| Stress Relief By Debby Disclaimer: Not mine at all warnings....It's all Lila's fault! Jim pulled into his parking place and leaned back in his seat, letting a heavy sigh escape as he decided to listen to the rest of the song now playing on the radio. He was finally home. It�d been a long day; the kind he�d actually feared at one point was never going to end. The kind he hated�a paperwork day. Two weeks of putting off reports and planning on coercing Sandburg into finishing them had backfired when Blair had taken the day to catch up on some work of his own at the university. He checked for the Blair�s classic piece of junk and smiled to find it in the normal parking place. �Wonder what�s for dinner?� He hoped it would be something simple�and recognizable The song ended and figuring he�d better get moving or he�d fall asleep where he was, he sat forward and grimaced as the muscles in his neck protested. He turned off the ignition and climbed out of the truck, rubbing his neck and feeling much older than he actually was. That�s when he heard it, one loud pop right after another, coming from the loft. Suddenly on alert, the Sentinel pulled his weapon and hurried into the building. It sounded almost like gunfire, yet different some how. Cautiously, he stretched out his hearing, searching for any sign of his partner. There, he could hear Blair now�sobbing? Jim skipped the elevator and took the stairs three at a time, his entire focus on getting to and protecting his Guide. He reached number 307 and pausing only a moment to collect himself, he burst through the door. The scene, much to his relief and complete confusion, was not what he�d been expecting. �JIM!� Blair leaped off the couch, compulsive laughter stilled and forgotten in his scramble to get away the dramatic entrance. �What�s wrong man?� Jim blinked. �Jim?� Concern quickly took the place of fear as Blair took a few steps towards his friend. �You okay man?� Jim blinked again and finally found his voice. �What the hell is that?� He pointed at Blair�s hand. �Could you put that thing away?� Blair ignored his question, too focused on the fact that Jim was pointing with the gun. Jim stared a moment, looked around the room for one last check, then laid the gun down on the kitchen counter. �What the hell is that?� He asked again, with less harshness this time. �It�s bubble wrap.� Blair bounced once and chuckled. �Had a huge shipment of text books come in today for summer session. Julie from the bookstore gave me a whole box of it. Cool huh?� He waved a sheet of the clear plastic in front of roommate. �How�s your hearing?� �What?� Jim frowned at the non-sequitor. �It�s fine�� Blair nodded and pinched the plastic, popping a bubble. �Great stress relief Jim...� he glanced down at the gun, then back up at Jim. �You so need to try it.� Jim tentatively reached for the plastic, and pinched one of the bubbles. He jumped slightly at the resulting pop, then smiled sheepishly and popped another. <pop> <pop> <pop> <pop> Blair shook his head and smiled inspite of himself. He glanced quickly at the clock, then back at his chuckling friend. Jim had been popping those stupid bubbles since he walked in the door, for two hours now! Good thing he�d been giving a whole box. Who'd have thought, sentinels...addicted to bubble wrap. Blair smiled mischievously and reaching for yet another sheet of the wrap, filed the information away for future reference. |
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