#ncnesse

          “i look tense?” oh. no22 is very perceptive. ( all gunners are manufactured with a keen gaze for details, of course, but most utilise it best with their eyes on targets. no22... sometimes it feels like he looks directly into the heart instead. if they have such things. ) 9 feels lighter when he moves to 22′s side. he positions himself so their arms will brush as they walk: grounding himself with touch and familiarity.           “of course! though... there’s not much to see around here.” just wasteland, rocks, dirt, the colour brown tarnishing the view as far as the eye can see. maybe one day, they can walk beyond it all: far, far away to the gentle crash of the ocean waves and blue stretching into infinity. another dream to tuck away. “and you aren’t allowed to walk too far! healer’s orders! that leg of yours won’t get better unless you rest up.” his pout’s out in full force now; he’s stern as he wags a finger at his teammate. silly no22, pushing himself just to make 9 feel better.           “we’ll just walk as far as that big rock, okay? then we’ll sit and rest.”

          “hey, hey! easy,” zack protests, hands lifted as if to ward off curious fingers. he never quite gets around to making the kid stop, though. it feels mean. zack resigns himself to it; no harm is being done, he supposes. the guy’s just poking at his arms. ( he’d expect the touches to feel barely-there, coming from someone so small in stature. instead, there is the suggestion of force about it — as if he could hurt if he really wanted to. )          “d’you usually greet people like this?” 

“You’re me! Scanner model 9S! Oh my! Are you enjoying your existence? Because I do. Most of the time. Sometimes I-” Could you give a model that was exactly the same as yours the so called “TMI”? Probably, so he paused, and waved it off. “Nevermind! What’s that thing! Could you find out? I came back with a secondary battery that might work with it!”

          it’s a beautiful, delicate thing: carefully woven bands of colour in shades profoundly appealing to zack’s eyes. it matches the pictures in the tattered old books he’s pored over, starved for comprehension of the human society he misses without ever having known. though 9s seems just as enamoured with human culture as zack, his willingness to partake in it like this is a sweet, poignant thing.           “so that means i’m special to you?” there’s a warm, bubbly feeling in his chest as he accepts the gift, secures it ‘round his wrist like a physical reminder of their friendship. would it be inappropriate to hug 9s? possibly. he doesn’t know how androids react to things like that. the instinct to be soft lingers though, so he rests a hand on the other’s shoulder. “this is --- i mean. i really like it. thank you.”           ( how is it that someone crafted of parts and programmed personality traits feels like a living remembrance of humanity? ) 

LKSMFLDNG YES. 9S, watching zack do perfectly normal things: WOW, HUMANS ARE FASCINATING 

          U KNOW IM DOWN. hmmmmm zack coming to see 9s as his family,,, like a brother figure. who needs to meet other humans when you have your android to be your best friend and keep you company. ksfncgn they’re adorable.           and! you’re welcome to send 22 our way anytime! another soft android for zack to unreservedly stan. bless. 

          “oh? you found a book?” what a strange place to come across one, tucked away in a chest in the desert lands beyond the city. zack skids cautiously down a sand dune, halting just in time to peer over 9s’s shoulder at the cover.                 it’s --- oh. oh, no.          “uh, maybe we should just leave that book here?” who’s been burying their porn stash in the desert? they’ve got nice taste, whoever they are, but zack is currently far more interested in protecting 9s’s innocent eyes. “it, uh. it’s probably important to someone! we shouldn’t take it! hey, don’t open that page---!”