a/n: hi all,

Moving right along with this term. As always, a giant thank you for the reads and reviews.

Cheers,

EQT.95

"What are you doing here?" Kate asked, surprised to see Melvin standing on the sidelines of the group she was just about to start a training session with. They were first years and, while definitely not the rowdiest of the bunch, Kate had her work cut out for her. "Don't tell me I'm supposed to train you, too."

"Sort of…" Melvin said with a small smirk.

"You're kidding me," Kate said with a sigh.

"Haven't you heard? I'm on scholarship which means I need to start pulling my weight around here."

"Wait, you mean…?"

"I'm your new assistant!" he said, breaking into his signature full-faced boyish grin.

"That is… how did that happen?"

"I spoke with Reyes and he agreed to let me help."

"Wait, you asked Reyes to help me?"

"Yea… I figured you could use the help and since I'm not actually doing anything for the scholars program, I thought I could contribute here. Plus Reyes said if I'm decent and get your sign-off, I could run some of the sessions without you. You know, lighten your load a bit."

Kate's expression was unreadable, and for a moment Melvin was worried he'd just overstepped and was about to get the full force of Kate's anger again. Instead he watched as she seemed to struggle with her words.

"But if that's not cool with you, I can talk to Reyes and do something else-"

"No, no," Kate said, shaking her head. "I'm just… surprised, I think?"

"What can I say, I leave all the ladies speechless," he said with a wink.

"Hardly," Kate replied with a skeptical voice. "Thank you, though. It'll be nice to have you around."

"You can thank me by showing me how to get these plebes in line," he said with a joking tone of self-importance.

"When I figure that out you'll be the first to know," Kate smirked before turning her attention to the loitering bunch of cadets. "First we've got to knock them down a peg or two."

"How do we do that?"

"I was thinking a 10k run would be a good start."

"A good start?" Melvin gaped.

"And you get to tell them," Kate said, resting her hand on his shoulder as he audibly gulped at the task.

xx

"The new guy sucks," Sarah said through heavy gasps as the other cadets breathlessly made their way to the locker room.

Kate chuckled as Sarah struggled to stand upright, winded from the final sprints of the day. They'd been working together less than a week and Kate was impressed by how well Melvin had picked up on the tone required to keep the cadets in check, albeit perhaps a little too well. On more than one occasion she found herself reining in his more severe tone for something more supportive.

"This isn't meant to be punishment," she muttered after a particularly harsh confrontation between Melvin and a third year.

"Was I too harsh?"

"If it were the 1860s and your name was Inspector Jalvert I might say no, but… you're Melvin Bennett, second year at Point Rock so… yea, a smidge."

"I don't get the reference but I get the point," Melvin said with a smirk.

"Any chance we can get you back in the driver's seat?" Sarah continued, unsatisfied by Kate's lack of response.

"Maybe once he's trained up."

"How long will that take?" Sarah whined.

"I don't know. How long has it taken you?" Kate smirked back. "You've had how many weeks of this again?"

"Ugh, you suck, too," Sarah said, waving her off as she marched toward the lockers. "See you Tuesday."

"We're done."

"Wait."

"No."

"One more," Sophie asked, lifting herself from the mat.

"Sophie, I'm not-"

"Just one," Sophie challenged. "It's not ten yet."

"It's 9:59," Kate said unamused.

"And we go till 10."

Kate looked like she might say no before sighing, shaking her head in disgruntlement. "Fine."

Sophie wasn't getting lightyears better, but she didn't think she was getting any worse either. One catastrophic flaw she'd yet to discover was that she was her own worst enemy, and that had stagnated her growth over the last two weeks. Her natural tendency to overthink and need to be right only fed her already growing frustration. The overthinking left her caught up in her own head which made her an easy target for Kate. Fortunately, her need to be right was what was improving her response time as Rachel session wore on. After enough knockdowns, the slow ebb of anger from constantly failing would fuel her, and while her moves were less precise and more erratic, her mind was also clouded, making her strikes surprisingly faster and more intuitive.

