The fact that she'd come to me for help for even something as small as learning the utilities in our quarters was gratifying...and also dishearting. Gratifying that she still felt she could lean on me and stomach having me in her space for this small time. And, disheartening because I'm reminded how poor of a job I've done acclimating her to the ship and the world I'm so used to.

I stifle the apology that rests on my tongue. We've gone over these things before and I know I've apologized for my shortcomings, yet she always seems to take it in stride and wave off the sentiment. "What would you like to learn first?"

She glanced toward the cooking area and I watch the play of light across her eyelashes and the bridge of her nose. I drink in the vision for just that brief moment. I hadn't realized how much I liked --no craved-- looking at her until I'd been away from her. She was exquisite, the soft planes of her face and the gentle slope of her nose. Her lips looked deceptively small but she did things to them that caused my gaze to stray there more often than not. I followed a trail of the darker speckled pigmentation down her throat toward her collarbone where they disappeared beneath the neckline of her shirt.

I snapped my gaze back up, chiding myself. Constantly. Constantly you're moving too fast. Take a step back and live leisurely for once, when it comes to Addy. I had to remind myself sometimes that, while I thought I was moving at a normal pace, my 'normal' --and likely all of Val'Dornn's normal as well-- was breakneck speed for Addy and the human women.

"I think we should program my signature to the heating thing."

I looked to the dark slab of conductive material. If I were being honest, I'd tell her I'd avoided programming her signature to it thus far because I'd expected to complete our bond a lot sooner. Her DNA would have changed and it would have required re-entering her biologic signature again afterward. I didn't mention it, though, didn't feel like putting the pressure of my original assumptions on her when we'd both grown so much since our first meeting. "Of course."

I walked to the interface and Addy followed after me. "The interface is accessed with touch," the cool metal hummed to life under my fingers, "as a general rule, left side is the facet for temperature range," I motioned at a light circle and drag my finger around the interface to show her how it works. "Middle interface is basic heating types like boiling, steaming, and frying. Some require different kinds of heating mechanisms on the shelf itself." I touched the cool dark metal in front of me, "and finally the settings interface." I tapped the righthand side and a grid flared to life, "You can clean, calibrate, and add users through this interface."

I tapped the square that begins a biologic scan. The cooking slab hummed and the silvered outline of a hand appears in the center, beckoning Addy. Without a thought, she pressed her hand inside the outline and it dims for a moment before flashing in a few consecutive bursts.

It chimed out a note, letting us know it finished.

"Should we check that it's worked?" Addy pulled her hand back from the slab.

"If you'd like," I powered up the slab to a high enough heat to be felt, but not so high that it could harm her. Addy watched me intently, and I took a small moment to preen as I leaned against the shelf, showcasing that I wasn't afraid of it.

Gingerly, Addy tapped the shelf quickly, then as she grew braver she placed her hand on the surface for longer and longer. Her smile was quick and grateful. "Thank you so much."

I smiled back. It caused the right side of my face to twinge. I'd almost forgotten the bruising. "Can I help you with anything else?" I looked around the room for anything I could think to instruct her on. The temperature control unit was rather straightforward if you knew how to work the cooking shelf.

"The things in the fridge?"

The food. It's probably finally been stocked, now that there's a human on board. Likely most of it was off-world fare that we'd picked up a taste for in our travels. "Were there no human ingredients in the unit?"

"I didn't see any, but I'll be honest once I noticed the stuff I didn't recognize, I didn't search much farther," she laughed and I could see the faint dusting of rose across her cheeks that told me she was embarrassed.

"Would you like me to cook for you while I explain the items in the unit?"

I watched the blush deepen and her gaze flit away from mine, quickly. Even without the bond, I could read her easily.

Something about my offer sparked the fire of nerves in her. "I offer to help you better understand how to use them," shrugging I continue on, "If I were in your position I feel like seeing the items actually cooked, and then actually eating them would help give me a foundation for cooking later."

She nodded, "Yeah. Probably. Can we....we cook together? It feels weird having you just make something for me, and actually being involved in the cooking process would probably make it easier too."

