Takes place sometime in season 2. Inspired by that TikTok trend.
In hindsight, Michael probably shouldn't have taken any ideas from Sean Pierce. They were two different men, in two different relationships, and in love with two different women. He shouldn't have expected the same results. But he did. And he entered into a world of hurt.
Sean and Michael were in the kitchen preparing breakfast for Alex and Nikita. The men thought it would be something nice and relaxing to do for the women, considering their missions of late. So, Michael had taken over preparing what he could cook best- pancakes- while Sean managed the rest. They hadn't been cooking long, when they heard Nikita and Alex entering the beach house after their run. Their light voices and melodic laughter carried over to the kitchen, bringing bright smiles to Michael's and Sean's lips.
"Whatcha cookin', Hot Stuff?" Drawn by the delicious smells, Nikita bounced over to her boyfriend; her dark ponytail swayed playfully with each step.
"Hot cakes," Michael flipped the fried dough in the pan with practiced ease. Nikita's eyes widened in surprise, and she gave him an impressed grin. Michael couldn't help but puff up his chest with pride at her reaction.
"Well keep 'em warm for me while I shower, huh?" She kissed his scruffy cheek, before heading towards the bathroom. Michael watched her leave, letting his eyes drift down to her long, tights clad legs. Without losing a step, Nikita turned over her shoulder and gave him a wink. Michael laughed, returning his attention to the breakfast.
Meanwhile, Alex was drinking some refreshing water while scrutinizing what Sean was doing. He splashed some milk into the egg pan, and started to scramble them with a fork. Alex was absolutely bewildered, "Did you just add milk to eggs?"
Sean doesn't look up from his actions, "It makes them fluffier."
Alex doesn't believe him. She leans in closer, her chest brushing up against his strong, sturdy arm. It was a brief moment, but Sean seemed to freeze at her touch. Soon the moment was gone, and he was back to scrambling.
"Are you gonna at least add some vegetables?" Alex continued to hover and backseat cook.
"If you don't like what I'm doing, then you don't have to eat it," Sean smirked, finally turning to her. His smile and heart dropped, however, at just one glance at her bright, smiling, blue eyes. He couldn't stop himself from staring at her.
Shrugging, Alex placed down her water bottle, "I'll think it over as I change."
And with that she left. Sean hopelessly followed her with his gaze. That time, it took him longer than a moment to collect himself. Although the kitchen fell into silence when it was just the two men cooking, Michael didn't waste anytime breaking it. He poured out more pancake batter, smirking, "So what was that?"
"What was what?" Sean attempted to cover the slight raise in pitch in his voice.
Michael breathed a laugh. It was obvious that Sean had fallen hard for Alex. Michael and Nikita could see it clearly. Even Birkhoff made an occasional joke of it. The only two who had no idea what was going on were Alex and Sean. Shaking his head, Michael decided to let the man off the hook. Until, of course, he saw him mix vegetables in with the scrambled eggs.
"Oh, okay. That's what's what," Michael said all too knowingly, flipping the last of the pancakes and stacking it on a plate with the others.
Sean wanted to refute the man's claims, but he was stopped by the sounds of Alex coming back into the kitchen. He quit stirring in the vegetables, turned off the burner, and rushed to the fridge. Michael eyed Sean suspiciously, "What are you doing now?"
Quickly, Sean reversed the hoodie he was wearing so that it was backwards, yanked open the freezer, and pulled the hood up to cover his face, "I'm getting Alex back."
"For teasing you?" But Sean didn't reply to the question. He reached his arms behind him, appearing as if he were standing with his back to the room. Michael rolled his eyes. If he got Nikita back for everytime she teased him, he would never do anything else. Whatever worked for Sean, he guessed.
Alex spotted the eggs and vegetables first, as she came into the kitchen. A mischievous grin etched its way across her features, "Guess I will be eating your breakfast."
When Sean didn't respond, Alex rolled her eyes, "So now you're ignoring me. Real mature, Sean."
