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A short, light-blue integer lowered the mic down to her and her synthesiser, taking a deep breath. She moved her headphones off the keys, laying them on the floor, and looked at her buddy. The light-gray companion of hers, wearing a snapback they had reversed and their favourite pair of sunglasses (or rather, their term, “sunnies”) prepared themself as well to play. He held his drum sticks in one hand and placed their own microphone in its stand with the other.
“You ready?” The girl asked, placing her hands onto where she planned to play. Her friend smirked.
“Yeah, bro. Let’s DO THIS!” They replied, clicking their drumsticks as an opener. The light-blue one began to play a semi-complex progression, before the other began their drum part. The high and low range of the notes carefully pressed by the blue integer aligned with both her voice and the mix of snaps, clicks, and thumps from the other’s snare, hi-hat, and kick drum respectively. A harmony, formed solely by two players and the three sounds they produced. It had taken months of practice for the shorter to finally feel confident in this sound they had cautiously formed together, and she felt proud at what she had managed in this very moment. Six, as she was named, and Nine, the other, taller one, had been a musical duo and friends long before (and continued to be after) the group of friends that since the split occurred within.
The final notes had been played, and the two finished their mini-performance. They both laughed and smiled. Six got up and flopped down on the floor, her grin beginning to fade as her thoughts spiraled. Her friend joined her.
“Nine?” She asked, looking towards their way with a look of worry.
“Yeah, Six-bro?” They replied simply, giving a confident smirk back.
“Do you think we sound bad? I mean, we’re only a two-man band, I guess.”
“What? Dude, no! We’re some of the best around.”
“It’s just, I dunno, I feel like we’re falling behind in some sort of imaginary race. Even though it's fun, what we do, it’s kinda getting to me.”
“Bro, Sixer, you’re freaking amazing!” Nine sat up, throwing her arms in the air, “Not just in your music, but just you in general. I mean, being there for me after all that wack recently? Super cool, you have no idea what it meant, man.”
“Thanks Nine, that’s reassuring to hear…” Six trailed off, thoughts switching gears at a single mention of the recent incident.
“Do you ever miss the other guys?”
“Oh, for sure. I miss Seven, and Two, and even that little bro Zro. There’s no need to feel guilty, if that’s what you’ve got on your mind.”
“No, no, it’s not guilt, don’t worry. More or less just feeling empty. I love having you around, but there’s almost a gap where the group was before.”
Nine didn’t continue the conversation, his eyes latched onto Six. Have things really been that messed up for her after it all? And, also, why didn’t she tell them? Actually, there’s a good enough reason: it would make the drummer worry. I mean, it's worrying about it so much already, and it’s friend has always claimed their greatest fear is seeing Nine worry. He loves that his best friend cares so much with all of his heart, and just loves Six in general as much as he did, and still does for some, the whole group of his friends.
“Nine? Are you listening?” Six questioned, pulling her friend out from their thoughts.
“Huh? Oh, yeah, totally. Just thinking about some stuff,” He replied, adjusting his hat back into place as he got up from the floor, “Man, I’m really hungry. Wanna get going for lunch, Six-bro?”
“Yeah, might as well. It’ll be a nice break from all of this talk about the group.”
/////
Six and Nine sat in the outdoor area of a local café. The light-blue even twirled her straw around in the plastic cup it sat in, only breaking her focus from it to occasionally stare at the taller. Nine sipped on her own drink, an incredibly over-complex coffee order, while they both waited for their meals to be done. As if on cue, an object walked up to the table.
“Here’s your food,” a spiteful tone brought the two friends to look at their server, a blue electric fan with an angry expression. “Enjoy,” and they both swore they heard her say something along the lines of “Stupid ass volunteer work. I HATE volunteer work,” as she left.
“Aw, sweet. Maa-aan, I’m starving!’ Nine chirped, immediately taking a decent sized bite out of his grilled cheese, the simplicity of which contrasting his choice of beverage. The synth player did similarly, picking up their fork and stabbing it into their salad. The two of them still didn’t make eye contact.
Now, don’t get Six wrong, she loves the way things are with Nine right now. They had an incredibly strong bond, and they got to see each other almost every day due to them both living in the same neighborhood. But she realised over the years that the things she had been feeling for her companion had shifted from more platonic to… Well, romantic. She found herself smiling more at their antics, and don’t even get her started on the first time she felt the heat rise to her face and knew she was done for. The way that he acted, the slightly goofy cool kid persona that he stuck with since middle school, it was just so oddly perfect to the light-blue integer. There were so many things they knew about him that no one else could, like if you were to look under his sunnies, you’d notice his two different coloured eyes, one yellow and the other a light-blue almost the same shade as Six’s fur.
She noticed how their legs gently swung under the table, much like they had for years. They had such a charm to them that she couldn’t quite identify, but she knew she had to keep it as under wraps as possible in order to not risk losing her relationship with them. Looking at them all googly eyed was certainly not helping her case. Nine looked at her with a curious demeanour, and she very quickly coughed to break the silence. She was, completely and absolutely, done for. She got her phone out from her crossbody pouch, and mindlessly scrolled to avoid any further weird interactions with them. It was gonna be a long, long time of avoiding these feelings before they hopefully finally got away from her. They heard Nine laugh.
“Dude, what was that look for?” They spoke between giggles.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, can we just forget about it?” The shorter asked back.
