"Hmm." A deep growl came from his throat. For a moment he smacked his lips and growled again, before letting out a heavy sigh.
"Even with the band of 'misfits' I became close friends with years after the fall, I was still a mess." He raised his hands to his face as he let out another heavy sigh. "The bottle became my best friend most nights. Helped numb the pain."
Bradford had been venting for hours and Jynn was listening intently. She managed to goad him into laying down, his head in her lap, as he rambled. Just something to help him stay calm as he recalled painful memories.
"Even with me picking up a drinking habit," he lowered his hands and looked at her, "I could still see their faces."
"Who? The misfits?" She gently stroked his head. She looked back at him and his bloodshot eyes. She knew a few of them were dead.
He sighed heavily. "Everyone at HQ." He closed his eyes. "That place is just a mass grave. Same with the sister bases."
"Ah." She nodded and continued to stroke his head.
"I still haven't gone back Jynn." He shook his head. "I don't want to go back."
"I can understand that. I feel that way too." Thinking about the old HQ made her miss it. She wanted to go back to it, pay a visit to it one day. They would be heading to America soon. But the thought of going back filled her with dread. So many people died that day. What would they find? The base still decimated? Or had the aliens taken over the site? Turned it into a stronghold of sorts? A final dismissive gesture, something to mock humanity's last hope they squashed.
She shook her head. No time for dark thoughts. "But one day," she paused, "we'll go back. Give everyone a proper burial."
"Maybe." He nodded. He pondered for a moment. A smile appeared. "Yeah, maybe." He liked the idea.
Bradford let his mind wander. What else could he tell her? He had retold his perspective of the base attack and how he wandered about for a while before he met with the others and how they wandered about. Maybe when he and his squad found that map that lead to false hope? When they stumbled across a small encampment being raided? So many memories to choose from. So many painful ones. But talking was helping lift a weight from his shoulders. A weight he had been carrying for far too long.
"Huh, would you look at that?" A hint of surprise came from Jynn, "It's 5:15."
"What?" That caught his attention.
"It's 5:15." She repeated. "Forget how quickly time can fly."
Bradford quickly raised himself up. "We've been talking for that long?" Last thing he remembered was it being midnight.
"You've been talking." She chuckled. "I've been listening." She wondered what had him so jittery.
"Crap." He grumbled as he rubbed his eyes. He swung his legs over the couch and quickly put on his boots and lace them up. "Need to get everything wrapped up here and us heading to East Asia."
With his boots on, he turned to her. "Hate to talk and run, Commander." Already he was getting back to business. "And thanks… talking helped." As he turned to leave, a firm grip pull him back. He looked over his shoulder.
"No you don't." Jynn firmly said. She had a firm grip on his arm.
"Jynn." He let out a slight grow as he furrowed his brows. Next second he yelped and his butt back on the couch. "Why did you do that!?"
"For starters, you need some rest John." She told him.
"Sleep can wait."
"Oh, do not give me that excuse after how hard you fought for me to stop saying that." She rolled her eyes. "Second," she flicked the center of his forehead, "you look terrible. Eyes bloodshot. Tear-stained face."
He grumbled, flinching when she flicked him. He looked away from her. Letting her words digest. He sighed. She had a point.
"I know the last thing you want is the crew seeing you like this and the last thing I want is the ship crashing into a mountain."
His brow twitched at what she said. "The A.I. flies the ship. I only pilot when we are getting chased."
"You sure about that?" She grinned. "Heard something about you practicing your flying skills a bit more once I was back in action. Had a few rough landings as of late and one close call with a mountain two weeks ago."
"Jynn…" His brow twitched again.
"I kid. I kid." She laughed. "But seriously," she gently squeezed his arm, "you need to get some rest especially after you unloaded a lot of memories."
He closed his eyes and sighed. "Fine."
"Good!" She got up and pulled him up too. "Since I rather not have the 'Central Officer' stumbling to his room half wake, you can crash in my bed."
"Your bed!?" He sputtered.
"What?" She cocked her head to the side. "Something wrong with that?"
"It's your bed."
"And?" She didn't see the issue. "I won't be needing it for a few hours, anyway. Kinda wide awake and have a check up I need to go to in 45 minutes and then talk to Tygan about something."
"Well…" He tugged on his collar as he looked away from her. His cheeks slowly heated up.
