WALKING DISASTERS | Jack Thompson

18.

STANDING OUTSIDE THE men's locker room, Peggy and Sera waited for the men inside to finish up so that they could go in and get changed. Jack walked around the corner and saw them waiting. "Carter, Stark, if you're looking for a peep show, try Times Square."

"This is the only changing room in the SSR," Peggy said. "We need to change."

"Try the ladies' room."

"The ladies' room is downstairs in the lobby of the ad agency," Peggy replied. "I'd much rather suffer the musk of a men's locker room than have to change into tactical gear in a public restroom."

Sera rolled her eyes. "I don't have time for this."

She opened the door of the locker room and heard Jack say, "Pull your skirts up, boys."

"Geez, Stark, give a guy some warning," Li said.

"Anyone would think I don't have a brother," Sera said. "Such pansies."

"Yeah, but that's your brother."

"Oh, such fuss," Peggy scoffed. "Do none of you have sisters?"

"They don't look like you two."

Sera ignored the men as they expressed their disapproval of Peggy and Sera being on the team in favour of pulling out a vest from the bag of tactical gear. Peggy eyed her own and said, "Oh, this is new. It's lighter than it looks."

"Yep. Lab boys just dropped it off," Jack called over the lockers. "It's ten percent titanium alloy, although I don't think they had 38-22-38 in mind when they designed it."

"Math isn't your forte, is it, Agent Thompson?" Peggy asked. "Or is that just words in general?"

"That's 'words in general, sir'," he corrected.

"Yes, sir, lieutenant junior grade, sir," Peggy said sarcastically.

"Guess you're used to serving under a captain, huh?" Jack replied.

"Just not used to serving with boys."

Sera pulled up the tactical trousers she found in her bag and immediately reached for the belt that came with them. Everything was a little oversized, but she didn't mind. She was just happy to be getting out in the field and reuniting with people who treated her like an equal and didn't look down on her because she was a woman.

She heard Sousa come in, making a point of telling the other agents that Peggy and Sera were 'all the information they would need' on the tac team, before he walked around the corner of the lockers and Peggy let out a surprised, "Oh, bloody Nora!"

Sera jumped at the sight of Daniel and turned away from him. "Jesus, Daniel."

"I... You're..."

"Yes, everything's fine," Peggy replied.

"Found it!" Jack called. "You don't have to worry about it, Sousa."

Peggy cleared her throat. "Anything else, Daniel?"

After a lot of stammering, Daniel said, "Have a swell trip."

"Thank you."

-

Sera sat on the plane beside Peggy, eating a sandwich she had packed in her bag before they left. Jumps from planes always set her nerves on edge, but she had figured that if she could distract herself then she wouldn't think about it, and apparently her best distraction was to eat; something which Peggy often teased her about. The teasing didn't mean that Sera didn't half her sandwich and share it with Peggy as they talked quietly between themselves.