Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to Mortal Kombat and all that jazz. Anything you don't recognize is all me. Thanks
Author's Note: Since I'm trying not to drown y'all in angst, there are a couple of tiny, little fluffs in here if you squint. Enjoy as per usual.
The past few days on set were especially taxing on Johnny. His cast had little to no respect for his vision and his producer was harassing him on a final date on the movie. The only thing different about today was that Sonya accompanied him, asking for her input whenever it was necessary. With a disgusted grunt, he raises his megaphone to his lips. "Cut!" he announces to his cast. They all stopped what they were doing. Pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers, he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. The young men and women, all of whom were dressed in various pirate themed costumes, looked at him curiously. "While I appreciate what you guys are trying to do, you have to remember this is a melee. It's supposed to be chaotic and frenzied."
"Dude," the lead actor says, "that's what we've been doing. It's not my fault that blind guy kinda sucks." He shakes his head as he re-holsters his sword. Some of the boys snickered at their friend.
Johnny doesn't take the subtle jab at Kenshi very lightly. "Well, it wasn't the right form," Johnny says through gritted teeth.
"Fu—" he starts before he's cut off by a sharp whistle. He turns to the source of the sound and finds Sonya glaring at him. She gives Johnny a quick look which he response with a dismissive wave of his hand.
"What's your name again, kid?" she asks him, taking on the tone she only reserves for insubordinate soldiers.
"It ain't kid, that's for damn sure," the actor answers disrespectfully, a choice that proves to be a mistake.
Sonya folds her arms, unimpressed. "Well then, dude," she begins sarcastically, "your form isn't right because your footing is incorrect. Haven't you heard of the saying 'a house is only as sturdy as its foundation', or did that fly over your head, too?" She stands up and places her hands on her hips as the rest of the cast let out a few snickers and jeers.
The actor narrows his eyes at this woman. Who did she think she was bossing him around like that? "If it's such a problem, lady, then show me," he challenges her.
Shaking her head incredulously, she strides over to him and places a hand on his shoulder. Without any real preamble, she kicks one of his legs from under him and flips him over to his back. He lands with a loud plop. The girls gasp as he coughs. "See, now if you'd been standing with the correct posture, I shouldn't have been able to knock you flat on your ass. Now get up so I can show you," she tells him. With a scowl on his face, he gets up roughly. Placing his feet shoulder width apart she then places his back leg a couple of inches behind him. "Now bend your knees," she tells him as she guides him into a slight bend. "Keep your back straight," she directs him and she takes a step back. "And now," she says as she tries to kick his leg from under him again. He wobbles but he doesn't fall. Turning back to Johnny, she asks him, "Isn't that better?"
The entire time this is happening, Johnny went from raising an eyebrow to widening his eyes and gaping. Shaking his head, he composes himself. "Yeah, that's much better," he tells his actor. His heart suddenly fills with pride for his woman. When she walks back to the chair next to him, he holds out a fist to her, which she bumps with her own. "Damn, you're good," he tells her with a smirk as she sits back down.
"I know," she tells him matter-of-factly. "Hey!" she calls out to the actor after a few moments, "what's your name anyway?"
"Jamie," he responds as he practices his sword tricks in the same posture Sonya has left him in. Unbeknownst to anyone, her heart drops as a memory flashes through her mind. Clearing her throat, she watches in silence as Johnny redirects his cast to their starting point.
After a few minutes, Johnny glances over at her again. "I love it when you're here, baby," he states happily.
She forces herself to smile at him. "Me, too," she responds.
Cassie angrily throws her duffle bag on the top bunk of her room at the base. She paces around the room, muttering to herself. She was told to begin mandated therapy sessions before she was supposed to be cleared for duty, but somehow the memo missed Secretary Blake who demanded her return lest she faced a multitude of write ups. Deciding on a new course of action, she leaves the room, slamming the door behind her.
She walks up to Blake's office and knocks on the door harshly. "Enter," she hears him say. She enters his room and manages to narrowly bite down her anger. "Sergeant Cage. Welcome back," he tells her with a nod. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"Permission to speak off the record, sir?" she asks (demands).
"Certainly," he tells her, none the wiser to her distress.
"Why the fuck am I listed as back on duty?" she yells at him. He drops his pen in shock and stares at her incredulously. "I was told that I wasn't cleared until I started therapy, which I haven't done yet. I thought I was cleared to start at my own time."
"Uh," he starts intelligently, "you were given an eight week clearance, Sergeant, one which you are two days behind on."
