Time still passes, despite everything.
Len, for the first time, is the one who wishes that it would stop.
It's been hard enough standing by while Rin is hospital bound, but after he had caught her in her apartment, she'd lost all desire to leave. He had been worried she'd try to run away again, but it's like her will had disappeared. It's quite worse, because all it implies is that Rin is giving up.
He shouldn't let himself think that way, but there aren't a lot of things he can say or do to change the truth. The last thing he had wanted to see was Rin becoming frailer and weaker with each day. There also isn't a trace of family here to see her, anyone she could be related to either not close with her, or not caring in the first place.
Luckily, though, in place of family to visit her, she has good friends. It took her some time to tell everyone about her condition, but as she did, they poured in.
"I still remember the first time you came to work for me," Bruno's booming voice echoes through the room. His cheerful, amusing disposition brings an air of calm light along with it. Though, if he could stop rehashing the same stories over and over, his visit would be more pleasant.
"What a bright young woman!" The muscular man continues as if he has nothing better to do, grinning ear to ear. "I was stunned by your work ethic! 'What a gal, she moves faster than I did at that age!' I just knew you were gonna be a great fit at my booth."
Rin rolls her eyes at this, and Len's sure if she could, she'd hop out of bed and walk out to give herself the chance to not have her ear talked off.
"Please, Bruno," she begs. "I've heard this story a thousand times."
"I know, but I just don't get tired of telling it," he laughs heartily, shuffling Rin's hair with his big hand and making her groan.
Len recognizes Bruno's blatant attempt to lighten the mood, the effort completely transparent in nature. He's thankful for it, however. Anything to give Rin a little peace of mind.
"I've graduated to a permanent storefront now, I'll have you know," Bruno grins. "When you get outta here, I expect you to come work for me full time." He looks at Len pointedly. "That includes you, bud."
Len only smiles in response, which encourages the man to go on another business related tirade. It's only when a nurse enters the room and lets them know there is another guess waiting does the burly man prepare to leave.
Leaning over the bedridden woman, he kisses her cheek. Rin doesn't seem to mind, though is taken aback.
"I'll be back again before ya know it," Bruno says brightly, before walking out with Len in tow.
Outside Rin's room, his expression drops quickly. A shadow overtakes him. His fatherly bond with Rin disappears, replaced with apprehension. A despondence emanates from him.
Humans confuse me, Len thinks to himself. They cannot be honest with their feelings. An android is direct and has no need for 'beating around the bush', as they say.
I too, am honest about myself. My code forces me to be so.
It feels a bit hollow to say.
Just as always, Bruno turns to him and claps a hand upon his shoulder, masking his feelings with an impermanent smile. It raises the question of why once again.
"Keep taking care of her," is all he says before departing.
The next to visit is Gumi, with Miki along for the trip.
The green-haired mechanic is a bit less enthusiastic about her visit, not able to tear herself away from work until just today, resulting in her looking a bit worn out. Gumi's friendship with Rin isn't as close, yet they still share a small bond after what they went through, when Len's software failed.
He doesn't like to recall that day.
Gumi spends time detailing the current trend of androids, which Rin always listens to as if it's the most interesting thing in the world, a fascination in it he had never seen in her before. It fills the silence, and avoids the current situation for a little bit.
Yet it always comes back to haunt them.
"If you need me to bring anything along next time, let me know," Gumi offers, as her visit is wrapping up and the day grows later. "You should call me now and then so I can keep up with Len's maintenance."
"I will," Rin replies, and Gumi gives her a sharp look.
"I'm serious," Gumi reiterates, not at all so even if she tries. "I want to make sure you're both kept up."
It's a subtle, hidden prod to get Rin to talk, but the blonde simply nods.
There's a beat of silence as Gumi gathers her thoughts.
"...I apologize for not being able to do more for you, Rin," she finally says. "My expertise lies in androids and not fixing humans, though I wish I could do that for you."
Rin, surprised, pauses a moment.
