[chapter 31]
"Holy shit," Peter breathes, his under-breath tone just barely audible over the hiss of the automatic glass doors sliding open and shut as they enter the Volturi building. "This place is huge."
Peter isn't wrong. Volturi occupies one of the larger buildings in San Francisco, a high-towered glass monstrosity gilded in black metal and sleek, neon-laced tech. Even inside, the lobby continues this aesthetic with black marble and chrome lighting fixtures, all of it cold and aloof and much larger than life. The Volturi logo, a proud V motif, has displayed onto most visible surfaces, and most prominently as a large neon red sign hanging over the back of the reception desk, which is bracketed by two elevators.
There is a low, muffled sound, and then Peter's voice whining, "Don't hit me, you dick."
"Then be cool for once in your life," Emmett bites back, also under his breath.
Alistair sighs audibly.
Masen leads them forward to the receptionist sitting behind the tall black desk. She is filing her nails, which are just as red as the Volturi motif, and looks up at the group with polite interest. After walking Masen through signing Midnight Sun in and clicking around on her computer, surely to announce their arrival to receptionists higher in the building, she directs Masen and his small group to wait in the lobby.
Masen thanks her, turns to his friends with a pointed tilt of his chin, and leads them to the half-circle cluster of couches sitting below an LCD TV playing clips of Dawn of Warcraft player logs.
But Midnight Sun is not the only group waiting in the lobby - Denali is there, as well, and leading their helm is James.
The last time Masen saw James was right after Masen watched the low-kindling outrage spread across James' hawkish face at the revelation of who exactly Masen was. At the time, Masen felt the abrupt reveal of his gaming handle was an adequate way to handle the situation - and to put certain people in their place for staring at Bella as if she was nothing more than a pretty object to be collected and lusted over. Masen had been pointed in his announcement and had shamelessly directed his handle to James for the sole purpose of angering the trust-fund lout who considered himself capable of capturing Bella's attention. And it worked - although, perhaps it had worked too well, considering the strings Denali had pulled to get Volturi to change the demo deadline.
But even taking Masen's well-earned chastisement into consideration, he can't find that he regrets making his stand. James is not the type of opponent who can be approached with gilded weapons, after all, and he has more than proven that he is willing to eschew both ethics and common decency to reach his goals. First, with the video contest; second, with being involved in the guild manipulation; and now, with moving the demo deadline up by four weeks, even at the potential detriment of his own company.
And at this thought, Masen has to seriously consider whether or not Denali is being overconfident, or whether Masen has underestimated them. Because, from where he's standing, he can't imagine making such a risky move with the deadline without being entirely certain that he would win. In fact, had Midnight Sun completed their demo earlier, Masen might have considered making a similar move.
Would Denali truly produce something better than Masen's own team? Or was Denali writing Midnight Sun off as serious competition and banking on the fact that, even if Midnight Sun produced greater content, their demo would be incomplete and ultimately unappealing to Volturi?
It's hard to say. Masen isn't a man prone to making bets, but even if he were, he doesn't know which way to gamble. He's only certain that one of these possibilities must be true.
These are all the thoughts on Masen's mind as he comes face to face with James in the expansive Volturi lobby only minutes before their joint meeting is supposed to start. They are each backed by their own group, although James' group is notably older and more conservative than the people at Masen's back, who are thrumming with nervous energy and youthful excitement. Not for the first time, Masen thinks that James taking over the Volturi project is a poor move on Denali's part, and not only because James has no experience in any development until now - the move is also poor because the people under James will surely chafe at being bossed around by a young person who, until a month ago, was mostly a figurehead at Denali Corp.
Masen doesn't have this problem, of course. All of his employees are also his classmates or his friends or even people he met through gaming. They are all more or less on the same playing field, and sharing the same level has allowed them to better share ideas. Regardless of how any of this turns out, Masen can be at ease knowing Midnight Sun truly collaborated on their efforts and that every person in his company is happy with the demo. Judging by the weary expressions of the Denali employees, Masen isn't sure James or Eleazar Denali can say the same.
Of course, he's also sure that they don't care. It's always about the profit margin for people like that, as Masen knows very well.
"Masen Cullen," James greets with a slick smile that doesn't reach his eyes. "This is your team, I suppose."
Masen lets his eyes pointedly gloss over the dozen people standing at James' back. "Mm. We're a small business."
"Rookies, I hear," James says, rocking back on his heels with a faux nonchalant air.
"Sure," Masen agrees easily, ignoring the way Peter sputters behind him. "Of course, being a rookie is only measured by time - not success. And both our companies are rookies compared to Volturi."
Masen refrains, very thinly, from pointing out the fact that, in terms of sale success, Denali is at the bottom of the ladder compared to both Volturi and Midnight Sun - because even as rookies, Midnight Sun has been outperforming Denali's latest release by a two-to-one margin.
He thinks his point is conveyed through his overly polite tone, however, judging by the way James presses his lips together briefly. And in predictable retaliation, James brings up the one other thing they have in common.
"I was great seeing Bella the other night," James goads. "I always knew Swansong would be gorgeous in person. True looker, that one. Did she have a good time with me - with our group, I mean?"
Masen briefly wonders if James truly believes Bella would have found any source of joy in his presence and quickly decides that James, even as arrogant as he is, isn't that blind. The insinuation is made purely for Masen's benefit, as if Masen wouldn't be able to see through something as thinly-veiled as that.
"She didn't," Masen says simply, and silently reconsiders the assessment that he has underestimated Denali. The entire company is full of self-entitled, over-confident leaders, and there is no conceivable way that people with that mindset would be able to produce anything worthy of competing with Midnight Sun.
