A/N: I thought I wouldn't update in forever but who knew? Forever is here. Oh God 8 months is a long time. But! It's a long chapter :> *sends you a lifetime supply of cupcakes in apology*

__________________________

Suoh knew that he couldn't possibly wake up earlier than the droid he loved; partly due to the fact that he was very comfortable in the bed that they shared, much so that he'd rather face the miffed sighs and warnings of AI—but also partly due to the fact that he was, in fact, a very lazy man.

"Suoh."

He grunted in acknowledgement; before turning over.

"Suoh."

He groaned as his droid pulled the covers away.

"Suoh."

"Tsk—what?" He finally opens an eye, making an unpleasant sound of annoyance. The crimson hair of his was nothing but a mess, yielding a calm but irked response from AI.

A slender finger of his reached up to adjust the slim metal frames on the bridge of his nose. "Suoh, if you stay in the bed for a minute longer, you will be 52 seconds late for school. I understand that yesterday was the last day of your summer holidays, but it is mere etiquette for you to be punctual on your first day."

"Mm," Suoh grunts, a smirk tugging at the edge of his lips. "Late is good."

He jerked the covers out of AI's grasp and resumed sleep.

His droid felt the last straw tugging itself free from his patience, and he resorted to an unfair trade.

"Suoh, if you don't get out of bed this instant, I shall revert to calling you by your rightful title: Young Master." AI laid out simply with a hint of a smile on his small lips as he began to walk away with the false threat stretching taut in the air.

"—s'nt that blackmail?" Despite casting a careless amber gaze on his droid and running a hand through his messy hair, Suoh rose without hesitation—dragging his feet towards the bathroom.

There was a slight cough from AI after a moment's silence.

"I wasn't aware of your...extensive range of vocabulary, Suoh. Blackmail, in my opinion, is an exaggeration."

"Nn..." The young master mused lazily with a raised brow. "For a droid, you're good at changing the subject."

"Really? Thank you for your compliment," AI smiled gently, a sincere blossom that hung on the edge of his small lips.

Suoh snorted, a hint of a smirk at the corner of his lips. "It wasn't."

"Oh?" The droid's expression changed immediately, smile reduced to a look of mild surprise. "But I was sure—"

"Hungry," The teenager interrupted shortly, staring at his toothbrush for a moment before raising a lazy hand to put it in his mouth whilst forgetting the toothpaste.

AI huffed, shaking his head as he chided his master. "I am sure we can handle that after you take a shower, Suoh," He held out a hand for the toothbrush, which Suoh raised an eyebrow at before getting his intentions.

He passed it over.

AI applied a perfect, calculated amount of toothpaste onto the teenager's brush; before handing it back to the owner who was too lazy to do anything by himself when he had the assistance of his droid.

Nodding a silent thanks, he proceeded to brush his teeth whilst leaning against the basin; gaze lingering on the reflection of the droid's eyes through the mirror.

They were skies.

AI huffed, pushing up his glasses with in an elegant motion. "I would prefer it if you kept your eyes to yourself, Suoh."

There was a short, amused laugh.

Again—the teenager couldn't care less, openly defying his droid as his gaze raked the other from top down.

AI cleared his throat firmly, skies in his eyes slightly sharper than usual. "I'd like you to know that I am well aware of your focal point, if you happen to have forgotten the various abilities of a droid like myself."

"Nn," Suoh spat the minty paste into the basin, rinsing his mouth before taking his shirt off and dropping it to the icy floor. "Coming?" He raised a brow, jerking his thumb towards the shower.

AI's system was perfectly unable to register such an obvious indication of interest; for there was no such thing as 'sexual invitation from Young Master' computed into his mind, and Suoh was quick to notice the blank expression on his droid's face.

He sighed. "Forget I said that."

"You are far too old for help in the shower, Suoh. A capable Young Master like yourself should be well able to handle such a simple task."

"I wasn't asking for help," Suoh growled, stripping before getting into the shower. "You're not very sharp; for such an advanced central system."