"But that wasn't clear to me," she argues, "I was told not to come back until I started therapy."
"Well, I apologize for the misconception. However, you were due back two days ago. You and your team are supposed to go to Outworld with a team from OIA to clear things up with them. General Flagg will accompany you and Corporal Briggs."
Corporal? She thinks to herself. "Huh. And where will General Blade be in this?" she hisses, still obviously holding some contempt for her mother.
Blake frowns. "Blade? You shouldn't be concerned with Ms. Blade's whereabouts, Sergeant," he decides to inform her. "From here on out, you'll be reporting to General Flagg. Just get your team back together."
"Yes, sir," she spits before turning on her heel and stalking over to the door.
"And Sergeant?" he cuts into her departure with. She slowly turns back around to face him. "I am sorry for what has happened to you," he tells her.
For added measure, she pops her gum between her teeth. "Don't sweat it, Blake. I've learned my lesson," she grits before slamming the door behind her. "You don't know the half of it," she mumbles to herself. Feeling the bile rise to her throat, she sprints to the nearest bathroom. Locking herself in a stall, she empties the contents of her stomach harshly even though there isn't much to begin with. After a few minutes of dry heaving, her breathing turns into sobs.
A few hours later, she's back in her room doing pull-ups using the door frame as a guide. "Cassie?!" a voice asks in total disbelief. She jumps down from the frame and turns to face Jacqui dressed in a dark gray tank top and her army print cargo pants. Her usually braided hair is straightened and pulled into a neat high ponytail. Cassie raises an eyebrow at her best friend. "What are you…? I mean, how come… hi?" she sputters.
"You heard about this new mission we have?" Cassie asks Jacqui, cutting straight to the point.
Jacqui blinks a few times before she shakes her head. "What about it?"
"We've gotta go to Outworld for some shit reason," Cassie informs her flippantly.
Jacqui continues to stare at Cassie whom she hadn't seen since she left the hospital six weeks before. "I didn't know about a new mission. My question is how do you know about it? Have you been cleared for duty already? What about therapy?"
Cassie holds up a hand to stop Jacqui's onslaught of questions. "Chill out. Apparently, I've had eight weeks to sort my shit. Now I'm here. And fuck that bullshit therapy session. I shouldn't have to be forced to tell a stranger my 'issues' like some fucking nutcase."
Jacqui nods in agreement. "You're right; you shouldn't have to talk to—"
"I mean, I'm fine. I don't need to talk to some fucking shrink about what happened, you know?" she continues, her voice beginning to raise a few notes above normal. She paces around the room.
"I—" Jacqui tries to say.
"And can you believe the nerve of the General? I thought she'd have my back—"
"Cass…"
"I thought she'd at least understand the shit I've been through—"
"Cassie!" Jacqui tries again.
"No wonder she's such a dismal, two-faced cu—"
"Sergeant Cassandra Carlton Cage!" Jacqui screams at her best friend. Cassie snaps out of it. She turns around again to see Jacqui glaring at her. She hadn't seen that look on her face since the Blood Code, and it scared her shitless. Cassie backs down immediately, inching herself towards the bunk bed and lying down on the bottom bunk. "Shit, Cassie. You're mad at the wrong fucking person, dammit. Aunt Sonya's been trying to help you. She's not the enemy," Jacqui says softly as she walks over to sit on the edge of her bed.
"How am I supposed to know that?" Cassie mumbles through Jacqui's pillow.
"Because," Jacqui starts, "have I ever lied to you? Like, ever?"
Cassie lifts her head from her pillow and looks at her best friend. "No," she begrudgingly admits. She places her head on the pillow again and screams loudly. Jacqui exhales, feeling defeated because she has never seen her best friend in this state before. It worried her and left her powerless to help other than to try to offer emotional support.
"I'm just really upset that Flagg made you come back when you weren't ready. Isn't there a way to extend your leave just a little while longer?" She looks toward Cassie and sees her shrug, her head still encased in the pillow. Making a swift decision, Jacqui stands up. "Get up, Cass. I'm taking you home. And if they try to give you shit about it, I'll take the blame."
"They won't let me, Jacqui," she whines.
"Fuck them. I'm taking you home. You're not you if you're not focused." Jacqui reaches above her and grabs Cassie's duffle bag from the top bunk. "You're going, and you're not coming back until you're good and damn well ready. That's what Aunt Sonya wanted. That's what you're gonna get." Cassie finally picks up her head again and looks to see her best friend with that look of stubborn determination. No one is able to change Jacqui's mind once it's made up. For once, Cassie won't even try. It's what gives her the emotional strength to slowly get up and follow behind Jacqui as they make their way through the corridor. Some of their fellow soldiers are giving them reproachful looks, which Jacqui pointedly ignores.
