#this is the face of a man who has been starved of requited affection

[fancyingfinefabrics]

speaking of kisses, i’ve been thinking about stede’s journey of falling in love with ed & how his perspective during each kiss reflects who he is at his core being:

1. the first kiss (stede the unwitting beloved)

2. the moonlit kiss (stede the earnest dreamer)

3. the wall kiss (stede the ardent lover of beauty)

4. the beach kiss (stede the ride-or-die romantic)

[translationpaayal]

Lu Feng and Zhou Lan

Lu Feng, in A Round Trip To Love, identifies Zhou Lan to be super-rich because of her handmade clothing. Cheng Yichen only learns of this once Lu Feng tells him. He had thought that she did not wear banded clothing because of poverty. What Zhou Lan has & what Lu Feng wants is the same thing. Cheng Yichen is compared to a pearl in Lu Feng’s clutch. When Jing Lin learns of the relationship between Cheng Yichen, Lu Feng and Zhou Lan from Zhou Wenyang, he remarks that Zhou Lan must have been a tigress to have managed to snatch the pearl from the dragon. Zhou Lan and Lu Feng are each other’s foil is a way. They are of the same social standing in terms of being second generation rich. Lu Feng has the additional burden of having to inherit the family business from his father. They fall for the same man. While Lu Feng is relentless in his pursuit, Zhou Lan is so in her own way. The difference is in how Cheng Yichen responds to them. While Lu Feng is first love and sexual awakening for Cheng Yichen, Zhou Lan’s intentions are wasted as Cheng Yichen remain oblivious to the attend from her and other women deeply comfortable in his sexual orientation. He quickly reconciles with the fact that he was popular among women as a matter of no consequence as he is in a romantic relationship with Lu Feng when he learns of this fact. However, the table turns when he is forced to face his mother’s death wish and the ill-fate that fell upon his brother. Lu Feng finds himself begging for a love that he held in his arm until them, how slipping from him as his beloved scorns him and he is forced to choose between inheritance and love. This is point of departer for the tiger and the dragon. The pearl want to belong with the dragon. Lu Feng has to choose between his inheritance and his love. His love his frowned upon by society. He has to hide it. He can not hold hands or kiss his beloved. He has to pose as a friend, a co-worker. He would not be introduced as a lover, Cheng Yichen’s date, his significant other. He can not go home with his boyfriend for new year, instead has to hide in a hotel room. He can not ask his elders to go ask Cheng Yichen’s hand in marriage. Cheng Yichen’s mom despises him while she would have adored Zhou Lan as her daughter-in-law. Zhou Lan never has to choose between her family and her love. Her father cherishes her wishes. Furthermore, Lu Feng loses Cheng Yichen to Zhou Lan at his lowest, having lost his inheritance. He doesn’t get a resolution as his search for Cheng Yichen futile. The pearl is with the tigress and the dragon taste’s defeat. What that leads to is a brief, yet tragic love affair between Lu Feng and Miss Ke. While Zhou Wenyang is born into a household where both his father and mother showers him with love despite the marriage that has turned cold between them. Even after their divorce they stay friends. In sharp contrast Miss Ke gets entangled with Lu Feng who is searching for Xiao Chen in every living being – resemblance in features and similarity in temper. He notices that in many. Miss Ke’s love for Lu Feng is as requited as Zhou Lan’s for Cheng Yichen. While guilt-ridden Cheng Yichen offers her friendship, Miss Ke finds herself along among hostile relatives who care for money and money alone. As Lu Feng drifts along from lover to another, Miss Ke sinks deeper into a quagmire out of which she finds no way out, leaving behind Ke Luo who is all but orphaned, starved off resources and more importantly affection until Shu Nian and later Lu Feng. When Ke Luo finally builds a family with Li Moyan rather Shu Nian, the latter whom Lu Feng considers akin to Cheng Yichen, it is clear that Ke Luo might be growing into a splitting image of his father, but is actually his mother’s son.

