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Mm, probably for the best. Had to do some rearranging not too long ago.

[Rather than handing over the hat like a normal person, Rey just places it over Firo's head in one hand while she takes the harmonica in the other. She gives the top of the hat a single pat, bearing an oddly deadpan expression for such an amiable gesture as she steps back. This gives Firo enough room to enter, before she closes the door behind him.

[Whatever rearranging it is she's done, it isn't obvious right away. It's mostly the bedrooms themselves. Otherwise, everything looks like the normal furnishings in the other houses, save for a few additions here and there. Like the goldfish next to a potted cactus over one of the windowpanes, and a cushiony chair in the living area with what appears to be cat ears over the back of it.

[Just to name a few.]

[Firo stiffens in surprise when she plops is hat down on his head. It feels nice to have it back, though, so he smiles and adjusts it as he walks in. It'd be polite to immediately remove it again once he's inside, but for now he leaves it on while he looks around the room.

...Where to even start with the questions?]

Hey, is that the same fish?

[He wonders if she'll remember what he's talking about. He sure didn't recall their discussion of the goldfish until he saw the thing. Do fish even live that long? He never saw a fish in the house that wasn't 1. already dinner or 2. living in the bathtub to grow for a week until it was fat enough for a future dinner.]

[What is polite social etiquette? Rey doesn't know and doesn't care, so Firo can keep the hat on for long as he likes.

[Before she can ask him if he'd like anything, he's already pointing out the goldfish, swimming around in its little bowl next to Charlie the Cactus.]

Same one. [She shrugs.] The damned thing would probably be dead already if it weren't for Nick.

[Rey doesn't forget that it needs to eat sometimes, or other times ends up feeding it way too much. Nope.]

[Firo turns to her abruptly.]

Nick?

[Ugh, Valentine. Is that guy really such a stickler that he'd police people about a goddamn fish? He tries to remain casual when he speaks, but there's more than a hint of a frown on his face.]

Why's that?

[It's not what you think, Firo!]

Because he actually remembers to feed it more often. Tend to forget that the damned thing even exists and then...

It isn't like I've ever owned a pet before.

[Rey is just lucky that it's a simple goldfish and not something more demanding, like a dog or a rabbit.]

Oh.

[That's less dramatic and annoying than he thought.]

And he did?

[That seems weird too. Detectives are supposed to look tough and act like assholes--Firo can't imagine Edward having a pet, for example. Well, maybe a bloodhound or something trained to hunt people down.]

[Rey blinks]

Don't know. Never asked him. It seemed like he knew what he was doing, though. Or, at least, he cared.

[Which is more than what she can admit, sadly.]

['Caring' is never an adjective Firo would think to apply to a detective, though in the back of his mind he does recall that Nick was oddly... not nice, of course, but polite. Civil. Could be an act.

Oh well. He removes his hat and holds it by the brim. So that explains the fish, but there's still the funny plant and the chair with ears.]

You decorated this place? Or him?

[Which thought is weirder?]

[If it's something that her time spent with Nick has told her, it's that Nick is nothing but caring. Almost to a fault, in Rey's opinion. Then again, she does believe that there is a such thing as caring too much. Compassion can destroy you, if you let it.]

A little bit of both, really. Nick can't do a whole lot of rearranging with that bum leg of his.

[Something which she could easily fix, if he'd let her.]

[Stranger and stranger. Firo squints. It's only practical to know about a weakness if it comes up, but mostly he's just curious.]

How's that happen to a guy like him?

[Rey must know, right? It's not like the glowing eyes and weird face are subtle.]

Deathclaw.

[Rey then realizes that it's more likely not everyone knows what those things are called.]

Those big, horned lizard-like things that showed up a few months back. They're from Nick's world, and one of them messed him up a bit. Had to reattach his arm. [It's a good thing that he even had that arm on hand after it got ripped off him.]

[He shakes his head.]

Yeah, but... how'd it stick with him? He can't heal from stuff like that?

[Heal is the wrong word, maybe. 'Repair' might be more accurate, but Firo doesn't want to use that with a human.]

