hexaflexagons | [psl] a whole lotta ust

New members to Project Freelancer aren't usually something Carolina gets excited about- it's more like something she dreads, actually. It means a new ego to deal with, new skills to learn, a rookie to break in and figure out how he's going to fit with what they've already established as their order of things. She knows there are a lot more code names to take, so rookies are inevitable, but that doesn't mean she has to like them right off the bat.

Except this one, she does like immediately. The Director gathers them up in various stages of training gear and armour and shows off his new choice, gold armour revealing Agent New York, with a voice she recognizes but can't place right away. Then the Director leaves them all to personal introductions with a promise to forward the updated training schedule by the end of the day and New York takes his helmet off and... yeah, okay, that's why he's so familiar. Carolina's expression goes from confusion to surprise to what feels like a goddamn grin and she's never been happier to still be hiding under her helmet than she is right now, watching North be the first to step forward and give a friendly greeting. She hangs back to just observe as a few more pleasantries pass, until mostly everyone else has cleared out to get back to whatever it was they were doing before this.

She keeps her helmet on as she approaches, but the swing in her hips and the playfully judgmental curl to her voice might just match whatever this new Freelancer remembers of the woman at Errera who left him with a kiss and a number.

"I guess you've been busy lately," Carolina says, head tilting to one side. "But now you've missed your chance for more drinks."

He can't place the voice right away, but it's clearly someone who knows him and who doesn't mind a little flirting at the workplace. That's a good thing, in his book. Her voice is attractive, and he can tell just by the way she saunters up that she's teasing him. He grins, though she can't see it, of course. "Hey, I wouldn't even be here if I hadn't been keeping busy," he says. As much as convincing your superiors to put you in an experimental super soldier program instead of court martialing you counts as keeping busy, anyway. "Sure you won't make an exception for that?"

"No can do, sorry. No fraternization." Not that anyone in the Project so far is such a stickler for rules that there isn't a chance of that one being broken. But she's not interested in it, knowing how it could risk her position here, not to mention the Director's opinion of her. He has high hopes. She isn't going to let him down.

But there's nothing wrong with flirting, she rationalizes as she settles a hand on her hip and adds, "But we'll always have Errera."

He snaps his fingers—or would have, if it weren't for his gloves. "That's right," he says, though that's the closest he comes to admitting he hadn't placed her right away. "I still have cravings for that shot you ordered for me there," he adds. "The one you stole my lighter to light on fire."

Carolina hums a moment, lips pursed together to keep her from smiling, even in the safety of her helmet. Getting into a habit like that would not bode well for the future of getting York settled on the team, now that he is part of the team and not just a cute guy at a bar with annoying habits.

"You say that like it wasn't a better use for your lighter than whatever the hell you were doing with it."

"I have absolutely no argument against that one," he says with a chuckle. "I was always self-destructive when I was bored, though." He says this as though that's a tendency he's outgrown.

"Then you're not going to be needing it again," she replies with a little tip of her head. "You're not going to have time to get bored here."

"Is that how it is here?" he teases back. "Is that your MO or the Project's?"

"The Project's." And it's a little easier to be flat-toned about this, Carolina appreciates.

"The Director works us hard," she explains. "And if you're going to have any chance of working with the rest of us, we're going to make you work even harder to keep up. Peer pressure's a bitch around here."

Okay, that particular line of flirting didn't go over well, but that's fine. "I sort of figured. Here I just got inducted and I'm scheduled for training this afternoon on advanced tech in my field. Which is not anything I'm crying about, believe me." A bored York is a trouble-making York, and he made a bit too much trouble for himself at his last post. It'll be a nice change of pace.

"I'm sure you'll need it." Which is... less like flirting and more the get your ass in gear teasing he'll eventually realizes she uses across the board with her teammates. But it's still warm, for her. "What advanced field is that, anyway? We already have most of our niches covered."

"Infiltration. I'm the best in the biz, that's how I ended up here." Other than the whole nearly-getting-court-martialed thing.

"Hm," Carolina says. "Infiltrators are usually a little smoother than you, aren't they?"

"Hey," he says, tilting his head in insult and gesturing with one hand. "If you're talking about how I almost spilled that shot, it was on fire. I was being cautious."

"If you're going to fumble things just because they're on fire, you might have a bad time here." Being on fire is the least of their problems, honestly. But she's teasing him even if it's true, at least.

He chuckles; he can't help it. "We're going to end up playing some kind of on-fire football or something, aren't we?" Just for her to prove her point.

"You know what, that sounds like a great suggestion for our next day off," she says, sounding like she's trying not to laugh herself. Even downtime is training for her, with so very few exceptions. And if exceptions are going to have her out drinking with the person who turns out to be their rookie... well, she's not doing that again any time soon.

"Dibs on Maine for my team, though. The quiet, looming one you met."

"At least I know my lighter will be put to good use," he chuckles. "You know Maine's a good player, or you just want him because he's tall?"

"Maine's good at anything he wants to be good at." She pauses, then concedes, "But his height does come in handy."

[psl] a whole lotta ust

the second first meeting

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let me know if this is okay

of course!

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