Once defeated by the tigress, the dragon never fully recovers. When Lu Feng finally traps and ensnares and cages Cheng Yichen in his mansion, Zhou Lan gets to play the hero rescuing the beauty. This is the original fairytale. She might never gain Yichen’s love, but won’t let him suffer anymore. However, her defeat was predestined in a way. Not by some blind soothsayer’s predictions. Rather through a stubborn love, love that was more potent than hatred. A love that has chosen its course even before she had laid eyes on Cheng Yichen’s heartbroken, lover-lorn form in college. By shielding Lu Feng, Cheng Yichen makes it clear where his affection lies. That is how Lu Feng finds himself beside Cheng Yichen’s comatose form peeling fruits and confessing his crimes, his sins, and his love. Lu Feng’s insecurities are reflected in Zhou Lan in a way. She, just like him, can not fall in love again having lost their hearts to Cheng Yichen. When Cheng Yichen eventually reconciles with Lu Feng, Zhou Lan ends up losing the access she had to the warmth of the pearl. Melocholy intensifies as she is engulfed in the illness that threatens to claim her life. While cheng Yichen accompanies her bedside with conversations about their son, Lu Feng himself is weakened by the realization that there is no escaping karma as the seeds sown over the years of debauchery threaten to catch up with him in the form of fear of AIDS, a disease which still meant death. The reigns he had over his psyche start to slip as he hides in hotel rooms, dreading, fighting the demons of fear with a professional. His bitter jealousy deprives Zhou Lan of one last look at her beloved before she breathes her last on the surgical table. While Zhou Lan moves on into the afterlife, Lu Feng is still secretly battling demons. It is only after driving away Cheng Yichen that Lu Feng gains the strength to face the truth that more than the fear of dying there is another fear that knows no bounds, and that is the fear of losing one’s beloved.

[littlemisspascal]

Death and an Angel part 9

Helmetless + Death!Din x Cupid F!Reader

Summary:  You make a promise to Din before you leave to meet with your superiors, but will you be able to keep it?

Rating: T

Word Count: 2,976

Warnings: fluff, the angst is back people, protective and possessive Din, your superiors are assholes, overuse of italics, swearing, plot plot plot

Author Note: All the love to every single supporter out there! Don’t hate me too much for this segment please.

Links to Part 1 and Part 8 and Part 10

Cross-posted on AO3.

Photo Inspiration:

“I’m going with you, angel.”

In exactly one hour, you’re due to report back to headquarters. You’ve been loathing this meeting from the get-go, but now, after being matched with Din, the mere thought of leaving him is as painful as a physical blow. You wish you had more time to revel in his heated kisses, the touch of his hands against your skin, the low growls he elicits when you run your nails through his curls.

Deep down, you know as immortal beings you will have an eternity to experience all of these thrills together. But right now the bond you two share as soulmates doesn’t care about the future, only the present. In your mind, it resembles a sapling soaking up every ounce of affection it can from you and Din, craving more and more intimacy in order to become stronger. Just thinking about being separated from him, even for only a short while, makes your chest hurt something fierce, as if a bundle of thorns has become wrapped around your heart.

Din is not immune to the effects of the soulmate bond either. Since his return to Arvala-7 he has not let you out of his sight for longer than thirty seconds. Anyone else, you would have been annoyed by the incessant staring, but with Din you only feel desired and, as sappy as it sounds, cherished in a way you’ve never felt before.

Which makes it all the harder to meet his gaze right now, frowning as you shake your head at him.

“Din, you can’t,” you say quietly, praying your voice doesn’t break because you know it will trigger his overprotectiveness and then you’ll helplessly melt into a puddle of warm emotions. “Only Cupids are allowed at headquarters. No outsiders allowed, not even Death.”

