Chapter Text
Viper was surprised by how drastically the workshop had changed.
The space dedicated to Killjoy and Raze’s work was always clustered with ongoing projects, equipment, blueprints and loose parts of scraped tech. So, Viper’s shock was completely justified since the enormous space was, for once, clean. The ridiculously long metal table at which Raze usually worked was set up for a game of beer pong. Viper noticed that the slightly elevated area in the back where Killjoy had her whole setup was not only clean but also closed off with some tape. And she found it amusing at first, until she realised she would probably do the same.
Her eyes trailed off to the stairs circling around Killjoy’s workspace. She knew the platform they led to was only there to provide access to a single pair of doors – a room the girls requested, hiding it behind the excuse of having some sort of common space to rest. Of course, the expensive and very comfortable couch they ordered with their own money made it obvious they simply wanted a new bedroom.
But that particular day, the workshop was the main attraction. It was filled to the brim with balloons, decorations, and a clearly handcrafted banner – “HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAYANE” – spelt in crooked, capital letters and covered with an overwhelming amount of glitter. Viper heard the girls had asked around quite literally everyone to lend them extra tables, couches, chairs, bean bags and pretty much anything someone could sit at, or on.
And then there was the music. It was an inseparable part of the workshop, no matter what was happening inside. This time, however, it wasn’t as deafening, and Viper could actually hear her own thoughts. Together with the decorations and the countless seating areas, it created quite a charming atmosphere.
At the end, the only truly surprising thing was how good they made it look, and Viper had to admit, it looked like one hell of a party.
Most of the people were gathered around Raze, saying their hellos and gifting her the birthday presents, so Viper lined up behind Deadlock, eager to lose the extra weight she had been carrying. When it was her turn, she pushed a smile on her lips, one that was outstandingly sincere. “Happy Birthday, Raze.” Her tone was soft, letting the girl see that some part of her truly cared about her.
“Thanks, Viper!” Raze grinned, and as the scientist passed her the gift, her jaw dropped. “Whoa… Why is it so heavy?” She frowned, giving Viper an unsure glance.
Viper let out a soft, satisfied scoff. “I won’t spoil the surprise. But, I’m sure you’ll make good use of it,” she winked at her, taking a quick glimpse at Killjoy, who proudly stood by her girlfriend. “Hi,” she gave her a slight nod.
“Hello, Viper,” Killjoy, just like her girlfriend, had a wide grin plastered to her face at all times.
“I’ll see you around,” Viper gazed back at Raze, gifting her one last smile before it slowly faded as she walked away.
She noticed Reyna observing the small crowd from behind and took it as a perfect opportunity to get away from everyone else. At least in the physical sense of that word.
“What did you get her?” Reyna smiled as she crossed her arms, her eyes set on Jett hugging Raze.
“A brand new set of tools. A lot of tools,” Viper smiled, pushing her hand into the tight pocket of her jeans.
“How much was it?” Reyna chuckled.
“Doesn’t matter.”
“You always say that.”
Viper scoffed. “‘Cause it doesn’t matter.”
“Right.” Reyna laughed.
“What about you?”
“Some other duelists and I chipped in for the biggest portable speaker you’ve ever seen,” Reyna smiled.
“In other words, I’ll be leaving with a migraine tonight,” Viper sighed.
“You won’t, if we get you drunk fast enough.” Reyna looked over at her friend, giving her a bright smile.
“Not happening,” Viper shook her head.
“Hi,” Sage smiled, joining the two women. “How are you, Viper?”
“Fine. You?” Viper crooked her eyebrow at the healer.
“I can’t wait for Raze to open her gifts,” Sage grinned.
“What did you get her?” Viper asked.
“A new set of protective pads,” Sage proudly smiled.
“Does she wear those?” Viper frowned.
“I convinced her to wear knee pads under her trousers after she had a serious knee injury from one of her malfuncioned satchels. I’m trying to push the idea of elbow pads on her,” Sage shook her head, glancing at the duelist.
“And how’s that going?” Viper asked, amused.
Sage sighed. “No results.”
“I thought so,” Viper scoffed, masking her laughter.
Reyna leaned towards Viper, completely uninterested in the topic of protecting Raze’s joints. “How’s it going with… you know who ?” She asked, lowering her voice.
Viper's jaw clenched in anger. “I asked you to drop it,” she turned her cold stare at the vampire.
Reyna softly snickered. “Mira, I’m not able to drop it after what you told us last Friday.”
“I was drunk,” Viper pursed her lips.
“Which in your case is a synonym of honest,” Reyna burst out into a chuckle.
