An ever so faint ringing tone roused Diana from the depths of her sleep, the alarm she had set to wake her up in the morning. Annoyed as ever at that necessity, she extended her arm towards the source of the noise without even opening her eyes. A five minute snooze timer, not long enough to disrupt her schedule, but it gave her enough time to get going mentally. Awake by technicality alone, she tried to make sense of her surroundings while her mental faculties kicked into gear.
As expected, there was a distinct lack of heat to her rear, Donovan wasn't there. There was little doubt that he was down in the courtyard, training, but it always made her a little sad that she wasn't awake to give him a good morning kiss. She was certain he gave them to her, even in her unconsciousness she could remember a light pressure applied to her cheek, but she wanted to do it sometimes as well. She had always dreamed of that sort of lovey-dovey activity, but did it count if she couldn't reciprocate?
Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, there was still some residual heat from when Donovan was still laying down with her. It was a comfy heat that made her all that more unwilling to get out of bed. Diana could still imagine him laying behind her, gently hugging her as his breathing applied that soothing cyclical pressure.
It was like a drug, and she was addicted. It was an addiction she blamed her grandfather for.
Diana abandoned her position that imitated the little spoon, flopping over onto her back and gently forcing her eyelids to peel apart. Their bedroom was very dark, which only increased her reluctance to wake, but there was a small stream of light from the window that made it so that she could actually see.
Diana had decided! She would wait another five minutes to wake up. It simply wasn't possible for her to get up by the time that snooze alarm would go off.
...
...
...
"How does he do it?"
Diana lay there, still half asleep, unsure of whether she was staring at the ceiling or the back of her eyelids. Donovan probably left an hour or two ago, and he likely didn't even need this time to get moving. She wondered why it was so easy for him. His draconic upbringing was a major factor of course, but there had to be something else. Maybe it was a schedule? Maybe it was because there was something he had to do?
Diana didn't really have either of those things. She had a schedule, sure, but it flowed easier than water and she never had anything to do before eleven in the morning. The motivation just wasn't there.
Biology might have also been a factor, she supposed, but she didn't want to believe that it was impossible for her to match him like that. She wanted to give him a good morning kiss dammit!
"Maybe I can get him to sleep in tomorrow." Diana began to craft a plan to force her beloved to engage on her terms, namely getting him to stay with her until she woke up. "Blackmail? But what would I use against him?"
Diana pondered her options in her drowsy stupor. She partook in these sorts of silly thought exercises almost every day, a habit she didn't even realize she had developed. They helped stimulate her brain out of her morning rut, so they weren't entirely negative. . .
"Maybe keep him up with bedtime activities? No, I would still wake up later in that case."
. . . but they had a tendency to go in unsavory places that she would not even consider while properly sober.
"How does he even get up? Isn't he exhausted after getting beat up like that all day?"
The second snooze alarm, it was time to get going.
Diana decided to rip off the band-aid quickly, peeling the sheets back all at once so that the warmth would go away faster, clearing away that comfortable feeling and getting her body moving. The Arboreal Maiden was coming today and she needed to be ready.
Lazily kicking her legs off of the mattress one at a time, Diana used her arm to proper herself up. Her pajamas, in particular her shirt, was twisted around her waist. It was always like this, and she had come to the conclusion it was because of Donovan's arm. She didn't twist around in her sleep, so it was really the only thing that made sense. She reached for the tablet as the blood flowed into her legs.
"Good morning, Arc."
"Good morning Diana, I take it you rested well?"
"Yep. This bed is something else I tell ya. No offence, but the one on the Noah felt like sleeping on the floor in comparison." Diana remembered her first few nights in Donovan's embrace. Considering how she had been sleeping the previous few days next to a comatose Donovan, the mattress felt like absolute bliss, but now she was coming to understand that it really wasn't anything special.
"It is a simple fact that the mattress was chosen for its logistical characteristics, it was meant to be functional, not necessarily comfortable."
Diana sighed, the willingness to stand up slowly growing. "Isn't the whole point of a mattress to be comfortable so you get good rest on it?"
"From what I understand, that is the case for civilian beds, however naval personnel need to be able to wake up at a moment's notice. A degree of discomfort helps with that." Arc always responded like this, and while Diana was thankful it could get to the point she wished it would give her something to contest or debate. "Additionally, mass and volume needed to be taken into consideration, even if they didn't make much of a difference overall."
Diana straightened her back as she closed her eyes in thought. "The Pegasus better have a comfortable bed, that much I will not compromise on."
"It will be up to you and Donovan to purchase one then. I lack the facilities to produce such items, and delaying construction in order to set them up is unwise."
A small victory, but it still made Diana smile. Maybe when they were alone in the vacuum of space where Donovan had nowhere to run she could give him his good morning kisses.
"I can accept those conditions, though I take it I shouldn't go shopping any time soon?"
