Mushverse/KR Gaia - For Gamu

[hotshotlightning]

I step out of the EYES control room and let the door slide closed behind me before slumping against them. That... could have gone better, but again it could easily have been worse.

I should go hit up the cafeteria or something, try and deal with getting so utterly chewed out.

Comments

[kamenridergaia]

I'm humming a tune to myself under my breath, a mnemonic for the formula for sodium dimetholhydroxemonide, when I realise I just walked past something.

Still humming, I take a few steps back.

"Are you all right?" I ask softly.

[hotshotlightning]

"I'll live," I mutter. "The captain wasn't happy about me 'keeping secrets', though."

I really hope he never has to find out about the alien part, I'm not looking forward to having this conversation again.

[kamenridergaia]

I grimace in sympathy. The captain's very friendly and nice, but makes no bones about yelling if he needs to. "I've been on the receiving end of a few of those. Want to come get something to eat?"

[hotshotlightning]

I brighten a little at the mention of food, my stomach grumbling at the prospect. I give him an embarrassed grin. "I guess I could eat."

Maybe it'll take the sting out of that lecture.

[kamenridergaia]

"You guess?" I ask mildly, teasing just a little. "Come on, the lunch special won't eat itself."

[hotshotlightning]

I refuse to rise to the bait, falling into step beside him as we head for the cafeteria.

"How're things going with you, anyway?" I ask, changing the subject as we walk. "Haven't seen you for a few days."

[kamenridergaia]

I sober at his question, and repress a yawn. "Busy," I admit. "It hasn't been the best time."

[hotshotlightning]

I frown at him: that doesn't sound good at all. "What happened?"

I'm assuming it wasn't anything physical because he would have called me for that.

[kamenridergaia]

"Little errors. Little stupid errors." And there's something big coming, and I can't tell what.

[hotshotlightning]

Well, that doesn't sound too bad...

"Everything building up, huh?" I offer, picking up a tray as we enter the cafeteria. I wonder what's for lunch.

[kamenridergaia]

"Yes, and I can't pick the pattern yet," I say wistfully. "But I'll get it."

I take a tray behind him, and brighten as I smell the most interesting smells coming from the kitchen.

[hotshotlightning]

"You'll figure it out," I say absently, way ahead of him when it comes to getting food, piling the food onto my plate. Not as good as Megumi's, of course, but what is?

[kamenridergaia]

"I'm meant to be lifting your mood," I protest, piling my plate nearly as high as his.

[hotshotlightning]

"Who says we can't do both?" I shrug, slipping the last piece of dessert onto my tray and moving on to pay.

[kamenridergaia]

I make a little whimper at him stealing the last bowl of dessert. Really, what does he think he is?

[hotshotlightning]

I give him a smug smirk as he makes that little whimpering noise.

"You snooze, you lose," I tell him, heading towards the nearest empty table. Maybe I'll share it. Maybe.

[kamenridergaia]

"But I wasn't snoozing," I say pathetically as I follow him. I grab an extra spoon on the way.

[hotshotlightning]

"Yeah, whatever." I quickly grab an empty table before anyone else can, sliding into the seat and plonking the tray down before sorting my stuff out.

[kamenridergaia]

I sit down opposite him and start carefully preparing my food. I don't like bits of it to touch, and it has to be seasoned right.

I'm not completely fussy; if there's an emergency or something I'm quite capable of shovelling food into my mouth just like anyone else. But if I have a choice...

[hotshotlightning]

I stare at him in bewilderment, fork hanging loosely against my mouth. What is he doing? I'd wonder if it was an Earth thing except no-one in my family does it.

Then again, my family's not exactly typical.

[kamenridergaia]

"What?" I ask glibly. "Something wrong?"

[hotshotlightning]

"Why're you pushing your food around?" Might as well just ask straight out. "Not hungry?"

[kamenridergaia]

I shrug. I'm mostly peaceable about this; I've had so much grief about it over the years. "I just like it to be in the right places," I say, eyeing him.

[hotshotlightning]

Weird. Mostly in my house we just shovel it in, who cares where on the plate it is.

"Why?"

