Donghae laid on his bed with his back resting against the oak headboard. Kyuhyun sat beside him on top of the covers, comforting him as Donghae struggled to keep his breathing steady.

 

“You were my best creation. The one I was the most proud of. You know that, right?” Donghae managed to turn his head over towards Kyuhyun, who only nodded in affirmation. “I’m sure I’ve told you before; I just don’t think I remember it.”

 

Kyuhyun’s blank eyes bore holes into Donghae’s aged visage, recalling every exact instance of his praise. “I believe that over the past fifty years, you have told me that I was your greatest achievement about 617 times, not taking into account the times when you had implied the sentiment.”

 

Donghae let out the slightest of chuckles, a pained expression shooting across his face at the effort. “You always knew when it counted, Kyuhyun. I’m sure you remember the day I unveiled you to the world. What number was that?” Kyuhyun followed Donghae’s eyes to a yellowing piece of newspaper framed and hung on the wall, headline reading Engineer Creates First Human-like AI, Stuns World with a picture of a much younger, more handsome Lee Donghae standing next to his creation, a beautiful android designed to look as every bit human as a natural-born one. 

 

“Sir!” the reporter shouted above the din of the crowd. “Now that you’ve done something only dreamed about in pulp science novels, how do you feel? What’s next for the brilliant Dr. Lee?”

 

Donghae laughed, his eyes lighting up in amusement. “I can’t say I’m entirely sure. Kyuhyun here is my greatest achievement to date – I don’t think I’ll ever create anything better than him.”

 

“Surely you’ll upgrade the technology? There’s always room for improvement.”

 

Donghae’s eyes met Kyuhyun’s blank ones, the android tilting his head as if to repeat the question. “No, I think he’s pretty much perfect.” 

 

A semblance of a smile broke Kyuhyun’s stone demeanor. “That was instance number 15. March 3, 2112 – a month after I came online. You were twenty-nine years, four months, and twenty weeks old at the time and you had received your doctorate only a year before that.”

 

“Impeccable memory, Kyu,” Donghae sighed, at last remembering the other’s nickname. It had been months since he last used it. “And of course you remember the commotion you caused all over the world. Everyone wanted something as beautiful as my Kyuhyun. But I couldn’t let them have you; I sold them my design but I wouldn’t let them create another one that looked like you.” Donghae reached up and carded his brittle fingers through his creation’s sandy hair, unchanged since the day he was made. “And that’s when I knew that I had gone too far. I had fallen in love with something that could never love me back.”

 

Kyuhyun reached up and carefully took Donghae’s hand from his hair. “But Donghae, you know I love you. I tell you so everyday. I even do as the humans do and I show you physical affection. Were the kisses and touches not enough? It is not logical; if you feel warm regard for me and I reciprocate with warm actions, then would that not imply that I, too, care for you?”

 

“Donghae!” Kyuhyun shouted as he entered the laboratory. He sat down next to him at his workbench while Donghae continued to tinker with his servos. “I was watching the television and they were talking about ‘love’. It is an interesting concept, although irrational and organic in nature. What do you think about love, Donghae?”

 

Donghae nearly sputtered, his heart dropping to his stomach as if Kyuhyun caught him red-handed. He knew he was obvious with his fawning and his too-long stares, but Kyuhyun was not supposed to be that perceptive. “Well, it’s a really complex emotion, Kyuhyun. Instead of me telling you what I think of it, why don’t you tell me what you’ve learned?” He hoped that it would throw him off and keep him away from touching something sensitive.

 

“The Socratic method, Professor?”

 

Donghae chuckled. “Something like that. So, what have you learned about love?” The next thing he knew, Kyuhyun’s long fingers brought his chin forward as cold lips pressed onto his.

 

“That is what people do when they are in love, correct? When you want to be with that person all of the time and you want them to be happy? That is how people communicate that, yes?”

 

Donghae’s heart fell to the ground and shattered. He could not bring himself to fix his own mess as he gently kissed Kyuhyun back, telling himself that it was only for him; to keep Kyuhyun intact. 

 

“Love is far more than a kiss, Kyuhyun,” Donghae said. “Love is something you feel. And no matter how many hours I poured into your design and the inner workings of your personality, I could not make you feel. You ended up only parroting others’ actions.”

