Multiplayer

by Texan Red Rose

It's date night for Anna and Elsa; the blonde's invited a few friends and an unexpected nuisance reappears. Competitions were never really Anna's thing, though, so she's just trying to get through the night without making a complete fool out of herself. [Life's A Game universe] [Elsanna, no incest]

Disclaimer: Don't own shit. Same universe as Life's a Game, though there may be a fic inbetween at some point. Also, if you can guess which video games I've been playing a lot this month, you get a cookie. And I swear I didn't mean for this to get so long. I don't know what I'm doing. *flips a table*

---

As a matter of course, Anna didn't have a great deal of experience with the practical side of dating. Sure, she gave it a good college try during her teen years, but she quickly lost interest in the concept once her abilities were fully realized. Like she'd explained to Elsa, what was the point of wasting her time with relationships that were doomed to fail?

In hindsight, perhaps a few attempts in the later years of college could've gone a long way to make her less nervous now.

Ever since meeting in the coffee shop, the busy nature of their schedules had kept interactions to all-too-brief workday lunches, more messages than she could count, one two hour long call, and three dinners- not that she was keeping tabs on that sort of thing. Then again, it had only been a few weeks, so perhaps that was par for the course and Anna just didn't know. Modern dating conventions weren't exactly a topic of interest to her, seeing as preferences varied wildly from person-to-person and was largely a formality given her abilities. A formality she really wanted to get right, though, so that wasn't helping her nerves. Every interaction between them had only improved her standing in the blonde's eyes, so it stood to reason she was doing something right... she just had little idea what it was. Add to that her concern about her own feelings... it was ridiculous.

The whole situation was ridiculous; she literally had half a hundred different tools at her fingertips and couldn't tell if they were on the same page and couldn't find the guts to speak up about it. Attraction? Too easy, but feelings? Trickier, subject to variables, and she couldn't be sure if her relationship gauge was measuring her feelings or Elsa's, which made a pretty big difference considering she was willing to admit- to herself, at least- that she loved the blonde. Which was scary, falling so hard and so fast for someone, but there she was, smitten with a woman who could be cold as ice or warmer than a summer day, who could put pencil to paper and make a beautiful building or turn water to ice and accomplish the same. The only thing she could be certain of was that she made the blonde happy, which in itself was a victory, but there was doubt in the back of her mind and during the notoriously quiet hours at work.

Still, now that she was waiting for Elsa to appear for something entirely different than a meal, there was more than doubt- she was nervous. Mainly because she wasn't really the most fit individual, this particular activity seemed very physical, and her abilities were virtually useless no matter how she looked at it. She was basically on her own, with just her instincts to guide her, and that... sucked.

"Anna!" Her head snapped up, turning to smile at the approaching blonde and suddenly deciding that this wasn't as bas as she was making it out to be. Elsa really cut a nice figure in her blue track suit, a stark departure from the business suits she usually wore. The redhead's outfit was far less put together- a green, form fitting running shirt and black athletic shorts- but her date didn't seem the least bit concerned with that, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek and a genuine twinkle in her eyes. "I'm glad you could make it."

"Like I would miss this!" She gave a wide smile, entering the building with the blonde's hand in hers. "Though, I'm concerned about making a fool out of myself."

"Nonsense." Elsa waved her off, pulling her towards the main counter. "Once you get in the arena, you'll have fun. Don't let anything intimidate you." She lightly bumped their shoulders together. "I bet you'll show me up, in fact."

"If I remember correctly, you are the offensive one. I just play the support role." Their relationship meter ticked up a few points and the redhead damn near preened. Elsa seemed to really appreciate that Anna recalled such minute details; bringing them up always seemed to raise her standing in the blonde's eyes, which worked out well for Anna, seeing as she enjoyed listening to the other woman anyway and needed no prompting to pay attention to their conversations. However, as they stood in the line to sign up, Anna felt her nerves starting to creep up again. "So, uh, how does this work, exactly? I've really never done anything like this. I mean, I've seen a little bit of the broadcasted competitions, but that's about it."

"That's fine; I'm really not too good myself but I've always had some fascination with the Combat Simulation League and the arena itself." Elsa looked up, indicating the flashing board over the counter. "See, you can pick from a varying array of terrain and virtual enemies. It's startlingly realistic, which is a feat of engineering in and of itself, not to mention the neural integration systems. There's no real danger, though; the sensor transmitters relay data into real world stimuli, but getting 'shot' isn't painful. It's more annoying than anything, honestly."

"Which begs the question: why are we doing this?" Anna gently teased, feeling slightly better now that the blonde was allowing her nerdier side shine through. While the redhead was aware of the CSL- it was one of the most celebrated sports since the Unification Wars, almost every major corporation sponsored a team, there was a recreational league with relaxed rules- it just never caught her interest. She did, however, have an interest in listening to Elsa explain it.

She looked a bit thouhgtful as she spoke, as if considering the playful question as seriously as one of her designs. "Well, a lot of fantasy RPGs were based- at least in part- on combat adventures, so it might be a subconscious desire to use those skills." She shrugged. "Or it could be that most people have the subconscious desire to play the hero, especially when they have someone they really want to impress."

"Or a subconscious desire to see me all sweaty and breathless." The redhead smirked, pretending to nurse her arm after she was lightly smacked. Although the blonde was likely to never admit such aloud, Elsa actually liked being teased on occasion, especially when she left herself open to such attacks. "Hey, I didn't say I was complaining!"

"You're terrible." Elsa tried her hardest to sound reproachful, but her blush definitely diminished her efforts. Their conversation was put on hold as they stepped up to the attendant, reserving a spot in the second open match lined up, which would have them facing off against another team of competitors rather than virtual opponents. At present, they were the only two members of their team facing off against five others in what was called the 'Armax Arena Classic', whatever that meant. After registering under a 'Competitor Identification Number', they stepped away, though Elsa didn't seem nearly as thrilled as Anna thought she would be. "I was hoping for a more relaxed game. The VI here are relatively easy..."

The redhead laughed as they stepped away. "Liar. You have something of a competetive streak, dear, and don't think I haven't noticed!"

At first, she thought of a few days ago during lunch when she'd made an offhand remark about another building in the city that wasn't built by Elsa's company and how the blonde had passionately defended her work. It was endearing, the way she took such resilient pride in her chosen profession, but those thoughts came to a grinding halt when she noticed the unintentional mental slip.

Crap... was it too soon to use a term of endearment like that? She checked her gauge quickly and breathed a silent sigh of relief at the evident improvement in Elsa's mood.

"While I admit I might be a bit competetive from time to time, I hardly think it warrants mentioning." Elsa grinned, threading their fingers together. It was a silent reassurance, one the redhead readily accepted, grinning even wider. "I just want you to enjoy this. Now, let's go look at the gear. They have plenty of loaner models for casual use."

"You have a professional set, don't you?"

"I'm of a mind that it's entirely reasonable to invest in one's hobbies," she replied, taking Anna's teasing in stride. "Speaking of investments, I may have an ulterior motive for choosing this particular activity." At Anna's inquisitive glance, the blonde continued. "A friend of mine happens to share the hobby and I would like to introduce you to her."

They were almost to the rental section, the redhead opening her mouth to reply, when a voice neither thought they'd hear again cut through their banter, dripping with disdain.

"Now it makes sense." Anna mentally groaned as both women turned toward Hans, four other men flanking him. "Guess I shouldn't be too surprised; everyone's entitled to a pity lay every now and again, even the freaks."

"For a lawyer, he's not very bright with his insults." Elsa muttered, only slightly annoyed by the intrusion on their date.

All five men were outfitted in clearly custom white and gold colored armor, a logo emblazoned on their upper right chestplates. Unsurprisingly, it was from one of the local teams, not that Anna paid much attention to sports in general. Instead, she was watching the gauges appear, unsurprised that Hans' had transformed from the hostile-friendly scale to a purely hostile one, the red meter dropping dangerously towards the violence marker.

All too suddenly, Hans was close, attempting to tower over both women. Neither budged; Anna was banking on her meter and his sense to keep him from lashing out while Elsa seemed immune to his attempts at intimidation. "I don't know how the two of you managed to contact my father, but you've got another thing coming if you think I'm going to take that lying down."

It took an honest effort of will to not laugh in his face. Was he actually that hopelessly clueless? He hadn't figured out who Elsa was? Seriously?

Shaking off her disbelief, Anna positioned herself between Elsa and Hans, holding her hands up in surrender. She wasn't about to apologize for anything but one thing was for certain: his anger was directed more at her than the blonde, and she wanted to keep it that way. "Look, don't take this out on her. I'm the one you're ticked at, right? Just get it out of your system now and we can go our separate ways."

"Oh, no you don't, you're not getting off that easy." Hans jabbed a finger in her face. "My father nearly disowned me after you went crying to him and I'm not letting that slide. What match are you in?" A sick sneer appeared on his lips. "I'd love nothing more than humiliating you now and then talking it up tomorrow at the press meet."

"Wait, you are a professional competitor?" Elsa's incredulous tone spoke volumes of her estimation of his skills, twisting his expression further.

"Well, I can't very well keep my last job! Whatever you bitches did ruined me." He stepped back, sneering as he rejoined his teammates. "As soon as the Classic match finishes, I'll find you two and we'll settle this." Something in Anna's face must've betrayed her surprise. His grin suddenly turned downright sinister. "Oh, you two signed up for that match?" He laughed, throwing over his shoulder. "Even better! See you bitches in twenty minutes!"

As Hans stalked off, his teammates threw them somewhat apologetic looks. They were hardly thrilled with their teammate's antics- their already low opinions of him dropping further from the display- but Anna guessed they were most likely forced to put up with Hans in order to keep their jobs.

Regardless of the circumstances, Anna turned around, focusing instead on the seething blonde behind her. Sure, most people probably couldn't tell just how infuriated Elsa was, but Anna could see the harsh glint in those blue eyes.

The mood meter helped, too, but she prefered to think she'd noticed on her own.

Before she could try calming the blonde down, two figures approached them, and Anna was ready to deflect the newcomers in order to focus her attention on her date. Unlike Hans' crew, the two women approaching them were actually friendly, their matching black and red armor shining under the concourse lights, helmets tucked under their arms. The taller of the two smiled disarmingly while her companion spoke.

