Disclaimer: Alas, I do not own the G. I. Joe series, franchise, or any of the characters.
This piece was not beta-ed, simply because I wanted to get up this evening. (Please PM me if there are any glaring errors.) Happy Halloween everyone!
Winning
"Barbiedoll, Ah don't wanna go to no fancy Halloween party."
If those words hadn't come from the mouth of one Master Sergeant Wayne "Beach Head" Sneeden, they may have been construed as whining. Beach Head was many things but a whiner wasn't one of them. He inspired whining in others, he didn't partake in that activity himself. He wasn't whining, he was…voicing his displeasure.
Still, Corporal Courtney "Cover Girl" Krieger had a way of getting him to do things he never thought he would, like waiting patiently for his girlfriend to get dressed. Truth be told, he usually ended up enjoying himself on her little excursions, if only for the simple fact that he was with her. He loved this woman so much that is scared him.
This time they were on leave in New York City, their first vacation together since becoming a couple. The location was chosen by Courtney, who wanted to show Wayne her adopted hometown. New York was especially beautiful the end of October.
While having dinner the previous evening, they were approached—Wayne would say "assaulted" by- Jemima Jones. Courtney and Jemima worked together on some perfume campaign and remained friends. Courtney became a G.I. Joe, while Jemima went on to become one of the most sought after models in the world. Jemima was hosting a huge Halloween party the following night and insisted that they attend.
"It'll be FUN," Courtney insisted. Wayne knew he would rather take a beating with a brick stick than go to some high society party, much less a Halloween one. However, she was so excited; he didn't have the heart to refuse her. It was only one night. How bad could it be?
He would soon find out the next morning when she dragged him to a costume shop for his outfit. Courtney insisted no masks—something about wanting to show off her "fine piece of man candy"—and it pretty much went downhill from there.
It was a Halloween party. Why did he think it wouldn't be as painful as diving into a swimming pool filled with double-edged razor blades? He'd probably have a better time cleaning all the bathrooms in Grand Central Station with his tongue
Beach Head hated Halloween only slightly less than he hated Valentine's Day, and his disgust for THAT holiday was the stuff of legends. PFC Joker's bad Valentine's Day jokes sent him completely over the edge last year. (Q: What do squirrels give for Valentine's Day? A: Forget-me-nuts.) The damage total from that year has yet to be surpassed. Busted furniture was preferable to the year he made the entire base run the PT Course at 2AM, sparked by a session with Psych Out talking about his "feelings." The entire unit prayed his mood would be dramatically improved this year since he was now in a relationship, volatile though it may be.
His attitude towards Halloween was thus far unchanged. It was a frivolous waste of time and energy as far as he was concerned. Adults dressing up in costumes? Please. It was nothing more than an excuse to get drunk and act stupid.
He just didn't see the point in Halloween. Growing up poor, costumes were whatever he could cobble together. His family never had money to give out candy, so the place they were living that year always got egged or worse. He didn't even LIKE candy, so what was the point?
Yet there he was sitting on the bed in their hotel room, dressed in a bowling shirt, cargo shorts and a black fedora. He was supposed to be the dang fool son of the actor from "Apocalypse Now." Fine movie, lots of things getting blown up. Too bad his son is a total fruit loop. If he was one of my greenies, I'd whip his candy ass six ways to…
His thoughts of inflicting bodily pain and emotional anguish on his doppelganger for the evening flew out the window when his girlfriend opened her bathroom door and posed prettily in her Goddess costume. Courtney was clad in an emerald satin baby doll nightie that hugged her in ALL the right places. Her long, lean legs encased in sheer black thigh high silk stockings and capped off by four-inch emerald marabou feather slippers. "How do I look?" she purred.
"Ah uhh..."
Beach was temporarily rendered incapable of coherent speech, because all he could do was drool. She was like something out of a fantasy. Her copper-colored hair was casually gathered on the top of her head, with wispy tendrils framing her heart shaped face. Her blue eyes looked even more so in the light and her creamy skin was beautifully complimented by the emerald satin fabric.
He swallowed hard. Twice. "Ya look nice, Krieger, but ain't cha gonna be cold wearin' that at the party? We could just stay here…" he trailed off hopefully.
"You're so sweet, Wayne. I'll be fine with this," she said, as she picked up a short, emerald satin robe and draped it over her soft shoulders. God, he loved silk.
Courtney sat down on the bed next to him and ran her fingers across his chest, smoothing out the buttons on his black and white bowling shirt. If she kept that up they would never make it to the party, he thought.
"You look nice, Ranger Man. You really should leave your balaclava and body armor off more often," she said, seductively. Yes, he felt naked without them, but if it elicited this kind of reaction from her, he would learn to live without them.
"Did you read those quotes I gave you?" Courtney asked. That snapped him back to reality.
"Yeah, Princess, I read 'em." he grunted, disgustedly. "Blazes, this guy is a total mental midget. Rock star from Mars? Adonis DNA? Tiger blood? Warlock? Fire breathing fists? He's pogue. Gawd darlin', you don't expect me to SAY that crap, do you?
Courtney looked him over carefully, and then said "There is just one quote I want you to remember."
"Yeah? It better be a good one," he said
"Oh, it is," she said "Here it is: 'I'm not bi-polar, I'm bi-winning. I win here and I win there.'"
Then, Courtney leaned over and seductively whispered something in Wayne's ear that changed his outlook entirely.
"You let me win there, at Jemima's party, and I'll let you win here," she said, as she pointed to the mattress.
Wayne momentarily stopped breathing.
"Sooooo you win there, Ah win here" he said.
"Yup," she said with a dangerous glint in her eye.
Wayne stood up, offered Courtney his arm and said "Winning!"