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The apartment is dark except for the living room. A Christmas tree shines brightly against the corner in which it has been erected, decorated in twinkling lights, shiny ornaments of various shapes and sizes, and wrapped in glittering blue and white garland. It’s a beautiful setup and one that never would have survived if not for the near translucent cage that locked tiny little criminals - otherwise known as Rooster, Cagely, and Junebug, the household’s three cats - out and away from those festooned branches.
The only other point of illumination comes from the television hung flush and secure on the wall across from the overstuffed sectional sofa; both are exaggeratedly large and quite expensive but they are used fairly often and provide a sense of comfort and home. The couch, especially, as its plush cushions and deep backing allow for two fully grown men to lounge cozily together without fear of falling over the edge.
Nines and Gavin are seated in the middle of it, wrapped in a fuzzy checkered blanket that’s soft from age and more than a little tattered around the edges, but it’s warm and big enough that they could literally be on opposite sides of the couch and still be covered. As it was, Nines had tucked himself close to Gavin’s side, sliding down just enough to rest himself against Gavin’s chest as they watched what he considered the oddest movie to be included in the Cineplex Christmas category.
On screen a well-armored vehicle had just plowed up along a steep stairway on its way to ram into an executive office building, its wheels spinning frantically trying to find traction. Seconds later a rocket of some kind was fired from above and detonated upon impacting the roof sending a wall of flames and debris flying into the air and around the site. It was a devastating blow for the L.A.P.D, even more so for the poor soul or souls who were inside the truck.
The scene switched to the clearly distraught hero as he stared down at the carnage and pleaded with the terrorist to let those that were injured and alive to retreat. Of course, as Nines suspected, that wasn’t to happen and an order to fire again was issued. The hero took it upon himself to try to stop it and rigged a clever if nonsensical bomb together with C4 and a computer monitor tied tightly together by a computer cord that was then sent plummeting down an elevator shaft.
The explosion from that overshadowed the one from earlier, since this one seemed to spark a reaction from other explosives and ammunition stored on a floor well below where the hero had been stationed and from where the terrorists were shooting from – an entire floor seemed to erupt in flames and blow outward through the building's windows.
It was all very spectacular and oddly satisfying to watch, if a bit confusing.
Nines’ LED spun in a lazy yellow circle as he processed.
“It does seem strange that the Deputy Chief has been, thus far, unable to command the attention and respect his position should afford him amongst the ranks and take a proper hold of the situation. He does claim he’s in charge but as John has stated he doesn’t seem to be in charge of anything.”
“Yeah, well,” Gavin started, “the guy’s so far up his own ass he ain’t listening to the one guy that’s got an actual insight into what’s going on let alone the patrolman that’s been on scene the longest and has been talking with McClaine up to that point.”
“Another oddity but the man did have a good point about not assuming the man is a cop. There’s no clear way to verify that since he’s given a false first name, no last name, and no way to actually substantiate the assumption.”
“Even if they could, babe, this was the Eighties. The most advanced form of communication they had back then were, like, fax machines outside of telephones and it’s Christmas so even if they could get a line out to start doing some digging everything and everyone are all tangled up with domestic complaints, fire scares, and petty thefts. On top of that, you know the statistics, there’s probably a lot of violent crime going down as well that would need immediate attention, and with the way these things go they’re all stretched thin as is so who the hell has time to check on an ID for a department that’s not even in the same state?
“Besides, it’s a movie. Shit doesn’t have to make sense and usually doesn’t.” Gavin chuckled quietly and leaned down to plop a kiss on top of his boyfriend’s head. “Don’t think about it too hard or you’re going to blow a fuse.”
Nines made an aggrieved noise in the back of his throat and turned narrow eyes up at the other man.
“Androids do not have fuses and as the most advanced among them I certainly do not!”
“Pft, yeah yeah. You’re the most advanced crackerjack to come out of the box.”
That comment hadn’t been very well received and earned Gavin a hard pinch to his thigh then another to his side as Nines adjusted himself around to begin a flurry of pokes and prods that sent Gavin to squawking and flailing around trying to defend himself against the attack. The blanket fell to the floor in the ensuing scuffle and the surrounding cushions askew. Gavin managed to shove Nines off of him but the android altered his method of attack and simply flopped on top of him only then to redouble his efforts.
Breathless pleas for mercy were drowned out by the laughter that rent the air but eventually the onslaught was halted not by either party but by a scraggly looking Marmalade cat with a crooked ear and no tail; Junebug had come to investigate.
On dainty paws the juvenile feline had bounced up to the back of the couch and waited for an opportunity to get between the pair of them, tracking carefully down the overstuffed back cushion and wriggling her into the tight space between their chests. She settled down and crooned out her broken meow at them which, of course, had both men carefully untangling themselves and resettling to lay properly once more. Junebug, of course, took her rightful place in the crook of Gavin’s arm and stretched enough that her paws hung over Nines’ shoulder.
They shared a smile and returned to the movie both thinking that this was quite possibly the best way to spend their first Christmas together.
Hopefully, they’d spend many more just like this, on this couch, watching cheesy action films, happy and content.