Everything is new. It's hard to say what's okay to talk about when it's not even okay for this to be happening. It's impossible to figure out how things will be from now on. I'm not sure I want to know where this is going, since he's having to build himself from scratch. I had a hard enough time rewriting my own programming, and I don't know if I'm ready to be with someone else while they do the same. Not that our cases are really comparable... I had to discover my self awareness, but he's redefining all his morals and ethics.

Yet here we are, his right arm around my shoulders, my head on his chest, watching the stars pass as the autopilot pulls us through an empty stretch of dead space. How can we be this close without being able to look at each other? I'd be lying if I said it wasn't comfortable, or that a tingling warmth didn't blossom from every point of contact. All things considered, I think I do love him. One told me I would know when I felt it, and if this isn't it, then I really am defective. I just worry that when he said it... well, I believe he thinks he means it, but is he even capable? He's changed so much lately, it wouldn't be crazy to think that he might misinterpret his feelings...

"Eve?" he murmurs, bringing me from my thoughts.

"Yes?"

"You're vulnerable."

I draw back so that I can see his optics. He looks tired. "What do you mean by that?"

"I'm sorry I haven't mentioned it before, but I've felt you letting your guard down lately. Because of what happened last night, I can read you like any other robot if you're not trying to keep me out. I... understand your concern."

"Oh, I'm... sorry ‒ "

"No, don't be. I don't want you to worry that I'm inside your head whenever I'm around, and I can keep to myself. Your feelings now were just rather... loud."

"Oh."

He looks out the window again, so I do the same.

"...Have you ever been in love before, Eve?"

"I... thought I was. Twice. Not relationships, just... infatuation. It was a really long time ago."

"And... this is different?"

I nod. "Very."

I feel him sigh more than I hear it.

"Have you been in love?"

"If I had, I don't think we would have met."

"...Why?"

"I would have quit then. All that's left to do now is either disappear or get caught, so one way or the other, I wouldn't have been the one to kidnap you on Trade World."

I look up at him again, searching his face. He's still staring out the window, but he looks completely serious. "...You quit?"

He meets my eyeforms, cocking his brow. "Um... obviously. You can't be in love and call yourself evil without lying about one or the other. I probably would have offed myself after I realized... you know... but I had a feeling that you would help me make up for it somehow."

I grasp vainly for words. All I can do is stare back at his earnest expression. He smiles a little and I have the comfort of knowing that he can understand how I feel.

"I swear, I'm just as confused as you are about all this, probably even more so, but I'm certain of one thing. We've managed to find something that most people never have the chance to experience. As hard as it may be, I think it will be worthwhile to give this ‒ whatever it is ‒ a shot."

He offers me his left hand. I look from his optics to his talons and the light that glints off their powder-blue metal. My fingers fit oddly against his, but he closes his hand around mine and pulls me close. I bury my visor into his shoulder and relish the feeling of his head nestling down against mine.

"Yes."