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I should probably write about Thanksgiving and Black Friday and stuff, huh. Instead, I'm back on a fic kick while on too few hours of sleep. Hoo-ah. |D
~~*~~
"Hey, Rookie." J leaned against the doorframe of the practice studio and hid a grin at the sudden surprise in the newest Agent's tune. It had been a long time since he'd been able to sneak up on someone, even if he hadn't been intending to. "Y'know, if you'd jumped any higher I think you'd've hit the ceiling there," he commented easily.
"Don't scare me like that, man!" Spin finally turned to face him, with a grin that wasn't quite all there and a laugh that wasn't quite sincere. Sounded like the kid was still trying to figure out where he stood.
Good thing J was here to help with that. "Well quit makin' it so easy." He couldn't resist that final jibe, accompanied with what a grin should really look like. "Hey," time for a subject change, "movie night tonight. You comin'?" He nodded his head towards the door. "'Course, it's Missy's turn to pick, so we'll probably wind up with some sorta chick flick, but it's better'n nothing." He watched Spin look towards the door, then the studio's mirror. He could practically hear the wheels in the rookie's head turning, and he heard the tone of the answer before Spin spoke the words.
"Sorry, man. Sounds like fun, but..." Cue a pause that was big enough to drive a truck through. "I gotta practice."
The problem with that reply was, J was not in the habit of taking no for an answer from anybody but the Commander and Chieftain. "Oh come on," he wheedled, wearing that enticing grin that usually worked so well in these situations, "takin' a little time to get outta the suit and relax ain't gonna kill you."
Wait. Why was Spin practicing in his suit? They didn't usually do that - it put a lot of wear and tear on the suits that didn't need to be there, and why was he wearing it in the first place? Had he had a mission?
Yeah, three hours ago.
The pieces clicked into place and J slowly raised an eyebrow. "How long've you been up here anyway?"
"A while," Spin admitted after a long pause. Looked like he'd picked up on J's suspicion.
"Yeah? How long's 'a while?'"
The silence was all the answer J needed. "You've been up here since your mission, huh."
A hesitant nod from the rookie, and was that guilt creeping into his tune? Man, this stuff was not supposed to get this complicated. J shook his head. "All work and no play, man. Can't be good for you. C'mon, take a breather."
He could hear the kid wavering, and- "I missed a couple steps," Spin explained hesitantly. "Trying to get them right before I do anything else."
It was a legitimate answer, sure, but J was having problems getting past the fact that someone would practice that long for "a couple steps." Plus, he'd heard the mission had gone pretty well, considering how new Spin was to this whole thing. "Oh, yeah." He rolled his eyes, easily flipping from wheedling to light sarcasm. "God knows we can't keep you if you aren't perfect."
The shock of sheer, overwhelming terror that blasted through the Music stopped him short. What was- How had- He turned slowly to look at Spin and was met with an expression that dropped his stomach to his shoes. The kid looked for all the world like his worst nightmare had just come true. What was worse was the knowledge that he'd somehow managed to cause it.
For a few seconds J was lost for words, watching in silence as Spin tried to piece his shattered tune back together in light of a revelation that had not been true. "Hey," he finally tried. "Rookie, I- I was kiddin'."
No response.
"Rookie. Hey- c'mon."
Still nothing.
"Rookie-" J shook his head again, this time in frustration at himself, and crossed the studio in several long strides, taking the younger Agent roughly by the shoulders. "Spin. Look at me."
Well, that worked, at least, even if seeing that pang of fear dancing in Spin's eyes suddenly made all of this that much more difficult. It took him a second to find words again. "We're not gettin' rid of you," he finally said, eye contact holding strong and words grounded in the knowledge that he was speaking the truth. "Not now, not ever. Not for any reason. You're part of the family now. You got me?"
A pause, and then a nod from Spin - too quick, too hurried, too easy to please. "Y-Yeah. I got you."
"Don't give me that." J shook his head just a bit, eyes still locked with the rookie's. "Don't tell me what you think I wanna hear - tell me the truth."
The pause was much longer this time, and Spin finally looked away. "I got you, man." It was a quiet admission, and his tune was still limping along after the blow it had received, but J could hear enough to know that that, at least, was the truth. He was going to need to do a lot of damage control, and he knew he'd be spending a lot of time helping Spin out and trying to get him to calm down some, but hey, didn't he do that already? That was what family was supposed to be for, after all.
"So." He put his arm around Spin's shoulders and led him to the door. It wasn't a perfect fix - the kid was still pretty shell-shocked, after all - but it was a start. "How 'bout that movie?"
~~*~~
I'm not too sure how I feel about this one, tbh. About halfway through, I started thinking the whole thing would've been better from first-person Spin's perspective, but it was a bit late to change it then. I'm also not sure I like the ending. This whole thing might wind up rewritten at some point.
