Nyla and Pinetil sit in the empty kitchen. Pinetil is sipping on some kind of wine from her homeworld, and Nyla is drinking the human drink hot chocolate, which she has come to love. Neither of them is excited about this conversation, but deep down, they both know it needs to happen.
Nyla, who had just gotten comfortable in the silence, is a little surprised when Pinetil breaks it, "Nyla, I am... I am unsure why you fled. I have an idea, but I would hear your words before I make any assumptions."
Nyla cast a weary glance at this seemingly hesitant Pinteil, but the taller woman's body language reinforced that she was feeling exactly what Nyla heard in her tone. A deep breath to steady her nerves, Nyla began to speak, "I have known Cal for only a few months, as have you. But in that time, he has done things that I had not thought possible for me and things that no other male of my species has ever even thought of doing for me. And to him, they are nothing; with a wave of his hand, he brings the clans to heel, squashing their attempts for power like a stroll in the woods. For someone like me. Someone who has been cast out and used by her own people to see what he does and then to see someone like you..."
Nyla glared at Pinetil, letting the venom of her thoughts taint her voice. "Seeing someone like you, who is by your own admission someone who would continue my torment, throw yourself at him and declare your love for him for all intents and purposes. It ripped my heart out."
Pinetil blushed and then looked downtrodden. "Well, when you put it like that, I understand why you would be upset. I did not mean to express myself to Cal as I did. I just... No one has ever given me a sense of hope as he has. You are right. He does things that others would balk at. He walked into my homeworld without a care in the world, unafraid of anything we could do. I have no doubt that had we attempted to subdue him, we would have been wiped from reality."
The two women stared into their drinks, silence again enveloping them both. This time, it was Nyla who broke it. "I am sorry I ran into the woods and worried everyone."
"And I am sorry that I caused you such grief," Pinetil said, then with a smile, she reassured Nyla. "I think you should talk with Cal."
"What?" Nyla sputtered, nearly inhaling a mouthful of hot chocolate.
"I think you should tell Cal..." Her voice quickly faded, and Nyla saw her eyes glance to the door. When she looked, she saw Cal there, as cool as always.
"I think the three of us should have a little pow-wow," Cal said.
"Cal, I'm sorry for..." Nyla started as he walked forward and simply gave her a gentle hug.
"I am glad you are well, Nyla." Cal said, then turned and hugged Pinetil, "And I am glad you helped her."
He made himself a glass of hot chocolate and sat with the two slightly stunned women. "I am not a prize to be won. You both have made amusing guesses about me, why I am single, and what it takes to win me over. I want to clarify that I am not opposed to a relationship; I never have been, but I have never found someone I thought would be a good match. You both have qualities I admire in a prospective mate, and you have things I can not tolerate for various reasons."
Cal locked eyes with Pinetil. "You, Pinetil, are technically an enemy combatant, I can not start a relationship with you. You also hold a couple of world views fundamentally opposed to what I stand for; this is not a deal breaker; I'm just laying all the cards on the table."
Next, his gaze locked with Nyla, "And you, Nyla, are a member of a species I am working to uplift. There are a multitude of laws in place that I am unwilling to violate, mostly in place to prevent a human from setting themself up as some kind of sex god on a backwater world. Until such a time as I am done with my work, I will not be able to interact with you romantically."
"So both of us have no chance, at least until major changes happen," Pinetil said indignantly.
"To a certain extent, yes," Cal said, his gaze not rising from his cup.
"That is so unfair!" Pinetil exclaimed.
"It's fine. I can wait." Nyla said in a small, sad voice.
Pinetil was shocked. Cal simply smiled at her.
"Well, I am going to bed!" Pinetil said, storming out of the kitchen.
"I think I will go to bed as well," Nyla said as she gulped down the last of her hot chocolate.
"Have a good night," Cal said, and when he was sure she was in her room, he sighed as Artie walked in and began working on the dishes. "Artie, I need your help. We need to begin researching for a black-sun operation."
Artie froze, his system working overtime to process what he had said, as it was one of several requests that would instantly brick a normal AI, but because he was Cal's, he had special permissions. "I understand. Should I inform your handler?"
"No, just keep it theoretical for now, but I would like to have a full workup in case it is needed," Cal said, smiling at his friend and helper. "You're the best artie. Have a good night."
"You too, Cal!" Artie said, washing dishes as his artificial mind began pulling together exabytes of data at insane speeds
