Lillie woke up and stretched, her mind comfortably numb and not a thought in her head. When she opened her eyes, there was a brief flash of black and white static before she registered that she could, indeed, see.
She was grateful her vision had come back, but... without it, she'd been able to―she'd slept in―in a bed used primarily by the man she'd disliked intensely, but it turned out he wasn't quite the evil that she'd come to know. Without the... vitriol he'd once held.
It was... she was happy. She felt better than she had, in a long time. Her imagination filled in all the little gaps that he'd left unspoken, and now she was imagining a power armored version of her knight, carrying a 10mm pistol because he needed no more.
It was extremely embarrassing, her imagination. She hated to enjoy it so much.
"Lillie, wake up. It's morning, and we must face the day."
Today she was in her own room, and she could see the glowing intercom light on the wall, and she could hear President Eden's voice calling to her from it. It took her far too long to register that he was actually talking to her and not inside the dream she'd been having.
Lillie's face flooded with blood. It had been a very nice dream. She was ashamed to admit to herself the contents. Didn't regret that she'd had it; wished she could go back to sleep... but then, she would be alone with her imagination again, and that was enough of that. Lillie sat up in her bed and wiped her eyes, groaning.
"Are you awake, Lillie?" the President was saying, his voice growing testy.
"Yes, sir, Mr. President," she said, shrugging off the last bit of sleep.
"You appear sluggish this morning. Have you taken well to the reparation?" he asked. Lillie stared up at the intercom, still momentarily confused by what was real and what was not.
"I feel fine, sir," she said, softly. "I was dreaming."
"I can never recall mine," President Eden said, sounding amused. "Pray tell, what do you dream of?"
She flushed all the way to her toes. "Um," she said, looking down. "I don't... really remember."
He was curiously silent for a moment. "...Well, no matter. Come, join me in the Pledge of Allegiance."
Once the Pledge was finished, the President outlined a schedule for the day. It sounded awfully busy; with so much to catch up on, that she had missed out on while she was blinded. Lillie felt exhausted already. She rubbed her shoulder and pulled her jumpsuit off, changing into a clean one.
She had one arm through a sleeve and her arm brushed up against a nipple, causing her to pause. She was... they were erect, and it would show through her jumpsuit. Lillie flushed and quickly zipped up her suit, trying not to think about it. Her body working against her was so normal, now, she didn't know what else to expect.
"You are ready?" the President asked, and she turned to the wall.
"Yes, sir," she said, a bit shakily. After a moment's thought she opened her mouth to speak. "Um... Mr. President?"
"Yes, Lillie?"
"Will... will Colonel Autumn be there, today?" she asked, trying not to sound hopeful. Felt a little awkward, and entirely silly, for her to ask that. She fought the blood in her cheeks, hoping she didn't look as flushed as she felt.
"I don't think he has the time," the President said, evenly. "Would you rather he is?"
Oh―her cheeks filled to the brim. "N-no," she said, and winced at her tone.
"Gracious me," President Eden said, sounding amused. "I've gone off for a few days and you've suddenly changed into a different creature. Are you having feelings for our beloved Colonel, Lillie dear?"
Lillie breathed out, shakily. "No, sir," she said, with more confidence than she felt. "I don't dislike Colonel Autumn, but he's..." she paused and laced her fingers together behind her back. "Altogether too rude and irritable for my taste."
President Eden laughed, and Lillie stared at the floor, her cheeks warm. "It is perfectly normal to feel for others, Lillie," he said, and she heaved a sigh. "Given that you haven't spent much time with any person other than him―or myself, but never in a physical capacity―"
"...If I were to feel for anyone, it would be Colonel Autumn," Lillie said, finishing his sentence. "As there is no other available opportunity to me, Mr. President."
"You would, wouldn't you?" he said, almost knowingly.
"I do not," she said, as firmly as she could.
"I suppose there is someone to suit you, somewhere." She could almost hear the smile in President Eden's voice. "We will find him, yet. Come, Lillie. Today is to be a very busy day."
"Yes, sir."
Another two weeks passed before Lillie came face to face with Colonel Autumn again, after gaining her vision back. She had, of course, seen him in the hallways and immediately after the surgery, and he had on occasion issued her a brief order in the mornings, but sustained contact had been delayed.
Lillie wasn't sure if that was good or bad. She felt almost as if she wanted to see him―but not like she would on the training course; rather, she wished to speak with him about the ploy he'd referred to. In... private.
That made her feel like she was going to explode. What was wrong with her? She was acting moony like the people in her novels. That wasn't real. This was. She had to do better. It was one thing to imagine―which she oughtn't be doing, anyway!―but to lose her head like a fool around a man who didn't even think in such a way toward her―
Lillie stopped herself before she entered the training room, breathing out evenly. This would be the first time she'd have been around him for longer than five minutes―and every five minutes before had been utter torture―she steeled herself. Stupid imagination. Behave.
She pressed a hand her heart and took a deep breath, then stepped into the room.
