“See you.” Cor chuckled, giving a brief nod as a goodbye. “She’s definitely not a social program.” he said to himself once she was out of earshot before driving away as well. He had a couple of quick searches to take care of before he could head over to End of Line to meet Nora.
(Not me rewatching Uprising. Paige do be hot tho)
Nora, meanwhile, was speeding down the streets of the Grid in her cycle, having derezzed her helmet and her Aurora outfit.
"I have to get that helmet fixed," she muttered. She didn't know any mechanics or fixers now that Kaira was gone, and she couldn't remember any of the staff at End of Line having any training on that kind of thing. Maybe Cor? She could ask him to fix it for her tonight. She couldn't risk Black Light knowing her identity, even though she did almost trust him.
(lol don't blame you. Yeah, she is. Totally shipped her with Beck too.)
Cor zipped down the streets, delivering a couple of messages and handling searches for most of the cycle, having changed out of his Black Light suit a few blocks from the docks. He was honestly still a little nervous about everything he and Aroura were doing… but someone who knew about this had to deal with it. Though he was still considering sending that anonymous message to the Black Guard…
At the end of the cycle, Nora was at the bar in End of Line. She had realised she was suddenly concerned with how her hair looked, and kept straightening her bangs.
Cor sighed and ran his fingers through his hair to try to make it look nicer as he waited for the elevator to reach the club. He didn't want to look too much like a complete mess this time, straightening out his jacket before getting out of the glass elevator and looked around hoping to see Nora.
Nora saw Cor and a smile touched her lips. She wasn't sure how to summon him over - waving seemed, what, too obvious? Fortunately, Bit did the job for her: with a Yes, it zoomed off towards Cor, circling his head a few times.
Cor smiled when he saw Nora waiting for him, not even flinching when Bit zoomed over. “Hey, little buddy.” he chuckled, gently lifting his hand towards Bit but not touching. Just close enough for Bit to close the gap, if it wanted to. “Hope you guys haven't been waiting long.”
No, Bit said, settling into Cor's hand. Nora smiled when she saw it. Bit, similar to Nora, wasn't very trusting, but it seemed to have really taken a shine to Cor.
(Don't even get me started on how much I loathe Pavel)
Cor’s smile widened as Bit actually responded to his gesture. “I thought you didn't like being touched… Guess you really warmed up to me.” he chuckled softly before he started walking towards Nora.
"Greetings, program," Nora said with a smile.
“Good to see you too, Nora.” Cor chuckled as he sat next to her. “How’s your head?”
"It's been feeling better," Nora said. "Would you like a drink?"
“A drink sounds great.” he smiled, relieved that apparently he had done a good job of fixing her injury.
Nora smiled and summoned the bartender, ordering a light drink, then turned to Cor. "What do you want?"
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.