Stray Cat Strut

A Cyber New Year

Juliet pulled her bike up beside another parked right out on the deck, and when she hit the kill switch, the kickstand snapped out so she could relax for a minute, taking in the view. The house sat right on top of a skyscraper, a large, vaguely abstract cat with windows for eyes. The parking space was situated right between the 'legs' of the cat, before the double doors leading into the home.

The last glimmers of sunset painted the metal building in shades of ochre and crimson. It was beautiful, and the warm colors were at odds with the chilly air. She pulled off her helmet, shaking out her auburn hair, thankful for the synthetic tresses' ability to maintain their style despite the punishment her helmet doled out. Setting it on her bike, she paused to look at herself in the mirrored visor. She wore a mostly-white sweater under her motorcycle jacket, glittering silvery threads interwoven with the soft fabric blend.

"You think it's too much?" Juliet picked at her sweater, brushing freshly fallen snow off of it.

Angel's reply was quick as though she'd anticipated the question, "Not at all! I think finding that sweater at Retro Luna was fate! Besides, it looks great on you."

Juliet smiled, nodded, and got off her bike. "Thank you. You're sure white is appropriate though? The jeans and the sweater aren't too much?"

"It is supposed to represent new beginnings and the purity of the new year. Like snow! It's perfectly suitable."

She lifted her seat to expose the storage compartment beneath. Her Texan sat there, ready for violence, but this wasn't that sort of visit. She picked up the bottle beside it, straightening the gilded ribbon she'd tied around the neck. "You're sure brandy is appropriate?"

"It's a warm, complex spirit that will go nicely after dinner." Angel paused for a moment, then added, "It's better to show up with something than empty-handed. Besides, stop overthinking everything. You're here for dinner with friends."

"Right." Juliet shrugged out of her jacket, folded it into a ball, and stuffed it into the storage compartment. Closing it up, she grabbed the bottle and started toward the front door. She took two steps, paused, and frowned as she looked out over the deck again. "I keep getting this weird, I dunno, like, déjà vu feeling. Like we're in a dream. You feel that?"

"Have we ever shared a dream before? If you're dreaming, I must be a part of it." Angel replied in a rather matter-of-fact tone.

"Yeah… yeah, good point." Juliet shook her head, chuckling softly at the strangeness of it all. She was just visiting a friend; no need to overthink it. With the bottle tucked under one arm, she walked to the front door and rang the bell.

***

A jingle played from the front of the house. It was a simple little tune, one fitting of the holidays. It seemed the first guest had arrived.

"Wanna get that?" Lucy asked. She stood in front of the stove, one hand stirring a wooden spatula in a pot, and the other reaching out to slap the hand of an inquisitive kitten. Said kitten recoiled away from the plateful of cookies that'd just been pulled from the oven.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"I got it." Cat stood up, stretched her back a bit until it popped, then took a moment to breathe it all in. The kitchen smelled fantastic. Lucy was still on her 'learning how to cook' kick, but she'd really pushed herself tonight.

There was a turkey in the oven, roasting away. Cranberry sauce sat on the stove, releasing a delicious scent. A large pot of mashed potatoes being worked over by a couple of the kittens sat off to the side. The New Year's meal was slowly coming together.

Cat herself had tried to help, but had been shoo'd away when she dropped an entire salt shaker into the cranberry sauce. Lucy hadn't been impressed. By some miracle, she wasn't kicked out of the kitchen outright.

Shaking her head, she made her way through the house. The place still had a few decorating from the holidays yet to to be cleaned up. The kittens had put up colorful paper cutouts of trees and snowflakes here and there. The tree was even still up in the corner, which really didn't vibe with the modern look of the rest of the house… but that was okay. There was always time to worry about cleaning up next year.

A bit of jank was acceptable when it came to spreading holiday cheer.

Cat found herself smiling crookedly as she made for the front door. A shadowy figure appeared through the glass, shifting from side to side. The first guest.

"Coming!" Cat called out before she reached the door and pulled it open. She blinked, then smiled wider at the woman on the other side. "Hey! Juliet! Come on in, get out of the cold. How are you doing?"

"Ah, hey there," Juliet said. The woman, dressed in white slim-fitting jeans and an almost garish but kind of incredible white and silver sweater, stepped in. She rubbed her hands together for warmth even as she scanned the room with a 'casual' glance. Cat, of course, recognized the look. Anyone in the same field would.

"Snowing still?" Cat asked, casually revealing her hands. It was the small, easy movements that mattered when establishing a peaceful setting.

"Sorry. Yeah, it is." She had something tucked under her arm. Just as Cat was about to ask her about it, Juliet seemed to remember and held out a fancy bottle of liquor bedecked with a red-and-gold ribbon.

"Oh! Um, thanks!" Cat took the offered bottle with a gentle smile. She watched as Juliet brushed snow off her sweater. "No coat?"

"Left it with my bike." Juliet shrugged then stepped a little further into the room. "Wow, it smells really good in here."

"That's Lucy. She's in the kitchen," Cat replied. She couldn't hide the bit of pride in her voice. "So, how was the road? Did you come in from Jupiter this time, or was it the Moon?" R

"Oh, um, yeah. I was in Luna City earlier today doing some last minute, uh, shopping." She paused, lips moving very slightly for a moment before she smiled slyly at Cat. "Angel says hi, by the way."

"Oh, your AI friend? Hello, Angel. If you want, you can pay with Myalis. I think she set up her own New Years-themed server for all of the AI." Cat waved her hand.

"All of them? There are others?"

"Just Angel and Myalis? It depends if-" Cat paused as the doorbell rang again. "Ah, more guests!"

