Day 3 - Gaming/Watching a Movie
The sun shone through the blinds of Tommy’s apartments, the broken plastic casting small rays of light on the speedster as he dragged over two beanbags in front of his TV, which was probably the nicest thing in the studio. “Alright, roach, prepare to eat shit!” he declared, plopping down into one of the beanbags and scooping up his Xbox controller.
Noh-Varr settled onto the other beanbag, a little awkwardly at first, slightly too large for the seat. He finally slouched down, mimicking Tommy slightly as he settled down. Tommy was comfortably splayed out, his legs stretched in front of him, scooted so far down in the beanbag that his butt was nearly touching the floor, but he seemed to be more than comfortable. He began pressing buttons on the controller, quickly navigating the home screen to log them into the game.
“What are we…playing, exactly?” Noh-Varr asked, looking from the speedster back to the TV.
Tommy shrugged. “Call of Duty. Basic first-person shooter. You play any video games before?”
“Ah… No.” Noh-Varr glanced over to see Tommy shoot him an incredulous look, just before his eyes sparked with something he was oddly suspicious of being triumph.
“No? Shame.” Tommy turned back to the game, fingers moving quickly as he logged them online, tugging Noh-Varr’s controller from his hands to log him into a guest account.
“You sound absolutely mortified at my lack of experience.” The corner of Noh’s lips twitched up in a smirk, and Tommy gave a loose shrug in response, tossing back the controller, which he caught.
“Yeah, well. It’ll be fun, is all.” His grin betrayed his true feelings, however; Noh-Varr had a feeling that Tommy was really just excited that he had just found himself some easy prey. Noh smirked and turned his gaze to the controller, quickly memorizing the button layout and turning his eyes back to the screen as he tested out a button or two.
“Hey, hey! Don’t push buttons, dude, you almost logged us out of the lobby. I’ve gotta set up my classes.” He was flying through various options, and Noh-Varr tilted his head curiously.
“Do I need to do that?”
“Uhh, well…” Tommy gave a little shrug. “I mean, you’ll have my setup, I think. It’s not yours, but ya know. You gotta learn how it works this round anyway.” He exited out of the screen, seeming content, just as a timer began to count down. Noh-Varr didn’t reply, glancing at the screen so that he wouldn’t miss anything important.
The match started, and Noh-Varr ran through a quick assessment of each button and what it did. After he had successfully determined the function of each button in relevance to the game, he moved forward, experimenting with the controls.
“Click down the left analog to run, left trigger aims, right trigger shoots,” Tommy rattled off, unaware that Noh had already figured most of that out on his own -- That, or he saw the random scoping and shooting and throwing of grenades and assumed the worst of his…whatever Noh was. What was the term Kate had described to him once? Friend with benefits? He supposed it was a fitting term.
“Hmm… My person seems to look around very slowly.” Tommy glanced at Noh-Varr, seemingly surprised by what he had said.
“Oh, uh… Pause. Click start. Go to options. Up the sensitivity.” The speedster’s eyes were immediately back on the game, and a quick glance told Noh-Varr that Tommy generally did rather well while playing. He obediently pulled up the start menu, flicking through the options until he found the ones that Tommy was referring to, turning it all the way up and backing out of everything. “Ah, much better.”
“Shit, did you go to ten?” Tommy asked, sounding distracted.
“I did. Is that odd?”
“Well… Just most people can’t handle it, especially not if they’re new to games.” The quick glance that Tommy shot him was definitely a suspicious one, but he didn’t say anything as he turned his attention back to the screen, suddenly looking much more determined to win.
“What are the objectives?” Noh-Varr asked, finally working his way through the map, on the lookout for enemies.
“It’s free-for-all. Shoot anyone you see.” As if on cue, Noh-Varr heard gunshots on the screen, and his character seemed to die.
“...Right.” He felt he had obtained enough information, and he moved with new purpose through the game, checking around corners and scanning for enemies. He saw one, aimed his gun, and made a precise shot, though he was surprised to find that the person didn’t actually die, and ended up shooting him instead. He paused, confused and finding himself at a slight loss of words. “I…what? I shot him in the neck. By all realistic means, he should have died, and he certainly shouldn’t have been able to shoot me in response.” He found himself considerably more irritated by the fact that he’d been killed than he should have been.
Tommy just sniggered. “It’s a game. It’s not totally realistic, just close to it. Don’t stop shooting until they die, and when the game fucks up, rage on.” As an afterthought, he added, “Sniper rifles are pretty good about accuracy, though.”
Noh-Varr allowed his character to “respawn”, as the game called it, and grumbled to himself in annoyance. All right, then, if those were the rules. “How do I use a sniper rifle?” he asked, slightly surprised to find that he was asking the question was asked through gritted teeth.
“Start, choose class. You’ll get it next time you die.”
It was all the information that Noh needed. He selected the appropriate gun, and was somehow shot while making his selection, though it only served to bring him closer to reaching his goal. He pulled out the pistol and began searching the map, mowing down anyone in his way. He died once more, but not before finding a perfect place to perch, with a clear view of the main battlefield.
After that, it was smooth sailing. He began picking off enemies as they wandered into his field of view, raising his kill count dramatically.
“Aw, sonofa--! I mean… Good shot.” Tommy seemed less than pleased about being killed, and it drew a chuckle from Noh-Varr.
“Good cover.” His luck continued to improve as the game went on. Eventually, people seemed to realize where he was hiding, and he found another, better spot. Before long, his success had Tommy upright, sitting forward in his beanbag with his knees pulled up on either side of him, staring intently at the screen as he angrily protested Noh’s success.
“How are you so good at this?!”