I couldn't keep the smile off my face. While I would love to cook for her, the fact that we could work side by side was more pleasing to me. "Of course. I'll speak to someone about contacting the males planetside to see if they can send some of your planet's ingredients up as well."

"I would like that a lot."

We worked in companionable silence for a few minutes as I pulled different things out of the unit. Some vegetables, meat, and a thickening agent. I was good at making soups...and that was about it. So....we would make soup.

"Esayr?"

Addy had caught me as I was pulling a large, starchy vegetable from the cooler, "Yes?"

"I want to start over."

I glanced down at the vegetable and then back at her. She was learning new things and likely wanted to get them right. It was odd to repeat these steps of all things before we'd even gotten to the descriptions of the ingredients, but maybe she actually did want instructions on the cooling unit as well. "Alright," I slowly placed the starchy vegetable back into the unit and then reached for the others I had placed on the nearby cutting shelf.

She watched me place maybe two or three items back into the cooler in confusion before her lips quirked up into a small smile. She let me place all the items back into the cooler before she said, "Our relationship, Esayr...I want to start over with that...not this," she motioned to the cooking shelf and cooling unit. She pressed a hand to her mouth and I was acutely aware she was trying not to laugh.

I squinted at her, I could feel the smile tugging at my own lips, "You'd realized my mistake earlier, but weren't inclined to mention it?" I opened the cooler again and started pulling everything back out just as meticulously as the first time.

Addy's voice was a whisper, "You were so genuine."

I let my eyebrows shoot into my hairline, "Ah, but not genuine enough for you to stop me from looking foolish." I shot her a tart look and she burst into laughter as I dropped the last of the ingredients on to the counter, none too gently.

"You get to cut the Nirri," I tap on the large starchy vegetable.

"Is that my punishment?"

"Yes," I answer quickly. "It is a deep purple and will stain your fingers." It was also the softest and easiest to cut of all of the vegetables I'd pulled out.

I handed her a knife, one of the smaller ones that fit better in her grip, and motioned for her to stand beside me. "Cut it into bite-sized chunks. We'll put them in a stew."

Addy worked quietly, chopping away at the Nirri, making a verifiable mess of her hands and the cutting surface.

I worked quietly beside her, but my mind replayed her admission. I want to start over. I want to start over. I want to start over.

My heart stuttered with possibilities, but before I could let it race ahead at that breakneck speed it always wanted to go, I had to leash it back to my side. "You want to start over?"

Addy stilled for a moment and then resumed her cutting. Where she'd occasionally sneak glances my way before, she kept her head bowed. Only her rosy cheeks hinted at her thoughts. "Yeah, I think so."

"In what way?" She didn't answer immediately and I found that I couldn't stand the gallop of my heart in my chest and the feel of nerves coiling in my stomach. "Help me understand your meaning. You wish to start our relationship over." I found the words falling from my mouth quickly, without the ability to stop them all I could do was sit back and listen as they held a full-fledged conversation by themselves, "At what point would we start over? From the beginning. I know you've expressed stress over our relationship in its current state, however, I wouldn't trade any of this time with you for anything no matter how smoothly it would go."

Without warning, Addy turned to me, catching me by surprise. She thrust her hand out between us and directly in my workspace. She met my surprised gaze, "Hi. It's nice to meet you. My name is Addison Rose Kane."

*****A/N*****

Sometimes I wonder if y'all are bothered by my constant Author's Notes. It's something that I find entertaining, I guess. Having a glimpse into the thoughts of the person that's writing something and seeing what they were inspired by or maybe struggled with. It's interesting to me, probably from a writer's point of view.

If you happened to be interested, something I struggled with --oddly enough-- in this part was, for whatever reason, the fact that my brain kept insisting that I write in the present tense. Which, is absolutely ridiculous because when I actually try to write in the present tense I find it nearly impossible. Yet, two whole paragraphs came out in the present tense and it was endlessly frustrating trying to work through fixing them.

P.S. Also definitely almost wrote "shit" instead of "shirt" God bless the fact that I caught that typo amiright. :P

Love Always,

Layla.