Artificial

Obvious and Oblivious

Operator Apex

I push open the door to the mess hall, and Wraith follows me in. We pile on heaps of food onto our plates, then begin scanning the room for a place to sit. Among the various morning patrol guards, I spot Evo and Velox waving at us from their table. I nod, and guide Wraith over.

As we sit down, they nod in greeting, mouths full of food. I fist bump Evo, and Wraith greets them with a cheerful "Hello!"
I take a sip of coffee, and Wraith begins digging into her food. Evo swallows a hefty mouthful of eggs, then looks at me, and then Wraith.
"So, you guys fucked last night."

It takes all of my willpower not to do a spit take. Wraith is frozen.
"Huh?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Wraith adds, recovering from her shock.
"It's pretty obvious, sweetie," Velox whispers, leaning in.
"Huh?"
"Yeah, there's no use hiding it," Evo contributes. "Apex, your hair looks like it wants to go in twelve different directions at the same time."
"And Wraith," Vel continues, still whispering. "You're not wearing a bra, sweetie."
"And nobody smiles that much at six in the morning," Evo finishes, before taking a hearty swig from a glass of orange juice.
Wraith instinctively crosses her arms over her chest, turning bright red, and I try to fix my hair to no avail.
"Like I said," Evo concludes. "It's useless. And Wraith," he adds, getting her attention. "No one cares, honey. You're very attractive, but it's also six AM and no one wants to piss off Apex."
"Damn right," I respond, a cocky smirk appearing on my face. She turns and wraps her arms around me, and she rests her head on my shoulder while I chew on bacon. I nod to get Evo's attention, and swallow my food.
"So, how do you know about all these telltale signs?"
Smiling, he takes a bite of toast and points to the door with his free hand.

Wraith and I turn around to see Reach and Shockwave waving at us, hair messy and clothes in disarray.