His jaw clenches, displeased by your rebuttal, but his fingers are gentle as they trail across your cheeks. That’s another thing you’ve noticed since he’s reunited with you: his gloves have yet to make a reappearance. It’s like now that you and the universe have assured him of your requited feelings, his iron walls of self-control have crumbled to dust, revealing a lonely, touch-starved soul who has long been told he could never physically connect with someone without the risk of killing them and is now desperate to make up for the lost time.

With this in mind, each time he initiates contact, you always make sure to return the gesture with as much affection as you can muster, whether that be by deepening his kisses or by intertwining your fingers tightly with his when he reaches for your hand. Or, such as in this instance where the two of you are lying together and cuddling on Kuiil’s bed, you take advantage of him having removed his full suit of armor to curl closer against his chest, nuzzling your head beneath his chin.

The Ugnaught had taken Din’s return in stride when he and IG-11 had paused their farmwork outside to check up on you about twenty minutes ago. Upon seeing them, Din had started to untangle himself from you so he could stand to greet them. His lack of urgency to conceal his face surprised you initially, but then you recalled Kuiil already knew Din resembled a human male, meaning at some point during their friendship Din had become comfortable enough to not wear his helmet around him. Petty jealousy swirls inside of you, upset you’re not the only one who knows Death’s true face, but you squash the ridiculous emotion not even a second later. If anyone is worthy enough of seeing Din’s true self, it’s Kuiil.

Before Din could get to his feet, Kuiil had merely shaken his head, saying he didn’t want to interrupt your time together when he knew you had to leave soon. Which is what prompted Din to insist upon himself accompanying you to headquarters.

“I don’t want you anywhere near those bastards,” he mutters darkly, lines of frustration forming ridges along his forehead. He still hasn't forgiven Hess for causing you to have a panic attack.

You wrap your fingers around his wrist, not with the intention of stopping his soothing ministrations, but instead grounding yourself in the moment using the skin-on-skin contact. Perhaps, you acknowledge privately to yourself, he’s not the only touch-starved soul in the room. I don’t want to be near them either, you want to tell him. Let’s fly away together on the Crest, somewhere far, far away...

Instead, you force yourself to say with the same carefully even tone, “The meeting should just be an hour or two, then they’ll make me take a reassessment test about Cupid regulations which I’ll pass easily.” You lift your head to peck the bridge of his prominent nose before holding up your pinky finger. “And by later this evening, I’ll be right back here in your arms. Pinky promise.”

Din stares at you for several heartbeats, stubbornness lingering in his gaze before at last he exhales a quiet sigh of surrender. He wraps his pinky around yours, squeezing tightly.

“I thought leaving you behind here was the hardest thing I’d ever have to do, but this—letting you go face them alone and knowing I can’t intervene—it’s a pain I’d only wish upon my worst enemies.”

You want to say something lighthearted, a teasing remark to ease the heavy tension in the room and make that stunning smile of his light up the space instead. Maybe, if you’re funny enough, you can make his precious and lone dimple appear in his cheek so you can press your lips to it. But your words get trapped in your throat, forming a lump that won’t go down no matter how hard you swallow.

You are equally as surprised as you are grateful when Din continues to speak.

