Follow the Code

“”Mozhe bi ne ste chuvali dostatŭchno ot nego, a sled tova." Hristina Ivanov grumbled before she gave Flynn the same assessing look as her son and offered a careless smile and a shrug, crossing to her granddaughter and patting her on the cheek in a would-be affectionate way, though Iva was resisting the urge to wince at the hands so close to her face. "Oh do not misunderstand mladezh, I love all my granddaughters, even Ivy. You will have to forgive an old woman, I suppose I was raised to believe that good girls behave a way, and so do girls who are not. I guess it is old fashioned to expect a young woman to behave herself anymore. But, what is the phrase? ‘Love the sinner, hate the sin’?”

Iva rolled her eyes heavenwards and almost turned on her heel and walked away. This was the type of thing she’d been hearing from her grandmother for years, and it had lost its affect on her ages ago, or so Iva told herself. Still, the fact that the old hag was spouting this in front of Flynn was making Iva think longingly of vodka.

Iva’s mother winced, and Iva noted that she seemed more anxious than was usual, less likely to join in with the family teasing and lecturing that normally occurred. Perhaps the time she’d gone since talking to her daughter had affected her. “Svekŭrva,” she chided before continuing, questions seeming to burst from her mouth before she could stop them “How are you Ivache? How is your doctor visits? Are you doing better?”

"Emilja." Valentin said, laying a hand on the small of his wife’s back and leaning in to mumble something in Bulgarian that Iva couldn’t catch. Standing straight again, he looked at Flynn with a polite but distant smile, suitable for a polite conversation with stranger, but not when you hadn’t seen your youngest daughter for months. "So Flynn, tell us about you."

Iva groaned quietly, letting her head fall forward into her waiting hand. “Daddy-” she started

He watched the reactions and interactions of the group and didn't hide the fact that he was doing so. He had always preferred to be an observer first then a man of action. His own mother would probably have a few too many things to say on the dynamic of Iva's family; a few of those ideals were creeping up in Flynn's mind actually. 

"Hold, Flynn?" Iva’s mother said with a furrowed brow, as if she were trying to remember something, looking over at him. Mrs. Ivanov’s accent was thicker than her husband’s, though better than her mother-in-law’s by far. "This is the man who takes you from jail, ja?”

“"Ja Maika" Iva supplied, jumping on the line of conversation eagerly and unconsciously slipping into the Bulgarian names for her parents that she used to use when she wanted to get on her parents’ good side. She offered Flynn a tense smile. "He is, he’s great."

"Oh, how kind of him." Emilja cooed, flashing a bright smile at her daughter’s companion. "Thank you Flynn, blagodaryá, we were glad to hear she was safe.”

"Hmm, I was not surprised." Hristina Ivanov scoffed gently, crossing her arms and continuing in a passive-aggressive tone. "Little Ivy had good talent for weaseling out of bad situation with no consequences." Speaking to her daughter directly, she offered a smile and deceivingly friendly tone. "Vizhdam, che otnovo sa namerili momcheto da sledvat sled kato zagubeno kuchentse.”

Iva didn’t catch all of the words but she understood the general meaning and she couldn’t help the glare that she leveled at the older woman, merely receiving a raise eyebrow in return. Despite how things had changed since she went to college, Iva never used to really stand up to her parents, let alone her stern, disdainful Baba. She would speak in her own defense of course, but so often her defenses were dismissed and her parents’ words were dubbed ‘teasing’, so Iva had always looked like an overly sensitive, petulant child until she’d rarely bothered. Ever the peacekeeper, Iva’s mother looked between her daughter and mother-in-law and seemed to pick the first topic that came to mind. 

"So Flynn, you are Iva’s… boyfriend?" She asked in a bright tone, nodding in Flynn’s direction and cutting her eyes over at her youngest daughter, hoping to draw her away from the confrontation by talking to him directly about their relationship.

He offered polite smiles to both women, however, and mentioned how it was a pleasure to meet them. He more than anything wanted to retort with how Iva had mentioned them before and it wasn't all bad. Yet he never really got the chance to speak up before he was nodding at Iva's mother. His eyes went down to Iva's and he tried to convey in some way that she didn't have to worry about him. He was already being as polite as he could considering all that had happened between Iva and her parents. 

When glaring started to occur and he sensed the situation was beginning to get more heated than probably most of the group wanted, Flynn happily started to answer the question. The word was still funny to hear but over the past few months, Flynn was beginning to grow to enjoy it. It was at the pat of the hand that Flynn felt justified in taking over a response. His control was only really best when in the field. 

