Note : Written for Shoot week. Prompt : Shaw, Root and Gen bonding.
This is set at the beginning of S4. SPOILERS if you haven't seen the trailer yet (though I'm using only some of the information we got here and deliberately forgetting some other).
You can see this as part 1 of a series that I'd call "Gen ships Root and Shaw" !
Shaw walked slowly in the street, her head partly turned to look at the huge building on the other side. Crossing the next avenue then turning at the corner, she was now facing another well-decorated façade hidden behind tall gates.
Noticing a free bench on the edge of a nearby park, she went to sit on it. From there she had a great view on the school on the other side of the street, while being herself partially hidden by the never-ending flow of passer-bys.
The bell rang not long after and the crowd of pupils poured into the schoolyard. Shaw tried to find Gen among them, but they were too numerous.
She wasn't here because she cared about the kid, she kept on telling herself, she was just there because it was a nice distraction from her boring to death and awfully annoying new day job as a make-up woman.
"She's safe, you know."
Shaw recognized the voice immediately and did her best to hide her small start. She hadn't heard the other woman approaching her from behind.
"What the hell are you doing here, Root ?" she grumbled without turning around, her eyes not leaving the school.
The gates were now open and a flow of noisy pupils was storming out. Shaw didn't expect Gen to be among them though since she was a boarder, and focused on the kids staying in the courtyard instead.
"I knew you'd come here one day or the other", Root smiled while casually sitting on the bench next to Shaw, as if they were best friends hanging out together. "But as I told you, she's safe. Samaritan won't find a connection, She made sure of that."
The smaller woman didn't answer, figuring out it was the best way to avoid sinking into an annoying conversation about some kind of feelings.
"Oh, and it'd be better if you called me Sam", Root added after a moment of silence.
"Are you kidding me ?" Shaw asked, glaring at her from the corner of her eyes.
"I'm afraid not", the hacker smiled.
"Do we really have –" she started but got interrupted.
"Hey Shaw !"
The latter startled a bit for the second time in a few minutes and turned her head to her left, her eyes landing on a smiling Gen with a proud look on her face. Not everyone could sneak up on a trained operative, the kid thought delightfully, and she added this to her list of mastered competences.
"How did you … ?!" the smaller woman exclaimed incredulously, her eyes moving from the school to Gen and from Gen to the school again and again.
Root giggled next to her and Shaw had to resist the urge to strangle her.
"I'm a spy, remember ?" the kid pointed out.
"It still doesn't explain… And, wait, how did you know I was here ?!"
Gen seemed to be very much enjoying herself.
"I saw you", she shrugged. "And stop asking questions, spies don't tell about their tricks. You should know that, Shaw."
The latter realized Gen really wouldn't tell her and decided to drop the subject for now. She however pulled a face when she heard her real name for the second time.
"Better if you don't call me that for now, kiddo."
"Then how am I supposed to call you ?" Gen frowned.
"Sam."
"Is this for a mission ?" the kid asked, getting all excited.
"Something like that…" Shaw scowled.
"Awesome ! Anyway, who's your friend ?" Gen finally wondered, waving hello to Root at the same time.
"She's not my friend !" the smaller woman retorted immediately.
"Hi, I'm Sam", Root answered at the same time, smiling to the kid.
"So you both have the same name for that mission ? It's weird."
"Tell me about it", Shaw mumbled.
"It's complicated", Root stated.
Gen narrowed her eyes but didn't add anything. She was inwardly decided to figure it out by herself though.
The silence fell for some time, soon becoming awkward, until the hacker finally broke it.
"By the way, Sam, I've been meaning to get this back to you. I recovered it the day when… Well, you know which day. I thought you might appreciate having it now…" Root said, winking – or at least, trying to wink – to Gen while getting the Order of Lenin out of her pocket.
"You didn't sell it !" the kid beamed at Shaw, brightening up again and smiling widely. "But how comes you're the one having it ?" she frowned at Root. "Is it because of that mission ? The two-Sams thing ? Or… Wait. Are you two… Dating ?!"
