One evening, Sage and Idalia would meet and venture together to a bar.
When they arrived, they found a table where they would sit exclusively.
The establishment was fairly lit with warm light, music played in the background. Any lyrics it might have had were rendered inaudible by surrounding chatter.
The two ordered some food and many alcoholic beverages—especially Idalia—all of which would notably be on Sage's tab.
"So…" Idalia trailed, her slight inebriation became somewhat apparent from her intemperate movement.
"You're a Warrant Officer! Congratulations! How does it feel now that you're no longer some clueless cadet?"
"It feels cool, honestly," Sage replied. "Just glad to have finally graduated. It feels like I'm actually getting somewhere now.
For a while, it felt like I wasn't making any further progress. Now, here I am."
Sage took another sip of alcohol and winced after.
"Ah, you're a lightweight!" Idalia joked. "C'mon, you can't go out that easy, try to keep up."
"Nah, I'm not," he denied. "I may not be at your level, but I can handle my liquor quite well. If anything, you're the lightweight, just look at you!"
"I am not," she pouted, the two of them laughed.
Idalia swallowed after taking another sip of her drink. She then clasped her hands together enthusiastically.
"Okay, honesty time!" She exclaimed before her demeanor swiftly shifted to that of apprehension. "You know, I've been giving something a lot of thought."
Sage's mouth was filled with a chicken wingette before he paused to hear her out. "What about?"
"I don't know," She turned away. "I don't know if it's crazy. I'm almost certain it's just the liquor talking."
Sage shrugged. "I'd still want to hear you out, can't be all that bad, right?"
"I guess," she gathered herself before explaining. "I don't know, sometimes I wonder to myself just how mysterious Lunanova law enforcement work seems to be."
Sage froze briefly before replying, "Yeah, I certainly do, too."
She continued. "I don't know much, and that's part of my problem. I hardly even know what I'm fighting for. I mean, I do, but sometimes I wonder if my reasoning's too shallow, you know?
At first, I simply joined the ranks because of my pursuit to be the strongest among Enki, Tatius, and myself. I don't mean to sound cocky, but we've been the strongest for a while now.
A new change of scenery within the military is sure to help, but if we were to easily climb those ranks, too, what else would I be fighting for?
It's something I'm sort of struggling with figuring out, you know?"
Sage sincerely reflected on Idalia's words before slowly nodding his head. "Yeah, I hear you."
"What about you?" She leaned over in his direction with a stumble. "What are you fighting for? I can't be the only one sharing."
Sage's heart accelerated. He created a nudge of space between the both of them and adjusted his glasses.
Glancing away, he answered. "I joined the forces because of my father. His influence on my brother and me was heavy."
"Was?" Idalia questioned, Sage nodded before pouring and downing another drink. This time, it would be a bit more than a miniature shot.
"He died a few years ago. Or at least, that's what we were told."
"Oh," Idalia paused. "I'm sorry. Do you mind sharing what happened?"
Sage shook his head. He downed another bit of liquor and exhaled; the bitterness of the alcohol made him wince. "My father, Yulian, was an assassin for the military. He had been working the job for many years.
Outside of home, everybody loved him. He was intelligent, charismatic, wise. Everywhere we'd go, people would tell us the same things.
Growing up, I would think some of his teaching methods were too harsh at times. But eventually, I learned just how effective of a teacher he had been, that I was just a kid who was acting out of place and didn't know any better.
His favorite way of teaching us was through witty quotes and one-liners. It was quite poetic when I look back at it. I was naive," Sage smiled, concealing a tear that struggled to fall.
"My mother, Emma, was great, too. A kind lady, bless her soul. One of the most endearing people one would ever meet. She would opt to stay at home most of the time, indulging in whatever new hobby she'd pick up. Very hospitable as well.
Together, my parents were the epitome of a power couple. Until one day, everything would change.
One day, my father would go off on a work trip. It's typical for militants to go off for weeks and even months at a time, so his time away from us wasn't really ever a concern.
