Episode 24: Painting and Planning

They didn't need the supplies until morning, so Rel had them sent to her terminal overnight. It was a nice opportunity to save a bit of money. 

She found some materials they could get paint on and set them on the kitchen table.

"So what do you want to paint?" Aurelia asked.

Deni hummed. "Let's just see what happens."

Rel nodded. "That sounds fun! Let's try it!"

Deni grinned at her.

"What colors should we start with?" Aurelia asked.

Deni hummed as he thought about it.

Rel started setting out paints and brushes. "We can always mix new colors if we want. We have a lot to work with!"

Deni nodded. "Okay!"

"You wanna pick a color first?"

Deni hummed. "Blue!"

Rel laughed happily as she handed him a brush. She got out blue paint for him.

Deni painted a big swath of blue across the paper. Rel added red beside it. Deni hummed and added yellow above the red. Rel giggled and added green below the blue. They kept adding paint in random colors until there were no more spots left empty on the page. 

"Can we make another painting?" Deni asked.

Rel laughed. "Sure!" She pulled over a fresh sheet of paper and helped Deni choose a color.

Deni flexed his nonexistent muscles. "Time to get serious!"

Rel giggled and flexed too.

Deni hummed as he started painting. Aurelia painted beside him. They added colors at random again, though this time they made sure to leave space for each other. When Deni ran out of space next to Rel, he hummed as he considered it. He reached across and started painting around the edge instead. Aurelia copied him.The two of them continued painting together, creating vibrant masterpieces. Laughter and chatter filled the kitchen as they experimented with different colors and brush strokes.

"This is so much fun!" Rel exclaimed, her brush dancing across the paper.

"I agree," Deni added, smiling as he carefully added a splash of orange to his section. "It's nice to just relax and create something together."

Rel beamed at him. "Exactly! And we can make it any way we want."

Deni chuckled softly, nodding.

Rel hummed happily as she continued painting. Deni followed suit. The two of them worked together until their masterpiece was complete. Then they sat back and admired it.

Yolie had black circles under her eyes as she came into the kitchen. "Did you open a glitter bomb or something?"

Sure, they made a mess that they hadn't cleaned up yet, but paint and glitter didn't look anything alike. Rel turned to Yolie with a confused tilt to her head. "No...?"

"Then why does it look like an explosion went off here?" Yolie asked tiredly.

"We've been painting all morning. I put down protection to limit any damage to the kitchen."

Yolie sighed heavily. "Fine... Just clean it up when you're done."

Just like that, Deni had his proverbial bubble popped.

That was a given. It wasn't like they had to do much when robots did it for them.

"Of course! Have a good day!" Aurelia said with an exaggerated smile.

Yolie grumbled something under her breath as she headed out the door.

"We should probably clean up now," Deni suggested.

"Alright. I'll get the robots on that right now."

Deni nodded. "Can I watch a show in your room?"

"Yeah." Rel patted his head. "Text me if you need anything."

Deni looked like someone tied cinder blocks to his legs as he left the kitchen.

Rel sighed as she watched Deni leave the kitchen, feeling a pang of guilt for not being able to keep the atmosphere light for him. She began tidying up the remaining painting supplies when Keith walked into the room.

"Hey, what's going on?" he asked, noticing the traces of paint and the slight frown on Rel's face.

"Just painting with Deni," Rel replied, trying to sound cheerful. "But Yolie came in and kind of killed the mood."

Keith frowned slightly, then walked over to Rel, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't let it get to you. You and Deni were having fun, and that's what matters."

Rel pinched the bridge of her nose. "Yolie has every right to not appreciate bratty behavior, but she hasn't been a saint yesterday or today."

Keith sighed softly. "Yeah... She's definitely been grumpier than usual lately..."

Rel leaned against Keith. "It sucks."

Keith wrapped his arm around Rel's shoulders, pulling her close. "Yeah... But we gotta try not to let it affect us too much."

Rel hugged Keith. "I know... Still sucks though."

Keith returned Rel's hug tightly. "I know... I'm sorry..."

Rel buried her face in Keith's chest, breathing in his scent.

"Maybe you and Deni have alone time somewhere for dinner," Keith said. "Make one last good memory together before he goes home."

"I don't know. Deni looked so sad when he left the kitchen."

Keith sighed softly. "Yeah... But maybe if he gets some alone time with you, he'll feel better?"

Rel hummed. "Maybe?"

"Worth a shot, right?"

"True..." Rel took a deep breath and straightened up. "I'm gonna go check on him. Thanks, Keith!"

"Anytime!" Keith smiled warmly at Aurelia.

Rel hugged Keith once more before heading upstairs to check on Deni.

Deni was watching TV. He was curled up on Rel's bed. He looked up at Aurelia as she entered the room.

Rel smiled gently at Deni. "How are you doing?"

Deni shrugged. "Okay, I guess."

Rel sat down next to Deni and wrapped an arm around him. "I'm sorry Yolie ruined our painting session..."

Deni leaned against Rel, resting his head on her shoulder. "It's okay..."

Rel rubbed Deni's back. "Would you like to go out for dinner later? Just you and me?"

Deni perked up slightly. "Really?"

"Yeah! We could go somewhere nice!" Rel smiled brightly at Deni.

"Okay!" Deni agreed with a nod.

Rel gave Deni a gentle squeeze. "Let me know when you decide where you want to eat. I'm going to sit in the backyard for a bit."

"I will!"