Story [L&O:OC] 2022 Drabble Challenge Response

Author Note: I feel like I need to warn and/or apologize for the sudden change in tone. Even as I was working on last week's set, this turn of storyline was not in my head. But this is where the muse is taking me. Out of an abundance of caution, I bumped the rating on AO3 to Teen, for implied off-prescription drug use and mostly off-screen violence.

Spoiler: Author Notes

This is a direct continuation of the previous sets, but since they are back home I decided to drop the International subtitle (subtitles seemed like a better idea before I realized one would take up 14 weeks!). I wanted to have a more consistent subtitle but that seemed a bit spoilery, so Homecoming it is.

I kinda felt like I had too many characters running around in International, and intended to keep the cast tight for the remaining sets. So of course instead I now introduce twice as many new characters in a shorter timeframe.

All that to say, this may be chaos, so Readers, if I lose you anywhere, please let me know! Also, I don't know if I can finish the story in three more sets, but I do intend finish the story, even if it requires extending beyond the challenge.

---

Week 17 (Homecoming Part 1)​

81. Amber

Jet’d had Hana drop her off at the precinct. She was ready to get back to work. Besides, she’d been out of touch for so long, she had no idea if the team might be in crisis mode and need her help.

Jet paused on the first floor, it always had a better selection of tea.

“Jet!”

Jet turned to see a small woman with an amber ponytail approaching. Detective Rollins, from SVU.

“Sorry to hear about your team, but I heard you might be coming to SVU and I just wanted to say we would love to have you.”


83. Cerulean

Jet just stared at Rollins, trying to process what exactly she’d said.

“Hey, this her? The girl Benson and Stabler are fightin’ over? Girl who saved the internet? Nice to meet ya.”

“Carisi.” Rollins signaled the man with cerulean eyes to be quiet. “They didn’t tell you yet, did they? I’m sorry, I didn’t know…”

All thoughts of tea forgotten, Jet rushed for the elevator.

*​

Hana had offered to drive Malachi home. The temptation to spend even a few more minutes with Jet was strong, but there was something he needed to take care of on this side of town.


84. Scarlet

The elevator doors opened and Jet practically ran for her office. She stopped in the doorway, as there were strangers in the room moving tables and chairs. The upper deck was now empty, her computers and monitors nowhere to be seen.

Feeling sick to her stomach, she backed her way back to the elevator and hit the button for SVU’s floor.

*​

Malachi hadn’t seen anyone approach before he was on the ground, spitting scarlet. He couldn’t really hear what was said over the ringing in his ears, but he got just enough of a glimpse of a face to remember.


82. Verdant

Jet beelined for Captain Benson’s office. Stabler was already there, looking entirely too content, considering his team had just been disbanded.

“Jet, I didn’t know you were back—”

“What’s going on?!”

“Take it easy. With the last trial over, we no longer need a dedicated organized crime task force. But don’t worry, I’ve already filed to transfer you to my new department. You’re going to love the verdant lawns of Queens.”

“Or,” Benson cut in after Stabler, “You can stay in Manhattan and work for SVU here.”

“I’m not moving to Queens. And I don’t want to work SVU.”


Vermeil

They’d approached him to make an app. Despite the immediate vermeil flags, Malachi had entertained the proposal—he didn’t always have the luxury of being picky in his line of work. The idiots not only massively underestimated the amount of work that would be involved in what they wanted, what they wanted was morally repulsive. So he’d had no qualms about taking their money with no intention to deliver.

Malachi intended to never see them again. They didn’t know his real name or where he lived, so avoiding them only meant paying extra attention in certain parts of the city.


85. Obsidian

He supposed he’d been distracted, thinking of obsidian locks and deep brown eyes.

And Malachi continued to think of Jet, even as he limped back to his apartment. He wanted very much to call her, to hear her voice, but they’d crushed his phone. Though he wouldn’t have called anyway, he didn’t want her to see him like this. And he didn’t want to explain.

He stumbled into the bathroom, the skin around his eye already turning xanthic. He hardly noticed the pain in his stomach, his back, his head, because his shoulder was simply screaming for his full attention.