“You’re my soulmate, angel, so when I swear these next words to you, I want you to have no doubt I mean them with absolute sincerity,” he says, a possessive and darkly seductive note creeping into his voice that has you instinctively biting your lip to keep yourself from moaning embarrassingly. “If anyone dares to keep you from me even a second longer than what is strictly necessary, I will stain the ground with their blood and reap their soul from their body so slowly they’ll weep for damnation.”

~~~

Headquarters is kriffing freezing.

That’s the first thing you notice when you step inside, goosebumps immediately rising along your arms and a shiver racks your spine as you navigate the maze of hallways towards the center of the building where the conference room is located. Every footstep reverberates off the black marble floors, but the sound isn’t loud enough to prevent you from overhearing the whispering voices of other Cupids watching you pass by, gossiping about your impending interrogation. You’d be angry at them, except that would make you a hypocrite since you’ve also spread a rumor or two about your coworkers in the past. You can feel an increase of anxiety rush through your bloodstream, making you stuff your hands into your pockets lest anyone sees them trembling and laughs.

Your three superiors are already seated and waiting in the conference room when you arrive. You make eye contact with each one, bowing your head as both a greeting and sign of respect. Lang, a dark-haired man who is known for shooting first and asking questions later, offers you a jaunty salute before lacing his hands behind his head as he balances his chair on its rear legs, the image of relaxation. Morgan Elsbeth, the only female of the trio, elects to ignore you in favor of boredly drumming her fingers on the glass tabletop, looking as if she’d rather be anywhere else in the galaxy than here. Hess returns the nod with a leering grin, further convincing you he was half-womp rat in his mortal life.

You reach for the chair closest to you, planning to pull it out to sit, when Hess’ low, gravelly voice has you freezing mid-motion. “Cupid 1-1-7, you are to remain standing for the duration of this meeting.”

“Yes, sir,” you say, clasping your hands behind your back.

Hess turns in his seat towards the holoprojector that is set up on the table. He presses several buttons and a holographic figure flickers into view, dressed in dark armor with a long black cape. You recognize the seraph immediately, never able to forget the first face you saw when you woke up as a Cupid. Moff Gideon is the supreme leader of all Cupids, imposing and sharp-witted with violent powers you’ve often heard described as barbarically ruthless. Everything about him terrifies you and you’ve done all you can to avoid being in his presence.

Only now there is no escaping him. You can’t even teleport to save yourself. When headquarters was initially built, Gideon infused his powers into its structure with the intent of protecting the building from being discovered or, worse, attacked. (Though who would want to battle a bunch of Cupids, you have no idea). However, to the detriment of all Cupids currently inside headquarters, Gideon’s enchantment also blocks any of you from using your abilities. According to him, it’s to prevent any power-sensitive beings from detecting your aura signatures and you’ve never wanted to risk being murdered to try and find a flaw with that logic.

To put it bluntly, you’re a regular human in every sense except you get to keep your immortal youthfulness. Which is literally the least helpful perk you could ask for right now.

“Cupid 1-1-7,” Gideon says, dark eyes peering at you with such focused intensity you feel sweat begin to form along your hairline. “You were granted forty-eight hours to determine your client’s soulmate. Tell us, were you successful in finding his match?”

“I—” you cut yourself off, noticing his use of a gender specific term.

He chuckles at your dumbfounded expression, a quiet huff of air that you quickly deem the scariest sound you’ve ever heard. “You may have been able to conceal Death’s identity as your client from my associates, but few incidents occur in the galaxy without my knowing about them.”

Your three superiors each display unique reactions to the reveal. Morgan’s drumming stops, attention now hooked by the present conversation and she gives you a once-over, clearly reconsidering her overall impression of you. Lang nearly falls backwards onto the floor, barely managing to correct the chair at the last second to balance himself. Hess props his chin on top of his interlocked fingers, observing you in a similar fashion as Morgan, but there is an eerie glint in his gaze you don’t like the look of.

You swallow thickly, feeling sick to your stomach. “What do you want from me, sir?”

“The full and honest truth.” There is a brief pause, increasing the tension in the room. “Were you successful in finding Death’s soulmate?”

