("As a child you would wait
And watch from far away
But you always knew that you'd be the one
That works while they all play."
"In youth you'd lay
Awake at night and scheme
Of all the things that you would change
But it was just a dream."
"Here we are, don't turn away now,
We are the warriors that built this town
Here we are, don't turn away now
We are the warriors that built this town
From dust."
"Farewell, I've gone to take my throne above
But don't weep for me
'Cause this will be
The labor of my love.")
- Imagine Dragons, "Warriors"
January - May 2018
There was something about working out with Maya, and it was distracting now.
It was like she was always in heat. Either she was frustrated and needed a release she couldn't get from punching something, or she was just turned on and couldn't focus. Josh knew what post-sex clarity was like, and he enjoyed it just as much as she did, but something about how much libido she was displaying was almost concerning to him.
Don't get him wrong; Josh was a teenage boy, and his hormones were through the roof like any guy. He couldn't get his mind off her at night either, and sometimes the imagery running through his head was so intense that he had to get up and distract himself.
She always seemed to initiate the contact, but the struggle for dominance always ended in Josh's favor. Not that she couldn't beat him if she wanted; Josh was just pretty sure she didn't want it. She liked the game and the struggle, but in the end, Josh's actions over her were better than the satisfaction she could get from being in charge. And Josh felt the same way.
He wouldn't complain about their dynamic as a teenage boy, but as a team leader he needed to think about more than her body. He needed to know she was mentally stable and could do her job. He needed to know if her increased libido was a symptom of an underlying issue that could interfere with her focus. His physical desires came second.
He asked her about it once, somewhere in the post-sex glow when she was picking up her bra from his floor and searching for her other clothes that had been thrown randomly around the room in their fever. He'd asked her if he should be worried about her, and she hadn't given him a direct answer.
She'd stared at him for a second, her bra hanging from her fingers. When Josh was about to repeat the question, she spoke.
"Actions are only motions."
The fourth rule of the academy.
Josh had frowned from where he was sitting on the bed, mulling over her answer as she strained to clasp her bra and finished dressing.
"I'm more than your team leader, Hart," he'd reminded her as she headed for the door.
She'd paused with her hand on the knob, before smiling tightly. "Nothing matters more than the job."
The second rule.
"Give me a good reason we should keep doing this," Josh requested, phrasing it as an order from her superior, and she dropped her hand from the doorknob.
Raising her eyebrows, she walked towards him like a cat stalking prey, and Josh recalled her specialist title.
She stopped in front of him, staring down at him silently as he raised his face to hers. Those blue eyes, damn it. The blonde waves cascading over her chest and tickling his nose. Her smirk.
She sank down a bit, and Josh's heart started to beat faster. He knew if she initiated, he could go again.
Taking hold of his shoulders, she straddled him, her ankles hooking around his calves, and he automatically reached around to stabilize her lower back.
Her eyes stared at his, her smile tugging a little, before she finally lowered her face and brushed her lips against his.
He was craving more, an addict to her touch, but she moved her face down to his ear instead, grinding her core forward in the process, as Josh held back a groan, desperate to focus.
"Give me a good reason we should stop."
When she was a child, Maya had never expected anything of anyone. She learned from a very young age that people weren't going to give her anything for free. She learned that people were cruel and they would think about their happiness before anyone else's. And she took from example.
No one else around her affected her actions. She'd work for what she wanted. At the cost of whatever it took.
She never asked for more than she was given.
She respected authority.
She didn't break the rules.
All she knew was a single goal: succeed.
Somewhere along the way her values and morals got switched up, and she made space in her life for people; people with whom she was ordered to develop a relationship. She did what she was told.
She lost focus.
Her last year seemed to fly by. They had no academics, no basics classes, just specialist courses. They trained all day, every day, six mocks a week with different combinations of the team. When she wasn't scheduled for a mock, she was training in the gym. The only time she wasn't physically active was when she was eating and when she was sleeping.
Even her downtime was physically active.