“I am a supersoldier, Tommy. I was literally bred for war.” Noh-Varr was well aware of the smugness that was evident in his own voice.
“Yeah, but this is a game!”
“Yes, and I’d like to inform you that your technology is very primitive.”
“Yeah, well-- Ah, dammit, I’m gonna kill you!”
“You seem to be failing in that endeavor thus far.”
“Fuck! I swear to god, if you shoot me again…”
“I wasn’t aware that you were religious.”
“Oh, go to hell-- Ugh goddammit whywon’tyoudiealreadyyoustupidfuckingroach!” Tommy’s words were quickening into a near-buzz by that point, but Noh couldn’t resist the urge to push him just a little bit further.
“Roaches are capable of surviving even nuclear conditions.”
“...I hate you. No, don’t laugh, I really hate you right now-- What?! How are you even finding me this often?!”
“You keep walking in front of me.” By the end of the match, Noh-Varr was boasting one of the most self-satisfied smirks he could muster, his eyes glinting with mischief. Tommy seemed much less amused, tossing down his controller and standing up with an annoyed sigh. Noh-Varr quirked a brow as the boy moved towards the small kitchen, leaning to the side so he could keep him in his line of sight. “Do you not want to play anymore?” he asked, almost disappointed at the thought.
“Nah, maybe later.” Tommy tried to sound nonchalant, but Noh could read the tension both in his body language and in the underlying tones of his voice. He pressed his lips together, watching as Tommy opened the fridge and rifled through it for a soda, and then stood, grabbing Tommy’s controller and setting them both down beside the TV before observing the Xbox.
“...Do you mind if I borrow this for a little while?” He asked, picking up the bulky box, peering at all the wires attached to it. Tommy glanced at him, shrugging and cracking open his soda.
“Uh… I guess. Just don’t fuck it up, and don’t hold onto it for too long. It’s the only semi-entertaining thing I have to do when I’m home.”
Noh-Varr nodded in understanding, turning it off and working on disconnecting all the wires. He wrapped them around the box, and stood, moving towards the door. “I’ll be back in a little while,” he called, and Tommy stuck his head out from the kitchen, peering him and then the TV, beside which the controllers were still neatly stored.
“Uh… Don’t you need the controllers?” He sounded obviously confused, but Noh-Varr shook his head.
“No. I will return shortly.” He closed the door behind him, watching as Tommy slowly shook his head, shrugging and walking towards his bed.
-----
Tommy was fast asleep by the time Noh-Varr returned, laying on his stomach with his face buried in his pillow, which he had trapped in between his arms, almost as if he were afraid someone were going to try to steal it from him.. His face was squished up by the pillow, his mouth hanging open with a little stream of drool seeping onto the it.
Noh-Varr carefully set the items he had brought with him aside, creeping over to Tommy and watching him for a long moment, contemplating whether or not he wanted to wake him up. He licked his lips lightly, leaning down so that his face was hovering a foot or so over the boy, and smiled lightly, speaking his name gently. “...Tommy. Wake up.”
The speedster stirred, peeking his eyes open and glancing up at Noh, and then rolled the opposite direction quickly, sitting up and staring at him with wide eyes. “...Dude!” he exclaimed, looking from the door and back to Noh. “...You can’t just… Sneak into my house like that. Scared the shit out of me.” It was honestly a little comical to see Tommy like that, sitting up in the bed with a hand pressed to his chest, as if he were some sort of damsel in distress.
Noh-Varr’s lips quirked upwards. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You didn’t--” Tommy seemed to think better of his protest and sighed, lowering his hand from his chest and giving him a slightly furtive look. “...Did you bring back my xbox?”
Noh-Varr feigned a sheepish expression. “In… A manner of speaking.”
That got Tommy moving. He sat up quickly, all but leaping out of the bed. “What do you mean, ‘in a manner of speaking’? I specifically said not to fuck it up!”
Noh shrugged lightly. “I think you might like what I’ve done with it.”
Tommy paused, his agitation seeming to disappear as he tilted his head to the side curiously, glancing around the apartment. “...Huh? Where is…what’s that?” He wandered over to a small black box, hardly larger than a phone, and scooped it up, turning it over in his hands. It was extremely light-weight, and had a small circle cut into one of the sides of it. He held it up for Noh-Varr to see, looking perplexed.
He nodded towards it. “That would be your Xbox.” Tommy fixed him with the driest, most disbelieving look he could muster, glancing from him and back down to the small black box multiple times.
“...This…is my Xbox.” He didn’t sound quite convinced, but Noh-Varr nodded in encouragement.
“With a few upgrades.” He held out his hand, taking it from Tommy, and set it down on the floor, glad that the lights in the apartment were already turned off for Tommy’s nap. He touched the top of it in the middle, and a small display hovered above it, much like the controls in his ship. He pushed a few buttons, and the little circle in the front lit up, casting a crystal-clear image onto the nearby wall, showing the Xbox logo as it started up. A quick glance in Tommy’s direction showed him staring with his eyes nearly popping out of his skull, quickly moving to Noh-Varr’s side and peering at it.
Noh continued his explanation, showing Tommy how to work it. “I used an old projector from the ship and installed the programs from your console onto it. Your controllers should still connect, you don’t need to bother with a TV, and the projection should be a much higher resolution than your TV. Also, if you want, you can access TV channels. Here, I’ll show you how…”
The next hour or so was spent with them experimenting with the new console, and after a while, Tommy even let Noh sit behind him, his chin resting on his shoulder as he watched Tommy play a game, deciding to opt out and allow him to play one meant for a single user to avoid upsetting him again. He was certain that he had made things better with Tommy when, a few hours later, he dozed off, his head resting on one of Noh-Varr’s arms, slumped back against the kree, sleeping peacefully.