Surviving - Trivia (a 'For Every Action, A Reaction' side story)

[churbooseanon]

Summary: The simple fact of the matter is that there are things that they can’t all share. And one of them is a favorite pastime for them all.

It’s back and I’m ready again to get back to this. I hope you guys hadn’t forgotten that this was a thing. I hadn’t. Did you? I know you did. HA!

 

Surviving - Trivia

There were a few things in the world more relaxing than the mindless ease of the sort of television shows that came on bracketing the evening news. There was less substance than the afternoon soap operas that Nic knew David had taken to watching, and yet less drivel as well. Not that he often had the chance to just sit back and enjoy the cheerful, mindless pleasure of game shows very often. Normally he found himself too busy working or running errands to just sit down with David at their table, hold his lover close, and challenge David to the title of ‘trivia king.’

“Rutabaga,” David announced happily as the host of the show they were watching, some trivia show based in the core colonies that Nic had never seen before today, asked about some strange Old Earth vegetable.

“How did you know that?” Nic questioned, kissing his boyfriend’s neck lightly. “That’s a strange thing to know.”

“Epsilon knew it,” David explained. “The Director was from Earth, remember?”

“Right,” Nic frowned, trying his best not to shift uncomfortably. There were a few topics they still didn’t talk about like they should, and Epsilon was one of them.

What happened to him was particularly traumatic, Theta whispered softly in the back of North’s mind. You still don’t like talking to them about what happened with Nicky, or how I reacted when we first met Lacey.

Can we not remind me about those things? Nic sighed at his AI mentally.

And then there is how what happened to Carolina affected…

Nic wordlessly reprimanded Theta, and almost immediately the AI silenced itself. There were sensitive subjects for all of them, they got that. It was just better when neither of the AI’s decided to prod at that. And by neither Nic really just meant Theta. The new levels of integration that Miles and Delta were achieving were not only scary, but leading to less social snafus with Delta. So that, Nic supposed, was an upside.

“Oh, and this one is The Great Escape,” David answered. Strange, Nic hadn’t even heard the question. “God Miles loves that movie too much. I’m almost glad we don’t have his external with all the videos. There is only so much Old Earth culture that I care to absorb.”

Nic started to open his mouth, only to have Theta chime an alert in the back of his mind. There was movement in the hall. Immediately Nic was reaching under the table for the pistol that was waiting in a small nook that he had made. Miles wasn’t due back for another two hours from his job of the week, which was cleaning a grocery store. The perk was that he got an employee’s discount on their food, and decent pay. Hopefully he’d get to keep the job but it was never a certain thing. In fact, until this point, it was very much the opposite of that.

“What’s up?” David asked quietly, as if sensing Nic’s tension. Or maybe he was just picking up on Nic moving to grab the gun. “Hear something?”

The stride length is within the margin of error for Miles, but it’s hard to tell for sure. They’ve stopped at our door.

“Theta’s picked up someone by the door,” Nic said just as quietly, pulling the gun out and getting to his feet just in time for the lock to click back and the door to open.

“Guys I’m ho-ooooooly shit!” Miles yelped from the door as Nic’s gun snapped up to point when the door opened. Immediately Nic was lowering it again, and quickly moving to put the gun down and help Miles with the large bag of groceries in his hand.

“Fuck, Nic, a guy comes home to surprise his boyfriends with treats, and he gets a gun in his face,” Miles snapped as Nic moved forward to take the bag and carry it to the counter in the kitchen. There was a flash of green in his eyes that meant Delta was probably trying to comfort Miles as Nic moved past him to head into the hall and pick up the predicted second bag.

“Hey, I still love you,” David called from the living room as Nic kicked the door closed behind him.

“I know you… The Pillar of Autumn.”

“Oh god,” Nic sighed as he put the second bag down, not bothering to look at Miles as his boyfriend answered the game show announcer. “David you’ve got to…”

“2256,” Miles provided for another barely audible question from the television.

“They’re doing it again,” David whined from the living room table. “Nic, I was having fun.”

“Delta, it’s not fair when you’re playing,” Nic found himself reminding the AI that had clearly become riveted by the show from the slow way Miles was making his way toward the television.

“I would disagree, Nicolas,” Delta answered with Miles’s lips. “I enjoy a good… The Sangheili Accords of War.”

“I was having so much fun,” David complained again, turning to mute the tv.

Which, as Nic watched, only meant that Delta moved Miles so he could better see the screen.

“You know, Theta always promises not to get involved when we’re watching these. Why can’t you behave as well, Delta?” Nic sighed, shaking his head as he started unloading the groceries.

“I cannot help the fact that I enjoy such games as… The War of the Roses.”

“David just turn it off already!” Nic groaned, shaking his head.

He really is a know-it-all isn’t he? Theta sighed in Nic’s head.

“The worst kind of one,” Nic agreed out loud as he watched David turn off the television at last.

“I was enjoying that!” Miles protested, and Nic could hear the pout in his voice. Well, it served him right.

“When you and Delta stop ruining the fun we can all watch together,” David assured their lover. “Until then, well… no fun.”

Nic could already tell they were going to cuddle their boyfriend back to cheerful tonight. Not, of course, that he found himself minding.