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[It's not much of a comfort. Or rather -- it's a comfort for the wrong thing. It's a comfort for Hajime's sometimes-still-lacking self-esteem, the feeling that people who are so incredible, so talented, wouldn't want someone like him to be around them.

But it doesn't help at all with the very real possibility that he might just... go out on an expedition, and never return. It makes him want to find someone to go with him, any time he might go out. But he also doesn't want to take anyone away from anyone else, either. If something happens...

He blinks, trying to focus on what Dirk is holding out to him, and reaches out his hand to take it before he really realizes what it is. Oh. An orange slice.]

Thanks. That... means a lot for you to say.

[So while he still looks miserable, he pops the orange slice into his mouth to suck on the juice. So of course now he just looks miserable and ridiculous, because no one can be taken seriously when they have the rind of an orange between their lips like a weird smile.]

[There's a pause. And then Hinata's communicator beeps. Surprise! Attached is a picture of Hinata, taken by Dirk's shades, right now.

Hinata deserves to also see what he looks like.]

[Now what's beeping, has Dirk been coding...

He pauses and checks, cheeks flaring a sudden bright pink as he spits the orange into his hand.]

S-shit!

[But he can't help but laugh, a weak, coughing laugh, but a laugh nonetheless.]

D-don't take pictures of me like that!

What's done cannot be undone, bro.

[Like he could delete the picture but he isn't doing that?

This is the best he can do. Dirk wants to figure out what to do. When he sees a problem, he figures out the solution and then just does it. But what's the solution here? Research? What is there to pick up? How people leave is as mysterious as how people arrive, and they've never managed to catch sight of that.

Maybe the Monolith needs a different kind of investigating. But right now, Dirk wants to focus on hanging out with a friend.]

[He just groans and buries his head back on his shoulder. He's smiling, though, so the distaction was successful. And he pops the orange slice back into his mouth to get the last of the juice because look. Oranges are important.

The worry isn't gone, but he's shoving it back, forcing himself to focus on the present, and the friends he has with him. Not the ones who are gone.]

Is there anything your sunglasses can't do...?

Be a good home for an emergent consciousness.

[Well. They weren't, though. More helpfully,]

I've been modifying it to suit what I need since I was a kid. Most of its features are geared towards supporting the user in a situation very like ours. Part of that meant designing them for audiovisual input so I could get support from my robots if I ever got into a situation I couldn't get myself out of.

It turns out those features come in handy for getting candid photos of your bros.

[And you will never know when you're safe or not. CREEPY.

Vaguely, at least. Honestly, Dirk just wants to take stupid pictures and share them with his friends. So sue him.]

[...He was trying for a lighthearted conversation topic, Dirk. You really are bad at this.]

Emergent consciousness... are you talking about the AI you built...?

[Because as fuzzy as it feels to try to think while mildly feverish, he does remember a mention about Dirk building something on shades. Or was it the size of shades? Maybe he's just confused.

He sets the now-juiceless orange slice on the side of the plate and just takes another, repeating the process. It's like OJ, but cruder.]

[SHUT UP STOP... being right...

He is so bad at this.]

That's the one.

I don't know if you're feeling good enough for this, so just tell me it's a pass if it's too much. Do you want me to teach you how the program to hatch the egg works?

...

[Honestly, he feels like shit. And he probably won't retain it anyway, and he doesn't want Dirk to waste his time. But--]

Yeah, I want to learn.

[Sets the orange slice down and shifts in his chair, trying to get more upright. He only succeeds in losing one of his blankets and ends up in the exact same spot he had been in. Just now with a quiet whine of distress, because that blanket is now Gone Forever.]

[There's a pause.

Dirk stands up, then bends down. Blanket is acquired. He grabs the blanket and tosses it over to Hinata.]

Yo. Where do you sleep?

[He makes a grab for said blanket and misses. Fortunately it still lands on him, so he can drag it back up to his chin.]

Thanks... I usually sleep wherever there's room, I try to stay out of the way.

[He a pushover and he feels bad. No real territorial claims from him!]

Sometimes I just pick a spot out of the way in here since it's usually pretty quiet. When everyone's feeling better, I want to try to get more private rooms, or even just smaller rooms... I don't want to claim any of the private rooms in case anyone else wants them, you know?

[he's rambling. Stop him.]

Okay. You can sleep in the Magister's room.

[With this decided, Dirk decides to try to pick up Hinata in a bundle of blankets and carry him there.

Princess style, because Hinata is sick.]

Wha-- whoa, oi! Dirk!!

[He flails a little, because wtf he's not looking to get princess-carried by a guy?! How uncool...]

Put me down, what are you doing?!

Taking care of the diseased.

[Hinata is not being put down. Hinata is being carried over to the Magister's room, not at flashstep speed simply because he thinks it might make Hinata feel queazier. Dirk is being delicate with him because friends don't make friends vomit, and not even friends want that vomit to be on them.]

N-no, stop it, I'm fine!

[His voice is a little quieter once Dirk starts actually moving, though, because struggling too much is bad for his nausea and leaves him all but clinging to the other boy, eyes closed in both embarrassment, and in an effort not to make himself vomit. Friends definitely don't want friends covered in puke.]

I was resting in the library, you don't have to take me somewhere to sleep...

The library has too much foot traffic for sleep.

[So Dirk is making sure Hinata is okay by letting him nap in the quiet family space.]

...

[He wants to pout, but that's too childish. He wants to keep arguing, but that's too exhausting. Normally he's not one to back down from an argument until he's proven wrong, but in a case like this... hasn't he already gotten enough of a rebuttal?]

Fine. But don't think you're... getting out of explaining how the egg program works, [he mutters, defeated.]

Didn't for a second.

[Good. Dirk wastes no time getting an air mattress out and putting the ahoge kid to bed, blanket at all. He turns down the lighting in the room, so there's just the faint glow from the magister's tank to help him see his way in the dark.]

[Ugh... at least once he's been defeated, he's a well-behaved ahoge kid, curling up into a ball on his mattress and tugging his blankets in close. How Dirk wrote a program has got to be several steps up from Loki's bedtime stories at least, right?]

Well?

[So maybe not so well-behaved. He's still expecting to hear it now, even though he's still shivering under his blankets. The mattress is cold in comparison to the chair he'd spent the last couple hours in!!]

[After a moment, Dirk is able to rig up an improvised heating pad using a few extra blankets and some loose parts. He tucks it underneath the blanket for Hinata.

Then he tells him a heartwarming bed time story about Zeroes and Ones or whatever. Blah blah strings blah blah really interesting things blah blah probabilities.]

[Dirk that's too much... now that he's actually laying down, though, there's no way he can muster the energy to argue. It's nice and warm, and as expected, he absolutely falls asleep partway through Dirk's explanation. Like an asshole.

Just shove him overboard good riddance.]

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