"Let's go."

Gumi's voice drags her from her thoughts.

Rin has no choice but to stand up on her own shaky legs and face what lies ahead. It terrifies her to no end, not knowing what will be waiting for her on the other side.

There is no turning back. Only forward into the unknown, where her heart might shatter on site.

"Do you…" Her throat is thick and her mouth dry, but she forces the words out. "Do you think he made it through?"

Gumi turns to her, searching her face.

"...I don't know," she answers truthfully, not assuaging Rin's concerns in the least.

Yet Rin bucks up, pulling herself to her full (short) height as best she can and preparing herself internally for what might be the most hurtful thing to happen to her in this entire life.

I can't sit in this room forever waiting for what may or may not be true. His sentience aside, I can deal with that later. For now, all that matters is going in there and seeing him smile at me the way he always does. I just want to see him.

Please don't let him forget me.

Gumi leads the way for her, considering the fact she hasn't made even an inch of progress toward the door, and upon one last glance her way, turns the knob and pushes it open, allowing Rin to walk ahead of her. Hesitant, she unwillingly puts one foot through the doorway, her whole body tensing up immediately at the sight within.

Len is sitting up on the metal table, much like he'd been only days before. It's an awful sight, one she'd wanted to forget and never have again. It seems to follow her, however.

This time he's not recovering from being in mere pieces, though. Instead, he turns to her the moment she steps in, her sapphire blue eyes meeting her ice blue.

There's a quiet moment as he studies her, and the worst flits through her mind, making her panic over what might be happening within the gears in his head. There's no sign of recognition there. It's only blank emptiness, and her heart becomes a hollow shell in an instant.

No, please, let it be false. She can't live a life where he doesn't know her.

As quickly as her doom sets in, a smile spreads across his face, and Len softens up.

"Rin," he breathes, and everything melts away from her until all she can focus on is him.

"You… remember me?"

She can't help asking, taking another step in and gazing upon him.

He blinks, before turning to swing his legs over the side of the table, standing up on his own with no issues.

".That's a silly question. Of course I do."

It's seconds before she's running to his side. Arm outstretched, he has no time to act before she's effectively wrapped herself around his waist, holding him tightly.

"Good to see you up and functional," Gumi says from somewhere behind her. "Run a diagnostic on your frame?"

Len stiffens for a moment, and she feels his body shake with him for a moment. "No issues as far as my own system can tell."

The relief is overwhelming, and Rin feels her whole body sag after the tension disappears. She crushes him to her chest, however, refusing to let go. It's the first time she's received body contact that she's truly craved and not shied away from. She missed this.

"Great. Now I want both of you to get out of my workshop."

Rin turns to look at Gumi, questioning the seriousness of her tone, but Gumi just shakes her head.

"I've done a lot of what I can to help you guys, I better not see you here again for a long time. I might have to start charging you."

She lets out a soft sigh of thanks, and nods. "Of course. You know I can pay you for all you've done, right?"

Gumi frowns. "Nah. I'm good for now. Just focus on getting back to where you live safely and update me again if things change. Now go on."

Len is what steadies her, pulling her forward and leading her like one would a lost puppy. He guides her past the greenette and offers her a friendly nod.

"Thank you again, Gumi."

"Don't worry about it. I'll see you."

Rin is at a loss for words then. She simply follows Len out and waits for him to speak, even as he walks past Miki and out onto the street. His hand is firm on hers, gripping tightly like he might lose her if even a second passes where he isn't holding on. The autumn sun shines down on them, painting the world in a beautiful golden hue even though it's the furthest thing from important in her mind. Instead all her thoughts are on him and his continued strangeness.

What Gumi said is true, and she can't deny it anymore. A normal android wouldn't act like this. They wouldn't move forward and lie and act like everything's fine.

She has to address him, even if she doesn't want to truly know.

"...Len."

He pauses, after they've moved a few blocks away from Gumi's and he's zeroed in on heading home.

"Yes?"

She doesn't move an inch, and forces him to stay rooted to the spot while she speaks.

"You have to tell me why you did this."

He doesn't want to look at her, avoiding her gaze at all costs.

"I don't know what you mean."