There is a brief flash of joy when, once again, James visibly reacts to Masen's cutting tone. He's too easy, and that alone tells Masen more than anything else ever could.
Fortunately, he doesn't have to endure speaking with James anymore, as the receptionist eagerly calls their teams to the elevator. "The Volturi's are ready for you. Thirty-third-floor conference room. Good luck!"
Each team takes separate elevators, the Denali team considerably more squished than Masen's group. The ride up the elevator is spent smoothing out suit jackets and ties, Emmett doing breathing exercises while Alistair stares out into space with an air of resignation. Peter cracks all of his knuckles and fiddles with the zipper of his laptop case.
"Follow the plan," Masen reminds them as the elevator stops. He smooths his own tie before he steps off the elevator, calling on every ounce of business decorum he has ever cultivated to hold himself high and aloof. He has no intention of leaving this building without that contract, not after the miracle his entire team just pulled to get the demo completed.
The conference room is oblong and dimly-lighted, a ceiling projector already displaying the Volturi motif on the far-end of the room. Both teams sit down on opposite ends at the table, leaving the three chairs at the helm for their yet-to-arrive hosts. Both Masen and James sit closest to the head of the table. Beside Masen is Emmett, then Alistair and Peter, who is busy pulling out Masen's laptop and getting everything connected. Someone on James' side of the table does the same.
The three heads of the Volturi company don't keep them waiting for long. As soon as Aro Volturi, a compact man with round eyes and a sharp nose, eases into the conference room, everyone is on their feet. There is a lot of hand-shaking and introductions, and Masen calmly notes the warmth with which Caius Volturi greets the Denali team and sniffs dismissively at Midnight Sun. Marcus, who towers over his brothers, is reticent but kind, and Aro himself appears almost giddy.
"Let's be seated," he encourages. "Now, now. Who wants to go first? Should we toss a coin?"
Caius snorts. "It obviously makes the most sense to go alphabetically," he says with apathy, and that's how it's decided that Denali Corps will present their demo first.
Masen thought this would happen - he was almost certain, actually, and so he isn't bothered that he will get to see the fruits of Denali's labor first. The Denali demo isn't bad, exactly, but it isn't inspired, either. It is in the truest sense a sequel to Dawn of Warcraft - the same artistry, the same quest advancement, the same everything, except for the fact that it's set in a different time period and location.
Masen isn't impressed, and that's not even a biased opinion.
He doesn't think Marcus is impressed, either, and by the end of the Denali presentation, even Aro's effusive enthusiasm seems to be thinning. Caius looks just as bored as he had when he walked into the room.
James doesn't seem to notice at all, still as smug as ever as he sits back down in his seat. Masen's sharp eyes note the weary looks of his team, who look more nervous as Aro Volturi turns to Masen expectantly.
Masen stands, taking the time to smooth the line of his suit jacket before he rounds the conference table. Peter is ready with their demo presentation and nods at Masen.
And then Peter frowns, tapping at the laptop. He looks up at Masen with veiled panic. "Uh…"
James shifts, eyes glinting as he looks up at Masen, and Masen feels something in him settle in resignation. He doesn't let it show on his face, though, even as the Volturis start to look impatient and confused.
"Trouble?" James asks, seemingly innocent. He frowns as if in concern. "Is it the server? We didn't have any trouble with our demo. Could it be the configuration of your connection?"
"It is, actually," Peter mutters.
"The server appears to be down," Masen answers blandly.
James leans back, shaking his head sadly. "What a shame that is. I guess that means -"
"Peter, connect to the mirror server," Masen says, cutting James off and relishing, once again, at the bitter expression on his hawkish face.
"Oh, right!" Peter exclaims, clacking the keyboard. "I forgot about the mirror server. Good job, boss!"
Aro Volturi, who had been watching this byplay with the same air as someone watching a live theater performance, lifts both brows. "A mirror server, you say? Here?"
"Midnight Sun believes in preparing for every possibility, no matter how remote. We configured a mirror server for the eventuality that the main server might be down. The Volturi IT department helped us set it up. These are the server details, should you wish to look at it before we move on with our demo," Masen says, smooth and calm. He passes over a small stack of paper unearthed from Peter's bag, all the documents with their recorded interactions with Volturi IT on proud display.
Aro Volturi smiles in delight, flipping through the pages with shining eyes. "I do love contingency plans," he tells them, scooting the paper's over the Caius, who curls his lip and shoves the papers across to Marcus, who neatens the pile. Aro gestures his hand. "Go on with the demo. I'm very excited now!"
Masen slides his eyes to Peter, who gives him a wide-eyed look of affirmation, and then Masen nods, just once. And then Peter taps the spacebar and the projector screen lights up with the frankly dazzling display Alistair and Liam spent the last three days creating - and as far as introductions go, it's one hell of a flex for what the rest of the demonstration will be.
Masen is careful to stay out of the direct path of the demo, taking his time to speak at length about each of the highlights that have been included, making sure no detail is missed. Having just seen Denali's demo, Masen can tell that there are several degrees of difference in the quality of each demo - and judging by the faces in the room, it's perfectly clear which team is coming out on top.
Masen calls on his years of remaining straight-faced in every circumstance, but inside - deep inside - he is smirking. He can already taste the victory and knows exactly how sweet it will be.
On the projector screen, Peter is carefully clicking through the character builder interface as Masen speaks. "Our team felt strongly that representation should matter, so we have taken a different approach to character building. In addition to more gender options, we have introduced new skin textures and colors, as well as more control over body characteristics. Now, it's possible for avatars to have one eye or even one hand," he says, and Peter clicks through the appropriate options to illustrate the point.
