Work Text:
AN: Slightly OOC for them, I apologize…blame Nickelback’s new song “Next Contestant”.
Timeline: Wired, part one
Challenge: Reaction (number 33)
P.O.V. : Boom
It started off simple enough. We were all in the mess hall, scattered about. Sky and Syd were engaged in a friendly bout of bickering, and Bridge was talking to one of the new recruits…Sophie, I think. He’s got it bad for her I think. Anyway, I was sitting with Jack and Z, talking aimlessly about some of the new upgrades for the zords, and smirking at the two of them. They’re so hopeless, really.
Anyway, Z stood up to take their trays and dump them. Her hands were full, and I guess she didn’t see the water that someone had spilled. She stumbled, and one of the D level cadets caught her before she fell. I guess that he liked the way she felt…his hand started to slide up her side, and before I knew it, a flash of red streaked past me, stopping at the golden one. Jack’s hand was clenched around this guy’s wrist, eyes dark and eerie.
“Is that your hand on my girlfriend?” he growled. The guy stammered, trying to form an excuse, but Jack cut him off. “I asked you a question, cadet. Is that your hand?” The cadet nodded, and the smile that Jack let loose was savage, primal. “You may want to remove it….now. Before I remove it for you. Permanently.”
Z put her hand on Jack’s arm, saying something quietly. It had to have been very, very quietly…the whole room had stopped as soon as Jack had moved, and were waiting with baited breath to see what would happen.
Jack released the guy’s hand, and the cadet booked it outta there, no doubt to find an officer higher ranking than Jack to report him. Too bad the only one higher would be Kat and Doggie. Jack and Z were arguing softly, but everyone had gone back to their meals. I watched a moment longer, as Jack growled something, shook his head, and stormed out of the room onto the patio.
Z shook her head, torn between going after him and returning to the table, I think. She shrugged, and grabbed a bottle of water, returning to sit across from me.
“What was that about?” I asked.
“I’m not quite sure,” she replied, eyes dark. “He said that it was instinct, a reaction…to what, I don’t know. He could have gotten himself dismissed from the Academy!”
“You’re not going to go talk to him?” I asked, curious. She shook her head, cracking the seal on the bottle.
“No. He’s too angry to talk to at the moment. Let him cool down some.” I nodded, understanding.
“Just talk to him later, okay? I’ve never seen him move that fast…except when he first got his morpher and knew you were in danger. Maybe that’s the trigger…thinking you are in harm’s way.” She started to reply, and I cut her off. “Well, it’s been an interesting lunch, but Kat’s going to start wondering where I am. Talk to him Z. Don’t put it off for too long.”