Under the Mistletoe

Getting Personal

After a night of no sleep as I tried to save everything I brought with me from Italy, I got into my rental car and headed to work. I was able to save a handful of clothes from getting wet and that included two of my flight suits, boots, a few different workout clothes, and my undergarments.

I got out of my car and tied the arms of my flight suit around my waist and once I entered the building, I saw Hangman and Coyote sitting at a table in our debriefing room and Hangman didn't look happy.

"You are like two hours late," Hangman said, throwing his hands up. "What's the deal?"

I took a deep breath, not wanting to take my frustrations out on him.

"If you must know, to top off my wonderful night last night, the water pipe in my wall burst and everything of mine got soaked."

"Ouch," Hangman replied. "Did you get another room?"

"The only barracks that are empty are also in the middle of a renovation" I said as I sat down and huffed, blowing a loose strand of hair from my face. "I can get myself a hotel but I need to find a stupid laundromat to wash my stuff before it's toast."

Hangman and Coyote exchanged looks as I crossed my arms, my nostrils flaring out of frustration.

"Uh, if you wanted to, you could use my machine," Hangman offered.

"Wait, you're actually being nice to me?" I asked, a brow raised in confusion. "What's the catch?"

"First of all, I'm always nice to you, Kazansky. Secondly, there is no catch."

I fake gagged as I turned to Coyote.

"What's with him?"

"Just stop being stubborn before he changes his mind," Coyote replied with a chuckle.

"Or I could always just say screw it and make you carry everything to your parents house which is not nearly as close."

"You know what, I'll shut my mouth if I can use your machine," I replied, offering my hand.

Jake looked at my hand and shook it with a smirk.

"Now get your ass out there and run a check," Jake said as he and Javy followed behind me.

I untied my flight suit and slipped the arms on before zipping it up as we walked outside before checking our jet out, making sure everything was stable before takeoff.

"Preflight check complete! Running clean and hot," I said as Jake climbed up.

Though our day was cut short due to my absence, we were still able to work out some maneuvers and were able to do some dogfighting against Phoenix and Bob.

When we had finished for the day, I went to grab everything I could from the barracks and brought it back to the address that Jake had given to me.

"Jesus how much did you bring?"

"Hangman, I've lived in Italy for four years. I had to pack as much as I could to bring with me so I could survive until the movers bring the rest of my stuff," I sighed as he let me in and led me to his laundry room.

I let my things fall to the laundry room floor and handed Jake a fifty dollar bill for letting me use his machine.

"I don't want this," he replied, handing it back.

"You're letting me use your machine. I kind of owe you."

"Then order dinner or something," he replied.

"I'm dying for Chinese."

"Surprise me. I'm gonna go shower," Jake replied, leaving me alone.

I put my clothes to wash before hopping on top of the dryer and pulled out my phone. Time began to pass and I heard a noise from the hallway and peeked out to investigate. It was Hangman in his room, the door cracked slightly, with a towel around his waist and I reluctantly tore my eyes away.

I don't know what I had expected but washboard abs were not it. I felt my face flush as my mind kept going back to the mental picture of him and within moments he was dressed in a workout tank and shorts and standing in the doorway.

"Did you order something?"

"It should be here any minute," I replied, swallowing hard as I undressed him with my eyes.

"Great," he replied with a raised brow. "Come on, Kazansky."

Jake turned the chime on the washing machine so I'd know when the first load was done and I followed him to the kitchen.

"Want a drink?" Jake asked.

"I'm okay, thank you," I replied quietly. "Thanks again for letting me use your machine. I'd be screwed without your help."

"I'm sure you would've figured something else out," he replied as he leaned back against the kitchen counter.

I sat at the table with a sigh. Despite the fact that I told Hangman that I didn't a want a drink, he still got me a glass of water and brought it to the table.

"Thank you."

"So what's your story?" He questioned.

"I don't have a story," I replied with a shrug.

"Bullshit," he chuckled. "You have brothers that are pilots that you won't talk about and you admitted to us you didn't want to leave Italy."

"Yeah, so?" I asked, raising a brow.

"So who wouldn't want to come home to see their family?"

"Me, I guess."

"So these brothers of yours. Are they the problem?"

"You ask a lot of personal questions, did you know that?" I asked as I tapped my fingers on the table.

"I'll take that as a yes," Jake replied. "One twin, one older I'm guessing?"

"Considering one is a captain, I guess you'd be right."

"There's no way that you wouldn't be daddy's favorite," Jake taunted.

"This is the catch for using your machine," I huffed and leaned my head back against the chair. "I should've known better."

Jake kept his eyes on me and backed off of all of the questions.

"Okay, so tell me this," Jake replied and I braced myself for another inappropriate question. "How'd you get so good at pool? Your old man?"

"Oh no," I laughed. "His RIO, Slider, actually taught me when I was like six."

"Did he teach you to trick people too?" Jake teased and I laughed as I shook my head.

"If I forgive your debt, will you drop it?"

"You drive a hard bargain," Jake teased. "You have a deal."

"You're not too bad, Seresin. You know that? Not bad at all."

I smiled small as I shook Jake's hand for our deal.

"This is the beginning of a beautiful partnership, isn't it?" I questioned.

"So far you're better than Storm. Don't tell anyone I told you that," Jake replied with a wink.

I heard the chime of the washing machine and got up. As I checked the laundry, the doorbell rang and Jake answered.

For the first time since arriving, I was grateful. I felt like I made a new friend and luckily that new friend was my pilot and teammate.

Maybe things would be okay after all.