As The World Falls Down

Shigure and Stella lay on the bed of the guest room. The lights inside it were off. Shigure snuggled beneath the covers while Stella did not. Both of them faced the roof. After the alarm had gone off, 'they' had probably called Shigure, just like last time. His phone had worked last time, though. That was the difference.

Well, no. Plenty of things were different now. A phone that'd landed on the worst possible angle along with its owner. Clothes, or lack thereof. A shop, or lack thereof.

"Perhaps you are cursed," Stella said.

"Perhaps."

"How do you feel? Don't lie."

"Bet... um. Like shit?"

"I understand."

Shigure let out a breath. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be silly. It's not your fault you slipped... for the most part. I'll admit that the amount of water vapor that your shower produced is highly abnormal, and you likely stepped on the puddle that—"

"Yes. I know. I like hot showers. I know. I fucking suck. I know."

Stella found herself smiling.

"...sorry."

"Don't be. I find your ten second tantrums highly endearing."

Shigure covered his eyes with his forearm. Bad? But then he smiled. "Trust me, I don't. They used to be a lot worse."

"Homicidal?"

"...not that bad. More like. I don't know. Stupid."

Stella faced him. It was okay since he wasn't looking at her. He wouldn't know. "Stupid how?"

"Impulsive, I guess. Like I said, that's how i got into this mess. I didn't kill anyone or rob a bank or anything, if that's what you're thinking. Even the boxing thing was technically legal."

Irina had used very similar terms for the mushroom mafia, but Stella digressed."Did you win any trophies?" She asked instead.

"No. It doesn't work like that."

"Money?"

"Yeah."

"Was that how you made a living?"

Shigure shook his head. "Actually... kind of, yeah. I worked at a teahouse at the time. Obviously, boxing was more profitable, and I was also studying, so I had to do one or the other. I should've just stayed at the teahouse."

"Oh?" Stella's whole body faced him now. Hopefully he wouldn't notice. "So you studied...in college?"

"Mhm. Guess what?"

"Social work?"

"Nope."

"Law? Mortuary science? Modeling?"

Now he looked at her, too. "Are you just saying whatever comes to mind?"

"No. It's because of the suits, and because you're tall and handsome."

"I'm flattered." He didn't sound flattered. "But no. Psychology."

Stella waited for a punchline that never came.

"...I knew you'd react like that."

"...wha..."

"I even have a doctorate. Somewhere. Not that it's useful for anything."

Those sure were words. They were coherent enough to follow a train of thought. "Why don't you... but... I thought...?"

"It's not anything special these days," he said. "Maybe like... high school? Back during the war? I don't know much about it."

"Me neither," Stella admitted.

"Really?"

"Yes." Stella would've rather gone to a library with a taco stand run by drones than talked about the subject, but since he'd opened up, so would she... if he inquired on the subject. She was still trying to assimilate Fuyukawa Shigure, criminal as Fuyukawa Shigure, doctor. Teahouse clerk. Clandestine athlete. Impulsive young... er... man. That last one was easy, honestly. "So you could give others urgent psychological care?"

"Uh... maybe? I've literally never used my degree."

Stella would've—perhaps should've—lamented this more, but the idea of Shigure giving therapy someone was too surreal to picture for long. Both of them faced each other now. If only she could get closer... to...?

"What?" He asked.

To...

"'They'll' show up sooner than later. I told you."

"I can atomize them."

"Don't. I'm already wondering how I'll explain why I'm naked against my will on my client's house. Atomizing officers won't help. Speaking of which, I've always wondered, why didn't they disarm you when when they brought you back to life?"

"They tried."

"What? You didn't let... never mind, of course you didn't. You and your nukes."

"I didn't know if 'they' were an enemy." And, to some degree, she still did not. They faced each other. "When I mentioned atomization, I wasn't being serious, just so you know. I was being silly. I'm trying to practice jokes for when I... what? What? Why the smirk?"

"You think I haven't noticed what you're doing?"

Inching closer, that's what. "No..."

"Mhm." Unfortunately, when he pulled her towards him, Shigure didn't place the covers on top of them both. It was too thick—the blanket. But Stella couldn't just ask him if she could get under it, too. It would be indecorous and deranged and silly and she was a lady. Cuddling would do.

