Once we park, Migo sends me some social credit so I can get in without too much issue, which isn’t something I can get used to. He makes his way to the bar immediately. It’s loud and stuffy, and I’m not a big drinker, but I indulge anyway. Not every day does Migo swing down and rescue me from the Outskirtz. And offer to buy.

It burns on the way down, but once it goes away, I’m impressed enough by the taste to take another sip. Migo points to my face, laughing. I’m smiling ear to ear. I don’t even know why, but I can't stop and I start to worry my face is going to get stuck like this.

“What was that?” I ask, looking down at the bottle he had handed me.

“A LiteRay. How you feelin’?” Migo says through laughter.

“Like someone shoved a rainbow up my ass.”

“You look so happy about it, though.” He grins, chugging back another before making his way through the crowd.

I follow. I’m always following.

“HEY! There they are!” He addresses two girls sitting at a table. “This is Lucy, and this is-” Migo starts.

“His girlfriend,” she cuts him off, giggling. “My name is Tovah.” She reaches to shake my hand.

“And this is-” Migo starts.

“His boyfriend,” I interrupt with an uncharacteristic joke. He rolls his eyes.

“Guys, there’s enough of me to go around. Calm down,” Migo gestures for everyone to mellow out. “Speaking of rounds, didn’t you say you were paying tonight, Ren? Why don’t you and Lucy go grab us some beers? Get the girls one of those fancy gin cocktails they love so much.” He says, nudging me.

“Actually, we like the new Company spritzers. They’re so refreshing,” Tovah says with an odd exaggerated smile.

“Yes. We like the new Company spritzers.” Lucy parrots back in an obsequious tone.

I sneak a glance at Migo to see if he thought that was as weird as I did, but the obnoxious look on his face reminds me of his setup. It’s not the first time he’s brought me to meet one of his ‘girlfriends’ and their cute friend.

I’m stuck waiting with her at the bar and I try some small talk to kill the awkwardness.

“Is tonight your first time meeting Migo?” I ask.

“He and Tovah have been talking for a while, so I’ve met him a few times. To be honest, he seems like a player to me. Is he going to break my friend’s heart?” She asks half-jokingly.

I hesitate, “Nah. Of course not. I’ve known him for years, and I can tell already he likes her. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have dragged me out of the house on a work night.”

“Hmm, I don’t know if I’m convinced, but you do look like a hard worker.” She purrs. “You’re not from MetiCity, are you?”

“Nope,” I say as the bartender hands over four drinks on a metal disk. “I’m from the Outskirtz. So is Migo or, he was. That’s how we met, in ranking,” I explain.

“I knew it. I can always tell! So what do you do?” she asks as we make our way back to the table.

“Well, I’m a mechanic.”

“So you’re good with your hands?” she says coyly. It’s an obvious pass, but I’m skeptical.

We take our seats. Migo is sitting facing Tovah and Lucy is sitting facing me.

“Lucy, didn’t you say you were into boys from the Outskirtz? Said they were more…real, remember?” Migo jeers. She turns red immediately.

“Fuck off, Migo!” She says to him, avoiding eye contact with me. “I mean, they are. A lot of guys I meet in MetiCity haven’t worked a day in their life,” she argues.

“Lucy, you haven’t worked a day in your life!” Migo laughs. This isn’t a surprise. The creation of new jobs has been a huge problem for the last few decades. Because of advances in robotics and automation, food scarcity has been almost completely eliminated. Unfortunately, because of that, many jobs have been eliminated as well. A lot of women have given up dreams of a career to instead focus on finding a partner who can provide a cushy life for them.

“Yes, ok, but I’ve always been a fan of…traditional gender roles,” she explains. This notion of traditional gender roles is a farce. Most of what was once ‘traditionally’ a woman's role has faded out in the last century as the social credit system was established and Droids took over the work. She wanted freedom but sought it in the hands of another instead of her own.

“You have nothing to be ashamed of, Lucy. Don’t let him pick on you,” Tovah says, smacking Migo in the arm.

“I’m just messing with you, Lucy. Nothing wrong with focusing on…keeping your man happy,” he smirks. She turns red again, this time out of anger rather than shyness. Tovah again assaults Migo for his coarse tongue.

“What?” he says, lifting his arms to defend himself.