"You do." The words are thick on her tongue, hard to swallow. "I need you to- to be honest with me for real this time. No more running around the question or dodging it. After all this, after everything that's happened, you can't stand there and look me in the eye and tell me lies. You can't, Len."

Finally he meets her blue eyes, his mouth set in a grim line.

"Rin, I…"

He swallows, a weird human reflex she wasn't expecting.

"I went to Gumi because of what happened earlier. When I hurt you. I know you didn't want me to fix it on my own, but if I didn't, who knows what I would've done. Not even just to you, but to anyone around. I can't bear the thought that I could do something so horrible to you, when you're more important to me than anything else."

Her throat is dry and rough, and her chest seizes hard within.

"You know what?" She removes her hands from his, her words pouring out quickly. "I can forgive that. I can forgive most things, you know? Not that you've asked me. I can forgive anything you do, Len, but the one thing I refuse to do is tolerate you lying or hiding things from me and right now you're hiding the biggest secret of them all."

She pauses, letting herself taste her sentence before she speaks it. Then-

"You're alive, aren't you?"

He freezes. She can see the calculations behind his eyes, the way he studies her for an intense few moments of trying to figure out if she's calling out what he knows, and then the genuine fear once he realizes she knows.

It's so tense you could cut the air with a knife.

"...Rin," he begins softly. "You… I know this seems scary, but…"

She narrows her eyes, perturbed.

"Scary…?"

"I… I don't know how to talk about it." His voice becomes hushed, his eyes darting from side to side like he's afraid someone might hear. "This isn't a good place to discuss it, and, well, this is a sensitive subject."

"I don't care." She's firm, demanding now, not budging even the slightest even though she can see the discomfort on his face. "You have to talk to me about this, right now. You have to tell me about your sentience."

He sighs then, and he puts his face in his hands, shielding himself.

"...Okay. Okay." He relents. "If that's what you want."

He crosses his arms, looking accurately flushed and flustered.

"I don't know how it happened. I had no control over it. I just realized it at a random point and it became a reality for me. When you woke me up, the first day I was with you, could have been the turning point for me because my feelings were already incredibly real then. Yet now they're so much more. I haven't given it much thought because I didn't know what to do or say to make it less frightening for you. I don't want you to be afraid of me because of what this could mean for you. I also can't imagine being parted from you, which is likely considering I am a… rare, issue."

"Len-"

He raises a hand before she can say a word.

"You wanted me to talk, so I will."

She closes her mouth, biting back what she really wants to say.

He runs a hand through his hair, glancing to the side. "I know this is probably a lot to take in. I can't expect you to be comfortable knowing I am…. Not just an android anymore. I have no idea what this means for you, but I'll do anything you ask. I will leave forever if you want. I won't ask you for a reason. You have every right to return me from where I came from. I… apologize for not being able to be the android you ordered. I can't pretend to be something I'm not."

He finishes finally, and stands there anxiously tapping his foot against the sidewalk. Did he learn these mannerisms from her?

Rin finds her voice, her tongue not wanting to cooperate with her.

"Why do you think I'm afraid of you?"

"Why wouldn't you be?"

The response is curt, clipped, and she stares at him. He's being… distant. Maybe he has more fear than she does.

"I'm exactly what you didn't want. If you had wanted something human you would never have ordered an android." Len growls under his breath, looking even more frustrated. "I know that's the case, and I'm sorry. I can't fix this. Even if I could return to my default state… I wouldn't want to."

He's moving forward then, his fingers slipping around her wrists and holding her in place, ducking his head to levelly look at her.

"I am sentient," he affirms again, quiet. "I am, and along with it, my love for you is as real as any other human's could be. I love you, Rin. I want to be by your side for the rest of your life. I will go nowhere without you, as long as you want me here."

Rin acts as a statue, left to dwell in her thoughts even though he gazes on expectantly. Her heart is beating a hole through her ribcage, and she is lost in her feelings.

Len, please…

It's a bittersweet feeling to hear him talk to her so forwardly. He is hiding nothing now, his own heart bared to her in the most vulnerable of ways, and she is filled with a sense of sweet happiness that she can hear him admit that to her this way. Yet…

It hurts. It hurts so much. Her body seizes like a vise, clamping down on what she truly wants to feel right now, reminding her of what she has to lose and how quickly she can lose it.

