"So, how long does it take to get a permit?" Chris asked Marshall as they walked.

"Filling out the forms will only take a bit, and then you just need to wait a couple weeks for your plans to be app- oy! Where are you going!?!" Marshall exclaimed as Chris suddenly did a one-eighty and began walking back towards the others.

"I can fill out some forms if it makes people happy, but we're not waiting two weeks to do something we can get done in five minutes." Chris replied. "Utterly ridiculous."

"You can't build something without a permit!" Marshall retorted. "You have to make sure your building is up to code! That it fits in with the other buildings! That you aren't destroying a historically significant landmark! It doesn't matter what kind of fancy magic you have helping you, you still have to follow the rules!"

Chris paused, before sighing and turning back around. "Fine, but we are expediting this process. Two weeks is still too damn long."

Marshall snorted. "Government work is government work. It takes as long as it takes."

"It takes less than a day, or… I don't know, we'll do something legal, but annoying. I'm sure Greg will have ideas." Chris grumbled.

"Son, there's no reason to be getting into a spat with the people who run the town just to avoid a couple weeks of waiting." Marshall shook his head. "You young people can be so impatient sometimes."

"I'm not impatient, I just have a low tolerance for bullshit." Chris retorted. "There's no reason why getting a permit approved should take two weeks in a town this small. There can't be more than two thousand people living here, they're hardly swamped."

Marshall grunted. "It isn't about the administrators, it's about the inspectors. In a town this small, they all have other jobs, so your inspections need to work around their schedule."

Chris paused. "So all I have to do is get all the inspectors together, and we can just bang this whole thing out?"

Marshall blinked. "I- suppose?"

"Good. I can work with that." Chris nodded.

*

"You know… Chris is kinda scary when he's motivated." Andrew commented as yet another inspector was marched out of a portal and shoved onto the property to do whatever it was they were supposed to to get all their permits approved, joining the dozen or so others already working, along with Greg who was busy making all the adjustments that the inspectors insisted were absolutely necessary, despite the fact that a building was clearly already built here.

"He certainly knows how to get things done when he wants to." Thomas agreed.

"Speaking of which, do you have that blueprint ready yet?" Andrew asked. "He said the inspectors are going to need it for the final permits."

"Just about." Thomas replied, giving the plans one final revision. The building was going to have three main sections surrounding a large common area, and an even larger basement underneath it all. The largest section would be for their shop, where they'd sell crafts, materials, food, and whatever else seemed convenient. Next would be their mercenary section, which would just be a small desk for people to submit requests and apply to join the Eternal Army. And finally there was the medical area, which was mostly going to be for Gretchen and Chris, Gretchen to examine them and Chris to heal them once she figured out how much to charge them. The common area would mostly be for people to hang out, full of couches, tables, games, and TV's, while the basement would be the living area for the members of the Eternal army. Of course, they could also head back to the base by Nobilis, but he figured they shouldn't have to. "Alright, that should be good." He nodded, sending out some points and turning them into a pile of blueprints. "Let's get these to Chris."

With the plans ready, the rest of the inspections went smoothly, at least as smoothly as was possible when an unusually motivated god started actively forcing people to get the job done. "Four hours, on the dot." Chris nodded proudly as they stood in front of their new business. "'Takes as long as it takes' my ass."

"I ain't never seen government work that fast." Marshall shook his head. "I don't know what kinda hole you crawled out of, but you sure as heck know how to light a fire under a man's ass."

Chris shrugged. "All I did was free up their time."

"I think you and that smoke boy handled at least two months worth of work in a few hours!" Marshall exclaimed. "That ain't freeing up their time, it's threatening their livelihoods! I'm pretty sure they all hup-twoed just to make sure no one saw how effective you boys are!" He paused, eyeing them strangely. "You aren't planning on getting into construction, are you?"

"Nah, just crafts, mercenaries, and medicine." Greg chuckled.

Marshall blinked. "That's… an eclectic mix you got there."

"We're an eclectic bunch." Thomas grinned.

"So… party time?" Andrew asked.

Marshall frowned. "Party time?"

"Party time." Greg nodded, grinning as he materialized a few large speakers and music began to thump out through the evening air as Chris opened a portal to the Nobilis base.

"Hey, you can't-" Marshall began, only to cut off as Chris shot him a look. "It's not smart to open portals in town." He grumbled.

"It's safe, don't worry." Chris waved dismissively as the first of the members of the Eternal Army began to wander out and members of the town began to wander over curiously.

Greg set up a bunch of tables, along with a few grills that several of the Army members used to start making food. Under Elizabeth's urging, Andrew took the role of a greeter, walking around and saying hi to the townsfolk checking out the new business that had literally appeared out of practically nowhere, giving them an overview of what they were offering. Quinn tried to get Chris to do the same, but he just started handing out pamphlets and could not be convinced to do otherwise. Thomas, on the other hand, got drawn into a very intense and technical conversation between Annie, Daniel, who Chris had literally dragged out of a portal at some point and tossed at the party, and a few of the others from the base, the craftspeople going back and forth on the various ways a drone could be designed, arguing over which designs were better than others. A lot of it went over Thomas's head, but the arguments were still interesting to listen to. Particularly since nerds could get feisty when it came to certain topics.

