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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Other standard stuff applies as well. You don't like Pokemon smut or are under 18, leave now. Otherwise, enjoy.

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As it turned out, Glade's "ideas" were actually fairly simple: go to a bar, have a few drinks, and be social for a change. Of course, that's a bit easier said than done for someone who hasn't been outside much in the past few years. Milo reluctantly allowed Glade to push him out the door, and soon they were driving downtown, looking for a place to spend their time. After passing by a few shady-looking bars, they came across The Night Village, which they deemed to be respectable enough of a place. Milo opened the door, allowing a visible haze of smoke to exit the building. Not letting this deter them, the two walked through the door, finding themselves in a dimly-lit room, typical of an average bar. Lots of seating and eating areas, the countertop itself of course, a fireplace in the corner, pretty standard stuff really. As they entered, a bell above the door tinkled to announce their appearance, prompting the bartender to look up from the glass he was towel-drying in his hands. He waited until they approached him, then set the glass aside, smiling warmly.

"Heyo, what can I get for you two?"

Milo answered, a bit unsure of himself, "I'll just take a Sprite for now, I think." One quick elbowing from Glade later, he blurted out, "Actually make that a Bloody Mary. With, uh, no ice."

The bartender didn't bat an eye, instead turning to Glade as he began to mix the drink. "And for you, little one?"

"Just a screwdriver for me, thanks."

Milo translated for the bartender, whose nametag proclaimed himself to be Frank. He finished quickly, and two clinks of glass on the wooden bar announced the arrival of their drinks. Glade used both paws to hold her drink high (for her at least), cocking a grin as she turned to face Milo, who followed suit. "Bottoms up, eh?"

'Oh what the hell,' Milo thought, deciding that as long as he was here, he might as well go all the way. He coughed as the drink burned slightly on the way down, nevertheless finishing the whole thing in one go, earning an impressed look from Glade, who glanced at Frank and gave him a gesture that clearly stated, "Give him another one, he needs it." Frank of course was not one to argue with a higher tab, and deftly refilled the glass with gusto.

"You two out for a celebration or somethin'?" Frank asked.

"Eh, not really," replied Milo as he eyed the second drink warily. "Just here to blow off some steam after a hard day of work. You know how it goes, I'm sure."

"I hear ya," came the reply. "Why, sometimes I'm so tuckered out after my shift that I jus' wanna run off and drink the night away." Frank paused for a second and gave a small chuckle. "O' course, then I r'member where I work, and the last thing I wanna do is hang around here after hours."

Milo furrowed his brow at this, confused, and asked, "What, is there something wrong with this place?"

"Naw, nothin' like that," Frank replied. "It's just that staying here after my shift is over would almost be like payin' my boss to work overtime! I mean, 'company loyalty' only goes so far ya know."

"Good point," said Milo as he tipped the glass to his mouth and took a sip, attempting to make this drink last at least slightly longer than the previous one.

Frank was soon flagged over by another patron, and so Milo and Glade continued their drinks in silence, both attempting to scope out the place to see if there was anything (or anyone) of interest. The goal was to be social after all, and while talking to the bartender technically qualified, it wasn't exactly enough to justify the trip. Unfortunately, things were looking pretty dismal to Milo, who saw no one he knew and few people he would even consider striking a conversation with. Hey, just because he had become a social shut-in didn't mean he didn't have his standards! As luck would have it however, at that moment someone new walked into the bar, the dinky bell above the door conveniently announcing the fact. Milo, who was in the middle of finishing off his third drink by that point, did not immediately turn around to see who it was, instead planning to head out in just a few minutes. His attention however was quickly captured by a familiar voice.

"Milo, is that you?"

He spun around in this seat, coughing slightly due both to the alcoholic content of the beverage and also the sudden shock (though of course if asked he would claim it to be solely the result of the former). His mind at this point was just beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol, and so it took him a split second longer than usual to register what he was seeing, but he got there in the end. Standing before him was Jennifer, a coworker of his at Poketech, though she worked in a different department than he. She was in her mid-20s, standing about five and a half feet tall, relatively thin, with long blonde hair that fell down to her chest. She looked, as Milo couldn't help but notice, rather nice, wearing a lengthy dress that hugged the curves of her body and matching shoes to boot. He must have inadvertently been staring, for the next thing his mind registered was, "So... Are you going to invite me to sit down or what?"

Milo snapped back to reality, attempting to cover for his mistake. "Of course, of course, take a seat," he blurted out quickly, gesturing to the stool to his left. In the few seconds it took Jennifer to get herself seated, Milo snuck a quick glance at Glade, who cocked her eyebrows and gave him an encouraging thumbs-up. His confidence restored, Milo turned to Jennifer and tried to break the ice.

"Sorry about that," he grinned. "Must have been the alcohol or something."

"Sure, sure, blame the booze," she responded with just a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Her warm smile however let Milo know she wasn't actually angry at him for anything; perhaps she was actually flattered that he gave her the once-over like that. "Although I might be more willing to forgive you if you buy me a drink," she half-joked.

