"You don't seem all that happy." Lorne studied Danitz's expression and found none of the excitement he had expected.
"Shit... of course I'm happy you're leaving!"
"Do you have any idea what I've been through these past few days, covering for you?"
"They didn't dare say much to you or the captain, so they all turned on me instead..."
"So you don't want me to leave. While I'm here, even if they're targeting you, you're still just my stand-in."
"Once I leave, they'll pin it all on you for good, right?"
"Exactly!" Danitz said indignantly, only to deflate a moment later.
"But you did save my life, and you've helped me several times. For you to just leave like this..."
"Heh..." Lorne chuckled.
"Danitz, what a shame... if only you were a woman."
"That entertaining personality of yours would make you so endearing!"
"Shit." Although Danitz had no idea what Lorne meant by "endearing," he understood the teasing tone perfectly well.
"You ought to be worrying about yourself..."
"Things get pretty wild at sea. With that pretty-boy face of yours, you'd better watch out for sailors taking a fancy to you."
"Why couldn't a beautiful woman take a fancy to me instead?" Lorne countered with a smile.
"Speaking of which, it's a big world full of strange things. Maybe there really is a way to change your sex." An interesting idea suddenly occurred to Lorne.
"If there is, then whoever takes a fancy to you will probably be one of those people. That's what you get for being a pretty boy," Danitz said, following Lorne's line of conversation.
"Heh..." Lorne smiled and chose to end the topic.
A few remarks like that between friends were enough. There was no need to delve any deeper.
Besides, with Danitz's personality, continuing would