A/N: Weird writing this in the beginning, I just realized I've never actually described Lily's appearance? Like I know what I want her to look like, and I guess you guys can just make her look like whatever you want her to. I usually try and describe her appearance without actually giving it away I guess. I've always loved stories where the author sort of let's the reader let themselves into the story, so just imagine whatever you think Lily would look like!

I've always imagined her with medium length dark brown hair, so dark it's often mistaken as black. She has brown, almond shaped eyes, and full lips, though not considered 'big.' As for body type, I've always used my own body? Which would mean Lily is about 5'7, and she's really fit and in shape due to all the training she does (that part is NOT based off me lmao). I've never really considered her to be curvy, she's just thin and has a descent butt and boobs, about C cup? And I guess that's about it.

So, imagine her however you want to, but I just wanted to make the description clear I guess lol. Anyway, on to the chap!

My mornings usually started off with Alpha waking me up in some ruthless way.

This particular morning, he decided to wake me up by continuously chanting, "wake up, wake up, wake up," in my ear. He got louder and louder until he was practically screaming into my ears, and I ended up yelling at him.

When I sat up, Alpha floated in front of me, laughing at my anger. Though he annoyed me nonstop, I knew I could never actually stay mad at the little A.I. We've been together through so much, and I couldn't help but see him as an annoying child. Despite the fact that he took more care of me then I did of him, I just felt extremely protective of him. Especially when I learned what the Director wanted to do.

Eventually, I got out of bed and grabbed some random clothes before heading over to the locker room. The locker room was shared with all Freelancers. It was where we kept things like water, extra clothes, towels, etc. There was a rack for our armor, but everyone usually kept there armor in their room.

The locker room eventually split off into two sections, one for boys and one for the girls. When I got to the girl's showers, I internally groaned at the fact that all but one of them were occupied. The shower stall at the end was right across from the entrance, and it conveniently didn't have a curtain. Usually, the unlucky person hung up their towel to get some protection, but I had actually groaned out loud when I realized I had forgotten my towel.

Now, I could have easily walked into the locker rooms to get an extra towel. But, knowing today was a Sunday, all the extra towels were gone because it was laundry day. At the sound of me voicing my anger, a head popped out of the shower curtain next to me. C.T.'s grinning face met my own, grimacing face. Her short brown hair was stuck to one side of her face; she had shaved half of her head in a dare, but ended up really liking it.

"Maybe you can get someone to hold a towel up for ya,'" she teased, nodded her head to the empty stall next to her. I glared at her, though I wasn't actually mad at her.

"Everyone is either showering or sleeping!" I complained.

C.T. made and 'oh well' face and said, "You better hurry, you know what happens on our days off." With that, she slid back behind the curtain and continued to shower.

I rolled my eyes and reluctantly started the shower. C.T. was right, today was our day off, which meant we didn't have to be anywhere by a certain time. Usually, everyone was forced to take a quick shower, but today everyone could shower for as long as they wanted to. This meant the hot water would run out fast.

'Which means you have to hurry,' Alpha spoke. I silently agreed, smiling to myself when the water was still warm. Quickly, I glanced at the shower room entrance, making sure no one was walking around.

'They really need to make a door for that,' I thought, before undressing quickly.

I tried to shower as quickly as I could while still enjoying it. However, about halfway into the shower, I realized I still didn't have a fucking towel.

"Oh goddammit!" I grumbled, looking out at the other stalls. Maybe I could get C.T. or South to get me a towel.

If they were still here.

I stood there for a good two minutes, staring at the empty shower stalls next to me. When the fuck did they leave?!

'I dunno, Cali, but hurry, the water is starting to get cold,' Alpha hurried me. I washed my hair, still not understanding how they all could have left without me knowing. I had only showered for about ten minutes, surely I would have heard the water stop right? Or maybe even see them leave?!

I turned my own shower off, not used to the silence in the shower rooms. Not only was a shocked, I was also pissed at C.T. for leaving even though she knew I didn't have a towel.

'Maybe she's bringing you one,' Alpha suggested. Hoping he was right, I waited until I started shivering before I decided she wasn't going to bring me a towel.

"Fuck," I muttered. Maybe I could rush back to my room? No, that was way too risky, and if I got caught, I would never hear the end of it from York and South.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by some whistling in the locker rooms.

"Hey!" I shouted, hoping they could hear me. The whistling stopped and I grinned. "Come over here please!" I called again.

Finally, I would get my towel!

But as soon as the grey and yellow armor appeared in the doorway, all the relief I felt vanished, replaced with dread and embarrassment.

"Oh...hey, W-Washington."

It was silent for a few moments, I was trying to cover up as much as I could with my arms, and Washington just stood there. He only had his armor on up to his waist, above that was bare, minus his helmet. I couldn't help but let my eyes roam over his broad shoulders and muscular chest. His muscles weren't overly defined, but they were still noticeable. Just how I liked it.

'Shut up, Cali,' Alpha complained.

"Um, I forgot my towel," I voiced, awkwardly staring at the orange visor that stopped me from seeing his face. "Could you bring me one, please?"

Wordlessly, he walked away and I felt slightly offended that he hadn't said anything to me. Usually he tried his best to talk to me, stuttering and fumbling over his words. Now, he hadn't even said one word.

'Aww, Cal, are you missing all the attention he gives you?' Alpha teased. I blushed and shook my head, refusing to answer.

Washington walked back into the showers, holding a light blue towel that I didn't recognize. It wasn't one of the ship's standard white towels, and it definitely wasn't mine, so I figured it was Washington's.

"H-here," he stuttered, placing the towel on the counter before hurrying away.

I smiled a bit at his shyness, and hurried to the towel, wrapping it around myself. It was soft and warm, and was so big it went down to my knees. It felt like a blanket more than a towel, but I wasn't complaining. I smiled even more when I realized there was a giant cat on the towel; I loved cats.

