Not Just a Guest

Audra sighed, warily watching the pot of noodles bubble on the stove from her seat at the table, steam wafting through the kitchen air.

They'd gotten done with the tour a few minutes ago at this point, and honestly? It wasn't too bad.

Zeph's house was rather small and sparsely furnished, but it had what it needed. There was a living room, kitchen, bathroom, and an office and storage space upstairs. The only thing that Audra didn't like was that there was only one bedroom.

That fact had immediately set off alarms when it came up, but after Zeph had assured her he'd be sleeping on the couch to accommodate her, she'd calmed down.

They'd also just finished going over the surprisingly scant ground rules: don't use the arc welder or the material printers by herself, and to be reasonable.

That was it. Nothing else.

She'd initially scoffed at his naivety by saying she could just snatch something if nowhere was off limits, but he'd merely followed it up by saying he could tell she wasn't the type to do it intentionally—emphasis on the last part.

That'd made her mad, because she wasn't able to say anything back without sounding like a jerk.

Now? The two of them were waiting in the kitchen as Zeph made ramen.

"So," Zeph asked, finally breaking the silence and leaning against the counter. "You got any food allergies I should know about?"

She blinked, a little surprised by his question.

"Just shellfish, I guess. Why?"

"Basic things. Making sure that you're not going to die from eating a stray shrimp or something like that. Ah, and you're not lactose intolerant, are you?"

"Not at all."

"Good to hear. We're pretty much set then." He rummaged through the cupboard, pulling out a package of freeze-dried toppings and ripping it open, dumping it into the pot with the rest.

"…"

For some reason, the way that Zeph had just moved reminded her a little bit of her dad.

Audra shook her head at the thought. Crap. She didn't want to think about that. Not now.

Instead, her focus shifted to analyzing the man before her.

Zeph was weird, but not in a bad way. His body language was relaxed most of the time, but his silver eyes were sharp, his gaze always seeming to focus whenever their eyes met.

It made her feel vaguely uncomfortable, like he had already figured her out completely, despite there being no discernable way for him to know her history. It wasn't a creepy or a threatening stare either, just a curious, observant one.

At the very least, he hadn't said anything negative or insensitive regarding her bionics yet, so he was better than most she had met.

She didn't have to wait too much longer until the noodles were done. Once they were, Zeph slid a bowl and some ice water in front of her.

"Eat up," he said, handing her a pair of chopsticks next. "It's not gourmet, but it'll do."

"…" She stared at the utensils awkwardly as he moved to start eating his own, as if she had been offered a pair of alien technology.

Damn it. She'd seen people use chopsticks before on TV, but she'd never actually had to use them herself.

Taking the utensils from him, she attempted to pick up a bite from the bowl, too proud to admit her lack of experience.

She managed to do somewhat okay and got the noodles to her mouth, but as soon as they touched her lips, the whole mess slipped through the chopsticks and back into the bowl, splashing the hot broth onto her non-bionic hand.

"Shit!"

"Careful," he said, handing her a napkin. "Those are hot."

"I noticed," she grumbled, wiping her fingers clean.

"Are you okay? Is there anything wrong with your hand?" He leaned forward slightly, as he appraised her.

"I'm… fine, and it has nothing to do with my hands," she muttered, avoiding his gaze as she pressed her hand against the coldness of her glass.

She didn't need his pity. She wasn't a child.

That last thought made her flinch a little bit, though.

If she wasn't a child, why was she acting like one now? The slight scalding she just got could've been avoided had she just asked him to give her a fork.

"…" Bah. This was going to hurt her pride.

"Zeph… I um, can't use chopsticks."

"I see," Zephyr said, raising an eyebrow at the new information. "You should've said so earlier. But that's a surprise; where are you from?"

"Portland," she answered on impulse, more focused on cooling down her fingers than filtering her responses now.

He nodded sagely before moving toward one of the cabinet drawers. "Ah. Well let me just get you a fork then. Sorry for assuming you'd been exposed to it."

"…" Even though Audra hadn't detected any sarcasm in his tone just then, she still felt the sting of shame. In a way, the apology almost seemed like a challenge to her.

"W-wait," she called out as he was rummaging through one of the cupboards. "Can you teach me?"

He turned around. "Hm?"

She tapped the table with one of her bionic fingers for emphasis. "You heard me. Teach me how to use them—the chopsticks… Please."

Zephyr just stared at her for a while, almost looking surprised by the request. However, he soon offered a light, gentle smile that softened his features.

"Since you asked so nicely." He made his way back to the table and held his own chopsticks out to her, positioning his fingers.

"This is how you hold them. You can rest the bottom stick on your ring finger and hold it in place with your thumb. It should be mostly stationary." He showed it to her briefly before continuing.

"The top stick is what you're going to be moving. Try to hold it between the tips of your index and middle finger and pivot it along the side of your thumb. Got that?"

