forum ENCOM OS-12 | OxO | Closed unless you're a fellow Program/User/ISO | Stalkers get a free Light Runner

Started March 25, 2021 by @murphysgirl

tune

Cor shrugged. “Something a little stronger than that.” he chuckled, referring to her drink.

"Coming right up," the bartender said, making a show of prepping Cor's drink and serving it with a little flourish. Nora smiled and sipped hers as Bit floated out of Cor's hand and inspected the drinks.
"Bit, no," Nora said with an air of exasperation, flicking Bit away. "Not tonight." The last thing she wanted was Bit ruining her… was this a date? She wasn't sure. Bit, fortunately, seemed to understand, floating obediently away from the drinks.

Cor smiled a little at the bartender’s showmanship before thanking the program, accepting the drink and taking a slow, refreshing sip. “You’d think Bit would know better by now.” he chuckled, shaking his head at Bit’s now-familiar antics. It almost made him wonder if Kiara had let Bit have a little energy on occasion… But now wasn't the time or place to ask about Nora’s old friend.

"I suppose so," Nora said, bestowing Bit an exasperated smile and sipping her drink.

“Hey, at least Bit listened to you and backed off this time.” he pointed out, smiling at her. He wasn't really sure what this was either. Was this actually a date? Or were they just a couple of friends having a drink together and hanging out at the best club on the Grid…

There were a few moments of silence, and then Skye slipped into the seat next to Nora, scowling at her. "Nora, what happened to you last night? You missed the party! You should have been there, it was amazing - oh, who's this?"
"This is Cor," Nora said. "I thought you had met him already."
Skye's lips pursed for a half second, her forehead crinkling; then a wide smile appeared on her face and she pointed excitedly at Cor. "I remember you! You're Nora's friend! Hi!"

“Yes. We met on opening night and you asked if I would like to work here.” Cor chuckled, almost smirking at the situation. “Nice to see you again, Skye. And it's my fault that Nora missed your party. Sorry about that.” he explained with a semi-apologetic shrug.

"Your fault?" Skye seemed puzzled for a moment, then her eyes widened and her smile grew huge. "Did you go on a date with Nora? Awww, you guys would be so cuuuute -"
She was silenced by a glare from Nora, and she sat back, her pale cheeks turning pink.
"Yes, we went on a date," Nora stated. Feeling bad that she had hurt Skye's feelings, she tentatively added, "How was the party?"
Skye's smile returned, and she began to babble excitedly about the party.

Cor let himself blush as Skye reached the conclusion that they were hoping she would. It was still embarrassing though… A program like him on a date with a beautiful Siren like Nora? If it hadn't happened to him, he wouldn't have believed it… but he still wasn't sure if it actually counted.

Skye finished talking about the party, and without even pausing for breath, said, "So are you two on a date now?"
There was a pause. Nora wasn't sure. Were they?
Yes, Bit said, bobbing up and down.
"Ahh! Yay! Oh, I'll leave you to it, I have to talk to Astra anyway, she didn't make it to the party either" - Skye pouted - "but you two have a good time, okay? I'll see you later! Tell me all about it, Nora!"
And with that, she was gone. Nora blew out a breath and turned back to Cor, sipping her drink uncertainly.

Cor's light lines were glowing pink at Skye’s question and Bit answering for them as he took a long drink of his energy, practically draining the glass. “Ok. I knew that is what we wanted her to think… but that was still awkward.” he chuckled, deciding it was better to laugh at the situation instead of being perpetually embarrassed by the topic as his lines slowly changed back to normal.

Nora, whose lines had turned pink as well, nodded. She wondered why Astra had missed the party; probably another date.
"You… do you want me to get that refilled?" she asked awkwardly, nodding at his glass. She was entirely unsure of what to say.

Cor shrugged at the offer, already feeling the buzz from drinking that one so quickly. “No rush. I'm not going to turn down another but I don't really want to get too smashed so early.”

Nora nodded, understanding. She had never gotten blind drunk; Sirens were supposed to stay away from the hard stuff - they needed to be sober and focused for their shifts.

Cor had lost track of how many times he had gotten that drunk since he lost Tetra… but he was much better now and he was able to stop himself from getting that bad again. But right now he wanted to be able to remember spending time with Nora and enjoy the night.

"So," Nora said, unsure of what to say. "How was your cycle?"

Cor paused for a moment at the question before answering. “Productive… but nothing really special.“ he admitted. Technically he could call tracking those containers as “special” but he didn't want to put her in trouble by mentioning it. The fewer programs that knew about it, the better.

Nora nodded. "Mine was… nothing interesting either." After her outing - if you could call it that - as Aurora, she had returned to End of Line and spent most of the cycle in her office.

Cor smiled softly, glad that she told him about her cycle… Even though he felt a little silly for not asking first. “This morning was nice though.” the words slipping out softly without him meaning to say it.

(Story: Ok, flirting time)
(Me, who has no flirting skills whatsoever: uhhhh)

"Yeah, it was," Nora said, her light lines turning a soft pink. Her eyelashes dipped briefly as she remembered the events, and she sipped her drink almost thoughtfully.

(lol same here)

Cor chuckled a little as his lights matched hers. The memory of being so close to her and nearly… His gaze flickered towards her lips at the imagined thought. Chances were that would never happen but a program could dream.

"So, uh…" Nora swirled her drink absentmindedly, her lips curling to the side as she looked at Cor. "You… want to go up to my office?"
Nora, you genius, she reprimanded herself. You should have asked him to dance, to talk, to anything…

Cor looked back at Nora, blinking at the question before giving a small nod. “Sure. I mean, if you're ok with it.” he quickly amended. Though since it was her idea… maybe she was ok with it.

A smile touched Nora's lips. "Are you sure you don't want that drink refilled before we go up?"

Cor chuckled and nodded at the offer. “Yeah. That actually sounds like a good idea to me.” he agreed before flagging the bartender over.