Author's Note/Disclaimer: Now this little story is in its final revised version. It takes place after my story "Silence in Paradise", but I don't think you'll need to read that to do okay with this. There's a bit of Nine and Seven fluff in here, but I think it's light enough. You'll notice that I have changed my style of writing numbers (as in 7, for example) in the description and spelling them out in dialog to just spelling them out. This unifying style was suggested to me by a reviewer on deviantart, and frankly I think it looks better. Lastly, I don't claim to own "9" in any fashion. It's just far too original for me to have created. Thank you, and enjoy!

*S. Snowflake.

The Short Break

"I question not if thrushes sing,
If roses load the air;
Beyond my heart I need not reach
When all is summer there."
~John Vance Cheney

It all started late that sunny morning with a 'crack' sound at the large oak tree. From the other end of the meadow, this sound was nothing more than a quiet tap, but near the tree itself it was a devastating sound.

"No!" exclaimed a female voice from a big tree limb. A tiny, near white rag doll peered down from the branch at the damage that had been done.

She had dropped a sugar bowl full of metal shards and nails. Now the container was in pieces and all of the supplies inside were scattered around the base of the tree. The ladder that her family had been hoping to build would have to wait even longer to be put in place because of her mistake.

The pale doll grunted with frustration as she carefully climbed down the tall tree and landed forcefully on her feet. Three other dolls greeted her on the ground. Two of the dolls were nearly identical twins. They took to cleaning up the supplies almost immediately after they saw it. The other, a male burlap doll, carried a large stick that would have been used as a plank under his arm. He had been worried about the female's well being as soon as he heard the sound.

"Seven, what happened?" he asked.

Seven scowled, frustrated and not in the mood for his questions. "What does it look like? I dropped it!"

"But are you all right?"

She sighed. "Yes, Nine, I'm fine." She turned to the twin dolls that were looking at her curiously and barked, "Really, I'm fine!"

Nine and the twins took the hint and decided to back off for a bit. During that time, Seven regained her calm composure and the whole group cleaned up the mess. They had another jar for moving supplies up into the branches, but Seven certainly was not motivated to try again after the first crash. Her frustration cooled off right into sheer exhaustion, and after an hour of working even further, she sat down to take a well-deserved break.

Nine approached his mate with compassion. She had been working probably the most fervently of all on their new home, and now she was feeling the weight of those toils on her.

"Seven?" he asked softly.

Seven didn't look up at him, but replied, "I'm sorry for snapping earlier. It's just…I feel like I haven't stopped since we got here and it's really taking its toll on me."

Nine paused before saying, "Seven, what if we stop working for today?"

She shook her head. "No. We wanted that ladder up by tomorrow, remember?"

"And we will put it up tomorrow," Nine said, "but today I think we all could use a break. What do you say?"

Seven hesitated, only managing a small, "Well…"

"I'll take that as a yes," Nine said and extended his right hand to her, smiling brilliantly at her.

Seven took her mate's hand with a smile and stood up with him. She was not sure why she listened to Nine's reasoning above all others, even her own at times, but it definitely had something to do with that look he gave her. As she walked with him to fetch the twins on their little "summer vacation", she could not help but smile at the thought of his loving eyes.

"Three? Four?" she asked when they met back up with the twins.

Three and Four looked up from working, characteristically clicking in response to Seven's question. Yes?

"How'd you like to head off downstream for a little break?" Nine asked.

Without even a second thought, Three and Four smiled and ran into their storage burrow under the tree to retrieve two paddles they had made from old plywood. They would need them for the raft trip they would soon take downstream.

The four stitchpunks had adapted well to life on the water, no matter how critical it was that they did not swim in it. Sailing the river had been the gateway to finding their newfound paradise, far away from the ruins that had once been something of a home, if not a prison (at least for Seven anyway). The river also led to a few pleasant spots where the four could spend the day enjoying each other's company in nature's surviving wonders.

