The next day was terrible for me. I felt dead; I was extremely tired and my upper back and my neck were still sore from the surgery. According to Carolina and C.T., I had extremely noticeable bags under my eyes. Already being grumpy, hearing that didn't approve my mood much.

"Gee, thanks 'Lina. You sure know how to make a girl blush," I grumbled, taking a sip from my second cup of coffee.

She rolled her eyes and gave me a 'really?' look, "I'm only saying it cause C.T. was too afraid to."

The said girl stifled a laugh before giving a playful glare in Carolina's direction.

"All I'm saying is that you've got about thirty bags under each eye," Carolina shrugged, stealing my coffee from me.

C.T. once again tried to hide her laughter as I glared at both of them.

The three of us had been on the training floor, waiting for the other agents to show before we began training. I had hardly heard from Alpha since he logged off, only to wake me up and wish me 'good luck' for the day. I felt extremely bad for the guy, who knows what he was going through right now.

"Anyway," C.T. said once she had calmed down, "why are you so worn out? What did you do yesterday?"

Hesitating, I quickly thought of an excuse while my eyes darted around nervously. "Um, just couldn't sleep. That's all."

Carolina nodded in understanding, though something flashed in her eyes that told me she didn't believe me. C.T., however, seemed oblivious to my lie, and smirked at me.

"Too busy thinking about a certain someone?" she asked, all too knowingly. Immediately I felt my face burn as I tried to deny it.

"N-no, no I-I, um, I..." I sighed, realizing there was no point in trying to lie anymore. "Fine, I may have a...lertleturnycurshurndervd," I mumbled.

Both C.T. and Carolina raised an eyebrow, "You have a what?"

I groaned, hiding my red face in my hands, "I may have a...a little, tiny crush on David."

Sneaking a glance at the girls through my fingers, C.T. grinned at me, and Carolina still looked extremely confused.

"Who the hell is David?"

"Why, this tall drink of water right here!"

C.T., Carolina, and I turned around to see York, Wash, and North making their way over to us. They were all wearing their armor, but I assumed David was feeling embarrassed, due to the fact that North and York were making fun of him.

"'Tall drink of water?' Hahahaha, dude! It's tall glass of water!" York laughed, patting Wash on the shoulder.

"Haha, yeah, anyway," David said, obviously changing the conversation, "Why were you talking about me?"

C.T. and Carolina awkwardly laughed as I gave them my best 'I will fucking murder you' look.

"No reason," Carolina said quickly, "Who wants to train with me?"


After training for a few hours, I decided to hit the showers and make my way back to my room. Knowing nothing else was planned, I just laid down in bed for a while, having a conversation with Alpha out loud. However, it was interrupted when someone knocked on the door.

Alpha disappeared and I murmured out a, "come in," before sitting up on my bed. Wash entered my room, in his armor like usual, but his helmet was off. His hair was a little ruffled and his cheeks were slightly red. I felt my own cheeks burn as I looked into his eyes, admiring their beauty.

"Hey, Cal? Can I talk to you?" he asked hesitantly.

I smiled softly. "Course, Wash. What's up?"

He closed my door and walked towards my bed, plopping down next to me as he placed his helmet on the floor.

"I don't know, it's about Con-C.T. She was, well, I don't really know how to explain it," he sighed.

I rolled my eyes and scooted a little closer to him, bare leg brushing against the cold metal of his armor. "Wash? What's goin' on?"

He ran a hand through his hair, making it messier than it already was. "After our mission, she was...angry at herself. She was mad at herself for messing up, them she said something about the Director screwing with us."

I was silent at first, unsure of how to answer. "...What do you mean?"

Wash shook his head, looking at the ceiling, "I-I don't know. Connie went on about some line thing, and how the Director is trying to 'filter us' or something. Do you have any idea what she meant?"

"Uh, no!" I said quickly, wanting to change the topic. "She's probably just...worked up about what happened. I-I'll talk to her later," I assured him, rubbing my face and resting my hand on my cheek. When did I start getting so tired?

"Sounds good. What about you, are you okay?" he asked me, looking at me in concern with his blue and grey eyes. I think his left eye was my favorite. Nothing against the color grey, but his left eye was just so bright and amazing, and I couldn't help but-

"Cal? Did you hear me?"

I blinked and sat up, looking at the wall across from me. "Uh, yeah! Yeah, no, yeah, I'm fine, why?" I sputtered out, face turning red as I glanced around the room.

Wash, thankfully, didn't seem to notice my nervousness. "I don't know, just...you seem a little...off," he said.

I chuckled dryly, "'A little off?' Now, I'm-I'm fine, Wash."

"Cal," he started, and I looked away, "Cali." He placed a hand under my chin, gently pulling me towards him. "Hey, Lily, look at me."

I stayed quiet, and he awkwardly brought down his hand, mumbling a 'sorry' as his cheeks turned red.

I sighed, "I'm just...tired. I'm just really tired."

