Who: Agent Washington, Agent Carolina, Agent York When: August sometime Where: Bowling Alley What: Something fun… with nachos and beer Rating/Warnings: Low/None Status: Complete when posted
It’d been a long few weeks (months?) for York. And even longer for Carolina, and even longer for Wash. These Dreams really fucked with a person. York had Dreamed about meeting Carolina in some weird, science-fiction, futuristic world. He’d Dreamed about losing his eye, he’d Dreamed about leaving the infirmary before he was supposed to, and jumping right back into action. And the funny part was how much it sounded like his Real Life. It mirrored it to a point that kinda scared him. Because he would have done the same if he could. So he suggested Bowling to his friends. A night of drinks and laughs. He wanted to find out about who they were now they weren’t in the service. He wanted to find out about who Carolina was seeing, and who Wash spent his time with. What they were doing now, and where their passions were. He wanted his friends. He needed them.
York arrived early to the bowling alley. He wanted to get a couple drinks in before Wash and Carolina showed up, wanted to scope the place out. He wasn’t sure how his lack of depth perception was going to affect his scores, and he knew how crazy Carolina would be with her competitiveness. That didn’t bother him. He ordered a pitcher of some nice beer (not the cheap stuff) and an extra large plate of nachos, then sat in the snack bar to wait for his friends.
Bowling. Wash couldn’t remember the last time he’d been in a bowling alley. However, once inside the distinctive smell of old carpet, wax and the thundering sound of bowling balls traveling down the alley brought back memories of being a little kid attending birthday parties at the local alley near where he grew up. Happy memories for a change.
Wash found York hanging out in the snack bar. “Hey, man,” he said, alerting York to his presence before taking a seat next to him. It was going to be unavoidable at some point to not approach York on his blind side, and Wash trying now to get into the habit of letting his buddy know where he was.
After their meeting at the park and the subsequent night of drinking until each of them had been falling down drunk, the awkwardness between the two men had seemingly diminished considerably. Things would probably never go back to the way they had been during their days on duty, but it was getting closer. Wash was getting used to the idea of York being around again, that he was on the Network and Dreaming along with himself and Carolina. He still didn’t like what the Dreams had in store for his brother-in-arms, but at least he was prepared for it now.
“Been here long?” Wash asked helping himself to the nachos and the beer.
Pocketing her keys, Carolina eyed the alley a bit dubiously. It had been years since she had attempted to bowl, but hopefully it would come back before York or Wash managed to get too far ahead. Sure, the meeting was an opportunity to hang out as friends, catch up and all that, but she still wanted to beat the pants off of the two men. Above all, there was no way in hell she would allow them to wipe the floor with her like Kanan still did at pool. Damn him.
She spotted the two of them seated at the bar and could not help a small smile. Regardless of everything they had gone through in real life and the Dreams, it felt damn good to see the two of them, alive, and chatting away like the old friends they were. At least, she hoped they still were. There was still a lot that was unsaid between her and York- James, but none of those comments were suitable for a bowling alley. Hell, she’d prefer to put that particular discussion off as long as possible. Never would suit her just fine.
“I see you two found the snack bar.” Like Wash, Carolina announced her presence before reaching between them to grab a chip from the plate.
It was a good thing for Wash and Carolina to let York know that they were approaching. He'd experienced a bit of one-eyed-ness from his Dreams, and a bit from Real Life, but he was still adjusting. It was a big thing to adjust to. His counsellor over at the VA kept telling him he could still drive, he just needed to take a special test. But he wasn't ready. That was a lot of responsibility.
He smiled over at Wash, "only long enough to order a pitcher and some nachos, and--" York stopped, though, when Carolina wandered over. His head turned at the sound of her voice and he let his gaze wash over her a moment. "It's only the best place in the bowling alley. Most attractive staff, too," he added, nodding once at the young woman who was tending the snack bar. She was mid-twenties, and very pretty. York had been flirting with her ever since he arrived.
Wash was already into the pitcher of beer and plate of nachos when Carolina arrived. He glanced over his shoulder at his sister when he heard her. He didn’t have the same peripheral vision impairment York had, but he wasn’t all that keen about people coming up behind him. Grey eyes occasionally scanned the snack bar and the bowling alley beyond. He didn’t even know what he was looking for any more, the vigilant habit was so ingrained in him.