She reached up to pull off the hood. Michael slowly realized what the prank Sean planned was, and moved to help him. A scared Alex was a deadly Alex. And Michael feared things were going to go south fast.
Alex yanked off Sean's hood, expecting the back of his head. Instead, there was Sean's face smirking proudly and shouting, "Boo!"
Her scream and punch happened at the same time, before Michael could get to them. But it was alright. Sean was ready for the flying fist and caught it easily. Michael relaxed as Sean laughed, and Alex glowered, "That's not funny."
"It's a little funny," Sean continued to laugh, and hold Alex's hand.
With a huff, the young woman pulled her hand away and stomped towards Michael, "I'm just gonna have pancakes." She took the plate Michael had already prepared, crossing to the table full of fruit and other pancake toppings.
"More eggs for me then," Sean let her irritation roll off his back, switching around his hoodie and making his plate. With his back turned to her, Sean didn't notice Alex glancing back at him, a small amused smile gracing her lips. Michael saw it though, and hid his own smile. They were so clueless.
But more importantly, in that second Michael realized he could in fact get Nikita back for all her teasing. Sean's prank was harmless, appeared fun, and Michael would know the hit was coming so he could block it. Sure, it might've seemed a tad cruel, yet Nikita had started it. She always started it. And after she had poured ice cold water on him during his shower the other day, he needed a way to retaliate.
He didn't want the risk of Alex eventually telling Nikita exactly how Sean scared her, so Micheal planned his prank for dinner that night. He and Nikita had already agreed to cook for everybody when they had gone grocery shopping earlier in the week- there were only so many times they could eat out, and they had crossed that limit. All Michael had to do was get Nikita out of the kitchen long enough to set up the prank, then the rest would come together. How he was going to do that, he wasn't sure yet. He knew he'd think of something, though.
"Hey, Babe," He drawled, stirring the sauce he was preparing. "Can you get my phone out of the living room?"
Nikita turned down the heat on the steaming water and pasta, "No," but she went to do so anyway. Michael breathed a sigh of relief. He had come up with some excuse as to why he needed his phone, knowing Nikita would fight him on doing anything. This time, however, she must've come to her own conclusion and found it reasonable. That was a load off his mind.
Michael quickly put the rest of the plan in action. He opened the freezer, reversed his hoodie, pulled up the hood, and waited. Nikita's light footsteps padded back towards the kitchen. He sensed her nearing him, but she didn't stop to talk or hand him his phone. She just walked past. Confused and a tad disappointed, Michael continued to stand at the freezer contemplating his next move. Did he give up the prank, or wait for her some more, he couldn't decide. Unfortunately, Nikita made the decision for him.
She paused in her trek, and turned back around. Michael couldn't see it, but a wicked grin lifted the corner of Nikita's lips. She drew back her arm, and gave her boyfriend a well-meaning playful smack on the ass. Well, what she thought was his ass. As her handler, Michael should've taught her how to pull her punches; a playful smack from Nikita was almost as strong as one of her blows.
Michael's knees buckled in pain, and he fell to the floor. He was not proud of the slight yelp that erupted out of his mouth. Nikita gasped in shock, "Ohmygod, Micheal. Ohmygod, are you okay?"
He nodded, the hood falling off his face. Laughter bubbled to the surface despite the pain he was in. He had brought this upon himself. It was a surprise he expected the prank to go any differently. Nikita's own laughter echoed his, as she crouched to his level. She gently placed her hands on the side of his face in an attempt to sooth him. But the two began to laugh harder as the ridiculousness of the moment crashed into them. Encased in giggles, their foreheads bumped, and their hands reached out to hold one another.
"You're gonna let the food burn," Birkhoff scoffed, walking into the kitchen to witness Michael and Nikita doing whatever it was on the floor. He had tried to escape Alex and Sean's sexual tension in the living room, by coming to the kitchen. Little did he know, those two were having their own 'what the hell' moment.
Grabbing an energy drink off the counter, Birkhoff rolled his eyes, "Love. Pshh."