a/n: Lin and Quincy wash dishes, and Quincy remembers he has a spine.

Editing? ha ha ha camping is happening this week so no

All the good things belong to Monolithsoft.

Quincy didn't say a word as Lin handed him an apron and stationed him in front of a sink full of soapy water. The apron was bright pink, with a heart shaped bib edged in wide white ruffles. The lettering was worn off, indicating multiple washes, but he managed to spot the words "kiss" and "bacon" on the front. Lin's own apron, he noted, was a solid dark blue with professional looking metal buckles.

She handed him one greasy pan after another, each heavier than the one before. He was pretty sure that the final pot couldn't possibly have been involved with breakfast. Breakfast hadn't been spicy, and it hadn't been bright orange. Besides, the pot was stone cold and the grease on the edge was grey and solid. He accepted it, just as he had accepted the others, and scrubbed energetically while he listened to her consider what they should do once the chore was done.

"We could go to Red Hamster Market, see if the newest issue of Pretty Skell [N]e[X]t is out. You absolutely need that to understand NLA, even for a single day. And maybe get some trading candy. Very important, trading candy. Gotta give it to people you meet, including tour guides."

He'd been examining Lin quietly as they worked together. She was short, wearing boots that looked too big. Her bobbed hair was darker than Hope's, clipped back with bright red pins that reminded him of the decorations on his own borrowed basic shirt. It must be some kind of motif for the city, he guessed. She was cheerful and talkative, but something about her prattle felt forced. He wondered what was making her sad. Or maybe she was nervous.

He followed her instructions to drain the sink, wiped his hands on the towel she offered, and stuffed the soggy apron into the laundry chute that she pointed out. "Come on," she said impatiently. "I have so many ideas. I can't wait."

Quincy looked down at this little person and tried to make a decision. He didn't want to upset her but he had his suspicions.

Lin noticed his hesitation. "Oh right," she said, puffing at her bangs so that they fluttered over her forehead. "We gotta do Hope's checklist. We can knock that out on our way."

Quincy smiled. He might not know much about this world, but he knew Hope. He tried to think how she'd phrase the start of a difficult conversation. Direct, clear, non-judgemental. That would work. He looked calmly at Lin. "We're going to need some rules first."

"What do you mean, rules? What's the big deal?" She looked a little ashamed. "I mean, I can cool it about skells and stuff. Jeez."

"Skells are great, skells are fine. Go ahead and blow the roof off about them. But I need a few other promises."

"Like what?"

He led with the easy request, the one he'd made to Hope. "Don't tell me about my past. None of the bad stuff. Not here, not on Earth."

"Like..."

Quincy had his hands over his ears before she'd finished the first word. "La la la don't do it la la!" he sang. When he saw she'd closed her mouth, he dropped his hands with exaggerated care. "Thanks. I'm trying my best to cope but I'm only just hanging on, Lin, so I'm asking nicely: no details, no explanations, not even any hints."

Lin looked down at her boots. "That's okay. I don't like talking about Earth much myself."

He didn't ask the obvious questions, why a young girl was now a soldier, why she was a tour guide, why a parent wasn't the one cooking breakfast for her. He let a moment pass, then added, "Also, I'd take it as a favor if you didn't spend any energy on whoever triggered this whole petalose mess. I'm a little sick of it, myself, so I could stand to ignore it for the day."

"That's fine by me," Lin said quickly. "Not personally interested in that kind of stuff, although I am dying to know."

"I was literally dying when I did know," he replied.

"Good point. What else?"

She was a smart kid, to sense that he was leading up to one last request. He wondered if Hope would be angry about it later. She seemed to trust Lin. Still, something had felt off while Lin was talking earlier. "Okay, last part. My head is empty. I'm completely naive. So I'm asking you: don't take advantage of that. Don't trick me, don't rob me." Lin was turning a bright red, so he hurried finish. "Don't make me look like an ass. I can do that all by myself. I promise. Feel free to laugh really loudly when I do," he added, to soften the request.

Lin had stopped blushing and was now pouting. "You really don't trust me, do you?"

Quincy shrugged. He didn't know enough to be sure, but he wasn't going to back down now. "I kinda get a trickster vibe off you. Not a bad vibe, but I'm vulnerable." He waited for her response.

She thought for a second, then flashed him a wide grin. "I'm not saying you're right, but I'll keep it in mind."

"So are we agreed?"

"Yes," she said slowly, "although I may, just may, have to change my plans for you." She grinned again. "You always kinda were good around kids AND I'M NOT GOING TO SAY WHY OKAY? Jeez."

Quincy had kept calm, waiting to see how far she'd tease him before she'd stop. It felt okay. He raised a hand in the air, trying to look solemn. "For my part, I will trust you and buy plenty of snacks. More importantly: I hereby promise to be really appreciative about skells and other cool things."

Lin tilted her head and tapped her chin. "You realize this is going to be difficult for me. You're just so easy to tease. Almost as easy as Tatsu." The sparkle in her eyes faded a little.

"Any time you get the urge you can talk about skells instead," Quincy encouraged her.

a/n: I thought the added section would only need one chapter but I think there's another. Things may be delayed/short because AUgust.

Next up: The Tour de NLA proper.