Disclaimer – No original characters here – so I guess that means I don't own any of them.

***

"Hannibal. Doesn't it ever occur to you not to use your real name?" Face sighed as he flopped into the leather sofa.

I looked up from my comic book, curious, something must have gone wrong with the plan.

Face doesn't flop.

Hannibal didn't look worried though, he wandered over to the bar and fixed them both a drink.

"Tell me again why you drive a Corvette?" Hannibal quirked a brow as he handed over the glass. "That's not exactly inconspicuous."

Face laughed, as he made room for Hannibal on the sofa. Hannibal grinned at him and reached over and pulled a cigar from his jacket.

"You both crazier than the crazy fool." B.A. groused.

I just grin.

Hannibal doesn't do favourites. He looks out for everyone on his team. Always has.

But his relationship with Face is special. God knows B.A. and I gave him a hard enough time but Face .. He wasn't about to trust anyone. He wasn't about to stick to the rules .. not even Hannibal's pretty unique interpretation of them.

"I am insane. Not crazy." I corrected loftily.

"There ain't no difference fool." B.A. groused, but I swear the ugly mud sucker was grinning.

"Hey – whose idea was it to fly to Hawaii? Huh? Not mine. No way Jose." I protested.

"What?" Amy sensed a story.

"Faceman forged the papers. Hannibal was pissed." B.A. put in.

"Hanoi. Honolulu." Face shrugged. "It was a slip of the pen."

"Is that how you ended up in the Brig?" Amy asked.

Hannibal cocked a brow at him. Face just shrugged in return.

Stands to reason Face wouldn't have told her about that. She must have seen our records from the Army or something.

"No." Face smiled. "Hannibal was much more creative."

"I had to do something to fill up those gaps in your education." Hannibal smiled back.

"Keep him outta trouble more like." B.A. groused. "Seemed like every time we turned around L-T had pissed off some brass or other."

"I thought that was your job." Amy put in.

"Humppf." B.A. acknowledged that. "But me and the crazy fool. We knew when we were well off."

See here's the thing. Most people take their licks and learn their lesson.

Not Face.

He'd just raise the stakes.

You ask Face what his punishments were like as a kid. He'll make a joke or a story. You have to listen real hard. It was always about taking things away. No supper. No TV. No friends.

No dignity. No value.

So he'd push and push and never give in.

We talked about it once when we were in the camps and Face's smart mouth had earnt him another session in the box.

"Damn fool's gonna get himself killed Hannibal." B.A. had protested.

"Its just another way of surviving B.A." Hannibal had soothed.

"Being alone?" I'd blurted.  We all knew Face hated being alone more than anything.

"Making sure that he isn't." Hannibal had said simply, stroking the sweat matted hair gently.

Now don't get me wrong. Hannibal was tough on the kid.

If Face stepped outta line Hannibal had him hitting the obstacle course or stripping an Uzi until he could do it in his sleep. But Hannibal's punishments always gave something back. Made him a better soldier. Maybe kept him alive.

"So what happened?" Amy asked.

"I pushed right back." Hannibal smiled fondly at Face.

There it is. See?

Their relationship is special. I think Hannibal was the first guy Face ever realized he couldn't con. Not just because the Colonel is a pretty sharp guy. But because he paid attention. Because he cared.

Took Face-guy a while to realize that.

That's why he pushed so hard.