"That would be correct. If it would please you, I can set a reminder when the time approaches."
"Please do. A lady needs her beauty sleep after all." Diana finally pushed her self up onto her feet and stretched, her mind wandering to that disappointing backdrop of red-spackled darkness that was the night sky. She couldn't see it from here, but she knew it would be waiting for her when she went to open the blinds. How strange it was to look out your window and be greeted with the night sky during daytime. That might be something she would never properly adjust to. "How is the Pegasus progressing anyway?"
"As I continue construction I seem to find more and more ways to save time, usually in the form of nanite pathing optimization. These aren't necessarily going to save us any meaningful amounts of time, but they do stave off boredom. I have a few larger propositions that I need Donovan to sign off on regarding the refining of materials and the construction of the ship proper, however they will only save us days at best."
Diana stripped herself of her pajamas before searching for clothes to wear. Despite the Arboreal Maiden's influence, she seemed to insist that she be treated like anyone else when not operating in an official capacity. She would surely appreciate it if Diana wore more casual clothes.
"Would you by any chance be wearing your usual clothing today? The outfit with the black, gold and silver color palate?"
"?!" Diana's head whipped to stare at the tablet laying screen up on the bedside table. ARC couldn't see her from that angle, the cameras were on the large, flat faces, so she was naturally surprised when it correctly determined her wardrobe for the day. "How did you know?"
"Considering your usual laundry pattern and your adoration of that particular outfit, it only seemed natural to assume you would wear that today."
Diana's shoulder's drooped. "Was it really that obvious?" She was coming to fear being easy to read, her few meetings with Montaug and his all seeing eye had already made her feel inadequate. Now her actions were being anticipated by a robot without a complete set of data.
"I wouldn't refer to it as obvious, I can provide a plethora of reasons you might wear something different. I merely made a guess." Arc's ability to 'speak' was growing very close to what she would consider natural. Diana could no longer hear that last bit of 'roboticism' that synthesized voices naturally possessed, and it seemed to have finally settled on a specific voice. It was androgynous, as she would expect, however there was an ever so slight leaning towards the masculine, possibly a result of its imbalanced exposure.
In addition, Arc had gotten the hang of appropriate word choice for the situation. It really was like talking to a person at this point.
"Ah, I see. . ."
"You sound disheartened by that, would you like me to stop?"
Diana remained silent as she pulled her pants up, thinking a little but primarily trying to make sure she didn't fall on her face.
". . .no. I'm fine if you keep doing that. I'd imagine you are pretty bored given, well, you know, so I don't want to take that away from you. I'd imagine there would also be some safety concerns if you stopped as well."
"Your consideration is greatly appreciated, Diana. How are things progressing on your end?"
"The Arboreal Maiden is coming over with Mercedes today, so I am both anxious and excited about that, though I do have some concerns about how Donovan's men are going to react to her being here. Other than that I've come to the realization that I am likely going to hate attending this university, so I may need to discuss an alternative." Diana stopped talking for a moment as she pulled her shirt down. "I'll be honest when I say I have no idea how they can justify the way things are done over there. There's like, no rules and no expectations. I could never imagine spending money to go there."
"My condolences, however I must ask you to continue attending. I am simply unable to gather information about the political and economic situation of the outside world at the moment, so you are our only source of intelligence in that regard. How are your romantic plots progressing?"
One of Arc's roles was to monitor their relationship with each other and assure that it wasn't unhealthy.
"At the moment I really just want to be the one to give him a kiss in the morning, and that is obviously going nowhere. Do you have any ideas?"
"Aside from waking up before he does, I have little idea what would work. Would you like me to research the topic?"
"I believe we've established you are not to provide romantic advice?"
"I apologize for overstepping my bounds."
Diana pulled on her socks and slipped her shoes on before donning her sweater. "So long as you do not actually attempt to give any advice, I have no qualms with you researching it. I want our romance to develop naturally, even if it is a little bit of a hostage situation. That means you absolutely do not give him advice either, understood?"
"As clear as ever, Diana. Would it be fine if I suggested him something along the lines of gifts that fit your tastes? I understand he isn't the best at that sort of task."
"That's a no too. His squirming about what to get me is part of the experience, and it will guarantee that whatever he gets me is genuinely heartfelt." Diana picked up the tablet and made for the door. "Love isn't something you should try and calculate, Arc. It has to be experienced, something which I understand will be hard for you to grasp."
"Hmm. I will have to put some thought into it. Do you think what I feel for the two of you is love? That of the familial sort?"
"It might be, but you would have to be the one to figure that out." Diana pulled up a few tabs on the screen before reaching the door. They were notes about various things she wanted to think about, thinking being something she had plenty of time for. "Alright Arc, I'm about to head out, so no talking. Text messages only."
'Text messages only.'
"Good boy." With that, Diana opened the door.
