Legal Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs. Blue or any of the show's characters. They are the rightful properties of Rooster Teeth.
Chapter Nine:
Richard "Dick" Simmons really wasn't sure what to make of the fact that Cass' bar was so busy this particular night.
Granted, he'd already agreed to going there and there was no way he'd back out now because he knew Grif would tease him relentlessly over it, but large crowds like the one he currently found himself facing made him feel horribly uneasy.
Besides, the cyborg had been to the bar before and had even enjoyed the atmosphere there, which is probably the main reason why he wasn't giving in to his desire to bolt right about now. Well, that and because he was here with Grif.
Dexter Grif glanced the redhead's way, his usual apathetic mockery mixed with actual concern, "You okay, nerd? You look ready to pass out."
Simmons took in a deep, shaking breath and quelled his unease long enough to glare at the other man, "I—I'm fine, dumbass," he shot back, "I just didn't think there would be so many people."
"Yeah, it is a lot tonight." Grif agreed, lazily looking around at the crowd that had already gathered at just the front entrance of the building.
Several were familiar faces from around Chorus, but intermingling with them were quite a few new people that Simmons had only seen in passing so far. Most likely they were the mercenaries that had recently joined. The redhead wondered if they partied often like this, or if this outing was on account of being new to the area and celebrating.
"You want to go somewhere else?" Grif questioned him, oddly tentative.
Simmons blinked, shaking his head, "No! Here's fine."
After all, he'd have to get used to this eventually. Nothing screamed "I'm trying to get out of my comfort zone!" better than just jumping right in.
Grif looked ready to question him again, so Simmons raised an eyebrow mockingly, "Are you seriously going to waste the opportunity to use the discount your friend gave me?"
That did the trick. Grif had grabbed his hand and was pulling the lankier man inside, face flushed at the contact and at the prospect of mooching off of Simmons' promised discount.
The bar itself was even more crowded than the outside had been. Given the mass of bodies inside, Simmons couldn't help but wonder what the maximum occupancy for the establishment was. He was fairly certain it was being exceeded just then by such a large percentage of patrons.
The cyborg was just about to say so to Grif over the din of noise at the no doubt risk of being called out for being a nerd, but a loud voice cut through the air before he was able to do so.
"Are you guys out on a date?"
Felix, one of the mercenary leaders, was standing behind them with a joking grin plastered on his face, though his brown eyes seemed sharply focused on their reactions to his question. The mischievous mirth there only intensified at Grif clearing his throat and looking away while Simmons spluttered and turned redder in the still flesh and blood portions of his face.
"It's really…" Grif began trying to explain but trailed off, glancing at Simmons as if worried he really would faint at any moment.
Felix held up his hands, "Hey," he informed them, "No explanation necessary!"
He glanced behind him just then, Simmons and Grif starting at Locus suddenly looming there as well. The freelancer in steel-and-green armor seemed horribly out-of-place in this environment.
Behind the two mercenaries was a large table filled with what appeared to be several of the more boisterous and raucous of their own crew.
Felix noticed their regard and grinned, "What did I tell you before about being stuck with a conversationalist like this guy?" He gestured towards his partner, "Sometimes I just like talking to anyone else to hear some actual fucking words."
"Felix." Locus' tone was one of warning.
Felix rolled his dark eyes but otherwise ignored his partner, "Anyways, we'd promised our group a night out to celebrate our new arrangements." He motioned to the group behind them, "Last time we were in a place like this, things got wild. But, we'll try to keep it in check."
The orange-trimmed mercenary winked and tilted his head towards both Simmons and Grif before offering them what sounded like conspiratorial advice: "Best to enjoy tonight. You never know how many ones like this we'll get."
Locus nodded his head slightly in goodbye before both mercenaries turned and rejoined their group.
Simmons relaxed marginally once they were gone. Though Felix's words and advice seemed friendly enough on the surface, something about the whole exchange had set him a bit on edge for reasons he couldn't quite put his finger on.
Of course, those particular anxieties fell to the back of his mind when Cass spotted the two of them a second later.
"Hey! Good to see you guys," the brunette greeted them, winking mischievously and patting Simmons on the shoulder, "It's especially good to see you! I hope you're keeping Grif from being too much of an idiot."
"Hey!" Grif stated indignantly from nearby.
