Diana hummed the jaunty tune of 'Barbie Girl' as she arranged and stacked her gear in their new room. Headmaster Ozpin had been kind enough to offer the Romanians an unoccupied section of Beacon's dorms right near by the cottage/villa used by the rest of the Misfits. They even found a nifty little spot to park the Warhound in. Setting her equipment aside, save for the holster with her Glock-19 pistol on her thigh, which she'd keep at all times, she strolled out into the hallway of the dormitory area.
In one of the wider spots, she found some of her boys playing chess. They greeted her with waves and smiles. She looked to Ștefan as the boy was winning and asked, "You kicking Lena's ass again, Ștefi?" with a smirk. Their Markswoman frowned and crossed her arms to her chest, to which Diana stated, "It was just a joke, kiddo. Relax..." and patted her on the shoulder.
Ștefan let out a short chuckle as Diana walked down the hallway. Twenty soldiers, all stuck in about five rooms in Beacon. It was kind of surprising this place even had as much space as it did, for Ozpin to give them their own little section of the dormitories. It must've been weird for the old man, just how many people wound up in this place. Still, he didn't seem too bothered by it. Eerily calm, in fact.
His subordinate, Goodwitch, however, was a lot worse off. Terrified by the prospect of a massed force of soldiers that were given a new lease of life, the woman had told Diana directly that she hoped her soldiers were well-behaved. Of course, Diana answered affirmatively, including a statement that she'd be dealing with the punitive part of any misconduct trial against her soldiers. She understood the fear, after all.
Scratching the side of her head as she descended the stairs, the girl walked out of the dorm bloc and walked over toward Victor's place. Her childhood friend had been fairly forthcoming with her since their reunion back during UNRUS. She sighed and walked up to the door, then propped it open, to see Dushman napping on the couch, head hanging off the side.
She chuckled and turned to the left, to see Sam chopping onions. The Lieutenant looked up, wiped the annoying tears from her eyes and chuckled, "These things are strong..." while Diana walked up to her. She turned back to her work and stated, "Vic and Paul are off on a patrol if you're looking for them. Saila's also off... Somewhere... I think in the forest. Headmaster warned us not to go there alone, but the girl really likes her game hunting."
"Man, Vic never told us just how varied you lunatics are..." Diana murmured as she sat herself down. Sam let out a short chortle that contrasted fairly weirdly with the tears caused by the extremely strong onions that the good Romanian Sergeant had just gotten a whiff of. She teared up as well, murmuring, "Wow, Isuse Hristoase, what the fuck are these Onions...?" as she covered her nose and mouth.
"Apparently, Mistrali brand," Sam replied. She shrugged and picked up the top on which she'd cut them, turned toward a pot that was boiling and poured them into it. She sighed, relieved as the veggies dropped into the broth, then set the cutting board aside with the knife. A faint red tint colored her cheeks as she turned toward Diana. The Romanian Sergeant blinked, wiping the tears out of her own eyes and thinking she saw it wrong. Nope, Sam was, in fact, blushing.
Slightly surprised, mouth agape, Diana asked, "Something wrong, El-tee...?"
"Uh, Diana, was it...?" Sam asked, fiddling with her fingers, a couple of which had cuts on them from the kitchen knife. Di nodded, confused. What was their Chinese officer suddenly so flustered about? She knew for a fact from Vic the girl was not Gay. Alex had also mentioned an intertwining web of weird love interests he was thankful he wasn't part of-oh. She realized it just as Sam asked, "C-Can I ask you something about Vic?" and fiddled around with the hem of her uniform's shirt. The girl was adorable and could cook, but uh... She didn't know what to think as Sam continued, "You're... B-bound to know a few things about him, the two of you having grown up together and whatnot..."
"... Sure...?" Diana knew she was gonna regret agreeing to this. If this was leading where she thought it was leading, she should've probably nipped in the bud before it got too far. Then again, if there was a faint chance Vesna wasn't coming around, maybe Sam could be a good backup or rebound? Hell, she really didn't know what to do about the situation. She wasn't used to people asking her about Vic, seeing as the kid was the nerd of their little group of kids.