There was a part of him that thought this should be strange, the three of them hanging out like this, but it wasn’t. It felt familiar and, in some strange way, a bit comforting. Wash could feel Epsilon stirring a little more than usual, obviously confused over the fact that York was alive and sitting with them talking and joking as usual. Hopefully the ghost would settle down regarding this turn of events. Wash certainly hoped so.
“Should we get a lane?” He asked after he’d glugged down some of the beer York had gotten for them. He glanced between York and Carolina, “we can take food down to the lanes, right?”
“As far as I know.” Carolina turned to check the other side of the alley. About half of the lanes were occupied with a mix of casuals and professional bowlers getting in some practice, by the looks of their shoes and personalized bowling balls and gloves. None of them were armed. She eyed the woman behind the counter and had to stop herself from smiling. The girl was indeed sneaking glances their way. Best not to mention that.
“There's a lane free at the end over there.” By the fire escape. She knew it would be easier to focus on the game if there were fewer distractions. “I'll grab some shoes and meet you over there. And there had better be some beer left for me when I do.” Carolina threatened with a wave of another chip.
Oh, there were going to be plenty of pitchers. Each of them could easily down an entire one by themselves, so York was planning on springing for at least three. And the nachos. There should be pizza, too, and possibly something dessert-like afterward. York turned to look at the end of the bowling alley, and nodded. “All right. I’ll just settle up with the waitress here.”
York lifted a hand to call the waitress over. And jeez, she seemed to be taking her sweet time. She glanced at the table a couple of times from behind the counter, fiddling with her paperwork. York assumed she was just totaling up their bill. He smiled at her every time, if he could make eye contact. She wasn’t always looking at him, though.
Wash needed to get a pair of bowling shoes too, as he doubted his combat boots would be allowed to scuff up the floor of the lanes. So while York attempted to settle his tab at the snack bar, he went with Carolina to the shoe rental counter.
Once he had acquired a pair of goofy looking shoes (bowling shoes always made him think of clown shoes for some reason) he joined York back at the snack bar while Carolina went to stake their claim on the lane by the fire exit. He figured he could provide an extra set of hands to carry another pitcher of beer (which he planned to order for himself) and whatever other food York was getting.
No sooner had he rejoined York at the table than the snack bar girl appeared at their table, apparently done with whatever paperwork she had been doing instead of providing excellent customer service. “Hi, there,” she beamed.
“Hi,” Wash greeted in return. He wasn’t as quick with a smile as York was. “Can I order another pitcher of beer for the lane?” He asked, indicating the mostly empty pitcher currently on the table.
“Of course,” The girl nodded her head and quickly went to fill the order. Wash glanced at York, “you settle up?”
It was easy enough to keep an eye on the events at the snack bar as Carolina laced up the clown shoes that doubled as proper bowling footwear. She was right; the girl had been making doe eyes at Wash. Poor York likely never stood a chance. He should’ve opened with a pickup line.
First things first, once they came over she was definitely going to pour herself a pint of beer and let the two boys get settled. She had spent so long as their CO that she wanted to make a point of not taking the lead and setting everything up. You know, like picking out a few bowling balls of approximately the weights they would be comfortable with and placing them on the rack. Or the fact that she had picked out the lane. Carolina sighed to herself. Well, she was definitely going to let them be the ones to start the game. As long as they hurried the hell up.
“Actually, this is the first I’ve seen of our beautiful waitress since you left for shoes.” York said, his eyes never leaving the pretty waitress. She didn’t seem to have much interest in York, though, as she only had eyes for Wash.
“I’ve got your tab open,” she said, chewing on some bubble gum. “And another pitcher’s on the way.” A bright grin was settled on her lips, and she licked them once. After a quick glance at York, the young woman pulled a yellow slip of paper out of her pocket, and stuffed it into Wash’s hand, giving him a wink. “Can I get you anything else?”
York frowned, pulling a credit card out of his wallet, and held it out to the waitress. “ Charge it all to this one.” Then he climbed from his seat to bring all the things he could carry over to the lane where Carolina was.
