Once Kei left, Avery let out a low breath. “They’ve been tense since we got here, for obvious reasons.” They said, “sorry about-”

“It’s nothing to be sorry about!.” TO said as they slumped back into the couch, “That’s just how they are, and I guess they’re mad that despite being a strange synth, I’m doing just as well as they are, and maybe better.” They looked over to DH “What happens to our chips when power is down on the ships.” They pointed to their own chip, hoping DH would understand what they were asking. 

They did.

“If we shut the ships down, the data gets lost.” they say, “We’ll have to report that the ship is down, but-”

“But we’re not being listened to right now?”

“Right.” DH said. They got up and stretched, looking at Avery as they did. “You were about to hug me there, weren’t you?” they said with a grin.

“Pardon me for being excited to see the two of you.” They said, their ears flushing slightly. “I thought I’d not see you again for cycles, if ever again.”

TO leaned against Avery with a chuckle, “look, you missed us!”

Avery sighed and got up, letting TO fall sideways. “Of course I did.” they muttered, “And I worried about the two of you! I thought you were going to die out there!”

“Well, it was a possibility.” TO said carefully, “But I didn’t think there was any better way to get out of the situation. If we surrendered to the insurgents, they’d question us before they killed us.” 

Avery nodded “And you’re right; at least you thought of something. Kei was…” They stop and look towards the door, “They weren’t themself.”

DH gave a derisive snort. “That’s a good thing isn’t it.” 

“Well... no.” Avery said, “I mean, having them as a shipmate hasn’t been bad on me, you know? I do my work, and then I read, and I send you messages. Being on my own doesn’t bother me. We keep more or less to ourselves. When insurgents took over our ship…” they shook their head, “They kept saying to wait. I had a few ideas—none of them great—but Kei kept saying to just wait. The insurgents told us to wait, and they said we’d ‘hold our position’ until we learned more.” They frowned. “Kei seemed almost mad when you guys stopped the insurgents; they kept saying you would die out there, and then seemed disappointed when you didn’t. They were man until they got here and… well-”

“TO scared them.” DH said with a grin. “I never saw you so angry before, TO.”

TO shrugged, “Well they shouldn’t be telling us what we’re doing wrong, or trying to take control if they couldn’t deal with it in the first place! They’re not our superior-”

“-They are my superior, technically.” Avery said with a grin, “They’re in charge of the ship, so to speak; lower number has authority on a ship” 

“Well, they’re not superior to me and DH; they’re not on our ship!” They shook their head and reached for the communicator once more, but DH still had it out of reach.

“What do you need?” DH asked.

TO sighed, “I need to contact Ark-1.” they said, “I want to get my reports in before Kei gets theirs in.”

DH considered this, chewing on their lower lip for a minute before they pushed the communicator to TO, “Fine.” They said as they picked up their own communicator, “Then I’ll contact our attendants, and tell them that Avery’s going to be staying with us for our meal.” They looked over at Avery. “You are, right? That is why you stayed with us?” 

Avery frowned, then nodded. “I’m a little worried about Kei…” they said, “But.. but yes, I’d rather stay here.”

DH sent off the message, “There, food for three coming here.” They said, “And I don’t know why you’re worried about them.” 

“Well… I don’t want anyone to be upset.” Avery said.

TO got up and went over to the other side of the room where a small panel sat on the wall. They synced their chip up to it, and connected to the galactic network. Their communicator opened up a new communication program.

==Scanning connection==

==Connection secure==

==Authenticating chip identification==

==Authentication complete==

Now, they had access to the Synth network specifically. Now they could call Ark-1 and tell them what happened. 

======

 

By the time TO finished their meeting with Ark-1, their attendants had sent food up to them, and DH and Avery had set it all out on the table in what was apparently their ‘dining nook’. The meal prepared for them seemed to be some kind of tentacled aquatic animal, grilled in sauces and served atop a collection of vegetables. 

“Well?” DH asked, “What did they say?” 

“Nothing much, surprisingly.” TO said, “I gave them the information we had, and our suspicions. Ark-1 agrees with our plan to tow the other ship-” 

“And uh… I wonder if you’ve realized that means that Kei and I will have to live on your ship until we get there.”

TO was just looking over the cutlery - Three different forks for one meal; again, it seemed so excessive- when Avery spoke. They froze, holding the fork in midair as they realized Avery was correct.

“... I did not consider that.” TO said with a sigh. “I guess we’ll have to figure that out.”

 

“We could just put them in the transport.” DH said with a grin, “They probably wouldn’t mind.”

“What else did Ark-1 say?” Avery asked. 

“That we’re to stay long enough to draw some information from the remaining drones, and the main transport. That data is going to be sent to the Synth Portal Authority section, and they’ll deal with the issue after that.” They looked at DH, “So tomorrow, we’re looking into that.”

“I’ll look into that.” DH said as they pointed with a fork at TO’s arm, “You’ll rest.”

“I need to be there too.”

“I’ll help.” Avery said, “If you don’t mind, that is.” they look to DH, “That way TO can be more careful, and move their arm as little as possible.”

“That might be useful, actually.” TO said. their arm was still throbbing despite the painkillers and they knew that if something needed to be moved that they wouldn’t be much help. “But won’t Kei want to join you?”

