"Drink Me" - characters drinking, alone or with each other.

Baird was enjoying his three hours of downtime in Pelruan's bar. Bernie suggested he tried their home brew, and when it was evident the engineer corps didn't have any work for him, he found himself traveling north to the small town. If anyone asked, he was going to use the excuse that he needed to speak to Rossi, but he'd been sitting in the bar for a good thirty minutes without interruption. The locals kept to themselves and Baird stayed hunched over the counter top, nursing his drink to last at least ten more minutes, listening in on the quiet conversations taking place around him.

Then the peaceful atmosphere was shattered with the arrival of two new patrons. They laughed obnoxiously loud and the sound grated on his nerves. He barely had five hours of sleep. It was more than he was used to, but definitely not enough to deal with them. He didn't have to turn to know who stormed through the doors.

"Hey, Princess, didn't expect to see your royal ass here." Alex came to lean on the counter beside him and he hunched further over his drink, protective, for a brief moment. "Warming up my seat already, huh?"

He sat up to acknowledge her and almost felt the need to apologize to the other patrons for her loud mouth. "Ah shit, look what the cat drug in," he replied, and was pleasantly surprised to find Gill Gettner standing behind Alex, stifling her amusement. "I'm not surprised you convinced Gettner to join your little feminist movement down here. Definitely her kind of scene."

"Wow, he really does respond," Gettner said, her attention on Alex. "I thought you were pulling my leg. I'll remember that for next time and make sure Princess Baird's throne is properly prepped."

"Yeah, I got him trained like a proper mutt. Isn't that right, Princess?" Alex patted his head and he pushed her hand away, sneering.

"What are you two doing here, anyway? I don't remember anyone calling for prostitutes."

The impact was sudden—Baird didn't have time to register that Alex had shoved him straight off the stool. He was just on the floor, winded and confused, and seriously pissed as others laughed. The redhead stood above him with a triumphant smirk.

"You'd know all about them from Daddy, right?" she spat. "He ever buy you a few to prove your manhood?"

Shit, she was fighting dirty today. Okay, so maybe I started it. Fine details. Gettner took it all in with an amused glint in her eye. She was definitely cataloging this. Alex was the only one who could disarm him so easily and quickly. It made him feel like an idiot.

Baird picked himself up off the floor and brushed off his pants. He couldn't show her that he was upset; oh, she knew, but to show her would give her too much satisfaction. She sat on his seat, smug, and clearly waiting for his rebuttal. He considered not rising to the bait, but he wasn't as mature as he should have been around Alex.

"Actually, your mom was—"

"Really, Baird? A 'your mom' joke?" She took a swig of his beer. "God, how old are you?"

"It is kind of pathetic," Gettner agreed with a chuckle. She took up position at the stool next to Alex.

"Who let you out of your pen?" Baird demanded. "I thought you were glued to your bird."

"Sergeant Brand stopped by to invite me out for a drink. Every woman needs a little girl time here and there, and as much as I love my Raven, it has a distinctive male energy. Just doesn't cut it." But the way she shrugged said something more to Baird. It was too non-committal. It wasn't like Gettner. It piqued his interest.

"And a little birdie might have told me you had some free time," Alex said. "It's been a while since we last saw each other. I wanted to check in on my favorite bastard."
"A stalker. Great. I never realized how much you love me," he grumbled.

She scoffed indignantly. "Don't flatter yourself, Princess. I don't care how great a lay you are, I'm not interested."

Baird had already queued plenty of insults to whatever she could say, but that was the last thing he expected. "Wait, is someone spreading rumors about my skills?" The idea panicked him. Since coming to Vectes, he barely socialized with the locals—and like hell he would consider a Gear—but he had been around a lot of COG civvies recently. Strictly for repairs. Why would anyone want to spread rumors about me? It's not like there's a record or an ability to hold court. Shit, no one cares anymore, why should I? I bet it was fucking Alex. I could see her—

The women broke into uncontrolled laughter.

"I knew it! He's a regular egomaniac!" Gettner gasped between laughs.

Damn it. He was really off his game today.

He tried to brush it off with a shrug. "Hey, it's a legitimate concern. If there's a woman out there who believes she slept with me, I'd like to set her straight, maybe meet my imposter."

"Sure. How about you shut up and get me a drink?"

"What do I look like, the bar maid? Get it yourself."

"Baird," Alex said, and her voice was made of steel, "be a gracious host and get our pilot friend a beer."

So she knew something was up. Baird wondered if this little trip was really just a girls day out, but it was hard to imagine Gettner leaving her Raven for anything other than food. Okay, maybe not even that. She had to keep a stash somewhere.

He didn't want to give Gettner the impression that Alex could order him around. She couldn't; no one could. But he went behind the bar and pulled up a mug, anyway. Because I'm nice. New leaf and all that shit.

"Alright, one house brew," he said, handing over the foaming mug. Yeah, the locals knew how to make some good stuff. "But it's not cheap. This economy runs on the barter system. What do you have to offer me?"

Gettner shrugged. "A kick in the ass? It'd be good for you."

"Come on, this is a bar, I'm a bar tender. You're supposed to tell me your life story so I can psychoanalyze you." He leaned his arms on the counter. "Let's hear it."

Alex cast him a glare that could probably melt Hoffman, but Baird wasn't bothered. She could take all day trying to get the truth from Gettner. He wasn't like that. He didn't beat unnecessarily around the bush. He wanted the truth, and he wanted it now.

Unfortunately Gettner was as stubborn as a mule.

"My dad died when I was little and my mom never loved me. I used to play in a quarry and one day I gained superpowers, so I dedicated my life to fighting crime. How's that?" she asked and took a long pull from her mug. So she was going to stonewall. That was fine; Baird knew that tactic. He'd done it enough in his life.

"Gee, what a hard life you had. What power did you get? Super bitchiness?"

"Hey, Princess, why don't you disappear for a while?" Alex suggested. "Let the girls chat. We're going to talk about guys and make up. Nothing you want to hear."

"No, no, I'd like to hear this. Here, I'll help. Who, in Delta Squad, do you think has the biggest junk?"

"Oh my god—get out!"

"Hey, I was here first!" It was a weak and pathetic excuse but Gettner was obviously mulling something over. He wanted to know what. He wasn't terribly interested in her personal life; he just liked to know things. Any personal information he could pick up about Gettner was a plus in his book. The woman was a complete enigma that flew Ravens. That was all he knew about her.

Alex rolled her eyes and finished off the rest of his beer. "There are things out there that even you don't understand, Princess. This is one of them. I'm sure there are plenty of other places for you to haunt, so why don't you leave the girl talk to us? In other words: Piss off."

Baird could have chosen to stay, but Alex had made her point clear. She was on a mission, and that was to help a fellow Gear. Whatever the issue was, Baird wasn't welcome. He was good at fixing technical problems, not personal problems, and Alex was aware of that. Whatever he could say would just piss her off and make his life with Gettner harder.

Shit, the day I let a woman order me around. Eleanor always said this day would come.

He could give Alex this one time. Gettner needed some kind of support. But next time she tried to order him around, she wouldn't get off so easy.