The yellow slip of paper had the waitress’s name and phone number on it.
Wash looked down at the piece of crumpled up paper that had been thrust into his hands. He saw a name and a number. Oh. Well, this was awkward. Wash looked back up at the girl, who in turn, winked at him playfully before scurrying off to attend to another customer, and fortunately sparing Wash any kind of awkward continued conversations.
Not really sure what to do with the paper with the number on it, Wash stuffed it into his pocket gathered up the pitcher of beer he had ordered along with one of the other snacks York had gotten them.
He joined his two cohorts at the lane and set the second (technically third) pitcher down along with the plate. He glanced at York a little sheepishly. “Sorry about that,” he said.
“‘Bout time.” Carolina drawled as the two men arrived at the lane. First order of business for her was pouring a pint of beer and settling down with it on one of the seats against the wall. Let the men fight over setting up the computer. After a moment she tilted her head, studying them. There was a slightly resigned set to York’s shoulders and a sheepish look on the rookie. Apparently, Snack Girl had already made her move. Good for her.
“So, Wash… you gonna call her?” The redhead took a sip of beer to hide the small smirk on her lips.
York had a suspicion that the waitress wasn't interested. He'd totally lost his game. He was convinced that it had to do with his eye, but that wasn't entirely true. He hadn't messed around too much with women or flings or relationships since... well, since Carolina. Since he and Carolina were a thing oh-so many years ago.
He'd moved straight to the computer thing and used the touch screen to write in all their names. Or, nicknames. He was actually enjoying putting in the nicknames, coming up with phrases for the lot of them. Half-Shark, The Rookie, and Amazing Cyclops were all set up to play their first round when Carolina asked Wash if he was going to call... someone?
"Who you gonna call?" York asked, turning to grin at his friend over his shoulder. Then he whispered "Ghostbusters." He couldn't help it.
Wash half-frowned at their names displayed over head. He had to give York credit. When it came to naming people, he was one of the most creative people Wash knew. Amazing Cyclops was York’s name for himself, Wash was sure. Half-Shark suited Carolina. So that left -
“Hey!” He protested. “Why am I ‘The Rookie’?” It was a weak-hearted protest, harking back to their days of service together when Wash objected to being called Rookie during their down time. He gave York a look that was both teasing and questioning at once. “You realize that I’ve been here longer than the two of you combined, right?”
Not that he expected that to actually change anything. His protests had never gotten anyone on the squad to stop calling him Rookie during their down time. He couldn’t remember who had started calling him that first, York or Carolina, but it had quickly spread and it wasn’t long before the entire squad was referring to him as The Rookie as often as they did his codename or his actual name. It was almost a term of endearment at this point.
Wash had hoped Carolina hadn’t actually seen the Snack Bar Girl give him her number. He should have known better. Carolina saw everything. It’s what she did. “Ehh,” he half-shrugged as he poured himself a beer from the pitcher he brought. He glanced up at York as the other looked over his shoulder at him and whispered “Ghostbusters”.
Wash blinked and then laughed. “I ain’t afraid of no ghost.” He looked over at Carolina, brows raised in prompt to get her to geek with the two of them.
“If you don’t understand, then you’re definitely still the rookie.” Carolina chuckled. Sure, he had been in Orange County longer than they had, but that wasn’t the point. The nickname had indeed become more of a term of endearment than how green he was. He could be sixty years old and she would still be calling him ‘Rookie’. Not that she was about to let Wash know that part. Some things he would have to figure out for himself.
Looking up at the other names, Carolina frowned at the one she more than suspected was supposed to be hers up on the board. Amazing Cyclops was obviously York, which left her as... Half-shark? What the hell was that supposed to mean? The look was then turned toward the culprit in question, who had turned to look at Wash. She was going to get him back for that.
Standing, Carolina headed to the machine. “Half-Shark” was first up. “I make it a rule never to get involved with possessed people.” She quoted as she picked up one of the balls. “Actually, it’s more of a guideline than a rule.” Thank god there was an inanimate object in her sights. It made her almost feel sorry for the pins that were about to get bowled over. Almost.
