"So! Welcome home, David." Alma threw the front door open of the apartment and stepped aside as he walked hesitantly in. His head turned from side to side as he took in the simple room he had stepped into. The living room wasn't anything much, actually Alma could easily admit her whole apartment wasn't much. But it made do for her. 

Noticing a rather stacked bookcase, David had almost instantly walked over and stood there with his arms by his sides looking over the spines and titles. Alma shut the door and threw her bag, keys and coat onto the table nearby, her apartment wasn't exactly big so she had to make do with using half of the living room space for dining purposes. Considering she hardly ever had guests it didn't really matter. 

Noticing an adjoining room, David turned and walked silently that way, Alma collapsed on the sofa and laughed when she heard the fridge open, she chuckled quietly again when there was definitely a thoughtful hum. Who knew inspecting a fridge could be so interesting? Be fair each time she looked in her fridge she felt despair. Meals for one weren't exactly pleasant or cheerful. 

Looking up when he reappeared she smiled, "Home?"

Alma's nose scrunched up, "Yeah, I honestly don't think you appreciate being left in that room all night with 6 for company. Mind you can't say I'd be much better considering I'll be sleeping for like eight hours a night, but hey, you have basic free rein. My one request though: if you have the television on, can you have the volume low? These walls are awful. Come on then! Let's go see your room," Alma sprung up from the sofa and walked past him towards the small corridor which lead to the bathroom, her room, and what was the spare. 

"Sorry?"

Alma opened the door and nodded to the side. "What? You think I'm going to just let you live attached to the sofa? Everyone needs their own little space; low and behold, here is your little space." Alma explained while he tentatively looked around the doorframe as if something truly horrible was going to jump out at him. A bed, chest of drawers, a desk, it was all very minimalist, but considering the occupant was an android Alma didn't think he'd mind much. 

"You bought me here for what purpose?"

Alma sighed and rolled a hand in the air. "You sound so sceptical, David! Geez, did you really wish to spend every passing day in that building? Not only that, we've got to see how you'll cope with being in a domestic situation." He looked at her with a frown, Alma raised an eyebrow. She'd never exactly seen him look so suddenly unhappy. "If you don't want to stay we can go back." Honestly, Alma didn't wholly trust the company not to tamper. Not saying they would, but there was honestly more luck getting a pig to fly than to not have sneaking meddling happening behind her back. She knew he wandered the building when she wasn't there. She also knew that her boss was a rather secretive albeit ruthless businessman still. If anyone was going to suddenly change the work she'd done so far, it would be someone who was taking direct orders from Weyland. 

"You've bought me here to see how I work within a domestic lifestyle." David said while turning and looking still at her, his back to the room which she had freely given him. He was clearly trying to figure out what this meant exactly. 

Alma rolled her eyes, "I'm not going to ask you to hoover, or do housework. If you haven't noticed I don't spend much time here."

"I did notice there isn't many personal items around."

"Because your other home had loads of personal things hanging around?"

"That's an illogical response. I don't have any personal items to display. You surely do."

Alma inhaled and pointed a finger at him. "You win this round," David smiled and looked back over his shoulder. "I also thought you'd find being in different surroundings more stimulating." Alma crossed her arms and turned back to the living room. "Books, television, access to a system which isn't being monitored." She listed off while waving to the bookcase, then the television set up in front of the sofa which faced the wide windows which let in ample lighting, she then pointed to the corner where her computer system was set up. "What more could you ask for?" She sat down on the sofa and reclined back, kicking her feet up on the coffee table. David loitered by the side of the furniture and looked down at her. Tilting his head in thought he eventually shrugged and moved around to sit beside her. "Make yourself at home, David." Alma said while laughing slowly as he attempted to follow her lead. Only where he had longer legs than her he could easily rest them on the table without having to recline like her. He looked a bit confused as to why though they sat the same, he wasn't quite the same as her. Something wasn't right here. And actually leaning back caused Alma to laugh some more, "Much better, I think. I don't know really," she calmed her laughter and shuffled back up a bit, David did the same and looked at the blank screen of the television. Reaching for the remote she placed it in his hand. He didn't need to be taught how to use technology, that was already engrained in his system. Though it would be curious to see what he'd choose to watch. 

He looked saddened by the news, and quickly flicked it over to some cartoon show which caused him to look a little confused; not quite understanding the storyline he changed the channel and promptly changed it again when some shopping channel cropped up. 

"I know, so many channels and most of them show utter rubbish. Now you know why I spend most of my time at work. Speaking of which, there is one other thing I have to ask of you," David looked at her seriously, her tone sounded pretty business like. "Like me, you too have to come to work. I mean, to be honest, if you were mine and whatever I would just leave you be here. But sadly, you're not, and they'll expect reports back." 

"Can I ask then, if I'm not yours, who's am I?" David placed the remote to one side and placed his hands in his lap. 

"You're the companies." Alma said and watched as he looked thoughtfully towards the windows before shaking his head slowly. 

