Avery had learned to make cake.
Avery told TO that it wasn’t technically cake due to the way it was made, but TO didn’t really care; It was cake shaped, sweet, fluffy, and contained nothing that would make them sick.
“You came up with this yourself?” TO asked as they ate their third piece.
“Yes, with Lake’s help. Have you eaten at all today?” Avery asked, frowning as they sat down across from TO, wiping their hands on a patchwork apron - a gift from Lake who had apparently learned how to sew from their mother when they were young. On the upper right, Lake had even sewn Avery’s name in thin threads.
“Of course I ate,” TO said. “I had breakfast and lunch.” They cleaned their plate, scraping some kind of jelly off the surface with the edge of their fork. “You think DH would let me skip a meal while I’m healing?”
“Not at all, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen you eat so much in a single sitting.” Avery said.
“Well, it’s good!” TO insisted. still, Avery was right. When was the last time they ate like this? The cake was wonderful, sure, but already they felt guilty for eating so much of it. Besides, if they ate more, they’d probably get sick, right? They pushed their plate away, a flush on their ears, “You’re good at this.”
“At cooking?” Avery asked, their ears flicking. “Not really. I’m alright. Lake is teaching me more.”
“Where is Lake?” TO asked, “I figured they’d be here in one of the kitchens.” There were a few kitchens around the living sections of Scraprock, as well as one larger kitchen used to make bulk food when it was needed.
“Ah. Well...” Their ears dipped down, “Well, you know how it is, right?”
“No, I don’t.” TO’s ears flicked back in concern, “Are they ok? Did something happen?”
“Oh, no, they’re fine!” Avery insisted. “They just...” They trailed off, their own ears flicking in concentration until they finally dipped down. “They thought it best if they weren’t here.”
“Why?” TO’s ears flicked back again, “Did I upset them, or-“
“They were just afraid of seeing you.” Avery stood up again, gathering up the plate and cups. “So, they decided to just be somewhere else when I mentioned you were coming to visit.”
“Afraid of me? Why?” They paused, remembering the last time they had seen Lake. “Right.” TO could only imagine how they looked back on that day they left Arkane. “They saw me in my full uniform, and they probably saw some of what I did to Kei, but I’d not hurt them!”
“Oh, no, they don’t think you’d hurt them!” Avery turned and brought their dishes over to a dishwasher. It was surprising to TO that they used one - it would be hard on water, right? There had to be better ways to clean. Why didn’t they just use edible plates, they like had back in training? Well, that question wasn’t important at the moment.
“Then why are they afraid of me?”
“Because they think you should be mad at them.” Avery said, “Because they did what Kei told them, and that got you down to that storage room, and -“ They closed the dishwasher with a loud thud, “And they think it’s their fault that Mark is dead, and that you lost a leg.”
“That’s not his fault!” TO said, “I mean, they’re a civilian. What are they supposed to do when a synth attacks them?”
“That’s what I said, but they think they shouldn’t have just died and refused to comply with Kei.”
“That’s dumb.” TO got up, “Where is he?”
“Why?”
“Because I’m going to go tell him how dumb that all is! “
“No, you’re not!”
TO was already halfway to the door by the time Avery reached out and grabbed their arm, causing them both to stumble. At the same time, the door slid open and GiDi stepped in, colliding with the two of them. Thankfully, GiDi was aware enough and quick enough to stand their ground and keep them all from falling over.
“Not a fight, I hope,” GiDi said, a chuckle leaving their throat while their ears stayed pinned back.
“Of course not.” TO said as they stood upright again. “I was just leaving.”
“And I was trying to stop them.” Avery said with a heavy sigh. “They’re not normally so impulsive!”
“I’m not impulsive! I just decided to go find Lake and went to go find Lake!”
“Well, I’m glad I caught you before you did,” GiDi said. “I had an idea for you.”
TO looked GiDi over and observed the way they had their hands awkwardly at their sides, and the way their ears flicked in a mixture of concern, anxiety, and the briefest hint of amusement. “What kind of idea?”
