Kali: Okay, this was a dare from Miles (go read our profile!). He gave me the internet address of a random word generator and told me to write a story with the first three words that popped up. So here you have it. The words are: requisite, astrology, and endless. Hahaha. Take that, Miles!

Oh, and this is the beta version. Corrected the error I THOUGHT I had fixed before, what with the whole Liza/Riza thing. Her name is now Riza. Thanks to Nilmiel and Kenya for catching that.

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It struck him just how odd it was that the night sky had always attracted women. When he wanted to impress a girl he'd just met, he would often invite her to go stargazing with him. And although astrology had never been his strong point, he knew the placements of a few crucial stars with which to comment on in case his date was into studying the heavens.

If she wasn't, however, he would usually make sappy comments like "You know, the stars are beautiful…almost as lovely as your eyes."

It never failed.

At least, not on normal women.

Riza was most definitely not normal.

Normal women swooned after his endless onyx eyes or his tall frame. He could have them fainting after a few more-than-likely empty promises – but Riza was different.

Normal women loved his manner of speech, his soft voice – but Riza was different.

Normal women enjoyed hearing him compliment them – but Riza was different.

For one thing, most normal women weren't trained in the uses of guns as she was.

And most women did not shoot at him when he was feeling lazy.

Yes, learning to handle a gun had been a requisite for her to become an officer.

No, it did not give her the right to (nearly) take his head off with the weapon.

He was determined to ask her out, however, and not even a bullet shot from her gun at him at high speeds could stop that. Okay, well, maybe it could, but only if he died in the process. Otherwise, nothing was going to stop him.

And so it was that he was hiding under a desk, trying to not get shot and wondering why Riza couldn't be like normal women and want to go stargazing.

But then again, if she were normal…

Well, he certainly enjoyed a challenge. And a challenge she was.

Cautiously, he waved a gloved hand above the desk. When it didn't get shot, he knew it was probably safe to come out, so he did.

Then, he decided to try his luck once more…

"First Lieutenant, are you completely sure you don't – "

BANG.

The bullet grazed his ear, embedding itself in the wall behind him. He cringed. That had been a warning.

"We still have plenty of paperwork, Taisa, so don't get your hopes up," she said, handing him the stack of paper that she had balanced in her left hand while shooting at him with her right.

He groaned. "C'mon, Riza, just this once…? It is just stargazing, after all."

His nerve deserted him and he ducked under the desk as she took aim.

Yeah…He was glad she wasn't normal.

What kind of fun would life be if she were?

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Kali: So whatcha think? Comments and criticism are appreciated; so are corrections to grammar and spelling. Flames will be laughed at.