"That would significantly change gameplay," Marcus Volturi announces, expression keen.
"It would," Masen agrees simply. "Which is why we called in experts for better perspective at every level. For example, we consulted with a Marine amputee who oversees local Palo Alto police training to understand how a character with one leg might cover challenging terrain the same way as another character would." Masen pauses, letting that sink in as Peter begins to scroll through the armor and outfit options that had managed to be included, even in spite of the tight deadline. "Our expert advice guided much of our decision making, actually. In avatar design, we consulted with a student studying historical fashion to understand the clothing design that would be most authentic for each culture we've represented in the game."
"Yes, I noticed that. You seem to be inspired by more than European history," Aro observes with excitement. "Could you tell us why?"
"Our aim was to represent people from every major culture of historical significance in the middle-age and feudal eras. Each culture has a rich history to draw from, both in terms of real historical events and mythologies that can be leveraged to create novel quests," Masen replies. "There is much more we wanted to add, but, as you know, time ran out. There was only so much we could incorporate. We are, of course, prepared to supply you with our further plans, should you wish to see them."
"I do!" Aro says eagerly, and Emmett passes a slim binder across the table.
From there, the demo walks through other aspects of gameplay that Midnight Sun worked so hard to put together. Masen spends a great deal of time talking about their expanded life models that will give intelligence to NPCs, as well as other types of gameplay to appeal to other audiences - including horse and chariot racing, farming and life-simulation, and quests appropriate for children under age 18.
And when Caius Volturi sourly points out that interfaces this sophisticated would surely slow down CPUs and make it nearly impossible for simple PCs to download the game, which would limit the true audience appeal for DOW2, Masen is able to easily reply that they had dealt with a similar issue for Menagerie - and that it had been solved by a similar optimization program he had personally written. At that point, Alistair nudges Peter and Peter quickly pulls up the data logging how much CPU is being eaten up by running the demo, even at the full capacity of the multiple-player fight simulation.
"Remarkable," Aro breathes when he sees that the CPU is barely even catching at 40 percent.
"All computer systems on the market, including those older than five years, should be perfectly capable of running our game," Masen reiterates. He nods to the slim binder in front of Aro. "That is also included in our data set projections, along with other statistical data of significance."
Masen ends the Midnight Sun demo shortly thereafter, sincerely thanking Volturi for allowing Midnight Sun to be part of the process, and then he sits down, meeting James' infuriated gaze with cool disinterest.
"Well," Aro says, clapping his hands together. "My brothers and I have much to discuss, it seems. If you would give us a few moments…?"
Midnight Sun and Denali all troop out to the large lobby outside of the conference room, each group taking a clear side of the room. Masen's group settles into a close huddle, trading whispered observations and, in Peter's case, fidgeting delight. Masen is confident in what decision is currently being made in the conference room, but Alistair has some skepticism.
"Caius was working with them," he reminds them under his breath. "Denali has a clear in."
Emmett shakes his head. "But did you see Marcus and Aro? I mean, Marcus actually came to life when we were talking about Bella's character interface."
Alistair presses his lips together, but Masen thinks Emmett is right. Even beyond the obvious quality of each demo, the fact of the matter is that Midnight Sun brought more to the table - innovation and creativity and enough new content avenues to draw countless more players to the Dawn of Warcraft franchise.
So it comes as less than a surprise when, half an hour later, Aro leads his brothers out of the conference room and thanks to both teams for participating in the demo - only to turn to Midnight Sun to say, "On behalf of Volturi, I can say this honestly: we are thrilled and honored to work with young minds like yours. We hope to make Dawn of Warcraft: Pangea our most successful release yet, and we believe you can help make that happen. Congratulations, Midnight Sun. Expect a courier with our contract in the next week."
Aro holds out his hand and Masen gives it a firm shake. "Thank you for this chance, sir. We won't let you down."
Aro laughs and claps Masen on the shoulder. "I know you won't!"
The Denali team are, of course, crestfallen - and none more so than James, who is alternating between looks of true dismay, disappointment, and concealed frustration. Masen thinks that a man who calls himself Relentless is not one who copes well with loss, and it clearly shows. James tries to catch Caius's eye, but all Caius Volturi does is sneer and roll his eyes, the first one of the Volturi to leave.
When Aro and Marcus have also departed, Masen turns his steady eyes to James. He lifts his chin and offers the first branch. "It was a good competition," he acknowledges.
James compresses his lips and seems to swallow his ego back. "Congratulations," he spits, and then turns on his heel to stomp to the elevator. The rest of Denali give more sincere well-wishes and follow after their infuriated boss, who could not win even after he tried to cheat.
Midnight Sun boards their own elevator, Emmett and Peter practically vibrating in excitement. It's fortunate that they manage to wait until they are outside of the Volturi building before whooping and hollering, dragging Alistair and Masen into an impromptu group hug. Peter might be crying and even Alistair is laughing.
Masen spares a wide, cheek-splitting grin.
They did it.
Volturi Official ʘthevolturi
We are pleased to announce our new partnership with the upcoming DOW sequel, Dawn of Warcraft: Pangea. Welcome to the team, ATmidnightsungroup #VolturiAtMidnight #DOW2
Gamma Gamer ʘhulkthis
HOLY SHIT Y'ALL! MIDNIGHT SUN DID IT!
