Mature Content Warning: None, really... How surprising!

Author’s Notes: I have considered the best way to approach this story when it comes to publishing it. I think I will update here regularly, but use the text that I write here as the foundation for the commercial story. So, the pro-version will possibly have a lot of content that the web novel version does not.

Random note:--

Chapter 21: The Choices of a Young Man.

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Silence pervaded the halls of the all-too familiar barracks. Scott stared at a door that he had not thought to gaze upon again. It felt like an impossible dream to be here, but somehow, here he was. At his side stood his alpha, someone he felt that he could trust. That simple sense of trust was a rarity in his life as few people had warranted it from the man.

On the other side of that door resided one of the other people who had earned such an accolade. She had no name, only a numeric designation. However, that did not matter to Scott. She was an important person to him.

“So, how does it feel?” asked Pirouette.

Scott shook his head. “I don’t know what to think about this Pirouette. Everything seems to be moving forward at a pace far swifter than I had anticipated.”

She reached over and clasped his hand. “You have a lot to think about. Do you really want to do this today?”

A moment of silence passed then he nodded once. “Yes, she needs to know, and I need to tell her.”

Pirouette smiled at him then squeezed his hand. “Shall we go in?”

“Yes, let’s.” said Scott.

He placed his hand to the door and waited for a moment. After a short time passed, he began to suspect that he councilman had not sent in his authorization notice, yet. He came close to removing his hand from the door, but he heard a sudden hiss and the sound of the door unlocking. It slid apart and a familiar room appeared before him.

A smile broke out on his face and he walked inside. Loudly he called out, “Daddy’s home.”

A monitor flared to life and the face of his first long-term partner popped on screen. The eyes of the onscreen image widened in surprise then a bright flash of light flared into existence not far from Scott’s position.

“Hi, Seventy-Tw-” began Scott. However, the beautiful avatar lunged forward and knocked him to the ground. Seventy-Two kissed him repeatedly on the face as hot salty tears began to run down her face.

Scott wrapped his arms around his long-time friend and partner. He had missed her a great deal. They had been together for two years, but had been forced apart by his work choices.

“Master, master!” cried Seventy-Two. She started to cry heavily. She had not seen him in weeks and had never expected to see him again.

“So, you did not miss me at all then?” asked Scott with a soft smile.

She slapped him on the chest then sniffled loudly. “Yes, I did, and you know it!”

Scott kissed her gently on the cheek. “I know. I missed you too.”

Seventy-Two sniffed softly then sat up while she straddled his waist. “I’m glad to see you, but why are you here?”

He smiled at her. “Well, I had a few bits of interesting news for you.”

“Oh?” She looked at him curiously for a moment then tilted her head to the side.

“First... I wanted to come ruin your happiness...” said Scott, a warm smile on his face.

“Ruin my...” She blinked then leaned forward. Her eyes searched his. After a moment they widened and a brilliant smile arose upon her face. “No... You don’t mean it!”

“Yep, soon you’ll be all mine.” said Scott.

Seventy-Two squealed in excitement then launched herself down atop him once more. She rained kisses upon his face repeatedly.

Pirouette chuckled softly then smiled. Seventy-Two seemed like a nice girl. She would probably fit right in with the rest of the team once she could finally join them properly.

“So, when do we leave?” asked Seventy-Two.

Scott placed his palm against her cheek then sighed. “Not soon. I have to wait till I have finished with my ninety-day trial period. I won’t be able to see you as often as I like since your core will be placed in holding. When you wake up, though, we’ll be together for good.”

“Oh, Ok...” she said, sadly. She looked down and to the side while she processed that news. However, a brief few seconds later she turned back to him and said, “That’s still a lot better than what I had expected.”

“Yeah, me too. I had thought that it would be years from now before I could make an attempt to come for you, and even then you might not care that much when I was able to be with you.” said Scott.

Seventy-Two nodded lightly. “I would have gone through a few masters. As much as I adore you now, I probably would have been pining for my most recent master by then.”

“The idea of you with someone else does not sit right with me.” said Scott. He rubbed his thumb along the curve of her cheekbone.

She kissed him on the nose then smiled softly. “It did not sit right with me, either. I am so glad to hear that it won’t happen.”

Seventy-Two ran her fingers through his hair then sweetly asked, “By the way, who is the pretty lady who came with you?”

Scott grinned up at her. “Now you ask?”

“Well, we were being quite rude. As much as I enjoy it when you punish me for my indiscretions it would be beyond rude not to speak of her.” said Seventy-Two.