"What ? No, of course not !" the smaller woman exclaimed loudly, making some passer-bys shoot her a glance, while pulling a face somewhere between horrified and disgusted.
She then snatched the Order of Lenin from the hacker and put it in one of her pockets.
"It's a bit more complex than that. But yes, it's related to the mission and we can't talk about it", Root tried to explain seriously.
Her eyes must have betrayed something about how she really felt about Shaw though, because Gen looked at her meaningfully before turning back to the other woman.
"Anyway, I'm glad you kept it", the kid said again.
"Why would she have sold it ?" Root wondered.
"That's what she advised me to do with it the first time", Gen shrugged.
"Oh Sam, that's so you, I'm not even surprised", the hacker chuckled.
Shaw decided at that precise moment that she would always hate being called "Sam" by Root, because the latter obviously couldn't help herself and used an absolutely exasperating sweet tone each and every time she called Shaw that.
Given the lack of answer and the murder in the smaller woman's eyes, the hacker decided it would be wise to use a distraction before the kid witnessed something she shouldn't.
"Hey look, there's an ice-cream truck in the park !" Root pointed out. "Want some ?"
"Sure !" Gen grinned.
"Then let's go get it", the hacker smiled while getting up.
Shaw followed them, the prospect of eating something improving her mood a bit.
A few minutes later, the three of them were sitting on another bench. They were inside the park now, in the shade of a huge tree, and were eating their ice creams with obvious pleasure. Root and Gen were casually discussing while Shaw kept on scowling.
At a moment, the spy-to-be decided it was time to glean some information. The whole situation was intriguing her and she couldn't wait any longer.
"So, how did you meet Sam, Sam ?" Gen innocently asked to Root, not bothered the least bit about the "two-Sams thing", as she had definitely named it in her mind.
Shaw half-choked on her ice cream next to her and the hacker couldn't help but smirk.
"Let's just say we met on another mission, and our first discussion didn't end the way it was supposed to. That's all I can say", Root declared mysteriously.
"What she really means is that she left me there to get killed by my former boss", Shaw bridled at the hacker's light explanation.
Gen's eyebrows raised and she opened her mouth to comment on this but didn't have time to do it.
"I knew they wouldn't succeed", Root shrugged. "And I didn't really have another choice."
"Yeah sure, there would have been another choice if I hadn't been tased and tied up to a chair !" Shaw growled.
The hacker looked at her reproachfully, slightly pointing out Gen with her chin, yet the smaller woman was too angry at the memory to notice.
Root however realized that the kid was watching them with deep interest but certainly not shock, and since Shaw had already said too much, the hacker decided to have a bit of fun. It was always amusing to mess with the other woman's head anyway, and, well, it would give Gen a better idea of what exactly was waiting for her in the world of real spies, she thought a bit sadly. The kid was kind and smart and reminded her of Hanna, the friend she had lost at around the same age so many years ago now. Root knew that, as much as she herself enjoyed that kind of spy life, she would have never wished it to her best friend back then. And she didn't wish it any more to Gen, who had probably no idea yet how harsh the life she currently longed for really was.
She forced herself to get back to reality and answer to Shaw.
"I'm sure you would have killed me after finding Veronica, so I had to act."
"Nope, would've tried to get information first", the smaller woman answered without thinking.
This was exactly what Root had been waiting for and she couldn't help but shoot her a mischievous look, her smirk turning wider when Shaw realized the mistake she had just made.
"Then you perfectly know why I did try to torture you, and you're really just complaining because I managed to outsmart you."
Gen was watching them with wide eyes now, trying to piece everything together and understand what had really happened during their first meeting. She had asked the question without much hope to get a real answer, but it had gone way beyond her expectations and now she was lapping up everything they were saying.
"Difference is, getting information from you would have been my job, not a pastime", Shaw hissed through gritted teeth, forgetting voluntarily about how Root had indeed outsmarted her that day, as much as she hated it and would never admit it.
