Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except an imaginary series 6 where the Conby wedding is interrupted by an anomaly. Memily actually get time to be happy and Jesker has screen time. And Lester is as sarcastic as ever. *sighs dreamily*

Chapter 3:

Becker woke with a start, looking wildly around to see where he was. His eyes settled on the sleeping brunette using his shoulder for a pillow and remembered. He groaned mentally, invoices. He hadn't known what he was getting himself into when he'd volunteered for this particular mission.

He smiled a little, remembering the random conversations they'd sparked to amuse themselves during the tedious work.

"Someone looks happy," Abby ambled into the living room, clutching a cup of tea like a lifeline.

"Am I not allowed to smile?" Becker glanced up at her, shifting slightly but was careful not to wake Jess.

"Maybe it's the company," Abby smirked, taking a sip of tea.

"Yes, Abigail, you're charming," Becker drawled, eliciting a wide smile from the blonde.

"Thanks Becker, but I wasn't talking about me," Her eyes fell to Jess. "So are you going to ask her to the ball?"

"What is it with women that makes them go crazy about dances?" Becker asked.

She shrugged, "Gender stereotype? I don't know. I just think you two would look adorable together."

"Are you trying to set me up?" The soldier sent her a death glare. Being set up never worked. Ever.

"I'm giving you a gentle nudge," Abby corrected, still smiling at her friend.

"If this is gentle, I'd hate to see you be obvious," Becker said dryly.

"That would involve locking you two in a cupboard," Abby told him honestly, her smile growing larger.\.

"Don't you dare," Becker sat up, startling Jess awake.

"What's going on?" She asked, rubbing sleep from her blue eyes.

"We were just talking about the ball," Abby lied quickly. She didn't think Jess would like her meddling in her life.

Jess groaned and fell back onto the arm of the couch, "Again? It was all the lab techs were talking about yesterday. They're jealous 'cos they weren't invited."

"I take it you're not a fan of balls then?" Becker asked, slightly surprised. Jess seemed the type to enjoy dressing up and going to fancy parties.

She nodded, "I've been to way to many."

"Really?" Abby asked, curious. She didn't want to prove Lester right and make a fool of herself. "What happens?"

"Basically a bunch of people get together in pretty clothes and dance and make small talk. Nothing strenuous. It can be fun."

"Depends on how you define fun," Becker replied dryly.

Abby rolled her eyes, "Just because you're Mr Negativity, doesn't mean the rest of us are."

"I am not negative," Becker turned to Jess, "Jess, tell her."

The young woman looked at her roommate then back to the soldier. "Sorry, you kinda are."

"It's called being prepared," Becker huffed, folding his arms.

"It's called being pessimistic," Abby countered, leaning over to poke him in the arm.

"Not that it's a bad thing," Jess said quickly. "It's good, really."

"Yeah, someone has to do it," Abby added, smirking at Becker's indignant huff. It wasn't often she could tease him.

"Are you two ganging up on me?" Becker asked, glancing at the two women.

"No."

"Yes."

"Abby!"

"Jess!" Abby mimicked her friends chastising tone.

"I hate you," Jess pulled a face at Abby.

"Lucky it's my turn to make breakfast then isn't it?"

Becker quirked an eyebrow, "You two have a schedule for making breakfast?"

"Jess is…" Abby searched for a word, "Time conscious."

"Hey, that's not a bad thing," Jess cut in.

"No, it's good. Abby and Connor need the discipline."

Abby narrowed her eyes at the soldier, "Just for that, you can get your own breakfast."

"Didn't anyone teach you that it's impolite to kick a guest out on an empty stomach?"

"Who said I was polite?" Abby smirked.

Becker nodded, "Touché."

The door flew open, startling all of them. Connor stumbled in, rubbing his eyes like an exhausted child. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Jess and I live here," Abby stood up. "And I thought you did too. But you haven't been here for weeks."

Becker was surprised at the venom in the normally more placid girl. He didn't think her and Connor were that unstable. A sideways glance at Jess confirmed that the outburst was a normal occurrence in the flat.

She caught his eye and motioned for them to give the squabbling couple some privacy. He nodded and followed her as they silently moved down the hall and went into one of the bedrooms.

She closed the door behind them. "Are they always like that?" Becker asked softly.

"A bit yeah," Jess shrugged. "Connor's not often here."

