Thank you to everyone who has read and has commented on the story. This is my first Tecna and Timmy long story but I have found it to be a joy to write. I know that both Tecna and Timmy are a bit out of character but I think that a frustrated Timmy who hates (right now) Tecna is just fun to write. I hope that you all will stick around for the good parts (you know what they are). Anyway, on with the story…
Days had passed without consequence. Timmy, Riven, and Nabu beat the final level and were eagerly awaiting the release of Doomsday Battalion V. However, the victory did not feel as sweet as Tecna had already beaten the level before. Not that it was a bad thing per se, but it was the principle of the matter. Tecna took something away from them and playing the final level just brought back the frustration and hurt that Timmy felt when he walked back in his bedroom and saw Tecna sitting at his computer, the credits of the game scrolling up his screen.
After that night, Tecna and Timmy barely spoke to each other and Timmy was fine with that. Tecna still slept in the bathtub. Helia had been confused by that before, but Helia was an eclectic individual and stopped questioning it after the fourth night. Timmy just didn't care anymore. Tecna worked on the communicator as Timmy worked on his dissertation. That also provided a nice cover for Timmy's story that Tecna was a fellow student, still, the tension was thick that anyone could tell that they did not like each other at all.
Tecna didn't ask any more questions, she didn't provide any unwanted comments or criticism of Earth, and Timmy didn't think that shutting her up would be so easy. Had she finally gotten the hint that he didn't want her around and only took her in so that he could get her out with the least amount of damage possible? Who would have thought that unleashing on someone like that would be so…effective? Is that why Riven did it? But even though yelling at Tecna had seemed to be effective, Timmy didn't care for the tension and the strange feeling that he felt in the pit of his stomach.
Maybe Helia was on to something about that "negative energy" stuff.
Currently, Timmy was sitting at the small kitchen table in the apartment, reading over research articles while Tecna sat on the floor, the communicator parts and the tools scattered on the coffee table. She was wearing one of Timmy's t-shirts and a pair of Helia's shorts. Her eyes were focused on the task on the coffee table and as she concentrated, she bit her soft, pink lips. Timmy took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, having been reading since after breakfast. He looked down at his watch and sighed as it was barely lunchtime. The day was going by so slow. Usually, Timmy liked the silence, but this silence was just so awkward.
His mother always taught him to be the bigger person and his father was one of the kindest people he knew. If his parents had seen how he blew up at Tecna and the way that he had been treating her, his mother would not hesitate to smack him on the back of the head. Besides, it had been days, he could at least talk to her. She hadn't annoyed him since the incident and Timmy was tired of the stomach-churning tension.
"I'm going to make some lunch, would you like some?" Timmy asked as he put his glasses back on his face and stood up from his chair.
Tecna looked up and over towards Timmy.
"Are you addressing me?"
"I don't see anyone else in the room." Timmy chuckled. He walked into the kitchen and opened the small pantry to grab the bag of bread and peanut butter.
"I didn't think that you wished to speak to me anymore?"
Timmy sighed as he pulled out a butter knife from a drawer, "I was angry that night and I am tired of the silence."
"Angry?" Tecna asked.
"Yeah," Timmy huffed as he began spreading the peanut butter over the bread, "maybe a little more than angry and I said some things that I maybe shouldn't have."
"I don't understand."
Timmy looked over to Tecna before folding over the bread and placing it on a plate. He grabbed the other slice of bread and repeated the process of spreading the peanut butter over the bread.
"My friends and I had worked hard to finish the game and when I saw you at my computer, the game completed, I became enraged. It made me feel like all the hard work that I had done was for naught."
He folded over the other piece of bread and placed it on the plate next to the other folded peanut butter slice. Timmy grabbed the plate and made his way into the small living room where he set the plate on the coffee table. He took a folded peanut butter sandwich and sat on the couch.
"I am afraid that I still do not understand." Tecna looked at the strangely folded sandwich on the plate, "Angry?"