AI crossed his arms indignantly.

"How rude."

"Oh, you want me to put it bluntly?" The teen laughed low, turning the shower on and looking at AI with hooded eyes.

"No thank you, I understand perfectly well. I will take my leave now," The droid bowed behind the glass that separated the shower room from the rest of the bathroom, and left with a gentle click of the door.

The red head that was very much used to being alone suddenly felt a strange loss of company.

He let the water wash away the foreign sensation; snorting at no one in particular.

"Perfectly well my ass."

____________________________

By the time Suoh came out of the shower with a towel riding low on his hips, AI was ready with his Young Master's perfectly-ironed school uniform laid neatly over the covers.

The droid was dusting the table top—slender hands moving in a fluid manner that resembled nothing like a human's.

It was simply far too elegant; beauty that held little meaning in its indescribable form of something that was more than an art that could not be replicated.

Suoh noticed the slight glint of AI's glasses as he adjusted the metal frames once again, not noticing the presence of his Young Master just yet.

The red head found, in himself, a certain longing that rose from within—perhaps, calming the monster underneath his skin.

It drew. Slightly, magnetic.

A force that was unseen, Suoh unconsciously let it drown the unreturned warmth and Love that could do nothing but awaken the soul behind his eyes.

Indeed—it drowned, and overwhelmed.

And though Suoh had not made a single movement—despite the heart that was drawn, seeking and moving to something that was more elegant than a swan—towards the one he strangely, truly, humanly loved;

The droid's attention was caught.

"Suoh," AI turned quickly with a bow, hands hiding the duster behind his back. "My apologies. I had not noticed your presence moments before. Please, do put on your uniform and hurry downstairs for breakfast—"

"You'll be staying here, won't you?" Tone drifting nowhere further from his usual, lazy indifference, Suoh hid the wariness in the monster of his heart—hoping that it would rip it apart.

His droid revealed a rare smile that hid many secrets; the ones that Suoh both loved and hated with all of his soul. "Why, judging by the state of your chambers, I suppose so," AI mocked subtly, a sprightful lilt to his tone. "I shall be doing my best to clean this mess of a cave whereby a great lion resides in."

The youth snorted, an amused smile playing on the edge of his lips.

"Lion, huh?"

"Why yes of course."

The subject matter laughed shortly, dropping the towel without a care and reaching for the undergarments that the droid had promptly laid out for him—everything in his full glory.

"I am quite sure that you are aware of your tardiness, Suoh," AI, who had resumed his duty of dusting the bookshelves that contained close to nothing, turned to give his young master a mindful glance, "So perhaps it is time you—oh good God excuse me."

The droid turned away immediately as soon as his gaze rested upon the unclothed Suoh, who was, apparently, too lazy to dress quickly.

"Ah?" The red head grunted lowly, glancing over his shoulder with a tilt of his head.

AI coughed; and despite the other being unable to see the shade of red that dusted the droid's cheeks in the most unhuman manner— it yielded a satisfactory smirk from the former.

"I would appreciate it if you could, perhaps, inform me—preferably in advance—of your unsightly excessive exposure of human skin," The droid continued to dust the shelf, not noticing that he had been doing the same one for the longest minute; and pretending that he was not in the least rattled by the admittedly appealing sight.

Suoh was barely half-dressed. "I don't need to report everything to a droid."

He hid a smirk, but it was heard in his tease.

"Well," AI showed no sign of disappointment at the retort. He merely smiled, as he always did; and perhaps this was why the Young Master had a hard time reading this artificial intelligence—for it was not meant to be read.

Just like how humans were not meant to be books—

Ready to be pulled out of a shelf,

And read out to the world.

"I suggest the young man in front of me, who appears to be unable to perform the most basic and simplest tasks such as tying a tie—to refrain from saying such words that undermine his own ability."

Suoh grunted lazily in response, not bothering to fix the messy tie that was unfortunately a part of his uniform. "I'm going."