The conversation had moved past the girl’s phone number, and for that York was grateful. But he was a little bummed at how much game he’d apparently lost. When did Wash get all the game? That was neither here nor there, though, as Carolina went on about… possessed people?
“I think I lost the line of conversation in there somewhere.” York moved over to the rack with all the bowling balls and started to lift them, weighing out the different balls and trying to figure out what weight he wanted. A fifteen pound ball seemed perfect. He collected it to bring it back to their lane. “Who wants to date possessed people?”
“It’s a line from the movie,” Wash said, with a bit of a smirk. He was the resident geek here, it was his job to educate his brother-in-arms. “About three-quarters of the way through when Sigourney Weaver’s character is possessed by the Gate Keeper. You know, after the scene where she’s groped by her char? ‘There is no Dana, only Zuul.’” He took a liberal gulp of his beer. “You brought up Ghostbusters, man. You have to expect quotes. It’s like one of the best movies to come out of the 80’s.”
The pins never stood a chance. Carolina walked back to the seats with a smirk on her face and her pony tail twitching like a cat’s tail. “Ten points to Gryffindor.” If they were going to nerd out, then she was not about to hold back. Well, maybe she would hold back a little. She doubted the other two would appreciate too many of her math jokes. At least one person had laughed at her math jokes. Even if she suspected that they had been filed under “cute” instead of “funny”.
Picking up her beer, Carolina sat down and paraphrased the next quote in a loud whisper to Wash. “We’ve been going about this all wrong. This Mr. Amazing Cyclops’ okay! He’s a Marine, we’re in the O.C. - we get this guy laid, we won’t have any trouble!” Oh yeah, she was still pissed about the half-shark remark.
"Oh, Jeez," York frowned at himself, shaking his head a little, hands on his hips. "I can't believe I missed that. Maybe it's time for a re-viewing." Then, with a smirk, he tried to shift the blame. Of course, it was in a teasing way, obviously playfully. "Hey, maybe I was quoting the song, man."
He turned to pour himself another beer from one of the pitchers (they had three, didn't they? Probably enough alcohol for twice their number, but whatever.) and shrugged his shoulder. "I always thought Rick Moranis and Sigourney Weaver made a ridiculous pairing in that scene. The Stay-Puft Marshmallow man was awesome, though. I remember as a kid wishing I'd been there so I could have eaten big gobs of marshmallow off my face."
York had read the Harry Potter books. The whole squad had, so far as he knew. Those books were passed around like herpes. Everyone had them at some point. He didn't really consider himself to be Gryffindor. Didn't Delta make him Ravenclaw? Maybe he was more Hufflepuff.
Anyway, now she was talking about getting him laid? "Wait, you don't mean getting me laid?" He asked, frowning at Wash for back-up. Then he remembered Wash got the digits he'd been vying for all night. He frowned back over at Carolina. "I'm doing fine in that department, thanks."
“Oh, yeah, gobs of Other-Worldly marshmallow…” Thoughtful pause, beer glass to his lips. “Hn. I wonder how that would taste…”
Wash was already a pint and a half ahead of Carolina and York. If asked, he’d use the excuse that the beer made him bowl better, and hadn’t Carolina given some sort of vague threat if he lost to York? Seemed perfectly plausible.
It was apparently his turn since “The Rookie” fell between “Half-Shark” and “The Amazing Cyclops”. So Wash temporarily abandoned his mostly drank beer to pick up the ball meant for him and take his turn knocking down a bunch of defenseless white pins. Two turns of hurling the ball down the lane resulted in a seven-ten split, which considering Wash couldn’t even remember the last time he’d been bowling, wasn’t too bad.
He returned to the seats in time to hear York protest that he was capable in getting himself laid. Wash wasn’t buzzed enough to miss the look York was giving him. Nope, Wash didn’t doubt for a second that York was capable enough to get laid if he really set his mind to it. Wash had seen the master at work several times back in their service days. “It’s true,” he told Carolina with a sage and solemn nod. “I’ve seen it. Well...not it, because...gross.” Glance at York, “No offence man,” and then back at Carolina. “But, yeah, he does pretty good.” Was this awkward? This seemed awkward. Or maybe Wash’d had more beer than he thought. Or...maybe not enough. Probably the latter.
