Mable: This is a request fic for Allyson! Allyson, I hope you like it and I hope you request again soon. ^-^ I don't own 9, Enjoy!

Through A Cracked Lens

Maybe Five had mixed feelings about going out into the Emptiness with only Nine, Six, and Eight as companions. Maybe Nine was still a little oblivious to the issues between Six and Eight. For one, Eight still tended to bully Six when he could. Secondly, and most importantly, none of the eligible Stitchpunks prepared to keep Eight in line were there. He couldn't do it in front of One, he refused to do it in front of Two, and Seven would make sure he didn't do it near her. Unfortunately, because of various reasons, the four of them got stuck together.

Five had tried to convince the others that this was a bad idea from the beginning. Unfortunately the needs of the many outweighed the worries of one, supplies were running scarce since their retraction of scouting missions after the Incident. Everyone was so hesitant since they had all nearly lost their lives. Even Nine had seemed to retract and didn't argue with the others' sudden wish to hide away. So now they needed to go out no matter what and Five still felt the hesitance, but now paired with the fear for Six's wellbeing.

While Five respected and, dare he say it, somewhat admired Eight's strength and wellness in battle, he couldn't stand Eights methods for raising his own self-esteem by the attacks on Six. Taking his pictures, tripping him, calling him names; it all disturbed Five in a deep way. Maybe because he knew that if Eight would've chose him as a target he most likely wouldn't have been able to handle it as well. Some of the things Eight said could get pretty hurtful. Somehow Six managed to pull through, and seemed alright enough.

Not including Nine or Two, Six and Five were closer than some of the others. Five was the only one Six could be open with and Six was a lot easier to talk to than expected. In the end, Six was like Five's brother, and while Nine was Five's best friend there was a special place for Six there as well. Presently Six was lugging around a large inkwell and ended up making a strange noise as he stumbled over his own feet. The one eyed one's optic immediately locked on him and he was concerned. Though right afterwards, on cue, Eight released a bit of a chuckle.

He was too far away for him to have been involved in the tripping so he hadn't done so. That didn't mean that he didn't still think the event was hilarious in his own way. Five went to help Six straighten himself while Nine glared at Eight, "Eight, it's not funny." At this time Eight decided to retort, "It's his own fault for picking up the biggest inkwell and trying to lug it around on his own." Then Nine decided to retort again with, "You know, you could have offered to help. You know you could carry it easily."

Eight raised a brow in obvious confusion, shocked at the mere assumption that he was to help, and Five decided to take the role. "Here, Six, let me hold it." Five insisted and took the inkwell with his own hands. That's when Eight spoke once again, "Yeah, let the one whose carrying everything carry it." While Five supposed it was a comment towards him, the tone sounded a lot like it was aimed at Nine, as though remarking that he wasn't carrying anything except for his Lightstaff.

Five didn't mind the extra weight. He was used to carrying his fair share; it made him feel more useful. However he didn't feel that way long as he began to walk along behind the other three. The towering buildings didn't give much shade with the sun at its peak and the wind was virtually non-existent. Soon he was beginning to feel it and if he could sweat he swore he would. Though Two believed it was possible that they could under certain circumstances, it was unproven, and virtually did nothing to cool them down.

It didn't help that this was the only hot month of the year. Usually Luxembourg, or the Emptiness as they knew it, didn't get very warm and it was seldom to get an uncomfortable day. Though these days were taken advantage of for outdoor activities. Not that Five's outside expositor went far past light scouting with Nine or Two, which it didn't. It wasn't that Five disliked going outside, if was that since the Incident he was a bit more hesitant, and along with his slight bit of confidence boost he was left quite torn.

Though even through the heat and slight delusion from exhaustion he realized he was being left behind. As the minutes ticked on he fell more and more behind. Worse still, Nine didn't notice because he was too busy trying to make Six feel better by talking with him, something that the others seldom felt comfortable to do. It was as though everyone was afraid to approach him. Yet Nine was talking to Six easily and the Artist was looking at him with adoration in his mismatched optics.

Then again, Five wasn't that oblivious, and a little bit of a smile did cross his face. He'd be a complete fool not to notice that Nine had been more interested in Six then most of the others, most curiously Seven who he had a soft spot with for a while. But recently that had changed. Nine's speaking and behavior around Seven was more friendly, more relaxed, and his awkward moments had turned towards when he and Six were being social. As such Five had a suspicion that Nine's feelings towards Six had changed as well, and he was pretty happy to hear it; his two closest friends, other than Two, being as close as possible.