Lavender

Opening the medicine cabinet, Malachi pushed the aspirin aside. He needed something much more potent. He swallowed a handful of pills and dragged himself to bed.

He thought he smelled lavender and wondered if that was a sign of brain trauma. Or… perhaps it was a whiff of Jet’s shampoo, the scent still clinging to his shirt from where’d she fallen asleep against him. That happy thought was his last before the pills kicked in and he fell unconscious.

*
​

“Take some time to think it over,” Benson suggested, though nothing Benson said ever really seemed like a suggestion to Jet.

Spoiler: Author Note

Vermeil usually means silver plated with gold, but I found a definition where it means vermillion or bright red. And that definition is specifically designated as "poetic", which seems appropriate since I've been joking about Malachi being a surprise poet.

 

Gah! Malachi, you doofus!

Another great set, and I'm glad to hear you're going to finish the story after the drabble challenge.

 

Yes, Malachi may be a genius in some ways, he may even seem clever in other ways, but he is definitely still a doofus. Thank you!

---

Week 18 (Homecoming Part 2)​

86. Might

Feeling that her future was suddenly very uncertain, Jet returned to her apartment, only to discover a sticker on the front door declaring the building to be condemned.

She’d known the building had been sold and she was getting kicked out, but she was supposed to have a few more weeks. She’d been intending to go apartment shopping, but just hadn’t gotten around to it. She was supposed to have more time…

Jet was a police officer, she could technically cut the sticker and go in, right? Who would stop her? People might not even care if they found out.


87. Paralyze

Jet was still staring at the front door, paralyzed with indecision, when her (now former) neighbor approached.

“Hey, I packed up as much of your stuff as I could before they threw us all out. I’ve been crashing at a friend’s place, we’ll bring it out.”

*​

Fortunately, Jet had her laptop, her tablet, and her cell phone—the only things she really cared about—with her in Budapest. Sitting on the sidewalk outside a condemned building, the small stack of cardboard boxes filled with things her neighbor had saved seemed almost more trouble than they were worth at this moment.


88. Aspire

Jet needed help, that much was clear. In different circumstances, she would have simply returned to the precinct and camped out there until she could figure out more permanent housing. But without a department and zero desire to speak to anyone there right now, least of all about this, Jet had very few options.

Maggie was dealing with her sister. Hana had probably just barely completed her long drive home. That left…

Malachi.

Although she had occasionally responded to him when he casually texted her, she’d never had any aspirations to reach out to him. The prospect was rather terrifying.


89. Thwart

As Jet waited for a response from Malachi, her thoughts wandered back to her job. She’d always seen herself in Computer Crimes. After her success with Organized Crime, she ought to have her pick of departments. Would Stabler really try to thwart any move outside of SVU?

Yes, indeed, he very well might.

Jet looked at her phone again, wondering why Malachi was so slow to respond. Maybe he hadn’t heard the text come in, should she try again? Give it a minute…

It didn’t have to be Computer Crimes. Homicide, Major Crimes, Narcotics, even Vice. Just not Special Victims.


90. Measure

“You know not everyone is cut out for Special Victims.” Benson was seated in her office, not unaware that she now not only outranked her former partner, she in some ways controlled his destiny.

“Of course, that’s why I need Jet. She can handle anything. She’s good and I can trust her not to screw things up.”

Benson sighed. “I’m not talking about her measuring up. What about what she wants?”

“Oh, she’ll get used to Queens. Every Manhattanite thinks they hate Queens. Then they move there and they love it.”

Benson shook her head. Still as stubborn as ever.

 

Great update!
The building is suddenly condemned, eh? Couldn't wait a few weeks for the tenants to have full notice? Really? *rages quietly*

It's only fitting that Malachi-- whose own foolishness got him into trouble-- may be saved by dumb luck.

 

Great story. I like to see Jet, Malachi and friends coming together again

 

Everything I know about New York I learned from tv and movies... hopefully it seems possible, at least in tv-land New York! I imagine it was a really crummy apartment anyway - not only does Jet not have a lot of money, but her aversion to driving and public transportation limits her options to places that are walking distance from work...