"Um…" Simmons' face had once again turned a truly impressive shade of red as the woman guided him over to a table in a small alcove slightly away from the hoopla of the crowd.
"I figured you might want a quieter place." She told the cyborg, her expression a friendly one.
"Th—thank you." Simmons got out awkwardly, wishing for what felt like the umpteenth time that he wasn't so terrible with speaking to most women.
"Have they been a handful?" Grif asked curiously, motioning behind him to where the mercenaries were gathered.
"Beyond acting like they haven't been out in years? Not really." Cass grinned, "I'm keeping a tab though. Just in case."
It was probably a smart move from a business standpoint. Considering how busy the place was with the added mercenary patronage, Cass even had to take their orders in a hurry without a lot of the friendly small talk her bar was known for.
Simmons stared at Grif in disbelief after she left to get their order started. "Five entrees, Grif?" The redhead asked him incredulously, "Really?"
Grif shrugged, "Well, I am trying to cut back, Simmons."
It really didn't shock Simmons in the slightest that the chubby man would consider that "cutting back."
The cyborg sighed mostly to himself, "And here I had a hard time trying to figure out what to eat or drink."
The slightly older man shook his head in a gesture that was both pitying and mocking, "That's because you need to learn to live a little, Simmons."
Simmons bristled slightly at the remark, "I—I know how to—!"
He was cut off by an all-too familiar voice exclaiming loudly into the bar: "Oh, this is going to be the best party ever!"
Caboose and an entourage that even included a less than enthusiastic-looking Church and a surprisingly hesitant Carolina, had just entered the building. The blond Caboose was grinning from ear to ear with Freckles in tow, the expression only a match for the smiles found on both Doc and Donut's faces.
Simmons hadn't realized that their respective nights on the town would lead the group here as well, though he supposed he shouldn't have been too surprised considering how small Chorus still was.
He caught Grif looking over at him, a conspiratorial nod of the genetically engineered man's head indicating that they were probably thinking along the same lines just then.
"Pretend we're not here?" The orange-wearing man asked to confirm it.
Simmons nodded, "Pretend we're not here."
The two then tried to make themselves as inconspicuous in the alcove as possible to avoid detection from their friends.
Vanessa Kimball sighed, finally managing to put down the datapad she had been working on for the last several hours. She glanced over at the time display on her terminal, surprised to note that she had somehow managed to finish her work a bit earlier than usual. Her last order of business had been simply to review a potential future salvage mission to an area that may have been overlooked, so it had been nothing drastically time-consuming.
She frowned, tapping her finger idly on her desk. Normally, for anyone else free time would be a cause for celebration, but the sad truth was that the dark-skinned woman so rarely had time not consumed by her duties that she was honestly at a loss as to how to handle it now.
She was still mulling the problem over in her head and wondering what else she could possibly review to kill time when there was a tentative knock on her door. The Chorus leader glanced up, surprised to see Donald Doyle of all people standing there.
"Ahem," he cleared his throat, looking decidedly nervous, "Is this a bad time?"
Kimball was on her feet in an instant, already moving past her desk when the "What is it?" flew from her lips. Given how rare it was for Doyle to actively seek her out, her mind was racing over countless worst case scenarios to explain his presence.
"Oh!" Doyle seemed to pick up on her thoughts, the older man shaking his head quickly, "Everything is quite all right, I assure you."
The genetically engineered soldier frowned, stopping just a meter or so away from him.
Doyle fidgeted awkwardly under her questioning gaze, "Er, I don't suppose we could have a moment?"
That was when she glanced down and noticed in the blond-haired man's fidgety hands the last thing she would have expected to see there.
"Is that brandy?" Kimball asked, pointing to the bottle.
"Yes," Doyle's cheeks flushed slightly as he glanced down at the object in question, "It was really Cass' idea. She said something about this being your favorite brand."
"Well, she's not wrong."
Though why Cass would try to get her to relax with a few drinks again through Doyle of all people was a bit questionable. Until it hit her: this was the bartender's way of getting them to try to play nice together for once. She'd have to thank her friend quite loudly, and colorfully, for this later.
Kimball smirked, raising a black eyebrow in challenge, "Can you even stomach brandy?"
After all, Doyle didn't strike her as doing much in the way of heavy drinking.
His face took on an indignant hue, "Of course! I'm sure I'm better at it than you, Miss Kimball."
