X-COM: Friendship Unknown

“Knock knock.” A voice called out as the door knocked. Zossi, quickly adjusted her shirt, just to make sure she was fully covered.

The viper slithered over and opened the door. “Sunset.” Zossi smiled and shifted aside so Sunset Shimmer, this time in jeans and a blue tank top, walked in.

“I’m just checking on you two, seeing how things are.” Sunset said, taking a seat at the table. “So Fluttershy said you came by for psy testing.” She looked at Command, who had, by this point, at least put a t-shirt and his pants back on.

“Ah, yeah, thought it would be a good thing to do, now that we have, you know, money again,” Command admitted. He was doing his utmost to not look like the cat that had just gotten the cream, and he thought he was succeeding.

“Well, it’s not a bad idea.” She smiled, then glanced between the two. “You two have fun?”

The hard part about not reacting to questions was expecting them. Which Command hadn’t been. It was a small flinch, but it was there.

“Yes.” Zossi nodded.

“Well good. I’m happy for you two.” Sunset smiled. “And if you two are interested, at some point in the future, I might be able to make it a little easier to get on an interspecies reproduction trial.”

“Um, thanks?” Command squeaked. Aww, he was blushing. It was adorable. He’d been confident during the act, but once he was called on it he turned shy. “Are you supposed to be this interested in…” He couldn’t finish the thought.

“Consider it advancing human and extraterrestrial relations.” Sunset giggled. “Hey, fucking is significantly better than killing each other.”

“True.” Zossi nodded.

“Or that stuff going on in City 31,” Command mentioned. “Seems to be a melting pot someone forgot to take off of high heat.”

“Oh don’t get me started. My friend AJ has been there for awhile. My other friend Dash came out of retirement to help the squad that my old bosses put together.” Sunset nodded. “Don’t be surprised if AJ shows up one day. She’s always been pushing for peace between races.”

“Is she nice?” Zossi asked as she draped herself over Command.

“She’s stubborn, but she’s kind and has a good heart.” Sunset nodded, and giggled at the viper. The snake’s touch seemed to relax Command as his muscles went slacker from her embrace.

“So, um. I take it you’re involved in that rumored serum I’ve heard about,” Command floated the idea past Sunset. “The one that’s supposed to make it...possible for relations to be fruitful.”

“Kinda. I have a friend looking into it with the actual scientists. I’ve always been more of a people person over anything like science or engineering.” The woman said with a chuckle. “Oh, so I heard back from Simon. He’s going to be coming back out to work on the, lived in, apartments next week. Mainly some maintenance stuff. After that he’s going to start fixing up the rooms that have been vacant.”

“Oh, good,” Command smiled at the thought. “And that means we can have someone competent dealing with the housing afterwards, right? Because I’m getting tired of having to go down to the cellar myself to start up the heating in winter because our landlord finally threw the keys at me and told me to ‘do it myself if I wanted it so badly’.”

“Well Simon is moving in. He’s basically going to be a live-in contractor when he’s not going out to another site.” Sunset explained.

“Translation, psychic landlord,” Command summed up, stroking the nearest part of Zossi with a hand.

“Pretty much.” Sunset nodded. “In fact, I’d like to properly meet the other people that live in this little complex. Think you could introduce me?”

“...Tell you what,” Command countered. “How about I make lunch for the apartment, and while everyone is eating some good cooking and can’t muster a bad word, I can introduce you to everyone at once, including the troublesome ones?”

“That sounds great.” Sunset grinned.

There was a little picnic table (a poorly maintained one, but still serviceable) right outside the apartment on the lawn. The apartment itself was actually three stories, however only the first two stories were used. Sunset made a note to have Simon take a look at the third story and see how those apartments were holding up, if he didn’t already. It wasn’t a great building by any means, it was rather boxy and seemed to be mostly concrete painted white with some minor work done on the inside. That's what you get for cheap. Or what was supposed to be cheap. Might need to see about some more thorough renovations.

“Sunset?” A voice called out.

Sunset blinked. Was that? She turned and saw. “Wallflower?” Sunset gasped. “Holy shit, you’re alive!” She paused. “Sorry, I just can’t believe I missed you when I was here last.”

“It’s fine. So, what happened to you after everything went to hell?” The green hair girl asked.

“To be perfectly honest I joined X-COM, learned how to fight aliens.” Sunset said with a bit of an embarrassed smile.

“Oh wow.” Wallflower blinked. “And I suppose that’s how you got the government job?”

