“That's a nice ship,” Mara praised as we headed towards the ramp of my ship.
Amber puffed up her chest, “Wait till you see the inside!”
The doctor raised an eyebrow at her, “Why are you the one that's proud? It's not even your ship.”
“Because it's my girlfriend's ship. Why? You jealous?”
Mara rolled her eyes but said nothing.
Even I could tell that despite their back and forth, the both of them were actually on rather good terms with each other.
It kind of feels like the banter you would do with friends that you would joke around with.
I ascended the ramp with the other two girls following behind me.
Naturally, Mara was looking around at everything as it was her first time on the ship while Amber just kept looking smug about having Mara here.
She was really cute.
I gave her a short tour around the rooms starting from the storage room, then the shared bedroom before moving to the cockpit.
I then brought them to the room that I was sharing with Amber, though she started moving her personal stuff to the other room and only came over when it was time for bed so it was still technically my room.
“And this is my room.”
“In other words, our love nest,” Amber told her proudly.
Mara gave an exaggerated sigh, “Right… I don’t see any tables though?”
“Ah… Yeah… That’s one of the bad things here,” I admitted with a grimace. “We just either eat standing up or sit on the bed.”
Mara frowned but said nothing in response.
I went over the kitchenette while Amber took Mara to the side to watch, excitedly claiming that this was where the magic was made.
Hmm… Since there’s three people for dinner today and it’s Mara’s first time eating with us, I guess I should just go the safer route and do some meat and potato stew, especially since the synthpotatoes actually taste like potatoes.
Alright, let’s see what do I need here… The synthpotatoes is a must so I’ll grab some of that… Then some of these that give the salty taste and then a few of these meaty things as the main source of taste… Oh right, shouldn’t forget a little bit of these that I know would make the stew thicker as well.
Then all I need to do is to let it boil for a bit, then simmer it for a bit before boiling it again to repeat the process one more time.
Finally, after leaving it there for five more minutes, the stew is done.
I grabbed a few bowls and filled them up before passing them to my hungry guests.
Both of them waited until I had also picked up my bowl and dipped my spoon into my bowl before they did the same.
Oh~ It tastes much better than the last one!
Most likely because this time we actually have the potatoes and I had more ingredients that I could fine tune the taste and texture with.
I suddenly heard a sobbing noise and I turned to see Mara literally shedding tears while holding her stew.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“Ma… Mara? The stew isn’t bad is it?” I asked, afraid that maybe this wasn’t to her taste.
She shook her head quickly before sipping another mouthful of the stew, “This… This is beautiful, Tera… Thank you. Thank you…”
“Ermm… You’re welcome?” I answered her, a little hesitatingly.
She picked up another spoonful of the stew, “I can’t remember the last time I had eaten something this good… It’s… It’s perfect.”
I turned to Amber and she was just smiling at the doctor, not even making any barbed remarks at her current state.
I gestured to the pot, “Well… I made quite a bit this time so feel free to get seconds. In fact, if you want to pack some to take away, I think I have a container somewhere for you to do that.”
Surprisingly, Mara shook her head, “No, that’s quite alright, Tera. I could not impose on you any further than this. Although… If you don’t mind… Here, I want you to take this.”
She set aside her bowl to pick up her personal terminal before tapping on it for a bit.
A second passed before my own terminal let out a notification ping and I tapped on it to see a message from Mara.
It contained a string of numbers and I wondered what it was until she gave me a serene smile, “That’s the code to my door lock above my clinic. If for any reason you need somewhere to go, you can make use of that place. And if you feel like it, you could treat my home as yours as well.”
Amber scoffed, “Just say that you want her to go over to your place and cook more, no need to beat around the bush like that.”
Mara growled at her, “While I’ll admit that the prospect of that would be especially attractive, that is not the real reason I gave her that. Anyway, my house does have proper dining tables, so you don’t need to hold back, Tera.”
I scratched my cheek awkwardly, “Umm… Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind.”
Amber then nudged her with her elbow, “Yeah, yeah, continue eating before the food gets cold and you waste my dear girlfriend’s efforts.”
The gene doctor didn’t even argue and picked up her bowl to start slurping it down alongside Amber.
I also turned my attention back to my own share of the stew and ate it slowly, relishing the taste of it and feeling especially satisfied with the stew I made today.
No words were exchanged after that as the three of us focused solely on enjoying the stew, each of us also filling up a second bowl from the pot after finishing the first one.
Amber and Mara then proceeded to wash all the utensils and clean up the kitchen after we were done eating, letting me watch from the bed this time.
I also noticed that without saying anything, Amber settled into the role of washing the dishes while Mara was in charge of wiping them dry, almost like they had done this together before.
Hmm… Something tells me that they had lived together before…
Without thinking I asked, “Were you two in a relationship before?”
Mara answered back without even a moment’s hesitation, “We are not past lovers, Tera, if that’s what you’re wondering… I suppose it’s not that big of a secret, is it?”
Amber nodded, “Tera already knows about my past with that mentor and how I was abandoned.”
Mara sighed, “I found this little blonde bitch crawling in an alley on the brink of death and still clinging to life. Took her in and raised her up. I tried to talk her out of becoming a Merc and just becoming my assistant instead but this ungrateful bitch chose not to listen and went out on her own just like that.”
The golden haired Merc shrugged, “I’m still searching for that bitch by the way, just so that I can put a bullet in between her eyes myself.”
Mara turned to her even while putting away one of the bowls she finished wiping dry, “I’d thought you had given up on it after being with Tera?”
“Oh no. Tera just became the most important person in my life, that bitch who betrayed me merely moved down a level in terms of importance.”
Mara smacked the Merc on the back of her head, “I already told you that path of revenge is pointless. Just live your own life and forget about that bitch, that’s the best revenge you can give her by showing her that she’s not even worth your time.”
“Owww! Stop hitting me!! I’m not a stupid kid anymore!”
“Funny that you dare to say that. Who’s the stupid kid who kept crawling back to my house despite constantly running off after I told you not to, huh?”
“Nggh… That was so long ago!”
I get it now… Mara isn’t just some close friend of Amber’s, she’s actually her mother figure and caretaker huh. And those verbal jabs they kept throwing at each other weren’t just friends making jokes but a mother and daughter bickering.
That is so cute.
I wonder how long they spent together to foster that kind of relationship.
Just as I thought of that, both women turned to me after finishing washing and cleaning everything.
“So… Now that we’ve done the clean up, there’s only one other thing left to do.” Mara commented.
Eh? What is she talking about?
Amber also nodded sagely beside her, “That’s right, we can’t ignore it or else there might even be consequences we don’t know about!”
What? What are they referring to? Did I miss something or what?
Before I could ask what they were talking about, the two women suddenly stripped themselves and stood before me with their bodies bared.
“Time to test that cock of yours, Tera!”
“Yes, I must make sure that it’s functioning properly. Let’s get you out of those pants, Tera.”
…
What?!