"Not with that appearance, Young Master," AI stated, an outstretched hand stopping the other from leaving. "It is my duty to ensure that you look your best."

Suoh obeyed, stopping—as his heart did.

He searched the skies of the other, gazing into—out of—the pair of windows that he so wished would tell him, show him, a sign of the weather inside this non-human being.

"...you angry?" The red head asked, wondering if the slender hands working on the silk tie could feel the heart of its owner race in a thunderous storm.

Raising his gaze to meet Suoh, AI never left his smile behind.

"I wonder."

"That's a yes, right?"

"Hm..." The droid's eyes showed the simplest, clearest sky at night. "I wonder."

Skilled hands worked at perfection—as fast as he undid the tie the night before.

"Why are you angry?"

AI looked up from his completed task.

This time, a single star shone.

"I wonder."

___________________________

[Suoh]

"Oh, finally up, aren't you?"

Ah. Too lazy to give fuck today.

I continued down the stairs, as if I had not heard my step-mother.

"Suoh. Look at me when I am talking to you," It was a firm order. I didn't plan to listen, and it wasn't as if I had time anyway. I was running late.

Then again—did I care?

God, thinking makes me tired.

Stopping in my tracks, I turned; raising my gaze to meet Lucinda's at the top of the stairs. "You were talking to me?"

As expected, she did not bother to play a part in any form of amusement—only stared with the sharp eyes of hers, descending the steps as she looked down upon me. "You know, I was hoping that you were aware of how concerned we are of your wellbeing, dear Suoh."

I take back my words.

She's actually being funny here.

I laughed shortly. "Mm."

Step-mother continued; as if she had not heard my response. "I would like to know if, per chance, you had bothered to even move your feet for more than twenty steps away from your chambers—"

Then she paused, head turning—and I found myself staring into the eyes of an ugly heart.

"Have you been to the basement?"

I almost let my feet stop.

"Too lazy."

"Hm, I should have known," Lucinda laughed, condescending. "Someone who doesn't care about being late for school would never bother about anything unnecessary, would he?"

She looked at me once again, a terrible fake smile lining painted lips—as if to confirm.

And to warn.

"No."

"Good, then."

I didn't bother replying, simply crossing the hall and opening the damn double doors of the prison that this mansion truly was.

Strange enough, I wasn't all too unhappy about being in prison;

And even a fool would know why.

____________________________

I passed the drawing room, bag over my shoulder whilst stifling an oncoming yawn.

A stern voice sounded from the open doors, addressing me.

"I heard from dear Marissa that the school has organized a trip to London, is that right—Suoh?"

"It is?"

Lucinda scoffed with a smile. "Silly me, it is unlikely that you know anything at all."

I said nothing, but before I could continue towards my chambers, she made a final remark as if to stop me from doing so.

"I think it well. Perhaps the school has decided to give hopeless students like yourself a chance to become educated. London suits you perfectly—a day or two would barely suffice, however. And so I made it a point to mention that you and Marissa would like to extend your stay."

A thing inside me rose, snapping to attention and turning its head towards the source of disturbance.

I frowned, back against Lucinda.

"It is rather unfortunate that Lowe does not attend such a prestigious academy—really, some people don't deserve to be there at all," I snorted, tired of her underhanded insults.

"She'd be such great company to have for a week in London."

Yes, yes—zero fucks were given.

_______________________________

I bumped into someone as I was turning into the hallway leading towards my room.

"Oh! My—I mean, phew, it's just you," Margaret rolled her eyes with a sigh, placing a hand over chest as if she was about to faint from anxiety or something. "Good God I thought you were mother Lucinda."

I raised a brow.

"You up to something...?"

She froze, back straight in a blink. "No, no—not at all."

"Which reminds me; you are in trouble," My step-sister said in effort to divert my attention. I wasn't particularly interested in her matters anyway, since it'd only mean that I would have less time with AI.

"Trouble?"

"Deep shit, yes."

She nodded in an exaggerated manner, and I almost snorted at how childish and simple she was. In some ways, it didn't bother me that much.

