The party, like all others of its kind, is in a club, one of the least-professional venues one could go with. They'd rented out the entire place because there were so many people, and whoever managed this tended to be willy-nilly with funds, planning the most extravagant parties and going with the most expensive option because "I have money and I need to be an arrogant ass about it".
Speaking of, who planned these things? It definitely wasn't him. If it was up to him, there wouldn't be a party at all. Call him a square, but there was nothing appealing about getting drunk around your colleagues. Seeing your colleagues outside of what was required was unappealing, period. Especially these ones. The ones that weren't gold-digging lowlifes were desperate social-climbers, and the ones who weren't either of those lacked a personality.
So… where did that put him? He supposed he was an outlier. He was rich, there was no need to be a gold-digger. And he was already at the top, so social-climbing was a fruitless deed. And he was certain he had a personality. He could be fun! If he wasn't, then he never would have even bothered showing up… or going through the trouble of getting a date.
Speaking of his date, he didn't seem to be having the most fun. Alexander didn't blame him; these parties were overwhelming, especially if it was your first one.
The looks he was receiving from others likely didn't help matters much. The people that weren't blatantly surprised were… horrified? Alexander wasn't fully sure, though that was probably a good assumption. Horrified that Snippy dare show his face, considering what he was. There was a reason why he wasn't invited.
They were all a bunch of petty hypochondriacs, the lot of them. Whatever. They weren't the epitome of social elitists, though they sure acted that way.
" Just ignore them," Alexander mutters.
" Does it work?" Charles whispers back.
" Of course not. But they don't matter."
" That's rude of you to say,"
" No," Alexander speaks in a pointed fashion, " what's rude is that they're treating you like this. They don't even know you!"
" You don't either." Charles points out.
" No, I don't, but I'm not treating you like they are." Charles is silent after that.
" These things are a lot more fun if you get drunk." Alexander says once the silence has become unbearable. " I'll be right back."
" Wait," Charles grabs Alexander's arm before he can stalk off, " we work tomorrow."
" So?"
" Isn't that a bit irresponsible?"
" Oh, c'mon, Charles. Everyone drinks at these things! Live a little!" Alexander elbows Charles in the side and walks off.
Alexander disappears, leaving Charles standing there numbly, unsure of what to do. He'd never stepped foot inside a club, made damn sure to avoid doing so. Wasn't like he could do much. Although people found his eyes alluring- apparently- being unconnectable immediately gave them cold feet. It was like clockwork, with most if not all exchanges going similarly. He'd stopped being polite a long time ago, telling the person he was unconnectable before they could even introduce themselves. And each time, without fail, they turned away from him. He'd gotten used to it by this point, for the most part.
A sad life he lived, but there wasn't much he could do. It wasn't like he could change anyone's minds about the whole thing. There was nothing he could do to convince anyone to give up Annet just to be with him. Not when they had the whole world at their fingertips. That was much more important than some poor unconnectable sod.
Alexander returns with a martini in each hand. He hands one to Charles, who takes and stares at it numbly, unsure of what to do.
" To new beginnings!" Gromov says, clinking their glasses together and taking a sip. He pauses when he notices Charles has remained unmoving.
" Oh good G, don't tell me you don't drink."
" I told you not to get me anything. We work tomorrow."
" You're the only person I've ever met who would choose work over martinis." Alexander chuckles. " C'mon, drink with me!"
" I need the money."
" Hm. I suppose you have a point. But you are getting that promotion, you know-"
" I still need the money." Charles states bluntly. " Promotion or not."
Alexander rolls his eyes. " Fine, I won't force you to do anything you don't want to. But I'm sure people'll do a bit less staring if you try to blend in more."
" I sincerely doubt that." Charles replies, " but if it'll shut you up, then fine. I'll drink your damned martini." He takes a sip of his martini, and it takes everything in him to not splutter. Alexander picks up on his uncomfort almost immediately.
" Are you a lightweight or something?"
" No." Charles mutters. " It's just been a while. It's not like I can afford alcohol, and I do what I can to avoid clubs and the like."
" Ah. You're missing out, then."
" Yeah, well, there's not much I can do about that."
