Team Building with Jack Landors (SPD, A Squad, #32, T)
characters: SPD’s A Squad
prompt #32: fixed
word count: 1300
rating: T
summary: Charlie wasn't totally immune to the fact that he was marrying A Squad Red.
author's note: C Squad's Akume appears with written permission of tsukino_akume and my love ♥
Team Building with Jack Landors (fixed)
by *Andrea
“Tell me Jack didn’t have anything to do with this,” Sky was saying.
Charlie watched Syd’s head tilt innocently. “Jack didn’t have anything to do with this,” she repeated. There was a pause for dramatic effect, and then she added, “With what?”
“Look,” Sky said. “All I want to know is that he wasn’t involved. Because if it was one of you delinquents, I’m going to use it for something, but I don’t want to go screwing this up with stuff I don’t understand.”
He was really serious, Charlie decided. She had no idea what was going on, but she assumed it had something to do with the ring on his left hand. Sky was very... focused. And if Jack had managed to talk him into a marriage proposal, then she was willing to bet Sky wouldn’t think about anything else until the next time there was a gun in his face.
“Hi,” Sophie said cheerily. She paused next to Charlie to survey what had been unofficially designated the A-B table. “How are you this morning?”
“Fine.” Charlie caught Sky’s gaze when he looked up, alerted by Sophie’s greeting, and she raised an eyebrow. He was fucking engaged. Mr. Solitary Super Soldier was engaged.
Sky actually lowered his head, smiling like he’d forgotten how to keep a straight face, and when she kept staring at him he glanced at her again from under his eyelashes. Which was, objectively speaking, a much too adorable look for someone like him. “You confuse the hell out of me,” she announced.
Everyone at the table who hadn’t already turned to see what Sky was looking at did now. Most of Jack’s A Squad then looked back at Sky, as if to see what he would do. Sky’s B Squad, though, looked like they were ready to stare her right out of the mess hall.
No one screwed with Sky on their watch. That was good.
“Are you sure it’s me?” Sky said dryly. He still had that ridiculous smile on his face. It didn’t stop him from pointing at Syd when she set her fork down. “I’m not done with you,” he told her, then pointed at Charlie. “Look in a mirror.”
“If you’re talking about the pictures,” Syd said, “Jack didn’t have anything to do with it. Can I go now? Some of us have things to do before we report!”
This made Dan glance at the clock, but anyone who wasn’t going to go spend an extra hour on their hair had plenty of time. Charlie wasn’t sure how long women-who-were-really-guys spent in the bathroom, but she didn’t care, either. So it worked out.
Sky waved her away, and Syd leaned over to kiss Dan before she got up. Sophie slid into a seat on his other side, so Charlie took Syd’s. “Seriously,” she said. “You turn him down in front of the whole mess hall, and then a few days later it’s all kittens and puppies?”
“Where’s Ally?” Z wanted to know. “Did you eat her, or what?”
“She was late,” Charlie snapped. “I didn’t feel like waiting.”
“Even when I walked in just as she was walking out,” Ally’s voice added, “with a note from my parents and everything. Thanks for breakfast, by the way.”
“Oh, hi, Ally.” Boom lifted a hand in a half-wave, which Bridge immediately echoed. Z nodded in her direction. “You’re looking very pink today!”
Ally apparently knew him well enough to take this as a compliment. “Thanks, Boom.” Coming around the far side of the table, she paused beside Sky and asked, “Someone sitting here?”
“Do you see the tray on the table?” he retorted.
She shrugged, moving to the next seat down. “I thought you might have put it there so it wouldn’t look like no one wanted to sit next to you.”
“Where’s your fiance?” Charlie asked. “Doesn’t seem like him to cause trouble without sticking around to see how it turns out.”
“Where’s your keeper?” Sky countered. “She’s not worried you’re going to make bad breakfast choices without her here to hold your hand?”
She chucked a grape at him, just on principle, and he surprised her by deflecting it one-handed. A blue shimmer flared between his spread fingers as the grape bounced onto Bridge’s tray. She raised an eyebrow. “That’s new.”
“Not really,” Bridge remarked, picking the grape up and studying it briefly before tossing it into his mouth. “Sky’s been able to make forcefields practically since he was born.”
“Hey.” Z picked up a piece of dry cereal from Bridge’s plate and bounced it off of Charlie’s shoulder. “He’s been known to start food fights, so be careful.”
“Why am I involved?” Dan wanted to know, picking up the piece of cereal and throwing it back at Z. “I didn’t do anything.”
She didn’t have to see Jack coming to know that he had just walked in. He must have been right behind them. The red jello on the abandoned tray next to Sky’s place would have marked it as Jack’s even if its location hadn’t. Sky had clearly been expecting his return, because he kept looking up--and when his expression softened, a disgustingly pleased smile not quite hidden on his face, she knew he’d found what he was looking for.
