Alpha was actually getting better this time. He seemed to stop being quite so jittery, and wasn't quite as bad with running simulations constantly. He was able to go back to work with a warning from the nurses and doctors to come back as soon as he started feeling sick. He managed to churn out a few new modifications, including his newest and probably the one he was proudest of, the strength modification. It was to go to the newest Agent, Agent Texas. He didn't know much about her, except for her gender and that she was incredibly… incredibly…

"FUCKING DAMN IT!" he cussed, throwing a screwdriver across the room. It stuck in the wall and hung there, the technician he had almost hit going wide-eyed with fear and confusion in a very comical way. Alpha blushed, then shrugged his shoulders.

He knew that he was known for having a short temper. What people didn't know was that he was rapidly losing parts of his memory for certain things. He couldn't remember much, but he tried. No matter what, he could never quite recall Agent Texas's name. As the head scientist and main interactor with the Agents of Project Freelancer, he was privy to their full names.

Including his. "Agent" Colorado was his official title back when he'd first joined. He quickly lost that title by getting into a fight with Carolina, then getting allocated to the scientific division after he'd outsmarted all the scientists on the team.

Not that he remembered most of that. He'd had to hack into the files to get that information.

But, he digressed, there was nothing he could do about that now. He picked up Agent Texas's helmet and started to install the armor modification. He gave a guess that it would take about 20 minutes to install it.'

Once he was done, he headed down the hallways of the Mother of Invention, seeking out a certain Freelancer. He wandered the halls, slowly making his way towards the dorms for the Agents. He'd never been inside, although he had a room there. More often than not, he crashed in the laboratory. Other times he'd fall asleep in the most random of places- windows, tables, chairs, the floor of his lab, pretty much anywhere. He was affectionately referred to by Carolina as "the pet cat of Project Freelancer". He didn't really mind the nickname as much as he did some others.

Helmet under his arm, he knocked on the door to the commons. There was a large living space, around which circled the bedrooms belonging to each A-Team Freelancer. The door slid open, allowing him entry, and all the Agents in the room- those being CT, Carolina, Wyoming, and York- looked at him with curiosity.

"Hey, man. What'cha got there?" York asked. Alpha shrugged.

"Just the newly-finished armor mod, my pride and joy," he said aloofly. Carolina scrambled up from her resting position with her head in York's lap to make a mad dash over to him.

"What is it?" she asked with all the excitement of a puppy. Alpha grinned.

"Strength mod. You think Texas will like it?"

York rubbed his shoulder. "Dude, the last thing Texas needs is a strength mod. That girl hits hard."

Alpha chuckled. "I saw you sparred with her today. What happened, she kicked your ass?"

"Man, my ass was kicked the second I stepped on the floor. None of us are any match for her- except Carolina," he finished hurriedly at 'Lina's glare. "Even then, it'd be close. Did you know she has an A.I.?"

"Yeah, I think she got one of the first ones. Omega, I think his name was."

"His?"

"It is incredibly impolite to refer to an A.I.- even a fragment- as an 'it'. They are based off of humans, smartass."

"Bite me."

He knocked on the door, apprehension filling his system. Alpha waited for a moment for her to open the door, then turned around to leave. Just as he started to walk away to go look for Agent Texas, the door opened.

"The fuck do you...want…" she trailed off. He spun around, then froze.

They stared at each other in disbelief, memories flooding through both of their minds- the two of them working together at the beginning of the Project, her judo-flipping him, the pair hanging out after a training session…

He adjusted his glasses and grinned at her. "Hey, Allison. Long time no see, huh?"

She blinked, then broke out into a smile. God, he loved her smile. "Come here, you idiot," she said, rolling her eyes fondly and pulling him into a hug. The two had grown very close in the time they were together before he joined the science team. He hadn't seen her in, what, two years now?

2 years ago

It was a well-known "secret" that the two were in love. They'd worked together for as long as anyone could remember, back when the Project was first founded. She had worked her way up through the ranks, while he was the shittiest shot anyone had ever seen, at least with his glasses off. With his glasses on, he was an incredible trick shot with a sniper rifle.

But, like all things, their relationship was changing.

"You're leaving?" she asked, worry evident in her voice. She looked down at their intertwined hands, biting her lip. For some reason, being separated from Church made her extremely anxious, but she had learned to live with it for missions.

"I.. I can't stay. They need me back on Earth to do science stuff. You and I both know that I'm smarter than all those bitches," he commented with a soft smile on his face. "I have to do this, Ali."

"I know that. It doesn't mean I want to let you go."

"I need to… It's my duty to the Project," he sighed, placing his hand gently on her cheek. She leaned into his touch, then sighed and pulled away.

"At the very least, don't say goodbye."

"I know, I know, you hate goodbyes…" He hesitated, then kissed her forehead before murmuring the words he'd always been too scared to tell her…

"I love you, Allison."

AAAAND scene! How bout that cliffhanger, hm?

THE CUTENESS. IM DYING, GUYS.

Anyway, I'm trying to keep updating on saturdays, so yeah. I'll probably write another chapter tomorrow and post it, if I have time.

Goodnight, guys!