Harper had been distracted since the arrival of the android.  Perhaps it was engineering interest, perhaps misguided jealousy relating to his illogical attraction to the Andromeda's android body. The creation of a physical body for the ship had been an engineering feat, but one which spoke of imperfection and obsession on the part of the engineer.

And yet, despite such obsessions and imperfections, here he was, staring down at the human.  Harper's breathing was deep and regular, so Tyr was mildly surprised when one eyelid cracked open.

"You might be quiet Anasazi, but I learned to sleep light back in the day."

Of course.  "I'm sorry for waking you."

Harper snorted and his face tightened.  "Right.  What's up?  It can' be an emergency, or Rommie would be yelling at me to move my ass now. What time is it anyway?"

Tyr shrugged.  "It's late. I wanted your opinion on the Restor situation."

Harper sat up and began to untangle himself, not answering immediately.

"It is not much good waking easily if you are trapped in your blankets.", Tyr said.  Inwardly, he sneered at himself and his assumptions about Harper's past.  Unsurprisingly, Harper didn't ignore the comment.

Scowling, the human muttered, "What makes you think I *had* blankets?" After a few moments, Harper settled against the head of the bed, leaning back slightly.

He was naked.  It was -- appealing.

Finally, Harper started to speak.  "Gimme a break, Tyr.  You're not here because of the Restors.  Since when did my perceptions on tactics matter to you?"  Harper scowled slightly at him.

It was obviously a dig at him, rather than a true inquiry.  He treated it as such.  The self-deprecating comments about tactics annoyed him. "Your opinions often are useful."

"Useful enough to wake me up?"  The exasperation was clear.

"It makes more sense than waiting until an emergency situation." That gained him a snort.  He decided to change topics. "Do you trust the avatar?  With the android?"

Harper stared at his knees briefly.  "I think Rommie's lonely sometimes.  She can identify with him.  Her loyalties are probably
divided.  I'm sure *you* understand that."  The last sentence was said with a slightly bitter tinge.

Tyr blinked.   In some ways, the boy was perceptive.  His loyalties had been divided at first.  He was well aware, however, that in the eyes of his people, he was either a traitor, weak, or at best, someone to be tolerated.  It was frustrating, aggravating, and in the end, inevitable.  In their places, he would think the same way.

To the crew, he was annoying, arrogant, sometimes unpredictable, and crucial for success.  They asked his opinions, gave him responsibilities, respect and stuck with their stereotypes, rarely attempting to see other dimensions.

It could be frustrating and aggravating, and was ultimately inevitable.

For all that, his loyalties were not divided.  He had no real place among other Nietzscheans, no matter what he might pretend or aspire to. His place, however ill-fitting, was here.

Here, where he'd been silent far too long, and was now facing an impassive Harper.  Slowly, he spoke, "My loyalties are not divided."

Harper jerked his head.  "Yeah. We all know that.  It's just a matter of time."

What did that mean?

"Look, did you come here just to talk or what?"

It was a clear invitation.  Regretfully, he shook his head.    "I'm going to the bridge to review battle tactics with the Andromeda and the FTA captains."  He would not compromise the safety of the ship by indulging himself.

Harper reached for the blankets, pulling them up.  "I'm gonna get some sleep then."

Tyr nodded, turned and left.

* * *

It's just a matter of time, he'd said, and he believed it.  At some point, Tyr's goal of getting back into the good graces of his people would happen, and off he'd go, hopefully not leaving Andromeda a smouldering wreckage behind him.

Realistically speaking, how permanent were any of them?  Even if Dylan's dream of a restored Commonwealth was achieved, what then? Did it really make sense to have the six of them - seven if you included Rommie - careening around the galaxy in a huge ship?

Did he really want to do this for the rest of his life?  Did any of them?

The sad thing was, mostly, his answer was yes.

He liked it here, he had things to do, responsibilities.  He saw places he'd never seen on the Maru, and while the chance of death seemed to be magnified by the level of idealism in each of Dylan's schemes, at least the ride was never boring or without challenge.  His health was better than it had ever been, and he got to take off for a little fun mostly when he wanted, without Dylan getting too pissed off.

Sure, sometimes he thought about living the pleasure life, buoyed by untold riches, but truthfully, he knew he'd get bored.  He liked the challenges, he liked the ship, and basically, he liked his shipmates.  If he were to be truly honest with himself, he'd admit that most of the time, he had *fun* on the Andromeda, even with the danger.

What else was there for him?  For some of the others, the Andromeda might be a resting place, a diversion, however long term, from greater paths.

For him, this was *it*.

It even looked like Rommie might leave, which hurt more than he was willing to verbally admit.  It wasn't just that he was attracted to her.  He was, and he'd have to be insane not to be.  She was smart, resourceful and obviously gorgeous.  She wasn't like some AIs he'd met or seen, all stiff and proper all the time.  She could unbend, and he valued her friendship, even if he rarely showed it in terms she would consider appropriate.

