to the table.

"I bought some drinks for occasions or birthdays, a painting to decorate the wall and clothes for myself and you." said Rivet. The drinks were vodkas, one was Gin Martini, the other was Cranberry vodka and the last one was Champagne. On the painting it was stars and planets in space, Rivet liked it and brought it home. She bought 3 clothes for herself and 2 for Ratchet. One of the clothes for Ratchet was a tuxedo. She thought that he would like it and she wanted to see him in it.

"How did you select these drinks?" asked Ratchet. he was curious how she got them. Rivet chuckled and answered him: "Well the salesman chose from my personality, his words were solid and precise." She made a cute pose for her words.

"And what did he say?" asked Ratchet agaze.

"He said that I am sweet, strong, but also like to 's how I got Cranberry vodka." pointed out Rivet to the bottle."But I asked him about you too, he chose Gin Martini.

"Oh and what did you say about me?" asked Ratchet, crossing his arms and slyly smiling. He was definitely interested in what she said.

"I said that you are smart, kind and brave. And that you are an excellent fighter." said Rivet proudly and smiling at him.

"You missed one thing, but you passed the test." said Ratchet.

"What did I miss?" asked Rivet.

"You know Ratchet = funny." he chuckled and threw his arms in the air but Rivet groaned.

"Of course why didn't I think about it?" she rolled her eyes, but chuckled at him.

"Anyway the champagne is for the celebrations and I bought you 2 clothes, here they are." She pulled out the tuxedo and a regular black shirt. Ratchet was admired by the tuxedo the most because it was made from a fascinating material, silk.

"I love it, I cannot wait to wear it." said Ratchet.

"I'm glad you like it and it was free so I'm double happy for it." grinned Rivet.

"Free? How?" asked Ratchet. He thought that she bought it with money, he was surprised that she received it for free.

"Well they knew that I saved them from the Emperor so they let me choose free items." explained Rivet. Ratchet's face was a little confused but he understood it.

"I wish I could get free items. It would be fun." said Ratchet.

"You tell me? I would want that life, just imagine what we could have." She was having thousands of thoughts in her head, like she was dreaming. They would have so many weapons, clothes, jewelry and snapped in front of her face to bring her back to reality.

"I would like that but I think we should head to bed and plan tomorrow, ok? '' requested Ratchet who yawned so big that his fangs came out. Rivet yawned too after him and this settled everything.

"Ok you won, I'm exhausted too. I'm gonna take a shower and head to bed. You?" asked Rivet.

"Well I think I just go straight to bed, I mean the couch." said Ratchet who walked to the couch, covered himself with the blanket and closed his eyes.

"Good night Rivet!" said Ratchet with a wide smile and turned over. Rivet looked at him and chuckled how much dork he is sometimes and clapped to turn off the lights in the garage. Before she disappeared, she turned around and looked at Ratchet one more time: "Good night you too!" and she went to take a shower. She took off her clothes and turned on the water, not too hot just like she loved. She enjoyed the water pouring down on her body, she washed her body and tail. She recalled all the events that happened today, she was having hundreds of thoughts in her head, mainly about Ratchet, he was not even mad or disappointed about all of this, he was just grateful nothing else, how can somebody be like that? She would probably be hard on herself and never forgive herself. "What if we could be together?" she would be thankful that Ratchet would be his boyfriend, she would be the luckiest girl in the galaxy and Ratchet would be the happiest lombax. She pictured herself with Ratchet alongside Kit and Clank, she chuckled how cute they would be. But she shook that thought off, she remembered that Ratchet has now a metal arm, another example that she has too. She wished that they wouldn't be counterparts, then they could be together, but did she want that? After they have been through? She resumed washing herself and after 10 minutes she finished the showering and changed her clothes to pajamas. She crawled into the bed and slowly drifted into sleep.

Kit and Clank

Kit and Clank were outside, having conversations about Ratchet and Rivet. Kit was worried that Ratchet would be lonely without Rivet and she wanted to prevent that from happening. Clank who was listening to her like a good partner and he was worried that Ratchet would do something stupid, he had to discuss with this and Kit was there for him.

"Why would Rivet do this? I don't know why she would break his heart? What do you think?" asked Kit who put her hands to her heart, she felt bad for him.

