Gaia

Eli had tried to convince Gracie not to make him bring Mari, but she was insistent. She didn't get much interaction with other girls her own age. Actual human girls, anyway. So Eli had caved and now found himself riding a hover shuttle from Tower L to Tower K, where Gracie lived. He didn't like having her in a separate Tower, but felt that the more distance between them the safer he could keep her. Mari had her face pressed up against the window, gawking at the view.

"This is amazing," she breathed. Even Eli had to concede that soaring over Gaia in a hover vehicle was pretty impressive, even after living at the top of Tower L for so long. They reached the landing bay of Tower K and Eli headed for Gracie's sprawling suite. A shiny metal security bot stopped him and asked what his destination was in a polite, robotic voice.

"I'm here to see Gracelyn Enderson," he said. He noticed Mari cock her head but she waited until they were cleared and past the bots to speak up.

"Is your sister married?"

"No," Eli said. "We use different last names. It's a long story." He didn't elaborate and even though he knew Mari was curious something in his tone or expression must have made it clear that it wasn't a story he was inclined to share. She didn't ask any more about it. Eli raised his hand but didn't even have time to knock before the door whooshed open and Gracie stood before him, beaming.

"Eli!" she squealed, throwing herself at him and hugging him tightly.

"Hey, Gracie," he said, squeezing her back. She spun to face Mari, her braid smacking him in the face. She embraced Mari too, startling her.

"It's so nice to meet you," Gracie said. "Eli doesn't have a lot of friends."

"We're not friends," Eli said but no one was listening to him.

"It's nice to meet you too," Mari said. Gracie pulled them both inside and Mari's jaw dropped. While Eli's own penthouse was huge and posh yet sparsely furnished, Gracie's home was filled with color and mismatched furniture. It was even bigger than Eli's, equipped with many of the same features like a luxurious bathroom and a workout room, though hers also had an art studio, a private pool, and an entire room dedicated to her clothes instead of a closet. You couldn't see all that from the living room but it was still an impressive house. The entire far wall was one giant window, giving a panoramic and staggering view of the city below.

When they had first come to the top of the towers, Eli had provided for her but Gracie wasn't one to take handouts and now made her own money by selling her incredible artwork. Almost everyone in the upper half of Gaia had at least one sculpture or painting by Gracie, though she did her best to remain anonymous. She only signed her work with her initials and all sales went through her art manager.

Eli handed her the gift he'd bought her and she opened it excitedly, gasping when she saw the Eiffel Tower nestled among the white tissue.

"Oh, it's beautiful. Thank you, Eli." She kissed his cheek and went to put it with some the other crystal and glass figurines he'd gotten her over the years. Two female androids came bustling out of the kitchen to offer everyone drinks and refreshments, not actually waiting for either Eli or Mari to reply.

"Bring out soda and coffee and some sandwiches, cheese and crackers, and those little cakes," Gracie said, with all the properness of a queen politely ordering about her handmaidens. The androids disappeared back into the kitchen and Gracie flopped onto one of her overstuffed couches, gesturing for Mari to come sit beside her.

"Okay, tell me all about yourself," she said. Rolling his eyes, Eli sat across from them and accepted a mug of coffee when one of the androids offered it to him. He sat there for a little over an hour watching Mari and Gracie both scarf down cakes and talk a mile a minute. He mostly tuned them out until Mari was telling Gracie about people she knew in the Ground camp where she and Andy lived. Gracie must have already gotten too comfortable around Mari because she blurted out, "Oh! I remember that place! It's near the burned down factory right?"

Eli glared at her and lifted his hands in a sort of "what the fuck?" gesture and Gracie grimaced.

"Oops." She gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Eli."

Mari was looking between the two of them with eyes so wide they looked cartoonish. "Wait a minute, you guys know your way around the Ground?" she asked incredulously.

"Well..." Gracie shot a look at Eli and he heaved a long suffering sigh.

"We grew up on the Ground," he muttered and he thought Mari's jaw was going to hit the floor.

