If you had told Randolph Orlando five years ago that the womanizing ex-jaeger would be teaching a bunch of Imperial younglings how to fight properly, he'd have laughed you outta the room. And asked who your bartender was, cause whatever you'd been drinking had to be good stuff.

Heck, even if you'd told Randy two years ago that the member of the half-police, half-roaming dogooders SSS, he would've skipped a step and just gone straight to Wazy.

Still, he wouldn't call this a bad lot in life. Sure, he was effectively banished from Crossbell, the only place he ever truly called home. And sure, the SSS, the only (sane) people he'd ever called family, were disbanded and scattered...

Okay, the circumstances were nowhere near ideal. But that's hardly unusual for the former jaeger.

Anyway, he never expected to find teaching so fulfilling. Watching young men and women doing their best to learn tactics was inspiring. It hit a softer part of his heart. One that started growing ever since he joined the SSS all that time ago.

Reminiscence filled his mind as he was walking down the silent halls of the Derflinger. Tensions from the ambush still ran high among staff and students alike. The redhead had just finished a last-minute check of the armory (Old habits die hard) and was heading back to his shared dorm room to unwind. Only a few students were still mingling in the halls, most having gone to bed early after just recently fighting for their lives.

Still, the fight showed how much these kids have grown as both fighters and tacticians. They had a ways to go, of course, but many held their ground against an unrelenting wave of archaisms. With proper leadership, like with Schwarzer and Herschel's groups, they could even push them back unaided.

(That didn't stop the two from hopelessly fretting over each other once the danger had passed, but Randy had more important things on his mind, such as his crazy cousin, to worry about his uninjured coworkers.)

That stray thought shifted his focus from his students to his fellow instructors. As he opened yet another door through the train, he thought about the two Thors alumni.

The two really are both peas in a pod. Schwarzer was helpful, friendly, and pretty dense. He honestly reminded Randy of Lloyd at times (especially with noticing women's 'thoughts' of him.) Honestly, if the two guys ever met, they'd probably be instant best buds.

Herschel was similarly friendly. Hardworking, diligent to a fault. Despite her short stature, she often seemed like the oldest person on campus (especially given their principal was... their principal.)

Given how hardworking and self-sacrificial the two were, it's no wonder they are such good friends.

...or maybe *closer* than friends. Far be it from Randy to butt into other people's relationships (with some exceptions, of course. Hey, Lloyd deserved it for being so monumentally dense!) But his time as a jaeger has honed his perception, his ability to notice small irregularities and signs that something deeper is going on.

And the signs he's noticed from the two are making him feel crazy. He can only notice Herschel leave the man's room in the late evening or see the two walk towards an empty classroom so many times before he could not deny that *something* was happening behind the scenes.

It was almost as noticeable as whatever Lloyd and Mademois-Elie got up to.

Almost*

He stifled a yawn right as he got to his shared room with Schwarzer. I didn't bother walking or announcing his presence. It was his room, after all, and after a long day and fighting for his life he was ready to just get some RR.

He was not ready for the sight that greeted him.

The normal: the Ashen Chevalier laying on his back, fuchsia eyes shut and settled on his bed. His coat was folded on a nearby chair, just dressed in his t-shirt and work pants.

The abnormal: another, smaller coat folded next to Rean's. On the bed, a motte of brown hair sprawled all over his chest, small arms branching out from under it to wrap around his chest. (Or rather, one arm was nestled behind his back. The other was just lazily hanging off the bed.) The redhead could hear two sets of soft, content breathing.

Randy couldn't help but gape. His jaw was practically dropping open. He had never seen Herschel so relaxed, lazing on a guy's chest like a comfortable kitten. *The fight and logistics planning must've tuckered her out, huh?* He expected her and Schwarzer to be up helping students with essays or something. Seeing the workaholics take an early night was frankly bizarre.

Well, that explains the signs, alright. Coulda done a better job hiding it, but it's a decent job for a high school.*

He wasn't sure why he felt averse to waking them up. He wasn't particularly close to either coworker. Was it not wanting to disrupt such a serene moment? Not wanting to bother due to exhaustion? Future teasing fodder for Lloyd next he sees him?

Probably all three, honestly.

Therefore, the ex-jaeger simply removes his coat, settling into his bunk for some shut-eye. It's a bit odd going to sleep next to the couple, but it's not like he hasn't played the third wheel back in the Corps (and apparently in the SSS, if Tio-tot wasn't just messing with him.)

While typically an early riser, Randy wasn't early enough to see the two walking up the next morning.

He certainly didn't miss the (not so) faint blushes they got whenever their gazes met during the morning meeting.

He took a sip of his coffee, trying to mask the grin growing on his face.