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“When the crew comes back, you’ll see that it is meant to be fun. I do it because I like you, Quinn.”
“Well, I’m trying not to overreact to things, but I don’t see how mocking me for not being good at something I’ve never tried before is good fun.” He certainly didn’t enjoy it. Especially since he did not know how to fire back without being rude.
“Because you’re supposed to do it back.” Putting the popcorn bucket aside, she sat upright, cross-legged from their game.
“Why would I do that?” Quinn said, confused, and relaying it without knowing in his furrowed brows. Insulting her back could go awry. It seemed like asking for trouble. Reaching up to rub at his temples, he couldn’t understand this at all.
“I have an idea. I can just show you.” Off like a bullet to the projector, she seemed pleased with herself.
“Okay?” Quinn frowned as he watched her. He’d thought about improving or replacing the machine, but had ultimately decided against it, mostly because any changes would have made it work differently. He didn’t think she would want to learn how to operate a new one.
An old earth movie started overhead, overtly romantic, but it had the subtext she was possibly trying to achieve. He watched the entire thing and when the credits started to roll, he looked her way. “So... People just insult each other until they decide they are in love? What is the message here?”
She laughed, and he didn’t, but it made him watch her. “They tease,” she corrected. “But it’s between friends and family too, though it is involved in flirting sometimes and lovers do it as well.”
“So, what you’re telling me, the man who has no family, no lovers, and...” There is a slight grimace as he mumbled something under his breath about having only one friend. “That people make fun of other people and it’s supposed to be endearing? Cause it seemed like they basically just hated each other until the plot said it was time for them to like each other.”
“Perhaps it was a poor example of them doing it in a kind way, but it’s not exactly like what happens between real people. The first time I did it was for friendly banter, not to be cruel to you.”
“Well, I can’t say I understand why friends would insult each other like that, and I will not risk anything by trying and fekking it up.”
“I mean, most people don’t have a temper like mine. You can still make friends without it, Quinn, if you want them.”
“Making one friend has been a real pain in the ass. Not sure I want more,” Quinn muttered. Once again, under his breath, but this time loud enough she might actually hear him.
“Did you call me a pain in the ass?” She grinned from ear to ear and had sat up out of the pillows to look at him so he’d see it properly.
The man glared at her when she said that. “I see what you did there. Yes, you have been a pain in my ass.”
That got her to laugh as she teased him. “But you’re fond of this pain in your ass?”
“I have no idea why.” He felt… annoyed that she got him to play her game simply by latching onto some of the more abrasive stuff he said.
“Me either, but I’m glad you’re here.” A gentle touch on his shoulder and then a release.
That got a snort from him, but he didn’t glare at her when she grazed his shoulder. She was whittling away at his defenses despite his efforts, and he wasn’t sure what to do about that. It was hard to view it as a bad thing, but it filled him with a deep sense of worry.
“Thought we might have a picnic lunch on the promenade tomorrow, if you can spare a few minutes.”
“The finishing work is mostly being handled by the drones. I only have to double-check the final product.” Machine precision had a 99.99% accuracy rating. It wouldn’t detect the .01% deviation if there was an issue.
“Oh good, I can make it a proper picnic then.”
Fortunately for Kira, Quinn still had his neural net off, so a definition of picnic didn’t automatically turn up for him to question the logistics of having one on a space station. Instead, he just shrugged his shoulders, agreeing to the lunch date without any complaints.
QUINN
Quinn returned to work since he had yet to fix his sleep schedule to anything resembling normal hours. He’d wake in the middle of a sleep cycle and finish a project at will. Still, when lunch rolled around, he arrived at the promenade as requested, his hands in his pocket as he waited for Kira to arrive. The area she’d referred to was an overhanging walkway over one of the largest storage units on the ship. One could walk a half mile around the outside to whatever point they’d entered at, meaning two rounds made a full mile. Below, he could see some of the mining equipment brought in from the Eikos being stored in the open space.
Kira came with a checkered cloth and a basket. She looked cheerful as always, but he’d not dived fully beneath the surface of the different smiles she wore externally. He noted them, and her moods, trying to sort out what meant what. “I got fresh grapes from hydroponics,” she said.
“There is also a vintner machine.” He wasn’t sure how much she’d actually looked at the additions. Part of putting together a ship capable of deep space exploration was making sure people had few reasons to miss civilized space. So why not include a machine to turn grapes into wine?
“Want me to name the first bottle after you?” She set down the basket and spread out the blanket, flicking the edges so it floated like fresh snow laying flat on the ground. A bit like a scene from the movie the night before.
“I didn’t spring for a label maker,” Quinn said, his voice so incredibly dry it made it hard to tell if it was a serious comment or if, just perhaps, he was cracking a joke.
“Was that a joke? Are you making jokes now?”
