Hey brother, what you thinking? [Closed]

[use_everything]

WHO: Aral and Tex
WHERE: Lucky Cat Cafe
WHEN: Mid month
WHAT: Awkward conversations
WARNINGS: None, I will add as I go.

[Aral is, as usual, at the counter for his afternoon shift. He's starting to recognize the patterns and patrons of those who come in, almost regularly, for their mid day pick-me-up. Which is why one vanishing... and suddenly returning gets a bit of a brow raise.]

Agent Tex.

[The greeting is deliberately bland, but not unwelcoming.]

Comments

[failureisntachoice]

[ She doesn't vanish for long. It's been a few days since she's shown up to the Lucky Cat Cafe and it would figure her luck would have Aral manning the counter when she finally does. So she dodges out of line for a moment, helmet still on, and pretends to scan the menu. Not like it would full any of the regular employees, she orders the same thing every time she comes in.

But she needs a few minutes to gather herself before she reenters the line. She's come this far and she's not leaving until she gets her damn coffee. When he says her name she merely 'stares' back, as much as she can with her helmet on and gives him a similar greeting. ]

Count Vorkosigan. Small plain coffee.

[use_everything]

[Perhaps it might be a bit of her imagination, but there is a certain new level of scrutiny on her today. Though, he has he coffee ready before she even steps up to the counter.

He quirks a brow up at her, still in the helmet.] Working?

[failureisntachoice]

[ She makes a mental note to change her order next time. She stands up straighter and shakes her head before finally reaching up to remove her helmet. ] No. I'm off right now.

[use_everything]

Hm.

[He considers the gathering line, one that wouldn't even begin to thin for the next hour. And a bit of humor suffuses him. He pours a second cup and makes a simple gesture towards Gregor. Hold the line a moment. It didn't need to be sent over the link, he pulls off his apron and sets it on the counter.]

Join me?

[It was only nominally a question, really.]

[failureisntachoice]

[ She glances back at the growing line then to Aral, to Gregor, and back to Aral again. If his coworker isn't raising any complaints then it can't hurt much. She hopes. She's still not sure what to make of Aral's sudden desire to chat with her. ]

Yeah, sure.

[ She's moving quickly through the crowded coffee shop to claim a table before those in line have a chance to take up the remaining ones. ]

[use_everything]

[He takes a chair at the far side, back against the wall and able to see both the door and Gregor at the same time. He takes a long sip of his own coffee before nodding amiably at Tex.]

I was hoping I'd get a chance to speak with you.

[failureisntachoice]

[ She lets him have her preferred seat and settles into her own, leaning back with a shrug. Her helmet is set down on the floor beside her feet to keep it out of the way. ]

Same, though I didn't know you were working today.

[use_everything]

I'd wondered. [His expression is bland, but there's a bit of a crinkle around the corners of his eyes. He considers her, simply, a long moment.]

Are you reasonably at peace with the situation, as it stands?

[He is nothing if not direct.]

[failureisntachoice]

[ At least he gets to the heart of the matter and isn't trying to dance around it. She shrugs at the question and keeps her expression neutral. ]

I knew what I was getting involved with when she asked. Are you?

[use_everything]

Had I any significant reservation, I'm absolutely certain she would have withdrawn with all grace. [He shook his head.] It is an old agreement, one of which we renewed. I had thought it was worth making clear.

[failureisntachoice]

[ She nods slowly. ] Yeah, that's what she told me. That you two had discussed it a while back and would rediscuss it before we went forward with anything. Did she give you a run down of the night?

[use_everything]

Ah... some aspects were obvious.

[failureisntachoice]

[ There's a small blush as her gaze drifts away. She mutters, ] Sorry. I got carried away.

[use_everything]

She didn't complain I assure you. Quite close to smug as I've seen her.

[failureisntachoice]

I didn't think she did. I asked her before I left any.

[use_everything]

[His hand passes through the air, as if waving the apology out of it.]

Then I see no foul.

[failureisntachoice]

And you're okay with that? With everything? [ Yes, she asked that earlier, but she's still in disbelief over it. ]

[use_everything]

[It would be particularly easy to give a flippant or a curt answer. But.. she was paying him some honor in her honesty and concern, it was worth returning. Still, it takes a moment to marshal the words into their form.]

There is no destruction in addition, by its nature... and only the worst of all fools would tear at another's happiness for his own satisfaction.

She's done me no wrong in finding joy, as it is shared in turn.

[failureisntachoice]

[ She nods slowly in acknowledgement. That's one way to think of things. When she finally speaks, she speaks carefully. ]

Glad you think so. If there's something I can do to help make this easier, tell me. She's made it clear she didn't want it to be a one time thing and I'm in agreement.

[use_everything]

[Spoken with care, and regarded with the same. It's another moment, hidden in taking another sip of coffee, before he answers.]

I'd like to know you better, as yourself.

[failureisntachoice]

[ That she can do. He deserves to know more about her if she's going to be this involved in his private life by proxy. And she's heard plenty about his from Cordelia's stories. ]

How much do you know already? From what you've heard from the others anyway.

[use_everything]

No more than we'd discussed here previously. In truth, I hadn't asked.

[failureisntachoice]

I'll tell you the basics and then you can ask about whatever else you're curious about.

[ She leans back in her seat and keeps her hands around her coffee cup. She's in no hurry to drink it. For now, she'll start with what everyone else in the house knows about her. ]

You already know I'm a soldier. I was part of an experimental program to aid in the defeat of an alliance of alien races that were trying to wipe humanity out. I'm an AI that was created by accident and when I came here, the porter gave me this body.

[use_everything]

By accident? [There were more than a few points he wanted to focus on, but that one stood out the starkest.]

[failureisntachoice]

Yeah, accident. [ She sighs and decides to keep the explanation as simple as possible. This isn't something she specializes in despite being one of the damn things. ]

We make smart, complex AI by flash cloning someone's brain. Including personality, memories, skills, all that crap. The idiot was trying to make an AI just of himself, but he had strong memories of someone else in his life that caused another one to be made. He got two for the price of one.