“Allspirits, Migo, you have no filter. Ugh.” Tovah says, putting her credentials over her ear. “Let’s dance! You can’t talk when you’re dancing.”

Tovah grabs Migo by the arm and drags him to the dance floor platform. There’s another couple dancing under a lit circle on the floor. While it looks empty, that's all going to change once they open their credentials and peer through their glass displays. By now, they’re likely seeing a dance floor full of tapped-in people from all over the world. I can see them fidgeting with the music settings, most likely scrolling through an assortment of genres to find the right mood. As they scroll, they’ll be able to see a different group of people for each station who are either tapped-in or are being broadcasted from another club in another city. Tovah finds the right station and a light from overhead marks an open spot for them to dance in.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Do you ever…?” Lucy says, pointing to the dance floor.

“Not since ranking. It’s been a long time. I wouldn’t even know what to do,” I reply, looking over at the couple dancing.

“That’s ok. I never know what station to pick anyway,” she says, looking down. We sit for a moment, awkwardly watching Migo and Tovah dance before I muster up the guts to make a move.

“We can always hop on their station?” I stand up and hold out my hand for her to join me.

We make our way over and Migo and his girlfriend cheer us on. Putting on our credentials, we join the now crowded dance floor as a vaporwave retro remix of some old song I've never heard fills our ears. I try moving slightly but can’t keep up with her. The hook hits and the three of them start singing the lyrics. We become four people dancing instead of two pairs. Not sure if it’s the LiteRay or what, but I’m starting to enjoy myself. It’s honestly nice to block everything out and just live in the moment.

The next song is slower. Migo and Tovah immediately close the distance, forehead to forehead, wrapped in each other’s arms. I look over at Lucy, who has opened her arms, inviting me to join her, so I do.

“You’re not a bad dancer. A bit stiff, but I’ve seen worse,” she says.

“Thanks?” I ask, looking down while closing my arms around her.

“Oh. Can you get us another drink?” She says suddenly before I can join my hands together. I glance over at the table where our drinks still are, shrug, and head to the bar. I order two, and when I walk back toward the floor, I can only see Migo and his girlfriend still slow dancing.

“Where did Lucy go?” I ask him.

“Oh. Umm…” He says, surveying the room. “Oh shit… Hilson.” He and Tovah have stopped dancing and are looking at a couple making out near the entrance.

“Sorry, my guy. They’re an off and on kinda thing.” Migo says, scratching the back of his head.

“I told her not to call him. She always does this,” Tovah says, sighing. They stop making out long enough to walk their way towards us.

“Hey guys! Look who randomly showed up,” Lucy says, showing off Hilson.

“Randomly. Right,” Tovah says under her breath while rolling her eyes.

“Hey Migo. Long time no see,” Hilson says, waving at Migo and Tovah.

“Yeah, like, a week ago, right?” Migo says sarcastically, but well enough that it doesn’t sound so.

There is a moment of us all standing there awkwardly before Lucy breaks the silence.

“Oh, thanks Ren,” she says, grabbing the drinks out of my hands and handing one to Hilson.

“Oh yeah, thanks bud,” Hilson says, chugging my drink.

“No problem,” I say softly as they make their way to the dance floor and start to dance inappropriately if you ask me.

“Gross,” Migo says. “Here. Drink up.” He hands me the beer from the table, slapping my shoulder.

“I’m good. I’m going to head home. Long trip and I don’t want to be late for work.”

“Aww. You sure man? Frank won’t be upset.”

“Nah, I actually scrapped a Droid from some punk in the ‘skirtz, so I’m going to get to work on that.”

“A true ‘scav!” He says, smiling. He looks over at Tovah and shrugs. “Shall we join them?”

“As you wish, my good sir.” Tovah says with a lil courtesy.

“Sorry Ren.” they both say in almost unison, heading back to the dance floor.

I wave them off and head out. If I got social credit every time he headed home to get laid while I left thinking about work in the morning, I’d be able to buy him the entire bar. For a moment there, I got excited at the possibility. I’m usually so good at not getting my hopes up. I try to keep my head out of the clouds as much as I can, but the more I visit MetiCity, the more I feel like I’m missing out on something. I’m not mad at Migo for trying. The fact that he’s always included me as much as he can since he moved to MetiCity lets me know he isn’t ashamed of his friend from the Outskirtz. I’ve always admired him for that. And for his ability to adapt so quickly to MetiCity life. I take one last glance back at the dancefloor from the exit. He’s a natural at it. Sometimes, I’d rather have that talent than mine.