"...I appreciate it," she eventually says. "But I don't think dwelling on it will help."
"Right." Gumi sighs. "I'm not good at this."
Rin's smile falters a bit, a telltale sign that she wishes to say more, but she doesn't.
As Gumi begins to head for the exit door, Rin calls out, surprising even Len for a moment.
"Hey, Gumi?" she says lightly. "Thank you. For everything."
The green-haired woman stops and looks at Len. It's as if she tries to communicate something in her emerald gaze, but it's lost on him.
"...Anytime," she replies curtly, before disappearing.
After her departure, an hour passes with just the drone of the television acting as company. Len sits at Rin's side ceaselessly, holding her hand tight in his own.
It feels so cold and weak.
The final guest of the day doesn't take long to show her face. Coming through Rin's door with a frown, Miku greets the room with a sigh..
"You truly are a fool," is the first thing she says as she approaches Rin's bed side. Her teal hair is up in a high ponytail, an unusual change from her favorite pigtail look. The woman's normally bright red cheeks are drained of color, dark bags beginning to form under her eyes. She looks haggard, as if she's been awake for several days, though she's dressed top to bottom in bright colored lolita gear.
"Hey, Miku," Rin says in response, offering her friend a smile. It doesn't assuage her in the slightest.
"What were you thinking?" Miku berates her. "You've been hiding your illness all this time, pretending like it hasn't been affecting you. You lied to your friends, to Len, you even lied to me. Why didn't you say anything?"
Rin shrinks against the pillow as Miku leans over in frustration. Len takes a step closer, to intervene, but the blonde holds up a hand to stay him.
The bubbling emotions coming from the tealette have been a long time coming, it seems. Len himself is shocked by the amount of anger in her voice.
"I didn't want you to worry," Rin begins, but Miku laughs, a harsh sound that makes the room feel too small to contain her.
"Worry? You made me sick with worry. You told me that you were getting better, that you felt fine. Yet here you are. What part of this is better?"
"I needed time to think about how to handle it."
"Is this what you consider handling it?"
"I'm doing better than most, aren't I?"
"That's not the point!"
Rin's own emotions come out to play in that moment. She sits up straighter, her blue eyes meeting Miku's.
"I don't want your pity, Miku. I just needed my friend, not someone to feel bad for me.."
There's a hushed silence for a moment, as Miku processes her words with a confused, uncertain expression. It looks as if Rin wishes she had swallowed them.
"Miku, look, I…"
"...You think this is pity?"
This time, Miku's entire body radiates cold composure. She glares at Rin with a hundred emotions hidden in her eyes.
"After all this time, you think it's only pity? You've always been my best friend. What the hell did you expect me to do? I've always tried to be there for you, but you always wanted to be strong. Well, guess what? Be strong, then! Stop pitying yourself! I- I can't-"
She chokes, then, and when Rin reaches out to her, she backs up, grimacing.
"No. I'm not going to sit here and watch you fade away."
Spinning on her heel, Miku darts out of the room. Len, in a moment of compassion, doesn't need to look at Rin to know what she's about to say.
He quickly follows after the tealette, his chest feeling funny after Miku's outbursts. There's a sense that she's right, and her emotions feel too real and understandable to be ignored. It resounds within him, too, though he doesn't understand why. Miku has always seemed more dramatic than others, and this is no different… Isn't it?
Isn't it?
Chasing after her, he doesn't have far to go. Only a few feet out the door, and he nearly runs right into her. She's stood stock-still in the center of the hall, her hands balled into fists at her sides, staring at something in front of her.
"You…" He hears her say in disbelief.
Len cranes his neck around her to see, and immediately freezes as well.
A man looms before them, holding a bouquet of blue flowers in hand. Dressed in a pair of flare jeans and a baggy sweatshirt, the person tries to smile at them, though it's more menacing than pleasant.
Mikuo.
Flaring rage, red hot, immediately cuts through Len. His vision is immediately impaired by his ferocity to rip the tealet to shreds. Just the sight of him is enough to override every good sense in his body.