Stella asked, "How many girlfriends do you have?"

"...Stella, for fuck's sake. Time and place."

"Okay." She had never hugged or cuddled before, or had a girlfriend. Or a degree or underwear shop or drone swarms or a good (or decent) singing voice. All she had was... "Are you afraid of me?"

"No?"

"Why?"

"Uh, should I be?"

"Sometimes I think I'm very dangerous," Stella said. "Sometimes I think that something really bad could happen. If I got factory reset, would I forget how to think? Would I forget how this feels? Would I kill again if 'they' told me to? Then am I really a person or just a machine pretending to be one? Why would anyone want to spend time with me if—"

She had to admit that he presented a very convincing counterargument when he kissed her. It was sweet, but it was also too short, like all the good things.

"...if... then..."

"Now you are talking like a machine."

Stella had never been more glad she was incapable of blushing.

"It'll be fine," Shigure said. 

Or breathing.

"We'll be fine, somehow."

Stella's voice modules had shut off. Approximately two thirds of what mimicked a somatic nervous system rebooted. Her central processors stopped responding.

"...or not. Did I... did I misread..."

Then they knocked on the door.

Shigure's processors also seemed to be malfunctioning. Stella's ex-owner had told her about how some people, in the face of doom, experienced a deep, calm disconnect. She would've thought Shigure would be throwing multiple ten-second tantrums, but apparently that wasn't the case. He'd buried himself up to his nose under the covers. "It's all good," he said. "All good. I said I wouldn't lose my shit next time one of these days happened."

"When did you say that?"

"Oh, good." She couldn't discern any emotion from his tone. Her eyes suddenly stopped working, so she couldn't get any visual aid for, according to the system, 5.3333333 million years. "I thought were actually factory resetting. Just. Could you please.... stop that with your eyes..."

They rebooted. Stella blinked. 'They' knocked on the door again, louder this time. 'They' said something, too, but it probably didn't matter, in the sense that it mattered too much. "Don't I scare you?" She asked. "With my robot eyes. You called them 'creepy' last time."

"Because they are. The light goes out of them and it's disturbing."

More knocking. "That's so mean to say to someone you just kissed!"

So then he just slipped under the covers. Coward. "Right. About that. I misread the situation. Let's just pretend it never happened."

"Why!?"

"Because—I don't—later, all right? Let's focus on the bigger issue at hand."

"The bigger issue is that you want me to forget the kiss!"

"Because you shut down when—"

"It wasn't my fault!" Stella cried. It kind if was, though. "I don't want to forget."

"Then why did you react like that?!"

"Because I can't blush! I'm sorry I'm not human enough!"

Shigure uncovered his face just to scowl at her. "Oh, please. 'Sorry I'm not robot enough.' Forgive me for not knowing what you literally resetting in front of me means. You see how it goes both ways?"

"Then, can you... c-can... s..." Her voice module... no, she malfunctioned.

Somehow, though, Shigure got it; with a bit of difficulty, he sat up. Stella had never been more glad she had freaky robot cat eyes that could see in the dark. At last—mission complete.

...but that could wait. 

Stella hugged him.

Shigure hugged her.

"Silly," he told her.

"Dumbass," she told him. 

'They' were slamming the door now. Without letting her go, Shigure said, "This is what well say happened: I stayed late while we planned the coffee, milk and..."

"Peach pie."

"...that. We were working on that, I ate Isla's tacos and threw up on my clothes because they were disgusting."

"That does sound disgusting."

"So that's why they're in the washing machine, that's why I'm resting here, and you were, uh, showering when 'they' knocked the door. Got it?"

"Under..." Stella trailed off. "And what if we told them the truth?"

"Which is...?"

"That—ah." 'They' had broken into her home. "How uncivilized. Allow me."

"To...?"

"Tell them everything. The truth. And that you're opening the shop with me."

Hypocritically, she ignored the way Shigure's smile clashed with his eyes. 

Or... no.

Later, as he said.

Time to focus on the 'bigger' issues at hand.