Except sometime later, some military representatives came knocking on our door one afternoon.
They had news to bear. My mom would open the door, my brother Kilo and I standing there behind her. We listened in when they broke the news that my father had passed away on his trip."
Idalia continued to listen, allowing Sage to continue.
"Not even a body or paraphernalia to identify, confirm or remember him by. Our reactions were priceless, obviously. Just as priceless as my father's life. And yet, they tried to put a price tag on it, mockingly offering us money in turn.
I'm still bitter about it, and confused. Many people lose their lives in the military—it happens all the time—and the families of those agents are never compensated, so I can't help but question why they tried to compensate mine.
I'll never forget, though, how my mother and Kilo reacted. My mother could hardly hold herself together, falling into countless bits and pieces in front of the couple of agents and her two sons.
I, of course, shed some tears. But when I turned to Kilo… he didn't make a single noise. Tears just poured, rivers coming down his eyes. But it was the expression in his eyes that got me.
He stood in front of that door, peering at the agents past our mom. Some people believe that the eyes are the windows to the soul. At that moment, I started to believe it a little bit.
Because the details in his grew deep, which is ironic. Because at that very moment, I could see the gaping emptiness inside of them."
Idalia watched as Sage took a chug of alcohol before he continued his story.
"The pain was too great for all of us. But evidently, it was the worst for my mom. Because hardly months later, despite having no one else to watch over her two sons… she took her own life."
Idalia gasped lightly, gently covering her mouth with a single hand. "Oh, my gods. I am… so sorry."
"Ah, it's alright," Sage gestured. "Neither Kilo nor I hold any resentment toward her. I get it, she had known my dad for many years, since they were young. I'm sure she never meant to hurt us, it's a tough situation.
I'm fine now, though Kilo still shows signs that suggest he may still be coping.
Who knows, though? We may never find him, but I'd love to get answers. Maybe eventually, we'll get the closure we so desperately crave.
Yeah. I guess you could say I most definitely believe there's more than what meets the eye in this industry."
"How is your relationship with Kilo?" Idalia asked, she reached for Sage's hand with a sincere look of concern on her face.
Sage chuckled to himself. "Kilo is… Kilo. I love him to death.
He has an unwavering spirit, a drive like no other when it comes to the few things he's passionate about, and he's also stubborn as shit.
We have our feuds from time to time. He thinks I'm too hard on him, like how I used to think Dad was with me.
I am to an extent, and I try to remind him that it's because life isn't always guaranteed, and that both of us must be prepared for absolutely anything."
He stared into the inside of his cup, swirling the remainder of his drink around in it with a single hand.
"Got those life lessons from Pops, too.
I am glad to have other people in my life. Nyota completes our brotherly trio, he meshes with us almost flawlessly. It's funny, most of the time, he just serves as a mediator between me and Kilo.
He never knew his parents either, having grown up in one of Noriko's orphanages his entire life up until just this past year. He's just like us, and I want to help him navigate life as best as he can.
Add that to the list of reasons as to why I'm passionate about police work: I want to help people. It's what my parents taught me to do through their actions.
And I could tell they still tried, even when times got hard for themselves.
Jora's been great, too. He's like a half-father, half-older brother to us," Sage paused, reflecting on Jora's conversation with Nyota, Kilo, and him when he revealed that he didn't have much time left.
"I'd hate to lose any of the three of them.
Thanks for listening. When you're a little inebriated, the truth comes out. If I'm being truthful with myself, I guess I have wanted to confide in someone about this for a long time."
Idalia swiftly grabbed Sage's opposite hand, now clenching on to both at once. She now had his full attention, his heart racing even faster than before.
"Sage," she started. "Your story is so unique. I know it's one full of pain for you, but it's amazing because I see it as one of resilience more than anything else.
You should be proud of that. You should be proud of how far you've come, too. You're so mature, it's… almost infatuating.
