It’s 9S’s turn to blink in surprise – wondering if his existence was really that surprising only for a moment before the other’s words throw him off guard. This person… wasn’t human? Perhaps 9S had never had any experience with humans before he got here, but surely… the person in front of him didn’t feel artificial in the slightest. Even if he wasn’t quite sure what standards he measured it by, anything beyond instinct, the feeling that the stranger was definitely alive… and the feeling that he was most certainly inferior to them.
“You’re not?” It wasn’t as if 9S could hear something like that and not ask about it. He shifts, watching the other closely. “I guess there are all kinds of people here, but I was really sure you were.” If he wasn’t, what was he? When he seemed that close, to the real thing? Strangers, who had never seen anything but humans before, assuming that 9S was human was one thing, but confusing 9S himself was another. Even if… that was only due to how he was programmed.
Glancing away, his response momentarily dampens his curiosity. “I guess I thought that same thing, too.” Ah, on the day he’d pictured that imaginary future, where he and 2B could go shopping together – when they wouldn’t have to fight anymore – where they could be anything, everything that was forbidden to them… of course, he was doomed even then. “I’m not sure when it will be over. I can’t check or anything, right now.” And even if it was… would they really deserve it?
He pauses, growing silent. Those dreams he couldn’t realise, at any cost… he still thought of them, even now. “Well, maybe it’d be nice.”
The seconds ticked by, Feliciano unsure of why he felt his heart drop after he spoke. He hadn’t said something that would hurt this boy, right? He relayed his own words in his head, stiffening one he rolled over it a couple more times. He buried his face in his hands at the confirmation that he had, indeed, messed up his own rule against saying anything regarding certain matters to strangers. Jeez, he’d be in so much trouble if anyone he was acquainted with properly was around, spilling something like this--
It’d be okay though, right? It isn’t like 9S had reacted in a manner that would startle him. Feliciano relaxed his shoulders a bit, peering at the android through his fingers for a moment before slowly removing them from his face. He let out a short laugh, rubbing the back of his neck and trying to expel the nerves that were still hanging on strong to each action of his. “ If it helps, no one’s supposed to be able to tell, so that’s a good thing... ”
The Italian’s hands fold together in front of him, twiddling his thumbs anxiously. It wasn’t like the concept of a child fighting a war that got to him, but the fact that it was still something in the future. Even if this person wasn’t technically human, he couldn’t shake how wrong it felt knowing the situation and being unable to do something about it. Maybe, just maybe... if he learned more about the future, he could help somehow before the world inched to the point of no return.
“ I think it’ll be really nice...! No matter how much of an uphill climb it is right now, things will sort themselves out eventually. ” He had to stay positive; if he accidentally crushed this boy’s hopes (if he had any), he would never forgive himself.
baratheonpilled
blakekathryn