Making the best of it (Sam/open!)

[Anonymous]

It was perfectly in character for this quarter's Mandatory Fun to impose itself on a night when Jory had other plans.  Something would be off if the costume party happened on a night he didn't have something scheduled.  The only way it could get weirder was if Marren didn't dangle the 'Echo promotees (ees-ees) should always attend Pilot fun-shuns' line in front of him until he bit.  Half to get Marren to shut up, half because he could always sneak out and do something else if spending time with his co-workers became less appealing than whatever he had in reserve.

What he didn't expect was for the costume party to deal his backup plan such a lethal blow.  At this time of the year, a few upper class cliques planned their own costume parties around the Pilot party.  One of Felicia's friends invited her to one.  She accepted.  Jory planned to tag along because no one in their right mind would refuse a Pilot.  Then the Official Party was announced for that night.  Which wasn't a problem until Felicia decided, last minute and hesitant, that a long time passed since she went out on her own with her friends and did anything and would he mind not showing up later on.  Jory accused her of planning on meeting some boy toy for a booty call.  Felicia got upset and denied, babbling and barely coherent like she always was when she caught off guard.  He pressed it, named off a few candidates and told her she better at least scream his name.  Felicia cried, ruined her make up, asked if he wanted her to stay at home.

For a second, he was tempted.  Instead he pulled her in close, told it was all right, that she could go off and have fun.  He didn't want her to be at home, constantly sending messages about how bored she was while he was at the Citadel.  That he planned on staying out until late tomorrow morning and no, he wasn't going to stop by and pick her up after leaving the Citadel because she wouldn't be ready and he wasn't going to sit around for hours waiting for her to put herself together.  Like she was going to have to do right now, so he was leaving because he had to get ready too.

On his way back to his apartment, Jory texted Yanki about his plans for the evening.  He was working.  Working.  Jory took a deep breath, asked if it was because he needed anything.  If that was it, then he'd take care of it if Yanki would just stay the fuck home and do whatever he did when he wasn't working.  Like dye bits of eye blistering colour in his hair.  Turned out the bastard was working because he didn't want to get used to relying on Jory.  Oh, but he was planning on being at Syn around midnight if Jory wanted to show up.  That wasn't going to happen.  Jory had Marren take a note to cancel the transfers to Yanki's utilities, so he'd have something to use those hard earned credits on.

As he was riding the elevator to his apartment Siran sent him a picture of Tasha in... something brightly coloured.  Probably some trendy character from something, he wasn't sure.  What he was sure about, was that Tasha was old enough to start thinking she should have more input on her own costumes.  This one was just bright and tacky enough to be her mother's choice.  To blow off a little steam from the exchange with Yanki, he texted Siran and told her to pass a message on to Tasha's mother.  That hooker wasn't a reasonable costume choice for a girl until she got into high school.  Siran wouldn't pass it along, but she'd take it as all the encouragement she needed to enforce a last minute change of garb.  That would set Tasha's mother off and the thought made him smile.

Jory changed into his costume, a warrior from an action movie released over the summer.  A lot of black cloth, a sleeveless blue jacket over it, black leather 'metal' bits and a plated helmet with large crescent moon shaped horns in the front.  It was Felicia's idea, back when they were both going to that party, so they had to match.  He'd go as the blue warrior and she'd go as the only female character whose tits weren't spilling out of her clothing.  At least he didn't pick this time to tease her about getting those implants she kept mulling about getting.  Then he would have had to 'encourage' her to stay home without a fuss and he'd have a dull plan to escape the party for.  He'd just have to be happy with whatever happened at the costume party.  

Even if things went sourly, he could get drunk on the Citadel's credit.  That alone would keep the night from being completely terrible.  

After making sure he had cigarettes and a lighter, Jory put on the helmet and had one last look in the mirror before he left.  He was early, just like he usually planned for.  Jory liked to find a spot where he could burn one before things got started.  One of the bars at the side wall was a good place for that.  It had ashtrays, alcohol and was a good place to watch people arrive from.  There was another bar between this one and the door, so he would usually have a few minutes to enjoy his smoke in peace before it got crowded.

Unless, someone in a white and blue... Dragon suit (there weren't many other creatures he could think of with those kind of spines down their back) beat him there.  Jory stopped just long enough to get an idea of what was at the bar from a distance.  Then, grinning and lighting a cigarette, he walked to the bar to get a closer look.  Were those sparkles?  It looked like there was a sign attached to the back of the suit too.  Jory read it and immediately took a drag on his cigarette to keep from laughing out loud.  

"Evenin'," he said once he was sure he wasn't going to start snickering halfway through it.  "Mind if I ask what your inspiration was for the... interesting costume?"  He still couldn't figure out who was in the costume, but so far Dragon suit was the most interesting person there.  It took a rare sort of person to leave their apartment in a plush costume.

