"We have to take the dishes back..."
Shawn had just finished his first official letter home from the Academy and had looked over at the desk, and had seen the pile of dishes left over from their dinner. He and Ian had promised the kitchen staff that they'd return them promptly, and had forgotten. Anxious for something to do – anything – Ian rolled off his top bunk and landed neatly on his feet.
"I'll do it."
"I could," River offered. Of course, he looked half asleep, and he was dressed in those ugly pajama bottoms that neither Shawn nor Ian wanted anyone else to ever see. Brooks shook his head.
"I can do it."
He started stacking them onto one of the trays, and then stacked that tray onto the other.
"You want help?" Shawn asked.
"Nah. You finish your letter." Shawn already had his shoes off and was partially ready for bed. The clock had read after 9 PM and it wasn't long before the lights off bell would ring, telling the cadets it was time for bed. They got up early, after all, and were sent to bed relatively early to compensate.
"I'm finished, but I think I'll go take a quick shower before the bell rings."
"Better hurry," River told him, looking at his watch.
"He's not very big," Brooks said. "Probably doesn't take long to wash up."
Shawn shook his head. Even though Ian had said it jokingly, he wondered if he was going to get tired of all the short jokes, or if they'd fade away with time. He wouldn't be smaller than everyone else forever, after all. Just for another couple of years. By then he should be catching up, depending on when he hit his next growth spurt. Heck, in a couple of years, he'd even be shaving. Probably.
"Cheap shot, Brooks," River said, frowning. He wasn't sure if he liked the little jokes, either, but he was trying hard to remain civil.
"I'm only teasing him."
"As I recall, you teasing him is what got us into this mess in the first place."
"No. You're inability to get off your bunk without bashing your head open is what got us here in the first place."
"Hey, I didn't-"
"Guys." Shawn sighed. They were getting along better, but he supposed it would have been a miracle to expect them to be best friends. Maybe some day... but not that day.
Ian shrugged, and took his trays and dishes and headed out into the hall. Shawn grabbed a towel and did the same; only he headed in the opposite direction, towards the bathrooms at the end of the hall.
It was a big bathroom, since it was designed to be used by several people at once. Plenty of stalls and urinals, and a whole section devoted to showers. There were no partitions for privacy – it was the military after all – but Shawn didn't need any privacy. He wasn't bashful around other guys. Even guys that were hairier than he was and far more developed.
He greeted Eric – who was in his platoon – and told him about what had been going on, explaining to him why he, Ian and River had apparently vanished off the ends of the Earth, and then laughed when he was told that the other members in the platoon had assumed they'd all killed each other and the Air Force was simply biding its time to hide the bodies.
The lights off bell rang while Shawn was still in the shower. He and Eric weren't the only two to speed up their night time bathroom visit; they dried off quickly, dressed quickly, and cleaned up after themselves, then they all hurried as a group out the door, where they separated as each guy came to his room. Shawn told Eric he'd see him in the morning, then slipped into his room, just as the lights in the hallway went dark, leaving only the emergency lights to act as nightlights to those few souls who were still out wandering the halls.
"Ian's not back?" Shawn asked as he hung his towel on the end of his chair to dry.
River opened his eyes, and looked around. He'd been dozing, stretched out on his blankets, his head practically under his pillow.
"Nope, not yet."
"He'd better hurry. The lights out bell just rang."
"He'll be fine. Even he can't get lost on the way back to the room from the cafeteria."
Shawn smiled, and changed into a pair of sweats. He had pajamas, of course – not as ugly as River's, but he did have some – but Jack wore sweats when he slept, and Shawn pretty much did everything Jack did when he could. Navy blue sweats, and no shirt.
"You're pretty buffed for a little kid," River noted, a little surprised. Shawn didn't have great big muscles, or anything, but he did have a well-developed physique from working with so many weapons instructors and self-defense teachers.
Shawn grinned and struck a pose, which didn't cause the muscles to stick out much more than they already did.
"I have a personal trainer."
"Uh huh. Well, now that you're in the Academy, you're going to have a whole bunch of them, and they're going to wake you up at 5:30 to get you started on your calisthenics. You'd better get to bed."
"True enough. Maybe you'd better take a moment and practice getting out of bed, now, before they wake you up in the morning?"
River grinned, and flipped him the bird.
"Touché, genius."
Shawn laughed and got into bed. He didn't turn off the light, since he figured Ian could do that when he got into the room. He put his hands behind his head, and sighed softly, looking up at the ceiling. His first day of the Academy was over. It had been a rough one, and he'd actually been worried about getting kicked out, but it looked like the two guys he was going to be spending most of his time with were finally starting to get along, so it'd probably start getting better. He closed his eyes and started to relax, allowing himself to doze off...
A while later, he heard the door open, and assumed it was Ian. He started to say something, when a rough voice – a far rougher voice than Ian possessed – spoke up from the doorway, no more than fifteen feet from Shawn's head.
"That's the one we want."
Shawn looked over just in time to see two... men... appear out of nowhere, almost like an Asgard ship uncloaking. He had time to register that both were holding very large, crazy-looking weapons before they both pointed them at him, and fired.