This is an AU inspired by 2B and 9S's discussion when they're at the forest area for the first time. I haven't written an AU fic before, so I might make some mistakes. It's kind of sad that this will never actually happen, though. But anyway, do enjoy the story!

The war between androids and machines has stretched on for many years. In the end, the androids finally liberated Earth from the threat of the machines, thanks to 2B and 9S, and also the YoRHa androids. The reconstruction of Earth after the Machine War would not be easy, but time will always get things done. One day, Earth was finally back to the state before the humans were first attacked by the machines. Despite the insufficient data, they still managed to model it after the 21st century. The Council of Humanity had made sure that the pollution levels and waste disposal were constantly under monitoring, lest they fall back to the annihilation of Earth, as the ancient archives mentioned something of the effect.

"2B, are you excited?" 9S asked, barely masking his joy.

The view of Earth from the Bunker was stunning as usual, so the window with a full view of the planet became 2B's favourite place to spend her time. Not averting her gaze towards the colourful planet, she responded.

"What is supposed to excite me, 9S?"

"You mean you don't know?" 9S's voice was slightly disappointed.

2B turned to look at her comrade, her curiosity piqued. "No. Is there anything that I haven't been told about?"

"You do know that the humans finally moved back to Earth, right? And they've rebuilt it, too,"

"Yes, and what are we supposed to do with that information, Nines?" 2B crossed her hands.

9S heard her say his nickname once more. He liked it when she calls him Nines. Too bad it never happened very often. His heart rate spiked all of a sudden. 'Huh? This is the second time it's happened,' he thought.

"What's wrong, 9S? Why are you suddenly clutching your chest? Is something wrong?" asked a concerned 2B.

Aww, she called him 9S again. Shoot. "Huh? Oh, no, nothing's wrong, 2B. Anyways, Scanners like me are pretty curious about the human lifestyle. I wonder if we can, you know, live there for a while," 9S felt his cheeks burn. "Oh, you don't have to go if you don't want to," he added quickly, looking away.

"Does Commander know anything about this?"

"Yeah, she's given us a thumbs-up. But she said we need supervision from an Operator. Oh, and she also prepared lodgings for us on Earth, so we don't really need to come back here all the time. She wants us to study about the humans, so that we could improvise on ways to protect them,"

"That's pretty interesting. I guess I'll join, then," said 2B. "But you're acting queer today. Should you consult some of the maintenance people?"

9S laughed quickly. "Nah, nothing's wrong. You're probably imagining it, 2B." He mustn't let her know anything about that.

"About the Operator, who's going to be watching us?" asked 2B. 6O didn't tell her anything of the sort, and she wasn't the type of person to keep quiet about such things. So, the bubbly Operator is out of the list.

"It's going to be 21O. She's also interested about how humans live, remember? Commander thought she'd be perfect for the job, too,"

"That's great. I look forward for that," 2B smiled. It has been a long time since she has been to Earth. She has been in the Bunker ever since the war ended. She wondered what Earth looked like after the rebuilding process.

Traveling to the Earth via a transporter was nothing special for 2B and 9S, but it certainly was for Operator 21O.

On Earth, she would finally experience how 'having a family' felt like. Of all the researches she has done, that was by far her favourite subject. Then again, the only person who felt like family for her was 9S. She wondered if family really felt like that.

The transporter's door opened. A series of new things registered in the Operator's eyes. There was a sofa facing a large black screen on the wall. To her left, there was a kitchen. Cabinets were on the wall on top of the stove. There was an island, too. She watched on, fascinated. There was a corridor with four doors on her right. If her research proves to be correct, then this must be one of the rooms in an 'apartment complex'. There was another thing bothering her, too.

"What are you so engrossed about, Operator?" someone asked.

She turned to the direction of the voice. "9S, this is certainly very interesting. Look at us; we live among the humans now,"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," 9S responded.

"9S, I noticed that there's something different here than it is at the Bunker. What I'm saying is, the shapes are the same and all, but there's a different quality to it," 21O tried to describe what she saw.

