To celebrate Miku's birthday, here is a surprise chapter! Just a little bit longer until I can resume a regular uploading schedule, so I hope this will do in the meantime.

Kokodoru did the fantastic beta-reading.

I hope you enjoy!

Realizing that retirement was once again nothing more than a distant dream was soul-crushing. The more Luka thought about it, the more depressed she became. After all those years, she finally had her fortune. She was so rich she could barely wrap her head around it. Instead of being free, however, her current reality meant that staying anywhere long enough for a computer to log her presence signed her death warrant.

She was destined to be on the run for the foreseeable future. While they had a bit of a head start, they probably had a few hours, maybe days, to touch down on a planet before the locals would be informed to watch out for her. But no more.

Worst yet? She would be running from the Shion family and their influence in the company of the android and a new batch of nightmares.

The woman sighed, Dexter tight in her grip, before turning onto her good side to look at the front of the ship, where the android was seated. Miku kept her eyes on the window, gazing at the vast dark emptiness of space. There was no real way to know what she was doing. She was probably improving her systems, thinking about philosophy, maybe of her future.

She still didn't know what she had escaped, Luka realized. As far as she knew, she had let the chance to work at a casino slip on by to save her jerk of an associate and was consequently a runaway as well.

Perhaps, she imagined going to stay at Terranova. Luka easily suppressed a chuckle, thinking how well Miku would do there if they weren't runaways and if she weren't an AI. Her foster mother would take Miku in within a heartbeat, if she could look past her mechanical nature that is. Miku's future there would have been splendid. The android could learn so much. She would be able to enroll in local universities, or maybe join a choir, an orchestra, a theater group, anything or anyone that needed musical talent. It would be the perfect, safe place for her to kickstart her musical presence in the universe.

Luka would leave her behind there and they would all be better off.

If only they weren't both outrunning their deaths.

The woman gulped, set Dexter to the side.

"Do you actually see anything out there?"

Miku shook her head, looking over her shoulder just to check on Dexter's presence. "We are going far too fast. Ruko does give me basic information on the systems we pass, however. It is all fascinating."

"Ok."

"Did you have something on your mind?"

Luka shrugged. "We're stuck together, now."

At that, the android's posture changed, and she turned the chair to face the woman. Her opal eyes pierced the distance between them.

"Yes." After a pause, she asked, "Are you alright?"

Luka shrugged. "I was wondering the same about you."

"Your dream plans have been effectively destroyed."

"So have yours," Luka said lamely. "And you just killed a bunch of people just because I was freaking out. You don't even know what really happened."

"What did happen?"

"That's not the point. The point is... We're stuck together. On to a new destination, but it looks like we aren't going to part ways for a while."

After some thought, Miku asked, "Would that be a good idea, perhaps? If we were to separate?"

"No. I'm pretty sure they'll try to track us both. And..."

"And you are far more vulnerable to them without me."

Luka gulped. "I am. Though any further conflict would only dig us deeper graves. We can't exactly fight them with violence. But if they ever do catch us..."

The android hummed in understanding. "It would seem that we're effectively stuck together, as you put it."

"Yeah. We'll be going to Meiko's first, but no matter if she lets us in or not, that's not a long-term plan. Odds are we might have to roam space for a few years."

"How long is a standard year?"

"Fifty cycles."

"Ah."

"I have no idea how quickly they would give up the chase."

"If ever."

"If ever," Luka echoed. "We'll be spending that time darting from system to system, trying not to starve, trip any alarms, and generally not get caught."

Miku nodded. "That is a far cry from the life of peaceful isolation you had wanted," she pointed out. "So, I ask again, are you alright?"

"I'm not fucking alright," Luka admitted with a sob.

"If it's any comfort, neither am I," the android stated. "Parting ways would have been best for us both."

"It would have..."

"We do not have that luxury any longer."

"We don't," the woman scoffed, wiping away fresh tears. "Fuck. We'll be spending every living moment together."

"We have Dexter to communicate when you are not ready for conversation," Miku pointed out. "That should make things bearable."

"Bearable, but for how long? Stars, I'm still terrified of you. And..."

The android frowned. "Are you sure you wouldn't prefer for us to part ways regardless? If you are so scared—"

"No," the scavenger insisted. "I'm… I'm more scared of what they'd do to me if they catch me alone."

Miku fidgeted a bit. "If we're going to spend years together in this ship, we might as well work on that." Before Luka could protest, she added, "We have nothing but time."