“No, I just…” Viper clenched her teeth, lacking the right words. “Forget it.”
“But, did you do anything?” Sage asked.
“No. Stop asking me about it,” Viper crossed her arms in irritation.
“ When will you do something about it?” Reyna asked.
“I won’t be talking about it here,” Viper winced and decided to flee her company. She walked away toward Brimstone, who noticed her approaching from a couple of metres away.
He greeted her with a small smile and a nod of the head. “Hey…”
Viper cleared her throat, stopping right next to him. “Since you’re a fatherly figure to Killjoy, do you ever think of yourself as Raze’s in-law?” She asked curiously, tilting her head at him.
“I’m doing good, thank you. What about you?” He answered, slowly turning his stare at the scientist. “That’s how it usually goes. When people don’t ask weird questions out of nowhere.”
Her lips twitched up in a shadow of a smile. “It’s not out of nowhere. I’ve been thinking about it for some time now.”
“So, when you say you’re busy and forbid anyone to interrupt you… You actually think about this stuff?” He asked, attempting to undermine her argument.
“Of course not. This question was a consequence of quite a reasonable train of thought.” Viper crossed her arms, turning her head at Brimstone. “So?”
“What?” His eyebrows rose. “You’re actually serious?” When he got no answer other than the incessant stare, he softly chuckled. “I guess I do have a similar fondness toward her as I do with Killjoy.”
“Hmm…” Viper hummed, nodding in understanding.
“What about you?” Brimstone turned the question around.
“What do you mean?” Viper frowned.
“Killjoy looks up to you a lot. I feel like you’re already acting different because of it.”
“Ridiculous,” Viper scoffed.
“You know it’s not. And you should hear the way she talks about you,” he gave her a warm smile.
Viper took a deep breath in and slowly exhaled as her eyes temporarily trailed off to the young German girl. “I understand her in a way nobody else than another woman in STEM could.”
“That’s not all,” he shook his head. “You’re her mentour.”
“I didn’t ask for it,” Viper’s face slightly twisted in a wince.
“But, you like it,” he chuckled.
“Yes, of course…” She snarked, her tone sarcastic. “Just what I needed – another responsibility,” she scoffed, shaking her head.
“You think of her as a responsibility?”
“No,” Viper sighed again, not even surprised how easily that answer came to her. “I think of my responsibility to not disappoint her.”
“I don’t think you ever could,” Brimstone’s voice warmed up as he put his hand on Viper’s arm, consoling her.
Viper took a glimpse at him, staying silent for a while until she aired her disagreement. “Then we have two completely different views on this,” she said, shrugging his hand off.
“Hmm…” Brimstone softly hummed as he too looked at the two girls. “In a way, we’re like a couple of parents,” he gently elbowed Viper, knowing it would set her off.
“Jesus…” She stepped back from him, giving him a wince. “Don’t ever use that metaphor again.
Brimstone burst out into laughter at Viper’s disgust. “Mama and Papa.”
Her wince deepened. “Who taught you that?”
“Jett,” he proudly answered. “How do you know it?”
“Reyna,” Viper groaned, trying to forget it happened as soon as she could. And so, she changed the subject. “Brimstone, how long do I have to be here?”
“Until it ends,” he calmly answered. “After all, you’re her mother-in-law.”
“Please…” She scoffed and immediately walked away. She stopped only when she reached Reyna and Sage, but she kept her safe distance from them as well, having in mind their previous conversation. From there, standing on the edge of the gathering of the whole Protocol, she had a perfect view at Fade.
She probably should have been paying more attention to Killjoy and Neon, who walked through the workshop with a huge cake pierced with so many candles that Raze could as well be in her forties. But, as everyone began to sing ‘Happy Birthday’, Viper’s eyes kept coming back to the bounty hunter.
Fade was standing close to Skye, Yoru, Astra and Harbor, all of them grinning at Raze as they tore their throats out for the birthday girl. Viper watched as Harbor and Astra wrapped their arms around Fade and the three of them, along with Skye (Yoru didn’t share their joy), began to sway to the rhythm of the song. She softly smiled, turning her eyes back at the duelist, although she never opened her mouth to join in on the song. She only clapped for her at the end, when everyone screamed out Raze’s name and the workshop was consumed in deafening cheering.
Then, Raze grabbed the knife and cut the first slice, which made Killjoy quickly take it away from her, seeing how reckless she was with the sharp cutlery. As everyone was getting their slice, Viper was about to walk away with her own, but when she turned around, she found herself face-to-face with Fade. She choked on the bounty hunter’s perfume, which smelled dangerously close to men’s cologne, and completely lost her words. “Excuse me,” she spat out, ignoring Fade’s grin and her raised eyebrows.