WHY DO I DO THIS WHEN I'M TIRED I DON'T EVEN KNOW \O_o/
...it also needs a title. Any suggestions? |D
~~*~~
"Hey, Rookie." J leaned against the doorframe of the practice studio and hid a grin at the sudden surprise in the newest Agent's tune. It had been a long time since he'd been able to sneak up on someone, even if he hadn't been intending to. "Y'know, if you'd jumped any higher I think you'd've hit the ceiling there," he commented easily.
"Don't scare me like that, man!" Spin finally turned to face him, with a grin that wasn't quite all there and a laugh that wasn't quite sincere. Sounded like the kid was still trying to figure out where he stood.
Good thing J was here to help with that. "Well quit makin' it so easy." He couldn't resist that final jibe, accompanied with what a grin should really look like. "Hey," time for a subject change, "movie night tonight. You comin'?" He nodded his head towards the door. "'Course, it's Missy's turn to pick, so we'll probably wind up with some sorta chick flick, but it's better'n nothing." He watched Spin look towards the door, then the studio's mirror. He could practically hear the wheels in the rookie's head turning, and he heard the tone of the answer before Spin spoke the words.
"Sorry, man. Sounds like fun, but..." Cue a pause that was big enough to drive a truck through. "I gotta practice."
The problem with that reply was, J was not in the habit of taking no for an answer from anybody but the Commander and Chieftain. "Oh come on," he wheedled, wearing that enticing grin that usually worked so well in these situations, "takin' a little time to get outta the suit and relax ain't gonna kill you."
Wait. Why was Spin practicing in his suit? They didn't usually do that - it put a lot of wear and tear on the suits that didn't need to be there, and why was he wearing it in the first place? Had he had a mission?
Yeah, three hours ago.
The pieces clicked into place and J slowly raised an eyebrow. "How long've you been up here anyway?"
"A while," Spin admitted after a long pause. Looked like he'd picked up on J's suspicion.
"Yeah? How long's 'a while?'"
The silence was all the answer J needed. "You've been up here since your mission, huh."
A hesitant nod from the rookie, and was that guilt creeping into his tune? Man, this stuff was not supposed to get this complicated. J shook his head. "All work and no play, man. Can't be good for you. C'mon, take a breather."
He could hear the kid wavering, and- "I missed a couple steps," Spin explained hesitantly. "Trying to get them right before I do anything else."
It was a legitimate answer, sure, but J was having problems getting past the fact that someone would practice that long for "a couple steps." Plus, he'd heard the mission had gone pretty well, considering how new Spin was to this whole thing. "Oh, yeah." He rolled his eyes, easily flipping from wheedling to light sarcasm. "God knows we can't keep you if you aren't perfect."
The shock of sheer, overwhelming terror that blasted through the Music stopped him short. What was- How had- He turned slowly to look at Spin and was met with an expression that dropped his stomach to his shoes. The kid looked for all the world like his worst nightmare had just come true. What was worse was the knowledge that he'd somehow managed to cause it.
For a few seconds J was lost for words, watching in silence as Spin tried to piece his shattered tune back together in light of a revelation that had not been true. "Hey," he finally tried. "Rookie, I- I was kiddin'."
No response.
"Rookie. Hey- c'mon."
Still nothing.
"Rookie-" J shook his head again, this time in frustration at himself, and crossed the studio in several long strides, taking the younger Agent roughly by the shoulders. "Spin. Look at me."
Well, that worked, at least, even if seeing that pang of fear dancing in Spin's eyes suddenly made all of this that much more difficult. It took him a second to find words again. "We're not gettin' rid of you," he finally said, eye contact holding strong and words grounded in the knowledge that he was speaking the truth. "Not now, not ever. Not for any reason. You're part of the family now. You got me?"
A pause, and then a nod from Spin - too quick, too hurried, too easy to please. "Y-Yeah. I got you."
"Don't give me that." J shook his head just a bit, eyes still locked with the rookie's. "Don't tell me what you think I wanna hear - tell me the truth."
The pause was much longer this time, and Spin finally looked away. "I got you, man." It was a quiet admission, and his tune was still limping along after the blow it had received, but J could hear enough to know that that, at least, was the truth. He was going to need to do a lot of damage control, and he knew he'd be spending a lot of time helping Spin out and trying to get him to calm down some, but hey, didn't he do that already? That was what family was supposed to be for, after all.
"So." He put his arm around Spin's shoulders and led him to the door. It wasn't a perfect fix - the kid was still pretty shell-shocked, after all - but it was a start. "How 'bout that movie?"
~~*~~
I'm not too sure how I feel about this one, tbh. About halfway through, I started thinking the whole thing would've been better from first-person Spin's perspective, but it was a bit late to change it then. I'm also not sure I like the ending. This whole thing might wind up rewritten at some point.
WHY DO I DO THIS WHEN I'M TIRED I DON'T EVEN KNOW \O_o/
...it also needs a title. Any suggestions? |D
