She feels great, tanned and relaxed and still smelling a little like coconut oil as she strides back through the halls of Garden. It’s nice not to be enormously stressed out-- she’s going to have to spirit Penny away to private island resorts more often, if this is how good it feels afterward.
Even disentangling herself from her wife’s arms that morning wasn’t as hard as Xu had expected it to be, navigating the moving boxes scattered around the dorm room in search of coffee.
She jabs her thumb against the elevator call button, takes the lift two floors up, and her hellos may be just a little too cheery, leaving a slightly baffled receptionist in her wake as Xu walks into her office.
Her first meeting is with Nida, scheduled weeks ago to go over his plans for upgrading Garden’s flight mechanisms, and she’s gotten in early enough to pour herself another cup of coffee before settling down in her chair to wait for his arrival.
It’s a good start to a Monday, really.
