Vic had sat himself back down on the couch, slumping with his back against it as he stared up at the ceiling. That had been a particularly exhausting outing, what with having to stop a little altercation between others. He hummed and looked over as he saw Mihai stepping out, gear on his back, before asking, "Where you headed to, brother?" to which the Paratrooper looked at him.

Mihai sighed deeply, relieved and clutching his chest, whispering, "Scared the shit outta me..." before looking to his brother and answering, "I was going to move my things over to the apartment in Vale. This place is overly full as it is and Lieutenant Lee just bought the units a floor below said apartment, as I've heard," while pointing to his backpack. Vic smiled and gave him a nod, remembering that that was where Vera had gone off to. And where Vera also stocked a lot of the Misfit family's booze.

The PKM Gunner chuckled and said, "Alright, man. Means you're going into that QRF Sam wanted to form..." before leaning forward and plucking up a pretzel from the table. Falschirmjaeger man gave his brother a nod and a wave, before stepping off. He saw the others out and about, too, either on patrol or just chatting, before he caught a ride with the Russian helicopter pilot they'd acquired as one of their own squadmates.

He paused as he saw Fedor and Oriel, AKA his fellow paratrooper from another military and said paratrooper's childhood friend, eyeing a pair of members from the Valkyrie Group as they walked around, hauling some sorta box toward their dorm. He hummed and chose to ignore it for now, plopping himself down on the canvas seat and setting his backpack aside.

Landing upon the rooftop, Mihai turned toward Palagin and called out, "Spasibo, comrade!" before handing him some lien and jumping out, Palagin snorted, then laughed with his mates as he gave a quick salute to the Romanian Bundeswehr soldier. The moment Mihai got out, the chopper lifted off and flew back toward Beacon, leaving the young soldier with his thoughts.

He stared out at the megalopolis that was Vale, crossing his arms to his chest. He frowned and sat down, leaning back and looking around as he thought of what had gotten him here in the first place. Running from his home country because his parents had apparently pissed off the wrong people, then losing his parents just as he went into military training, becoming a paratrooper, the biggest threat country in Europe outright collapsing after a war they failed against their neighboring brother nation.

God, what the fuck had happened to him? If his parents had been normal, or at least if the SRI didn't really give a damn about them knowing some of the shadier government dealings, they would've all still been in Romania, Vic and him would've probably been playing football or something right now and they wouldn't be freaking dead, unless both of them joined the military.

Honestly, the military bit seemed the more likely option. The Toma family had never been built for normalcy. Not since their great great grandpa's escapades in World War 1. He sighed, stood to his feet and walked over to the entrance, a maintenance door. Descending from the cluttered roof and into the main halls through said door, the man walked over to the apartment door and propped it open.

His Scroll had been given the key to the place, obviously, so the lock probably popped open the moment he'd hit the button to open the device. He entered and found the place nice and tidy. All clean, beautiful and the likes. A nifty little apartment with nice furniture, a view to the outside and a name pinned to it. Nikos Towers, eh? He chuckled, then paused as he looked over to the right.

A beautiful woman with long, jet-black hair caught in a ponytail, deep blue eyes and one helluva body. Her form was visible thanks to the tight military green shirt and, even with the EMR pants, he could tell how she looked under. Dog tags hanged like a necklace as she leaned over the table, a bottle of Vodka in hand and two more emptied ones in the trash bin.

He found himself mesmerized for a moment. A pure beauty like that was rare, so his sole thought was 'she must be one of the bitchy types', exacerbated by the fact she was a Russian. Then again, none of the trio of female Russians he'd met so far seemed awful. Quite the opposite, Victor's fiancee seemed like one of the kindest women to ever walk either world, while Lita and Ayesha were her friends.

No, Mesmerized also didn't seem to cover it. Smitten. Smitten was better.

Well, to break the Ice... He cleared his throat, causing the black-haired young woman to turn toward him, starting with a, "Yes-?" in a fairly inquisitive tone. She, however, stopped the moment they locked eyes. She was even more beautiful when looking at her from the front, he thought to himself. Meanwhile, a faint flush seemed to appear on her cheeks.

... And to say Vera wasn't feeling a mutual attraction would've been a lie. She stared at the black-haired, green-eyed Romanian, who had a slight stubble goatee and was built pretty well. She blinked, then hummed and remembered, "You're Victor's brother, aren't you...?" only to get a nod from him. She then offered, "Care to join me for a drink...? It was getting boring here."

"And you must be Vesna's sister, then... Sure. You got apple schnapps?" He asked as he tossed his bag aside and sat down in front of her. Propping open the fridge, which was full of food and drinks, the young woman handed him the Schnapps. He thanked her, then popped the bottle's cap off and took a swig, a shiver running down his spine. He let out a breath of contentment, murmuring, "Fuck me, I missed it."

"Heh," Vera snorted, "I feel you. Haven't had this good a drink since I graduated Spetsnaz school..." before her expression seemed to turn a hint sorrowful. The man took off his jacket and set it over the chair, then looked at her with a hint of concern. Noting this and still sober enough to, the young woman told him, "I'll be alright... It's why I'm drinking in the first place."

