A/N: I know I really shouldn't start another fic but...well, inspiration hits, especially when you can't go anywhere. And I definitely know I'm on a streak because I literally wrote this in 2 days which is rare... A bit of an AU as the timeline is set before Adam and Sio get together at the end of the series, so it'll be exploring an 'alternate' route of how they get together. Also smut (hah).

Plus, I've been trying to figure out a way to write a story that explores their feelings and thoughts before they got together, since 99% of my stories involve them already established. I want to dig into their feelings and how they change as they both come to the realization they might actually like each other...

"Wait...you can't be serious...!"

"The Commander never jokes around, Jack. I assure you these are her exact orders."

"Alright I get it, but still—is this really necessary?!"

"As members of DOGOO, you are public facing figures—therefore it is more important than ever to follow the protocols and show the world we care about protecting them, from both outside and inside threats—"

"—that doesn't mean we have to be quarantined inside a house? In a civilian zone?! What's wrong with returning to the base and staying there instead? I hardly see how staying in some random house is more isolated than returning to the Logan or even the Clayton Forrester..."

"I'm afraid that decision isn't yours to make, Jack. Or, I should say, Adam Muirhead. Your orders have been given. We will be in touch shortly with further instructions. Saint-Germain out."

"Hang on you bastard—bloody hell!"

Sighing, the leader of the Second Platoon angrily stowed away his comm, running a hand through dirty silver locks. He needed a shower, but it appeared that might have to wait until a good deal later.

"Ah, Jack-san? How did it go? What did the Commander want?" The team's sniper, Nobunagun, gave their leader a worried glance as she noticed his haggard expression upon return, the rest of the platoon waiting in a tent as DOGOO personnel cleaned up the remains of their alien foes.

He eyed her with a wary glance, wondering how he should even break the news to the rest of the squad. On one hand, he agreed; if there was a virus raging across the planet then it was vital they take steps to mitigate the damage. Things were bad enough as it was with the Evolutionary Invasion Objects, now they were on the verge of a pandemic, to boot.

On the other...

"...Command wants us to stay here, in the San Francisco region. Says it's too risky to go back t' the base for now, what with that new virus flying about. Especially since this area's a hot zone for infections..."

The others blinked at him, as if not believing his words. Adam grit his teeth and resisted the urge to lose his temper. He was their leader and it was imperative he keep calm, even if all he wanted to do was to toss his comm into the air, slash it in half with his sword and curse Command and their inane decisions.

Instead, he simply shook his head and motioned for the team to gather their personal effects, which mercifully had been transferred off the helicopter already. Perhaps it was sheer luck the team was planning for a few days aboard the Forrester anyway, otherwise even getting basic necessities like toiletries and clothing would've been an ordeal.

'Not that it already isn't; based on what the news is saying, we should probably stock up when we get the chance,' Adam thought glumly as they piled into the awaiting Jeep, Nobunagun—or Sio Ogura, now that they were off-duty—the only one of them who seemed excited. The girl was a self-proclaimed military otaku and obsessed with anything and everything related, including vehicles. She craned her neck out so far Adam was afraid he'd have to pull her in before she lost her head, literally.

"Oy squirt, watch it! This ain't a joyride, and you're not a mutt. Get yer head back in here before yeh lose it!"

"Wah—Jack-san, I was just trying to take a picture! Jeeze...meanie." The girl muttered, but she did slink back into her spot next to their buxom teammate, Jess Beckham—a.k.a. e-gene holder of Isaac Newton.

"Don't take it so hard, Sio-chan—Jack's just worried about you, as all good senpais should, right?" Their defender, the reincarnation of one Mahatma Gandhi, gave the girl a kindly pat. "Never thought I'd say the words "Jack the Ripper" and "worried" in the same sentence, hmm Adam?"

"Piss off, Mirza; otherwise I'd be more than happy to shove you out," the silver-haired man muttered, already on-edge from this unexpected arrangement and certainly not in the mood for jokes.

