Rise of the Reaper part 12:Social gathering & flashbacks
Once both fireteams were back in the tower, they made a beeline for the bar. Barkeep saw us coming from a mile away apparently because he had glasses up on the counter, waiting on our orders. "Well, I'll be damned if fireteam Oblivion is gracing me with their presence," Barkeep said with glee, "so whatcha guys having today?" Jada walked up to the bar and rested her arm on it. "A hot pepper for Cinder, a rum and coke for me, a screwdriver for Tulos and whatever fireteam Pantheon is having I'll pay for as well," she said. Barkeep turns to us in amusement. "What're you guys having?" He asks us. "We'll make it easy for you: cherry coke for Rose, Vodka tonic for Oracle, and a hairy hangover for me," I tell the aged bartender. Barkeep nods. "Coming right up," he said as he got started on the drinks. About five minutes later, he turns around showing our drinks, smiling at his work. "We got a hot pepper, a rum & coke, a screwdriver, a cherry coke, vodka tonic, and a hairy hangover," Barkeep said. Jada summons her ghost to pay, but Barkeep stops her. "Enjoy them guys," he said, "the drinks are on the house!" With drinks in hand, both fireteams walked over and found a booth with enough room for the six of them to sit comfortably. "Okay," Jada said, "I gotta know, you guys have to be at least over 20 when you guys get revived by your ghosts, right?" We looked at each other before turning back to Jada, nodding our heads. "I'm 25," said Reaper, "and I'm pretty sure Rose said she was, what, 23?" Rose, blushing like crazy, slapped Reaper on his shoulder. "A girl NEVER tells a guy their age!" She said, "but he is right, I'm 23." Oracle shrugged. "I'm 21, which means I'm barely legal to drink if I was alive in the past," she said before pointing at fireteam Oblivion, "what about you guys?" Jada chuckled. "I'm 29, the twins are 27," Jada said. Reaper chuckled at Jada when she mentioned their ages. "Since when can guardians be twins?" he pondered, "it's impossible!" Cinder chimed in. "It's true," he said, "Tulos and I are in fact twins, but we're different classes, with Tulos being a warlock and myself being a titan." Rose spoke up this time. "How did you guys meet?" She asked. Jada looked perplexed at Rose's question as she turned to Tulos and Cinder. "How did we meet guys?" She asked, "I honestly don't remember." Tulos took a sip from his screwdriver as he thought about Jada's question. "Well, if I remember correctly, Cinder and I were just patrolling the cosmodrome, minding our business when we saw you doing a public event," he said. Cinder spoke up next. "Yeah, I believe she was taking on a walker by herself and the fallen were all over her so Tulos and I decided to assist her in taking out the walker," cinder said, "and she was like 'I had it under control.' and we were like 'no, you didn't.' We have been together ever since." Reaper got curious now. "So how did you guys decide who was the leader?" He asked. Jada smirked. "We decided to do a 3 person rumble match and the first person to ten kills would be leader; I won of course," she said proudly. "Yeah, you won only because you blasted both of us with a rocket when Tulos and I were close to each other!" Cinder shouted, jabbing his finger in between Jada's cleavage. Jada held her hands up in surrender. "I saw an opportunity I couldn't pass up," she said, "besides, you two were just standing there like bumps on a log." That caused Rose, Oracle, and myself to burst out laughing. Cinder and Tulos then shot dagger-like glares our way. "What the fuck are you guys laughing at?!" Tulos asked, surprised. Rose wiped a tear from her eye, her laughter dieing down. "Jada said you two were standing still like bumps on a log," Rose said, sighing. "Yeah, she saw it as a perfect opportunity to cinch the win for her," Reaper added. "She just couldn't pass up two free kills, I mean c'mon," Oracle said, adding her two cents, "two free kills is two free kills the way I see it." Jada turned to the twins, frowning. "The way Oracle described it is kinda how I saw it guys," Jada said, apologizing to the twins, "no offense." Reaper called out Rev. "Hey Rev," he said, "what time is it?" Rev thought about it before answering. "It's about quarter to eleven at night," Rev answered, "Why?" Reaper shook his head before finishing his drink. "Just asking that's all," Reaper said. Jada's head shot up. "Reaper, your ghost said it was 10:45 pm right?" She asked the arc titan. Reaper nodded. "Yeah, he did, why?" he asked. Jada slammed her drink before abruptly standing up. "I just realized we have a crucible match in the morning," she said in a panic. Cinder and Tulos, realizing that Jada was right, downed their drinks too before standing. "I'm sorry we have to cut this chat short, but business beckons," Cinder said before taking Jada's hand in his. Oracle was shocked. "Woah, wait a damn minute!" she said in confusion, "since when were you and Cinder a thing, Jada?" Jada shrugged. "Don't know," she said, "and in all honesty, I don't give a thrall's ass!" Tulos took Oracle by the hand and kissed the top of her hand. "Showoff," said Cinder, rather annoyed. Tulos ignored his brother as he spoke to Oracle. "My dear, I hope we can meet again sometime soon," he said before bowing and taking his leave to catch up with Cinder and Jada. Reaper smirks. "Well, well it looks like somebody has a crush," he said. Oracle blushed. "So what if I do?" She said, "at least he knows how to treat a lady with respect." Rose finished her drink as did Oracle before the team stood up at the same time and exited the bar. "Don't we have a mission to start on the moon soon?" asked Rose. Oracle checked with Noir before answering. "The vanguard nor the speaker mentioned anything yet," Oracle said, "but I'll call you two once we hear anything." Reaper nodded. "Yeah, we'll do the same," he said before taking Rose by the hand and started to walk with her back to their place.