22. I Might Even Love You (1/2)

oh. hello.

bet you all thought i'd forgotten you, huh? no chance. i've sunk too much into this story to let it just go to waste. i did have a difficult time between the last chapter and this one, being really unsure about where i was going to go from then on. but i think i have it figured out. and you'll be seeing me more often from now on.

check out my deviantart (same username) if you want to see what i've been working on! it's all (mostly) 9 related. essentially, in the past few months me and a few others have created a sub-fandom all our own. but enough about that. here's the new chapter!

"are you ever going to put her down?"

9 watched 6's mop of hair sway as he shook his head. "no."

"six—"

"nope. never…never ever."

0, for her part, wasn't complaining. it felt good to be back in her right mind, even if she was still fighting off the blackness that crept around the very edges. having 6 there helped. he'd scooped her up in the snow and was currently in the process of carrying her back to the li

ary with the rest of the search and rescue party. she was wrapped in 1's blue cloak and warming back up, but it was slow going.

"she's going to have to walk on her own sometime," 5 laughed.

"not yet." 6 hiked 0 up a little higher to plant a kiss on her forehead. 0 sighed and curled closer: oh, she'd missed that.

they followed their footsteps back to the li

ary entrance, pleased to see that nothing had happened in the hours they'd been gone. 3 and 4 practically killed themselves tripping over the pile of books at the entrance to get down to 6 and 0. they began frantically flapping signs at her, trying to see if she was sane, if she was safe and whole and her again. all 0 managed to get out was a nod and a small smile.

at the pile of books, 6 finally let her down, not wanting the change in incline to disrupt his equili

ium and send them both tumbling down. instead he adjusted the cloak around her shoulders and took both of what remained of his mate's hands, leading her up and back into the li

ary, fighting the urge to pick her up again once they were back inside.

"back again, i see!" 2 said jovially, beckoning a twin over to translate for him. "how are you, my dear?"

0 looked down at her still

oken hands and sighed, then looked up at her room and back to 2, miming falling asleep.

"of course, of course. will you be alone or—" 0 vigorously shook her head, latching onto 6 quickly. "naturally. if you'll bear with me a moment, though, i can fix at least one of your hands." he gestured to the repaired fingers that sat on a nearby book. "one hand is better than none."

0 hesitated, then nodded, holding her right hand out. 2 deftly fitted the fingers into the open slots on the end of her palm, then flipped her hand over and reset the delicate wires on the base of the fingers. he flexed his own hand and 0 repeated the gesture, bending each finger slowly. "good. that's good. we'll whittle some temporary wood ones for your left over the next day or so. okay?"

'thank you.'

"think nothing of it. now, i believe you have a nap to attend to?"

6 nodded with a tired grin of his own and led 0 over to the candlestick elevator, pulling them up to their nook. 6 used a book to block the entrance and afford them some darkness and privacy and clambered into the hammock, opening his arms to his mate. 0 hesitated.

"zero?" 6's

ows contracted. she looked so small and lost, enfolded in a cloak much too big for her, her shoulders hunched and her eyes not meeting his own. he signed as he murmured, "please come here."

0's lip trembled and she fell forward, her knees buckling below her. 6 scrambled to catch her at the last moment, gripping under her arms and heaving her into their hammock, using his own body as a mattress for her, the cloak left on the ground. 0 fit her arms around 6's shoulders and draped one leg over both of his, curling as close as she possibly could. 6, for his part, wrapped his arms around her middle and held her tightly, feeling her tremble on top of him, bone-deep shivers that wracked her tiny frame. he never took his eyes off her as he reached down and grabbed their blanket from the other side of the bed, draping it over the both of them. it hurt him to think of how terrified she'd been, trapped in her own forced nightmares. it ached to think of how much he loved her.

"oh, zero, zero," 6 murmured, fluttering kisses all over her face and head, trying desperately to convey to her without words how much he'd missed her. when her shaking subsided a little bit, but not quite fully, 0 finally looked up at 6, determination and hurt and want shining out of those silver optics. she cupped his face in her one good hand, kissing him firmly, a kiss to tell him she would never leave him again, not if she could help it.

"i love you," 6

eathed when she pulled away, saying the words aloud for his own benefit. he kissed her again. "i love you." a third time. "zero, i—i love you so much, it-it hurts."

0 gave him a timid half-smile and shrugged, still unable to understand him. 6 copied the smile, taking her right hand and kissing each of her fingertips, folding down the middle and ring finger after he'd pressed his lips to the copper and laying it on his own chest. 0 looked down at the sign, their sign, and blinked slowly, biting her lower lip again. she pressed it into the stripes and ink stains. she could never leave this. he would never let her.

"i love you," 6 repeated, kissing her forehead and giving her body a squeeze. "you will never be alone again, ever."

finally, after weeks of thunderstorms and loneliness and beasts and nightmares and lullabies, finally, they slept.