For muskets

[speakveryclearly]

The Cuisinart Boiler 2100 let out its telltale ding--the tea was done! Kanaya sprang up to retrieve it, thanking the technology gods for the twentieth time that an automated solution had emerged so she could prepare food for her mortal partner. Using both hands to prevent any tea from spilling, she turned around again and presented the cup to Mami.

"Here you go."

Comments

[muskets]

"I really don't mind making the tea for myself, Kanaya."

Mami took the cup with a gracious little smile, though, the gratitude clearly sincere. It had been a long time since anyone else had made tea for her; little acts like that were somehow, strangely, some of the most difficult to acclimate to.

"But I will say again how glad I am that you don't mind when people eat in front of you."

[speakveryclearly]

"It kind of makes me happy to watch." She appreciated someone else taking the burden to be helpful and unobtrusive away from herself. Mami made her feel like an equal in a way few transports who had gotten close bothered to maintain, not just a companion around whom to abate loneliness.

Kanaya sat down next to Mami a way she didn't permit herself around many other people, letting the sides of their legs support each other. "Besides, I hate to drink alone basically by definition. Knowing you can do something by yourself isn't the same as wanting to, is it?"

[muskets]

Knowing you can do something alone by yourself isn't the same as wanting to, is it?

As soon as Kanaya finished speaking, Mami's expression shuttered briefly, falling into something carefully composed and nearly unreadable. It was the absolute truth, and reminded her so much of her loneliness at home that it made her chest ache for just a split second.

Perhaps it only hurt so badly now because of the stark contrast she had to her life here.

The tension in her face resolved into a soft smile, something oddly earnest as she turned to look at Kanaya. "You're right. And I'm glad it's you that I'm not alone with." Slightly odd phrasing, perhaps, but she seemed to mean it absolutely.