Sam twiddled her thumbs and asked, "What does he usually like to do...? Like... Walks, chatting alone, that kind of thing...?"
Di blanked again and narrowed her lips. She covered her mouth and snorted. Sammy blushed, clearly embarrassed, while the Romanian Sergeant giggled uncontrollably. Oh, this was precious. A young, nerdy Chinese girl with glasses was after her childhood friend. It was almost too adorable to bear. Sam asked, "What? Don't tell me you h-have feelings for him, too or something!"
"PFFF, HAHAHAHA!" The girl hunched over, laughing so loud she woke Dushman up suddenly enough to cause him to fall off the couch. She wiped the mirth-filled tears out of her eyes, then said, "Oh, sweetie, no... Vic's like a brother to me and he openly told me a while back I'm a cool older sister. We've got zero interest in each-other... Sweet of you to ask, though."
Sam visibly relaxed at that, while Dushman grumbled and walked over to his dorm. Diana looked to the Marine and asked, "Sleepy still, Devil Dog?"
"Mmmhm..." He grunted affirmatively, before entering his dorm room and slamming the door shut behind him. Alex audibly yelped from inside, voice muffled, before he walked out with his kit on. He chuckled at Dushman's antics, waved at the girls and paused as he saw Sammy blushing. Both girls paused, however, when they saw something on top of Alex's head.
"My brother in Christ, are you wearing fucking cat ears?" Diana inquired. She paused as she saw them twitch, the confusion on good ol' Ryan's face palpable. Sam covered her mouth and hid behind the kitchen island as she burst into a giggling fit. Alex felt the top of his head and tugged at the ears, before blanking and excusing himself. He dashed to the bathroom.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-" The boy audibly screamed.
"FUCKING SHUT UP!" Dushman gave his groggy reply.
"PFff... Fuck me..." Diana whispered to herself, "Chaotic as hell..." and she looked over the side of the counter. Sammy began pulling herself together from her laughing fit. She pulled herself up with one hand and turned back to Diana, while the girl leaned her head on one hand, tilting it slightly to the right as she asked, "So, you wanted to ask me for advice on asking Vic out?" with a very smug tone. Sammy blushed and started stammering, causing Diana to giggle, "It's alright, Sam... Kinda happy Vic has people around that care for him like that... The hell do you even see in him, though?"
"I mean..." Sammy rubbed the back of her neck, slightly embarrassed, "He's sweet, he's got a certain aura about him." and, upon realizing what she'd just done, she and Diana both giggled. She murmured, "Eheh... Pardon the pun..." and she took a moment to think, "He's cute and welcoming. Honestly, there's just... Something about him in there, even now, when he's hurting. It's part of the reason I want to confess now. Try to help him heal, in case..." She hesitated. She was about to say 'in case Vesna didn't come by'. But that was as unlikely as her actually winning.
"Much as I'd love to tell you not to bother, we don't really know if Vesna's ever going to drop in... And I want Vic to be happy. Bastard's been the guy keeping me and several other girls safe in the Orphanage until we all came of age to go free," Diana stated firmly, "Maybe you can be... I hate to call it as it is, Sam, but you'd probably be a good backup. Cute, nerdy, which is his style, and an actually decent housewife, from what I can tell..."
And Sam's face glowed redder than the average tomato. The girl whimpered, voice echoing like a kettle left to boil overnight. Diana chuckled at the sight, then whispered to herself, "So, the great Lieutenant Samantha Lee is as much a girl as any other," as she hummed and started thinking for ways to help her newfound friend properly confess to Vic. Honestly, her best bet was probably just a straight-up confession. So, she suggested it, "Maybe try and confess directly. If you folks know Vic, you know he's an absolute dumbass."
Sammy giggled at that, then scratched her cheek, "Yeah. It does take a lot for him to get the hint... Poor Vesna worked slogged through a lot of his crap... And, then again, so did he with her."
