Don't go where I can't follow!
They knew. They all knew.
It wasn't like the lieutenant wasn't attractive. In fact, she was downright gorgeous. She had a lovely figure, and the very few who had the privilege to catch a glimpse of her long legs and white neck had the image burned in their minds. Well, that was partially because the colonel bore eyes of death toward the other officers if they dared look at her too long.
For a man who was always floundering around with other women and crying about mini-skirts, the colonel was very possessive of his lieutenant. Of course she did not let him out of her sight either. There was something between them, some kind of attachment that went beyond military command, beyond common friendship, beyond romantic love.
Only new recruits under the colonel's command dared to make any sort of remark or passing at the sharp-eyed lieutenant. Either they learned to only speak to her when required, or they left. Some remembered one particular young man who, after very obviously staring at the lieutenant's rear for a little too long and then striking up a conversation with her, left the following morning with bruises on his face and arms. No one knew if the bruises were from the colonel or the lieutenant herself. The matter was only spoken of in hushed conversations when neither the colonel nor his loyal follower were anywhere in the vicinity.
They did not have to be married for everyone to know that they were very close and had little intention of pursing anyone outside of the military, aside from the colonel's little flings here and there. A few suspected that his women were used more for gathering information than for personal pleasure. Not that the lieutenant was ever happy about it, but she kept that to herself and did as she was commanded.
One night, in the midst of the Homunculus's reign, an officer happened to see a big skull-faced creature clinging to the lieutenant. She was waiting by a telephone pole, and within minutes the colonel appeared, his eyes narrowed in fury and his fingers ready to snap fire. That was the only time the officer, or anyone else, saw an immediate physical reaction from the colonel in regards to his jealousy over the lieutenant. Everything else had been after the fact.
The officer told anyone he could when he thought it safe. No one was surprised, but they were very curious about the creature. Soon they would learn what was all going on in their world.
After everything was said and done, the Colonel still worked to be the head of the whole country. Naturally his lieutenant would follow him, chastising him about neglecting his paperwork. Everyone wondered if he would try to change the marriage law within the military. He could not claim her publicly, something that would bother any man who had a beautiful woman attached to his side.
Well, anyone who saw the two knew. But nobody really cared either, because there was no partnership, no team like them in the entirety of the military. She was his eyes and he was her stability. They were excellent warriors, but they were human — they suffered for the things they had done. Some suspected they shared secrets that no one else in the world knew. Secrets that had to do with their strength.
They would probably continue to do as they were doing even into their old age. Because, when all is said and done, only death would separate them. But even death would be a temporary barrier, because, everyone knew, they would follow each other into hell.