Chapter Text
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The blood vessels were as busy as ever as any other day.
Platelets carried their repair materials through the crowded corridors. White blood cells continued their endless patrols in search of pathogens. And red blood cells delivered oxygen and nutrients throughout the body.
Most cells were easily able to perform their given duties with practiced precision.
However, AE3803 was not like most cells.
She stared down at her map as she pushed her cart with her other hand. And she could feel her confidence sink as the pathways on the map began to blend into a tangled mess.
She shook her head and let out a helpless whine.
"I don't get it. I've done this route a few times before. So I should be able to do it again!"
At the intersection, she looked to her left. Then to her right. And again at her map.
Her brows furrowed as she tried to study the map again for a moment before putting it back into her pouch.
"Maybe if I…" she uttered to herself as she turned right.
She walked the path for several steps before pausing again.
"I… I'm not sure this is even the right way…"
She took out her map again. The routes still did not cooperate with her.
"How am I supposed to get there at this rate?"
"Go where, Red Blood Cell?"
She suddenly froze from the unexpected voice. It was immediately familiar.
She turned around to see 1146 walking up to her from behind.
"White Blood Cell!"
He stopped by her.
AE3803 gave an embarrassed swallow. She didn't like appearing incompetent in front of him. She knew that he didn't hold that against her. And she knew that he'd help her the instant he realized she needed it. But that didn't stop her from wanting to look like she had complete control over her job as much as he did.
"Um… I—I was just on my way to make a delivery over to the left eardrum."
He looked up ahead of the artery.
"This route doesn't go there."
He returned his gaze back to her.
"Do you need help getting there, Red Blood Cell?"
She could feel her cheeks starting to warm. She turned her head slightly to try to hide it. But she felt that he noticed anyway.
"Um… As long as you're not too busy, White Blood Cell…" she uttered timidly.
Not only did she need his help. But she also wanted it as well. To be in his company. And the thought of it only made her blush slightly more vivid.
His expression softened, if only for a fleeting moment. However the rest of his demeanor was tightly held under control as always.
"Come on, then. I'm free at the moment."
His tone wasn't demeaning. But there was a faint hint of subtlety in his voice that escorting her to where she needed to go was not as big of a deal as it was.
She became overly excited with a gasp.
"Thank you so much, White Blood Cell!" she burst out.
She immediately noticed her hastiness and quickly calmed down with a more toned down response.
"Um, I mean… Thanks, White Blood Cell. I really appreciate your help."
He merely gave a quiet chuckle.
"Anytime."
With that, he turned down towards the correct blood vessel. And she followed him close by.
Along the way, they passed by a couple vending machines. One of them was designated to making tea.
AE3803 had an idea when she noticed them.
"Hey, White Blood Cell. Hold on for a quick minute?"
1146 looked at her and paused. He watched her curiously go over to the machine for a moment before coming back. In her hands was a cup of prepared freshly hot tea.
"Here," she said, holding the cup towards him, "I made you some tea."
He didn't take it immediately at first. Not because he didn't want it. But because it was a bit of a surprise for him to see an unprovoked gesture.
"It's just a little way to say thanks for always helping me…" she shyly continued.
He then accepted the cup from her.
"Um, thanks."
He took a sip of the tea.
"This tea is much sweeter than I make it."
He didn't mean to sound offensive in such dry humor. But she interpreted it as a mistake on her part.
"O—oh… I'm sorry…" she uttered quietly, her head hanging down slightly with a small embarrassed blush on her cheeks.
He noticed. But he was unsure of how to react. Anything he said next would probably just make things worse.
"We should keep going…"
She raised her head up a bit and nodded.
"Ye—yeah… We… We should…"
It wasn't that much longer to get on the right route to the ear. And the awkwardness from earlier had ebbed slightly by the time they reached the junction.
The two of them stopped at the intersection. He gestured one of the branches.
"The eardrum is just straight through this artery, Red Blood Cell."
AE3803 looked down the route.
"Right."
She turned to face him.
"Thanks for showing me the way, White Blood Cell."
She placed her hands back to her cart and walked a few steps before he got her attention.
"Hey… Red Blood Cell…"
She turned back slightly to face him.
"Yeah?"
1146 paused for a moment.