She raised a brow, trying to figure out the sudden hesitation. Then she noticed his cheeks. It clicked. "We're not sleeping together John. Goodness." She shook her head, somewhat offended by that, but started to laugh. Bradford cringed, his cheeks red as a tomato. "And you said the crew had their heads in the gutter."
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" He raised his hands, backing away a bit. Well, as far as her oddly strong death grip on his arm would let him. "I'm just being precautionary! Don't need anymore rumors going around."
"More like paranoid." She rolled her eyes. "Rumors will always be around." She tightened her grip on his arm and began to drag him to her bed. "Come on you dumb lug."
"Hey! Hey! Jynn!" He sputtered as he was dragged along like a rag doll.
"Shut it you."
With little to no struggle from the stammer officer, she dragged him down the steps and slung him onto the bed.
"Oof!" He landed with a bit of hard thud. It took him a moment to flip himself over. "Jynn!"
"Just get some rest will you?" She rolled her eyes and chuckled. "A few hours of sleep won't kill you. The ship's not gonna blow up."
"Jy–"
"Hey!" She raised a finger. "No arguing. Sleep." That authoritative side started to come through. "I order you to get some damn rest."
He grumbled again, narrowing his eyes at her. "Fine."
"Good." She smirked. She started up the stairs. "I hope to find you sound asleep once I'm out of the shower."
"Yes ma'am."
Sarcasm. She giggled at that.
As she headed to the shower, Bradford finally let himself lie down on the bed after undoing his boots. Her bed. It felt strange to him. A few sighs slipped from his lips.
"Fairly… comfy." His fingers dug unto the sheets. "Wonder if I can get my mattress replaced sometime soon." He had to admit, besides the couch in her quarters and hammock down by the bar, this had to be the best bed on the entire ship. He was a bit jealous. "Have to check to see if Nithrall can get their hands on something nice." He chuckled as he slowly got comfortable. "Hyperactive teenager."
It didn't take too long for him to get under the sheets and finally drift off to some very much needed sleep. He would have to thank her later for being so stubborn. She always looked out for the health of those under her. Always.
—
Water running, steam steadily filling the bathroom. Jynn hummed contently as she took a step into the shower. She shuddered, goosebumps rose. "Nice and hot~"The heat felt great against her skin. Great to her aching muscles.
She basked in the heat for a few minutes before she finally started scrubbing. She had a check up to be at. Couldn't lolly gag. As she cleaned herself, she thought about the stories Bradford had shared with her. "That was a well coordinated attack. Psionics." She shook her head. "Completely caught us off guard. We barely had time to react." She could faintly remember that day. She touched the scars on her nose. Those two slash marks. "Damn Muton."
It wasn't long before she was done.
"Hmm." She mumbled as she wrapped a towel around her and looked in the mirror. Her eyes focused on her head. She frowned. "Fuzz coming in uneven again." She looked at the clock. "I've got a bit of time."
She dried herself and got her clothes on before she took a shaver to her head. "Wonder what my brother would say if he saw me now." She chuckled. "I know. High school. Canyon Camp out. Pink hair prank." She shook her head. "John loves telling that story to the crew. You'd probably exaggerate it." She laughed for a moment before a sigh slipped through. She stopped shaving for a moment, dropping her hand. She missed him.
"Why does your file say MIA…Charles?"
She had looked at her father and mother's files. Father KIA. Mother died free in some haven in the States. But her brother's file. MIA. She was too afraid to look at it. It was rough just reading her parents' files. Why was his marked MIA? Did the aliens get a hold of him? He wasn't apart of the XCOM initiative but was in the military.
"I'll… I'll have to ask John about his file one of these days." She sighed.
Saying her close friend's name made her think of how he reacted earlier. So strange. The razor returned to her scalp.
"Hmm," She muttered. "Those roses cheeks… He can't be?" A thought crossed her mind. "Him? Interested in me? No, no, no." She shook her head. "No way." She couldn't wrap her mind around that. "No way." She couldn't help but laugh.
Once done and fully dressed she left the bathroom. A loud snore rang in the room.
"Good he's asleep." That pleased her.
"Now to the doctors and later, Tygan." Should finally let him know about the voices. "Maybe he and Lily can come up with something." She started to leave. "And see if he's got anything new about those crystals. They're floating now. Resonating with something. Strange things."
