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jennickels
Yet another mission shot to hell, but Carolina's having a hard time staying mad at York. What with his flowers and awkward flirting.
She was going to kill him. And she knew a lot of ways to do it. Long and painful ones. He'd totally deserve it, too.
Carolina paced the alley, grumbling to herself. They had a timetable to keep. She'd calculated it down to the minute. She didn't have time for a delay. For York to be late. They were supposed to be professionals. She checked the time on her HUD. If he wasn't here in the next sixty seconds she was going on without him. It wouldn’t be as easy, but she could manage. And then they’d leave his ass here.
"Maybe it would teach him a lesson."
"Teach who a lesson?"
She spun, ready to clobber him for making her wait, but then she noticed the flowers in his hand. That was new. "Where have you been?"
"Got tied up. You know how it is."
They spent enough time together that she could picture the exact stupid, cheesy grin York had on his face. She ground her teeth, forcing the image out of her head. "And are those supposed to make up for being late?"
He shrugged. "It is tradition."
Carolina let out a frustrated growl and grabbed the flowers from him. "We don't have time for stupid traditions. We're working." She stomped past him to the only door on the side of the warehouse she'd been staking out the last hour. "There are three inside, four on the roof, and two in a car down the street. And your tradition has cost us precious minutes."
"So's your rant, but you don't see me bitching," he mumbled.
"What?"
His head snapped up. "I mean- I, uh- I left my mic on again, didn't I."
She smacked him with the bouquet. "Quit screwing around, York. I worked hard on this plan. I need this win." She silently turned the doorknob and peeked in. "Clear."
York stayed right on her back as they went in. Way too close. What was his problem?
"You mean," he said, practically in her ear, "that it'll push you above Tex on the leaderboard."
"What else is there?"
York sighed like she was missing the point. "There's a lot more to life than beating Tex. If you'd just look." He mumbled the last part then cleared his throat, stepping away. "We've still got six minutes to clear the building and make the pick-up. So, you want top or bottom. Er, wait. That didn't come out right."
Carolina bit back a smile. God, she couldn't even stay mad him. He was such an idiot. And she was a total sucker for idiots. She could imagine his sheepish look and flushed cheeks. Complete idiot. She glanced down at the tattered remains of the flowers in her hand. It was stupid and sweet at the same time. Totally, York. She swallowed a growing lump in her throat. "I'll take the four on the roof. Meet you at the car in two."
"Two? Getting cocky, Carolina?"
"No, just allowing you the extra time to finish your job. Now get moving."
His chuckles filled her helmet as he disappeared into the shadows. She needed to get her head back in the game. She left the flowers on a windowsill and made her way to the roof. She took the first guy by surprise, but the ruckus from York downstairs—because, God, that man could never do anything subtle—alerted the other three, making her job that much harder. But not by much.
After the last guy was down, she checked her HUD. Shit. Less than a minute to get the hell out of here or they wouldn't make the extraction. She skipped the stairs, sliding down the railings instead and was out the door in twenty seconds. The street was quiet, and there was York leaning against the car looking smug as shit. Well, she assumed he was looking smug because it was York.
"You're late," he said, trying and failing to hide the amusement in his voice.
She rolled her eyes and slapped the bouquet—now mostly stems and a few limp petals—into his chest. "Sorry, honey. Better late than never, right?"
"You shouldn't have."
"I know—you're totally not worth it. Now, let's get out of here or we'll miss the pick-up."
A squeal of static popped from her speakers. "Oh, you were late like ten minutes ago," Wash said. "479er is not happy."
Carolina sighed. Great. Another mission gone to hell. She glanced over at her partner. York was staring at the flowers in his hand, picking each petal carefully.
"Yeah, but York's awkward attempts at flirting were entertaining enough that she's going to let it slide," North added. Carolina could hear Wash and Wyoming laughing in the background.
York's head dropped even farther. "I'm never going to hear the end of this," he muttered.
A warm glow filled her chest, and she couldn't help smiling at him. Complete. Idiot. But now wasn't the time for any of this. She grabbed York's arm and pulled him from the car. "Come on, lover boy. We'll find some way to get back at them."
"Oh, come on, Carolina," said Wash, "throw the guy a bone or something."
"It's just sad," added North.
"Pathetic," Wyoming cut in. "The word you were looking for is pathetic."
York groaned. "I hate them."
Carolina laughed. He was adorable when his friends were kicking him around. Who was she kidding—he was adorable all of the time. Her stomach did that flip-floppy thing it started to do whenever he was around. She was falling for an idiot. She was completely screwed.
York was still holding the flowers, looking dejected even under his armor. She couldn't let him suffer anymore. As the Pelican touched down in the field ahead, she pulled off her helmet and smiled at him. "For the record, my favorite flowers are daisies, but I'd much rather a case of cold beer if you're going to be late."
"I'll have to remember that."
"You better."
