Based on this end-battle quote

Frye - "Buy you a beer after this Mr. Secretary?"

Nagi - "Beer? I was hoping we'd do shots."

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Shots with the Secretary

"So," Vandham say as he's swiftly walking through NLA with Elma, Kiba, and Lin. "Tell me again what the hell exactly is going on?"

He hasn't even gotten a real explanation, he just came across Team Elma, on their way through NLA, at midnight, and when he asked where they're going, he just got a hurried answer, something about picking up Frye and Nagi before something dumb or bad happens.

"Well, we picked up a job in Oblivia, to get rid of some indigen that have been causing trouble," Kiba starts explaining.

"And I wasn't able to come with them, because I promised Doug to help make some modifications to his skell," Lin continues, almost skipping beside them to keep up with the longer steps of the other, especially Vandham, who isn't in the mood to slow down right now.

"So we asked Frye to come with us instead, since he was free today," Elma continues.

"And where does Nagi fit into this?" Vandham asks, already feeling like he's getting more info than is actually needed to answer his question.

"He offered to come with us when he noticed we were only a three-person team," Elma says, before steering them all into an alley, almost invisible from the main road. Vandham lets out a laugh at that, since it sounds exactly like something Nagi would do.

"And what exactly happened after, to make you run around at the middle of the night?"

"Well, at some point when fighting, Frye mentioned getting beer after the mission," Kiba says, tilting his head, as if trying to remember better. "And Secretary Nagi said he'd rather do some shots."

"Of course he did," Vandham mutters. He knows Nagi, and knows he usually prefers something stronger than beer. At least he has a good alcohol tolerance, and the kind of drunk where people usually don't even notice if he's drunk.

"So, if they're just having a couple of shots, why do you lot think we need to go collect them from some BLADE-favourited, back-alley bar?" He's by now recognized the alley they're moving through. It leads to a BLADE-favourited bar commonly visited by people who've just come back from their missions.

"Well, apparently at some point they decided to have a drinking contest instead," Kiba is the one to answer the question, after the three of them all look at each other, silently arguing who should be the one to talk.

"We thought it would be a good idea to at least check up on them, as Frye is prone to starting barfights when he's had too much alcohol," Elma explains.

"Great," Vandham mutters to himself. The last thing they need is for Frye to get into yet another bar fight. He's caused enough stir-ups with those for at least the next decade. NLA civilians really don't need to know the people who are supposed to be protecting them are getting up to that kind of stuff.

By now they've reached the bar, and are entering through the door. The place seems more crowded than usually, but it's very easy to find where Frye and Nagi are having their drinking contest, as most of the people seem to be there to gawk at them. Or, probably more likely, to gawk at Nagi.

The pair is sitting at a table, near the bar. On the table is quite a few shot glasses, too many to count at a glance, but it looks pretty close to around two dozen. Nagi and Frye are sitting opposite of each other, each seemingly trying to stare down the other as they both toss back another shot. It seems pretty clear who's winning, with Frye swaying in his seat, moments from tipping to the side and down to the floor, while Nagi doesn't seem affected at all, sitting as still and straight-backed as he always does.

"Can't believe I'm drinking with the Secretary..." Frye mutters, not for the first time if the lack of reaction from everyone is to be believed. "Feels so weird..." he keeps muttering as he reaches for the next drink, misses the glass, and tumbles sideways to the floor.

This marks the drinking contest as over, with Nagi as the winner. People cheer, jump around, and credits start exchanging hands, as Vandham and Team Elma make their way through all that and to the contestants. As Elma and Kiba grab Frye from the floor and pull him to his feet, Vandham is pulling Nagi up from his seat. Once he makes sure the man can stand on his own, he leaves a hand on his upper arm and turns to address the rest of the bar.

"All right kiddies!" Vandham shouts over the commotion to the young, partying BLADEs. "Bedtime, now! Go on, skedaddle!" Ordering all of them home, the bar is closing anyway so they don't care, and fiercely glaring at anyone who looks like they might try to protest. It takes a little while, but soon enough everyone is out and away, except Vandham, Nagi, Frye, Elma's Team, and the staff of the bar, who busy themselves cleaning up for closing and don't really pay any attention to them.

"We'll just make sure this guy gets back home safely," Lin tells him, pointing to where Elma and Kiba are trying to make him move out the door without hitting his head on anything. "Later!" She gives Vandham and Nagi a small wave as she follows them out the door.

"All right," Vandham tells Nagi, who's still standing where he pulled him to his feet, swaying ever so slightly. "Let's get home too." He grabs his partner by the arm and starts escorting him out and to their home.

"You're going to have one hell of a hangover tomorrow," he tells Nagi as they make their way through the streets. Luckily it's so late there aren't many people around, and the ones that are don't really pay attention to them. "And you have a bunch of paperwork to file in from today." He glances at Nagi, who hasn't said anything yet, staring at the ground as he focuses on putting one foot in front of the other.

"You have no idea how weird it feels to be the one reminding you to do your paperwork," he continues, as he makes sure Nagi doesn't stumble into anything when he misses a step, pulling him upright and closer to himself. "And you're not usually the one who hangs out with the BLADE kiddies in you spare time."

"Spending time with BLADE operatives, getting to know them, and forming com- camro- camrodi- camaraderie is important too," Nagi tells him, speech stuttering slightly over the word camaraderie being the only indication he's even a little bit drunk. "It builds trust and getting to know them and how they operate, and what they excel at."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Vandham tells him. "You're always telling me that- usually when Chausson wants some boring bureaucratic shit done, like tonight, when there was that meeting you didn't attend."

"You know those meetings are not something we're required to attend," Nagi tells him, slumping against him slightly and letting Vandham take a bit more of his weight. "Especially the ones that talk about whether or not the Ma-non need five more pizzerias or if it's considered offensive to offer a Wrothian some catnip."

That's true. Though it doesn't stop Chausson from telling them they should attend the meetings if they don't have anything else scheduled for the day. But it's not really required, and Nagi always manages to get out of them by joining up with Elma's team for these camaraderie-building missions, or whatever. Not everyone might know about it, but Nagi hates those meetings and paperwork just as much as any normal person.

Soon they've made it to their apartment, and the only thing left to do is undress, pour Nagi into bed, make sure Leia has food, pick up a water bottle for the inevitable hangover tomorrow, join his partner in bed, and get some sleep. Getting into bed and feeling Nagi curl up against him even in his sleep is quite frankly one of his favourite feelings, and as he wraps his arms around his partner, it doesn't take him long to fall asleep.