As he lay facedown in her lap, the texture was right there, and...familiar. Huh.


Ah. That was where Kokuten may have recognized the cloth that was decorating the black material of Tweak's dress when he first saw it. That material was a hotel blanket. And bedsheet. And maybe a bit of the drapes, too...

Meanwhile, the neko's face went red and her hands almost reflexively shoved Kokuten away after he landed, but instead froze in a startled pose. She stared down at him a little blankly as he made his muffled exclamation into her lap before flipping over and looking back up at her.


"Huh?" It took a second, then she realized what he was probably thinking. She wasn't going to leave the squad. "No, no, I--"


Kokuten's movements distracted Tweak from what she was going to say. What he said distracted her from what she was going to say, and her entire face was overcome by bright pink. Comfortable? Was he saying that she was comfortable to lay on or that she was comfortable with him? At the moment, she knew the second option was becoming increasingly untrue. A complete breach of her personal space, a violation of professional behavior, an over-familiar position for him to be in, even if they were friends--

"Īe, sore wa daijōbudesu..." No, it's okay... "...I guess."

Tweak's head hung a little as she tried to adjust her seat on the mattress, settling her hands into the covers on the bed to prop herself up. This night was not turning out at all how she thought it would. Tweak still wanted his opinion on her plan, though, and she needed to tell him before she went to sleep and lost it all. Well, first-hand knowledge of it, anyway.

"I-I-I think I'm going to tell everyone what I am."

Kokuten gave a quiet, somewhat unfocused stare in response to that. Tweak had finally come to trust those around her well enough to admit her identity?

"I will admit, it is difficult to keep your secret from excessively nosy people and those with little respect to privacy." said the Captain, sighing a bit after recalling the people who recently found out. "Though, I don't think telling absolutely everyone is a good idea? You could tell Serra, Stovaa, maybe Blake, but we don't know everyone else quite as well." Kokuten was already beginning to clear up in the face a little bit as the alcohol processed through his Nepleslian brain. "At the very least, will you tell Cassefin?"

Cassefin shrugged in an aloof fashion, disregarding Fidela's concerns entirely. "I'm not making a judgement of your character, miss, just giving you the rules," she explained half-heartedly. "I'm not going to assume to know everything about why Stovaa brought you here, but I know him enough to make a very educated guess. But, I respect your conviction to your career and the lengths you would go to pursuit it. You just won't have to endure the hardships you thought you might have, is all."

It was becoming readily apparent that Cassefin might or might not have misunderstood the situation. However, the woman seemed more or less convinced as she looked back at Fidela, eyes awaiting her eventual acceptance.

---

"Anythin' I want, huh~?" Nell spoke softly as her face moved closer to Blakes, her intent fairly obvious at this point. The silver-haired woman smiled behind coy lips, her bated breath pressing heavily upon Blake's as she reached mere inches away from his own smile.

It was at that point that Nell blinked once, her pupils locked on Blake's lips, and sneezed. Every individual had their own unique way of sneezing; multiple short ones in succession, loud ones with uncontrollable volumes, to each person his or her own. Nell Sarahs, however, had a very unique sneeze in that it was both loud and not particularly clean. The woman drew in breath almost instantaneously, her short gasp for air causing her eyes to close for a split second. As she clenched her lids shut, she expelled all of the air back out of her mouth with a shrill shout, flinging saliva, residual traces of alcohol and food, and undoubtedly more unmentionable pieces of debris as she sneezed, almost directly into Blake's mouth.

Most likely due to the large amount of alcohol Nell had consumed that night, in response to her sudden and surprising promotion, the silver-haired Unique's eyes began to roll back into her head as she reeled back from sneezing onto Blake's unprotected face. The woman's grasp on Blake's shoulders wavered as Nell suddenly plummeted to Blake's feet, planting her face firmly on the carpeted floor with a groan. After a moment of laying in that position, Nell continued to groan and moan at her predicament, doing her best to simply stay conscious.

"I...I'm not sure about telling anyone, actually." Tweak shrugged. "Just thought...well...since the Head Administrator already thinks highly of me...maybe if I told some people on the team first, then kept up my job performance...then once I told her, maybe they would back me up and she maybe might see past my species and realize that I'm just another employee?"

Then she sighed. "Who am I kidding...Cassefin will probably think that I'm spying on her because they know about the 'salvaged Zesuanium'-whatever stuff. Maybe I should just go back to the Freespacers."

"Well, that's a little... shrewd... isn't it?" trailed Fidela as she attempted to protect what dignity she thought Stovaa to have. The woman rubbed her other arm behind her back. "Okay, I can agree to it, no problem, but don't you think that's somewhat... shallow?" asked the girl somewhat sheepishly, trying her best to to get answers without offended the outstanding authority of her boss.

