Two Years Ago: October 2060 | 1349 Hours | Griffin Training Academy
"You're quite the shot, Juno." Orion held open the firing range door for her.
"Paper targets don't shoot back." Juno walked through the door and continued walking towards her dorm.
"I apologize for the compliment then." Orion let go of the door and caught up to her. "Y'know, I'm surprised you use a six-shooter for your sidearm. Figured you would prefer a semi-auto or something."
"It was my dad's." Juno eyed the .38 Colt Detective Special in her holster. "Only thing I have to remember him by."
"Well, your dad got good taste," Orion said. "It's hard to find a piece like that at an affordable price these days. One time I saw one going for the price of a car! Like sheesh, never in my life did I think I'd have to choose between a car and a gun."
"Maybe you should've gotten the gun. At least it's less likely to kill you than that hunk of junk you call a car."
Orion puffed his cheeks out. "Hey once I have a commander's salary, I'll get the car of my dreams."
"Hopefully, your car won't kill you before then." Juno stopped in front of the door to her dorm and took out her key. "I'll catch you later."
"Wait." Orion stopped Juno from opening the door. "I got a quick question for you."
Juno looked up at him. "What's up?"
Orion had a nervous expression on his face. "You busy tonight? I know you love ramen, and I heard from the others a new ramen shop opened up. I was wondering if you wanted to give it a try with me."
"I don't know. I got some work to do." Juno told him.
"You always say that," Orion said. "I think you should take some time to relax and have fun. Besides, you can do the work tomorrow."
Juno sighed as he opened the door and turned around. "What time do you want to meet up?"
"Oh, well…" Orion was surprised that Juno decided to accept his invitation. He fumbled with his sleeve as he rolled it up to check his watch. "We should head there around 5. It gets pretty packed by 6."
"You're paying, right?" Juno asked.
"I thought you would be paying." Orion said, causing Juno to raise an eyebrow before he started laughing. "Of course, I'll be paying."
Juno rolled her eyes but wore a smile on her face. "I'll see you later then."
…
Day 9: July 14, 2062 | 1913 Hours | The Commander's Room
Tomorrow was the day operations in Sector Nine would begin. It was both exciting and nerve wracking for Juno. After two years of training, she was finally going to see if it all paid off, and if she'll live up to Kryuger's expectations of her. However, the anxiety gnawed at Juno. So, Kalina suggested that the two of them have a celebratory dinner to ease some stress before the real work begins.
While she usually ate at the cafeteria when she was in the academy, occasionally, she would feel like making something herself. She was a decent chef, but most of the food she cooked were simple meals that anyone could make.
Juno placed the food that she had prepared on the dining table in her room. Looking at the two plates of chicken alfredo and garlic bread made her mouth water. Sure, it wasn't the most impressive dinner, but with Juno's skillset, it was the best she could do. As she stared at the meals, Juno started to think about asking Springfield for some cooking lessons.
When Juno heard a knock on the door, she made her way over to it and opened to see Kalina standing with a bottle of wine and apple juice in her right hand and two wine glasses in her left.
She raised them with a cheeky smile on her face. "Brought the good stuff."
"I'm surprised you brought the apple juice," Juno said.
Kalina made her way into the room and sat at the dinner table. "Well, Springfield told me that you don't really drink alcohol and handed me a bottle of juice."
"I'm glad you're considerate." Juno sat across from her.
As Juno began pouring out their drinks, Kalina looked eagerly at the food laid out in front of her. "This smells amazing."
"Thank you." Juno handed Kalina her glass of wine.
The adjutant swirled her alcohol around. "So, what should we toast to?"
"Toast?" Juno shrugged. "I'm not sure."
"Hmm…" Kalina took a moment to think of something to say before raising her glass. "To kicking SF's ass!"
Juno smiled and raised her glass as well. "To kicking SF's ass."
…
Two Years Ago: October 2060 | 2349 Hours | Juno's Dorm
Orion swayed side by side as he stood behind Juno. "What's takin' so long?"
"Yea, yea, just give me a minute." Juno took out her keys and opened the door to her dorm.
Her dorm wasn't too big for it was only meant to accommodate one person. There was a living room, a small kitchen, and a bedroom with a bathroom. Juno walked in and put her belongings by a stand at the door. Meanwhile, Orion stumbled through almost hitting several things along his path towards the couch before plopping himself onto it.
Juno sighed, took off her flats, and put them on the shoe rack. "You didn't even remove your shoes."
Orion mumbled something before starting to take his shoes off. Juno shook her head as she went into the bathroom to wash her face. Turning on the faucet and waiting for the water to heat up, Juno quietly looked at herself in the mirror. Almost every night was a night of restless studying and work. While it was paying off and made her top of the class, it was starting to take its toll on her. She noticed that bags were starting to appear under her tired violet eyes. However, as much as she would've preferred to have not gone with Orion and do her work, she did enjoy having dinner with him.
