"I don't understand it either. I'm — sorry that I'm not what you hoped for." 

"This entire place is profoundly irritating but none of it is your fault. The thing I hoped for does not appear to be available at all, and the second-best thing I will be able to find regardless of your presence. I hope we can get along, since we will have to live together in this--" Chris gestures-- "gallingly tiny space."

"I keep thinking everything will make sense eventually but I really can't imagine why the kitchen wouldn't have a stove. I'm still sorry I can't help more." 

"We can summon food from the absurdly cheerful robot whose name is"-- he sighs-- "Janet."

A woman with an enormous smile on her face appears. "Hi there! What can I do for you?" 

He could just ask for a stove, since she can apparently create any material object, but there isn't really anywhere to put it. "Not yet, I don't think?" 

"Thank you, Janet, we don't need anything right now."

"Bye!" she says cheerfully and disappears.

"…you were really not joking about 'absurdly cheerful.'" He sits down on the couch, leaves space between himself and Chris. 

"Everything here is appallingly cheerful all the time. If you take a walk through town you'll see it-- all the stores are named things like The Pesto's Yet To Come and The Small Adorable Animal Depot."

"…I can't say I expected Heaven to be trying too hard." 

"Perhaps we got misfiled into the Heaven for tacky people and someone will be along shortly to tell us that we're actually supposed to go to the Heaven with lots of horses and boxing gyms and no puns."

"Maybe!" and he's laughing, just a little bit. 

Marlo wants very much to put his head on Chris's shoulder. Chris has given no indication at all that (he she) that Chris would be interested in that. Marlo doesn't. 

"If you like horses and boxing, the decision to make you my soulmate might be the first decision they've made I'm not irritated by."

"I like horses. I don't have an opinion about boxing but I can be persuaded." 

"I can take you sometime, if this grossly inadequate Heaven has a stable. --Speaking of inadequacy, have you noticed we only have one bed?"

"I have. I can sleep on the couch if you'd prefer." 

"I'm used to it. Before I died I slept every night on a cot at the foot of Tetsuo's bed."

…right. Slave.

"This couch is significantly more comfortable than what I'm used to sleeping on." 

"We could alternate."

"We could." He shifts closer to Chris on the couch. It's really a very soft couch. 

Huh.

Chris shifts towards him. Their legs are just touching.

Oh. That's nice. Having Chris like him feels — nice. 

He's maybe leaning on Chris, just a little. 

Chris wraps an arm around him and says, "we could just share the bed, if that would be easier."

Having (her him? her) Chris want him is really nice. "It — probably would be." 

"Then it's settled. It's been a while since I've shared a bed with someone, Tetsuo didn't like it." He puts a particular intonation on 'Tetsuo,' like he's saying 'master.'

…right. Slave. Traumatized. Marlo puts a protective arm around Chris's shoulders.