She didn’t know how her friend was suddenly by her side, but when Reyna grabbed her by her arm, pulling her out of the crowd, she was glad to see her. That lasted until the vampire opened her mouth, ready to comment on what just happened, and Viper had to crush her with one of her death stares. Reyna’s expression softened, and her grip on Viper’s arm loosened. “Relax,” she calmed her down. “Come sit with us,” she said, dragging Viper to one of the couches where Sage was already eating her cake.
“You just use me as a separation tool from your girlfriend,” Viper sighed, ready to spend the evening cornered by her friends.
“Not today,” Reyna smiled, showing Sage to move to the edge of the couch, and took the seat next to her. That left Viper with the only option to sit on Reyna’s other side, while the rest of the couch remained unoccupied.
“What’s so different about today?” Viper sighed, raising her fork to the plate.
“I don’t want to say it,” Reyna said, immediately stuffing her face with cake.
“Please, go on,” Viper’s monotonous voice made Reyna softly snicker.
“You asked me not to mention it,” she gave Viper a smile before raising her head at Skye, who was approaching their couch.
The woman gave them a bright smile and sat down close to Viper, leaving enough space to seat one more person in between them. Then, on Skye’s other side, Yoru, Astra and Harbor all took their seats without breaking their conversation. Fade stopped in front of the couch with the cake in one hand and a beer in the other. She looked at the one last empty spot and then glanced at Viper. “Can I sit here?”
“What would you do if I said no?”
“Probably still sit here,” Fade smiled, taking the seat.
“Exactly,” Viper mumbled, slowly glimpsing at Reyna.
The vampire grinned at her, showing off some of the chocolate frosting that stayed on her teeth. Viper winced and looked back at her plate.
“Where’s your wine, Sabine?” Reyna cooed.
“I’m not drinking here.”
Reyna burst out into a chuckle. “I don’t believe that.”
Viper scoffed. “And why should I care?”
“I’ll bet fifty bucks you’ll take out your wine by the end of the party,” Reyna grinned.
Viper’s lips bent in a crooked smile as she set the plate in her lap and reached her hand out to Reyna.
“Are you actually betting on this?” Sage had to lean forward to take a better look.
“Apparently,” Reyna grinned, shaking Viper’s hand. “You’ll be paying for my dinner this weekend.”
“I’ll add another fifty so you can take Sage on a date,” Viper’s smile widened.
Reyna’s teeth gritted, her smile quickly lost. “I can pay for the dates myself.”
“I’m sure you can,” Viper’s eyebrows twitched up, enjoying how the roles turned.
“Relax, she’s messing with you.” Sage put her hand over Reyna’s forearm, seeing how she was about to start cussing out the scientist.
Viper sighed when Reyna left her alone, and she focused her attention on everyone else in the workshop. The friend group that consisted mostly of duelists was having seconds of the cake by the beanbags, other smaller groups were scattered around the rest of the tables and couches, but ultimately it was Fade who brought her attention the most. The bounty hunter was scraping her plate to get the very last of her crumbs, and Viper, who had already learned from the gym just how pleasant the sight of Fade’s flexed arms was, took a glimpse at her.
A very long glimpse.
She let her eyes linger on the soft outline of Fade’s round bicep, slipping down onto the carved forearm. That lasted until Fade got satisfied with the amount of frosting and crumbs she had gathered and raised it to her mouth. Viper caught herself staring at Fade’s lips embracing the fork, how it slowly slid out perfectly clean, and how Fade tossed it back onto the plate with satisfaction. When Fade raised her eyes from the plate, so did Viper. She looked around, scared and crossed her eyes with Astra, who was watching her from the other side of the couch.
Trying to retain some of her dignity, Viper slowly turned her head away. But then Fade leaned down to set her beer on the floor, and Viper wasn’t able to stop herself from taking one last glimpse at her. Just to see how her shirt wrapped around her back and shoulders. At least that’s how she reasoned it to herself. And she didn’t care whether Astra or the whole Protocol saw her do it. So, when Fade walked away from the couch and headed to the bathroom, Viper kept her eyes on the bounty hunter’s body until it was out of her sight.
Finally, having been deprived of the only activity she found interesting enough to distract her, she turned her eyes back at the couple next to her.
Sage, who caught Viper’s eye contact, immediately raised her voice to get her full attention. “What do you think, Viper?”
“About?” The scientist frowned.
“Don’t tell her,” Reyna snapped.
