494 bit his lip as the laser went swiftly down part of his neck, changing the length of the last bar. Feeling the burning hot metal move away from his neck, he stood up. "Sir, thank you, sir."

The doctor looked at him, wondering something. "494…"

"Yes, sir?"

The doctor shook his head, glancing quickly at the round mirror in the corner of the room. "Nothing. Dismissed, 494."

The soldier turned and walked out to the training room where his group was cooling off from their session. He knocked shortly and entered the area of the barracks.

The twelve standing around glanced up. Seeing him, they stood at attention.

"At ease. Continue, don't let little old me stop you."

As proper, they didn't move. "Come on, get to work!"

"Yes sir!" They nodded and turned back to their partners.

Suddenly 494 felt someone tapping his shoulder. Smiling, he turned to her. "453."

"They're sending you out soon?"

"Tonight. I'll be there by tomorrow, 0600 hours."

"Oh." Her voice was small.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine. Now, you need to cool off." He held out a hand.

She grinned, grabbed it, and threw him to the floor. He grasped her leg and pulled her down as well. They both jumped up and circled, smiling wistfully, both knowing that they wouldn't see each other for a long time.

***

She spun, sending a high kick into the air. The bag she had kicked jerked against the thick iron chair, sending a loud clash through the basement. Max flinched. Although the basement was insulated to the point of being nearly sound-proof, the house was an old one and the walls would occasionally vibrate.

The radio announced that it was 7:00 in the morning and that is was going to be a typical June day—warm, dry, and imminently filled with bugs. Max turned to the staircase, hearing a male throat being cleared.

"Zane." Max smiled at him and walked over. She and Zane were closest in age, and least like siblings. There was no romantic interest, yet they were more like the average male-female 17 year old team. In other words, they loved each other like family and took any chances to embarrass each other to the extreme, all the while flirting and constantly evoking any and all sexual tension.

With that in mind, Max came to a halt in front of him. She smirked and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, striking the stereotypical flirtation pose, one strap of her tank top falling loosely off her shoulder.

"Maxie."

"How can I help you?" Max raised her eyebrow.

Zane took the bait. "You know how I want you to-"

"Oh, you want me?"

"You know it, Max. You turn me on." He took a step forward, closing the area between them. He reached out and took the strap of her tank top, running it back up to her shoulder. His hand traveled back down her arm, grabbing her hand.

Max laughed. "Okay, Zane. Seriously, what do you want?" she questioned, grabbing his hand tighter and beginning to dance with him.

He took the lead and began to swing her around the room to the music inside his head. With the radio playing rock in the background, they made quite an odd sight. "You're too loud."

"I'll try and be more quiet." She whispered as she pushed him towards the stairs, grinning.

"Wait."

"Yes?" Max once again rested her hand on her hip, doing her best to look annoyed.

"I can't find the pop tarts."

Max lost her pose and burst into laughter. "Uh…" she glanced around the room. "Check in my room. Syl and I were playing the Nintendo game we found."

"With Krit?"

"Yeah. Confused waking up without him there?"

Zane smirked. "No, more the jealousy of finding him on your floor."

"Oh, god." Max mocked. "So now you're playing jealous boyfriend?"

"So you admit you want me as your boyfriend!" Zane laughed.

Max sighed and shook her head. "Zane, go. If Syl's home she can tell you where they are. You know I'm a doughnut fan."

Just then, a door opened and a voice called out. "Honey, I'm home!"

Max grinned. "She's been watching too much late-night TV again."

Zane shrugged, and took a deep bow. "Thank you, lady Max." He turned and sprinted up the stairs, screaming at the top of his lungs.

Max jumped at the sudden change of his demeanor, but quickly burst into giggles at his war cry.

"SYL!"

"ZANE!"

"IF YOU FINISHED THE POP TARTS, YOU'RE DEAD!"