Happy Valentine's Day
[takes place 6-8 months after Tron: Legacy]
It was a rainy Saturday, not fit for anything. The arcade was in the middle of renovations to bring the building back up to code, Sam's Encom business was done for the week - the advantage of only being there Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, he supposed - and he was taking a break from reading his father's notes to play something violent on his Playstation 3. He had the volume turned off, so as not to disturb Quorra, who was sitting by the window, watching the fat drops of water hit the pavement. Her chin rested in her hand as her fingers rested upon her lips; she had one knee tucked up close to her chest as the other stretched out before her while Marv kept her thigh warm. Quorra loved watching the weather patterns and inclement weather continued to hold a strange fascination for her. Ordered chaos, she had once described it, and Sam had to agree.
It was during this companionable silence, with Quorra sitting there in utter fascination with the rain as she absently stroked Marv's head, and around the point in which Sam was putting the controller down to suggest they go out somewhere, rain be damned, that the question - in all its unfettered and completely out of left field glory - fell from Quorra's lips.
"What's Valentine's Day?"
Sam blinked, his hand suspended in mid-air with the controller dangling from his fingers. How did he explain the concepts of love and romantic relationships to her? Didn't Lora cover this at any point during her time with the ISO? He supposed the easiest way would be to propose a "simulated" relationship, but Sam was already too close to falling irrevocably in love with Quorra for that to be a viable option. It would be taking advantage of her naiveté and he'd never do such a thing. Quorra had seen enough movies with Sam to have at least a basic understanding of human sexuality, and he had suffered the occasional chick flick to satisfy her innate curiosity. So his answering this wouldn't too difficult. ...Would it? That being said, Sam wasn't even sure how much of Quorra's current anatomy was human. Hell, he had no idea how close to human her anatomy has been on the Grid, outside of her basic body shape and form. He hadn't been on the Grid long enough to experience the program version of these things, and he wasn't even sure that such a thing as a naked program - whether Basic or ISO - was even possible.
But he was getting ahead of himself, and he forced his brain to focus on the immediate question. First, he made himself put the controller down. Then he cleared his throat softly, trying to marshal his thoughts. The silence that followed her question was on the verge of its breaking point, and he managed to look up at her and speak just as she was turning her head to presumably ask again.
"It's a day that's been set aside to celebrate love," he replied simply. Quorra seemed to think about that for a moment.
"Why only a single day?" she wanted to know. "If love is so important, shouldn't it always be celebrated?"
Sam smiled. He stood up and shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked over to stand next to her. He looked out at the rain as he shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose it should. But folks just needed an excuse for another holiday."
"Oh." They watched the rain together in silence. "...How does one celebrate love? Isn't it merely an abstract concept applied to a purely chemical reaction within the human brain?"
Sam's eyes widened as he looked down at Quorra, who had gone back to her previous position of being riveted by the rain. "No more Internet for you," he teased gently, with a soft chuckle. His grin went from teasing to genuine as she looked up at him with an expression he could only define as sheepish guilt. "We celebrate by showing those that we love how much we care about'em. Mostly through special, meaningful gifts, or simply telling the person you love them. Sometimes, couples will go on a vacation together so they can spend uninterrupted time with each other." Sam shrugged.
"How do you know that what you're feeling is love? Flynn tried to explain it to me once, but I never understood what he was trying to say. I know what love looks like, because I'm sure I saw it the day you arrived on the Grid, and in all those movies I've seen...but what does it feel like?"
Sam swallowed thickly as he recalled the day he found his father, and forced his gaze back out the window. "I don't know," he replied honestly. "I guess it's different for everyone. It usually involves feeling something in your chest or stomach."
"Huh," Quorra intoned. "That sounds...painful?"
Sam laughed. "No, not really. It's not a bad kind of feeling. More like....you know how seeing the portal made you feel? All excited and hopeful and everything?" Quorra nodded. "It's like that, only it's because of another person, rather than an object or a symbol." Sam heard the breath hitch in her throat, and he looked back down at her only to find her wide-eyed gaze turned up at him. His smile faltered. "What is it?"
"I...just...it's nothing," she stammered, dropping her gaze and looking away. He watched her carefully as she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. After a prolonged silence in which Sam watched a dozen different emotions play out over Quorra's face, she said softly, "I, uh...I kinda feel that way about you."