“A little higher than one government, but yeah.” Sunset nodded. “But, how are you doing?”

“I’m alright, I like to make sure everyone here’s doing okay.” Wallflower smiled. “Beyond that, I have a part-time night job at Seven-Eleven. It's not much, but it pays the bills.”

“Bills shouldn’t be as bad now, maybe less so if I can convince you to room with an extraterrestrial.” The gold and red haired girl giggled softly. “No pressure though.”

“That’s… huh.” Wallflower blinked. “I’ll think about it.”

“I left my card with Command, you can get my number with him.” Sunset nodded as Wallflower went to sit down at the table and chat with the viper “sitting” at one end of the table.

Command brought out some kind of steaming pan. The smell must have gotten some attention because a pale girl in a hoodie and sweatpants wandered out. Sunset walked over.

“Hi, I’m Sunset Shimmer.” She raised a hand.

The girl looked at it. Then quickly shook it. “M’ Floor Bored, I smelled food.”

“That would be Command’s work.” Sunset smiled and nodded towards the man setting the table.

“Yay, he makes good food.” Floor smiled, looking a little tired.

“If I may, what do you do?” Sunset asked.

“I stay at home, watch anime. I… don’t like going outside if I have to.” Floor shook her head.

“Are you employed?” Sunset furrowed her brow a bit.

“No.” Floor shook her head again. “I have… things. Can’t work. Anxious and… stuff.” She seemed to be struggling for words. “Haven’t heard from anyone in awhile.” She shrugged. “It’s all bureaucratic bullshit anyway. But, meh. Food.”

The girl wandered over to the table and was happily greeted by the others. Which got a shy blush in response. Sunset frowned and furrowed her brow. She made another note to look into Floor Bored. The girl might need someone to help look after her.

“Oh. My. God!” Was all Sunset had for warning before her tablet was smashed into her chest and she was wrapped in a bone-breaking hug. Her eyes were engulfed by blue. “It’s been years!”

“E-excuse me?” Sunset wheezed. “Air. Please.”

“Oops! Right! Sorry!” There was a familiar giggle as Sunset caught her breath.”Sorry, about that, don’t know my own strength sometimes. Aria says I’m going to kill somebody someday.”

Sunset straightened and saw. “Sonata?” She blinked at the former Siren.

“Yeppers!” Sonata Dusk said, giving a thumbs up while sticking her tongue out.

“You… You haven’t aged a day.” Sunset blinked.

Truly the girl hadn’t. Sonata still looked like a teenager, while Sunset herself was in her mid-twenties.

“Yeah. Dagi blames the alien stuff that happened years ago.” Sonata shrugged. “When the whole shitstorm started, Aria and Dagi thought we could make some money looting alien tech. Some sort of container of orange stuff blew up while Aria and Dagi were arguing. We woke up in some hospital and pretty much gained superpowers after that.” She giggled. “It was a weird few years. We fought aliens. Aria liked it, Dagi was mad that X-COM never got back to us, and I just tried to keep our spirits up.”

“Wow… That… Huh.” Sunset blinked. “I may need to let my bosses know about you three.”

“Oh, would you?! I mean, I don’t know who they are, but if they could take a look at Dagi. She’s had bad headaches for like, ever.” Sonata said, giving a worried look towards the apartment. “Dagi doesn’t like going out. Aria does all her work from the computer. It’s hard to get them to come out, even for food.”

“I’ll definitely let my bosses know.” Sunset put a hand on Sonata’s shoulder and smiled.

“Thanks.” Sonata smiled.

Command waved at the pair and they walked over to the table and sat down.

The food looked amazing. It smelled like a hamburger, and there was melted, shredded cheese atop the potato topping. The violet-skinned man pulled out a plastic spatula from where he’d left it, and used it to serve up decent chunks of the food. Pulling out the first block of the casserole revealed that it had hamburger meat that was oozing with some sort of flavoring that had been applied when nobody was watching, and the base was made of the same potato goodness.

“Behold, my secret recipe,” he intoned, serving everyone a chunk of the food in as serious an expression he could muster. Which, given he was smirking at the fact that almost everyone was here for his cooking, wasn’t all that stern to begin with.

“Ooooooo! It looks so goooood!” Sonata bounced in her seat.

Floor just stared at it. She wasn’t drooling. Yet.

“That looks amazing Command.” Sunset smiled.

“He’s a great chef when he wants to be.” Zossi said with a nod, leaning over to nuzzle his cheek.

