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[ It isn't surprising, K's seen what a soft spot Royce has for his cat as well. But the "gossip" gets a smile from him all the same. ]

Can't imagine there's any room left with Bear in there. [ Wryly: ] Maybe I can help him dry off so he's not banned for so long. [ ...At least it isn't because he feels subservient to a dog. He just has a soft spot for the mutt, too. ]

Have you got a big-- ah, I don't know what they're called; I've seen them in films. They're handheld things, right--

[He mimes holding up a hair dryer.]

-- what blow hot air at you and dry your hair right quick.

[ Have you got a big-

It's an effort maintaining a straight face at that, but soon enough it's transformed into a look of confusion at Alfie's description. There's a reason K defaults to military grooming standards — so little fuss involved. ]

No, but I have two hands and a lot of towels. [ But he's clearly still puzzling over that description. Then it finally comes to him: ] Hair dryer? That'd be handy. Reversing the airflow of a vacuum'd do about the same thing, if you've got one.

[Silly K, he knows exactly what those are called.]

Haven't got a vacuum, no. Never saw the need for one. Can they be reversed like that?

Yeah. The more modern ones, anyway. [ A necessary caveat, since he isn't entirely sure what vacuum cleaners were like in Alfie's time and world. ] Helps with dusting, or to inflate things like air mattresses.

[ Now that he's thinking of it, it is kind of odd that he hasn't seen any in the Meadous before. His own home came with a broom and duster, which makes sense with the entirety of the flooring being hardwood or stone. ] If there's janitorial supplies in any of the public buildings, we might find one there.

[ Alternatively, wishing for a dog fur dryer. Because Bear becoming even more fluffy and spherical would be pretty hilarious. ]

Could've used one of those in Norfinbury.

[He says ruefully, finally standing and ducking into the bedroom to grab his swimsuit (a full-body, 1920s-style striped number). Bear jumps up too, ready to head out with them on whatever adventure they're planning.]

We had an air mattress that we had to inflate ourselves - blowing into it, right.

[It hadn't always been easy to do after a long day of tromping through the snow.]

Surprised the place had anything like that left. Radiation deteriorates most plastics. [ Nuclear radiation, he means — but who knows what sort of advancements Norfinbury may have had in that regard, what with the quantum computer, AIs, nanomachines and such. And he'll help collect the tea and cake and anything else Alfie might indicate to bring with them before heading out.

K's own home is just a few doors away, which he makes a detour for. It's only a few minutes before he reappears also carrying beach towels and changed into a pair of short swim trunks. Less modest that what he'd prefer, maybe, but at least the alcohol helps with self-consciousness. ]

Do you still have all that? [ He asks once they're headed for the lake, letting Bear helpfully "herd" him along. ] Things from Norfinbury.

[Alfie cuts them both a thick slice of the cake, so that they can both carry their own servings of food and drink, though if K wants to bring along the rest of the cake so that they can have seconds, he certainly won't complain. He'll stay dressed, himself, carrying his bathing suit slung over his elbow; he can change down at the lake, the way he usually does.]

Some of it.

[He says, in answer to K's question.]

Some of it we tossed out. The mattress is still in our bedroom closet.

[They've even used it a couple of times here in the Meadous - though despite the fact that they've cleaned it up, Alfie doesn't particularly like making a habit of it.]

[ The remainder of the cake is left for Alfie to enjoy with Royce later. You're welcome, Royce.

That Zephyr must have decontaminated everything from Norfinbury seems to go without saying, since no one's gotten sick. So K moves on to the next obvious question. ]

Do you actually use any of it? [ It's curiosity without judgment. Considering the contents of K's own closet, which includes the corpse of an inorganic android kept for spare parts, he isn't really in a position to judge what others hold onto. ]

We brought it out to the islands once.

[He says, on their way out the door with Bear at their heels.]

We went out to see the crystals and stayed the night. Felt a bit odd, lying on it again.

That sounds nice. [ He glances sidelong at Alfie as they walk, wry amusement creeping into his expression. ] Sounds a little romantic, actually.

[ It isn't the first time he's teased either of them like this and they haven't seemed to mind, so he figures it's okay. And he's still secretly delighted he got away with calling them a "cute couple" in sign language without either realising. It's the little things. ]

[Alfie gives K a look, though it's more amused than stern.]

