Chapter Text
Ever since 5 had been gone, 9 found it harder for himself to fall asleep. And it wasn’t just because of former’s unjust death, the alleged “savior” stitchpunk still blamed himself for unleashing the horrors upon all of his friends, both deceased and alive. He wished he could move on as the twins or 7 did for example, but- he just.. somehow couldn’t. During those dark, silent nights, where the rest of his small family was sleeping and only the moon kept him company, he often found himself pondering all the nice moments him and 5 especially shared together. Which in retrospect, weren’t many at all. Oh, how he wished they shared at least one final moment more..
***
The nighttime was coming quick and after another whole day spent on scavenging, the group felt pretty tired, so they collectively decided on (quite literally) calling it a day a little sooner than usual. And though 7 was usually the one to guard, “just in case” as she said when 9 asked her about it one time, he managed to switch up the roles with her, even if just for today. He was actually kinda surprised on how she didn’t insist on taking her usual shift. Turns out even the fiercest of warriors sometimes feel pretty darn tired.
Holding the piece of fabric that covered the entrance to their temporary home, 9 let 3 and 4 inside. The home itself wasn’t much of a deal, and looked more like a poorly constructed tent than anything in particular, but it did its job. Brown stitchpunk caught himself with a bitter smile upon realizing that-
"5 would do it better, wouldn’t he?"
Hearing a familiar voice, 9 turned his head towards it, and just as he thought, he saw 7. With her supportive smile and motherly attitude she always made him feel better whenever he fell into one of these regretful states. Luckily, it wasn’t a case now, as he felt he just.. simply missed his best friend.
"Oh, he would.." 9 replied after a while, still bearing the slight smile - I imagine he’d make a whole system for the door opening, or like, those kinda beds on the base of ropes, hung above the ground..
"The hammocks?" - 7 caught on quickly.
"Yes, exactly! He was always just so bound on making things better.."
"That’s the whole Five!" - pale stitchpunk smiled warmly and put her hand on the other one’s shoulder- He would be very proud seeing you follow in his footsteps.
Nine returned the smile, feeling a tiny bit better after warrior’s remark. In any case 5 sees what his friend is doing from up there.. then he must be strong for him. Making sure he is just as helpful as 5 was, was the thing that indeed kept the survivor stitchpunk together.
"Thank you Seven."
"Don’t overwork yourself there, alright? Take the shift easy."
And just like that, after exchanging all the “good night's” and “sleep tight’s” with both 3, 4 and 7, Nine snuck out from underneath the fabric exit into the warm, summer night. It was rather fortunate they became stranded at this time of year. He wasn’t so sure about how they’d survive in colder, rainy seasons, having no roof above their heads nor the ability to sew.
But the truth was, the stitchpunks were all really good learners, or at the very least - improvisers. For instance, Three’s and Four’s knowledge became especially crucial fairly recently, where the group had to take up the task of house-building. They indirectly knew, well.. almost everything! Being the youngest of the family, but also the most curious, they documented both human and their own kind’s inventions in great detail. And Seven… 9 took a moment to find a comfortable position to sit in, before dwelling in thoughts again.
Seven was the one that made the most powerful impression on him as a newbie, well, besides Five of course. She was strong, both in body and character and even still, she was able to turn into her soft, caring self once off-duty and around those she loved. Without a doubt, she was a great friend and a person of invaluable help. Surrounded by such bright and talented individuals sometimes made 9 feel like.. just a guy. But whenever that thought appeared, simple yet noticeable font on the halfway scribbled up paper of his mind, there always appeared another, right after it. Like on a typewriter machine. And it said: “well if you’re just a guy, so be it! you wouldn’t earn so many good friends being any other way”.
***
The hours passed and soon enough the stars came out on the firmament. The shift itself, being the first of 9’s was going surprisingly smoothly. In fact, it seemed to do his worried mind well, allowing it to rest in almost perfect silence, occasionally focusing on the nature’s dazzling miracle: the midnight sky. Though, as luck had it, it wasn’t meant for him to stay relaxed forever. The calm of the moment started to rub off on him, making him awfully drowsy for a guy with sleeping problems. What’s worse, nearing the end of his guarding time, for about a past hour or so, he started feeling a little uneasy. A weird feeling, this sense of being watched became more and more present as the time passed, and the worst thing yet was that no matter how hard he tried, Nine couldn’t possibly see the one observing him. And just about when he was to disregard this weird feeling as a side effect of sleepiness, he heard it. The voice of a watcher.
"I can see you dozing off. Go back inside."
The voice was raspy and somewhat deep and it made 9 a little uncomfortable. Or maybe it was the fact that even with a knowledge of where it was coming from, he still couldn’t see the source? Well, one thing’s for certain, it really woke him up now. With a freshly regained consciousness, he tried focusing harder, squeezing his optics in a very 1-like manner, but even this technique turned out fruitless. And the observant seemed to know it just as well.
"I won’t tell you where I am, it would blew the whole point of me staying hidden, now would it?"
"Well, can you at least tell me who are you?"
9 charged back, a little tense. He found the stranger’s behavior quite rude and… unnerving to say the least. But they didn’t seem very keen on causing harm either, so he decided he’ll deal with them himself.
"An ally. Think of me as an invisible helper. A remedy to your earthbound worries… or something."
A few long seconds of silence passed until the voice spoke again.
"Go on, go back inside."
"But- what’s your deal in it?" 9 kept his guard, untiringly. Or at least at the very surface… the vision of laying down on his rug-bed was very appealing right now.
"Well, I’ve been watching you for a past hour and I think you’d agree I’m competent at it. Plus you’re still in one piece. And we are having a nice chat. Machines aren’t so patient, nor chatty, at least in my experience"
" I- " Nine raised his finger in an attempt to discuss the matter further, but at this point it rarely had any sense.
However, despite the entirety of this encounter being very abstract, whoever that spying person was, their arguments weren’t that senseless at all. Though mysterious and a little bit creepy, they made an impression of someone good-intentioned.
"Just… promise you won’t hurt them, alright?" 9 said, grabbing the entrance cloth, while still (as he hoped) facing the voice.
"You have my promise." the voice responded, even with a little hint of warmth in its tone, which made the stitchpunk remind himself the way Seven reassured him and the youngsters.
Nodding slowly, partly as a form of goodbye and partly to make it known he understands, Nine backed out back to the tent, and from there - onto the bed sheets.
He didn’t fall asleep immediately though. Laying down on his back, he still guarded, still listened. “Just in case”, 7’s words slipped through his mind. But nothing out of usual happened, just the sounds of his friends breathing and an occasional can or some other scrap of metal made its familiar sound, scurried forward by the slight wind.
And the stranger kept watching until sunrise.