Naina woke up early in the morning. She sat up on her bed, ran her fingers through her hair, and smacked her lips while trying to get her eyes open. She got up and walked to a mirror on the wall.
"OK, Naina. What are you doing?" she asked herself. She seemed to remember last evening, and her cheeks turned red. She touched her lips softly, and a smile crept onto them.
"She... Kissed me," Naina said softly, and her ears started to resemble the red Proxian fruits. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "No! I'm a scientist! I don't have time for these kinds of things, nor do I care!" she said sternly to herself.
"I'm taking a shower, putting on some clean gear, and then I'm going to go and tell her, that I'm not into that any of kind of stuff! I'm a scientist!" she said, stomping her foot on the floor, and then angrily marched into the shower.
At the same moment, Mizuni was sitting at a table at the cafeteria, eating a Meal and chatting with Perez. She had been uncommonly quiet for her, and Perez had been grinning a lot.
"I have to say, Valera," Perez said, after gulping down a mouthful. "Didn't expect you to be so bold with her."
Mizuni's cheeks darkened, and she shook her head. "What have I done, papá? What if she hates me now? Whatever possessed me to act like that? Why did I kiss her? We were just so excited because we survived! We don't even know each other that well!" she went on, exasperatedly.
"I am not an expert on emotion in living beings," Quera said suddenly. "But I'm pretty sure 'hate' is something Captain Melcey is not capable of."
"Ah, Morning Quera," Perez said.
"Morning, Quera," Mizuni said. "Still, I ... I'm a scientist, Lu! I don't have time for that! I'm not even interested in ... in ... that ... sort of thing."
"Yes, and I'm a fish," Perez said with a totally expressionless face.
Mizuni stuck her tongue out of her mouth at him.
"I mean it, hija," he said gently. "I've known for a long time your heart has no place for men in it. And that you got burned badly by that Irina-girl at the start of your Academy."
Mizuni looked up and stared at Perez with her eyebrows up high and her mouth open. "You knew?!" she said quietly. "I didn't even tell ... him. Krii."
"Valera, I've known you almost as long as he did," Perez said. "You've been the daughter I never had. You don't think I noticed when you were happy, or when you were down?"
Mizuni blushed and looked down. "I guess I didn't think it from that angle," she whispered. "You were always more of a papá for me than Krii was. You took care of me when he didn't. You were there when I was sad. He was there only when I was happy."
"Hija, I'm saying that I know you. And I'm saying that even if I've only known Captain Melcey for a little while, she doesn't hate you," Perez said gently. "She might even be having this same conversation with herself right now," he said, and grinned. "You two are so alike. You think you're scientists first, and women only after. Maybe it's time for both of you to realize you're living beings with emotions first, and scientists after," Perez said.
"I'm borrowing that sentence, Captain Perez," Quera said. "For no particular reason."
Perez grinned widely. "I'd be honored, Quera," he said. Be sure your 'no particular reason' gets the message too.
Naina got out of the showers and flopped on her bed backwards, her damp hair clumping all over her face and front.
"I'm losing my mind, Quera," she said softly. "I can only think of her. Functions and formulas slip through my mind, and the only thing I see is her face. Her eyes, and her lips," she said, and brushed her finger on her own lips. "They felt so soft. So warm."
She propped herself up on her elbows and eyed angrily towards her downstairs. "No!" she barked. "You don't get a say here! Stop it! Don't get excited there at all."
She flopped back, closed her eyes, and growled. "Quera, help me," she said. "What will I do? How do I stop? How will I get anything done when I'm like ... like this!" she said and gestured towards her legs.
"Captain Melcey," Quera said flatly. "A wise man once said, 'You two are so alike. You think you're scientists first, and women only after. Maybe it's time for both of you to realize you're living beings with emotions first, and scientists after,' and I think he was correct," Quera said.
Naina made a growling sound and put her hands on her face, and sighed deeply. "Quera, I hate you when you start making sense to me," she whispered. "That just leaves the simple fact, that I have absolutely no idea what to do!" she said, with irritation in her voice.
She sat up and buried her face in her hands. "Quera, I don't know what to do," she whispered. "I've never done anything like this. I'm not a people person. I haven't had the slightest clue how to ... to ... do anything with another person."
"Captain Melcey," Quera said. "How do you learn science?"
"You read! You theorize!" she said and threw her hands in the air.
"Naina. How do you learn science?" Quera said softly.
She made a growling sound and mumbled something, burying her face deeper into her hands and curled into a ball.
"What was that, Captain Melcey?" Quera asked with an amused voice. "I didn't hear it properly."
Naina made another growling sound, sat up, and then stood up. Her face and ears resembled Mizuni's hair, and she looked very irritated.
"You experiment!" she yelled, clearly irate.
"Good girl," Quera said.
Naina stomped her foot on the floor several times. "Quera, I hate you," she growled. "I hate you when you know me better than I do. I hate you when you make more sense than my brain does," she said and stomped towards her pile of clothes.
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