It was then that Eight seemed to suddenly appear in front of him. Five guessed his own mind was slow from the heat, which was why he hadn't noticed. He blinked in confusion, light panting in his chest and trying to compose himself so that he didn't look as poor as he felt. Eight sort of just stared at him for a few seconds before caving. He exhaled as though he was distressed and spoke, "Let me take some of the load off." He sounded like he was nearly pouting about doing so and Five's alarm was visible.

He slowly handed the inkwell forward. "Not that. I'm not carrying that." Eight stubbornly insisted, "I meant your bag." Five pulled the inkwell back, "Oh, yeah, of course, thank you." He rambled quietly as he stripped his bag off. He felt a little nervous and wasn't sure why. The Guard staring down at him, actually being helpful, it made Five feel strange. Then again, he knew it could be a trick. "Maybe… But he's been acting less… Since the Incident he's been a little nicer- somewhat. Maybe he feels bad about not helping and won't say it? He's just not willing to touch the inkwell, maybe?"

Outwardly Five was quiet as he handed over the quiver which eight lifted easily, though gave a weird look, "What're you carrying in this? Two?" A small smile passed the one eyed ones face along with a light chuckle. "Enough to make another one of him probably. It's the next best thing to having him here." While talking about Two eased the mood, something still made Five feel a bit too nervous, and his optic aimed downwards afterwards. Eight turned ahead and remarked, "He would've been more helpful than those two. Can't carry anything between the both of them."

Again Five released a small chuckle to show good faith between them both. Then the walk returned to silence as the two walked beside each other in a casual manner. It was calm, it was quiet, and for a short while it almost felt friendly. But nothing lasted; at least it wasn't Eight's sudden moment of realization that he was treating Five like a normal Stitchpunk and would decide to distance himself as far as possible. While this hadn't happened before Five could imagine it. Though he wanted to imagine anything other than the dull growling noise that he could hear nearby.

He flinched and looked around at the immediate area in dread. Sure enough, his optic was able to catch movement in a destroyed building nearby, underneath the front porch of said home. He felt a sudden gasp rise in his chest as he saw a familiar red glow. It was a Beast and yet his mind immediately went to the Machine which caused him to immediately become afraid. Eight suddenly took ahold of his shoulder and pulled him back before getting in front of him. He pulled out his knife in a smooth motion and faced the Beast nearby.

For a second Five could only stare at Eight. It was almost like he was protecting only him even though Five knew Eight was protecting them all and Five way merely the closest to the Beast. His optic stared at Eight's back until it slid over and locked onto his own bag swung over Eight's shoulder. Only then did he realize that his weapon was not on himself but out of reach with Eight. He started to gain closer when his optic jolted over to see the metal creature that drug itself out from under the porch.

Its body was stout and of thick metal entangled with bones. A metal section jutted out like a sharp blade and rested on the top of its head before following over its back and down like a tail dragging along the ground. Its feet had long, sharp claws while its legs were short and stubby, perhaps even so much that it had trouble moving. One eye alit in red while something at the end of its face resembling some sort of sensor seemed to move around as though leading it. As though it was some sort of scent gland.

It was a Badger Beast and it sensed the Stitchpunks immediately. With a dull hissing noise it revealed a mouthful of sharp teeth that were beyond threatening. It wasn't the Fabrication Machine at least. Suddenly it sprung forward and Five wasted a second to look back at Six and Nine. Nine had his Lightstaff before him and turned to Six with a, "Go hide! Now!" Gently pushing the striped one back who watched for a second before obeying beginning to dash off in the opposite direction. Five turned back as the Beasts started to scurry forward with amazing speed.

Five only just managed to grab ahold of his harpoon when Eight also jolted forward. The harpoon released into Five's hands and he stumbled forward, but the bag was left upon Eight, and this presented a new problem to him. Looking it over he could see that the harpoon was clearly not loaded and their chance at stopped the beast was literally resting on the Guard's shoulders. The larger Stitchpunk swung at the beast and struck a paw that tried to raise to attack. It ran quick, but its claw movement was clearly delayed so they clashed together.

Metal grinded against metal in a tug of war sort of fashion as strength tested. Eventually Eight won and slammed the paw straight down on the ground. The knife actually made something inside crack loudly, but that wasn't enough to do much as the Badger struck its head forward and knocked Eight back. Five tried to come forward a bit too daringly as he reached for his bag only to have Eight dodge to the side just in time to get slammed by the head and flung back onto the cement behind him. The Guard immediately called over with a warning of, "Get back!"