"I know both were dumb," Diana chuckled, "Kind of expected it of Vic, not of the girl he likes..."
"Birds of a feather..." Joked Sam as she crossed her arms, face still red. She looked at Diana and asked, "So, you're... Saying I should just tell him?"
Diana offered her a calm nod and leaned her head on her hand. She smirked and pointed at the pot. Sam yelped and turned to see it nearly boiling over. Plucking up a wooden spoon, she put it over the pot and sighed in relief, murmuring something in Chinese as she sat herself down. Diana chuckled. Lieutenant Samantha 'Dragon Girl' Lee, eh? Vic had exaggerated a bit about her.
The girl seemed to panic for a moment, considering the situation. That she needed a little to think, Diana understood. She seemed like a genuinely kind young woman who only wanted to help a good friend of hers. Diana got the vibe, but she genuinely didn't feel any sort of attraction to Vic. He was definitely more like a sibling to her than anything. She paused as she saw Sam's expression change from worry to determination. She spoke half-heartedly, "Okay... I'll do it later today... We still have to prepare for the raid on the Docks..."
"Take your sweet time," Chuckled Diana. She hummed and paused at the door opened.
Jim and Hassan walked inside, carrying buckets of ammunition. Hassan said, "It's surprisingly easy to make Gunpowder. Even better to know the exact amount of gunpowder necessary to properly reload our rounds..." as he set a bucket of 7,62x54mm rimmed down. Next to it, he put down one of 5,56x39mm, one of 9x19mm Parabellum and, from Jim's hands, he put down 6,5mm for their rifles and .50 cal for the MG on the Mastiff. He spoke, "It's a shame we couldn't exactly reload spent RPGs, but if you give me half-a-day and enough metal, I can probably make a few HEAT and anti-infantry warheads."
"Petru's gonna appreciate having the extra killing potential," Diana quipped, grinning.
"Really going at it to keep us loaded, eh, Hass?" Sam quipped as she turned back to finish cooking. The young woman stirred in the pot, while the two men nodded and moved the stuff over farther from the door. Jim, meanwhile, looked over at Sam and smiled as the girl kept cooking, a tinge of red in his cheeks. Diana snorted and covered her mouth, murmuring something to herself about 'how many love triangles were in the Misfits'...
"... Huh, wait, where is Vic?"
Vic, Paul and Saila were returning from the patrol. The two lads had been forced to carry Saila's 'kill' as they walked. A deer that Saila had casually just cut up and turned into various cuts of meat for them to eat over the next few days. Vic murmured to himself, "I swear to god, we're never letting Saila walk off alone again..." as he hefted the bag with the deer's ribs slightly higher onto his shoulder.
Saila hummed, meanwhile, a smile on her face as she strutted forward, a song playing in the back of her mind. Paul let out a low growl and stated, "Agreed..." as he hefted two bigger bags that contained the 'legs' of the creature, some of the more important cuts. Saila giggled at the boys, looking back at them and still maintaining her innocent smile as they reached the door.
Once the door opened, Vic called out, "We're home. Open the freezer, please..." as he and Paul marched to the kitchen. Sam and Diana blanked for a moment, watching the two boys casually sliding the fresh cuts of meat into the large freezer. Vic looked to Sam and said, "Sai actually went hunting... Found us and asked us to help carry this stuff over..."
"Well... We're not running out of meat any time soon..." Sam murmured. She hummed and smirked at Vic, "Handling meat more often, Vic?"
"Harr-di-fuckin'-harr," He snorted and looked to Sam. Diana, meanwhile, chuckled, to which he jabbed a thumb back and said, "Ask her that next time. She's been through five guys already, and I don't mean the restaurant..." before ducking as the girl swore a nice little string of swears in Romanian at him and threw a skillet. He smirked at his childhood friend, who stuck her tongue out at him, before making an L-shape with his index and thumb. She showed a certain mid-digit on both hands, garnering laughter out of the rest of the team.