"How deep?"

"Verry, very deep—you'll know soon. You're going back to your chambers, is that right?" Margaret turned behind, gesturing at the door to my room.

I frowned slightly. "You entered without my permission?"

"Oh! Oh no," She raised an urgent hand and waved it to dismiss my assumption. "It was locked. I checked that the corridors were empty before knocking—softly, mind you—and AI answered of course. He is very polite, unlike the owner of the room."

Margaret dodged my hand that attempted to mess up her hair, laughing as she disappeared at the end of the hallway having dropped a subtle insult.

I sighed with a shrug, turning to proceed towards to initial destination. Not really understanding what she meant just yet.

___________________________

The first thing I noticed was that my room was unusually clean; except for the stack of magazines on my study desk that remained fairly unused. For many years.

It was when I had decided to pick up the first magazine at the top of the stack when I finally realized what they were.

Margaret was right when she said I was in deep shit.

"Oh. Young Master, you're back," AI said stiffly, a steam iron raised dangerously in his right hand. I placed the magazine back on top of the pile, approaching him slowly.

"Yes—look, put that down. I can explain," Great, he's now refusing to call me by my name. Apparently, one of my talents included pissing people off naturally.

"Ah yes, of course. How dangerous of me to do so," The droid smiled; but his eyes didn't. He placed the steam iron back on its holder, gazing at me expectantly. "I am listening."

Sure, I wasn't the best at explaining things. Neither was I good at it in the very least—explaining things required talking and talking was difficult and tiring. For my entire life, I was probably too lazy to even care.

But this was serious. Might as well try.

"These aren't mine," I started slowly, glancing at the stack of porn mags on my desk.

"Oh, so who do they belong to?"

"A friend—"

"Oh, so you conveniently forgot to return all of them?"

"The majority, yes," This was going nowhere.

"And these, too?" AI stepped aside, and behind him lay two stacks of the more explicit ones.

"...how did you even find those stuff?" I thought I had hid them well.

Guess I thought wrong.

"By cleaning your room, of course," He smiled triumphantly, skies twinkling in mischief—then darkening. "Is that all you have to say?"

"...it's really up to you to believe me. I don't expect you to—but seriously, do you think I'd actually bother going to the store to buy anything other than food?"

AI paused, considering the option that I had laid out.

"Well, that is...a likely prospect, I must say. But nevertheless! How dare you not consult my advice, or permission, at all? And to fill your room with so many of these—" AI produced a copy of Droidlife, tossing it in my direction and it landed on my feet with a smack.

For a moment, I was confused.

"This—I believe, is the most recent issue of Droidlife," His eyes lowered, and he took an elegant second to adjust his glasses. "Could it be, Suoh...that you were planning to replace me?"

AI had lost his collected composure; fallen shoulders and unsettled eyes surfacing anew. He bit his lip—glancing up at me before lowering his gaze once more.

"Well...I-I understand that...I might not tell the most pleasant bedtime stories, nor do I have the latest version of a central system...and perhaps you find me inefficient in some manner or another; but I really have tried my best to make up for it by cleaning your room while you were away—"

I stopped him before he went too far; holding up a very annoyed and very pissed hand.

"Shut up for a second—are you mad?" AI blinked. "There must be something wrong with your central system...here I was thinking you had a brain more advanced than mine."

"Why—that is not incorrect, Young Master. You do, indeed, have an inferior mind—"

I rolled my eyes with a snort. "Don't change the subject."

"Ah, was I doing that? How rude of me. My apologies."

"...did you even hear what I said down at the basement?"

AI paused thoughtfully. "Yes, certainly."

"That I Love some stupid droid who is apparently blind and very dense?"

"Um...yes...?" He answered quietly.

"That I Love—"

"Yes."

"—you?" His synthetic skin dusted a shy red.

AI didn't speak.

"So why the hell would I replace you?" I went on with a frown. "Besides, amongst all those porn mags you could have scolded me for you chose to pick out Droidlife? It's educational."

