automatic stop, bradley bradshaw

nine.

WHEN SKYE AND KATIA WOKE UP, THEY WERE SURPRISED TO see that rooster was still passed out on their couch. "i forgot he was here." skye mumbled as she ran a hand through her hair. she grabbed an aviation coffee mug (one that they'd managed to thrift somehow), filling it with the cold brew coffee in the fridge. "how long do you think it'll take before he wakes up?" 

katia shrugged. "hopefully not too long cause we have work in about two hours." 

while the two women began to prepare for a morning run, rooster groggily woke up. he eyed the trash can by his head as he sat up. "what's this?"

"i wasn't gonna clean your puke." skye told him, wrapping her hair up into a ponytail to keep it out of her face. "how bad's the hangover?"

rooster put a hand to his head. "the movie or the one i'm currently having?" he smiled.

skye rolled her eyes. "the one you're currently.. you know what. no. i hope you're having the worst hangover." 

he laughed. "you don't mean that."

"try me."

she grabbed her water bottle, filling it up before nearly downing the whole thing. "where are you guys going?" rooster asked as he saw katia walk out of her room also wearing athletic wear. "we have to be at base in two hours." he looked at the clock on the wall.

skye shrugged. "morning run."

"wanna come with?" katia added, tossing her hair up. 

he considered his options for a moment before nodding, looking down at his jeans, which were not quite made for running. "go easy on me." 

the three ran throughout the entire neighborhood surrounding their rented house, and rooster was quickly becoming annoyed by his outfit as the girls in front of him moved with ease, clearly having run this route before. 

"how frequently do you guys run?" he asked, catching up to them. 

skye shrugged. "as much as we can, i guess."

he nodded. "i should probably get into the habit, too." they finished the run, and they had arrived back at their house before rooster's brows furrowed. "hey, wait, where's my truck?"

"i wasn't about to haul you into the truck." skye replied.

"so it's still at the hard deck?" he asked. 

"yeah." she grabbed her keys. "i can give you a ride on the motorcycle over there." 

they agreed to meet katia, who was getting a ride with fang, over at base. skye got her uniform on before driving rooster back to the hard deck. his hands were still wrapped around her waist as she drove, but he didn't seem to be clinging to her for dear life like he had been the night before. she assumed it was something to do with him being in a more sober state of mind, but his hands were gentle on her hips.

when she parked next to his truck, rooster fumbled through his pockets. "shit, i think my wallet's inside. mind going in with me?"

skye rolled her eyes. "you're hopeless, bradshaw." nonetheless, she followed him into the bar, smiling as she saw penny benjamin standing behind it cleaning a glass. "hey, penny." 

the woman looked up with a smile. "skye! nice to see you again. what's got you in here so early?"

"rooster here," she nudged him with her shoulder, "seems to have lost his wallet. do you have any in inventory?" 

penny smiled as she handed her a wallet that she'd stored behind the counter. "i was wondering if someone would come back for this." 

skye handed it back to rooster, who rubbed the back of his neck. "thank you, penny, you're a lifesaver."