-Caveira POV-
"Okay, tell me how this is going to get them to stop fighting?" I ask Y/N, peering out into the testing room, where he and IQ had set up some kind of maze looking thing.
"It's essentially a training exercise" Y/N explained. "It's the same challenge in each of the six rooms, but they need to work together to get out of the maze as a whole"
"Huh?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I saw how this was supposed to go, but failed to see how exactly it would keep Ash and Doc from trying to kill each other on a constant basis.
"Okay, so the challenge is this: In each room, there is a single button on the opposite wall of the door. With me so far?" Y/N asked. I nodded.
"So far, yes" I nod.
"Okay. The buttons are hold-to-activate. To unlock the door, the button needs to be held down. One person holds the button down, while the other person goes through the door, which is now unlocked, and presses the button on the other side of the door, which will permanently unlock the door, allowing the first person to come through the door." he summed up. It took me a hot second to get that, but slowly, I understood.
"So they need to work together to get out of this maze-like thing?" I ask, just to be sure. Y/N nods.
"I call it the Codec." I smirk, and raise an eyebrow.
"The Codec?" I ask. Y/N pouts a bit.
"I named it myself" he said. I chuckled.
"It's an odd name, but a good one." I assure him. "So how will we get Ash and Doc here?"
"IQ is on it." he assures. "They'll be here in a minute or two." As if on que, IQ entered the room, with Ash and Doc in tow, both looking confused as to why they were here, and annoyed that they were here with each other.
"What is this?" Doc asked, seeing the giant maze that will test their teamwork and, hopefully, end their disputes.
"Welcome, operators Ash and Doc" Y/N spoke over the intercom, booming his voice into the training room.
"Eir, what is the meaning of this!?" Ash hissed.
"We brought you two here to end your disputes once and for all. In front of you is, what I like to call, the Codec. Within its walls, you will find a repeating challenge, in which you will need to work together to complete." Y/N instructed. I smiled. I liked his commanding nature, but resisted the urge to kiss him right there.
"Ugh, I'm not working with her after yesterday" Doc spoke.
"Same here" Ash agreed. Rolling my eyes, I grabbed the mic from Y/N, and spoke into it.
"Okay, both of you idiotas are going into the Codec, or I swear, you won't see daylight again" I hissed. I saw as both of them paled, and slowly entered the Codec. Smiling, I handed the mic back to Y/N.
"Harsh" Y/N commented. I shrugged.
"Gets the job done" I counter. Rolling his eyes, Y/N spoke into the mic.
"Your task is simple: work together to escape the Codec. You will receive no outside help or aid of any sort. Each task is identical to the last. Good luck ops". With that, Y/N clicked off the mic, and sat back in the viewing balcony. "Twenty bucks says they take over an hour" he bets.
"Deal" I smile. I look down, and see Ash and Doc standing confused in the first room. After a minute, Ash presses the button in the room, probably out of curiosity. I hear a loud click as Ash pushed the button. Immediately, she sprinted for the door, only for it not to budge when she tried to open it.
"Shit!" she yelled. I smirked at her inconvenience, as I found it funny. For about ten minutes, Ash and Doc took turns doing the exact same thing, inevitably failing each time. I watch as both of them start yelling at each other again, presumably for not being able to get out.
"Well, this is going swimmingly." Y/N smirked. I reached for the mic, but Y/N stopped me, placing his hand on top of mine. I look at him and knit my eyebrows. He shakes his head. "Let them resolve it and figure it out."
"But-"
"If things intensify, then you can step in" Y/N mentioned. I huffed, but nodded, opening a Cliff Bar I had brought. Nibbling it, I watch as Doc seemed to be gaining some common sense, as he was trying to calm Ash down. Curiously, Y/N tuned into the audio inside the Codec.
"Ash, just calm down."
"Don't tell me to calm down, Doc" Ash hissed.
"Maybe there's something we're missing to help us get out?" Doc suggested.
"There's literally just the button and the door. That's it! There's nothing else! Nothing! Zero! Zilch! Nada!" Ash threw her hands up in defeat, leaning against the wall. Doc sighed, following suit, leaning on the button, holding it down. The door made the same click, letting the pair know it was unlocked. "Not trying that again, door!" Ash smirked, giving the door the finger.
"Wow" Y/N said sarcastically. "She really hit rock bottom"
"You're telling me" I smirked, nibbling on my Cliff Bar. Y/N seemed to notice it then, as he eyes it for a second before speaking up.
"You have any more of those, babe?" he asked, gesturing to the bar in my hand.
"Hm? Oh, uh...no" I said, giving him an apologetic look. "I just brought the one."
"I shouldn't have skipped lunch" Y/N muttered, focusing his attention back to Ash and Doc.
"This is pointless." Ash concluded.
"I guess we finally agree on something" Doc nodded, sighing. "How are we supposed to work together if we don't even know how this place works?" I sighed, slumping into my chair, letting out a long breath.