This was the mode she was operating at when 9:59 rolled around. It had been a particular brutal session, with Kate giving no room for mistakes.

Sophie didn't wait for Kate to strike first, letting her frustrations take the lead as she stepped in with the first swipe. She watched as Kate sidestepped it. Feeling Kate's counter coming, she shifted to dodge before she could let herself think twice. This caused her to fall back on her heels and grant a broader perspective into Kate's next actions. Kate was clearly looking for a quick knockdown to end the evening, and it made her moves less efficient and more obvious. Her follow-up move was to shift toward Sophie, reaching to catch the closest of her two wrists. Sophie anticipated this and let it happen, feeling Kate's fingers grip firmly around it before she twisted away, taking the delayed release from Kate to pull her momentum off balance. Sophie stopped half a turn and let the elbow of her free arm swing and land hard into Kate. Kate's grip finally loosened in surprise, and Sophie took the chance to complete her turn and send her free hand swing toward her target. The hit took them both by surprise. Sophie's palm stung as it pulled away, leaving a fresh cut on Kate's lip.

They both paused as Kate took a step back, wiping the back of her hand against her mouth and looking down as the streak of blood that went with it. Sophie was just as equally stunned, unable to take her eyes off the red stain.

"Kate, I'm sorry, I-"

"Good," Kate said, rubbing her hand against her shirt. "Again."

It was another fifteen minutes of back and forth before the session ended. Sophie never managed to best Kate but came close on one occasion. Unfortunately the surprise of striking Kate returned Sophie's fighting to its pragmatic form of overthinking, worried that she'd strike with too much force. It was only during this that Sophie realized the level of restraint Kate had in her own moves to avoid injury the way she had just negligently done to Kate. This sparked another curiosity about just how much Kate was holding back in their sessions.

They were both winded when Kate realized the time and put an end to the session. For a moment Sophie thought Kate might say more as she turned to leave toward the locker room but was met with the same calculated "We're done" that had ended all of their previous sessions.

Sophie lingered a few minutes behind Kate, taking care to put back the pads she never wore. It was a defensive mechanism she'd adopted to avoid any accidental run-ins or looks of continued indifference from her ex. It was just another form of rejection she hadn't gotten used to no matter how much she told herself she deserved it.

When she finally entered the locker room and located her gear, she was struck by the dumb happenstance that she'd chosen the same row of lockers as Kate. Kate's belongings were strewn about over the bench that divided the rows of lockers. The lack of Kate and the sound of running water were clear signs she'd collected what she needed before departing for the showers to rinse off the hours of sweat and grime that had accumulated on her.

Sophie quickly changed, excusing the hastiness on her plan to shower back at the dorms. This reasoning was quickly ridiculed by the little voice in her head calling her out for being intimidated by Kate. She ignored this, shedding her workout gear for the warmer layers she'd worn to the gym. It was record timing, and she managed to shove her gym clothes into her bag just as the water turned off from the adjacent room.

Sophie felt herself exhale after what felt like eons as she grabbed her jacket and made for the door, letting her imagination of running into Kate terrify her into darting faster than she normally would. It was when her hand landed on the door's bar that she paused, hearing Kate's feet pad across the tile. She took a slow, shaky breath, trying to stifle the nervousness she felt grow inside her as she turned back toward the changing space.

This wasn't an uncommon feeling, but she only felt this kind of insecurity when it came to grades and authority figures. It was an irrational feeling to have these reactions around Kate, but they had become the new norm because their relationship was built around new norms. She appreciated the fact that their sessions required such physical investment and wasn't something more muted like tutoring, otherwise Sophie may have just accepted the grade deduction in Tactics to avoid the situation.

She heard Kate a few rows down, and took another steadying breath before retracing her steps back in that direction. Without risking a second thought she popped her head around the side:

"Hey, sorry again-"

Kate jumped in surprise at Sophie's voice behind her, dropping her fresh shirt onto the wet locker room tile. "What?"