Alex walked out of the bathroom, finally, animal ears and tail drooping. Both Paul and Vic noticed the sad man that had animal traits. Paul was the first to ask, "What in God's golden fucking asshole did they do to you, Al?" before turning to Sam, "Did Dushman do this to him? Cuz I love the guy like a brother, but this shit just ain't funny. I mean, what did he stick up Alex's a-"
"They're real..." Whined the guy. Paul and Victor did a double take and looked to him, while Saila immediately squealed and giggled, rushing up to him and patting him on the head. Shoulders slumped, the Pararescueman seemed to have surrendered to his fate. Vic and Paul looked to one-another, before both burst into actual, genuine and hearty laughter. Diana and Sam quickly joined, while Saila was quick to tug at Alex's arm, causing the boy to blush. "You really think Anja will like them...?"
Saila nodded, smiling warmly at the boy. He sighed and looked at himself in the hallway mirror. Straightening his posture a little, he smiled awkwardly and said, "Guess they ain't so bad..." before turning to Vic and Paul while they still laughed. He crossed his arms to his chest and snorted, before laughing with them. There was something weirdly uncanny valley about seeing a friend become an anime catboy.
Vic and Paul both sighed and sat down on the couch, while Alex went to help Sammy cook. One of them turned the TV on and started flicking through the channels as Diana approached. Plopping herself down next to Vic, she sighed and asked her childhood friend, "So, Vic. For real, any cute girls around that you've been eyeing?" words which caused both Vic and Sam to double over.
Without peeling his eyes away from the TV, Paul said, "You remember team RWBY? The blonde, Yang, has been making sweet eyes at him." which caused both Romanians to double over. Diana grinned, while Vic arched a brow at his friend, surprised he'd even blurt that out. Paul looked to him and said, "Dude. Really. You haven't noticed her, either? Yang's into you."
"This motherfucker hitched another blonde!" Laughed Diana, patting Vic on the shoulder. The boy rolled his eyes.
He then looked to Paul and replied, "You're one to talk, man."
"Huh?" Paul arched a brow at him.
"Let's see, when one of my best friends is one to mention people who are dumbasses about love, he dares forget about Katja, his dear childhood friend, and now Blake Belladonna, the ever-aloof bookworm is after his dog-ass," He quipped. Paul looked at Vic as if he'd just pissed in his cereal for a moment. Just absolute dumbfound surprise. He blinked.
Sam started, "Uh... Fellas...?" causing the two to look to her. She jabbed a thumb toward the door. There stood Yang Xiao-Long, face redder than a tomato. Both guys let out a short 'oh' as they watched the blonde with steam coming out of her ears. Vic looked to her, arching a brow, all while Sam seemed to excuse herself, Saila and Alex out of the place.
"Hey, Yang? Tell me, am I right or not? Or, no, better yet, tell Paul if I am or not... I gotta go re-pack my belts..." Vic requested as he stood to his feet. Paul was about to protest, but he watched Vic step off anyhow. Sighing and face-palming, the boy leaned back into his couch and shot an apologetic look toward Yang. The blonde shrugged it off, watching Vic walk toward one of the ammo buckets to start reloading his belts.
Yang sighed, turned to Paul and stated, "Y'know, completely disregarding previous discussions which I will not answer to even if I have a gun pointed at the back of my head, he's right about Blake. She's into you, man..." before noting the pure confusion in the boy's eyes. She crossed her arms to her chest. "My man, she genuinely likes you! I swear it to ya!"
"... Nah, we're good friends and book buddies, but that's about it..." He replied, blanking on any point that might've confirmed Yang's and Vic's statements.
Yang blinked, arms falling by her hips, "Dude. She gets completely and totally flustered whenever she's around you..."
"Might be she's scared," Paul shot back, his face a blank expression. Sam snorted, as did Vic and Diana.
