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“I am not an organic human, but this outfit feels very redistricting.”
They reached their hand up and tugged on the collar of the shirt provided to them, and James just chuckled.
“Well I guess it is a bit of a change from the normal clothes we let you choose from,” He opened the car door for them, taking their hand to help them up the curb. “Next time we can go somewhere less…fancy.”
They blinked, turning over to him and tilting their head a little. “Restaurants would be what you consider to be ‘fancy’?”
James hummed, letting go of their hand and looking both ways before they crossed the parking lot. “I would say that there are certain restaurants that I would consider to be fancy. Not all of them, but not none of them.”
They hummed as well, gently grabbing the sleeve of his jacket and tugging on it slightly so he wouldn’t be in the way of a group of college students trying to get past.
“Oh shit- sorry dude, thanks!” The one with a wide grin said. His smile was infectious, and there were permanent creases around his eyes. A show of his nearly permanent joy. He was the one that gave away their student enrollment, his jersey number shining brightly under his jacket.
“All good.” James smiled back and nodded, and the short one looked at Love curiously.
One of the other students grabbed his blazer and pulled him along, apologizing for his staring as they pushed him inside.
“What word would you use to describe that behavior, James?” They looked at him curiously, and James tapped his chin in thought. His eyes lingered on the entrance of the place the students had just gone into before he looked back at them.
“I would call that…energetic.” He smiled at them, and they hummed absentmindedly.
“I see.”
“What would you call it?” James asked them. They blinked and stared ahead.
“I don’t understand the question.” They mumbled, and James chuckled.
“In your opinion, what word do you think would best describe that behavior?”
“Uncouth.” They said matter-of-factly. James looked surprised, but he chuckled again nonetheless.
“May I ask why you would say that?” He put his hand on their back and gently nudged them forward so they could continue their walk.
James stepped on the outside of the sidewalk so they wouldn’t have a chance of getting splashed by annoying drivers.
They glanced at him without him noticing, and took note of his behavior. “They seem to be reckless. Recklessness does not bode too well in peaceful public settings, correct?” James smiled in amusement and they tilted their head at him in confusion.
“I think we might need to work on your assumption protocol,” He mused, and they looked back ahead at the sidewalk in front of them. “They might have seemed a little reckless with the way they moved around at first meeting, but they’re old enough to know how to behave in public outings.”
“Oh.” Was all they said.
There was a silence between the two of them that lingered as they processed.
People were more than what they seemed to be at face value. That was something that was implemented into their social protocol, but was something they hadn’t had the chance to practice with.
Some people restricted that part of them, even if it was unintentional.
“Brian seems rude and careless,” They mumbled to themself, getting the attention of James. “But he has a family at home and he dearly wishes to see them again. He isn’t rude, he’s just…exhausted.”
James hummed and nodded. “Yes, it seems that way.”
“Is it not common for humans-”
“People,” James corrected. “You’re distancing yourself from the many people around you, because you’re used to people doing that for you. But you’re a person too. With that in mind, I’m sorry for interrupting.”
They stared at him for a minute, looking back ahead when he pulled them out of the way of a hotdog vendor’s cart.
“Right- uhh- is it not common for…people to assume things about others and judge their behavior based on such things?
“Well I suppose that’s true…”
“And don’t people do it partially because of the knowledge that they are not very likely to ever come across those people again?” They moved to the side so someone could pass them, and James made sure they didn’t trip over the cracks in the sidewalk.
“That is correct. But just because others do certain things doesn’t mean you have to follow them. You can be your own person while still fitting in.” James reassured, and they furrowed their eyebrows.
“This information is confusing me.” They said quietly.
James smiled warmly at them and patted their shoulder. “That’s okay, we can resume this topic some other time. Right now, I’d rather you enjoyed the experience of going out as much as you can.”
They stayed silent after that, but James looked over at them occasionally.
The data tried to sort through the files of their stored knowledge so they could put the topic in for a future discussion, but James could see by the slight frown on their lips and the crease between their eyebrows that they were having a problem categorizing it’s topic.
“You can put it in J, for James.”
They nodded, blinking a few times before they hummed curiously.
“James, this category says that you once made a comment about a partner at home. We never discussed it further.”
They hated incomplete data. The longing questions that their brain fed to them to ask, unknowing that it would likely never get those answers anytime soon.
James scratched his cheek slightly, clearing his throat as he tried to remember what exactly he had said, and if he could shut down their questions as quickly as possible without giving too much away.
They straightened their posture a little, the slouch they had to do becoming a little too much effort for them to want to continue. “James, if you do not wish to discuss this topic any further, I can delete the conversation from my database.”
Getting close to the Asset wasn’t a part of his job.
But he did enjoy talking about his partner, and he was supposed to be a good influence on the Asset…
He could reveal just a little bit about himself, he supposed.