"How dare you come here!" Len's voice rings out, violent and full of malice. He takes a step forward threateningly, almost overtaking Miku in an instant. "Leave!"
"Hey, listen," Mikuo begins, cringing. "I can explain why I-"
He doesn't get the chance.
Faster than Len can comprehend, the woman by his side lurches forward, immediately pulling back her arm and slamming her fist directly into her brother's cheek. The action sends Mikuo sprawling to the floor, the bouquet he had been holding scattering petals across the sterile tile floor.
Miku, chest heaving with her unmatched rage, glowers down at him. There's no trace of endearment left in her body. It's then Len realizes that this must be the first time she's seen her twin since she heard what he did to Rin.
In this moment, his respect for her grows immensely.
"You fucking asshole," Miku spits venomously. "You don't deserve to be here. You don't deserve Rin's forgiveness, Len's forgiveness, or mine. You aren't worth the ground you walk on. I can't believe someone so horrible is related to me- but that changes today. You are no longer my brother."
Mikuo begins to sputter on the ground, scrambling to rise, but her gaze pins him in place.
"But, Miku, you don't know what I-" he chokes out, and she cackles angrily.
"I know what you've done. There will never be enough rings in hell for you to suffer through for it," she screams. "Security! Someone, please, get this man out of here right now!"
"Wait! Wait a minute! Please!"
As security comes running to their aid, he keeps trying to sob and beg his way to his sister's mercy, but she is unrelenting. Finally he's dragged away, and the hallway resumes its peace.
Len, who had just decided to let Miku handle the situation, finally takes a moment to approach her. Her shoulders are trembling, and she's staring holes into the ground as if searching for answers there.
"Are you… alright?" he asks tentatively.
A weird, shaky smile appears over her lips, and when she looks up at him, her eyes are filled with tears.
"No," she groans, as wet trails begin to run down her cheeks. "Do I look like I'm alright? I just screamed at my dying friend, Len, and cut my brother out of my life. None of this is alright."
She presses the palms of her hands into her eyes, taking heaving breaths. He offers his arm, and she takes it, dragging him into a hug he isn't prepared for. He gingerly pats her back, not sure what to say.
"Len," Miku whispers through hiccups.
"I don't want to see Rin die."
In that moment, something fractures within Len. An unseen wall keeping himself together cracks apart, shattering beneath the weight of what's happening.
Rin is going to die.
It's something all humans do- but this is his human. His beloved. The one person in this entire world who understands Len in his entirety, and has been by his side since the day he woke up.
Rin, who has smiled through every obstacle, and is currently going through the worst of it. She's been acting like nothing bothers her, and he knows the truth. What Len didn't realize, however, is how it's affecting him.
The only woman in the world for him is about to die, and there is nothing he can do.
There will never be enough time in the world for him to tell her how much he loves her. There will never be a 'future' between them. Anything he doesn't know about her now will be gone along with her. Every second that passes is one less with her in it.
A feeling of despair unlike any Len has been through before opens up within him.
Miku pulls away from him, a confused look on her wet face.
"Len… are you alright?"
Almost afraid to know what's happening in case it's another malfunction, he reaches up to touch his cheeks with both hands, drawing them away in disbelief.
Very real, unstoppable tears of his own are pouring down his face like a flood. He is dumbfounded as he gazes at Miku, lips slightly parted. It's as if all the grief in the world has struck him at once. The gravity of their situation has become all too real.
"I… I don't know," Len says in horror, growing more unstable by the minute. His blue eyes pierce through Miku. "I don't know what I'm… I'm feeling right now."
No. That's a lie.
He knows all too well what this is- a sense of mourning.
Miku suddenly hugs him again, and it's strangely comforting, as if she's trying to help him. It's not nearly enough to rid him of this pit growing inside him, but he doesn't know how else to handle it.
So this is what it's like to face your reality, isn't it?
And for Len, there's only one truth lying right in front of him;
Rin may not be here tomorrow.