01100011 01101000 01100101 01100011 01101011 01110101 01110000 [Checkup]

On the second day – the halfway point in our 'vacation' – I went with Zima back to maintenance, so they could check to make sure his drive was running smooth. Not that I couldn't have done that myself. But as he reminded me, it was protocol – all part and parcel of his job.

"Hey there!" Yui chirped when we came in, from behind the reception desk. I saw her eyes flash as she loaded something, presumably Zima's maintenance log. "Back for your checkup, Zima?"

"It would seem that way." He glanced at the arc of doors beyond Yui's desk, the look on his face less than enthusiastic. "You don't have to drag me back there again, do you?"

"Actually, I don't. Ren can run her scans right out here in the lobby; I'll just message her to let her know you're here." I figured Ren was one of the maintenance support 'coms – not a match for the technicians, but equipped with all of the software necessary to assist them. Like nurses in a human hospital, they flitted about the maintenance bay carrying out all manner of tasks, when the technicians were busy or just couldn't be bothered. "I trust everything's been going well so far?"

"Beautifully, thanks. How's life down here?"

"Oh, you know. Same old, same old." I was accustomed to this – to the fact that, wherever we went, other 'coms would want to engage with Zima before they acknowledged me. Some of them would chat him up for five minutes, then greet me; others never seemed to realize I was there. In any case, I'd gotten used to him eclipsing me, and I almost didn't hear my own name. "And how are you, Dita?"

"Hm?" I'd been amusing myself staring at the rafters. Flicking my eyes down, I saw Yui smiling at me. "Oh. I'm fine."

"You must be glad to have Zima back."

I was. And it wasn't her saying so that got to me, so much as the way she said it; what she'd said was a simple statement of fact, but the sympathy in her voice made me flush. The genuine tenderness, like nothing I'd ever seen in another 'com. Not before things began changing, anyway. "Of course she is," Zima said, cracking a grin, as I scrambled for an answer that wouldn't redden my cheeks further. He reached over and gave my ponytail a gentle tug. "She's crazy about me."

"Well, I should think so," Yui said with a giggle, as I glared daggers at him. "It certainly seemed that way last week."

My eyes went wide. And of course she knew, as soon as she noticed, that I hadn't told him I'd come – that I hadn't planned to tell him, ever. But by then, it was too late.

"Last week?" Zima asked. "What happened last week?"

"Oh, goodness." Yui's own face went slightly pink with embarrassment, and she put a hand to her mouth. "I'm terribly sorry, Dita. It appears I've let the cat out of the bag." Zima raised an eyebrow at me. I crossed my arms, avoided his eyes and hers; I supposed someone would have to tell him, now that she'd gone and opened her big mouth, but it sure as hell wasn't going to be me. "I let Dita in to see you," Yui told him after a moment, hesitantly. "While you were shut down. I—I didn't realize it was a secret."

"Ahh." I could hear Zima's smile. That slow-spreading, satisfied smile, set aside for those particularly enticing chinks in my armor. "Well, that was very kind of you, Yui. I'm sure she appreciated it." I felt him take hold of my lower coatstrap. "Now, if you don't mind," he said to Yui, "we'll go sit down and wait for Ren."

When he left the desk, he towed me along with him. I had no choice but to follow.

A ways from Yui's reception desk, there was a waiting area, with a sprinkling of chairs and couches and a coffee table scattered with magazines. Zima sat down on one of the couches, but he didn't let me go; before I could jerk free, he pulled me into his lap, and on their own my legs slid around him. They always had fit there too well. And I didn't want to look at him – I didn't think I could look at him, without blushing so hard I'd overheat – but he wouldn't let me look away. He caught my chin in one hand, like he had the day before on the roof, and lifted my eyes to his.

"It didn't mean anything," I mumbled.

His smile softened. "I know, love."

Then he kissed me, and it wasn't a kiss on the cheek, or the forehead. He kissed me like he'd kissed me two nights before, after what he'd called our date. He kissed me on the lips, for a long time, and I felt butterflies inside and goosebumps out; the world slipped away and I didn't care that he knew it, how much I'd missed him. It didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was how good it felt, letting him kiss me like that. Getting as close as we'd ever get.

"Make out on your own time, would you? I've got a job to do."

Ren's voice pried us apart like a crowbar, sent my face up in flames all over again. I clambered off of Zima and onto the couch beside him. Shaking her head, Ren – or at least, I assumed it was Ren, this 'com wearing a jumpsuit and a mop of short red hair – sat down on his other side. "Ready?"

"More than ready. Let's do this thing."

Ren's ears weren't kitten-ears – they were more like smooth, shallow cones, or mantas' wings. Each tapered in a gumdrop hatch. Popping one open, she pulled out a whole mess of cables, and gestured to Zima to let her in; I peered over his shoulder and watched as she hooked up to him, cord by cord. My eyes narrowed of their own accord.

"Hey, don't make that face at me," Ren said indignantly, before I could duck back behind him. "I told you, this is my job."

Zima chuckled. "You'll have to forgive Dita, Ren. She's got a jealous streak a mile wide."

"Would you shut up? I do not!"

"Whatever you say, love."