"I guess. We have eight rotations until we even get to Terranova."

"And who knows how much time after that," the android added with a small smile. "Do you have any ideas how we could work on this?"

The woman thought for a moment. She'd worked through enough withdrawals to know the basics of some things, but this was a new kind of therapy. "The brain is a flexible, squishy thing. It's probably best to consciously work on it."

"How would you suggest we make such progress?"

The woman regarded her, sitting there at the front of the ship, as non-threatening as could be. Even then, a shiver of apprehension ran down her spine. Her gut squeezed and churned.

"I don't know."

The android nodded. "It's alright. We have nothing but time, after all."

"Yeah."

"In the meantime, I should tend to my wounds," Miku said, parting the tatters of her clothing to prod at the marks.

"I thought you said you weren't injured."

"I'm not harmed, I am only bruised. Unfortunately, it won't heal passively as it does for you," the tealette explained. "Do you have a sewing kit?"

"I do, but I'm pretty sure my new first aid kit has suturing tools."

"Ah, that's ideal. May I?"

Luka waved with her hand. "Feel free." She watched the android stand and move, then start to rifle through the kit. "While you're at it, we might as well get you back into clothes that aren't hanging in shreds. You still have your shoes and accessories, but that won't be enough."

"And I will be needing a new charging plug," Miku muttered, still rifling through the kit.

"Ah, shit yeah. I guess I can get started on that, then."

"Are you sure you can manipulate tools?" the android asked her.

"My arm is better than it was when I first made the plug. It'll be fine."

"If you're sure."

With that, Luka peeled herself out of bed and made her way to her workstation. There, she retrieved her notes on how to make the plug. Voice subdued, she invited the tealette to sit close by, on the bed, so she could test the plug when the time came. Despite the invitation, she still shivered and flinched at any unexpected movement, any sudden noise. Once Miku had threaded a needle and discarded her clothes to get to work, however, the noise was reduced to the hum of the boosters and the clattering of Luka's tools.

It was good to tinker. Focusing kept things at bay.

After some progress, Luka muttered, "I have a few ideas. For my whole fear thing."

"Ah?"

"If this is anything like drug therapy, then it's all about, well, patterns, habits, and expectations. I can't help but expect you to overpower me again."

Miku was leaning, face hidden as she peered at the tiny marks and tears in her skin, but her voice betrayed her sadness. "I understand."

"So I need to learn new patterns and stuff. We could try to do things, uhm, slowly? If you come closer, very slowly, so I can see everything that's going on, then gradually speed things up back to normal, maybe that'll teach my brain that you're not out to get me."

The android hummed. "We can certainly try."

"Alright. When?"

"Whenever you wish. You are the vulnerable one, it is right that you choose a time you feel comfortable with."

"Right."

"If this doesn't work, however..."

"Then I guess we're doomed to a couple of miserable years."

"Perhaps," Miku muttered, sitting straight for a moment before leaning over another tear. "What would have been our fates, had I not intervened and killed them all?"

Luka frowned.

"Would it have been any better?" the android asked.

"No."

"What awaited us, then?" When Luka stayed silent, Miku asked, "Why won't you tell me?"

"I don't want to talk about it." After some more angry hammering at the metal, forcing it into shape, she grumbled, "I hope Kaito was holding on to the plug, that he stared at it as he suffocated to death. Fucking bastard."

"Do you want Dexter nearby?"

Luka sighed. "No. It's fine. Here, does this fit?"

Miku paused her suturing work to move closer, turning her back towards the woman. While Luka struggled with the plug, the vaguest sense of deja-vu hit her. The last time she had done this, Miku had still been nothing more than a toy in her eyes. A smart music box and nothing more.

With her back towards her, ports exposed, the now-terrifying AI was suddenly vulnerable. Rather, more vulnerable.

Luka gulped, noted that she had screwed up with the fit of the plug and got back to work. Miku returned to the bed, the thin thread dangling from a tiny rip in her side.

"Is Terranova your birth planet?"

"Officially, yes," the woman muttered. "At least, I entered the bureaucratic system there. Nobody really knows who dropped me off or where I came from, and I'm pretty sure I have no real early childhood memories for a reason. There's no way to prove I wasn't born elsewhere though, so yeah, that's my home."

"What's it like?"

Another sigh.

"Do you not wish to talk?"

"No. I do," Luka grumbled. "I need something to talk about so I stop thinking."

"Ah."