“Yeah...so, I have a confession to make,” he said reaching for his glass again. “I never read any of those Harry Potter books.”
“Well, you got the first quote, but not the second.” Carolina mused, taking a longer drink of beer. Or maybe Wash hadn’t heard it. Entirely possible, considering he had been up and bowling. She was going to need a lot more alcohol for this conversation, her bowling score be damned.
“Wash!” Came the chastising frown. “I know the books were passed to you at one point. Don’t tell me you just let them sit for a while and then passed them on?” It had started as some form of team-building exercise and she had let it run because, hey, the books had actually been interesting. Except now she was finding out the supposed nerdiest of them all had somehow managed to avoid it. Now that the movies were out, Carolina considered goading him into a marathon as punishment.
The next pint was gone and she was pouring herself another when she realized what had been implied. “Wait, you mean you’ve seen him in action? That sounds like a story to me.” Carolina leaned forward. This probably would have been awkward sober, but after a few pints she would be happy enough to blame it on the alcohol. “Please tell me he used a pick up line. He has the best lines.”
Hey, having Wash on his side was great. The younger man had absolutely seen York in action. Clubs, whatever. York took home some pretty ladies. Of course, at the time it'd been to take his mind off of Carolina, but Wash never knew that. And the hunger--the longing--for her had faded in time. Never gone, but softer and duller than before.
York missing quotes left and right was nothing in comparison to Wash's bombshell. The one-eyed man turned to stare at his friend blankly, shocked by that confession. Now he glanced at Carolina for back-up, or to back her up?
"No no, we're not moving on to my pick-up lines. This is a more important question. Why on Earth didn't you read those books? They're so good." Okay, maybe York was a bit of a fan. He was man enough to admit it. Besides, Potterhead chicks were hot. All in their Hogwarts robes and everything. Schoolgirl skirts and whatnot.
Wash blinked at both York and Carolina over the top of his glass. He shrugged and grunted something that sounded like “I dunno,” into his beer he as he finished it off, already having lost count how many he’d had.
Was it really that surprising that he hadn’t read the books? He had kept his more geeky hobbies under wraps while he’d been in the service. His stepfather had been merciless about the comic books and video games, destroying game cartridges or CD’s, ripping comic books to shreds just because he could, calling Wash all kinds of names.
So Wash had kept his interests to himself. At least in the earlier days. It hadn’t been until towards the end of his career when he’d been a little more open to a few of the others. York he could trust. North and Connie too. He had assumed Carolina had known, even back then, because Carolina knew everything.
“Guess I just didn’t see what the hype was about,” he admitted carefully. “When the books got to me I usually just handed them off to South. Usually she just took them anyway after – oh, hey! York, I think you’re up.”
“That explains it.” Carolina rolled her eyes. South had probably hated to admit how much she had wanted to read them. Requisitioning them from Wash after their...meetings was probably the easiest way to get her hands on them. It also explained Wash’s reluctance to join in any of the Harry Potter jokes that had inevitably come through the comms after that. At the time, she had thought he had simply still been too reluctant to admit his nerdish tendencies.
Of course Carolina had known about Wash’s love for comics and video games long before he had chosen to tell them. It had been her job to know everything about the men (and women) she commanded. Still, she had only made the connection between the days Wash was far more tired than usual and the release dates of certain video games because the dates had been announced in the window of the game store beside her favorite coffee house. The information had proven very useful later when she used those comics to blackmail her brother into talking to her again.
“You know, I’m sure we can rent the movies for you, Wash.” Reaching over to pick at the nachos, she wondered if it would be worth it to just buy the set while they were at it. Not for her, of course. For Wash. So that he would finally understand all of the Muggle jokes. And perhaps she would as a break from her normal reading when she was unable to sleep.
“Yeah, Amazing Cyclops, it’s your turn.” Green eyes looked innocently back at York. Oh, she fully intended to pry the pick up line story from Wash as soon as the man was not there to try and get them off-topic again.
York had to walk up to the place where the balls come out, and picked up the ball from the tray. It was far enough away from the pair of them that they could continue talking and drinking without him. York was a pretty good bowler, so he ended up with a spare.