Perhaps... or perhaps he'll find motivation to help himself... Thank you!

Aww, thanks!

 

Spoiler: author note

Author Note: I guess I say this every week, but another tough set of prompts! I've decided I hate the word "gorge." It's just an unpleasant sound isn't it? Anyway, I hope to finish the story next week, though it will almost certainly take more than 800 words. I haven't decided yet what I will do for more prompts. I'm open to suggestions

Week 19 (Homecoming Part 3)​

93. Cove

“Hey Maggie, it’s Hana. Just wanted to check in and see how your sister is doing.”

“My sister is… fine, I guess. She checked herself out of the hospital and disappeared. Never once talked to me. Fortunately, I found out before I left.”

“Ouch. Sorry to hear that.”

“In other news… you’ll never guess who’s currently sleeping on my couch.”

“I’m going to say Jet? If it’s Malachi I’m concerned.”

“It is Jet. Poor kid lost her apartment and they’re reshuffling her department.”

“Yikes, that’s a lot to come home to. At least she has a safe cove with you.”


92. Torrent

“How’s the new roommate? Eating all your food and destroying your apartment?” O.A. asked Maggie.

“The opposite actually. She barely eats anything and my apartment is spotless. My computer’s faster, every electronic is gleaming. Oh, and apparently my cord management was subpar. Now there is not a cord in sight. They just disappear into the wall. I don’t love the idea of cutting holes in the wall, but you can’t argue with the results.”

“Sounds like she’s settling in well. What about the boy? He over at all hours of the night, torrenting your internet?”

“I actually haven’t seen Malachi…”


Bonus: Quagmire

“Did they break up?”

“Break up? Were they together? I don’t know. That’s a quagmire I’m trying to stay out of. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I almost wish he would appear. I’m afraid Jet’s depressed. I don’t think she’s set foot outside the apartment since she arrived, or spoken to anyone other than me, and we barely speak.”

“Why don’t you bring her with you tomorrow? We’re just doing background checks. She can ride in the back. Maybe she can fix the GPS.”

“The FBI doesn’t do ride-alongs…”

“She’s a police detective, right? Call it a special assignment.”


Bonus: Precipice

Jet was confused.

Was he really ghosting her?

She’d resisted Malachi’s advances, knowing he would soon get bored of her and move onto someone more exciting. Just as she was starting to think he might actually be interested enough to stick around, just as she was starting to feel close, maybe even on the precipice of something more, he disappeared.

Had he lost interest after all? Or was he playing hard-to-get? She couldn’t really object if he was—turnabout was fair play and all.

Most likely he’d just gotten busy with his… whatever it was he did with his time.


Bonus: Rivulet

He could have gotten himself arrested. If he was arrested, there were even odds that he’d either call her to get him out, or that he’d do his best to make sure she never found out.

It crossed her mind that he could be hurt, in a hospital or worse, but that seemed the least likely of all scenarios. She didn’t know how he survived living the life he led, but somehow he’d been doing it successfully for years. A rivulet of concern ran through the back of her mind. But mostly, she tried not to think of him at all.


95. Summit

It was a sad to think Jet had already reached summit of her career. But at this point the only trajectory she saw was downward.

Perhaps she could put in a couple months at SVU, and if she did a bad enough job surely they would let her transfer to a different unit. But it wasn’t in her nature to intentionally underperform.

A lateral transfer to another police department was almost certainly out of the question—no department would let her start at her age as a detective. The idea of being a traffic cop was a literal nightmare.


91. Island

Jet hadn’t left the island of Maggie’s apartment in days. She tried to keep herself busy. She didn’t want to be a freeloader, so she tried to find little ways to help out. She quickly ran out of things to clean and electronics to fix.

It was when Jet started to envy Constantine that she knew she was in trouble. He didn’t have to worry about where he would sleep or where his next meal was coming from. He was doing the work he was meant to do, and for a good cause. With all that covered, who needed freedom?


92. Gorge

Maggie returned with a tray of cups to see Jet glaring up at O.A. He took a small step back, as though momentarily intimidated by the woman easily a foot and a half shorter than him.