For a long time now, I've tried to bring these ideas up to Enki and Tatius, these ideas about how life is infinitely larger than just ourselves. But they usually cast my words aside as unimportant or dumb thoughts.
But you… you like to get a little philosophical."
She leaned in closer, her breath could be felt along the base of his neck and chills ran up his spine.
She gently ran a hand up his chest as her mouth neared his ear.
With a grin and a gentle giggle, she whispered.
"You may not see me often for much longer, but at this very moment, I'm here for you."
--
"I enjoyed myself," Idalia said to Sage as she gracefully sauntered down the sidewalk, a misstep here and there from her insobriety.
"I'd like to do this again, for sure."
Sage wrapped a single arm around her, his jacket placed over her shoulders to insulate her from the chills of the late night.
"I did, too," he replied. "I'm just glad you're not too gone. I suppose you're not a lightweight after all."
She laughed. "I told you! But I guess you weren't lying either. I'm impressed, you really started downing drinks like water the more you talked. Either you're superhuman or you're just very good at hiding your tipsiness."
"Yeah, bitter water," Sage joked. "I feel it quite a bit, actually. I can't imagine doing this by myself."
"Who says you have to?" Idalia jested back. "They say it's never a good thing to drink alone. I have more at mine if you're not done."
"Wait a minute," Sage thought to himself. "Is she… No way…
Is she inviting me to stay the night?!"
He declined. "Nah, I wouldn't want to intrude on your space."
"Intrude?" Idalia grew confused. "You wouldn't be intruding."
"Don't you live with Tatius and Enki?"
"Wait—" Idalia laughed aloud. "You think I'd live with those slobs? Please, a girl such as myself needs her own space."
She leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed. "You should stay the night with me. Keep my company."
"I can't do that."
"Why not?" Idalia groaned. "It would be fun! Are you really going to leave a pretty girl all by herself like this? I mean, I'm literally inviting you."
Sage gulped but kept his composure. He adjusted his glasses. "I…" Scrambling to find the words to say, he noticed they finally reached their destination.
He cleared his throat. "Here you are." The two of them stopped in front of her apartment complex and faced each other.
"I can't believe you, by the way," she pouted.
"I know."
Idalia rolled her eyes. "Fine."
"I'd like to, but I wanna be respectful," Sage thought to himself. "I don't know, am I stupid for rejecting her advances? Nobody else stays with her. It would just be me and her.
Who knows where the night would lead? Could it be, is it 'that' that she wants?
No, be respectful," he chanted repeatedly to himself. "But, neither of us are drunk though, that's the truth, so it would be okay, right?
Right…?
And the way she's looking at me…
I don't know. I'm new to this. What should I do?!"
Before he knew it, Idalia clenched onto his button-down shirt, pulling him closer. Though she wasn't all that much shorter than him, she rose to her toes to near his ear.
"Thanks for buying, I know it was a lot," she whispered. With one hand still gripping onto his shirt, she took her other and caressed his abdomen, her hand continued to move lower.
Sage's heart felt as though it was due to explode.
She continued to serenade him, mixed with occasional kisses on the neck. "C'mon, let me pay you back."
Sage became overwhelmed with what was taking place. His heart continued to race and his arms would gradually grow numb.
He could feel his legs give in, and eventually, he felt as light as a feather.
A few quick thoughts flashed through his mind, almost like excuses for what he would do next.
"I'm tired, and I don't feel like traveling all the way back," he thought. The cool air was catching up to him as the sleeves of his shirt weren't thick enough to keep him warm.
"Kilo always calls me a bore. Maybe I should try having some fun every now and then. He'd certainly oblige if he were in this predicament."
Sage had done well reserving himself physically up until this point, but he began to question why he would reject such an adamant invitation.
Sooner or later, he would give in to Idalia's advances.
"Why not?" He exhaled.
Without another second to spare, he embraced her and the two began to make their way into her residence, hardly making it through the front door before their lips fervidly met.