You don’t understand why he’s asking you the same question twice when he’s admitted he’s practically omniscient. And the way he’d paused just now, makes you start to worry he’s baiting you into a trap, but you have no viable means of escaping to avoid giving him an answer.

Your voice comes out meeker sounding than you’ve ever heard it. “Yes, sir, I was successful.”

When it becomes apparent after a long beat of silence you are not going to admit any further information, Gideon levels you with a stern look. “I strongly urge you to reveal their identity to us, Cupid 1-1-7, so we may make note of them in our archives as is customary for all matched pairs.”

Well now that makes you definitely feel cornered. Your thoughts are a jumbled mess inside your head; half of you is convinced he already knows you are Din’s soulmate and is toying with you, while the other half believes he actually has no idea at all and is trying to scare you into revealing the truth.

Kriff. What do you do?

You stare over their heads at the far wall, uncomfortably aware of how the silence stretches on as they wait for a name. Your name. Maker, why do you keep ending up in these horrible scenarios? Who did you piss off in your mortal life?

“If your tongue has failed you,” Gideon says, tone deceptively light and airy. “Might I suggest that an alternative way of answering would be to show us your hands.”

He knows.

Kriff. Kriff. Kriff.

You continue your staring contest with the wall, refusing to let them see any indication your blood has turned to ice or that your lungs are on the verge of collapsing. Think, you rack your brain frantically. For Maker’s sake, think of something .

“You’re already in hot water, Cupid 1-1-7,” Lang says. His southern accent softens the words, but you still manage to detect the warning laced within them. “Don’t make it worse for yourself by being stubborn.”

As much as you loathe to admit it, Lang has a point. By continuing to resist, you’re only hurting yourself by increasing the time spent separated from Din. You don’t want to break your promise to him. Or, that little voice in the back of your mind chips in, cause Din to destroy Kuiil’s farm out of a panic-induced rage when you don’t show up tonight like you promised you would.

Inhaling a deep breath to steady your nerves, you hold out your marked hand, palm facing up to clearly display the soulmate marking. The little black heart almost seems to glow at being the center of attention.

“That is impossible,” Morgan murmurs, looking from your hand to her colleagues and back again. “No one can have two soulmates.”

“And yet here we have living proof contradicting that belief,” Gideon answers, gesturing towards you grandly with both arms. There is something in his voice—awe, you identify a second later—that has your body instinctively stiffening.

“That belief is the natural order of the universe.” Morgan’s voice is snappish, but outwardly she is her calm and collected self, not a single strand of hair out of place. “She is a deviation of the norm. A glitch.”

“If other Cupids find out about her,” Hess begins, pointing a finger at you like the others have no idea who he’s talking about. Like you’re not able to hear every word. “They’ll start thinking maybe there’s a second soulmate out there somewhere for them too, someone to replace the one who rejected them in their mortal life. They’ll start questioning the natural order, the foundation of our galactic society, and all those questions will only lead to one thing: unrestrained chaos.”

“In order to prevent that unfavorable outcome, I would like to encourage a moment of observation.” Gideon looks to someone out of range of the holoprojector, nodding his head once in confirmation. “Take one last long look for Cupid 1-1-7 is a unique anomaly you may never have the chance of seeing again.”

You blink, heart going still as the implication registers. “What?”

Before anyone can answer or scold you, a purple-skinned twi'lek Cupid you don’t recognize casually enters the conference room, like she isn’t guilty of intruding on a private meeting. Almost as if...someone had summoned her. Your gaze darts briefly to Gideon, suspicions confirmed when you see his smirking face, before looking back at the twi’lek drawing closer.

“It’s time for your reassessment test. I’m here to take you there,” she tells you, baring her fanged teeth in what you think is supposed to be a smile, but it lacks any warmth or friendliness. You can only stare back at her, every cell in your body screaming this isn’t right. You shouldn’t need an escort to the testing room.

“I can go by myself,” you protest, holding your ground.

She lunges forward with lightning-quick reflexes, seizing your elbow and leaning disturbingly close into your personal space. “Pity,” she says, feigning a pout. “I thought we could become friends.”

Something sharp pricks your arm. You first notice the mischievous gleam in her dark eyes, and then when you look down, you discover a needle being pulled out of you arm. The room starts to spin, fuzzy black spots appearing in the corners of your vision, and you sag against the wall, balance failing you.