“About?” Viper repeated herself as her frown deepened.
“I have an idea for Reyna to train her powers,” Sage joined her hands in her lap, beginning her pitch.
“Interesting…” Viper’s eyebrows rose as Sage managed to spark her curiosity.
“No,” Reyna interrupted, her tone consumed by anger. “It’s not interesting. It’s crazy and it will never happen.”
“Can you just let me finish?” Sage gave her an irritated look before turning back to Viper. “Since I can heal myself, we’d set up a room where Reyna would attack me.”
“What?” Viper’s jaw slightly dropped.
“I won’t do it,” Reyna crossed her arms.
Sage huffed. “You’re wasting the potential of my idea.”
“There is no potential. Your idea is deranged. I don’t want to ever hear about it again,” Reyna’s jaw clenched in anger, but her voice stayed steady as she addressed her girlfriend.
Sage pursed her lips. “How else could you train your powers?”
“I’m already trained, and I trained through fighting with people who actually deserved it. The thought of hurting you makes me sick. End of discussion,” Reyna’s firm voice managed to scare even Viper.
“Well…” The scientist took a slow breath in, weighing her words. “I won’t be pursuing a project that’s doomed to fail. Waste of time and resources. I’m sorry, Sage.”
“Thank you,” Reyna exhaled with relief as Sage huffed and turned her head away from them.
“No problem,” Viper’s lips trembled in a small smile as she looked towards the opening bathroom door.
Fade came back.
Viper’s shoulders collapsed, her body bracing itself for being so physically close to the bounty hunter once more. She turned her head at Sage and Reyna, listening to the healer still pushing the idea on her girlfriend, and tried to ignore it when Fade sat down.
This time, however, Fade was much closer. Viper’s breath hitched in her throat. Every last nerve of her body focused on how their arms touched, because with the beer back in her hand, the first thing Fade did was pull a sip. She raised the bottle, her skin dragging across Viper’s thin long-sleeve, her muscles tightening as she held the beer up to her lips.
Viper sighed and got up from the couch. She took out her wallet, pulled out two fifty-dollar bills and handed them to Reyna. “Have a nice date.”
That effectively turned Sage’s attention away from their small fight, and made the vampire burst out laughing as she took the money. “Why’d you even bet?”
Viper smirked, putting the wallet back. “Someone has to keep your girlfriend happy.”
Astra gasped as Fade choked on the beer, and everyone from the group that shared the couch with them turned their eyes to Viper.
“You know what?” Reyna smiled. “I already took the money, I might as well take that clap back,” she chuckled, giving Viper a stupidly wide grin.
Viper rolled her eyes. “Do you want a glass or not?” She asked, her eyes jumping from Reyna to Sage.
“Yes, thank you,” Sage gave her a bright smile.
“If you’re offering,” Reyna shrugged.
“I thought so,” Viper scoffed and left for the kitchen.
When she came back with three empty glasses and a bottle of wine, she tried to stretch out the time before she had to sit back down. But, as she poured the third glass, she knew the time was up.
“Cheers,” Reyna smiled.
Viper sighed, clinking the glasses with the couple and pulled a long sip only when she sat down. She tried to move away from Fade, still scared of how her body might react to any small thing the bounty hunter does. Unfortunately, that only meant she had to move closer to Reyna, and she didn’t like that option either.
“Now, Sabine… I’d like to turn the date you’re paying for into a double date,” Reyna reached her hand far over Viper’s lap, showing the scientist the screen of her phone. “What do you think?”
Viper’s eyes widened in terror when she eyed a picture of a woman she had never seen before. She knew it would take Fade only one glimpse to clearly see it too, and so she did the only thing she saw fit. She raised her hand and smacked Reyna’s arm away. The impact made the vampire lose her grip on her phone and drop it onto the floor. It made a couple of short bounces across the tiles and landed with the screen facing up.
Viper’s face lost all colour when she noticed how Fade and her friends all looked at the phone at the same time. She swallowed, her eyes locked on the screen, and she almost laughed when she saw how it automatically raised the brightness.
“That’s…” Reyna stuttered, pointing at her phone. “...not what I was showing her,” she shook her head, scared more than ever.
“Pick it up,” Viper strained through clenched teeth.
Reyna immediately ducked for it, hiding it from everyone’s curious eyes. “I’m sorry…” She shook her head, staring at Viper’s profile.
“And shut up,” Viper sucked on her teeth as she slowly glimpsed at Fade’s friendgroup. Astra and Harbor both had their eyebrows raised higher than it should be humanly possible. Neither Skye nor Yoru felt it was necessary to hide their amusement as they gave Viper a similar kind of crooked smile, but Fade stressed Viper out the most. Her lips were bent in a knowing smile, her eyes slowly eyeing Viper’s whole body.
