Kilroy

“Be safe,” Brock whispers, forehead pressed to Jack’s, hands on either side of Jack’s neck.

Another triangular dropship slams into the earth just outside the dome surrounding Birnin Zana, and the blinding animal rage of the aliens is already starting to make Jack’s skin crawl.

Closing his eyes, Jack tilts his head and kisses Brock deeply.  Just in case it’s the last one they ever get.  He straightens the black collar of Brock’s shirt under his Crossbones armor, touches his fingertips to the circled A emblazoned on the corner of the chestplate, and tries to smile.  “Be deadly.”

Jack groans as he peels himself off the floor of Shuri’s lab.  The sound of shattering glass has him stagger over to the open window frame, and he watches Vision tumble downward with the black-robed intruder.

Pressing a finger to his earbud, Jack takes a few breaths.  “The lab has been breached.  Repeat, the lab has been breached.  They have Vision.”

He leans against the frame of the window and presses his hand against his aching ribs.  Chances are at least one of them is cracked.  Desperately, he reaches out for Brock’s pulse.

The tether leads him to a small patch of forest; the snapping of twigs and rush of air tell Jack that Brock is running toward-

Pain lances through his head as Vision dies and Jack gasps raggedly, sliding a few inches down the window frame.

“Agent Rollins?”  A small hand touches his arm, gentle and careful, steadier than his own.

Jack looks up at Shuri.  She’s too calm, she has too much steel in her eyes for one so young.  He takes a breath, stands up straighter, and tells her, “I need a rifle.”

A golden hand - no, a gauntlet - rises up in the narrow view of Jack’s scope.  Fingers overlap, readying for movement.

Jack exhales.  Holds.

Between one heartbeat and the next, he fires.

Brock rolls to his feet just as he sees Thor recoil in surprise and Thanos’ body crumple to the earth.  The fingers of the gauntlet splay limply apart on the dense, dusty soil.

Five seconds later, the sharp double-crack of a rifle pierces the forest around them, followed by the crackling roar of the bullet’s shock wave.

“What…”  Thor stares at the misshapen lump of purple on the ground between Thanos’ shoulders.  “What just happened?”

Barnes slowly stands and scoops up his rifle.  “A supersonic armor-piercing .50-cal just happened.  Who’s the shoo-”

“Y’all were taking too long,” Jack says over the radio, and Brock knows he’s not the only one that hears how breathless Jack is, how strained his voice sounds.  “Sometimes you have to stop being safe and just fucking be deadly, okay?”

Brock’s not sure if he’s laughing, crying, or both, but it’s some sort of hysterical noise pouring out of him and T’Challa is looking at him like he’s grown a second head.

“Piss off, Nick,” Jack says as he makes one last adjustment to Barker, then pats the robot and sends it on its way.  “We’re retired.”

Brock lets out an audible snore from where he’s ‘napping’ in the corner at Jack’s second desk, Campus Security baseball cap pulled low over his face.

“And if another Thanos shows up?” Fury asks, one eyebrow raised.

“Then you go find my sister, hand her a bottle of Teeling, and point her at the sorry fucker that decided to shit on our planet.”

Thankfully, it’s not until after Fury leaves that Brock stops stifling his giggles.

When Brock’s lunch break ends, he walks up and wraps his arms around Jack’s waist from behind and brushes a kiss over the nape of Jack’s neck.  “Don’t forget about Cassie’s thing tonight, by the way.  I got her gift wrapped for you, it’s on the kitchen counter.”

Jack twists around so he can push Brock’s hat back and kiss him properly, then smiles.  “Have fun at Kevin’s stag party, if I don’t see you before then.  Love you.”

With a slight smile and a bit of a blush that finally shows on mostly-smooth skin, Brock says, “Love you too.”