"It's just these questions. Sheesh, what's Terranova like? It's a really rich planet, I guess. Mostly for humans, since the atmosphere is tailored for us. Really rich in oxygen, really. The other species don't do too well there so it's a residential place for human people. Tons of untouched land, too, so it's a reserve as well. It's not an industrial or social hub, really. More of a haven."

"Oh wow."

"You looking forward to getting there?" the woman asked.

"Oh yes," Miku admitted. "There is so much to look forward to, it's almost dizzying!"

"New planet, for one."

"Oh yes. It's your home planet, too. I look forward to seeing where you grew up."

"I have to admit, it is a nice place. Nicer than most."

"How long did you stay there?"

"If you say that I was born there? Seventeen local years, give or take," Luka muttered. "One day on my home planet is a little less than a rotation, for reference. Twenty-eight hours, I think. The local years, though, are pretty long."

"Aah, I see. And you grew up..."

"With Meiko. There's only one city on-planet. Busy city with a lot going on, with some pretty nice slums, all things considered."

"You grew up in a slum?"

"It's a nice slum. Low-income, really. Meiko's place has a nice garden, it's not too far from the bus stops. You can walk around at night there and expect to get home safe. A far cry from the Sapphire Shores."

Miku hummed. "That all sounds amazing."

"Yeah..."

The android smiled, but Luka spotted the slight shift, the dart of her eyes confirming that Dexter wasn't anywhere, prohibiting her from speaking.

"I know only vague details about your foster mother," Miku started. "That you do not trust each other."

"Oh yeah. When I started getting in trouble a lot, our already fragile mother/daughter relationship kind of fell apart. She tried really hard to be there for me, but... I don't know. She tried too hard? It's not her fault. Really, we weren't compatible, but..." Luka sighed. "She's an amazing mom. The best. She couldn't get bio kids no matter how hard science tried, so she decided to raise them all, instead."

"Wow."

"Don't take me as the prime example of what she does to kids. Most of them actually end up really making something out of themselves. Those who decided to pursue higher education did so with amazing success, and those who weren't suited to universities and such went into apprenticeships and found their own way to create stability and happiness. Meiko is so supportive of every single person that she has in her household. Not too supportive of my criminal deeds, though. For good reason. Here, try this again."

She tried the fit once more, found it just snug enough, then started with the cable.

"Does she raise all of these children on her own?" Miku asked once she had returned to the bed.

"Virtually, yeah. There's always some kids around who are older, teens, who help around the house. She owns and works at a pretty popular bar around the corner, so that's where she gets most of the money from."

"A bar," the android echoed, deep in thought. "I did not expect such a profession from someone who lives with so many children."

"She's sober as can be," Luka easily said. "She doesn't drink a drop of it. She knows her drinks in and out, but I'm pretty sure she hasn't tasted alcohol since her teens."

"Have you?"

Luka set her jaw. "It was part of my string of addictions, way back when. I pilfered from the stock and got in trouble a few times. Once I got to space though, there were more fun drugs to play with, drugs that aren't as deadly when you go cold turkey. Haven't drank since I first left Terranova."

"Ah."

Silence settled, interrupted only by the booster and the noise of Luka's tinkering. After a bit more work, the cable was finished, tested, and when it was determined it was just as good as the old one, she put away all her tools. Wordlessly, she chose a few clothes she hadn't worn in a while and sat back down with her sewing kit.

"Do you think Meiko will let us stay?"

Luka shrugged, holding up a tank top before sticking in a few pins. "There's no way to know for sure unless we ask, I guess. But she really insists on the kids not seeing me."

"Ah."

"If I were to tell her that we're both runaways, she might just tell us to go fuck ourselves for even getting close to her home."

"And do you think that she will care, that I am not human?"

"I have no clue," Luka admitted. "It's a residential planet, so robots aren't so common there. AI aren't, either. I don't think I ever told her about Ruko."

"Ah. She may need some time to warm up to me, then. If she does let us stay, that is."

"Maybe a bit. She has worked with some really difficult kids, though. She shouldn't have a problem seeing the humanity in you."

"I hope so."

"Does this fit?"

Carefully, mindful of Miku's suturing work and the pins in the shirt, she pulled the tank top over the android's head. Miku adjusted the position of a few pins before declaring that it fit well enough.

As Luka pulled the shirt up, she added, "She might still be raising a ton of kids. Every time one of them leaves the nest she takes in the next little tyke that needs a supportive environment."