"Uh-huh." She doubted that very much as she crossed her arms over her chest, "You do realize this is just a ploy to get us to act civilly towards one another?"
Doyle frowned and gave a slight nod before glancing from Kimball to the bottle in his hands and back to her again. "Well," he stated at length, voice hesitant but oddly hopeful all at once, "It would be quite rude to our mutual friend if we didn't at least give it a try. Don't you agree?"
Kimball was a bit surprised at his willingness to play along. Besides she didn't want to back down and lose face following his rather surprisingly sensible viewpoint. Still, as she nodded and let him inside her office, she opted not to tell the older man that she had a strong tolerance for alcohol all the same.
Sitting at the threadbare couch that was often substituted for Kimball's bed, they opened the bottle and readily toasted to Chorus since that was seemingly the one sentiment they could at least always agree on. As soon as the toast had died from their lips, it was replaced with the rim of glasses and the burning sensation of alcohol down throats a second later.
Kimball had to admit with a slight smile on her face that going along with Cass' plan might not be so terrible after all.
Particularly once she caught a glimpse of the pained face Doyle made at the liquor's taste.
At this rate, Agent Washington and Lavernius Tucker were definitely going to be fashionably late to the party.
Truthfully, Tucker didn't really mind. If Wash wanted to meander through the less crowded areas of the city to help him relax before they went to what was no doubt a hopping bar scene, he could roll with it.
He glanced at Wash through the corner of his eye only to see the other man fidget nervously once more. So, for a venture that was, in theory, supposed to help him relax? Well, the blond was getting awfully fucking anxious.
"You okay, dude?" Tucker finally blurted out when Wash just stopped by a small side street that seemed to still be in the midst of repairs.
Wash glanced around nervously before he blinked, staring at the slightly younger man, "What?"
Tucker sighed, "You've been acting weird since we left the apartment," he informed him, an understanding look crossing over his features, "If you really don't want to go, that's cool too, Wash. The others will understand."
Realization crossed over Wash's features then, and he shook his head awkwardly, "No. No, I still want to go."
"But you wanted a private moment with yours truly before we got there, huh?" Tucker grinned mischievously, nodding his head at his own assessment, "Totally understandable."
The blush that suddenly came to Wash's cheeks at Tucker's teasing was too damn priceless, though what the former Freelancer said next in an oddly serious and not at all exasperated tone gave Tucker pause and a refrain from laughing.
"Well, something like that. Yes." Wash admitted, rubbing the back of his head.
"Come again?" Tucker did his best to ignore the odd pick up of his heartrate that particular statement caused.
The blond glanced over to the side street once more, taking in a deep breath to calm his nerves, "Tucker, there's something I've been meaning to show you."
"You've already seen mine, so I guess that's fair," Tucker tried joking to get Wash to stop acting so nervous, "A side alley wouldn't have been my first choice, but hey! I'm not picky."
"What?" The genetically engineered soldier's face took on a vivid hue as Tucker's joke sunk in, "No, that's not—!"
Tucker laughed and Wash immediately stopped trying to explain himself to sigh to himself instead.
"I figured," Tucker admitted, turning a bit more serious a moment later, "So what is it then?"
Wash relaxed slightly now that the teasing was apparently over with before motioning towards the side street once more. Tucker took the lead, stepping past partially built buildings and rubble cast in the soft light of the lamps above their heads, stopping short at the sight past that.
A small group of cats were weaving in and out of tiny structures that had been clearly set up with their needs in mind. When a few of the friendlier creatures moved a bit closer to inspect the stranger in their midst, the dark-skinned man noticed bowls of clean water and food were scattered around too.
He also noticed that the cats seemed especially interested in the former Freelancer who was standing next to him, as if the blond was an old friend of theirs. The slightly younger man curiously looked at Wash as the other bent down with the same sort of gentle smile on his face that he gave to Junior, rubbing behind one of the feline's ears.
Wash blushed under his gaze, "A lot of cats were left to fend for themselves due to the fighting," he explained, "And the older ones are all feral now. But, we're taking care of them as best we can. Even got help spaying and neutering them."
"'We'?" Tucker was surprised, as this was the first time he had heard about this. If one of their friends had been involved, he would have known in about two seconds flat.