"Hey, we overheard that guy being a complete jackass," she said, earning a sharp look from the other woman. Rolling her eyes, she continued. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. He's no one important." Anna waved it off, refocusing her attention on Elsa. The blonde, however, had turned and favored the other two women with a wide smile.

"Asami, Korra." Elsa moved away from Anna to give the raven haired woman a brief hug. "I didn't see your CINs on the board."

"Sorry, we decided to get ready before signing up." Asami laughed, shrugging slightly. The redhead briefly felt a twinge of worry but was pacified by glancing at the guage between the two women. True, it was higher than she would've guessed, but the scale was purely platonic. She had nothing to worry about. "Takes some time to get settled into the suit, you know how it goes. I can't say I'm disappointed we'll be facing real opponents, though." She gestured to the woman beside her. "I'm sure Korra is dying for a shot at that creep."

"A full clip, now that you mention it." Korra huffed, glaring out across the lobby to where Hans and his teammates were talking.

"Ah, I believe that's the anger problem you supposedly don't have talking." Asami lightly joked, flicking her luscious mane of raven hair over her shoulder and revealing a logo on her own chestplate: half of a red cog wheel, an antique symbol but one used by a very prominant family for well over a few centuries. A symbol Anna did recognize.

"You- you're Asami Sato," Anna said, thunderstruck, gawking at the CEO of the most profitable skycar designer in history. "I didn't know you, uh, did in stuff like this."

"It's a mutual interest, though Asami's far more dedicated to the sport than I am." The blonde slid an arm around Anna's waist, her anger seemingly forgotten. Noting the shift, Anna opted observe for the meantime, though she smiled reflexively when the blonde pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. "Something I'm very grateful for, given our opponents. I really want you to enjoy your first time here, Anna."

"So this is the mystery woman you've been talking about." Asami favors her with a genuine smile, extending a hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Anna."

"Oh, you too, Ms. Sato."

"Please, you can call me Asami, there's really no need to be so formal." She turned, indicating her companion. "And this is my girlfriend, Korra, who is far more sociable when she's not silently threatening people from across the room."

Startled from her one-sided non-verbal battle with Hans, Korra glanced at Asami in confusion before catching up with the conversation. "Huh? Oh, right, sorry."

Anna smiled, trying not to openly show her amusement. She didn't exactly need the introduction from Asami to indicate their relationship, but she noticed the slight uptick in their meter at the word for both of them. By her guess, it was a recent enough development for the confirmation to carry weight but they'd likely known each other far longer. "Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, likewise."

As Asami stepped away to register them for the match, Elsa joined her, the two speaking softly as they walked away and leaving Anna and Korra by the rental section.

Not one to pass up the opportunity to meet new people, Anna indicated Korra's armor. "Are you a professional competitor, too?"

Sighing, Korra shook her head. "Not really. I tried out for the Sato Fire Ferrets years ago, but I... couldn't make it." Brushing off the disappointment in her tone, the brunette favored her with what could only be described as a shit eating grin. "On the other hand, I landed a pretty sweet job training the team, and eventually found myself in a much better position, if you know what I mean."

"I think I might." Anna laughed, weighing her options before speaking. "Still, it sucks you couldn't compete. Hybrids aren't common enough for them to get their own sub-category, but I don't think its fair to keep them from participating altogether."

The brunette blinked, temporarily blind-sided before recognition dawned on her. "You're a dating sim, aren't you?"

Anna nodded, outwardly smiling but bracing herself mentally. If this woman was dating Elsa's friend, the information would come out eventually. Better to get it out of the way early.

To her surprise, Korra smiled and stepped closer, at least having the presence of mind to lower the volume of her voice despite the excitement in it. "Wow, I've never met one before. Heard a lot of rumors about them, though, one of which I guess is true: you can read other people's genres. That's really cool!" She set her hands on her hips, raising a brow. "Can you tell which ones make up my hybrid though?"

The redhead squinted. Honestly, she'd only met a handful of hybrids before, so it wasn't something she'd ever tried. Much like most people, hybrids developed abilities around the same time as everyone else but, somehow, managed to mix genres, giving them far more specialized HUDs than the average person and access to a wider range of abilities. However, just like with most people, Anna could see at least the basics right off the bat and even more as the friendly meter filled.

"I believe you're something between a classic beat 'em up and an action RPG..." She trailed off, raising a brow. "... and a shoot 'em up? And I think another one..."

"Wow, you're good." Korra laughed, clapping her on the shoulder. "I'm impressed! Asami's been trying to figure it out for months. She's a CMS, though, so she doesn't have your edge, but she's super smart."

Anna was hardly surprised. She imagined the skills of a construction and management sim would be best suited to the demands of a CEO position, especially something as consumer dependant as skycars. "I'm more impressed by that kind of a mix. I mean, your HUD must look crazy."

"It's a lot of information, yeah, but I can handle it," she replied, a little pride tinting her voice. "And, it's a lot of fun, especially when it comes to things like this. Combat simulators are basically the grandfather of half of all games back in the day- my genres especially- so it's a lot of fun to whoop some butt to unwind."

"Confident in your skills, huh?" The redhead chuckled, feeling slightly more at ease with the knowledge that Korra would be on her team rather than against her.

"Hey, you have to admit, I am uniquely qualified for this sort of thing, even though melee combat is forbidden against other competitors." The brunette frowned. "Come to think of it, I really wish it wasn't. I'd like to punch that guy in the face."

"Don't worry about him. Hans is just a harmless manchild throwing a temper tantrum." Anna tried to act nonchalant, becoming seriously concerned about the escalation of hostilities. Seeing as she definitely wasn't on the combat oriented side of the spectrum when it came to genres, she'd rather not see any actual fighting break out as a result of a few silly comments. "Really, it's not a big deal."

"Anna's right," Elsa said as the two business women rejoined their counterparts, smiling softly. "He's just a creep we met at a coffee shop who doesn't understand 'back off' when he hears it." She took Anna by the hand, nodding towards another section of the complex. "Now, I think we should go get ready for the match."

"Oh, I still haven't rented any equipment yet."

Asami waved her off. "I have access to the practice and test uniforms for the Fire Ferrets. I'm sure they won't mind if we borrow some of their gear and they have slightly better stats than what the mass produced stuff in the rental shop." She ran a hand through her raven hair, glancing at Korra's matching set. "Come to think of it, I think we should make some small adjustments ourselves."

Guided away by Elsa, Anna didn't catch what adjustments Asami was refering to, instead focusing on the door other people were entering and exiting, some in armor and some not. Though Asami and Korra both sported relatively simple looking designs, some of the others she saw looked like they required a degree of some sort to don.

"Hey, everything's going to be okay," Elsa said softly, offering her a reassuring smile.

"With you on my side, I have no doubts," the redhead replied, sneaking a kiss as they entered what amounted to a locker room, though the lockers were far larger than she would've expected, rotating on some sort of axis to bring a fresh bank into view whenever it was called. There was also a bench of some sort with a myriad of tools off in one corner, currently being used by a stocky man in a grey shirt and blue jeans as he fiddled with some sort of mock weapon.

Despite the truthfulness of her statement, some part of Anna was still desperately wishing to survive the night without making a complete fool out of herself.

---

A few minutes later Anna emerged, trying to acclimate herself to walking around in what she imagined felt like an ancient suit of full plate armor. It certainly didn't look the part, though, consisting of several pieces, the largest of which being the full body under suit that barely weighed anything. The rest of the ensemble consisted of modular sections that attached to the under suit- chest plate, shoulder guards, greaves- but, added up, the whole thing was definitely heavier than the redhead's usual work clothes, and she could already feel a light sheen of sweat breaking out over her skin as she took a few more steps. She had no idea how she was supposed to perform any physical activity wearing this stuff and her nerves were only getting worse when she remembered how easily Asami and Korra moved around earlier. Maybe she should start hitting the gym a little more often, if this was going to be a staple of nights with Elsa.

"Anna, wait." She turned, still trying to get used to the helmet's integrated HUD visor, which added a simple health bar to the bottom of her vision along with what she assumed to be an ammo capacity tracker, currently flashing a red zero at her. That was only mildly annoying. "The suit's not on yet, silly. Here, let me." The redhead was dimly aware of a panel on the back plate opening, immediately feeling relieved when the armor suddenly became lighter and her skin cooler. "There's a powered skeleton in the under suit that's designed to help with mobility and temperature control. Now that it's on, how do you feel? Better?"

"Much, thanks." Anna smiled, realizing belatedly that the blonde couldn't see the expression through her helmet.

"Good. Now, pick two colors. These are chameleon suits, so I can change the default colors to ones of your choosing."

"Uh... green and blue, I guess?" She looked down, noting how a light, spring green became the prominent color with light blue accents, replacing the slate grey color the armor previously bore. "That's perfect."

Elsa stepped around her, helmet in hand and wearing a sleeker model that was primarily light blue with white accents, a white snowflake emblem on her chest plate. "I thought you'd appreciate using the armor that's geared towards defensive boosts. Mine's modded for speed and accuracy."

"Among other things. I think this is where I'm supposed to make a 'plus five to charisma' joke." They laughed, the blonde turning around and indicating a portion on the back plate. Following her instructions, Anna adjusted one of the setting, turning the formerly white accents to the same light green as her armor's main coloring. "Oh, so we match now?"

"Of course," Elsa replied, guiding them towards their teammates. "I wouldn't want anyone doubting who you're here with, sweetheart."

She said it so casually that Anna actually nearly tripped over her own feet as the endearment registered. By some miracle, the suit managed to help correct her inner klutz to make the motion seem like an exaggerated step, but there was no hiding the absolute glee radiating from her as they continued on their way. She wasn't the only one; Elsa seemed distinctly pleased as well with her reaction. It took Anna a moment to shake off the feeling long enough to notice they weren't the only ones who'd undergone a color change, Korra's suit now sporting an inverse scheme of Asami's, both of them missing the Sato Industries crest.

"Looks like we're almost ready." Asami smiled, nodding towards an overhead screen. "The last match ran a little late, so we've still got a few minutes. Oh, and we have two more teammates."

Elsa frowned. "I thought we agreed we could handle this."