"Sure, you can add a BB-4 to the TS-9, if you want your rig to last all of five seconds before it blows! You'd need to completely redo the exhaust system, and at that point you might as well build a whole new frame from scratch!"

"You don't need a whole new exhaust system, you just need to widen the intake vents and add a CS-10!"

"If you add a CS-10, you lose all the weight advantage you get from using a BB-4 over a HI-16!"

The argument only stopped when someone announced they wanted to get some food and practically the whole group agreed, migrating over to the grills.

Annie flushed as she noticed Thomas looking at her with an amused grin. "What?"

"You're a nerd." Thomas teased.

"You know I'm a nerd! We argue about nerdy TV shows all the time!" Annie retorted, her flush deepening slightly.

"Nah, that's geek shit." Thomas countered, shaking his head. "Being a geek is getting passionate about something, like technology or a TV show. Being a nerd however is being passionate and capable when it comes to that subject. It's the difference between geeking out over the latest phone or video game and getting all hot and bothered because in designing that phone, they didn't account for… I don't know, some technical nerd shit. Like, a geek will enjoy Calderon Rogues, while a nerd will enjoy it and have to figure out exactly how fast they had to go to reach Trichet in time to disable the bomb."

"But I don't have to do that!" Annie protested.

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"That's because you're not a TV nerd, you're a drone nerd." Thomas smirked, before pausing. "Or would it be an engineering nerd?"

"If I'm a drone nerd, you're a politics nerd." Annie snorted, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Oh, I'm for sure a politics nerd." Thomas agreed.

"Thomas, it's not fair if you just admit it!" Annie complained.

"What? There's nothing wrong with being a nerd." Thomas shrugged. "It's adorable." He grinned, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her close, planting a kiss on her cheek.

Annie hesitated. "You- you think so?"

"Of course." Thomas nodded. "The only thing sexier than passion is capability. There's a lot of passionate people out there who can't do shit. And it's destroying this nation." He added in a tone of mock seriousness.

Annie blinked. "Eh?"

"Sorry, something my- dad used to do." Thomas trailed off, an air of melancholy coming over him. "Whenever he'd make a sweeping statement like that… we'd all just roll our eyes, but he'd laugh like he'd just made the best joke ever." Thomas smiled slightly at the memory.

"Did- something happen to him?" Annie asked hesitantly. Thomas never talked about his family much, or really his past in general. They usually spent their time talking about whatever show or idea had caught the others attention at the moment, but right now… that didn't feel like enough. It suddenly hit her how little she actually knew about Thomas.

Thomas's expression twisted. "I happened to him. My ability… you know how we could be spreading the system, but we aren't because it might trigger something bad?" Annie nodded. "Well… I've experienced that, in my original World. I just- I suddenly had this amazing ability, and I just wanted to make the world a better place… an Immortal took offense to that and the entire world paid the price. Everyone I knew and loved… dead, because some asshole with way too much power decided he didn't like the direction things were heading." Thomas finished with a growl.

Annie froze for a moment, not sure how to respond. "That- that must have been horrible for you… I- I can't even imagine going through something like that."

Thomas sighed. "Honestly, the whole thing just- I sorta went numb to it all… every now and then something will hit me and send me into a minor depression, but for the most part… I don't know, it's like the magnitude of it burnt the horror out of me, like a wildfire getting choked out by consuming its own oxygen. Whenever I think about it, I just feel helpless… there's no bringing them back, no saving them. The best I can do is punish the guy who killed them all, but that won't actually do anything for them. It's like my only options are to drown under the pain, or just ignore it and get on with things, and drowning under the pain doesn't help anyone, so… Here I am. Still going. Because what else can I do?"

"Would you- want- to talk about it?" Annie asked tentatively. "Not- not what happened, but- your world… your family… What do you miss about them? I don't- I'm not any sort of grief expert or anything, but- I know it helps to talk about it. To make it not about the fact that they're gone, but about- about the fact that they were? Appreciating their memory instead of wallowing in it, I think…"

Thomas paused, staring at her for a moment, before smiling slightly and shaking his head. "You're terrible at this." He teased. "But I appreciate that you're trying."

Annie flushed. "I'm an engineer, not a therapist!" She grumbled, before hesitating for a moment. "So… Do you want to try talking?"

Thomas grimaced, before spitting out a sigh. "No, but… you're probably right. I should talk about it more. Just letting it build up until something blindsides me just leads to me doing something stupid."

She grabbed his hand, giving it a light squeeze. "I'm here whenever you need me."

"Thanks." Thomas smiled back, before suddenly letting out a snort and shaking his head. "I gotta say, this is not where I expected our relationship to go after walking in to find you whole ass naked on my bed."

Annie smirked. "I didn't expect us to even have a relationship at this point… this is about the time my relationships usually burn out."

"It's kinda nice, isn't it?" Thomas commented, giving her hand another squeeze.

"Yeah, it is." Annie smiled, squeezing back.

