Evan (layereddepth) wrote in commandhq, @ 2018-02-24 17:56:00 |
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One, two. One, two. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two. One, two.
The rhythm of Holly's fist and feet as she hit the punching bag was soothing to her. There was a small mountain of issues that were pressing against her right now; Lucas was off but he wouldn’t tell her why, the constant coming and going of operatives was frustrating because it meant gaining the trust of those who were new to her team was difficult and she hadn’t seen Scott in nearly a year, and hadn’t spoken to him for a few months. No one else knew about him, who he was or what he had meant to her - what he still did. But the last time they’d had a scheduled call he’d been summoned off onto a mission and then they’d not been able to reschedule.
She had friends here, she did. Lucas was probably the closest thing to her best friend here and she was on okay terms with the other handlers but it was definitely on a more colleague, peer-to-peer basis rather than casual drinking friends. And she understood the need to keep that line of separation between herself and her agents clear and uncomplicated. And she intended on ensuring that she remained professional while she was in Limbo. You didn’t mix business and pleasure, not as far as Holly was concerned, but it did mean that oftentimes Holly had certain… needs that she had to purge one way or another.
The only ways she had here were cold showers and copious amounts of beating the ever-loving shit out of the punching bags and gym equipment that was here. She had a speedball in her room, along with some free weights and the odd bit of small equipment but the air conditioning in the gym was much better and she had more space to really let loose.
She had on a pair of fitted sweatpants and a sleeveless top that hung loosely on top of the sports bra she was wearing underneath. Her left shoulderblade had a thin scar from where she’d been pierced by a bullet. Underneath her clothes, hidden by the loose fabric, her body was a littany of scars, telling of her time in the military and just how harsh it was on the body.
Twisting her body and kicking the bag hard enough to send it swinging with a rattle of chains, Holly caught it with her hands to hold it still. Her ponytail was still moving a little though strands were caught on sweat-slick skin and she stopped moving, aware that there were eyes on her. Out in the field - when she was a soldier - she’d developed a very keen sense for when people were watching her - or her team.
Bending over to pick up her towel, she rubbed it over her face and wrapped it around the back of her neck, turning her head to look at the person standing at the door as she shrugged into her hoodie, workout over.
There was a slight widening of her eyes as she took Evan’s form in before she broke out into a huge smile, quite unlike anything the other handlers had ever seen from her and folded her arms across her chest, hip cocked to the side slightly.
“Didn’t think you’d be darkening my doorway any time, Lance Corporal.”
Evan had taken a couple days to familiarise himself with Limbo before he'd sought out Holly as he had wanted to take her by surprise especially as she was a hard one for that. So what if he got a kick out of it, you had to take joy in the little things, especially when you were stationed overseas and in the middle of a warzone.
Of course if you knew Holly well you knew where she could be found and it was a toss up between her room and the gym and Evan picked the gym. As luck would have it he'd made the right choice because there she was pummeling the living crap out of a rather unfortunate punching bag and he propped his shoulder up on the door before folding his arms across his chest as he waited.
She'd noticed him, eventually.
And then she did and his own lips pulled into a slow warm smile before he pushed away from the door and on approach held his arms open. "What can I say, I'm hard to get rid of."
Hoodie firmly settled and she zipped it up and crossed the short distance between herself and Evan, effectively flopping into the outstretched arms and hug that was waiting for her when she approached.
“You can say that again,” She said as she curled her arms around him in a tight hug, kissing him on the cheek and laughing softly when she pulled back. It had been years since she’d last seen Evan, but he looked good. And fuck it was good to see someone else who understood her.
Extracting herself, she punched him lightly on the upper arm and rubbed the back of her neck. “Heard we got a new junior, didn’t know it’d be you. How’ve you been? The fuck brings you here?”
Evan chuckled not only at the remarks but also at the punch to his arm and he smirked, relieved in large part that Holly was pleased to see him, especially as it had been a while and things could have changed.
“You know the drill, I go where they tell me to go,” Evan replied as he returned his arms to over his chest. “And this is where I was sent so here I am, your latest and newest junior handler.”
He ducked his head and then lifted his gaze to regard Holly. “Thanks by the way, for putting in a good word for me. Appreciate it.”
Holly snorted. “They only want the best of the best. As if I could not put a good word in for you.”
She eyed him for a moment before she grinned, a light in her eyes that had been somewhat missing as of late. Loneliness was crippling. “You know they make t-shirts in your size now, right? You don’t need to keep getting them one size smaller.”
Evan’s eyebrow lifted. “So that’s how it is, huh?” He smirked a moment later. “I mean I hate to break it to you but just because you don’t know what fashion is doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t.” He grinned a second later before he stepped in and slung his arm around her neck.
“I missed you, you know?”
Holly burst out laughing, joyful and surprised, nudging Evan with her hip as he slung his arm around her shoulders. “Fuck you, you shit,” she grumbled, resting her head against his shoulder and slinging her own arm around his waist.
“I missed you too,” she added after a moment. “I- It’s been really lonely here.”
Evan snorted quietly at the insult being slung his way in good old fashioned Holly style which of course involved swearing. “Well that’s gonna change,” he assured her as he offered another smile. “I just got here, not going anywhere anytime fast.”
He hadn’t really had any reason to not accept transfers in the past but now he knew he had a friend at Limbo he was definitely there for the long haul.
“Think I can convince you to ditch the gym in favour of a drink?”
“On or off base?” Holly asked with an upward quirk of her lips. “Either way, I think I could be tempted.”
“Off base maybe,” Evan suggested. “That way you and I can have a proper catch up without y’know worrying about people overhearing.” Not that they had anything to talk about that was particularly controversial but Evan knew Holly well enough to know that she’d need a new location away from the familiar to really open up and let him know what was going on with her.
Holly squeezed Evan once more before detangling herself. “I’ll meet you in the garage in half an hour? I’ll have a shower and before we leave I’ll introduce you to Noah.”
“I’ll see you there,” Evan affirmed with a nod before with a final departing smile he headed back to his room to grab his wallet.