Asami looked genuinely confused. "Hey, we thought-"

"Calling in favors to save your sorry asses?" Hans' sneer cut through their confusion and, silently, Anna lamented his timing. Korra looked ready to start a fight, Asami seemed inclined to let her, and Elsa had that infuriatingly neutral expression that signalled the deactivation of her 'love interest' functions, making it impossible to tell if she would object to anything Korra did or not; on the other side, Hans was close to the violence marker and his teammates were hovering between stepping in and letting things play out, leaning towards the latter. Even though things looked like they would work out in her favor, Anna really wasn't about to let things get that far if she could help it.

Dating sims didn't really come with a combat avoidance function- or any combat function, which reminded her how out of her league she was in this particular scenario- but damn if she wasn't going to try. Thinking fast, Anna opened her mouth to try and draw Hans' attention to her when a new voice cut in, earning everyone's attention.

The distraction came in the form of an alien standing in the middle of the arena's concourse level, next to a woman the redhead had never seen before but somehow looked familiar. Humans had made contact with other races several centuries prior so, while not exactly common on Earth, it wasn't the mind blowing event it might've been a thousand years ago. As a nurse, Anna had taken a general medicines course on the various known alien species and had even met a few: asari, quarian, salarians, and, of course, turians. The alien standing beside his human counterpart was the last of those, resembling a human's concept of reptilian birds, the mandibles framing his mouth twitching slightly in what the redhead could tell was barely restrained amusement. Personally, she'd always harbored a bit of a fascination with the asari, a mono-gendered, feminine race that had very unique views on a host of subjects, one of which being romance.

"Actually, we don't know any of you," the woman said, offering a small grin as she gestured to the tall turian standing beside her. They were both wearing heavy armor like Anna's, with hers being mostly black with a red stripe down her right arm and his a dark blue with silver trim. "We were just looking for a quick match; the Classic was the next one open. Is that going to be a problem?"

There was a slight edge to her tone that discouraged argument and Anna was relieved to see Hans shifting his attention, sliding into that smooth, charming facade he'd approached with at the coffee shop. "Not at all. Though, I do feel like there's a missed opportunity for a classic 'battle of the sexes' match."

Surprisingly, the turian laughed, shaking his head and sending his mandibles quivering. "As amusing as that might be, I'm not a fan of losing. Impossible odds, sure, but I know a lost cause when I see it. I'll stick to the winning side, thanks."

That comment instantly soured Hans' attempt at a somewhat friendly approach but, mercifully, an announcement stemmed the tide of whatever he had to say.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the next match is about to begin! Competitors, please make your way to the designated arena entrances!"

"I guess we'll settle this in the arena." Hans muttered, shoulder checking Anna as he passed, going out of his way to do so. "Later, losers."

"Did he jump out of a twenty-first century B movie?" The man drawled, earning snickers from Asami and Korra and an eyeroll from his companion as they started off in the opposite direction.

Shaking off the ridiculous pettiness of Hans' aggression, Anna followed the others towards a marked door, passing into what she would've believed to be an armory if she didn't know better. The walls were lined with various models of mock weapons, from compact pistols to heavy duty snipers. Anna, having never handled a real weapon in her life, swallowed nervously at the arsenal provided.

"I suppose the first order of business is to figure out how to make an effective team," the turian said, offering a wry grin. The expression might've been lost on the others due to his mandibles, but Anna could tell the typical turians' dry sense of humor rather easily. "Not to put too fine a point on it, but I'd rather not have to eat my words once this is over."

"Easy, Garrus, they let us into the prep room early. We've got time," his companion replied, gesturing towards the rest of their team. "I actually think we should at least introduce ourselves first."

Garrus looked startled initially, coughing into his taloned hand with a sheepish smile. "Oh, right, I forget about the pleasantries sometimes. Anyway, name's Garrus Vakarian, nice to meet you all."

"And I'm Shepard, same applies."

"What, no first name?" Garrus teased, his small, blue eyes roving over the weapons on the far wall, particularly the snipers.

"One, no one ever uses it. Two, you don't even know it, do you?" Shepard laughed when Garrus ducked his head, stuttering out an excuse. "Yeah, yeah, refer to point one, big guy. Okay, and who are we playing with today?"

As everyone went through introducing themselves, Anna was checking her guages and meters, trying to find some sort of role to play that wouldn't hinder the rest of her team. True, she couldn't really see anything indicitive of combat prowess, but she certainly could make a few educated guesses.

"So, what's the plan of attack?" Korra grinned, nodding towards the weapons and smashing one fist into her open palm. "Full frontal assault? I'm not much up for stealth."

"Two words." Asami teased, smirking slightly. "Anger. Management."

"Anna, what do you think?" Elsa smiled at her, sincere in her request despite how ridiculous the notion was.

"What, me?"

"Yeah, you've probably got the best idea out of any of us." The brunette laughed. "After all, you were able to read their genres, right?"

She hadn't really paid too much attention at the time but she did have a vague idea, accessing her archived readings to be sure. "Unsurprisingly, three are first person shooters. Hans has real time strategy but he doesn't have a handle on the abilities; the shorter guy is... the same, but probably further developed."

"So, three FPS and two RTS. Nothing we can't beat, right?" Garrus offered, raising a brow at his companions.

"By contrast, we're way more diverse." Anna grinned, looking at her companions. "If you prioritize your meters, Asami, you can probably track battle progress and positions as well as that other guy, and track our... ammo consumption, I think is the term. You'll also benefit from an up-close-and-personal approach, which I guess you already know since you're proficient with a shotgun. Couple that with Korra's hybrid abilities, you're both heavily favored in close range combat while still being effective at long and mid range." Suddenly feeling sheepish at the genuine surprise from half of the team, Anna ducked her head. "I mean, I'm sure you already know that, I shouldn't have-"

"Please tell me she's not apologizing." Asami cut her off, squinting slightly before breaking out in a wide grin. "I never realized I could do that!" Raising a brow, the raven haired woman cocked her hip out. "Now, can you recommend a good secondary weapon? I haven't been able to find a good combo yet."

She glanced at the readout, which didn't really help much. "Uh, a submachine gun?"

"Makes sense. Light weight but a high firing rate- you can use it one handed while moving from cover as suppression fire to gain distance." Shepard nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'd go with a Tempest model; they tend to retain a decent accuracy even at medium range, if you need to stay out of close range combat."

"But we should also consider long range capabilities." Garrus reminded.

After a light nudge from Elsa, Anna double checked her information before speaking. "Honestly, between you and Elsa, I think we've got long range covered. You have the higher firing rate because of your tactical RPG abilities but Elsa can still cover while you're reloading, plus she can mod her damage? Wait, is that even fair?"

Garrus' mandibles sagged briefly in shock before lifting into a smile. "Oh, mods are definitely fair, as are tactical readouts of the arena, which I so happen to have, now that you've mentioned it." He activated a holographic screen on his wrist, a variant of the built in communication device Elsa had. "I've sent a copy to your helmets. The Armax Classic comes with camoflagued shield pylons that will boost your defenses if you're within range and hidden ammo crates if you're low, but only if you know where to look."

"So, you two have definitely been her before," Korra said as she slipped on her helmet.

"Maybe a time or two," Shepard replied with a smirk. "Would you like to continue your assessment, Anna?"

"I wouldn't call it an assessment, really; I mean, I'm really just- uh, guessing." She abruptly cut herself off, biting down on her lip before she could truly give herself away. Elsa and Korra might accept her, and she might be willing to flat out tell Asami, but Garrus and Shepard were complete strangers.

"If that's your definition of guessing, I'm a impressed! I never knew dating sims could see so much information!" Korra laughed, grabbing one of the assault rifles from the many on display. "Can you always see all that stuff?"

Well, there went that idea.

"Kinda? It depends on the person and how well I know them." Anna cringed, waiting for the inevitable.

"Wait, you're a dating sim?" Shepard raised her arm, activating her own holographic interface. "Could I get your contact information?"

"Yeah, me too." Garrus began typing at his. "Haven't been on a date in three years; at this point, I obviously need help."

"No kidding."

"Look who's talking, Shepard."

Elsa leaned closer to the redhead. "Looks like you've got some more fans."

She chuckled, shrugging slightly. "Maybe, but you're still my number one, right?"

The blonde smirked, swooping in to deliver a little kiss to the side of her helmeted head before slipping her own on. "Absolutely."

---

The arena itself was fairly impressive as they stepped through, a circular environment filled with crates, barriers, and other obstacles arranged in three rings of varying elevation with the outer ring being the highest and the center being the lowest. They had developed a flexible plan as they entered the elevator to begin the match, seeing as most of their prep in the armory involved capitalizing on their abilities with Anna's help while the redhead was given pointers by the more veteran members of their team. As it turned out, Shepard was a hybrid herself, combining action RPG abilities with those of a third person shooter, giving her a unique edge when utilizing cover and making her the de facto leader of the assault team. Garrus and Elsa would hang back, providing cover fire with their sniper rifles, the blonde's modding abilities extending to both of them as long as they stayed close. Although Anna preferred staying with Elsa and hopefully not getting in the way, everyone agreed that she could help by providing suppression fire with an assault rifle that had a ridiculously high ammo capacity, lacking the targetting assists that came with the others' genres.

Apparently, her job was to make the other team duck a lot and be an all around distraction, goading Hans into charging ahead recklessly so they could take him down first, which she was totally okay with.

"Anna?" Elsa's voice in her ear drew the redhead out of her nervous awe of the arena, sounding just as clear as usual despite both of them wearing helmets. A quick glance confirmed the comm line was a private one, their teammates still engrossed in a comparrison between FPS and TPS abilities. "You okay, sweetheart?"

"Yeah. Just nervous." She chuckled awkwardly, shaking her head. "I don't want to make a fool of myself."

"I don't think that's possible." The blonde tilted her head as much as her helmet would allow. "I mean, I'm already in awe of you. I spend most of my work hours trying to keep my cool while arguing with clients who can't tell the difference between art deco and gothic style windows." She bumped their shoulders together. "If he came up to me and acted like that while you weren't around, I'd probably just freeze those stupid sideburns off."

They laughed, looking up with the rest of their teammates as the announcer's voice once again filled the air.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Armax Combat Arena! Tonight's match is an Armax Arena Classic, pitting the Westergaurd-Wilde Warriors against a group of unaffiliated competitors!"