Dennis Ren ʘitsnotalwayssunny
Dude! Right! I'm so fucking! Stoked! Holy! Father! God! #DOW2
OKAY THAT'S DOPE ʘnintendude
That feeling when your favorite damn gaming company partners up with your other favorite damn gaming company and your mind explodes #VolturiAtMidnight
Game Informer ʘgameinformer
Volturi Inc., the creators of Dawn of Warcraft, have finally announced their official partnership with the DOW follow-up, rumored to be released in 2022. Volturi has chosen Midnight Sun, the minds behind cult-favorite and viral mobile games like Pagan Immortals and Menagerie, as the creative runners for Dawn of Warcraft: Pangea. We, and the rest of the internet, can't wait for DOW2! #VolturiAtMidnight #DOW2
It's two days before the news hits media outlets, and after that, it explodes across every corner of the gaming internet. Bella can't scroll on Twitter, poke around Twitch, or brave the DOW forums or chats without hearing about the excitement of gamers, many of whom seem to be ready-made Midnight Sun fans. Not that she can blame them. Even without her bias, she can admit that Midnight Sun is one of the more promising game developers in the last several years - and she is so, so excited that she gets to be part of it. She isn't sure yet what her role will be, considering how much effort is going to be needed to build a game of DOW size and she is still going to be in school for the next year and a half, at the least, but she fully intends to be involved.
When she tells Masen, he kisses her until she's breathless. And then they make each other breathless for other reasons. She thinks, based on his enthusiasm, that he's pretty excited about the announcement, too. And he should be - Masen, maybe more than anyone, worked so hard to win that contract.
In celebration, Masen gives the entire company two paid weeks off for the upcoming Christmas break on top of a spontaneous three-day weekend. To his employees, Masen claims that this is to rest-up before they get involved in the gritty work of collaborating with Volturi's game development team, but everyone can see through it. He's making a nice gesture as a reward, acknowledging that everyone more than deserves some time off.
And while Bella is so very happy about it all, the announcement only reminds her - abruptly - that she will also be going away for Christmas break, which seems to be looming closer than she thought. It's like during the marathon of building the demo, time was moving at a glacial pace, and now that it's over, time is zooming right along, faster than the speed of light.
Already in the week following the announcement, Volturi has sent over contract after contract - some formalizing the partnership, others securing NDAs for all the Midnight Sun employees. Meetings in January have already been scheduled in advance, with Volturi booking out an entire day once a week for the Midnight Sun collaboration in person to stay on top of the game progress. In the age of the internet, almost everything can be done remotely, but Marcus Volturi clearly intends to be involved from the bottom up and Masen seems keen to make that happen.
Bella is glad - so glad - but it's also all happening so fast. Between that and her semester rapidly coming to a close, Bella can't help but feel a little frantic. She's not the only one, of course. Alice has been so frazzled she placed double orders on Amazon and had to spend three days sending Christmas presents back, and Rose has gotten her intense study face on, glaring at anyone who makes more than a meep after dinner, and Leah is cycling through groaning at her video editing software and silently snarling at her textbooks.
It's the end of the year. People always tend to unravel, just a little bit. Bella is no exception, even if her unraveling is subtler than her dorm mates.
So it's with this in mind that Bella is summarily glad to be invited to Peter's version of a Christmas party, just only a week before finals - and before Bella and Leah board a plane back to Washington for Christmas. Peter sends his invites via text, one to the Midnight Sunners group and others to individual invitees; Bella learns about the party through her work-related group text and from Leah, who has a direct invite from Peter himself, which has been extended to Rose and Alice for good measure.
There is very little hesitation on their part. If not for Peter's Christmas party, then they would all be stuck cramming, and that's clearly not a viable option given how much studying they've already done.
"If I look at my books anymore, I'll go cross-eyed, and not in a fun way," Rose mutters, and the rest of them agree.
Given that it's a Peter-planned party, none of them feel the need to dress up. And to be perfectly frank, it's December in Palo Alto and decidedly cold, so jeans, sweatpants, and college-branded hoodies are all in order that Friday night. Jasper is the one who escorts them to Midnight Sun, invited by Alice with the sheepish explanation that it would be one of the last times she and Jasper would see each other before the winter break. Bella doesn't mind. Now that Jasper has gotten a clue and seems to treat Alice like the tender-hearted debutant she is, she likes him well enough. He's quiet, which is honestly a nice breath of fresh air compared to the relative chaos of most of the other men she knows - not that she would trade that boisterousness for the world, of course, but her point still stands.
The Uber drops them off in front of the Midnight Sun building and they all climb out, Bella huddling into Leah's slightly taller frame for warmth. Bella takes a moment to appreciate the sight of this building and its bright neon sign before her eyes shift to a flurry of movement through the glass doors. If she isn't mistaken, it looks like Charles is chasing Liam around with one of those creepy Elf on the Shelf dolls while Liam throws popcorn at him.
She's glad she won't be clearing that up tonight.
"Should we have brought somethin'?" Jasper wonders, looking at Alice with wide eyes behind his slim glasses. New frames, if Bella isn't mistaken. "Beer, maybe?"
"Ah, kid," Rose says, patting Jasper's shoulder. "You're still so young, so I'll forgive it -"
"I'm a year younger…"
"-But you have to learn this lesson sooner or later. No matter what that Southern upbringing tells you, you never ever bring beer to a party unless it's a BYOB. And it's not."
"Also, don't volunteer for the beer run," Leah advises, and Bella knows that she is speaking from experience from over the summer. "You're better off mooching just like everyone else."
Jasper frowns. "That doesn't seem right…"
Alice pats his chest. "Just believe them, honey. It's good advice."
Jasper looks a little dubious still, but it doesn't prevent him from being carted through the door and submerged into the unfettered noise of the Midnight Sun office.