Afterwards the team collapsed into a sullen silence, even Sio somewhat muted after Adam's outburst. After winding around the hills of San Francisco they arrived at a more residential district, with narrow streets that could hardly fit their oversized vehicle—but, as the sniper watched with bated breath, not only did they make it but with oncoming traffic, to boot.

"Here you are, the Second Platoon's temporary quarters for the time being. One of DOGOO's board members owns it, and he's arranged for you guys to stay here until the quarantine period's over, provided you don't go around destroying the place," their driver gave them the rundown while offloading their duffels at the same time. "Though honestly, I don't think they've got anything to worry about—you're all responsible enough."

Adam thought he saw Mirza (Mahesh Mirza, for the record) give a side-eyed glance at Jess, but said nothing more. He was tired, cranky, needed food and more importantly a nice, hot shower. As the soldier bid them farewell—"don't hesitate to contact us if anything comes up"—they unlocked the door, and DOGOO's Second Platoon piled unceremoniously into the foyer, still in their under armor.

The house was a genuine San Francisco Victorian, as evidenced by the gothic-style roof peaks, wrap-around porch and wrought-iron window sills. There was even a real crystal chandelier above their heads, though it was clear the house had also been remodeled to accommodate modern comforts. In particular, the kitchen looked like it would be right at home in a 3-star Michelin restaurant, and a giant, 70-inch flat screen TV was mounted above the (real) fireplace. The entire place was tastefully decorated in what Jess liked to call "shabby chic", though upon closer inspection, some parts of the house were quite old.

"Whoa...this place is huge!" The sniper's eyes were wide as saucers, having never seen this type of architecture in Japan before. "Ooh, a real fireplace! Maybe we can use it...oh wow, this couch is super comfortable!" Amazingly, even after a hard day's battle the sniper still had energy to go about admiring the furnishings and odds and ends; tired as they were, the rest of the squad couldn't help but be slightly amused by their youngest member's enthusiasm.

"Oh sweet, we can each get our own room!" Her voice echoed from upstairs as Mahesh and Jess looked around, nodding approvingly. "I call the one with the bay window!"

"Well, seems like we've got central heating, but no AC...I guess San Francisco's cool enough to not need it?" Mahesh questioned their leader, but Adam only gave an aggravated sigh.

"Yeh, you say that now, I guarantee you won't be thinking that when it starts warming up...tch, what is it with Yanks and their need to have heating but no air conditioning," the silver-haired man muttered under his breath.

"I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there," the Indian mused, not wanting to anger their leader any more than he already was. "Ah, well it seems the girls have chosen their rooms. It looks like the only two left are...one downstairs, to the left of the kitchen, or...at the very top, the attic?"

"I don't give a damn, honestly. Look, why don't you take the downstairs, and I'll take the attic?" If he'd been more alert, Adam would have remembered that heat rises, and so if and when the weather turned warm he would be screwed; but as it was all he wanted was to just unpack his clothes, shower and sleep, and so Mahesh merely raised an eyebrow, but agreed without comment.

A message chimed on his phone (they had cell service again, and internet now that they were off DOGOO premises); apparently Saint-Germain had gone ahead and ordered them take-out for dinner, and it was on its way via the city's plethora of food delivery services. There was also a calendar event for a more formal meeting with the Commander tomorrow, where apparently they would discuss this whole quarantine business in greater detail. Eyeing it once, Adam tossed his phone onto the bed and headed straight for the shower.

"Moouu, jeeze I wish they didn't handle my luggage so roughly...argh great, now it's everywhere...crap, my clothes are ruined." Sighing, Sio gingerly picked through the contents of her duffel to see if any clothes had been spared—but no; to her misfortune, one of her shampoo bottles somehow spilled (it was probably the air pressure), and now her wardrobe was effectively soiled.

Including the clothes she needed tonight.

Whining to no one in particular, the sniper decided instead to see if at least something could be washed in the sink, and maybe blow-dried with a hairdryer. Grumbling to herself, she headed for the nearest bathroom down the hall—though it never occurred to her to check first to see if it was occupied...