"Stovaa is really sweet, for a big guy. He just... really has the need to show off around other people." admitted Fidela, before looking down at her own dress, "And if it was his intention, he was really good about it. I mean, look at this dress! He got it for me just so I could come and speak to you." She twirled a little bit, letting flowing against her legs. It was a modest number, little leafy flower and viney designs rising up from the hem of the skirt and flowing out under the chest. "I've never owned anything this nice before. My academic life was one of the few expenses I could afford to have!"

----

At that last comment, Kokuten's face turned a little sour, before he gave it a little consideration. He idly stared off at her dress, admiring it's home-grown design, before giving a short sigh.

Honestly, could you possibly be more worrisome?

Kokuten's metal arm outstretched over the and wrapped his fingers around one of Tweak's milky white hands. He gave her a flush-faced smile as he shook his head at her, his hair messing itself up in her lap. His face felt warm, likely the alcohol getting his blood pumping.

"The time has come to reveal this business to Cassefin, Tweak. Tell the people you trust in this squad first, as they're the most deserving to know. Then, tell the Head Administrator. You've been here almost longer than anyone, and you've served the station's interests, and Nepleslia's interests more dutifully than was asked. You have a service record, and if anything, you can use me to strengthen the defense of your history before this place." He gave her a little shrug, looking a little coy as he did so, "At least, that's what I think."

His fingers squeezed the hand a little, as the smile became a little sad.

"Whatever you choose to do with your secret, whether it's to hide it, tell it, or escape it, I'll support you all the way."

The feel of Kokuten's hand was new to the neko. True, she had held it earlier today while dragging him around the shopping levels of the resort, but this was different. Despite her distaste for contact, and regardless of the appendage being made of metal, the way his hand was holding hers had a calming effect. He meant what he said, about supporting her.

If someone is supporting me, I can do this.

"Thank you." Tweak meant to say more, but no other words came to mind. So she just looked at his hand on hers for a time, a small smile on her face.

What was she going to do? A thought occurred to her and Tweak quickly initiated another backup, saving everything that happened since her previous backup while considering her options.

"Who do you think I should tell first? I mean...if I were to tell anyone..."

[YE 22, Doctors Office on Funky City]

"Keep your boy out of the aqueduct and it won't happen, Mrs. Garnelle."

A doctor was standing over an eight-years old Blake, prying leeches off of him with a large Delsaurian knife. His biological mother sat beside him, a mixed look of concern and frustration. She sighed and reached for some loose DA in a purse haphazardly strung around her shoulder.

Blake shuddered every time the knife pulled the leeches from his skin, leaving ring-shaped wounds in their place. His mother leaned in between him and the doctor and whispered sweetly, "Mommy can't afford to keep doing this for you, dear. You'll have to play it safe from now on or... something bad might happen."

[YE 29, Morris Estate on Nepleslia Prime, Bathroom]

"In my hair?!" Blake yowled, running his hands through perfectly tousled blonde boy-band locks, "How did they get in my hair?"

The family doctor smiled back at him with a shake of his head. "I ain't rightly sure, boy, that's for you to know. One thing is sure, though: Them's is pubic critters and they ain't in a hurry to leave."

Blake frowned. Blake's adoptive mother, Abigail Morris, looked back at him from behind the doctor with concern. She approached the doctor with a DA card held gently in one hand. "We'll just buy a nice medical shampoo, then, and it'll all go away." She said, flashing Blake a quick motherly smile.

"More than that." said Blake, reaching to the sink for a nearby razor, "Those... those... 'critters' won't have any hair left to trample on! This is my head, and I intend to keep it that way."

[YE 33, Fortuna, The Lady of the Ocean]

Having finished his customary flashbacks and single tear falling silently down one cheek, Blake moved on to the more pressing problem of the slobbering drunk sneezer at his feet. The biggest sigh of the night moved from his infected mouth to the nasty, infected air around him and with its momentum, the young artist hefted Nell Sarahs into a bridal position and swept her into his room and onto his bed. After applying a waste-basket vomit receptacle to her side of the bed, he made his way to the bathroom to begin the arduous scrubbing process to relive his face of its microbial infestation.

After a few more flashbacks and single teardrops, the job was done and Blake was cleaned from head to toe. His nice new suit was discarded in the trashcan, tied up securely in a plastic bag. In its place, he donned a pair of white painter's pants if only for the sake of Nell's dignity. He also resisted the urge to wash her for the same reason. Then, satisfied with his job, Blake settled down with his sketchbook in a chair next to the bed and began work on his latest project.

He would call it 'Pox-Mongering Devil', and any who found it would be puzzled as to why a charcoal sketch of such a beautiful woman sleeping so peacefully could have that name.

"Personally, I'd prefer you get to Cassefin, and get her out of the way." noted Kokuten, before bringing Tweak's hand over to his chest, and setting it there, entwining his fingers with hers. "The way Laj made it sound, he was planning to use your identity against you should he have the need. If the Head Administrator knows already, then that will cancel any advantage he'd gain from whispering it to her in secret." He looked at her hand and his for a bit, before turning his slowly changing gaze, from blue to green, up to her.

