//𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 (Lee Christmas x Reader)

seventeen.

Lee woke about an hour before landing.

Pup had slept a few hours and returned to the copilots chair, and he could hear Barney and her going back and forth, voices mumbled. Trench had finally drifted to sleep, head tilted back and mouth parted sightly, crooked as he snored. The rest of the plane was awake, but quiet, except for you.

Lee sat up and pressed his hand to your forehead. Still burning up.

"Do we have anymore ice?" He asked aloud, to nobody in particular. "I think the fevers gotten worse."

Trench blinked, a light sleeper, and took a moment to inspect the world around him, dazed. Caesar opened a cooler and pulled out a few plastic bags filled with ice and handed them over. Lee placed one behind your neck and you shuddered, and then another under your knees. Your body was completely still, drenched in sweat, and your face was pale and sickly. Lee ran his fingers over the bruises again with a sigh, and still you didn't stir.

"Thank god this shit is over," Caesar said from behind him. "I'm gonna need about a decade off after this mess."

Toll grunted his assent and stretched his knee out, rolling his ankle. They hadn't been gone, in truth, for a long time. Lee barely had his usual amount of stubble on his chin, and he scratched it mindlessly, thinking about a shower and a hot meal. It might have been a short mission, just over a week, but it felt like it had been years. Years traipsing the endless bounds of hell. He decided in that moment that he'd never go on a job in a desert again. He greatly preferred the stark, exhausting humidity of the jungle, or the wet sandy shores of an island.

"Thank you for riding air Expendable, this is your captain speaking," Pup called over her shoulder, fiddling with some switches, flicking the altimeter. "Please fasten your seatbelts as we begin our descent."

Gunner smirked and settled back on his spot on the bench, catching Lee's eye. Lee raised a brow at the big man, but he just winked and turned his attention to the blank ceiling.

Lee fiddled with your dog tags, laying beside you on the cot, and sighed.

—-

"Trainee?" You asked, shoulders shrugged over and head dipped between them. "Seriously?"

Lee chuckled, dangling the tag between you both on its chain. "Check out the rest."

You snatched it and shot him a look before you looked down. Your face turned red and you made an angry sound. He laughed.

"The kid?" You snapped, holding the tag up and pointing to it. "For real?"

"What, you don't like it?" Lee pouted, and Gunner let out a deep belly laugh from behind him. Caesar smirked, catching your eye.

"This is some kind of joke," you said, shaking your head.

"No joke," Barney smiled. "We all gotta start at the bottom rung."

"Yeah, sure," you grumbled, pulling the chain around your neck, still angry. "And I bet you all have dog tags that call you a kid for everyone to see. I'm literally not even that-"

"Alright, you hellion," Lee said, shaking his head, smirking at you. Your face grew more red and you frowned, meeting his eyes. "Let's go spar."

"I'll kick your ass, Christmas," you spat, crossing your arms.

"Is that a challenge?"

"It's a promise."

"Big talk. I hope you're a man of your word."

"I'm not," you said, cocking your head. "I'm a woman and I made a promise. We don't need anything else."