Juno removed her glasses and started washing her face with the warm water. Suddenly, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist. Startled, Juno shot up and saw Orion holding her from behind.
"Relax, it's just me." Orion rested his chin on top of her head. "You look cute without your glasses."
Juno grew red. "I think it's time for you to go to bed."
"Can't we just stay like this for a bit longer?" Orion closed his eyes as he nuzzled against Juno's neck.
"Ori." Juno gave him a look at the mirror.
"Alright, alright." Orion let go of her. "I'll grab a blanket and pillow."
"You should sleep on my bed. I can take the couch."
Orion firmly shook his head. "No can do, little Miss Itsuki. You need all the comfort you can get."
"Are you saying I'm soft?"
"I'm saying that I don't want you to sleep on the couch."
"Well, I'm saying the same thing." Juno shot a stubborn look up at Orion.
The two of them stared at each other for a solid minute before Orion let out a sigh. "Fine, I guess I have no choice."
Juno smiled thinking she was victorious. "Good, now if you- AH!"
Since he was much taller than Juno, Orion easily swept her off her feet and held her in his arms. Juno panicked and hung on to Orion by wrapping her arms around his neck.
"W-What are you doing?!" Juno cried out.
Orion headed out of the bathroom and into Juno's bedroom. "I'm taking you to bed."
"Put me down right now!" Juno demanded.
"You got it." Orion gently put Juno down on the bed. She attempted to stand up, but Orion stopped her. "What are you doing?"
Juno looked down at her uniform. "You think I'm going to wear this to bed?"
A smirk formed on Orion's face. "I thought you never took it off."
Juno rolled her eyes and hopped off the bed, went to her drawers, and took out her favorite pair of pajamas.
"Woah." Orion's eyes widened upon seeing Juno's choice of sleepwear before bursting out in laughter. "I didn't think you were a dinosaur person."
"It's not my fault they looked really cute." Juno grew red with embarrassment and walked away to the bathroom with her pair of dinosaur-print pajamas. When she came back from the bathroom, she found Orion knocked out on her bead. "I guess I will be sleeping on the couch."
Juno headed out the room, but upon reaching the doorway, she looked back at Orion sleeping on the bed. There was still space for her to fit in, and even though she said she would be fine on the couch, sleeping alone didn't seem that appealing of an idea for her. Juno decided to walk over to the bed and place herself next to him.
She looked at Orion and even brushed his dark brown hair out of his eyes. "Good night."
…
Day 9: July 14, 2062 | 2032 Hours | The Commander's Room
"That was fucking delicious." Kalina slurred her words.
She tried to grab the wine bottle, but Juno quickly took it out of her reach. "I think you've had enough, Miss Kalina."
"Don't be such a killjoy." Kalina feebly tried to take the bottle back.
Juno shook her head and picked up the dirty dishes. "Consider it an order."
She made her way to the sink and began washing the plates and utensils they used. Juno couldn't help but chuckle at seeing her adjutant drunk. Seeing Kalina in such a state was a sight to behold and made Juno wonder how the others were like when they were drunk. As she wiped down the plates, Juno felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist which caused her to yelp out in surprise.
"What a cute noise, Commander." Kalina rested her head on Juno's shoulders.
"Kalina." Juno whispered. She stopped washing the dishes and gently placed her hands over Kalina's. She enjoyed feeling Kalina's warmth against her body and almost felt like melting in her arms. Juno allowed the embrace to continue for a little bit longer before speaking up again. "Miss Kalina, this is highly inappropriate."
"You're highly inappropriate." Kalina gave her superior's butt a light tap.
"I think you should head off to bed. We have a video call with Miss Helian first thing in the morning, and I don't want you to be dozing off during it."
Kalina giggled before she let go of Juno's waist. "Alrighty. Night, night Commander."
Juno waved goodbye without looking behind her. "Sleep well."
The sound of Kalina's footsteps walking away ended with the muffled noise of a body collapsing onto a mattress. Juno turned around to see Kalina walked all the way to her bedroom and made herself comfortable on the bed. Juno let out a sigh and placed the last plate in the dishwasher. She wiped her hands before heading into the bedroom and standing on the right side of the bed where Kalina placed herself.
"Miss Kalina, this isn't your bed." Kalina mumbled something that Juno couldn't understand. She leaned closer to the adjutant's ear. "Miss Kalina, this isn't your-"
Before Juno could finish her sentence, Kalina grabbed her and dragged her into the bed. Juno grew red while her face got pressed into Kalina's chest. She attempted to escape from her grasp but failed to even budge her arms apart.
Juno looked up at Kalina, who seemed to be out cold. "You're going to owe me big time for this."
She removed her glasses and tossed them onto the nightstand before getting in a more comfortable position.
"Night light." The bedroom lights turned off, except for a dim and warm light above the bed.
Juno rested on Kalina's chest, letting her head rise and fall with the adjutant's breathing. It had been so long since she felt the embrace of someone else. It made her feel warm inside and helped put her at ease. It was only a matter of seconds before she dozed off as well.