ajremix | [fic][Red vs Blue, York, Carolina, PG-13] A Week Later

I should probably figure out a proper title for this series...

Title: A Week Later
Fandom: Red vs Blue
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1807
Characters: York, Carolina
Summary: Follows The Day After and The Night Before. After some time apart, York and Carolina figure out where their relationship stands.

Awareness buzzed in York’s head like some not-quite-numb electric firefly zipping through his brain and lighting up all his senses with artificial adrenaline. His thoughts teetered from a clutter of indistinguishable fluff and bitter-sharp clarity and back again, the last hit of stims making his jittery fingers clack against thigh armor like a musical beat set at light speed. He should've been with the Director getting debriefed from his last mission or getting some sort of shut eye after being up for almost four days straight but apparently going over the mission report wasn't important enough to pull the Director from whatever he was currently engaged in but was too important to put off for an hour so York could take a goddamn nap.

So, left with little else to do, York's mind decided to attach itself to the idea that talking to Carolina while sleep deprived and on an adrenaline high was a good way to kill time. It was also seemed to be a rather unexpected decision to those that weren't York because when Carolina's door whisked open upon his announcing his presence, the subtle shift of her eyebrows and the softening of the corners of her lips betrayed her surprise.

"Welcome back." She took in York still in full, dirtied armor in that one second of greeting while York was caught between the lounged-in creases of her sweats and t-shirt and her hair pulled back in a looser ponytail than she had when in armor or training. "Did your debriefing get delayed?"

"Yeah- don't know how long exactly, but not long enough to do anything productive so here I am."

"To be unproductive."

"Well, productivity of talking is subjective really."

Carolina's eyes shaped around an internal smile and York kept count of every one he got from her no matter how small. "I suppose you don't have the time to do anything more than talk anyway…" but she moved from the doorway, a silent invitation.

"With my luck the Director would call me up right in the middle of it." York let the door slide shut behind him and pulled his helmet off, setting it aside on an empty desk. Carolina had no roommate but she lived like she did. Half of the room was sparse and meticulously ordered, the other half completely empty but everything was the inhumane clean like an advertisement photo of a hotel room. It was a far cry from York's own room with his bric-a-brac in tidy, casual clusters and Maine's everything everywhere. Neither man had a sense of personal belongings or space and it always amazed the others at how quickly the two managed to clean up for inspection and then let the room explode again. The only sign of human life in Carolina's room was the slight rumple of bedsheets and a pillow propped up against a wall. York suddenly really wanted to see that bed a lot more rumpled, preferably with Carolina on it.

The combination of his staring at the bed and the mix of exhaustion and forced awareness lining his face must have been obvious because Carolina asked, "You sure you don't want to take a quick nap, even for a few minutes?"

"Not exactly what I was thinking." He flashed a smile, toothy and playful. "I did, however, hear that beds are a little harder to accidentally roll off of."

Carolina's own smile widened as she snorted and shook her head. "More so than a bench, I'm sure."

"Uh, speaking of which, is that bruise…?"

She lifted her shirt and turned, showing off the fuzzy cluster of a faded bruise that was once the exact shape of York's shoulder guard. "It's fine. Hasn't caused me any problems. Did help to fuel the rumors, though. Hopefully round two will be a little less… eventful."

"About that…" York sucked on a tooth for a moment, "I think we need to get figure out what we’re doing."

A fine eyebrow arched. Carolina sat on the edge of her rack, indicating for York to do the same. "Oh?" It creaked lowly under the weight of the armor and York was both surprised and grateful that whoever designed the ships thought to make the bunks so sturdy.

"What kind of relationship are you expecting us to have? Are we an exclusive couple? Or am I just some easily-accessible guy you occasionally have sex with when you get bored because I can tell you right now I'm very bad at the casual sex thing. I get attached pretty easily and if you don't want that we should probably leave it as a one night stand."

For a long moment Carolina just looked at him and York caught himself wondering if her eyes were more green or blue when she asked, "Is this really a conversation you want to get into when the Director might call you away at any moment?"

