To Harlan Band, it seemed like there were pages and pages of information on the same thing. The information went on forever… News reels, paper articles… Somehow it had all wound up packed into the Christa's information center – the Infocore. No one knew why so much information on Humans and Rigelians was contained within the ship's databases, and Harlan certainly didn't appreciate the fact that because of it, they got more homework than they knew what to do with.
"Research," Miss Davenport would always say in class, "Is fifty percent of your grade."
Radu and Suzee sat not too terribly far away, lounging across from each other on the circular couch with the Nine-globe Dudley table between them. There were actually three people playing, but the third was currently invisible, a condition to which very few people on the Christa even gave a second thought anymore.
"You know, I'd swear Miss Davenport has it bad for the Commander," Harlan said, causing Radu to start suddenly. It had been so quiet in the room. Besides the distant noise from the engines, the only sound had been the tapping of the glass pieces of the game against the board.
The Andromedan tilted his head. "…What?"
"Oh, you know." Harlan retrieved yet another printout from the computer. "…First, she assigns us to write poetry in writing class, and now we have an essay about love for history. It's so obvious, Radu." He chuckled, standing and covering the few steps it took to get to the couch. Launching himself over the board in the middle of it, Harlan came to rest in front of the bay window looking out into the stars.
"…You just sat on Catalina," Suzee said dryly. Harlan muttered an apology, sliding over a bit to allow the invisible Saturnian her place. Idly, disinterested, Suzee picked up one of her red pieces and moved it. A silence followed, before she picked up one of the clear pieces and moved it.
"…Yeah, but Miss Davenport and the Commander are… They're administrators. Teachers." Radu looked unsure, distracted, as he picked up one of his blue pieces and moved it, too. Suzee instantly reached forward, moved one of hers, and removed Radu's globe from the board.
"Yeah, and they're also two adults, the only two human adults, out in the middle of space," she added. "However love happens, it's still love." She shrugged. "It was bound to happen sometime." She moved Cat's piece, leaning back on the couch and snuggling into one of the cushions. It was getting rather late. She was tired. Unfortunately both Radu and Cat were good at this game, and she wasn't just going to walk away without finishing it.
"Well, anyway…" Harlan held one of the many printouts in front of his face. "I was kinda surprised to see that way back, Earth tried to define love. I mean, I guess they still do. There's kinda… factions. I dunno. For and against… Er…"
Radu picked up one of the pieces, held it for a moment, before setting it down next to where it had been. Suzee offered him a confused glance, before she, too, moved, and took another blue piece from the board.
"For and against what?" Radu inquired.
"Well, there was a whole controversy… Back in the early twenty-first century. About same-sex marriage. They're still arguing over it. No one can agree."
Radu's eyes narrowed a little. "…Why would people fight over that?"
Harlan's surprised expression was obvious, and Suzee mirrored it. Radu had a feeling that if he could see Catalina, she'd be staring at him, too. Had he said something wrong? "What?" He finally asked.
After a moment, Harlan shook his head. "…Well, I just thought, you know, with all those high Andromedan standards, they'd be… You know… Pretty strict on couples, you know?" He waited, and seeing Radu's blank expression, then added, "Or not. I just thought that… I mean, I don't really care, either way. Let people do what they want."
Radu shrugged, waited for Cat to take her turn, then took his. Finally, he was able to procure a small victory, and removed one of Catalina's pieces from the board.
"I feel the same way," Suzee added. "On Yensid, we didn't really care, as long as people were happy. Me? I've been totally boy-crazy my whole life. Just ask Cat. There's piles of notes in my room. That doesn't mean I can't… you know… tolerate someone that's not like me."
Were they uncomfortable discussing the subject? Radu pondered as Suzee took her turn. Harlan laughed. Cat was probably chuckling too. He didn't quite get it. Why was it even an issue?
Radu didn't even have to ask about Harlan. He'd either been chasing after Cat or Suzee since they first left Starcademy.
"What do you think, Radu?" Harlan asked, as Suzee took Cat's turn.
He picked up his last piece, set it down next to Suzee's, and stood. "…Like Suzee said. However love happens, it's still love."
Harlan and Suzee watched as the Andromedan retreated to the jump tubes and disappeared.
"You know," Suzee said, moving her piece to Radu's square and removing his last globe, "We were doing so well, and then he just decided to lose."
---
It was much later that a knock came at the bunkroom door. Expecting either Suzee or Rosie, as Bova and Harlan had no reason to knock, Radu answered it, surprised to see the dark Earther standing on the other side.
"Harlan?"
His eyes shifted left, then right. "…Look, I'm sorry if I said something wrong."
Radu quickly shook his head. "No… no, it's fine. I just needed to think a bit, that's all."
"So… what did you mean, 'whatever happens?'" Harlan asked.
"I just think that if I were to fall in love with someone… I wouldn't care… who they were, you know?" Radu was glad it was dark. He was blushing.
Harlan bit his lip. "…Suzee thinks you left because of me."
Here it comes, Radu thought. They were just starting to really get along, too, and now Harlan knew that it was more than just a desire for friendship. He knew. What if they went back to the way it was before? Radu didn't really think he could take three more years of fighting with the Earther.
"…Radu…?"
The Andromedan blinked, not realizing he'd been ignoring Harlan. "Huh?"
"Did you leave because of me?"
"…Well…"
Harlan sighed. "Suzee and I also talked about how we didn't care about… about who you loved. Alright, Radu? We're all friends, okay?" He smiled, reaching forward to rest his hand on Radu's shoulder.
"You talked about a lot," Radu responded, somewhat relieved.
"Well, we didn't play Minbar Chess for three hours," Harlan returned. There seemed to be a bit of an uncomfortable silence. Eventually, Harlan stepped back, looking at the floor. "Uh, and I just wanted you to know that I… I feel the exact same way you do." His eyes turned from the floor to look directly into Radu's, pointedly. "The exact same way."
It took Radu a couple seconds, but he got it. His eyes widened. Harlan smiled.
"So, do you wanna go down to the galley and talk for a bit? Class doesn't start 'til late tomorrow."
The unsure expression on the Andromedan's face turned to a smile. "Uh… sure. I couldn't sleep anyway."
As the bunkroom door slid closed again, Bova turned over, opened his eyes, and whispered to the dark, "Love seems like a whole lot more trouble than it's worth."
He pulled his blanket up to his chin. "…But then again, everything is."