Sweet and Sour

[Anonymous]

It had been a little work setting this up, but it had worked out pretty well. It had just taken a bit of planning to make sure he, Arrow and Shiloh all had time off at the same time. And staying up all night the night before to write a paper. But it was finished and his evening was free!

Smiling at Arrow, Fin tried to not pace, "He'll be here soon. You'll like him, I promise. He can be a little gruff, but he's really nice under it all." He was oddly nervous about Arrow being in his room. He had plenty of guys here before, but, well, never a girlfriend. He really cared what she thought of him and it turned him into a wreck.

But it should be a really fun night. Arrow was still so freaked out by the Pilots, Fin wanted to show her they weren't all super scary. It couldn't help Arrow met some of the worst and most intimidating Pilots and...well...Shiloh made everyone feel better about their chances of passing. If he could do it, anyone could.

[Rhi-Rhi]

Chewing her lip, Arrow tried hard not to fidget as she sat on Fin's bed and waited for the Pilot to show up. She trusted Fin and knew she didn't have to worry, because this was his best friend, but still! All the Pilots she'd met had been so...intimidating, so confident, so put together. So above her. They were everything she wasn't, from Sabela who was beautiful and popular and amazing and strong, to Roman who sledgehammered Val's legs, to Marshal who'd made her strip...

It was hard not to be nervous! It was one thing interacting with the Pilots day-to-day in classes and drills, but the thought of hanging out with one? It was kind of like being told a movie star was going to spend the day with you. Only they weren't a movie star and they could also break your legs.

"You think so?" she asked, worried despite herself. What if he didn't like her? Fin was so cool, and his friend was a Pilot, and Pilots were cool and since he was Fin's friend and a Pilot, then he must be cool, too! And she wasn't! She was nerdy and awkward and shy and wasn't even hip on the latest music and stuff. Well, okay, so Fin liked a lot of the same stuff she did, too, and was cool even while being kinda nerdy like her...she was still nervous. She wanted to impress him!

"His name's Shiloh, right?" she added, and though she knew it was, nerves made everything want to fly right out of the window. If Fin's best friend hated her, what would that mean for their relationship? Gah! Okay! She had to do good, here! She had to--

There came a knock at the door, and once Fin gave permission, it opened and brown-haired man with dyed red bangs walked in, dressed in skinny jeans and a t-shirt with a studded, patched vest over it. A few pins and buttons decorated it. He flashed a grin at Fin and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Yo! Long time no see!" he greeted, kissing Fin's cheek, and then his eyes found Arrow and she swallowed. She lifted her hand in an awkward wave and smiled.

Shiloh released Fin and gave her an appraising look. Then his grin returned and he nudged his friend in the ribs. "Tha' yer girl?" he asked, and gave a nod, as though to himself. "Yep. Totally see why ya go on 'bout 'er. I'd do 'er. Good catch!"

[Anonymous]

Fin only just managed to catch himself before throwing himself into Shiloh's arms. He was a dude now. Be cool, be calm. He did grin at the kiss, hugging Shiloh, "Shy! Hey! Yeah, this is Arrow. She's super cute, right?"

Turning he gestured for Arrow to come closer, "Arrow, this is my B-F-F, Shiloh Lockwood. Shy, this is my girlfriend, Arrow." Hopefully Arrow would start to relax a little once she learned that Shiloh wouldn't hurt her and was just a big, dumb puppy.

[Rhi-Rhi]

Blushing at their praise, Arrow rose to her feet and came closer when called over, and Shiloh thrust out his hand in greeting. "Hey, heard lots 'boutcha," he said when they shook, and Arrow hoped he couldn't tell how sweaty her palms were. That would be so embarrassing.

But if he noticed, he said nothing, and it took a moment for Arrow to find her words. "Fintoldmelotsabouty outoo!" she blurted, then felt like an idiot. "Uh, I mean, nice to meet you! I'm Arrow. Which, er, Fin already said and--!"