Milo was more than willing to entertain this notion, and called Frank over without hesitation to mix something up for the both of them. Jennifer, upon receiving her glass, tipped it to her mouth and downed it in a single gulp, imitating Milo's own actions from a mere fifteen minutes prior. Thankfully for Milo, this proved to be an excellent starting point to pick up the conversation again.

"Long day for you too, I take it?"

"You could say that," she replied, motioning for Frank to refill the glass. "Lost a member of my project team to layoffs, and our next deadline is in a week. Not looking forward to the extra overtime that'll cost me." She sighed, staring at her glass, and continued, "Ah well, crunch time is always hectic; what else is new?"

"Even so, it sounds like you could have really used the extra help. It figures though - they couldn't have waited one more week, could they?"

"Come on Milo, you know how these things work," she taunted, her head turning to the side to address him directly. "Payroll is king in businesses like ours. I do feel sorry for the guy though. They gave him hardly any warning at all before letting him go. He'll probably get unemployment benefits for a few months I guess, but still, common courtesy and all, right?"

"Yeah," Milo said simply, taking another sip of what was now his fourth drink of the night. After a moment he added, "Not that it's any of my business, but who was it that they fired?"

"Oh you little gossip queen you," she jested. "If you really want to know, I suppose I could part with the information. For a price, that is."

"Hm? And what type of 'price' might we be talking about?"

"Oh, nothing much - another drink perhaps?" It was more of a question than a statement, and her expression was rather hopeful, like a puppy dog begging for a treat. Clearly a look which no one could resist, least of all our poor, inebriated Milo.

Milo sighed and rolled his eyes, having suspected exactly what she was going to ask ahead of time. "If you insist," he said, a defeated air in his voice as he motioned Frank over yet again.

"Why thank you Milo. You're such a gentleman."

"Yeah yeah, whatever. So who got canned?"

"You know Eric, right?"

"No way!" Milo exclaimed, genuinely astounded to hear the news. "He's been there longer than I have! Geez, why'd they fire him?"

"Not a clue. Who knows what goes through those administrators' heads sometimes?"

Milo slumped down in his seat and muttered a quiet "Damn," not having anything more to add. He had worked with Eric in his earlier years at Poketech, and though they weren't the closest of friends, he still had a lot of respect for the guy. Eric had been one of the first to see the prototype for what eventually became the Babel translation device, and had offered a few suggestions of his own for it, some of which were still implemented in the current version of the headset. To hear that Eric had left the company, not even willingly at that, was a huge blow to Milo. 'Maybe my job isn't quite as safe as I'd like to believe,' he thought to himself.

"You okay there?" Jennifer asked, bringing Milo back to the present.

"Hm?" He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Yeah, I'm good. Just peachy in fact."

Jennifer easily deduced what was plaguing his mind, which wasn't exactly a difficult task given the way he was acting. "Oh calm down, your job isn't going anywhere. You're the 'Great Milo Serret' after all; you're the reason the company is as successful as it is."

"Not successful enough to save Eric's job, apparently," he retorted.

"Things happen that you can't control. You can't blame yourself."

Milo took another sip of his drink. "Meh."

Jennifer rolled her eyes. Time to change the subject, she thought.

"So how come I've never seen you here before, anyway?"

The question caught him off-guard, though he recovered quickly. "Eh, I'm not usually one to bar-hop after work." He added, almost as an afterthought, "Though I may have to consider it more often, if it means meeting cuties like you."

Milo realized what he had said an instant too late; the damage was already done. Jennifer cocked an eyebrow and chuckled at the statement, somewhat torn between the fact that he had complimented her and the sheer silliness and randomness of the outburst. Glade, who had until this point remained silent during the whole exchange, could not contain her laughter and held her head in one paw, her grin as wide as a barn door. Meanwhile, sweat poured from Milo's brow as he desperately tried to figure out what to say that could possibly rectify the situation.

"Well, THAT was one thought that wasn't meant to leave my head," he chuckled nervously.

"Should we just blame the booze again?" she asked, amusement evident in her voice.

"Yes. I mean no. I mean..." Milo paused, giving a quick sigh. "There is no right answer to that question, is there?"

"Not really," she replied. "Six in one, half dozen in the other."

It took Milo's slowed mind several seconds to get the joke, at which point he let out a delayed laugh and commented simply, "Women."

"Hey, we're not all that bad, really. I'm sure your companion over there would agree, wouldn't she?"

Realizing that she was referring to Glade, and that he had never actually introduced her, Milo leaned back in his stool so the two could see each other.

"Oh yeah, right, this is Glade. Glade, Jennifer. Guess I kinda forgot that step, didn't I?"

"Good to meet you," Glade quipped, finally coming down from her laughing fit from before. Milo instinctively opened his mouth to translate, but was interrupted by Jennifer before he could begin.

"No need," she said, turning her head to the side to reveal that she too sported an earpiece similar to the one Milo wore. "Already forgot where we both work, did you Milo?"

"Hey, I'm not THAT drunk," he retorted defensively. "At least not yet."

