Snippet #2240819

Tom followed Saein's instructions, perfectly welding the corners together, and soon became absorbed in removing bullets and scratching off paint. He couldn't help overhearing part of the conversation though.
“That’s fine by me, he’s nice.”
Tom smiled. It was nice to have someone appreciating him. Come to think of it, he thought, it'd be nice to spend some time learning various mechanical knowledge from Saein, since I'm interested in that kinda thing. When I don't have any scouting duties, that is.
“What about your girlfriend, though? Will you keep enough time to spend with her?”
His eyebrows raised and he stifled a chuckle as Ann picked straight through Saein's feelings to the most embarrassing ones. What a pair. Then he actually did chuckle, and quickly turned away to hide his smirking face, trying to look busy with the repairs.

When Ann left, he piped up.
"So, Minn's your ... roommate?" He enquired, his face the picture of innocence. "Good choice, she seems nice. You must be tickled pink." He barely managed to finish the sentence before he burst out laughing. Then, calming down a bit, he apologised.
"Sorry for being so mean. I don't know what it's like to have a girlfriend, never had one. Had plenty of crushes though. My first crush was the most unfortunate - just as I was beginning to pluck up the courage to express my feelings, she moved to another planet!" He laughed. "Guess I'm just too damn awkward to make the first move."
Tom turned and continued scraping the paint off a particularly large bullet hole. Speaking of awkward.