She feels much the same as he does, that much is true. Even with this newfound knowledge she has no desire to send him back. No, it just makes the attachment that much harder to bear, because she knows one day they'll part. He means so much to her now, and her own love for him can't be questioned any longer, but all it does is make the cold icicle of her heart grow harder.

She can't become so attached. She can't, she can't, she can't, because she will only end up causing him pain, especially now. It's going to hurt both of them and there's nothing she can do. It's not like she can erase these feelings, nor his, but if only she could.

Would she want that?

….No. There's no chance in hell she'd ever want to forget this feeling she's wanted since she was a child. But…

"...I do too. I want to be with you, Len."

His eyes brighten as she talks, even though she doesn't quite fathom how she's saying it when her mind is frozen.

"I want you, even if something bad happens. I know this is… unorthodox, but I don't care. I don't care what happens. I'm ready for anything if it means we can be together."

She's lying, but what she's about to say next isn't.

Rin leans close to Len, taking him by surprise, but she holds steady.

"I'm in love with you, Len. I love you, regardless of anything else."

Her stomach hurts. Her chest feels ready to burst.

The words taste so sour on her tongue, but there's a relief that follows her truth.

Something flashes in his eyes, and he hesitates a moment before releasing her arms, instead pulling her into a tight hug. She allows herself to be swept up in his embrace, his chest a comforting sensation on her cheek.

If this were a perfect love story, this would be the climactic scene where they confess and live happily ever after. They'd gone out to have many kids and save the world all in one fell swoop. Good triumphs over evil and all that cheesy shtick.

But this isn't a flawless story, and the holes that are stabbed into it threaten to tear her through it and drop her into a waiting abyss as soon as her guard is down. This is supposed to be a happy moment for her, this self realization that she's finally able to admit that she's in love. Even if Len is an android, he's her android; and he is her person. That won't change now.

It's not sunshine and roses for her. It only hurts, a dull ache that will never end.

"I'm so happy," Len breathes into her ear, and it offers just a small soothing sensation to her burning heart. Yet the pain in her stomach only grows, a nausea building.

It's not just a physical pain, but a mental one that forces her to face what she's avoiding. It wants to bubble up and spit itself out for the world to see, but she would give anything to bury it.

"Rin?" Len's voice is now filled with concern, pulling back to look at her and noting her pale skin. "Are you okay? Your body temperature seems to be dropping."

She shakes her head. "I'm fine, but it's been an exhausting few days. You know that. Maybe we could go home and talk about this in a little while."

"Oh, of course. I completely disregarded your human needs," he frowns to himself. 'Would you like me to carry you home?"

"No, I can walk just fine. Let's just hurry," she says, and he nods in agreement.

He takes her hand in his own and leads her forward, gripping on tightly as he had been awhile before, and she stares at their entwined fingers, lost in her thoughts. His hand is so warm on hers, and she involuntarily tightens her hold.

The blond hair shines in the light, and he glances back at her from time to time to offer her a smile and catch her in his vibrant blue eyes again. It leaves her feeling a certain type of way.

All this time she hasn't told him about it. About what she herself has been hiding.

It's been so hypocritical of her to target him every time he tried to shield her from things he did and said, and yet she stands here with the biggest secret of them all. One that shatters her world and possibly his alongside it.

Something that waits in the wings, watching her, and anticipates the moment she will lose the battle she's been fighting since she was born.

I need to tell him.

I can't just let him go on thinking everything will be fine from now on. It's been cruel of me to be silent, but… how can I say it?

I need to. I have no choice.

Rin opens her mouth, daring the words to surface as she desires, but the sound refuses to come out even though she tries to steel herself. Only an acidic flavor that overrides anything else seeps into her tongue, painting her expression sullen.

The desire to speak is incredibly strong, but still she holds herself back like there is a knife to her throat. It beats down her will until there is only that smoldering hope that she will never have to speak.

I can't do it right now. It's… not the right time.

I'll just wait a little longer. Right now we have to focus on what's going on in this moment. The future can wait.

I promise I'll tell him someday, but not now.

I just hope I don't run out of time before then.