But she didn't care, because the exhaustion was worth it. For once she prioritized herself, and she loved it.
It wasn't like she particularly even liked Josh. They'd never been friends, and she doubted they ever would be. But she trusted him, and that was what mattered.
She knew she had an emotional connection to him, but she couldn't define it. Not like she could define the emotional connection between her and Riley, and between her and Lucas.
Lucas was easy. Lucas was kind, and protective, and a friend. She cared about his wellbeing as much as she knew he cared about hers.
Riley was her best friend. No matter what had happened between them, Riley seemed to have moved past it after the summer alone. Their friendship would never be the same, but as long as neither of them brought up Maya's sexual life with Josh, their connection appeared to be just as it had been the years before.
They trained together, worked on write-ups together, spent off-time together. As long as they avoided the topic that could break them, they were fine.
And Maya was depending on that, because she knew that the other shoe would eventually drop. And whether it be tomorrow, a year from now, or a decade from now, she would need her best friend when it did.
"Ms. Matthews."
Riley stood quickly when the director's secretary addressed her, and followed the man's outstretched arm towards the hall that led to the office she knew by heart.
"Ms. Matthews," the director addressed her as Riley closed the door behind her and turned to face her mother.
Whenever they had a formal meeting, Riley was used to her mother addressing her by her last name, but even if she was used to it, it did sting somewhere inside her. Her mother had been cold towards her ever since her unauthorized summer trip home, but as they neared graduation, Riley could tell she was anxious for peace. For what reason, Riley was unsure. But she was willing to comply. Peace was all she ever wanted.
"Madam Director," she nodded, taking a seat in front of her already-seated mother.
"Do you know why I asked you here today?" Topanga asked, and Riley shook her head. "We're going to discuss your role on the team following the completion of your coursework and training."
"Okay," Riley prodded, when her mother stopped talking.
"I've spoken to your brother and will speak to the other members of your team, but this meeting is about you." She opened the file on her desk, and Riley spotted her name, academy ID number, and her original academy photo - taken when she was thirteen - on the first page of the file before her mom flipped the page. "Your midterm evaluations show top marks, just as usual. Your lowest score is a 9.64 in archery, which, as you know, agents rarely use."
Riley held back a triumphant smile. She never got over the pride she felt at being praised by her mother - especially since it so rarely happened.
"Your specialist classification on this team is naivety, and you know that that will outline the role in missions that your team leader will assign on a case-by-case basis. Your missions will be assigned as the need for them arise, and you will receive all information and travel plans from Agent Isaiah Babineaux, your communications contact." Topanga pulled a few papers from the back of the file and handed one to Riley, and she glanced down over it to pick out keywords. "Your safehouse has been acquired by the organization and prepared for your team. It's located in Rhode Island, on a waterfront five acre plot. The plot has spaces designated for training and recreation, and is a considerable distance from other residences. You'll have groceries delivered on a weekly basis and are expected to cook your own meals. All other items, like hygiene product refills or clothing, must be requested three days in advance and will be delivered to you once approved. You can expect to be assigned to anywhere between three and twelve missions per month, and your breaks will not be scheduled, so take advantage of them. Do you have any questions?"
"We're expected to be confined to the property when not on missions?" Riley asked.
"You'll want to be, trust me," Topanga admitted, surprising Riley with the drop in formality. "Missions can be incredibly mentally and physically draining, and you won't want to waste the off time you'll have."
"What about visits? What's the procedure for requesting a trip?" Riley asked, looking over the paper in her hand.
"You mean to see family and friends?" Topanga waited for Riley's nod. "Just as is the standard for many jobs, you'll be expected to submit vacation requests three weeks in advance, and they will be reviewed and approved. Once approved, you may plan your trip and request transportation from the organization."
"Will we have… supervisory check-ins?" Riley questioned hesitantly.
"You're approaching adulthood, and will be treated as adults in legal employment," Topanga reminded her. "Whatever you choose to do on your off time in your safehouse is of no concern to the organization." When Riley paused again, Topanga raised her eyebrows. "Anything else?"