Leave it to Sky. She couldn’t tell if the fact that he was going to marry a man he’d arrested proved that he took SPD more or less seriously than the rest of them. She wasn’t totally immune to the fact that he was marrying A Squad Red, either.
“No throwing food,” Jack’s voice declared. It was followed by a shower of purple sparkly things across the center of the table. “Unless it’s good food,” he added, “in which case, I think we should throw as much as possible.”
Z reached for one, holding up a little purple-wrapped chocolate kiss. “Who did you steal these from?” she wanted to know, ripping it open without waiting for an answer. She popped one into her mouth and tossed a second at Sky.
He didn’t deflect it, Charlie noticed. He just picked it up off his tray and meticulously unwrapped it. She shook her head, scooping up three more pieces of candy and distributing them down the line: one each on Dan’s, hers, and Boom’s trays.
“I didn’t steal them,” Jack protested, swinging into the empty place beside Sky. “Stacy was putting them out in the lobby, and she gave me some when I wandered through.”
Ally scoffed. “You just happened to be wandering through the lobby at seven-thirty on a Monday morning? Who does that? Other than me?”
“Anyone who knows that’s when Stacy puts the candy out,” Z said dryly. “It isn’t the fact that you got candy that surprises me. It’s the fact that you got enough for all of us. Something bad must be happening.”
“An imminent chocolate shortage?” Bridge suggested.
“The trouble with Z,” Jack said, eyeing everyone else’s trays as though deciding what he would most like to have, “is that she knows me too well. We’re about to have a problem.”
Charlie glanced over her shoulder when he paused, because she knew that look. Sure enough, Akume of C Squad had stopped on her way past the table, staring at Jack with wide eyes. “Which we will take care of,” Charlie said, turning back to the table.
“Because it’s a small, almost non-existent problem,” Jack agreed.
“That no one except this team will even notice occurring,” Sky finished.
Akume must have kept walking then, because Jack added under his breath, “And this team. And the infirmary. And the entire lab, and also anyone on a patrol rotation. We’re gonna need to have a little conference later.”
“I’m on duty,” Sky muttered.
“Well, this is duty-related,” Jack shot back. “Bridge, can you guys do without Sky for an hour? Charlie, you mind?”
She eyed him. “Are you inviting me, or are you asking if I can do without Sky?”
His face broke into a grin. “Both?”
She rolled her eyes. “I’ll think about it.”
prompt #32: fixed
word count: 1300
rating: T
summary: Charlie wasn't totally immune to the fact that he was marrying A Squad Red.
author's note: C Squad's Akume appears with written permission of tsukino_akume and my love ♥
Team Building with Jack Landors (fixed)
by *Andrea
“Tell me Jack didn’t have anything to do with this,” Sky was saying.
Charlie watched Syd’s head tilt innocently. “Jack didn’t have anything to do with this,” she repeated. There was a pause for dramatic effect, and then she added, “With what?”
“Look,” Sky said. “All I want to know is that he wasn’t involved. Because if it was one of you delinquents, I’m going to use it for something, but I don’t want to go screwing this up with stuff I don’t understand.”
He was really serious, Charlie decided. She had no idea what was going on, but she assumed it had something to do with the ring on his left hand. Sky was very... focused. And if Jack had managed to talk him into a marriage proposal, then she was willing to bet Sky wouldn’t think about anything else until the next time there was a gun in his face.
“Hi,” Sophie said cheerily. She paused next to Charlie to survey what had been unofficially designated the A-B table. “How are you this morning?”
“Fine.” Charlie caught Sky’s gaze when he looked up, alerted by Sophie’s greeting, and she raised an eyebrow. He was fucking engaged. Mr. Solitary Super Soldier was engaged.
Sky actually lowered his head, smiling like he’d forgotten how to keep a straight face, and when she kept staring at him he glanced at her again from under his eyelashes. Which was, objectively speaking, a much too adorable look for someone like him. “You confuse the hell out of me,” she announced.
Everyone at the table who hadn’t already turned to see what Sky was looking at did now. Most of Jack’s A Squad then looked back at Sky, as if to see what he would do. Sky’s B Squad, though, looked like they were ready to stare her right out of the mess hall.
No one screwed with Sky on their watch. That was good.
“Are you sure it’s me?” Sky said dryly. He still had that ridiculous smile on his face. It didn’t stop him from pointing at Syd when she set her fork down. “I’m not done with you,” he told her, then pointed at Charlie. “Look in a mirror.”
“If you’re talking about the pictures,” Syd said, “Jack didn’t have anything to do with it. Can I go now? Some of us have things to do before we report!”
This made Dan glance at the clock, but anyone who wasn’t going to go spend an extra hour on their hair had plenty of time. Charlie wasn’t sure how long women-who-were-really-guys spent in the bathroom, but she didn’t care, either. So it worked out.