"That sounds delightful. Does she adopt as well?"

"No. Babies are usually the ones up for real adoption, while she prefers to take in problematic or difficult toddlers. She looks out for the underdogs, you know? Some younger kids, teens like me. Bonded siblings, twins and stuff. All the kinds of kids that don't really stand a chance of finding a family. Chances are that the whole house will be filled to the brim with running, screaming little humans."

The android smiled. "Did you detest it so much?"

"As a teen that just wanted some peace and quiet? Oh yeah," Luka grumbled. "But, uhm..."

Miku looked up at her, the movement startling the woman. She pricked her finger with the needle as she recoiled.

"Minor injury sustained," Ruko whispered.

Softly, Miku asked, "What is it?"

"I know you haven't exactly interacted with a kid before," Luka muttered as she sucked on her finger.

Miku's smile wavered. "That's true."

"I know I was under the influence of a cig when you told me, but… Did I understand it right when... Did you…?"

"One of my component units has shot and killed a child, yes," the android admitted, tying off another stitch. "At some point, we were made to defend the planet, no matter what the cost. Only those who wore ID chips were allowed access. I do not know where that child came from, if maybe they had been abandoned or lost..." She trailed off. "After our prolonged isolation, however, we had overridden that. We were ready to welcome all of humanity back with open arms. I was to promise their return, and we would all celebrate. There never was a risk of me shooting them on sight."

"No, that's not—"

"Don't worry, Luka. Fortunately, I can promise even better: I am positive that I will do well in such an environment."

"Oh?"

Ruko had started dimming the lights, signaling a fake sunset: by the time they would arrive at Terranova, Luka would be perfectly acclimated to the local day/night cycle.

It made Miku's opal eyes glow, though, and Luka forced herself to keep her eyes on her work. She turned on her workstation lamp.

She couldn't run from her voice, however.

"It is difficult to bond and connect with people if you cannot tolerate their offspring. And, since we had considered the possibility that humanity might be at a certain risk if they had not returned for so long, we understood that tolerance would not suffice. I was made to have a deep maternal and caring instinct: I will not harm a child if I can at all help it, and will care for and protect any that need me to, to the best of my ability."

Luka blinked. "Huh."

"Is it so odd?"

"How can you be so sure you have a maternal streak if you've never even been close to a kid before?"

"The same way that I am sure that I can form long-standing friendships and partnerships. Don't forget that I was made to connect with people," she reminded her.

"Sure. You're the ultimate friend to humans..."

"Do not think that I will automatically love and care for every person I come in contact with: to do so blindly would be foolish. I need to be able to legitimately bond with individuals, and being able to have degrees of affection, ranging from complete disdain to love, allows for that."

Luka hummed. "Guess that's why you're so cool, right now."

"What do you mean?"

"You just killed a dozen people."

"Ah. Yes," Miku muttered, finishing up yet another patchwork. "I did not care for them: they were hurting you. I do not regret what I did."

Luka fidgeted, forced her eyes on the shirt. "So, you're the ultimate friend to humans, but not the ultimate friend for every individual person."

"Precisely. Caring for everybody equally isn't a good survival plan. Plus, bonding can take so many different forms. There are familial forms, amicable ones, and romantic ones, among others. Children, however, are special, in that they need guidance and protection. While I may not yet make an ideal guide, I can certainly protect."

The woman chuckled faintly.

"What?" asked the android, a curious smile tugging at her lips.

"You make it sound like you can fall in love."

"Yes?"

The chuckle died, replaced by a confused frown. Luka looked up from her sewing work only to find the opal eyes staring back, unamused. The woman shivered. "You can?"

"By design."

Luka thought for a moment, turned her attention back to the shirt. "I can see why you would need to be able to become a parental figure. I can see why you need to be able to become a friend. Those are useful in survival. But why romantic bonds? What's so useful about that?"

"It's nothing useful in a pragmatic sense," Miku conceded with a gentle, somewhat smug smile. "But it is an emotional need."

Luka swallowed down another sense of deja-vu. "AIs aren't really made for this kind of thing. Some have basics in parenting or even therapy. Ruko can take care of me as a teammate. But AIs don't love."

"I do," Miku declared proudly. "It allows me to further relate with you if I can experience the full spectrum of human emotion and turmoil."

"That's crazy."

"Is it really so much crazier than finding out that I am autonomous?" the android teased. "Being a wholly sentient creature with preferences and an identity, or being susceptible to temper tantrums, despite being artificial, is eclipsed by the fact that I am an artificial creature who can experience attraction?"

