一道

completelysane:

(the scenery from a car seat)

She wasn’t born in Connecticut, although she was born in a small state with a long name and sometimes went to Connecticut for vacations. It had rocky beaches and wild, rocky wooded hills and, she remembered, was a cold that her mother insisted on calling ‘nippy’. One thing her state and that state had in common was that their names were too big for them on maps of the country. She would, during long car trips when she had nothing to read, look with some pity on the abbreviated ‘CT’ and ‘RI’.

(given names)

After the naming, some Freelancers who weren’t from the States went around asking where theirs were. It was in between explaining that she didn’t actually know where Missouri was located that she settled on calling herself Connie. It sounded shorter, and friendlier-traits which she tended to identify with herself.

(military personnel)

They had all done basic and weapons and combat experience years ago; the training now was based on their individual speciality. Connie’s speciality would be reconnoissance; physical or digital information-gathering. She passed the heavy hitters on the range on her way back from a session of sitting at semi-sentient computers.

There was glass between her and them, bouncing back squares of white light so that she saw Maine, York, Washington, and Carolina through flattened diamonds.

New York had gotten his nickname without having to tell anyone about it. He seemed the sort of person nicknames came naturally to. He wore them well, breaking them in like new shoes that would be comfortable afterward. He was neither too quiet nor too brash, a winning combination out at the far end of the bell curve.

He waved at Connie with a knife between his fingers, looking at her oh-so-briefly before Carolina called “Eyes up front!” and threw.

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Oh, man, I read this on AO3 a while back and absolutely loved it, and just as much in rereading it. Everything comes together so beautifully in this. <3