twoaffirmations | Mailbox of Nines

9S.

[Yeah, that really is the greeting he gets at first, just a quick calling of his name as though she were using their pod programs to communicate. It's a simple thing to fall back on, but after a moment when she starts to address him again there's something different to the tone of her voice.]

We've been here on this station long enough that I think we should establish a schedule of reporting in. Command may not be able to give us directives, but we're still technically partners.

What was the last thing you remember from home?

Copy that, 2B. I've been operating under the assumption we're still acting as partners.

[He makes a show of using the proper procedures before quickly falling back into casual conversation.]

What's up? Do you think your memory data's been damaged?

[Why would you turn this around on her 9S.]

I remember everything clearly, I just want to make sure we're on the same page. What were we doing the last time we saw each other?

[That's literally what he does.]

Er, well... It's a little fuzzy. I know you took me back to the Resistance camp and had them prepare to send me back up to the Bunker, but when I reactivated I was here.

That's so far from the last thing that she remembers that it doesn't even feel familiar at first. She has to take the time to think back, and there's a very telling moment of silence that comes from her end of things.

Maybe that's why she chose to do this without transmitting an image of her face. Even with her visor she thinks he'd be able to tell something was wrong by the way she can feel herself frowning in distaste.]

After Adam, then. Alright. [There's another moment of quiet, nothing from her, and then-] It's good that whatever took you did it after you'd been repaired.

[Not that she was worried or anything.]

[9S notices the pause, but it's not enough to tell him anything substantial. Only that he knew 2B had been worried.]

Yeah, no kidding. There's no telling when I'd be able to get repairs here. The same goes for you, 2B. We need to be careful.

[A pause, and then he adds.] You've turned off your self-destruct permissions, right?

[Oh.

She hadn't even thought of that, not when her last memories had been ones that would automatically cancel out the need for worrying about having to self-destruct.

You can't do that when you're dead, after all.]

You used to scold me for turning that off.

[Which isn't exactly true, and isn't exactly an answer.]

[She remembers that? 9S can't help but smile.]

Yeaaah, well this situation's kind of the exception, you know? If we activate self-destruct inside the station, we could take the whole thing down with us. It's a safety precaution.

That was true on the Bunker as well, 9S.

[As far as admonitions go, that's an incredibly light one from 2B. She remembers so much that he'll never see, so much pain he'll never know, and if she closes her eyes she thinks she can picture the smile that comes with that tone she can just pick up on.

She'd called him Nines again, for the last time. He's so close and yet he feels miles away, a lifetime away, separated from her by the knowledge that their home is lost forever and her unwillingness to ruin everything for him by allowing him to find out.

It makes her softer, and it makes her want to try.]

One thing hasn't changed since then. Your voice is still soothing.

Er-- I guess you got me there. [9S lets out a small, awkward laugh. He supposes he never really thought about it before. It's not like they ever had a reason to self-destruct on the Bunker.

The compliment that follows makes him flush, catching him by surprise even the second time around.]

Thank you! Haha, you really like it, huh? Well... I can talk all day, if you want.

I think we both know you could do that whether or not I gave you permission.

[And even though that should be an admonition it still sounds terribly warm, for some reason. Better do something about that.]

You should probably save some energy for protecting the humans, though. Focus on keeping them alive, not me.

[She always strikes him down! But 9S isn't that bothered by it. It wouldn't be 2B if she let him get away with too much.]

Don't worry, 2B. I can focus on both. How about we rendezvous?

If you think that's necessary. Where do you want to meet?

How about the mess hall?

[What is this, some kind of date? They have no reason to eat and if 9S is using his knowledge of human mating rituals to trick 2B into a first date-

Well, it's going to work because she never paid nearly as much attention to the things humans did recreationally as 9S has.]

Very well. I'll meet you there in ten minutes.

[Efficient as always, though, she's there in eight.]

[Humans liked to convene around food, that's all he was thinking, honest!]

Copy that. [9S smiles as he disconnects their transmission, and off to the mess hall he goes. He'd been hanging out at the Observation Deck, so it wasn't too far of a walk. When he arrives, 2B is already standing there waiting.]

Hey, 2B. [He raises a hand when he sees her, before trotting over.] You're here early.

I was nearby, and we don't have any real tasks to complete that would be keeping me busy. It didn't make sense to wait the full ten minutes, so.

[So here she is, standing beside one of the tables. She hasn't gotten anything to eat and doesn't correct that now, just takes a seat and looks up at him expectantly.

He is the one who wanted to meet in person, after all. She's assuming he has a specific reason for that.]

Okay, fair enough...

[9S takes a seat on one of the benches, swinging his legs in front of him.]

Well, since we're not in any rush let's sit down. It's kind of nice to be able to take a break whenever you want.

[After a moment of hesitation she sits down as well, slipping down onto the bench opposite him and resting both arms on the table. With her visor to block her eyes from him she's free to look him over without worrying about him realizing it, and she's quick to assess for damage, for any signs of stress.

She knows now that he didn't see her die, didn't see the end as she did, but there's still a part of her that wants to make sure he doesn't suffer any more than he has to.]

You seem like you're settling in well.

[All things considered, 9S looks just fine, but then he's hidden things from her before.]

Well, the first week was pretty rough, but it hasn't been too bad. What about you?

[They both know that she doesn't ordinarily share her thoughts and feelings with him no matter how many times he may ask, and 2B is well aware that any deviation from that usual coarse will tip him off to something being wrong. It has before, after all, but at least this time it's less likely to result in death.

But at the same time, they're far removed from the Bunker, from a future that 2B won't be a part of, and she's just-

She's tired. Tired of lying, tired of holding him at arms length. At some point, he deserves something real and not her trying to keep her distance because as much as she might insist emotions are prohibited, she still feels them just as strongly as any human would.]

It's been strange, but I wouldn't trade this chance to go back to what we had before. I want to stay with the humans.

2B... [Her name comes out in a breath, shock clear in his voice. That had been the last thing he expected her to say. She was always so stringent and dedicated to the mission, he thought for sure that even in the presence of humans, she would be thinking of the ones they had left back home. As for 9S, he wanted to stay here despite knowing he can't, and that's exactly why he expected 2B to say the opposite.]

But what about the humans back home? They need us too.

While we're here we can't do anything for the humans back home, so we need to focus on the ones here.

[That seems so obvious to her, so there's a faint frown on her lips now as she looks over at him.]

I've already told a small group of them they can ask for anything they might need. Eventually I want to make sure the whole station knows it, but I don't want to make a public offer. Some of them look human, but aren't.

Yeah... That's true.

[He can't argue that the humans in the closest proximity to them should come first. They all have to survive on this space station together, and the humans were much more vulnerable than any android.]

It sure gets confusing with all these humanoids around, huh? Some of them "used to be" human, some aren't technically human, but I'm pretty sure they're related...

I met one who was an alien, but looked like a human. Her eyes glowed red like she was infected with a virus, but instead of it causing instabilities she shot lasers from her eyes.

[Yes, that really happened, and no, 2B still doesn't know what to think of it.]

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