"... She dreamed of you," Yang was starting to feel like she should rip her hairs out. She didn't know just how blatantly stupid boys could be when it came to love. She was aware that this group probably didn't see much chance in their love being requited by the ones they pined for, well... Not fully, anyhow? She didn't really know their full dynamics, but even she was dumbfound by Paul being so in denial.
Paul shrugged it off, "Maybe you misunderstood it."
"She moaned your freaking name in her sleep, dude... I was awake enough to hear it." She shot back, annoyed, while the others began to uncontrollably giggle. This was getting god-damn annoying, Yang thought. Paul's cheeks glowed a tint red, but he still seemed in denial. He shook his head, disbelieving, before Yang yelled at him "Moaning! SHE WAS HAVING A WET DREAM! ABOUT YOU!"
That sent the group around them spiraling into laughing fits, while Paul blanked and said, "I don't believe it..." causing Yang to grab her head and scream aloud. She swore, the boys of this squad were just freaking idiots. She pinched her brow, waved it off and walked away, casting a quick glance at Vic while she stormed out. Saila, meanwhile, had hunched over, laughing her behind off as she leaned against the countertop.
Vic himself was laughing, but pondering what Paul had just told him. Why? Why would Yang even...?
No, no point to entertain the thought...
Vera looked at herself in the mirror, a frown adorning her face. Standing there in only her sports bra and shorts, the girl looked at blue spots on her stomach, arms and legs. She caressed a scar on her stomach, just below her belly button and murmured something to herself in Russian, trembling as memories played in a blur in her thoughts. She shook her head, grabbing her head as she leaned against the counter not to collapse, tears welling in her eyes. Her heart raced. She felt sick to her stomach, ready to collapse.
Why had it all happened? Why to them? Why did they all have to undergo the nightmare of the Collapse? Was it some sick twist of fate? Had God truly abandoned them? He wouldn't have let the pain that was inflicted upon her or her sister and friends. Perhaps she deserved what happened to her. She had been too trusting, a simple child, even at the age of twenty-one, to have so easily believed the sweet lies of both the Regime and of her comrades. Sans one, they were all...
She fell to her knees, tears welling in her eyes. She hugged herself, hearing their laughter in her ears, feeling their hands all-
A knock took her out of her stupor, startling her and causing a silent yelp to come out of her mouth. Katja Zielinska, the new Polish addition to the team, called out with a faint trace of worry in her voice, "Vera, you okay? You done with the shower, Przyjaciółka? I've been holding it in for half an hour now!" and she knocked on the door again, more gently this time.
Vera took a deep breath to steady her voice and swallowed empty, before calling out, "In a minute...!" as she stood to her feet. She went, grabbed set of casual clothes, a hoodie and some baggy pants she'd brought in specifically to have a change and quickly donned them over herself, hiding her injuries. She walked to the door and propped the door open, surprising Katja slightly. She spoke with a bit more of an angry tone than she intended, "It's..." before shaking her head, "Sorry... I'll just..." and sidestepping Katja. The Polak watched the girl disappear in her room and frowned.
Vesna had noticed it, too. The young blonde narrowed her lips and stood to her feet, nodding to Katja. The girl entered the bathroom and closed the door, while Ayesha and Lita both exchanged glances and Anja sighed. They were preparing to eat lunch, after all. Ves walked up to the door of Vera's room and knocked quickly. She'd understood when her sister requested that she get her own separate little bedroom, she'd understood when Vera told her that she preferred to change alone(even if that roused suspicion).
She knocked on the door, then leaned her ear against it. She heard Vera's usual music playing loudly in her headphones, muffled by both the door and the muffs themselves. Rolling her eyes, the blonde pushed the door's handle down and opened it, walking in. She saw Vera huddled up in her bed, blanket covering her. She looked up from her phone and her lips narrowed to the point they were razor thin. She set her phone aside and took her headphones off.
Vesna sighed, "What happened...?"