"Mad. Pissed off. Peeved. Livid." Timmy replied to Tecna's strange question.
"We do not have such phrases on Zenith."
"Well what do you call it when you feel-"
"I don't understand. Feel?"
Timmy took a bite of his sandwich and rolled his eyes. What the Hell was Tecna talking about?
"I am afraid that now I am the one who does not understand."
Tecna picked up the sandwich in front of her before turning to face Timmy.
"Angry? Feel? We do not have this on Zenith and I am unfamiliar with the concepts."
"You seem to know so much about Earth and well, everything. You certainly not shy to tell me that the people of Zenith and your precious Federation are the most advanced."
"We are." Tecna said before taking a bite of the small sandwich.
"And you have never heard of emotions?" Timmy asked as he finished his sandwich.
"Ah, emotions. I have heard of those." Tecna remarked as she swallowed her bite of sandwich. "Waste of time and energy so we no longer worry about those."
"Are you to tell me that you don't have any emotions or know what they are? You never have gotten so mad that you yelled at someone or even laughed because of joy? Never cried because you were sad or whined because you were annoyed?"
Timmy didn't know what came over him, but he slid down to the floor and sat next to Tecna. He was intrigued by her unawareness which might explain so much about her. In fact, she was always so unaffected, and he had never seen her show nor respond to any emotions.
"No," Tecna replied, "at least I don't think so. The Federation is so efficient that there is nothing to concern ourselves about."
"What about as a child? Did you not have fun with the other children or cry when you went to school and had to leave your parents behind?"
"Parents?"
"The people who took care of you?"
"The Federation took care of me."
Timmy's eyebrows dropped as he took in what Tecna told him.
"I…" Timmy was confused, "Did you not have parents? How are people in Zenith born? What happens after you are born?"
Tecna took another bite of her sandwich before she began to speak. Timmy's mother would have scolded Tecna not to speak with her mouth full.
"I forgot that you humans on Earth still believe in the archaic concept of the family. Births on Zenith are planned to the day and the people who you would consider to be my parents gave me to the Federation the day that I was born. The Federation is my family, and I haven't known anything else."
"Your parents gave you away?"
"All children are given to the Federation."
Timmy didn't really know what to say. Children were being given away? What the Hell was this Federation? He had never been so glad to not be part of some intergalactic Federation.
"I sense that you are confused but do not be. With the Federation, I never wanted for anything, and I have climbed the ranks at an exceptional pace which is commendable. I am a model member."
"You must be proud of that. Pride. That is a feeling." Timmy remarked with a shrug. "Don't you feel happy about your accomplishments? How do you feel when you get promoted? Do you feel anything?"
"Should I?" Tecna asked, "Promotions are to be expected for remarkable work. I have been at the top of my class, and I would expect nothing else."
"And if someone were to be promoted over you? How would you feel?"
"They deserved it. The Federation would not arbitrarily give away a promotion to someone who didn't deserve it."
"And if they did?"
"That would never happen."
"But let's say that it did."
"The Federation would never-"
"Imagine it!"
Tecna coiled back as Timmy yelled at her, "Is this angry again?"
Timmy took in a calming breath, "No, sorry. Just…can you just imagine that the Federation gave the position that you were working for to someone else who didn't deserve it. What would you do?"
Tecna took a bite of her sandwich and looked away in thought. Timmy waited on her answer, curious to know what she would say to his question.
"I do not know." Tecna replied.
"You don't know?"
Tecna shook her head as she put the rest of the small peanut butter sandwich in her mouth, "I cannot fathom a situation like that and thus I am having difficulties thinking of how I would react. Even if I were to react, it would be looked down on by my superiors and fellow members of the Federation. We are taught that emotions are illogical and distract from important matters."
"That sounds absolutely miserable." Timmy stood up and grabbed the empty plate from the coffee table. "No wonder you are such a frustrating…woman? I have been meaning to ask, you are a woman, right?"