[Anonymous]

Just in case Alesku had begun to consider himself above psychological norms, here he was in a fuzzy dragon costume.  With a hug me sign.  Two, no less--one on front and one behind.  Calliope had been kind enough to order it for him, and he'd found it delivered to his rooms.

At least it was comfortable.

Alesku reminded himself to specify the terms of his bets a little more in future.  With Calliope, anyway.  They'd often wagered unspecified future demands on the outcome of sports games--after all, that was something even Calliope couldn't calculate much more readily than he could; they both had access to the same stats and even Dragons couldn't predict the future.  In this case, though, the Bolts had let him down when they'd fallen to the Hawks in the quarterly semifinals.  He'd lost a lot of credits to his betting pool, and Calliope had decided a sparkly dragon costume fit her bill.  

He couldn't be too upset; he realized it was in part her way of taking his mind off work.  Still, he'd grumbled a little when she'd gotten him to pose for one of the Network cameras.  

And after that blog post the other Pilots were not likely to let him live it down.  It wasn't exactly embarrassment... he tried not to feel embarrassment about much.  But he didn't want to lose credibility or trust.  A lot of trustworthiness came from being consistent.  And he didn't like how frivolous all the Pilots were--and most of the Candidates.  Alesku reminded himself to assign Sander a roommate when he got the chance.  No need to bother Roman with something so trivial, and a roommate would fix the sleeping-in problem.  

Anyway, it had all come down to the usual.  You can't really be a Dragon, Alesku, she'd told him, bluntly but kindly.  And naturally he couldn't.  Take a break, relax, enjoy yourself.  He hadn't needed to say anything about the guilt he always felt at doing so; it had been a companion for the past ten years at least and wasn't likely to change.  He'd addressed it in counseling, of course.

The world will continue with or without you, Alesku.  

He didn't love the talks they had about living a human life.  Calliope had no problem with his attachment, but sometime she pushed him to be more human... he understood, he respected it, he should probably do it.  He could avoid thinking about his Candidates or his training methods or his surveillance for awhile.

The world would continue even if he decided to get drunk.  

He arrived early to the venue (he wondered, amused at himself, if he even remembered how to be late, or whether it would always and forever ruin occasions for him) and found his costume nicely warm.  They'd left the room on the cooler side, awaiting body heat.  Not so bad.  Neither was the bar, which had a very nice white wine, which he discussed with the bartender for a few minutes before getting a bottle of it.  He poured a glass and sipped it, listening to the soft music playing in the background.

A noise behind him made him turn on his swiveling barstool, wineglass in hand... paw, anyway.  The costume had built-in footies, too.  At least he didn't have to wear socks.  He recognize the younger Pilot just vaguely under his costume, someone in R&D, the generation below him.  Had a strange Dragon... Jory Anglaca?  Aeglaca?  Some difficult-to-spell name... Pilot was a perennial Cardinal....   And he was ribbing him, of course.  At least he probably didn't read the 'Pilot blog', or he'd already know what was going on.  Relatively speaking.

"Not at all," Alesku said blandly.  "I lost a bet."  He toasted the idea with a slight upward movement of his glass.  "It's, er, supposed to be a Dragon."  He glanced down at himself, then back to Jory.  "What's yours, Jory?  It is Jory, right?"  

He'd gotten far too used to calling them all by their last names or titles.  He'd almost said  'Pilot.'

[Anonymous]

When Dragon suit turned around Jory leaned forward to get a good look at whoever was wearing it.  It wasn't necessary, the front of the hood was open and the wearer clearly visible.  Pale hair, blue eyes, beard, 'stache...

Pilot Macario, no this wasn't work, he could be Alesku.  Unless Jory acted on the brief urge he had to take out his phone and take a photo.  That might get him a reminder of just where they were in the Citadel's pecking order.  There would be others here though.  One of them would have a camera and, provided it wasn't broken, he could find a way to get a copy of the picture if he still wanted it.  Jory smiled, one corner of his mouth lifting and the other holding his cigarette.  He took a drag, blew the cloud of smoke away from the bar and sat next to Alesku.

Jory nodded when Alesku explained the costume's cause, hmm-ing long and low.  Bets.  If he had to bet whether or not Alesku was a better, he would have wagered that he wasn't.  At least for bets that ended up like this one.  He watched the light pick out sparkles in the spines and wondered if the costume was soft or if it was some sort of material that looked plush but was made from coarser stuff.    "Cute, it looks comfortable."

He hummed a quick mm-hmm when Alesku asked about his name.  "I'm that guy Raphael Lyons played in Seven Blades.  It was my girl's idea."

[Anonymous]

Alesku wasn't sure exactly what Jory referred to.  Some movie?  He really wasn't up on the most recent pop culture.  His mother often sent him links to things, but at least 50% of the time it was Official Business, and he'd come to see entertainment through fairly gray glasses.  Hm.  Seven Blades?  No, unfamiliar.  Usually he would have asked Calliope, as was his wont whenever he didn't know something immediately.  But tonight she was otherwise occupied with the Network, and it was 'be a human' day anyway.  