“Translation, we have money again, this is the first decent meal we’ve been able to afford in weeks,” Command said to Sunset. “It always is better when you can afford to make it yourself. Makes it more...homely, wholesome,” he mused wistfully. Everyone had a plate of food, so he sat next to Zossi and held up a fork. “To friends,” he suggested, before digging in.

There was a repeat of “to friends” from Sunset, Zossi, and Sonata. Floor simply just held up a fork before almost ravenously digging into the food.

Sunset spared the girl a glance, before looking at Command. “So, Command, what is it you actually do for a living? Just call me curious.”

He swallowed a bite of his food before replying. “Mainly, bug-testing,” he answered. “Got something you need to find out if it can be broken? I’m the guy. Work from home, get to look at exclusive programs first, figure out how they can be bested, if at all, and tell the coders of the exploits I find before the product gets released so they get a more polished program, rather than a buggy mess that breaks down in front of your investors.”

“Huh. I never really understood that myself, but sounds like a good job to have.” Sunset said, taking a bit and savoring the flavors for a moment.

“Floor how have you been?” Zossi asked the quietly eating girl.

“Hmmm?” Floor blinked at the viper. “Ummm, okay I guess? Ummm, the light novel of Shield Hero showed up the other day, so that’s been fun to read. Uh, and I keep putting off cleaning my apartment?”

“Let us know if you need any help, Floor.” Wallflower said, sounding mildly concerned.

“I’ll let you know.” Floor nodded and went back to her food.

Sunset watched for a moment, before swallowing. “So, Sonata, what do you do?”

“Oh, I work at KFC.” The girl said with a giggle. “It’s not as bad as you think. Turns out aliens are nicer than humans when it comes to customers.”

“Huh. You know, I can actually believe that.” Sunset said with a giggle.

“Everyone should be a good neighbor,” Command pointed out. “Until we figure out how to get off the ground properly, we’ve only got the one planet.”

“True.” Zossi nodded.

“Absolutely.” Sunset nodded as well.

“Dagi and Aria try.” Sonata said with a somewhat sad smile.

“It’s okay. I think we’re used to them by now.” Wallflower said with a smile towards the former siren.

“Was kinda hoping to lure them out, not gonna lie,” Command sighed. “Ah well.” He looked over to Sonata with a half-smile. “Can I trust you to take some up to them?”

“I was going to ask if I could.” Sonata grinned. “”Please and thank you.”

“Mhm,” Command nodded, getting up from his seat and going back over to the pan. He plated a few more servings of the casserole and put them to one side. “For when you want to take it to them,” he explained as he retook his seat at the table.

“I’ll go do that now!” Sonata got up, took the plates, and started back towards the apartment.

“Thanks for the food.” Floor said, getting up herself and following Sonata.

“That was great Command.” Sunset said. “You really can cook.”

“I’m hoping I’m as good someday.” Zossi smiled. “Oh, did I mention I want to learn to cook?”

“No you didn’t, but I’m happy you found something you like doing.” Sunset smiled back at the viper.

“Maybe we should do a weekly potluck thing.” Wallflower suggested as she set her plastic spoon down.

“This wouldn’t be your way of getting more of our cooking on a regular basis, would it?” Command asked in a joking manner.

“Maybe?” Wallflower shrugged. “I mean, that wouldn’t be a bad thing.”

“Does mean I’ll have to keep coming up with new things to try,” Command mused. “I’m sure I’ll figure it out.” He shrugged, not particularly bothered by the idea.

“And you and Zossi can cook together.” Sunset said with a nod, pointing her spoon at him.

“Yay.” The viper cheered quietly.

“And I definitely wouldn’t say no to that.” Wallflower giggled.

“Anything to try new food, eh?” Command ribbed her verbally.

“Absolutely.” Wallflower snickered.

“Well, that settles it,” Command nodded a few times. “We must embark on a culinary quest together, my dear Zossi.”

“That mean we’re going shopping?” The viper asked.

“Sure, we can make a trip to the store,” Command agreed. “I’m sure we’ll find something we both enjoy there.” He got up from the table, having finished his serving a while ago, and began to pack up the leftover casserole.

“And with that, I think it’s finally time for me to get back to work.” Sunset said with a chuckle as she got up. “I’ll be sure to keep in touch.” She nodded, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

“Thank you.” Zossi smiled.

“Yeah, thanks for coming by. It was great to see you again.” Wallflower said as the fiery-haired woman walked towards her car.

“I’d say that was a successful lunch,” Command noted. “Well, let’s pack up and then we can go shopping,” he said to Zossi.

