A/N: I CAN EXPLAIN
I know I've been off radar for a couple weeks and have missed three posting days, but I was sick. Tl;dr, I went to a homeschool prom, got sick, had nothing in me to post on Sunday or Tuesday, and when I felt better, I decided to resume my proper posting schedule. Except yesterday, I rolled out of bed to help the fam plant some trees, then went from there to a friend's graduation, then went front there to a spur-of-the-moment hang-out game night, and didn't get home till 9. By then I was wiped, and I fell into bed shortly after, so here we are on Monday. ...that's not so short after all. Whoops.
In any event, I'm back and I'm posting again! I'm STILL not happy with this one, but like I've said, I don't know how to fix it, so I will simply leave it. I hope you guys like it!
Josh Walker had known her for the grand total of a week and a half, and he'd decided that she was insane. But that was okay, because he was used to insane. He missed it, really. And her crazy team wasn't all that different from his crazy family back in Texas. Both sassed each other, were unusually large and somewhat unruly, and could easily take over a small town. The main difference was that the Walkers rode horses and wrangled cattle, and the Strike Team went around picking and finishing fights.
"Sorry about that," Nikki said as she entered the room, carrying two mugs of hot chocolate and looking very sheepish. It wasn't something he was used to seeing from her, and he could tell no-one else was used to it, either. Which, of course, meant that it was him causing the reaction, and he didn't really have to guess at why. "I really shoulda guessed the twins were gonna do something like that."
He chuckled. "Not a problem, Nik." He took the mug she offered him, and she took the seat beside him at the bar. "I'm used to meddling." She chuckled as well and took a long sip. "I gotta say, you're pretty remarkable. To handle everything that gets thrown at you and your team with the same 'go-get-em' attitude day in and day out? I'd have slapped someone by now."
"Who says I didn't?" she retorted. They both laughed, then fell into a companionable silence. She looked around the room, then back to the polished counter. She stared at her reflection in it for a long moment.
Nikki?"
"This is where it started," she remarked quietly. Josh looked at her. "Right here. I was reading my book – don't even remember which one it was, now – and there was construction work being done on this floor. Laser came down from the vent, spouting about the Decepticons and taking the Tower, and I clobbered him over the back of the helm with a pipe."
Josh huffed a chuckle. "And then you decided to collect ex-Deceptions like stamps," he joked. She smiled, but she was still caught in memory.
"I wonder what it would've been like if I'd actually listened to Tony and stayed out of here," she whispered, something distinctively haunted in her tone. Josh opened his mouth to ask if she was alright, but never got the chance to speak.
"It was Sherlock," Laserbeak announced from the doorway. "And you hit my optic."
She laughed, the sadness in her eyes vanishing in an instant. "Ah, yes, how could I forget?" More silence, filled only by the quiet whir of Laserbeak's hoverjets as he flew to the bar and landed on it. "It's been a wild ride."
"And we're not even close to done," Laserbeak finished.