Viper cleared her throat, calmly turning her stare back at her glass, fingers tightened around its neck, turning her knuckles white. She pulled a long sip, almost finishing it, and came to the conclusion she wasn’t physically able to bear another second on that couch. “Excuse me,” she calmly said and stood up. Ignoring everyone who stayed seated, she made her way outside the building and into the garden.
It was a relatively small space that Raze herself specifically asked for. The ground was mostly covered by sand and pitted with countless small craters along its whole surface. The idea came to Viper when Raze told her that she didn’t want to destroy anything inside with her satchels, and so the scientist came up with the small playground as the solution. That evening, it had another use – helping Viper to safely escape the uncomfortable atmosphere on the couch.
To her disappointment, she heard the exit door open again.
“What are you doing out here?” Brimstone slowly approached her, rubbing his shoulders as the cold wind blew into his beard.
Viper threw something away and hid it under her heel. “Getting fresh air,” she spat out.
He burst out into a chuckle. “How fresh is the smoke from a cigarette?”
She let out a soft sigh, shaking her head. “Please, don’t do this now…”
Hearing her weak voice, Brimstone stopped close to her, tilting his head to the side as he attempted to get Viper to look at him. “Something happened?”
“You could say that…” Viper sighed, pushing her hands into the pockets of her jeans.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really,” Viper shook her head.
“Do you want me to leave you alone?” He asked, giving her a warm look even though Viper was staring ahead of herself and would never get to see it.
Her eyes dropped down to the sand covered in shadows, and she slowly shook her head.
“Alright…” He nodded and stepped up side to side with Viper so that he could look at the same scenery as she did. Then, he did something that left the scientist utterly shocked. He unzipped his polar, took it off, and put it around her shoulders. His hand gently tapped Viper’s back, making her chuckle.
“Why did you even come here?” Viper took a glimpse at him, the smile lingering around her lips.
Brimstone softly chuckled as the steam came out of his mouth in small clouds. “I mostly wanted to make sure you’re not running away from the party,” he smiled, hearing Viper’s amused scoff. “And… Breach starts to yell instead of talk after his third beer, and it’s not mixing well with the migraine I got after work.”
She softly chuckled. “I know. The echo of the workshop doesn’t make it any better.”
“Yeah…” Brimstone slowly nodded, letting temporary silence break their conversation. “I didn’t know you smoked.”
“I don’t,” Viper pursed her lips.
“I’m pretty sure you’re standing on at least half a cigarette,” he smiled, looking down at her heel.
“That’s… only on very rare occasions,” she explained.
“Listen… I trust you, Viper. I’m just surprised someone like you would even smoke.”
She bent her lips in a crooked smile, gracefully casting it at Brimstone. “It’s a habit from before I got smart.”
“Right…” He chuckled. “Are you gonna be smoking another one?”
“No,” she let out a small sigh, turning towards him. “It’s good you stopped me,” she picked up the cigarette from the ground, threw it out to a nearby bin and looked at Brimstone. “Should we go back?”
He nodded, stretching his arm out as he waited for Viper to join him. As they walked towards the exit, his warm hand gently pressed between Viper’s shoulder blades. “Are you gonna smoke after the party?” He asked, opening the door for her.
She smiled, stepping inside. “I’ll try not to.”
“I can’t say I’m not surprised with that answer,” he chuckled, his eyes casting worried looks at how Viper’s body slightly trembled after standing in the cold wind.
She sighed and reached up to take his polar off. He immediately stopped her, placing his hands over her arms.
“Keep it for now. I’m already warm from the alcohol,” he gave her a small, compassionate smile.
“You don’t have to be nice to me, Brimstone,” she said, amused.
“I’m just keeping my employees happy,” he joked.
She scoffed. “And here I was, thinking we’re friends.”
“Eh…” He winced, shrugging. “But, I have an idea on how to warm you up…” His eyes trailed off to a round table surrounded by a bench of the same shape. It was already occupied by Breach, Cypher, Omen, Sova, and KAY/O, and Viper saw the Russian pour everyone who could drink a round of shots.
She clicked her tongue as a soft sigh left her lips. “Fine,” she nodded, letting him lead her to his previous company. Before she managed to speak up, Brimstone was already pushing her down to sit down, and Breach yelled at her sight.
“Viper!” He exclaimed and gasped when he saw the wine in her hand. “Why are you drinking that shit!? Get her a shot!” He slapped Sova on his arm.