"Nothing..." Vera replied, looking her sister/cousin in the eye. Noticing that she didn't seem to really believe her, Vera stood up and walked up to Vesna, wrapping her arms around her and stating, "I'm okay, sis. I swear..." before looking her in the eye and offering a small smile. Vesna hesitated. She wanted to believe her sister, but they hadn't seen each-other since Ves went basic Army and Vera actually managed to get into the Spetsnaz.
Still, she wanted to trust her. Nodding, though still completely hesitant, Vesna said, "Okay. You'd probably... Tell me if there was anything wrong..."
"I would," Vera half-lied. She didn't feel like burdening Vesna with it. Poor girl was worried enough about any possible reunion with the guy she kept writing about back in 2019. How he would react, if he would be angry about her failing him. Vera knew how deeply in love the girl was, if she still couldn't forget him three, four years after they'd last seen each-other.
Vesna sighed, nodded and gave a half-hearted smile, clearly dealing with her own demons, "Okay... I'd be ready. Our op's gonna start tomorrow."
"Yeah, I'll be okay..." Vera nodded. Vesna hummed, sighed and waved goodbye before walking out of the room and slowly closing the door. She sat herself down on the couch, while Ayesha, Lita, Anja and, now, Katja looked at her with worry. None of them said anything, however. Best not to bother Vesna any further than she was. Poor girl had to run a whole goddamn squad now...
And Vera was family... Blood family... It wasn't easy.
As night fell upon Vale, in Beacon, Victor had finished up the loading procedure for his belts and had now decided to take a short walk. Mostly to clear his head, seeing as they had that big op coming up tomorrow. Sam told him that the supposed Fang operation to steal more Dust had been leaked out to a shadier part of Remnant's internet, meaning their fellow PMC may know where to look now.
Sighing, the boy stared up at the broken moon of Remnant and wondered just how... Alike... These two planets were. Just how many people lost enough from goddamn conflicts, creatures that ate people and that kind of bullshit. He sighed, rubbing his face and wondering if Vesna would even show up at all in this entire clusterfuck. He wanted her to be next to him, but at the same time, what would he do once he saw her? He had failed her. Arrived late.
He couldn't save her. Hell, he didn't so much as ask for her number or an address to send letters to after KFOR. He could've kept in contact with her, at least, but he failed even that. They were in an age where technology allowed for instantaneous communication with basically the other side of the world. He could have kept in touch with her, found a way to get her out.
Sighing, the boy let his arms hang by his sides as he stared up at the moon. Was there any point in lamenting life like this? He'd fucked up and he knew it. He'd understand if she was mad enough at him for failing. There was no point to mope about it any further, even with the foreknowledge she may not show up in the first place. Maybe they were a string of weird cosmic coincidences. Maybe whoever decided to wake him here didn't want him having any semblance of peace.
Whatever...
Sighing, the young man sat himself down on a bench nearby, watching the stars above solemnly. He had his friends back, at least. Most of them were here, with only a couple still being AWOL from this group. They might show up soon, too, he thought as he tugged at his collar. They might come and back them up. Remnant looked like it needed a lot of soldiers for their business.
Honestly, he didn't know what to make of this whole thing. Everything had been so hectic again that he barely had the time to think for himself on how this was all just... Such a mess. He rubbed his eyes and murmured to himself an old tune he'd heard from Vesna's team. 'Davai Za', he remembered. Lyubeh was one of the few good Russian bands that really didn't do propaganda until recently...
He leaned forward and pulled a photograph out of his pocket, one of the entire team, gathered a few days before they were set to leave. They were sitting around a captured cache of weapons from some Serb ultranats. He knew the photo too well, including Vesna's and his expressions, considering how close they were. Sliding the photo back into his pocket, he hummed the song still.
"Vic?"
He paused and turned at the sound of a young woman's voice, only to see Sam. He hummed and nodded, "Hey, Sam..." as he stood up. The girl shook her head as she saw he was about to salute, then started fiddling with her fingers, a little bit jittery. She shifted from one foot to the other, weirdly scared of something and very unlike herself. He turned to her, worried, then asked, "You alright, Sam?"