I step out of the bar and can see that the nearby stadium is lighting up the night sky. I still have my credentials on, so I'm able to see the City filled with projections of people visiting as well as the actual populace. It’s a dizzying mess but somehow comes together as a spectacle to behold. I’m standing in the middle of the walkway, taking it all in, when I’m bumped into by a tall man in a Biosuit. The bump knocks me on my ass. Who the hell would wear a full military-grade Biosuit in public?

“Oh, sorry kid, you ok?” he asks, looking down at me. “Didn’t even see you there.”

He’s Asian, with a buzzcut, and he’s got scarring on his neck where it meets the Biosuit collar.

“Well, help him up Koujin.” I didn’t realize it, but he’s accompanied by a stunning woman with green hair and eyes. Her hair doesn’t even look dyed; it’s natural. I’ve only ever seen this before in the pictures depicting the Jardinera people, never in real life. They were discovered on a remote island in the 2040s and apparently have a separate evolutionary tree from modern humans. She’s completely unique.

“Right, come on kid,” Koujin says, offering out his hand to help me up. It takes me a moment because I’m mesmerized by the girl. I place my hand in his and when he tightens his grip, it feels like it’s going to break my hand.

“Arrgh,” I cry out.

“Oh shit. Sorry kid!” he says, releasing his grip.

“It’s fine,” I say, making my way to my feet. I look up at them and for a moment, I’m not sure if the suit or the girl is more beautiful. The man is taller than me, while the girl is around my height. They look like MetiCity elites. “Um. To be honest, it’s probably the actuator for the hand grip. Have you tried taking it off and repairing it?”

“Not an option, kid.” He says sternly. He’s one of ‘them’. I’ve heard that some of the hardcore military guys never get out of the Biosuit. Not to shower, not to shit, not even to fuck. That explains the scarring on his neck, a sign that he’s fully committed. Which means he is actually military, and it’s not just a Biosuit; it’s Paladin armor.

“Of course. Sorry. Well, if you disable the actuator manually, I may be able to adjust it externally.” I offer.

“Yeah? You sure you know what you’re doing, kid?”

“I know this is a Paladin armor Biosuit and that the locking mechanism is adjustable from the outside once the actuator is disabled,” I say, putting his hand in mine. He looks over at the Jardinera girl and they both shrug. We step off to the side of the walkway and he explains that he’s been having issues with it since his last fight.

“To be honest, I'm surprised you didn’t recognize me.” He says, putting his credentials on to disable the mechanism in his hand.

“Don’t watch the fights much.”

“What’s wrong kid? They don’t get the fights in the Outskirtz?” he says, chuckling.

“Koujin, he’s trying to help. Don’t be rude.” The girl says to him and she smiles at me. “I’m sorry.”

“Ok, it’s disabled. But I’m watching closely.” He glares at me.

“An audience doesn’t bother me,” I say, taking out a small tool I keep on me, apparently for situations just like this. I’m just happy to be able to work on Paladin armor. It’s not something you see every day. Neither is she.

“That should do it,” I say, finishing up my work. He makes a fist a few times, then smiles.

“Not bad, kid. I’m impressed.”

“Well. Um. See ya, I guess.” I say, starting to turn around. She’s staring at me, looking impressed, and it’s starting to make me nervous.

“Hey kid, wait. You should come check me out tomorrow. I have a fight a few blocks from here, in the HFL.”

“Couldn’t afford it, even if I wanted to. But thanks.” I solemnly turn to walk away again.

“No worries. Here, open up a com-link,” he says, fidgeting with the credentials on his wrist. I open the message and get a notification saying I’ve received two tickets to his fight. VIP tickets, whoa.

“Are you serious!? Thanks!” I say, staring at the image of the tickets.

“No sweat. Bring a friend. Ask them about me.” he says, turning to walk away with the girl. I hear him say something about needing to bump into random people on the street more often.

I break away from staring at the tickets for a moment to do a search on ‘Koujin’ and find out he’s the champion. Tickets to a championship fight? I could eat off these for months if I sold them.

You know what, I’m starting to see what Migo sees in this city.