“Well, Pearla had this idea to have all the swimming kids for a day.” They said. “They’d sleep in the storage room by the hunting tank and spend the whole day swimming. We already have a few people who agreed, and we thought it would be good for Constance, too.”
“That’s a lot of swimming, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but a lot of these kids haven’t been able to swim in clean water until now, and they haven’t been able to hunt either. It’ll be good for them.”
“So, that’s your idea for me? For Constance to spend the night with Pearla and go swimming the next day?”
“Might be two nights.” GiDi said quickly, “I mean, they’ll be swimming, and they’ll probably be tired afterwards, so- “
“If Constance wants to go,” TO said with a shrug, “we can check with her when we pick her up from -“
“Oh! Pearla will actually be around Constance’s class later, so she can check, and pick her up!” TO said, “She can go right to-“
“I should check with her first.” TO said, their ears flicking, “Just to be sure.”
“Right.” GiDi said quickly, “So, why don’t you get DH, Pearla can get Constance, and we can all meet for supper and you can check with her then, ok?”
“... Why?”
“Well, we just think it would be good for the kids-“
“No, not why are you setting this up?” TO watched GiDi carefully, keeping a close eye on their ears, “Why are you so insistent about you picking up Constance? It’s like you don’t want me to see her.” Their ears suddenly flicked down. “Did something happen? Is she hurt?”
GiDi laughed, “Oh no, she’s not hurt.”
“Then why are you acting so strange?”
Another flick of the ears as GiDi considered their next words. “... If I said that we wanted to take care of her for a few days for non-nefarious purposes, and we were worried you’d say no, would you accept that?”
“I’d want to ask what those non-nefarious purposes are?”
“I’d say I can’t help you, but I promise you’ll be happy I did- “
Avery finally sighed and sat down heavily in the nearest chair. “Oh for - What, do you think they’re going to cycle?”
TO’s ears instantly flushed, while GiDi’s went down and paled. “Avery!”
“What? Honestly, I’m sick of you lot dancing around issues like this, so If I think you’re being stupid, I’m going to say something!” They frowned at GiDi. “And that’s what you’re thinking, right?”
GiDi huffed, “I was hoping to approach this without making TO uncomfortable.”
“Ok, wait.” TO said, taking a step back from the two, “Why do you think ... Well, why do you think that!?”
“A hunch?” GiDi’s ears twitched with their lie, then fell. “Ok. Maybe there’s been some signs I’ve heard of.”
“There are no signs.” TO huffed, “I don’t know what you-“
“Is impulsivity one of the signs?” Avery asked, “And increased appetite?”
“The cake was just that good!” TO protested, “And I’m not being impulsive!”
“We just thought it might be a good idea to take Constance for a day or so, just in case.” GiDi leaned against the wall, crossing their arms as though they simply didn’t know what else to do with them. “So, we were going to just say that you and DH needed ‘adult time’ again.”
“And what, you just talked about this with Pearla?” They felt their ears burning. “Just casually? Who else did you mention this to!?”
“Really, when it happens, it’ll be hard for you to hide it.” Avery muttered.
TO swung around, eyes narrowed as they glared at Avery. “I’m aware!” the words shot out of their mouth.
“And this is exactly why I didn’t want to just bring the issue up!” GiDi said with a sigh. “DH wouldn’t talk about this at all, and I knew you’d get like this. We just want to help!”
“Just let them take Constance for a bit.” Avery approached TO again as they put a hand on their shoulder, “Constance would have fun, and even if they’re wrong, you and DH get a few days together. If we’re right-“
TO pulled away from Avery, stomping to the door and leaving while they ignored their friends. It wasn’t really anger that drove them to leave - they just had no idea what to say in response to any of this, and leaving like that seemed better than what they wanted to do, which was fleeing in mortification. They went not to go throw themselves into the nearest escape vessel and leave the ship - which was their first thought - nor to go find DH - their second thought. No, TO decided to go with their third thought, and do some reading.