But Five couldn't, he needed to get his ammo and he needed to help, and he forced himself upward. His body was shaking and not reacting properly. Thankfully his chase of Eight never had to happen as when Eight was knocked back again his bag flew off and hit the ground, spilling needles and tools across the ground. While Eight went to circle around and Nine went forward to distract the Beast with his Lightstaff, Five got to his bag and grabbed out a needle that he shoved into the harpoon before lifting.

"Hit the weak spot. Hit the weak spot." He repeated in his mind as he focused in on the scent sensor above its row of teeth. Then he pulled the trigger and the needle flew free from the weapon and struck the Beast. Unfortunately, Five missed, and it hit the smooth metal of the head blade. It ricochet off and suddenly Five heard Eight give a quick shout of pain. It took a few seconds to realize that Eight had been hit and as he looked over he gasped to see Eight holding his optic. He had hit Eight.

"Oh no. Oh Creator, what did I do?!" He thought, though outwardly he did gasp and began to mutter what sounded like the same thing. Before he could descend anymore Nine called out, "Five! Hit the tip of its head! The sensor! It's using that to tell where we are!" Five looked back in confusion, "W-What?" He half noticed Eight recovering and running forward to attack the Badger Beast once again. Nine continued, "I don't think it can see well! If the sensor is shot it will be practically blind!"

This made sense and was what Five thought earlier. However, he was unsure, he knew he had a chance of missing. Still he reloaded the harpoon and aimed once again. This time his body froze and he was unable to hit the trigger. His breathing sounded loud in his audio receptors and his hands were shaky. "Five?" Nine called over when his friend hesitated. The one eyed one stared at the Beast and his mind went straight back to the misfire. "Five, what are you waiting for?!" Nine called again desperately and still the buttoned one stared.

"Five, shoot it!" Eight suddenly commanded and like that Five's hand hit the trigger. The needle soared out and hit its target dead on. The sensor made a crackling noise and the Badger Beast shrieked before lashing out. However, there was nothing to lash at as Five was too far back, and Eight brought his knife down on its back. Then, in a fluid motion, used the new grip to pull himself forward and lifted the knife high before thrusting it down straight into the back of its head. There was static, a dull shriek, and Eight used his weight to press it down more firmly.

Red optics lost their color as the Badger Beast shut down. Five dropped his arms in relief and looked around to access the damage. Six was starting to peek out and Nine beckoned him, "It's okay, Six. It's not going to hurt anyone anymore." He coaxed before approaching the ink well that Five realized he dropped during the beginning of the incident. Perhaps when he first saw the Badger. Some of the ink had poured out, but Six didn't seem upset, and Nine lifted said bottle as the striped one approached.

"We'll find you some more, just-." Nine's voice cut off as Six suddenly wrapped his arms around him, pressing his mismatched optics into the others' side as he held on for dear life. After a few seconds Nine put an arm around him. It was at this time that they were cut off by Eight swearing to himself. He pulled his knife out of the Beast and now had his free hand planted over his injured optic. Five gasped once again and Nine spoke, "Eight, are you okay?" The Guard shrugged a little, "Something got me in the eye."

The Healer felt an overwhelming guilty feeling and yet couldn't get his voice box to function. Nine, however, took over the role as temporary leader. "We need to look at that before we decide what to do. Come on, we can go into one of these houses just in case there are more Beasts running around." Eight didn't argue and the three started to head into the closest building while Five lagged behind. He kneeled down to quickly gather his items that were spread around. Halfway through he dropped everything and let his head drop into his hands.

Just feeling over the patch made him think of what he had done. He hit Eight in the optic of all places and all because he hadn't been careful. He had already caused his own eye loss on accident, he believed he did, so he couldn't stand that he could have possibly triggered another to deal with it. Five didn't mind not having the eye, but after going through so much he had learned that he didn't want anyone else to get forced to trudge through it either. Eventually he recovered enough to follow the others into the building.

At this point he noticed Nine standing beside Eight and Six watching worriedly nearby. While Eight didn't seem to know Five's guilt the latter still felt awkward. He crossed over to Eight's side, "Alright, then, ah, just let me see it." He coaxed and Eight's uncovered brow raised, "You're acting like you're the one who was hit." Right afterwards he smirked like he was joking and Five forced one as well. At least Eight was in a good enough mood. The optic was uncovered and Five could finally see the damage. Thankfully the lens was cracked and nothing more.