" Suppose not." Alexander says absentmindedly. People were still staring. Didn't they have anything better to do? Charles points this out to Alexander, who merely shrugs.
" I'm not surprised. You know, these parties tend to attract the worst people. Most of 'em are social bottom feeders who think they actually have a shot with me. Ha! That's probably why they're staring. Because after being single for so long, they're surprised to see me with you of all people."
" What's that supposed to mean?"
" Oh, you know. Unconnectable. I didn't mean to offend you by saying that."
" I'm used to it." Charles mutters.
" You're used to a lot of it, aren't you?" Alexander says.
" I guess. You kind of have to be, when you're in my shoes."
" Oh." The two are silent for a few moments before Alexander breaks it again.
" Okay, this conversation bummed me out. Let's talk about something else!"
" Like what?"
" We could shit-talk everyone else here. There's nothing stopping us." Alexander grins.
" That's a bit rude, don't you think?"
" They're all staring at you! And to me, I think that means they have it coming. It's not like they'll know." Alexander says.
" Unless they can lipread. Then they'll know."
" Come on! Do you really think any of them are talented enough to be able to lipread? Be realistic, Charles!"
" I suppose you have a point. And some of the people here do look like hot messes."
" There you go! How about I point a person out to you, and you shittalk them?"
" Okay. Sure. Why not?"
" Now you're being fun. Okay. How about him over there?" Charles follows Alexander's finger, pointing to a balding middle-aged man.
" Oh, that's too easy. He works a few cubicles down from me. Thrice divorced, no kids. Spends his free time knitting sweaters… for his six cats."
" I bet that's what drove all his spouses away." Alexander mutters. " Your turn."
" Okay, how about… her?"
" Hmm… Oh, she's easy. One of my usuals. Spends every party near me, always flirting and buying me drinks. I know what you're after, Darla, and you can't have any!" Alexander side-eyes Charles and winks.
" Who would want to sleep with you of all people?"
" Lots of people, actually. And I wasn't talking about that! I meant my money! I'm loaded, you know."
" Bit cocky, are we?"
" I can afford to be. Anyways, it's my turn. How about… her?"
" So what do you do outside of work, anyways?" Snippy asks, " do you have friends or anything?"
" I do, though Annie's been taking up much of my time. So I'm not sure at this point."
" Why didn't you invite one of them to come? Not to be rude or anything, I'm merely curious."
" They don't live here."
" Where, then?"
" Most of them are scattered throughout Russia, though there are a few in Monaco and Switzerland."
" Sounds like you just have a bunch of rich friends."
" Yes, though few of them by their own means. Plenty of them just mooch off their parents. There are a few, though, that I know from college. Engineers that joined rival companies."
" Oh."
" Though, there are some from high school that I'm surprised have stuck with me for so long." Alexander says, absentmindedly scratching the back of his neck.
" Why's that?" Charles asks.
" I don't talk to them. We've just grown apart is all."
" Oh."
" And our interests have changed. I used to be a dumb teenager, as were they, though I seem to have been the only one to have outgrown that."
" Really now? I doubt you were that reckless. I just don't see it happening."
" Oh, believe me, I was. How about you?"
" I was a dumb teenager too. And I had plenty of stupid friends. They all used to get into trouble, like, all the time."
" I bet you have plenty of stories."
" Yeah, I do. This one time, my friend was dating this one girl that was kinda flaky and had a thing for cheating on people. So she cheats on this friend, to nobody's surprise except for his. So he's all pissed, right? And he proposes that we go and egg her house. So we go do that- well, I don't egg her house, I was just there to drive the getaway vehicle, which was always my job. And we got caught of course, because none of my friends knew how to shut up, apparently." Alexander's laughing at this point, but Charles continues.
" So anyways, the whole family comes out. The parents and the ex-girlfriend. The parents demand an explanation, of course, and their daughter's just dead silent, because if she talked, then she'd have to admit to cheating, which she continued to vehemently deny at this point. So my friend doesn't admit to shit, either. Just bullshits his way out of it. I don't remember what he said at all, but trust me, it was the worst excuse I've ever heard in my life. And he had to lie, because do you think the parents are going to believe that their daughter did something so cold? Of course not!" Alexander continues to laugh, but Charles isn't done.