"We should've come up with a cool team name." Korra grumbled, finger already resting on the trigger of her assault rifle.

"We can still pick one." The turian offered. "How about 'people really pissed at some guy named Hans'? That's pretty catchy."

Shepard sighed. "And you wonder why you're single?"

"The match mode is team based attrition. Standard rules apply, friendly fire is active, and each team is limited to six extra lives. Enjoy your Armax Combat experience!"

Anna hefted the assault rifle, the weight of it in her hands still slightly awkward. As the countdown resounded through the arena, everyone got ready to sprint for their designated locations, Shepard checking in one last time.

"Three... two... one..."

"Everyone see the mini-map?" After affirmative responses from everyone, she nodded. "Good. Remember, keep low and time your shots."

"May the match begin!"

"Let's go!"

Anna lurched forward, following Shepard as they charged ahead and slid overtop a crate in their way, dropping down to the second ring just in time to miss the first burst of fire from their opponents. Korra and Asami followed a few moments later, timing their rush to miss the first volley.

"This is almost too easy." Korra complained as she dropped down beside the redhead.

"Let's not jinx it, shall we?" Asami answered, pausing briefly. "Okay, looks like they're sticking together, using cover and checking their corners."

"Way too composed." Shepard surmised, her black helmet turning towards Anna. "Ready to shake them up?" Anna nodded, the motion far smoother than her nervous state should rightfully allow. The suit was making everything far easier than it should be and she wasn't quite sure if that was a good or bad thing yet. "Good. See that beam over there? It's one of shield pylons Garrus mentioned. Sprint towards it, jump up on the crate, and empty your clip at them. When you're out, drop down. Got it?"

"Yeah, sure, that sounds like a totally normal thing to do. I'm sure I've done something similar a hundred times before," the redhead sarcastically grumbled, taking a deep breath before running towards the indicated position. Thanks to them all having distinct color schemes, it took no time for Hans- at least, she assumed it was Hans- to realize who was moving and break his cover, unleashing a quick burst of rounds. As part of the simulation, the nonexistant rounds left 'impacts' on the environment, but the redhead didn't have the nerve to check how close he was to actually hitting her; she was just grateful that an answering volley of fire resounded from her team's side of the arena.

Finding the indicated crate, Anna put a hand on top and jumped up, only scrambling slightly as she stood and pointed her weapon towards the other side of the arena and pulled the trigger. Surprisingly, the kickback was minimal, her armor absorbing the majority of the force, and it was at least a little entertaining to watch the 'bullet holes' appear on the other side of the arena.

"Anna! Shift your aim a little to the left!" Asami's voice was crystal clear despite the loud cracking of weapon fire.

She quickly did so, hoping she was doing... whatever she was supposed to be doing correctly. As her ammo count started running low, Anna saw a figure duck behind another crate, moving away from the area she was shooting at and it suddenly made sense. Her barrage was driving Hans' team around to where Shepard, Asami, and Korra were lying in wait. Without prompting, she shifted her aim again, chasing her opponents towards her teammates. Unfortunately, she ran out of ammo right at she had that epiphany, staring at the weapon in her hand dumbly for a moment.

The break in fire was all Hans' team was waiting for, the five of them popping up to unleash a fresh hail of fire in her direction. Letting out a startled yelp, Anna backpedalled, completely forgetting her elevated position and falling off the crate, crashing to the ground with a light groan. Thanks to the shield pylon, the redhead had only felt muffled, tiny pelts to her body rather than the annoying feedback Elsa had mentioned, which unfortunately didn't apply to her suddenly sore back. Rather than dwelling on it, though, the redhead rolled onto her stomach and got back up, remembering to crouch down as the concentrated fire directed at her continued.

"Alright, everyone, now! Target on the left!" Shepard's voice cut above the noise, preceding a lull in the fire by a few seconds before her teammates lit up their competition. In the bottom left corner of her vision, Anna noticed a blue number one appear.

"That's one down!" Garrus called. "Reloading!"

"Same here!" That was Asami, obviously amused.

"Got you covered." The crack of Elsa's high powered rifle echoed through the arena and their score rose by one.

"Anna! Move around to the next pylon and provide suppressive fire!" Shepard barked out.

"Uh, okay?" She glanced at the minimap, hopping back to the other side of the crate and running towards the nearest pylon as what she assumed to be her team's score rose again, Korra letting out a triumphant whoop.

"Wait, Anna, not that one! The one to your right!" Asami seemed slightly panicked, which was totally justified as Anna dropped down to the sunken inner circle of the arena to find two members of Hans' team ducking behind a barrier.

All three of them seemed to become aware of the situation at the same time, but Anna was the first to bring her weapon to bear. Which might've been a good thing... had she remembered to reload before making her mad dash from the pylon. Instead, nothing happened, the red ammo gauge flashing angrily at her.

"Uh oh." Her shoulders slumped as the two men brought their weapons up and she did the only thing she could think to do: turned and ran like hell, ducking and weaving in what she hoped would be a reasonable fashion to keep from getting pelted by simulated rounds. She probably looked like a flailing chicken but, whatever, it seemed to be working. "Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!"

"Anna, what are you doing?" She could hear the laughter in Korra's voice, though the other woman was trying valiantly to contain it.

She heard the shots fire before several sharp, stinging sensations broke out all across her back. They weren't exactly painful but annoying was putting it mildly, like an itch she couldn't scratch, and each one dropped her health bar towards the left.

"Anna, hard right and get down!" Garrus instructed and she wasted no time throwing herself behind a crate, chest heaving as she fought to catch her breath. "Shepard! There's one charging Anna's position!"

"I see him. Pin him down, we're moving to flank!" Fumbling with the weapon, the redhead frantically looked for the stupid reload button, letting out a sigh of relief when she found it and the ammo gauge maxed out again. "His team's following. Elsa, line up a shot."

"On it." The blonde's voice exuded cool confidence and two cracks later, their score went up again. "Headshots."

"Nice!" Korra called. "Asami, on your left."

"Got him." Three booms of a shotgun. "Damn, missed." The score went up again after a short peel of automatic fire. "Thanks, babe."

"We're a team, right?" The brunette answered.

"Okay, they're halfway down on their lives. Asami, can you paint Hans? He's probably the one charging Anna's position."

Hearing that bit of info, the redhead popped up, the assault rifle already pointed where she assumed her opponent would be. Sure enough, one of the other team was sprinting towards her, a pistol raised and already squeezing off shots even as Anna answered back. He dove to the side, taking cover behind a barrier even as she continued emptying the clip in his direction, ignoring the stinging in her arm where the rounds hit and the warning beeps that signalled her dangerously low health.

"Anna's low on health!" From her vantage point, she could see the blur of black and red moving along the upper level, followed by Shepard.

"Korra, Garrus, Elsa, keep him pinned and draw their fire. Make them sing. Asami and I will move to their rear. Anna, fall back to the pylon and wait for your health to regen."

Releasing the trigger- and remembering to hit the stupid reload button this time- Anna did as ordered, scrambling away as the cracks of snipers and rat-tat-tat of Korra's assault rifle kept up a steady stream of noise, occasionally punctuated by returning fire. In order to get back to the middle level of the arena, she had to rush up a set of stairs- who the hell puts stairs in a place like this, really, are they crazy- and throw herself behind the crate she'd stood on earlier, drawing her knees up to her chest as she watched her health bar stabilize, then steadily climb.

"Hey, Elsa, what happens if the health bar, um, hits zero?"

"Your armor locks up and you fall to the ground, immobile until a teammate can revive you," the blonde replied matter-of-factly, keeping the same tone as she continued. "But that's not going to happen."

"Grenade!" Korra called out, the steady stream of fire breaking suddenly, bereft of the brunette's assault rifle.

"In answer to your earlier question, Shep, no, I can't paint targets, but he's the one lobbing grenades at us."

"Asami, you're a very direct woman; I can respect that," Garrus said dryly, though there was the barest hint of a grin in his voice. "We're running low on ammo up here."

"Korra, Asami, draw their attention while Elsa and Garrus resupply. Anna, how's your health looking?"

"Um, it's not beeping?" The redhead bit her lip, watching the bar. "I think it's getting longer."

"That's what she said."

Korra laughed. "Garrus, remind me to kick you in the shin after this."

"Oh, come on, you can't blame me for that! It was wide open!"

Asami gave a long suffering sigh. "You're both children."

Shepard ignored them. "Once it stops moving, pop up and provide suppression fire."

"Okay." Anna took a deep breath, waiting for her health to reach the maximum limit before standing up and pulling the trigger, unleashing another wall of fire against her opponents. She couldn't really see any of them at first, sweeping the weapon side-to-side without a specific point to focus on, but caught movement out of the corner of her eye at the last minute. She swung her aim in the man's direction, forcing him to duck down as her ammo reached zero again. "Um, I need to reload."

"Copy that; Elsa, Garrus, are you two up?" Shepard's answer came in the form of the crack of a shot and another tick in their favor. "Okay then; Korra, Asami, let's regroup with Anna. Go wide on the second level."

"Be careful, you've got movement." Garrus advised, followed swiftly by Asami.

"They've split; two on the upper, three towards the center."

"Spread out, move one at a time. Garrus and Elsa, keep them busy."

Anna leaned her head back, helmet clacking against the crate. Only then did she notice the people lining the top of the arena's walls, pressing against the glass to watch the match. Idly, she wondered if they were as impressed with her abilities as she was because she had really never imagined something like this would or could be entertaining in the slightest. Now that she was in the thick of it, though, she could understand the draw; it definitely was a great way to stay in shape. It also gave her a strange sense of accomplishment and contentment- she wasn't good by any means, but she was surviving, and that was more than she would've given herself credit for at the onset.

"One's breaking away from the center," Asami said as Korra slid behind Anna's cover, assault rifle in hand.

A moment later, a cylinder flashing red dropped in front of the two women.

"What's that?" The redhead tilted her head to the side, startled when Korra immediately jumped up.

"A grenade."

"Crap." Following suit, Anna clumsily rolled over the crate's top, hitting the ground on the other side with a thud as the booming detonation went off. She was sprawled out on the ground- face down, no idea where her weapon was, even less clue as to what was going on, while the brunette moved on, seeking alternate cover. "Ow."

