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The world beyond the Kármán line was enthralling to Bubby. “Space.” A near-perfect vacuum, holding countless celestial bodies. It was the birthplace of nebulae, the death-place of stars. Moons that orbit planets, that orbit suns, that orbit galaxies, without any friction.
Space was beautiful, filled with dust clouds and colors that danced amongst the vast darkness around cosmic voids. It was a mysterious maiden with a playful twinkle in its eye, begging you to learn more about it as it only leaves you with more questions. Space was art.
Space was the man across the tram talking to Gordon Freeman.
His eyes were dark, with blue rings of Saturn surrounding the pupil, the stars that rushed outside the tram danced in their reflections. His voice held grain, as if it were the embodiment of the regolith you could find on asteroids.
He was bickering about something with Freeman about a topic Bubby hardly cared for. Chuck E. Cheese could hardly be defined as just “a restaurant” or “an entertainment center”. It was obviously marketed toward both outcomes to maintain maximum profit. It shouldn’t be confined to one label or the other - and it probably got plenty of nice tax write-offs to stay ambiguous.
“A Chuck E. Cheese is merely a family entertainment center that contains a restaurant. The entire establishment is not a … Restaurant, such a thing would be foolhardy!”
“What the FUCK are you on about?!”
As Freeman continued to yell and interrupt the man - as he tends to do to most people - Bubby rolled his eyes to himself and decided he may as well toss a coin into the well of this debate. “I mean, it’s kind of in-between. Right?”
Gordon, despite his tendency to over-emote while speaking, had not once noticed him sitting in the backseat of the tram whilst talking. It was strange, as Bubby could have sworn he had looked around his direction at least once before. A glint of metal caused Bubby’s eyes to shift away from Freeman, before –
A loud gunshot rang out, and Bubby found himself sat square in the middle of a Chuck E. Cheese’s table. Despite the small enclosure of the tram, the bullet hardly echoed. It probably had to do with the tram’s inexplicable ability to travel through space itself, if the stars rushing past the windows were any indicator.
That tram truly was a wonderful experience, even if it had ended so abruptly. Perhaps, if he was lucky, Bubby may see that tram again. Maybe this time it’d be the very man he was admiring to invite him on…
His face gets a little red, and he grabs an unopened soda can from the table and stands up. Cracking it open, the cool drink helps him calm down a little as he pushes in his chair. No need to get worked up about your puppy-love crush on your friend / co-worker’s dad.
Speaking of Tommy, he was ripping it up on stage with a bunch of Coomer's formerly-dead clones. They didn’t appear to have any zombie-like characteristics, which was strange. Bubby was ready to ponder this further until a dog over half his size trotted over with a relaxed expression.
Sunkist had also shown her face at the party, and despite the loud noises, she was clearly enjoying herself. “You’re a pretty tough dog.” Bubby laughed to himself as she closed the distance, circled ‘round, and began to bump her head into his back. Bubby was being led onto the stage to dance with Tommy.
He could do that. Bubby was quite proud of his dance movies, and he was in great shape for his synthesized age. Plus, it was Tommy’s birthday after all, he might as well spend some time with the boy!
Dancing was fun, but he had to admit he was taking sly glances at the G-Man while he did so. He was also up on stage, originally dancing with his son, but later gazing out the window with a grave expression. Something, clearly, was bothering him - but Bubby couldn’t see out the window to figure out what.
It had him pause, which Tommy noticed. Bubby was always one to revel in the attention of others, and it was odd for him to pause what he was doing to divert said attention. Especially to a character as intimidating as his father! Tommy knew how great of a guy he was, of course, but a lot of people usually got scared when they first met him.
So, Tommy grabs Bubby by the hand to redirect him to a friendly game of Tekken 7 in the corner, where less people were. He was intentionally a little worse, letting Bubby revel in the victory when it would’ve been a close match otherwise.
Kindness was a factor, but he didn’t want Bubby to be in a bitter mood while trying to persuade him. That never bodes well, no matter how agreeable they are in the conversation, the upset party usually isn’t as persuadable.
After Bubby wins 3-7 with 1 draw, they’re both pretty beat with gaming. It was a lot of rounds and a lot of time to sink into an arcade game, and they were both pretty bad at maintaining good gaming posture. As Bubby stretches out with a crack, Tommy strikes up a dialogue as they walk back to the main area.
Originally, he planned to hold the conversation while they were alone, but they both got too invested in the game to talk to each other other than a few playful jeers and taunts. “Um, I - I know you’ve been keeping an eye on my dad, and…” Bubby picks up the nearest drink and puts it to his mouth to avoid talking in a not-so-subtle manner. He practically took it right out of Coomer’s (or was it his clone’s?) hands.
Tommy sighs and scratches the back of his head. “Listen, I… I know he seems scary, and - and you might think he’s suspicious, or weird, but he’s actually really, um, awesome!” There’s a small pause. “And - And I’m sorry about lying to you and everyone else about being an orphan. Normally he does- Well, he doesn’t like meeting people.”
Bubby noticeably relaxes at the realization Tommy hadn’t realized his true motive for all the staring he was doing. He’d roll with the assumption. “I’m pretty sure he shot me in the head.” Tommy paused and took a moment to think.