AI's lips parted, as if to speak—then closed with uncertainty in his skies.

He looked particularly human; someone unable to put thoughts into words.

Were droids even supposed to have thoughts?

"E-Educational? But," He turned away uneasily, as if in disbelief. "But I was sure the cover suggested an article of a new and advanced central system. Not to mention, the droid displayed on it was simply far too perfect for any human to resist, Young Master."

"Don't know a thing you're talking about. I haven't even read that thing."

In all truth, Lowe had purchased the magazine just a week before—raving about her science and mechanics and yeah, basically her life. She wanted me to read it because it was supposedly useful to know more information about droids since mine had a few problems.

But it didn't take an idiot to know that AI was no normal droid.

"Look, I'm not going to replace you. I don't even know how you got that sort of idea."

AI raised his head, his eyes a little darker than night. A hand touched the slim frame of his glasses that extended towards his ears, as if reminding himself of his imperfection.

"I...I'm afraid it is rather obvious, Young Master. I am flawed, after all."

I grunted in frustration, contemplating between kissing and stuffing his mouth with candy to shut him up. "This conversation is over."

AI blinked, upset.

"Suoh—"

"Good boy."

"..." AI did not register.

I sighed. "I mean, continue."

"I apologize if I have caused any discomfort. I had not meant to do so at all...perhaps it was hasty of me to jump to conclusions."

"Stop apologizing."

"...as you wish," AI bowed his head.

"And now we shall move on to the topic of your indecent readings!"

I froze.

"You're kidding—"

"I must say it was absolutely delightful of you to inform me of the content by yourself!" AI smiled pleasantly, as if proud. "I would have never known they were magazines about pornography had you not admitted it personally. Ah, the covers are very well crafted for the purpose of disguise."

"..." I pinched the bridge of my nose, going over to my bed in attempt to escape the nagging that I had brought upon myself.

"The covers explicitly say 'adults only'," I pointed out in defeat, wondering how slow AI could be at times despite his superb intellect.

"Yes but that could mean various things, Suoh," The droid said knowingly, adjusting the silver frame on the bridge of his nose as if he was giving a serious lecture. "For example, 'adults only' could very well mean the presence of politically sensitive content inside the readings, or violent images of unpleasant gore that would surely shock younger children of your age—"

"I'm sixteen. Shut up."

"Ah! But not yet," AI corrected. "You are sixteen tomorrow."

"Says the one who was reduced to a stuttering red mess when a 'child' asked about masturbating droids."

AI blushed furiously, turning indignant with protest.

"I—that!"

"You know what? I think you should read one of these," I reached over my desk to grab another magazine from the pile, chucking it in AI's direction before reclining on my bed. "Good for virgins like you."

What was I doing? Lying to myself—

The monster inside laughed with a mocking cry;

It dwelled on the irony of truth

But desired the comfort of lies.

He wasn't. 

He wasn't untainted. 

AI was too flustered to speak, barely catching the magazine before throwing a prompt glare in my direction.

"You can do whatever you want with it. It's not mine anyway."

"Since it is not, you should be more careful with it—and, in fact, return them this instant! How irresponsible of you, Suoh," AI folded his arms with a huff.

I shrugged.

We stilled in a moment of silence.

"Did you seriously think all of them were magazines about droids?" I voiced a sudden thought that clawed for attention. "Just now—when I first entered the room. Was that why you were so upset?"

AI's gaze lowered to the side, as if embarrassed. "Well as I said, it was impertinent of me to jump to conclusions—"

"Just answer the question."

My droid pouted with a grumble.

"Fine—yes. Yes, I did assume that you had piles of magazines about droids hidden under your bed and stashed away in your wardrobe—does that seem very amusing to you? You look very amused."

I was smirking, trying hard not to kiss the daylights out of him.

It would have meant that I would not get to see the skies that were his eyes. It's weird how they close in a kiss.

"I am."

"Amused?" AI raised a brow.

"Yes."

