a/n: Doug and Alexa enjoy a meal, until memories of how survivors got on the Whale take away their appetites.
All the good things belong to Monolith Soft, and Alexa x Doug is my BrOTP.
April2018 04 Broken System
Alexa's eyes sparkled over the burger she was devouring. She looked at the large silent man across the table. After finishing a sloppy bite, she wiped her mouth and said, "Geez, Doug, you usually don't look this glum on a payday. What's eating you?"
The bustle of the restaurant swirled around them. Doug had been picking at his sandwich, ignoring his fries, and generally not talking much during dinner. Alexa hadn't noticed at first, since she had plenty to talk about (guess the topic, just guess), but once the food arrived, it had become obvious. Every time she had to pause to chew, the table would fall silent, whether he was eating or not.
"Rough mission, I guess."
"What happened?"
He shoved his plate to the side and scratched his chin. "It wasn't the mission. We were beating back that overgrown lizard Sarcosuchus a couple times. Gotta do it to keep him from nibbling on the local stations." Alexa nodded. The giant crocodilian tended to ambush squads in Noctilum, and it was commonplace to see a request for teams in the area to beat it back into its lagoon. "Nothing we haven't done a million times. I guess it's the company."
"Hey hey!" Alexa said with dismay.
"Not this company, the company on the mission. I had a problem with the rest of the squad, well, one of them anyway. Took that Curator, Sharon, along for the ride."
"Oh, her. Doesn't she like to be called Murdress? No wonder you lost your appetite. Did you get sick of her talking about all her money plans and junk?" She imitated Murdress' silky drawl. "'La di dah I'm going to buy all of the houses in New Los Angeles and squeeze the residents for every credit they have.' Barf." She reached across the table and snatched one of Doug's fries, munching on it with satisfaction.
Doug's mouth twisted in a knowing grin. "You've been on a mission with her too, I take it."
"Couple of times. Once I went with both her and H.B., may heaven protect me in the future."
Doug leaned his bulky frame back and shook his head slightly. "It wasn't that money talk. I'm okay with the hunt for the almighty credit…"
"Ya think?!" snorted Alexa.
"… but she started bragging about something else, and it made my skin crawl. About all the strings she had to pull to get onto the White Whale. She started rattling off names of other people she knew were aboard, saying what they'd done and who they'd paid to get on. To hear her tell it, the whole selection process was broken." He tapped his fingers on the table absently, staring across the room. "I don't like thinking about that. I know people that went bad because they couldn't handle things like that."
Alexa nodded. She knew exactly who he meant by "people". She probably should have spotted it by the look on his face. She set her burger down and turned her own plate carefully. "You know, I only got on because my dad knew somebody who knew somebody who knew somebody," she said quietly. "Got me the job detailing skells and that got me safe onto the Whale."
Doug shook his head. "No way. You earned your bearth. You're the Skell Master! Where'd we be without you? Besides, you were in the Earth Defence Force."
"I was the worst soldier they ever had, I swear. And sure, I'm good with skells." Her voice purred for a moment. "MMM, so very good. But I'm not one in a million good. I figure I beat out at least that many other people."
"I think the numbers are off, Alexa."
"Point is, there aren't many of us that can't rattle off 20 people that should have been here instead of us, if we're being honest. But that's how luck is, right?"
"No. You were doing all the right things."
"My friend, down the street? She was doing all the right things too. She'd just gotten her teaching credential, taught a year of kindergarten, and that got her nowhere. Because we weren't going to get off the planet using 5-year olds." Alexa stopped suddenly and picked up her burger again. "Gee, thanks, Doug, you've ruined MY appetite," she said, before taking a big bite.
Doug blinked. "Then why are you still eating?"
"Promised my mom," she replied through a mouthful of food. "She was worried I wouldn't eat right once I joined the EDF, I guess because I tend to get distracted and forget to eat. So before I left home, I promised, every day, I'd sit down and eat one proper meal. The whole thing. I wouldn't stop until I finished."
"Uh huh."
"I do it too," she defended. Then she smiled. "Well, usually. Once a week for sure. It works better when there's someone to talk to."
"Lemme help you," said Doug and grabbed one of her onion rings.
a/n: I love bouncing these two off each other. See (deep breath): Dances with Saltat; Noctilum Picnic; Modern Bromance etc.; and Piece of Cake. (Also Doug and Alexa Do a Test, hysterical laughter.)
Next up: 05 Short End. Doug and Tatsu, two dudes kicking it in Oblivia. There will be too many insects at the end of the story, so some of you may choose to skip forward to 06 Tripod, which will be Frye/Phog sweetness at its purest.
Don't worry, neither Doug nor Tatsu are hurt.