(Untitled)
Quatre has stocked up on decaf coffee since the last time Trowa was in this room, even if he made an amiable face at the bag when he pulled it out. Trowa would have been fine without, and even bothered to say so, but Quatre is Quatre
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Well, okay, his ulterior motives existed, but they were entirely innocent; for instance, it's nice to be sitting warm next to Trowa on something that isn't hay. Not that there's anything wrong with hay, when it's not a ridiculous temperature outside.
Well, not entirely innocent.
... He's gotten off track.
Glancing up from his coffee he smiles, slight and (more than slightly) pleased, at Trowa. "I think, maybe," he says, "I've lost my enchantment with winter."
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(It's also fond, in Trowa's impassive way, but that's not really a surprise.)
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"It's a little warm for them."
It's a little cold for humans from a temperate colony, however, yes.
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Milliways isn't all that cold, really. When you've been to Antarctica, Scotland doesn't seem so bad. (And that's leaving aside outer space -- but that's a subject Trowa prefers to leave aside.)
It's still a lot nicer to be indoors where it's warm, though.
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He falls silent, mildly entertained but still thinking about something else entirely.
After some minutes, he asks "What's the religious makeup of Milliways, do you know?"
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"It's fairly scattered. More people seem to come from Christian-majority cultures than otherwise, though. I don't know about devoutness level. There seems to be a pretty high incidence of secularity, but it's hard to really be sure in this context."
"There are also some people who say they're gods and goddesses, but I haven't met anyone who seemed to worship them. None of them I've seen seemed to expect it."
Well, maybe kind of Aphrodite, but in a slightly different context.
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"Yeah."
"Last year a priest led a Christmas service." Trowa didn't go, but there were signs up. "Most of the public celebrations are fairly secular, though. In terms of significant observance of religious holidays, it seems to be mostly Christian and Jewish major holidays, and Cubefall. That's Cybertronian -- it's not of Earth origin, from the descriptions I've seen."
"Most of the other holidays are ones like Halloween and April Fool's Day, which aren't primarily tied to a religion for most people. If I had to guess, I'd say those were chosen to a large extent for the visibility of their public celebration."
In other words: for hijinks and minor mayhem.
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"I suppose that fits the demographics I've encountered," he says, amiably, "but I didn't consider extrapolating that to how the bar as a whole functions. I suppose Hannukah could be occurring over the 25th, by local standards."
Saturnalia and Hogswatch he doesn't even know.
A sideways glance: "I think I might attend."
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"Maybe," he agrees.
He hasn't checked the in-bar dates of lunar holidays in a while. He makes a mental note to do so; it probably isn't going to be relevant, but you never know.
He returns Quatre's glance -- a little inquiring, but idly. (He's wondering if Quatre has a particular reason, or is just being ecumenical in his pursuit of social contacts.)
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"I don't think he uses any of it for personal gain."
Strangely. Quatre doesn't know what Guppy sees in the endeavour at all; he doubts the man is being paid for it.
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(It's not that Trowa is a complete cynic about human nature; he doesn't think everyone looks out for their own gain to the exclusion of all else. But there are lots of kind of gain, social included, and Trowa is used to monitoring everyone and everything just in case. He never turns off the mental note-taking.)
He nods slightly, acknowledging Quatre's statement.
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"Ever the skeptic." He manages a hint of fabricated disappointment. The smile at the corner of his mouth unfortunately undermines it.
Quatre extends his right hand, offering to take Trowa's mug as well.
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"Sorry," he says, deadpan, and passes over the half-full mug.
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