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AE-3803 was walking down the street, pushing a cart of oxygen in front of her, humming contentedly to herself. It had been a good couple of days, she’d only gotten lost a few times, and she hadn’t been chased by any germs in almost a week! Her senpai had taken notice as well, and complimented her on finally getting herself together. AE-3803 walked with a bounce in her step, but she kept looking around as she walked, hoping for a splotch of white to catch her eye.
Red Blood Cell shook her head at herself, slapping her cheeks a couple times, trying to will away the heat as she went back to her task. She had been thinking about White Blood Cell so much recently, she didn’t know what to do! She knew she liked the neutrophil, it was hard to deny that, but she was sad because she hadn’t seen him for the past few days.
She stopped in her tracks when she turned a corner, her eyes going wide at what she saw.
“Wh-White Blood Cell?” she said, cocking her head to the side as she took in his form. He was seated on a bench, his arms folded across his chest and head hung limply forward. She was mildly alarmed at his slumped posture, and rushed over to check on him, letting out a sigh of relief when she saw his shoulders rise and fall. Oh, he was sleeping. She put a hand over her chest, hoping to calm her racing heartbeat, relief washing over her as she knelt in front of him, looking up at his handsome, sleeping face.
She realized that she’d never seen him like this, and she was fascinated. His one visible eye was gently closed, his expression relaxed as he slowly breathed in and out. AE-3803 always thought the neutrophil was handsome, even his oh so common “kill” face, but she’d never seen him like this before. She’d seen him relaxed, sure, even mildly pleased on the occasion they were sharing some tea. Normally, he either had a blank or serious expression, but, this was different. It felt so strange, seeing him so calm and at ease, but she savored every moment, not knowing when or if she’d be able to see him like this again. She felt as if she was entranced, her eyes soaking in every detail now that she didn’t have to fear being caught staring.
She loved every feature. She loved his strong jaw, sharp enough to cut just as easily as his knives. She loved his lips, which were normally pulled downwards, but now were slightly parted as he breathed out. She loved his nose, smiling to herself as it twitched every so often in his sleep. She wondered what he was dreaming about; she hopped it was about something nice. Her eyes traveled up his nose and to his eyes, and realized that she’d never seen his eyebrows before; what a strange thing to notice. She wondered, did he even have eyebrows? If he did, were they thick, or thin? Were they dark in contrast to his skin, or white like the rest of him? She’d find him handsome either way. Maybe they were dark, like his lashes. She realized that he had such long, dark lashes, hidden against the darkness that seemed to encompass his eye. Perhaps it was because of the shade from his hat, but the areas around his eye were always so dark. She didn’t mind it, though. She liked how his eyes stood out, or eye, rather. His hair hid his right eye, and grazed the skin of his cheek bone. The sunlight from above shone brightly on his messy white hair, illuminating the white strands. It looked so soft…
Without even thinking, she reached a hand up, but managed to stop herself before she could touch him, her breath catching as she realized his eye had opened.
What was she doing? Was she just about to touch him? That was weird! What was she thinking!?
“Red Blood Cell?” he asked, his hand coming up to gently wrap around her wrist.
“I-I’m sorry!” she squeaked out, her face turning red with embarrassment. “I-I don’t know wh-what I was thinking! Please forgive me!” she rambled, her face so hot she felt as if she was letting out steam.
“What are you doing?” he asked, sounding merely curious and confused, but thankfully not angry.
“I-I was just,” she stammered, trying to explain herself to the other cell. “Y-you were sleeping, a-and I w-was concerned! B-but of course, y-you were fine, a-and I didn’t want to disturb you! Y-you looked so peaceful, a-and I just, I-“ she gulped, unsure of what else to say, unsure if she should say anything else. He was so close, she couldn’t think! “You, y-you looked, n-nice,” she whispered, getting lost in his dark gaze.
“Nice?” he repeated, his eye widening a little bit as a little pink coloured his cheek.
“M-mm,” she nodded, finally averting her gaze to the floor. “A-anyways, I-I’m sorry to have bothered your nap! You were tired, a-and I shouldn’t have-“
“It’s fine,” White Blood Cell said, carefully letting go of her wrist. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Oh, mm,” she hummed, putting her hands in her lap as she nervously bit her lip. “Ah-I” she began, but her breath caught in her throat when she felt a gloved hand slide up to cup her cheek. She looked up to see White Blood Cell looking down at her, an unreadable expression on his face. She held her breath as his eye seemed to travel over her, taking in every feature. AE-3803 felt self conscious all of the sudden, having 100% of White Blood Cell’s attention on her, but she couldn’t bring herself to stop it, even as so much blood rushed to her head that she felt dizzy. His thumb came up to gently stroke her cheek, making her breath catch one more as his hand traveled down to grasp her chin.
“Red Blood Cell,” he said, before being cut off by the sound of his radio crackling to life. AE-3803 lurched back as White Blood Cell straightened up, fumbling to grab his radio and answer it.
“U-1146, come in!” a voice spoke. “We need you right away in the right hand!”
“C-coming,” he answered, his voice breaking slightly before he cleared his throat, “I’m on my way.” He pocketed his radio and got up, looking ready to take off before he paused and turned to AE-3803, tipping his hat to her. “I’ll see you, Red Blood Cell.”
“R-right!” she squeaked, nodding her head as she watched him turn and take off. Once he was out of sight, she shakily got to her feet, her knees protesting from the prolonged pressure as she stood up. She grabbed the handle of her cart and continued on her route, trying not to shake as her heart pounded in her chest. “See ya...”