Bella, knowing exactly what this building is supposed to look like, has to hand it to Peter - he's done a fine job making this into every gamer's ideal party space, with three large-screen projectors hooked up to different gaming systems and a smorgasbord of munchies piled up in the kitchen. She notes with some amusement that there's barely anything Christmas-related here, except for the absurdly-sized candy canes Peter and Emmett are sparing with or the sour-cream sugar cookies topped with red and green frosting placed haphazardly on a plate. If she had anything to compare it to, she would think that Peter had done his best to marry the idea of a LAN party and a Chuck E. Cheeses.
It looks very fun.
Rose immediately goes off to find Emmett, while Alice ushers Jasper toward the first familiar-looking face she finds. This leaves Bella and Leah together, connected by hooked elbows.
Leah looks down at her, takes in the excitement on Bella's face, and says, "Lead on, geek."
Bella does. The first thing she does is scope out the gaming systems, noting that Peter has wrangled the best multiplayer console games from history, specifically the ones that inspire the most competition. Dance Dance Revolution is surprisingly popular among the Midnight Sun group, although Bella can already tell that Video Killed the Radio Star was going to be stuck in her head for days.
Naturally, however, Bella's attention is eventually drawn to wherever Masen is. She finds him sitting elbow-to-elbow with Alistair in front of a projector screen that zooms around a familiar race track. Catching him from the side, Masen's profile is set into one of peaceful concentration, even as he fights to win the Mario Kart race against Alistair. She finds herself grinning, even as Leah pokes at her cheek.
"You're so gross," Leah tells you. "All in love and stuff."
Bella shrugs. "That's okay. I don't mind being gross."
"Ugh."
"We share hopes and dreams," Bella says cheerfully.
"Yuck."
"We even own a cat together. We co-parent," Bella adds, catching sight of Atari, who has ventured downstairs and bee-lines to Bella, tripping up no less than four of her fellow employees before he winds around her ankles. She untangles her arm from Leah and bends down to old Atari against her chest. "Meet your nephew," she announces brightly.
Leah shakes her head. "Disgusting," she says, but her tone is light and she pets Atari eagerly, making a dumb face that he mimics, both of their mouths opening wide. "This is a cool cat," Leah decides. "Way better than Pistachio."
Bella clicks her tongue. "You can't compare Pistachio to Atari," she says. "One is a dog and the other is the world's cutest cat."
"You're not biased at all."
"Of course not."
"For the record," Leah starts, rolling her eyes. "You and Seth are both awful at naming things. Please, for the love of God, do not name your children. I can just see you calling a kid Nintendo or something."
Bella gasps, feigning offense. "I would never." She pauses. "Not as a first name, anyway. Maybe a middle name?"
"No!"
"I'm kidding!" she laughs. Mostly. She's mostly kidding.
Maybe Leah is right. Masen can name their kids, then. If they have any kids, that is. If they get married, actually. If they're together for long enough that marriage seems like a good idea, obviously, although she can't imagine that not being the case.
Leah nudges Bella with her elbow. "Hey, hey, what just happened? On the screen? Is Al winning?"
Bella blinks and focuses back on the Mario Kart match, her brows lifting. "He could win," she tells her sister. "He just blue-shelled Masen and Masen wasn't quick enough to avoid it."
"Nice," Leah praises, moving to elbow her way closer to the screen. She raises her voice to be heard over the background music and the general noise of the rest of the room. "I want to play next!"
Bella laughs into Atari's warm fur. Leah, who has never played a game in her life and who spent the entirety of her teenagedom mocking the La Push boys for playing on these same consoles, is going to play a game. She must really like Alistair to go through that much effort to connect with him on his level. She's glad. They're a unique pair, but it somehow works - however it works, in whatever capacity they are serving each other, it seems like a good match.
Bella takes a moment to look around and really appreciate where she is, the moment she is in, how far she has come in such a short span of time. Has it really only been eight months since Master Cullen reached out to Swansong? And look at where they are.
She almost can't believe it. But then again, what doubt can she have when Masen immediately comes to greet her after his graceful loss to Alistair? Masen, who wraps her in a warm hug, Atari squished between them, and gives her a slow, lingering kiss of greeting. Masen, who tucks the wisps of her hair behind her ear, his green-grey eyes tender just for her, the slight uptick of his mouth a sign of happiness reserved solely for her observation. Masen, who perceives her so well and who makes her feel so very safe and secure, even in this place where they are surrounded by their friends and their success and a startling amount of sheer joy.
What doubt can she ever have in these circumstances?
Bella grins up at Masen, even as Atari climbs onto Masen's shoulder, hanging halfway over his back, little back feet scrambling against Masen's collarbone. Masen reaches up to steady the kitten, who turns his head back and nips at Masen's fingers.
"I can't believe you lost," she teases him.
Masen sighs, though she isn't sure if the long-suffering exhale is for her or the cat. Both, she thinks. "He did blue-shell me."
"I saw it," Bella giggles. "Did you want me to avenge you?"
Masen lifts a brow.
"I could," she says confidently.
"Mm."
Peter, who is passing by with a bowl of what appears to be some form of nachos, skids to a stop and shakes his head. "Hey, wait, no. That's not fair. You can't just unleash Swansong on anyone you want to!"
"It's just Mario Kart," Bella says, surprised by Peter's vehemence.
Peter shakes his head. "Nuh-uh. It is not just Mario Kart. It's a Mario Kart tournament and we're playing on teams. And teams mean that we already separated the best players fairly before you got here, which means any team you get onto will have an unfair advantage." Peter stops and jabs an accusing, cheese-dusted finger at Masen, who stares back as languidly as Atari. "You can't just bring in a ringer, Boss."
"I'm hardly a ringer," Bella protests. She gestures to where Leah is now being installed in one of the seats. "And look at that! My sister gets to play."
"That's because we all know she's probably as shitty as Kyle from accounting," Peter says seriously. "Masen gets Kyle as a handicap, and we apparently get Leah."