"I am what you on Earth would consider to be a woman. On Zenith we do not worry about gender until procreation is scheduled and a match needs to be made.
"Does that not happen…organically?" Timmy asked as he placed the plate on the counter in the kitchen.
"What?" Tecna asked as she watched Timmy take a seat at the kitchen table where he had been sitting all morning.
"Um, well," Timmy nervously rubbed the back of his neck, "here on Earth, most times…baby-making…happens when a man and a woman… Christ, I never thought that I would have to explain this to someone who isn't a child." Timmy did not think that he would ever have to explain this to what appeared to be an adult person.
"Do you mean procreation?" Tecna asked.
"Yeah."
"I told you, births are scheduled and so is the procreation schedule. Partners are paired by their attributes."
"And procreation works like…?"
"Um, I don't really know. I am not scheduled to have my first joining in a few months. I was supposed to have procreated a few years ago but the Federation still needed my skills for their missions. I nor the Federation can afford to have me off the mission for nearly a year."
She didn't know how procreation with her people worked? Timmy's head was spinning with questions. He had his questions before that he didn't ask due to being absolutely frustrated with the fuchsia-haired woman but now he had a million more questions.
"At what age are people…partnered up?" Hopefully, that would give him some indication of how old she was.
"Attributes are evaluated when a person turns twenty-one and procreation is scheduled shortly after."
So she was older than twenty-one and she said that she was supposed to be partnered up a few years ago. Was it safe to assume that she was in her mid-twenties like he was? That made him feel a little bit better. He would be fascinated if she was older than him for how young she looked but he would definitely be a little creeped out if she was a child in the world of Zenith.
"I see."
"Is that not the same here on Earth? I read in a book about the Earth that partnerships were also decided between people and children were conceived."
"Oh, that was a long time ago. But I think that there are still a few places here that still arrange marriages."
"Marriage?" Tecna asked.
"It's like a permanent partnership between two people who will go on to have a family…or not."
"That does not sound very effective." Tecna remarked, "A permanent partnership would not allow for the best possible combination of attributes for offspring."
"Children are not usually the main purpose for marriage," Timmy scoffed, "people marry because they love the other person. They enjoy their company and cherish the other person."
"Love?" Tecna asked.
Timmy sighed as he placed his head in his hand. For someone who carried herself so confidently, she was absolutely clueless. Timmy might not be the most emotionally aware person in the world, but at least he was aware of the different types of emotions and at least he had emotions. But when it came to explaining love, he didn't think that he would be the best teacher.
"I think that Helia would better be able to explain that to you." Timmy replied.
"I shall ask him when he returns."
Timmy let out a small chuckle through closed lips as he watched Tecna turn back to working on her communicator. She really was something. Maybe a little less annoying than the days before, but definitely more confusing.
Timmy and Tecna continued to work in silence into the early evening. After their small lunchtime conversation, the tension had been lessened but the atmosphere had been a far cry from comfortable. Timmy still had yet to come to terms with the reality that he had an alien living in his apartment though he did feel a bit better that he knew a little more about her. He was surprised with how open she was being with him after talking with her the first night and day had been such a struggle. Maybe there was a bit of hope for her.
Maybe there was a bit of hope for his nerves.
There was a knock at the door that interrupted the silent atmosphere. Timmy looked up from his work and went to the door. When he answered it, he smiled as he saw Musa but was confused as to why she was there.
"Musa? What brings you here?" Timmy asked.
Musa walked through the threshold of the door, barging right past Timmy. He sighed as he closed the door behind her and followed her into the kitchen.
"My cousin asked me to-" Musa stopped and smiled as she saw Tecna sitting in the living room, "oh, hello there."
Tecna looked up and stared at Musa, "My name is Tecna. I am a classmate of Timmy's. I got drunk. I-"
"She's here working on a project. She is in my cohort."
Timmy glared at Tecna and shook his head. Why would she still say the same thing he told her to say when she met Helia? Why was he asking himself such a dumb question? Of course she would say that.