She opened the door to reveal a young woman standing there, hands pressed together with nervousness written all across her face. She looked like a cop. Her eyes, one chrome and one not, snaked around the room as she checked subconsciously for threats. "Hi?"

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"Hey! Shiro, right? Come on in, get out of the cold," Cat said as she moved aside. "Blue Crusade gear, eh?"

Shiro stepped in, nodding her thanks. "Check… you know how it is with unreliable bosses. Ran into the Inquisitor on the way over and got dragged around. Uh- sorry I'm late."

"Nothing to apologize for." Cat waved off the apology. "We haven't even started sitting down yet."

Shiro looked around, pausing at the sight of the bottle in Cat's grasp. "Oh, uh, right. Here." The young woman pulled a small hockey puck looking device from her coat pocket.

"What's this?" Cat grabbed it.

Shiro touched a button on the side of the puck. A hologram of mice popped up. The holographic mice scattered every which way, creating trails of light. "I thought the kittens might like it… is this okay?"

"Sure is! I'll go check on the roast. Make yourselves comfortable; take a layer off." She grinned as she walked away, pleased with herself. She was getting a good grade in host. Lucy would be proud of her.

Speaking of... she padded her way across the house, checking in on the dinning room where a few of the kids were setting the tables. They had two tables, a longer, lower one for the brats and a smaller one to the side for the adults. Er- adults and Shiro.

Cat moved on to the kitchen where Lucy was shifting the turkey out of the oven. "I'm back!"

"Hmm?" Lucy turned back from where she was just pulling one of the pans out of the oven.

Seeing a disaster about to unfold, Cat darted ahead and grabbed onto the hot pan. At moments like these, having a cybernetic hand was so nice. Immunity to small burns like this was an unexpected benefit. "I got it."

***

Juliet and Shiro stared awkwardly at each other for a few moments. It wasn't until Shiro realized she was staring that she stuck out her hand. "Hi. I'm Shiro."

"Juliet." The other woman shook her hand. "So… how do you know Cat?"

"Friend of a friend. You know how it is in our line of work." Shiro shrugged as she took off her Trench coat and hung it on a nearby rack. She was more than happy to finally get out of that. Being in the Blue Crusade's gear was practically a prison of its own. "How about you?"

Juliet's eyes looked a bit dazed as a slight frown pulled at her lips. "Friend of a friend… You some kind of corpo-sec? Cat said… 'Blue Crusade,' right?"

"No?" Shiro immediately denied it, though she sounded unsure. "At least, I'm not supposed to be. It was supposed to be a one time gig. I just haven't been able to get out."

Juliet looked a bit confused as she slowly nodded her head. "Sure. So, where are you from?"

"Aythryn City. It's a shit hole of a place." Shiro and the other woman walked side by side towards a couch off to the side. A kitten sitting on it scooted over, giving them room. "But it's home. You?"

"Originally Tucson, but not for a long time. Haven't really been able to set down too many roots with- uh- 'corporate interference'." The two shared an understanding look. "But I just got back from Luna City."

"Luna City?" Shiro tilted her head. One of the passing kittens playfully followed her motion. "Like, on the moon? Never heard of it… What's it like out there?"

Juliet looked off into the distance. "It's a city, so plenty about it's awful. And yet? If you know where to look, it's so, so beautiful. From a distance it's a fairy tale. Up close, it's dirty, like most things people make…" She trailed off, and then grinned wryly, shaking her head. "You meant space, right? Flying? It's amazing, Shiro—the best thing ever."

Shiro closed her eyes, trying to imagine what it was like. Maybe one day she'd make it there. A day far in the future though. She had enough problems planetside. Hopefully, with the New Year coming around, she'd solve most of them and finally be free of the chains weighing on her limbs. "Must be something."

"It truly is… back when I first started, I didn't think I'd ever get out of the scrapyard, let alone fly around the system." Juliet shook her head. "But who wants to think about old, unpleasant times?"

"Then Happy New Years. May we make more, happier memories with each passing day." Shiro smiled brightly, her face turning radiant.

Juliet returned the smile, and, as Shiro watched, her irises shifted from deep gray to bright silver. "Happy New Years."

***

Cat and Lucy worked for a while longer, finishing up the rest of the food as dinner rapidly approached. Judging by the hungry growls from the other room, everyone was more than ready for food.

Working was a bit generous for Cat. She'd been relegated to watching from the sidelines as Lucy worked the kitchen. She glanced out the door, seeing Shiro and Juliet talking as if they were old friends. It was good they were getting along.

"It's ready," Lucy called. "Help me bring it all in?"

Everyone gathered around the tables as Cat and Lucy brought all the food over. Shiro and Juliet headed over from where they chatted about work off to the side, circling around the table.

Cat started things off by raising a glass. "Before we enjoy this delicious food, a toast to the New Year!"

Shiro joined in as she raised her own glass. A tired smile graced her lips, which made her entire face light up like a budding flower. "To the New Year! Didn't think I'd make it."

Juliet grinned as she raised her own glass. "I get it. Definitely had a few close calls of my own."

"Then may we remain safe for yet another year." Cat smiled faintly as she shot a soft look at Lucy. "I know I, for one, wouldn't have been nearly as successful or happy without the people by my side."

Juliet's eyes went distant, and her face twitched—almost smiling, then almost frowning—as she thought about her year. It was clear there were some intense memories there, but, in the end, she smiled and nodded to Cat and then Shiro. "Nor would I."

Shiro nodded along. Those few people by her side were small in number, though each was deeply important. Without them, it wouldn't be the same. "Nor I. May the New Year be as kind to us as the last."

"Then to those that support us!" All three raised their glasses for one final toast.

***