Becker looked around the room and smiled. It was typical Jess. Every wall was a different colour – matching pastel shades of blue, green, pink and yellow. The furniture was white and filled with brightly coloured throw pillows. He hid his smile quickly, so she didn't see. "It's very bright," He said, faking a disapproving tone.

"I was 18," She replied huffily. "And it's my room."

His grin resurfaced, "Relax Jess, I was kidding."

She grabbed one of the pillows and threw it at him, "That wasn't very funny."

"You're awfully defensive," He caught the pillow easily – her aim was surprisingly good.

"Forgive me if I don't like people insulting my room," She drawled, giving him a pointed look. She sat on the bed, cross legged.

"You're forgiven," He smiled teasingly. It was so easy to rile her up; it was fun.

She threw another pillow at him and it hit him in the head. "You deserved that," She laughed.

He gave her an evil grin as he knelt down to pick it up, "You read my file, didn't you, Jess?" The sly confidence in his tone made her heart skip a beat. He was up to something.

"Yes," She said, looking at him curiously.

"You do realise that I am a brilliant marksman, don't you?"

"Yes," She had no idea where he was going with this.

"So you realise that you just started war with me, right?" He threw the pillow at her just as she opened her mouth to reply.

"That wasn't fair," Jess glared at him.

"War's not fair," He retorted.

"You're mean."

Becker nodded, "Extremely."

"Okay," She grinned at him, "You're on. Winner buys breakfast."

"More like lunch," Becker checked his watch, eyes widening at the late hour. He never slept that late.

"Fine," Jess rolled her eyes again. "Brunch then."

"Alright. On three," He knelt down to pick up a pillow and she leant over, unintentionally giving him a look down her shirt. He looked away pointedly. "One. Two-"

She threw one at him and it landed on his stomach. "Three," She announced cheerfully a second later.

"Cheater."

"All's fair in war," She parroted his earlier words as she gathered more ammunition.

It was his turn to roll his eyes, "Funny," He declared dryly, tossing more pillows at her in a flurry of motion.

She let loose a small shriek as they pelted down on her.

"If this was a real war, I would have won by now," Becker told her as he sat down on the floor.

She rolled onto her stomach and frowned at him, "You don't have to go easy on me. I'm not that pathetic."

"Okay," He stood up and picked her up, slinging her over one shoulder.

"Hey!"

"You told me not to take it easy on you,"

"So is this how you deal with all of the creatures?" Jess asked as she swung in mid air, looking at Becker's back.

"Some of them yeah," Becker nodded even though she couldn't see.

She kicked, trying to get loose. "You can put me down now."

"And why on earth would I want to do that?"

"Because…" She trailed off, trying to think of a reason. "I have to go shopping."

He turned to look at her over grown wardrobe, "I think you have enough clothes, Jess."

"You can never have enough clothes," She retorted cheerfully. "And I have to find a dress for the stupid ball."

He frowned, seeing a formal looking dress at the edge of her wardrobe, "Can't you just wear an old one?"

Jess sighed, "You are such a guy."

"What's that supposed to mean?" It sounded like an insult to him.

"You can't wear an old dress to something like this."

"Why not?"

"You just can't!"

"Why?" He couldn't help but ask, feeling her frustration in the tenseness of her body.

"You just don't," She said after a moment of trying to come up with a reason.

"That's a brilliant reason," He said sardonically.

Connor opened the door, "What are you doing?"

Becker put Jess on the ground immediately; moving so fast Jess almost stumbled.

"Pillow fight."

"Talking."

"Riight," Connor looked at both of them. "Well I'm going to bed and Abby went for a walk. So you two can go back to your pillow fight slash talking thing. Just keep it down, yeah?"

"Yep," Jess answered cheerfully.

"Okay," Connor walked away, sending darting looks back to them.

"I don't even want to imagine what he's thinking right now."

"I never want to imagine what he's thinking," Becker said, watching Connor walk away. "And you owe me breakfast."

Jess crinkled her nose, "I was hopping you'd forget about that."

"I have the memory of an elephant," Becker declared as his stomach rumbled.

"And apparently the appetite," She giggled. "Come on, let's feed the beast."

A/N: This came out fluffier than I expected so sorry about the cavities. Thank you for all the reviews/favourite/alerts etc. I will be replying now. I'm now safe from the feral hippies and officially caught up on series 5. The last episode was soo good! (Spoiler: Who else thought that Abby had a different surprise for Connor when she whispered in his ear?) Anyway, reviews are much loved. They're food for writing. And you know what happens when writing is starved…