Chapter 100: Don't overwhelm his taste receptors

The food isn't anything special, but that's probably due to the limited supplies aboard the ship.

Han Yu has made some rice noodles with boiled eggs and broccoli, seasoned with some salt and soy sauce. 

He watches Xi Zirui eat avidly, ignoring the bowl in front of him.

"I could have used the food replicator, but it's always best for humans to eat fresh food," he says, resting his chin on his open palms. 

Xi Zirui points at the bowl in front of Han Yu with his chopsticks. "Do Androids need to eat too?"

Han Yu shakes his head, but picks up his own chopsticks resting horizontally over the rim of his bowl.  "No, but we can taste the food, and eliminate it without issue."

That makes sense, as utterly useless as it is. Xi Zirui guesses that humans tried their best to make Androids as humanlike as possible.

Now that he's noticing, Han Yu also blinks frequently, and his chest rises and falls in the rhythm of breathing.

He didn't notice before because those are such inconspicuous human actions, but in truth there's no reason other than aesthetics for Androids to do them too.

"Do you like the taste of food, do you want to eat?" Xi Zirui asks, genuinely curious.

Han Yu gives this some thought, his eyebrows knitting in concentration. "I never thought about that," he says, and lifts his eyes towards Xi Zirui. "There's a lot of things I haven't thought about."

Xi Zirui grins despite himself, there's an unguarded earnestness to this Han Yu that he has never seen before.

"Do you have any memories about what your life was, before I...woke you up?" Xi Zirui asks, eating the last of his noodles.

Han Yu shakes his head. "I have a database of accumulated knowledge, and a lexicon of prior experiences, but I can't match them to specific memories." He takes a mouthful of noodles up to his lips and chews it carefully, his red tongue darting out to lap up the juices staining his lips. "I've definitely had this food before, but I don't know how or where."

"Is it good?" Xi Zirui asks. "Do you like it?"

A complicated expression crosses his face, as if he doesn't know how to put his thought into words, or more likely, how to convey them to Xi Zirui.

"It produces a mild reaction in my taste-receptors," it's what he settles on, and then with a shrug adds, "It's unremarkable."

Xi Zirui picks up his bowl and drinks the rest of the juices. He has definitely thought of food as 'unremarkable' before.

But Han Yu's words give him an idea. "Would you prefer a 'strong reaction'," he asks, leaning over the tabletop and smirking up at Han Yu.

Han Yu nods right away. "Intense experiences are more memorable," he says, as if he has to find a rational explanation for all his preferences.

Xi Zirui hopes he can help him overcome that habit in time.

For now, he gets up from the metal bench and walks up towards the cupboards. He rummages through them, opening several unlabeled metal containers that look like they haven't been used in ages, until he finds what he's looking for.

He walks up to Han Yu and shakes some red chili powder into his bowl. "Try it now."

Han Yu does, and immediately makes a face. "My taste-receptors are producing a very strong response," he says, wide-eyed. "Substance identified as 'chili powder'."

Xi Zirui chuckles. "The word you're looking for is spicy."

Han Yu takes another bite. "Amazing, the chili powder made it stop being mild."

"Do you like it better now?"

He looks up at Xi Zirui standing up next to him, and his face opens up in a huge grin. "I do, thank you."

Being looked at like that isn't good for Xi Zirui's self-control. 

He wants to sit on Han Yu's lap and show him other spicy things they can get up to.

But he's still not sure how much Han Yu would even want that. Food is one thing, but can an Android even feel sexual desire? Love?

That train of thought it depressing, and he'd rather not indulge his self-pity.

The led display mounted over one of the kitchen's windows tells him it's almost 11 pm. While thinking he should probably head up to bed, he can't help noticing how the tech on the ship at times seems older and more outdated than the one in his world. 

Like the tracker he used earlier, or the led display. It doesn't match his mental image of what a future with space travel would entail.

Then again, he didn't really imagine that humanity would be forced out of Earth due to global warming, and would have to relocate to an assortment of space stations all over the Solar System. 

In a way humanity starting space exploration feels more like a failure than a great achievement.

This entire dinged up ship is a testament to that.