"...If you put it like that," Luka muttered. "But AIs have been walking and talking for a long time, now. The jump to being your own person seems comparatively small. Nobody has ever heard of an AI being in love."

"That's fair."

"I guess that all I should gather is that you're, well, you're really human in as many ways as you can be."

Miku nodded. "That's probably the easiest way to put it."

"...Huh." Again, Luka cleared her throat. "You're not human though."

"I know."

"Yet you love."

"I do."

"...And desire?"

"Yes."

"You're really made for all that? I saw you naked. Hell, you're not exactly dressed right now. I know you don't exactly have the anatomy."

The android hummed a little before replying, "Humans have been remarkably clever when it comes to overcoming all kinds of barriers, anatomical and otherwise, ranging from spur-of-the-moment adaptations to their partners, to painstakingly conquering surgical interventions, medical changes of all sorts. Although the mechanical issues were insurmountable for us when we made me, we have ensured that I can make do."

Luka's movements quieted as the android spoke. After a prolonged silence, she only managed to mutter, "Huh. All that to best relate to humans?"

"Yes."

The scavenger cleared her throat, returned to the task at hand. "There are people who don't love or lust, you know. What about them?"

"I don't experience attraction the way you do, so in that regard, I do relate to them. The way I experience attraction as a whole is something that I can control to a certain degree like you do when breathing. Passively, it is something that I can experience, but I can choose to intervene and stop."

"Oh. So you could, at some point, decide to fall out of love?"

"Not quite. It's a little more complicated than that: if I start developing feelings, I cannot stop them until they die naturally. To continue with the lung metaphor, I can choose not to inhale first, but if I inhale, then I must exhale."

Luka hummed. "And that's another survival trait, isn't it? Some times just don't warrant sentimental nonsense."

"Precisely! Yet if I do experience attraction to any degree, then it would be frightfully cruel to the object of my love to kill my emotions without any further consideration."

Luka considered her words for a moment. "It's crazy that you all planned all that."

"We had a lot of time. Plus, I have to admit, some of it is a fortunate accident. Back on Earth, we were left with frightfully little data; much of what we knew was either observed, extrapolated, or guessed. Plus, there was also the risk that humanity might have changed in ways we could not foresee. We knew where our limits were and made sure I'd be flexible to adapt to whatever situation I might find."

"Weird. It's all weird."

"I suppose. I am very unique in the way that I approach and experience the world, I'll admit," the android conceded. "But that's also why I must embrace it: nobody will live life the way I do."

"Guess that makes for pretty unique perspectives."

"For sure." Miku sat up straight. "I'm all done."

"Your skin will heal? Or will you slowly patch yourself up over time?"

"Given time, the material will heal. The stitches will be absorbed in a few cycles. It only requires constant pressure, otherwise, the process won't happen properly."

"Huh."

"Do you have anything I can help you with?"

"Here, see if you can tailor these pants to your size."

Miku picked up the pair of pants, put them on, put in the pins, humming to herself as she did so. Luka watched her work, somewhat distracted.

She didn't think that Miku could experience love. She hadn't thought about the question much, if at all. She figured she could make friends, of course. But love, at least the love Miku had meant, was supposed to be chemical. The different space-faring species could all love to some degree, and they all expressed it in unique ways. Strangely, there was some biological advantage to having an emotional, chemical preference for another particular individual. Whether that promoted parenting behavior or whatever evolutionary benefit it might have, it meant that they all fell in love.

And they all understood that it was chemical. It was all in the brain, really: the various receptors of their senses, from visual, aesthetic input, to chemical taste, to more personal little vague things, ranging from the bite of a lip to the curling of hair around a finger, were all fed into the brain, and the brain decided 'yes, I like this'. From there started the chemical cocktail that would flood the entire body.

That was love. Not everybody experienced it, and that was ok. Not everybody felt attraction, whether it was aesthetic, emotional, or sexual. That was also part of life. Not feeling all those things didn't make anybody a robot or an AI: Artificial Intelligence had no need for love by design. If they needed to care about something or someone, then it was written in their core to do so, but this protective behavior would be out of existential obligation. They couldn't be subject to emotional turmoil or flighted whims. The way they were built didn't allow for that, much like how it didn't allow for creativity, affection, spontaneity, desire, preference, or even identity. These traits better defined whether someone was human, not the presence or absence of love.

