This Is Awkward

"Say that after you've had to put up with me for more than a night." Kaalth said, teasing back. Not that he had any doubts that they'd continued to get along. As he'd suspected, the real Nala was even better than her copy had been-smarter, more adventurous and more perceptive, for a start. Not to mention the fact that she was much more attractive. And better in bed, although he didn't focus on that part, because they did have to get out of bed sometime. For food, and because he wanted to spend time with her alone, before they both had to work.

The thought of work made him wince a little, as he remembered that he'd left the inventory unfinished, he'd completely lost track of it, all his attention focused on Nala. Jaya would have had to get someone else to bring her the bottle, which would have annoyed her, but that was a minor errand. The inventory was more serious, the thought hitting him like a hammer when he walked into the kitchen and spotted Ruvet, who was washing up the dishes he'd clearly been using for his own breakfast.

"Where is Nala?" the older man asked, not trying, as a non-Orion might have, to pretend that it wasn't obvious that Kaalth had been with Nala until quite recently.

"She's in her room, washing up." Kaalth replied "I'm sorry for taking off before my work was done." he added, looking a little shamefaced. Not that it hadn't been worth it-entirely worth it, but he had dumped a lot of work on Ruvet, and with no warning.

"You can finish it tonight." Ruvet rumbled "My daughter is more important than the inventory. I'm glad you two patched things up-Nala was pretty upset, and she can be stubborn." he clapped Kaalth affectionately on the shoulder and added "I understand that there were complications, which is why I'm letting you get away with making my daughter cry. Once. But its not going to happen twice, is it?"

"No, no it won't." Kaalth said, seriously "Nala is beautiful and wonderful and-"

"And you sound like I did, when I cooked breakfast for her mother the first time." Ruvet said, laughing again "Have fun and I'll see you later. I'm pulling a double, Jax is off on a ride again, and someone has to do some work around here." with that he left, leaving Kaalth alone to prepare the meal.

He was sliding the second omelette onto the platter when he turned around, and saw Nala getting the table ready. "Thank you." he said as he carried the food over, pleased that she'd been so thoughtful, some women weren't so willing to pitch in-Padma was an example of that, she seemed to assume that all she had to do was smile at him and he'd wait on her. Which to be fair, worked, because he hadn't had a good reason to tell her to take care of herself before. Now he did, asking someone else's man to take care of your needs was a common first move in trying to see if a man was receptive to being poached, and he most certainly was not. "I hope you like it." he added "I used duck eggs, instead of chicken. Those are different kinds of Terran birds, and Remy said that duck eggs are richer and have more flavor. He said that a lot of Terrans think they taste too strong, but I like them. Remy has taught me a lot about Terran food, and helped me find things that are like Orion ingredients. I guess we can start getting some things in through the portal, but the Terran food is easier to get."

Nala giggled slightly, embarrassed at her own naive behaviour- but unwilling to force herself to stop either. She leaned closer with her nose wrinkled from her smile. "I'll make sure to find some time to prove it to you in private."

When she made it to the kitchen, conversation started again- starting with her waving away his thanks. She wasn't incapable of caring for herself (despite what many thought after they found out she was the only girl in her family) and she wanted to help Kaalth. A real relationship was supposed to take work from both parties- sometimes actual work.

"Thank you" She replied, emphasizing the latter word with a smile. Nala listened as Kaalth began to ramble about food- the corner of her eyes crinkling in amusement. "I trust you- if you say it tastes good..." She offered, trailing off to actually take a bite of her meal. "Oh that is good." Nala added, surprised despite herself as she continued to eat rather efficiently. Pausing for a quick moment she remarked about something she had seen.

"I noticed my father leaving the kitchen- Did he hug you and welcome you to the family or something?" She asked with a grin, knowing that her father would be excited about her relationship changing.

"That sounds like a great idea." Kaalth said, grinning at her "I'm lucky to have found such a smart woman." ok, so, maybe the Luck Goddess hadn't cursed him after all. Maybe She'd just decided to mess with him a bit, so that he didn't forget how lucky he was to be with Nala.


Once they were sitting down, eating, Kaalth couldn't help the smile that split his face as he watched Nala enjoying her food. He'd known that she enjoyed his cooking, certainly, but this was the first time that he'd actually made something just for her, and so it made him absurdly happy to see her enjoying it. "I'm glad you like it." he said, smiling at her, then went back to his own food. It was rather good, if he said so himself, and the rich flavor of the eggs was complimented by the tartness of the juice. Juice that he almost choked on when she mentioned that she'd seen her father leaving the kitchen.