Bella gapes. "But I want to play!"
Peter shakes his head. "You're a ringer, Swan. No ringers allowed."
Bella huffs at him, then looks up to Masen, who is staring back with the same kind of placid calm that practically says, He's dumb but he has a point. Bella purses her lips and looks around the room, and when her eyes catch on an equally stone-faced man dressed in black, she makes a victorious ha sound.
"What about Garrett? Is he on any teams?" she asks pointedly.
Peter, very suddenly, looks skittish. "Uh. Well, that is…"
"K.O. is a ringer, too," Masen intones.
Bella lifts her chin. "Alright then. I'll just play against Garrett. Surely a ringer against a ringer is fair, right?"
Peter pulls a face. "First, Masen insists on being Luigi, and now the ringers are going toe-to-toe. What is the world coming to?"
Bella laughs and calls across the room. "Hey, Garrett! Next game? You, me, and Rainbow Road?"
Half the room, including most of those paying attention to the Mario Kart race between Leah and poor Kyle, which is exactly as hilarious as Peter made it out to be, turns to wait for Garrett's reaction. When he nods and starts to make his way over from the kitchen, the rest of the room drops their remotes and converges on the Mario Kart area.
Bella smiles sweetly at Peter, boldly reaching out to snag one of his nachos. "Thanks for helping me arrange this."
"Damn you," Peter mutters.
Even Masen smiles a bit at that.
To the surprise of many, Leah ends up winning her round against Kyle by a hair, which leaves room for Bella to take her seat. She and Garrett sit together and scroll through the character choices. Bella, by habit, selects Princess Peach, because she likes pink and also because Princess Peach is traditionally one of the best characters to play. Garrett, on the other hand, selects Wario, the character with the most technical advantages.
It's been a few years since the last time Bella played Mario Kart, but that's not really a skill set one loses. She feels no hesitance at all when the screen materializes onto Rainbow Road, even if the most notoriously difficult track makes everyone else giggle nervously.
"Good luck," she says to Garrett as the timer ticks down from three - and then when the screen flashes with Go!, Bella hits the throttle and pulls out every dirty, underhanded, full-powered trick she ever used to beat the La Push boys.
Garrett does the same. Bella won't lie, the game is incredibly close. Like Alistair, Garrett has no problem leaving behind blue shells for Bella to run into - but Bella had prepared for that, and uses the layout of the track to the best of her ability. Her main strategy is to corner Garrett on the turns and turf him out, hopefully make him spin out if she's lucky. There are three laps for the entire race, and they spend the entire first two trading between first and second place. On the third lap, Bella takes advantage of the computer-generated racers and blue-shells Toad, who was just to the side of Garrett's Wario. She does this close enough to the finish that Garrett, who did not see the indirect coming or have a chance to dodge it, doesn't have enough time to recover.
When Princess Peach crosses the finish line, Bella jumps up with a great cheer, followed by most of the room. Smiling widely, Bella turns to thank Garrett for the game, and Garrett shrugs, smirking a little.
"You tried so hard, babe," Peter says comfortingly, taking the controller from Garrett and navigating back to the start screen of the entire game. "It's okay, we'll just start the tournament again and recreate the teams and - Hey. Why are you looking at me like that?"
The room falls quiet, taken by the startled tone in Peter's voice. It's quiet enough that they can all hear Garrett's whisper-quiet voice when he says, "Pettishcoat."
Peter blinks rapidly. "Eh?"
Wordlessly, Garrett points at the save-file Peter is accessing, which is clearly labeled as Pettishcoat, a name that rings a dim bell for Bella and, probably, few others in the room, judging by the looks of bewildered concentration.
"Well, yeah. Pettishcoat," Peter confirms, his confusion easily turning into babbling as Garrett seems to just stare at him, intent as ever. "That was the handle I used in high school. Or it was until, like, I changed it. Obviously, I changed it. There's actually a funny story behind that, haha. See, there was this game, Phantasy Star Online 2, that I was super into, but all the male avatars were kind of lame, so I made a female one instead and named it Pettishcoat…"
Garrett is still staring at him, along with half the room. Peter clears his throat nervously.
"A-and, well, see the thing is, I made a friend called Kobax, and he was cool and we did a bunch of quests together, but then this thing happened and -" Petter stops and shrugs, scratching at the back of his neck. "I mean, I feel kind of bad about it, you know, because Kobax and I were so close, but things got a little weird and - I mean, weird for 16 is weird, okay? So I...bailed. Closed my account and…"
Someone in the crowd whistles lowly.
"You are Pettishcoat," Garrett says, or maybe confirms.
Peter nods, looking a little confused, still, about why his old high school handle is of such importance.
Garrett exhales. "I am Kobax."
There is a collective inhale as the group gasps, and Peter blushes up to the roots of his hair. "Oh, shit," he says, laughing weakly. "Uhm. Sorry?"
Nobody is the least bit surprised when Garrett bodily slings Peter over his shoulder and straight-up leaves the building, although they do spend a few minutes trading half-worried glances.
"Should we, like, do something about that?"
"Is it kidnapping?"
"Peter isn't a kid, he's just an idiot."
"I mean, it's true…"
"I'm not worried."
"I didn't say you were!"
Bella bites her lip and looks up at Masen, who still holds Atari patiently. And then she narrows her eyes at Masen's sheer calm, the only one in the room who wasn't the least bit surprised. "You knew!" she accuses.
"Mm."
Bella starts laughing hysterically. Of course, Masen knew - of course he did. God, can the man keep a secret! Well, if Masen knew and he still didn't step in to reveal, then Bella isn't going to be worried about whatever is going on with Peter and Garrett.
