Speciation

by DangerousCommieSubversive

Summary:

Asuka keeps Ranru company as she fixes Yukito's car.

Notes:

This was written for the Path of the Dinosaurs zine! ^_^

The kitchen of Dino House was very hot and muggy and it was making Asuka’s scales itch, so he stepped out the back door to get some fresh air and was alarmed to see Ranru’s legs sticking out from beneath Yukito’s vehicle. Only briefly alarmed, though, in part because if Ranru had been seriously injured then Ptera would have certainly put in an appearance, and in part because a moment after he’d shut the restaurant door Ranru's hand emerged from beneath the vehicle. “Hey, Asuka,” she said, voice slightly muffled, “could you hand me that little flashlight?”

He blinked, looked around, and saw an array of tools laid out on a mat next to her ankle. “Of course.”

“Thanks!” Ranru’s hand disappeared back under the car, flashlight gripped tightly. “Yukito's car’s been making funny noises the past couple of days, so I said I’d check it out for him.”

“I see. I didn't know you knew how to fix cars.”

“Oh, y’know. It's a hobby. Pass me the socket wrench, please? It's the, uh, the one,” and her hand reemerged and made a surprisingly expressive gesture. “You know, that one.”

Asuka was startled to realize that he did, in fact, know which one she meant, so he passed her the socket wrench and then sat down on the ground next to her tool mat. “It seems like an interesting hobby. Cars are fascinating, we don't really have them on Dino Earth.”

“Really? How do you guys get around?”

“We ride, mostly. Sometimes on Dynasaurs, there are a few who run transit services, but mostly on smaller, non-sapient saurians. I have one myself, her name is Raptor, but she…wasn't able to come here with me.”

There was a silence for a moment, and then a rolling sound as Ranru shifted down a little bit and reached out from under the car to pat him on the knee. “I'm sorry you lost your friend.”

For a moment it was a crushing weight on him; the next he felt lighter again, patting Ranru's hand back and smiling faintly. “Thank you, Ranru. Ah…cars, though. They do seem interesting, fascinating technology, what do they run on?”

“Most of them run on foss-uh. Gasoline.” For some reason Ranru sounded uncomfortable. “Uh, so.” The socket wrench was passed back out. “Could you pass me the other wrench that's there?”

“Here. Oh, I’d been meaning to ask, why did you give up training to be an idol?”

“It just got very frustrating, you know? Always with, Ranru, straighten your back. Ranru, watch your diet. Ranru, you shouldn’t show up to rehearsal with grease stains on your dress even if that kid’s bike really did need its chain repaired. Ranru, you can’t judo throw a guy just for asking for your measurements.” Her faintly muffled voice was thick with disdain. “I didn't even break any of his bones, he was fine. ”

Asuka frowned, accepting some tool he didn't recognize as she passed it back out to him. “That seems like letting him off lightly, I’d think.”

“That’s what I said, but nobody listened to me. Also, guys who manage idols are like Typhoid Mary for eating disorders. Wow, where was Yukito driving this thing? His suspension’s a mess.”

“I’m not sure, but I’ve always gotten the impression that he drives very fast.”

“Weird habit for a doctor. Going to blow out a tire if he isn't more careful. Anyway, I definitely don’t have everything I need to fix this today, I’ll need to go out later.” She rolled out from underneath the car. “You wanna see the engine? I already took a look, but there’s something I want to double-check, and then we can get something to eat.”

He offered his hand to help her up. “I would love to.”

 

---

 

Fifteen minutes later, there was still a smudge of engine grease on one of Ranru’s cheekbones and another one on, somehow, the side of her neck, and she swallowed her mouthful of curry and said, “I do need you to back me up on this, Yukito’s not allowed to drive that car until I’ve done fixing it and you know how he gets, he’s going to complain about it.”

He nods as solemnly as possible. “I promise that I won’t leave you to weather the arguments of our teammate alone.”

She laughs into her glass of water. “I appreciate it. So tell me more about Dino Earth. You don’t have cars, but you do have technologically complicated devices to turn people into superheroes, what’s that about?”

“Well, I’m not an engineer, I’m a resistance fighter, so there’s only so much that I can tell you about that, but it’s my understanding that a significant portion of our technology is run on what you’d probably think of as magic.” He scratches the back of his head awkwardly, trying to remember his classes and mostly coming up blank. “It’s not really magic, but I couldn’t explain it further than that.”

Ranru looks fascinated. “Ok, so obviously I’m desperate to know more about that, but maybe we can figure out a way for me to learn later. What about physically?  I mean, obviously it’s different from here, but what’s the thing you noticed first?”

Asuka thought about that for a long moment before saying, “It smells different here.”

She frowned. “It smells different? How? If you can describe it, that is.”

“I’m…not sure. I think there’s something different about the composition of the air here, there’s less oxygen than on Dino Earth. I’ve gotten used to it, of course, but the first few days I was here it felt like I was always climbing a mountain. That’s a lot of why I couldn’t fight with you for the first few weeks, I was still adjusting to the environment.” He took a bite of curry, enjoying how the flavor spread over his tongue, and then once he’d swallowed continued with, “It’s warmer there, also. I mean, I know there are plenty of places on this Earth with warmer climates than Japan, but I think Dino Earth is hotter in general.”

“Mm. Is that difficult for you? Do we need to get you some sweaters or something?”

“What? No, it just makes me a bit sleepy, it’s easier to stay awake in warm weather.”

There was a beat, and then she grinned. “So we should get you a heated rock and a sunlamp like a gecko, then.”

He snorted, tried to hide his laughter in his drink, and failed comprehensively as water went up his nose, which of course meant that Ranru started pounding on his back. Eventually he got his composure back, at least as long as he didn’t look over to see her laughing. “You know, I would appreciate an opportunity to get some more direct sunlight, I’ve been wondering how you all manage here with all of these buildings in the way. On Dino Earth city streets tend to be very wide to make sure that nobody gets too cold.”

“I mean, we could probably all stand to get more sun.” She shrugged, letting out one last breathless giggle. “But, I mean, humans on Dino Earth are descended from dinosaurs, right? You’re not mammals? So you probably don’t thermoregulate the way we do.” A pause, and then she reaches out and gently taps one of the scales on his cheeks. “Unless these are just decorative, but they look like they’re integrated with your skin.”

He blinked. “You are mammals, aren’t you? I always forget about that, I’m honestly not sure how that’s supposed to work.”

“Mostly it’s really messy and inconvenient.” She wrinkles her nose. “Honestly, I’m a little bit jealous of you, I’ve often thought that I’d rather be a lizard.”

Notes:

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