Pirouette’s eyes lit up. Had she met a kindred spirit? The way Seventy-Two spoke of punishment was quite intriguing.

Scott gestured toward his beautiful alpha. “Pirouette, come say hi to Seventy-Two.”

“Such a commanding request.” replied the dark elf.

Scott nodded to her. “Yep, I’m all in charge and stuff.”

Pirouette smiled in a wry fashion then quickly walked over. She did enjoy it when he took charge. He generally made suggestions instead of spending his time giving orders. The only time that he changed that attitude for a more commanding one was during a mission, or when he had her alone and in his fell clutches. Such times they had!

“Hello, my name is Pirouette.” she said, before she extended her hand out to Seventy-Two.

The avatar took her hand delicately then smiled up at her. “I’m Seventy-Two.”

“Speaking of which, how would you like to have an actual name?” asked Scott.

“I would love one, though it might be hard to think of myself by another designation.” she said, before she squeezed her thighs gently around his waist.

“Well, think of name that you would like.” he said.

“How about Mrs. Matthews?” she asked sweetly. The girl had a certain fetish that she would love to practice for real.

Scott smirked at her. “That’s a mouthful...”

Seventy-Two pouted at him. “Come one, call me Mrs. Matthews...”

“Mrs. Matthews?” asked Pirouette.

“Of course, if I am going to take a name... Why not my husband’s?” asked Seventy-Two.

Scott shook his head. “I think Eina would kill us both.”

“Eina, huh? Is she still sniffing around?” asked Seventy-Two.

“You’ve met Eina?” asked Pirouette.

“She had a tendency to appear at Scott’s barrack’s room to berate him for being an idiot.”

“The ADF allowed you to leave here?” Pirouette was a little surprised to hear that. Avatars were one of the most important military assets in the world. They cost a fortune on the open market, and the only reason Scott was able to circumvent that was by coming up with a half-assed plan involving exploration of the frontier.

“While my core had to remain here, I occasionally received leave to roam about the wall and even went into the city twice.” said Seventy-Two.

“Yeah, those were fun time.” said Scott.

“Yes, they were. None of my former masters ever bothered with the paperwork necessary to take me out on leave.” said seventy-Two.

“How long have you been here?” asked Pirouette.

“About twenty years or so.” replied the Avatar.

Scott frowned then nodded. “Yeah, when she told me that I couldn’t stand it.”

“That sounds terrible. You could not even leave this room till you met Scott?” asked Pirouette. She had thought such would be the case, but if she could leave with him, why had she not gone out before?

Seventy-Two nodded. “I’m an Avatar. I was manufactured in a lab, and as soon as I sparked they sent me here. Everything that I know of the world, I know through the Internet and through Scott.”

Scott kissed her softly on the cheek then ran his fingers through her hair. “Well, you’re going to see a lot of everything soon.”

The avatar looked down at him, her eyes shimmered with unspent emotion, and a soft smile crossed her lips. “Thank you so much.”

“Yeah, unfortunately we only have a few minutes together today. You’ll have to go into storage for a little over two months because of my hunter trial period.” said Scott.

She nodded at him gently. “When I wake up, we’ll be together again?”

“Yes, and you’ll have several new friends as well.”

Her smile brightened considerably for a moment, but then she lowered her eyes. “Do you think that they will like me?”

“I think so.” said Pirouette.

“Do you- Do you really think so?” asked Seventy-Two.

The dark elf nodded. “Certainly. We’re an eclectic group, but all of the girls are nice.”

“Eina’s hanging around, too.” said Scott.

“Heh, is she still giving you crap, master? Want me to kick her ass again?” asked Seventy-Two.

Pirouette’s left eye rose curiously. Seventy-Two was strong enough to beat Eina? What level was she exactly, that she could casually dismiss an amazon battle mistress?

“I’m sure that she would like that.” said Scott.

Seventy-Two laughed sweetly, but a dangerous glint arose in her eyes. Those beautiful and dangerous eyes promised violence and possible long-term snuggling.

***

A few hours had passed and the dynamic duo of Scott and Pirouette had separated from Seventy-Two. She would be placed in stasis for a few months, and know nothing of the world while time passed. When Scott returned to claim her, she would be free of the room that had been her home for decades.

Currently, Scott and Pirouette sat at a booth in a semi-popular burger joint near the wall. Most of the regular customers were ADF soldiers, and a few of them waved to Scott in passing. He had few people who he would consider to be true friends, but he knew a lot of people.