"Y-Yeah..." She stated, "Mind if we sit...?"
Vic shook his head. He sat himself down on the bench and scooted over a bit to let Sam sit as well. The girl did, then looked around, "Place is eerily beautiful when it's quiet like this..." She then craned her head up, murmuring "And the Moon is... So weird. What could've even broken it like that, anyhow...?" and she looked to Victor, a soft expression on her face, "You okay?"
He nodded, "Just thinking..."
"Everything's still a lot to take in, huh...?" She asked more rhetorically than anything, still fidgeting. Vic nodded, noticing the weird movements of the Lieutenant. He straightened his posture, looking at her and, even in the faint moonlight, he could see her cheeks were tinted a little red. The moonlight reflected off her green eyes and off her glasses.
"Yeah," He replied anyway, "You okay...?"
"No. N-Not really..." She answered, embarrassed. She knew this was a bad idea and she fully expected Vic to just shut her down the moment she tried anything. She wanted the answer, though. For her own sanity, for her own sake, she needed to find out if her hopes would be dashed or if she'd manage something tonight that presumably no other girl had tried.
He hummed, "You can talk to any of us, y'know? We're all in this shit together."
She nodded. No. No, they weren't really in this together. This was just a girl trying to find out if her own selfish desires were true. She shifted, uneasy, then said, "Vic, it's... Not something I can discuss with everyone around." She turned toward him, "It's why I came to find you when I realized you'd gone off alone. I wanted to talk to you directly. And it's important to me..."
He nodded, "I'm listening, then..." though he felt that he wouldn't like where this was going.
Sam looked to him, slightly trembling now. She berated herself mentally as she closed her eyes. She was a grown woman, not some prissy teen with her first crush. Well, no, she was actually both and it annoyed her to death that she still acted like a teenager around the guy she liked. Still, she needed to do this the same way she should've at the start, honestly. Breathing in and out to calm herself down, she started, "You know I quite enjoy your company, Vic. You'd think I mean 'the same as with everyone else', but... It's..."
She stood up and sighed, walking forward and looking at the skyline of Vale. She spoke on, "There's always been this feeling in the back of my mind and in my chest that there was something more behind our chats. I loved it when you came to talk to me, to laugh with me, when we were doing things together... I adored the kindness you showed me despite me being a fricking Chink Commie that came outta left field and became our little experimental unit's CO... You were always there, this peppy fellow with a jaunt in his step even early on, when we were all getting used to each-other's bullshit. You kept a sort of light on when I was thinking that our commands made a mistake."
Vic snorted. Early days were rough for the Misfits. Sam knew this. She turned to him, hands behind her back as she spoke, a soft, calm expression on her face. Her mind was a rough sea, though, honestly. It was a mess. She continued, walking slowly toward him, "While we were all fairly professional when the 'fighting' started, or when we were going out on missions, I always felt like I could come talk to you over everyone else, Vic. That you'd listen to my stupid, silly complaints about ammo issues, or req form fails, or... Whatever. That we could laugh and that I could listen to you when you needed it, despite you rarely needing it..."
She licked her lips, trembling, "... You were always there. And I only realized it when we were all split and we had to go back to our respective units." She walked up to him and looked him in the eye as he stood up, "Vic, I'm... I think I..." She shrunk, meek, "I might be in love with you..." and she saw the surprise immediately visible on his face... Followed by what seemed to be remorse.
"... Sam..." He sighed deeply. He knew he hated the way this whole talk was going. And now he needed to find a way to let her down easily. As that thought crossed his mind, Sam saw the frown and was aware of what it was about. Her heart visibly sank, a frown appearing on her face as well. Vic thought it best to rip the bandage off fast and replied, "I appreciate you coming clean, Sam, but... You know I don't reciprocate the feelings. You're an amazing girl, a good friend and a great listener, but... Vesna's been the sole person to make me feel anything akin to love when I looked at her... I've been praying to God she shows up ever since you all started dropping in..."