The towel smelled clean and fresh, though I hurried and dried myself off. Once I changed into my clothes, I walked back to my room, not sure if I should give Washington his towel back. It seemed like the right thing to do, but I did quite like cats.

Once back to my room, I hung the towel to dry and tried to decide what I wanted to do. Normally, I slept on days like this, but it was only about 7:30, which meant that the cafeteria would still be open for a while.

My stomach growled, deciding for me. I slipped on some shoes and headed out.

On my way to the cafeteria, I ran into York.

He had yelled at me from down the hall, saying something about how we matched. I rolled my eyes, and York grinned at me, putting an arm around my shoulders. I considered York as my brother, we were close and I knew I could trust him with anything. Plus, he had that 'protective big brother' thing going on, with everyone, not just me. He really was a great guy, and I knew what Carolina saw in him.

We made our way to the cafeteria, and I spotted our friends sitting at our usual table. Carolina and South were decked out in their armor, along with Washington.

Like always, York and I made a beeline to the food line, but I hesitated when I spotted something quite odd.

"How in the hell is he doing that?" I asked. Washington was eating his breakfast burrito...with his helmet on?

York looked to Washington, chuckled, and began to tell me the story of how they convinced Washington to do that.

"I don't really know how he's doing it though," he said, before turning back to the food line. "Now hurry up, I'd like to get some chorizo and eggs before they run out."

I groaned. "Noo, you know how gassy that makes you, York!" I complained. He just grinned and winked at me.

After getting our food, I sat at the edge of the table next to York, who was next to Carolina. Across from her was South, North, and then Washington.

As I was eating my pancakes, I couldn't help but stare at Washington. I mean, how was he doing that?

'Are you sure that's why you're staring at him?' Alpha teased me.

'Shut up,' I answered, then thought about what happened not 20 minutes ago. Was I supposed to give Washington his towel back? Should I even bring it up to him?

Maine saved me from my thoughts when he showed up, grumbling something to Carolina about training. She agreed, and invited South along, which resulted in York and North wanting to watch. I was invited, as well as Washington, however I wasn't finished eating, and Washington said he'd join later.

After that, it was just the two of us.

It was extremely awkward for me; I had no idea what to do while I was eating. I couldn't help but glance at Washington's helmet every now and then. What was he thinking?

I started to eat a little slower than normal, taking smaller bites. I didn't want to look like a pig in front of Washington.

'Why do I even care?' I asked myself, 'Stop caring.'

'You know why you care,' Alpha said, teasing me once more.

Not being able to take the awkward silence, I spoke.

"How-"

"Are you-"

We spoke at the same time, which caused us to stop speaking altogether. We both chuckled awkwardly, and I felt my face burn. I was secretly hoping that Wash's face was red as well.

"Sorry," I laughed, "go ahead."

He cleared his throat before asking, "A-are you gonna eat your bacon?"

I grinned a bit, handing him the pieces, and asked him my own question.

"Um, how are you doing that?" I asked, referring to him eating with his helmet on.

He swallowed before shrugging, "I dunno, I thought everyone could do it."

"No, Wash," I said, smiling, "I don't think everyone can."

He was silent for a moment, and I wondered if I had done anything wrong. Oh my gosh, seriously, what's wrong with me? Stop feeling!

"'Wash?'" he asked, tilting his head slightly.

I felt embarrassment flood my body, "Well, I give all my friends nicknames," I answered, hoping he didn't think I was weird.

Washington nodded slowly. "I didn't know you considered me a friend," he said finally.

Slightly taken aback, I covered it up with a joke, "You've seen me naked, Wash, I think it's okay to call us friends."

Since I couldn't see his facial expression, I had no idea what Wash may be thinking or feeling. God, did I fuck up? Why does it even matter? It shouldn't matter! I reminded myself.

'Cali, please don't tell me you're this dumb,' Alpha spoke. What's that supposed to mean?

Suddenly, Wash's hands lifted up and he began to remove his helmet. My breath hitched and I couldn't help but eagerly wait for this reveal.

Finally, his helmet was completely gone, and my mouth fell open.

I'd never seen someone so beautiful.

The first thing I noticed was his eyes. They were two different colors. His left eye was blue, and it reminded me of a vast ocean; vivid, bright, and beautiful. His right eye was grey in color, and I saw the clouds on a dark stormy night. However, it was not dark, it was bright and glistening.

The next thing I studied was Wash's hair. It was shorter on the sides, like it has been shaved, and it was a light brown. His hair was longer on top of his head, and that area was dyed blond. I noticed a feint scar above his left eye, running from his eyebrow to his hairline. Wash's nose fit his face perfectly, though I could tell it had been broken before. I also noticed the freckles that danced over his nose, and spread to his high cheek bones, which were dusted in a faint blush.

Washington's lips were the last things I looked over. They were a pale, pink color, and slightly chapped. Despite that, I couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to kiss those lips. I may have stared at them for a little too long, but I quickly glanced away when they began to move.

"And, I tell my friends my real name," Wash said, a small smile on his face. "It's David. David Washington."

"David," I said softly, smiling at the fact that his state name derived from his real name. "Mine's Lillian Yang."

A/N: Awww some Wash/Cali cuteness! As for the description, that's just how I see Wash idk lol. BUt, thus starts their friendship/relationship :-D

So, I know exactly what I want to do with this story, how it'll end, and I also have the sequel planned, and how I'm gonna add Lily into the storyline.

Anyway, hoped you liked this chapter, it was kind of short and meh, but review and let me know what you think of it. Thank you!

Edit: this chapter was originally two separate chaps, but I just combined them to make it one long chapter.

~Saammmm