Chapter 15
The Gangreen Lounge, thankfully, didn't live up to its name. At first, Cyborg found herself covering her eyes to protect against the green glow that came from the countless emerald-coloured bulbs that were shining overhead. At least it was on-brand.
"Is Ace around?" Noodle asked one of the staff as they made their way in through the double doors. They shook their head, then wandered off.
Meanwhile, Cyborg was scanning the interior. There was a dance floor, a bar, and a lounge. Adorning the walls were classy paintings that depicted some of the landmarks of New York in a style that made them seem futuristic and old-timey all at once. Cyborg decided to stop describing the paintings to herself, as it was too confused. Some pop song was playing over the speakers that hung above the dance floor.
"What do you think?"
"Are all clubs like this?"
"No. Some are way worse," Noodle smirked. Then, she took Cyborg's hand and walked with her towards an empty booth. The club must've been half-full, with a few booths empty and the bar equally so. Even the dance floor didn't seem as packed at the robot had imagined. "Not overloading your sensors or anything? Better safe than sorry, y'know."
"I'm fine. It's kinda cool. Very... uh... green," Cyborg shrugged.
"I'll go get some drinks. Be right back," Noodle jumped out of the seat, then hurried over to the bar. Cyborg, as she waited for the return of her human counterpart, watched some of the dancers as they twirled and spun and pranced about. Some of their clothes looked odd - as if they'd picked their clothes out of a magazine for aliens. Cyborg diverted her attention to Noodle, who was leaning against the bar, talking to someone beside her as she waited on her orders.
Finally, Noodle returned with two glasses. "Try this," she suggested, resting a glass in front of Cyborg.
"Okay," Cyborg didn't sound too enthusiastic. She raised the glass, then took a sip - scrunching up her face at the anticipation of a horrible taste. When none came, she took another sip. And another. "It's alright," she decided, returning it to the table, "A bit sour."
"It's lemon squash," Noodle looked like she was holding back a laugh, "I didn't think you'd like anything else they had."
"Probably not," Cyborg shrugged, "What did you get?"
"I dunno. It sounded exotic. Uhh... it's called 'sunset beachwalk' or something equally as eighties-y." Noodle closed her lips around the straw sticking out of the orange-tinted clear drink, then made a face that said, "It's better than I thought it'd be."
"Nice?"
"Nice. Sweet."
Cyborg finished her squash, then pushed her glass away. "So what else do we do? Is there like an arcade or something?"
"I don't think so," Noodle answered, "What you see is what you get."
"Oh," Cyborg huffed. She felt the need to say something nice about the place, so she added, "Music's good."
"Yeah. It's the instrumental for Tainted Love," Noodle identified the song. Cyborg nodded, pretending to know what 'Tainted Love' was. "Wanna go dance?" Noodle asked.
"I can't dance."
"Doesn't matter. Improvise."
"But I'm not good at it."
"You can watch me then, if you like."
Cyborg tried to identify the expression Noodle was giving her. It almost felt like Noodle was daring her to join her on the dance floor anyway. "Fine, I'll come with," Cyborg sighed, standing with Noodle.
"It's fun, trust me."
"Well, a lot of the things you say are fun usually are fun, so okay."
Noodle beamed, skipping down to the panelled floor. Cyborg followed, watching as Noodle waved to some of the other patrons, then turned to face the robot, beckoning her over. The gleam in Noodle's eyes gave Cyborg some spark of excitement, even though that quickly faded when she found herself standing amid the crowd of other dancers. Her eyes widened as Noodle began dancing too. Her movements were deliberate and reflected the music as if her body were a mirror.
Cyborg found herself watching Noodle more than dancing herself. Eventually, Noodle noticed and slowed, then mouthed, "C'mon!"
Cyborg fought a smile, trying to mimic Noodle's movements. Instead of looking as graceful as her girlfriend, however, she just bobbed and swayed a little. As Noodle picked up, so did Cyborg. She found herself bouncing up and down - her leaps becoming more and more exaggerated until she was bounding up and down, her grin matching Noodle's.
By the time Noodle had worn herself out, everyone else had vacated the dance floor - thanks in part to Cyborg throwing herself around. "That was horrible and I never want to do it again," Cyborg said, her massive smile still present.
"Oh well. At least you tried," Noodle answered.
"Can we try some other drinks?" Cyborg wondered, "I wanna see what else they have."
"If you like," Noodle beamed.
By the time the two had returned to their hotel room, Noodle was at least a little tipsy. "Wanna try something like that again when we get back home?" Noodle asked as she and Cyborg made their way into the small accommodation.
"Maybe. And maybe without the dancing next time."
Noodle tilted her head to the side as Cyborg kicked off her shoes and hung her jacket up. She did the same, then wandered towards the single bed. "Let's see what's on," she said. Hiccuping, she reached for the TV remote and flicked on the telly. Home Alone 2 was on.
Cyborg joined her, having to snuggle up because of the size of the bed. "Is this a Christmas film?" she asked.
"Mm-hmm."
Cyborg quickly noticed that Noodle wasn't watching the film. She looked up, meeting her eyes with a smile. "What's up?"
Noodle answered by pressing her lips against Cyborg's forehead. "Nothing," she added. Cyborg shifted onto her knees, then kissed Noodle back. Her lips tasted sweet - presumably like the drinks she'd had. Suddenly, Noodle took hold of Cyborg's hips and lifted her up onto her lap. For once, Cyborg was looking down on Noodle. "Wanna do something else?" Noodle asked. For a second, Cyborg thought she bit her lip.
"Like what?"
"Something Murdoc suggested."
"This isn't another surprise, is it?"
"No."
"Okay then. What is it?"
"I'll show you."
Cyborg was about to ask further, but her voice was caught in her throat when Noodle curled her fingers into the bottom of her red and black striped shirt and lifted. Cyborg raised her arms to help Noodle remove the shirt, then lowered her hands onto the human's shoulders. Leaving Cyborg in her white vest, Noodle threw the shirt onto the carpet. "Oh, I get it," Cyborg's face lit up and her heart began to hammer against the metallic ribs. From all the times she'd wandered into Murdoc's room while he was watching some choice content, she recognised the activity Noodle was referencing. "Y-Yeah, we could try that," she grinned.
Before she removed her own top, Noodle pressed her lips against Cyborg's again.