Zanover Ranch bunkhouse, early afternoon

"Zabre, what's your real hair color?"

Zabre looked up at the mirror into the eyes of Stefan's reflection. He was leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom, watching as she and Skyfire worked on her latest dye job. She grinned and quirked an eyebrow.

"Why, blue, of course."

Skyfire choked on a laugh and Zabre lightly bumped her teammate with an elbow. Stefan shook his head, a broad grin crossing his face. He didn't take that kind of sass from most people, but Zabre was a special case. He scoffed and twisted his face into a mock grimace. "Fine then. Sky, what color is it?"

Skyfire picked up the bottle of dye she had just finished working into Zabre's hair. "Looks like Absolute Platinum Blonde to me, Veep."

There was a laugh from outside the bathroom and somebody punched Stefan in the arm playfully. A frown shadowed his face, and he turned, revealing the probationary Indigo that Ben had attached to Zabre's team. "Like you don't already know, boss!"

Both he and Zabre said "Excuse me?" Skyfire groaned and shook her head as the two superiors turned to glare at the newcomer. The man's name was Dylan Talley and he was quickly developing a reputation for poor people skills and an almost superhuman ability to miss the mood of the room. He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and nudged Stefan again.

"You know what I'm talking about!"

Coldly, Stefan said, "No. Enlighten me."

Dylan glanced back and forth between Zabre and Stefan, confused. "You know! That saying about how the carpet matches the dr-"

The force of his forehead hitting the edge of the sink's countertop cut off the rest of Dylan's statement. Zabre's fist was wound into the front of his shirt while her other hand pushed against the back of his head. Over his sudden yells of pain, she said, "I apologize for this moron's insubordination, Vice President. If you'll excuse me, I'll make sure he learns his lesson. Skyfire, why don't you escort the Kaiser into the living room." From her tone, it was clear this was not a polite request.

Stefan's face was turning from its usual ivory to a very uncharacteristic scarlet shade - one that Zabre's team had evoked from him before. It was common knowledge that he and Zabre were a little more than Veep and Captain. But Dylan had crossed a line, embarrassed the both of them in front of everybody, and been so absolutely vulgar. Feeling his own embarrassment and growing indignant at it, Stefan reminded himself of the situation - they were surrounded by the soldiers, after all.

Forcing a smile, Stefan crossed his legs, leaning against the frame of the door, seemingly oblivious to efforts to drag him from the room.

"Bad idea kid. You don't want to speak to your captain that way. Especially not this captain."

Dylan wailed, "It was a joke! For Ho-oh's sake, I was just making a jo-"

This time, it was his nose that hit the counter's edge. Blood spurted and he fell to the ground howling, clutching at his nose. Zabre leaned down, a pleasant smile on her face. "Very funny. Any more funny jokes like that and I may have to bust your gut. Got it?"

When he nodded, she straightened, still smiling pleasantly. "Good. Stefan, did you have anything to add?"

Stefan shrugged. No point in kicking the man while he was down - literally or figuratively.

"No, I think he's learned his lesson. I would like the answer to my question at some point, though."

And with that, he spun on his heel and left.


"Dylan actually said that?"

Skyfire nodded energetically, having just finished relating the tale to Spades and Bramen, two of her other teammates. They sat in the common area with cold bottles of their preferred drinks, sharing gossip. So far, Skyfire's was the most entertaining out of the three of them.

"No joke, I swear to Arceus. He's getting shipped to Cerulean in the morning. I overheard Zabre talking to Ben on the 'Ceiver about it. He's probably gonna end up freezing his ass off up at Mount Silver running drills."

Spades laughed and shook his head. "Can't say I feel sorry for the poor bastard, he's a dick. I'm a little surprised the boss lady took him down like that, though. Woulda thought the Veep'd take a swing first."

Bramen flopped across the back of an armchair, soda bottle dangling from his fingers. "Wait, so they are a thing? Does this mean we're allowed to talk about it now?"

Skyfire flicked her bottle cap at him and missed. "Not unless you want to end up at Mount Silver too."

They lapsed into silence for a moment, contemplating taboo topics and the fate of Dylan Talley. Finally, Bramen spoke.

"What is Zabre's real hair color?"

Skyfire shrugged. "Beats me. You could probably ask her aunt for some pics of her when she was little. That might tell you."


Zabre found Stefan lounging on a sofa and dropped a piece of glossy paper into his lap before settling in next to him. He picked it up and looked at it. "What's this?"

"It's a photo of me and my cousin taken when we were nine. There's me on the right. I didn't start dying my hair until I was eighteen or so."

Stefan regarded it, an eyebrow arched, touched a little by this peek into his mysterious lover's past.

"Wow. Funny how people change, and stay in some ways, the same." His eyes remained fixed, trying to memorize the image. "You should ask Papa for some of my baby pictures sometime. He'd love that."

She kissed his temple and rested her chin on his shoulder. "I did, and we sat there for an hour looking at albums. You were so cute and pudgy!" This was punctuated with teasing pokes into his side. Things devolved quickly into a tickle fight until they both collapsed with laughter onto the sofa.

Zabre shifted into a better position for cuddling and sighed. They sat there together for a while in silence, simply appreciating each other's company. Finally, she asked, "Does it matter what color my hair is?"

Stefan brandished the photo in response, clearly happy with the information. His lips brushed her hair as they cuddled.

"Of course not, Zabre. I just want to know you more, that's all." His voice softened. "So much of what we do are dossiers and facts. And I've always been afraid to ask . . . until recently."

She put her hand up to brush his cheek. "Oh, good. I prefer having blue hair. This blonde makes me want to shave my head, but anything for a mission and all that." She snuggled in closer and added, "You can ask me anything anytime. I just reserve the right to be a smartass when I answer."


Author's Note: Thanks to Ardent Ursus for his help with his OC Stefan's dialogue in this chapter. Hurray for finally publishing this little chapter, right?