"W-what if she-" Sam paused and shook her head, feeling her heart catch in her throat, "No... Sorry... I can't say that..."
"It's... It's fine... Even if she doesn't show up, though, I... I've only got eyes for her, Sam. I can't sugarcoat it... I'd rather go at it alone than just..." He sighed and averted his eyes, unable to look the poor girl in the eye. Fuck, he hated this so much. Sammy was a great friend, one of his best friends, god dammit. She was family. What the hell did she even see in someone like him...?
"... Heh..." The girl let out a short, sad laugh, rubbing the back of her neck and looking at the floor. Her voice cracked, "I expected it, honestly. You're also loyal to a fault, Vic... Ves is very lucky..." and she turned to leave. She spoke softly, on the verge of tears, "I'm gonna... Go..." and Vic wanted to stop her, but she ran off. He bit his lower lip, then saw Paul standing to his right.
"Vic, I-" Paul started, filled with remorse, too, but the Romanian cut him off with a wave of his hand.
"Go, dude," He gave his best friend a sad smile, "I'm not the one who just put their heart on a silver platter and had it ripped apart..."
Paul frowned, then nodded and ran to find Sam, leaving Vic to ponder the situation alone. He ran and ran toward their cottage, stopping only as he heard the muffled weeping of a certain young woman nearby. He walked over toward the noise, finding the girl curled up in a ball near by their door, crying. His shoulders sagged as he walked up to her, then sat himself down and greeted a quiet, "Hey, Sam."
"Hey, Paul..." She replied, her voice weak, "I'm such a fucking idiot..."
"Nah," He replied calmly, leaning his back against the house's wall, "Vic is just... Y'know, I wanted to tell you the truth a while back. And I'm sure Jim did as well," He turned to face her as she looked up at him, tears flowing down her cheeks in rivers. He pulled a pack of paper napkins and handed it to her. She nodded in thanks and took it, then blew her nose. He chuckled sadly and said, "You said it yourself... He's loyal to a fault."
She laughed, "Good thing you didn't tell me the truth, else I'd've been pissed..." and got a laugh out of Paul as well with that comment, though it was more subdued. She looked at herself, at her hands, then at the sky and whispered, "I just wanted to know his feelings..." before letting out a deep, annoyed and disappointed sigh, "To know for sure..."
"And now, you know..." Paul sighed, "I'm sorry..."
"Don't be," She replied, wiping her tears, "I did see it coming, so it... Isn't hurting as bad as it would've otherwise." And she paused. Even through the tears, she found a moment to let out a short laugh which surprised Paul. She curled further into a ball and buried her mouth between her knees, murmuring, "This is gonna make things awkward between me and him for the next couple days... And we have the damn raiding op..."
The Hungarian stated, "Vic's gonna be professional about it. You know him."
"Yeah," Sam sighed, then smiled weakly, "Yeah, I do... Still, fuck..."
"Relax. Give it a couple days and you two will be back to your old selves in no time," Paul quipped, then stood up, extending his hand to her, "Or you'll both be better off now that you got that weight off your chest and he's learned about it." And he waited for her reaction. She sighed and her smile grew. She took his hand and stood to her feet, before crossing her arms.
"Hope we'll be back to semi-normal, yeah," She nodded, "Thanks, Paul."
"Hey, no problem. What're friends for?" He shrugged, smiling.
Sam chuckled, then nodded, "Oh, by the way, any news from Katja?"
Paul blinked, then replied with a low voice, "Last we talked was before Omsk... I think she was preparing to go on Leave. I do miss her, though, I'll admit," before noticing Sam's look. The girl chuckled, looking at him with the same look a big sister would give the younger brother who admitted something silly. He blinked and asked, "Something the matter...?" before getting a light punch in the shoulder. She turned to leave while Paul asked, "Sam? Sam, what the hell? Sam!? What was that just now, Sam!?" and he followed her.
Oh, joy, from sweet to teasing... Paul thought.
For Yang, who had seen it all from the shadows, however, this was an annoying eye-opener...