“Rent?” Wash raised a brow. “Do people even rent movies anymore? Where would you even do that? I haven’t seen a Blockbuster store in fucking ages.” He figured there may still have been Mom And Pop rental places still around, small stores with limited selections, but these days most people did their “renting” on-line.
Most of the pitcher he’d gotten for himself was gone and he smirked a little drunkenly at Carolina. “Y’know, if didn’t know any better, I’d say you were more interested in seeing them than I am. Not that there’s anthin’ wrong with that. Everyone’s got something they geek over.”
Carolina barely stopped herself from frowning at the ever-increasing slur in Wash’s speech. This wasn’t the time, nor the place, for those sorts of things. Her first thought was to ask for York’s opinion on it later - it was practically an ingrained reaction with the man still within view - but she waved the thought away. They were no longer a unit and York was no longer her XO. He was James, they were all fucking civilians, and Wash was her brother. The least she could do was save the frowning until they were back home.
“It’s called RedBox, Rookie.” Walking over to Wash, Carolina refilled her empty glass from his pitcher. “And they’re fucking everywhere. If you haven’t seen one, perhaps you should try opening your eyes.” She took a long drink from the glass before setting it down and heading to bowl. It was her turn, after all.
Even with another pint in her system, the pins still went down, almost as if they were afraid of what would happen if they failed to do so. Carolina may not have liked the nickname York had given her, but most people who knew her would likely not argue with it.
“I never said I didn’t have something I enjoyed nerding over.” Was her first comment upon returning. “And don’t think you’re going to get out of the required reading just because South isn’t here to steal your books.”
York wasn't expecting to win this game. Not by a longshot. But at least he'd start out strong. That seemed to be the way of it--his first few frames were really solid, strikes and spares, and then the beer and arm fatigue(?) kicked in. He'd probably trail down into fewer and fewer pins starting around frame six.
He gulped from his glass, which wasn't quite empty yet. He'd refill soon. And he side-eyed at Wash, having caught the look on Carolina's face. It was a little unnerving how drunk Wash was pretty much every time they hung out lately. He couldn't blame the guy, really, because Wash was going through serious, serious shit. York figured he'd do the same.
"I could stand to watch all those movies again." York supplied. He didn't mean to interrupt the siblings' squabbling. Of course, Wash and South weren’t as sneaky as they thought they were. “Not all at once, or anything.”
Wash had thought he and South had been sneaky. Of course, looking back on it now with 20/20 hindsight vision, he realized they hadn’t been quite as sneaky as they had thought. South sneaking into Wash’s bunk at O’Dark Thirty would not have gone unnoticed. They didn’t keep a schedule or anything, and it was usually South who decided when and where their liaisons took place. Wash had never argued or pushed. It had been a simple unspoken arrangement between the two of them whenever South was feeling especially randy (which was more often than one might think) or when pressure after a particularly difficult mission was too much and either - or both - of them were in need of a release. It always struck Wash a little funny how South had been able to read him like...well...like a book.
They never spoke about it to each other, and they certainly never said anything to any of their fellow squad members. At least Wash hadn’t. He had no idea what, if anything, South and Connie talked about behind closed doors. The one thing he and South had verbally agreed on was that a word about what they were doing was never to be breathed to North. However, again looking back, North would have had to have been blind or an idiot not to notice something, and North was neither of those things.
Where were they?
Wash glanced up and caught the frown pulling at Carolina’s mouth. It was a frown he was seeing more of lately and he caught himself before mirroring it back at her. Unbeknownst to Wash (and probably Carolina too, if he knew what was good for him) Kanan had dubbed the look the Church Scowl.
“You think all five...six?...seven?...movies are going to be available at a Redbox?” Wash asked genuinely curious. He a raised brow when Carolina helped herself to his pitcher and emptied what remained into her glass. Then shrugged and reached for the pitcher York had brought. “I mean, I don’t have anythin’ against watchin’em,” he looked at York as the other man rejoined them. “She’s gonna make me read the books ain’t she?”