“Not if I don’t tell them.” They say as they take up a grilled piece of fish, and take the tiniest of bites. After a moment of slow chewing, they nod. “It’s good.” they confirm. “Now, if we need to wait until tomorrow to do anything more productive-”

“We do.” TO said. 

“Then we can discuss more important things.” they gave TO a serious look. “Tell me what happened with your ‘research.’ How did you get everything sorted out?” 

“Research?” DH asked, their ears quirking forward. 

TO felt their own ears warm as they focused on their food, “Well, as I told you already, Avery knew about…” They give DH a sideways glance, “You know. About you? And how I Feel about you?” 

“Yes..” DH said as their own ears flushed slightly. “But research?”

“A code.” Avery says, “So the messages didn’t get flagged. TO said they were planning to tell you how they feel… but they had been doing that since the training center, because they’re an idiot.” They lean forward, “So go ahead, tell me; how much of an idiot did you BOTH prove yourselves to be?” 

======

‘I want to combine my food bar with yours!?’

Avery had never laughed so hard before, at least not that TO has seen. Glowering at the last bit of their food - a desert with some kind of grilled fruit - TO tried not to look at Either Avery of DH. 

“Wait.. WHAT?! That was... You were trying a pickup line?” DH asked as their ears flicked with confusion and amusement in equal parts.

“It got lost in translation!” TO protested, “The original probably would have worked better.”

“And because I have such a morbid sense of curiosity, I have to ask… What was the original?” Avery said.

“It came from the local Arkane dialect, and specifically translated to; I want to put this loaf of bread in your soup-”

A snort of laughter, and Avery hid their face in their hands, their shoulders shaking.

“What?” DH asked, “What is it?”

Avery took a deep breath to compose themself. Then, with a self-satisfied look, they leaned forward.

“So, there’s a lot of cultural overlap between Arkane and Heramu.” Avery said, “And I know the speciality bread of Arkane is a long, relatively narrow loaf of bread with a seasoned crust”

“Right, they just call it bread, but it’s known in the galaxy as Nira Bread.”

“Right. It’s a long, crusty loaf.” Avery says, “And soup is warm, and wet. And now, tell me TO; how do about HALF of the species in the universe reproduce, TO?” 

TO felt their face burn as the insinuation hit them. DH just laughed.

“That was a very bold pick up line!” DH said between their laughter.

“Well… Well at least I tried.” TO muttered.

Avery shakes their head, “Yeah, you tried. Your brilliant, very subtle method of trying just ruined your lips, badly translate a very sexual pickup line, AND got nasty laundry water all over you.” They shook their head again, “At least it was entertaining.”

TO huffed, “And at least I tried something.”

“Yes, it’s not like you could have just told DH how you felt.” Avery said as they shook their head. “So how did you end up actually talking about it?” 

TO glanced at DH and caught how blue their own ears had suddenly flushed. The memory of DH hovering over them, their ears twitching as they did… No, If TO told Avery exactly how it happened, it would probably humiliate DH!

“Eventually, I took your advice and just spoke to DH about it.” TO said, “After the whole ‘trying to be clumsy’ bit failed, I thought I might as well try.” It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the truth. Avery didn’t need to know everything. 

Avery finished their meal, shaking their head as they put the cutlery atop the plate. “Well, it worked out anyway.” They said, “And oddly, while I have no interest in romance for myself, I find myself more invested than I thought I’d be in watching you two flounder your way through it.” They got up and stretched. “But… with that-”

“Leaving already?” TO asked as they got up.

“I’ve been here for hours.” Avery said, frowning, “I’m looking forward to sitting in that giant tub in my room and reading late into the night without Kei telling me I should already be asleep.” They shook their head, “That’s the worst part about sharing a ship with them, honestly; Kei keep telling me I need to sleep more and read recreationally less.” They grin, “Besides, I figure you two might want some alone time-”

“We have plenty of alone time!” DH protested, “We haven’t seen you in-”

“Let me rephrase that…” Avery said, suddenly getting serious. “This is my first chance to be entirely and totally alone; to read and take up as much space as I like. I can stay in bed, I can sit where I like, I can sit in a tub as long as I want and read. I can’t wait to be alone for a little!” They smile, “I’ve been social, I’ve said hi, and I’ve gotten stories from you… and I’ll see you tomorrow, but now? I want to be alone for a little.” 

TO got up, went around the table, and pulled Avery into a hug with their good arm.

“Thanks.” They said.

“... for what?”

“For helping me? For listening to me be an idiot? And for being alright after being around Kei and being trapped and-”

“We worried about you.” DH said as they came up on their other side. “We’re glad you’re ok… and we missed you.”

“And I suppose you want a hug too?” they asked as they eyed DH. 

“Of course.”

TO let go, and Avery let DH give them a quick hug before they headed to the door

“I’ll be back tomorrow, anyway.” They said, “See you then; lots of work to do.”

They left. The door closed behind them, leaving DH and TO alone in their giant room. DH went up behind TO and rested their chin on TO’s shoulder.

“... so, we do have this room, and it’s secure.” DH said, “A nice hot bath, perhaps? Then we can see what it’s like to sleep in an unreasonably soft bed with far too many blankets and pillows?”

TO chuckled, their ear twitching from DH’s closeness to their earlobe. They thought maybe DH would kiss their ear, but it didn’t surprise them when they didn’t. TO turned their head and kissed DH gently on the cheek.

“Sounds wonderful.”