"Rivet thinks that Ratchet is her and she is disgusted by that, but that's not true, because the dimensional counterpart means that they fill their same role like a hero in the galaxy." responded Clank.

"Rivet is just stubborn, I am sure she will come to her senses, Ratchet is important to her, she doesn't want to lose him." commented Kit. She hugged him, she wanted comfort and warmth, she wanted things to work out for both of them.

" I hope that everythings going to be ok. I don't want to lose my friends too. My family." said Clank who whimpered in Kit's arms. Kit responded with a stronger embrace and she started whimpering too about losing them. She just got this family and she was not ready to lose them already.

"Look up." said Clank. Kit looked up and saw colorful lights lit up the night sky. The light like a river flowed through the horizon from North to South. She covered her face and looked at it with wide eyes.

"Oh dear." said Kit and Clank, both of them shared a laugh, held their hands and sat down. They enjoyed their time outside and hugged each other, they stayed there for an hour. Their moments were ruined by Ratchet who was behind them and looked at them cheerfully.

"Sorry for coming to you guys, but I was not sure where you were and I started searching the place." said Ratchet.

"Oh yes we well… you see we just wanted to have a plan about how to defeat Boomer." responded Clank with a reasonable tone.

"Yeah under the lights and starry sky where romantic couples share their feelings, why didn't I think about it." said Ratchet, his words with obvious meaning. "Pal, you don't have to hide anything with Kit, if you love her then love her, I am not affected by it, plus I am grateful you chose her, you have good taste buddy." said Ratchet. Clank covered his face, he looked like he was blushing madly. "Oh dear." Kit on the other hand she just looked away and chuckled. She got up from her spot, walked to Clank and kissed him. Clank and Ratchet were surprised by this, mainly Clank who felt the kiss as his brain discharged and stopped working. After a minute Kit released the kiss and held his hands. She watched her boyfriend

"So how was it?" asked Kit to Clank who was in trance. His face was frozen and stood there like a statue. Kit grabbed his face and kissed him twice. After a minute, Clank responded immediately.

"Hmmmmm my brain stopped working when something short-circuits my program, so I think you outdid yourself." said Clank who still felt the shocking sensation on his lips. Kit chuckled at him and hugged him.

"If you two are finished then we should go back and rest." reacted Ratchet who was happy for them but didn't want to lose them in a swamp at night, it was dangerous for the two robots.

"Yeah I think we should go back." responded Kit and all three went to the hideout. When they entered they knew that Rivet was sleeping and they both found their comfortable spots in the garage. Ratchet made himself comfortable on the couch and slowly drifted to slumber. Sleep wasn't easy on Ratchet, he always had nightmares and the nightmare was always the same: Watching Rivet die, Kit and Clank destroyed and he was left alone. He tried to reach for them but a dark force is keeping him from them. Then he was in a dark place, he hugged his legs and cried until he woke up. He rubs his eyes, cleaning his tears away, he looks at Clank and Kit, the sleeping robots next to him, he thinks about all the adventures he had with them, happy and bad memories surfaced of his mind and he almost cried again but he managed to hold it. He went outside to breathe the cold air,he put his elbows on the balcony and looked at the moon. He admired how bright it was with its gray color. It looked really fascinating in full moon, bright in the dark and has a beautiful aura: Rivet. He chuckled at his conclusion, he can't get her out of his head, especially not from his heart. He promised that he will be just friends, but could he do it forever? That question will be answered sometimes. He turned around, walked back to his couch, laid down and tried to sleep. Sleep came slowly but this time he peacefully dreamed.

Next Morning

Clank and Kit were the first ones who woke up and decided to watch the holo tv in the kitchen. Only forecasts and dull news went on tv and nothing else. They enjoyed their cold oil and talked about robot models, which one would be intelligent enough to survive the dangerous planets.

"I am 100% sure PO552IT-M9 would survive extreme cold and heat too." said Clank with a confident tone.

"And I am pretty sure you are right as always, Clankie." responded Kit who kissed him, the bulbs on her head lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Oh thank you dear." reacted Clank to her kiss. He is so happy with his girlfriend and his soulmate, he couldn't wish more.

