The Nature of Devotion
Fandom: Press Gang
Pairing: All implied, Kenny/Lynda, Kenny/Samantha
Spoilers: None
Notes: For the LiveJournal 15MinuteFiclets challenge #66 - Devotion
“Don’t you ever get sick of it?”
As soon as she says the words, Sam knows that they were a mistake, doesn’t need to see Kenny’s perplexed frown to realise it. For as long as she’s been working at the Junior Gazette, and quite a bit longer than that, Kenny Phillips has been Lynda Day’s pit bull, and there’s no reason to think that things are ever going to be any different.
“Sick of what?” Kenny asks, shoving his pencil behind his ear and clutching his clipboard to his chest.
“Nothing,” Sam replies with a wave of her hand, but she already knows that he’s not going to let this go. This is Bulldog Kenny that she’s faced with at the moment, the guy who won’t let a problem go unsolved, an issue go unaddressed. This is Kenny at his most tenacious, and as someone who deals with Lynda on such a close basis, Kenny can be pretty damn tenacious.
“Sam, you asked me a question, and it sounded like you meant it. So what should I get sick of?”
Knowing he’s not going to budge until she talks, and she really needs to get started on the storyboards for the next issue, otherwise Lynda’s going to be after her again, she sighs and gives it to him with both barrels. “Being Lynda Day’s lap dog,” she says, throwing her hand up, her mood not helped any when he rolls his eyes.
“Here we go…” he mutters, something that only adds to her ire.
“I’m serious Kenny! When she says jump, you say how high, you’re always running around after her…”
“It’s the nature of our friendship; what can I say?” He speaks with a good-natured shrug that only serves to irritate Sam more.
“Don’t you get sick of it though? I mean, what the hell is it about that girl that inspires such blind devotion? You’re as bad as Spike, but at least with him, it’s understandable, he fancies her rotten-” As soon as the words are out of her mouth, she hears something click into place in her brain, and it makes so much sense she can’t believe it’s taken her this long to realise it. It’s also so revolting that she might just be sick. “Oh. No.”
Her tone is flat, her head spinning, and Kenny looks at her curiously, gives a little laugh. “Oh no what?” he asks.
“You’re in love with her.”
Sam’s pronouncement is greeted by a stunned silence, then the inevitable happens – Kenny doubles over laughing. He only stops when he realises that Sam’s completely serious, and even then, the odd little giggle still escapes. “You,” he announces, “Are seriously losing it.”
Sam crosses her arms over her chest. “No I’m not.”
“Sam, she’s my best friend… I’ve known her since I was five.”
“My point exactly! You have to be in love with her… how the hell else would you put up with her that long?”
“Sam…” The word is a warning, said as angrily as Kenny usually gets. “I am not-” He stops, his voice having gone rather loud, leans in close to her and continues quietly. “I am not in love with Lynda Day.” That much said, he straightens up, takes his pencil from behind his ear and taps it against his clipboard briskly. “And now, I’m leaving you to your insanity.”
Back ramrod straight, he walks out of the graphics room, and, in a most un-Kenny-like gesture, he slams the door behind him. Sam stares after him for a long moment, then turns, meets Sonia’s gaze. “He’s in love with her,” she says, still hardly able to believe it. “He’s in love with Lynda.”
If she’s expecting shock, all she gets from Sonia is a raised eyebrow. “That took you long enough,” she says mildly before turning her attention back to her work.
That does make Sam’s jaw drop, and she sits down at her desk, stares at the outlines there without seeing a thing. Slowly, she raises her head, turns to look out into the newsroom where Kenny is standing in the middle of the floor, listening patiently to Lynda in full flow, an indulgent grin on his face. It’s his look that says “Yes Boss, I’m listening to you, and then I’m going to tell you a better way to do things.” It’s the look that he gives her every day, and Sam can’t believe she never noticed just how closely he looks at her, and that funny little glint in his eye.
“Does everyone know?” she asks, and Sonia appears at her side, her hand landing on Sam’s shoulder.
“Everyone but him, Spike and Lynda,” she says breezily, and Sam sighs, resting her head on her hands.
One question has been answered, but it gives rise to another, one that’s not going to be as easy to answer. “What has she got that I haven’t?”
Still though, Sonia manages to answer. “Him. And she doesn’t even know it.”
Sam grimaces at the plain truth, mutters something that people are used to hearing about Lynda Day, albeit not for this reason.
“Bitch.”