Chapter Text
It was 9 PM and y/n was absolutely exhausted. For most people, it had been a weekend day - a time to rest and relax. For y/n, though, other people taking time off only meant more work for him.
After his long day, he was knackered and hoping to find a place to settle down and have a drink - maybe find a cute guy to take home. Half the places he had walked by so far had either been booked out for events, closed, or full beyond capacity. He might try one or two more places, he thought, before giving up and just heading back home. The weather wasn’t great anyways, so it wouldn’t be a huge loss for him if he turned in - it was humid and looked like it might rain at any moment.
One sign caught his eye, the moisture in the air reflecting the light from its neon sign. “The Paradise Lounge”, y/n spoke aloud to himself. He had never heard of it before, he thought, maybe it had opened recently. It might be worth trying, anyways. He walked over to the door and pushed it open, the metal being heavier than he had initially anticipated.
Music was reverberating across the walls, which were littered with posters from various bands, events, and even the Apex games. Y/N actually worked for Hammond Robotics, so he had done a little bit of work for the games before, but he was quite unfamiliar with it outside of his projects. Honestly, he just wasn’t interested in doing or watching stuff that reminded him of work once he clocked out. He continued walking forward before eventually walking into the main room of the bar.
Looking across the room, he saw exactly what he was hoping wouldn’t be there - a party sign and decorations. Y/N let out an audible sigh, catching the attention of some of the patrons, as he realised this bar had also been rented out his an event. Turning around, he immediately started walking away.
“Hey buddy, wait! Don’t you want to come party with us?” y/n felt a hand on his shoulder and quickly turned his head. A younger man, with messy brown hair and strange outfit - he was wearing what seemed to be a yellow bodysuit with assless chaps. Damn, he looks good. It was in stark contrast to y/n’s simple workwear - he pretty much wore the same thing every day.
“Hey sorry, I didn’t mean to barge in. You don’t need to invite me just because I’m here, I didn’t realise the venue had been rented out,” Y/N responded.
The man rubbed his head behind his head, “Well, uh, I… ac.. act.. actua…,” he cleared his throat, “I actually own this bar. You’re welcome to join, the more the merrier… and you look like a fun guy”. He finished off his sentence with a wink. Y/N deliberated in his mind. It was a little weird to crash a party, but if he owned the bar, then maybe it was fine. He was only going to stay for one drink anyways.
“Oh, uh, my name’s Elliot by the way. So, what brought you here?” He continued as he led y/n over to the bar. “Well, I actually work at Hammond Robotics. The facility I work at isn’t too far from here,” y/n gestured to his name tag and work keys. “Oh, I think they sponsor us, that’s neat. What do you do?” He asked as he pulled out a chair, before heading behind the bar counter. “I’m actually a programmer. Not for anything too interesting, just MRVNs and other basic robotics type stuff,” y/n responded.
Elliot nervously shuffled, noticing two yellow eyes locked on the y/n, his interest probably piqued by the mention of Hammond. “W-well, what drink would you like?” Elliot tried to change the topic, but it was a bit late. Y/n had also noticed both the red robot and a young woman with braids staring his down. “Hey, Elliot? Sorry to interject, but what’s up with them staring at me? Are you sure I’m not imposing?” Y/n asked. “Yeah, h-honestly, they are just a little weird about Hammond. It’s got nothing to do with you,” Elliot rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
Y/n nodded back at Elliot, taking a minute to look at the menu on the wall behind him. Beside the menu, he noticed a couple posters. It was weird, y/n thought, some of the guys on the Apex posters looked kind of similar to the people in the bar. Y/n looked back a forth - between Elliot and the poster for a few times, before letting out a gasp. “Shit! Wait, you- you’re the guy on the Apex games poster!”, y/n blurted out at Elliot. “Ha, yeah. I was wondering if you were going to recognize me at some point or if you just were trying to be low key about it,” he responded, laughing.
Y/n gestured to everyone else in the bar, “So are all of these guys,” he continued, “also part of the apex games?”. “Yeah, we all are… and uh, about that drink? It is fine if I just make you one of my favourites?” Elliot responded. “Yeah, sure!”, y/n smiled back, leaning on the bar edge. He continued, :”Y’a know, if I had known I was in the presence of a celebrity, I would’ve asked for your autograph”.
Elliot stood behind the bar, chuckling at y/n’s response while mixing various liquors and juices together into a shaker. “H-Honestly, its really nice to just hang out with a guy who treats me like a normal person for once,” he noted, “… and also, here’s your drink!”.
Y/n reached over, grabbing the bright pink drink and taking a big satisfying sip from the straw, before turning around and looking around the bar. The big red robot was still glaring at his from across the room. Y/n scoffed to himself, thinking what a rude guy he must be. Was he a guy? He wasn’t sure if robots counted. He shook it off, turning back to Elliot. “Elliot, this is delicious! You’re really good at making drinks, I can see why you own a bar!” y/n remarked. Maybe he was laying it on a bit thick, he thought, but Elliot was cute - what was the harm in a bit of flirting?
Elliots cheeks turned red, “Well, thanks y-y/n, there’s more where t-that came from!”. Despite his shy demeanour, he followed it up with an exaggerated wink, making y/n laugh. He continued sipping from his drink, just enjoying the atmosphere of the bar. It helped that there was a cute guy fawning over him, as well.
Out of the corner of his eye, suddenly, y/n saw a siren light up, followed by the sound of an alarm. Collective groans sounded throughout the room, and y/n could hear Elliot cursing under his breath. “Fuck, well - shit! I’ve got to go - actually, we’ve got to go! That means we have a last minute match to play,” Elliot explained, almost yelling over the sound of the alarm. “Well, that’s too bad! I was enjoying your company,” he responded soundly, hoping he would hear her. Elliot quickly scribbled something down on a napkin, handing it to y/n. “H-here’s my number. Maybe you can c-c-come back here tomorrow?” Elliot asked. “I’ll see you then,” y/n laughed. He was so cute.
Elliot walked over to the other legends and y/n quickly walked behind the bar, quickly washing his cup. Elliot would probably appreciate that the next day, as it appeared the service MRVNs were already turned off. He turned his heel, giving Elliot once last wave as he prepared to go to the drop ship. Just as he had the entire evening, as he walked out, y/n still felt a pair of eyes burnt into the back of his head. That damn fucking robot was still staring at her. What a creep, he thought.