An ever so faint ringing tone roused Diana from the depths of her sleep, the alarm she had set to wake her up in the morning. Annoyed as ever at that necessity, she extended her arm towards the source of the noise without even opening her eyes. A five minute snooze timer, not long enough to disrupt her schedule, but it gave her enough time to get going mentally. Awake by technicality alone, she tried to make sense of her surroundings while her mental faculties kicked into gear.
As expected, there was a distinct lack of heat to her rear, Donovan wasn't there. There was little doubt that he was down in the courtyard, training, but it always made her a little sad that she wasn't awake to give him a good morning kiss. She was certain he gave them to her, even in her unconsciousness she could remember a light pressure applied to her cheek, but she wanted to do it sometimes as well. She had always dreamed of that sort of lovey-dovey activity, but did it count if she couldn't reciprocate?
Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, there was still some residual heat from when Donovan was still laying down with her. It was a comfy heat that made her all that more unwilling to get out of bed. Diana could still imagine him laying behind her, gently hugging her as his breathing applied that soothing cyclical pressure.
It was like a drug, and she was addicted. It was an addiction she blamed her grandfather for.
Diana abandoned her position that imitated the little spoon, flopping over onto her back and gently forcing her eyelids to peel apart. Their bedroom was very dark, which only increased her reluctance to wake, but there was a small stream of light from the window that made it so that she could actually see.
Diana had decided! She would wait another five minutes to wake up. It simply wasn't possible for her to get up by the time that snooze alarm would go off.
...
...
...
"How does he do it?"
Diana lay there, still half asleep, unsure of whether she was staring at the ceiling or the back of her eyelids. Donovan probably left an hour or two ago, and he likely didn't even need this time to get moving. She wondered why it was so easy for him. His draconic upbringing was a major factor of course, but there had to be something else. Maybe it was a schedule? Maybe it was because there was something he had to do?
Diana didn't really have either of those things. She had a schedule, sure, but it flowed easier than water and she never had anything to do before eleven in the morning. The motivation just wasn't there.
Biology might have also been a factor, she supposed, but she didn't want to believe that it was impossible for her to match him like that. She wanted to give him a good morning kiss dammit!
"Maybe I can get him to sleep in tomorrow." Diana began to craft a plan to force her beloved to engage on her terms, namely getting him to stay with her until she woke up. "Blackmail? But what would I use against him?"
Diana pondered her options in her drowsy stupor. She partook in these sorts of silly thought exercises almost every day, a habit she didn't even realize she had developed. They helped stimulate her brain out of her morning rut, so they weren't entirely negative. . .
"Maybe keep him up with bedtime activities? No, I would still wake up later in that case."
. . . but they had a tendency to go in unsavory places that she would not even consider while properly sober.
"How does he even get up? Isn't he exhausted after getting beat up like that all day?"
The second snooze alarm, it was time to get going.
Diana decided to rip off the band-aid quickly, peeling the sheets back all at once so that the warmth would go away faster, clearing away that comfortable feeling and getting her body moving. The Arboreal Maiden was coming today and she needed to be ready.
Lazily kicking her legs off of the mattress one at a time, Diana used her arm to proper herself up. Her pajamas, in particular her shirt, was twisted around her waist. It was always like this, and she had come to the conclusion it was because of Donovan's arm. She didn't twist around in her sleep, so it was really the only thing that made sense. She reached for the tablet as the blood flowed into her legs.
"Good morning, Arc."
"Good morning Diana, I take it you rested well?"
"Yep. This bed is something else I tell ya. No offence, but the one on the Noah felt like sleeping on the floor in comparison." Diana remembered her first few nights in Donovan's embrace. Considering how she had been sleeping the previous few days next to a comatose Donovan, the mattress felt like absolute bliss, but now she was coming to understand that it really wasn't anything special.
"It is a simple fact that the mattress was chosen for its logistical characteristics, it was meant to be functional, not necessarily comfortable."
Diana sighed, the willingness to stand up slowly growing. "Isn't the whole point of a mattress to be comfortable so you get good rest on it?"
"From what I understand, that is the case for civilian beds, however naval personnel need to be able to wake up at a moment's notice. A degree of discomfort helps with that." Arc always responded like this, and while Diana was thankful it could get to the point she wished it would give her something to contest or debate. "Additionally, mass and volume needed to be taken into consideration, even if they didn't make much of a difference overall."
Diana straightened her back as she closed her eyes in thought. "The Pegasus better have a comfortable bed, that much I will not compromise on."
"It will be up to you and Donovan to purchase one then. I lack the facilities to produce such items, and delaying construction in order to set them up is unwise."
A small victory, but it still made Diana smile. Maybe when they were alone in the vacuum of space where Donovan had nowhere to run she could give him his good morning kisses.
"I can accept those conditions, though I take it I shouldn't go shopping any time soon?"