"Lieutenant Palomo was taking care of them before we arrived here." Wash explained, "When he found out that I liked cats, he asked for my help."
Who knew the genetically engineered kid had a soft spot for stray animals? Tucker wondered if maybe he should try to be a little less judgmental towards his over-eager shadow. Not that he'd ever share that with the rookie.
Tucker wondered just how many free hours the two invested in this project to keep it looking as well-maintained as it did.
Seeing as how he was rather impressed with the quality of care on display at the feral cat colony, he couldn't help but ask, "Why'd you wait so long to show me this? It's fucking incredible."
Wash looked up from the cats sheepishly before admitting: "I wasn't sure you liked cats."
"What?" Tucker scoffed in mild indignation, "I hope you know every single one of Junior's cat plushies has a name picked out by yours truly!"
The dark-skinned man reached down, allowing one of the cats to tentatively smell his fingers. Tucker couldn't help but grin when the animal rubbed up against him, glancing over to see Wash with an unguarded, warm smile on his face. His heart skipped a beat again. Dumb thing. Maybe he should get that looked at some time.
Tucker swallowed, looking away, "We should totally bring Junior here one day. I bet he'd love to help you out."
"About that—" Wash began.
Tucker sighed and cut him off, "He's already been here, huh?"
A nod, "He adores cats."
"I know," Tucker grinned proudly, "You should see his plush army at bedtime."
The two remained playing with the cats a bit longer, with Tucker helping Wash refill the food and water bowls.
They were just finishing up to head to the bar when Wash cleared his throat. "You know, the last of the kittens will be weaned soon." The former Freelancer mentioned, voice oddly hopeful.
Tucker smiled before assuring the blond: "I'll think about it."
Wash smiled again, and the teal-wearing man was rather pleasantly surprised at how happy and right being there felt.
All in all, Kaikaina Grif thought it had been a pretty fun evening.
Volleyball had come over around the time that Tucker and the cop had left. The two women played a few board games with Junior and shared crazy stories from when they were growing up.
Kai noticed that Volleyball's stories always dealt with the time after she had met Jensen and Matthews, while hers were always dialed down to G-rating, of course. Which sucked major ass since that meant she had to edit a ton of shit, or sometimes practically reinvent whole situations from what had really happened. But Junior seemed to like the stories so that was cool with her.
Who needed a lame old people party when you could have Grade A entertainment like this?
Have fun until you drop from exhaustion if there was no school the next day was always Kai's first rule for Amazing Babysitting!
Which was no doubt going to happen soon with how much yawning the little guy was doing.
When Junior went to his room to grab a coloring book, Volleyball smiled after him. "This was actually fun," the blonde admitted, turning to her, "Thanks for the invite, Kai."
"No problem," Kai stretched as both young women stood up to give their legs a break from sitting on the floor with Junior, "It was cool hanging out without reviewing First Aid for a change."
Volleyball hummed appreciatively, "Junior's a great kid too."
"He is, isn't he?" Kai exclaimed excitedly in agreement, "I always have fun watching him."
"I can see why." The genetically engineered soldier's smile widened.
"Just think, tomorrow we'll be able to tease our siblings on how their dates went." Kai grinned in anticipation, "I'm so pumped!"
"Poor Matthews will have a heart attack if I tease him too much," Volleyball told her, looking thoughtful, "And Jensen? I don't even think she realizes this was a date."
"You can live vicariously through me then." Kai assured her, "Teasing Dex and Simmons about when they're finally getting together never gets old."
No, it was a little frustrating because the dumbasses should totally be together by now, but the teasing never went out of style.
"I might take you up on that." The other young woman stated while Kai noticed that Volleyball's smile was so perfect and her eyes were the color of the sky, one of the only colors the younger Grif could really see.
Kai suddenly leaned in and kissed the lieutenant quickly on the mouth, the tingle running through her body confirming how amazingly soft Volleyball's lips were. As her genetic predisposition ran its course and her impulses got back in line, the tan-skinned girl became aware that she impulsively kissed her friend and that said blonde was standing still in shock.
"I'm…I'm sorry!" Kai blurted out quickly, blushing in a way that was so not like her, "That…that wasn't because I'm close to needing release or anything! You just looked so hot and—!"
Kai forced herself to shut up for fear of digging herself in further since, for a few long moments, there was only silence.
