Guy's head flopped to the side as she did that, in the way adults sometimes did that thing where they thought someone younger was precious. Not a condescending 'you're so precious,' either, the one where they were genuinely endeared.

What a good kid.

"Oh, you mean adjusting like not getting run over by the thingies and all the...weird stuff. Yes, I'm working on that. I really don't, ah, want to get hit by one of those again. Because...that kind of happened already. You really just don't expect them to be rolling around out there," he said awkwardly.

Luckily he'd just gotten bruised and scraped up a little because they'd almost stopped in time.

Still, something she said stuck with him, and he asked gently, concerned, "You don't have a place like that?"