When Ren had plugged in the last of her cables, her eyes began to glimmer, bands of white light zipping across glassy green. A dull whirr rose in her chest. I looked up and saw Zima's eyes mirror hers, going suddenly flat – I saw that same light pass through them, like a bullet train through red clouds, and I felt him hum next to me. "Opening diagnostic program 405988C," Ren announced in a monotone. "Running scan one of five."

Meanwhile, Yui had wandered out from behind the desk, for once unhooked from her ever-present power cord. She stood beside them with folded arms, gazing pityingly down at me. "Poor Dita. They really shouldn't tease you like that." She sighed. "If I were you, I'd be jealous, too."

"So would I." Ren blinked her eyes back to normal, letting her scans run in the background so she would be free to torment me. "After all," she said with a grin, "they're just so cute together."

"It really is precious, isn't it?" Yui gushed. "The way he's always calling her love."

"The way they wear these adorable matching costumes."

"The way she's obviously head-over-heels in love with him, but tries to pretend like she's not!"

In unison, they dissolved into fits of giggles, making a perfunctory attempt to quash them with clasped hands. Zima slid an arm around me. "Ladies, please," he said to them, very sweetly, giving my shoulders a squeeze. "That may all be true. But I'm afraid my darling Dita will never be a normal shade again."

Naturally, that only made things worse. Ren and Yui fell apart, twittering like a whole flock of little birds; with the two of them occupied thusly, I addressed Zima under my breath. "Have I ever told you," I hissed, "that I hate you?"

"I'm just letting them have their fun. You know they don't mean anything by it." He leaned down and kissed me on one hot cheek, that being about as far as Ren's cables would let him go. "Just three more scans, love. Then we'll go."

When Yui had recovered, she sent Zima and I a sheepish smile, smoothing a flurry of stray curls back from her face. "Goodness. I don't know what came over me." She tipped her head and furrowed her brow, looking at something—looking at me? I glanced down and realized she had noticed the snapdragon, its petals wrinkled but still yellow as sunshine, peeking out from beneath my coatstrap. "If you don't mind my asking, Dita," she said, "what's that?"

"It's a snapdragon."

"Well, I know that, but—what I meant was, where did you get it?"

I looked at her. I looked at Ren. Both of them looked back at me, heads cocked for my answer, and I understood too late that I'd screwed myself on this one. I suppose someone will have to tell them, I sighed to myself, for the second time that day. But it sure as hell isn't going to be me. "Go ahead, Zima," I said grudgingly, casting him a bitter glance. "You tell them."

"Right." He flashed a grin at Ren and Yui, while I steeled myself for another gale of giggles. "Dita doesn't like talking about it, because it embarrasses her, but a few nights ago – as a part of my ongoing quest to melt our little ice queen – I took her on a date. The snapdragon," he added with a wink, "was in lieu of a rose."

I swear to God, they made noises only dogs could hear. They squealed, they shrieked, they cooed and clapped and fell all over themselves. Thinking about it, I figured this was what Zima had meant, by acting outside a program; I felt certain they hadn't been programmed to be incurable romantics. Had all of this happened before our last mission, they'd probably have just shaken their heads at us, and informed us of the senselessness of such an idea. Which would have been annoying in its own right. But given the choice – and of course I wasn't given the choice, that was the whole problem – I thought I'd have preferred the program.

"If that's not the sweetest thing I've ever heard!" Yui sighed.

"Talk about the luckiest girl in the world." Ren clicked her tongue, regarding me reproachfully. "I can't believe you don't appreciate him more."

Now that was a step too far. "Excuse me?" I snapped.

"Come now, Ren," Zima cut in before she could answer that, and before I could go off on her. "If anyone here should be appreciative, it's me. If it weren't for Dita, I wouldn't be a data bank, I'd be a data slut. What's that they say about the town bicycle? Everybody gets a ride?" I wasn't quite sure what he was talking about, but whatever he'd said seemed meant to defend me. Having braced as if for battle, I sniffed and let myself relax. Zima kissed the top of my head. "She's my guardian angel."

Yui swooned as if she were about to faint. I rolled my eyes.

Fortunately, they spared us the rest of their yammering, choosing instead to huddle on the couch and whisper behind their hands. I could still hear them giggling – saw them peek out from between cracked fingers, now and then – but at least that was easier to ignore. And eventually, Ren's scans ran their course, a chipper tone announcing their success; she informed him that the updates to his drive were functioning perfectly, and I bit back an I could've told him that. Ren went about unplugging her cables, the three of them chattering pleasantly all the while. I opened a stopwatch application and timed her.

After an unbelievable three minutes, forty-six seconds, and twelve milliseconds, the last cable finally zipped back into Ren's ear. On the thirteenth millisecond, I elbowed Zima in the side. "Well, it's been fun," he said right on cue, getting to his feet alongside me, "but there's a rooftop calling our names."

"Oh, wait! Don't go just yet!" Yui appealed. "We wanted to ask you something first."

Zima raised an eyebrow. "Shoot."

Ren nudged Yui, and Yui nudged her back. They exchanged a conspirative glance. "Zima," Ren said at last, a smile tugging at her lips, "when you and Dita get married, are you going to throw all of her garters? Or just one?"

And just like that – just when I was, despite Zima's prediction, fading to a normal shade – the mercury in my cheeks shot through the roof.