At length, Volleyball touched her shoulder and reassuring warmth flooded through Kai at the contact.
"If you ever do need someone for that, Kai," the blonde told her reassuringly, "I'll always be there for you."
It was the best thing Volleyball probably could have said to let the other woman know that everything was still okay between them.
Kai relaxed a bit before winking, "Then I really wouldn't mind trying something later," she flirtatiously remarked teasingly, "If you can put up with me."
"I think I can handle myself." Volleyball smirked back defiantly.
When Junior came back into the living room a few minutes later, coloring book and crayons in hand, he found the two young women sitting on the floor again still waiting for him. Only, this time, they were holding hands.
By the time their group had arrived at the bar, it was incredibly crowded.
Seriously, was this the only bar in all of Chorus or something?
Antoine Bitters sighed.
The genetically engineered soldier was not exactly looking forward to having to deal with a ton of people, but he supposed he couldn't really complain about that at the moment considering he had accepted an invite to this dump.
Miraculously, they managed to find a smaller, empty table to claim. The table itself seemed designed for only two people, though they made it work with the four of them. Bitters had to keep himself from thinking too much on how close he was sitting next to Matthews given the tight positioning of the four chairs around the tiny surface.
Out of the corner of his eye, the rookie with multi-colored hair could see Andersmith hanging out with Captain Caboose, Bones, and some of the others who worked at the warehouse. Andersmith waved to their smaller group before both Bones and Caboose dragged him off, a gesture that the four returned despite the older lieutenant probably only being able to see it for a split-second.
"Normally it's not so crowded here," Katie Jensen remarked over the noise, "And they have really great food!"
"Yeah, their drinks are awesome too!" Charles Palomo chimed in.
They had gotten some beverages on their way to the table, and Bitters had to admit that the dark-skinned rookie wasn't wrong on that front. Matthews was nodding to what they were saying, but not really adding his own opinions.
Bitters wondered if the younger man had frequented this establishment as much as his friend and sister seemed to. He himself certainly hadn't, which made the apathetic lieutenant wonder why he had agreed to come here in the first place.
Bitters glanced at Matthews seated beside him, knowing that he probably wouldn't have bothered to come if anyone else had been the one to ask. He was currently trying not to dwell too much on why that was.
"It seems nice," Matthews said at length, "Though probably not my usual cup of tea."
"Not mine either." Bitters remarked, noticing that the auburn-haired man was now looking at him worriedly since he had been the one to extend the invitation. Picking up on the other's train of thought, Bitters quickly added, "But it's nice enough with present company."
Matthews smiled in relief, his face turning red at the same time. Bitters tried not to focus on how cute that made him, choosing to drink instead. Neither of the two rookies quite had the desire to make eye contact, glancing every which way awkwardly while odd sort-of smiles loomed on their faces.
Jensen seemed to be watching them rather attentively, taking a surprisingly huge swig of her drink as she did so.
"Hey, Palomo," she suddenly spoke up, turning to the young man trying to soak up the atmosphere of the place next to her, "What was that you said earlier about a cat colony you wanted to show me?"
"Oh?" Palomo blinked in surprise, "You mean like now?"
"Yeah." She turned and looked over at the other two lieutenants at the table with a smile on her face that showed off her braces, "No time like the present, right?"
Matthews' face became even redder, his mouth opening and closing as his sister shot him a mischievous wink and an encouraging smile that made Bitters wonder what exactly was going on.
"Okay!" Palomo was already up, gushing, "Oh, wait until you see all of them!"
Jensen waved before the two were swallowed up by the sea of people at the exit to the bar, leaving a dumbfounded Bitters with a fidgety Matthews.
"S—sorry!" The other man said meekly a second later, "Do you want to just head out too then?"
Bitters thought about it for a moment.
They had the table now all to themselves.
He glanced at the slightly younger man sitting next to him before asking: "Trying something different every so often isn't so bad, is it?"
Matthews blinked in momentary shock for a second before smiling and shaking his head, blush still present on his face.
Yeah, Bitters decided then while smiling slightly to himself, it probably wouldn't be too bad to stay there for just a little while longer outside their individual comfort zones.
At around two hours in, Leonard Church was already nearing his party limit. After all, there were only so many shenanigans from his friends that he could tolerate.
