#reddlng

it was a regular round trip, nothing out of the ordinary, up until they were on the way back to the airport. tires were shot out first and before the driver could lose control over the vehicle he was taken out as well. what followed is quick words thrown at each other, commands so they can organize themselves and the realization that hits him that all he had learned during training never really left him and muscle memory also stuck with him. the whole thing didn't go on for very long but his ears are ringing so it's hard to tell when the gun fire actually died down. he's still crouched behind the car, door open next to him to shield him from another side. after another breath, he glances over his shoulder to check for pepper who meets his eyes. unharmed, of course, he expected nothing less. once he got that confirmation and they both agree the air is clear, he pushes himself into a stand. adrenaline still pumping but steady hands on his weapon, he moves over to her. " could have warned me we might be getting a last minute surprise. "

" it's still months away but maddy told me this morning she wanted to dress as Rescue for halloween so i'm gonna have to start working on that costume soon. any tips ? "

with a heavy sigh escaping her, head turns to look at the other. tired, green eyes wandering up from the heels to the worried expression on the other's face. she wonders why pepper would still get worked up when she knows but jill has to remind herself that it can't be helped most of the time. " i'm fine. just ... exhausted. " mentally, that is. she squints then, brows furrowing together as she tries to figure out if someone had called pepper, if she just stumbled upon the scene or if her friend had some sort of eerie sixth sense for these kind of things. jill doesn't bother asking. it doesn't matter much. " i'm about ready to get the hell out of here though. "

"let's play a game where you stop frowning at me."  it's a joke - or at least meant as one.  so far maeve has been good at it:  the juggling of their dynamics.  pepper is as close to a friend as brunette can manage, she's also a great deal of the funding behind the labs maeve runs, the help she offers to the powered people who find they way to her.  she's been so careful at keeping those two things separate… and yet her clothes are dirtied, covered in own blood, half-healed wounds still struggling to close themselves as she sits on other's far too expensive couch. "the blade was laced in something, I think. I don't know what. it's really… messing with my healing though."

“ no offence , but i really hate these meetings . i get the pre - appointment jitters and it fucks with my digestion . ” @reddlng

"Shhh." Kate pressed her finger to Pepper's lips, peeking around the corner to check what she thought she heard — only to find nothing then pulled back to be face to face with her, replacing her finger with a ghost of a kiss.

For research, Thalia had said. They would only be in the library for a few hours to do some research on something they had recently encountered. However that had barely lasted thirty minutes before some unexpected distractions had taken place. Perhaps not that unexpected. Hidden behind a shelf full of history books, Thalia pulled Pepper closer, lips pressed against hers. She could have spent many hours like this, simply kissing the woman she loved. Bumping into shelves, Thalia chuckled against her lips.