Luckily for Kanan, Carolina had not heard that he had named their particular manner of frowning at one another. Otherwise the frown would likely have been directed at him instead. In any case, the frown was gone by the time York returned from his turn bowling. Maybe Wash just needed a distraction. Luckily for Wash, she knew that York was exceptionally good at distractions.
Maybe too good. Hm. Well, hopefully the two of them would not get into too much trouble. She might not be their CO, but Carolina had a feeling that she would still somehow be the one the authorities called to pick them up if they were getting a bit too rowdy at a bar or club.
“There are eight movies, Rookie. I think the newest ones still are, but we would probably do better to just buy the set online. That way we can start at the beginning.” Carolina set down her pint and headed up to take her turn. She heard the ‘complaint’ made to York and smiled to herself, not even bothering to look back at Wash. Of course she was going to make him read the books. Overlooking harmless fraternization on her squad was one thing, ignoring required reading was something else entirely.
York would absolutely love to be a distraction for Wash. But at the moment, he was starting to grow concerned for the younger man. He didn't want to overstep his bounds, though, so he kept a lid on it. And poured himself another beer. He could sip slowly between frames, watching the others play and jumping in where necessary.
Like now.
"Yeah, I think you're out of luck, there. Surely you've got some friends who own copies of those books?" He asked. Not like York had friends in the area, really. But Wash had been there longer. York's brother and sister-in-law didn't have them, he didn't think. And, besides, they were giving him a place to stay, so he felt bad asking to borrow books, too.
Wash had friends, yes, but he didn’t sure how many - if any - had any of the Harry Potter books, and he wasn’t too sure about asking, either. “Maybe it’ll be easier if we just bought’em,” he said. This was starting to turn into a project. A Potter Project. Wash smirked at the way that sounded in his head.
“And if I’m readin’ the books, that means you gotta come over and sit through the movies with me,” he told York. Not that he thought York would mind. He seemed to enjoy the books. At least Wash thought he did. His memory said he did, but his memory, especially of the last ten years, wasn’t the most reliable.
Wash shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck near the data jack. Too much crowded thought. Still too much whispering. He glanced up at the score illuminated overhead. Oh! It was his turn. He drained his glass and got up to bowl his set. As buzzed as he was, he wasn’t doing too badly. In fact, he’d go so far as to say that the beer was actually helping him. He hadn’t gotten a strike just yet, but he was doing pretty good with the spares.
“As long as you read the books before watching the movies.” Carolina shook her head. She knew that York had greatly enjoyed the series and would probably bug Wash enough to read the books, so long as they actually had a copy. “But yeah, we might as well buy ‘em. You get the books, I’ll get the DVDs.” It was a compromise. Of sorts.
A movie night sounded both ominous and fun. Carolina was not big on movies. If there were a way for her to read the books and skip the movies, she would probably take it. Then again, it might be nice to have some sort of social interaction that did not include a gym or large pitchers of beer...perhaps she would make an exception. “Why don’t you ask Anna if she wants to join you for the movies.” She nudged Wash with her foot. “She’d probably enjoy watching them, too..”
“Anna?” York came back over after taking a turn, grinning in a slightly sloppy way. He’d done what he’d expected; each of his frames went down by a pin or two since the first three. (They were always the best.) There was a strike in there, and a couple of spares, but he was pretty much barely going to break one hundred.
“Wait, is that the girl you’ve been seeing?” York asked, turning to look over at Wash. He was curious about the rookie, and how suddenly Wash seemed to have more play than he did. How? Whatever. But so long as Wash was happy, York was happy for him. (Especially considering how happy Wash always seemed when he talked about her.) “I don’t think you ever told me her name.”
“We’re not seeing each other,” Wash said carefully. He and Anna weren’t dating, and they weren’t exclusive with one another. Nevermind that Wash wasn’t sleeping with anyone else. Despite what York may have witnessed, it wasn’t as though Wash had a line of women wanting to date or sleep with him and Wash really wasn’t looking, either. “We’re friends,” he shrugged, “and we just happen to sleep together sometimes.” Well, they were sleeping together often. Anna had an appetite and really, Wash was only happy to provide.