"The… I'm sorry for earlier - I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine," Kate said, lifting the now wet tee from the floor with a sigh.

"And for that…" Sophie offered about the wet shirt, her eyes glancing toward Kate's underdressed torso. Kate had always been fit, but the semester had accentuated that. She hesitated, letting her eyes linger a moment longer when she caught sight of something that caused her to forget all forms of subtlety and gape in shock. "Did… wh-did you get...?"

"What?" Kate asked with unrestrained impatience.

"Did you get a tattoo?" Sophie asked, pointing to the exposed patch of skin on the left side of her ribcage layered in new ink that fed up and under the band of her sports bra.

"Yea," Kate said simply, pulling on the half-wet shirt.

"Wh… when did you get it?"

The question was met with silence as Sophie watched Kate quickly shove her remaining belongings in a duffle and turn to leave the long way to avoid Sophie standing in her path.

"What is it?" Sophie blurted out, motivated by nothing but blatant curiosity and shock.

"What?"

"The tattoo."

"Good night, Sophie."

"You're surprisingly kissable."

"Surprisingly? I didn't realize that was in doubt."

"You look plenty kissable. But you have a 'down to business' vibe that had me wondering. I was a little worried that first night was a fluke," Veronica explained. "Nice war wound by the way."

"What?"

"I meant to say something earlier but… well, you gave me a reason not to," she smirked, lifting her hand to Kate's mouth and grazing her thumb over the day-old cut. "I'm surprised one of those cadets got the better of you," she continued.

"I was distracted," Kate answered easily. It wasn't a lie; every session she'd had with Sophie had been one giant distraction. She was constantly fighting to stay focused and attentive. Between her ever evolving and devolving feelings toward Sophie and Sophie's neverending attempts to engage in something other than sparring, it was a miracle she'd only just gotten her first mark.

A seed of anger had been planted months ago when Sophie broke up with her. It grew when Sophie was unwilling to reconsider a week later, and it blossomed when Sophie went behind her back to sideline Riley's plan to get her expelled at the end of term. She'd iced that ire over winter break, trying to ignore it but it reignited at the beginning of term. There were moments she felt irrational holding onto this kind of fury. A piece of her had been taken in their break-up, and she had only felt that absence one other time in her life: it reminded her of the years that followed Beth's death.

"You don't seem like someone easily distracted."

"Your flattery is a bit belated," Kate said, putting aside her thoughts as her fingers traced over Veronica's skin to fall at her waist. "Unless you're looking for round two."

"And three and four," she replied, pulling Kate's lips to her.

"You'll need to up your game then, Nicky," Kate challenged back before meeting Veronica's lips with her own.

"Hey, I dropped by your room last night," Melvin said once they'd released the cadets for the afternoon.

"Oh, I was out," Kate explained easily.

"Yea, that's what Chelsea said."

"Oh, ok. Did you need something or…?"

"I ran into her this morning, too. She said you didn't come back."

"So?"

"She also said this wasn't the first time."

"She also sleeps in and I'm out by eight most mornings," Kate added dryly.

"So you weren't out all night?"

"I didn't say that."

"Is something going on?" Melvin asked, his line of questioning nearing his actual intent.

"No, why?" Kate asked, turning her attention to the abandoned gear littering the gym floor.

"Where were you?"

"Does it matter?" Kate asked, with an edge of frustration.

"I just want to make sure you're ok," Melvin clarified, backing off slightly.

"I'm fine, Melvin."

"I… well, honestly I'm also a tiny bit jealous," he admitted.

"What?" Kate said, her frustration dissolving into confusion.

"I heard you're hanging out with third and fourth years."

"Did you want to hang out with them?"

"Oh, no… I… I want to hang out with you," Melvin confessed.

Kate paused in surprise before a small smile broke over her face. "Aww," she said dopily, "you miss me?"

"Don't do that."

"You do. Melvin Bennett misses me."

"I take it back. I take the whole thing back."

