"Hey, Parvati."
Felix's voice caught the engineer off guard, and she jumped so hard she nearly banged her head on the pipe she was crouched beneath. She turned, clearing her throat and tucking away a loose strand of hair to maybe draw attention away from the embarrassed flush coming to her cheeks.
"Um, hey, Felix. Can I help you with something?" she greeted with mostly genuine cheer. She wouldn't have minded the interruption, except she really wanted to get this repair done as soon as possible so she could—
Well. She really wanted to get this repair done.
That, and Felix had a glint in his eyes that Parvati didn't particularly like. It was a little curious, a little mischievous, and a lot suspicious. He came over, propped himself against the pipe that had nearly been her undoing, and leaned in to say conspiratorially: "So, what's up with you and the captain?"
The captain? What would be up with her and the captain? "What do you mean? Nothing's up. Is it?" Parvati asked worriedly. She hadn't said something wrong, had she? The captain wasn't mad at her, was she? Parvati tended to get herself into those sorts of situations without realizing it. But she hoped she and the captain were close enough that she'd tell her if she was upset. What had their last conversation even been about? Was there even the chance that—
"You're telling me the two of you aren't sweet on each other?" Felix said, and Parvati's thoughts screeched to a halt.
Sweet on each other?
"No!" was the first thing out of her mouth, high-pitched and vehement. Then she realized that maybe that reaction could seem a little rude. She began to backpedal: "I mean, not that that would be a bad thing. The captain's a mighty fine woman, isn't she? Objectively speaking. I wouldn't mind if she were sweet on me, necessarily, but—"
"So it's a one-sided sort of thing, then?" Felix cut in, and if his expression had looked mischievous before, now it was downright wicked.
"What? No! I'm—" Parvati felt herself begin to sweat under the pressure of that look. She shifted away, fiddling with the buckle of her overalls just to give her hands something to do. It wasn't any of Felix's business whether she liked the captain or not—which she didn't—and she wanted to tell him to get lost, but she'd never been very good at confrontation, so instead she deflected, "You could say my heart lies elsewhere. You can ask the captain, she knows it. She's even helping me get all dolled up for my date with Jun. Trust me, I am totally spoken for." She realized too late that she was rambling and snapped her mouth shut even though all the words were already out.
"So," repeated Felix, nodding sagely. "It's a one-sided sort of thing."
Parvati stared at him. Was he even listening at all? Hadn't she just said she didn't feel that way? What could he possibly—
Oh.
As the realization—the possibility—sank in, Parvati started feeling hot and cold all at once. Her face was flushed, but her hands were cold the way they got when she was nervous. She told herself she had no reason to be nervous. Felix was full of nonsense.
Right?
"You mean to say that she likes me?" she scoffed, feeling a prickle just at saying the words aloud. "Abso-surely not!"
Felix laughed in disbelief. "Are you kidding? Have you seen the way she looks at you?"
"Seems like she looks at me like she looks at anybody else," Parvati defended. At the same time, she wondered: did the captain really look at her in some kind of way? Wouldn't she have noticed that sort of thing?
Maybe not, she realized sheepishly. But that didn't mean Felix was right.
"Uh-huh," he drawled, unconvinced. "And she takes you everywhere and pays you compliments all the time and runs your errands for you, just like she'd do for anybody else."
"She's just being nice!" Parvati protested. "She really is nice, deep down, once you get to know her. And I've known her the longest, so I know."
Felix shook his head and let out a sigh that said you're hopeless. "Keep telling yourself that," he said as he pushed off his resting place and began to head for the ladder to the main deck, "but I know what's really going on. And you would too, if you'd just take a look around you once in a while." He tapped his temple before disappearing up the ladder.
Parvati didn't know what to say to that, so she didn't say anything at all. It was probably for the best; her mind was busy chasing itself in circles anyway.
Does the captain really like me? was the thought that surfaced most frequently, and with the most anxiety attached. It was always followed by a quick, no way! and then afterward, warmer, quieter—hopeful: what if?
…