"Gyaahhh!"

"Th' fuck—!"

Sio squealed in embarrassment, but her eyes were definitely not looking away. Oh no. For just as she'd opened the door their leader, Adam Muirhead, had just gotten out of the shower and was standing there in his buff, naked glory, save for a just-in-time towel around the waist. Steam clouded the room, but Sio still saw every single water droplet hanging off his silvery locks, which were now plastered against his neck, and the beads of sweat clinging to every single crevice of those finely chiseled muscles.

In other words, if it weren't for the situation (and the fact he annoyed her so much) she definitely would be having a nosebleed.

He seemed to be just as mortified as her though, if that furious blush on his face was anything to go by. "Fer Christ's sake girl, don't you ever knock?! What the hell's wrong with you! Surely you could tell someone was in here?!"

"I-I, I'm, s, s, sorry, Jack-san—I-I just—I-I'm not used to, sharing a bathroom with other people..." The girl seemed to be on the verge of tears, and immediately Adam felt bad for yelling at her—but seriously, was she blind or something?

"I, uh, I...m, my, clothes got dirty—cause my shampoo, I guess it spilled and I just thought I could try and wash it out in the sink and maybe it would dry before bed—"

"—Could you at least shut the door, first?" He snapped irritably, not keen on anybody else walking in. "So, your clothes got dirty. And your first thought is to...wash them in the sink?"

Those teary maroons blinked at him, clearly confused. "Y, Yes...? I-I mean, how else would I..."

"...You know there's a laundry room just downstairs, right?" Adam deadpanned. Was this girl for real?

'Alright, I get she's just a high schooler, but seriously, how the hell did she even make it into DOGOO in the first place? I guess e-genes can't be choosers...'

The girl turned red, and looked away in shame. "I, uh, um...I can't...use it..."

Adam raised a silvery brow. "Can't use it? As in, you don't know how to operate the machine or you don't know how to wash your own clothes?"

"..."

"...Lemme guess, you're one of those kids who has her mum do everything, huh?"

At this point, Sio looked so downtrodden Adam couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for her. They'd all had a long day, things were kinda crazy, and even though he wasn't much older than her, and she irritated him at times, as the leader he still felt responsible for all his teammates. Which included the newbie.

Adam took a deep breath. "...Alright look, let me finish up here and uh, I'll help ya out with that. Yeh?"

"H-Huh? Is that...okay? S, Sorry..."

"Forget about it; the faster we get this taken care of, the sooner we can settle in. Now, are ya gonna let me get dressed in peace or not? Unless yeh wanna be called a voyeur..." He jerked his head towards the door and the sniper scuttled out like a crab, face still pink.

A few minutes later Adam emerged, hair still damp but now dressed in a casual outfit consisting of a pink polo shirt and baby-blue ankle pants, of all things. Despite her embarrassment Sio couldn't help but stare a little; the dichotomy between his attitude and choice of clothing was something else, but she had enough sense to not say anything.

"You got your stuff?" The sniper nodded and handed the duffel over. "Right, let's get these sorted out—"

"—W-Wait, what are you doing?! Don't go pawing through my clothes—"

She froze as he turned towards her with a dead-eye stare, that emerald glaring at her with a look of disbelief. "Look, if I'm gonna help you do laundry, then you're going to learn how to do it the right way, so pay attention. First off, you sort them; lights in one load, darks and colours in another. This way you won't get issues like your whites turning pink or everything turning grey. Also, different colours use different water temps. You want hotter for whites, cold for bright colours so they don't bleed." As he sorted her laundry into two piles, Sio watched with amazement as he did everything with a practiced hand.

"Oh, and obviously you'll want to wash these on the delicates cycle so they don't get ruined," he tossed her underwear into another pile, "what, don't give me that look, squirt. You're dead wrong if you think I give a crap about what kind of knickers you wear."

