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Q could be standing in the heart of his branch, surrounded yet isolated when his mind honed its focus on a particular task. In his own headspace while handling a fourteen hour non-stop mission right after a whole morning spent in the branch heads meeting, then settling the gritty details post-mission. Finally taking a deep breath some two hours later, Q rolled his shoulders with grimace as he took a pause to sip his now cold tea. In those few seconds of respite, Q noticed the difference of Q branch’s usual background sounds.
The minions were buzzing amongst themselves, soft tones and low voices, as they usually did during off-mission hours. The private threads of their inter-comms chat system livelier than usual. The pitch of their hushed voices holding a cadence of excitement.
A brief scan through their chatlogs revealed a singing competition, amongst Q branch members. Sparked off by the opening of the new Karaoke pub just a station away. Minions were frequenting it in small groups, and recordings were uploaded alongside a voting poll.
Q huffed an amused chuckle, but found himself checking the vote and betting pool now and then.
R mentioned it in passing once, her sharp observation catching that Q had some interest in the ongoings of the private threads.
Having been unknowingly caught, Q found himself being invited along one night as he was preparing to leave for home. It was the semi-finals night, Q just happened to know that, coincidentally of course.
“I-” Q hesitated, coming up blank as he found himself without an excuse ready.
“I don’t do karaoke.” He said hesitantly, internally cringing at his halting words.
R just smiled her knowing smile and thankfully let him be.
The final showdown was arranged to coincide with Q-Branch bonding night. Every season, the minions tasked in scheduling would pin a 4-hour slot where at least half the branch strength could be present after working hours.
In a stroke of luck - bad luck, if you were Q - R and a few other minions bumped into Q waiting at the tube’s platform. Which was how Q found himself headed to a Karaoke bar instead of back to his flat that evening.
“R-” Q began, as nerves he hadn’t felt for a long time started to churn in the pit of his stomach. Noticing Q’s frown, R reassured him that he could be their judge for tonight, the worried curl of his lips fading instantly as he thanked her.
“Anytime,” she smiled warmly, the crinkle at her eyes reminded Q so much of an aunt he was quite fond of when he was younger. “Besides, I’ve a feeling you’ll be in for an auditory surprise.”
“Like exploding eardrums?” Q sighed, eyes looking heavenwards in exasperation, but a fond twitch to his lips. His second merely laughed before letting out a loud cheer as the drinks were served. For a woman practically twice his age, R’s liveliness surpassed his by miles.
The karaoke showdown took an hour of warm-up and several shots to get the minions relaxed enough to holler their lungs out. All care and reservation had around their branch head thrown away with enough alcohol in their system. Q would be quite worried at how easily his minions let loose, if he wasn’t busy being blown away by some quite spectacular voices.
R did say these were the top finalist. And where Q was bracing for his ears to rattle, a private studio session was what he experienced. Trust his minions to rig the karaoke’s mixer and crappy system to do their bidding.
By the time midnight rolled around, Q and R had had their hushed judges huddle and the winner was announced.
Back in his flat, Q added a few new songs to his rarely updated playlist, letting the melody play softly from his laptop’s speakers as he coded till his eyes couldn’t stay open any longer.
-End