automatic stop, bradley bradshaw

forty-seven.

SKYE GOT OUT OF THE CAR FIRST, LOOKING OVER HER SHOULDER TO SEE HANGMAN PARKING HIS TRUCK IN THE DRIVEWAY. a smile spread to her lips as he got out of the vehicle. "hey, bagman." she smirked, closing her car door as katia got out also. "you two play nice." 

katia shot her a look. "no promises."

"c'mon." the brunette groaned, practically dragging katia closer to hangman. "i feel like a mother trying to force her kids to get along. just shake hands." 

"i'm not going to shake his hand." katia mumbled defiantly, but she caved when she saw that the man in front of her had already outstretched his hand. "happy?" she asked skye when they shook hands. 

"it won't kill you to be nice." skye reminded her, patting her back with a chuckle before leading the way through the garage door. 

katia stopped outside the door, putting a fist on hangman's chest to stop him. "okay, listen here, bud." she said, looking up at him. "i just watched her get hurt by some guy, okay? you are not going to repeat that, understood?"

his eyes were wide as he nodded. "yes, ma'am."

"you hurt her, i will not hesitate to cut your dick off, seresin. understood?" 

he nodded again. "yep, understood."

katia then smiled. "okay. i'm glad we got that covered." with that, she walked into the house, leaving the startled hangman to follow her. 

"now, what are the dinner plans?" skye asked once the other two pilots had joined her in the kitchen. "want to get doordash or something?" 

hangman seemed offended by this proposal. "you're kidding, right?" he asked, looking between the two women. "absolutely not. no, we cannot get doordash."

skye and katia looked at each other. "and why is that?" the brunette asked, crossing her arms over her chest. 

"okay, listen." he sighed. "i'm from the south, okay? in the south, it's custom to make the food. to cook fine cuisine."

"fine cuisine?" skye repeated, her brows raised. "what, exactly, are you proposing?"

hangman immediately moved to raid their fridge. "are these steaks?" he asked, taking them out. "you were suggesting fucking doordash when you have steaks?" 

"are you offering to cook the steaks?" katia asked. 

he still seemed appalled by the whole situation. "yes. do y'all have a grill?"

"uh, yeah, out back." 

as soon as the words had left katia's lips, hangman was already opening the back door and turning the grill on. "okay, now, you need to marinate the steaks." he was explaining as he walked back inside. 

"i know how to make steaks, seresin." skye replied, but she still listened to his instructions on how to make everything go smoothly. 

he was, surprisingly, an excellent cook; something he'd probably gained from his southern family and upbringing. he'd also managed to be kind enough to win katia over, which surprised all three of them. 

soon enough, he'd completed the steaks, and skye was dishing out the mashed potatoes while katia was setting out the plates and getting the green beans ready. truthfully, it was a perfect southern dinner. 

hangman looked pleased with himself as he eyed the food, sitting down at the head of the table. "now this is fine cuisine." he said, making both women start laughing. "try it!"

"no, it's pretty good." they both agreed, laughing as he triumphantly cheered. 

the food was amazing, and soon the group of three were listening to music and cleaning up the kitchen. hangman had offered to help with the dishes, and the girls weren't going to deny him the luxury of doing so (they also didn't want to clean the dishes themselves).