“Sounds good.” Zossi nodded.

The grocery store was a little busy when they got there. Zossi really wanted to push the cart, so Command let her. Though it was rather funny hearing car noises coming from the viper as she pushed said cart. As a whole, the shopping was going well, despite the occasional clogged aisle. It was a Sunday. Why would so many people be out shopping at two in the afternoon, on a Sunday?

“Sorry.” Zossi said, sliding the cart to the side so someone could pass. “What do we have left?” She asked, glancing back towards Command.

“Some pasta, I’m kind of running low,” he supplied, looking down at his tablet to confirm that there was only one item left on the list. “The more variety we can pick up, the better.”

“So, to the pasta aisle then.” The viper nodded and slithered along, pushing the cart in front of her.

This aisle, at least, was relatively clear. Command sighed in relief as they began making their way down, humming to himself as he looked over what was on the shelf. “Spaghetti, macaroni, ooh, always wanted to try some lasagna…”

“So this is your viper girl.” A familiar voice called out. Command turned and saw the same viper he saw the other day slithering up the aisle with a basket over an arm. She, once again, was wearing all black. She also had a black purse slung over her shoulder. “Hello again.”

Zossi was immediately at his side and looped an arm around his arm.

“No need to be so defensive, honey.” The viper giggled, gesturing at Zossi.

“Ah, hello again,” Command replied, a little unsure as to what, exactly, was happening around him. “Thanks for the cooking tips the other day, I’m glad I didn’t try that without some expert advice.”

“Oh, of course.” The viper nodded. “Any time.”

“So this is who I smelled.” Zossi frowned a bit.

“She’s so defensive.” The viper looked at Zossi “You’re so defensive. It’s adorable.” She smiled. “You two are so cute together.”

“...Thanks.” Zossi still glared at her.

“Zossi, seriously, we’re all friendly here,” Command said, patting one of her arms with a hand. “Chill.”

“Here.” The viper held out a hand. “I’m Angel, I’m a photographer, and I have no intention of stealing your man. Seriously, I’ve had Muton dick, you don’t go back from that.” Angel giggled.

Zossi cracked a smile as she shook Angel’s hand. “Sorry.”

“No problem.” Angel replied. “I’ve known plenty of vipers who get possessive of their partners. Comes from having not enough males for fuck knows how long.”

“Something humanity has agreed to help with,” Command noted. “But until then, we’re all just neighbors.” He smiled over at Zossi and stroked the inside of her hood with a hand. “Very good neighbors,” he added.

Zossi shuddered a bit at his touch.

“Too true.” Angel nodded. “Say, you two are a cute couple. If you’re ever interested, I wouldn’t mind doing a photo shoot of the pair of you.”

“What do you say, love?” Command asked, still petting his adorable snakey girlfriend.

“Mmmm… maybe some time?” Zossi glanced at Command.

“Well, if you two are interested,” Angel reached into her purse and pulled out a card, “here. It has all my info.”

Zossi reached out and took it, before putting it in her small purse.

“See, isn’t it nicer when we’re all friends?” Command asked, hugging Zossi with one arm around her waist. “Thank you for the offer, miss, I’m sure we’ll be in touch once my adorable girlfriend here has time to...unwind.”

“Of course.” Angel nodded. “And, I think I’ll let you two get back to your shopping. Enjoy the rest of your day.” She smiled and nodded at both of them then slithered past them.

Command waited until she was out of earshot before turning to Zossi. “So?” he asked.

“Sorry.” Zossi mumbled not wanting to meet his eyes. “M’scared I’m gonna lose you.”

“Aww. C’mere and give me a hug,” Command said, spreading his arms wide. In response, she just leaned against him. This prompted the human to turn and give his girlfriend a big hug, holding her close so he could whisper in her ear.

“Silly snek,” he murmured, rubbing her back gently with his hands. “You’re not gonna lose me. You’re stuck with me. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Thanks.” She said quietly. She cleared her throat. “Should we finish our shopping date?”

“Sure, let me just grab a few things…” Command smiled deviously. He pulled back for a moment…

Before darting in and stealing a kiss from Zossi.

“Eep!” Zossi instantly flushed and covered her mouth. She stared wide-eyed at her boyfriend.

“Sorry, you were too cute to not kiss,” he teased. The human smirked at the viper, before picking a box of pasta up off the shelf and putting it in their cart. “Coming?” he teased as he began pushing their groceries off to the checkout.

Zossi jumped and slithered to catch up to her human.

“I’ll show you who’s cute!”