Viper turned her armused stare at Brimstone when she heard the excessive amount of decibels Breach used. Then, she eyed the glass that Sova set in front of her, and watched as he poured everyone a round.
“Come on, Viper… Let loose a little,” Cypher’s encouraging voice was ultimately what made her reach for the glass and raise it up.
“Cheers,” she said, causing most of her new company to happily exclaim as their glasses clashed over the table.
As Viper put her glass down, she was the only person who reached for another beverage. She had to chase the taste of vodka, and the only available thing was her wine.
“Viper!” Breach slammed his hand on the table again. “You’re chasing vodka with wine?!”
“Don’t bother unless you’re offering me a replacement,” she said, setting the glass down.
“I’m surprised she even took it,” Brimstone burst out into laughter.
“Please, Brimstone,” Viper scoffed and looked back at Breach. “And I had to chase it since you drink warm vodka.”
Sova nodded. “Cold kills the taste.”
“Isn’t that the point?” Viper frowned.
“No,” he answered.
“Alright…” Viper raised her hands up defensively.
“Another one?” Sova looked around the table. Everyone nodded in agreement, but when he was about to fill Viper’s glass, she put her hand over it.
“I’ll have to pass this one,” she said, trying to sound polite.
“Nonsense!” Cypher chuckled, grabbing Viper’s forearm and forcing her hand away from the glass. “Pour her the shot, Sova.”
Viper slightly winced, watching as he measured the vodka into her glass.
“Come on, Viper!” Breach raised his glass again, and everyone else joined him.
“You really don’t ha…” Brimstone's voice died out when he saw Viper reach for the glass.
“Alright!” Breach laughed before throwing the shot down his throat.
Viper didn’t reach for the wine quickly enough. The vodka was harsh on her tongue, and a slight choke took over her for a moment. Brimstone tapped her back, letting her take a moment to breathe. “You alright?”
“God… Yeah, I am,” she winced. “I don’t understand why you wouldn’t want to kill that taste.”
“Cultural difference,” Sova explained, raising the bottle towards Viper. “I won’t pour you another until you actually want it.”
“Appreciate it,” Viper softly exhaled before pulling a sip of the wine.
“I will never understand why humans drink something that’s so disgusting to them,” KAY/O spoke up.
“What do you drink? Want me to get you some oil?” Omen’s hoarse voice sounded sarcastic. Some of the people chuckled, and even Viper bent her lips in a small smile.
“Ha. Ha.” KAY/O’s robotic voice sounded awful when he tried to mimic Omen’s sarcasm, let alone sarcastic laughter.
“Do you mind if I join?” Chamber’s voice rang from somewhere behind Brimstone’s back.
“Of course not!” Breach grinned at him, nudging Sova to get another glass.
Brimstone, seeing how Chamber was eyeing the space between him and Viper, moved to the side. His body slammed against Viper’s, pushing her across the bench and making space for the French man on his other side.
“Thank you,” Viper softly whispered, getting a slight nod of the head in return.
As Chamber unhappily took his seat, he placed his wine glass in front of himself, causing Breach to lose his mind.
“What?!” He slammed his hand on the table. Again . “You’re not drinking that anymore!”
“Pardon?” Chamber raised his eyebrows up.
“Pour him a shot!” Breach exclaimed, turning at Sova.
“You do not have to yell, my friend,” Sova’s lips bent in a small smile as he poured everyone a round, except for Viper.
“Am I yelling?” Breach lowered his voice so much that it was almost a whisper. When he saw that everyone, including Chamber, who had only just joined them, nodded their heads, his lips parted. “I’m sorry…”
“You forgot to top up Viper,” Chamber pointed out.
“I’m taking a break,” she explained.
“So, I can’t drink wine, but she can?”
“She is a lady!” Breach yelled out. “Shit, you’re right, I’m loud as fuck…” He glimpsed at Sova, who nodded his head. “Okay, Chamber, listen… You have to start acting like a man. Drink some real alcohol.”
Chamber sighed, reluctantly picking up the shot. “Santé,” he said, and as everyone drank their shot and took a moment to fight with the burning taste, Chamber began to cough.
Breach burst out laughing, slamming his hand against the table once more. “Look at that!”
When Breach’s loud laughter quieted down, Viper heard a much quieter and sinister chuckle to her right. She turned her curious eyes to Cypher, whose chest was shaking as he laughed at Chamber’s reddening face. “What…?” He asked when he noticed her asking stare. “You’d be laughing as well, if the company were any different.”
