#meitio

Ratio still as if this was an unsuitable look for her. She did appear unbothered, especially given as they were both completely naked quite literally moments ago, but he still felt as if it was wrong to leave her in such a state. Ruan Mei probably didn’t even notice. Or care, for that matter. Regardless of what the case may be, he got up from the edge of the bed to help fix her robe.

"Are you making any progress on your studies?" Ratio asked.

"From observations made at a glance, it seems as if you are quite healthy and fertile," Ruan Mei said, sitting back from the microscope and jotting down a few notes. "While you are here, I would like to ask a small favor of you."

"Hm?"

"Your arm. Hold it out."

Ratio complied with her request without a second thought. She pressed her fingers against his wrist and recorded notes with her free hand, likely his pulse from what Ratio could catch a glimpse of. When she was finished, she held his arm out firmly, grabbed a syringe, and jammed it into his vein without a warning. Ratio winced slightly, though he very much knew that it was all a key part of Ruan Mei’s research.

She filled a vial up with his blood before securely taping a gauze pad over the bleeding area. Ratio rubbed his hand on the sore spot and flinched at the sting of pain that shot up his arm. A bit of a nuisance for him, but a small willing sacrifice he was willing to make for her.

"I would advise you to sit down," she said, "I drew more than the first time, and you are bound to become very dizzy within a few short moments."

"Understandable, but if I may ask,” he said, gently sliding her robe back onto her shoulders and around her body, "why do you require so much blood of me?"

"To accurately test your hormone levels," Ruan Mei clarified, "I have vials of both yours and mine, before and after, to give me an insight to the changes our bodies have underwent."

Ratio was starting to feel his body lose strength, so he leaned forward on her chair to steady himself. He noticed the vials of blood standing up on the desk, two marked with Ruan Meis name and two marked with his.

"Are there any other tests that you need to conduct on me for the time being?" Ratio offered, "I am at your service as your Guinea pig, after all."

"Not necessarily objective tests, but an insight into your emotional state would aid me greatly."

"Most interesting, as emotions are more often considered subjective rather than objective in the field of science."

"Emotional perception of a situation has their biases, but as those are caused by chemical reactions within the brain itself, there is no denying their presence. Thus, they are as important to consider as any other variable.”

Ruan Mei glanced over at a stack of notebooks shoved towards the back of her desk. Laying on the top and against the sides of the stack were photographs documenting a multitude of creatures with an apparent gelatinous consistency. Or “snacks,” as they have been dubbed. Though these “snacks” were an example of successfully created artificial lifeforms, Ruan Mei has considered their existence as an ultimate failure.

They were alive. They were breathing. They were conscious. Yet Ruan Mei still felt as if something was missing from their “recipe”. With the assistance of the Trailblazer, she observed that these creations were only capable of feeling a singular, static emotion, an explanation as to why some of them did nothing but cry or scoff, for example.

"You make a compelling statement," Ratio said.

He thought carefully about his next words. There was the physical feeling of Ruan Mei's body that still lingered strongly in his mind, but he believed that she was referring more to his emotional perspective on the ordeal. Curiously enough, the physical feeling of her and his emotional perspective seemed to go hand in hand. The softness of Ruan Mei's skin bought Ratio a great sense of comfort and ease, and being able to gaze upon the bare human body bought him the strangest sense of trust happiness.

This was supposed to be a simple act of assistance for Ruan Mei’s research. Why was sexual intimacy something that he would be more than happy to provide her with again? And why did he only consider such acts with her in particular?

As his body grew even more tired, he subconsciously leaned in closer to Ruan Mei.

"And if you can equate these feelings to sensations, that would be most welcome," she continued.

"Hmm…while in the midst of our act, I felt a certain…pleasure, as one may refer to it as. The softness and closeness of your body bought me great joy, and I felt as if I could trust you with my defenseless flesh.”

Ruan Mei tapped her pen on the desk, listening intently. "Interesting. Do go on."

"If I may add, I would love to experience it you again."

"And how are you feeling right now?"

"...Tired, but still glad that I was able to assist you in some way.”

Ruan Mei tapped her pen on her chin as she jotted down more notes and scanned over her results. Enjoyment of the experiment. A willingness to further participate in sexual activities with her. Most interesting.

Dr Ratio noticed the thoughtfulness in her gestures and expressions.

"Is something perhaps abnormal?" he questioned.

"Not in the context of plausible human emotion, but I am more curious about the significance of what your responses mean for you personally."

He suddenly felt himself become nervous.

"Do elaborate," he said.

"A strong attachment and an eagerness to continue with such intimacy… I do not believe that these feelings in question are part of… routine procedures."

"Well, how did you feel about it yourself?"

"Similar to how you described it. It was as if you were putting my feelings into more concise words. Like..."

Ruan Mei’s voice trailed off. She was beginning to understand what emotions were brewing within her, but the sensation was so new to her that proper words were not yet feasible.

"Like a feeling of not wanting to be separated?"

Ruan Mei nodded her head. Distracted by these thoughts brewing in her mind, she had completely stopped writing in her notebook.

"Yes, that is… precisely what it is," she said.

"Strong feelings of attraction are typically associated with romantic emotions," Ratio noted.

"Is...that so?" Ruan Mei asked, her thoughts finally clicking into place.

"This complex mix of emotions...It’s a part of being a living, breathing human individual."

Complex mix of emotions...Ruan Mei had one solution as to why her experiments didn’t quite net her desirable results. They were lacking a variety of emotions that set conscious creatures apart from entities that merely existed and breathed. A lack of a multiplex conscious, if one may specify.

With one answered question arose many more, and Ruan Mei’s newfound problem was the extent of her feelings.

"Ratio, are you possibly suggesting that..."

"Normally, such feelings are concluded before acts of sexual intimacy, at least to my understanding. If they are indeed mutual between the two of us, then perhaps our little experiment has yielded some rather unexpected results."

"If what you said holds some truth to it," Ruan Mei said, "perhaps...a quick study to determine how true?"

"By doing what, exactly?"

"Just...rest your head on my shoulder for a brief moment," she requested.

Ratio, becoming more deprived of energy by the minute, did as she asked of him and shifted his body weight forward, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Well?" he asked, "how does it feel?"

"It’s...quite nice," Ruan Mei said, gently stroking his hair. "And as for you?"

"Seconded."

"If you agree, then I suppose we have reached one surprising conclusion today."

"If you seek further supporting evidence, I can take you on an excursion often referred to as a date," Ratio offered.

"That would be most...lovely, actually. But not before you rest up. You have just had a significant amount of blood drawn, not to mention the exhaustion is typical among males."

"Noted..." Ratio said, clearly feeling the exhaustion in question.

Ruan Mei slid out of her chair, making sure Ratio was steady enough to not collapse. She swung his muscular arm around her shoulders, and tilted his body weight towards her.