"But it isn't the company who are assessing me, well they are, but personally, one on one, that's you. So, surely that makes me yours?" He looked at her simply. It seemed like simple logic to him when he truly broke the problem down.

"I'd rather not own you, David."

"But you own 6, do you not?" His head tilted to the side confused.  

Alma smiled and shook her head, "He's assigned to work with me. There's a difference. No ownership there. There's barely a relationship let alone me owning him." She laughed and ran a hand through her hair. "Do you feel like you need to be owned by someone, seriously?"

"Without being blunt, aren't I meant to be owned?"

"Bloody hell," Alma reclined deeply into the sofa and even grabbed a cushion and buried her face in it, equally as deeply. 

"You'll suffocate, Miss." 

She groaned loudly, even though it came out muffled. "David!" She exclaimed and tried to grip onto the cushion as it was pulled away. Groaning again she sat up and rested her feet back on the floor. Leaning her forearms on her knees she looked over her shoulder at him. "Right, you're meant to work alongside humans, yes?"

"That is correct," basic programming said as such, it was pretty much one of his main priorities.  

"See, working with humans not being owned. Weyland Corp has ownership, though they came close because of that lawsuit business with Yutani, but my point is this: the people you work with, they don't have any ownership over you. You are your own man, erm, eh...you know what I mean." Though by the perplexed look on his face from that saying, she wanted to say no. He didn't get what she was saying, but the look of thoughtfulness as she spoke her previous words was as good as a thumbs up of understanding as she was ever going to get. 

"But no free will?" David asked slowly. It was something which was tripping him up, mentally that is. Something seemed unfair that it was something every living thing on the planet had, yet to him it was out of reach and denied.

"If you want to walk out that door and go exploring the city, I am not going to stop you. But that's just me. Others will probably not be so kind." Alma looked at him sympathetically. "Even we aren't totally able to show free will, David. We all have rules to stick to and laws to abide."

"Free will is an illusion then?"

Alma smiled awkwardly. "Yeah...maybe? I don't know, I've never really had a conversation about this sort of thing." 

He blinked slowly and looked at her for a few more moments before looking back to the muted television. "You'd think with all the progress the human race has done, that they'd improve on programs to show." 

Alma laughed, "Yeah...we suck really."

"I disagree, you are a very interesting person. Through observations I have picked up that you care immensely about your work, and what you do. You seem to worry for my welfare, which I find strange; because out of us two, you are the more fragile and need looking out for. So though you say I am not yours, I believe that I shall look out for you regardless because I think that everyone may need someone to watch their backs. I'm not saying you're in danger, Miss, but you and your reckless driving could cause a problem." David said kindly only to smile widely and laugh when Alma burst out laughing at the end. 

"Don't ask me how I passed, I have no clue! But okay, and thanks...might be the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."

"I find that hard to believe, Miss." David smiled and watched as she rolled her eyes with a quiet groan as she hid her face in her hands. "Are you unwell? You're suddenly very red." 

"You're making it worse!"

"I've not done anything," David said innocently looking extremely lost. 

Alma pouted and stood up, compliments were seriously exceedingly hard to take from someone who spoke them so simply without much thought on the implications of them. "Take away, what do you think you'd like? Oh! Multiple, get things from each place and see how we go."

"That seems excessive," David turned and looked over the back of the sofa to watch her potter around in search of something. 

"This is your first experience on binging on really gross food. You need the full experience." Alma said while nodding her head with a smirk, "Movies are there, have a hunt and keep out whatever you like the look of." Alma nodded and pointed quickly to the chest of drawers to one side, opening all the drawers to see what was in there exactly David discovered that there were more books stashed away in here. He pulled out one and flicked it open, he was confronted with photographs. By the brunette hair and brown eyes he presumed the little girl he was looking at was Alma, wrapped up tightly in the arms of someone with similar features, but with slightly greying hair, her father. So much for not having personal things around. She did, only they were hidden away. "Found anything?" David shut the book and placed it away while grabbing the first thing he found. Advances in technology had rendered the disk format a little redundant. But she had stacks of them still hanging around. Alma leaned against the back of the sofa and watched him stand with an arm full. "You do know we've got to go back to work at seven in the morning, right?"

"I don't require sleep." 

"I do!" Alma laughed, she rolled her eyes and jumped over the sofa. "Oh well, let's see how many we can get through, huh? Marathon sounds good fun actually, I've not done this in ages!"  

"Popcorn," David distinctly remembered something of such being mentioned. 

"Not before dinner," Alma smirked and kicked her feet up again. David sighed and seemed a little upset that he couldn't know what this popcorn was that had caused her such happiness earlier on. Yet he put his feet on the table like her, and sat in silence and watched the movie he had chosen. He didn't know what it was, he'd just grabbed it so Alma wouldn't notice he was looking through her things. But he found himself rather intrigued and pulled into the storyline; this really did far outdo anything which the television was showing.

——

(Edited: 26/Feb/2021)