Nicholas D. Wolfwood (wolfwood) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-09-16 02:24:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, carol danvers (captain marvel), nicholas d. wolfwood |
Who: Carol Danvers & Nicholas D. Wolfwood
What: Army meets Air Force
When: 9/14
Where: A sandwich shop near Irvine General
Rating: Family friendly
Status: Complete!
Carol checked the ground as she approached, making sure there wasn’t anyone around. Satisfied that she was alone, she landed and cracked her knuckles. She had had a craving for a specific kind of sandwich and this was the only place in the county that made it exactly how she liked it.
Wolfwood was sitting in the sandwich shop, eyes closed, though he was willing himself not to fall asleep. He’d been with Shepard for a while, and then he’d checked in on Emma Frost, who’d thankfully been asleep, and now he needed something before he fell over. He probably ought to get a hold of Belle to let her know where he was, but food came first.
Carol stepped inside, and walked up to order her sandwich. She walked as though she was military - confident and with a slight Flygirl strut.
Wolfwood noticed, having opened his eyes a second before. She walked in the same way he did, and to a degree, the way Belle did. She was pretty, too - that professional pretty.
He wanted to find out what branch she was from, because she was fairly obviously in the service. So he got up and joined the line behind her. “Excuse me, ma’am, I was curious. Are you Army?”
She turned her head, glancing at him. She should have worn her bomber jacket, it would have been quicker! “Air Force. Or used to be. You army?”
“Yes.” Wolfwood smiled tiredly. “I’m not trying to bother you or anything, I was just curious. We all seem to get the walk, it doesn’t go away.”
“I suppose it doesn’t.” Carol flashed him a smile. “I still fly, so I still have the walk. It gives me an excuse to keep it.”
“I’m on leave myself, but apparently I have it too.” Wolfwood smiled back. “I’m Nicholas Wolfwood. First Lieutenant. Are you just nearby, or do you have anyone in the hospital?”
“Was just nearby. This place has the best reuben in the state, and I had a craving.” She shrugged a shoulder, like no distance was too far for a good reuben.
“Just wondered. I have a couple of friends who’ve been taken down by this ... whatever it is, in the county.” Wolfwood tried not to sound exhausted.
“I’m pretty fortunate, no one too close to me, but I haven’t really been paying as much attention as I should. House hunting and planning a proposal.” She rubbed the back of her neck.
“Wow. That is a lot to deal with.” Wolfwood yawned. “Sorry. I hope it goes well and he or she says yes.”
“She will. I hope. Sorry, I know you’ve got your own worries. You look wiped.”
“A good friend’s been in the hospital for some days.” Wolfwood nodded. “A former CO, actually. She’s good people.” Shepard’s illness hadn’t changed much, but he’d felt obligated to spend some time there.
Carol winced. “I’m sorry. Has to do with all that stuff going around right?” She wondered if there was something she could do, but she usually just punched things into compliance, or worked things into her own advantage.
“Yeah. At least she hasn’t been getting any worse.” Wolfwood smiled, rubbing his eyes. “Is the reuben actually good? I tried the Cajun chicken, and it wasn’t worth it.”
“It’s the best.” When she got hers, she tore off a piece and offered it, one military woman to a military man. “Here. Enjoy.”
Wolfwood took the bite, sampling it and blinking. “That is good. I clearly ordered the wrong thing.” Screw that; he was going to get one. “Pardon me a moment.”
Carol grinned victoriously. “Another convert, I’ll get Jess into trying it yet.” She watched him move, smiling smugly.
Wolfwood came back to sit down after he’d gotten his own sandwich. “That actually has flavor. Who won’t try it?”
“Jess. She’s the Reuben to my cheese.” …. Oh my god Carol that was horrible.
Wolfwood tried to turn a laugh into a cough. “That’s sweet.” He wasn’t sure what Belle was. “I have one, but I think she’s the Cajun spice to my chicken.”
“See, that makes way more sense.” Carol’s ears were a little red tipped.
“She comes from New Orleans.” Wolfwood smiled a little. She didn’t have to be nervous, but since she was, he tried to keep the conversation on his own silliness so she didn’t get embarrassed.
“New Orleans? That’s pretty neat. I’ll bet she has the sexiest accent.” Carol grinned.
“I think so.” Wolfwood smiled. “She’s ... great.” It felt stupid, but what the hell else to say? Also, his vocabulary wasn’t functioning at full capacity. “Going back on duty might be rough.”
“Do you know when you rotate back? I can’t say I know how that feels, I was discharged before I finished my first rotation.” She frowned. “Medical reasons, that is. Nothing, you know, bad.”
“Hope not, if it was medical. And um.” Wolfwood had to think. Shit, when was it. “I think in about ten months. Definitely not til summer ‘14. So at least I’ve got time. I’m a twenty-year man, so my leaves tend to be longer unless Kandahar explodes.” God forbid, obviously.
“Here’s hoping. Things were pretty hot when I was flying sorties. Wasn’t really that long ago, to be honest.” She could still feel the impact of the stinger missile.
“I was mine-sweeping in Pakistan for a while, but then I wound up behind the lines before going back to a position that wound up under fire.” Wolfwood started to eat his sandwich.
