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Tex sits on the porch stairs of this old ranch house, the warm summer breeze rustling the tall dry grass next to her. The setting sun casts a pink-purple hue on everything from the surrounding mountains, the clouds in the sky, and the idiots running around in the yard. She’s lost count of how many times Donut has been hit from the water guns, but he’s sprawled out on the ground as Tucker jumps over a hay bail to squirt Grif right in the face. They’re still split red versus blue out of habit. There’s no need, though. None of that exists anymore.
The mess with UNSC and Project Freelancer are a distant memory now.
Meta, no Maine, is asleep in a rocking chair off to the right. His snoring is light. Wash is sitting next to him, fidgeting with a small cube and tapping his foot. His brows are slightly creased.
“Why don’t you join ‘em, sport?” Tex asks, looking over her shoulder at him.
“What if he wakes up thrashing around again?”
She smiles softly. “I’m sure I can handle him. Go on. You need to unwind too.”
He keeps fidgeting with the cube, flicking the switch on and off as he watches the others. Simmons screams as Kaikaina, having switched to the blue team, knocks him down, sits on top of him and yells something obscene as she opens the gun, dumping all the water on him. “Yeah that’s not really encouraging,” Wash notes.
Tex snorts. “Oh come on. It’s just a little water.”
“Fine. But if I die out there, that’s on you.” He gets up, grabs one of the spare water guns, and joins in the fun. His first victim is Donut. Tex can hear the former freelancer apologizing, and she just shakes her head.
It’s been a good long while since she wanted to pause time. At least she thinks it has. Everything is blurry to her. She still can’t tell which memories are hers and which are Allison’s. For now, she’s ok with it. There’s plenty of time to sort through everything later. Right now she just wants to take in the feeling of the breeze on her skin, the faint scent of dinner wafting through the window, the sounds of the others, of her friends, laughing and having a good time.
This is all she’s ever wanted.
The screen door creaks open behind her and then slams back against frame. Maine stirs a little, but his snores quickly resume. Someone sits down next to her, hands her a cold one.
“So who’s winning?” Church asks, taking a sip of his own drink.
She shrugs and leans against him. “I dunno. They stopped keeping track after a while. Bet they think I am, but fuck if I’m doing that for them.”
“Eugh. That’s going to be a pain in the ass later. Knowing those idiots, they’re gonna break out into a fight over it.”
“Maybe. Who knows.” Tex swirls her drink around before taking a sip. “Want me to take care of it if that happens?”
“Nah. I’ve got it.” He kisses the top of her head. “You do enough as it is. Thanks, though.”
They sit in silence for a spell. The shouts of the blue team as Caboose runs through the middle of the field right into an attack from the reds break it. He cheers in delight at being absolutely soaked.
“Hey, Church?”
“Yeah, Tex?”
She slides her hand into his and laces their fingers together. “I think everything is going to be ok now.”
“Yeah,” he replies softly, a faint smile on his face. “Yeah I think so too.”