He was proud of her.  He was proud of the work he'd put into making her body, and he  constantly improved it.  He wanted her to reach and go beyond her potential.  It sounded pathetically altruistic, but he'd never been good at expressing himself verbally.  Instead, his actions tried to convey how he felt.  He hadn't made that body for him.  He'd made it for her, hoping that she'd understand what he thought of her, how he saw her as more than just a ship's AI.

He thought she'd gotten the point when he offered to store her personality in his neural net and then confessed to the killing of the Castalian president.

The idea that she might just leave them all, take off with another AI she'd just met, it *hurt*.   Was she really so unhappy with them?

The Andromeda crew wouldn't be the same without her.  Sure, he could make a new body for the ship's AI.   It wouldn't be the same, and he'd always worry that the same thing would happen again.

*It* for him was more than just the ship.  It was the crew, no matter how aggravating or dismissive or tight assed they could sometimes be.

This line of thinking was too depressing and he was too tired to deal with it.  He turned on his side and willed himself to sleep, wondering why, if Tyr hadn't stopped by to spend the night, he'd stopped by at all.

* * *

The battle drills went well, and Tyr managed to review tactics with the FTA captains.  Dealing with the Restors would require communication rather than ship isolation.    Things didn't take as long as he'd anticipated, so he decided that his conversation with Harper needed to be clarified.

He didn't bother wondering why it mattered to him.

* * *

He woke up wrapped not in soft blankets, but in warm arms.  Shit.  He should have woken up faster.  "How long have you been here?"  Nice Harper, that accusatory tone is the perfect way to greet your sometimes bed partner.

Tyr's voice was low in his ear.  "A few minutes."

Crap.  He should have woken up.  Damn the Nietzschean ability to--

"I can move more quietly than humans."

--read his mind, apparently.  "No shit.  Look, it's not like I don't like waking up to you, but don't do that, ok?"  He heard a rumble of
what he assumed was assent, followed by a soft,

"My loyalties are not divided."

"Didn't we already go over this?"

"My duty lies with this ship.  My loyalties are not divided."

Harper idly flicked at the arm wrapped loosely around him.  "Mmm-hmm. What about your people?"

"They're my people.  But I am not theirs."

"So what, we're not your people, but you're ours?"

"I suppose."

He laughed a little.  That was weird.  Too weird to think about while half asleep.  "Well, this person needs the rest of his sleep uninterrupted, 'cause he's on a schedule tomorrow."  That was mostly a lie, but he wasn't in the mood to deal with Tyr's oddities right now.

He expected the Nietzschean to get up and leave him with his thoughts and his bed.  Instead, Tyr licked him on the back of the neck, and stayed where he was.

Again, it was too weird to think about, so he suppressed a wave of lust, grunted, and pretended to let sleep take him back over.  It wouldn't do to let Tyr think he could have him whenever he wanted, especially since he'd turned down Harper's earlier overture.

* * *

It was infuriating to have Tyr chastise him for his 'infatuation' with Rommie. Life-sized love toy, his ass.  He'd kept his mouth shut, thinking that title went more appropriately to Tyr himself, but not stupid enough to make the jab in public.  It wouldn't do to take down the Nietzschean in front of others, no matter how often Tyr did it to him.

At least, not now.  Now they had the Restors to deal with.   And then, they *really* had the Restors to deal with.  One ship was bad enough, and when Andromeda didn't respond, Harper was suddenly grateful that Tyr had taken the time to discuss tactics with the FTA ships.  Ikusa's ship was destroyed, which was too bad, but at least it wasn't them.

But then, the Balance of Judgment -- what kind of a name was that for a ship run by mad-men? -- arrived, and they had to split through the slipstream.  It was a tactic they weren't unfamiliar with.

When Dylan shot Rommie, he was furious again.  On a logical level, he knew it was necessary, and the AI network had to be shut down in order to defeat the Balance of Judgment and the Restors.  That didn't stop him from being pissed at Rommie for screwing them all over, no matter how inadvertently, and pissed at Dylan for shooting her.  Would he have done that if she were human?  Or even living, not just some AI?

He knew too, what Rommie must be feeling, after destroying Gabriel. He'd been there, and he didn't want to relive it.  He wanted to talk to her, but he would never be the one she turned to for comfort.  It would always be Dylan, and while he wasn't precisely jealous -- yeah, you just keep telling yourself that, Harper -- it hurt a little to think she didn't think of him as someone she could confide in.

Then again, he generally made sure he wasn't seen as some kind of sensitive guy.   Only his actions might sometimes tell people otherwise, but usually, his words obscured them.

It helped with survival.

Sometimes it disturbed him that he was starting to care too much about the crew.

Tyr could be the perfect antidote.

* * *

"Life-sized love toy, huh Tyr?  What the hell is that, normal arrogance and superiority, or a tinge of jealousy?"  Harper was sneering.

The small human was more valuable and good for the ship when he wasn't volatile, so Tyr just stood there and listened to the rant and the insults.

