The Night Before
This little one-shot is between episode 14 and 15 Season 13 of RvB and if you haven't seen those episodes, I suggest watching Episodse 14 through 17 of Season 13. Its what got me shipping this so hard.
- Start -
It was rather late at night in Armonia when Kimball decided to pay a visit to Doyle. She had heard from Carolina that he was wandering around the city limits to "clear his head". She mentally shook her head. What was that man thinking? He knows that Locus is a excellent sniper, and that place was nothing but open space.
Coming up to his room, she knocked on it. She had refrained from shouting as she didn't want to awaken any of the soldiers who also stayed close by. The door soon open to reveal Doyle in his boxers. "Miss Kimball." He greeted quietly. "For what do I owe the pleasure of this late night visit?"
"I need to talk to you." She said, rather ignoring the fact that the man was under-dressed and pushed herself into his room.
Doyle just sighed and closed the door behind her. He had a feeling it was going to be a long night. Inside his room, Kimball was rather surprised to see the large amount of books that seeming lined a portion of the wall. Doyle, sensing her surprise, commented. "Before the Civil War, I had a lot more time on my hands, so I read a lot of books. Now that all this is happening, I haven't had the time to pick up a book until recently."
"Listen, Doyle, I'm not here to talk about your book collection." She told him sternly. "I want to talk about how reckless it was to go to the city limits, especially since Charon is gunning for your head."
"Oh I knew it was reckless, then of all times." He replied moving over to his bed and sitting on it. He picked up a book that was lying on a pillow and began reading.
"Then why did you do it?" She questioned.
"I needed to think and I had my escorts with me. Not only that, Agent Carolina was there as well. I just needed to clear my head is all. Nothing went wrong, so arguing that I put myself in danger well after the fact is moot."
Vanessa held back a growl. What was it about this man that infuriated her so? Was it his voice? Was it the way he talked to her? Was it the fact that he was now ignoring her for that god forsaken book?! "What ARE you reading?" She asked.
"Oh this? I was recently reminded that I may have forgotten things that the Great William Shakespeare had said, so I'm reading one of his plays again. This one is "Romeo and Juliet"." He replied. "Its a story about starcrossed lovers that tried everything to be together and-"
"I know what Romeo and Juliet is, Doyle." Kimball responded dryly.
"Oh." Doyle gave a shrug.
There was silence again and Kimball was starting to get frustrated again. Why was he so relaxed about this situation? Here he was, out of his armor, reading a book, when he should be in armor, trying to figure out how to stop Charon!
Now that she noticed it, he was out of Armor, and this was the first time she had seen his face, let alone his body. Doyle was rather fit for his age, as he looked no older than thirty years of age, maybe more. He had blond hair which looked like it was graying early, no doubt from all the near-death experiences he had gone through. He was fit, surprisingly for such a bookwormish looking fellow.
"Are we done here, Miss Kimball?" He inquired.
"No. We're not done." She retorted.
"Well at least take off your helmet. Its rather awkward talking to a reflection of my face." He requested. Sighing she took off her helmet, letting her hair down.
"There, happy?" She questioned annoyed as she sat next to him on the bed.
Doyle looked at her, taking in her appearance. Long Brown hair framed her face as her blue eyes pierced into his own. "Yes, of course." He got out finally. He wasn't expecting her to be so...so...attractive as well. "So what else do you want to talk about?"
"I want to know why are you so relaxed right now?" She inquired.
"Honestly...I needed to be." He confessed to her. "In the silence of my own room, I felt the calm before an oncoming storm. A cold shiver went down my spine, and I could feel the grim reaper's icy grip upon my neck. Call it paranoia, or whatever, but I have a bad feeling about tomorrow. So...I decided to indulge myself in some last minute reading."
Her eyes soften at his words. He was just as worried as everyone else, more so considering that he was their primary target. She quietly watched him go back to his book and turn the page, done with whatever passage he was reading. "You know." She began quietly. "I always loved Romeo and Juliet."
"Really?" Doyle questioned surprised.
"Hey...before all this, before I was a soldier, I was a young girl who loved romance." She admitted with a light blush. "And it was always a shame that it ended in tragedy."
"Yes...if he had just waited a bit longer, everything would've been fine." Doyle commented. "But I suppose that was the message that William Shakespeare wanted to get out."
Kimball nodded. "It was partially her fault as well...Juliet should have done something to let him know she was going to be fine. It was bad planning on both of their parts."
"Well people do crazy things when they're in love." Doyle added with a smile. "You know, when I was younger, I wanted to play as Romeo in a play. I never got the chance to though."
"I played Juliet in a play once, when I was younger." Kimball told him. "It wasn't that great, just lying there pretending to be dead while the Romeo messed up his lines."
Doyle chuckled. "No, I suppose it wouldn't be. Still..." He turned to her and gave her a small smile. "You were perfect for the role then and you're perfect for the role now."
"Oh?" She gave him a look. "And who would be my Romeo? You?"
"Me?" He shook his head. "No, I do believe any romance between us would be tragic from the start. I'm not good enough for you. I am a coward after all."
Kimball winced. She did call him that, after all. "Doyle, you're not a coward. You're just...doing whats best for our people and I respect that."
"But I am a coward." He insisted. "I forfeited that key instead of fighting for it til the bitter end. I was afraid to die so I did the next best thing and doomed us all."
"Shut up Doyle." She snapped, rather upset at his defeatist attitude. "If you had died on that mountain, they would've gotten the key early and who knows what would had happened. You did what you had to do."
"I..." A sharp look from her cut off any arguments he had. "Alright..."
She let out a huff as she calmed down. "Wondering about what could had happened is moot right?" She insisted, using his words against him. "So let's not worry about that, and worry about the here and now and tomorrow."
"Right." Doyle agreed. No sense in getting worked up. He was trying to relax as is. His eyes widen as Kimball began removing her armor. "Miss Kimball?" he squeaked in confusion
"Theres no sense in me wearing it twenty-four/seven and I need to relax too." She commented with a smile. "Or is the general afraid to see a little skin."
"I-I'm not afraid." He rebuked, though his stutter didn't convince her otherwise. Soon she was freed from her armor. Underneath her armor she wore spats and a sports bra. Doyle could she her impressive figure and the scars she bore from being in the field constantly.
"Much better." She looked over to Doyle, whose face was bright red. She let out a chuckle. "Are you sure you haven't seen a woman like this before."
"I assure you, there isn't a woman I met that's like you." Doyle murmured before covering his mouth. Kimball blushed at his words before taking his book and tossing it aside. "Miss Kimball?"
"Call me Vanessa." She commanded as she moved closer to him.
"O-Okay Vanessa, what are you doing?" He questioned.
"Surely you can figure that out." She commented pushing him back onto his bed. "But if its not obvious, I'm helping you relax and you're helping me relax."
"So..." He finally figured out what she had in mind. "Does this make me your Romeo?"
"I suppose it does." She whispered before capturing his lips with her own.
The next morning Charon Forces attacked Armonia.
- End -