"Anna, you need to move, they're almost-"

Shepard cut off with a curse as the redhead's vision became obscured by one of her opponents' boots- Hans, of course, given the hostile reading that just jumped up to the forefront of her vision.

She could've flailed, maybe tried to find the rifle, maybe pulled the pistol at her hip and squeezed off a few shots, maybe done something.

But, nope.

She just laid there.

"Anna, what are you doing?" There was a tinge of worry in Elsa's tone.

Well, if she had to put a name to it. "I'm playing dead."

Silence reigned across the comm line as well as the arena, her teammates apparently stunned by her response. Then the crack of a sniper, Hans flinched, and the battle raged once more, her opponent turning his attention towards his attackers and away from Anna.

"That woman's a genius." Garrus barked out a laugh. "They're buying it!"

"They're moving to form a defensive position around her." Asami reported, followed quickly by Korra.

"They're trying to draw us in and hit us while we try to revive her."

The redhead looked around what little she could without drawing attention. In her immediate field of vision, she could see four of their five enemies, all taking cover behind crates and barriers in between bursts of fire.

"We can't just leave her there," Elsa said and Anna couldn't help the smile curling her lips. Even if the supposed danger was entirely fabricated, it felt nice to hear the worry and concern in the blonde's voice.

"We also can't get to her; they've got the open covered with intersecting lines of fire." Garrus chided, sounding mildly annoyed. "Seems they got their heads on straight again."

"Asami? Garrus? Any ideas?"

"Drawing a bit of a blank, Shep. They keep ducking behind cover; we can't get a bead on 'em."

"If we try to flank, we leave ourselves open. Without Anna, we can't draw their fire."

The redhead in question blinked. Well, she had garnered their attention rather effectively before, but considering the results, she wasn't sure if they'd fall for the same trick again. Hans definitely would, though...

"Elsa? Can a person shoot their teammates and cause damage?"

"Friendly fire is active," the blonde replied, a beat of silence filling the comm line before she explained. "That means yes, shooting a teammate causes damage. It also inflicts a penalty on the shooter."

"Great! I think I have an idea." Anna checked her minimap. "Can everyone get to a pylon without, uh, taking too much damage?" After a round of affirmative answers, she continued. "And they're still arranged around me, right?"

"Kinda- one on each side, three up front." Asami grunted, probably as she dove for cover through another hail of fire. "What are you thinking?"

"Everyone, get to a pylon and stay visible- as long as you can without dying- and don't shoot much. When I give the signal, don't shoot at all."

After a few noises of surprise, Elsa spoke up. "Seriously, sweetheart, what are you going to do?"

The redhead smirked. "Just trust me."

Anna waited, watching through her visor as Hans' teammates saw their opportunity and stood up, unleashing everything their combined firepower had at their exposed enemies. She also heard the others' grunts and groans as they were hit.

"Whatever you're going to do, do it fast!"

Taking Shepard's cue, she gingerly picked herself up off the ground and looked around. All five of their opponents were focused on firing at the sitting ducks her teammates were playing as, completely oblivious that the person they thought was incapacitated was anything but. Relying on her meters, Anna crept up behind the one she thought was Hans.

"What the- Anna, what are you doing?"

"Something crazy, trust me," she replied, watching carefully as she crouched down directly behind her target. To his right were two of his teammates, almost in line with each other, while the two on the edges focused on their own targets, their backs turned to the three in the middle.

"Okay everyone, drop down and reload!" Anna called out, leaning around to Hans' side and hoping he would notice her soon.

Her luck held out. Just as her teammates ducked into cover, the man reached down to his belt to pull another grenade, confirming it was in fact Hans in front of her. The motion brought his line of sight to the side just enough that he saw her, his hostility spiking and disrupting his rational train of thought. Completely forgetting the grenade, Hans quickly turned and raised his weapon, squeezing the trigger reflexively.

By pure luck, Anna was able to back pedal in time, anticipating his reaction, so the rounds that were entirely intended for her ended up hitting his two teammates instead. Whatever the penalty was, it likely involved some sort of negative feedback, causing Hans to jerk- finger still on the trigger- and hit one of his other teammates, continuing his punishment.

Anna, her part done, was already scrambling away, clambering on top of a crate as the grenade Hans had pulled earlier- and, apparently armed- exploded. To her surprise, a number appeared beneath her team's score: negative two.

"Wow. Did- did that really just happen?" Asami seemed caught somewhere between awe and amusement.

"Yes, it did, now can you guys please shoot them!" The redhead's shoulders jumped as Hans' remaining teammates trained their fire on her, the shocks of the hits hurrying her over to the other side of the crate, where she basically threw herself to the ground as her teammates unleashed a new wave of destruction upon their opponents.

Catching her breath and pressing her back against her cover, Anna pulled the pistol from her side, watching as the ammo readout changed. Her team's score went up by two and she smiled, glad she was able to trick Hans into freaking out but quite content to just hide until she was called upon again.

She should've known better.

"Anna, one coming around to your left!"

Asami's warning came a moment too late, the white clad man stepping into view almost immediately, his rifle aimed straight for her. Anna didn't even have time to raise her pistol, cringing as she braced herself for the inevitable feedback from the suit.

It never came. Instead, her opponent staggered backwards as five shots from Elsa's rifle rang out, which would've been more than enough to drop her target if Anna hadn't chosen to run towards the shield pylon, the effects extending to her opponent as well.

"The first two just hit the shield!" The redhead cringed, heart wrenching at the break in Elsa's tone, losing it's cool quality and turning to nearly panicked.

Just as he recovered and raised his weapon again, the man's body locked up and he slumped forward to the ground. Behind him, Asami let her shotgun drop to her side. "Almost thought I wouldn't make it in time. Are you okay, Anna?"

She breathed out a sigh. "Just peachy. Thanks."

"Match complete! Competitors win! Individual scores will be available at the service counter. Please be sure to stop by the concession stand on the main concourse for refreshments and thank you again for coming to the Armax Combat Arena!"

"Good job, everyone! Link up at the elevator!" Shepard called out over the comm even as the simulation began deactivating, the formerly colorful crates and barriers taking on the same dull slate grey her uniform was originally.

"Need a hand?" Asami laughed, helping the redhead to her feet. "You know, for a dating sim, you did pretty great in combat."

"I think that has more to do with the unique circumstances than my actual abilities." Anna ducked her head, raising her hand to fiddle with one of her braids before realizing she was still wearing her helmet. Allowing her arm to drop, she directed her gaze to the other woman as they ascended to the higher tier. "But you guys were amazing! Working off each other like that was pretty impressive."

"All in a day's work." Garrus laughed, clapping Shepard on the shoulder. "Just like the good ol' days when we weren't stuck at desk jobs, right Shepard?"

"Yeah, except we didn't break anything this time."

"Come on, let's go check out our scores!" Korra waited by the elevator, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I think I took the top spot this time!"

"Nah, I think my dead eye aim clenched that position." The tall turian teasingly tapped the top of Korra's helmet. "Those kill shots add up pretty quick."

"Yeah, but I softened them up for you!"

"Points are awarded for hits." Asami conceded, wrapping an arm around her girlfriend's waist and guiding her towards the elevator. "But kill shots get a modifier."

Anna watched the other four with a small smile, looking around for her own partner among the group. Much to her surprise, the blonde managed to sneak up behind her, arms wrapping around her waist as Elsa hugged her.

"You were wonderful out there, by the way." Her smile grew a little wider, tilting her head so their helmets could touch briefly before Elsa released her. The moment she turned around, however, the blonde's arm snapped out and smacked her shoulder guard, the impact registering as a dull pang, more forceful than the playful hits from earlier. "But don't you dare scare me like that again!"

"Ow! Hey, it's just a game, right? I was safe-"

"Not safe enough!" Anna, completely unprepared, staggered backwards as Elsa threw her arms around her neck. The embrace- though charming, and something she'd look back upon fondly- was awkward in their armor, and probably looked silly, but she couldn't bear to not return it, circling her arms around Elsa's waist. "There are ways to override the safety protocols, Anna! You could've been seriously injured getting that close to Hans!"

Although still thoroughly confused by the blonde's behavior, Anna conceded that it might have something to do with how their differing genres identified and responded to threats. She could already see that downplaying the supposed danger wouldn't lead to a favorable outcome, so she switched tactics. "I'm sorry, Elsa. I didn't mean to worry you."

"Just... please be careful next time. If there is a next time." Elsa drew back, taking her by the hand and pulling her towards the elevator. "And... I'm sorry I couldn't take down the last enemy for you. I'll need to thank Asami for finishing him off."

Anna raised a brow, noting the slight down turn in the blonde's mood meter. She immediately countered to remedy that. "Hey, if you really think you're not my hero just because you didn't get the last kill, you've got another thing coming, babe. I seriously have no idea what I would've done without my guardian angel raining down destruction from on high."

Elsa laughed, shaking her head slightly as if in disbelief, but her meter improved slightly.

"But, I promise I'll be more careful next time."

"We don't have to do this again."

"I'm not saying I want to join the League or anything." Anna stepped into the elevator and removed her helmet, allowing Elsa to see her smile. "But, for a fun night out with friends, I don't mind." Her smile faltered briefly. "But we should definitely bring friends because, aside from drawing attention, I don't think I did much."

The blonde removed her own helmet, grabbing onto the front of Anna's chest plate to pull her closer, lips curled into a smirk. "I wouldn't say that; I definitely enjoyed the eye candy."

She couldn't help but laugh. "Eye candy? I don't think armor is exactly flattering to my physique; I'll look a lot better out of it- aaaaaand I walked right into that."

Elsa's smirk grew a little wider as their teammates laughed, Anna ducking her head slightly as a blush suffused her cheeks. She didn't have much time to feel embarrassed about the comment, feeling the brief touch of lips against her cheek and turning to accept a proper kiss.

She almost completely forgot about everyone else in the elevator. Almost.

"See, this is why we need help. We're with two adorable couples! Seriously, what are the odds?" Garrus lightly complained.

"I never pegged you as the sentimental type." Shepard chuckled.

"I can be sensitive on occasion." He grinned. "This rough and rugged exterior isn't entirely immune to cuddles and kisses, you know."

His friend shook her head. "Thank you for that mental image. I need a drink."

