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Setting down the wrapped plate, she put the cupcake on the side of a table that had once been where Alec used to set things when he worked. It would keep it well enough until he was ready.
“I’m doing waffles in the morning,” she said to him, knowing he couldn't care less. “It’s Sunday. With strawberries,” she added, since that was her favorite.
Quinn paused in his work at the addition. For once not in the reactor, but in the hall, so she didn’t have to wait for him to appear. Their exchanges had been bare bones, and this was more than she’d said to him in quite some time. She caught a muscle ticking in his jaw.
She wondered what he thought. Would he think it was even an invitation? Clearly, he considered something because it took him a second to conjure up a reply. When he opened his mouth, he only said. “Alright.”
The muscle in his jaw relaxed. Baby steps, Kira reminded herself.
She knew the problem with olive branches was that they were in short supply, just like the amount of flying birds he gave at any moment. She was shorter than most in that department as well. Betrayal, even the slightest, would get them bumped off her radar. A thing she believed Quinn understood better than most.
Figuring that was the best answer she was going to get, she’d turn to head the other direction leaving him with his lunch, and the cupcake, which looked to be covered in icing in such a way as to distract from the fact it was slightly lopsided. While she had not learned to bake things well, even with a tin, it was as delicious, being made with raw ingredients.
You invited him to breakfast?
Watson came over the line the instant they were out of earshot, so she could reply freely. Quinn may have been keeping him out of most things, but he could hear her side and most of what came through the communicator.
“I did,” Kira said lightly, taking the shuttle up.
Do you think he’ll actually accept?
“Probably not.” Was that disappointment in her voice? Kira had a sort of curiosity that couldn’t be denied, or easily subdued. Quinn’s previous confession had only strengthened her need to figure out what lay beneath the exterior. Her crew was important to her. It was key to her effective captainship to make connections with each member.
Watson made a sound that resembled a ‘hm’, as if he considered it as well.
“Watson, you never keep your opinion to yourself for long, so you might as well say it.”
We’re only transporting him after he finishes this work. Hela can ship his meals to his room, and he’ll want nothing to do with anyone else.
Kira quieted after that. The only way to tell if things would change was if he showed up the next morning.
Right as she’d begun cleaning up, the man in question, for the first time, appeared in the kitchen.
He looked like a steamroller had run him over. With bags under his eyes, Quinn grumbled under his breath. The only words Kira caught were, “way too fekking early.”
The man yawned as he scratched his cheek and blinked as if he realized he was late. “Buggering fek.”
“Good morning to you too, sleeping beauty.” Kira stood by the waffle iron which she’d been turning over.
The grunt Quinn offered in return sounded almost like a snorted laugh, or perhaps a disgusted one. He wasn’t looking her way, so it was hard to tell. In fact, he sat at the table with his head face down on top of his arms, shielding his face.
Kira laughed brightly and opened the old-fashioned iron by flipping it back over. Pulling the waffle out with tongs, she’d been about to put it on a plate and leave it for him since she figured he was just being unsocial. She’d ate in the kitchen, so she piled up the syrup, strawberry bowl, and the butter between her two hands. Kira also grabbed a glass of milk and somehow delivered it to the table without spilling a drop. She rearranged the table and sat down across from him.
“This is just fekking, sugar.” The man sounded a bit shocked by the revelation.
“There’s some stuff in the strawberries that’s good for you.” She told him as she set the syrup next to him. “Try this on it.”
She plucked a strawberry out of the bowl. The Callistar boasted a hydroponics bay in which most of their vegetables and fruits came from, perhaps a little rushed by the ability of the fertilizer and current technology, but still fresh. That was where their fruit hailed, the wheat as well, which was Hela’s business. Kira stayed out of her way and just used what she needed with approval.
Quinn eyed the bottle and Kira with a frown, but shrugged and did what she suggested. He took a bite, chewed thoroughly, then nodded his head. While he still scowled, it wasn’t like he could deny that he enjoyed the meal. It vanished fairly quickly.
Still, he wasn’t chatty. When he finished, he cracked his neck, making an audible sound.
“Thanks,” he muttered to her as he eyed the dirty plate. Kira caught a flash of blue, and a moment later a drone showed up, clearing it away before she could react.
“You’re welcome.”
Kira expected very little out of the man. He was clearly a loner. She kept him company while he ate, only picking out the occasional strawberry and enjoying the quiet that built up. It was not as awkward as she might have believed it could have been, but the Vicar had not yet returned to make things interesting with Quinn. She knew Max was going to be shut in a corridor before things were over- by Quinn.
