trans_9 | Post Mission Party At The Bar

"And you scold me about bringing work to tavern gatherings," Billy's voice said softly, hiding his own datapad behind his back as if it was never there.

Kaya stuck her tongue out at him, feeling a little impertinent. "If there's anyone that needs to cut loose at a tavern, its you Billy," Kaya said. "Besides, I was just given a bit more work to add to managing the Outsiders, my med bay regular duties along with cleaning and helping Nokosi with reading. I figure I should take any opportunity to lighten the load."

"Believe me, I understand," Billy nodded, poking at the datapads he carried. "Is there anything I can help you with there?"

He was still wary about 'letting loose', especially with what was now on his mind.

"It's a bunch of training for being a nurse," Kaya said, thumbing through some of the information, taking another drink from her cup of mead. "I should be ok, I think."

She looked at his data pad. "What brings you here?"

"I know you will, Kaya. You have the gift, all the procedure shouldn't be too difficult for you."

Billy looked around at the gathered crowd, smiling at familiar and new faces. It was good to see everyone recovering somewhat. "I wanted to see for myself that everyone was all right after what had happened. It'll likely be the last big gathering before prom," he noted, making a face. That was definitely bound to be an interesting night.

"Even having gifts mean that things aren't going to come naturally," Kaya said, "But thank you for saying that. I'm going to make sure to do my best to uphold that opinion of me."

She nodded. "I know what you mean. I want to check that one of my friends Howard is still ok. This sort of stuff usually bothers him a lot. And yes, I definitely heard about the prom, I nominated you and Ronnae! For some reason though, Overlord was kinda angry I nominated him as jester."

"You will," Billy agreed, understanding that drive to work hard and use talents. It wasn't unusual at all to find him doing the same thing at all hours of the day.

"That's what I'm a little concerned about," he admitted. "You'll make a great princess if you win, Kaya, but I'm not exactly prom king material."

"Darn right I will!" She said, taking a long drink of the mead, then putting it down and looking up and down at her work some more. There was quite a lot to learn.

"Me!" Kaya laughed. "Are you kidding? I was the one giving you all this relationship advice,and look at us now! You have a loving, caring woman you live with, and you treat her exactly how any woman would dream to be treated! Look at all the relationships on this ship, and how long they've lasted. You and Ronnae are special, and you should be recognized for that!"

Billy offered her a high-five, impressed by her spirit. "Absolutely!"

He looked a little sheepish during her explanation, knowing there was some truth there. She was sweet, and it was great, yes, but...

"Me? Kaya, I don't think you understand that I'd never be prom king at home. That would be Tommy and Kimberly, the quintessential perfect couple."

That would explain why Billy felt strange about this. On Earth, it had been all about Tommy and Kimberly, but here...no Tommy. No perfect pair sweeping the nominations, and now he was potentially in this position. How did Kim feel, he wondered.

Kaya laughed, high fiving him back, still a little thrown off by the gesture.

"What does that mean, 'perfect couple?' I think you come as close as a good couple can be, but I don't know how anyone would qualify as a perfect one. But I do see that I've seen the two of you grow, being caring and wonderful with each other. That's as sloe to perfect as I think you can get, if you had to give it a name."

"It's not technically true, of course," Billy said quietly. "You're right nothing is ever perfect, but it's a common descriptor for happy couples. The ones who are visibly spending time together, enamored with each other, and almost always smiling. Kimberly had that in Tommy---it led to fights sometimes, but when they were at their best it was perfect for the team."

Billy then became aware that Kimberly might prefer that she share this information herself someday, so he veered away from that track. "Ronnie and I...well, yes, we're delighted with each other. I'm proud of us, and I still can't believe I gained some of my happiness back. But I guess I never thought others were paying attention."

He liked his privacy, he really did, but he'd been slacking off in that department.

"Well sure, but when I think of couples, I don't think of who just looks the best. I always think of the ones who overcome the things about themselves they don't like, who find each other and just make it work. If you guys get voted in, I think you'll deserve it for that reason. I think others will see that too."

She nodded. "Of course they were! Like I said, there are precious few couples on the ship, and the only one I think that would have come close to beating the two of you is Nanoha and Fate. That would have been no contest: there's no denying the way those two feel about each other. I DO think that you two are getting there though, and in time, might even have an official marriage on the ship."

Billy's quick to wave that off with a blush. "Not for a while," he's sure. "I'll be content attending as a guest, and...if I ever marry here, I want it to be a small event. There's no need to get the whole ship involved."

There's also the not-so-small matter of their hailing from different worlds and probably being separated after the war, but he doesn't voice that dark thought.

"It's a prom, Billy!" Kaya said, laughing "You should be there sweeping Ronnae off her feet. This is the opportunity to really get some points with her: and just think of what it'll do for the both of you! It's perfect!"