"They do have beer on the concourse level and hard liquor in the lounge." Asami offered, an arm loosely wrapped around Korra's waist. "I think we're all entitled to a few victory drinks."

---

Anna bit her lip as they exited the armory. "Are you sure-"

"I'm certain." The blonde smirked. "It's not the first time someone's left something in the arena; the techs will grab it before the next match begins. Although, I'm still not sure how you lost your assault rifle..."

"Hey, crawling over crates isn't exactly a skill I've invested in, okay?" It was just gentle teasing but Anna still huffed out a sigh of annoyance, only breaking her supposedly insulted facade when Elsa pressed a kiss to her cheek in apology. "Hmmm, so now what?"

"Now, we-"

"YOU FUCKING WHORES!" Both women cringed as Hans called out, stomping across the concourse, his face beet red.

"Never a dull moment with you two, is there?" Garrus mumbled, himself and Shepard stepping up to flank them, obviously primed for a fight.

"Don't complain; this is free entertainment." Korra cracked her knuckles as she stepped up beside Garrus while Asami flanked Shepard.

"Look, let's not get ahead of ourselves!" Anna stepped forward, turning back to regard the others with a small smile. "We don't need to start a fight."

Shepard chuckled. "You... don't know us very well."

"Seriously, I can handle this."

"Anna-"

"Elsa, please-"

"HEY, I'M TALKING TO YOU!" The redhead turned around just in time to take a reflexive step back, Hans far too close for even her limited self preservation instincts to allow. Without another word, he pulled one arm back, and Anna was already bracing for the blow when he suddenly froze, head turning side-to-side in pure panic. Anna felt her heart leap into her throat, the telltale shimmer of a thin layer of ice coating his suit. "WHAT! I CAN'T-"

"That's quite enough of that." Surprisingly, two more aliens appeared, from different races. An asari- the woman who had spoken so forcefully a moment ago- strode towards them from an office behind Hans, wearing a highly stylized white suit with blue trim that looked like a cross between a business suit and armor like Elsa's, sleek and form fitting. Her piercing blue eyes, only a few shades lighter than her skin, were focused on Hans as another woman hurried after her, wearing a purple environmental suit with the word 'SECURITY' emblazoned in gold across the front, eyes glowing from behind the tinted visor of her helmet. Despite the clear no-nonsense tone and the furrow to her brows, Anna's meter suggested the asari wasn't actually as hostile as she appeared. At least, not generally; her opinion of Hans seemed rather low, though. "Ideally, you shouldn't try to start a fight while your suit's neural system is still synced with the arena. You shouldn't try to start a fight at all, really, but this is an exceptionally stupid instance in which to do it."

Anna silently breathed a sigh of relief; either no one noticed the ice or no one thought to comment on it, and she didn't dare glancing back at Elsa yet. Dimly, she was aware of the arrival of the rest of Hans' team, their meters shunted off to the side. At a glance, she could tell they knew who the woman was and were split between being anxious at her appearance and relieved.

Hans' face twisted into a feral snarl, unable to see the woman in question and not recognizing her voice. "Do you know who I am?"

"Oh, I know who you are, Mr. Hans Westergard. The better question is: do you know who I am?" The woman gently put a hand on Anna's shoulder, encouraging her to step back so the other woman could step between them, her gaze focused on Hans. "Liara T'Soni- Doctor T'Soni, since we're being formal- and I own the Armax Combat Arena."

Anna could see the surprise registering on Hans' face and silently wondered if he intentionally ticked off really powerful women or if it was just some sort of cosmic karma at work.

"Now, I will remind you that any violent actions or threats towards fellow competitors are grounds for immediate expulsion from the premises and up to a lifelong ban from the facility and bid you a good evening." Her gaze shifted to the quarian security guard. "Tali, please escort Mr. Westergard out of the building."

"My pleasure." With a flick of her wrist, Tali had Hans turned around, marching rigidly towards the exit while sputtering half formed objections, not that his escort seemed particularly interested in hearing them.

Just before moving out of earshot, the man got off one last threat. "YOU'LL BE SORRY FOR THIS! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY! YOU HEAR ME, BITCH? I'LL MAKE YOU PAY!"

With a sigh, Doctor T'Soni raised one hand, speaking into her wrist. "Tali, inform Mr. Westergard that his lifelong ban is effective immediately."

When the asari's gaze slid to the other Warriors, they instantly raised their hands in surrender, the shorter of the four stepping forward. "Dr. T'Soni, please understand-"

"I do. Mr. Westergard Senior explained the situation to me last week, so I am fully aware of your rather limited capabilities to control your teammate. Now, I will have to report the Westergard-Wilde Warriors for unsporting conduct to the CSL, but given that he's been banned from the Arena, I doubt they'll bother fining the team." Doctor T'Soni's brow furrowed slightly. "Come to think of it, I'll contact his father and explain the situation before I report it. I think confirming Mr. Westergard's release from the team might go a long way to prevent further negative action against the rest of you."

The four Warriors released simultaneous sighs of relief, nodding their thanks to the arena owner before turning towards Anna's team. Each apologized for their part in the whole debacle- according to Anna's abilities, they were being entirely sincere- and excused themselves to the locker room.

Only then did Doctor T'Soni turn her attention to the rest of them, her severe demeanor relaxing. "On behalf of Armax Combat Arena, I apologize for your inconvenience tonight. I was also told to thank you for not breaking anything this time."

Shepard, Garrus, and Korra all groaned while Asami snickered quietly.

"So, Atheyta warned you about us before she sold the place, huh?" Shepard passed a hand over her face.

"Oh, she didn't sell it, that was just a bit of a... skewed statement on my part. I'm Atheyta's daughter and she left me in charge for the time being. She did warn me about her more 'interesting' clients, so I wouldn't be surprised if the scoreboard was broken or if the AI mysteriously overloaded while she's away." Doctor T'Soni sighed, rubbing at her temple. "This is just a temporary arrangement. She and my mother took a vacation to 'rekindle the magic in their marriage' and I have spent the past few weeks trying very hard not to examine that explanation too closely, so if we could move on to another topic now, that would be great. Please?"

Anna couldn't help but smile. Now that her readings were matching up with the Doctor's actions, the redhead felt much more at ease and confident in how to handle the situation, though it was Korra who beat her to the punch.

"I didn't know they offered doctorate programs for simulated combat."

"What?" The woman looked genuinely confused for a moment before understanding dawned. "Oh! Oh, no, my doctorate is in the field of archeology. I just thought the title would go further to unsettle Mr. Westergard and I needed the edge. I'm not typically a confrontational individual."

"That's what they all say." Korra quipped quietly, raising her hands in surrender when Asami elbowed her side.

"It's... relatively of little consequence in my present surroundings, honestly."

"Yeah, not a lot of dinosaur bones around here for you to study." Garrus offered, his smile showing just the barest hint of teeth.

The comment, of course, had Doctor T'Soni on the defensive almost immediately. "That's paleontology, Mr. Vakarian, not archeology. Paleontology is the study of dead organisms whereas my field focuses on ancient civilizations, their cultures and customs, requiring intensive research, and- you were joking, weren't you?"

She ended in a flat tone, ducking her head slightly when the turian laughed. Although his amusement wasn't malicious in intent, Anna offered the Doctor a sympathetic smile. Personally, she thought the display a little adorable... and she wasn't the only one. Glancing at the meters on the outskirts of her vision just confirmed what she suspected.

Well... sensing the opportunity, Anna mentally shrugged and decided to go for it. "What was that you mentioned about a scoreboard being broken?"

Recovering from her momentary embarrassment, Doctor T'Soni gestured to Shepard. "I'm afraid the illustrious Commander would be better suited to tell the tale. I only heard it second hand and from a source I wouldn't always deem 'reliable' in the loosest sense."

Shepard laughed, shaking her head. "I'm not sure what Atheyta told you, but I didn't intentionally break the scoreboard. I just got the high score, that's all."

"I suppose she did embellish the story then." Doctor T'Soni shurgged, reaching up to rub her neck, just beneath her crests. "From what I heard, your 'high score' was beyond what the arena's parameters allowed, seeing as you had the maximum amount of modifiers possible and took on a full compliment of AI opponents single-handedly."

"Funny, I always thought a flaming chainsaw was involved." Garrus jokingly added.

"Okay, there wasn't a flaming chainsaw involved, but the rest is true." She waved a hand dismissively. "It wasn't as hard as it sounds."

"I... think your prowess speaks for itself, Commander. That's not an easy feat by any stretch of the imagination, even with your impressive credentials. While I may not be as interested in the CSL, Atheyta has been very thorough in relaying your accomplishments as well as the stories of your military training events that I presume you've told her. I think Benezia suspected she was in love with you for a time, which has reminded me about their absence. Great."

Anna had to bite down on the smirk forming on her lips. It wasn't a huge leap in logic to figure out her next move, turning her attention to Shepard. "Sounds like someone has an extensive military career and didn't mention it."

The other woman laughed, crossing her arms over her chest. "I usually don't; if I did, no one would want to compete against me, especially when I've got my second-in-command on my side."

"We do make a helluva team, Shepard, but don't sell yourself short. I wasn't the one who broke the scoreboard."

"No, you just overloaded the AI circuits."

The redhead was already calculating her next move when Elsa stepped up beside her, voice lowered as the two friends bantered back and forth.

"Should I be concerned?" The question was teasing with a touch of curiosity, which Anna found more than a little amusing. "You seem very interested in the current topic of conversation."

Tilting her head towards the blonde, she whispered a reply. "She asked me for help on getting a date. I'm helping."

Drawing back, she gave Elsa a smile and, upon noting her raised brow, nodded towards Doctor T'Soni. When the blonde's brows both went up in surprise, her smile grew wider and she turned her attention back to the conversation. She missed what Shepard had said but, judging by the look on Garru's face, it wasn't as easily turned back on the woman as he'd hoped.

"Fine, fine, but I'm still the better shot, Shepard."

"And he's got the scores to prove it," the security guard, Tali, said as she rejoined them, waving a hand. "I just sent the readouts to your helmets, if you'd like to check them. The next match is already in progress, so the results of yours were going to be deleted."

"Thanks!" Korra jammed her helmet back on, followed swiftly by Garrus.

"Not curious to see your score, Commander?"