He rolled his eyes and Sio felt her blood pressure rise. So all right, she never learned how to do laundry, but did he have to be so condescending about it? "L-Look, I...know I'm not good at a lot of things, but you don't have to be so mean about it... I'm sorry, okay?!"

The lid slammed down so suddenly the girl gave a startled yelp. "Look, Ogura. There's nothing to be sorry for. You don't know how to do this, so I'm teaching you now, so next time you can do it yourself, yeh?" The sniper nodded timidly, and Adam sighed again.

"...An' I'm...sorry for being so short-tempered about it. Honestly, I'm just right buggered...first we get pulled into a battle that the First Platoon was supposed to handle on their own—those wankers—and now we can't even go back to base; seriously, what the hell is Command thinking..."

Sio nodded. "It's, okay...I'm sorry for asking you to help me all the time...but, I uh, really appreciate it, Jack-san..." Despite his acerbic tongue, out of all her teammates he was also the one whom, strangely enough, she trusted the most. Sure he made quips about her lack of skills and teased her relentlessly, but now that she thought about it, when it really came down to it he was also the first one to help her out, and show her the ropes.

'Not to mention, even though he yells a lot, he never actually...does anything weird to me. Unlike Newton or Gandhi...'

The girl shuddered a little at the thought of being locked in a house with her two more touchy-feely teammates for a month. Perhaps, if push came to shove, this would be when she told them how she really didn't appreciate being apprehended all the time.

"Don't mention it. Anyway, now you know how. It'll probably take a while for these to wash and dry; if I were you, I'd borrow some clothes for the time being. You can probably ask Newton, I'm sure she'd be more than happy to help."

At the mention of their French-kissing teammate though, the girl visibly stiffened. "Ah, I er, it's...it's okay, I'll just deal with it until they're done. I don't really wanna bother her right now...b-besides, I...kinda doubt Jess' stuff would fit me anyway..."

Oh. Right. The sniper had a point; not that Adam particularly paid attention to appearances, but it didn't take much to notice that Sio was much smaller and more petite compared to the curvy and buxom blonde, who'd been a model before all this, to boot.

"...Right. Well, whatever, it's your call. I suppose going commando is an option as well...just make sure you've got enough blankets," he grinned, causing Sio to turn bright red again.

"H-Hey! Pervert!" She attempted to swipe him with her bag, but he was too fast. "Jerk...I'm not that young, I can figure out things for myself!"

"Riiight. Sure you can. Anywho, I am starving and bloody exhausted, and the food's just arrived so I'm going to grab some nosh and then head to bed. You can do whatever you want, hanninmae." And with a smirk Adam headed towards the dining room, leaving Sio blushing and fuming at his words, but also somewhat grateful he'd helped her out.

"Ugh, what an asshole...sheesh, I'm not that helpless! ...Even if I just learned how to do laundry for the first time..." Why did he have to be so attractive yet infuriating at the same time? Wait, did she just think Jack the Ripper was attractive?

'No no no, ooh no Sio, you cannot be thinking those thoughts! He's a total jerk, no manners or patience whatsoever—and he keeps calling you a half-baked squirt! Do you really wanna end up with someone like that?! Quick, think about nice things instead...like, that Jeep you rode in! Or Asao-san, she's way prettier and nicer than stupid Jack...'

The sniper stilled as she came to a realization. 'Wait a minute, we're off DOGOO property, which means...'

"Cell phone, here I come! Woo hoo!" The delightful buzzing of all her piled-up incoming messages cheered her up somewhat, Sio resolving to spend some time before bed finally catching up with Asao-san—and probably her parents as well.

The take-out boxes were thoroughly ravaged by the time the sniper made her way to the dining area, but she was happy to see plenty of food remained. She couldn't tell what she was eating—the cuisine was either American or European and that was about all she could figure—but she was so hungry and tired at this point even cardboard would've been satisfying. The rest of her teammates were nowhere to be seen, and the sniper gave a little sigh of relief. She did appreciate them, truly (even with their not-so-nice quirks) but as an introvert, she was most relaxed when alone.