"You mean the colours? True, there are no colours at the Bunker. The colours make Earth more beautiful, don't they?" said 9S after a pause.

"Yes, that is true. It's truly amazing that there are so many things I never got to see from the Bunker,"

The transporter opened again and out came 2B. She looked around. "So this is where we'll be living in as long as we stay on Earth,"

"Now that you're here, 2B, we should check out the rooms," proposed 9S.

One of the rooms had a computer similar to the one that Operators used; another had a shelf full of hacking chips while the last had a Virtuous Contract hung on the wall. Their designs were pretty similar to the rooms in the Bunker, albeit having some differences.

"Seems like our rooms have been assigned from the very beginning," commented the Scanner.

"Now then, shall we go outside?" said 21O.

Opening the front door, 21O saw something that she had always wished to see, but thought it would never be true. They were on the fourth floor, which offered an aerial view of the park below. It was a sunny afternoon, so many people were there. People, young and old, were having a picnic, jogging, playing, or just sitting on the benches, enjoying the weather.

Descending the staircase, 21O decided to take a walk around the park. Before parting ways, 9S mentioned that he would like to visit the shopping mall nearby with 2B.

She found a vacant bench and took a seat. The sun was warm against her skin, another feeling you would never get in the Bunker. She thought about how similar humans and androids look, yet they were on entirely different leagues. So deep were her introspections, she did not notice that a child has made her way over to her. She looked at the Operator curiously, taking in her light hair and partially obscured face.

"Um, big sis?"

21O looked at the girl. 'Is this… a child?'

"Yes, how may I assist you?" she responded gently.

"I just wanted to tell you how beautiful you are, and I made you a flower crown," the girl answered, holding out a wreath of flowers.

Looking at flowers for the first time, she accepted it. "My, it looks beautiful. Thank you,"

The girl put the crown on the Operator's head. "Wow, now you look even more beautiful!" The girl grinned as she ran off.

21O concluded that humans really were strange, yet beautiful creatures.

"2B, look at this! …2B, look at that! ...Should we give it a try?"

9S was extremely enthusiastic. When he was faced with something completely new, his Scanner instincts will kick in. 2B merely followed her friend, glad that Earth was finally inhabited by humans again, and also thankful that she and 9S weren't separated despite the war being over. She noticed that many pairs were holding hands when they walk. She pondered if she should do that with 9S.

"9S, should we hold hands?" she asked.

"Huh? Why do you say this all of a sudden?" 9S was taken aback. He paused for a moment to think. "I think we should do that. It's better than getting separated, don't you think?"

They linked their hands while exploring the mall. "2B, do you remember the first time we went to a mall?" asked 9S, eating a chocolate waffle. "Mmm, that's why chocolate is the best dessert according to humans,"

"Emil helped us get into the forest area that time, didn't he?" answered 2B. She noticed a chocolate stain on 9S's chin. She wiped it away, commenting on his clumsiness.

"Yep, and I asked you if you'd like to come here once everything's over. And look at us, we're actually here! Oh, and thanks, by the way,"

2B giggled. "I guess I did say that I'd come here with you,"

"And then you asked me what we'd do here, and I promised to buy you a t-shirt or something, didn't I?"

"Yes, I suppose you said that. Where should we buy them, then?"

9S suddenly stopped. "Here, of course," he pointed at an outlet store.

All sorts of clothes were folded neatly on their shelves, some of them hanging. Mannequins were dressed according to the latest fashion trends. It was pretty crowded, and many people were trying out the clothes.

"There are so many types of clothes, 9S, I don't know which one I'd choose," 2B glanced at the outfits.

"Maybe we can buy more than one," suggested 9S.

"We shouldn't waste our money like that, 9S," 2B retorted.

"Don't worry about that, 2B. We should celebrate that we moved to Earth, you know?" 9S wanted to lighten the mood.

2B was silent for a while. "If you say so, 9S,"

9S already picked out some clothes for 2B.

So, how was it? I'm planning to expand the story by doing other events. Please leave some suggestions if you want to see any scenes!