"There's no reason to be so formal, Doctor. Just Shepard is fine." The Commander glanced away briefly. "Or Jane, whichever you feel comfortable with, and no, this was just for fun. I think I might put Atheyta out of business if I actually cashed in my prizes anyway."

Anna shot her companion a slightly smug smirk, to which the blonde nodded, slightly impressed.

"I would ask the same in that respect, Jane." She smiled, offering her hand. "Please, call me Liara."

As the two shook hands, Anna glanced at her gauges again. Both women were interested in each other and seemed willing to continue the conversation, but trying to find an appropriate topic was a bit tricky and the moment came to an end all too quickly.

Another Arena employee came up to the group, flashing an apologetic smile to the customers. He was a drell, if Anna didn't miss her guess- a somewhat reptilian species that cohabitated the hanar homeworld. Curiously, the redhead looked around, checking to see if any of the jellyfish like aliens were around; of all the species she'd encountered, they were perhaps the most confusing for her to understand, thanks to the culturally sensitive nature of their names. "Liara, there's a Mr. Westergard wishing to speak with you. He said it's important."

"I had hoped to delay that conversation a while longer." The asari in question sighed. "Thank you for telling me, Feron." Nodding to him, Liara turned to head back towards her office. "Again, I'd like to apologize for the inconvenience. I'll have the competitor's lounge comp all of you a drink for your troubles." Shepard tried to object but was cut off. "Please, I insist. Now, excuse me, but I should take this call."

"Let Mr. Westergard know that I will be more than willing to speak with him regarding this manner," Elsa said, a cool edge to her tone. "We recently discussed his son's unsavory behavior. I'm sure he recalls the conversation."

Anna watched as Shepard's shoulders slumped subtley as the Commander watched Liara walk away, though she straitened her posture when Garrus removed his helmet, barely containing his amusement.

"So... Anna, it's, uh... it's your first time competing in a Combat Simulator, isn't it?"

"I thought that was fairly obvious." The redhead raised a brow as Korra also doffed her helmet, biting back laughter. "Why? Did I do something especially odd for a newbie?"

"Sorta." He flashed her a smile. "See, I've just never seen someone shoot over three hundred rounds... and not hitting anything."

Korra lost her composure as Anna shrugged, chuckling slightly as she ducked her head. "Hey, I never said I was good at this sort of thing!"

"Don't mind him; he's just upset he didn't get the high score." The brunette teased, nudging him with her elbow.

"Neither did you." Asami pointed out, though she seemed utterly unsurprised by the information, turning towards Elsa. "I believe that distinction falls to our resident ice cold killer. You didn't miss a shot."

The blonde shrugged nonchalantly, carefully wrapping an arm around Anna's shoulders. "I was sufficiently motivated to be exceptionally accurate."

"Translation: she needed to show off." Garrus laughed. "After our free drinks, the next round is on me. I appreciate not having to eat my words and I think this victory definitely qualifies as a special occasion."

"Okay, but third round's on me!" Korra offered, turning towards the locker room and taking Asami by the hand. "Come on, let's get out of this stuff!"

As the rest of their team followed suit, Anna hung back, prompting the blonde to remain behind as well. "Something wrong?"

"No, I was just curious about something." It was still a little awkward, given the bulk of her armor, but Anna managed to carefully wrap and arm around Elsa's waist. "Did you really get the high score just to impress me?"

Her pale cheeks became infused with a rosy tint, blue eyes flicking away. "No, it wasn't intentional. I actually planned on getting the lowest score- ask Asami- but I was trying to make sure they didn't get too close to you and half of my hits were on Hans, so I ended up being... a tad vindictive, I guess."

"Just a tad?" She pressed a quick kiss to Elsa's cheek. "So, your score is a product of your protective inclination rather than a competitive one? That's adorable." The redhead blinked. "A little terrifying in a real world sense but, in this setting, very sweet."

"I'm glad you think so." She brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear, fingers trailing over her braid in a nervous gesture Anna had only seen once or twice before. "I know this isn't really your thing, Anna-"

Rolling her eyes, the redhead leaned in and cut the other woman off with a soft kiss, smiling when she pulled away. "Let's get changed and head to the lounge. Next date, we'll do one of my hobbies."

"Like what? People watching?" The blonde maintained a straight face right up until she was smacked on the shoulder, chuckling as they headed off.

---

It should be noted that she wasn't drunk... but she was getting there.

"You're joking! There's no way!" Anna laughed, leaning into Elsa's side as they sat at a circular table in the lounge, Shepard, Garrus, Korra, and Asami with them and in various stages of breathless laughter.

"That's not exactly how it happened." The blonde explained, passing a hand over her face as Asami shook her head.

"Oh no, that's exactly how it happened. You're brilliant with architecture, Elsa, but you don't have a clue how to navigate a skycar engine."

"How- how- ah, wow- how bad was the collateral?" Korra wiped a tear from her eye.

Her raven haired girlfriend sighed. "I'm still picking pieces out of the warehouse walls."

Shepard and Garrus banged their fists on the table, the Commander looking at her second. "I think she's got me beat!"

"I don't know; you did ram the Mako into guard tower and blow up a gate."

Instantly, she rolled her eyes. "We had to break the perimeter somehow!"

"It was a training exercise!"

A fresh round of laughter exploded from the table, Elsa joining in now that it was Shepard's turn to bear the teasing. Although Elsa and Asami were opting for non-alcoholic beverages, the rest of the table was on their fifth round as most of the other competitors filtered out of the arena.

"I didn't realize we were dealing with two destructive powerhouses." Korra quipped, swirling the liquid in her glass. "Remind me not to tick you two off."

"Oh, so we're not talking about you crashing a skycar-"

"No, we are not talking about that, I was learning to drive." The brunette poked Asami's side, nearly causing her to choke on her water. "I didn't intentionally mean to fly through the building, anyway, so it doesn't count."

Anna nearly spit out her drink, Elsa's jaw popping open in surprise before she spoke. "You crashed a skycar through a building?"

Korra blinked owlishly a moment before cringing. "I said that part out loud, didn't I?" Asami just smirked, pressing a kiss to her girlfriend's hair while Shepard and Garrus laughed. "Hey, have any of you tried driving a skycar on manual?"

"Don't remind me!" Garrus moaned, hiding a face in his hand and waving his drink vaguely in Shepard's direction. "You clearly haven't ridden with her!"

"Oh, like you're the model of preservation." The Commander shot back. "I seem to recall you putting on a nice fireworks display more than once."

"That's called style, Shepard. There's a difference."

They laughed again at his smug expression, ordering another round- this time on Elsa. Surprisingly, it wasn't the waitress who brought them but Tali, the quarian from earlier.

"I have to admit, you guys are the most interesting group we've had since Atheyta went on vacation," she said as she passed out the drinks. "Granted, she did tell her rowdier customers to take the month off from visiting. Liara's a bit too serious to put up with their antics. Takes after her mother, from what I hear."

"I was wondering why I hadn't seen Torgue around." Asami mused, stifling a yawn while accepting her drink, checking her holo-watch and sputtering in surprise. "Wait, didn't the arena close an hour ago?"

The security guard waved her off her concern. "Liara said you guys could stay a while longer. We're doing some tests on a new simulation anyway, so there's no reason to rush off." She looked over her shoulder and lowered her voice. "Besides, I think she's hoping you guys will hang around a little longer. I think she's been practicing her version of pick-up lines for two hours."

Anna hid her smile behind her cup as Shepard instantly perked up, clearing her throat a few times and trying to sound more sober than she was.

"Who- uh, I mean, why is she practicing pick-up lines? Do you think? Is she... interested in someone?"

"Probably working up the courage to talk to a stud like me." Garrus struck a pose before snorting at his own suggestion, shaking his head as he grabbed his drink from the table. "Okay, even I can't take myself seriously on that one."

"You shouldn't sell yourself short." Tali mumbled, clearing her throat and apparently hoping no one heard her. Seeing as Anna did, she immediately checked the fuzzy readouts at the edges of her vision. "I don't know, she didn't say." The quarian clasped her hands together, playing with her fingers nervously. "But... since we're on the topic, are any of you single? Not that I'm asking for my own sake, of course, but Atheyta was pretty clear about looking out for Liara while she was gone, and I'd rather prevent her from embarrassing herself like I'm no doubt doing now." She shook her head. "Kheelah, the things I do for my job."

With a clear and sober mind, Anna could've easily navigated the conversation with subtelty, preserving the fun of discovery and exploration for the others. Unfortunately, that was one of the first things to go while she was mildly intoxicated, so she instead went with the blunt option. "Liara likes Shepard, Shepard likes Liara; there we go, no more confusion. This is delicious by the way. Can I have another?"

She noisily took another gulp of the liquid in question while the others, save Elsa, just gawked at her. Finally, Korra laughed.

"Where was she when we first met?"

"Right." Asami chuckled, threading her fingers through her girlfriend's. "Would've saved us a lot of headaches."

Recovering from her shock, Shepard leaned forward, lowering her voice slightly. "So, what do I do?"

"Uh, flirt? Isn't that obvious?" Elsa elbowed her in the side, meeting her scrunched up look of annoyance with a blank face. "Okay, okay- what I mean is, she told you about what she does. Ask questions about archayology and listen to what she says. Even if you don't get it, she'll appreciate your interest. When she starts asking questions about your career, be honest and genuine. You just be you and let her be her and it's second nature!" She waved a hand in the air a bit. "Don't stress. Don't let your head get in the way of your heart. Hallmark stuff."

"This is what you meant by 'we come off as snobs', isn't it?" Elsa mumbled, though a reluctant smile was tugging at her lips.

Anna opened her mouth to reply but clicked it shut, offering a wide, knowing smile to the table as she caught a flash of white entering the lounge.

"Tali, there you are. I was looking for you." Liara turned her head, acknowledging the seated group with a hint of poorly feigned surprise and more noticeable excitement. "Ah, sorry for interupting. I didn't realize we still had guests. It's good to see all of you enjoying yourselves."

While everyone else schooled their expressions into pleasant acknowledgment at her appearance, Anna could only smile wider and giggle, nuzzling her head into Elsa's shoulder in a purely taunting fashion.

"Is... she okay?" Liara tilted her head slightly, indicating the redhead.

Elsa smiled, her loose hold around Anna's waist becoming tighter. "She's drunk and very affectionate. I'm not complaining."