" So then, the mother says something like 'well I hope you're happy, because your parents are all getting called and you're all going to clean up this mess'. The mother was one fiery brod, though I don't blame her in this instance. But anyways, my friend, the dumbass ringleader manages to make it worse, because he starts flirting with the girl's mother, all, 'I'll clean up anything you want, dearest' or something like that. And then the father flat-out knocks him on his ass, because what else do you do in that situation? You can't just stand idly by! And of course our parents all got called. And I was in deep, deep shit."
" Wait, really? That actually happened? Your friend actually tried flirting with her after he'd egged her house?" Alexander asks between fits of laughter.
" Yes!"
" Oh my God! That is wild!" Alexander continues to laugh. It is a strange laugh that stands apart from the rest of his personality. Where Alexander was usually so controlled and restrained, his laugh was wild and erratic. It was a side Charles was sure he'd never see again, though he wouldn't mind if he did. He wished that they were friends and hung out more…
Okay. No more alcohol. That statement alone was the deciding factor.
" I never would have taken you for the type to do stupid shit like that."
" Oh, really? Well, I suppose I can understand that. I don't really do much. I don't have the friends anymore, anyways." Charles says wistfully, internally smacking himself for saying more than he wanted to. He shouldn't have gotten drunk, though he wasn't sure how he'd gotten himself this drunk. Well, he wasn't… drunk, per se. Buzzed was a more appropriate term.
" Why not?" Alexander asks.
" You know why."
Alexander sighs. "You must lead a lonely life"
"It's not all bad," Snippy says, "I have a cat."
Gromov sighs once more, though out of pity this time. Grabbing Snippy's hand, he says, " let me show you some of what you've been missing out on."
" Where are you taking me?"
" We're just going to go dance."
" Oh, God," Snippy winces, " how drunk are you?"
" Not very, though I am filled with spite. I want to show these assholes up, so be sure to pretend to be having a really good time, okay?"
Well… this night was shaping up to be plenty interesting.
"You know," Gromov speaks for the first time in quite a few minutes, " I usually hate parties. They're too crowded and people are always staring at me. But tonight's been fun."
Since they'd started dancing, they'd managed to get progressively more drunk. Charles or Alexander, neither of them could remember, had suggested taking a shot every time they played a slower song. It made things less awkward that way, when the two of them blatantly wanted no part of it. Though neither of them wanted to pretend to be interested in the cliche "swaying to a slow song" type of deal, a few drinks made all the difference. Now they were… somewhat okay with it. Though there wouldn't be enough slow songs in the world to make either of them outright enjoy it.
Regardless, there hadn't been many slow songs playing, so they were still buzzed for the most part. There was one playing now, though, and they'd been swaying to this beat, as awkward as it was. If they didn't, then they'd stand out, and more people might stare at them.
" I hate to burst your bubble, but people are staring now."
Gromov shrugs, " I don't care, now that I have someone to spend the night with."
" They're staring at me, aren't they?" Snippy asks.
"You know what?" Gromov stops dancing and grabs Snippy's hand. He begins dragging the other man off, " let's get out of here."
And Snippy doesn't object, though he does ask where they are going.
Gromov doesn't elaborate further than, " you'll see."
" It's been ten minutes and you still haven't told me where we're going." Charles groans from behind Alexander, " I'm beginning to get a tad bit concerned."
" Don't worry about it. I told you that you'll see. I can assure you, though, that it's much better than that party." Alexander says.
" I'm confused. If you just asked me to go to that party solely because you didn't want to ask anyone else, why do you still want to hang out?"
Alexander says nothing. He really doesn't have a good excuse, figuring that bluntly saying because I pity you wouldn't be received well. He needed more time to come up with a good lie.
" It's because you feel bad for me, right?" Always a mind reader, apparently.
" Does it matter? At least I'm not treating you with open hostility."
" Fair point, but I'm not a person to be pitied. I'm fine. I've gotten used to it all, you know. And besides, that promotion'll probably work wonders for me, so thanks. You've done enough." Charles says.