No, he can't. And there are some things he can't just fix himself, either -- like a severed arm. So he needs someone like me around.

[Someone who knows their way around machines; can put them back together as easily as she can take them apart.

[It at least gives her some sense of purpose, in this case.]

[Firo nods; makes sense. But he doubts their relationship is that utilitarian if they're as close as they seem. Jokingly:]

So what's he do for you?

[It may be a joke, but Rey answers seriously.]

He's like family. He doesn't have to do anything for me.

[Except do the stuff that family is supposed to do. Whatever that entails.]

It was a joke.

[Firo doesn't seem offended at it being missed; he's smiling a bit.

...Only to frown when he tries to reconcile his idea of Nick with how Rey seems to think of him. He knows that even Edward had someone who loved him (allegedly), but he still finds it hard to believe that someone like Rey--who seems so normal to him, at times--could be family to a cop. Granted, he doesn't know much about Nick; even Firo, set in his ways as he is, recognizes that.

Abruptly:]

What's he like?

I'm aware.

[Surprisingly enough, she can be perceptive. Though she does have to wonder how much of that was facetious taunting, considering Firo's general demeanor regarding Nick. Rey isn't stupid, either. She knows enough about Firo to know where he comes from, and that his background isn't what one would call squeaky clean.]

He's a decent person. Cares a lot about others. Stubborn. You two have a bit in common.

[Pause.]

I know your type don't really get along with his type. Neither did I. Back home, I used to kill synthetics like him. Even now, we don't always see eye to eye with some things. But I gave him a chance, hard as it was, and it's one of the few things I don't regret.

[He raises an eyebrow.]

I don't think either of us'd be all that happy to hear that.

[Edward would probably explode if someone said he had anything in common with Firo. Nick didn't seem as easy to rile up, but Firo can imagine that the principle of the thing would still be as offensive to him as it is to Firo.]

In that case, why'd he give you a chance? No offense.

Well, you just heard it.

[Can't say the same for Nick, but Rey doubts he would raise a fuss over something so trifling.]

Probably because it turned out that we have a bit in common, too.

[He wrinkles his nose. The revelations just get more and more uncomfortable. He's not sure if this would require rethinking what he thinks of Rey or what he thinks of Nick. Probably the latter, if anything, which Firo doesn't exactly relish. It's not so much that he doesn't think he could ever like Nick (though it seems unlikely. But he did grow somewhat fond of one of the Alcatraz guards, so it's not impossible)--more that he doesn't want to admit he's wrong about something like this.]

Like what?

Like having the memories of someone who isn't me crammed into my head. Remembering living a life that wasn't mine.

[Or "lives", in Rey's case. But hey, it's an experience that should ring very familiar even to Firo.]

[It takes a second for Firo to process that that means that he also shares this thing with Nick. Wow.

He shakes his head.]

You serious? That stuff happened to him too?

[Rey folds her arms over her chest, leaning her weight to the side as she looks up thoughtfully.]

Yes. Nick Valentine was actually someone who died over two hundred years prior. The ones who made him just stuck the guy's memories in his head, but it didn't always take. So they kept doing it for a long time.

He doesn't really remember that, though. Probably for the best.

[Nick doesn't remember, but Rey does? It's one of those "it's complicated" things.]

...That's weird.

[Why the heck would anyone care so much about 200-year-old memories?]

He told me he was made by some guys called... I forget what. It wasn't a really detailed name or anything. But it didn't sound like they made him to be a cop.

[And in a way, Firo could almost admire Nick for that. After seeing Ennis's situation, Firo's a fan of any artificially-made human breaking from the expectations forced on them.]

[Is it really that weird, Firo? Coming from a guy who can suck up other immortals into his hand and absorb their memories, it's almost too ironic to comment.]

The Institute. [Let's stay on focus instead. Yes.] And they didn't. They were experimenting on imprinting memories into a machine, but didn't seem to have much of a plan beyond that. It isn't like there's much use for robotic cops where he comes from, given the state of things and the fact that synthetics aren't treated very kindly.

They're not exactly well-liked where I'm from, either.

[Though not without fairly good reasons, from Rey's experience.]

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