Ingratiated [✔] » k.th

7.

V

"Hold my hand." Joey held out her palm and our fingers intertwined. Her hand was soft yet cold, considering that we were standing on a street corner in the rain, waiting for the sign to give us permission to walk.

Her short white dress clung to her body, so did her hair. She always gets upset when her hair gets wet, but not today. Today was different. She was happy. Even if a meteor struck earth and wiped out all forms of life except the two of us, I think she still would have been happy.

My tuxedo begins to feel like it gained ten extra pounds. But, none of that mattered, because everything that mattered to me, I was standing right next to.

"Joey," I parted my lips. "I love you."

She looked over at me and smiled. She leaned in, our lips almost touching for the second time today. The light suddenly changed and she raced across the street, pulling me along.

This moment just couldn't get any better.

We got on the train, our hands still together. She takes the seat by the window and I take the seat next to her. She laid her wet head on my wet shoulder.

The elderly couple sitting across from us seemed pleased at the sight of us.

"Newlyweds?" The elderly woman asked with a wrinkly smile.

"Yes." Joey replied squeezing my hand as if I would disappear any second.

"You're looking at sixty years of marriage here." The man replied as he wrapped his arm around his wife.

"Sixty years? Wow!" Joey's eyes lit up. "What's your secret?"

"Don't sweat the little things."

Joey looked up at me and smiled. Could that be us, sixty years from now? If this is what being human felt like, I didn't ever want to be an alien again.

How could one person mean so much to me. So much that I wanted to protect them no matter what, even if it meant giving my life to let them live. Even if it meant giving everything that I ever owned.

That's when I was certain that I wanted to become human.

· · ·

I looked down at my own phone in my hand. It was fascinating how it worked. It was small and thin, yet powerful.

"Mind if I join you?" I turn my head to see Joey approaching me.

"No. I don't mind."

"Why'd you run out like that?" She asked.

"Nothing." I shook my head.

"V, you don't have to lie."

"Well... Jin said he terminated the last guy that went rogue. I've never thought of him as a murderer. I've never thought of any of them that way."

"It's okay," she pats my hand. "We always find something that we don't like about someone."

"What'd you find out about me that you didn't like?" I turned to her.

"... I like everything about you, V."

"Joey, don't lie to me."

"Okay. Okay. I don't like you invading my personal space."

"You don't like it when I hug you?"

"That's not what I'm saying. It's just... Ugh... Nevermind. What don't you like about me?"

"Your sarcasm." I stated. "Sometimes it annoys me, but it's also very funny at times."

"Oh, really?"

I nodded.

"You've done it again, Joey."

"Done what?"

"You made me feel better. That's one of the many things I love about you."

She covered her cheeks with her hands and smiled. I pulled her into a hug and rested my chin on the top of her head.

"You're the reason why I want to become human," I thought to myself.