"I dunno, is this a conversation you think will take a long time?" He spread his arms out, the fingers of one hand brushing the bulkhead at his side. "I'll admit: I'm a romantic. I'm not gonna say you have to be my girlfriend or commit to me or anything, but if you plan on sleeping with anyone else, I might get upset depending on the situation. I like cuddling and being able to touch you without it having to be about sex and being sappy just because the mood hits me. You can think of it as friends with benefits, but I can't guarantee it may not go a little deeper on my end."

She continued to just stare, brow furrowing and York had to amend, "Okay, this discussion’s probably a bit of a surprise to you. You don't have to answer now just, ya know, think on it for a bit."

"To be honest," she said bluntly, "I've never really had a relationship like that. Not one that didn't end… badly, to say the least."

Damn, there went a little piece of York's heart and he tried his best to cover it up as he pushed against his knees. "Ah well. Guess that's that, then."

A hand grabbed one of his, the pale softness enhanced by the rough darkness of York's glove. "I didn't mean it like that." Carolina's bangs was in her face as she didn't quite look at him. "You caught me off guard- I really haven't been thinking about it at all. I don't really know how they work."

She looked up at him through her lashes and York weaved their fingers together because he recognized it was as much silent permission as her letting him in was. He leaned in a bit and she leaned in a bit and he couldn't help dropping his voice down just enough to keep it in the intimate little enclosure between them. "First off, you let me be here for you. I'm not saying you have to tell me your life story or every little thing you think, just know that I've got your back and don't be afraid to come to me for anything."

"And you can do the same for me."

York couldn't help the warm, probably doofy smile and- god, he wanted to fall into the taste of her lips so badly. "Second, we can be this close and talk and not have to do anything more than kiss."

A smile turned at her lips mischievously. "Oh, now that's disappointing. There's quite a bit I'd like to do to you right now."

He felt his heart stutter at her smile. "You're absolutely beautiful."

The smile left and when Carolina said, "York," it was less exasperated berating and more actual discomfort. It kind of annoyed him in a way because there was really no way for him to go back in time and find whoever made her uncomfortable at people complementing or noticing her looks and he wanted to say that he'd kind of fallen for her long before he ever saw her face anyway. But his words failed him and York had to resort to saying it with his lips on hers. She might not have understood the message but Carolina's hands were in his hair and his lower lip caught between her teeth and York was pretty okay with that.

When she laid back on her bed, pulling him down with her, all memory of the Director and debriefings and missions flew out the proverbial window. The fabric of Carolina's shirt was bunched up in one of York's hands and when he noticed that he just had to slip it up her side and under the strap of her bra. His thumb brushed over a nipple and Carolina sucked in a sharp breath. "Oh!" She bit her lip, making a delicious sound as she squirmed, pressing into gloved fingers. "That's a kink I didn't know I had..."

"One I'm certainly glad to know about." He kept Carolina writhing as his thumb circled, the rough texture against sensitive skin making her breath catch. She arched into him, quietly whimpering for more even as York's other hand drew down her stomach and slipped under the waistband of the sweats.

She quivered and moaned his name as York's thumb rubbed the crease of her pelvis, cried out a little as his fingers slipped under her panties, curling down over-

A tinny little voice announced from the inside of York's discarded helmet, "/Agent York, the Director will see you for debriefing in five minutes./"

"Oh, hell no." He said, staring at his helmet in shock. "I did not just get cockblocked by the Director."

Carolina just let her head fall back and laughed, drawing York's hands away from her. "You better get going- it'll take you nearly five minutes just to get to the briefing room."

He looked tempted just to cover her body with his own- armor or not. "Such bullshit. Can we pick this up again when I'm done?"

"If you don't crash out after your debriefing."

York was suddenly looming over her and even with the dark bags under them, his eyes were as alert and eager as ever. "Trust me. Me and my gloves are coming straight back here."

She couldn't help pulling in for a kiss and York could taste six days of unrelieved tension- six days of tension that neither realized they were hoarding -on Carolina's lips. "Then you better get to your debriefing."

"Yeah," oh god he wanted her so bad. "Yeah, I'll... I'll get going." He shoved himself away from the bed, picked up his helmet and stumbled his way to the door, not wanting to not stare at Carolina, sprawled so invitingly on the sheets. He somehow made it back into the hall and York jammed his helmet on, practically floating all the way to the briefing room.