"...and she's run the course without error several times since the apparatus was repaired," President Eden was saying. Colonel Autumn had his back to her, looking over the course, and he was nodding.
"And the firearms training?" he asked, without turning. Lillie felt her cheeks nearly exploding. Stop it, she told herself. Today is not that day―
"I feel it is better that she receives... hands-on training, when she is dealing with a lethal weapon." President Eden sounded amused. Colonel Autumn's hands clenched into fists and he turned around, staring up at the wall for a brief second.
His eyes dropped to hers, in surprise, and she felt the flush of blood so violently she thought she might pass out. Oh, God, she―she looked away, her eyebrows drawn together in a pained look. Her idiot head! Stop it, Lillie!
"I see you finally managed to show up," Colonel Autumn said, acidicly. "I've waited with such bated breath."
"I'm sorry I'm late, sir," she said, breathing a little quicker. He was a lot better at pretending than she was, that was for sure. Her heart was pounding heavily in her chest.
"I can imagine. Let's get this over with." He turned to the side and strode off, his boots squeaking against the metal floor. "Find your equipment and meet me on the range."
Lillie nodded, and slowly moved to the corner where the locker containing her gun and armor was. She stepped into the locker room and dressed, then went into the range adjacent to the training room.
Colonel Autumn was standing with his back to her, facing the targets down the field, and Lillie moved up to him, pushing the clip into the 10mm pistol she'd been given. She glanced at his elbow, then held the gun up and breathed out.
"Five shots each," Colonel Autumn said, his voice strained. "Let's see how much you can disappoint me, today."
Her eyebrow twitched. Much better than her.
Lillie's marksmanship was poor on a good day. Today was no different. After consistently hitting the outside edges of the targets for fifteen cycles, she lowered the gun and sighed out. She'd never get to go out, without getting better―
Colonel Autumn sighed. "I suppose it can't be helped," he muttered, and Lillie flushed when he took the weapon from her hands abruptly. He held the pistol up at eye level with one hand―unlike her, he could hold it without wavering―and fired three shots in quick succession at the target.
His hits were touching, dead in the middle. Lillie watched as he turned around, handed her the gun back, and frowned. "Hold it like that."
"O-okay," she said, holding the gun with two hands, looking down at it. She breathed out, grasped the grip and aimed it with her palm under the clip―
"Mind the recoil," Autumn muttered, looking up at the ceiling.
Lillie pushed it out further, away from her face. "Okay," she said, a little more confidently.
"I suppose that's... better," he strained. "For the love of God, who taught you how to stand?"
Lillie blinked, then looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. Colonel Autumn grimaced, pinched the bridge of his nose and muttered, "Never mind." She fought the urge to smile at that; he had been the one who taught her to stand as she was, and she'd always known it was wrong. But orders were orders...
After correcting her mildly, Colonel Autumn ordered her to shoot. Lillie aimed down the range, and eyed the target. She loosed her rounds, fighting the recoil, and lowered the gun by an inch or two, staring at the target.
She'd hit all five in the innermost circle. Colonel Autumn turned and walked away, leaving her alone on the range. Lillie turned her head and watched him leave, then ejected the clip and laid it on the station ledge. She checked the gun as she'd been taught, and carried both to the locker on the course.
"I don't think Lillie requires any more training," Colonel Autumn was saying to the intercom.
"Good," the President said. "Nothing lost from her blindness, very good. We can schedule the field test."
She was about to close the door of the locker room when Colonel Autumn said he would examine the area for a target to recon. Her hand stilled on the release when President Eden specified a combat mission.
What? She hadn't ever been in a combat situation. How did he think she could―why would he send her out to fight when she'd barely been in training long enough to figure out the course? Lillie's heart pounded, the door open near her. She shut it, quickly, and redressed herself in her issued jumpsuit, then hesitated when it came time to open the door again.
Colonel Autumn was gone when she came out into the room, and she stared up at the intercom light, blinking in confusion. "Mr. President, sir?" she asked, cautiously.
"I think our Colonel Autumn has deliberately confused you," President Eden said, sounding amused. "You've proven yourself entirely capable of completing training, after a few minor adjustments."
"Why would he do such a thing?" she asked, frowning.
President Eden was silent for a moment. Then, he said, "I know you have an abysmal opinion of Colonel Autumn―" Lillie snorted. President Eden chuckled. "Whether your opinion is estimable or abhorrent, I daresay you believe him incapable of error."
"No one is incapable of error, sir," she said, firmly. "Even you. That is the joy of being human."
The President was quiet again, and then he spoke. "Yes, of course, Lillie. Our Colonel is riddled with errors, however. I would like to demonstrate one such error... if you'll permit?"
"Of course, Mr. President, sir."
"Follow my directions, and I will greet you when we arrive."
Lillie obeyed, wondering what the President meant by showing her a fault in Colonel Autumn. She hoped he didn't think she was really in love, or something.
...Mostly because she wasn't sure, herself.
