162 weeks passed by in the blink of eye, while 001's eyes stayed shut. Formula and bottles stood on standby and Francoise kept vigilant for any sign of the youngest team member awakening from his slumber. It had been the longest he had been out for, though the battle against the Greek god cyborgs had been their greatest fight yet. Without 001, they would have never destroyed the core giving those cyborgs their powers, under the pretense that they were gods, not mere, innocent humans who had their lives and memories stolen from them. Francoise sat at the kitchen table and sighed heavily. 'Perhaps 001 will be able to help both 0014 and R-02 when he wakes up...' she stared out the window, seeing both 002 and 0014 walking along the beach, hand in hand. 'Although, maybe it is for best, not to relive the horror.'
Lily hummed as she kept pace with Jet's long, loping strides. He raised a brow and looked down at her, "What song is that?" Lily paused. "Hmmm I don't know the title, but the words and tune are there." Jet chuckled, "Happens to me all the time. Sing it, see if I know it." Lily almost missed her footing. "Whaa? I can't sing!" Jet gave her a hand a gentle squeeze. "Yes, you can. I mean, don't give up the day job, but can sing. We sang and played together at Chang's. Remember, it was in your diary." Lily looked up at him. "Like, karaoke?" Jet chuckled, "Nope, the real deal. I had my guitar and you had some cheap tambourine you found in the 100 yen shop. People came in off the street to listen. Passerbys probably would have ignored us back in New York, but guess it was something different here."
Lily felt blush creep cross her cheeks. "Come on, it's just us. Sing, maybe I know the song." Lily glanced up at him and then back down at her feet. She closed her eyes and cleared her throat. "I'll wear your winter coat, the one you love to wear So I keep feeling close to what's beyond compare..." her voice trailed off. She looked up at Jet. He nodded at her, with a small smile to say keep going. Lily smiled back at him.
"The moments waking up, you catch me in your eyes That beauty on my pillow that holds me in the night... Um, you know it?" She added abruptly. Jet stopped walked and looked out at the waves. "I don't know the title, but it sounds familiar. We can check it out later on. Maybe pair it together with some strings and see if it jogs either of our memories." Lily smiled. 'He is trying so hard. And I feel like a fraud in all of this.' Her grip on his hand tightened as they continued walking along the sandy shore.
Francoise took in the young couple. 002 head and shoulders taller than 0014. He rarely left her side, since he had come back during that storm after the training with R-02. She had been hinting at Joe to talk to him, to suss out the situation. From the outside, they seemed like a normal couple, until 002 would say something to 0014 and she would have no idea what he was talking about. Was she okay in all this? Launching straight into a relationship and life that she never knew? Then again, what other choice would she have, just roam around like R-02? What kind of life is that?
Francoise jumped as R-02 strode into the kitchen and opened the fridge. "Stop thinking about me, 003, I don't need your pity." Francoise gasped. "R-02, I.. I -" R-02 whipped around, holding a bottle of water. "So you were." Embarrassment glared on Francoise's face. R-02 chuckled. She turned to look out the window, seeing 002 and 0014 out in the distance. "They are lucky," she sighed. Francoise looked at her quizzically. Since Lily's memory loss, R-02 had been almost friendly. Still quite blunt at times, but certainly softer than their first encounters. Francoise recalled hearing her sobbing to 004 about her own memory loss at the hands of Gaia. 'Perhaps that caused her to let down those walls.'
"I worry about them," Francoise admitted. "002 has been hurt so many times." Her mouth formed a straight line, recalling the times he had made such an effort with her, taking care of her back at the base, and the looks of jealousy when she spent more time with Joe. How distraught he was when 0014 refused to leave the base, the months after that of pain. When she left for America without him. The realization when her memories were erased. It never seemed to stop.
"Yeah? By 0014?" R-02 inquired, pulling out a chair and joining her at the table. Francoise sighed again. "Well, there was the time she took off to America without telling him and he had to track her down. Right before Christmas. He was in a terrible state. I worry it could happen again..." She dropped her gaze, rubbing her hands. R-02 stared at Francoise in confusion. "Was that before or after the engagement?" She asked, taking a sip of water. Now it was Francoise's turn to feel the confusion. Her head snapped up, wide eyed. "Wh-what engagement?" R-02 swallowed hard, "Oh shit."
Jet wrapped his arm around Lily's shoulders. The sky had started to darken as they made their way back to the beach house. 'Any day now, 001 will wake. He will be able to fix all of this. Lily will get her memories back. But, at least we are still together. I just wish... As long as we take it slow, we can manage. I guess we will have to manage if... ahhh, no ifs!' Lily glanced up at Jet, noting his furrowed brow. "You okay?" She inquired quietly. Jet forced a smile. "Yeah, just thinking about patrols later is all. You have training again with R-02, right?" Lily sighed. "Yep. At least she is being nicer to me." Jet looked up at the house, and came to a halt. "What the..."
Francoise stood in the doorway, arms cross her chest and a face like thunder. "003, are you al-" Jet was interrupted by a BANG as confetti exploded from behind Francoise. She did not budge as glittering bits of paper and streamers fluttered around her. 007 and 006 jumped out from behind her, onto the porch. "CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ENGAGEMENT!" They sang in unison. 007 blew on a trumpet. 005 appeared from behind the trio, holding a bouquet of flowers, his eyes full of tears and he handed the flowers to Lily. Lily stares ahead dumbfounded. Jet scratched the back of his head.
"Congratulations..." Francoise muttered.
*waves* Need to wrap this up. Still not sure how! Kissessssssss!
