More Than One Way To Win A Bet - For @laserhawk

[duel_wielding]

This was perhaps the stupidest plan that had ever been created, but dammit, it was a solution. After all, there was no chance that North was going to let South win this one. Because the thing was she was right. North had been striking out for a while. Months. He lived on a military ship and there were hundreds of crew and North hadn't had a behind closed doors 'encounter' in more than a year. And it wasn't just because shore leave wasn't the most regular.

But the bet had been made during one of the regular PFL poker games. South had observed that North had lost all of his game. North had said he did better than she did. One thing led to another and now North had another week to make sure he had a date that he could have proof of before he was South's bitch for a month.

So no, he didn't want that. Which was why that he, now that he had a week of shore leave to recover from an injury, he was trying to solve things. Which had started with a personal ad online.

One that was now having him waiting to meet up with someone in an all night cafe. There needed to be talk before things were agreed to. Maybe the guy would be agreeable to it too. But he didn't want to go and buy a guy a dinner if he was going to be weird about 'I'm a space marine and I need to win a bet against my sister'. Because North had better things to do than deal with someone being weird. Like sleeping.

Comments

[laserhawk]

That happen a lot?

[duel_wielding]

Yes. Far too often. And I'm apparently the dad of the group.

[laserhawk]

Is that a good thing?

[duel_wielding]

I don't know. How much do you think it's fun to keep trained special forces idiots from breaking each other's faces?

[laserhawk]

[ he grimaces. ]

Not much.

I never bonded with mine. I was the elite soldier, Eden's smoking gun. They admired me, but I don't think they wanted anything to do with me.

[ and he was gay. another thing he had to keep under wraps. a few people knew, which . . . was unpleasant at the time. ]

[duel_wielding]

We all live together. It's sort of required to try and get along some.

[Wait, hold on.]

Why would they want nothing to do with you?

[laserhawk]

[ dolph shrugs. gay, brown, poor, part machine. pick a reason. ]

Cyborgs don't exactly turn people on.

[duel_wielding]

Really?

[North lets his eyes roll up and down the man's body again.]

People are blind.

[laserhawk]

[ it's been a while since he's been looked at. not since . . . alex.

he pretends not to notice. ]

Everyone's got their own hangups.

[duel_wielding]

That doesn't make them right. In fact, that often makes them wrong.

[laserhawk]

It doesn't matter to me.

I've been the best. I've been treated like the worst. It's all the same in the end.

[duel_wielding]

It's not the same. People deserve to be treated better than that. At least while you're doing this with me, I'll try and make sure you're having fun.

[laserhawk]

Good luck with that. You're lucky if I know what "fun" is.

[duel_wielding]

I'm a pretty patient man, so we'll see what we can do.

[laserhawk]

You'll need all the luck and patience there is.

[duel_wielding]

I'm a sniper. Patience is something I have in ample measure.

[laserhawk]

And that's why you put an ad for a date?

[duel_wielding]

[He laughs and shakes his head.]

Like I said, my sister, she can be... Well, a bit of an ass. And her way of showing concern is to be even more of an ass.

[laserhawk]

[ hm. ]

Guess I wouldn't know.

[ the only person who had cared was alex. alex, who loved him even as he shot and sold dolph out. alex, who turned his life into a living nightmare and still wanted dolph.

what a mess. ]

[duel_wielding]

[He looks a bit upset in that moment, and North gives him a soft, sad look.]

Let's get those drinks then.

[laserhawk]

Works for me.

[duel_wielding]

Alright then. Standard margarita or something else in the flavor.

[laserhawk]

Standard's fine.

What about you?

[duel_wielding]

Moscow Mule I think. Something about the metal cup makes it taste better.

[laserhawk]

Makes sense.

The plain kind is what they serve on beaches.