"Chill, I ain't gonna do nothin'," he said, cutting her off, then grinned at Finaa--er, Fin--and flashed him a thumbs up. "Heh, Fin, she so reminds me of--" He froze before he could say it, having been about to say, 'you when you were new.' But Fin was a guy right now, and, er, best not to out his friend. "Er, of...of some singer. Dunno 'er name."

[Anonymous]

Oh Shiloh. Suave as ever. Fin gave Shiloh a smile, glad he was trying. She could only imagine how difficult this was going to be for him. Sliding his arm around Arrow, he tugged on her gently, leading her back to the bed. Shiloh would make himself at home, so he wasn't worried about that.

"Singer? I wouldn't be surprised. Now, Shy," Finaa gave him a wide grin, "You have to tell us what happened at the Masquerade party. That was a rather....interesti ng phone call. Deeetails." She knew a few of them, but hadn't had the chance between their two schedules to hear the complete story.

[Rhi-Rhi]

Shiloh's eyes went wide and he felt his face warm up. Oh, fuck. Why did she gotta bring that up now?! In front of her girlfriend and everything? While Shiloh wasn't embarrassed about his sexcapades and his habit of hooking up with random women for a one-night stand (or a quick romp in a bathroom stall, whatever was convenient), he didn't make a habit of hooking up with random men. Outside of sleeping with Finaa when she was shape-shifted into male form, he just didn't do that. And that was different, anyway! It didn't count!

The Masquerade had been a first.

He tried to cover his embarrassment by climbing onto the bed on Fin's other side and scooting until his back was up against the wall. "Uhh..." He scratched his cheek, eyes flicking down to the bedspread. "Ain't much to tell. Ya want me t' give details 'round 'er?" he added abruptly, motioning to Arrow and trying to play it off as politeness. As if he had a polite bone in his body.

Arrow was trying hard not to laugh, leaning against Fin and biting her cheek to help keep a sober expression. "I'm not supposed to laugh, am I?" she asked Fin, then cleared her throat.

"Um, I'm sure I've seen a lot racier on TV." Not to mention Fin had done a thorough job filling her in on that particular phone call.

[Anonymous]

"Oh please. You aren't allowed to act shy after you came with me on the phone with you." He had made sure to hold the phone away from his ear for that bit, so Arrow got to hear that part. It had just been too funny.

And what were friends but people that would tease you relentlessly when you did something stupid.

"So you got taken home by some guy? And bottomed? Impressive."

No. No. Don't laugh. I know it's hard, but he's...uh...sensitive. Fin squeezed Arrow against his side, smiling at the girl.

[Rhi-Rhi]

"Really? Okay, I got it. Total poker face," Arrow said, pressing her lips together. It was hard, though, and already she'd almost forgotten that this guy was a Pilot. He didn't seem that much older than Fin.

Shiloh waved his hand, playing it all off like it was nothing. He was aiming for casual as opposed to mortified. "Yeah, yeah. Was 'nother Pilot, a Noble. Got wasted an' whatnot. I ain't gay or nothin' but, uh, yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged.

"He topped, did it a coupla times, an'--how detailed d'ya want?" he asked abruptly, cutting off his story and looking at Fin, face still tinged with pink.

[Anonymous]

"I want to know everything, but I wont make Arrow sit through your sordid sex stories." Fin laughed, cuddling Arrow against his side, "And trust me Arrow, Shiloh has stories." Fin knew all to well how raunchy his stories could get.

"Oh, guess who Arrow's mentor is. It's Pilot Llown." He would be nice and change the subject. He didn't want to make Shiloh feel all uncomfortable and vulnerable in front of Arrow.

[Rhi-Rhi]

"Damn straight I do," Shiloh agreed, a little relieved that he wouldn't have to tell this one. It was one thing when he was fucking girls, but this whole thing was new territory. "Anyways, Finaa, talk t'ya 'bout it later, alright?"

