Let's Dance

Against everyone's best interest, Stella knocked on the door of Rebecca's house. Kou was there. Rebecca still wasn't. "Mrs. Aozora is having a tea party."

"Aoyama," corrected Shigure.

"You should come."

But there was no response. Predictably so, really. With her civil duty performed, Stella and Shigure continued their journey. "Do you specifically have trouble with Japanese names or what?" He asked.

"I don't," Stella replied, because she was a liar.

"Ah."

Mrs. Aoyamabob's house was (pastel) blue. Unfortunately, it didn't lie on top of a mountain. Instead of flower bushes, it had orange trees on either side of it, with a tire swing hanging from the left one. The grass, like the trees, and the flowers, and the people, were very much real. How? With how sharp moondust was given the lack of erosion, to breathe it would be to destroy one's respiratory system. As far as Stella was concerned, it had little nutritional contents, too... so how was this possible?

Had they somehow imported soil from Earth? Did the same apply to every extraterrestrial colony? Had they transported DIRT to one of Saturn's moons? Also, how had plants adapted so fast to such a different environment? How—

"They're here!" Exclaimed Irina, somewhat redundantly, as Stella and Shigure walked through the door. As he did, he mumbled something under his breath. He'd done the same thing as he'd entered Stella and Rebecca's houses before. Not that Stella would ask what that meant. O... jama... shi...

"Welcome, welcome!" That was Mrs. Bobyama. She herded them towards two empty seats, towards cushions that were exactly the same color as the oranges outside. The walls were the exact same color as the ones outside. They sat. She handed tea to them both. "Delighted to meet you two! My name is Aoyama Yuzu. How about you?"

"Stella," replied Stella. She couldn't choke it back in time.

"Yes," said Shigure. "That's me, Stella Shigure, and this is my wife, Stella Stella."

He deserved a karaoke-chop. Mrs. Aoyama giggled. "Make yourselves at home. Ah! How could I forget? Milk or honey?"

"Neither."

"Honey," said Stella, out of spite.

While Mrs. Aoyama went to fetch this (presumably), Shigure leaned close to Stella, then mumbled, "Don't worry about the tea. Just leave it there. I'll drink it."

He had an arm curled around her shoulder—to keep up the newlywed roleplay charade, most likely. Stella's temperature sensors existed to tell her whether something was harmful or not. That was it. She was misusing them. Thankfully, she resisted the urge to move closer.

Mrs. Aoyama returned with not only honey, but a tray of assorted cookies, too, which she placed on the coffee table in front of them. It was only then that Stella realized the bitter truth: he wasn't leaning to her side purely to keep up the charade, but also because if he didn't, his legs would bump against the table. "Must be hard being so unwieldy," Stella noted.

"It sure is!" With no warning, Irina sat next to her, or... on the couch's armrest. Wasn't that impolite? "And that's with me being one eighty-five. I can't imagine how hard it must be for you. Everything on the moon is so... compact. How tall are you, Mr. Stella?"

It took a moment for Shigure to realize she were talking to him. His fault. "Uh. One ninety-six."

"Wow!" That was another concerned citizen, who sat on the other armrest. He took a cookie. "Irina, you got dethroned. How does it feel?"

"Shut up, Asaba. I'm still the tallest woman here and my arms are the size of your thighs. I'll crush you."

He tossed a crumb at her, which she dodged. Strangely, Shigure didn't seem particularly bothered. Stella would've expected him to have the dogpiss stare. Instead, this made him smile. "Not afraid of you, wench," said (probably lied) Asaba. "Mr. Stella will snap you in two. Right?"

"Wrong."

"What!?"

Irina guffawed.

Mrs. Aoyama was back. She shooed the two of them as though they were flies, and like flies, they buzzed off. "Goodness. I leave for five minutes. Please don't mind them. They love showing off around strangers. The rest are... a bit shy, but they'll come around in due time. By the way, dear, how are you feeling? Better?"

"Better," Stella replied. It was true.

Then Mrs. Aoyama sat on the armrest. Well then. "So, how are you two doing so far? Where are you from?"

"Mainland," Shigure replied. "Both of us."

"Oh, me too! It's winter right now over there, isn't it? I miss the changing seasons so much—not the cold, of course. Everything else."