Sky waved her away, and Syd leaned over to kiss Dan before she got up. Sophie slid into a seat on his other side, so Charlie took Syd’s. “Seriously,” she said. “You turn him down in front of the whole mess hall, and then a few days later it’s all kittens and puppies?”
“Where’s Ally?” Z wanted to know. “Did you eat her, or what?”
“She was late,” Charlie snapped. “I didn’t feel like waiting.”
“Even when I walked in just as she was walking out,” Ally’s voice added, “with a note from my parents and everything. Thanks for breakfast, by the way.”
“Oh, hi, Ally.” Boom lifted a hand in a half-wave, which Bridge immediately echoed. Z nodded in her direction. “You’re looking very pink today!”
Ally apparently knew him well enough to take this as a compliment. “Thanks, Boom.” Coming around the far side of the table, she paused beside Sky and asked, “Someone sitting here?”
“Do you see the tray on the table?” he retorted.
She shrugged, moving to the next seat down. “I thought you might have put it there so it wouldn’t look like no one wanted to sit next to you.”
“Where’s your fiance?” Charlie asked. “Doesn’t seem like him to cause trouble without sticking around to see how it turns out.”
“Where’s your keeper?” Sky countered. “She’s not worried you’re going to make bad breakfast choices without her here to hold your hand?”
She chucked a grape at him, just on principle, and he surprised her by deflecting it one-handed. A blue shimmer flared between his spread fingers as the grape bounced onto Bridge’s tray. She raised an eyebrow. “That’s new.”
“Not really,” Bridge remarked, picking the grape up and studying it briefly before tossing it into his mouth. “Sky’s been able to make forcefields practically since he was born.”
“Hey.” Z picked up a piece of dry cereal from Bridge’s plate and bounced it off of Charlie’s shoulder. “He’s been known to start food fights, so be careful.”
“Why am I involved?” Dan wanted to know, picking up the piece of cereal and throwing it back at Z. “I didn’t do anything.”
She didn’t have to see Jack coming to know that he had just walked in. He must have been right behind them. The red jello on the abandoned tray next to Sky’s place would have marked it as Jack’s even if its location hadn’t. Sky had clearly been expecting his return, because he kept looking up--and when his expression softened, a disgustingly pleased smile not quite hidden on his face, she knew he’d found what he was looking for.
Leave it to Sky. She couldn’t tell if the fact that he was going to marry a man he’d arrested proved that he took SPD more or less seriously than the rest of them. She wasn’t totally immune to the fact that he was marrying A Squad Red, either.
“No throwing food,” Jack’s voice declared. It was followed by a shower of purple sparkly things across the center of the table. “Unless it’s good food,” he added, “in which case, I think we should throw as much as possible.”
Z reached for one, holding up a little purple-wrapped chocolate kiss. “Who did you steal these from?” she wanted to know, ripping it open without waiting for an answer. She popped one into her mouth and tossed a second at Sky.
He didn’t deflect it, Charlie noticed. He just picked it up off his tray and meticulously unwrapped it. She shook her head, scooping up three more pieces of candy and distributing them down the line: one each on Dan’s, hers, and Boom’s trays.
“I didn’t steal them,” Jack protested, swinging into the empty place beside Sky. “Stacy was putting them out in the lobby, and she gave me some when I wandered through.”
Ally scoffed. “You just happened to be wandering through the lobby at seven-thirty on a Monday morning? Who does that? Other than me?”
“Anyone who knows that’s when Stacy puts the candy out,” Z said dryly. “It isn’t the fact that you got candy that surprises me. It’s the fact that you got enough for all of us. Something bad must be happening.”
“An imminent chocolate shortage?” Bridge suggested.
“The trouble with Z,” Jack said, eyeing everyone else’s trays as though deciding what he would most like to have, “is that she knows me too well. We’re about to have a problem.”
Charlie glanced over her shoulder when he paused, because she knew that look. Sure enough, Akume of C Squad had stopped on her way past the table, staring at Jack with wide eyes. “Which we will take care of,” Charlie said, turning back to the table.
“Because it’s a small, almost non-existent problem,” Jack agreed.
“That no one except this team will even notice occurring,” Sky finished.
Akume must have kept walking then, because Jack added under his breath, “And this team. And the infirmary. And the entire lab, and also anyone on a patrol rotation. We’re gonna need to have a little conference later.”
“I’m on duty,” Sky muttered.
“Well, this is duty-related,” Jack shot back. “Bridge, can you guys do without Sky for an hour? Charlie, you mind?”
She eyed him. “Are you inviting me, or are you asking if I can do without Sky?”
His face broke into a grin. “Both?”
She rolled her eyes. “I’ll think about it.”