Albeit in a dragon costume.  It was soft, he had to admit.  He stuck his free hand through the slit in the suit's mitten and felt the fabric.  It reminded him of his childhood pajamas.

"It is," he admitted.  He took another sip of his drink with his head turned slightly away from Jory.  He wasn't about to say anything, not when it would have overtones of pulling rank, but he'd always disliked the smell of smoke.  He turned back before continuing.  "I don't think I know the film--sorry.  What's the story there?"  Was he the inspiration for a character in a movie?  Not completely unexpected for a Pilot, but a little surprising.

[Anonymous]

Jory took one last, long drag on his cigarette and ground it into the ashtray on the bar.  He propped his elbows up on the bar and leaned into them, his shoulders pushing the bottom of his helmet up a little bit.  It wavered a little, but stayed on top of his head.

He needed a drink.  Since Alesku wasn't talking at the moment he flagged the bartender over and got a bottle of TRIM's better stout.  One that promised that most of its ingredients began their existence as plants instead of a carefully tweaked mixture in a beaker.  Later on he was going to have to get one unopened and see how well the horns on his helmet worked as a bottle opener.  For now he leaned back against the bar and took a gulp of beer.

"The movie's nothing to get really excited over.  It's another dose of crazy explosions, improbable history, tits and corny lines.  My girl knows one of the actresses and she's been obsessing over it.  So along comes the equinox, she's invited to a party and we've go-o-ot to go as Seven Blades characters.  I didn't have any better alternatives.  She decided I should go as Lyons's character and she'd go as Sarellico's."

[Anonymous]

If Calliope had been 'there' she'd be laughing at him.  Jory meant his costume.  He was dressed up as some hero from Seven Blades.  Or villain.  Alesku didn't like the latest trend toward 'edgy' villain-hero characters, blurry morality, and so on.  Right.

He noticed something else and frowned.  "But you're here," he pointed out, sipping his drink again.  "Without your matched counterpart.  Are you stopping by another party later?"  Alesku shook his head and gave a tight smile.  It wasn't really any of his business, but Jory'd been inviting it, hadn't he?  "I can't blame you, we Pilots are an odd bunch."  

It felt strange to talk to someone without Calliope's echo in his head; he could almost predict her amused agreement or pointed comment.  Perhaps he had gotten too used to that lately.  He took another sip of wine and turned back toward Jory on his barstool, now that he'd snuffed his cigarette.

[Anonymous]

Technically, there shouldn't be any difference between beer brewed from real ingredients vs. artificial.  Whenever he had a natural beer, Jory often imagined it was more substantial than an artificial beer.  Natural beers sometimes had a varying taste from bottle to bottle if they were bottled at different times... at most normal bars.  The stash for this party was likely all from the same carefully tested supply.  He took another gulp and, snatching a paper coaster, set it down on the bar.

"That was my original plan," he reached up and adjusted his helmet so was sitting on the center of his head again.  "Only she decides at the last possible second that she'd like to spend time on her own with her friends.  Never mind that this whole matched set business was her idea in the first place.  Women," he sighed.  "Now I'm stuck here... with all this free booze and the opportunity to see my fellow Pilots in a variety of interesting get ups."  He grinned and stretched a leg out, pointing a foot out straight.

[Anonymous]

"Ha, ha," Alesku said drily, smoothing the hood on his Dragon costume.  "I can sympathize, actually."  He could.  Not that Calliope was a thing like a human, but he felt oddly similar in situation.  On a different sort of plane, true.  "I wouldn't disparage a gender over the disappointment, but I didn't expect to be here alone either."  In a manner of speaking.  His small smile forestalled any appearance of bitterness.  

"So it goes."  He finished his glass of wine, tipping his head back to get the last of it.  When he'd finished he placed it neatly on the bar, turning it until the base matched the bottle beside it.

"I'm taking full advantage of the free booze, I need it if I'm going to be superficial.  I think I've forgotten how."  Real smile now.

[Anonymous]

"Oh go ahead, blame her and all of her sisters.  The alcohol will wash that hurt right away before you see her again.  Then you can kiss and make up, or hold it over her head to see if she'll jump or anything else that tickles your fancy."  He couldn't remember Alesku having anyone.  There were rumors, of course, but they were almost expected with someone so reserved.  Whoever she was, she was kept well hidden from the public, and even the Citadel's, eye.

Jory took another long pull on his beer when Alesku drained his wineglass.  He didn't finish it all, so he set it back on the coaster.  Then, feeling bolder in part because Alesku was joking and smiling, he picked up the bottle of wine and poured a little into Alesku's glass.  After he set the wine bottle down, he picked up his own bottle of beer and tinged the neck against the lip of the wineglass.

"To our ladies - wherever they are.  May their hair be fabulous and their nails stay in one piece," he tipped the bottle back and finished the rest of the beer.