Wash looked at me, eyes glittering as he tilted his head slightly. He sighed and shook his head, smiling softly, before slowly reaching his hand back up to my face. I held my breath as he placed a strand of hair behind my ear. I couldn't feel his skin, but the material of his gloved fingered tickled me nonetheless.

"David, I-"

There was a knock at my door.

It seemed to startle us both out of our trance, Wash jumped and retracted his hand. I slumped my shoulders and looked away, feeling extremely disappointed and irritated at whoever interrupted our moment.

"Come in," I said once more, and Wash silently scooted over, making me feel more disappointed.

Suddenly, North's head popped in, asking if we'd like to join him on a walk. Deciding we had nothing better to do (though I could think of a thousand things I'd rather do), I put my armor back on, and North, Wash, and I began making our way around the Mother of Invention.


"So, Wash," North said, breaking the silence. "I heard you had a meeting with the internals."

Wash glanced back at him, "Oh. You did?"

"Yeah, do you mind if I asked what it was about?" he asked.

"You've peaked my interest," I added, "Do tell, Wash."

Wash grunted before replying, " I'm not really supposed to talk about that."

"Help me out here!" North complained, "I'm still getting heat about using equipment in the field!"

It was my turn to glance at North. "You did? Really? W-without a pipeline back to the Command server?!" Holy shit!

North shrugged. "I had to improvise. We had a problem."

"Lemme guess, "Wash rolled his eyes, "are you related to that problem?"

"Wash-"

"Okay," North said, chuckling dejectedly, "now I don't wanna talk about it."

"Equipment in the field..." I murmured, "Don't forget what happened to Utah during training. You're lucky to be alive." 'You're one to talk.'

'Shut up, Alpha.'

North shrugged again. "If I was lucky, I wouldn't have needed to use it at all."

"Well, you can relax. Internals didn't ask about you. It was something else," Wash reassured North. A soldier suddenly zoomed past us, though North and Wash didn't pay him any attention.

"Lot's of questions," Wash continued as more soldiers ran past us, "about the insurrection and transmissions coming out of our-" suddenly one soldier rammed into him, and Wash realized everyone was running in the same direction.

"Sorry, sir!"

"Hey, what's going on?" I asked.

"Soldier, where is everybody running?" Wash added.

The white soldier answered, "New agent. He's squaring off against Maine, Wyoming, and York on the training room floor. We're going to watch!" he turned to his buddies. "Hey guys, wait up!" before running off after them.

"Three on one?" North asked, obviously impressed.

"I gotta see this."

"Yeah, me too."

"Right behind you guys."


We hurriedly made our way to the training floor, arriving just as F.I.L.S.S began counting down. Immediately recognizing the new recruit's black armor, I grinned underneath my helmet, understanding why she wanted to go three on one.

This was just a warm up for her.

When the training began, Tex was easily able to knock the three other agents down.

"What's going on down there?" Carolina asked, concerned. "There's no more training on schedule."

"It's impromptu," South stated.

"Who the hell is that?" Carolina asked again, obviously aggravated. Silently, I grinned to myself.

"Some new recruit," South answered once more.

"Wow," Wash said, amazed, "he sure doesn't move like he's a recruit."

I smirked and crossed my arms at him, feigning anger. 'that's cause she's not.' "Why do you assume it's a guy? She's a girl."

Wash glanced at me, stuttering and glancing around the room. "Oh. I-I didn't really mean that he...I mean it - I mean her, I-I..."

North began chuckling mid sentence, however I just rolled my eyes, grinning slyly.

"Right."

"Sorry," Wash mumbled.

"Just shut up," South interrupted.

"All three of you, can it." Carolina snapped.

South laughed dryly, "Sounds like someone might be a little concerned about their position. What about you, Cali? Miss 'Number One?'"

I laughed in response, knowing full on well that Tex couldn't beat me. She's tried one too many times. "Yeah, right. I'd like to see her try." 'Again.'

"Hey, South?" Carolina said, "Pay attention. You might actually learn something if you stop running your mouth for a minute."

"Hey, Carolina?" I mimicked, " Leave her alone, I won't tolerate bullying on my team. You seem to forget, you're still one rank beneath me."

Staying quiet, Carolina focused back on the match, as did the rest of us.

"Round one, over," F.I.L.S.S.' voice came, "Point, Texas. The current score is: Team 1, 0-"

"Texas, huh?" Wash stated, more to himself than anyone.

Carolina frowned, "I thought that name was reserved.."

"Nice moves," Wash complimented, shrugging.

"Could be luck."

I placed a hand on Carolina's shoulder, "Or, could be talent."

She looked away, "We'll see."

F.I.L.S.S, began the next round, hand to hand combat. Maine attempted to go in, but he was punched to the ground, the same with Wyoming right after. I could tell York was trying to make a plan, but no one listened to him. While he was distracted, Tex appeared behind him and punched him as well.

"Ooh, shit," I winced. "He's gonna feel that one tomorrow."

North nodded his head, "Wow, okay! That was pretty impressive."

Everyone silently agreed, though Carolina looked pissed.

Once again, York attempted to make a plan, but he was promptly ignored once more. Giving up, he just joined the "fuck it" team, though they were all beat up again.