They heard noise coming from the door, they saw Ratchet whose eyes were worn out and they were so gray, he rubbed them but that didn't help either.

"Coffee?" requested Kit who knew that coffee is medicine for this kind of problem.

"Yeah, thanks." responded Ratchet who was like a zombie and didn't have time for life, like he was dead inside.

"Ratchet what happened to you?" asked Clank who was worried that Ratchet had some kind of trauma during his sleep.

"I'm fine pal, I just didn't sleep well that's all." said Ratchet who was not keen to answer him about his nightmares, besides that he can't understand that because he is a robot.

"I feel you just don't want to answer me honestly, but if you don't want to I won't force it." reacted Clank.

"Thanks pal." said Ratchet, showing a weak smile for him.

"Anyways, where is Rivet? She should be down here already for her breakfast." asked Ratchet worriedly and received his cup of coffee

"Idk but I will check up on her in a minute." After he finished his coffee he made his way to Rivet's bedroom where silence greeted him. He knocked on her door and Rivet answered her a second later.

"Who is it?" asked Rivet.

"It's me Rivet, why didn't you come for your breakfast?" Ratchet asked with worry in his voice.

"I think I'm sick." answered Rivet with fear in her voice.

"What? Let me see you." with that Ratchet opened the door and entered the room. He saw Rivet on her bed, covered in a blanket. What Ratchet made him horrified was Rivet's face, she had a runny nose and his face was white.

"Oh my Orvus, Rivet?!" shouted Ratchet who ran to her bed to check closer on her.

"No Ratchet go away, I don't want to infect you." said Rivet trying to cover herself not to interact with him.

"Rivet please." Ratchet tried to put away the blankets from her but he couldn't do it because she was too strong.

"No Ratchet go away!" shouted Rivet under the blankets. Ratchet looked at her, he was hurt that she didn't want him to help her. He tried to think about something to convince her. an idea popped in his head. He ran downstairs to Kit and Clank who were sitting on the kitchen chairs.

"Guys I need your help." said Ratchet with a hopeful tone. The two robots glanced at him.

"What can we do?" asked Kit.

"It's about Rivet…. she is sick." responded Ratchet.

"Oh dear." said the robots in unison.

"Yeah and I need you two to analyze her to understand what she's sick from." said Ratchet.

"We got this, c'mon Clank." said Kit who ran upstairs with Clank. Ratchet alone in the kitchen decided to make some fruit salad for Rivet until Clank and Kit finished.

The robots entered and saw a heap of blankets on the bed which meant that it was Rivet underneath it.

"Rivet, can you show yourself? We just want to help?" requested Clank who moved the sheets unsuccessfully.

"No, leave me alone! I don't want to infect you too." shouted Rivet.

"Rivet, we are robots, we can' catch it." explained Kit to Rivet.

"Oh." said Rivet, who slapped her forehead in embarrassment and removed all the blankets and sheets.

"Ratchet said we should analyze you to better understand your illness, just let us do our work." said Clank with a thumbs up. Rivet hesitated at first, but thought about Ratchet, she has to do it for him, and she will. She nodded to the robots and they started their procedure.

Ratchet on the other hand tried to make the salad for breakfast and as a vitamin bomb. He sliced up every fruit he could have found, like strawberries, pineapples, watermelon, grapes, bananas, apples, kiwis and to sweeten it more, he added honey to it and he mixed it with the yoghurt. After 5 minutes he finished with it, he tasted it and he jumped with happiness at the result. He grabbed the bowl and made his way to the bedroom.

At Rivet's bedroom the situation was not good, but it was not tragic either. They searched in their database for any kind of symptoms that match with Rivet's illness. Rivet was sitting in his bed and trying not to lose his mind. Clank and Kit were in the corner talking and collecting all the info, and finally they glanced at each other and nodded, they turned around to face Rivet.

"Rivet you have coronavirus." said Clank confidently.

"And what does that mean? Is it bad?" asked Rivet unsure about this.

"NO, it's not bad, you just have to relax, don't move very frequently and don't make any contact with Ratchet. In other species it's a common illness, there are no reported deaths in this dimension, somewhere it's worse but not in this dimension, so you should calm down, it's gonna be fine." explained Clank.