"Was it really necessary to make me feel like a child in front of the others?  Shit, I know you're not the interpersonal relationships kind of guy, but do you *get off* on humiliating me?  Does it make you forget that we sometimes fuck, and, unless you're one hell of an actor, you *love* it?  That you keep coming back for more?  I mean, that has to *suck*, knowing that some human can make you growl that way that you do just before you come."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, don't look so surprised, you think I don't notice that stuff? You think I don't notice that you seem to have fun doing *me*?  Yeah, that's gotta sting, lowering those Nietzschean standards, fucking a human, a human *male*, no way you could reproduce there, huh?  Plus, what would those other Nietzscheans think of it?  So what, you reduce that shame by making sure everyone knows you hold me in utter contempt, just like every good Nietzschean should?"

Harper kept pacing, arms jerking violently now and then.

"That's great, Tyr.  I don't expect you to be all cuddly soft, ok?  I don't even *want* that, but I thought that maybe you'd just tone it down a little."

He did tone it down.  He toned down *everything* almost all the time on this ship.

"Oh yeah, we're not your people but you're ours.  Whatever that means."  With that, Harper stalked out of the room, scowling.

Well, that was interesting.  Harper hadn't been that agitated for a while.  He was fairly certain the human wasn't entirely angry with him alone.

The first time Harper had lashed out at him in this way, he'd learned interesting things about his crewmate, which had led to their current, mutually satisfying arrangement.  Harper might be able to judge his reactions, but he could do the same thing.  The human enjoyed the arrangement, something that was reinforced by the fact that even at the height of his anger, he didn't end it.

Should he apologise for something that he didn't feel was wrong?  He'd tried to remind both Andromeda and Harper that there was no room for their vagaries in the current situation.  At least Harper had been able to put his responsibilities over his own desires, unlike Andromeda, who had nearly destroyed the ship.

* * *

Harper felt better.  A lot better.  Better enough to go to the hydroponics bay and tease Trance a little and listen to her tell him about the plants she was growing.  He checked out her UV light source, and made some mental notes for continued improvements.  Then,  he subtly suggested she bring Rommie some flowers.  See, he could be a sweet guy.

Trance always cheered him up, her happiness was infectious.  She brought out the best in him almost consistently.   Even Tyr sometimes cracked a smile when she started to talk about her latest interest.

Plus, blowing up at Tyr had helped him relieve some steam.

So, he was feeling pretty good.  Comparatively.  It was good enough to get him back to his room, grinning at Dylan and Rev as they walked past him.  He turned up some music loud and hopped into the shower.

Trance, hot shower, good ship, nice friends, ok.  He was good.  Sure, nothing was perfect.  It was a hell of a lot better than some things he'd dealt with.

He should probably apologise to Tyr.  It just didn't pay to piss off your -- he started to laugh -- love toy.  Yeah, Tyr would just adore *that* description.  He laughed harder.  He'd have to make sure he dropped it into their conversation somewhere.   Maybe around Bek?

Or Dylan.

Perhaps he was slightly hysterical, because picturing the look on Dylan's face made him laugh even harder and double up.  And on Tyr's face...was it possible to seriously embarrass a Neitzschean?

Yeah, and it would probably land him with a broken arm in the next sparring round.

He looked up as the shower door opened.  Or possibly, it would get him a Neitzschean in his shower.

A fully dressed Neitzschean.  He started laughing again, slipping to  the floor.

"Have you lost your mind?"  Tyr's voice was just slightly incredulous.

It was a possibility.  "Well, I am fucking you.  Then again, I'm not the one who's dressed and in a shower."  Tyr reached down and pulled him to his feet.

"I came to apologise.  For the comment.  Not that I think it was inappropriate.  Responsibilities come before personal entanglements."

He rolled his eyes.  "Give it up, Tyr.  Personal entanglements make the responsibilities worthwhile.  But I accept your reluctant and not quite sincere apology as the best I'll ever get from you."  He grinned.  "You're getting wet.  Your metal is going to rust.  And I wouldn't want to be the one polishing it up."

Tyr half smiled at him.  "One of the Droids can do it."

"You'd trust the Droids to take care of the precious metal accessories?  Here I was thinking you were a do-it-yourself kind of guy."  He pushed Tyr out of the shower, and turned the water off.  He stepped out, grabbing a towel as he left.  There was another thing to be happy about, thick soft High Guard issue towels.  The secret luxuries of the lost High Guard, who'd have guessed?

He grabbed another towel and threw it at Tyr.  "You're wet.  Dry off." He winked quickly.  "Enjoy the towels."

Tyr smirked at him. "There are other things I would rather be enjoying.  I have my own towels."  With that, Tyr turned and headed for the bedroom.

Geez, this guy never gave up.  Get angry and insult him, and hey! He's amorous.  He thought about turning Tyr down, but he *had* apologised while fully dressed in a shower.  Those actions said something.

And who did he really think he was kidding?  It had been a few days, and he could go for the sex.

He could go for the company.

So he walked into the bedroom, tossed the towel, and went for it.