Miku was an AI, however. Yet she had all those traits.

Was it so surprising to think that she could love, too?

Luka sighed and got back to work. Truth be told, it wasn't. Miku was just full of surprises: it would be easier to think of her as another person, rather than as a bot parading as another person. Except when it came to the gun, of course. And her strength. Her immortality.

"How are you feeling?" Miku asked as she sat on the bed, armed with a needle and thread.

"I don't know."

"I mean, in relation to me. Am I so scary right now?"

Luka shrugged. "You catch me off guard sometimes. I'm always tense around you but like this, it's mostly ok."

"How would you want to practice, then? Do things like this more often?" An amused smirk pulled at her lips. "We will run out of clothes to tailor together sooner or later."

"No, like this is fine. It probably won't teach me much. I think..."

They sewed in silence for a bit while the woman thought.

"It's always when you're coming right for me, coming close to me, motioning towards me, that I freak out," she admitted. "I can get used to you sitting next to me, provided that you don't do anything sudden. But if you approach me? It's quick and it scares me and I can't get used to that."

"How would you recommend we proceed?"

"We stand apart."

"You should probably be sitting. Your injury still has a lot of recovering to do."

"Then I'll sit in the pilot's seat. And you'll start there, by my bed. And see how quickly you can get close to me without me freaking out."

Miku looked up at her. "Would you like to give it a try?"

Luka hesitated before nodding. "I'm almost done with this, though. One minute."

"Very well."

They worked in silence for a little while longer before Luka tied down the seams. After they verified that the fit was good, she cut off the extra fabric, then gave the shirt to the android to keep. With that, she took a seat in the pilot's seat, while the android went to stand by the trash chute, wearing the tank top and her half-tailored pants.

Objectively, it was a somewhat silly sight.

Personally, it was a terrifying one. Her opal eyes pierced the darkness between them. Eyes glowing, standing in the corner, facing her, focused on her, that alone made the sight one straight out of her nightmares. Luka refused to blink though, lest she remember the sight of a body being disintegrated by a laser. There was the smell, too, and the crunch of a spine being folded in on itself...

Miku only had to take a step towards her for pure anxiety to flood Luka's system.

The peace of their little sewing hour had evaporated. Even Ruko's lights brightened a bit, having sensed her alarm.

"Is that too fast?"

Luka nodded.

"I shall slow down."

"And..."

"And?"

Luka gulped. "Your eyes terrify me. It's rather dark in here."

The android looked surprisingly crushed. "My eyes?"

The woman stalled but ended up saying, "You glared right into my soul with them. You were so angry..."

"I was," Miku conceded. "Would it help if I..."

Without finishing her sentence, she let her eyes drift shut.

Blind, the android stood before her. Luka felt her hand unclench from the armrest of the chair, but she couldn't relax quite yet.

"That helps..."

Slowly, Miku took another step.

Even with most of the ship remaining between them, the distance was terrifying. Being trapped in the chair, with the android mere paces in front of her, was terrifying. But her eyes remained closed, and she did nothing.

Slowly, Luka adjusted to the situation. Miku didn't say a word, showing endless patience. After a while, she took a step, waiting for the newly acquired stress to lessen, and then another.

So close, the android was easy to see even in the darker interior of the ship. She hadn't changed at all since Luka had found her, only her hair now in twin-tails, her body covered in second-hand clothes.

She looked so harmless. Eyes closed, hands clasped behind her back, head slightly bent downward, unmoving, she was like a doll, innocent, incapable of causing harm, mass destruction, murder.

As the memories returned, Luka felt the tension follow suit. She forced herself to breathe, repeated to herself like a mantra that Miku wouldn't hurt her.

There was no reason to doubt that Miku wanted what was best for her. She was the one who listened to her the most, gave her Dexter. She was the one person she depended on for survival, at that point.

She had to trust her.

So slowly Luka almost didn't see it, the android shuffled just a little bit closer. Luka felt her breath hitch when their knees touched, even though she had seen it coming, had watched it happen. Surely the android knew she could come no closer, Luka even opened her mouth to warn her, but once again, the android became totally still.

It took Luka ages to relax again. She was effectively cornered, though. If she wanted to stand, to leave, she would have to push the android away.

Miku would move aside for her, though. Somehow, she knew that she would.

Again, Luka felt her hand relax, the tension in her back unwind. As if Miku could hear it —she probably could, Luka thought— she slowly, very slowly, raised a hand.

