Trooper Station | Saturday

[knife_bender]

There was a weird amount of paperwork to do when Diego got into work today. While it gave him something to do it made it very obvious what the troopers got up to when everybody else was on vacation.

"Man, you guys really didn't do jack shit while we were gone, huh?"

[Open]

Comments

[defenderofdesmoines]

Look, of course they both had coffeemakers at their respective apartments, but at this point it was getting to be almost a tradition for Annie to swing by with a mid-day caffeine boost.

Plus it meant she could get something floofier than just coffee, so just like, don't even worry about how much whipped cream was in your drink, Diego. What was important was that it was the correct amount.

"Wow, do you have actual work to do?" she asked, looking puzzled. That wasn't normal.

[knife_bender]

"Yeah, turned out these guys need constant supervision otherwise they don't work," Diego said, gratefully accepting the coffee. "Thanks."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Man, I was telling Rey before we all left that it sure would be funny if something actually happened while we were gone," Annie mused, taking a seat. "And hearing that does not exactly fill me with confidence that things would've been fine. Do you need help? I could, like, paperclip things."

The most useful help of all.

[knife_bender]

He smiled, taking a sip of his coffee. "No, it's fine. I'm glad to have something to do for once."

"...how much sugar is in this?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Enough to taste really good," Annie assured him, smiling over the rim of her own cup. "We can race around the island tomorrow to make up for it."

And making it a race meant that there would be a winner and a loser, which was just what everyone's competitive streak needed.

[knife_bender]

"I won't go easy on you," he said.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I'd be, like, so offended if you did," Annie replied easily. "I plan to show no mercy, either."

[knife_bender]

"May I remind you I was the one that kept up with training during vacation," he said. "And I ran away from some bullets."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"May I remind you that I went on a couple runs in Hawaii," under duress, "and that rest days are an important part of the training process, anyway."

Rest days for Annie didn't usually mean taking naps on the beach while eating chocolate-filled pastries, but whatever.

[knife_bender]

"Just don't get huffy when you lose," Diego teased, taking another sip of coffee. "Is there coffee in here or is this just a cup of whipped cream?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"It's a mocha," Annie informed him, narrowing her eyes a little. Which meant that there was a whole additional chocolate factor to go with the whipped cream. (And it was entirely possible Annie had requested extra, but she wasn't telling.) "Though, like, no shame, I'd totally have a cup of just whipped cream. Maybe I'll have one after I completely win this race tomorrow."

Or, more likely, as a consolation prize when she lost.

[knife_bender]

"I'm never gonna live it down if I lose," he said, shaking his head. "But I guess I would get a nice view if you manage to run ahead of me."

[defenderofdesmoines]

See, that just made her want to wear her extra-distracting white leggings. But that was kind of cheating, and even Annie knew it.

"What are the stakes on this? Loser has to buy winner breakfast?" she suggested. "Loser has to give the winner a totally above-board sports massage?" Because these two needed a reason to touch each other, sure. "Winner gets the right to ban whipped cream for a week if he choses?"

[knife_bender]

"All of the above?" he suggested. "Though if I had to pick one, massage all the way."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"You would," Annie replied, lifting her brows at him. "But sure, all of the above. And when I win, I will do the opposite of banning whipped cream."

God only knew what that threat meant.

[knife_bender]

"You're on." That also sounded like it could benefit Diego, but he was going to keep that to himself.

"Speaking of sugar--have you figured out a way to get a steady supply of those coca puff things yet?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"No," Annie told him with a frustrated sigh, "but I did find a bakery in Baltimore that does three different kinds of chocolate éclair, so...."

So she would brave the threat of those scary Baltimore goons to get them if she had to, so there. "I feel like there's got to be an option to ship the real thing from Hawaii, though."

[knife_bender]

"There has to be," he said. "It would just be cruel if they kept it to themselves."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I would say I can just, like, portal in and grab some on the regular, but A -- I don't want to inherit their weird thing where they get stuck," Annie said, "and B -- like, it would so serve me right if I got shot by a murder drone or caught in an explosion because I just had to go get Hawaiian-specific pastries."

Like, Annie could even admit that. Normal doughnuts and whatnot were probably just safer.

[knife_bender]

"I'm sure there are versions of Hawaii that don't have murder drones," Diego said. "But I would be very upset if you got stuck there because you wanted baked goods."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"It would almost be worth it," Annie said, smiling. "I mean, the coco puffs I'd had before, but I've been hearing how good malasadas were since tiny Steve told tiny me all about them when I was four, and they totally lived up to the hype." Like, even up to the hype of a six year-old.

[knife_bender]

"I'm sure you'll be able to find great pastries on the east coast," Diego said. "The donuts from that place I got shot at were pretty good."

[defenderofdesmoines]

Annie just lifted a brow. "At the place you got shot," she repeated. "Like, that kind of takes it off the list of potential favorite bakeries right from the jump."

A pause, and then, "But those doughnuts you brought home from there were pretty good, I agree." Not good enough to warrant getting shot, but what was? (Other than coco puffs.)

[knife_bender]

"It wasn't the bakery's fault I got shot," Diego said. "It was an innocent in all of this."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"It's still kind of tainted," Annie admitted. "Like I feel like I'd be way distracted thinking about you getting shot and Five stabbing a guy with a butter knife. A bakery should be allowed to stand on its own without gloomy associations. Don't you feel like if I got shot somewhere, you'd have a hard time enjoying that place afterwards?"

[knife_bender]

"Depends, what kind of food is being sold there?" he joked.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"One of these days," Annie told him with a light tsk, "I'm gonna actually get hit with a bullet, and you'll see how it feels."

Except sort of still not, because it would just bounce off her, but still.

[knife_bender]

"You better not," Diego said. "I will be upset."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"My point exactly," Annie declared, lifting her cup in a little salute. "It's upsetting enough to ruin a perfectly nice doughnut bakery."

Or at least taint it a little.

[knife_bender]

Diego sighed. "Fine, we'll find a good bakery where neither of us has been shot."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I really feel like this isn't a lot to ask," Annie told him, smiling. "And you know what, to make it easier? I'll try really hard not to get shot in any bakeries!"

Central Park, on the other hand....

[knife_bender]

"I will too," he said. "Starting now."

Let's just ignore the shootings of bakeries past.