“Master? Is that…you?”

______________________

My ears registered the soft human voice, and I felt my heart drop for the second time.

It’s really him.

He looked just like he did five years ago—somewhat sixteen, with the same porcelain skin, slim, lean figure.

“Master? You look…” AI paused, as if to consider his choice of words, “young.”

I frowned, then realized that AI was calling me ‘Master’.

“Uh—I’m not Father if that’s what you’re saying. It’s me, Suoh,” I scratched the back of my head, wondering how much I could possibly have grown in five years to actually look like Father. Guess I frown too much.

“Oh!” AI’s eyes widened, and his head tilted to the side, “Young Master, I didn’t know puberty hit you so hard—it must have been very exciting—“

There’s one thing about this droid that I never understood: It never talked common sense. The other droids were so set on facts that you could never find any fault with them. This droid?

Doesn’t make sense at all.

Dammit, so cute.

“Young Master? Is something the matter?”

I mentally cursed myself for fantasizing about the droid in front of me and approached the platform, examining the cuffs that held AI above the platform and the wires that coiled around his body.

“Wait, I need to find a way to get you out of this.”

I turned towards the workbench, flipping the laptop open.

“Please take your time, Young Master.”

I grunted in frustration. “Doesn’t it hurt?”

AI tilted his head to the side once again, “Me?”

“Yeah you,” I typed the usual password into my Father’s laptop, and realized that he had changed it. “Tsk.”

“Ah, you mean the cuffs? Now that you mention it—yes, yes it does.”

“…” I forgot that he had been in position for almost five years. It’s a miracle that his wrists didn’t break. Oh wait, but he is a miracle. All droids are miracles. 

“AI, what’s the password to the laptop?”

“Is it not E-M-M-A-5-2-3-9?”

“No. He changed it.”

AI paused, adverting his eyes. “Ah, I do recall Master changing his password a few days ago—“

“AI, five years have passed.”

His head snapped up, and his deep orbs wavered. “Excuse me?”

“I’m fifteen. Sixteen in a few weeks,” I pressed, and seeing the shock on AI’s face, frowned. “You. Where have you been?”

He broke eye contact, as if burnt from my gaze. “I…I do not know.”

Should I tell him about Father? That he’s dead?

…

No. Not yet. I need to find out more, about their relationship, about the disappearance, about…AI.

“Forget it. Do you know the password?”

“Ah, impatient as ever, I see,” AI smiled slightly. “Why don’t you ask Master, Young Master?”

I waved him off, typing another set of trial passwords I came up with. “He’s away, on some sort of trip.”

“With the Mistresses I see?” AI asked patiently, but I saw the sadness in his eyes.

How human could he possibly get?

“No. Alone. He uh…asked me to come get you from the lab,” I lied.

AI’s eyes lit up, and all of a sudden, he seemed to be brimming with hope. “R-Really? Is that so?” There was relief in his voice.

“Then I believe I must tell you the password—it is L-A-S-T-9-3-5-7.”

I heard the beep from the laptop and it restored to the page my Father last opened.

It was a command panel for the machines in the lab. I searched for the panels that controlled AI’s platform, wondering whether there was a way to get rid of the wires and tubes safely.

“Got it,” I typed ‘initiate’ into the command box of platform 26 and there was an immediate electrical whir that came from the platform.

The metal cuffs came apart with a sharp ‘clink’ and AI collapsed to the ground with the wires and tubes entangled at his feet.

“That…was rather surprising,” He claimed, fiddling with the black wires wrapped around his ankles.

“Sorry,” I didn’t remember any initiation that began with droids dropping to their platforms—that would mean that they weren’t fixed properly to their stands.

I paused.

Was Father in a hurry to shut AI down?

Noting that, I helped AI with the wires and tubes, proceeding to lift him up to his feet.

Oh. He’s really light.

“Ah, thank you Young Master, and oh! Would you look at that, you’re an inch taller than I am,” AI said, and I swore I heard a sound of awe.

I’m learning more about AI in the past thirty minutes than I did for the five years of my life with him.

One thing I’m sure: He’s very fond of Father. The way his eyes lit up was rare. Very rare.

AI took a step forward and wobbled—then his knees gave in.

My arms shot forward instinctively to grab his shoulders, steadying him. “Forgot how to walk?”

“P-Perhaps so…” AI said weakly, and then he actually tried to make an excuse. “I guess my joints must have been rusty after all those years huh?”

I shrugged, helping him to a chair.

AI’s form was just how I remembered it to be. Lean, free of muscle, but firm. Nice to touch.

“Young Master? The smile on your face is creepy,” AI pointed out, straightforward as he was. But innocently so.