Viper bent her lips in a small smile, knowing he was right. Chamber’s cough amused her just as it did Breach. “Perhaps,” she said, making Cypher chuckle again.
“You know, I’ve been meaning to ask you…” Cypher leaned closer to her, allowing Viper to focus on something else than Chamber’s attempts to catch his breath. “...about all this time you spend in the library.”
She picked out the amusement in his voice, but unlike him, she didn’t find it funny. “I don’t know what you're addressing,” she kept a straight face, but her mind rushed to each and every night she spent in the common area in Fade’s company.
“Don’t worry, Viper,” he placed his hand on her arm. “I won’t tell.”
“Tell what?” Brimstone’s curiosity got the better of him, and he stopped pretending he wasn’t eavesdropping.
Viper pursed her lips, staring down into her wine. “Pretty much the same thing that made me go outside.”
“Breach’s yells,” Brimstone nodded in agreement, changing the subject since he knew how uncomfortable the previous one made Viper feel. “I understand that. That’s why I’m going to the toilet. It’s all about finding small reasons to get away from him.”
“Hey!” Breach had only heard Brimstone’s last few sentences and raised his index finger at him. “If you don’t appreciate my company, you can go get another table!”
Brimstone burst out into laughter as he got up. “What’s the point? I’d still hear you.”
Viper snickered, quickly hiding her smile behind her hand, but her own chuckle drowned in the joined laughter of everyone else at the table. “Brimstone, wait…” She took off his polar, giving it back to him. “Thank you.”
“No problem,” he smiled, and as he walked away, Viper tried to ignore how Chamber slowly turned towards her.
“Viper…” He grinned, beginning to slowly slide closer to her on the bench.
That’s when someone’s arm reached out between him and Viper, a bottle of beer held in the hand that blocked Viper’s vision at Chamber. The beer was then firmly set on the table in Brimstone’s place, and Fade spoke up in the most calm manner. “Can I get a shot?” She smiled as she took the seat.
“Of course!” Breach exclaimed happily, and as he turned towards Sova, about to ask him to get a glass, Sova was already placing one in front of Fade.
“I know, I know…” Sova nodded his head, making Breach laugh.
“Perfect! Pour everyone a round, my friend!” He slammed his arm on Sova’s back, making the Russian loudly grunt.
“Maybe I skip you this time?”
“I’ll drink yours if you do that.”
Viper softly scoffed at their interaction, and as Sova began to pour the shots, Fade turned her head at the scientist. “Are you drinking with us, or sticking to that Caprisun on steroids?” She asked, eyeing Viper’s wine with disgust.
Viper’s lips trembled in a held-back laugh as she pushed her shot glass towards Sova. “I’ll drink with you,” she said, staring into Fade’s two-coloured eyes.
“Good choice,” the bounty hunter smiled at her until Viper broke and turned her stare away. “Without this,” Fade added, taking Viper’s wine.
“No,” the scientist immediately disagreed, scared by the vision of losing her chaser. She reached for the glass that Fade switched to the opposite hand, but before her body slammed against the bounty hunter, she stopped herself. “Give it back,” she demanded, staring at Fade’s profile.
Fade glimpsed at her, her lips pulled in a downward smile. “You’ll be fine without it.”
Viper’s jaw clenched, and she glimpsed down at the table. Then, her mouth bent in a satisfied smile, and she snatched Fade’s beer, moving away from her. “Looks like you’re right.”
“Hey!” Fade frowned just as everyone raised their shots and cheered. It was too late, she was stuck watching Viper take the shot and chase it with the beer, and so she quickly drank her own. As the vodka burned its way through her throat, she gazed down at the wine in her hand. She tilted the glass over her lips, but having disliked wine her whole life, it didn’t really help her.
“Do you want to switch back?” Viper’s amused voice rang to her side. The scientist was watching her fight with both vodka and wine at the same time.
“Please,” she breathed out.
Viper softly scoffed as she pulled her sleeve down and wiped the bottle’s thread from her saliva. She gladly took her own glass back, and then she and Fade finally drank their beverage of choice.
“You know… The wine made it worse,” Fade’s voice was still hoarse.
“Really?” Viper wasn’t able to hide her amusement. Not that she wanted to do so in the first place.
“Really…” Fade nodded and cleared her throat with a soft wince.
“I can’t say I liked the beer either,” Viper shrugged, gently pushing her empty glass away. “Excuse me,” she said, getting up from the table. She left her glass behind and headed to the bathrooms.
When she came back, she noticed that Brimstone was occupying her seat, having been robbed of his own. As she approached them, she cleared her throat, prompting Brimstone to raise his head at her.