For example, such as Doc and Donut constantly chattering about the benefits of yoga and how to best compare carpet swashes. Or Sheila and Lopez making googly eyes at one another through their helmets, which was honestly a bit impressive considering they didn't even have eyes under there. Or Andersmith regaling Bones with another fascinating life lesson from Caboose, and Caboose setting aside drinks for a freaking gun.
Yes, Church had definitely already reached his party tolerance threshold.
Good news was that Caboose seemed to be in pretty high spirits. Seeing as how that was the case now, Church felt confident that he could run out for some fresh air without anything drastic happening.
Which was something of a relief too since he did not do crowds well either, especially when said crowds were full of mercenaries he still wasn't so sure about.
He informed Sheila that he needed a break for a little while. The robot only nodded her head in understanding while saying that she'd tell the others, a predictably polite response and one of the main reasons as to why he had told her and not someone else.
After their talk, Church dashed through the crowded bar to get outside as quickly as was possible. He took in a few deep breaths of air, relieved at even being just a few meters away from the chaos he had just left behind.
"Church?"
The dark-haired man turned at the questioning voice, his eyes meeting those of his sister's.
Carolina was standing just a few steps away, arms crossed over her chest and an odd tingle of uncomfortableness settling over her frame.
Of course, she'd want to leave early too. Bars and parties really weren't up the redhead's alley, especially after York. It said a lot about her fondness for Caboose and the others that she had been willing to stay even as long as she had.
"Hey, sis," he greeted, "Needed to get away for a little while too?"
She nodded, "I already informed Caboose." Carolina told him, "Besides since this area is so crowded I figured I would do some patrolling."
Well, that made sense given her single-minded focus on work in general. Carolina glanced at him and smirked slightly, "You lasted longer than I thought."
The cybernetically enhanced man rolled his eyes at her teasing tone, "I'll bet," he muttered, "So did you have any money going on it that I managed to get you to lose out on?"
A shake of her head, "Sadly, no," the former Freelancer smiled, "And I would have shared it with you if I'd won, you know."
"Well, damn. Fuck me and my saint-like patience then." Church sighed, "Probably going to leave soon anyways with that crowd in there. I'm surprised I lasted that long."
The teasing amongst the siblings died down following his words just then, being replaced by the loud noise and party sounds still going on behind them at the bar.
The two glanced at each other, and Church decided to bite the bullet for once but was beaten to the punch.
"I'm sorr—!"
Both siblings stopped at the same time before getting the full apology out when they realized that they had spoken all at once. They stared at one another before Church sighed, "Look, we both said some stupid things following that fucking blackout. So, let's just drop it. Okay?"
Carolina nodded, looking rather relieved to finally have the matter no longer hanging over their heads, "Agreed."
She turned to leave then, evidently quite serious about starting her patrol when she turned and looked over at Church, "Would you have left with her if given the chance?" she asked him quietly.
He knew she was referring to Tex, and that the argument they had just apologized for had no doubt dredged up old doubts and fears.
But Church's response was one he didn't even have to think on: "And miss all the fun here?" He smirked, "No way."
Though that still didn't mean he didn't wish Tex was here to share everything with.
The answer seemed to assuage Carolina's anxiety as she nodded and smiled slightly, "Good night, Church."
"Good night, sis."
With that, she was gone and Church had to decide whether to call it a night himself or head back inside.
"Hey, Church!" Caboose was yelling excitedly with Bones just then from the doorway, "We got Andersmith talking to the nice lady who gets us drinks! Matchmaking is a fun game!"
Okay, that pretty much made his decision for him as the dark-haired man spun on his heels and walked away from the bar.
Unfortunately, the last thing Church had expected upon coming back to the warehouse was walking in on Sarge and Doctor Grey acting like two horny teenagers over robot schematics. So, he was seriously contemplating getting some new friends when all was said and done.
…Along with some aspirin and blinders to boot.
"It is interesting how the atmosphere changes when copious amounts of alcohol are consumed." Sheila mused from her spot next to Lopez, Doc, and Donut.
Bones was asking Caboose all sorts of questions about Freckles just a few meters away following their matchmaking attempts earlier, and the blond-haired man was more than happy to chat about his friend.
"It sure is more lively, huh?" Doc agreed, sipping on his orange juice.
