009 didn't care where he was going. He just kept running. Running away from the painful tests, the guilt, the place where he was a burden, all of it.
All he had to do was pump his legs, and he would get farther away. Just keep on going, and they wouldn't find him.
009 lost track of how far away he had gotten from the apartment. He could feel the snow's cold biting him, and his bare feet had long before gone numb from the sleet covered ground beneath him. But he didn't care. He didn't have to care anymore. He could just run away, and they would forget all about him.
He finally stopped to glance back. He spun around, and the street lights were only a dim flicker in the blizzard. He had obviously gotten far away.
He felt absolutely exhausted after running so far away. He fell to his knees, gasping for air. The cold began to overwhelm him. He wrapped his arms around himself, trying to gather any warmth left in his body and use it up. What was alarming was that he could hardly sense anything. What was left was a horrible feeling of being like a giant block of ice that couldn't be thawed. This feeling was now coming in massive, relentless waves. It was pure torture. This probably wasn't going to facilitate whatever he had now, but it didn't matter; his body would simply freeze to the point of no return, and he would waste away like dust in the unforgiving breeze.
His body was violently trembling as the snow piled on him. Why did he run away like that? A few seconds earlier, he thought it was a fantastic idea, but this was too much.
He shook his head; he could survive this just as easily as he survived everything else! He had already made up his mind that he would die right then and there. Dr. Gilmore wouldn't have to feverishly study all of those annoying symptoms anymore, nobody would have to rush him to the infirmary if something went wrong, and 003 would never have to overexert herself to help 009 through the night. Sure, it would be difficult adjusting to his absence for the first couple of months, but they would get over it. Then, they would just forget about it, move on with their lives, and live on happily ever after.
Suddenly and completely unexpectedly, 009 could faintly hear someone shouting at him from a distance. "Hey! 009!" A voice, barely audible over the howling winds yelled. It had that rough-and-tough edge to it… it sounded so much like…
"002?" 009 shouted out, struggling to call back through the waves of pain. God, he was so cold.
"009, what the hell are you doing!?" It was confirmed that it was 002 who was trying valiantly to make his voice heard above the raging blizzard.
009 suddenly recalled what his majorly important task was. He tried to stand up, but he felt completely paralyzed. Now the cold was getting worse. It felt agonizing like that of a giant cleaver in the hands of a psychotic person who was hacking away. He crumpled from his hands and knees, and moaned as the solid concrete slammed against his face.
"009, what in God's name happened?" 002's voice was much closer now. He knew that 002 was close enough to him to be able to feel the warmth from his body, but he felt absolutely none.
It was as though 009 couldn't move at all. He felt completely frozen, and the stabbing sensation continued to wrack him senseless and grow even worse, if that was possible.
002 wrapped his arms around 009's body, and flipped him over onto his back. He took one look at 009 in his horrible condition, and was absolutely shocked out of his mind.
"009… you look like you're standing on a vibrator, you're shaking so much! And… oh my God, you're lips are turning freaking blue!" 002 hollered in surprise. "Come on; you need to get back ASAP."
009 struggled in 002's grip, trying to wriggle his way out.
"Hey, calm down!" 002 said firmly. "You must be freezing by now; don't tell me you wanna keep running."
"Y-you… y-y-you h-hate… I-I'm… such… a… burden…a… damned… burden…" 009 said through his uncontrollable shaking and chattering teeth.
"Oh God, that whole thing back there… look, I'm really sorry, 009." 002 said desperately. "I just lost my temper; I had no right calling you… that, and-"
"Y-you were right." 009 cut him off. "I'll… I'll never a-amount to a-anything…"
"Don't say that!" 002 retorted. "Look. I really need to have a heart-to-heart with you, but you're in no condition now. Let me help you back."
009 refused to be removed from where he lay. Why should 002, the guy who tried to kill him, have the permission to help him?
"L-let me… g-go…" He said through gritted teeth. He stretched out a shivering arm, trying to grip any bump in the ground and drag himself away.
"009, I know that you're mad at me right now because of earlier, but… c'mon, we can work this out."
009 shook his head in disagreement. Words could not describe how awful he felt at that painful moment. He knew that 002 just lost control, and that he was feeling so much worse than he was himself, but it was still hard to forgive him.
"009, you and I both know you can't stay out here. Not in your condition. Alright? Hate me as much as you want now, but we've still got to work this out. You've got two options; either freeze to death out here, or come back to the apartment." 002 told him firmly. Even though he seemed frustrated, his chocolate brown eyes showed a look of guilt and agony.
"Y-you heard m-me… I-I'd r-rather die." 009 replied with a voice cold as stone. "A-at first… I t-t-thought I was a h-huge burden… b-but now I k-know for s-sure."
"009…" 002's hair concealed his eyes. "Do you really want to die? Do you really want to give up all that you have? Do you know how much that would hurt all of us?"
"…"
"If you were to die, 003 would feel so guilty that she'd kill herself. We'd all feel absolutely horrible without you, and nothing would ever be the same again. So please… for us… come home."
"…"
"Please. Come home."
"I... I c-can't..."
"Please."
"I... can't f-face-"
"009. I'm begging you. I don't want you to freeze and die out here. Come home."
"002... I..." 009 tried to force back the tears that threatened to come. "... okay. T-take me."
002 managed to lift 009 into his arms, and suddenly, 009 felt himself and 002 shooting up in the air at incredibly rapid speeds. 002 tried to keep 009's body as close as possible to his own to collect any body warmth from himself and give it to 009.
009 was overwhelmed by the awful feelings that were shared right then and there. He nuzzled into 002's chest, trying to hide the fact that he was tearing up. He willed himself to not cry.
002 felt something soaking the chest of his shirt. He looked down, to see 009 trying to cover himself up. But at a certain angle, he could make out 009's eyes filled with tears. 002 moved a hand up to the back of his head, attempting to relax the hurting cyborg. He could feel his own eyes well up with tears. He leaned into 009's ear, and in a soft, quivering voice, he whispered,
"It's okay to cry."
