[@experiment401 liked for a starter!]
Maxima didn’t look up from chopping up vegetables for tonight’s dinner, an action almost as soothing and instinctively ingrained as touching up his sideburns. They’d be having stew tonight, among other things.
“You know. I had my doubts about you, initially...” Well, he still did, but he kept them private. Even if the strange readings his scanners kept picking up from her put him on edge. “But it’s been good to have you around, Naomi. If only because it’s made K’ become less withdrawn.” In all the years Maxima had known him, he didnt think he’d ever seen the kid smile so much and so freely.
“Well,” he added as an afterthought. “Having an extra set of hands to help me with the chores is good, too.” He did look up this time, grinning and gesturing with the knife at the dishes she was washing. They went through so many in this little apartment; ravenous appetites abound here.