“Everything okay?” Maggie asked.

“Yes,” O.A. replied quickly. “I probably shouldn’t try to use slang I’m not actually familiar with…”

Jet said nothing, but her expression softened as Maggie distributed the drinks. Maggie handed Jet a cup, as O.A. opened the door of the SUV. Jet climbed into the backseat.

After the door closed, O.A. whispered to Maggie, “What does the word ‘gorge’ mean?”

 

Nice set with Jet being cared for by Maggie

 

Great set, but... oh no! I'm really starting to worry about Malachi. Jet, too! But it's nice that Maggie's helping someone who is making her life easier in turn.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this story resolves.

If you need more prompts, I've got a few ideas:

Knit, stitch, weave, needle, yarn
- bonus: warp, shuttle, floss

Ship, row, deck, port, sail
- bonus: keel, mast, tack

Knife, fork, spoon, plate, cup
- bonus: saucer, bowl, glass

Crush, smash, crunch, mash, break
- bonus: smoosh, squish, squash

 

Thank you! I really like the relationship between Jet and Maggie.

I missed Malachi in this set! I usually give him the hard words Thank you for the kind words

And thank you very much for the prompts!!

 

Spoiler: author note

Ahh, I can't believe the challenge is over! Challenge is over with this set, but the story is not. I have perhaps another 2,000 words to go after this. I am going to try to make them drabbles using Ubersue's prompts, but I have a feeling the structure will disintegrate before the end...

Anyway, thanks so much to anyone who has stuck with this to the end of the challenge! I really appreciate the support

Week 20 (Homecoming Part 4)​

96. Cosmic

“It’s not broken, you just have to adjust the settings… you know, the little gear icon? You just…. nevermind. I fixed it.”

“Thanks!” O.A. replied. “You are quite the cosmic tech wizard!”

“I really didn’t…” Jet sighed. It was going to be a long day.

*​

Jet took off her seatbelt and leaned forward, desperately trying to hold it together.

“Is—” she breathed slowly. “There… anyway…”

Alarmed, O.A. quickly cut onto the shoulder and stopped the car. “What’s—?”

Before he could finish his question, O.A. got his answer as Jet lost her stomach on the side of the road.


97. Living

Malachi was surviving, barely living. He was out of the good meds and aspirin was barely touching the pain in his shoulder. The good news was the rest of his injuries were improving, but his shoulder was pure fire. He hadn’t been eating or drinking much and he wasn’t sure if he was nauseous from the pain or dizzy from undernourishment. Probably both.

He shifted, trying to relieve pressure on his shoulder, and felt a twinge under his back. Not a sharp pain, just a lump in the cushion. He reached for it with his good hand. A small tube.


98. Mindful

It must have fallen out of his pocket.

Pomegranate lip balm.

Jet’s pomegranate lip balm. He’d been meaning to give it back to her, but he kept forgetting. Distracted by other things.

This was good. An excuse to see Jet. And for once it didn’t even require risking his life for the government.

*​

He was mindful that he couldn’t see Jet in his current condition. He needed to clean himself up, but even more he needed to get the pain under control. He hated doctors and hospitals almost as much as Jet hated planes, but he didn’t have much choice.


99. Redeem

O.A. exchanged a nod with Maggie as he returned to the table. “After lunch, how about we continue the ride-along in the crisis room? I already spoke to Jubal, he’s ready and waiting for you.”

Jet tried her best not to outwardly cringe. She was burden to the people who were trying to help her, and now they were shuffling her off to bother someone else, without even the opportunity to redeem herself. “It’s ok, I’ll just go home. I mean, to Maggie’s place…”

“No way, they’re expecting you upstairs. It will be way more fun, I promise,” O.A. winked.


Bonus: Transcend

Waiting for victims to get out of medical exams was among Rollins least favorite parts of her job. She was trying not to pace too much, when a familiar face caught her eye.

*​

“Adam?”

Malachi’s initial reaction was to ignore the voice. No one he liked called him that.

But his need for treatment transcended his impulse to avoid the interaction. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes.