[951 words]
It was a rainy Saturday, not fit for anything. The arcade was in the middle of renovations to bring the building back up to code, Sam's Encom business was done for the week - the advantage of only being there Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, he supposed - and he was taking a break from reading his father's notes to play something violent on his Playstation 3. He had the volume turned off, so as not to disturb Quorra, who was sitting by the window, watching the fat drops of water hit the pavement. Her chin rested in her hand as her fingers rested upon her lips; she had one knee tucked up close to her chest as the other stretched out before her while Marv kept her thigh warm. Quorra loved watching the weather patterns and inclement weather continued to hold a strange fascination for her. Ordered chaos, she had once described it, and Sam had to agree.
It was during this companionable silence, with Quorra sitting there in utter fascination with the rain as she absently stroked Marv's head, and around the point in which Sam was putting the controller down to suggest they go out somewhere, rain be damned, that the question - in all its unfettered and completely out of left field glory - fell from Quorra's lips.
"What's Valentine's Day?"
Sam blinked, his hand suspended in mid-air with the controller dangling from his fingers. How did he explain the concepts of love and romantic relationships to her? Didn't Lora cover this at any point during her time with the ISO? He supposed the easiest way would be to propose a "simulated" relationship, but Sam was already too close to falling irrevocably in love with Quorra for that to be a viable option. It would be taking advantage of her naiveté and he'd never do such a thing. Quorra had seen enough movies with Sam to have at least a basic understanding of human sexuality, and he had suffered the occasional chick flick to satisfy her innate curiosity. So his answering this wouldn't too difficult. ...Would it? That being said, Sam wasn't even sure how much of Quorra's current anatomy was human. Hell, he had no idea how close to human her anatomy has been on the Grid, outside of her basic body shape and form. He hadn't been on the Grid long enough to experience the program version of these things, and he wasn't even sure that such a thing as a naked program - whether Basic or ISO - was even possible.
But he was getting ahead of himself, and he forced his brain to focus on the immediate question. First, he made himself put the controller down. Then he cleared his throat softly, trying to marshal his thoughts. The silence that followed her question was on the verge of its breaking point, and he managed to look up at her and speak just as she was turning her head to presumably ask again.
"It's a day that's been set aside to celebrate love," he replied simply. Quorra seemed to think about that for a moment.
"Why only a single day?" she wanted to know. "If love is so important, shouldn't it always be celebrated?"
Sam smiled. He stood up and shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked over to stand next to her. He looked out at the rain as he shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose it should. But folks just needed an excuse for another holiday."
"Oh." They watched the rain together in silence. "...How does one celebrate love? Isn't it merely an abstract concept applied to a purely chemical reaction within the human brain?"
Sam's eyes widened as he looked down at Quorra, who had gone back to her previous position of being riveted by the rain. "No more Internet for you," he teased gently, with a soft chuckle. His grin went from teasing to genuine as she looked up at him with an expression he could only define as sheepish guilt. "We celebrate by showing those that we love how much we care about'em. Mostly through special, meaningful gifts, or simply telling the person you love them. Sometimes, couples will go on a vacation together so they can spend uninterrupted time with each other." Sam shrugged.
"How do you know that what you're feeling is love? Flynn tried to explain it to me once, but I never understood what he was trying to say. I know what love looks like, because I'm sure I saw it the day you arrived on the Grid, and in all those movies I've seen...but what does it feel like?"
Sam swallowed thickly as he recalled the day he found his father, and forced his gaze back out the window. "I don't know," he replied honestly. "I guess it's different for everyone. It usually involves feeling something in your chest or stomach."
"Huh," Quorra intoned. "That sounds...painful?"
Sam laughed. "No, not really. It's not a bad kind of feeling. More like....you know how seeing the portal made you feel? All excited and hopeful and everything?" Quorra nodded. "It's like that, only it's because of another person, rather than an object or a symbol." Sam heard the breath hitch in her throat, and he looked back down at her only to find her wide-eyed gaze turned up at him. His smile faltered. "What is it?"
"I...just...it's nothing," she stammered, dropping her gaze and looking away. He watched her carefully as she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. After a prolonged silence in which Sam watched a dozen different emotions play out over Quorra's face, she said softly, "I, uh...I kinda feel that way about you."
[951 words]