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If there was one thing that Classified hated about his job, it had to be the paperwork. There was always a ridiculous amount after missions, no matter how they went over. They beat the bad guy? Now everyone had to file a report. They lost a fight? The paperwork they had to fill out now had to list any and all collateral damage to their tech and weaponry, and any injuries that they had sustained. Even when they weren’t on missions there was research and digital retcon to be done. Classified had pulled so many all nighters thanks to the paperwork he now had Skipper worried about him again.
Speaking of the Penguin agent, he had just walked into the room to see Classified clicking away on his laptop in the common room, muttering to himself. The latter had yet to notice him walk in, so Skipper quietly moved forward and snuck so he was about a foot away. When the other man still hadn’t looked up from his computer, he decided to say something.
“Hey Classified!” The sound of typing continued, seemingly ignoring the previous summons. Despite there not being an answer, the other man chuckled and tried again.
“Hey Wolfie!” Classified sighed and looked up, finally noticing who was there. Skipper had leaned forward across the table Classified had set up his workspace at and was closer than he had thought, making Classified jolt with surprise. Skipper had been taking the day off, so Classified hadn’t expected him to be back on base so soon. Skipper looked highly amused by this, chuckling before he moved back to pull out a chair.
“Took you long enough”, he said, grinning, “I’ve been here about five minutes, whatcha up to that’s got you so focused?” Recomposing himself, Classified slid the laptop so that Skipper could see all the paperwork that he had yet to do. He had been at this for a few hours, but he still had a ridiculous amount of it to do. Skipper hummed for a second, before scrolling through the work. He clicked on a few of the documents, copying them and attaching them to an email he had made out to himself. His phone beeped, indicating that he had received it. He then slid the laptop back to Classified, before pulling out his phone. Classified cocked an eyebrow at the other man, and Skipper explained that he’d do the paperwork he sent to his phone and would help Classified with anything else that he needed.
This surprised Classified for only one reason: Skipper hated paperwork just as much as he did. It was nice of him to help though, because it probably would have meant another all nighter if he had to do all the paperwork himself. It wasn’t often one of his collogues offered to help with the work, as Classified was often seen as the “responsible, on top of things” one. The one who had everything together and had a team that he had been directing almost perfectly ever since he had started working as a spy. It didn’t seem like Skipper cared though, since he was still sitting there to Classified’s right, on his day off, doing paperwork with him.
Classified couldn’t help but feel a slight twinge of guilt at that, since none of them got days off very often, and Skipper was now wasting it on helping him. He could have been doing practically anything else, so why exactly was he choosing to spend his time like this? Could it be one of those “I do you a favor and I’ll hang this over your head later to get something I want” help you things? No, Skipper didn’t seem quite like the kind of person who would do favors for people just because he wanted something. Ironically, it was easier to see one of his own team doing that more than he could see Skipper doing that. Classified stayed on that though for a bit, simply how much he trusted the other man.
Breaking from his train of thought, Classified looked over to the aforementioned man, who’s dark eyes held slight amusement as he worked. He was so nice to him, for no clear reason whatsoever. Maybe that was why he was starting to feel attached to Skipper. He wasn’t nice to Classified simply because they were colleagues, as he had seen Skipper smart off to at least one of the upper officers at the North Wind. He was just good natured, and it was nice how much he would encourage Classified to let himself be himself whenever the two talked. The Penguin agent was nicer to him than he probably deserved.
Suddenly, the silence between them was shattered as Classified’s phone went off. He scrambled to answer it, while motioning for Skipper to stop looking like he was about to laugh.
“Hello-”, Classified began, promptly getting cut off by a chipper voice on the other end.
“Hello Jason Dean of Westville, I’m calling from the Massachusetts State help desk to inform you there’s a warrant out for your arrest. If you give me your social security number, I can run a check to ensure you’re the person we’re trying to contact. The police have a warrant out for you. It is urgent that you give us your-” *CLICK*. He promptly hung up the phone, already annoyed that they were interrupted by a fake arrest warrant. Now Skipper was laughing, trying to recompose himself.
“Wow Wolfie, never would’ve guessed that your real name was Jason Dean!”, he chuckled, “Sounds like that name would fit some emo kid a little more than you! And getting in trouble with the police,” he sarcastically clutched at imaginary pearls around his neck, “I couldn’t have expected that from you of all people!” Sighing deeply, Classified rolled his eyes.