Quinn frowned at the two lovebirds being all adorable, before turning to Chris. "Why can't you be cute like that?" She grumbled.

Chris frowned. "I don't do cute. I think… not entirely sure what cute is, honestly."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Of course you aren't."

Chris glanced over at her, letting out a sigh as he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close. "Look, I know I'm not the most romantic guy-"

"No, no, you're fine." Quinn sighed, leaning into him. "I'm just- still struggling with this. Us dating… It's like a new pair of shoes. I know it fits, I know it's comfortable, but it still feels weird walking around in it."

"Well, it has only been a little over a day." Chris commented. "It's not surprising if it takes some time to adjust."

"But we already know everything about each other!" Quinn retorted. "It- it shouldn't be this hard to get used to you!"

Chris cocked his head. "I don't think that's true… knowing who someone is is one thing, but knowing how that person fits into your life is something else entirely. I've known many people I have no idea how to actually interact with. Like Debra."

Quinn snorted. "Debra. She's lucky she's in another World, or I'd- ugh, am I even any better? If Beth was here-"

"Beth isn't here." Chris stopped her, shaking his head. "That's the point. Greg said it's like they're dead here, mere memories that we're incapable of truly interacting with. He isn't wrong. Worlds are a lot more separate than you might think. Than I thought when we shared memories. Beth is essentially my past, and right now, you're my present."

Quinn blinked at him, before flushing slightly. "So now you want to be cute?" She grumbled.

Chris frowned. "That was cute?"

Quinn rolled her eyes and shook her head, a small smile tugging at her lips. "You just- keep being you. I'll get used to it eventually."

Chris shrugged. "I'm not sure I could do anything different."

Greg walked up on Chris's other side, placing a hand on his shoulder and sighing. "Chris, I'm bored."

"Greg, you're interrupting." Quinn retorted.

"Why don't you go make friends?" Chris asked. "Isn't that the point of all this?"

"Chris, I feel like it should be pretty clear by now that I don't know how to make friends." Greg replied. "I rely on people being forced to interact with me until they decide they like me. Or at least tolerate me. Hi, Quinn." He smiled and waved at her, causing her to snort and roll her eyes.

Chris nodded. "I see." He briefly looked around, before reaching out and grabbing a passing man. "Hi there, this is Greg. You two are friends now."

"Wh-wha?" The man stammered.

"Go on, talk. Over there." Chris insisted, pushing the two of them towards a nearby table.

"This is not what I meant, Chris!" Greg exclaimed.

"Don't care, it's happening. Be friends." Chris replied, before walking off with Quinn, who looked like she was trying to decide between being amused or exasperated at him.

Greg shook his head, turning to his new 'friend'. "Sorry about that. Chris is- Chris."

"Uh, no problem…" The guy replied. "I'm Brom, by the way."

"Greg." Greg nodded back. "Wait, Chris already said that…"

"Yeah. You're one of the new owners, right?" Brom gestured to the building.

"Yup." Greg nodded again.

"It's pretty impressive, getting all this put together so quickly." Brom commented. "Must have some pretty good Classes. Kinda makes a man curious about why you'd come here of all places."

Greg hummed thoughtfully. "That's a good question… honestly, it's less of a why, and more of a why not. We needed a place to set up, we wanted to get closer to the Line, and cities are expensive, so we just found a random town."

"But- what kind of business can you even run here?" Brom asked, frowning slightly.

"Well… it isn't so much about the business, though I'm sure we'll get quite a few customers. It's more about finding a community to get involved with. A place to belong." Greg explained. "We don't exactly have many needs, so we don't care about the business being profitable or anything, we just want to be there when people need us."

Brom blinked. "Huh… not quite sure what to make of that. Like… need you for what?"

Greg shrugged. "Tools, supplies, healing, defending the town… Anything really. We- don't have many limitations. Though, we're going to make most of what we do pretty expensive, or we'll 'ruin the economy' according to Thomas. Think of it as a convenience cost."

"Convenient how?" Brom raised an eyebrow.

"I mean… we built all this in a couple hours. And we honestly could have done it in like fifteen minutes if we didn't need to deal with all the permits and inspections." Greg replied.

Brom paused before coughing awkwardly. "That's- pretty convenient, I'll give you that."

"Yeah, but if we don't want to run the rest of the town out of business, we're going to need to charge like double for everything." Greg shrugged.

"Still might be worth it." Brom muttered.

"For some, and not for others." Greg agreed. "And if we start getting too much business, we just raise our prices. Cause that's how Capitalism works."

"Capital-what?" Brom cocked his head.

"Uh, free market economics?" Greg offered.

"That- that a Merchant trait?" Brom asked, completely confused.

"No, it's just- I mean, it's a pseudoscience, but…" Greg trailed off. "Not important, I guess."

Brom grunted. "If you say so."

"So… what do you do then?" Greg asked.

"I run the deli. Which reminds me, where'd you get this stuff? It's delicious." Brom commented, raising a chicken wing.

Greg grinned. "That my friend, is a specialty of ours. You can buy some, but it'll cost ya."

Brom looked at the food with a thoughtful expression. "You do bulk discounts?"