Five couldn't resist exhaling in relief, "You're alright. I can replace this quickly and, well, you're not going to lose it." He insisted and at this moment Nine suddenly announced, "Maybe we can find some glass to replace it." The usual helpful Stitchpunk, Nine volunteered to go find the parts that were needed and, just as expected, Six followed along behind him. That left Five with Eight, alone, trying to smother the guilt and awkwardness. "Are you… Are you in pain?" Five asked softly and Eight shook his head.

"It's nagging, but it's not too bad. I've taken worse." The Healer nodded, "I… I know you have… You get injured a lot protecting us." He suddenly felt honestly slip through a bit, "We probably wouldn't have survived as long without you." Eight seemed surprised by the comment and Five felt a little shyer, warmth spreading along his cheeks, "I mean… Thanks for saving us back there. Again. We couldn't have done it alone." Eight didn't seem nearly as sure, "I don't know about that, Five. You're aim's pretty deadly."

The Healer stared and the Guard actually smiled a little. Not a smirk, a smile, and it seemed pretty relaxed, "Next time you try to kill me you might want to aim lower." The one eyed one pulled his hands together to rub each other nervously, "You know." He looked down guiltily at the floor, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do it, I-I just wasn't aiming well enough and I didn't mean- I'm sorry." Eight waved it off and rubbed his optic with his free hand, "Don't worry about it. I don't think an 'eye for an eye' would work with us."

Five chuckled a little bit, "Probably not. Why didn't you say it earlier?" The Guard looked after where Nine and Six went, "I'd rather keep this between us. You shot me; they don't have to know it even happened." The Healer was relieved and sat down on the small book beside Eight's side. "Thanks. I sort of don't want them to think… My aim is sort of all I have, you know? If I don't have the harpoon I can't do anything." Eight actually had another moment of being surprisingly nice, "I doubt that. You know, I sort of looked forward to having a patch."

He guessed that this was just a kindly comment, but something about it made him feel even shyer than usual. "I… I think you'd still fight well with one. I'd even say you'd look nice with one, or without, just… Yeah." The rambling confession was embarrassed and suddenly the tension was tightened. That tension that was always there between them. Where one moment Five and Eight would be social and the next moment they would revert to strangers. Yet they never returned to strangers after these weird talks. Especially this time.

This time something felt much, much different. Something felt more intimate by the comment and Eight released another low chuckle. It was different; not sinister, not amused, just low and filled with something unrecognizable. His hand suddenly pulled away from his optic and reached out to rest on Five's shoulder. Then it moved to touch, perhaps slightly pat, Five's patch. The Healer shivered as the other felt over his practical fabric replacement. "Eight…" He whispered softly, smiling at the larger whose own started to drop.

Five wondered if he did something wrong for a second before the other hand lifted and rested on Five's other cheek. His optic blinked a few times before suddenly Eight moved in. No longer smiling, just staring at Five, ignoring the shattered glass on his optic that partially obscured his vision. Then his marked mouth suddenly pressed to Five's and Five was shocked at his self-restraint. Or lack thereof as their lips caressed against each other. He had never done it before, neither had Eight, and yet the kiss felt perfect.

It seemed like an eternity before they pulled apart once again. For a second Five released a soft bit of laughter, but he wasn't sure why. The giddiness was simply overwhelming and Five couldn't help it. Yet Eight stared off into nothingness for a short while. The one eyed one pulled himself together worriedly, "Eight?" The Guard looked back to him and suddenly admitted, "You know, now that we match we sort of look good together." Five suddenly had a feeling that Eight was suggesting something. "We… We do?"

"Yeah, we do." Eight reassured and Five quietly asked, "But what about when we don't match anymore?" The Guard smiled and responded, "Then you can look good until you end up clipping me again." Five felt the smile return and while they hadn't said anything official, he had a feeling that Eight was trying to suggest that they would look good as a couple. Honestly Five thought that they would and hoped that they could be. "I'm glad! I thought you were quiet because, I don't know, you were going to say that Nine and Six were watching."

Eight knocked this thought away, "Nah. They walked off a few seconds ago." Five's could only mutter, "What?" Before Eight moved back in to claim his lips again. For now his worries drifted away. Nine and Six could handle themselves until they finished.

Maybe this wasn't such a bad thing. Still, if something went wrong he would know how to fix it, and he would be glad to do it.

FIN

Mable: A quick message, my poll has been updated. For anyone interested in Velvet from 'Whatever's Out There' or the 'Souls Run Deep' sequel then please vote on it before August. It may change the entire flow of the new story. Enough of that, though. I hope everyone enjoyed!