He ran off to the bathroom, both hands clutched over his mouth.
"V...?" I trailed behind him, stopping outside and pressing one ear to the door. "Are you okay?"
An unpleasant, guttural sound echoed from the other side.
Nothing unusual for me. That was the day-to-day at the clinic.
"I'll be downstairs," I spoke louder when I heard the tap water running.
He probably needed time to recompose himself.
Maybe he was sick? I had checked the meal app earlier, syncing our tablets again, and the options had been... surprising.
Super Chicken Broth.
Prime Porridge Power.
That didn't seem as appealing as all the other meals I had this week.
Something was definitely off.
I lay back on the couch, where I had already been waiting for him to wake up all morning. When midday arrived, I had given up and found it a very reasonable hour to check on him.
I couldn't hold my thoughts any longer when I saw him.
Use me for your research.
"Arggh," I groaned between my elbows, my arms crossing over my face.
And all this time, those formal buttoned-up shirts were covering... a secret six-pack?
Aaargh!
This wasn't supposed to be the most important secret revealed by V lately, but somehow... It felt the most interesting one.
I winced again, remembering our return to the house last night.
We had walked in silence from Stellar Slices, back to the loop.
Indeed, we both had much to think about after what V had revealed.
So, he was a clone.
More precisely, his deceased brother's clone.
He had been conceived in an artificial womb, something I had never heard of, not even at the clinic.
The way he spoke of his parents made me think he felt rejected by them.
And most importantly: all of this was a secret he was trusting me to keep.
Indeed, we both had much to process.
Or at least, that was what I thought then.
When I glanced at V's face as we entered the loop, I realized no thoughts at all were going through his head right now.
He was smiling, a stupid, innocent smile spreading on his face, his hooded eyes almost closing with drowsiness.
"Careful!" I caught him before the loop's doors closed on him.
The doors had detected him and stopped right on time, a small alert ringing. Even the alarm didn't seem to take him out of his lethargy.
"Am ti-i-i-i-i-i-i-red," he mumbled in a loud yawn.
The loop was mostly empty, but the rare passengers around peeked at us, interloqued by the alarm and his noisy yawn.
I directed V to sit in the nearest two-seater available, and his body crumpled on it. I promptly sat next to him, with an apologetic smile for the witnesses still staring at us.
He slouched against the window, his fist holding his face in place, folding his cheek over his left eye.
I had no idea what was happening to him, but I was seriously considering that it had to do with that red beverage he didn't want me to have.
The curious stares of the passengers returned to their tablets when they realized we were quiet.
Next to me, V closed his eyes, and I followed his lead, sinking into the cushy seat. I glanced up at the floating map above us, checking our stop as the soothing vibrations of the loop relaxed me. I was becoming more and more comfortable with navigating the City to the point where I no longer needed to check the navigation app on my tablet. With a small sigh of contentment, I raised my elbows to rest on the armrests. The wagon's lights seemed different at night, more serene.
I closed my eyes for a second.
Even the soft music felt like a lullaby.
"You're so beautiful."
I opened my eyes again.
Did he say something?
I turned to look.
V had opened his eyes again.
Behind the heavy eyelids, I could see him detailing my figure.
He smiled, coming back to my face.
"I hope one day..."
He tried to straighten his head, but it was too heavy for his tired neck.
It fell back against the cushion of his seat, his hooded eyes and smile turning to me.
"...I'll have a girlfriend as beautiful as you."
He chuckled, his eyes closing again, his smile spreading even more on his face.
When he smiled like that, soft creases formed on his cheeks.
I didn't even have a second to process what he had just said. His head fell again, this time against my shoulder, and I caught his face on time before he could fall even further.
His eyes shut, he adjusted, fully leaning against me now. I felt his soft hair brushing against my skin as his cheek squished against my shoulder.
My eyes caught our reflection in one of the glass panels separating the wagon's alcoves.
We looked like what I've seen in the movies.
He sniffed a little, shifting to find a new comfortable position.
A girlfriend as beautiful as you.
I couldn't help but think about that stunning woman he met at the Agora. Who was she, if not his girlfriend? She had kissed him on both cheeks after all.
Peeking at his face, I checked that his eyes were still closed.
Somehow, I preferred it this way.
"What about... Chandra?"
I only found the courage to utter this question because I thought he could have been asleep. But I felt his forehead wrinkled as he muttered back:
"Chandra...?"
Was I not remembering her name correctly? I had seen it so many times appearing on the kitchen's screen this week.
"From the Agora?" I said, realizing I wasn't supposed to know that name from anywhere but the kitchen's screen. Thankfully, V didn't seem to pick up that slip. "When we went shopping... You spoke with a woman there?"
He frowned again, with his whole face this time.
"That was not... Chandra..." he grumbled, and I felt his hot breath falling on my arm. "That was... Dionne."
Ah.
Another one?
I was perhaps underestimating that man.
He seemed so guarded, even shy with me. Maybe he was a total charmer with everyone else.
"Dionne is...," he sniffed, shifting against my shoulder once more, "...Chandra's wife."
Oh.
"Oh."
I paused for a moment, taking in this new information. Still, these women were texting him almost every day and embracing him quite warmly.
"Are they... your friends?" I asked, curious.
To love and be loved. He had said he was missing these abilities in his design. How could he believe that if he had close friends?
I peeked at his face again, wondering if he had fallen asleep when I received no answer.
"Hmfm," he groaned against me. "My only-y-y-y-y-y friends," he yawned again.
I held two fingers on his forehead when it threatened to fall from my shoulder once more. He moved, taking his face deeper into the crook of my neck with another sniff. I felt goosebumps spread all over my body from this sudden proximity.
This didn't feel as innocent as simply falling asleep against me.
But peering at his face, I could only assume his intentions were pure, with his eyes closed and his lips slightly parted. His breathing deepened and, after taking a long inhale against my skin, he seemed to relax even more.
Somehow, it felt good. I even leaned a bit more in his direction to accommodate him better.
The week had started so tensely. He wouldn't even be able to look at me without showing me his discomfort. And now, against all odds, he seemed to be relaxed enough to open himself to me.
I would have to look up that red beverage on the app.
When we arrived at the Tian Villa station, he staggered all the way home, with my help to avoid doorframes and climb stairs.
As I slipped my arm around his waist to direct his clumsy steps, I had felt his strong body then... But nothing could have prepared me to see his toned stomach today! In his office attire, we could tell he was healthy, but it was a complete subterfuge for all the abs it was covering.
What a fraud, with his dorky glasses and messy hair!
I crossed my arms over my chest, not sure if I was relieved or mad at myself for letting him change into his pajamas alone when I left him in his room.
I smiled, remembering the cute pajamas he showed up in at his door.
Too deep in my thoughts, I didn't even notice when the subject of my reflections came down the stairs.
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