And with that, the two continued their conversation, Glade remaining content to sit on the sidelines like she had been doing the entire time. Truth be told, she had been faintly amused at the witty (or less-than-witty) banter between the two of them, though she had some ideas to present to Milo later that may help him keep things rolling. And yet, as she watched the two converse, she noticed something she hadn't quite expected: deep within her was just a twinge of jealousy tugging at the back of her mind, some tiny fragment of resentment towards Jennifer that Glade knew should not exist. After all, she had been the one to set up the impromptu outing in the first place, with the intent that Milo just might get closer to a girl other than her for a change. That was the PURPOSE; that was the POINT. So WHY was she feeling jealous? Surely she didn't want to claim him as her own -- what a preposterous idea that would be! She wanted Milo to find happiness, to help bring some meaning into his life, and the way to do that was to force him to get close to someone else. Certainly not herself.

Right?

Come to think of it, why was she even sitting there by his side the whole time? Why had she insisted on tagging along for the ride? Milo was a grown man, who could handle himself after being nudged through the door, was he not? And yet still she remained, defending her presence by convincing herself that she was there for encouragement and support. Certainly she wasn't staying to keep him in her sight, or to prevent him from falling into the hands of someone she deemed unworthy. Of course not; that too was such a preposterous idea!

...Right?

'I'm just being overprotective of him, that's all,' Glade thought to herself, her mind swimming with conflicting thoughts. 'We've been friends for so long that of course I'm going to be rather, well, possessive about him.' She sighed to herself, unnoticed by the other two, who were still absorbed with each other at the moment. Why did the shoulder-demon have to choose NOW to appear? She was perfectly content not having second thoughts about every goddamn thing.

Glade shook her head violently, trying (and failing) to clear her mind. Jennifer was a nice girl ('not as nice as you'); she had no reason to judge her ('she's stealing your man'); and she just needed to be alone for a moment to think things through ('leave them alone to flirt, more like').

Mentally cursing her inner voice, Glade thought of a decent excuse and reached up to tug on Milo's jacket. He motioned for her to hold on a moment while he finished the punch line for some joke he had been telling, then turned to face Glade, his expression swiftly shifting from mirth to concern as he noticed what was very obviously a troubled look on her face.

"What's the matter, Glade?"

"I think I'm kinda nauseous from that screwdriver," she grunted simply. This of course was a flat-out lie, but at least it was a convincing one.

Milo's confusion was evident in his voice. "But you've only had one drink!"

"I'm half your size!" she shot back.

Milo shrugged, glanced around, and pointed to the far side of the building. "Restrooms are in that corner I think. But Glade, are you sure you'll be okay? We can leave if you're not feeling we--"

She cut him off with a wave of her paw and interrupted, "I'm fine, don't worry. You two keep on talking; I'll be back soon."

As Glade hopped off her stool and walked off towards the back of the room, Milo couldn't help but stare at her retreat, though on second thought that might simply be due to the alcohol. Nevertheless, he could tell that something wasn't quite right with the situation, but he just couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was.

'I'll have to talk to her about it later,' he ultimately decided, before returning his attention to the coworker beside him. It might have just been his imagination, but Jennifer was beginning to appear more and more attractive as time progressed, a most curious phenomenon to his muddled mind. And was her smile always that wide? Her eyes always beaming so brightly? Her dress always that low-cut? He couldn't remember. It didn't matter.

Just as Milo opened his mouth to start the conversation anew, a tiny noise in his ear distracted him momentarily. Glade must have left her microphone on, he concluded, nothing major. He reached his hand up to the side of his head to remove the earpiece so as to spare Glade the embarrassment of having him hear her in the restroom, but just before he did, actual words came through.

"What the hell? What are you doi--AARGH!"

Something was wrong. Very wrong. That last scream had come through on the headset, but that was hardly necessary considering it was audible throughout the entire bar, causing heads to turn as all the patrons collectively attempted to locate the source of the outburst. Milo, suddenly feeling more sober than he had been the entire night, flung himself out of his seat and nearly sprinted to the back of the bar, pushing to the side anything and anyone in the way of his mad dash. Amazing just how far a distance could seem, he observed, when every second felt like an eternity. He had no time to waste, no reason to hesitate, with just one thought in his mind, a single command driving him forward: Get. There. NOW.

'I'm coming for you, Glade!'

Milo reached the door leading to the restroom area, and in a flash it was flung open. The scene that subsequently appeared before his eyes effectively stopped him in his tracks, the adrenaline pumping through his veins rapidly changing into confusion as he found himself unable to fully process just what he was seeing.

"What the...?"

----------------------------------------------------Chapter End Notes:I just love ending chapters on cliffhangers, don't I? >_>

In any case, this chapter certainly took longer to finish than I thought it would. The last few paragraphs just took effing forever, and I'm still not satisfied with the exact wording (having trouble keeping it in the 3rd person), but whatever. On a side note, I forgot just how difficult it is to make natural-sounding dialog. So much editing...

Thanks again to those who have already reviewed. I did go ahead and edit chapter 1 to fix some of the issues mentioned regarding spacing and dialog, which hopefully makes it a bit more readable. As always, constructive criticism is both appreciated and requested