About a quarter mile downstream from the meadow, the stitchpunks reached one of their favorite places. It would be no more than a sitting spot to fish for a human, but it was a veritable beach for them. The mud here was soft, yet filtered by the river, making the silt feel something like sand for the little dolls. Trees shaded a small portion of the area, but on the whole, it worked wonders for sunning themselves, something Seven knew she needed.

Three and Four tossed pebbles into the water and played in the sand. Nine joined in playing tag with them, but he was just too slow for the lightning fast twins. Seven chuckled as she watched Nine look around in confusion while Three and Four would seemingly vanish into the rushes and leaves, then would feel one of them brush past him and try to reach out and grab at the approaching tagger, only to be tagged again. Despite the hopeless prospect of winning the game, Nine's more playful nature never wavered around the twins.

After a few rounds of tag and Four burying Three into the sand-like dirt, the twins took off into the bushes to find some flat stones or perhaps coins leftover from the days of man for skipping on the water.

Nine had been so caught up in the games of the twins that he had not noticed that Seven had vanished from her sunning spot. He looked around and called her name a few times before finally sitting down confused beneath the shady tree.

"Look up, hero!" came her voice form up above Nine's head.

Just as Nine had looked up, Seven jumped down from her perch on a flimsy limb, falling directly at him. He flinched, naturally, but Seven landed gracefully beside him rather than on top of him.

What a relief! he thought, remembering their last sparring match. She had still beaten him in every match they called on each other, but one day he knew he'd surprise her.

"You flinched!" Seven laughed.

Nine stood up straight and looked at her crossly. "No I didn't."

Seven laughed even harder then. "You look like a rabbit! You're scared of me, aren't you?"

Nine noticed that his hands were resting in front of his chest; pointed downward much like a rabbit might do with its paws. That too must have been a reaction to her vicious leap.

"I'm not scared of you, I was just…surprised."

Seven raised an eye stitch and smiled slyly. "Sorry to surprise you so much," she said, slowly approaching the still Nine and giving him her most entrancing stare.

Just like the look he gave her, Seven had a particular look that made him absolutely smitten. There was a certain warrior fire in her optics, but he knew that she was just being playful rather than dangerous. In the next moment, the warrior pounced at her apprentice and they fell in the soft, river-laid dirt together, laughing and reminding themselves of the bond they shared, even when times were difficult.

"Seven?" Nine muttered.

"What, hero?" she asked, calling him by her nickname again.

Nine tried to think of what he wanted to say to her. Usually they didn't talk much at all when they were together like this. Sometimes Seven would talk about things that she and the others did in the past or one of them would have some thoughts that they needed advice for, but that was not the case today. Finding the words was difficult, but finally Nine got them.

"I'm glad you dropped that bowl today."

Seven scoffed, but kissed her mate on the cheek anyway. "Me too, I guess."

And so the pair lied down in the sand together, enjoying each other's presence and the warmth of the summer sun. They dozed off into a fitful sleep soon after and awoke at twilight. It was quite a sight with the twins snoozing with them and the stars twinkling far above their heads. The moonlight sail back home was as refreshing as ever, and Seven and Nine had a new rush of exhilaration for the next day as they fell asleep side-by-side once again.

The next day, when the ladder they had slaved over was in place and finished, the four stitchpunks rejoiced in their efforts by giving everyone their just congratulations and giving it a test climb or two. But after a short time, Nine began to think of what they had to work on next.

"Of course we still have to dig out the tunnel and make the roof," he started saying to Seven, "-not to mention the lights and-"

Seven placed a metal finger over Nine's lips, quieting him. "What do you say we go back to the beach today, Nine?"

Nine almost gave her an immediate 'no.' After all, there was still so much work to be done around their new home. But then again, the summer would only last so long, and perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to enjoy the season of sun to its fullest.

"Fine…" he replied and took off running; "-if you race me to the raft!"

Seven chuckled and called the twins before racing after her mate. The four stitchpunks knew that another day of fun in the sun together awaited them.

The End.