“Of course that’s not my name pegwing.”, he said whilst blushing aggressively, “and why on earth would I be getting call about police in Massachusetts? None of us even LIVE in Massachusetts!!” Skipper placed a hand on Classified’s shoulder, steadying the man.
“I’m just messin’ with ya’ Classy.”, he said, laughter still evident in his tone. Before either of them could continue, Classified’s phone rang a second time. They locked eyes for a moment, before Classified went to answer the phone again. He hadn’t even gotten a word out before he was bombarded with a very loud, irritating voice.
“Good afternoon Kyle Parkson! I’m sure you’re a very busy man so I don’t want to take up too much of your time. Are you interested in a life insurance policy? If so we-”, Classified hung up before he had to hear anymore. Again, Skipper looked as though he found this whole situation rather hilarious. His expression softened however when he saw how frustrated Classified looked. He stared at the phone in his hand that continued to ring, then stop, then ring, then stop, then ring, then stop; seemingly on loop. The screen quickly filled up with numbers from Illinois to Washington, all of them from scammy sources. Clearly, the calls attacking his phone were beginning to stress Classified out. Suddenly, Skipper found his own phone was receiving a call from one of the numbers.
Gently pushing Classified’s phone down, he gestured to his own and made a motion for Classified to be quiet while smiling. Classified cocked one eyebrow, tilting his head to the side ever so slightly. Raising his phone to his ear, Skipper proceeded to click answer, simultaneously being sure to put it on speaker. On the other end, the voice of a cheery young woman rang through.
“Hello there! Am I speaking to Rex Wazowski?” Much to Classified’s continuously mounting surprise, Skipper responded.
“Yes ma’am! To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?”
“Haha! Well we have been trying to contact you recently about your car’s extended warranty, but we haven’t been able to reach you-”
“What’s a car?”, Skipper inquired, cutting her off, “is it like a carriage?”
“I’m sorry?”
“What’s a car? What is the function of a car? Like, what do they do?”
“It’s, a car sir? You know? It’s, um-”, sounds of typing could be heard on the other end, as apparently she wasn’t quite sure how to answer the question. After a few moments, she finally started talking again. “So, a car, sir, is a motorized vehicle with four wheels that runs on gasoline and an engine.”
“Oh! So it’s a motorized carriage? Remarkable! We really are living in the future!” Classified began to perk up a bit, realizing what Skipper was doing.
“No sir, I mean yes, I – sir are you alright? You’re not really making sense. How do you not know what a car is?”
“I don’t know many things! Tell me, why would someone need a warranty for them? Do they blow up often? I should think so, being a motorized carriage and all.”
“Well, um, I... don’t get paid nearly enough for this. Look sir I’m not Google just look it up for goodness sake.”
Skipper gave Classified a grin before answering, happy that the other was clearly amused by the exchange.
“What’s Google?”
Muffled cursing could be heard, and the phoneline went dead. Much to Skipper’s glee, Classified was laughing, obviously feeling much better than he did earlier. Skipper joined in, muting his phone and leaning against the other man. He hadn’t seen Classified laugh like this, just plain and simple happiness with nothing forced. His laughter wasn’t there just so he could sound like he was enjoying himself, it didn’t sound brittle or hollow like Skipper was used to hearing. His laughter was contagious, warm, and he just sounded so happy. It was incredible.
The two continued laughing for a bit, before they both settled, recomposing themselves.
“It’s nice to hear you laughing Classy,” Skipper started, oblivious to the light blush that creeped onto Classified’s face at that remark, “Glad I could help cheer you up!” Cocking his head and half smiling, Classified gave Skipper a look of bemusement.
“Well, you looked like you weren’t having the best day, so obviously with my extra time today I thought to myself ‘say wouldn’t it be fun to go hang out with one of my favorite people and give him a hand?’” It was Skipper’s turn to be surprised, as Classified leaned over and gave him a tight hug.
“Thank you,” he said, smiling into Skipper’s shoulder. While Skipper cheerfully returned the gesture, Classified silently was grateful that the other couldn’t see just how much he was blushing. Knowing that he was officially one of Skipper’s favorite people felt ridiculously good. Maybe they could work together more often, simply as an excuse to spend more time together.