“Were you… Somewhere you weren’t supposed to be?” He asked, tilting his head slightly. The kid kind of resembled his dog, Bubby thought to himself. They probably grew up together. “I mean, I wasn’t part of the conversation, but I’m pretty sure it was public transport.”
“...Through space.”
It clicks with Tommy, and he laughs. A knowing laugh, as this was a very common misconception to make. “Oh, he- he didn’t shoot you for real! That’s, um, just an imitation - an intimidation tactic! Sometimes he messes up, but it’s hard to explain why there’s the wrong people with you, um … Normally they’re supposed to forget, though.”
“I could probably forgive him.” Bubby smiles into his soda can. The information was nowhere near normal, and didn’t change the absurdity of the situation, but Bubby hadn’t been dwelling on that, anyhow. Space was unforgiving, after all, and had its fair share of dangers.
Despite this, very few people had died by the hand of space. Only about twenty in all of recorded history. It only made sense that the man who embodied her fully would share similar deadly but resistant traits.
Tommy, satisfied with the answer, waved goodbye to Bubby as he went to go visit the very man they were talking about. A skeleton climbed through the window in the background, but that probably wouldn’t be of too much concern. Not to Bubby, anyways.
After Tommy got the last of his gifts and smashed through the piñata, Tommy had called everyone over for pizza and more drinks. Bubby sat across from him, who sat next to Coomer, and Gordon took the head of the table. The skeleton didn’t seem to want to eat, and sat directly behind Freeman on top of a table.
That left G-Man to sit directly next to Bubby. He couldn’t help but look over his way - it wasn’t subtle at all. He could try to mask it as talking to Coomer, but the man was too focused on devouring his portions to have much conversation. He was mainly just exclaiming to everyone about how good it tasted.
He didn’t expect G-Man to eat. He was somewhat surprised when he did. Something about the man just seemed too refined for cheap pizza. Bubby ate his own slice, but didn’t do much talking for the rest of the meal.
That was, essentially, the end of the party. The atmosphere was tense once Gordon announced he was going to leave. Coomer dismissed himself directly after, taking to leave the building in a rush. The skeleton lost interest and drifted off through a wall.
It was simply Bubby and the Coolattas that remained in the building. Bubby found himself a bit anxious, and naturally gravitated towards the one he knew best - Tommy. He was bouncing a leg absentmindedly while pampering Sunkist with scratches and play-swats. Bubby loitered next to them with his hands resting awkwardly near his hips.
He didn’t talk to either Tommy or his dog, instead taking glances toward G-Man again, who was drinking from what appeared to be a disposable coffee cup. He wasn’t entirely sure how you’d get your hands on one of those in a Chuck E. Cheese…
While lost in thought, Tommy piped up. “Do you want to talk with him?” He had turned his torso to face Bubby, but his attention remained on Sunkist. It was more out of social courtesy than a genuine focus shift. “Because I - I think it’ll go well! And, um, you can always come back here if it doesn’t!”
“I guess there’s nothing left to lose.” Bubby shrugged, and began his walk to the G-Man as Tommy shifted back to play further with Sunkist.
Bubby leaned against the table, supporting himself with an arm. Gman already had eyes pointed in his direction far before he had made his way over. His position hardly shifted as he brought his eyes back to the coffee. “Gained some … Courage, have you?”
Bubby’s heart skipped a beat. If it was from the nerves of confrontation or attraction, he didn’t know. “Ah… Yeah,” was all he managed to weasel out. A short chuckle made its way from G-Man’s raspy throat. “You are quite… Interested in me, are you not?” Bubby’s face went flush. He attempted to interject, but G-Man continued. “A man with your pride often finds fear. In confrontation.”
Bubby’s jaw laid flack. He honestly couldn’t make heads or tails of what was happening right now. “Listen, I can go.” He stood stiff and brushed off his lab coat. “Just wanted to see what your deal was.”
A twinkle caught in the G-Man’s eyes. “You’ve done, plenty, of seeing.” He finally turned to face Bubby directly. He was just as captivating as he was on the tram, despite the attack on Bubby’s confidence. “You’re here for knowledge, are you not?”
“I suppose…” The phrasing was odd, but he was curious to know more about the G-Man. Bubby looked quizzical as the other man stood to his feet, gesturing for him to follow.
They paused at an empty wall. “Alright, you’re clearly playing me for a fool here. I’m not -” “Patience.” The syllable of the “c” was stretched out. It was almost snake-like, Bubby thought.
A door of light opened against the wall, and shifts into black. A portal-like entity formed inside, swirling like liquid. G-Man said nothing, but extended an arm to the gateway. “Well?”
Bubby hesitated, looking into his eyes for any sort of guidance. He couldn’t make heads or tails of any sort of intent the man had, but took a deep breath and prepared himself. Briefly, the thought of going back to Tommy crossed his mind. It would be logical, and entirely safer.
Bubby was not a logical man. Bubby was a man of science, and science was about risks. Closing his eyes, he crossed the barrier from the known to the unknown.