She didn’t look like a nurse. He closed his eyes again.

“You're Jet’s friend, right?”

Malachi’s eyes flew open and he sat up straighter.

“Detective Rollins. I think I’ve seen you around the office.”


Bonus: Foreseen

“Just wondering if you might know if she’s getting close to a decision?” Rollins asked.

“What decision?” Malachi replied.

“You know, Manhattan or Queens SV—” Rollins cut herself off. She should have foreseen that he might not be fully in the loop.

“What do you mean, Queens SVU?”

“Oh, it looks like they’re calling you. Uh, tell Jet I said hi and uh, hope to see her soon, I guess.” Rollins slipped behind a set of double doors, just as a woman in scrubs walked out and approached Malachi.

“Are you Adam Mintock? The doctor will see you now.”


100. Luminous

Malachi knew with her job in turmoil, Jet would be upset. He didn’t want to waste time buying a new phone and looking up her number. So, feeling luminous, he headed for Jet’s apartment.

Maybe he shouldn’t have taken quite so many pills, but he’d never had a legitimate prescription before and the temptation was hard to resist. After days crushed by pain, being pain-free was practically the same as flying. Maybe hospitals weren’t all bad after all.

Malachi stopped as he saw the building was under construction. Wrecked beyond recognition, there was no way anyone was still living there.

 

Great to see Malachi wanting to see Jet but will he? A great end to your drabbles but there will be more?
Anyway congrats on finishing

 

Congratulations on finishing the challenge!

I'm excited to read the rest of the story.

Oh, Malachi. And of course he's never had a legitimate prescription before. I'm looking forward to seeing him smarten up... there's only so much that Jet can put up with.

 

Thank you!! And, yes, there is more!

Thank you!! I hope you enjoy the end. Thanks so much for the prompts, they were very helpful! I used them but took some liberties.

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Author Note: One more post of drabbles with prompts provided by @UltramassiveUbersue! Then the story is mostly over. I may add a few non-drabble paragraphs. My brain is pretty much melted at this point but I wanted to finish before the holiday....

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103. Stitch

If Jet wasn’t at her apartment or at work, where could she be? Malachi had no idea.

But, there was one person who might know…

*​

He was tall, kinda nerdy looking with a tie and finely-stitched button-down shirt. He reminded Jet of the boys in the AV Club at her high school.

“Name’s Kelly,” he said, “Jubal said you’d be shadowing me.”

With only a slight hesitation, Jet shook Kelly’s hand. She’d never really gotten along with the AV boys.

*​

“Don’t worry, Maggie, I’m sure Jet’s happier there. Way more computers and screens in the crisis room than this car…”


104. Knit

“And this is how we pull up footage from the city-wide traffic cams…” Kelly drawled.

Jet nodded along, mostly disengaged. Did he think she was dumb, or did he always operate this slowly? Finally, no longer able to tolerate the lumbering pace, she interrupted.

“Yeah, okay, but where are the algorithms?”

“Um… what algorithms?”

“The deep learning, the computer vision… you don’t manually review the footage when you’re looking for license plates. Right?”

Kelly knit his brows and twisted his lip. “Uh…”

“You’re telling me you’re working with these machines, and what? Don’t even have an AI architecture in place?”


105. Weave

Kelly shook his head slowly. The other intelligence analysts drifted away from their screens, listening to Jet.

Jet glanced around, aware that she had become the center of attention. “Even the most basic open source analysis tools can pull letters and numbers from video…”

Kelly gestured to the keyboard. “Show me.”

*​

Obviously, they wouldn’t just let Malachi into FBI headquarters. He needed a cover story. He approached the front desk quickly, doing his best to weave a frantic tone into his voice.

“I’m Malcolm Bell. I need to speak to one of your agents right away. It’s about her sister.”


106. Bolt

Malachi was pretty sure she wasn’t buying it. She was talking with someone upstairs. Normally this was the time he would bolt, but he held fast on the slight chance they might let him speak to Maggie anyway.

The front desk clerk set down the phone. “Someone will be down in a moment.”

