New to STRIKE

Ch14

Rumlow had taken you to a nice dinner, and you were now sitting at the bar of a dance hall. He shared with you a few funny stories about some of the guys on the team, even a few embarrassing ones about himself, as did you. You hadn't laughed this much in a long time.

Rumlow excuses himself to the restroom, leaving you alone at the bar for a few moments. You feel someone walk up behind you, assuming it's just him you don't think twice when they place their hand in the small of your back.

"You wanna dance, beautiful?" A strange voice asks.

You turn to realize the person isn't Rumlow, you smile at him politely and try to gently push his hand away from you. "No thanks."

You turn back to watch the tv above the bar, but you feel his hand on you again, moving his fingertips along your shoulder. You clench your jaw, and try to stay calm. "Look, I'm here on a date. So, no thanks." You politely push his hand away again.

"I don't see any date." He says, leaning against the counter too close for comfort.

You roll your eyes and he moves to touch you again, but a hand catches his.

"That's because I was in the restroom." Rumlow says, you can tell he's trying to stay calm, his voice is deeper than usual. He drops the guy's hand and motions for the guy to leave, but he just smirks and inches closer to you.

"I think the pretty little lady should decide." The guy turns back to you, but Rumlow puts a hand on his chest, forcing him away from you.

"I think you should leave her alone." Rumlow steps between the two of you.

"Why don't we take this outside?" The guy asks, stepping closer to Rumlow, the guy is considerably taller, but you know Rumlow will kill him if given the chance.

Rumlow's jaw is clenched, and you notice his hand twitch at his side.

"Ooookay." You say, stepping between them. "How about we just leave huh?" You say to Rumlow, putting your hand on his chest to calm him.

He lets out a deep breath and nods, wrapping his arm around your waist as you start to walk away.

"Yeah that's right, run off with your little bitch." The guy calls after the two of you.

You curse under your breath, noticing that Rumlow has stopped dead in his tracks.

You turn to see him motion for the guy, who is only too happy to oblige, to follow the two of you. Once outside the guy takes off his jacket, and rolls up his sleeves, readying himself for a fight.

"Apologize, and we don't have to do this." Rumlow tells him, motioning for you to stand out of the way.

The guy just laughs and shakes his head.

"Alright." Rumlow shrugs. "Your funeral."

The guy leaps for Rumlow, who catches him by the throat and slams him to the ground immediately, holding him there he asks, "Ready to apologize?"

The guy starts turning red, and you get worried. "Rumlow." You says nervously, but he either doesn't hear you or is ignoring you. "Rumlow..." You say again, the guy starts turning blue. "Brock!"

He finally releases the guy and pulls him up, pushing him against the wall so the guy doesn't fall over in a coughing fit. "I'm s-sorry" The guy manages to cough out.

Rumlow, seeming satisfied comes over to you, wraps his arm around your waist and continues on down the sidewalk.

After walking in silence for a while he finally speaks up. "Sorry I kind of ruined tonight." He frowns. "I lost my cool when he called you that."

You slip your jacket back on and squeeze his arm affectionately. "It was sweet, we just can't kill people in public." You both laugh and he kisses your hand.

Before you realize it, you're both standing in front of your apartment. You slide your arms up around his neck, pulling him in for a hug. He slides his arms around your waist and lifts you up slightly, making you giggle before he sets you back down. You run your fingers through his hair and press your lips to his.

The kiss is soft at first, but he grips your hips and presses his lips against yours harder.

You force yourself to pull away, stepping into your apartment. "I think it's about time I went to bed."

You smile as he steps forward and leans in towards you, one of his hands gripping the door frame, the other pulling you to him by your jacket. He kisses you, slowly this time, before pulling away.

"Goodnight." He whispers, before stepping back into the hallway. "Oh, and by the way." He bites his lip, and runs his fingers back through his hair nervously. "I kinda like when you call me Brock."

You laugh and lean out the door, pulling him to you by his collar, and give him one last kiss. "Goodnight, Brock."

Rumlow's POV:

I vaguely hear her voice in the distance, but all I can concentrate on is my hand gripping this guy's throat. I tightened my grip, making him turn blue, his eyes starting to water.

"Brock!" I hear her yell at me.

I shake my head and loosen my grip, instead grabbing him by his shirt and lifting him to his feet. He leans against the wall and manages to cough out an apology to her. I wrap my arm around her and tug her along with me, wanting to avoid the growing crowd of people coming to see what happened.

She's quiet for a while, so I finally decide to speak up. "Sorry I kind of ruined tonight. I lost my cool when he called you that."

She moves away, and for a moment I think she's scared of me. I open my mouth to speak, but notice her skin prickling in the night breeze as she slides her jacket back on. She wraps her arm around mine, and smiles affectionately.

"It was sweet." She says. "We just can't kill people in public."

We both laugh and I pull her hand up to press it to my lips gently, then it occurs to me that I've never really done that before. Hell, I've never felt protective over anyone before either. I look at her and feel my chest tighten, What are you doing to me?

It's not long before we're standing in front of her apartment, she pulls me in for a hug and I grip her waist to raise her off the floor slightly. She giggles as I set her back down, the sound makes my heart flutter. She smiles sweetly and runs her fingers through my hair, making me close my eyes.

I feel her hands run to the back of my neck, and before I can open my eyes I feel her lips press to mine. The kiss is intoxicating, I grip her hips to pull her closer and deepen the kiss. My head is swimming, but she pulls away and opens her apartment.

"I think it's about time I went to bed." She says, still slightly out of breath.

I grip her door frame to lean in to her apartment, and reach forward to grip her jacket, pulling her to me for a slow kiss before whispering goodnight. I step back to leave, but turn to face her again, remembering something I wanted to tell her. "Oh! By the way.." I bite my lip nervously and run my hand back through my hair, thinking of how she said my name earlier in the evening. "I kinda like when you call me Brock"

She giggles softly and leans out her door, gripping my shirt collar to pull me closer. She presses her lips to mine again, this time lightly grazing my lips with her tongue and sending my senses crazy. She pulls away slowly, smiling at the dazed look I'm sure I have.

"Goodnight...Brock" She slightly emphasizes my name, adding a certain breathiness that gives me chills.

As she closes her door I'm left standing alone, biting my lip I slowly make my way to my own apartment, my head still swimming.