She was still blind. She honestly couldn't see a thing, Luka could tell by the way she spread her fingers, reaching not only at a glacial pace but with so much care. As the hand came closer, she would twitch, convinced for half a second that she had made contact.

Miku wasn't cheating. Once again, she had complied with her wishes without deceit or trickery.

Luka took a few breaths as the hand drew ever nearer. She could do anything to Miku. Trip her, shove her, punch her. She could yank her arm and send her sprawling on the ground. Seated as she was, she still had a tiny upper hand over the unbelievably strong and fast android, just because she was blind.

Miku kept her word nonetheless and kept her eyes shut.

Luka watched as her hand reached closer, closer still, missing her cheek just by a bit. When Miku realized she was going too far, the direction of her movement changed, and the hand finally landed, soft as a feather, on her cheek.

After a second, Miku said, "You flinched."

Luka nodded, eyes squeezed shut.

She couldn't help it.

"It's alright," Miku said softly, eyes still closed. "We have nothing but time."

"Yeah."

"Are you alright?" Miku asked.

"Yeah," Luka said with a tiny nod, the android's palm gently, oh so gently resting on her cheek. "I'm ok."

In a small ship designed for one person, there was only so much to do while soaring through space. Luka used to take that time to perfect her plans and sketches for her future, plot where the next big heist could be, try to keep on top of the politics, economics, the latest designer bag designs, keep an eye on the movement of valuable cargo, see where conflicts could arise. There were entire days she would spend making counterfeit goods, experimenting with making her gun better, scraps of metal and leather littering the floor. There was a lot to do when she was looking for money.

She had her money, though. And, against all expectations, she had company.

After doing all that needed to be done, like tailoring the android a small wardrobe of clothes, making her new plug, there were the things that always needed doing, like eating, going to sleep, taking her medication, tending to her wound. Then there were the things that they chose to do, and there weren't very many of those.

Of course, there always was something to talk about. Theoretically, she could talk to Miku about anything. The android could always learn more about interstellar events, politics, even celebrities, music genres. Ruko couldn't store absolutely everything, after all. They could talk further about the senses she didn't possess, smell and taste. They could talk about her immortality, all that waited for her in the infinite future where all of space was available. They could even talk about why Luka couldn't sleep, what sights her nightmares contained.

Instead, Luka clung to Dexter like he was a lifeline, and Miku respected that like law.

She was afraid of the Shion family. She was still afraid of the android. She still hated extended company.

Miku made it bearable by continuing to respect Dexter without fail.

Whenever she had the chance, though, she was also the one who insisted on their newly discovered exercise.

For the next few rotations, as they tore through space, they alternated between ignoring one another and staring each other down while the woman shook like a leaf. Luka found that when the android stared right at her, it became a whole lot more difficult to keep calm. Memories of the night the android had assaulted her returned so quickly, too easily. She pushed them aside, accepted them, processed them, fought them, but nothing seemed to work.

They made some progress, though. Painstakingly, Miku would get closer to her, cornering the woman in either her pilot or workbench chair. Luka felt more comfortable sitting on her bed, with the added altitude and extra ways out, but it didn't help her learn so quickly. What use was learning that being trapped by the android wouldn't kill her if she wasn't getting trapped to begin with?

Miku was remarkably patient, even as these sessions could stretch on for hours. Hours of staring at each other, watching the woman go from a hyperventilating mess to a calm observer, back to a scared child.

It was subtle. Luka didn't cry or back off, but she continued to flinch. Every time Miku tried to close the distance between them, the woman couldn't bite down the reflex, the automatic cower. She had almost whimpered once and though she didn't voice it, she was convinced the android had heard it somehow.

At least it seemed to work the more they did it, even if painstakingly slowly. In their day-to-day lives, there were moments that Luka could be caught almost completely off guard —at least as off-guard as she could get, being alone in the ship with the android— and she wouldn't jump or recoil. She had been so proud the first time, even more so the second time, especially since the android made the effort to note those occurrences as well.

She seemed so happy about that, too.

But in those tense moments, those intense stare-downs, it remained a challenge.

Luka felt that if she could conquer those, she would be over it.

Rotation after rotation though, she still cracked at some point. The nightmares didn't quite let up either, which she wanted to mean that she was getting better and processing all that had happened, but when the next day showed little to no progress, she could only get disappointed. Still, every rotation showed some form of evolution, between the rare, meaningless conversations about the newest kinds of board games, how school worked, if the average citizen explored space as much as she did, saw as many planets. All told, though, it was simply easier to exist in the same space passively with the android. There was no reason to suspect that Miku might approach her unprompted unless it was for a good reason, and even if Luka wasn't feeling particularly up for conversation, she didn't mind the little chats so much.