"If Cassefin complies, you have that much more power in guarding your secret from anyone else. Then, you'll have more security when you reveal it to everyone else." He tilted his head a bit in his lap, arching a brow up at her. "You may not notice it, but she puts a lot of faith and trust in you. If any of that is true, then she should accept you for who you are. If not...? Well..." He leaned his head to the side, looking at the far wall, giving it a little consideration. With that he looked back up with a reassuring smile, patting their interwoven hands with his other.

"I've got some contacts within the IPG who can dig up your records and offer security. However it turns out, it will be all right. I know it."

Whatever closeness Tweak was feeling toward Kokuten froze when his fingers worked their way between hers. It wasn't just that her internal tactical system was warning her that the twined cybernetic fingers would prevent her from separating from him if he could lock them in place. That was a mere technicality that she wasn't entirely worried about. It was the combination of his actions that felt more and more like he was pushing for something as he pulled his hand, and by extension, hers, onto his chest.


While Kokuten continued explaining his idea, Tweak queried her database. A normal girl might ask her friends about something like this, but Tweak didn't know who she could ask. More importantly, she needed to know what the gesture meant so she could figure out what to do, or what she should do about it, now.

Her query returned nothing. There was no information about something like this, and why should there be? A weapon didn't need to have built-in knowledge of intimate gestures...

That left Tweak with her feelings about the situation. It didn't feel right. She wasn't sure what he was going for, if he was going for anything, and it just didn't feel right. Normally, if someone she didn't know touched her in any close way, sometimes as little as a friendly hand on her arm, she would attempt to move away from them or move them away from her as fast as possible. But this was Kokuten, someone she had a recorded history with as someone she trusted. She didn't want to insult him by mistake, if this twining of fingers meant something important. It had to be important, otherwise wouldn't she be seeing it everywhere, like a handshake or a hug?


Tweak checked the memory of what Kokuten had just been saying before shrugging as he continued, her gaze wandering as he talked and as she thought. Her eyes locked onto various things, stuff that normally went unnoticed by most people -- a fold in the captain's jacket on the floor, the way a chair's legs lined up with each other, or the way the room could be divided along the invisible lines made by corners in the walls and doorways in the room -- while they periodically returned to Kokuten. Not his eyes, but his hand, his chin, a fuzzy thread pill in the fabric of the cuff on the right leg of his pants. Her question was bothering her, but Tweak didn't think she should ask yet. It would be rude while he was talking.

So she considered what he was saying. He had a point. Telling Cassefin would be a reasonable preventive measure, and Kokuten's note on how much the administrator trusted Tweak was given weight by Cassefin's behavior at the cafe earlier in the afternoon as well as during dinner that evening. But, still, if she rejected Tweak, then...


The 'IPG'? What was that? The acronym sounded familiar only because Kokuten had mentioned it earlier that evening while talking with Laj; the Nepleslian Intelligence and Pacification Group was not around when Tweak had been born and her database formed, so she didn't recognize the acronym. That was another question, though, which reminded her of her first question. Tweak stayed silent for a moment until it was clear that Kokuten had reached a stopping point and was waiting for her response.

The 'spacer neko looked down at his hands around her hand. "What does this mean?" she asked cautiously, nodding toward their hands.

The sudden change in subject made Kokuten gain a sick look on his face unintentionally. He tried to give her a normal, confused look, but he had to suppress a burp at the same time, so it just looked wrong. In a way it would seem as if the man had been completely offended by the question, when he simply couldn't figure out how that came out when it did. His mind slowly processed the situation, pushing past the alcohol also in processing at the time.

"Uh..." He went, looking at their hands before looking up her, "It's... a way... to... um..."

Wait, this is Tweak! I never considered if she knew what these subtle advances mean! I need to say something that properly expresses this. But what!? I'm not much of a romantic... he struggled with that a bit as he seemed to look even more troubled. He tried to recall on others, what he thought they might say:

Stovaa

No, too direct.

Claire

No no no.

Blake

What!?

Serra

No? Too distant.

Noboru

Akio's creative wordplay doesn't suit the mood.

Cassefin

Where did that even come from?

Over the few seconds he considered this his face got steadily more and more frustrated, grumbling the failings of his sought for wisdom. His finger tips drummed over the covers and on Tweak's hand, and after coming up with nothing he gave the girl a rather lost expression. He gave up.

"Listen..." He started slowly, biting his lower lip, breaking that eye contact and seeking something else to look at. His eyes found the hand. "This. These hands represent trust and affection. Just having them this way represents a sort of bond between two people. I mean, you wouldn't do this with just anyone." Or so he thought, what exactly was going on in Tweak's mind? That was what he thought, and as he looked up at her, he intended to find out. "We've known each other for a while, and despite the fact you forget everything once you go to sleep for the night, I find you the most enjoyable person to be around. I can confide a lot with you, and I can trust you. Your brainy solutions to simply problems are only more satisfying by how effective they are, and I like smart. Which is why I... hold a lot of affection for you." His eyes slowly gained a modest red color.

"I guess the shorthand would be love, but that's a little forward to say."