"I'm flattered."

"You're making it worse. Honestly until I started helping with all of this I assumed you were intentionally avoiding me all semester. Now I understand all the absence."

"I wasn't not avoiding you," Kate admitted. "Having all of this allowed it to come naturally though."

"So was it me or Sophie you were actually trying to avoid?"

"What are you doing tonight?" Kate asked, ignoring Melvin's question.

"The usual, I suppose. Wilfred, probably."

"Want to go somewhere new?"

"Hey, ready?" Sophie asked from the hallway side of room 409.

"For…?" Melvin asked, staring blankly back.

"We were going to go over interview questions tonight," Sophie said cautiously.

"Shit, I completely forgot."

"Oh, that's ok. Are you still free to help or…?"

"I'm sort of… uh, Kate kind of asked me to… I- I was sort of planning on hanging out with Kate tonight," Melvin said in apology.

"Oh," Sophie said, trying to recover from the shock of Melvin's words. "Right, sure, sure."

"She asked and I… I can cancel though-"

"What? No, no, don't do that," Sophie said quickly, ignoring the pang of jealousy she felt at Melvin's plans.

"Are you sure? It's fine. I told you I would help before Kate asked. You've got dibs."

"Melvin, go hang out with Kate," Sophie insisted. "I know it's been eating at you."

"I'm sorry," Melvin said genuinely. "I know that… I'm sorry."

"If you apologize again I'm going to make you practice twice as much with me," Sophie challenged, earning a small grin from Melvin.

"I'll pencil you in for tomorrow morning."

"Afternoon," Sophie corrected. "If you're going out with Kate, I have no expectations you'll be coherent for anything before two."

"Thanks babe."

"Stop that," Sophie scowled. "I broke up with you, remember?"

"Yea, but a guy can wish, can't he?" he offered lightly.

"Mhm," Sophie chuckled, turning back toward her own room before pausing. She looked down the hall before glancing back at Melvin who was already hearing the question on the tip of her tongue.

"How is she?"

"Good. Fine, I think," he replied simply. "Honestly we don't talk a lot outside of the training sessions."

"Sure, yea."

"I… I'll let you know tomorrow."

"That would be… thank you."

"How is she?" Kate asked with as much casualness as she could muster.

They'd been at the bar all of thirty minutes before they found their way to an empty pool table. Kate hadn't meant to ask about Sophie, but a lull had come up when Melvin accidentally dropped her name, and she figured addressing the elephant sooner than later would be best.

"You mean outside of the weekly ass-kicking you've been giving her?" Melvin asked with a smirk. When Kate didn't bite, his response sobered. "She's… better. Honestly most days I'm not sure," Melvin confessed. He was quickly realizing how much different the semester had been compared to others: Sophie and Kate had been such a significant part of his everyday life previous terms that the sudden absence of it left him unable to answer even the simplest of questions.

Kate nodded in understanding but remained silent.

"She has her next round of interviews for Wayne Tech next week," Melvin offered, surveying Kate for a sign of interest as she eyed the table for her next move.

"How's Monica?" Kate asked, bypassing this comment and circling around to get behind the cue ball.

"Oh, she's really good, actually. She's been responding well to the trial and got approved for a second round of treatment."

"That's great news, man," Kate said, looking up with a genuine smile on her face before striking the ball and watching it ricochet off the edge and into the red. A moment later the ball fell into the pocket with a clank.

"You sure you've only played a few times?" Melvin asked suspiciously. "Because I saw you at the end of term, and you were not this good."

"That's because she wasn't betting then. She's unusually good when there's paper on the table," a voice from their left chimed in.

"We aren't betting this time, Tim," Kate explained to the newcomer.

"Who's the fresh blood?" Tim asked with a smile.

"It's Melvin," Melvin said lightly. "And you guys typically bet?"

A moment of silence fell as Kate lined up her next shot and pocketed the seven with ease.

"It's not anything big," Kate explained.

"Just something to keep it interesting," Tim added.

