Chapter3: Red Eyes

Damn him... –thud- Damn that prissy, snot-nosed, to-good-for-anybody noble! –thud- He didn't know anything about me; how dare he even think to call me ignorant!? –crack- ... Shit.

I forced my breathing steady again, and examined the wall I'd been hitting. There was a definite depression from that last punch; I was lucky I hadn't made another hole... 'Note to self: get an actual punching-bag,' I thought, letting out a sigh. Well, at least I was calmer.

My ears picked up the doorknob rattling- two clicks left, one right, one left again. "Come in, Siar..." I said, sitting on the bed. The door opened silently and he walked in, closing it just as soundlessly behind him. "Guess you heard all that?"

"Yes," he said simply, sitting on the floor by the wall. "...Are you okay?" he asked, even though the near monotone of his voice indicated no curiosity.

I sighed, leaning back. "Dunno, to be honest..." I said. "I wasn't planning it to go like that, but he struck a nerve," I admitted. "And well, it's still kind of sore."

He narrowed his eyes by a minute degree, before looking away. I grinned, recognizing the look. "Don't you even think about it bud... Aeo pays the majority of the bills, and he's probably going to apologize for it in the morning. Besides-" I added "-if anyone's going to make him hurt for that stupid comment, it'll be me."

He glanced back at me, golden eyes softening a bit. "...You really care for him, don't you?"

I blinked, the question catching me off guard. "Not like –that-, no... I mean must feel something, otherwise I wouldn't have gone to bed with him, even if nothing happened. It's confusing..." I let out another sigh, flopping back onto my bed. "Maybe I just forgot for a bit that I'm not in Nu Arkaya anymore... That I'm not obligated to find a partner."

"I mean, everything outside of home is still so weird to me. People expect 'ideal' women to be 'pretty' over smart or strong, and that still just blows my mind," I elaborated, staring up at the ceiling.

I heard him get up and sit beside me. "Humans are still for the most part an aesthetically-driven race- not quite as bad as they were back in the twenty-first century, but still..." He paused a moment before nodding. "Reploids are usually more practical when it comes to who we choose as partners of any sort."

I smirked. "If I didn't know better I'd think you were hitting on me, Isamu," I teased, using his actual name to tease him. He'd given it to me a while back, as a 'gesture of respect and trust' he'd called it. As far as I knew, the other two didn't know it, so I figured he respected and trusted me about the same as I did him. A lot...

He glanced down at me, looking almost offended. "I'm not," he said flatly.

My grin widened. "Of course you aren't. Like I said, I know you better than that."

"At least you're in a better mood."

"Yeah, thanks. So we're still set for a spar on Saturday, right?" I asked.

He nodded. "Are you sure you wish me to 'jump' you? It wouldn't be a fair fight."

"I think it would be," I replied. "I had the advantage last time, so it's only fair you get it this time."

"All right, you should get some sleep then," he said, getting up and starting for the door.

I watched him a moment before sitting up. "Siarnaq?"

"Yes?" he asked, pausing.

"This is awkward for me to ask, but..." I glanced away, "Do you think I'm pretty?" I asked hopefully, looking at him again.

He stared a moment, expression unchanged. "...No. I don't."

I sighed, looking down. "Well, at least you're honest. Tha-"

"I think you're beautiful."

My eyes went wide, and I snapped my gaze back to where he'd been. He was gone, back to his room no doubt.

I knew he hadn't meant it in any sort of romantic way, but that didn't stop my face from turning nearly as red as my eyes. No one had ever said that about me- ever- much less to me. Yeah I'd heard guys in town say I looked exotic, intriguing, or powerful... but never beautiful.

That was better than 'pretty', right?

I couldn't help myself, a stupid grin winding its way across my face. And for a moment I was a stupid kid again, giggling and hugging my pillow like it was a person. "I'm not pretty; I'm beautiful!~" I exclaimed as quietly as I possibly could, before settling down and laughing myself softly to sleep.

...

Morning came all too early, but I'd slept all right so there was no need to complain. I sat up, looking at the mirror across the room and grinning as I got up and stretched. I was still in my clothes from yesterday, so I started taking them off to change into some clean ones.

There was a knock at the door, followed by a quiet voice. "Atlas...? Are you up?"

Aeo. I could almost imagine his expression- teal eyes glancing nervously at the door then back at the floor. At least that was what I imagined from his tone of voice.

"Yeah, but unless you want a knock on the head you'll wait outside. I'm getting dressed," I explained.

"Oh. That's fine; I just wanted to say that I'm very sorry for last night..." he said. "I'm in a bit of a rush right now, but if you'd like to we can talk later."

I grinned. "Sure. And don't sweat it, okay? I'm not mad anymore..."

"Thank you. I'll talk to you later then," he said walking away.

