The sun had already set by the time Duke, Snake, Storm, and I were done grooming our partnered horses. When we got back to the house, of course, I thought someone would have had dinner cooking or at least served by now. Sad to say, we found the remaining Joes crowded around the TV watching a football game, cheering so loudly I had to cover my ears at one point.
The guys easily found different areas around the room to occupy. Duke took up the other half of the loveseat beside Ripcord. Snake sat in the wing-chair hunched over with his elbows on his knees, looking as if he was actually paying attention to the game. Storm just leaned against a far wall not watching the TV at all and spinning a throwing star between his thumb and index finger. I, on the other hand, could hear my stomach over the blaring TV so I rushed to the kitchen like I had been poking a bear with a stick, the bear was waking up and the only place to hide was the kitchen.
The kitchen at Jane's had a gas stove/oven, a double-door refrigerator, and a two-sided stainless-steel sink. It was also decked out with black granite countertops, dark wood cabinets with steel fixtures, and an L-shaped island in the middle of it with four matching barstools around the outer side. This was my kitchen since Jane couldn't cook an egg to save her life. Speaking of Jane, from the kitchen there was a perfect view into the dining room where Jane was set up with one of her romance novels and glass of her favorite red wine.
I decided, since someone usually made dinner for everyone else, if I were to cook I would make enough for everybody. I was combing through lower cabinets when Storm came to see where the extra noise was from. I was out of direct eyeshot so I had no idea how he figured it was me.
"What are you looking for, Grace?" he asked, seating his self on one of the outer stools.
"I'm trying to find my stew pot," I answered, opening the next and there the massive cast iron pot was. "Found it!"
"You going to attempt to make dinner?" Storm doubted.
"I am going make dinner, Mr. Vote of Conference," I retorted, filling the pot under the sink.
After I had the pot filled, I set it on the burner and flipped on the gas. I grabbed an arm full of noodle packages from the pantry and brought them over to the counter beside the stove. I tore the bags open by their flap in the back and don't bother breaking the squares just put them into the pot whole.
"What's you cooking, Good-looking?" my mother rhymed, landing a quick kiss on the cheek after she refilling her wineglass.
"Noodles," I replied, withdrawing a pair of extra-long chopsticks, to agitate the pasta with, from the utensil drawer. "There's not much else I can cook."
"You bake, Mavey," Jane stated, taking hold of my shoulders.
I smiled at her but something seemed to catch her attention. After prodding the noodles one more time, I turned to see what it was she was so perplexed about. I didn't have to search very hard, he was standing across the island like a statue.
"You okay, Snake?" Jane inquired as she turned her eyes on me.
"Do not worry yourself, Jane," Storm muttered down at the granite, "Snake is just now noticing something that has been under his nose the entire time."
Without answering Jane, Snake turned on his heels and strode out of the kitchen and I could hear him as he escaped up the stairs. That was weird, Snake normally moved with the silence of still air and wouldn't cause notice unless he wanted you to know he was there. I passed my chopsticks off to Jane and told Storm, "Make sure she doesn't start any fires". All the eyes that had been on the TV were on me as I climbed the stairs. I located the room Snake was hunkered down in easily since there was only one door closed.
I stood in front of the door for a minute but to me it felt more like an hour, trying to get my knuckles to make contact with the wood of the door. When I finally did knock, it was a series of three raps and that was it. There was no need to knock on it again since it was impossible that Snake hadn't heard me. Snake's sudden opening of the door causes me to flinch.
Calming myself again enough to sneak a glance at Snake while under his intense stare proved ten-times harder than if he were Storm. I think Snake got tired of me just standing that because, before I knew it, he grabbed my arm, not brutally but forcefully enough to get a good grip on me. He pulled me into the room then started signing in a whorl of gestures that I only caught half of.
"Way too fast, Snake," I complained as I took hold of his writs. "I might know what you're trying to tell me if you went a bit slower, please."
I watched as his chest rose and fell in a deep breath. Before getting to what he really wants to "say", Snake apologized for gabber-handing then launched into a questionnaire. When and how did Storm figure out that we knew each other? When did I finally find out who he was? How can I prove I was who I said I was?
"I believe Storm put the pieces together either before or around the time we got into the helicopter," I answered, moving to then sitting on the full-sized bed that was the only other piece of furniture in this guest room beside a small dresser. "As for me, it was when he traded me off to you in the elevator. You know how most people can only recognize a person by their face?" He nodded. "Well, I can also tell who someone is by their hands. Yours felt vaguely familiar and then the picture became clear. As for proving who I am, the first time we meet I was an eight-year-old girl coming back from grocery shopping and you pulled me into an ally-"
"Maverick," Storm's voice ripped through the house. "You might want to get down here soon."
"I can't even leave that woman supervised without her setting something on fire," I groaned, shaking my head.
I hadn't even noticed Snake standing in front of me and bumped into him as I tried to get up off the mattress. I didn't move due to the fact my face was probably red as a tomato but I couldn't control Snake. His hands moved up to my upper arms and he took a step backwards, putting a bit of space between us. One of Snake's hand left my shoulder and reach behind himself to search inside one of the many pockets of his cargo pants. When his hand came back around, clasped in between his index and thumb were two things I thought I had lost a long time ago.
The day after I'd become "friends" with Snake, Jane had stormed into Wu's apartment and told me we had to leave immediately. That is Jane speak meant, "We're leavening now and don't bother packing, I'll buy you more stuff when we're home." That also meant leaving behind all the souvenirs I'd bought while in Japan. Held in Snake hand the only one Wu hadn't been able to find and ship to me, a pair of hairpins that resembled chopsticks. One was the shade of over oxygenated blood with black lettering the sides and the other looked like a piece of bamboo.
"That's where they went," I exclaimed before a genius idea popped into my head. "Since you've held on to those for some twenty years, would you mind holding onto something else for me?"
Snake stayed completely still for a generous minute before nodding.
"Great," I cheered as I took the pins from him and twisted my hair into a bun, securing it to the back of my head using the pins."I love it when a plan come together easily."
Once my hair was out of the way, I looped a finger under the heavily tarnished chain at the nape of my neck. I pulled the chain to the side then lifted it over my head. In my hand, the contents held on the chain pooled in my bandaged palm. One silver ring with a sapphire centered between two tiny diamonds and a plain circlet of amethyst, my two most prized possession and I was surrendering them to Snake.
"I trust you, Snake," I stated, holding out the necklace towards him. "My trust is an easy thing to lose. Therefore, didn't give me an inkling of a reason to believe I've invested my trust wrong or I promise you I'll come collect my necklace back from your still, lifeless body. Got that?"
Snake nodded, taking the necklace firmly into his grasp. What he did with it afterwards, I don't know.
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Maverick (A G.I. Joe Fanfiction)
FanfictionTHIS STORY AND A MAJORITY OF THE CHARACTERS ARE MY PERSONAL BRAIN CHILDREN. THEY ARE WORKED INTO A WORLD I MYSELF DID NOT CREATE. LARRY HAMA, MARVEL COMICS, AND HASBRO HOLD ALL RIGHTS TO THEIR CHARACTERS I'M BORROWING THEM TO WRITE THIS BOOK. The na...