Humming contentedly, Iva enjoyed the quiet chatter around them as they walked around a small park near where Flynn lived. There was some festival or other going on, and Iva was looking over some of the handmade clothing and jewelry as they passed the stalls. She looked over at Flynn and smiled, swinging their loosely interlocked hands between them for a moment. They weren’t really holding hands for any sort of affectionate reason- they were definitely not a PDA couple, but more so they didn’t lose each other in the crowd. As they continued on, Iva resisted the urge to pull Flynn over where some band was providing live music and couples were dancing together in some sort of plaza.

She was focused on the dancers, and didn’t immediately notice that someone nearby her was speaking in Bulgarian. It wasn’t until a familiar voice called out her childhood nickname that she stiffened and turned towards where her parents and, oh no, her grandmother, were rushing towards her. Iva wanted nothing more than to hide behind Flynn, or better yet, to let go of his hand and run away until she could slip into the crowds and make her way back to the apartment. The only thing that kept her rooted was a stupid, tiny niggling of hope that maybe if they saw that she was happy and healthy and obviously doing well- she subconsciously tugged her shirt to make sure her irrigation tube scars were covered.

"Ivache,moeto bebe!" her mother called again in her thick accent as she reached her daughter, throwing her arms around her youngest in a rare but tight hug. Iva let go of Flynn’s hand to return it, if a little hesitantly. After a moment her mother released her from her bone crushing hug and smoothed her clothes carefully, though she still looked like she wanted nothing better to cling to her youngest daughter.

"Vnúchka.” her grandmother greeted her with a fake smile that looked slightly distasteful, though that was how she had looked at her youngest granddaughter ever since Milena had ‘accidently’ told her about Ryan, and how he had tricked the youngest Ivanov into bed. The religious older woman, who still lived in Bulgaria, had halted all affection she ever showed her granddaughter at that point, and had since sent her books, in Bulgarian- a language Iva was far from fluent in, about Catholicism, saints, and abstinence.

“Zdraveite, Baba." Iva replied, slipping into a slight Bulgarian accent that she tended towards when she was home. She offered the older woman a slight wave and wasn’t surprised when it wasn’t returned. Oh well.

Stepping back, Iva looked at her father to see that he was looking at Flynn, and Iva recognized the face he made when he was sizing someone up, Milena hadn’t inherited her biting wit or her ability to accurately judge someone and manipulate them exactly as she wanted them from a stranger. This could end poorly very quickly.

He wondered very briefly if she realized that her hand had clenched his harder than normal as he noticed three people approaching them. Based on the tone in her voice and her general body language, he wondered if he should pull them away now or later. He didn't know any Bulgarian but he could figure out who the three were based on the intensity of the air around them now. Flynn's attention was pulled away from the women as he noticed the older man's eyes on him. 

Would things be too awkward after that outburst? Would Flynn be angry that she had been rude to one of his navy friends? He had looked pretty annoyed in there, but at her or Taylor? Or maybe he just wouldn’t reply- he hadn’t signed on for her drama after all, and after crying over Justin at his place, the hospital incident, and now this… Three strikes.

A desperate anxious feeling clawed at her chest at the thought of Flynn disappearing out of her life. No more of their banter over text, no more stupid documentaries and take out, no more quiet mornings over coffee; losing another friend because she couldn’t keep her feelings in check and her mouth shut. 

Still, when a hand closed over her arm, Iva wasn’t relieved. She was antsy and embarrassed and she just wanted to retreat and attempt to smother herself in her pillow back at home until she could think about this encounter without wanting to smother herself. Tugging at Flynn’s grasp once and finding it too tight to break out of, Iva resorted to merely covering her face with her free hand, squeezing her eyes shut.

He moved only one step closer to get rid of some of the space between them. "Not your fault. She baited and pushed." He shoved his hands in his pockets. "I was sure she'd had gotten over whatever it was she felt for me by now. We haven't spoken in three years." 

"A type?" She asked in an overly curious voice, linking her arm with Flynn’s and looking up at him quizzically but not really expecting an answer. She didn’t care who he had hooked up in the past, though the comparison between the two of them was annoying. "Well, if you’re comparing the two of us, I don’t really see it. I mean, unless you were horribly disfigured between then and now?" Iva asked, pursing her lips and tilting her head in mock confusion. "Either way, you’re right, his company has changed, so maybe you should just leave. There are a ton of you guys meeting at a bar, right? Maybe you’ll find someone else to pine after there.”

Obviously gritting her teeth, the woman took a step closer to Iva so they were almost nose to nose. “Maybe you should think about who you’re running your mouth at, bitch. I could take you down without breaking a sweat.”