"Can't we just tell them what they need to do?" I ask. Y/N shakes his head.
"If we tell them, they'll just work together to get out, and drop it as soon as they exit, meaning we'll have to deal with constant arguing. I'd rather them figure it out and eliminate the arguing." he said. Huffing, I got up from my seat rather quickly, rubbing my temples.
"How do you even know this'll work?" I said, more harshly than I wanted. Realizing this, I sighed, and stepped behind Y/N's seat, bending over, and rested my head on his shoulder, while wrapping my arms around him. "I'm sorry babe. That came out too aggressive."
"It's alright. I understand you're kinda frustrated." he said, tilting his head back, giving me a quick kiss on my cheek. "And this will work. I know that because...because I was in their position not so long ago". Okay, that came out of nowhere. I retracted quickly in surprise, cocking my head as I looked at him, eyebrows knit.
"Okay, babe, you're gonna have to explain that one" I said. Y/N chuckled.
"When I was still in the army, me and one of my fireteam squadmates were just like Doc and Ash: constantly bickering. High command had enough, and wanted to discharge or disband us. Fortunately, one of the medical psychiatrists had an idea: the exact same idea that is sitting before us." Y/N gestured to the Codec.
"So, the army came up with the name as well?" I ask. Y/N laughed.
"No no no. The name's all mine. Anyway, they put us through, and after the couple hours it took us to complete it, we were best of friends...until he was stationed in Afghanistan" Y/N sighed. I could tell he was hurting, so I did the only thing I knew would make him smile: I came over, and sat in his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck.
"I'm very sorry for whatever happened to you're friend, babe. I...I didn't know" I sighed.
"It"s alright, Cav." He smiled. I smiled back, leaning into him, just as Ash's voice came over the speakers.
"YES!" she shouted. We both look into the Codec, and see that both Ash and Doc were in the second room, Doc holding down the second button, and Ash making her way though the door, pressing the button to keep the second door unlocked.
"They finally figured it out" I smirked. "Took 'em long enough"
"Told ya it'll work" Y/N chuckled. I smirked again, playfully punching his shoulder, as Ash and Doc made their way out of the Codec. I smiled as I saw they weren't fighting or bickering or anything of the sort. We left the observation balcony and met them in the training room outside the Codec.
"Well? You two cool with each other now?" Y/N asked. Ash put her hand to her chin, looking to be deep in thought.
"Well...for now, at least" She concluded.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask. Ash shrugged.
"It means we're not fighting, for now" Doc summed up. "We're cool. Mainly because halfway through the Codex-"
"CoDEC" Y/N interrupted. "It's pronounced CoDEC. D-E-C. Dec" Doc rolled his eyes.
"Whatever. Anyway, halfway through the CODEC-" Doc eyed Y/N as he said the name right this time, receiving a thumbs up from Y/N. "-I found out my stim pistol was right on my leg in it's holster. So, Ash" Doc turned to Ash as he said this. "I owe you an enormous apology." he concluded. Ash smiled.
"It's fine, Doc. Besides, If Y/N and Caveira taught us anything, it's that we shouldn't be bickering over the smallest things in life." Doc whistled at Ash's seemingly deep monologue. I stood with my eyes wide. "What?" Ash asked.
"That was deep" I said. She chuckled.
"I'm a deep person" she smiled. I smirked.
"Couldn't be more right" I taunted. Ash chuckled.
"Whatever Caveira. Anyway, I'm off to go for a run. Anyone is welcome to join." she offered. Surprisingly, Doc volunteered.
"I've been meaning to start up running, just never gotten around to it." He admitted. Ash smirked.
"There are other reasons" she said. Doc chuckled.
"True" he said. Ash smiled.
"Don't worry, I'll get you up to speed on my running schedule." With that, the two ops left the training room, leaving me and Y/N alone. I had to fight the urge not to pin him against the wall, and start doing the do right then and there. Even though I'm a very scary person, I still like the feeling of pleasure.
"Not even a 'thank you'" Y/N chuckled.
"What we saw is pretty much the most we'll get from those two" I filled in.
"Unfortunately so. We'll work on that later."
"Definitely." Y/N and I left the training room, walking down the main hall of HQ.
"Wanna head to the lounge for a bit?" he asked. I sighed.
"I need a shower." I admitted. Y/N looked at me, one eyebrow raised.
"You haven't showered today?" I shook my head, giving him a dumb look.
"Not yet. So if I...well, smelt off today-" Y/N held up his hand.
"Cav, no matter what you smell like, you're still perfect." As if to prove it, he kissed me, right then and there. I wasted no time kissing back. When we pulled apart, he smiled. "No go take that shower. When you're done, meet me in the lounge."
"Deal" I smiled, making my way back to my room. "Oh, before I forget!" I called back to him, turning around.
"Yeah?" He called back.
"You owe me 20!"
And that's it for this installment! My next update will be another one shot in my Rainbow Six one shots story, then after that, the third installment of this series will be posted! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this shorter story! Peace out!