wickedchouette | (no subject)

[ A beat. It holds the cat a little more defensively against its chest. ]

Yes. Do you need me to get rid of her? [ It very clearly does not want to. ]

[The cat mews sleepily, kneading its arm with her front paws. Alfie snorts.]

I think if I did, you'd just bring her back in later.

[He does not sound entirely displeased about this idea.]

[ nnnnOOOO. The sleepy mew kickstarts something in the android and it actually has to take a second to slow the whirring processor inside it. It cares. It cares a lot.

Its voice is calm and even when it speaks, but it keeps the kitten very close and every bit of its body language is protective. ]

I wouldn't. I belong to you, and I have to follow your orders. If you're allergic to cats or didn't want one in the house, I--

[Alfie raises an eyebrow.]

Go on. You'd what?

[ A flash of yellow. ]

I'd put the cat outside. [ It says stubbornly. ]

Nah.

[Alfie shakes his head.]

Don't be silly. You keep it with you.

[ Something tense eases in its shoulders. There's a silence where it sort of struggles to re-calibrate. ]

... I made dinner. [ It says finally, and then, a little more quietly: ] Thank you.

You're welcome.

[If this were anyone else - if this were another human - Alfie wouldn't stand for it. A complete stranger who brought a cat into his house without permission would see the animal shooed out post-haste. In this situation, though... despite not wanting to inadvertently break the bot, he's still more interested in teasing out all the signs of sentience that he can.

Besides, he doesn't mind cats.]

I suppose it would fall on deaf ears if I told you there's no need to cook.

[Though if the bot had peeked into the trash at any point, he would have noticed a hell of a lot of empty takeout containers.]

It's my primary function to care for the house. Or apartment, as it were.

[ It scratches gently behind the cat's ears, and she purrs loudly enough for the whole room to hear her. ]

You need to eat more than Chinese takeout, Mr. Solomons. [ Sure did peek into his trash. Nosy bot. ] You didn't have much to work with, but I managed spaghetti.

Some of that's Thai; there's a pho place down the lane.

[He says, as if that makes any difference at all.]

[ The android gives him a flat look. ]

You need to eat more than Chinese, Thai or pho takeout. Come eat before it gets cold.

Are you sassing me?

[He sounds delighted.]

No. [ MAYBE SHUT UP ] I'm informing you that you eat poorly and that typically, if you wait to eat hot food, it cools off.

[ Definitely sassing. ]

Am I gonna be eating on my own?

I don't need to eat. I'm capable of it.

Sit down and have some spaghetti, then.

[ Another pause. ]

I didn't make enough for both of us.

I don't need a full plate.

[He stands, going into the kitchen and starting to portion it out.]

[ Oh. Okay. Alfie keeps surprising it. It'd done some quiet research, looking through various forums in its head, trying to find any evidence of other androids being in the same situation as it. All reports had been from the human side of things, and had been supremely unhelpful and - well, about half of them had included violence. That's more along the lines of what the android is expecting - annoyance, and occasional violence.

It shouldn't really care about that - it's a belonging and Alfie can treat his belongings however he wants - but the thought... makes it uncomfortable. The android shifts the kitten in its arms and follows Alfie to the kitchen. ]

I don't get hungry, nor do I need food to function. I also am not going to be uncomfortable if you eat in front of me. You don't need to do this.

Edited 2019-03-06 00:13 (UTC)

But you can eat, can't you?

[He's pretty sure he's heard that, somewhere.]

Yes. I can eat. [ It shifts from foot to foot. ] I eat the same way humans do. My senses are also as similar as technology allows.

You mean you can taste it, yeah?

[He sets two plates down on the table, each with a half-serving of spaghetti.]

Yes. [ It still hasn't let go of the kitten, which seems to suit her fine. It figures that probably has to do with the fact that its warming its hands in order to give the kitten a comfortable place to sleep.

It sits down at the table, awkwardly. ]

Are you gonna put the cat down to eat?

[ For a very long moment it looks like the android might say no, judging by the look on its face. ]

Is that an order? [ It asks evasively. ]