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“It’s called… kibble.”
Naomi hands him the brown container. “I know how it sounds, but it’s good. I promise.”
Jim doesn’t look skeptical as he eyes the cone of red kibble. He doesn’t speak with any condescension. Anyone else would think he’s being very rude to his Belter date. Not Naomi. Jim has been going out of his way to learn as much about her—and her culture—as he can. It hadn’t escaped her notice that he’d picked up on some of her gestures and odd words, no matter how smoothly he tried to cover it up. Which was not at all. Nothing made her laugh like him hiding a nod with his fist behind running his hand through his hair.
He’s just curious. About her. About her life. She knows everything about him. And he wants to know as much as she’s willing to tell him. She’s not sure if she’s ready for him to know everything, but she’d be happy to share some things with him.
Like her favorite food, from her favorite kiosk on Ceres.
“I believe you,” Jim assures her, a crooked grin brightening his face as he pushes off the kiosk to lean closer to her. “I do. You have great taste in food. It’s just… the name.”
“You may curl up across my lap and ask me to pet you, but I know better than to feed you dog food, honey.” Naomi lightly scratches under his chin before collecting her own container from the kiosk. He laughs as she takes him by the elbow, leading him to an open area where they can sit. On the crowded levels of Ceres, they’re not quite the captain and XO of the Rocinante, just two people out for something to eat. A Belter and an Earther, sure. But two people.
“So,” Jim starts, cracking the container open and breathing in the spicy aroma. “Do I… just pour it in my mouth, or—”
Naomi laughs this time. “Please don’t, inyalowda heathen.” She breaks the plastic spatula off the side, points to it on his container so he can do the same. “Use the spatula.”
Jim pinks, doing as she does. “Don’t embarrass you with my Earther ways. Got it.”
“Relax, Jim. Just eat.”
Naomi waits to take a bite. Instead, she watches Jim scoop up some of the kibble, study it for a moment as he does all new food he’s unsure of. Or cooking, in Amos’s case. She lets a small smile loose, to assure him if he looks at her. Her stomach roils with anxiety. This is the most basic sharing of cultures. The easiest. It wouldn’t make or break their relationship at this point if he didn’t like the kibble. She loves him too much for that.
Still, this is her childhood. Her adolescence. This is how she grew up, how she lived. This is the basic difference between him and her. She can tell herself that she’d be fine if he didn’t like it until the solar year ends. The thought of Jim not accepting this, not enjoying this, still scares her. He glances her way, gives her a smile of his own, and spoons the kibble into his mouth.
Jim’s face stays infuriatingly blank as he chews. Naomi waits, still. Though the smile slowly fades from her lips. He takes his time. She curses herself for worrying so much. But she needs to know. She curses herself for that too. If Jim would just say something.
He swallows, looks down at the container cupped in his hand. Naomi leans forward. “Well?”
Jim blinks looks back up at her with slightly widened eyes. “Naomi…”
“Yes?”
“… Can we get one of those on the Roci?”
It’s Naomi’s turn to blink. She runs his words over in her head. When it clicks, she laughs. “You like it?”
“Oh, yeah,” he confirms, going in for another bite, humming to himself as he chews. “The spice blend is… It burns a little at first, sure. But it’s definitely good. I don’t think I’ve had something like this before.”
Naomi smiles and finally digs into her own kibble. They eat in relative silence, watching the various Belters, Martians, and Earthers walk by, living their own lives. They trade jokes and observations, casually leaning into each other. Naomi stays against his arm, leeching off his warmth and wanting to stay close to him. He only pauses to listen to something she has to say or to laugh at a joke. At one point he almost drops his container laughing, sending them both into hysterics as he tried to rescue it. His complete enjoyment of the red kibble, along with the comfort and fun of their little date, loosens her tension and spreads its own kind of warmth through her chest. It’s a kind of acceptance. A small but important one.
Jim finishes before her—and jokingly goes in for a bite of hers. When she’s finished, he holds his hand out to take her container. Before he can stand, she leans in to press a kiss to his cheek. She tries to keep anything related to their relationship private. Keeping PDA low and saving all her affection for when she has him alone, the only person to which such actions matter. But something about what had happened calls for it. She relishes his widened eyes when she pulls away.
“Thank you, Jim.”
Jim stares at her, a little wonder mixed with confusion in his expression. “Me? You’re the one who bought lunch, honey.”
He pats her knee and stands to toss their containers into the recyclers. Naomi watches him dodge pedestrians, weaving through men and women taller than he. She sighs. It’s surreal that she could feel this much relief over something as simple as red kibble. Jim makes his way back to her, taking her hand and helping her up.
“So, you liked it.”
“I wasn’t joking when I said I wanted one of those for the ship. I’d like to have that more than when we’re on Ceres.”
Naomi smiles, pulling him back into the traffic and down another corridor. “Well… it’s even better when you work the spice blend yourself. You should try Tia Margolis’ recipe.”
“Tia Margolis?”
“Mmhm. She helped raise me for a while.” The ease with which the details of her past spill from her lips surprises her. Jim had always been easy to talk to. But she’s been so guarded to so long… she didn’t expect the walls would be so easy to dismantle. “I’m sure I could come up with her recipe, get it working on the Roci. If you want.”
Jim hums, shifts out of the way of a group of young Belters giggling as they squeezed past them. “Any chance I have to learn more about you, your life… I’ll take. So, I’d love that. Maybe I could help, too.”
It’s not his words that get her. That make her heart skip a beat and a smile come unbidden to her face. It’s his tone. His earnestness. His honesty. He wants to do this with her. If he can accept just one thing so easily, maybe he can accept and embrace all of her. And she knows he can.
She takes his hand, laces her fingers with his. The second show of affection for him since they left for this date. It feels right. “I’d like that.”
“So… where’s our next stop?”
“Thought you and I could go to my favorite bar. Have a few drinks… sing some karaoke.”
He groans. “If you don’t force me to drink grapefruit martinis, and promise me we can stop for more… kibble on the way back, I’ll sing two songs max with you.”
Naomi laughs. Bumps her shoulder against his again. “Deal, Captain.”
She’d get him to sing three if he ever wants to have red kibble with her again.