"That would be correct. If it would please you, I can set a reminder when the time approaches."
"Please do. A lady needs her beauty sleep after all." Diana finally pushed her self up onto her feet and stretched, her mind wandering to that disappointing backdrop of red-spackled darkness that was the night sky. She couldn't see it from here, but she knew it would be waiting for her when she went to open the blinds. How strange it was to look out your window and be greeted with the night sky during daytime. That might be something she would never properly adjust to. "How is the Pegasus progressing anyway?"
"As I continue construction I seem to find more and more ways to save time, usually in the form of nanite pathing optimization. These aren't necessarily going to save us any meaningful amounts of time, but they do stave off boredom. I have a few larger propositions that I need Donovan to sign off on regarding the refining of materials and the construction of the ship proper, however they will only save us days at best."
Diana stripped herself of her pajamas before searching for clothes to wear. Despite the Arboreal Maiden's influence, she seemed to insist that she be treated like anyone else when not operating in an official capacity. She would surely appreciate it if Diana wore more casual clothes.
"Would you by any chance be wearing your usual clothing today? The outfit with the black, gold and silver color palate?"
"?!" Diana's head whipped to stare at the tablet laying screen up on the bedside table. ARC couldn't see her from that angle, the cameras were on the large, flat faces, so she was naturally surprised when it correctly determined her wardrobe for the day. "How did you know?"
"Considering your usual laundry pattern and your adoration of that particular outfit, it only seemed natural to assume you would wear that today."
Diana's shoulder's drooped. "Was it really that obvious?" She was coming to fear being easy to read, her few meetings with Montaug and his all seeing eye had already made her feel inadequate. Now her actions were being anticipated by a robot without a complete set of data.
"I wouldn't refer to it as obvious, I can provide a plethora of reasons you might wear something different. I merely made a guess." Arc's ability to 'speak' was growing very close to what she would consider natural. Diana could no longer hear that last bit of 'roboticism' that synthesized voices naturally possessed, and it seemed to have finally settled on a specific voice. It was androgynous, as she would expect, however there was an ever so slight leaning towards the masculine, possibly a result of its imbalanced exposure.
In addition, Arc had gotten the hang of appropriate word choice for the situation. It really was like talking to a person at this point.
"Ah, I see. . ."
"You sound disheartened by that, would you like me to stop?"
Diana remained silent as she pulled her pants up, thinking a little but primarily trying to make sure she didn't fall on her face.
". . .no. I'm fine if you keep doing that. I'd imagine you are pretty bored given, well, you know, so I don't want to take that away from you. I'd imagine there would also be some safety concerns if you stopped as well."
"Your consideration is greatly appreciated, Diana. How are things progressing on your end?"
"The Arboreal Maiden is coming over with Mercedes today, so I am both anxious and excited about that, though I do have some concerns about how Donovan's men are going to react to her being here. Other than that I've come to the realization that I am likely going to hate attending this university, so I may need to discuss an alternative." Diana stopped talking for a moment as she pulled her shirt down. "I'll be honest when I say I have no idea how they can justify the way things are done over there. There's like, no rules and no expectations. I could never imagine spending money to go there."
"My condolences, however I must ask you to continue attending. I am simply unable to gather information about the political and economic situation of the outside world at the moment, so you are our only source of intelligence in that regard. How are your romantic plots progressing?"
One of Arc's roles was to monitor their relationship with each other and assure that it wasn't unhealthy.
"At the moment I really just want to be the one to give him a kiss in the morning, and that is obviously going nowhere. Do you have any ideas?"
"Aside from waking up before he does, I have little idea what would work. Would you like me to research the topic?"
"I believe we've established you are not to provide romantic advice?"
"I apologize for overstepping my bounds."
Diana pulled on her socks and slipped her shoes on before donning her sweater. "So long as you do not actually attempt to give any advice, I have no qualms with you researching it. I want our romance to develop naturally, even if it is a little bit of a hostage situation. That means you absolutely do not give him advice either, understood?"
"As clear as ever, Diana. Would it be fine if I suggested him something along the lines of gifts that fit your tastes? I understand he isn't the best at that sort of task."
"That's a no too. His squirming about what to get me is part of the experience, and it will guarantee that whatever he gets me is genuinely heartfelt." Diana picked up the tablet and made for the door. "Love isn't something you should try and calculate, Arc. It has to be experienced, something which I understand will be hard for you to grasp."
"Hmm. I will have to put some thought into it. Do you think what I feel for the two of you is love? That of the familial sort?"
"It might be, but you would have to be the one to figure that out." Diana pulled up a few tabs on the screen before reaching the door. They were notes about various things she wanted to think about, thinking being something she had plenty of time for. "Alright Arc, I'm about to head out, so no talking. Text messages only."
'Text messages only.'
"Good boy." With that, Diana opened the door.