"Huh, should I just...leave these here? Well, but it's not like we're gonna have cleaning services here...guess I'll just do my best." Sorting through the boxes, she threw away the empty ones and piled the dirty dishes into the sink. She was just about to try and figure out if it was worth learning how to use a dishwasher when Adam came down the stairs, both of them surprised at the other.

"Oh! Uh, Jack-san...I just, figured I should help clean up a bit..."

"Yeh uh, I figured...the same. Might as well try and keep it clean from the start...'specially knowing what slobs those two are," he nodded in the direction of the others' rooms. "So, you wanna learn how to load a dishwasher?"

Sio nodded quietly. It was so strange, how he seemed to have two different moods. One minute he was serious but cordial, and the next he'd be yelling about another of her mishaps and complaining how she couldn't do anything right. 'Maybe, just maybe...I'll finally have the chance to get to know him better...'

"Dishwashers rare where you're from? I know in England, a lot of the older places don't have it; 'specially if they're small." It took a few seconds before Sio realized he was trying to make some small talk with her.

"O-Oh! Y-Yeah uh, we don't have one at my house, either. It's kind of a 'rich people' thing. I was just gonna do them by hand, but it's probably faster to use the dishwasher since we have one, huh?"

She watched intently as Adam showed her how to load the dishes in by size, where to separate the silverware, and how much detergent to put in. He let her select and activate the cycle though, and by the end Sio felt pretty proud her of herself, even though he'd done most of the work.

"Th-Thank you...Jack-san. I, I know I'm not really great at a lot of things, and I've definitely got a lot to learn...s, so, I swear I'll do my best during this quarantine period." Her eyes were shining with a rare bit of determination. Adam was a bit taken aback at her sincerity, but found himself appreciating it.

"...You'll do just fine, rookie." It felt weird to be genuinely complementing her, and Adam couldn't figure out why he felt so apprehensive around her; even though deep down, he did want to tell her she was doing a good job already. Even though she was inexperienced, the way she never gave up and threw herself into whatever came her way...his body flushed with an odd tingle and suddenly Adam really needed to have some time to himself. "A-Anyway, it's late, you should sleep and get some rest. I'm heading up. 'Night."

"Oh right...uh, oyasumi, Jack-san..." She followed him up the stairs, and just as she was about to go into her room something soft flew through the air and landed on her head. "Wha—er, what is this...?"

"Just make sure you don't get these dirty as well. I don't have that much t' spare." Before Sio could make heads or tails of it he disappeared into the attic room, the sniper now finally untangling the bundle.

"These are...a t-shirt and...boxers? A guy's, at that..." She blushed, suddenly realizing this was Adam's subtle gesture of looking out for her, even if he didn't say it out loud. "It feels a little weird to be wearing his clothes...but well, I guess I might as well, since he's offering...also, I really don't wanna go commando..." At least they were clean and relatively well-kept.

After a hot shower that soothed 90% of all her aches, Sio now sat in her new room, wrapped in a fluffy towel as she attempted to put on Adam's clothes. The t-shirt was much too large, but it made for a nice makeshift nightgown as it reached just above her knees. She noticed the Metal Gear logo on the front—was he possibly a gamer?—then picked up the boxers. Luckily there were drawstrings so she could tighten it until it finally stopped falling off her waist, but as she dug around, she noticed an opening in the front.

"Eh? What's this...weird, why is there a hole here? Is this a rip? Doesn't look like it though...oh well, doesn't matter to me." As she finally settled into her bed, furiously texting Asao-san about all the things that happened in the span of one day, she noticed a foreign scent; it was not unpleasant, but rather cozy...

'...Is this coming from his clothes?' She sniffed a bit at the t-shirt. It was clean, but aside from the detergent she could also smell something else. '...Er, is this his...scent?! Alright Sio, don't think about it...it's not bad or dirty, just...' She blushed a bit, and decided not to finish that thought, just as her phone rang.

"M-Mooouu...! Asao-san, just wait until you hear what's been going on..."