"No it wouldn't, you were out of a job the moment they tried to kill you", the hacker pointed out. "Moreover, stop acting all offended about the torture part. You admitted yourself that you would have kind of enjoyed it as much as I would have too."
That's the moment when Gen decided that she had enough pieces of the puzzle to figure everything out… And that she didn't want to know more.
She didn't let Shaw answer and threw in the remark that had been dying to get out for some time now.
"You're aware that you bicker like a married couple, right ?" she rhetorically asked, not sure if she was finding this more funny or more disgusting.
Shaw blinked, having for a few moments totally forgotten that the kid was there, and wondered which way she could slowly kill Gen in this park without drawing attention on her.
"Take that back", she growled.
Root's reaction was totally different. She just looked at the kid, amused and a bit surprised, having never seen things that way.
"I won't take anything back because it's true", Gen said, totally not impressed. "You two can just stop hiding now, you know."
Shaw grunted so much that the hacker fleetingly wondered if Bear hadn't taken possession of her body. Good thing the smaller woman had already finished her ice cream, she also thought, because it would have certainly ended up on Gen's face.
"You should stop teasing her before she starts barking too", Root advised the kid, trying to stay serious but failing miserably, and they both burst out in laughter.
Shaw watched them with a murderously incredulous face and got up before doing something she'd regret later.
"Since you two seem to be doing so well together, I'm going home."
"Wait, Shaw ! Uh, sorry, Sam !"
"What ?" the latter groaned.
"It was great seeing you again", Gen only said, knowing Shaw wouldn't know how to handle anything more.
The latter only nodded and started walking away, the tension in her body obvious in her steps.
"See your soon, Sam", Root half-whispered in a sweet tone.
The only thing she received as an answer was the cracks of finger joints and she chuckled a bit. Their next encounter was probably going to be fun, or at least interesting, she thought.
"So, are you two together or aren't you ?" Gen asked a bit impatiently when Shaw was out of earshot.
"We really aren't", Root smiled, forcing herself to keep a neutral tone.
"But you wish, don't you ?"
Damn it, the kid was really perceptive, the hacker realized. She didn't know how to answer, and her silence was more than enough for the kid.
"I knew it !" she grinned, triumphant.
"Gen –"
"I won't tell her. But… I think she likes you too. It will just take her time to realize it. She's Shaw, you know ?" Gen shrugged.
Root felt her heart stir and smiled warmly at the kid.
"Yeah, I know", she nodded softly.
A comfortable silence fell between them, but Gen finally had to break it.
"I need to get back to the school. I'm a boarder, so I can get out but I have to be back on time", she complained with a roll of the eyes, and Root had a feeling she hadn't always respected that rule - for spying purposes, the hacker guessed. "It was nice meeting you. And thank you for the ice cream", Gen added, giving her a peck on the cheek then getting up.
"You're welcome", Root smiled, a bit surprised by how comfortable the kid already seemed to be with her.
"See you ?"
"Well yes, I hope we'll meet again", the hacker answered truthfully.
"Awesome !" Gen exclaimed. "Good bye, Sam."
The kid turned around and walked away. As she disappeared between the trees, Root got hit by a memory and it wasn't Gen who was walking away anymore, but Hanna during that night in the library. Hanna who had been caught by the monster and had never gotten back from it.
Root felt the urge to get up and run after Gen, to tell her she wouldn't let anything happen to her, not this time, she thought. She wasn't powerless like she had been that night anymore.
But then again, the monster wasn't the same either.
This one was an all-seeing AI against which she could do very little.
Root realized that their meeting had been a mistake, because if Samaritan ever found out about Shaw and her, Gen would now possibly be in danger too.
But they couldn't go back, the damage was already done.
The hacker got up and started walking away slowly to the sound of a chirping in her ear.
The Machine had erased the videos of the security cameras that could have spotted the three of them together.
Thankful, Root sighed with deep relief.
There wouldn't be another Hanna.