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There was a kiddie pool on the Aurora. Raphaella had no idea how it got there, but it had been there for a while. She assumed Ivy had gotten it; at least she seemed the most invested in it. She filled it with things that definitely weren’t water, and then put a few octokittens in and sat and watched it with the most adorably besotted expression.
Raphaella sat down next to her one time. “What are you doing?”
“Watching the octokittens.” Ivy smiled, not taking her eyes off them. “They can taste with their suction cups, so I’m just seeing how they like different things.”
“Oh.” Raphaella’s eyes lit up. “What are you feeding them?”
“Currently whatever Nastya has put in here. Motor oil, I think.”
“That’s gotta kill them eventually.”
“Probably. This one already kicked it.” Ivy fished one of the octokittens out of the pool; it didn’t look very alive.
“How long did it take?”
“I don’t know.” Ivy shrugged. “I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Can you get me a new octokitten?” Raphaella had an idea. “I wanna take notes."
"Sure." Ivy smiled and got up, grabbing an octokitten from a nearby cluster. "Ready?"
"Can you time this?"
"Of course." Ivy nodded and dumped the octokitten into the pool, where it started happily splashing about.
Raphaella took out a pad and pen and started taking notes on the octokitten. Ivy curled up on the floor with her head in Raphaella's lap.
The octokitten died quicker than Raphaella would've liked. Not that she wanted to prolong its suffering or anything, but it meant two things: one, that she barely got a full page of notes, and two, that Ivy moved her head out of her lap much sooner.
"Do want another octokitten in?" Ivy asked.
"No, that's okay." Raphaella smiled, and maybe, just maybe, there was a touch of pink to her cheeks. "Um, Ivy?"
"Yes?"
"I have… Science." Raphaella wondered how she was gonna spin this one, and decided that it didn't matter. "I need your help."
"With science?"
"With an experiment. It's very important."
"What do you need me to do?"
Raphaella wondered, for a moment, if Ivy would say no. "Will you kiss me?"
"For science?" That was definitely a smile on Ivy's face.
"Yes." Raphaella's face was hot, and she suspected it showed. "For science."
"Can't turn down that. Can't stop scientific advancements." Ivy sat back down next to Raphaella. "If it's science you must take notes."
"Of course." Raphaella flipped to a new page and scribbled down a few words that would've made her teenage self scoff and roll her eyes. "There we go."
"Good." Ivy's eyes sparkled with something dangerously close to mischief as she leaned in and gently pressed her lips against Raphaella's.
Raphaella closed her eyes and carefully brought a hand up to cradle Ivy's face. She could feel Ivy's hands on her back, and her wings folded around the both of them, giving them some privacy from the octokittens and whatever prying eyes Aurora might have.
It was a short kiss, and a gentle one, and Ivy pulled back with a smile. "For science," she said, a laugh in her voice.
"For science." Raphaella took her pad and wrote down a few more scribbles, that were mostly just doodled hearts. "Can I do it again just for fun?"
"Yes."
Raphaella couldn't have said how long they sat on the floor, kissing, surrounded by dead or dying octokittens and her abandoned notes, but she could recall with clarity the disgusted noise Jonny made when he found them.