It's Valentine's Day

Fandom: Red vs Blue
Ship: York/Carolina
Word Count: 452
Warnings: None

York knew where to find Carolina. She wasn't on a mission, so the only other place she'd be was on the training room floor, drilling herself. Anyone could tell you that. It wasn't exactly a testament to how well he knew her, just to how little he saw her these days. But today it was his job to get her to relax. Unfortunately, sometimes Carolina was like a holographic lock that just wouldn't be picked. As soon as the door swished open, York could hear the digital confirmation of Carolina's punches making impact with her targets. He stopped a moment to watch her, a smile on his face. She was like electricity when she fought.

".5% improvement in the last set."

"Run it again FILSS."

Uh oh. He was gonna miss his window of opportunity. He jogged over before FILSS could bring the next set up to distract her.

"Hey, you got a minute?"

"Can it wait?"

Well, that put a damper on his optimism for the outcome of this conversation. The targets appeared in a circle around her, creating a barrier that shut him out. And she immediately went into overdrive. She took out those targets in seconds, but York seemed to have plenty enough time to notice the ones that hit right in front of his face.

"I just thought, ya know, maybe you should take a break. You've been working hard. Let me take you out."

".1% improvement in last set."

"Run it again, FILSS."

"Cancel that order, FILSS!"

Carolina whipped around to glare at him. He couldn't see it behind her visor, but he could feel it.

"What do you think you're doing York?"

And hear it. Very clearly.

"Trying to talk to you."

Carolina crossed her arms and her hip took that upward angle of agitation.

"All right. I'll meet you in the cafeteria when I'm done, okay?"

York knew this was her idea of compromise, but he also knew that she was never done training. He'd be sitting in the cafeteria, holding a box of smuggled chocolates for hours before she showed up at three in the morning too tired to do anything but pass out on his shoulder. And as much as that warmed his heart on most days - the fact that it was his shoulder she chose to lay her perceived weakness on - it just wasn't enough today.

"Oh, come on, Carolina. It's Valentine's Day. Take a break already!"

Her arms fell to her side and everything was still for a moment. He wasn't sure what to expect. But then her hands found their way to her helmet and lifted it off. She was smiling.

"Okay, York. Where are you taking me?"