She pulls herself together for long enough to organize new teams for Mario Kart, and for the Dance Dance Revolution competition that is becoming surprisingly cut-throat, and then spends the rest of the night enjoying herself with her friends. When Peter and Garrett return a few hours later, disheveled and carrying boxes of cupcakes, Bella surmises all is good.
All is good in her world. And it's nice.
Jane
So, you're welcome
Bella
?
Jane
Oh so I really do have to spell it out
How are you so smart in gaming
But not in scheming?
Bella
Some of us don't want to scheme
What scheme are you talking about?
Jane
Oh, just the one where you t
otally need to thank me
Bella
Thank you
Jane
You don't even know what for yet!
Bella
Then tell me!
Jane
Lol
Okay so it all starts at the guild dinner
I'm sure you recall
Bella
Yes, it was very uncomfortable
I won't thank you for that,
if that's what this is about
Jane
Yes you will
Now hush I'm not done
As I was saying, I did you a huge favor
that night!
Actually, I did you 3!
Are you ready?
Bella
Probably not, but go ahead
Jane
#1
Queen V and Cherry Lane are now off your back
Probably because you're actually pretty
Cherry Lane's ego is wounded
and Queen V is I think realizing
that James is a skeeze
Bella
Well, now that you mention it,
gaming has been a bit more peaceful…
When I have the time, that is
Jane
Right?
Okay, favor #2 is this:
Relentless knows you aren't available
Like, I think he really gets it now!
Bella
That is a favor
I will thank you for that one
Jane
#3 is the fact that the psychological
damage of Relentless realizing he dumped
you for a not-that-much-prettier face and
you ended up with his competition is a huge
blow to James Denali's ego and that threw him
off his game enough that he became unreasonably
competitive and ended up lowering the quality
of his own demo, which is ultimately why Midnight
Sun was able to win the Volturi contract
Bella
...uh
As psychotically helpful as that is
I'm not sure how it counts
as a favor to me, personally
Also, how do you know so much?
Jane
It's a favor to you proxy
of your boyfriend
Also did I forget to mention I had
a bet riding on this?
I told my brother Midnight Sun would win
so I obviously had to make
sure that happened.
Bella
You can scheme this much for a bet
but an instance dungeon is too difficult
Jane
Some of us don't have your
hand-eye coordination
Bella
Fair enough
But again
How do you know so much?
And why would you be
betting about this?
Jane
Oh right
Did I forget to mention that
Aro Volturi is my father?
(Gif Attachment: Darth Vader
saying "Luke, I Am Your Father")
Bella
WHAT
Jane
LOL
When Jane oh-so-casually let it drop that she happened to be the daughter of one of the brightest minds in the entire gaming industry, Bella had been, in a word, flabbergasted. She'd actually dropped her phone on her face and Leah spent ten minutes laughing at her, even as she held a cold rag to Bella's nose. Leah laughed even harder after Bella explained the bewildering Jane situation.
It's only after Bella's nose stops throbbing and Leah's laughter fades that Bella comes to a dreadful realization. "Oh, my God," she breathes, capturing Leah's attention again.
"What?"
"Did we cheat? Did Jane help us cheat?" Bella asks, worried.
Leah scrunches her face up. "Uh. I don't think manipulating events to put more stress on the competition is cheating, exactly…"
The two exchange a look. It's a very fine line, isn't it? For that reason, Bella resolves to clue Masen in as soon as possible, just in case something came up at any of those Volturi meetings in January. Forewarned is forearmed.
But Masen is even more sanguine than Leah. He sees no problem at all, probably because he might have done the same in similar circumstances. Bella, it seems, is surrounded by schemers of all kinds.
"Jane Volturi didn't give us any trade secrets," Masen points out when Bella pouts at him. His eyes are warmed by amusement at her, admittedly, simple outlook. "All she did was do her friend a favor, and that only happened to create a unique circumstance. If James Denali responded poorly to that circumstance, then so be it."
"But still…" Bella insists with a frown.
Masen kisses her forehead. "You don't need to worry. Jane wasn't the only Volturi manipulating events, remember?"
And then Bella does remember the fact that Caius Volturi might have very well deliberately created a chance for the Denali company to win the Volturi contract by moving up the demo deadline so suddenly. In comparison, Jane's scheme seems almost childish, or even casual.
Still. Bella wrinkles her nose. "I don't like all this quid pro quo stuff."
"Mm."
Masen leans back in his desk chair, hands folded across his stomach. His beloved face, still so impassive to everyone else, is alive with microexpressions she has come to understand. He is very amused by her right now.
Bella blows a raspberry at him.
Masen's subtle smirk widens. "How are your finals going?" he asks, changing the topic.
At the very mention of the tests she has been enduring for the past few days, Bella slumps, finding a seat in the cushy chair in front of his desk. "Over, thank God. I took my last test today. My brain is totally fried."
"Too bad."
"Why is that too bad?"
Masen shrugs. "It sounds like you're too tired for donuts."
Bella perks up immediately. "Masen," she says seriously. "There will never be a day where I am too tired for donuts. Where are they?"
Masen's laughter huffs into the room. "Not here. At that bakery you like."
A jolt of warmth shoots down Bella's arms. Masen knows what bakery she likes, just like he knows so many other things about her, now. She wonders if he'll ever know them all, wonders if she'll ever know everything about him. One day, hopefully. It's a nice thought.
"Are you asking me on a date?" she teases.
"Mm."
Bella giggles, stands, holds her hands out to him. "Let's go, then. End-of-quarter donuts are calling my name."
Masen takes her hand, always meeting her in the middle.