"Me too. Especially sunsets."

"Sunsets! There isn't a single day I don't miss those. Ah, my heart. You're making me want to travel. If not for this illness, I could..."

Stella tried to hold it back in this time. She really did. "Illness? Why would they program illness in..."

Shigure not-so-subtly tapped her arm, but it was too late by then. Mrs. Aoyama blinked. "Program?" Stella pointed at her ears. "Oh, that? I got the surgery. Didn't you?"

"One moment." Shigure dragged Stella out of the party—by her wrist, not her hand. Only once they'd reached her lawn again did he say, "They're humans."

"Lies," Stella said.

"No, I—I forgot to tell you, sorry. People these days get all sorts of weird shit done to them, but they're not... I guess you could call them cyborgs? I don't know. Just know they were born from a womb and they eat and drink normally. Any cat parts or robot implants were added later."

"Rebecca and Kou, too?"

"Probably. I mean, there might be another veteran around, but that's not public info. Not to me, anyway. By the way, don't tell them you're one."

"A robot?"

Shigure Gestured. "Android's fine. Just don't say you're a veteran."

"Why not?"

"Just in case."

"Why?"

"Because..." He trailed off. "...just in case."

Stella gave him a dog-piss stare. Since he ignored this, it probably didn't land. "Why don't you have mechanical enhancements, then?" She asked. "Because you're a war criminal."

"No. Which reminds me, don't bring that up."

Silence.

"...oh, fuck. Who did you tell?"

Stella's ears flattened.

Shigure looked away quickly. Come to think of it, last time he'd glared at her while she cowered, 'they' had induced a headache. "Why did she have to talk?" He muttered, referring to the android at the air station. "Seriously... just... don't bring it up again. Who did you tell?"

"Rebecca and Kou?"

"...and neither of them are there. Should be fine, then. I'll talk to them later."

"But I didn't say you were the criminal," Stella informed. "They think it's me. That I'm the bad one. You're my social worker husband."

"The bad one," he echoed.

"Yes. I didn't mean it like that."

"Like what?"

"Don't be mad at me," she babbled. She couldn't choke it back, either. "Please please please don't be mad at me Bob I'll behave next time I'll be nice."

"I'm not mad." Lies. Shigure closed his eyes for a moment, as though trying to shake off the madness, because he was mad, because he was a liar and so was Stella. "Stop calling me Bob."

"I did not."

"Stella."

"Bob is the name of my ex-owner," she said. "Robert." Predictably, this stumped him. It stumped her, too, because she'd been told not to say Robert's name unless in case of an emergency. This wasn't an emergency... right? Besides, on second thought, it didn't really matter anymore. Gone was the feeling of being held while enjoying a tea party.

"They're looking at us," informed Shigure. "They probably think we're fighting."

"We are."

"I guess. I'm sorry." This time, when he closed his eyes, he didn't open them. "I suck at this."

"No."

"I'll just—"

"No!" She tackled him. He didn't budge, which meant her sensors had successfully adapted to lunar gravity. No more pillow throws that'd knock social workers off couches. Because words didn't suffice, while pressing her head against his chest, she karate-chopped him. Based on the way he flinched, this probably startled him.

"...uh..."

Now she karate-chopped him with both arms, simultaneously.

"They're... watching..."

She could do this all day. Her arms wouldn't get tired, for one.

"Stop it."

But then he said that, so Stella stopped. She still pressed her head against his chest. Why? Because she WANTED TO.

"Sup!" Isla greeted. She heard him close the door to her PRISON. "I'm done wi—oh, my."

"Hello," Shigure told him, as though they were at the office, as though Stella did not exist. "I was just reviewing a few Do's and Don'ts with her. Otherwise, so far so good. She's getting along with her neighbors."

Stella glanced at Isla from the corners of her photo-sensors simulating eyes. Isla eyed her, then Shigure, then Mrs. Aoyama's house. It was easy to tell the party took place in her house, given the incomprehensible drivel called 'music' emanating from it. "Wonderful," he said. "I just assigned you back to her. Now stop bitching and go drink tea."

"I was assigned to her anyway," Shigure bitched.

"Dope."

"Great."

And so the three of them went to the party.