Han Yu finishes his food and drinks up the broth, following Xi Zirui's example. "I'll add the spice to my usual recipes. I have a databank of human food I can draw up from, but maybe it won't be to Xi Zirui's taste."

Xi Zirui claps him on the shoulder. "You should make food that you want to eat too," he says. "I'll cook too, for both of us if you want.

Han Yu's answering smile is blinding. "I'd really like that."

---

Xi Zirui takes a quick shower in the bathroom adjacent to his bedroom.

Calling it a shower is perhaps an exaggeration.

He steps into a cubicle, and is blasted with 30 seconds of steam, then with 20 seconds of bodywash and shampoo, and then there's two other 30 second cycles of steam.

Honestly speaking, the whole thing more closely resembles dry cleaning than a shower.

There's a row of thin jumpsuits hanging from a locker in the bathroom that Xi Zirui assumes are what passes for sleepwear on the ship.

The idea of wearing something with a zipper to bed makes him break out in hives, so he forgoes it entirely and goes back to the bedroom in his underwear.

It's a little bit of shock to find the bed already turned down, and Han Yu standing expectantly next to it.

"Can I sleep with Xi Zirui?" he asks, and as if expecting Xi Zirui's retort adds, "It's what I want to do."

Well, when he puts it that way...

Feeling oddly flustered, Xi Zirui nods and climbs into bed, Han Yu climbing up after him.

The bed is tiny, and it forces them into very close proximity -- an ideal situation in any other circumstance. 

The fact that Han Yu is an Android leaves Xi Zirui at a loss of how to behave. He doesn't want to force him into anything he doesn't want, but he doesn't even know if that's possible.

He was created to serve humans, is there any sort of free will involved in that?

Han Yu settles himself on the pillow facing Xi Zirui, one hand under his cheek. "What is Xi Zirui thinking?"

Xi Zirui turns on his side to face him as well. The darkness of the room and the mechanic hum of the ship makes their positions on the bed feel even more intimate. 

They're so close Xi Zirui almost expects to feel Han Yu's breath tickling his skin -- but of course, he doesn't have any.

"I was thinking about you," Xi Zirui admits, trying to parse out Han Yu's features in the dimness of the room. 

He sees it when Han Yu blinks in confusion, though, and when he ducks his head slightly. "About me? What does Xi Zirui think about me?"

"Just, everything, I'm curious about you, about how your mind works." He can't stop himself from reaching across the short distance between them and running the pad of his thumb over Han Yu's cheek. It feels so much like real skin, smooth and warm to the touch.

Han Yu smiles when Xi Zirui touches him, and nuzzles up into his hand. "I'm curious about Xi Zirui too. I think our minds are probably very different."

"Because I'm a human?" Xi Zirui asks, still smoothing his thumb over Han Yu's cheek.

Han Yu shakes his head, making Xi Zirui's thumb drag across his sharp cheekbone. "Because Xi Zirui does things that surprise me. I don't think I've ever been surprised before."

Xi Zirui's heart kicks up a furious drumming in his chest. 

That sounds similar to his own feelings when he first realized he felt something for Han Yu, all the way back in the first world. It makes him ache tenderly for everything that has happened between the two of them.

"Is that a good thing?" Xi Zirui asks, finally pulling his hand away from Han Yu's skin.

Han Yu nods, and inches closer to Xi Zirui across the bed, their noses almost touching.

"I think so, it makes me feel like the spice in the food," he says, and then stops, reformulating his thoughts. "It overwhelms my emotional systems in the same way the spice overwhelmed my taste receptors."

Xi Zirui dry throat clicks when he swallows, the air in the room having grown thick and charged between them. "Is that a good thing?" he asks, his eyes fixed on Han Yu's soft lips.

He wanders if his kisses will be any different.

He sees the moment his pink lips part to give him an answer, but he never gets to hear it because the next second Ni Ni's voice is ringing through the ship like an alarm bell:

"Host, a unit from the United Human Nations' peacekeeping force is hailing the Irregular."

"Is that the space police?" Xi Zirui asks, sparing Han Yu a worried look.

"Yes," Ni Ni answers aloud, and then adds, only for Xi Zirui's ears only, "And they usually destroy whatever contraband they find."