This Thing A Quiet Madness Made

Chapter 50

"Long story. We have to report interactions with foreign nationals."

He glanced back at her with a questioning eyebrow raised. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, anything more than passing contact with anyone who isn't a U.S. citizen has to get reported," she recited faithfully. "Trips like these are always a paper-trail nightmare thanks to that."

"And what exactly do you report on?"

"What we talked about, what we did, if they had some unusual interest in my job- you know, things like that."

"So you have to report every conversation you've had since you got here?"

"Most of them, yea."

"That's some fucking bullshit."

"You're telling me."

"You gonna tell them we fucked too?"

"No way! That would throw both of us into a whole other thing. Now that would be a real nightmare."

"So you're just gonna lie?"

"Sure am."

He snickered, tossing a shirt at her as she dug herself out from underneath the blankets. "Aren't you supposed to be on the straight and narrow now?"

"Gotta keep them on their toes, you know?"

Slipping on the shirt and sifting through the scattered trail of her clothing from last night, Naoko pulled herself together enough to appear at least half-decent before gathering up her dress and draping it over a nearby chair, deeming the article far too nice to let it get wrinkled. After another bit or two of lethargic morning banter, she headed into the bathroom, and one quick, unreasonably hot shower later, she padded back out with a towel in hand.

The distinct sizzle of something frying drew her into the kitchen, and the awfully tempting smell of something tasty had her shuffling over to peek at what was in the pan.

"I hope you're still a good cook." She smiled, arm looping through his as she pressed her cheek against his shoulder, eyes still fixated on the bacon and hashbrowns hissing above the fire.

"Don't need to hope, stupid. I'm the best around."

"Maybe your ego could use a kicking or two."

"I'd like to see you try."

"You shouldn't talk to your seniors like that, 'Suki."

"Just because you've been a hero longer doesn't mean you're better than me, loser. Don't forget I'm ranked higher than you."

"Well, technically, considering there are way more heroes over there than over here, I actually am better than you."

"Keep talking and you're not getting any breakfast."

"Aw, you don't mean that!"

"Fuck around and find out," he scoffed, shoving a piece of bacon into her mouth. "Go get the plates."

The crunch as she chewed was sharp and satisfying, and she quickly concluded he was indeed still a good cook. Now with a bit of a bounce in her step, she padded over to the row of cabinets.

"You say that like I know where they are."

She hummed as she checked each cabinet one by one: pots, pans, spices, cups, tupperware-