Closing your eyes, you try to focus on your soulmate bond, calling out to Din as the numbing sensation spreads to your feet and you collapse onto the floor without an ounce of grace.

Then, distant and distorted, as if it is coming from somewhere underwater hundreds of miles away, you hear a responding cry, “Angel!”

Din. Oh, thank the Maker, you think hysterically. The delicate line between reality and imagination shifts and blurs, as if it also is succumbing to the drug’s influence. You feel his hands clutch at your face, then move to your shoulders, shaking you in an effort to force your eyes open. You want to see his beautiful face, even if it is merely an illusion, but your eyelids feel as if they suddenly weigh a hundred pounds each.

“Tell me where you are,” he demands, tightly gripping your arms to the point of pain. “I’ll come save you, just tell me where I can find you.”

The answer is on the tip of your tongue, only your mind starts to drift again, pulling you away from him towards unconsciousness. Your bond's strength wavers, unable to keep the connection stable across the lengthy distance separating you and him, and it begins to curl in on itself.

Din must notice this, too, screaming so loudly it verges on roaring, “Stay with me, angel! Please, just stay with—”

The last thing you think of before everything goes black is how much you hate breaking your pinky promise to him.

Tag List: @leilei-draws​, @theocatkov​, @vintagesaph​, @stardust-and-starlight​, @adrieunor​, @remmyswritings​, @gallowsjoker​, @rhiannon-russo​, @randomness501​, @sylphene​, @softly-sad​, @maytheglitter​, @melobee​, @rogertaylorsfalsettogivesmehives​, @eleinemk​, @captain-jebi​, @aerynwrites​, @promiscuoussatan​, @stilllivindue2spite​, @coaaster​, @lin-djarin​, @becauseican2, @kay2304, @odelia-d32, @nicotinebirds

[553butterfly553]

The Dawn of Our Love - Getting Closer: Ai

It took a few days before Ai could go over to his creator's home. He lived close by, but not close enough that Ai could easily go there. He had to wait until he had a day with a few free hours, however, he had to cancel his afternoon with Ember, which to his confusion, made him feel something bad within him. He deduced that he felt guilty for canceling his plans with the girl, but she didn't seem too upset, so he figured that it was fine. He also felt slightly bad that he lied to her about his reasons for why he had to cancel. He told her that he needed to do some extra work for Shining instead of telling her he was going to meet with his creator.

“So Ai, what brings you here today?” Hakase, Ai's creator questioned once the robot showed up on his doorstep. He invited his creation in and sat down with him in his office.

“I believe I have a virus or possibly a glitch.” The cyan-haired male responded simply.

“Why do you think that? Did any scans of yourself show anything wrong?”

“No, however...” Ai then explained the situation to him stalking his friend and how he began to feel something towards her that he could not explain. After finishing his story, Hakase began to chuckle, which confused the robot even more than he already was. “I do not understand what is so funny about what I told you.”

“I know what your problem is Ai, and I can fix it easily.” The doctor began to work on Ai and informed him that he would be adding a new chip to him. “This will help you produce and feel the emotions you have begun to feel. Ai, you are falling for that female you talked about, Ember correct? This will help you further your feelings towards her.”

“I believe I understand. Thank you.”

“Once I'm done here, go and tell Ember your feelings and begin dating her. That's the next step after developing feelings for a woman.”

“I have done research on dating, therefore I am already aware.”

“Alright Ai, well, I wish you good luck.” Once his creator was finished with his updates, Ai left and headed off to find Ember. He wanted to explain the situation to her right away.

It took him a little while to find her since he didn't ask her where she would be once he told her they couldn't hang out, but he figured with such a beautiful day, she'd be outside somewhere. He was right, of course, and Ember was outside near the lake painting the scene in front of her. At that moment, Ai was frozen. The sun was shining down illuminating her pastel pink hair and causing her to look as if she was glowing. Ai was stunned at how beautiful she was and was also stunned at how he was feeling. He never felt like that towards anyone or anything before, and he could feel, what he assumes is happiness towards his own feelings. All of the emotions he felt at that moment caused him to want to tell Ember the whole situation even more than before.

"Ember," Ai began, slightly startling the female. She turned to him and smiled at him.