And she respectfully kept her mouth shut about the wedding. If he thought for a moment he would cheat her out of planning amazing wedding the combined Azeroth furnishing with Earth sensibilities, he had another thing coming.

"I plan to...if I can remember how," Billy said, admitting that he was just a little nervous. "Prom is supposed to be a wonderful night. I just hope I can provide that much."

He stayed in his thoughts about his own prom experiences, then turned to hers. "You're coming too, right?"

"What do you mean, if you remember how?" Kaya asked, looking skeptical. "You're Billy, for goodness sake! You're one of the most romantic people I know! How do you forget that?"

She nodded. "I'm helping Starfire do some stuff, and for some reason I was nominated to be in the court. It's safe to say that I'll be there Billy."

"Well...people have so many expectations for prom on my world," Billy clarified. "It's often considered one of the highlights of a teenager's life. I can manage a few dances without tripping on myself, but there's so much to remember. Posing for photos, the corsage, the food...and if we're elected king and queen, there's a whole other subset of responsibilities."

Ah, that. Billy had meant to ask who she was going with, if anyone, but he knew it was a sensitive subject for her. He took her silence to be a sign to avoid that road. "And should you win, you'll be the most elegant princess the prom sees," he nodded. "I voted for you, of course."

"But its not quite the same, is it?" Kaya pressed. "It's a prom on Stacy, and you can make it however you want, right? You don't have to follow any tradition down to a T, you can just cut loose and have fun as you like, right? That's the whole point: its for fun!"

And of course, Kaya gave Billy a knowing look. "I'll be asking Nokosi of course: I definitely don't expect him to ask me, he probably doesn't even know about the prom. But thanks, for the vote. It's not necessary to win, but it'd be nice, wouldn't it?"

"That's true too," Billy had to admit. "Given the theme, our costumes might not be entirely traditional, and the organizer seems to have an odd addition or two in mind."

He smiled for her, glad to hear that she had a plan. "Yeah, it would. I probably should've nominated him, just to see his reaction. I'm sure you'll have a good time," he said meaningfully. Kaya's feelings were complex, but at least she had the option of enjoying herself.

She laughed. "I'm sure whatever happens, you'll be able to deal, you know? You're Billy: I always think of you as the kind of guy who can deal with anything that's thrown at you. fro what I've seen, its part of what makes a power ranger so strong at heart, isn't it?"

And that was somethings he knew for sure that Billy had in him.

She giggled. "I have no idea how he would react to it, honestly. But I just want to go to dance and learn new experiences about doing something like a prom, that's all. I just want to have fun!"

Though part of her would definitely enjoy being with Nokosi.

"I'll be able to deal---even with a crisis, I hope. Some of the crew was foolish enough to invite Lord Zedd to prom. I don't see that ending well, especially if I end up being king," he cringed. That had been quite the terrible idea.

Billy thumped a hand against the table enthusiastically. "So you will. I'm sure you'll both learn, you're so curious. Don't worry if it's strange to you, you'll be fine."

Kaya laughed. "I don't know why Lord Zedd would care that much. Besides, if Lord Zedd is that willing to cause trouble to you, I'll have to remind him about something we discussed a few months back. Besides, you're allowed to have your own kind of happiness, you know it. And want to make sure you have it."

She looked down, her face burning, either from thinking about Nokosi or because she was definitely having more mead than she thought. "I'll just have to see what will happen. Nokosi is a particular person, I don't want him to feel uncomfortable."

Billy made a face. "He takes 'being taken seriously' very seriously. To have the crew insinuate that he's a joke may just be the final insult---but no, I'm not kidding anyone. He'll find a way to use any opportunity to attack me."

He moved away from that to place a hand on her arm, definitely worried now. "Are you sure you're feeling okay, Kaya? You almost look ill. How late have you been studying?"

"When I spoke to him, he seemed to indicate that he had no wish to go after you," Kaya said. "It'd be pretty sour grapes to do it anyway: what would be the point? He was all obsessed with world conquest, and that gets thwarted once you realize that there is no world to conquer, right? And besides, there is going to be security detail at the Prom- if he tried, his butt would be in th brig so fast his head would spin."

Kaya looked up questionably, then realized her cheeks were flushed."Oh! That...that must be the effect of the mead, I can stop now."

It had nothing to do with the talk about Nokosi, definitely not.

"I'm not so sure about that, but I hope you're right" Billy said quietly. Sure, there was some way to get a little leverage over Zedd, but petty grudges were a sticking point with him. The suggestion that a mockery be made of him might just be the tipping point of disaster.

He studied her worriedly. How much alcohol was she drinking? "That's a good idea. Do you need someone to walk you home today?"

Post Mission Party At The Bar

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