[kamenridergaia]

"I like structure," I explain patiently. I've gone through this with so many other people. "I like knowing where everything is. A place for everything and everything in its place."

[hotshotlightning]

"Even with food? It goes in your mouth either way, Gamu." He'd be the last one to finish at home, that's for sure.

[kamenridergaia]

"That's not a very organised way to think about it," I scold him very gently.

[hotshotlightning]

"It's food," I say in exasperation. "Food, Gamu, not a maths equations or scientific problem."

[kamenridergaia]

"Everything can be expressed by equations," I say smugly. "Absolutely everything. Even the way your hair swoops off your forehead like that."

[hotshotlightning]

I reach up to brush it off my face automatically, although I'm surprised he even notices my hair to be honest.

"Trust me, I've heard that one before," I tell him. "I don't see what difference it makes where your food is on your plate." Or what order you eat it in.

[kamenridergaia]

My fingers twitch, because I want to do that for him.

--where did that thought come from?

"Maybe you don't," I say mock sadly. "Maybe you don't. So does your family talk a lot about science over meals, Katsumi?"

[hotshotlightning]

I contemplate my food for a moment, trying to figure out how the position of... anything on the plate could possibly have an effect, then scowl a little as my hair slips back to how it was before. Annoying.

"All three of my parents are scientists," I point out. And my brothers are all different from what is generally classified as normal in one way or another. "We have some pretty wide-ranging conversations over food, yeah."

[kamenridergaia]

My hand reaches out automatically to straighten his hair for him. My face goes hot.

"That sounds fun," I say cheerfully.

[hotshotlightning]

I blink as he brushes my hair out my face, then blushes. What just...

"Thanks," I saw awkwardly. "And yeah, it can get interesting." In oh so many ways.

[kamenridergaia]

"Seems like you have a close family," I say carefully, not sure what I'm doing here.

[hotshotlightning]

"I guess, yeah. Probably one of the weirdest you'd come across, though. What about you?" I ask, deflecting attention away from my family.

I can't remember if we made any decisions about this!

[kamenridergaia]

I laugh. "Weird is fine. Weird is good."

Ah, mine's just a little different. "Pretty quiet, generally. Though sometimes mother and father would quiz me on school things."

I don't think we did, no

[hotshotlightning]

"Isn't that what parents do anyway?" I ask uncertainly. Jou and the others always did that but I know they're not always considered 'normal' in quite a few respects.

Re: I don't think we did, no

[kamenridergaia]

I break into a grin. "You know, I haven't the slightest idea," I say cheerfully. "I didn't exactly spend a lot of time with other families."

Re: I don't think we did, no

[hotshotlightning]

I manage not to blurt out how he should have a better idea considering he's actually from this planet, just about turning it into a non-commital sound instead.

"Parents are complicated," I offer. I wonder what mine would have been like on that subject if they were still alive.

Re: I don't think we did, no

[kamenridergaia]

That's an odd look.

"Adults generally are," I agree sympathetically. I sip my water. "Do you need to blow off steam about being lectured?"

Re: I don't think we did, no

[hotshotlightning]

"I could do with some of that," I agree. I have very good reasons for not talking about any of this stuff. Captain Hiura has no idea how hard it was just to tell him about the claws. There's no way I could have told him anymore than I just did.

Re: I don't think we did, no

[kamenridergaia]

"So what did he say to you?" I ask, matter of fact, to make it easier for him to talk. Not that I'm not sympathetic. I just don't want to make a big deal out of it.

Re: I don't think we did, no

[hotshotlightning]

"A lot of stuff about why keeping secrets is bad, the need for trust, blah blah irresponsible." I stab at the food on my plate sharply. "He doesn't understand."

Re: I don't think we did, no

[kamenridergaia]

I wince sympathetically both for the food and for him. "No," I agree. "Sometimes it's really important to keep secrets."

Like all the stuff going on at his house. I'm probably aware about about a hundredth of it.

Re: I don't think we did, no

[hotshotlightning]

"It is." How come the Captain can't understand this when Gamu gets it so easily? It doesn't take the kind of intelligence Gamu has to figure this out.

He'll get over it, but I guess I'd better resign myself to having more attention my way for a while.