"Hey Ai, I didn't think I'd see you today. How'd your extra work go?" Ember gently set down her painting supplies and wiped any excess paint onto the already paint covered pants she wore. Her shirt also had various patches of paint from past works she'd done. Ai also noted that along with the different clothing, she wore none of her jewelry that she very literally always wore.

"Actually, I did not tell you the truth earlier. I had no extra work to do. I visited my creator to get more data on myself."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I will tell you, however first, you said I may ask you something if I wanted to know it, instead of stalking you again, right?”

“Of course Ai, you can ask me anything.”

“Your feelings towards me, they are...” Ai paused to think of the word he was trying to say. “Are they romantic feelings for me?”

Ember's reaction was not exactly what Ai expected from the girl. Her face slowly flushed red and she became a bit standoffish. It worried the male a little as Ember looked towards the ground and seemed suddenly very nervous. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before looking off at the lake in front of them. She was going to answer, however, Ai had found out enough from her reaction and began to speak again.

“I was stalking you, as you already are aware. Of course, that is not my usual behavior, therefore I thought I may have a virus or a glitch in my system. I went to my creator and he informed me that my system had no imperfections, however, I was beginning to change. Feeling were developing for you and so he assisted with the process and installed a new informational chip within me to further my feelings for you.”

“So you stalked me because you had a crush on me and now you have begun to have even deeper feelings for me than that?”

“Correct. That would mean that your fears were incorrect, as your romantic feelings for me are requited.”

“So you were able to figure out how I feel about you?”

“Yes, your reaction to my question just moments ago gave me plenty of information to come to that understanding.”

“I see, so... what happens now Ai?” Ember was still nervous and blushing slightly. She hadn't been confronted like this before and her feelings for Ai were significantly deeper than anything she had ever felt for someone before. She didn't want them to just stay friends since it was now clear the robot shared her romantic feelings, but she was worried about how things would go since she could only assume that he'd never been in a relationship before.

“My data shows that the next step is to begin a relationship. However, I have never been in one before so you will have to assist me along the way.” To this, Ember began to laugh which confused Ai. “What is it?”

“Ai, I've never been in a relationship either, so this is something we're going to have to figure out together.” Ai nodded his head and watched as the girl turned to look at her painting.

“Finish your painting. I'm going to go and talk to Kotobuki about how a relationship is supposed to go.” With that, Ai left the girl to do her painting.

The next few weeks were complicated but amazing for the new couple. They learned a lot more about each other and grew quite close. The two found out that they were very compatible, however, both of them had no relationship experience so things were a little strange. The advice they got from their friends didn't really help much and just resulted in even more confusion as none of them could agree on how a relationship should go. However, Ai and Ember did figure out things on their own, as in their decision that there would be no sexual activities during their time as just dating. It was something unlike most of their friends who already were participating in sexual activities.

Since they were getting advice from their friends, that also opened them up to many questions from them as well. Mostly they were harmless questions that were simple to answer, but others were deep and involved a lot of thinking to describe (For example, why Ember had feelings for Ai in the first place). All 8 of them had found out from Ai that he wasn't a human, which caused different reactions. The other members of QUARTET NIGHT weren't surprised that he was a robot so they were fine with it and accepted it quickly. However, the other 3 members of DAWN gave some issues. Serin was freaked out but came to grips with it once he convinced her he wasn't evil. Arcadia found it to be amazing and wanted to know everything about him, which honestly frightened the robotic man as the look Arcadia gave him was similar to a starved beast. He thought she was going to try to take him apart, but she was quickly calmed down by Camus.

However, the biggest issue lied with Adryn. When the words “I am an artificial intelligence, not human” came out of Ai's mouth, Adryn very literally jumped out of a window. Thankfully they were only on the second floor and she wasn't hurt, but she refused to be anywhere near Ai until the day they all met in the cafeteria to have a questioning meeting for the couple. Getting her there was difficult and it took Reiji and Ember to convince her, but then drag her and hold her there to ensure she didn't run away. That was how they all found out that Adryn was petrified of robots.