"For like, money, or...?"

"No, no, that's boring," Tim waved off.

"Tim likes games. And catching people off guard."

"Meaning…?"

"Here, re-rack and you can do this properly," Tim said, pulling the triangular frame from the wall.

"But I'm winning," Kate protested.

"That would be a first," Alex teased from behind Tim.

Introductions were made as Kate begrudgingly set the table. Once done she rejoined the growing group of cadets who were advising Melvin on the nuances of Tim's betting scheme.

"So it's simple enough. You both get a slip of paper and write down what you get if you win," Tim explained.

"What?" Melvin asked, perplexed by the idea.

"Within reason," Alex clarified.

"And it has to be something that can be given immediately otherwise it's less fun for the popcorn crowd. There's also a $10 limit."

"So it is a monetary thing?"

"Not always. Last weekend Tim lost and had to go outside and shout 'I love Taylor Swift' three times," Kate chuckled.

"But there are rules: nothing that breaks the law, nothing that causes injury, and no sexual favors."

"Interesting," Melvin said, beginning to understand.

"So, take a minute, right it down, and give them to me. I'll read them to ensure all items comply with betting rules and then they'll remain hidden until after the winner is declared," Tim said, handing each a napkin and tiny pencil.

Kate quickly jotted hers down and passed it back to Tim. Melvin, on the other hand, seemed lost to the world of possibility.

"Just write down whatever comes to mind," Kate rushed.

"I'm thinking."

"You're not going to win anyway," Kate teased.

"You don't know that," he shot back.

It took another minute and two fresh napkins before he settled on what to bet for. It took only nine more for him to lose. By the tenth minute, Kate was squaring up her final shot and easily sank the eight ball into the far left pocket.

There was a small cheer from the nearby observers as Tim made a show of pulling out the folded napkins.

"Normally this is the exciting part, but Kate tends to be quite dense when it comes to creative things," Tim remarked lightly, earning a small scowl of disapproval from Kate. "Melvin, you owe Kate a beer."

"That's what you wrote?" Melvin asked in surprise. "You could have had anything and you asked for a beer."

"Only because Tim said sexual favors were off the table," Kate said lightly. "Draft, please."

Melvin walked away with a scowl which was more out of disappointment at her lame request than over having to buy her the drink.

"Who's the new guy?"

"Melvin," Kate said, turning to see Veronica leaning casually against the table behind her. She'd arrived halfway through the game and silently sidled up to the group of onlookers.

"Second year?"

Kate nodded.

"Is he cool?"

"He would say yes," Kate replied, earning a light chuckle from Veronica.

"Seems like he's team Sophie," she said.

"What?" Kate scowled, her mood from moments earlier souring at the mention of her ex. She watched as Veronica waved the folded napkin clutched in her fingers.

"Wanna see?"

"No," Kate replied resolutely.

"You sure? It's pretty juicy," Veronica teased again, waving it in front of Kate's eyes.

"You're a sadist."

"Maybe, but you're a masochist, so it works out," Veronica grinned. "Speaking of, I assume you'll be going home with lover boy tonight."

"Unless some third year catches his eye and doesn't immediately reject him."

"I could see if Sarah is free," Veronica offered lightly. "She owes me a favor anyway."

"You're kidding."

"Only half. I'll admit I had my hopes up you'd be here tonight."

"I'm flattered."

"And I'm horny."

"You could see if Sarah is free," Kate winked.

"She's not as fun," Veronica sighed as though she'd already considered the option.

"She'd be upset to hear you say that."

"Oh, she already knows," Veronica waved off dismissively. "She's all about intimacy and cuddling and that post coital bliss. The youths these days."

"You look good for your age," Kate remarked dryly.

"What?" Veronica replied confusedly.

"You played the Tin Man, right? That was what… over 70 years ago-? Ow, hey!" Kate laughed at the punch that landed on her arm.

"Rematch?" Melvin asked, holding the beer out for Kate with a questioning gaze alternating between Kate and Veronica.

