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He dreams of her. At night when the coldness in his chest sweeps into his limbs. Androids aren't supposed to dream, but then again they aren't supposed to feel either. He curls up wherever he's resting and holds her blindfold tightly in his hand, pressed against his chest, hoping to stop the chill in his veins.
He dreams that she's there with him, telling him to get up so they could run an errand for Anemone. He dreams that her hand is on his shoulder and she's gently shaking him awake with a smile on her face. He dreams of her lips sealed over his and them never having to leave each other's embrace.
He can’t control his dreams but it seems like they control him. So many times he’s woken up midway through his sleep and can see her beside him. He’d blink his blurry eyes, trying to focus on her fuzzy form, and want to cry when all he sees is empty air.
He got into the habit of not blinking when that happens. He forces himself to look at her, scared that the next night she won’t come back and he’ll be alone again. His eyes would stay trained on her for as long as he could before his eyes grew tired and slid shut or he couldn’t take the burning sensation anymore.
He tries to talk to her. She scolded him for lounging around all day, their mission is waiting. She told him to get up and move on but he refuses. Her voice was just like he remembered and he ended up sobbing into his pillow. The now cold and wet pillow was pulled to his chest and he swallowed the painful lump in his throat. It was just another day for him.
He decided to give up on sleeping for a bit when he felt the heartbreak of seeing her over and over again become too much. Now he was getting different auditory and visual hallucinations that oftentimes overran all of his senses. The headache-inducing buzzing static and flashes of color were a small price to pay. He just wished it didn't sound like 2B everyone once in awhile, but it was still better than waking up disappointed to his core.
2B fought to get to him. She fought machines, the landscape, and her own body in an attempt to get to 9S. She was barely holding on, her pod urging her to stay still and recover but she refused. Not when he was out there thinking she was dead.
She tracked down his Black Box signal in a secluded area of the forest. It was a simple shack that she was sure he had simply found. She had been both relieved and concerned when she realized his coordinates never changed. He was always in the same area, and her chest hurt at the idea of him waiting for her.
She didn't hesitate to enter the small hut and immediately saw him on the ground, curled up in a small ball under a blanket. She could tell he hadn't moved in a long time; there was a layer of dust covering his form. She looked towards the corner and saw his pod in a state of forced hibernation. Had he really been alone all this time?
Her eyes stung with tears that she refused to let fall. She knelt beside him and stared at his peaceful face as he slept. She had a split second instinct to not wake him up, but that wasn't an option for her right now.
Her hand reached out and gently made contact with his shoulder. She carefully shook him and called out to him.
“Nines.” She murmured, happy she could finally use his nickname without it hurting either or them.
It took a moment, but his eyelids cracked up and they moved up to looked at her. His eyes were hazy, and his pupils were trained on her. And he didn’t look surprised to see her, which surprised her. She noticed how tired he looked, deep dark bags rested under his eyes, almost looking like bruising on his artificial skin.
“You’re back.” He said dreamily and it was worrying how he was acting.
“I’m back Nines.” She hesitantly confirmed and he smiled up at her. A bittersweet smile that wavered at the corner. When he made no move to do anything else, she brought her hand to his forehead to see if his body was overheating. Something had to be wrong.
He leaned into her touch and looked so content in the moment. His eyes were almost shut and his smile seemed more real. Her own lips couldn’t help but stretch into a smile. But what he said next shattered her heart.
“I haven’t been sleeping lately. Because it hurts whenever I get to see you, but you don’t stay.” He whispers the words and she put two and two together. She leans down and brings her hands to his cheeks. She cups his face and touches their foreheads together.
“I’m really here now. You have to wake up.” She couldn’t handle the fact that he had dreamt of her and from how he said it, it seemed he had done it often. He looked up at her in awe but his eyes stayed clouded over.
“Of course you are...I don’t want this dream to end just yet.” He breathed and touched one of her hands on his face. He sighed softly and nuzzled his cheek against her skin. She felt a strange combination of an aching in her chest and a warmth that filled her.
She realized he wasn't going to believe her unless she did something he couldn't ever dream about. Her thumb absentmindedly swiped over his bottom lip and she thought about giving into one of her own long-felt desires. She sucked in a nervous breath and steeled her resolve. She knew he couldn't have shared her feelings, she had been so cold towards him to make sure he didn't.
2B leaned forward and firmly pressed their lips together. She almost moaned at how well they molded together. 9S made a soft sound in the back of his throat and she halfway hoped he’d take a moment to wake up.
She hadn’t been expecting him to kiss her back, his lips soft and gentle against hers. Her mind swam with pleasure as he continued his ministrations. It took her a moment to realize that he was still thinking he was dreaming and it made her heart soar with the knowledge that he had dreamt about this before. That he felt the same.
She pulled back and almost laughed at the small whine of displeasure he let out. He still was out of it but it seemed less urgent now.
“Scoot over.” She ordered softly and he sluggishly did as he was told. She slid under the sheets and wrapped her arms around his frame. He snaked his arm around her waist and curled up against her. His head was on her chest and she could tell he had already slipped into sleep mode again, which she soon followed suit.
Surprisingly, she had woken up after him. He had been the reason she had woken up as well. Her eyes had bolted open at the sound of whimpering from the scanner and she shot up. She almost bashed their heads together before she stopped herself just shy. He was in her lap, a hand clasped over his mouth, and tears streaming down his face.
"You're real." He said in awe and she touched his wet cheeks. 2B then pressed her lips against his eyelids and all over his face. Whispering over and over again "I'm here. I'm real. I'm not going anywhere." He cried harder, but the way his eyes looked at her, she could tell it was out of relief.
She eventually pulled him into an embrace and he buried his face in the crook of her neck. She felt the hot tears soak into her clothes but didn't care. All that mattered was the boy in her arms.
It took him awhile before he pulled back and looked into her eyes. He smiled at her and then he cast his eyes down with a sheepish look on his face.
“Was last night a dream or…?” He trailed off and she smirked.
“Depends. Does this feel familiar?” She teased and brought their lips together. He let out a surprised gasp before pressing himself insistently against her.
When they pulled away, his face was red and his smile was wide.
“It’s even better than I imagined.” He sighed happily and leaned in for another kiss.