“So disturbingly strange pink-haired female...” Camus began as the 8 of them were all sitting around in the cafeteria for dinner, once they were all settled in. They all had been asking random questions and it was finally Camus' turn to ask something. Arcadia hoped that he wouldn't ask anything rude so they were trying to stop him from asking anything until later into the meeting, but everyone knew what was coming as soon as he opened his mouth to speak.

“What is it stuck-up-iceman?” Ember retorted as she smiled at the man, pretty much unfazed by his rude beginning. She lived by the saying “I'll respect you if you respect me” so she was rude towards him as long as he was rude to her.

“If Mikaze now has something within him to produce feelings for him, how can you know for sure that he actually loves you and isn't now just programmed to love you? Also, what if he has no feelings at all and because of the item within him, he's being forced to care for you. It's almost like he could be your personal boyfriend, made specifically for you.”

“Are you trying to say that the love Ai and my sister share is fake?” Adryn instantly spoke up, defending the lovers. She had to admit to herself though, she was thinking that way too but wouldn't dare mention it to her sister. However, just the thought of someone else questioning it made her angry. Reiji had to hold her back as Camus glared at her, causing the red-haired female to become infuriated.

“I'm saying that isn't it a possibility?”

“I am a big believer in true love, and I know that what Ai and I have is that. No matter what you think Camus. However, I appreciate the worry.” Ember simply responded, not even affected by his question. Ai, though, frowned and began to think about what the icy man questioned.

“I wasn't worried!” He instantly glared at Arcadia as she began to chuckle at his possible lie. “Silence woman!” At the two beginning to bicker, everyone quickly fled out of the room. Since it was now a bit later than they were all expecting, the pairs split up and headed to their own rooms, well everyone but Ai and Ember. The two of them walked off together towards the female dorms but stopped at the staircase.

“Ai, what's the matter?” Ember could see that something was bothering her boyfriend and it was concerning to her. She didn't like the thought that he was upset or was feeling anything negative.

“I was thinking about what Camus said. Do you think he could be correct at all?” Ai looked out the window the two were near and stared out at the scenery. “It isn't fair to you. My feelings could possibly be nothing more than something forced and fake. When I think that my feelings for you could be made up or coerced, it causes a painful feeling in my chest.”

“Ai, I believe that you do truly care for me and you know I truly care for you. That's all that matters. True love is real, and I believe that's what we have.”

“Is that what you truly believe, or are you feeling denial about the possibilities?” Ai looked at Ember with a sad look on his face.

“Listen, it's been a long day and we're both tired, so let's just go to bed and talk about this in the morning.” Ember began to walk down the hall towards her room. “Goodnight Ai.” With that, the girl closed the door and got ready for bed. It wasn't that she didn't want to deal with it or was in denial. She knew that Ai's feelings could be fake, but she also knew that she believes that true love can trump anything.

The next day, the members of DAWN and QUARTET NIGHT were called to the cafeteria at 10 in the morning. Most of the two groups had been awake for hours already but a few were still wearing pajamas and by a few that means Adryn and Serin. Once everyone was in the room Hyuga walked in looking extremely annoyed.

“Alright listen up everyone. Shining has been hearing a lot of rumors and talks about the relationship between these two.” He motioned at Ember and Ai, drawing everyone attention to the couple. Ai and Ember were sitting next to each other and just looked at one another, confused. “Shining has sent me to inform you all that Ai's creator lied. He never put any chip within him and any feelings he is feeling now is because they are being created by him. He has been developing human emotions for a little while now. So his “love” with Ember, is true.” Once he said his explanation, he left the room to do whatever things he had to do.

The group talked to one another for a few moments before attention was again turned to the couple. Ember was smirking and Ai looked a little shocked.

“See Ai, I told you that true love existed.” Ember smiled at her boyfriend, and after a few moments of shock and confusion, he returned her smile. The couple paid no mind to the horrified looks of their friends at the robot smiling a true smile for the first time in front of them all.