"Holy shit!" she squeaked. "You guys were born on the Ground and made it all the way up here? How?"

"Hard work," Eli replied vaguely. "Gracie, you wanted to see the greenhouses, right? I'm sure Mari would enjoy a visit there. Let's go."

He stood and headed for the door before anyone could protest, and the girls followed him. Gracie slid up next to him as they waited for the elevator.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I told you, I don't talk to people much. And she's so sweet and easy to talk to. It just slipped out."

"It's okay," he sighed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "There's probably no harm in her knowing. Just...don't tell her anything else."

"I wouldn't." Gracie looked suddenly sad. "I don't like to talk about any of that anyway."

Eli kissed the top of her head. "I know. Neither do I."

The greenhouses were full of plants of countless varieties. They were mostly lab-grown, of course, before being transported into the greenhouses and placed in faux-soil, since actual soil was almost impossible to come by in a city made of metal. Real, uncontaminated dirt and natural plants were extremely rare. Still, the flora in the greenhouses was beautiful. Some of them were arranged in intricate designs, creating shapes and figures out of brightly colored petals and winding vines. He knew it was one of Gracie's favorite places to visit, and Mari seemed to love it too.

The two of them ran around smelling the flowers, and Mari rattled off random facts about nearly every plant they came across. Gracie had a weird fascination with botany too and Eli tried not to laugh at the two of them acting like plant nerds. Technically they weren't supposed to pick any of the flowers, but Eli plucked one small blue flower and a vibrant pink one, hiding them carefully in his pocket until they were outside the greenhouse. Then he pulled them free and tucked the blue one behind Gracie's ear and the pink behind Mari's. He could have sworn she blushed slightly, her cheeks turning a matching shade of pink for a moment.

He ushered them off to one of Gracie's favorite restaurants for dinner, and managed to get them a seat next to the fountain. Gracie and Mari still did most of the talking but Eli was content to let them. As frustrating as Mari could be, she seemed to get along with Gracie and he knew his sister needed a friend. Mari looked like a kid on Christmas morning when the droid waiter brought her the bleu cheese burger and s'mores milkshake she had ordered. She almost choked on the fries she stuffed so many in her mouth at once.

"You can always order more fries," Gracie told her with a laugh, patting her on the back. "Don't feel bad. I was the same way when we moved up here."

"Except she really did choke on her fries," Eli said, feeling himself crack a smile. "I had to Heimlich the thing out of her in the middle of the restaurant. And then she asked for more fries." He started laughing at the memory while Gracie threw a wadded up napkin at him. He and Mari left late, after Eli carried a half asleep Gracie to her room. As they walked back across the shuttle bay he noticed Mari hugging herself slightly. It could get cold at the top of the towers at night and she was dressed in a gauzy sundress. Wordlessly Eli shed his jacket and draped it across her shoulders, startling her.

"Thanks," she murmured.

"I'll be at my office pretty early tomorrow," Eli said as they disembarked the shuttle. "I'm trying to make all the final arrangements for Ella Stellar's party this weekend. It's proving to be a complete headache."

"Um, about that. I was thinking, you know, that maybe you could use some PA assistance. At the party. And if you wanted, I could-"

"You want to go to the party don't you?" Eli guessed, arching a brow at her.

"I'll be good," she said hurriedly. "I'll do everything you ask all week and I won't complain at all, not a peep I swear. And I'll replace the popcorn I ate and-"

Eli held up a hand to stop her rapid fire promises and disappointment clouded her features.

"You can go," Eli said. She blinked several times before she realized what he'd said. Then her face brightened again.

"Really? You'll let me go with you?"

He shrugged. "What can it hurt? I'll make sure you can get in."

He jumped when she leapt forward and hugged him.

"Thank you, Eli! Thank you thank you thank you-"

"Okay, one thank you will suffice." He gently pried her off of him. "I'm sure Reuben put some things in your closet that will be fine for this sort of occasion. Good night, Mari."

He left her at her door and started walking home.

"Hey, did you want your jacket back?" Mari called after him. He glanced over his shoulder.

"Keep it."