Disclaimer: I don't own 9, 6 or 7. So there.

AN: (Thanks, Ryosei) Forgive me for being late. I'm recovering from an overload week.

.5.

Their relationship was no secret. It was private, of course—confined to Seven's room for the most part— but it would be impossible to hide for long. Not when her face smiled down at him from so many of his pictures. Not when he snuck off to see her every night. Not when 5 forgot to knock before he came in to check on Seven, and found her thoroughly distracted. For the most part the others respected their privacy—they didn't pry, they didn't talk about it in front of them, they didn't give any funny looks. For the most part.

One was the exception.

"I have had enough of this nonsense," he growled, pounding his staff against the floor. Seven didn't even bat an eye. Six cringed, but they couldn't see him. This was just a vision—a vision that he knew was real, even if he didn't know when, and in the vision he was nowhere to be found.

"I don't see why you should care," she said coldly. "This is between me and him. It has nothing to do with you."

One's eyes narrowed dangerously. "With me?" he echoed. "No, this involves all of us. Your shenanigans put the entire group at risk!"

"Don't be ridiculous," she snapped, though there was something in her eyes. A flash of worry that she didn't want anyone to see. But Six saw it, and so did One.

"You are distracting my Seer," he said, pacing around her.

"He's not yours."

"He is useful only when he is focused," One went on. "An impossibility when you spend all your energy corrupting him." Six found himself hating that word. It was dirty and ugly and the sound of it hurt Seven. But she wasn't the type to let herself be hurt. Not without fighting back. And now she was going to do something about it. Now she was going to say something scalding and make One regret he'd even mentioned it. Now she was going to stop him.

She pushed his staff aside and walked away from him. And One watched her go, a smirk on his face.

The vision worried Six. It hadn't happened yet—had it?—no, not yet. He would have known if it had. That meant he still had time. To fix it, to undo it, to convince her that One was wrong and everything was going to be okay.

By now her wounds were mended with only the splash of red on her back to prove that she'd once been hurt. She invited him to explore her, and once the last of the repairs had been made he dared to accept. He traced over every inch of canvas, reveling in the texture, the warmth, the grace, and all the while her hands examined him ever so tenderly. More than once he got lost in a vision as they shared the exchange, feeling her hands on him in the past, the present, the future, all at once and all over and it left him breathless and reeling.

Another vision struck him, strange in its allure, of his fingers wandering through other places, hidden places that he shouldn't be able to reach. He couldn't wait to try.

"Ah…can I…?" he breathed, fingering the button that sealed her chest. She smiled at him, a little dazzled and a little confused, but she nodded.

Slowly, carefully, he opened her up, exposing her delicate inner workings to the light. Two's repairs had been masterful; the tiny pieces that held her together seemed to glitter inside her. Like stars. Like diamonds. He reached inside her, just barely brushing them with the pinpoints of his fingers.

She shuddered at his touch, and he almost retreated, frightened he'd hurt her. But there was no pain in her expression. Just pleasure. Unspeakable pleasure.

"Seven?" he whispered, tracing the edges of gears and screws with his fingertips. A delighted sigh was her only response. "I'm… I'm happy. Here. With you. And I couldn't be happier, so…ah…" She kissed him long and hard, her own nimble fingers opening the buttons on his chest. Jolts of ecstasy raced through him at every touch, and he found it hard to concentrate on anything. Just one thought, running an endless loop through his mind:

"I love you."