The door swung open with a protesting creak, and Jongdae emerged with a small grin and a spirit of triumph welling up in his chest. He had already successfully planned out the next emotion and what he would do to complete it, so he would be ready for the procedure when the time came. For many people in his situation, this would be a normality, but for Jongdae, a natural procrastinator, it was an accomplishment.

Strolling happily around the corner into the living room, he lightened his footsteps over to the couch so he could nudge Minseok awake.

A hand was already outstretched towards the couch, ready to be placed on his shoulder when Jongdae realized that the robot wasn't there.

He frowned with eyebrows knitted close together, staring at the warm, slightly concave spot where Minseok had been sleeping who knows how long ago.

This was a bit odd. Usually, when the robot woke up, the first thing he did was come find Jongdae, (if he wasn't there with him already) and in the times he didn't, he was usually in the living room or the kitchen.

"Minseok?" he called out, scanning around the quiet corners of the cabin. At first he heard and saw nothing except for wooden walls, and the sounds of the forest outside of their door, and a twinge of worry sparked in his stomach. He knew well that the robot had especially good hearing, and always replied to him. This thought brought him to the idea that he may have left the cabin. But if so, why? And where was he now?

Suddenly, his concern and questions were relieved with a skip of his heartbeat and a violent flinch when he heard a slightly muffled, "Sir?"

He wheeled around towards the sound, and the first thing he saw was Minseok's tilted head in the front window, as adorable as ever but with a hint of a fright lingering in his pupils. "Minseok?" he blurted out.

Awkward staring ensued, Minseok's little face blank as it peeked through the dirty glass and Jongdae not able to find it in him to move. He almost looked as if he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't be doing, but Jongdae couldn't think of what it could possibly be. No, of course not. There was nothing Minseok could do to disobey; it's not as if he'd really made rules for him or anything.

Nonetheless, though, he realized he needed to check up on what the robot was doing outside. Finally, he shook himself out of their shared trance, blinking away the fuzziness in his brain as he trotted over to the cabin door and pulled it open. He poked his head out to look over at the robot, who had shifted his gaze to blink silently back at him, unmoving and holding his palms out in front of his chest.

"What-" Jongdae began, but he stopped himself, raising an eyebrow as he noticed something else that stood out to him for whatever reason.

"What is that?" he asked cautiously, gesturing with his eyes to the little dark tuft in the robot's hands. Minseok glanced down at it just as it squirmed, letting Jongdae know it was a living thing.

"It's a bird, sir."

"Why are you holding it?" he questioned, taking a slow step forward and trying to get a better look at the creature.

"It hit the wall of the cabin when it was flying, sir," Minseok explained, holding his hands out to show him but maintaining his gentle hold of the small bird. "Its wing is injured."

Curiosity. Responsibility. Now he understood.

The same two things that had brought Minseok to save Jongdae in the first place now caused him to come to the aid of an animal.

Minseok just looked at him with a completely unreadable expression, waiting for his response. There may have been a lack of compassion driving the robot's actions, but Jongdae still found the whole thing sweet somehow.

"Ah, I see. Here, bring him inside, okay?" Jongdae suggested with some sort of sympathy in his tone, gesturing with his hands to follow him through the door and back into the cabin. Minseok simply nodded in agreement, and then proceeded to carefully pad back through the doorway with Jongdae in front of him.

With light footsteps, he brought the bird over to the couch, and set him down gingerly on one of the cushions before kneeling onto the floor, folding his legs underneath him. Jongdae stood behind him, watching with slight fascination as Minseok inspected the bird's wing with dexterous fingers and observant eyes, careful not to hurt the creature.

"He won't be able to fly for a while, but if we care for him, we can shorten the time it will take. What do you say?" the robot offered, turning to Jongdae to search for approval.

He thought about it for a moment. How hard could taking care of a bird possibly be? Especially with help. From what he'd seen, Minseok was far more responsible than he was anyways. Still, he had a tendency to be a little indecisive depending on the situation, and he thought it over and through a few more times, but he couldn't really find anything wrong with the plan.

Finally, he smiled and nodded in agreement, which Minseok took as a cue to turn his head and his focus back around to the bird. Jongdae felt his own bit of curiosity just then, and without thinking, he kneeled down and shuffled himself on his knees over next to Minseok, leaning forward onto the couch so he could see the bird.

It wasn't a bit nervous or aggressive like he had expected it might be, which he thought was pretty odd considering it was just a wild bird from out in the forest. In fact, it was quite cute, if he was being honest. A tiny bit like Minseok, he reluctantly realized, in its calm nature and endearing features.

"If you wouldn't mind watching him for a moment, sir," Minseok requested suddenly, lifting himself to his feet once more.

"Uh, yeah, of course. Do what you need to do," Jongdae assured him, scooting forward on his knees so he was closer to the bird as Minseok left the living room, going instead into the kitchen for a reason that Jongdae did not know.

As he listened to Minseok's bustling around in the other room, he reached out to gently pet the top of the bird's head with his index finger, smiling when it simply relaxed under his touch. As embarrassing as he'd found it when others noticed, he had always had such a soft spot for anything small and cute, and the gesture of comfort from their little patient warmed his heart.

"So, do you wanna give it a name or something?" he asked absentmindedly, studying the innocent, beady eyes of the animal.

There was a pause as Minseok thought, his little footsteps leading back into the living room and to the couch once more. The robot set a decent length strip of bandaging that he'd cut from the roll down on the cushion next to the injured bird. As Jongdae shuffled out of his way, he noticed there was also a piece of clear tape stuck temporarily to his wrist.

"Lu," Minseok answered suddenly, glancing over innocently at Jongdae with those bright blue eyes. "Can his name be Lu?" he clarified.

"Do you miss Luhan?" he asked gloomily, but with a smile on his face, forgetting completely for the umpteenth time that he was not speaking to a person.

"I don't think it's in my ability to, sir. But he always treated me very well," Minseok answered intelligently, turning back to the bird.

"Yeah. We'll name him Lu," Jongdae agreed softly as he watched Minseok begin to gently wrap him up in the bandaging so his injured wing could not be moved from his side. Lu squirmed a bit in the process, but Minseok was very careful not to touch him or hold him in any way that he thought might hurt him.

Jongdae felt his heart tighten at the thought that the robot must have treated him the same way when he cared for him before. When he'd found him, a mess of broken limbs and bruises, and carried him inside with strong arms, he must have been determined to help. When he cared for Jongdae's broken self, Minseok must have been just as gentle and sweet, with careful hands and a mechanical heart that never even knew the way he would make the injured boy in the bed feel when he opened his eyes.

It made his mind foggy, just like the forest just outside their wooden cabin, and maybe just a little bit afraid.

He doesn't feel love for me as a special being because he loves all living things from the start. And yet, he can't even feel love in the first place. It's just the way he is.

What a funny place the world is.

---

WOW FINALLY. It's been like four months since I posted anything for this one smh. And I love it so much too I've just had a really bad lack of inspiration and motivation but hERE I AM NOW. MECHANICAL IS BACK YALL. Sorry it wasn't all that long; I just hope you liked it anyways :') See you soon! c: