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"Code…"

"It's not important."

“Fine, but that means that out of the three remaining, I get two, because you’re being a poophead.”

“Poophead?” This time he did laugh.

I grinned. “Angelica came back after a visit with Jase and family a few years ago, and started calling everyone poopheads. She’d learned it from the twins. And you, my man, are currently acting like a poophead.”

“I can live with that.” He popped the french fry in his mouth.

We ate in silence for a few minutes. The food was good, the portions enormous. I'd made it through half my burger when Code spoke.

"Angelica's really good with the twins."

I nodded. "She's amazing with kids. Always has been. I think it comes from growing up in such a huge family. She had practice."

"Bonnie too. The way she handles things, she’d do a Drill Sargeant proud.”

"Chaos is normal for her." I stole one of his fries. "Jase is in his element. Marrying her and walking into a ready-made family was perfect for him. I can’t wait to hear about what he’s going to be like when more babies start coming.”

“Protective as hell.”

“True, but he’ll also be like he is with the twins. Patient. Present. You can tell he actually listens when they talk."

Code smiled slightly. "Yeah. He does."

"And you."

His head snapped up. "What?"

"You're good with them. The twins. The way you taught them about the robot, helped them understand the code. You didn't just fix it for them. You showed them how to fix it themselves. Bonnie raved about you."

"That's just basic teaching methodology."

"No, it's more than that. You saw what they needed and you gave it to them. That's a gift." I set down my burger. "You're good with kids, Code. Whether you want to admit it or not."

He stood abruptly. "I need to get back to work."

The retreat was so obvious it would have been funny if it didn't sting a little.

"Okay."

He grabbed his plate and carried it to the trash. "Thanks for dinner."

"You're welcome."

He settled at his monitors, hidden from me, walls firmly in place.

I cleaned up the rest of the food and retreated to the couch with my book. The same book I'd been trying to read all day. The words still didn't make sense.

An hour crawled by. Code wasn’t typing as much. I wondered if he was having as much trouble concentrating as I was. I turned pages without reading them. The air between us felt thick, charged with everything we weren't saying.

Fuck this shit. I couldn't do this. Couldn't sit here pretending everything was fine when clearly nothing was fine.

I set down my book and walked over to the table. Pulled out the chair beside him, where he couldn’t ignore me, and sat down.

Code's fingers stilled on the keyboard.