"The thing is—" Kiki's eyes were as round and unreadable as ever. "You're the best person I ever met. I'm not saying my heart's totally pure, here." She blinked, and her pupils shifted to the left for a few syllables. "I'm, you know. You're—" Her cheeks began to darken, even as she held her face steady. "Even if you weren't, if I didn't, I'd still—" At last a shiver overtook her; her head cocked, Kiki pressed her lips together and blew out hard through her nose. Not altogether cleanly. A hand shot up to her face on reflex. Why that, why now?

"Kiki, it's fine." A smile threatened to tug at Stevonnie's mouth as they reached out to Kiki's hand. "I like you too. Just the way you are." Including the frozen expression, their tone served to suggest, and that one leaking nostril. Including all this awkwardness. In that voice, in that cadence, it was the most disarming statement in the world. All the same, Kiki couldn't quite believe she made herself clear.

"Mm." She shook her head. "No, I—I'm talking layers here. Like." She rubbed her nose with a fist, then practiced a few breaths before continuing. "I'm, I'll take whatever I can get." Her face tensed. The darkness deepened, across the bridge of her nose. "Not take, but. If we can be... friends, and just—just, do things together, I'm, I'd be happy with that. And, I'd feel so special just to have a friend like you." A big pause, to unpick that pressure in her chest. Call back that composure, at least the shape of it. Look them dead in the eye again. Impassive. "But I'm open to anything. I'm just saying."

Stevonnie blinked back.

"Anything. With you." Kiki added, quickly, robotically.

"Like, an adventure?" Kiki was indeed talking in layers. It's not that Stevonnie didn't hear her. It's more that they weren't sure which angle to take. There were a few branches to explore, and they reached for the least confusing.

"If, that's..." Kiki furrowed her brow. "I mean, optimistically?" Her temples had grown slick with sweat, and a dark spot had formed on the front of her blouse. "We could, I don't know, start slow. See what happens."

"Oh!" Stevonnie clapped their knees in excitement. "Like camping!"

"Camping?"

"Yeah! I've never been for real. At least, I don't think so." They stroked their lower lip. "And, well, if I did, it definitely wasn't me. But my dad's got all the equipment."

"Your dad?" The notion that Stevonnie came from anywhere was somehow the biggest surprise about them.

They nodded. "Mm, well, not anymore, but I think I know where it is. I saw it when we were cleaning."

"Oh." The swerve was hard for Kiki to follow. Where were they going with this? "Well, that sounds—"

"I know, right!" Stevonnie leaned forward. "I know you like running. Hiking, it's—kinda like running! Except, slower. And with more rocks." Kiki twitched as they raised their calf, and kneaded the air with their toes. "I might need some boots, though."

"So." A bead of sweat ran past Kiki's trismus jaw. "Like, just you and me?"

"Well, yeah!" Stevonnie grinned. "We're old enough, right? I mean, probably?" Their face fell into a scowl, as they pondered into the middle distance. They shook it off. "But we can put up a tent, and light a fire, and—" A curious look came over them. "—roast marshmallows," they giggled. Abruptly they inhaled. "You should come!"

Kiki tried hard to read the situation. What was she missing? "Yeah, okay." Her neck was damp yet her throat had grown dry. "I—I like marshmallows. Should I bring some... you know, graham crackers?"

"Oh, yes! And the chocolate, and then we can squish it all together!" They gestured as if wrangling an oversized sandwich. "It'll be fun! And I'm sure I can read up on some ghost stories before then."

The tension loosened a notch, as doubt began to creep down Kiki's forehead. Was this as complicated as she made it out to be? "Wait, you're really serious about this."

"Well, yeah. If this is our first time, we gotta prepare for everything, right?"

Kiki raised an eyebrow. "Like scaring me half to death, in the middle of nowhere?"

"But Kiki," Stevonnie deadpanned, "S'mores would never hurt you. It's a together snack." Their eyes lost focus. "Wait. That doesn't really help at all." Their eyes shifted back to Kiki, who erupted into laughter.

At last something began to take an appearance of sense. "All right, so... when did you have in mind?"

Stevonnie thought a moment, and shrugged. "I dunno. Tonight?"

Kiki peered back at the figure seated before her. A whole life of possibilities stretched out, in all directions. What if, what if. Best case, worst case. Losses, gains. Every piece of advice she'd—

"Jen-NEEEEE!" She rasped over her shoulder.

"What?" The response hummed, nonplussed, through the dividing wall.

"You're working my shift!"