Rivet sighed and rested his back to her bed. She was glad that it's not something serious, she would have been terrified. But she heard that she shouldn't make contact with Ratchet, so she shot his eyes at them.

"Wait, what do you mean that I shouldn't make contact with him?" asked Rivet confusedly.

"I mean that you should keep a 10 m distance from him and don't talk to him in one room." explained Kit sadly. "and you should eat a lot of vitamin.." finished her talk.

Rivet was not happy with this and her ears dropped down too. How would she survive this without him? She shed a tear, not because of her illness, but because of her 2 robots looked at her with compassion, they knew that it would be hard for her, but they couldn't do anything.

"Hey there, I made salad for you!" said Ratchet entering the room with a happy tone that their friend looked at them with a weak smile but deep worry.."I think it's fantastic and the vitamins would help you recover." continued and looked at Rivet who showed him her smile, but she turned around in fear.

"Hey Riv, what's wrong? asked Ratchet with fear in his voice. He didn't get an answer because Clank tried to push out of the room.

"Ratchet, it's best if we talk this outside, hand over the salad to Kit, she will give it to her." said Clank. Ratchet didn't want to listen to his pal, but seeing Rivet, who didn't look very healthy he gave up, handed over the salad to Kit and went out of the room with Clank.

"What is it with Rivet? Is it something serious?" asked Ratchet.

"She is going to be alright Ratchet, just we didn't want you to be infected by her, that's all and I ordered quarantine for her for 3 days." reacted Clank.

"Oh thanks Orvus." sighed Ratchet.

"All you need to do is to try not to make any contact with her." said Clank.

"But how? She is the one that I love spending time with." said Ratchet with deep sadness in his voice.

"I don't know Ratchet, but we should follow the protocol and no one will be hurt." said Clank reasoning with Ratchet. Ratchet tried to think about something that will not stop him from Rivet. An idea popped in his head. He ran down to the ship and looked through his storage until he found what he searched for.

On the other hand, Rivet received Ratchet's salad from Kit. She looked at it with curiosity, she rarely saw anything that Ratchet made. This salad was something else, she loved fruits but she didn't know that it can be made into a salad.

"He's so cute, he made food for you." chuckled Kit. Rivet blushed a bit, yes he was cute and he was worried too about her, but…...yes he was a good friend who just wants to help anybody like a hero. She looked at the salad and she was hungry too by seeing it, so she grabbed the fork and took a bite. She didn't feel anything at first, but when she chewed it more the flavours can be read by her face: yoghurt with strawberries, pineapples, watermelon, grapes, bananas, apples, kiwis and the best aromatizer: honey. She continued to eat more and enjoyed it, until the bowl emptied. She groaned and laid back on the bed. KIt seeing this asked her: "Should I ask Ratchet for more?". She can see Rivet's face lit up in bliss.

"Yeah, pretty please?!" begged Rivet. Kit chuckled and when she wanted to open the door, Ratchet was already there in a blue suit and blue helmet with orange glass on his head where she could see his face clearly.

"Somebody asked for more salad?" asked Ratchet with a big bowl of salad in his arms.

"YES ME!" shouted Rivet and Ratchet gave it to her. Ratchet clearly read from Rivet's face that she was glad that he was here and helping her. She gave him a smile and returned to the bed.

In the next hours they decide that Rivet's health is the first priority, so they stayed next to her all day,they brought her water, food and played a little, when night came they knew that she should rest now.

"Good night Rivet!" said Clank and Kit before going downstairs to sleep. Ratchet stood there a little to make sure she didn't need anything. Rivet looked at him and chuckled.

"What is it?" asked Ratchet.

"Nothing, you're just standing there like you're waiting for my orders." said Rivet laughing.

"I just want to make sure you don't need anything. I don't know what could possibly happen when you are ill." said Ratchet worriedly. Rivet smiled at him and took his hands.

"I dismiss you from your duty, you deserve sleep too." said Rivet hugging him.

"Ok, if you are sure about this." said Ratchet, a bit unsure.

"I am pretty sure nothing will happen to me. Good night Ratchet!" said Rivet, opening the door to Ratchet.