“Really? Thanks.”

AI laughed. “But I do believe you look like your Father when you smile, Young Master.”

“Hmm…creepy?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Not…not really…” There was a fond look in his eyes, and I felt my heart do an ugly twist.

Me?

Jealous of my own Father?

Fuck this.

The flimsy plastic chair was lightweight and uncomfortable, but it was the only chair in the room, and AI seemed satisfied with it.

“What’s your life source? You must be starving after five years,” I said, concerned, as I searched the files of my Father’s laptop for AI’s info.

“My life source? Ah…I do not know either,” AI replied with a thoughtful smile.

“Ha? What do you mean you don’t know?”

“Master said that I didn’t have a life source. He said I would go when it was time,” The droid stated rather happily.

What?

Go when it was time?

That’s not possible.

All the droids that Father created have a life source—be it batteries, electrical charging, glucose, solar energy—whatever, all droids needed a source of life, of energy. It was their food, their water; something that gave them the life they possess.

It’s supposed to be their heart.

I turned to the droid who had a demure smile on his face.

This droid…has no life source?

“So…Father didn’t feed you anything? You don’t eat? You don’t drink? You never…you never ate anything your whole life here?” I asked, unbelieving.

I didn’t even notice that I had never seen AI eat before.

And I claim that I love him?

Wow.

“It would be more proper to say that I do not need to eat,” AI pointed out, eyes twinkling. “However, I have tried what you would call ‘cup noodles’ a few times. And I have to admit, it is rather appetizing.”

“Hmph,” I thought, unconvinced. “You think cup noodles might be your life source?”

AI looked shocked for a moment, but he considered the idea. “I…I never thought about that. You might be right.”

I sighed. “I’ll go get some from the kitchen, you stay here. Don’t go out, got it?” I warned, crossing the lab to the entrance.

AI nodded obediently and stood up to dip his head in a bow. “Yes Young Master, I will stay here.”

___________________

I returned with two steaming cups of ‘Chicken’ flavored cup ramen, balancing one on my knee while I keyed in the password to Father’s laboratory.

“AI, I’m back.”

My Father’s droid (or rather, mine) had his head rested on the table, and he seemed to be asleep.

His dark lashes fanned out underneath his glasses, and then they fluttered. “O-Oh, Master—you’re here,” He straightened up immediately with a fond look in his beautiful eyes—and I was sure he was not looking at me.

“Um…AI? It’s me, Suoh. Not Father.”

I frowned, setting the cup noodles on the work bench. Was there something wrong with AI’s memory? Did his automatic recognition go haywire?

“A-Ah,” For a split second, AI’s cheeks reddened, and I was rendered speechless at the expression. “My apologies, Young Master.”

“Do I…look like Father?”

AI glanced up at me through his lashes and considered the question. “I…believe so—either that, or my automatic recognition is malfunctioning,” AI replied with a gentle smile.

“Mm,” I grunted, dissatisfied with his answer. As unfortunate as it sounds, I was terribly envious of the way AI looked, or talked to Father. I was jealous of my own father. Wow.

“You seem to be rather disappointed, Young Master. Is something the matter?” AI asked innocently, his eyes curious.

“Nothing,” I replied monotonously, pushing the steaming cup of ‘Chicken’ flavored noodles towards him, handing him a pair of disposable chopsticks.

AI nodded his thanks, and then thanked me for the food once again.

I pulled my own chopsticks apart hastily, not caring that they came apart in an uneven fashion. Stirring the noodles clumsily, I sent a large portion into my mouth—just like how I usually ate: messily, clumsily, like…a barbarian. Well, that’s what my sisters say.

I glanced up at AI through the thin steam rising from my noodles, and noticed how he picked up a few strands of noodles neatly with his chopsticks, then proceed to blow gently before parting his lips and slipping the strings into his mouth.

The way he ate was flawless—unmatched, as expected from AI. There’s always this one side of everyone that’s unglamorous when they do a specific action—like running, or eating, or sneezing—but AI seemed to have none.

And God, that drove me to the edge with irritation, but I couldn’t help the cruel sense of admiration and affection that I had for every single part of him.

With that insane desire I had for AI, came with the insane desire to know him more—to know his everything.

I need that book.

I’m going to get it.

____________________

A/N: Hello everyone! ^0^ So here’s the second chapter of Human, and I managed to get something up (just a mere 1.5k words though) I hope you like where this is going >_< uwa. Thank you for reading! If you’re waiting for the next chapter of Baked Love, it’s almost done ^0^ Thank you for your patience!

*hugs* *gets icing all over your face*

-Cuppiecake.