"I… think so?" she replied, carefully copying his motions.

It was awkward at first, but soon she was able to move the top stick without dropping the bottom one. She managed to pick up a single noodle, and after a few attempts, she was able to bring it to her mouth without it slipping away.

"Good job," he praised, nodding approvingly. "Now, try it again, but this time, try to get more than a single one. It's easier to grab a bunch of them at once."

She did as he instructed, picking up several noodles at the same time and bringing them to her mouth. It was still a little awkward, and a few slipped away, but she managed to eat most of it this time.

"Not bad for a beginner. You'll get the hang of it in no time," he said, giving a thumbs up. "Also, I couldn't help but notice, but I'm assuming you're right-handed?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Just curious. I knew a handful of people that had to replace their dominant hand with a prosthetic, so I was wondering if it was a similar case for you."

She glanced at her cybernetic left arm and frowned a bit. Oh. There it was, bringing up her bionics.

However… the tone he had was more curiosity than any, and it possessed the proper tact that others lacked.

"Yeah, well, I never had to worry about that. I've had this thing since…" She paused, shaking her head. "Never mind. Let's just say that I'm used to it."

"You've had it for a while then, I take it?"

"Long enough."

They ate in silence as the sun finished setting and the world outside turned dark. The only sounds were the clink of chopsticks on ceramic and the slurp of noodles.

Despite the awkwardness though, there was something calming about the quiet between them.

Hm, maybe this wasn't so bad after all—

"So, you're from Portland?" Zephyr suddenly asked after finishing his noodles, leaning back in his chair.

Darn. Spoke too soon.

"…I thought you weren't trying to pry."

He scratched his head bashfully. "Eh, I'm not trying to be nosy; I swear. I'm just… trying to make small talk here. If you don't want to talk though, that's fine. But it's hard not to be curious. I haven't been there since maybe '89."

Audra briefly appraised the man as she finished slurping down her noodles. Thinking about it more, she supposed there wasn't any real harm in telling him about her hometown. It wasn't exactly a secret since she had already told him anyway.

"…The food is great, there's a ton of nature around the area, the people are mostly friendly, and the architecture is interesting. Plus, the weather can be pretty nice at times, though it does tend to rain a lot."

"You sound like you liked living there," he commented, closing his eyes and stretching out his arms.

"I, uh… Yeah, it was pretty cool, I guess." She hesitated, then added, "It wasn't perfect or anything, but I wouldn't have traded it for another home."

"Sounds like you miss it."

"Maybe a little bit. I like the place, and I'm not afraid of admitting that. But I didn't want to stay there."

"Why not?"

She looked away, staring uncomfortably at the empty bowl in front of her. She didn't feel like getting into her reasons right now, so she just tossed him a vague answer.

"Because there's nothing for me there anymore."

Silence.

There was no reply from Zephyr, and when Audra glanced back up, his expression had become unreadable again. It almost seemed like he was looking at some faraway place.

"Uh, is everything okay? Did I say something wrong?"

He blinked slowly and shook his head. "Oh. No, not at all. Just… thinking." He stood up abruptly and grabbed the dishes before carrying them over to the sink.

"I just think I know the feeling."

She watched as he rinsed them off in the water, his hands moving deftly. However, his posture was stiff, and his movements were a little tense.

As if moving by instinct, she followed after him and soon found herself nudging him out of the way, snatching the sponge from his hand.

"Here, let me help you with those."

"Hey, hold on. What are you doing?"

She grunted, trying to shove him away with her hips. "Washing the dishes. What does it look like?"

"…But you're a guest here."

Audra was already working up a lather. "Yeah, well. I'm also not going to be a freeloader. This is the least I can do to show my thanks since you're letting me stay here. Besides, if you're as old as you say, then it's better if I did it. Leave it to the young and all."

Zeph's expression shifted to that of amusement. "Pft. Okay. You sure you're alright with this though?"

Her lips curled into a pout. "You better not be insinuating that I don't know how to do chores."

He chuckled. "No, not at all. It's just… usually guests don't offer to wash the dishes."

"Well, consider me an exception. Now go ahead and convince me you're actually old and do old people stuff. You can sit on the sofa and read the news or whatever old farts do."

He snorted, lightly pounding on the counter.

"Old fart? Really? I'll remind you that I was born in 2040, a very stylish time to be alive. We had glamour, the neo-retro 1970s revival, and the second great grunge era. I was pretty hip then, just as I am now—"

Audra rolled her eyes and gave him a look that clearly told him to stop talking, flicking some soapy water at him. "You're convincing me too well. Please leave."

Zephyr held his hands up in surrender under the foamy onslaught. "Woah there. Fine, I'll be in the living room after you're done then. Don't break any of the bowls."

Audra's cheeks rose a little at the quip.

"I'll try not to."