"Thanks for the tea earlier. It really was a kind gesture of you to do."
A small blush formed on her cheeks as she realized that he did appreciate her offering after all.
"Of course. I'll see you around, White Blood Cell!"
"See ya," he said with a light chuckle.
He watched her walk off down the path he indicated until she was gone from sight.
He then glanced down at the cup still in his hand. There was still a bit of tea left in it. He sipped at it again, savoring its taste more thoroughly. He looked at the direction that she'd gone then back to the cup.
"Still sweet…"
With that, he took another sip as he returned back to his usual patrol route.
1146 eventually ran into the rest of his squad along the way to his assigned route. They noticed that he was off-course and interrogated him about it.
2048 was the first to confront him.
"Hey. 1146. Aren't you supposed to be down in the thyroid? What are you doing all the way up here?"
"I'm not that far off…"
"Not like you to be 'that far off' though," 2626 commented.
1146 didn't have a counterargument for that. And his silence was more than enough of an explanation for the rest of them.
4989 immediately came to a conclusion.
"Oh. Oh… I get it! You've been helping that one red blood cell again, haven't 'cha?"
His tone was rather playful with a teasing grin to match.
1146 merely tightened his jaw, avoiding eye contact. It only further cemented the claim as truth.
"I don't blame you though," 4989 continued with a chuckle, "She is pretty cute, after all."
1146 merely stared at him.
"So what if I did? I was only trying to help her get to where she needed to go to maintain body efficiency."
His tone was rather defensive as he tipped the brim of his cap down.
2048 noticed the now empty cup in his hand.
"And that? You've been holding that since you got here."
2626 snatched it from his hand before he could realize it. He and 4989 inspected it closely.
"Not like you to carry around empty cups with you."
"Smells a lot sweeter than how you usually make your tea," 4989 pointed out after catching the lingering scent from it.
1146 had nothing to say about their observations. He tried to provide an explanation.
"It was simply convenient to carry it until I found a bin to throw it away."
His squad mates all exchanged looks at each other. They didn't believe a word he'd said as there were bins along the blood vessel he had come from.
2048 even gave him a look.
"Any place in particular that you wanted to use? Because there were a few bins along the corridor you came from."
Silence.
He simply readjusted his cap and started to walk away from them with firm steps.
"I need to get back on patrol. I suggest you all do the same instead of concentrating on my personal life."
The light teasing about him continued among his squad mates. But he chose not to engage with them any further as he knew it would only corner him further. He had no time for that kind of foolishness.
4989 then called out after him.
"You know that's not really helping your case, right?!"
1146 pretended not to hear him and continued to walk off. Which, unfortunately, was also not helping his case.
Over in the eardrum, AE3803 managed to get the rest of the way just fine. Thanks to 1146's help, of course. She approached the cell's housing unit, where he was waiting for the oxygen delivery outside.
"Hello, there! I'm here to deliver your oxygen for today!"
She stopped the cart and picked up the box, handing it over to the cell.
"Ah, thank you," he said, accepting it.
She took out her receipt booklet.
"If you could just place your signature here, please."
"Sure. Of course."
He set the box aside and took out his stamp to mark onto the receipt page.
"Thank you!" she exclaimed as she put it away.
She then picked up the box of carbon dioxide and placed it onto her cart. She let out a quiet exhale once the weight was off her hands.
"Alright… Time to take this thing over to the lungs."
She began to push her cart back through the vein.
"I should be able to get back," she thought to herself, looking up ahead on the venous route, "It'd be embarrassing if I were to get lost twice on the same assignment."
She tried to put more concentration on her way back. However the memory from earlier peeked into her mind, uninvited.
"This tea is much sweeter than I make it."
The sheepish blush returned to her cheeks as her fingers tightened slightly around the cart's handle. It really shouldn't have been a big deal to her. It was a hard habit that she would automatically make tea taste sweeter than what neutrophils were used to. And he still did end up saying his appreciation eventually.
"Thanks for the tea earlier. It really was a kind gesture of you to do."
Her expression softened as she remembered his words. Whether he had meant it or if he was just trying to be polite about it, it was enough to make AE3803 feel better for her offering. She had meant it when she gave that small token of appreciation. And any words of acknowledgement from him for it was certainly something to be positive about.