"Así no es como lo describiría." {"That's not how I would describe it."}
Doc glanced questioningly at the brown-armored robot then, and Donut was more than happy to elaborate on what he said, "Oh! Lopez was just wondering what the weather was like." He explained, "I think it's clear skies all the way, buddy!"
"Eso no es ni siquiera cerca de lo que estaba diciendo. Por favor, dejar de traducir para mí." {"That isn't even close to what I was saying. Please stop translating for me."}
"You're welcome, Lopez!" Donut beamed, "Happy to help!"
"Seriamente..." {"Seriously…"}
Sheila watched the exchange with mild amusement before taking pity on Lopez, "Actually, Donut, what he said earlier was—"
Unfortunately, the female robot was cut off when someone activated an antique music player in the back of the bar. The noise was deafening, drowning out everything but the loudest of shouts.
"Estupendo. Más ruido para tratar de sintonizar." {"Great. More noise to try to tune out."}
"Oh!" Donut started swaying on his feet to the pop music blaring throughout the establishment, "I love this song!"
Sheila noticed the smile on Doc's face as he watched Donut and couldn't help but speak up, "Is it not customary to dance at parties?"
Doc blushed slightly at the notion, "I'm...I'm not really sure this is the type of place to—!"
"Oh, great idea, Sheila!" Donut cut him off excitedly, "Letting it all hang out on the dance floor is just what this party needs!"
"De alguna manera no creo que la frase es correcta." {"Somehow I don't think that phrase is correct."}
"Exactly, Lopez!" Donut grinned, "We should just go for it! Come on, Doc!"
He grabbed the protesting Doc's hand and led him to the one spot that was clear on the floor, advising him to take the lead. In a matter of seconds, even the more self-conscious Doc was dancing as though no one was watching.
Sheila watched the couple for a few seconds before glancing over to where Andersmith and Cass were still heavily engaged in conversation. Apparently the two of them had hit it off rather well.
The robot seemed to be mentally smiling as she said, "It appears I am not too shabby at matchmaking either."
"No hace falta ser demasiado con esos dos." {"Doesn't take too much with those two."}
Lopez also seemed amused by the turn of events as the two Virtual Intelligences watched their friends.
"Every little bit helps." Sheila stated sagely.
The other robot hummed in quiet agreement with her. They sat in comfortable silence for a few precious moments, hands entwined on the table.
Sheila spoke up fondly as she watched Doc and Donut dance, "It is customary for there to be even more dancing at weddings, Lopez."
He nodded, "Eso he oído." {"So I've heard."}
"I would love to give Doc and Donut the chance to dance more," she mused, glancing over at him meaningfully, "And to share a few dances with you."
Lopez's fingers tightened around hers in a gentle, assuring manner.
"Usted tendría que ser el que le diga ellos sin embargo. Eso es algo que definitivamente no debe ser mal traducida." {"You'd have to be the one to tell them though. That's something that should definitely not be mistranslated."}
Jensen and Palomo walked through the quiet side streets of Chorus in amicable silence for quite some time before Jensen glanced at the dark-skinned young man and smiled conspiratorially.
"Hey," She said to the genetically engineered young man, "Thanks for agreeing to give the two of them some alone time."
"Sure!" Palomo nodded enthusiastically before her words sunk in, "Umm…what?"
"Oh, you know! We just left the bar to give Bitters and Matthews some private time together," the girl informed him, "Because it's obvious they like each other."
"Really?" Palomo scratched his chin thoughtfully, "What makes you say that?"
"I have a knack for that sort of thing." The brunette stated proudly, smiling to herself as her braces flashed in the moonlight.
A sudden movement in the shadows by a control panel caught Jensen's eye. She turned towards it, squinting to get a better view while her companion continued on obliviously.
"Really?" Palomo asked again, this time scratching the back of his head as he muttered, "Because I've always lov—"
The dark-haired rookie was cut off when his friend grabbed his arm and gestured to the person in red camo. Said individual now appeared to both lieutenants to be quite obviously tinkering with the public computer terminal.
"Hey, is that broken?" Jensen asked the stranger, "We could—!"
Her friendly offer of assistance stopped short when the man turned to face them, the power in the area suddenly flickering off as he opened fire on the two.
Grif and Simmons had finally finished eating and were currently in the process of watching their friends' shenanigans amidst the crowded barroom. The scenes they were witnessing had them both smiling fondly, even though they weren't in any rush to join in on the festivities themselves anytime soon.