Her teeth almost bared, Iva was ready to fight, physically fight. Probably get her ass kicked, she knew that- she wasn’t stupid, but she’d make sure she at least punched this rude ass girl square in the throat before she ended up on the floor. “And maybe you shouldn’t act trashy and flirt with someone’s boyfriend right in front of them!”

Taylor opened her mouth and started snarling something else, but Iva suddenly realized what she had said and jerked back, her face going flat. She stepped away from both of them, eyes darting over to Flynn for a second before she started swearing under her breath.

The threat on Iva from Taylor had him immediately centering back to the present situation. His glare returned and he found himself utterly annoyed with the whole thing. Honestly, there was no need for Taylor to have even started anything in the first place. Iva's words were immediately noticed by Flynn and he couldn't stop himself from staring at her in surprise. 

It took him only a minute to realize Iva was walking out. With a final glare to Taylor and a longing glance to the pleasant dinner they could have had, he was striding quickly out of the restaurant. As soon as he was outside, Flynn was reaching for Iva's arm. "Wait!" His grip was tight out of concern but he released her arm as soon as Taylor's voice hit his ears. A rage appeared inside him. 

Quickly turning to the woman he once respected Flynn's posture changed completely to one of a military officer. "Petty Officer Osborne, you need to watch your attitude and tone right now. I have half a mind to report you to your Chief but out of respect I'm letting you walk away right now." He didn't want to have to pull rank on her but the woman was overstepping. "So walk away. You may be on leave but you are still part of the Navy, regardless if you're in civies or uniform." The brunette took a step backwards at the authoritative tone being thrown at her and before she opened her mouth again she stormed back into the restaurant. 

Iva all but saw red. Was this woman serious? Her fake smile disappeared for exactly an instant and then grew brittle. It was for Flynn’s sake that she didn’t lose her cool right there. One of the things about Iva was she was raised with two older sisters, she grew up getting interrupted and talked over, and what she had learned in the years since Milena had left the house for school was that she really didn’t fucking like it.

And when the woman started blatantly hitting on Flynn in front of her, Iva decided that she was done being nice. The anger that had been steadily bubbling in her chest exploded and she inhaled sharply, her eyes narrowing, even as her smile remained firmly in place.

"He sure does." Iva said in a tone that did very little to disguise how she was feeling, taking a step closer to Flynn. "Well Taylor, I don’t mean to be rude-" actually she completely did. "But Flynn and I have dinner plans." she said, motioning to the table. "So. It was… interesting meeting you. Have a nice day."

Taylor scoffed, looking at Iva for the first time since they’d been introduced. “Excuse me? Are you trying to dismiss me?”

A small part of him was impressed by how Iva was handling the other woman but knew what her temper could lead her to do. However, his sister always advised him to stay out of the quarrels of women. Even if he was terribly worried over the amount of violence that it could potentially lead to. Taylor's posture straightened and he noticed her immediate change. This was bad. 

Iva’s immediate reaction was hurt, followed by an anger that had her clenching her jaw and throwing open the door to stalk towards them. Fuck, I know we never agreed to be exclusive but are you really hitting up some other girl while waiting at a restaurant for me? At least when I was seeing other guys I was subtle. Luckily, by the time she was halfway across the restaurant she had managed to talk herself down with several deep breaths and a firm reminder that she really didn’t have a claim on Flynn, and getting shitty and jealous would only make her look stupid.

Squaring her shoulders and putting on a sweet, fake, smile that didn’t reach her eyes, Iva stepped next to Flynn, offering him a real smile for an instant before glancing towards the other girl just in time to see her judgmental once over. Iva scoffed internally, looking over the girl with disdain. I’m prettier, and I dress better. she thought to herself I know that military girls need to be tough, but does that mean they forget what hair products and nice clothes are when they’re on shore leave?

"Yeah, same." Iva said in reply, her tone cheerful but telling the girl clearly that she had no use for her. "Nice to meet you."

"Anyway," Taylor had immediately put all her focus on Flynn, trying to ignore the way seeing him touch Iva made her feel. "We're heading out to a couple bars tonight if you wanted to come." 

"Ah, thanks but I'm actually out of the party scene for a while." Flynn wasn't really one to enjoy long nights out anymore. He'd become far too accustomed to spending nights in, specifically with Iva. 

"Really?" Taylor looked at him completely surprised. "What happened to you? Getting old there?" 

He shook his head, "Definitely not." 

We will never quit. We will persevere and thrive on adversity. Our nation expects us to be physically harder and mentally stronger than our enemies.

If we get knocked down, we will get back up, every time. We will draw on every remaining ounce of strength to protect our teammates and to accomplish the mission.