"Good night Rivet!" said Ratchet leaving her room, before she closed the door Ratchet looked back to see her smiling and waved at him. He walked downstairs and went to the couch. There was Clank and Kit in sleep mode next to each other. He took off the helmet and the suit too,changed to pajamas and went to sleep.

4 hours later

Rivet's hideout was peaceful at night, almost everybody fell asleep. Ratchet who sleeps on the couch, felt something in his heart, deep pain. That pain connected him to Rivet, he had enough, he got up and rubbed his eyes.

"Why can't I sleep without thinking about her?" thought in his head Ratchet. She is just always in his head, everywhere he looked he just only saw her. "Maybe I am crazy about her? Or do I have sleep problems?" asked himself, but he knew that this is his broken heart that he talked about. He can never bear breaking his heart, not after Talwyn, not after Rivet. He accepted that he will be just friends, and he promised that. Maybe after some time Rivet finally accepts him like a boyfriend or even more? He just only hoped that she would do it. His thoughts were interrupted by a noise coming from Rivet's bedroom. He heard it thanks to his big croissant ears. It sounded like the movements were caused by the bed, but he walked up to see it. He opened the door slowly where he saw Rivet trying to make herself comfortable on the bed and she was….shivering?

"Rivet, are you okay?" asked Ratchet a bit awkwardly. Rivet shot her eyes at him, she was relieved that he was there, he scared her a little.

"No, I am not, I can't sleep and I am freezing, but I don't know why, windows closed, I have 3 blankets on me and I rolled the thermostat to 28 'C." explained Rivet. She even had thick clothes on her, but her nose was still running and her body shook too. Ratchet seeing this just made him shocked and feared. He's definitely not going to leave her like this. Maybe if he stays with her tonight even if she is still ill? Not a good idea, but it's even worse than letting her alone.

"Do you want me to stay with you? asked Ratchet hopefully.

"Ratchet no, I will definitely infect you." responded Rivet.

"Oh please, I defeated thousands of enemies, I don't think this will stop me either." said Ratchet proudly, puffing his chest. Rivet sighed, she knew that he wouldn't go away easily.

"You are not going anywhere, are you?" asked Rivet.

"Nope." said Ratchet with a smile. Rivet sighed again and pulled up the blanket next to her.

"Come here you Dumbax." said Rivet chuckling at his Dumbax and he laid next to her. He snuck into the blanket and faced Rivet.

"If you are still freezing, I am here for a warm welcome." said Ratchet offering her a hug. She blushed at him, well she didn't say no to a single hug from him. She moved to his body and embraced him, now she was blushing like a tomato, lucky for her, Ratchet didn't see it, but he was no different either, he blushed too. Their bodies contacted, Rivet now didn't shiver and felt warmth, she could finally rest a little, and his body was comfortable too, his fur was fluffy and soft, she even stroked his back and she heard something strange and cute from Ratchet,.purring. Ratchet's eyes widened, even though he didn't know that he could do that.

"Uhmmmmmmm…..did you just purr?" asked Rivet facing Ratchet, only centimetres apart from his face. Now Ratchet blushed madly, Rivet noticed this and she chuckled at his reaction.

"I didn't know that I could do that," said Ratchet, still blushing.

"It sounded very cute from you." responded Rivet by chuckling again at him.

"Thanks, I guess." said Ratchet, hiding his face from this awkward moment. Rivet cleaned her nose and returned to him.

"Do you have any more special skills, kitty?" asked Rivet, giving Ratchet a new nickname.

"I don't think so, but who knows, I am full of surprises, you know?" reacted Ratchet happily and he embraced her even more.

"Yeah you are, You made me think that I could do that too?" asked Rivet who was curious about this. Ratchet stroked her back, Rivet enjoyed it and she purred too. Ratchet chuckled too and enjoyed her purring. They did that for more than an hour and they realized that they should rest now.

"Good night Riv!" said Ratchet and rested his head on the pillow.

"Good night, kitty!" said Rivet and rested her head on his head. Their eyes slowly closed and they strengthened their embrace more. Feeling their bodies this close were just warm and enjoyable for them, They went into slumber peacefully and all of them had amazing dreams.