Yes, it was lovely. We may go back again, before the summer ends.

[He's planning to bring up the idea, anyway; it would be a nice little end-of-summer trip, if Royce thinks he can handle the seasickness.]

Probably not a bad idea. Get your minds off of other things for a while. [ Or so he's guessing. Even he likes getting away from the village every so often, especially after the space station business that left him feeling so alienated. ]

Though neither of you really struck me as the sailing type. That's how you get over there, isn't it?

[ Given that there's portals and flying motorcycles and even his own flying car in the Meadous, it's a reasonable question. ]

Yeah. We manage. Royce is better at it than I am.

[He says, with a rueful little smile.]

But I do all right.

I'd offer to give you both a ride over and back, but Royce seems to be afraid of flying. How do you do with it?

[ Assuming it's something Alfie's ever experienced before. Maybe during one of the Meadous world hops? ]

I've never tried it, personally - but you've got something that flies, doesn't it? A car?

[Give him a ride, K!]

[ That's promising, that Alfie's immediate reaction isn't "oh no flying death trap." ]

I do. Maybe you can talk him into trying it too. [ Since Royce might be a little more willing to go if Alfie's with him, K figures. ] It's interesting, seeing all of the Meadous from above — provided you're not afraid of heights. [ Like Connor unfortunately is. But at least even he's been willing to go flying with K. ]

We could give it a go.

[Alfie says, looking down at the swimsuit in his hands.]

Before swimming.

If you're willing to take your chances with a slightly drunk pilot. [ K says with a small smile. Fair (and largely unnecessary) warning. Autopilot functionality exists, and it isn't as though the Meadous airspace is ever congested — he could fly with his eyes closed and never run into anything. ]

Do you think we should wait?

[ The look he gives Alfie suggests waiting would be the responsible thing to do. But it's also kind of nice, being able to choose to act otherwise. ]

No, there's no real danger here. Besides, I can fly better drunk than most human pilots do sober. Come on. Bear can come too. [ But hopefully he doesn't get airsick, since the backseat windows don't open. ]

Mm--

[Alfie looks down thoughtfully at his dog.]

Let's leave Bear on the ground, shall we?

[Better to do that than risk a large panicking animal in the backseat.]

[ Probably just as well, for Bear's sake. The car is parked beside K's home, and a palm scan unlocks the scissor doors — that open vertically rather than outward. Before K gets in, he drapes the beach towels over his seat so his skin won't stick unpleasantly to it and gives Bear a last pat (and the last bit of his apple cake slice). They'll be back soon, buddy.

There's an assortment of screens and dials across the dash that are quietly powering on, providing various readouts and navigational help and confirming K's identity as an officer of the LAPD. He swivels a couple of the screens on the passenger side out of the way to make room for Alfie. ]

Don't worry about the door, it'll close on its own. Put on the safety belt. [ It's more of a padded harness than a standard seat belt, and K demonstrates by pulling his on. Notably, there's no steering wheel; only flight sticks and throttle levers, like in traditional aircraft. ]

[The door is definitely unexpected, and unless K helps him it'll take a minute or so for him to figure it out. The prompt about the seatbelt, too, is a good thing; they didn't exist in Alfie's day, and so the thought hadn't even occurred to him.

Right. Safety belt.

[He sets his towel and suit on the seat next to him, then buckles up. Bear stands watch next to the car, still wagging his tail hopefully.]

I don't suppose I could have a turn at the wheel, after?

[ With both safety belts locked in, the doors begin automatically closing. There's a hiss as the seals engage, followed by a faint judder as the drone attached to the outer roof of the car releases. Because of course K plans to document Alfie's first ride in a spinner. The drone's visual feed pops up on the center screen on the dash: an overhead view of the car. ]

That's a risky proposition. Anything happens to you, I'm the one who'll meet the business end of Royce's knife. [ His tone is dry.

True to his word, he flies well even when inebriated — he initiates takeoff and the ground smoothly falls away, slow and steady, so the g-force is barely felt (and more importantly, so no tea will be spilled). The mark of an experienced pilot. ]

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