Babies were cute…theirdirty diapers, not so much. Severo held his breath as he walked down the aisle of the bus, looking for the furthest trash receptacle he could find. He reached the back and smirked on finding one right by the bathroom, across from the last set of seats.
All trash was burned in a process called oxito, that distilled and eliminated the carbon release, while also producing little run off or waste byproducts. Which was nice. His parents always went on and on about how lucky they were now, as back in their days, there were dumps, landfills, and even floating barges.
Pressing the button on top, when the lid opened, he reached in with the diaper and paused when a slightly devious thought entered his mind. Severo eyed the two people sitting in the last group of seats. Both men were just sitting there reading on their tablets, neither were talking. Smirking, he cut open a hole to the other side and dropped the diaper into the real-world trash.
Faces twisting in disgust, one man looked up, followed quickly by the other. They turned first to the bathroom, but on finding it unoccupied, turned to each other, their glares accusing. Severo closed the hole and burst into laughter.
Seri finishedthe last button on Skya’s gray star onesie and tapped her on the nose, saying, “All changed, my little dewdrop.”
She giggled, wiggling her little limbs happily, before reaching for him with a gummy smile.
Chuckling, Seri picked her up. Bringing her to his chest, he kissed the top of her head. She rubbed her face against him, before snuggling and clinging tightly. “Love you, Skya.”
“DA AH!” she squealed.
Seri looked up on seeing Severo return. The man slipped into the seats across from him without a word. Seri’s brow rose at the big smile on the Dweller’s face. It looked… Well, the best way Seri could describe it was that Severo looked like a child who had done something naughty.
“What did you do?” He couldn’t stop himself from asking.
Severo blinked. “Ah, I mean, nothing much.” The man scratched at his chin, before bursting into a fit of laughter.
Seri wrinkled his nose. Severo had definitely gotten up to no good. Skya wiggled in his hold, no doubt wanting to know what was so funny. He helped her change positions, so she was sitting on his lap.
As the Dweller’s laughter subsided, he cleared his throat, that big grin still in place. “Well, you see, when I got rid of the diaper, I may have dropped it into the real world. You should have seen these two men’s faces. Both accusing the other of farting.” He snickered.
The man was…a child…
Severo was being judged,both by the Nymph and the Nymphant. They had the exact same pinched look on their faces, noses scrunched.
“Aha…” He cleared his throat again. “Well, you see, I just did it because, I mean, that way we won’t smell it. Because it’s on the other side. What happened after was only a humorous coincidence,” Severo lied.
“Mmhmm…” Seri grunted, not looking like he believed him. Skya glanced up and changed her expression to match her daddy's.Cute little toothless mimic, he thought with a sigh.
“Anyway! So…you grew up in an orphanage. What was that like?”
“Why…is ‘that’ the topic you thought would be a good one to switch to?”
“I don’t know, okay? I panicked!” Severo huffed, rubbing a hand over his face. “You are slightly intimidating, and you have a doppelgänger in your lap copying your every expression.”
“Slightly?” Seri’s left brow rose, his expression completely neutral otherwise.
“Okay, a lot intimidating.”
A smile slipped onto the Nymph’s face, right before he let out a soft giggle and said, “You are ridiculous.”
Severo smiled. “I get told that a lot.”
“I imagine.”
“So…”
“No personal questions. I’m sure you’ll find out eventually, not to mention you probably know way too much about me already, due to you snooping for my ‘case’. We have a long trip…and as I assumed I would be in Preston’s hands again by now…I’m tired.I don’t want to talk about anything serious.”
Severo winced and nodded. “That’s fair, more than fair. And in full disclosure, whatever was in your official file, I know about. For what it’s worth, I am sorry, Seri…about all this. I didn’t want to bring you in.”
“Let’s…not talk about that.”
“Can I say one thing before not mentioning all that again for a while?”