“Got shot down,” She admitted, then took a bite of her sandwich. “Said I couldn’t fly combat any more, so I took the discharge.”
“Ah, shit.” Wolfwood sounded regretful for her. “All the Air Force I know love it.” It might have been status quo for her, it might have been a genuine tragedy that she took the discharge.
“Took me a year before I was well enough to fly at all. I teach flight classes now, and occasionally run cargo.” Carol shivered. “I don’t recommend the Alaskan winter run. That was hell and a half.”
“I can only imagine. Never been that far north myself, I get stuck in the sandbox most of the time.” Wolfwood managed to speak around his sandwich.
“I volunteered for that. I thought ‘hey, it’s just putting skids on the cessna, how bad could it be? Really, really bad. More than once almost smashed into a canyon. I could do it again, but I won’t.” She shook her head. “Was lonely, too.”
“I bet.” Wolfwood said. “That was one reason I went for army. You’re always with people.” Being alone in a plane would have driven him crazy.
“I just like to fly. Always wanted it. My dad was against the idea. Very old fashioned.” She finished her sandwich. “So when I got promoted to flight status, he didn’t even say congrats.”
“Rude.” Wolfwood commented. His parents had been thrilled when he’d been promoted. “It’s like, sorry I’m not content with being a stewardess or something?”
“Exactly! Actually I think he would have hated that too.” Carol was still reserving the ‘I have a girlfriend’ talk for a day when it would really, really piss off her dad.
“Sounds awesome.” Not. Wolfwood just didn’t want to say anything too nasty about someone’s father.
“Totally awesome. May he get shingles.” Carol raised her empty wrapper in toast to her father. “But I’m happier now than I’ve ever been. Even in the Air Force.” She inadvertently fluttered up off the ground for a second.
Wolfwood blinked hard. “I ... whoa.” He chuckled. “Never seen that.”
“What, shingles?”
“You hovered.” Wolfwood tried to keep his voice down.
Shit. Carol sighed, and looked around. “Sometimes I get a little excited. Especially when talking about flying.”
“I know people with telepathy.” Wolfwood kept his voice low still, just in case. “I’ve seen weirder. Just, wasn’t sure if you meant to or not.”
“Didn’t mean to that time.” She was a bit relieved he wasn’t panicking. “I told you I love flying.” She gave him a grin.
“Clearly!” Wolfwood chuckled. She looked positively joyous when she talked about it. “In all honesty, I wish I was that passionate about it. I’ve made a good career out of the army, but I don’t feel about it like you do about flying.”
"Is there anything you do feel that kind of passion about?" She asked him. Her question was genuinely curious.
He had to think for a second. “Teaching?” Wolfwood finally said. “I like helping people learn, though I don’t really know if it’s actual teaching.” Teachers were a lot more patient than he ever would be.
“Maybe you need to figure out a way to pursue that. It could be military, or civilian, there are always people who need to learn.” She included herself in that statement.
“Yeah. I don’t know what’s available to me, but a change might be a good idea.” Especially after Belle got transferred to some undisclosed location, as she doubtless would be.
“Change isn’t bad. Sometimes it’s really good.” Carol nodded. “I’m learning that.”
“It’s something to think about.” Wolfwood yawned after another bite of reuben. “Kinda tired of getting shot at, but it’s all I know how to do.”
“If you wake up with superpowers some day, it’ll probably mean you’ll get shot at a whole lot more.” She thought back to about...well once a month for the past six months.
“I hope I don’t.” Wolfwood had never had any interest in any of that. “The lady I mentioned earlier, she can read people’s thoughts and she has enough trouble with all that.”
“That’s not a power I ever want. I’ll take flying and the power cosmic instead.”
“Flying would definitely be handy. If maybe a little hard to conceal.” Wolfwood chuckled. “Do you go invisible when you fly, or just have to be careful where you land?”
“Just have to be careful where I land. And I’m not always as careful as I should be.” She looked up, seeing the sky past the ceiling. “Sometimes I like to see how high I can get fast. Current record is about a minute and a half to hit the edge of the atmosphere.”
“Cool.” A twelve-year old boy answer, maybe, but oh well. Wolfwood smiled. “Yeah, that kind of rush is definitely not what I get by babysitting behind the lines. Or minesweeping, for that matter. That’s not a rush, that’s shit-your-pants time.”
“I believe it. That’s not something I’d ever want to do.” Though she could probably clear a whole minefield by landing on it.
“Bit nerve-wracking.” Wolfwood finished his sandwich. “I’m damn glad to see the back of it.” He smiled a little. “I should probably be on my way, Ms. Air Force. I appreciate the tip about the reuben!”
“I’m Carol, by the way.” She grinned at him, then turned towards the door. “Want a ride to wherever you’re going next? If you can stand being carried like a princess.”
Wolfwood laughed. “Okay, sure. I can handle it. I’m going to the hospital, to look in on a friend.” He might catch Belle if he was lucky, too.
“Awesome. Come on, Nick. I’ll be your reindeer.” Carol cringed. She was terrible with jokes. Really. People need to stop let her try to have a sense of humor.
“All right.” Wolfwood chuckled, ready to follow her, not sure what to expect.
Carol swept him off his feet, and like a shot they were in the air!