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Even a lovelorn idiot could make a sandwich.
"Don't insult yourself like that," Ceres reprimanded, as Scien stood bedraggled and hungry in the Institute's empty kitchen. It was 3 am, and the unfamiliar room was wrapped in the darkness and silence of the witching hour. "I'm glad that you're ready to eat again. You promised you'd come down to Earth now and then."
"It's not like I forgot," Scien said with amused exasperation, pawing around undersides of cupboards until his hand touched something soft wrapped in a paper bag. "There. Now, the next step..."
"Take a plate and put two slices of bread on them," Ceres said gently.
Scien did just that. Once again there was that surreal, nauseating sensation of overlapping: her hands moving with practiced grace inside his own, like gloves of flesh and bone. They'd be too big for her, though. Her hands were smaller than his, more delicate, and she'd secretly liked the contrast. "Done," he said, wincing as the plate clinked loudly on the black countertop.
"Good. Next..." Inside his brain, Ceres' blue eyes wandered to one side in thought. "Let's start with something sweet. Peanut butter and honey."
"Ugh. No protein? That's fit for a kid, not a god."
"Oh, alright. I know you want to work hard." She thought again, her hands cupped close to her chest to avoid excessive touch, and heat throbbed behind his eyes. "Ham and cheese, then."
Scien nodded and made for the refrigerator. Considering the faculty that worked here, this one loomed large and was always well-stocked. It had been one of the many things invented after Reliver technology became viable, and Ceres had marveled at the one in Mother's kitchen when she first saw it. It was cold inside, but not damp, and she wondered if it was safe for her to touch⏤
Scien shut the refrigerator door and leaned against it, breathing hard and quick. Damn it. Damn his own creation for failing back then, right when it counted most.
"Scien, what's wrong? I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
He shook his head, and the conflicting sense memories equalized into something more manageable. "No. You're always so hard on yourself, it's ridiculous. My wife should have more pride than that."
"I know. I'm only your devotee some of the time." Ceres' pale brows furrowed with the quiet determination he loved so much. "Right. Now that we have the ham and cheese, put as many slices as you want on either side."
Ceres Scien divvied out the savory ingredients, and she he set them into place on the bread. They He expertly joined the two slices together into a single whole. All while his world doubled, forming ripples in his vision. It made him feel sick. He hated it. He loved it. He wouldn't have it any other way.
It was what he wished for, wasn't it?
"Ceres," he whispered, having no choice but to hug himself. "Ceres...Ceres, I..."
"I'm right here, Scien," she said tenderly inside his head. "What do you think? Are you ready to eat?"
"I don't know," he admitted, his chest leaden as a corpse, "it might not be the same."
"Perhaps, but that's alright. And if you don't like it"⏤his internal hardware sparked queasily in his head, doing a quick course correction in a last ditch effort to keep him sane⏤"you can always make more until you get it right."
His vision blurred and his face wet and stinging, Scien Brofisse, artificial God, reached out and clutched the sandwich she they he made like it was a lifeline. Which it was, in a way: when had he last eaten?
"Two days ago," said Ceres, pouting a little.
Nodding along with her unspoken reprimand, Scien took his first bite, cleaving through the savory flavors and taking the time to register and match them with his memories. It was a bit hard to swallow for Ceres, her mouth had always been small, but Scien still managed to force it past the lump welling in his throat. The cheese he'd used had been sharp, and it paired better than expected with the relatively blander ham. Ceres was used to a mellower ring in hers.
Closing his eyes, he took another bite.
"Don't eat too fast," he muttered to himself. "Can't choke now, after everything. What a stupid epitaph that would be..."
"I'm glad you're feeling better, Scien," Ceres said, the smile on her face bright as a little star in his mind. "It must be good."
"It's terrible," Scien croaked, his normally cold exterior crumpled into something as useless as wet paper. "So close, but not the same..."
He continued eating it anyway.
"Are we going to make another puzzle soon, Scien?"
"...Sure."
"But you'll need to do it yourself. I'll just watch."
"I know."
"I'm sorry I can't⏤"
"It's okay. As long as you're here."
"That's right. I'll always be by your side, Scien. I love you..."
Scien choked back a sob. "That's right...stay here."
"You too, Scien."
"If⏤If it's for you, I'll try."
Her smile made his chest hurt worse than before, but he was getting used to that. Slowly finishing his sandwich, keeping his promise, he sat slumped on the cold kitchen floor in the semi-darkness next to his wife.