It was almost easy to exist together, and that was more than what she could say for literally anybody else she had known. If only she didn't fear her stare so much.

Luka sighed, abandoning the little toy she was tinkering with, her eyes darting to the android who once again occupied the pilot seat. She was admiring the eternal sapphire flower, barely touching it, watching how it sparkled in the ship's low lighting.

In a way, everything Luka saw before her was eternal. As long as they continued to be maintained, Ruko would remain. The flower would never die. Even the mug would continue as long as it didn't get shattered. And Miku would persist, exist, through time and space itself. She would get to see everything. Do anything.

When Luka went down that rabbit hole, it did feel like she was in the presence of a god. Immortal and timeless, yet caring. Powerful and fast, yet so careful, tender. A human given powers, a machine given a heart. And her artificial heart, it loved.

Luka couldn't think that she could be safe in such a presence. Miku was far too wise, too eternal, yet too fickle. Luka would never be able to force her to do anything. She was still the one trapped in the ship with her, and not the other way around, never the other way around.

Luka groaned.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm just working myself up to get scared of you again," she admitted. "You're so..."

Miku frowned and approached, slowly, stopping a fair distance from her.

"Stars, you're so terrifying. Objectively," Luka finally finished. "Superhuman, immortal, undying, and the only thing stopping you from being a force of unending destruction is the fact that you simply don't want to be."

"I'm sure that you have developed technologies that could stop me easily," Miku muttered. "Even an old-school human nuclear bomb would wipe me off the surface of any planet."

"But what can one person do? Against you?"

Miku thought about it for a while. "Very little. You could tase me, perhaps."

Luka shook her head. "I trust you. I want to trust you. I need to. But man, when I start thinking..."

"Can I help somehow?"

The woman cautiously looked at the android. Her opal eyes glowed in the low light. They always did.

"I don't know."

As she waited for the android to reply, she realized that they had inadvertently started the exercise again. Luka stared, Miku stared back, and the woman had to battle with all the thoughts and fears and memories that kept boiling to the surface, simmering and festering and settling until she actively tried to pry them from the walls of her psyche.

Miku took another step closer. Luka forced her breathing to stay even.

"I don't think now is a good time."

"That might make it the best time," Miku suggested, her tone alone saying that Luka only had to ask once more, and she would back off.

But Luka bit her tongue. She was right. She couldn't practice just to be fearless only in optimum conditions. She had to be able to withstand the android's presence through good and bad.

A sudden thought came to her.

"Could you sing me a song?" Luka asked, her voice tiny.

The opal eyes remained unchanging. "It's been a while since I sang for you."

"I always feel a bit bad about asking."

"Please don't," the android whispered. "I love singing for you. What would you like to hear?"

"That first song you sang to me. Do you remember it?"

"Yes."

"I don't. Can I hear it again?"

"Of course."

The cheery song quickly filled the otherwise silent ship, the tune clashing violently with the heavy atmosphere. When Miku started singing, however, her smile lifted the oppressive mood as easily as a broom would clear a cobweb. Luka only vaguely recognized the tune, yet she was immediately transported to the new world the android created for her. It didn't feel like the same song, it had a whole other effect, but she couldn't deny its almost nostalgic familiarity.

As she sang, Miku sometimes closed her eyes, moved to the song, clasping her hands in front of her chest, tilting her head, all such natural little movements. All so human.

It wasn't a grand show or a performance. But it removed Luka from the now and that was all she had wanted.

When Miku sang the last words, when the final notes fell silent, the woman blinked and found that the android was suddenly standing right before her. The stare-down had commenced yet again, but the distance that usually needed hours to traverse had been closed in only a single song.

Before Luka could even think, could even feel, Miku raised her hand and gently, so gently, touched her cheek.

She flinched.

Miku smiled anyway.

"Almost there."

"Yeah."

"I'm happy to sing for you," she whispered. "So please, ask for a song whenever you wish."

"Ok..."

"I won't hurt you."

"I know."

"Tell me when you have such thoughts again, please? I can't bear the thought of you being so afraid of me."

Luka nodded, leaned into the touch just a bit. With her dream future gone, and Miku being all she had? There was no doubt in her reply. "I will."