Mykola's Safehouse - Miami, FL
Of course, the moment I'm not on the clock, and the thing practically builds itself.
Putting his tools away, Sheridan reached over and cracked the door open a little, listening in on the conversation that was still going on in the other room. Just in time for Alexander to make another pass at Nadya.
Careful, man, Sheridan shook his head, Push too hard, you might find yourself waking up with a hangover next to her dog.
Sitting down in the bed, he slid the finished suppressor into his bag...
"Alright, big guy, your turn."
Afghanistan - Seems like a lifetime ago...
Dozer looked up and blinked.
"Sorry, what?"
He hadn't noticed the woman had moved away from the guy that had been flirting with her, and was now sitting expectantly before him at the bar.
"Dude, you got this," Dozer's squad-mate patted him on the shoulder before moving a few seats down.
Dozer looked back, before looking at the redhead waiting patiently before him. His eyes flicked at the fairly fresh scar running across her nose, before uncontrollably pointing down at the straining tank top under her undone fatigue jacket, then back up.
"Sorry, what?"
Green eyes rolled patiently, before she leaned forward, and blue eyes pointed down again briefly.
"C'mon, 'conquering hero', don't you want to 'claim your prize'?"
"Um..."
"My apologies for making you wait, Mr. Barnum," the bartender said, walking up to them, "Would you like your usual?"
"I, uh..."
"Sure!" she smiled at the tender, "In fact, why don't you serve up two?"
The bartender, slightly surprised, looked at her questioningly, "Are... you certain, miss?"
She shrugged, "Why not? I think I can handle what he's having."
The man quirked a slightly confused smile.
"I am confidant you can, miss," he said, before reaching down.
Two Cola bottles were placed on the bar.
She stared at them for a moment, before looking slightly unbelievingly at Dozer. It took another moment for her to apparently gauge the soldier sitting before her. A small laugh escaped her lips.
"Seriously?" she asked, tilting her head, "Couldn't find a place that served grape nehi?"
"Oh yes, we serve grape nehi," the bartender nodded, "Would you like...?"
Dozer held up his hand to stop him, "No, no, she's just making a joke at my expense, man, don't worry about it."
The bartender paused, before nodding in realization, "Oh yes, MASH reference, my mistake," before excusing himself and moving back down the bar.
The woman lightly tapped her finger on the bottle cap, green eyes again trying to judge what she was seeing, "So...?"
"Last time I had alcohol led to a... less than agreeable state for me," Dozer said, turning to his drink "Something that I'd like to not return to if I can help it."
"Hah. Wow. Okay," she said, looking away for a minute.
"Yeah," Dozer nodded, before indicating the stubborn hair on his chin, "Thrown off by the...?"
"Oh yes," she said, "that definitely sends a different message."
"Can't really be helped. I've burned through so many razors my Sergeant's basically given up, gotten our COs to write an exception for me."
"Is that so?" she laughed, looking back at the soldier.
For a second, Dozer thought she glanced over his shoulder at someone.
"Though what actually threw me off was considering how you just shrugged off a burst of AK fire to the chest," it also sounded like she had raised her voice slightly, "before slamming the shooter's head through the wall."
Dozer thought about it before shrugging.
"'Leven Bang Bang's job is to catch bullets," he said, "Better me than that family, whomever they were."
"And the head slamming?"
"That was just catharsis," Dozer indicated himself again, "I, uh, have a lot of pent up anger."
"Oh I could tell, what with all the shouting, the shooting, and the Hooah chest-thumping."
Before Dozer could answer, he heard a cough behind him.
"Hey, bro. Why don't I buy you a drink?"
Looking behind him, Dozer saw his squadmate, arm around another soldier, walking away from them. Dozer quirked an eyebrow.
"Yeah, well," he continued, "It's also what made alcohol less than agreeable for me, so..."
He looked back at her, and saw she was watching him intently again, tapping her chin in thought.
"Oh Mr. Barnum, I wanted to tell you before I forget again," the bartender returned "I wish to thank you for the work you done on helping build the playground at the school."
All of a sudden, her green eyes lit up, "You don't say. A playground?"
"Oh yes. It is just the latest assistance he has provided. Indeed, much of the building itself has this man's hand behind it in one way or another. I can not tell you how much it warms this father's heart to see his daughter so happy to learn."
"Ah, it's a group effort, sir," Dozer grinned humbly, "I just lugged materials from one spot to another."
"Enough material for three men, Mr. Barnum! All on top of your usual duties, I might add! Once more, I thank you."
The bartender bowed his head, before heading back to work.
"He exaggerates. One and a half, tops," Dozer said, turning back to the redhead.
He was surprised by how much closer she was all of a sudden. Green eyes searched blue as she leaned in.
"Hmm," she hummed, "Trying to soften cashing in the favor?"
Dozer paused questioningly.
"Favor?"
"Oh come on," she smiled knowingly, "big alpha dog like you, reveling in the combat, pulls a nubile damsel out of danger. I see the way you look at me..."
She twisted in her seat, pressing her fatigues down strategically, exposing her generous curves. Dozer found himself standing increasingly at attention.
"...It's only natural," she continued, "And while I appreciate the curveball for flavor, we both know what..."
"Stop," he said.
Dozer reached down, turning her seat until she faced him completely. This time he leaned in, blue eyes bored into green.
"You owe me nothing. Understand?" he said, "Nothing. Your squad was in trouble, that family was in trouble. We were in a position to help. This is our job, what we were trained to do. What I signed on to do.
And would have done whether you were there or not. So yes, you're welcome. That's as far as it needs to go."
For a sec, he registered the faintest glimmer of surprise in her expression. It fading quickly, however, and a vixen-ish grin started to spread on her face. She gently pushed him back.
"Well then, if that's the case," she opened her soda, before intently taking a swig, "If I don't need to give you anything..."
She leaned in once more, this time towards his ear.
"Then maybe I can convince you to give something to me~."
Mykola's Safehouse - Miami, FL - Today
Sheridan snapped out of it as laughter picked up in the other room. Sounded like they were finishing up in there. He put the last of his gear away, and stood up, wiggling a little to, erm, 'relax'. When they were done, they were going to need to set up guard duty for the night. As the heaviest equipped, that probably meant the soldier for one.
'Twas gonna be an interesting night.