“It was funny, bro! I don’t know if I can at this point.”
“Are you making fun of me?” She continued playfully, though their friend didn’t manage to catch that. They hesitated. Making fun of her? They didn’t want her to think that at all. Oh, no, did they really mess up this badly?
“No way. I didn’t mean to–! I didn’t try to…” They noticed how Six seemed to have a face of sadness, and they began to panic even more.
Six herself saw how Nine began to look at her, and felt her own worries arise. She got up from the table as quickly as she could and attempted to break the tension.
/////
Nine themself also found a bit of a problem arising when it came to talk of Six and their relationship. It’s pretty easy to deduce where this is going, of course. The skater happened to have feelings for their long time best friend very similarly to her, but the two didn’t know the other reciprocated at all. The idea of losing everything just because of unreciprocated notions like those broke his heart, and if he were able to see inside her mind, he would know she had the exact same worries. They were both still eating, and Nine had already noticed Six making glances towards their way. They chose to lay off it at first, perhaps she was just taking in the scenery, but then they noticed. She had been staring at him with that look for a long time now, hadn’t she? It was honestly super cute, but them choosing to stare back made her immediately snap out of it. He watched her take out her phone, and they couldn’t help but let out a stream of chuckles. The conversation that began between them certainly set her the wrong way. Did they really have an argument just like that? God, they’re so pathetic.
Six shot up putting her phone away. They noted how she had finished everything but her drink, and that she had an unidentifiable expression.
“C’mon, we better head out by now. I told my parents we’d get back before the sun started to set,” They placed the payment down on the table, plus a good amount of tip for their unwilling server, and threw away her trash. Nine did much the same, gathering all of their belongings. The walk marked itself as uneasy for the both of them.
As they strolled back, Nine had a thought.
“Hey, Sixer, have you ever thought about what it would be like to, y’know, maybe have a partner?”
Six choked on her drink, looking over at the other with an astonished face. Where that had even come from, she had no idea. Quickly recollecting herself, she looked at it and gave an almost silent “What?”
“I mean, being with someone and stuff. I know we have each other and stuff, but like, love comes in many different shapes and forms, I guess,” The taller admitted, “There’s just someone… Special I’ve been meaning to tell about how I feel.”
“Oh, uh, me too, yeah, yeah. I’ve got someone, yeah. I’m just really scared that I might ruin everything we already have. So I haven’t told them yet.”
“...I say go for it.”
Six’s shocked look returned, “Excuse me?”
“Tell them. You’re super cool, I would know it, bro. I’m sure whoever it is would take it good either way things go. I believe in you.”
Nine wasn’t normally one to get really deep into advice, especially relating to feelings, but he certainly was one to be able to lift the light-blue girl’s spirits whenever she needed it.
“Thank you,” Six whispered, continuing with a chuckle, “If only you knew…”
“What was that?”
“Oh, nothing…” And a feeling of awkwardness flushed over the two of them. They headed back, not daring to even spare a glance at each other for the rest of the walk.
/////
When the two of them had finally returned to Nine’s home, the air of tension had mostly since faded. The two of them went to the room where they had left their instruments and both sat down on the couch located in it. The shorter of them knew that this was likely the best chance she’d get.
“Nine, I have something to tell you,” Six hesitated, “It’s about us.”
“...No way, Six-bro, you aren’t leaving me, are you?” The taller could already feel tears welling up in their dual-coloured eyes from the very idea, but waited for their friend to continue.
“What? No, dude, it’s not at all that, I hope,” She muttered the last part as quietly as she could, fidgeting nervously as she took a deep breath.
“I, uhm, I like you Nine. Like, like like you. I basically have since the end of the last year of middle school. And I really hope that you like me too, and that even if you don’t this relationship doesn’t become extremely awkward. I don’t want us to stop being friends just because of something like this, obviously.”
Six felt a heavy layer of blush reach her face, as she looked towards her best friend that she could possibly lose like it was nothing because of this. He stared back at them with a dumbfounded, yet giddy look. They snapped out of it, and cheered.
“No freaking way, dawg! You should’ve said something way earlier; I feel the same way,” Nine cheered, pulling their friend in for a tight hug, “I’ve been waiting for this forever, Sixer. I felt scared to tell you because I didn’t want things to be awkward, like you said, is all…”
The shorter hugged them back, “Seriously? I mean, me too, obviously, but like, I didn’t expect it to be this easy.”
“What, were you expecting to have to defeat some sort of seven evil exes first?” The drummer joked, letting go of the light-blue algebralien, but still keeping a close hold on their paw.
“Okay, quit it, you damn loser,” Six bantered right back, as she looked down at their intertwined fingers. It all felt so unreal: the day itself, the confession, and this moment right now. It was like something straight out of a cheesy romance novel.
“So-ooo, does this mean we’re, like, together now?” The light-gray number queried, as the other chewed on her lip without really knowing.
“I guess. That’s what happens when two people both like each other, right? We’re… partners,” Six grinned widely as she said it out loud, the fact that she was not only no longer single after years of hopelessly chasing love, but also with the algebralien that she wanted to be with for the rest of her life. Nine gave a similar grin as it pulled its newly found partner in for another hug. The two held each other the way they had always, the only thing that had changed for now being the label on their relationship, and they were happy. Happy to have each other, happy to be friends, happy to hold each other, happy to be together, their harmonies perfectly aligned.