Pizza, a Watch, and Defying Protocol.

A/N: takes place the night before 'Villains.' How did Elle's watch break anyway?

CoverArt: i44[dot]tinypic[dot]com/2ic2iwl[dot]png


"I don't recall letting you in."

It was another late night stranded in a back alley in no other than New York City. Two company agents sent on, yet another, bag and tag assignment. It was freezing cold outside, but hot as hell in the van, or what I like to call it, the Mystery Machine.

"You didn't." I replied as Bennet opened the van door letting all the cold air in. He climbed inside and took off his coat, "It's hot as-"

"-hell, I know. Isn't The Company supposed to give us a hotel room?"

"Well your father, being the frugal man that he is-"

"Sarcasm duly noted."

"-decided that since we're only after one... special person, we didn't have to spend the night."

We sat in the back of the van in silence for a few minutes until Bennet took out his stupid red ball and began bouncing it on the side of the van wall. My eyes followed it back and fourth until I couldn't take the ridiculous smile on his smug face every time he'd catch it. Was it really that satisfying?

"What can this guy do anyway?" I needed to break the silence.

"Doesn't matter. Gabriel Gray's a killer- they're all the same Elle."

"Takes one to know one."He looked at me with one of his many condescending looks. Even when I point out his flaws, he manages to find a way to retaliate, even without words.

"Po-tay-to, Po-tah-to."

We heard knocking on the back door and Bennet decided to take a look for himself.

"Who the hell-" Bennet opened the door and nearly scared the kid.

"That'll be 17.50"

He turned around; he was not happy, "You ordered pizza?'

"Just give it to the guy with the glasses."

The pizza man left, and it was Bennet, pepperoni and cheese, and I stranded in a van.

"You do realize that that was against protocol."

"Yeah, so?"

"Really, Elle."

"I am hungry. C'mon Bennet, I know you want some."

"You're..."

"I'm what?"

"- a sociopath, you know that?"

"So what's your plan," I managed to disregard his latest description of me, "taser the guy and go home, or..." At that moment Bennet went to grab the pizza out of my hand, or at least I thought, but instead held my wrist and unstrapped my watch.

"That's my-" He slammed it on the floor. "What the hell was that for?"

"Tomorrow, bright and early, you're going to pay a little visit to Mr. Gray's repair shop and have him fix it for you."

I mourned over the loss of my priceless gold watch, or what he liked to call it, "timepiece," as Bennet snatched the pizza out of my hand.

"You know how many calories are in this thing?" He said, dryly, as he examined it and finally took a bite.

"My dad gave me this watch."

Bennet was in mid-bite when the "oops" expression on his face caused him to retract the Italian triangle. "You know" he said, after he finished the final bite of his pizza, "That watch wasn't gold when you first got it."

"Spare me." Sentimental stories from my past as told by Noah Bennet never ended well, mainly because he always ended with, "and that's why I beat your father in just about everything- except receding hair. There's product for that you know."

He took off his glasses. He always did at the start of 'Company Stories.' How can I use my electricity to get me the hell out of here? Though I admit, it was nice seeing Bennet without the dorky Clark Kent glasses. His eyes were very-

"Blue."

"What?"

"The watch wasn't gold, and then?" I sort of have the tendency to speak things on my mind.

"I needed to get a present for Sandra. The only thing I could afford at the time was this cruddy silver watch. Turns out, her friend already got her a watch, so, like all of the other crappy gifts I intend to give but don't-"

"Give them to Claude." We said in unison.

"Is this relevant to my watch, or is this some random watch story?"

"Hang on, getting there. But Claude was back in Blackpool for the weekend visiting God knows who or what. So the next day, a sad, yet annoying, little girl comes crying up to my desk-"

You have got to be kidding me. It's another Claire story!

"-and she's upset because people have forgotten about her birthday."

Make. Him. Stop.

"So I look around my desk- I can't give her a stapler, let alone a handgun. I'm thinking, how can her father not remember his own daughter's birthday? Finally, the tears stop when I give her this chunky silver watch that's twice the size of her wrist." He put his glasses back on, the usual indication that the story was drawing to a close. "Her father thought it would be a good idea to turn it gold with his James Bond Movie ability. He said, "My daughter is better than that." How prestigious can watches get anyway? I guess he took all the credit for giving it to her."

"What a load of crap." I replied, half in laughter. The idea of Bennet feeling compassion for a little girl other than his Claire just baffled me. And plus, I couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Are you going to eat this?" He said, ignoring my skeptical comment on the latest tale from my past.

"You can have it."

"Wow," he said with a snarky tone, "generosity from America's most spoiled brat."

"Yeah well, it's payback."

He looked over at me, wiping the grease from his lips. "For what?"

"You know, for that stupid watch."

Bennet finished his pizza and I sat in silence.

"Noah."

He looked over complacently and smiled. "So it's Noah now?"

"You know how many calories are in that thing?"


A/N: The lack of Bennet and Bishop fan fiction depresses me.

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