She had half a mind to say something in retaliation but refrained when she felt the blonde press a kiss to the top of her head, snaking her arms around the other woman's waist to return the embrace. "You two should join us."

"Oh, I wouldn't want to intrude-"

"Nonsense!" Garrus, surprisingly, was the one to back Anna up, leaning over to drag a chair towards the table, putting it between himself and Shepard- who looked a bit like a goldfish, trying to come up with something to say, apparently. He reached towards another one and placed it between himself and Korra. "You two have been working all night! Take a load off and laugh at the drunks!"

"Or join us!" Korra raised her glass in a toast that the rest of the drinkers copied, Asami and Elsa shaking their heads.

Tali and Liara exchanged a glance. "I... suppose it wouldn't hurt."

"Wouldn't hurt? Kheelah, please." Tali laughed, turning back towards the lounge's bar. "I'll grab us refreshments. I know Atheyta keeps a bottle of Thessia Red somewhere around here and we always have turian brandy."

Twenty minutes later, all eight of them were seated, a few bottles in the center of the table so they could refill their glasses at will, though Asami, Elsa, and Tali did the honors for the most part. While the quarian and turian were getting hammered and good-naturedly debating the roles of combat drones in various tactical scenarios- their genres were the complimenting type, giving them similar but unique perspective on the topic, from what Anna could gather- Liara and Shepard were engaged in a quiet conversation, their drinks only occasionally remembered as they talked.

From where Anna sat, she could see that the good doctor's enthusiasm at times got away from her, eventually leading to either Shepard making a joke or the asari cutting herself off and blushing, tripping over her words for a few moments. While Shepard seemed to enjoy the reaction, she also provided comfort and reassurance whenever Liara seemed on the verge of retreating. Although her vision was a bit blurry by this point, the redhead was reasonably sure that their little impromptu group would be void of any single people by the end of the night. At the very least, Shepard and Liara would be willing to admit they'd like to see where things go; Garrus, on the other hand, was probably oblivious that he and Tali were working that way as well. Theirs would take time, more for him than her, but she had faith in love.

"Hey." She looked up, giving a lazy, drunken smile before lips were pressed against her own. "You okay?"

"Mmmm alright. Jus' thinkin'."

Elsa chuckled at her slur, which was more a product of laziness and the exhaustion from the day catching up with her than the intoxicants. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"What are we?" Okay, she didn't mean to say that but... well, since she'd already put a crinkle of worry into the blonde's brow, she might as well clarify. Sitting up slightly, she forced a bit more lucidity into her tone. "Are we girlfriends? Just seeing each other? Dating? What do you think? Because I want to introduce you as my girlfriend; I want to be yours. But I can't tell if you're okay with that."

"You... you can't tell?" The worry gave way to absolute confusion on Elsa's face.

"No." She sighed, holding onto the other woman even tighter than before. "Like I said, I'm not perfect. There are some things I should be able to see but can't. So I don't know. Not without help. I lo-like you, Elsa, and I have no clue if I'm going way too fast or if you're waiting for me, if I'm even doing this right or-"

She was cut off when Elsa smoothly slid from her chair and into the redhead's lap, hands coming up to cup Anna's face so they were looking each other in the eyes.

"You're doing it right, Anna." Then they were kissing like never before. It was messy, uncoordinated, passionate, and so much better than the others for it. Anna clung to the blonde, wishing she was actually sober enough to burn every sensation into her memory, her heart beating as fast and a whine welling in her chest as Elsa pulled away briefly, running her thumbs across the redhead's flushed cheeks. "I like you, too. A lot."

Anna smiled, leaning up to steal another kiss, slower, chaste. "I like you a lot, too."

"I gathered that." There was a hint of amusement sparkling in her bright blue eyes and something else Anna couldn't place, her alcohol addled mind doing little in the way of helping her puzzle it out. Then, thinking went out the window as the space between them lessened, her eyes closing automatically as their lips drew close.

"You two okay over there?" Asami called out, startling them both back to the real world.

Or maybe just Anna, because Elsa threw a look at her friend without missing a beat. "I'm making out with my girlfriend. Is that okay with the peanut gallery?"

Snickering ensued, followed by Tali slurring worse than the redhead had. "No no, please continue, I'm just going to go and-" a thump, followed by the clattering of a chair to the ground "-ah. You know what? This is good. I'm okay with this."

Another thump followed before Garrus chimed in with, "this is a comfy carpet, rug, thing. Not an interior designer. Also, not a defensible position. But comfy."

There was more commentary after that but Anna tuned it out, focusing on her girlfriend as their lips met again.

---

There were many unintentional side effects of the upgrades humanity implemented on themselves back in the day. One, of course, was the genres. Another: pretty much everyone was a light sleeper and immune to hangovers. The latter was expected, though not intentional, seeing as the machines were designed to improve a person's life span, and removing harmful toxins from the body tended to do that. The former, however, was a sometimes pleasant, sometimes cursed surprise; the nanomachines somehow adapted themselves to interpret the chemical signals from a person's instincts. This, beneficially, meant that a sleeping individual, devoid of the distractions of their HUD, tended to wake up whenever the environment changed. It was almost like a proximity alarm.

That didn't mean it couldn't happen, of course.

The first thing she was consciously aware of was a loud crashing, like metal pots being smashed together. The next, a warm body covering hers, an arm wrapped around her head protectively, several shouts of alarm, another crash, and two metallic clicks.

A moment of silence, and then: "Are you happy now, Atheyta?"

The feminine voice was calm, measured, cool, but with a chiding edge.

"Come on, you can't blame this one on me, Nezzy." The reply was female as well but the voice rougher and more amused than her counterpart. "Got 'em up, didn't it?"

"Mother? Father!" Liara sounded caught between mortification and panic. "Y-you're back."

"We're aware of that, Liara."

"Way to state the obvious, kiddo."

Elsa- who had thrown herself on top of the redhead in response to the wake up call- lifted up enough so both of them could take in the state of the room. Her memory fuzzy, Anna couldn't exactly recall the circumstances that lead to them being curled up under a table in the arena's lounge, but there they were, still dressed in their athletic clothes from the night before. One of the tables bore the evidence of their activities from the night, several empty glasses and bottles cluttering the space. Across the room, Garrus and Tali were nervously standing up from their crouched positions behind another table they'd hurriedly flipped over, the turian replacing the sidearm he'd drawn beneath his jacket. Closer to them, Asami and Korra were dropping from defensive fighting stances, hands slowly uncurling from fists as blushes suffused their cheeks. Finally, off in a corner of the room was Shepard crouching in front of Liara as she picked herself up, pistol slowly lowering from being levelled at the matriarchs, both of whom were standing by the bar, one holding two large pots.

"Damn, Atheyta, I'm sorry," Shepard said as she holstered her weapon and stood, looking a tad chagrined.

"For pointing a gun at me or fucking my daughter?" The matriarch set the pots on the bar, her wife shaking her head.

"Language."

"Lighten up, Nezzy!"

On the other side of the room, Shepard and Liara were stumbling over each other to deny Atheyta's accusation and explain themselves, Garrus, Tali, Asami, and Korra were all desperately looking for an escape route, and Anna was... inclined to go back to sleep, honestly. She must've passed out only an hour ago, her head still throbbing from the alcohol.

"Anna!" The blonde hissed as she was pulled back down to the floor. "What are you doing?"

"We're already in trouble, I'm still a little hungover, and you're soft. Might as well cuddle until they get to us," was her mumbled reply, burying her head into Elsa's shoulder and getting comfortable. After a few moments, her girlfriend relaxed and did the same.

"Yeah... might as well."

---

It only took half an hour for the matriarchs- or, rather, Atheyta, specifically- to thoroughly embarrass their daughter and notice the other people strewn around the room. While Benezia accepted their apologies gracefully, Atheyta seemed to favor Anna's mentality regarding the whole situation. She even managed to get food delivered to the arena- in the middle of the night, because some people never sleep it seemed- and mixed up some hangover cures as a show of good will, all while continuing to tease Liara.

While they slowly returned to the natural state of consciousness for their respective races, little details were filled in through idle conversation. Apparently, the matriarchs had returned from their vacation a few days prior and were using the remaining days Liara was covering down at the arena to 'settle a few matters'- which their daughter begged them not to elaborate on- and became worried when the arena's security system didn't activate on time. They'd called Feron, seeing as he was the last registered employee to leave the Arena, and it was he who ratted them out, reporting that the eight of them had paired off about thirty minutes after Liara and Tali joined the group, and passed out some time after that. Relieved their daughter was okay, Atheyta was more than welcoming of the on-the-spot party and Benezia at least approved of Liara's choice in drinking partners, specifically Elsa and Asami. By the time food arrived, everyone was talking and laughing and teasing like they'd known each other for years.

The details were a little fuzzy, once again, but somehow they all ended up starting an impromptu battle-of-the-couples in the wee hours of the morning, putting the Arena's new simulation to the test.

Anna spent the whole fight blasting at whoever came too close to Elsa's sniper nest with a shotgun while the blonde waged a long distance battle with Garrus.

Devoid of zealous jerks, the redhead found she actually really enjoyed competing alongside her girlfriend. She still wasn't very good, of course, but she learned two very important lessons.

One: she was not competitive enough to enjoy winning more than simply playing with friends.

Two: never expect to win against the person who owns the business.

---

Author's Note: If you guessed Call of Duty or Halo, you are correct! Although I adore the Halo campaigns, when it comes to multiplayer games, these two are the ones I usually play. If you guessed Mass Effect, you get points for being close, seeing as I was playing that two months ago and I obviously borrowed very heavily from that universe. So, I was sitting around thinking about a possible sequel to Life's a Game and had a hard time visualizing what kind of future I'd dropped these two in and all that, which I hadn't entirely thought out originally. I ended up writing this so I could define the world I'm working with, so there's not a lot of development in their relationship here, but just a peek at how it's going. This isn't really going to have much impact on any subsequent installments to the universe, except a cameo or two, but I figured I'd share in case anyone might be interested. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this; I tend to write Anna as pretty sure of herself and confident in what she's doing, so it was fun to put her in a situation where she's completely off kilter and slightly freaking out about it. I'm also not going to use my 'nothing will come of this' line, because it's a fucking curse apparently.