He sighed. "Very well. I shall entertain your child-like threshold of humor. Now please do not embarrass me any further, it is so upsetting."

I laughed shortly. "You look cute when you're upset. Like when you thought I was going to replace you."

"...I'm sure I made my dislike for irrelevant jokes quite clear, Young Master," AI relied stiffly, turning his back towards me as he tidied the stacks and began to transfer them to an old box. "Besides, I think it even more upsetting that you find an interest these...pictures."

"Ha, it upsets you?" I repeated, placing my hands behind my head as support. "Why?"

"No particular reason," AI replied simply—I could hear him shuffling around; arranging and fussing over the already limited shelves that I barely touched. "I...well, I understand that you are in the process of becoming an adult; hence such behavior might—I say, might—be excusable...but to such an extent!"

The droid gestured to the stacks that really, really didn't belong to me. It wasn't my fault that high school classmates pushed them onto me.

Yeah but I guess I should have remembered to return them even though I was far too lazy to actually read save flip through those tactless pages.

"I don't read them," Even I was surprised at the effort I made to repeat that. "They lack taste."

AI turned to me all of a sudden, eyes bright. "Is that so?"

"Go ahead and read if you don't believe me," I shrugged.

"No, no—in fact I was assuming the same thing," He said, tone strangely hopeful.

He was strange again;

Those skies that hid behind the lens of his glasses—almost window-like—were filled with a light. It reflected a sign of humanity; how fragile it was and far too vulnerable against the demons they saw.

"Mm..."

Not wanting to be caught staring, I turned to face the empty ceiling as I spoke. "Lucinda wants me to go to London."

I told him about the school trip. Just a brief sentence or two that I thought he should know.

"A week in London?" AI sounded fairly surprised as he leaned down to pick up the stray clothing on my floor. "I see."

He sounded distant, and I glanced over to see that his back was facing me once more.

"This might be a splendid opportunity for you to expand your already limited knowledge, Suoh," I could hear the smile in his voice, but I was too tired and too amused to think of something to say.

He seemed just enough to fill the empty heart that was mine—

Not that he knew;

But that itself was enough, really.

It was enough for a quiet afternoon.

_____________________________

The droid saw that the sun was almost set—

It coincided with the time in his system, so all was well.

He turned; away from the dust and the shelves and the brain he thought himself

Searching,

Corrected vision failing at the sight

Of the Master on his bed

Asleep

A smile

Turning in his head

Staring for a while.

The droid processed an emotion;

The name nameless—

He reached down, fingers caressing the palm he would

Hold, tight like a final embrace

Before, and whether he should

Assign a name for this curious emotion

That he, blind—could not see,

Free—

A slave to something he touched but could not

Hold

A warmth that was perhaps a little cold;

That feeling was an almost.

There was almost something

He could almost feel it

The beat in his chest—

Almost.

He was almost—

It was almost—

______________________________

It was almost Love

_______________________________

A/N:

I almost died eep. Gosh I'm terribly sorry for the wait, I mean it wasn't even a wait it was probably torture HAHAHAH. Well, I don't really have a block anymore but the main problem is going to be time, as usual >_< Flight School is my current priority among my books but I also have schoolwork and stuff ;_; Beyond Love is updated every 2 weeks so basically I'm really really busy @.@ eep. Hahaha but there's something about all of you that makes me write.

I'm really glad to have met you guys.

Since it's out that 'Human' was meant to be an AU for my OTP MikoRei, I shall hereby mourn for the end of K Return of Kings ;_; uwa I really wanted more. Poor Reisi. He's all alone.

(Get it? Get it? Cuz like AI will never die because he's immortal so he will be the one left behind too MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAA)

(omg I'm so deep in this shipping hell but I mean you guys saw it coming right...? R-Right? Nothing good can come out of a human falling in love with a droid. Hm. I wonder if droids can die...)

(Of course they can't, there's an off button.)

(Sorry if I made you angsty)

-Cuppiecake.

(Not sorry :'D I LOVE ANGST HUE)