"Just…" Riley hesitated. "You were on an elite team. Do you… have any advice for me?"
The soften in her mother's expression was unexpected, but Riley supposed it made sense; Riley was requesting advice and comparing herself to her mother, and Topanga probably saw that as a connection to her daughter.
"Riley," Topanga said, stunning Riley with the use of her first name, "you've spent the last five years training for this purpose, and you've done well. I believe you could not be more prepared for this job, and I expect nothing less than the peak of your potential from you." She paused. "You've followed the strict rules of this organization and trained non-stop, and you deserve freedom to choose your own schedules and off time activities. I hope you take advantage of it." She nodded at her daughter, meeting her eyes, and Riley stood up, realizing her cue to leave.
"I'm proud of you, Riley."
The last sentence startled Riley, and she turned back to her mother, her eyes wide. "Thank you, Mom," she stammered, and Topanga nodded once, before looking down to continue her work.
Lucas wasn't sure what he was expecting at the end of his time at the academy; maybe a graduation ceremony, commencement, celebration? Instead, though, he was given a file, an ID badge, and instructions on moving out of his dorm.
As he left the office, he couldn't help but pause in the hallway to flip open his badge and see "Agent Lucas Friar, ID number 2018002, Clearance level 6, Elite Peach". He smiled to himself a little, feeling some burst of pride that he, a kid who started out in prison, was now a very high ranking agent at only eighteen. Second in his class.
He didn't go back to his room; instead, he showed up at Riley's dorm, where she let him in silently when he knocked, a very conflicted look on her face. He entered to see Maya sitting on the bed with her legs crossed under her, staring down at a file identical to the one he was given, while Josh leaned against the wall on the other side of the room. Riley went back to sit next to Maya on the bed.
"What's going on?" Lucas questioned. "Shouldn't we be celebrating?"
"We leave for the safe house tonight," Maya informed him, looking up when neither Josh nor Riley spoke.
"I thought we had a few more days, could see our families or something," Lucas disbelieved, flipping open his own file to see that Maya was right.
"No," Josh grimaced, "we leave in a couple of hours. We've got a helicarrier taking us straight there and then we settle in and wait for our first assignment."
Lucas pursed his lips, realizing why Josh and Riley looked so sullen. They must have assumed that they would be able to say goodbye to their parents and brother.
"Are you okay?" Lucas directed his question to Riley, and she nodded, wincing as she twisted her fingers together and pulled her sweater sleeves further down over her hands.
"This is what we trained for," she reminded them all, looking between the other three. "This is what we've been working towards." She met eyes with him for just a split second before her gaze drifted back to Maya. "We're ready."
Maya smiled comfortingly at her. "We are."
"We are," Lucas echoed, feeling like it was the right thing to say.
"You guys are like a cliche movie," Josh groaned, and all three of them smiled. He shook his head and snorted a little when his sister stared him down pointedly. "Fine. We're ready." He looked each one in the eye, the team leader. "We are."
A/N: Nodus Tollens raises from the dead.
I'm not very happy with this chapter... I liked how it started out, but then it kinda flipped vibes and flipped back and overall it feels inconsistent. But I wanted to put something up because I doubt I'll ever be happy with this chapter. Besides, we're finally at the fun place - the safehouse. It only gets better from here!
I already have a bunch of heated bits written for Joshaya and some really nice emotional pieces for Rucas. Then there's a bunch of pieces I've written for part 3, which is the part between the team's functional life and the moment that Maya shows up in Lucas's apartment in the preface. You know, the very first chapter in this book.
Then there's part 4 - after the preface.
Yeah... this book is going to be a lot longer than I had expected it to be...
But that's a good thing?
Relationships will be speeding up exponentially, so for you ship fans, I hope you're ready!
But I still have a few midterms and I don't know when the next chapter will be up. Sorry :(
In the meantime, I hope this chapter will suffice!
Reviews would be appreciated!
Kisses,
C