The subject change was welcome. Looking over, Shiloh caught Arrow's eye and flashed her a grin and a thumbs up. "Badass. Sabela's fuckin' hot an' a great lay."

Arrow gave a light laugh. "I'll take your word on it."

[Anonymous]

"I'm sure that was exactly what Arrow wanted to here Shy." Laughing, Fin shook his head, squeezing Arrow against his side, "Shiloh doesn't have very discriminating tastes. If it has a vagina, he'll do it."

[Rhi-Rhi]

"S'gotta be human, too," Shiloh corrected. "I ain't into no weird shit." He paused suddenly and snapped his head around to look at Fin. "Well, humanoid. Y'know what I mean. No...five arms an' two heads an' three eyes an' tentacle hair. None of tha' shit," he quickly added, and leaned in to kiss Fin's cheek.

"I'm up fer threesomes, too. Jus'...throwin' tha' out there."

"Oh, uh..." Arrow shot Fin a look that was half amused and half embarrassed. "That's...good to know?"

[Anonymous]

"Thank you Shiloh. We'll keep that in mind." Fin rolled his eyes. He probably should have warned Arrow that Shiloh was going to try and sleep with her, "Now that is taken care of, let's talk about something much less traumatic for my girlfriend. Go on any super cool missions Shy?"

[Rhi-Rhi]

"Cool, cool, 'cause, y'know. Jus' sayin'," Shiloh repeated, finding it necessary to stress that point. Just in case they hadn't gotten it the first time.

But soon the topic moved onto something else and he grinned. "Yeah! I went on this one, right? Took down some fuckin' terrorists. Then fucked a waitress. It was a fuckin' awesome day. I got to drive a bigass military jeep too."

Arrow blinked, trying hard to keep a straight face. One of those things was not like the other. "Oh! that sounds really...fun!"

[Anonymous]

"Way to be classy Shy. What was the jeep like? You drove? I'm impressed. You suck at all the driving games, I figured you must be a shitty driver." Fin gave a short laugh, "Did you get to look all awesome when you took down the terrorists?"

[Rhi-Rhi]

"Didn't crash once!" Shiloh said proudly, puffing out his chest. "Mighta took some paint off. Anyway, it was a hugeass jeep, real tight, an' I looked fuckin' amazin' takin' down those assholes. Got a little graze."

Lifting his sleeve, he pointed out where his bicep was bandaged. "Just a shave, took off a little skin. Nothin' like what I did to those fuckers."

[Anonymous]

"Well, go you!" Fin's smile faded when he saw the wound, "HolyshitShy! You didn't tell me you got hurt! Are you okay?"

[Rhi-Rhi]

"Yeah, yeah, s'cool," Shiloh said, still grinning. He was gonna wear that scar like a badge of honor, a physical reminder of a fuckin' awesome day. He poked at the bandage. "Ain't tha' deep or nothin'. Bullet didn't go in, just skinned me a bit, bled a little, no big. Th' other side got it way worse. Fucked 'em up good."

Which was awesome by him, because he'd found one of the few things he was actually decent at, and he was still soaring high on Bart's praise. He always felt like such a fuck-up that hearing he did something right was really...cool.

Arrow was gaping. He was so blase about it all, but man, she'd be freaking out if she found herself at the opposite end of someone's gun.

[Anonymous]

"Damn it! You need to tell me these things." Fin glared at Shiloh, arms crossed over his chest before settling back to cuddle with Arrow, "Don't think I'm forgetting about this. Though, that's amazing! You're turning into a totally badass Pilot, huh? I'm jealous!"

[Rhi-Rhi]

"Wha? But I did tell ya! Jus' now!" Shiloh said, frowning at his glare, though it was softened by the compliment. He quirked a grin, shifting awkwardly, always finding it difficult to accept praise, even from friends.

"Naw, it's...jus' what Pilots do. Nothin' special. Bart was way more badass."

Arrow cuddled closer to Fin, shaking her head. "Just what Pilots do? But even the lowest Pilot is way more...more than anyone else."