“Good,” he replied, casually eyeing the door and glancing around for signs of security. Maggie was probably in the field, so it was unlikely to be her coming down. He did his best to smile politely at the clerk and edged a little closer to the exit.

--


107. Break

Jubal exited the elevator and immediately recognized the visitor, despite the bruises on his face and apparently broken arm. His photo had been passed around a lot lately.

“If you want to talk to Maggie, have you considered just calling her?”

Malachi appeared startled for only a moment before coolly replying, “And letting a fed have my number? Not a chance.”

Jubal crossed his arms and waited for Malachi to continue.

“I really do need to talk to her. I’m worried about a mutual friend.”

Surprised to get such a straight answer, Jubal called upstairs.

“Kelly, send our visitor down.”


108. Smash

Am I in trouble? Jet wondered. Lately it seemed just as things were starting to turn around and she could momentarily relax, her comfort was smashed.

Exiting the elevator, she saw Jubal first and braced herself.

“Jet,” an oh-so-familiar voice breathed.

It took her a moment to take in his appearance. Sling, bruises.

Guilt and fear to see that he’d been hurt battled with simple warmth and happiness to see that he was here.

“I’ll let you two catch up.”

Jet barely heard Jubal and she rushed up to Malachi. “I’d hug you, but I don’t want to hurt you.”


109. Crush

Malachi put his good arm around Jet. Gently, taking care not to crush her delicate figure.

For a moment they just breathed together.

Eventually, Malachi spoke first. “I missed you. Are you okay? I went to your building—it’s destroyed! I saw the blonde detective—Queens?—what’s going on?”

“Am I okay?” Jet took a step back. “You look awful, Malachi. What happened?”

“It’s nothing. I just… you should see the other guy….”

Jet’s eyes were wide with concern and she looked so sad…

“His knuckles are probably really bruised. Except he was wearing gloves, so actually he’s probably fine.”


110. Crunch

Jet leaned her face against Malachi’s chest, mostly so he couldn’t see the tears in her eyes. Her cell phone kept beeping with incoming text alerts, but she ignored them.

“Sounds like someone else misses you too.”

Jet glanced at her phone. The texts were from the upstairs analysts. “They got some powerful tech here, and are great at crunching numbers, but no one can code their way out of a paper bag,” she explained. “I should probably go back up.”

“Don’t forget this,” Jet turned to see the front desk clerk behind her, handing a visitor’s badge to Malachi.


111. Mash

On the elevator going up, the thought occurred to Malachi. And then he couldn’t go the rest of the day without an answer to the question.

And then he recalled that totally silly thing, that only happened in romantic comedies. But it seemed like an appropriate time for a dramatic gesture.

He mashed the emergency stop button and turned to Jet. “Move into my apartment with me. I got a futon in the game room I guarantee is more comfortable than Maggie’s couch. And, well, if you’re up for it, I could probably use your help while the shoulder heals.”


112. Squash

For a long moment there was silence. There were a lot of considerations. Jet had doubts. But one thing squashed them all. The sudden realization that she never again wanted to not know where Malachi was.

“Yes. I’ll move in with you.”

Fleeting smile.

“But, um do you hear that?”

“Oh, is that sirens or…? Uh-oh…” Malachi pressed the emergency stop button again and the elevator resumed.

Jubal was waiting and slightly frantic when the elevator arrived at their floor. “Did you hit the emergency stop?! You can’t do that in a federal building! Someone call off the fire department!”

--


113. Glass

“Isobel, you busy?” Jubal knocked on the door as he entered. He didn’t wait for a response.

“I think I’ve found her. A replacement for Kristen and Elise.”

“I haven’t seen any new applications…”

Jubal gestured for Isobel to look out the internal window with him.

“Maggie’s sister? Is she qualified? She looks very young.”

“Not technically her sister. And yes she’s young but just look. She’s been here five minutes and all the other analysts are asking her questions… Smart, capable—easiest hire I’ve ever made. Bonus, Maggie assures me she has zero interest in being a field agent.”


114. Plate (because he’s still looking out the plate glass window, you see…)

“And the boy?” Isobel asked.