I waited until the sound his footsteps was gone. Maybe Siar had been right last night... Maybe I did –care- for Aeolus. I wasn't sure, but I certainly didn't hate him. And I'd kept myself from bloodying him last night; that meant something, didn't it? Maybe I really did like him...

Or maybe all this time I'd spent away from home was making me soft.

I sighed, pulling on a clean shirt. Now I'd made myself homesick. No surprise, really. I'd left to find help after getting Model F, and after getting mixed up in that crazy Game of Destiny things had just been moving too fast for me to really think of my homeland...

Knowing what it was even close to being like, most people would congratulate me on getting away from a place they viewed as a living hell. But I honestly missed it... To me, that was home. It always would be... The dark earth we walked was broken and barren to most. But we knew it held life. Mavericks attacked often, and if a troupe stayed in one place for too long they risked being overwhelmed... So we moved from place to place, living on supplies we either received from the outside or scavenged from those who'd lost their battle...

I'd grown up fighting, the only major influence in my life after the age of five or so being my older brother... Marlyr had always been strong; as far back as I could clearly remember he had been there looking out for me. When Mom had died, he was the one who had taken over raising me- no small feat for a fifteen year old boy. He'd been the one to find Model F, and the first to wield him between the two of us. When he'd vanished, Model F had gone to me...

Speaking of the little red doom-machine, I couldn't find him anywhere. Frowning, I opened our mental link. 'Where are you?'

-Under your boyfriend's bed- he replied. –You know, the stick?-

'What?! He is not my-!'

-I do believe H and I can attest otherwise...-

'Wait... You know what happened?'

-Yes. How'd that go, by the way? Honestly I thought you two would just keep going all ni-

'You knew and you didn't TELL us!?'

-Hey, we went offline to give you privacy! I only just reactivated when you contacted me!-

'...'

-How long's it been? My internal timer is a little laggy...-

'About three or four days...'

-Shit. Sorry kiddo... But hey, you had fun, right?-

I closed the link with a flustered sigh, and made another mental note to go out and buy testing supplies. First though I had to get Models F and H out from under Aeo's bed, and then I'd tell Aeo.

I opened my door, walking across the hall and into Aeo's room. It was empty, and I figured I could just grab Model F and leave H on his bed for him. F was ahead of me on this, already floating around and- humming to himself. I recognized the tune... It was the anthem from back home. He hummed it a lot, mostly because Marlyr had gotten it stuck in his- I shook my head, having no time for this.

I watched a moment before snatching him out of the air and clipping him to my belt-loop. I then got down and reached under Aeo's bed until I found the other 'witness' of our drunken one-night stand. The green Biometal was silent in my hands, likely still inactive, so I left him on Aeo's bed and walked out, heading downstairs.

-So I guess you didn't remember what happened?- Model F asked.

'Not a damn thing...' I replied. 'He didn't either.'

-Oh. Well this will be fun...- he said sarcastically.

'Out of curiosity, how likely do you think it is I'm pregnant right now?' I asked, looking down at my Biometal.

-Um... Let's just hope you aren't, and not worry about the odds. Okay, kiddo?- he replied.

I huffed 'Yeah. Won't know for sure for a while yet anyway...'

-So how has he been, regarding it?-

'He's terrified at the idea, like any Noble would be,' I though, scowling.

-What about you? How have you felt about it?-

'I'm not sure, especially now that I know we did. I mean, if I were back home, becoming a mom would be something to celebrate regardless of who the father was- or how it happened as long as it wasn't forced...' I pursed my lips a bit, thinking privately a moment. 'Maybe we should just go home. I miss the Troupes, and if it turns out I am then at least Aeo wouldn't have to worry about having to hide some kid he never asked for or-'

"You seem deep in thought," Thetis said, grinning as he walked inside from getting the mail. "Something bugging you?"

I glanced at him and returned the grin halfheartedly. "Yeah, but it's nothing I can't sort out," I said. "I'm just homesick, thinking about going back, you know?"

He nodded. "Trust me, I know. I miss my folks back home too, but we write each other now and then so it's not so bad..." he said with a smile. "So you're thinking about visiting your family?"

I shook my head. "No. I'm thinking about going home and staying and fighting alongside my people again."

"Oh..." he said, a bit of concern drifting into his pale blue eyes. "Would you want us maybe to come with you? I mean you said you had left to get help, right?"

"That's a really nice offer, Thetis, but it'll probably be just me. I couldn't ask for any of you to go with me..."

He quirked a brow, grinning. "Even Siar? He'd go even if you didn't ask..."

"Yeah he probably would," I said with a light chuckle, remembering the talk we'd had after I'd flipped out at- Aeo... I frowned and decided that it was time to get back to business. "Do you know where Aeolus is right now?"