Work Text:
Life is good. At least, Chai's life sure is. He's been living it up, on Vandelay Island, ever since they took down Kale. He's been (in his totally humble opinion) killing it as the new ambassador for Project Armstrong and has actually managed to undo a lot of the bad PR brought on by Kale's time as CEO. His natural charisma and talent for being on-stage makes every product showcase and public advertisement feel like a concert. It's all he'd ever wanted, except nothing like what he thought he wanted! (Funny how that works out, huh?) He gets paid well, is basically the face of the company and he even gets a 10% "Ambassador Discount" at the company's cafeteria. Despite all of this, his job is, by far, not the hest part of his new life. His favorite part of his life at Vandelay is getting home after a day of work and being greeted by-
"Chai!" He's snapped out of his thoughts by the familiar sight of his favorite red-head.
"Oh, Korsica! How, uh... how long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to have shouted yer name more than five times, already! Seriously, I dunno how you can space out that bloody hard."
"It's, uh... It's a talent." Chai says, rubbing his neck, sheepishly. "So, anyways, what's up? Need somethin'?"
"Chai, look around." She says, which he does. It's then he realizes...
"We're... the only ones here."
"Bingo. The SCR-UB units have been waiting for you to leave the cafeteria so they can clean it for so long, I got sent an alert... on my break." Chai winces.
"R-riight... Yeah, sorry about that, I'll just, uh..."
"Get going?
"Yeah, that." Chai says, already running off. "Later, Korsica!"
"Yeah, yeah. Take care, Chai!" Korsica shouts after him, shaking her head and sighing in exhasperation, questioning how and why she puts up with him, before calling over the SCR-UB units to get to cleaning, starting with the mess Chai left behind. She sighs again and starts the trek back to her office.
Chai dashes through alleyways and swings with his grapple-magnet through the Vandelay campus. He runs on rooftops and waves to people, below, most of whom recognize him, seeing as his face is on several billboards. The commute home has always been a blast, thanks to his musical robot powers. It almost feels like a dance as he hops from a rooftop, onto a girder, across a pipe and along the side-streets, until he finds the dingiest, dirtiest-looking alleyway (with a small, potted plant that he put there, in a vain attempt to make it look nicer). He drops down and casually makes his way into the alley and down a small flight of stairs to an underground tunnel. Even after all this time, he still gets the heebie-jeebies. Despite that, he grins as he opens the door with dramatic flair.
"Peppermint, I'm ho-"
"Will you be quiet!? I'm trying to watch this!"
"Oh." His shoulders slump slightly, but he brushes it off and walks over to Peppermint's desk to see what she's watching. It's a PSA to all residents of the island, sent out by Peppermint's mom, Roxanne Vandelay.
"Attention, all residents of Vandelay Campus, as of right now, we are putting out a warning that tomorrow's weather will border on that of a natural disaster. We have put precautions in place to prevent things such as a tsunami, but there will still be strong winds and heavy rain. As such, all citizens are advised to stay indoors, until we confirm it is safe. Please, do not panic, as you are all in safe hands. The only ones allowed to roam the streets will be our security robots, assisting with any issues you may have. Thank you for your attention and please stay safe."
"Yeesh. Guess I won't have to come into work, tomorrow." Chai jokes.
"Ugh... And I had plans for tomorrow." Peppermint groans.
"Like what?"
"Korsica and I were gonna get a coffee, together, before I went to go help Macaron with some minor glitches in some of his tech, and then I was gonna have dinner and tea with Mom." Peppermint then flushes, just slightly and looks just a tad more disappointed than she already did. "I was even gonna ask if you wanted to come... p-per her request, of course!"
"Heh. Roxanne really does like me, huh?"
"Well, you're the first real friend I've made in 9 years, so she's reasonably excited." Peppermint explains.
"Right..." Chai says, feeling sheepish again. (What is it with the women in his life being so much smarter than him?) "Kinda forgot about the whole 'lone wolf' thing." Peppermint rolls her eyes.
"I was not a 'lone wolf,' I just... didn't really have the time to meet people." She tries to deflect. "Anyways, guess tomorrow's a lazy day. Can't really go out and do anything with the severe weather."
"Yeah..." Chai says, thinking to himself, before he perks up. "I've got an idea! How about a movie night?"