Jubal turned to Isobel. “Now that’s an interesting idea…”

“Wait, isn’t he a felon? Why is he even up here?”

“Yeah, but he’s done his time. He’s been on the FBI payroll… I’m not saying we give him top secret clearance right off the bat. What do they say about enemies? Keep them close. Make surveillance way easier if he’s in the building every day.”

“I don’t know…” Isobel returned to her desk.

Jubal continued to watch. The way Malachi looked at Jet… Jubal had full confidence Malachi wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt her.

 

I really like how you are continuing with Jet and Malachi's story. Getting them together to work and in private

 

@earlybird-obi-wan Thank you so much for your many sweet comments and for following this story this far! I'm pretty sure this will be the last post of the story. Of course, I've been wrong about that kind of thing before...

---

Maggie had volunteered O.A. and his car to help move Jet’s stuff from Maggie’s apartment to Malachi’s. Somehow that had also led to everyone going out to eat together.

“It’s a torn rotator cuff. Happens a lot to elite athletes,” the boisterous hacker was saying.

O.A. pressed his lips together. He could not think of a response that wouldn’t seem like trolling. Of course O.A. treated his partner with the utmost respect. And he was more than willing to go the extra mile to be nice to his partner’s friends. But was that courtesy really owed to his partner’s friends’ friends?

Oh wait, he may soon also be a coworker.

O.A. caught Maggie’s eye and shook his head slowly.

Maggie could only shrug in response. Malachi was even more Malachi than usual tonight. He had neither stopped talking nor taken his eyes off Jet since they sat down in the restaurant.

Jet finally managed to get a word in. “Maggie told me you hurt your shoulder in Budapest. I didn’t know. What happened?”

“Oh!” Malachi lit up at the opportunity to tell the story. “So they had this ridiculous antenna on the roof. Seriously, what century is it over there? Anyway, it’s not working so I gotta manually fix it—Constantine being chained to the desk and all—finally get it adjusted, it’s working, such as it does, and Boss Man—never did learn his name—tells me to get down. The door’s across the roof, so I start heading that direction. He grabs me, pulls me back, leg sweep, and just tosses me off the roof! Land in a dumpster, but don’t even have a chance to be properly outraged before gunshots pass overhead. Haul myself out of there and get back inside, don’t hardly notice my shoulder until it’s all over.”

I should just be grateful I was never in a foxhole with this guy, O.A. told himself.

*​

Maggie and O.A. had their arms full of boxes as the foursome approached the door to Malachi’s apartment.

Malachi paused and looked to Jet. “Go ahead,” he said to her. “Let yourself in.”

“I don’t have a key.”

“You’ve done it before. Maybe try the iris scanner.”

“I don’t have your eyes.”

“You have something. Let’s see the tech.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. But if I did, I’m sure you’d be referring to the intellectual property of the NYPD.”

“Bull,” Malachi replied. “It’s not police tech, it’s your tech.”

Jet shrugged.

“Seriously, guys, these boxes are heavy. Someone open the door.”

“Fine, you win. For now. But I’m on to you.” Malachi tried to throw an intimidating glare at Jet. But really he just smiled like a smitten puppy.

 

Awesome updates! And a great ending too, with a possibility for a sequel.... I've really enjoyed your characters, and I'd love to see more of them if your muse wills it so.

Hooray for Jet getting the recognition she deserves! And Malachi is so adorable... smitten puppy indeed.

Congrats for sticking with the challenge to the end, and with a single storyline, no less.

 

Love that ending with Malachi teasing Jet and telling his story. I like to see more of them

 

@UltramassiveUbersue and @earlybird-obi-wan Thank you both, once again, for all your wonderful comments throughout the story! It really means a lot to me and really helped keep me going.

As for additional stories with these characters - I'm incredibly flattered that you might be interested in more, but I don't really expect to write more. I have massive issues with the canon and am really trying to move past this fandom. Also, in the relatively few stories I've written I feel like I am circling back not just on the same themes and ideas, but in many cases even the same scenes and phrases. So I think perhaps the muse has run its course. Then again, the muse is fickle so who knows....