"Well, I'm Musa and I am here to drop off the tickets for the ballet." Musa took out an envelope from inside her red coat and placed them on the kitchen counter. "Helia was going to pick them up but he is helping Flora right now."
"What's up with Flora?" Timmy asked as he moved the envelope to the table.
"Oh nothing. Helia helped bring her to the doctor. Nothing serious, just needed to get new orthopedic inserts for her shoes. We all love Anne, but she is working them to the bone."
"And what about you? Don't you have rehearsals?"
"Not until tech week." Musa smiled as he grabbed a banana and began to peel it, "ya play for one ballet, ya play for them all. I have been playing cello for the ballet for nearly seven years. I'm what they call" Musa took a bite of the banana, "a professional."
"Uh huh," Timmy rolled his eyes as he picked up the envelope to peek inside, "There are three tickets inside."
"Yeah, one was supposed to be for Flora, but she doesn't need it anymore. I thought that you and Helia could give it to someone else. Maybe Tecna here will want to go." Musa gave Timmy a wink and he narrowed his eyes as he glared towards the dark-haired woman.
Timmy looked over to Tecna who was staring ahead at the two friends. She barely knew how to behave in a fucking store, what made Timmy think that she would know what to do during a ballet? Would she even want to go? The art of ballet is an old artform here on Earth, on Zenith it had to be ancient. She called the toilet ancient, and ballet was older than the toilet. She wouldn't want to go and Timmy didn't know if he would be able to withstand her constant criticisms about the ballet.
"I don't think-"
"Great! I can't wait to see her there!" Musa finished the rest of her banana and threw away the peel, "I'll pick her up tomorrow. Stella is insisting that those in the audience joining her are to be dressed to impress. I have never been more thankful for the all-black orchestra outfit, saves me from serving as Stella's dress-up doll. See you tomorrow!"
Before Timmy could respond, Musa had made her way out of the door and left Timmy alone with Tecna. He turned to face her and sighed.
"You don't have to go if you don't want to," Timmy said as he sat back down at the table. "I can give the ticket to someone in my cohort."
Tecna looked up at Timmy, "What is ballet?"
Did she really not know? The woman who knew everything?
Timmy scoffed, "You're telling me that I don't what ballet is? I thought that you knew everything."
"Zenith focuses on advancement. Like these so-called feelings we discussed earlier, we do not talk about the arts. A frivolous part of society."
"Society and civilization need art just as much as it needs advancement."
Timmy was quite shocked that those words had come out of his mouth. Had he been living with Helia for too long? Was Tecna really driving him mad? He had already talked about emotions with Tecna and now he lauded the importance of art in conjunction with technology and advancement? Maybe he should pay his doctor a visit too.
"I would like to go," Tecna replied as she stood up from her place on the floor behind the coffee table. She walked into the kitchen and grabbed the envelope that held the tickets. She looked inside and saw the three white tickets and took them out. Timmy walked over to her and took the tickets out of her hand and placed them back into the envelope. He wasn't trying to lose them.
"You really want to go?" Timmy asked.
Tecna took a breath and nodded her head.
"If I am to be on Earth, I might as well try to experience all that it has to offer. I should learn something from my time here so that I can be more knowledgeable and effective in the future."
Timmy chuckled, "And you won't sit there and criticize the whole performance for being a waste of time?"
"On my honor as a member of the Federation."
Timmy narrowed his eyes as he looked Tecna up and down. Her face was still unmoving, and if there was one thing, he knew to be true it was that she wasn't a liar. However, she was never shy of an opinion, and he suspected that she would have something to say about the performance.
He would see how long she kept her word.
Got a little busy so this chapter is a little shorter. I hope that you all are still enjoying the story! This chapter was definitely a filler but there is drama, action, and…other stuff, planned for future chapters. You just gotta deal with the kind of boring set up. See you next Friday for chapter 6!