 

Kyuhyun tightened his grip on Donghae’s fingers, gently pulling them closer. “But why can’t I feel? How do I know if I feel? If I’ve ever felt? Why did we not talk about this before?”

 

Donghae’s eyes started to brim with the slightest hint of tears. “I never wanted to burden you with emotions, Kyuhyun. They hurt so much and they can kill someone from the inside out. They can build nations and they can destroy worlds. I wanted you to experience as peaceful of an existence as possible. I allowed you to continue the delusion that you ‘loved’ me to give you peace; I never wanted you to question your own mind.”

 

“Sir,” Ryeowook whispered, “Kyuhyun seems to seriously believe that he can feel. I know you programmed him to make his own decisions and learn over time, but do you think that his emotions are real?”

 

Donghae looked over at his assistant, worry evident on his face as he chewed his lip. “I don’t know, Ryeowook. There’s no way we can really test it. He’s the most advanced AI to date – he’s actually developed his own personality and he has his own will. However, emotions are irrational and do not hold themselves accountable to routines or protocols. Kyuhyun may be able to favor something, but I don’t think he’ll ever truly love it.” It was another shot of anesthetic to keep him numb; a dose of reality to keep him grounded. 

 

“So, do you think we should intervene?”

 

“No, we shouldn’t. Even though he knows he’s not human, he’s trying to live his life the way we do – the way he wants. That’s all I ever wanted for him, really.”

 

“I even tried to fool myself into thinking as such so I could save you, but I can’t lie to myself anymore, Kyuhyun – not when I’m about to pass on. I’m so sorry.” Donghae’s tears spilled over, glinting off the setting sun’s light that poured in through his bedroom window. His breath grew more ragged with each choked sob as he felt his time coming closer.

 

Kyuhyun’s doll-like eyes continued to stare at Donghae as his mind whirred through all of his calculations, following every algorithm and protocol his motherboards Donghae programmed into them. After a silent moment, Kyuhyun released Donghae’s hand and started ing his shirt, revealing his “heart” – a circular device on the upper-left side of his chest that pulsed with a steady blue light. He brought Donghae’s hand up to it, making him feel the device’s steady humming.

 

“I have heard some of the people in your movies talk about giving your heart to the one you love. Please take mine – I’ll even unlatch it for you.”

 

Donghae gasped in shock through his tears, his hand shakily retreating from Kyuhyun’s heart. “You can’t function without it. I refuse to take it from you; who knows how long it will take for someone to re-insert it? You might have lost some of your memory by then.”

 

Kyuhyun only shook his head. “I do not want to continue functioning when you are about to die. I have never been online when you have not been near and I do not feel the need to continue functioning without you. There are thousands of me out there – AI that are faster and smarter than I – and the world no longer needs me. You will no longer need me. Please.”

 

Donghae could say nothing else, the suppressed sobs preventing anything else to escape his throat. Kyuhyun started pulling the pins out, loosening the device’s hold. Donghae tried to stop him, but Kyuhyun continued without regard to his creator’s pleas. He gave it one final twist and unlocked it from its seating, pulling it out and resting it in Donghae’s lap. His frame had enough energy to place a final kiss on Donghae’s cheek and whisper I do love you before the spark behind Kyuhyun’s eyes faded out and his body slumped down onto the bed.

 

Donghae reached over and closed his creation’s eyes for the last time, one hand cradling the still-pulsing machine that was formerly Kyuhyun’s main source of energy. He silently sat there as the reality of Kyuhyun’s sacrifice set in.

 

“You were my pride, my joy – my everything,” he whispered to Kyuhyun’s shell. “You are not as technologically advanced as your successors, but you did something they couldn’t do. What I thought was impossible.” Donghae looked out at the window, the sun still sinking under the horizon. “You were my greatest achievement and now my greatest failure. And I could not be happier to be wrong in my life.”

 

He clutched Kyuhyun’s heart to his chest and intertwined his fingers with Kyuhyun’s still ones as he watched the sun fall and the already waning light go with it. The gentle whirring and soft blue light lulled him into a dreamless sleep, his last thoughts of a beautiful, ageless boy with black eyes and an indifferent smile.

 

A/N: The title is taken from Radiohead’s “Fake Plastic Trees” - I didn’t think about it at the time, but the song fits pretty well with this story. The overwhelming majority of this was written at 1 AM when I was delirious with lack of sleep, so I’m sorry if this is terrible. :/