'That's good ol' Tex for ya.' Alpha chuckled, and I agreed.

Soon, that round was over, and it was time for the lock-down paint scenario.

"Ugh, I hate that paint," Wash complained.

"Tell me about it," South agreed. "Stings like a bitch."

North nodded in agreement as well, "Turns your armor hard as rock."

Carolina and I grinned. "We wouldn't know," she teased.

I chuckled, "Yeah, it's not so bad if you don't let it his you."

'Lina and I fist bumped.

"Thanks," Wash replied sarcastically," I'll try to remember that."

"Round three in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Round begin."

Almost immediately, Maine and Wyoming were shot. York lasted a little bit longer, he was able to hide, but Tex eventually found him as well.

And that's how it went, over and over and over.

"Point, Texas." F.I.L.S.S. would constantly repeat, as the agents not training would yell advice that went unheard by the agents on the floor.

Carolina pulled me off to the side in the middle of the 5th or 6th round.

"You can't tell me you're not a little worried about your spot."

"Nah, I know Texas can't beat me. She's failed so many times."

"Wait, you know her?"

Thankfully, F.I.L.S.S. interrupted so I didn't have to answer.

"What?" Wash suddenly said. "Are they using live rounds on the training floor?"

South rolled her eyes, "Looks like it."

"Th-that's against protocol! They're going to kill her!"

"Probably."

"No, they won't," I said.

Was turned to me, "Someone should get the Director."

C.T. snorted, "Who do you think gave them the ammo?"

"Watch you mouth, C.T.," Carolina snapped.

I sighed and looked down, not paying much attention, despite the fact that this was the most exciting - I mean dangerous - round.

I did look up, however, when someone gasped. I spotted a grenade right by York, who was struggling to get up. Tex began to shoot him with the paint, forming a sort of protective shell around him.

'Smart move.'

'You know Tex.'

The bomb went off, and York screamed.

I couldn't tell who was yelling afterword.

"York!"

"Shit!"

"Damn it! Those maniacs!"

We all rushed down to York as Carolina called for a medical team. The alarm sounded as we reached York. He was laying on the floor, groaning. The visor on his helmet was shattered but other than that, he looked unharmed.

"York - York! Get over here, now!" Carolina yelled at the medics. "Come on, York. Hang in there," she said, a lot more quiet this time.

York groaned again and I felt my heart skip a beat. He was my best friend, my brother. What if something happened to him?

Without thinking, I laced my fingers through Wash's, though he didn't seem to mind, his gloved hand squeezing mine in return.

"I can't believe she did that to him," South muttered. "Shot his armor, sacrificed him."

I began to feel angry, wanting to defend Tex. "Lock down hardens the armor, South. She was trying to save his life." Hopefully it worked.

"Quick thinking," North mused.

"Yeah, really quick," Carolina spat.

Suddenly, the Director walked in. And he was furious.

"Everyone! Stand down! Now!"

Reluctantly, we all stood at attention, even Carolina.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves!" the Director shouted. "I expect you to act as a team!"

"They used live ammunition on the floor, sir," Wash said.

"Agent Washington is right, sir," I stepped forward. "That's against regulations."

Unexpectedly, the Director stepped towards me quickly, forcing me to step back. "Do you think our enemies will care about regulations on the battlefield, Agent California?"

I flinched and looked down. "N-no, sir..."

He frowned and turned away. Wash, however, decided he wasn't finished.

"So, you're not punishing them?"

I nudged his side with my elbow, and he glanced at me. "It's not worth it," I mumbled to him.

"Ingenuity and adaptability are admirable traits! You should all learn something from this. Dismissed!" he began to walk away.

I groaned and slapped the top of my helmet and York groaned once more.

"Yeah, we should learn something alright," C.T. said sarcastically, chuckling dryly.

Wash was obviously still pissed as he shook his head, "I can't believe this!"

I sighed and gripped his hand once more, giving it a reassuring squeeze. He looked at me, and though I couldn't see his face clearly because of his orange visor, I could tell it relaxed him.

"Don't forget to check your place on that list, Wash," C.T. stated before walked away. I narrowed my eyes at her, not entirely sure what she meant, though I knew it had something to do with their conversation from earlier.

"C'mon," Wash began to pull me away. I hesitated at first, wanting to check on Tex, but I decided that could wait. After all, she was Agent fucking Texas, she could take care of herself.


A/N: Hey, so I know this is loooooong overdue, and I apologize deeply for that. I guess I sorta lost my momentum. At first I was like 'yeah whoo, I can write!' but rn I'm sorta like meh. I'm not giving up, and it's not like I have writer's block or anything, I guess I'm just super stressed about school and family stuff. Finals are coming up and my dad, who I haven't seen for like 4 years, decides to just show up and try and wedge himself back into my life. So yeah. Anyway, I feel like there's several mistakes and I was really repetitive with certain adjectives, I am just sooo tired and in a hurry to update. Hope you guys like it and I'll update as soon as I can!

~Saammmm :-D