"General Flagg's gonna have your ass, Specialist Briggs," she hears a female tell her.
"Fuck off, Hendrix," Jacqui snaps at her. "And it's Corporal to you, so go back to bed."
Cassie fights off the sneer that threatens to cross her features when she hears the girl scoff indignantly. When they climb into Jacqui's Ford Expedition, Cassie can't hold her tongue anymore. "So, you're Corporal now? When did that one happen?" Jacqui ignores her question for the time being and starts the car. "Thanks Jacqui," she speaks after a few minutes of driving.
"Anytime," she responds.
After their long and exhausting day on set, Johnny and Sonya have already eaten dinner, showered, and are now getting ready to sleep. As she crawls into bed, Sonya pulls the covers over her body and turns away from his side. Johnny emerges from the bathroom and notices her under their blankets, unmoving. "Sonya?" he calls out to her.
"Yeah?" she answers softly.
He walks over to her and sits on the other side of the bed. "What's wrong?" he asks her.
"Nothing," she replies quickly. She doesn't notice him frowning, but she feels when he pulls the covers away from her body lightly. "I'm fine."
"You're lying," he tells her. She grumbles under her breath. "Babe, what's on your mind?"
"I said I'm fine, John," she repeats, curling up into a ball.
Johnny closes his eyes and counts to ten in his head. "Sonya, I'm not gonna force you to talk to me. But please, don't start shutting me out too," he says evenly.
A twinge of guilt creeps up on Sonya. She sighs, sitting up and facing Johnny. "I just don't know what to do with myself. I keep thinking to myself that I should be on the base doing something useful, you know? What if things start flaring up again in Outworld? What if the whole ordeal was simply a means to distract us from any other threats?" she ponders as she idly fiddles with the strings of her powder blue knee length sweat pants.
"You don't think you're being useful here?" Johnny questions her, slightly hurt over her words.
She narrows her eyes at him. "Out of everything I've just told you, that's what you chose to focus on?!" she snaps at him.
"I didn't mean—" he starts to backtrack.
"How did you mean it then?"
He covers his face with his hands and rubs his eyes. "Baby, I'm trying, okay?" he renounces, not wanting to start an argument with her, especially so late in the day. "I don't think I'll ever be able to understand how you feel about your life away from the army, but I'm trying. And I'm sorry that I may have caused you to 'resign' in the first place because of my actions. I swear I'll be spending the rest of my life trying to make it up to you and Cass." Another wave of guilt crashes into Sonya at the magnitude of his words. "And you're right," he continues, "I'm sure they'll send someone to check up on Kotal Kahn and the other Outworlders. We can never be sure with them since the Reiko Accords no longer apply to them."
Sonya swallows thickly. "You know, I almost forgot about those fucking accords," she says, thoroughly annoyed with the situation. She scoots over to him. "And Johnny?"
"Yeah?"
"It's not your fault," she tells him as she puts a hand on his knee and squeezes. "It's not your fault," she reiterates. She shifts to her knees and leans in to give him a hug, which he returns. "I'm sorry I snapped at you," she breathes into his ear.
He smiles as he gives her hips a warm squeeze. "All is forgiven, Sunny," he tells her. She nestles into his neck. "And I'm sorry for implying that you're not useful. I really did enjoy your company and assistance today on set."
"That's okay," she states as she lets him go. "I had fun today as well, minus that insubordinate kid," she mutters the last part. He chuckles. "He'd have gotten a set of burpee suicides from me if he were my charge."
"Don't I know it," Johnny tells her with a laugh. They settle down into the bed facing each other; he wraps one arm around her waist, drawing her closer to him and she threads her leg between his with one arm on his shoulder and the other around his neck.
They both lay there in silence listening to each other's breathing. "Honey?" she calls him softly.
"Hmm?" he answers, half asleep.
She contemplates telling him what's on her mind; she's scared shit less because the anniversary of her partner's death is coming up and she doesn't know what to do with herself now that she isn't in Special Forces to occupy her time. She changes her mind, opting to say, "I love you," instead because she does and she knows he'd understand everything eventually; she'll just tell him when she's ready.
He smiles at her sleepily. "Aww, she loves me," he brags.
Fighting the urge to laugh out loud at his antics, she teases, "And you're insufferable."
"You missed this. And I love you, too."
A/N: Love your reviews. Lemme know what you think as per usual.