He was grinning though, a dopy kind of smirk now that Anna had come up in conversation. “Didn’t I tell ya her name? Coulda sworn I did.” Memory, what a kick in the ass. “Yeah, she’s probably already seen the movies, though.”
“She’s a cute kid. Like sunshine on red bull.” Carolina confirmed. Sure, she might be one of the few people not teasing Wash about having additional feelings beyond friendship for Anna, but that did not mean she wouldn’t tease him at all about it. Hell, how could she resist when every time she came up in conversation Wash started to grin like he’d found a golden ticket in his powerbar or whiskey bottle.
“Probably, but she might want to see them again anyway.” With York as backup, Carolina was sure they would likely end up teasing him relentlessly - much like they were starting to do now - and Wash might appreciate someone else in his corner. Granted, Anna might end up a giggling, naive corner that hindered more than helped the situation, but she’d be there for him nonetheless. Which meant they could tease him even more.
“Yeah, why wouldn’t she want to see them again?” York could absolutely watch those movies over and over. “If she’s all sunshine, I’m sure she’d like them.” York gulped from his glass, settling in beside Wash to wait for his next turn. Wash may not have been seeing this girl, but the smile on his face? It spoke volumes to York about how much she meant to his friend. “What’s she like? This girl?” All he knew about this girl was that they were just friends who slept together, and she made Wash grin like an idiot. And hey, if he could get some ammo to tease Wash with? All the better.
Wash glanced at Carolina. He wasn’t ready for York to know that Anna was a princess yet and he hoped Carolina would keep a lid on that. “Well,” he started after finishing his beer and reaching for the pitcher again. “She’s a student and she’s pretty damn smart. She’s a little girly,” Wash chuckled a little remembering the first time he’d seen the One Direction poster on the ceiling, “and she’s pretty adorable all around.” He shrugged. “She’s just this little ray of sunshine, y’know?”
Carolina caught the look Wash sent her. After a moment of consideration she shrugged and took another drink of her beer. As long as he didn’t mention her Disney friend, she would keep Anna’s Disney Dreaming quiet as well. Besides, there was more than enough fodder available to tease Wash without delving into additional kids movies and Super Mario references. “Anna’s very girly.” She corrected. “And adorably naive. But she’s the kind of person that you can’t help but smile around. You’d get a kick out of her, Cyclops.”
“Oh, I’m sure I’d get a kick out of her,” York replied to Carolina, though his eyes hadn’t left Wash’s face. He, York, was grinning as he watched his friend, wondering if he’d ever seen Wash this enamored with a girl before. He was just happy that Wash was so happy. Then York leaned back in his chair, bringing his pint glass up to drain it. He was just about full of beer, nachos and bowling. Was it his turn? He couldn’t even tell anymore. “I’ll have to meet her. Anna. She sounds like a treat.”
It was probably a mixture of the conversation and the amount of alcohol Wash had imbibed that had him grinning like an idiot. If he could have seen himself while sober, he probably would have been embarrassed. At least he wasn’t blushing. Yet.
He’d finished his own pitcher and had slowly been working on the second communal one. He was buzzing pretty good now, teetering on that fine line between delightfully tipsy and drunk. “You’ll meet her,” he said. “She’s on the network, so I’m surprised ya haven’t talked t’er yet. She’s at our place a lot...or I’m at her’s, like all the time…” another glance at Carolina as if looking for confirmation. He’d almost completely forgotten about the game until grey eyes moved up to the scoreboard illuminated above them. “Are...we still playin’? ‘Cause, Carolina’s like...two pins away from wiping the floor with us.”
Carolina rose to finish up the set. It was true; she had long passed both of them. Looking up at the board, she noticed that Wash had oddly been catching up in the later rounds. Huh. That was certainly interesting. Best not to mention that particular fact; she would rather he not associate doing something better while drunk than sober.
Looking over her shoulder, the woman raised an eyebrow at the two men. “Why don’t the two of you figure out where we’re going after this.” Since it looked like they were done with bowling for the moment. Perhaps she’d take a picture or two of the goofy grin on Wash’s face before they left. Just in case he tried to deny it later. Carolina’s grin was as sharp as the nickname York had given her. “And I’ll see what I can do about those two pins.”