Derek's uncertainty is rooted in their surroundings and histories. Katniss has shown her interest and Derek's been showing his, but speaking just for himself, relationships and the affectionate gestures that come with them no longer come easy to Derek. He's learned that they tend to be dangerous and, more often than not, they end in death of the people he cares about. So if he feels that way, then perhaps Katniss has her own reservations about what exactly this is. Being interested is one thing. Actually acting on it and slipping into a new role in another person's life is entirely another. To see that she's making the effort to show an intent to step forward beyond the 'hey, I like you' stage is a pleasant surprise.
He smiles a little when she jumps in to respond to his offer. She spits it out quickly, almost like she's afraid he might rescind the offer if she doesn't answer right away. "I know I don't have to," he points out. There's a meal he'll have to share with Natasha, too, he knows; she shared the fruit from the Running of the Halls and he ought to return the favor. He should also share with Allison and Stiles. Alcide is taking care of Buffy with his raffle win. But this first meal, he's interested in sharing with who he wants to, rather than who he's obligated to share with and that means Katniss.
"I'd like that, too," he says when she gives his hand a squeeze. Derek returns the gesture as he leads the way toward the warehouse he and Stiles had found. They reach it sooner than later and he looks surreptitiously around, making sure they're not being watched before he pulls the door open and guides Katniss inside with him. It still looks as abandoned and neglected as it did the night Stiles showed it to him. Good. That means they're still not using it.
"I asked the Computer to give the lower clearance levels real food and told It that if there was more natural nutrition, then the fitness results would generally be better. People are weaker because they're hungry. Of course, the Computer, being a useless lump of metal, suggested just adding more shit to the soylent, so I had to meet It in the middle. It's letting me do a research study. I'm allowed to pick a small group of people and reward good results with a piece of fruit a day."
Derek looks back at Katniss and pauses to make sure that she's following so far. He's talking a little fast because he's trying to make sure that he gets all the information out there before they get caught. It's always only a matter of time, after all, and he'd rather be safe than sorry. "Anyway, so I'm looking to stack the deck and rig the study. I have five of my best performers and I'm going to tell them what they're working toward," he explains. "They'll perform better knowing that they'll get real food as a reward. Now I want five of your worst and I'm not going to tell them. My five will continue to improve and perform well. Yours will continue to fail to do so and they won't get fruit. When the study concludes, it'll look like ten random people, half of which were getting real food and performing better for it, half of which continued to be weak and malnourished and poor performing. That'll prove my point that we need real food on a regular basis. The Computer wants proof, I'm going to give it, but I need to make sure that there's no other way for the results to be read. You follow?"
no subject
He smiles a little when she jumps in to respond to his offer. She spits it out quickly, almost like she's afraid he might rescind the offer if she doesn't answer right away. "I know I don't have to," he points out. There's a meal he'll have to share with Natasha, too, he knows; she shared the fruit from the Running of the Halls and he ought to return the favor. He should also share with Allison and Stiles. Alcide is taking care of Buffy with his raffle win. But this first meal, he's interested in sharing with who he wants to, rather than who he's obligated to share with and that means Katniss.
"I'd like that, too," he says when she gives his hand a squeeze. Derek returns the gesture as he leads the way toward the warehouse he and Stiles had found. They reach it sooner than later and he looks surreptitiously around, making sure they're not being watched before he pulls the door open and guides Katniss inside with him. It still looks as abandoned and neglected as it did the night Stiles showed it to him. Good. That means they're still not using it.
"I asked the Computer to give the lower clearance levels real food and told It that if there was more natural nutrition, then the fitness results would generally be better. People are weaker because they're hungry. Of course, the Computer, being a useless lump of metal, suggested just adding more shit to the soylent, so I had to meet It in the middle. It's letting me do a research study. I'm allowed to pick a small group of people and reward good results with a piece of fruit a day."
Derek looks back at Katniss and pauses to make sure that she's following so far. He's talking a little fast because he's trying to make sure that he gets all the information out there before they get caught. It's always only a matter of time, after all, and he'd rather be safe than sorry. "Anyway, so I'm looking to stack the deck and rig the study. I have five of my best performers and I'm going to tell them what they're working toward," he explains. "They'll perform better knowing that they'll get real food as a reward. Now I want five of your worst and I'm not going to tell them. My five will continue to improve and perform well. Yours will continue to fail to do so and they won't get fruit. When the study concludes, it'll look like ten random people, half of which were getting real food and performing better for it, half of which continued to be weak and malnourished and poor performing. That'll prove my point that we need real food on a regular basis. The Computer wants proof, I'm going to give it, but I need to make sure that there's no other way for the results to be read. You follow?"