A warm smile appeared on her face as she walked back to the lungs, her steps a little lighter.
For all his awkwardness, 1146 always seemed to notice when something was bothering her. And he could sometimes be difficult to read. However, moments like that simply made her think that she understood him a little better.
A little later on, 1146 walked over to one of the neutrophil cleaning stations. His latest fight against a pathogen had ended up rather messier than he had preferred. But such battles were common.
His sleeve was bloodied to his shoulder. But at least he had managed to avoid getting any major tears on his uniforms.
He turned on the water and scrubbed his arm clean until all the bacterial blood was washed away. The whiteness of the fabric was restored. He washed his face. And he shivered from the freezing temperature of the water. He sighed. It wasn't enjoyable. But at least he was finally cleaned off.
Once he was finished, he walked his way back to the barracks in the lymph node. Several other neutrophils were reporting in on rotation for the change in the work shifts.
1146 passed on the duties to the next evening neutrophil, relieving himself from duty. And after the ritual, he walked through the pristine corridors and down the hall that led to his room.
Upon entering, he took off his boots, setting them aside with his jacket hung on the hook above them next to the door.
He sat over at his desk and tried to relax from the day of constant alertness. It wasn't instantaneous. It never really was.
In front of him were several books that he would commonly look over after work to keep him mentally sharp. Books on various pathogens. Books about the body and its functions. And books with different styles of fighting.
He stared along the row of spines, skimming over each of their titles. He pulled a random book out and opened it to a random page. It happened to be one of his anatomy books. And the page he had just happened to land on was about the middle ear. In particular, the eardrum.
Of course it did.
His expression softened slightly. But as soon as he did, the door to his room opened with 4989 casually strolling in as if he resided in the room as well.
His colleague's uninvited entry caused 1146's brows to tighten.
"You couldn't at least knock first?"
4989 merely chuckled as he walked up to him.
"Why? Did you need some alone time to play with your thoughts?"
He didn't respond right away.
4989 looked over at his desk and noticed the open book in front of him.
"Don't you ever get lonely just reading those books all the time?"
"I'm fine."
"I swear… Sometimes you can be such an introverted recluse, 1146."
1146's glance sharpened. But 4989 simply ignored it.
"I'm not a recluse—"
"Sure, you are! You never socialize outside of work and you never hang out with the rest of the squad after work either."
"I don't have time for that."
"So what if you and that red blood cell were to ever get together? What do you plan to do? Sneak her over and read to her? Not very romantic there, 1146."
Such a comment made his jaw tighten with an uncomfortable tug as his chest tightened.
"You're jumping to rash conclusions, 4989."
He scoffed.
"No, I'm not. You're missing my point."
1146 gave a sarcastic glance over at him.
"And that point being?"
"That you need to at least interact more!"
1146 remained silent for a moment, showing no interest at all.
"Come on, 1146… You don't even need to leave this room if you don't want to."
He gave 4989 a skeptical stare.
"I'm not inviting everyone in here…"
"No! I don't mean it like that!"
He then reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He tapped it a few times until he pulled up what he wanted to show him.
"Just go on here!"
1146 looked at the screen.
"What is it?"
His tone sounded more disinterested than curious.
"It's a place where you can talk to other cells throughout the body! Just about everyone's on it!"
"Why?"
4989 frowned.
"Why? So everyone can have a social life when they're not working is why!"
He didn't respond right away. There was simply no reason he found that would want him to waste such time.
"I have my books."
"What you have is isolation… Come on, 1146! Think of it. Maybe you might even meet that special someone!"
He gripped his book tightly from the comment.
"No, 4989."
1146 still didn't see the appeal. Even when he was off the clock, he kept himself busy on how to prepare himself for the next day. He's always been that way since his myelocyte days. And he contributed his studious nature to how he's surpassed the other neutrophils.
Preparing for tomorrow had always seemed to be more productive than idle conversation.
He didn't respond to 4989. He just turned back to his book.
But 4989 was just as stubborn. He gave a light scowl. He decided to approach him from another angle. If he were to get 1146 to join in and learn to adapt at being sociable, he had to think more like him.
