Razer and Aya :: The Truth Comes Out

"Aya, may I speak with you for a moment?"

The Red Lantern took another step forward and extended a hand, a gesture which he used only when he wanted her to come with him somewhere instead of staying where they were at the moment. His ocean blue gaze watched as she turned around in her chair, eyes slightly widened in something akin to surprise, yet she still gave a small nod and stood up from her chair. "We have not been sent on a mission yet, therefore, I am not preoccupied." she said, following him as they began to walk away from the main room of the Interceptor. Ever since Atrocitus and the rest of the Red Lantern Core had been defeated, the team had been going on small missions around the galaxy to help some civilians of certain planets in the Forgotten Zone to rebuild their homes, as that was, what the Guardians had sincerely promised to do.

The AI followed as she was led into the room in which her friend resided in and as he sat down on his bed, she did the same, considering from the data she had collected, it made him feel less uncomfortable when she imitated his actions. Their eyes met, deep blue meeting aquamarine and for a few minutes, hesitance and discomfort were clear in Razer's eyes until he sighed and seemed to release all of those feelings in an attempt to calm and compose himself so that he could say what he wanted instead of taking up her time for no reason. However, it wasn't as if she had anything else to be doing. She was just a robot after all. There was no need for her to eat or rest, or even relax, though many times she wished she had the need to do such things. Perhaps it would make her feel more like an organic being...

"Aya..."

He parted his lips and let out another breath, raising his hands and grasping hers with his own, catching the humanoid by surprise. The only thing she could manage was a tiny "Yes?" which seemed to amuse him, easing his nerves slightly from what she could see.

"Do you remember when I saved you from Drusa?" he asked, scanning her face with his eyes. What a dumb question, of course she remembered. She had a perfect memory and her database hadn't been harmed from that incident. Aya glanced at her hands, which were still being covered by his, and then brought her gaze back to the Red Lantern's face, nodding again. A soft "Err..." escaped from Razer as he tried to find a way to properly word what he was about to say. Now came the most awkward part of the conversation, but it was the main point so it's not like he could skip over it.

"Do you know how I arrived at the Interceptor so quickly?" he asked, his grip on her hands tightening slightly but still remaining gentle.

"You told me it did not matter..." she said with a blink.

"Yes, well now it does. Do you know how it happened?"

"I detected the use of the Star Sapphires' energy. Though what interested me is how you manipulated it to suit our needs. As far as I have seen, you must be in love with the one you are being transported to for the energy to operate at all."

His eyes widened and he turned his head away so that he was no longer looking at her face, but rather at the ground. "Y-Yes, I was getting to that..." he said. "I... did not render it in the slightest. Ghiata pointed something out to me that I had refused to realize before. I've been pondering it for some time now and I've found truth in her words." The Red Lantern turned to face her again, loosening his hold on her hands and instead, touching a hand to the side of her face.

"Aya, I-"

"Hey guys, we just called on a mission so you'll have to- Whoa... Am I walking in on something?" Hal said, stopping stunned as he entered the room and caught sight of the two. "I'll just wait outside..." he said, turning and walking out of the room again.

"Grr... Green Lanterns!" Razer exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air as he stood up. He glanced back at the artificial intelligence behind him and sighed, muttering a "We'll talk later." before walking through the door and exiting the room. Aya watched him leave, perplexed, but nevertheless, she followed him out.

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"Why in the world are we on Mogo? Not only is this not in the Forgotten Zone, but this planet is a Green Lantern itself!" Razer said, gazing at his surroundings.

"I believe the promise the Guardians made was not directed solely at the planets in the Forgotten Zone. Besides, it's harder for one to repair themselves than it is for someone to repair another." Aya replied, continuing to walk.

"Hmph, I suppose so." he said in reply, walking at her side.

"Razer, what is it that you wished to say when we were conversing earlier?"

"Uh... I don't know if now is the time to talk about that."

"Why not?"

He sighed and paused in his walking, watching as she did the same and once again, they were face to face. Their eyes locked and stayed that way until he averted his gaze to the ground, shuffling his feet uncomfortably. He rested his hands on her shoulders and took in a deep breath, preparing himself for whatever her reaction would be to what he was about to say. Determination blazing fiercely in his eyes, the Red Lantern opened his mouth and began to speak. "Aya, I am-"

"Hey Aya! We could use your help identifying this material over here!" Kilowog called from a few yards away.

"I will be there momentarily." she responded in her electronic voice, glancing at the Green Lantern before returning her attention to Razer. "I'm sorry, you'll have to excuse me." she said to him before walking away. He simply watched her retreating form, his arm extended in a 'Wait!' sort of gesture while his mouth lay ajar but as she disappeared from his line of view, he turned away and growled with frustration.

"Damn you, Kilowog." he muttered under his breath.

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"Looks like another mission completed. Great work everybody! Now let's all get some rest."

The sound of Hal Jordan's voice hung in the main room of the Interceptor but as the group dispersed, it vanished, only to ring in the minds of whoever heard it. As both Hal and Kilowog retired to their respective quarters, Razer turned to look at Aya and she stared back at him, her electric-blue eyes shining as the Red Lantern grabbed her hand and began to drag her towards his room again. Once they were inside of the room, he locked the door and sat down with her again, gazing into the depths of her eyes.

"I swear, if we're interrupted one more time, I will kill both of them..." he murmured before returning his attention to the AI. She averted her gaze away from his face and instead focused her vision on where she was playing with her fingers in her lap.

Razer watched her, seeing that she seemed to be nervous as well since he had been acting so odd about the whole thing, but seeing that she felt the same way as him, his feelings evaporated into nothingness and he gave her the tiniest of smiles, using his hand to tip her head up so that her gaze would meet his own. Something akin to a blush appeared on the humanoid's face as the synthetic green skin of her cheeks grew to a shade of blue that seemed like cerulean. "Aya, I have something important to tell you." the Red Lantern began, his heart beginning to thump inside of his chest. It beat faster than it ever had before and he desperately hoped that the robot- No, the woman in front of him couldn't hear it. He took in a deep breath and let it out before finally saying what he had been attempting to all day.

"The way the Star Sapphires' energy worked... I mean, the way I got to you, I didn't change anything with the energy. I... I love you, Aya."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he scanned her face for her reaction, his heart beating even faster. For a moment, Aya simply seemed stunned, her eyes widened with the most shock he had ever seen on her face before. The expression on her face at the moment was the closest she had ever come to looking like an organic being with her emotions. However, as the surprise faded from her face, he was pleased to find that a delighted smile appeared in it's place and she raised her hands, using them to cup his face and he let her. And then, she made a movement that he would have never expected to happen in a thousand years, not even in millenia.

She rested her lips on his.

The touch was almost like a spark at first, but then it seemed sort of like the way a cool breeze would feel, yet the sensation was not unenjoyable. When they broke contact, he stared at her, mouth gaping as he tried to find something to say. Words, sentences, even just a small undecipherable sound, but he could find nothing. His eyes caught sight of her face again, and she was giving him the brightest of smiles, her eyes lit up like the lights of a Christmas tree.

"According to my information, that is the way most beings return such feelings without the need for words. Was I correct to perform this action?" she asked, the slightest hint of doubt in her voice.

The Red Lantern simply laughed and brought her close to him, giving her a kiss on the forehead before responding.

"Yes, you were absolutely right."