#sunbeamiing

     “That guy didn’t hurt you, did he?”

  The would-be criminal, she means, now laid out cold on the pavement. The moment she’s sure he won’t wake up for awhile, Alice is turning toward Layla. Scarab starts running a bioscan, but she asks anyway. It’s half out of reflex; half because she knows Layla could be uninjured and still in pain.

  The fact that it happens to be Layla, of all the people in this city, hasn’t sunk in yet. Or, more accurately --- wondering at the many coincidences of the universe just isn’t her priority right now.

   ( And it’s not as if this feels like bumping into a friend on the street. In full armor, Alice doesn’t feel like the same person. She feels like she’s practically a different species. )

❛   it’s really not a big deal.  ❜      she drops herself down onto the couch, settling in comfortably where she is without hesitation. but despite her ease and lack of awkwardness, america keeps her arms and legs to herself, keeping in mind her manners despite having learned them so long ago from her moms.     ❛   trust me, i’m used to doing all kinds of crazy shit.  ❜     she shifts, leaning forward with her elbows braced on her knees, and waves a hand around dismissively.     ❛  helping you with some stuff around your place? no es un gran cosa.  ❜

Oddly, the overwhelming scent of vanilla makes him think of something soft, like warm laundry, and all of the little cakes on display look perfect, bright colours like something out of a cartoon. Raylan only stepped in here out of curiosity. 

          ‘  I'M SO UNCOMFORTABLE    today.    do you ever feel so uncomfortable that you can't stand it  ?  ‘

            “  what’s the special occasion?  ”

     Layla is... different. Oscar never knows what to make of her because he’s never known any other human like her. Good and kind and willing to stop and help a synth of all things. Perhaps, he thinks, this is what happens when you don’t try to hurt them in the first place-- but that thought only lasts a moment. He remembers, with that crystal clear memory of his, that he and his siblings have not always acted the aggressor, and plenty of humans were cruel before he ever had the ability to return the treatment in kind. 

     He looks to the door her daughter has just vanished behind, the look on his face quite unreadable. Even Oscar himself isn’t sure what he’s feeling. Then again, he’s barely lived a life, has only felt the ugly emotions his newfound life has to offer. That’s why he doesn’t know how he feels about Layla’s attempts to help fix him, either. He doesn’t quite trust her... but he doesn’t hate her either. That’s all he knows.