“Oh, sorry…” He moved closer to Fade, making space for her between himself and Cypher.
Viper’s eyebrows twitched up, not expecting him to move in the wrong direction.
“Come sit here, Viper. There’s plenty of space,” Chamber smiled, leaning back from the table to look at her.
Right after that, Cypher grabbed onto Brimstone’s arm, pulling him back to himself. “Actually, Brimstone, there is something I wanted to discuss…”
Viper took the opportunity as soon as she saw it, pushing herself between Fade and Brimstone to sit down. She reached for her wine, bringing it closer to herself, and in her mind she thanked Cypher for sticking his nose into everyone’s business.
“There were other seats, you know?” Fade raised her eyebrows at her.
Viper’s lips bent in a small smile as she looked at Fade, tilting her head. “There were other vodka bottles than that one,” she tossed her chin at the one standing next to Sova.
Fade smirked, and her eyes momentarily dropped down to Viper’s lips. “Really? Where?” She asked, lazily turning her head at the table where they put out all of the alcohol. “Ohhh…” She slowly nodded. “Would you look at that…”
Viper softly scoffed and looked down at her empty shot glass. Everyone else’s was filled and ready for them to take another round. Her eyes crossed with Sova’s, and she gently pushed her glass across the table. “Can you pour me one as well?”
“Of course…” The Russian chuckled as he unscrewed the cap.
“Are we drinking?!” Breach’s yell was intentional this time. He leaned straight to Sova’s ear and put all of his lung power into the scream.
Sova winced, twitching away from him. When he was done topping Viper up, he grabbed both his and Breach’s shots and downed them one after another.
“WHAT?!” Breach got up, looking down at him.
“I said I won’t pour you another one if you keep yelling.”
“Cheers,” Brimstone raised his shot up, ignoring Sova and Breach.
Viper followed, and as everyone was about to drink, Fade grabbed the scientist by her elbow. She didn’t say anything, but she looked down at her own arm that she held bent with the shot glass in her hand. Viper’s eyebrows rose, but after giving it a thought, she decided asking questions was too dangerous. She moved closer to Fade, joining their elbows together and crossing her arms.
“Cheers, şekerim,” Fade gave her a small smile right before she threw the shot down her throat and turned around to chase it with the beer.
Viper was able to address it only when she set her wine down, having done the same as Fade. “What does that mean?”
“What?” Fade frowned at her.
“The word you said right after cheers,” Viper clarified.
“I didn’t say anything,” Fade played dumb.
Viper pursed her lips, disliking Fade’s reaction. “It starts with s.”
“Cheers ends with s, are you sure you didn’t hear that?” Fade crooked an eyebrow at her.
Then, just as Viper was opening her mouth to talk back to her, she was distracted by the sudden cut of the music. “Hey! Everybody!” Raze’s voice rang through the workshop. “I have a Birthday wish! I want everyone to go upstairs! We’re gonna play Truth or Dare!” She grinned, looking around the whole workshop, seeing how most of the expressions were stirred. “Oh, come on! It’s my birthday!”
“Yeah, uhh… we prepared space for everyone in the room upstairs,” Killjoy grinned, sliding her eyes across everyone’s faces.
“Come on,” Brimstone grabbed Viper’s arm, pulling her up. “We have to.”
“I don’t have to do shit,” Viper said through clenched teeth, tearing herself away from Brimstone’s grip.
“We agreed you won’t leave the party until it ends.” Brimstone put his hand on Viper’s back, pushing her towards the small crowd gathering at the bottom of the stairs.
“Too fucking bad,” Viper scoffed and took a step back. Little did she know, she was bumping right into Fade.
“Careful,” Fade frowned, catching the scientist by her arms.
“So sorry,” Viper quickly answered, straightened up and turned back at Brimstone. “Have a nice evening,” she spat out and walked away.
“Viper!” Raze yelled out, seeing her head towards the exit. “I meant it when I said everyone!”
Viper stopped and slowly turned around. She noticed that most of the people were staring at her after Raze called her out. Her jaw clenched, and it was Killjoy who ultimately talked her into it. “We’ll use a bottle to determine the next person. That means that there’s about four percent chance that it’ll land on you…”
“I know,” Viper sighed as she took a small step towards the party. “That’s still too much.”
“But, you’ll stay?” Killjoy gave her a bright smile.
“Yes,” the scientist nodded and was soon being body slammed by Reyna, who wrapped her arm around her shoulders.
“Let’s go before you change your mind again.” The vampire said, pushing Viper towards the stairs.