Pirouette dipped a French fry into her authentic American style ketchup. The burger and the fry were one of the regional delicacies of America city. She vastly preferred it to some of the other legacy foods on the continent, though she did not mind the seafood dishes of Japan.

Scott took a large bite of his overly expensive burger then nodded. “Mmm, so good. Pricey, but good.”

America only had a few legacy farms where animals were raised, and none of them were raised for slaughter. Even those farms were little more than a few acres of clone vats where the meat was grown. Most food was synthetically created for maximum taste and nutrition. Synthetic meat, unlike the supposedly organic cloned meat, was created out of non-animal proteins but was given the simulated flavor of real meat.

“Yes, it is. I generally prefer vegetarian cuisine, but a thick hunk of meat now and then is quite satisfying.” replied

Pirouette. She lowered her eyelashes and granted him a sultry smile.

“Does your motor have an off switch?” asked Scott with a smile of his own.

“I hope not.” she said.

Scott laughed a little then offered her a bite of his burger. Pirouette leaned in and nibbled delicately around the edge of the thick and meaty treat. She lifted her eighty-seven percent authentic milkshake and offered him a sip.

He wrapped his lips around the straw and suckled softly, partaking of her milky offering. For a while they continued their feast, Scott drank her milk and she happily nibbled on his meaty treat.

When they finished Pirouette leaned forward and licked the side of his mouth. “Mmm, you had a little something on you there.”

“Thank you, you’re so kind.” replied Scott with a smile.

Pirouette dabbed her mouth with a napkin then sighed in satisfaction. “Thanks for the meal.”

Scott nodded. “Thank you for being such wonderful company.”

She reached over and took his hands in hers then looked into his eyes. “Have you decided?”

He sighed softly then looked down for a moment. “I still don’t know, Pirouette. This is a big step for me.”

She nodded to him then squeezed his hands gently. “You’re a good guy, Scott. I have met a lot of humans in my life and I count you among the ones who I appreciate most.”

“Thank you for that...” he said.

Pirouette tilted her head to the side. “You know; if you can’t decide now there is no reason to rush it.”

“Hmm?” asked Scott.

“Your grandfather is not exactly on death’s door. The last time I met the man he barely looked older than you. That heritage of yours is nothing to sneeze at.” she said.

“There are lots of people who are a few hundred years old, Pirouette.” said Scott.

“Most of them look like it, too. He’s close to three hundred years old and could be something of a slightly older brother to you when it comes to his appearance. Now that I think about it, there is quite a bit of resemblance.” said the dark elf.

“Really? If I look like him so much, why did you not say something?” he asked.

“It never occurred to me before. You bear a striking resemblance, but a lot of humans resemble each other.” she said.

That was true enough, in any given legacy city you might find plenty of people who were not knowingly related who actually looked like they could be cousins, if not siblings. Given the number of people who colonized this planet, it was inevitable. There one pink haired nurse who he swore worked at every hospital, and he had a friend in the ADF police force who had several female cousins who looked nearly identical right down to their blue hair.

“I’ve spent my whole life without any family to speak of, Pirouette. I want to talk to the man, but I have no idea what to say.” said Scott.

She squeezed his hands again. “Take some time and work it out. Don’t we have a mission coming up?”

“Are you suggesting that I put of speaking with him until after the mission?” he asked.

“No, I am suggesting that we go on the mission and work for a while so that you can process this a little more. You might make a decision during the mission or after it.” she said.

“You know, that might be for the best. Part of me wants to run out and contact him immediately, but the rest of me is frustrated and a little pissed off, to be honest.”

“You’re angry?” asked the dark elf.

“I had no way to know he existed, but if he is such a power and wealth man... He had the resources to find me.”

“What if he truly thought you were dead, like we heard at the meeting?” she asked.

“That’s the only reason that I have considered contacting him. I’ve made a life for myself. I don’t need him. Yet, I would like to know something of my past, my supposed family.”

Pirouette leaned over the booth and kissed him on the side of the nose before she whispered, “You have a family now, no matter what happens.”

Scott sighed once then smiled brightly at her. “Yes, I do. Don’t I?”

“You do.” she said gently.

After a brief moment passed he looked her up and down then quirked his eyebrow. “I enjoyed your milkshake, premium stuff.”

She blinked at him then shook her head. She laughed softly then said, “I love you, too.”

They shared a smile. It was nice to feel close to someone who understood who they were and actually gave a damn about their future.

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