"A movie night? Like, what the two of us watching a movie, together, on the couch?"
"Yeah, exactly! It'll be perfect! We can have popcorn and cuddle up in some warm blankets. I can make a run to the store before the bad weather starts and get even more snacks!"
"You just wanna have a lot of snacks, don't you?"
"Hey, guilty, as charged." Chai says, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Can't blame a guy for liking movies and snacks." Peppermint rolls her eyes again and chuckles softly.
"Guess I can't. Fine, go get some candy or something." She says, handing him a twenty. "I'll make some popcorn, in the meantime."
"Yesss!" Chai pumps his fist as he snatches the bill and dashes back out the door. "I'll be back before you can even pick a movie!"
"Uh-huh. Sure ya will."
The hideout is dark and quiet as Peppermint sits on the couch cuddled up in a warm, fuzzy blanket and pajamas, with popcorn on her lap and 808 to her side. The atmosphere is muted, yet full of energy as she anticipates Chai's return. Why is she so excited? She could just watch a movie without him, if she so pleased, so why does the thought of watching a movie with him make her feel so fuzzy? She gets annoyed at herself for not knowing. Why is her own heart the one thing she can never make sense of? The door suddenly bursts open, startling both girl and cat out of their peaceful lull.
"Alright! I got snacks!" Chai says, walking inside, his entire body soaked, yet proudly holding a dripping wet bag of whatever twenty dollars can buy.
"Chai! Has the rain already started?! Crap, are you okay?! You're totally soaked! Come on, lemme get you a towel." Peppermint says, rushing to grabs towel from the bathroom. She runs back and, without a thought, gets right up to Chai and starts drying his hair for him, subconciously being careful to make sure she's gentle. "Jeez, ya dummy... You should've abandoned the snacks and gotten your ass home. Is it already bad out there? Ugh, there's a reason we were all told to stay indoors."
"Peppermint, quit fussing over me, I'm fine! I can dry myself off, I'm a grown man!"
"Shut up, you'd probably manage to strangle yourself with the towel."
"Hey!" Peppermint giggles.
"It's true, dumbass!" Once Chai's face and hair are all dry, Peppermint carefully reaches around and removes his scarf and jacket. "Go, get changed. Take the prosthetic off, too. I'll run a quick diagnostic check for water damage." Chai does as told, pressing a few buttons to make his metallic arm pop off, before leaving to get changed into some dry clothes. Peppermint watches him go, for a moment, before hurrying to her workstation to check Chai's prosthetic. Thankfully, no water got in any important places. Vandelay tech is always of the best quality, even the stuff sold under Kale (minus the mind control chips). Chai walks back out in a pair of lounge pants and a comfy hoodie. Peppermint hands him back his arm and he clicks it back into place. He doesn't even ask about any damage, cuz he knows Peppermint would've found out if there was any and would've told him. The two walk over to the couch and both flop down, dramatically.
"Ready to relax?" Chai asks.
"I was born ready..." Peppermint responds, grabbing the remote and going to their normal streaming site.
"You have something picked out, or..."
"Well, kinda, but... Uh..."
"What, what is it?
"Well, it's..." Peppermint sighs. "Look, you better not freaking laugh, okay?"
"I won't laugh. Promise."
"Well... My favorite movie is... Sleepless in Seattle." Chai blinks.
"The... Tom Hanks movie?"
"Yep..."
"The rom-com..."
"I like rom-coms, okay!? Is that such a crime?!" Peppermint retorts, defensively. Chai laughs.
"It's fine, I just... There goes you being a loner. Real romantic type, huh?"
"Shut it, doofus!" She says, causing Chai to laugh again. "You promised you wouldn't laugh..." Chai then feels a little guilty.
"Hey, I'm sorry. Go ahead and put it on. Let's watch it."
"R-really?"
"Yeah, sure. I get to pick, next, though, got it?" He says with a grin. Peppermint smirks back, softly.
"Sure, whatever..." She says, offering Chai the popcorn. He eagerly accepts as she plays the movie. All is quiet, except for the sound coming from the TV as Chai and Peppermint sit together, maybe a bit closer than either would admit to, sharing snacks and body heat as they watch the film. 808 snuggles up to Chai's thigh, and he scritches her neck gently with his right arm. He glances at Peppermint, who's already fully engrossed in the movie, and smiles.
Life is good.