C is for Concorde

She was the absolute optimity of class, they were C-ranked celebrities, so it surprised absolutely no one when Nick Loopn' Lopez decided to make a pest of himself. What was surprising is it seemed to actually work.

The Concorde's nose was drooped so that she could get a better look at the smaller vehicle, and her large delta wings were cocked slightly to the side as she listened to whatever he was saying. There was a moment of bell-like laughter before the plane got a sad look at her eyes as they swept across the crowded room. It was only then that Nick left her side with one of his signature winks.

Once Nick had hopped his way to the center of the apron, he allowed his eyes to scan the crowd. Blade suspected he knew exactly who his companion was looking for, and he gave his partner in crime a quick wave at his rotors to get his attention. A few moments later, Nick discreetly brushed his rotors through Blade's before the older chopper settled himself next to his younger co-star. Blade waited long enough for Nick to order a complicated and very alcoholic drink.

"What?" Nick stuck his tongue out at Blade. "We have a hangar for tonight, so there isn't any reason why I shouldn't indulge."

"That's not it." Blade huffed as he sipped his own martini.

Nick paused, studying Blade's face for a few moments, but then something clicked in his head. He got a mischievous look on his lips. "You're jealous."

"I am not." Blade grumped back.

"You're jealous." Nick stated with a singing list in his voice. "You're jealous."

"No, I am not." Blade tried to protest; then he sighed heavily. "Okay, fine, maybe I am a little bit jealous."

"I thought so." Nick smirked, but he allowed his eyes to drift over to where the Concorde was sitting, surrounded by a gaggle of vehicles all vying for her attention. "And given the magnificent specimen of a woman I can see why." Nick gave him a gentle prod with the tip of a blade. "And I can tell you her charm exceeds her beauty."

"Nick…" Blade did his best, but he could keep all of the hurt from his eyes.

"People at the top of their game sometimes just want to be treated like themselves instead of their persona." Nick said with a shrug of his rotors, still allowing his eyes to look at the graceful plane. "I don't think that she gets that often." Nick closed his eyes for a moment and then looked Blade straight in the face. "I have been there, but right now I'm lucky enough to have you, so I thought I would pay some of that gift forward and give her a moment to just be."

Blade could feel the heat begin to burn on his cheeks as Nick spoke. He hadn't considered that Nick might have a reason for his flirting, he had just kind of assumed that Nick was being Nick and he was flirting with the Concorde simply because she was there and breathing. Now, as he watched the long, sleek plane it was clear that while she was politely holding a conversation with those around her, she was clearly not having a good time. It made his engine ache for her.

Blade was lost in thought for a few long rotor beats…but those thoughts were soon interrupted by the rather loud sound of a straw loudly searching for the last drops of alcohol at the bottom of a glass. Blade couldn't help but roll his eyes as he gave his other half an annoyed look. Nick simply gave him a sloppy grin in return.

"What do you say?" Nick said as he gave Blade a cheerful bump. "Why don't we blow this popsicle stand?"

Blade allowed himself one last glance at the party around him and then bobbed his rotors in the affirmative when he realized there was nothing left for them there.

"I think that would be an excellent idea."

And with that, both helicopters headed out into the night.

Aerospatiale/BCA Concorde: The Concorde was the only two supersonic commercial aircraft to be built and operated (the other one being the Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 Charger). Designed as a treaty project between France and the UK, it was hoped that this type of aircraft would revolutionize air travel globally, but the large sonic booms that these planes produced limited their ability to fly overpopulated areas. As a result, the Concorde ended up exclusively flying Transatlantic routes.

Concordes were known to be both expensive and finicky aircraft. Still, their ability to travel across the Atlantic in half of the time of traditional airliners made it popular among the ultra-elite. There is a good chance that the Concorde would still be in operation today if it hadn't been for the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which killed several of the Concorde's regular customers and significantly reduced the demand for air travel for several years. Of the 20 Concordes built, one was dismantled for spares, one was destroyed in a crash, and the other 18 are currently on display.