"Well… I can see that you'd prefer to be all to your lonesome, 1146… I just thought I'd help you improve at your abilities as a white blood cell is all…"
He gave a rather crafty grin, hoping that 1146 would take the bait.
1146 turned his attention back to him.
"How could being on that improve me?"
He still sounded unsure that being on such a thing would be beneficial.
"Being sociable and interactive with others improve immune function, you know!" 4989 cheerfully enticed, "So since you're an immune cell, you should totally care about it even more!"
1146 didn't answer right away. However, unlike a few minutes ago, he did find it intriguing. He took a deep breath, letting out an exhale as he considered his options before turning back to 4989.
"Fine."
4989 brightened.
"Great!" he exclaimed, holding his hand out, "Now give me your phone. I'll set it up for you."
1146 reached into his pocket and handed over his phone.
He immediately took it and tapped on it several times to create his account.
"There…" he said, handing the phone back.
1146 looked at and noticed the screen name that 4989 had made for him.
"Really?"
His tone was unimpressed as he glared over at him.
"Yeah! It fits you!"
"Couldn't you have just put my designation like a normal person?"
"No way! You can't just put yourself all personal online like that!"
4989 placed his fists on his sides as he gave him a reprimanding look.
"It's not safe to reveal yourself online! Do you want everyone knowing all that you say and do online?!"
He paused for a moment.
"…I see your point."
"At least this way, it gives you some anonymity. So even though you awkwardly embarrass yourself online. And I know you will! Then at least no one can trace it back to you."
1146 heightened his guard on being cautious of the potential things that he would say and do online. But the safety net of knowing that even if he did, no one would know it was him. Still, he preferred to practice extreme prudence.
"I'll leave it to you to build that socialization up, 1146."
4989 began to walk away and leave his room.
"Who knows? You might actually get even better at your immunity skills."
He gave one last playful laugh and left.
And for a while after that, silence returned to the room.
1146 kept his eyes on the shut door for a moment before glancing back at his phone.
There was still a bit of skepticism of how doing this would improve his immune abilities. Simply talking to someone about whatever wasn't going to teach him about how pathogens attack or how to deal cleaner blows. However, there was still a faint part of him that intrigued him. A part of him that was constantly seeking ways to improve his skills as a white blood cell.
"I… I guess it couldn't hurt to try…" he slowly thought to himself, "And if it doesn't, then I can always just leave it alone."
For a while, he kept his eyes on the screen. At the corner, his screen name was stated next to an empty box icon. The main page of the forum took up the rest of the screen with different topics from others.
Then, with heavy reluctance, he ventured through the forum.
He scrolled through the various topics that other cells had posted for the day. Mundane things. Small talk. Random nonsense.
He was about to log off when he gave one last scroll up and noticed a topic that seemed to have caught his eye.
Most Embarrassing Mistake At Work
For some reason, it piqued his curiosity.
"If other cells were more efficient," he thought to himself, "Then why would they make mistakes?"
1146 tapped onto the thread to read over the comments. He shook his head. Each one more embarrassing than the last. There was one in particular that he noticed.
RedSunO2: Does accidentally entering an infected area count? lol
He frowned as he stared at the comment. He then rubbed his temple.
He turned off the phone's screen and set it aside, returning back to his book.
And for a moment, he read the page. Until he found himself glancing back at the phone. He thought hard for a moment, debating if he should even bother at all.
"…I should at least warn them."
He picked up his phone and turned it back on. He typed up his response.
Accidentally entering an infected area isn't embarrassing. It's dangerous!
There. He did it. He socialized. Obligation completed.
He turned off his phone's screen again and set it aside. But just as soon as he picked up his book again, his phone chimed a notification.
Hesitantly, he picked it up to see what it was.
A response. It was from RedSunO2.
Some of us are trying our best.
Fair enough.
1146 just stared at the screen for a moment. He sighed before typing his reply.
Weren't you the one who entered the infected area?
Instead of turning off the screen, he waited for a response. And soon…
RedSunO2: … Maybe.
He didn't know why. But that answer was enough to make him huff out a subtle chuckle. He shook his head at the comment.
He then set the phone back down.
After a moment, he looked over his shoulder to make sure his door was still closed from certain unwanted visitors.
He then picked up his phone back up again and checked to see whether RedSunO2 had replied again.
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