Back To You | B. Bradshaw

08.00

"I'm in heaven aren't I?"

Poppy mutters as she steps on the beach with Cyclone beside her. Astonished by the scene in front of her. The entire squad for the detachment was playing some type of football. But the best part was that everyone's shirtless. Touching her face making sure that her jaw wasn't open or drooling. She clears her throat when she notices Cyclone looking at her with a raised eyebrow. 

Embarrassed, she immediately spots her dad sitting nearby watching over the group like a proud father. Watching as the admiral stalk up to her dad, she sighs in relief. She looks over the beach and spots Penny at the patio of Hard Deck with her notebook, she gives a small wave and gets one in return.

"Take the day off Engineer." Cyclone mutters past her as he makes his way back to the car. Raising an eyebrow at the unexpected command she turns back to her dad, approaching him.

"So, this is what you meant with the swimsuit."

"It's dogfight football." Her dad explains as he nods towards the group, who looks like children forgetting about the rules. She shakes her head laughing as the group carries Fanboy into the ocean. 

"Why don't you join them?"

"And get crushed by highly trained aviators who can lift me and throw me in the ocean? No thank you."

"You're missing out."

She looks at the group - taking off her shades and biting her lips at the sight in front of her. If she ever hated the beach, she loves it now. The men were shirtless and their bodies glistened with sweat, shining from the sun. Her eyes were trained on a particular someone for a moment before shaking her head. She places a hand on her chest calming down her beating heart. Yeah, she's perfectly fine where she's at.

"No, I'm not."

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"Glad I'm not the only one enjoying the view." 

Poppy greets Penny as she approaches the table she is sitting on. Taking the seat in front of her, giving her a knowing look. 

"I mean, I see it every day. There's nothing special about it." Penny waves her off before going back to her notebook.

"Yet, today is the day you decide to balance your notebook out in the scorching heat. interesting?" She said grabbing one of the seats of paper and showing receipts.

"Needed a change of scenery."

"Scenery or person?"

Penny gives her a hard look before laughing at her. 

"Hey, You don't see me complaining."

"Beer?"

"Please."

Penny leaves, and Poppy looks back at the squad, dog-piling on Hondo. She lets out a small laugh, feeling sorry for the man. She flinches as she feels an ice-cold bottle press against her head. 

"Pen!"

"Careful, Poppy. You might melt them even more with that stare."

"Please, You should see the scheduled training morning exercises."