My girls, my precious rarepair I love so dearly. I am happy to get to them finally in this challenge though I REALLY have a lot I need to catch up on, getting this one out seemed personally important :P
Red vs Blue and related characters © Rooster Teeth
story © RenaRoo
It's a Date
Carolina never seemed like the type who would club. Pulsing bass, strobing lights, thick musk in the air, makeup so thick that it would delay a frown even on the loneliest, worst night of them all. But then again, Carolina had prided herself over the years as never seeming like many things, by knowing how to adjust herself to be exactly the sort of person she was expected to be.
And in that way, she wasn't really known by anybody who hadn't seen the rare moments where nothing was expected of her at all.
The mandatory in mandatory shore leave was pretty much the only feasible reason most of her colleagues in Project Freelancer could give for why Carolina was taking off to fulfill it just a week after everyone else had used up their time.
There may or may not have been a betting pool among the agents on whether or not she was actually just hidden on a different part of the ship than normal or if she was 'vacationing' in some sort of martial arts dedicated monastery.
It was a toothless pool since one of the expectations of Carolina was that she would never really satisfy them with the real answer and thus never really settle their betting.
The question of her travel destination only became more shrouded in mystery as she wore a plain shirt and pants, threw a duffle bag over her shoulder, and requested a single pilot to take her to her destination, a destination only provided to high command of Project Freelancer and to the pilot herself. She almost smirked to herself at how mysterious and exciting her little trip was seen to the others.
As soon as her departing vessel was out of the sector that the Mother of Invention was traversing, Carolina went to the privacy of the tiny bathroom, her tote in tow, and began to get herself ready.
Her hair sizzled as she crimped its ends, her right foot balanced precariously on the lid of the toilet while she leaned in and applied eyelashes. Her right eyeliner had a perfect wing, then it was adjusted to a thicker one after the ship jarred the left. She blended her lipsticks until the right shade of turquoise was reached, then she unbuttoned her plain shirt with frightening efficiency to trade out her old, worn bra for the hot pink lace one she had packed away.
The sleeveless turtleneck was slick and formfitting, though the low back had to be pulled up slightly to cover the latch of her unmatched bra.
After that came the skirt and the open towed hills that bunched at her ankles with the same turquoise flare as her lipstick.
It all came together just moments before they went down for their landing and when Carolina looked into the mirror, she didn't see the soldier or the warrior or the fighter anymore. But she recognized herself all the same. She was herself and she was excellent. And she was extremely ready to become completely undone after a few hours at the club.
Gathering her purse the moment her nails were dry just enough, Carolina strutted to the cockpit of the ship and stuck her head in to speak with her pilot.
"Almost docked," Niner announced before turning just enough to catch a glimpse of Carolina. She then stopped and completely turned in her seat, eyebrows high as she looked over the Freelancer in disguise. "Damn. And here I thought I'd seen you cleaned up before!"
"Just think of it as an undercover disguise," Carolina offered. "I'm just stepping up to let you know I'll send you the address of my hotel tomorrow afternoon. I imagine that checkout will be around noon the next day, so I'll meet you at the closest port then."
"You could give me your hotel room now if you want," Niner offered,
"I don't know where I'm going to end up," Carolina clarified before backing off and beginning to walk toward the exit door.
"Holy shit, it's like I don't even know you," Niner laughed.
"That's the idea of the next two nights," Carolina agreed just before opening the door.
Carolina wasn't too surprised that the first few hours clubbing weren't filled with bombastic wildness, but the disappointment came all the same. There were few people she caught the eye of who could manage to be original in their introductions without being obnoxious, and at the same time she hadn't seen anyone interesting enough to her own tastes that she was willing to take the first move herself.
It was looking like the night was going to necessitate being much longer than she had originally planned when Carolina felt a tap on her shoulder.
It took some restraint and a reminder that her eyeliner was thicker than originally planned to keep back the eye roll, but Carolina managed it. She took her shot glass in between her fingers and spun around to face who was giving it an honest try that time around.
Then, of course, she nearly dropped it.
It wasn't that she recognized the dapper woman in a black tux immediately or that even the pimp cane and bow tie were even that initially shocking. It was just the absurdity of all of it combined together right there when she turned around got to Carolina far faster than she was prepared for.
Then her conscious brain caught up with her subconscious as she pulled her shot glass into a full grip and really assessed who she was facing.
"Niner?" she asked, voice cracking in shock as she looked her pilot up and down. "What are you… how did you…?"
"Sorry it took so long, but you wouldn't believe how many nightclubs there are in this part of town," Niner said jokingly with a twist of her wrist. "Of course I hate that I kept you waiting."
"Waiting?" Carolina laughed. "Waiting for what?"
"Waiting to be swept off your feet by the right kind of gal," Niner said back, her eyebrows waggling in a way that Carolina wasn't sure she was talented enough to pull off on her own.
"Jesus," Carolina laughed. She then quickly threw back her shot and turned it over on the bar before climbing down from her stool and properly greeting her pilot. "Don't tell me you went and bought a whole suit just to be my wingman tonight," she begged.
Smoothly, with far more charisma than any other potential dance partner had managed on Carolina that night, Niner worked her hands into Carolina's and spun them both around. "Didn't you hear me the first time? I obviously bought this suit to sweep you off your feet. Unless you're waiting for another partner to come back from the restroom."
Carolina laughed and closed the distance between them, the lights and people around them all pulsing to the same deafening beat. "Even if I were, there wouldn't be any competition for style alone tonight."
Niner smirked and waggled her brows again. "That's the sort of news I love to hear," she said.
They leaned in together, meeting for a kiss just before the next song could start.