"No, not that." he said, when the coughing subsided. After all, it was one thing to be happy that your daughter had a suitor, it was another to welcome him as a member of the family, and he didn't think that Nala would want to move that quickly. "He was happy for me, but he also told me that I'd used up my only time to make you cry. But we didn't, um, talk about bride price or anything like that." looking embarrassed as he said it, and hoping that she wouldn't be put off by him mentioning it. Maybe the Luck Goddess did have it in for him after all.

Nala couldn't help the small laugh that left her mouth at his response. On the one hand, yes obviously she was worried about him choking- but the spluttering was rather cute.

"Really?" She replied with a small smile. "With how hard he's been pushing me to find a suitor you'd think that he'd be ecstasic."

Her smile grew at the repetition of her father's threat- because yes that sounded an awful lot like the man had raised her. Nala's face did however melt into a frown when bride prices came up. She stabbed a piece of egg angrily and stuffed it into her mouth before she looked up and noticed the expression on Kaalth's face. Waving her hands in a bit of an awkward flail, she did her best to cover her response with an explanation.

"That is- ah- well-" Nala started before giving in with a sigh. "I've been bought and sold enough for several lifetimes- I just can't picture being purchased from my father as a good way to start a life together with someone. I'd rather put the money toward our life as a couple." She explained, flushing slightly since she didn't love shouting out her opinions and certain that he'd find her less desirable for it.

"Well, he did say he was happy we'd worked things out." Kaalth observed "He also said th-" when he saw the expression on Nala's face, the way she was stabbing her eggs, he stopped talking, not sure what he'd done to piss her off, but not wanting to make it worse by opening his stupid mouth again. His face fell as he realized that he hadn't been able to go an entire day without putting his foot in it.

His pained expression changed when Nala explained what it was that had upset her. "Yeah, that makes sense." Kaalth replied "Jaya tried to explain how things work today, with "buying" your wife so that the two of you can decide which family you want to live with, and don't have to stay with her family, and I've gotta say, it still doesn't make sense to me." he shook his head "Back in the old days, guys couldn't really own anything, not even the clothes on our backs. I mean, yeah, the guy's family would let him take his stuff, and sometimes they'd give him presents or whatever but-yeah, the whole bride price thing still seems weird to me. I mean" his tone turned a bit hesitant "I've been saving up, and I had a decent chunk saved up already, but if you don't want to do it that way, I've got no problem with not doing it that way. I dunno, maybe we could use the money to buy a chunk of the Goddess instead." the last sentence was said diffidently, as though it was a random thought that just occurred to him, so that Nala could easily ignore it if she disagreed.

Nala was grateful when her explanation melted the look of pain on Kaalth's face- Her dad may have threatened to hurt him if she cried again- but Nala wasn't deaf- she knew she had caused him plenty of his own tears. (It occurred to Nala that it was a good thing any scent of sadness had been erased by their intimacy since she distinctly remembered crying in the storage room. Her father would be less pleased in knowing about that, she imagined.)

When he agreed, her embarrassment melted as well- into a small smile that had little to do with a desire to express happiness and almost everything to do with the fact that she was turning into a pile of mush. It had been a very long time since she had been pursued with such earnestness- and even longer since she had actively sought out that pursuit. It was a strange feeling for Nala- but not one she minded.

"Mm- It's the other way around nowadays. Certainly we still live in a matriarchy but for those of us who live on world's with outsiders or who act as agents for the syndicate- Men are the sole owners of most things. The club that the Goddess is based on- will go to my brothers. Doesn't matter that I'm older- or that I have cousins. Myself and my cousins are all women and as such must 'play the part' rather fully. Until I came to the hub- everything I used belonged to my father and brothers. The things I leave behind will go to their wives and daughters- and eventually to their sons when their daughters are married or leave." She started rambling despite herself- Nala loved her brothers and wished them the world- but there was a reason why she cared so much about knowledge. No one could repossess your knowledge- at least- not in ways available to most.

Her train of thought stopped abruptly as she heard Kaalth's reply. Her smile doubled despite herself when he said 'we.' Forcing her brain free- she was a highly trained agent of the syndicate- not a school child- she managed a reply. "I am saving up to buy a share of this club." Nala said finally- making it clear that she'd be interested in the prospect- but she hoped- not so clear as to make it obvious how much of their life together she had imagined at that moment.

So help her- This was Nala's first proper day as a couple with Kaalth. She was doomed.