They take a few moments to don the necessary winter gear - coats and scarves - and Masen double-checks he has his wallet. The office is quiet as they leave, everyone else already on their long Christmas breaks. Upstairs, the only one around is Peter, since Alistair and Emmett have both already done home for the next week. Tomorrow, Bella and Leah will do the same, and so will Alice and Rose, each off to a different section of the country for the next ten or so days. But the office is so quiet now, with the memory of the marathon demo work still fresh in her mind, is arresting. Midnight Sun is not a place that should be too quiet for too long, she doesn't think. Something about it isn't right.
She's glad when Masen gently tows her out of the building, pulling a beanie hat over her eyes just so she'll huff at him when she fixes it. She mock-glares up at him and he takes a playful step back, relaxed and loose in the shoulders.
If Masen can be like this, then maybe it's okay for the office to be so quiet, Bella thinks, the cool of the air making her breath frost on every exhale.
It truly is cold outside, colder than it has been for most of the winter so far. Bella shivers, edging closer to Masen as they mosey the few blocks down to the bakery, which keeps satisfyingly late hours to cater to the nearby college crowd. Bella huddles into her coat, shivering, and Masen makes a low sound, a hum of consideration.
The next thing she knows, Masen is taking his left glove off and handing it to her. Bella takes it without thought, then blinks down at it.
"Put it on," he urges, coming to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk.
Bella puts the glove on. It's much too large for her, but the inside is still warm from Masen's skin. With the glove on her left hand, Masen weaves their gloved hands together and pointedly puts his bare hand into his left coat pocket.
It takes a second for Bella to get it, and when she does, her cheeks go even pinker. Oh. That's a very sweet gesture, isn't it? Masen has the right glove and Bella has the left, so they can still hold hands as they walk and they can each keep their hands warm. In some ways, it feels like a metaphor for their entire relationship.
It's so nice she could cry about it. Maybe she will when she gets home and she starts to miss him. But going home is still twelve hours away and, for now, it seems like everything is settled - her finals are done, Midnight Sun has the Volturi contract, their friends are happy, and the NorCal server is, for once, without Swansong as gossip fodder.
Things are good. It's a lovely way to end the year.
With that thought in mind, Bella pulls both of them to a stop and, before Masen can question it, she rocks onto her tip-toes and kisses him.
And kisses him and kisses him, because she doesn't have the words right now, but kissing him until they are both kiss-swollen and starry-eyed seems like the best way to tell him what's on her mind, anyway.
Judging by the way Masen looks at her when they part, Bella thinks he understands. She thinks he's trying to say-not-say the same things, too.
Later, after the donuts and after the lingering walk back to the office and after Masen tucks her away into a Lyft - later, Bella comes home to a mostly-quiet dorm room still wearing Masen's glove. She packs it into her luggage with a smile, and thinks one day she'll be taking more of him home than a bracelet and a lone left-handed glove.
Someday.
A/N: Someday, indeed! Ah, can you feel the story winding down? Ever so slowly we are getting to the end. I announced on Facebook earlier this week that there are likely only 5 official chapters left and about eight more interlude-type chapters. I'm emotional about it.
Anyway! As if there was any question about who was going to get that contract! This chapter was a long time coming and also highly entertaining for me to write.
Now, if you didn't already know, Pangea is the Ancient Supercontinent of our lovely planet, back before the continents decided to be in seven pieces. The theories about Pangea are super fascinating - like, it's part of the reason why we find dinosaur fossils in all kinds of unlikely places. Worth a read if you're into geology.
Game Informer is a magazine outlet for gamers around the world and generally stays on top of things that make Big News in the gaming world. That Twitter handle is absolutely real - you can fact check me.
Phantasy Star Online 2 is a real game and is your standard MMORPG, but it has all these wild quests and a truly astounding amount of classes and is, all told, a pretty sleek game still attracting a loyal fan base even 8 years after its release. I went with this one because in the original Love o2o, the Peter and Garrett characters had first met on a space-based MMORPG, too. So, this detail actually closes up that long mystery of who K.O. was searching for waaaaaaaay at the beginning of the story, only nobody was getting the name Pettishcoat right and so Peter, the loveable idiot, had no idea. And now he does. Oh my. Go easy on him, Garrett. The handle Kobax, for the record, is a reference to a Star Trek star system, and yes, I did pick it because K.O. and KObax mirror each other as well as Pestullent and Pettishcoat.
I don't think I have any other chapter notes. I do, however, want to express my optimism about the vaccine - and to encourage my American readers that just because we likely won't have access to more of the Pfizer vaccine until next summer, that doesn't mean we will be without a vaccine at all. The Moderna vaccine is currently being purchased by individual states, as well. Be sure to keep up with the news about the vaccine roll-out in your state so you can understand which category you fall into, where you should go to get the vaccine, and other news. Given the way things are going, it doesn't seem like there will be a cohesive federal roll-out for the vaccine, so stay on top of your state news for information. Every state and most counties have a Department of Health, so be sure to subscribe to newsletters and the like. We are almost there, folks.
In other news, did everyone read that study that said wearing masks gives roughly 20% protection to the mask wearer? Now, while a mask protects other people from your germs, it's nice to know that a mask will protect you from a percentage, too. Am I saying we should all double-up on our masks in crowded places like stores? Well, I'm not not saying it. Food for thought! 20% protection got most of us this far, but the spread is also utterly uncontrollable right now, so maybe it's the time to amp up our methods. Just saying!
As always, be honest. I can take it. Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay diligent. And I don't care what the CDC says - if it makes me feel better to Lysol the fuck out of my groceries when I bring them home, I'm going to do it for the psychological comfort because my anxiety said so.
~Rae