" I've done enough? Really now. Is that how you see it? Because if anything, you've done enough for me. I'm merely repaying the favor."
" Yes, but, you're granting that favor. I was surprised when you relented so easily."
" The Dead Zone needs tour guides. It's only preferable if they actually want the job, which not many do." Alexander says.
" Okay, fine. But there are other ways to 'repay the favor', as you claim to be doing."
Alexander abruptly stops, resulting in Charles walking right into him. He turns to face Charles.
" Okay, fine. You caught me. So maybe I like hanging out with you."
" I- what? But you barely know me!"
" I know enough. You're funny. And you actually seem interested in me-"
" I'm not. I'm just doing this for the promotion."
" I know that," Alexander sighs. Charles could be really blunt when he needed to be. " but you're… different, I suppose. You can actually hold a conversation with me without getting a vacant look in your eyes. That's not easy to come by."
" It sounds to me like you just have really low standards. Most people look for someone with specific features or traits, but you just want someone to be able to talk to."
Alexander chuckles, " yeah."
" Which, you could accomplish that much with anyone. Or anything, if you're desperate enough. A plant works. And they're pretty cheap, too. Though I suppose that doesn't matter to you, seeing as how you're just so wealthy that you can't seem to not mention it every fifteen minutes." Charles rambles.
Silence falls between the two for a few minutes before Charles sees to break it with a meek, " sorry. That was harsh."
Alexander clears his throat, " anyways. We're here."
" A bridge." Charles says after stopping. " You brought me to a bridge."
Aforementioned bridge had been one he'd seen plenty of times on his way to work, making it even less special. Just an ordinary bridge in his eyes.
" Not just any bridge!" Alexander persists.
" What makes it so special?" Charles replies, unamused.
" The view. Look." Alexander extends an arm and gestures to the world around them, " nice, isn't it?"
" I guess." Charles mutters, obliging Alexander's request. It was an okay enough view, though he hated to admit such. And in this day and age, saying a view in Eureka was 'nice' didn't make it spectacular. There was so much pollution that even slightly tolerable views were hard to come by. A nice view just meant that you weren't entirely overwhelmed by the pollution.
" I come here whenever I can. The world gets overwhelming, sometimes. You know?" Alexander's tone suddenly turns serious as he leans against the railing to stare out to the world around them. Charles imitates this action.
" I suppose so, yeah." Charles mutters, shocked by the man's confession. He'd thought Alexander to be the last person to think such things, much less saying such aloud.
It was additionally peculiar how relatable the statement was. Charles figured himself one of the few people who felt such a way about the world. With Annet, people were able to turn away from anything overwhelming or bothersome, opting to instead float above everything in their imaginary protective bubbles. This left those who couldn't or didn't connect in quite an odd predicament. They were the outsiders who didn't see the world through rose-colored glasses. It wasn't enlightening so much as it was terrifying, as they were the sole ones who knew the end of the world was imminent and right upon them, fate's cold claws sinking in for the kill.
Or saw evidence of it, anyways.
" So," Alexander breaks the silence that had fallen between them, " why are you after this promotion so badly? You do know how dreadful the Dead Zone can be, right?"
" Maybe to an annet user like you," Charles says, " but it's different for me. You know that, right?"
" Yeah," Alexander says, " I just don't see what's so great about it."
" Well, for starters, my current job is a dead-end one because I'm an unconnectable. In the dead zone, I can operate by my own schedule and get a good amount of sleep. It's better for me there."
" Oh," Alexander replies. Well now I have to give him that promotion. " Well, I'm sorry that you couldn't have seen the world like this sooner."
" Yeah," Charles says, " me too."
I'll be real af bruh I'm so bored I decided to just post this. I was gonna post it tomorrow anyways but I went ahead and updated early. Anyways this is where it ends for now, unless I become interested in this story again. Sorry about that, but maybe my future projects will be better. I'm currently trying to change things up a bit. I started a tumblr askblog for a romac AU I created where Gromov has a daughter. Check it out if you're interested. the url's villageofthree .tumblr .com. Still in the developing phase but if people send in questions I'll commit to it more. Thanks. I'll try to have a fic related to that up soon but idk where to start.