"Nope, winner stays while the loser goes off to lick his wounds," Tim offered apologetically.

"I resign," Kate said.

"What? No, you've gotta stay!" Melvin practically shouted.

"Yea, you can't just walk away," Veronica chimed in with a cheesy grin.

"Fine, but then we're doing doubles."

"Guys vs girls?" Tim offered. "Me and Alex vs you and V?"

"Works for me," Veronica said, tossing in her imaginary hat. "But Kate surrenders betting privileges."

"Fine by me," Kate said.

"You boys better bring your A game," Veronica said, practically cackling in delight.

"Please don't say it-" Alex pleaded.

"-I swear to God Ver, if you-" Tim chimed in.

"Because I'm gonna bring my V game," Veronica grinned, earning a round of groans.

xx

"I get why you hang out with them," Melvin remarked as they stumbled their way back to the dormitory. "They're all really great."

"They're alright," Kate said. She glanced over at Melvin who was mesmerized by the seven digits written in blue ballpoint pen on his hand. She smirked, shaking her head in amusement. "You know she's gay, right?"

"What? Who?" Melvin asked, looking up in surprise as he let his hand fall guiltily to his side.

"Sarah," Kate smirked.

"What? Are you serious?" Melvin gaped.

Kate laughed. "She's pissed you're so hard on the cadets during the training sessions."

"No… she… but… but we made out," Melvin said in obvious disappointment.

Kate shrugged, "maybe you wooed her with that Bennett charm…" she said, trailing off as Melvin moaned in defeat.

"I feel so used," Melvin sighed. "How is it I only ever wind up with the gay ones?"

"Could be worse," Kate grinned, "you could wind up with no one."

"Poor James," Melvin replied, shaking his head in mock sympathy.

"Yea, except James has actually had a real girlfriend," Kate laughed.

"Ugh, I'm already a wounded animal. Why would you go and bring that up?"

Their banter lasted the rest of the walk back, fading into silence as they neared the main entrance.

"You ever think of hanging out here anymore?" Melvin asked cautiously as they waited for an elevator in the lobby. After the night out, it was clear that being off campus away from the dorms had its appeal, especially for Kate. Given how the previous semester had ended, he knew there was a resentment living inside her from all the memories the walls contained, but he also held out hope that it would fade with time. She'd yet to return to 409 all term, and it was an absence he was still coming to terms with.

"I don't know," Kate replied honestly. They were six weeks into the fifteen week term, but Kate didn't feel like the necessary time had elapsed to genuinely consider that.

The elevator doors opened and the two ushered themselves into the small box. Melvin pressed '4' and the doors slid shut. There was a beat of silence before the elevator began to move and Kate spoke again:

"Tell her to be herself. It's cliche but true: Bruce picked her for her wit and ability to think on the fly. Her intuition is good. If she over prepares she won't respond with that; it works for things like exams and papers, but this isn't school."

Melvin nodded, swallowing his surprise and remaining silent as Kate continued to stare at the closed elevator doors, the hum of its mechanism driving them higher.

"Knowing her she's read every damn scientific paper Wayne Tech has published in the last five years: it's good but won't impress them. They already know their own accomplishments and don't like being pandered to. She needs to spend more time talking about herself."

Melvin stayed quiet again as the tiny box climbed past the third floor.

"They'll also probably ask her about her future plans. Make sure her answer is about the private sector. Even if it's not true, they won't move her forward if her intentions are to stay in the military. Bruce doesn't necessarily care, but the board tries to avoid fraternizing with the military outside of their contracts."

The elevator slowed, the doors opened to the fourth floor lobby, and just like that, it was over. Kate stepped forward to leave when Mevlin found his voice.

"It's going to mean a lot to her that you said this."

"What? No, no you didn't get any of this from me," Kate said.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Yea, but what if-"

"Melvin," Kate interrupted, "this stays between us."

"She's not an idiot. She's going to know it was from you."

"That doesn't mean you admit to it."