Grif observed that Sheila and Lopez were discussing something contentedly with their helmeted heads bent so close together that they were actually touching, while Caboose was animatedly discussing something else with Bones which then had the two occasionally glancing over to where Andersmith and Cass were still hovering together despite how busy the bar was.
Farther away, they could make out Bitters and Matthews having a surprisingly amicable discussion about some sort of topic as well and, while the blaring music from before had thankfully ended, it seemed as if Doc and Donut were in no hurry to stop dancing together anytime soon.
"It's good that everyone's enjoying themselves." Simmons stated with a smile on his face, finally able to look in Grif's direction now that the dark-haired man was no longer stuffing improbable portions of food into it, "This was nice, even if places like this aren't really my thing."
Right. Grif recalled Simmons saying once before how his family hadn't been much for bar outings. In fact, the cyborg had told him that their concept of "parties" had always been high end, prim and proper affairs—which is where he met most of his father's business associates…
There was a painful, reminiscent smile on Simmons' features then, and Grif wondered if he was thinking of that now. Of the family he had lost, and of the business associate in particular that he had nearly been sold to.
Simmons had always used the term "adopted," but the genetically engineered man knew enough about the practices of the world to tell what had really been going on there when a contract was involved. He just never had it in him to correct the poor guy.
"This is even louder than usual, huh?" Grif asked, attempting to distract both of them from disturbing thoughts of events that thankfully hadn't even had the chance to play out.
Simmons nodded before coughing awkwardly, "But, I…I'm having fun, Grif."
"Good," the tan-skinned man grinned, jerking his head towards the exit, "Want to head on out now and do something somewhere a bit quieter?"
They both looked away momentarily at what had been admittedly a poor word choice. One that had both of them understandably suddenly feeling rather awkward at the memories it conjured up of a drunken night on the town spent together. Though thankfully a few seconds later, a still blushing Simmons nodded his head in agreement with the idea.
So, they made their way through the throngs of people while somehow avoiding getting spotted by their preoccupied friends to slip outside. The night air was crisp and getting cleaner with the more distance they put between them and the bar scene. Simmons closed his eyes and took in a deep breath as though he needed a recharge from the evening.
"Hey, give me a sec." Grif stopped as well, lighting a cigarette for his own break.
"Are you seriously still smoking?" The redhead didn't even wait for the cigarette to make it to the other man's lips before he started berating him, "Grif, those things are going to ruin your lungs and—!"
He stopped abruptly at the laughter shaking the orange-wearing man's form just then, "Oh, geez. Simmons," Grif rubbed a tear from his eye, "You have no idea how much I fucking missed this."
Simmons glowered and muttered under his breath, "Fat-ass."
"Kiss-ass." Grif's response was surprisingly fond, "We should do this again." Grif pressed the cigarette butt into the ground with his heel, ignoring the distasteful look the action earned from the pale man.
Simmons seemed taken aback for a second at Grif's comment, but then the redhead smiled and nodded his head, "Definitely."
"Maybe next time we'll even go somewhere that's more your speed," the dark-haired man informed him, "Though don't expect me not to complain the entire time, nerd."
"I wouldn't expect anything less, jackass." Simmons was smiling now too, chuckling slightly, "Remember when I had you come with me to that museum exhibit?"
"Only because you kept kicking me to keep me awake."
As they were talking and laughing, Grif moved closer to Simmons. The cyborg was so caught up in his reminiscence that he didn't even notice as the genetically engineered soldier took in a deep breath and raised his hand to the other's shoulder as though he were about to pull him closer to tell him a secret.
But, before Grif's mind could fully commit to the "it's now or never" train of thought it was heading towards just then, the entire street was plunged into complete and utter darkness.
The sudden blackout was followed a second later by the heavy thud reaching Grif's ears of Simmons hitting the ground.
"SIMMONS!"
Author's Notes: I am so sorry-yet-not-sorry for the two massive cliffhangers I just closed this chapter out on! As you can tell, the plot definitely picked up pace a bit in those last portions. There are a whole lot of surprises and reveals left to come!
I really enjoyed writing this chapter and getting the chance to write some more character POVs too, along with some lovely little moments between the characters before those cliffhangers happened. Thank you very much for taking the time to read this part, and I hope that you enjoyed it too! :D