Chapter Text
Owen stood in the garage, quietly looking at the Ice Cream Surveillance Truck. There wasn’t a sound but the jangling of his keys. He came there for a very specific reason. If two things eased his mind, it was cooking and eating. The second he stepped into that truck, he was going to craft, conquer, and devour.
As he opened the vehicle’s rear door, Owen realized his culinary endeavors would have to wait. On the floor, he spotted a fellow security agent. They sat in the opposite direction of where he was standing, hunched over and too concentrated to notice him. The floor itself was a mess, covered with electronic components and gear only a scientist would have. Owen stared at the peculiar scene for about three more seconds before recognizing the agent and the situation at hand.
“Ohio, I really hope you know that building unauthorized gadgets is against protocol.” He crossed his arms and leaned on a filing cabinet. “We can’t risk another case like Obbs or Ohlm.”
Stunned, Ohio abruptly turned his head, visibly nervous until he saw Owen’s face. He sighed in relief. “You need to work on that expression; I can tell you’re not serious because you’re blinking faster than usual.” He rolled his eyes and got back to work.
“Oh come on, man! Why are you even here anyway? This truck was the only place I thought would have some privacy.”
“Well, I guess we had the same thought about privacy.” He picked up a cylinder and attached it to the gadget. “I came here because I thought you would be in the breakroom.”
“Just finish up quickly so I can start—”
“Catch!” Ohio threw the new invention at him.
After almost dropping it, Owen carefully examined the gadget in his hands. The gadget was shaped almost like a column, and while it wasn’t roughed up, he could tell that it didn’t share the same quality as those from the lab. There was a dark blue button in the center, and Ohio enthusiastically urged him to push it.
A bright light flashed before swiftly fading away. And to his surprise, a new baton landed at Owen’s feet.
Ohio smiled. “Pretty cool, huh? Now you don’t have to spend so much money on monthly batons,” he teased. “Happy Partner Appreciation Day.”
“But we aren’t. . .” Owen paused. Even though they weren’t officially partners, Ohio was there for him since his second day of work. Almost the very beginning. Even though he couldn’t completely rid the grief he had for the leaving of other agents, he could at least try to make the most of it with the ones that were left.
“Since I’m done with the whole gift-making thing, you can finally have this truck to yourself.” He was about to make a run for it to avoid cleaning up all the scraps on the floor until Owen grabbed his wrist.
“Hey, I’m not tidying this up on my own. Besides, don’t you want the company of your ‘partner’ during this holiday?”
Owen knew that they’d probably end up having another petty argument, and he hoped it’d stay like that in the future.