"You do look worse for wear, no offense," Mihai replied, taking a swig from his Schnapps. "What's the deal? Your sister and friends mentioned you were in Black League captivity for a while, but that's all they knew. That's all you told them... So..." He motioned to the other two empty bottles in the trash and the third, near-empty one, before asking, "Why the Russian breakfast?"

She snorted, "... Just Forget Medicine, as we call it..."

"Oh, boy. That bad?" He asked, looking at the girl take another swig of her drink. She nodded and sighed, leaning back into her seat, to which he told her, "I'm really sorry for what happened..." while being possibly capable of hazarding a guess, considering how Russians really were. Nobody like her had ever gotten out without a few extra scars that the Ruski likes to give women.

"Why are you apologizing? You weren't part of the people who did this to me," She shot back, looking at him.

He hummed and replied, "Because nobody should have to go through that kind of nightmare..." before taking a swig of his drink. Vera quirked a brow up at him, surprised, before he told her, "It's only natural. You're family now, technically speaking. My brother's fiancee is related to you, after all..." as he scratched his cheek. He sighed and said, "Sorry again, I probably shouldn't be... Y'know..."

"Nah. It's fine..." She sighed, "Thanks. Least there's sane people left in the West."

"Heh," He chuckled awkwardly, memories of his time near the Kazakhstani border and near Ichkeria coming back. He hadn't been a particularly nice guy, he thought as he scratched the back of his neck. He then told her, "We're few and far between, but we exist. I'm sure there's some sane Russians out there, too. I mean, if you, your sister and friends are anything to go by..."

"Yeah, some," She sighed, annoyed, "I was more wary of you Westerners because of how many idiots I saw supporting us on the internet... It was infuriating."

"You're telling me," He nodded, "I've met a few of the bastards myself. They were lucky I'm military, else I'd probably have beaten the shit out of them. Especially some of the German politicians," which seemed to garner a small smile from the black-haired beauty. He chuckled and shook his head, "Though there'll be assholes everywhere. It's just the sad reality of things nowadays..."

"Yeah," She let out a growl, then rubbed her face and took another long, hearty swig from the bottle, outright finishing it and throwing it in the trash. She immediately plucked up another bottle, lifted it and uncapped it in one fell swoop, before downing a fifth of it in one go. Mihai felt a little awkward right now. He could tell the girl was hurting, but didn't really know what to say.

He scratched his chin, then offered, "Now that the Russian propaganda's faded and your country's gone, I have zero doubts the whole bullshit veil of Russian superiority has fallen. Everyone sees the Bear for what it was:A malnourished beast that bit off more than it could chew and died off exactly like that, choking on its aspirations as a world power..."

"Hah," She snorted derisively, "I wish... If that was the case, maybe we'll see the USSR being as demonized as the Nazis are. It's the idea that led to the Ukraine clusterfuck..."

"Hope so," He hummed. He saw her confirm it with another tilt of her head, before she threw back another whole-ass half a bottle at that point. He winced, scratched his cheek and murmured, "Damn. Nothing I can make you smile with, huh?" to which she shook her head. He hummed, rubbed his eyes, then sighed and threw back another hit from his own drink. He asked, "Can I at least keep you company so you aren't drinking alone?"

She hummed, thought for a moment, then nodded, "Sure..." only to continue her bottle-cleaning behavior. By the time she was at her fifth and Mihai had finished his first bottle, the man noted she was actually getting tipsy. She was wobbling on her chair now, that she was halfway through the first bottle, with Mihai worrying about a possible liver failure on the horizon.

It was when she leaned forward a little too hard, nearly falling flat on her nose, that he caught her and said, "Oookay, maybe you've had enough to drink for the night..." as he stood up and held her. She seemed to struggle for a moment, telling her, "I'm taking you somewhere where you can lay down. This ain't good for your health and I'm not keen to see how liver failure looks on a Russian."

"Noooo," She almost mewled, "I haven't forgotten yet~!"

A hint of a blush crossed his cheeks, but faded as he grew serious, lifting her in a bridal carry, "You had enough."

"Nooooo~..." She whined.

"C'mon. Take your pick. Couch, or your dorm?" He asked, trying not to make a reference to beds right now, for any listening ears.

"Drink..." She replied, annoyed.

He rolled his eyes, "I told you I'm not keen to see your liver do front flips..."

"Just give it to meee~!" She whined again. The man blushed.

He scoffed, then chuckled, "While I appreciate the double-entendre, no. What are you, a Husky with all that whining?"

"Just the bottle, please~!" She begged more.

... With another roll of his eyes, he said, "Fine," as he grabbed the fifth bottle and handed it to her. He then told her, "You're going to be drinking that, then going to sleep after, while I set up my own room. Got it?" to which she gave a quick nod. The man sighed deeply, then carried her over to her room while she was drinking, to set her in her own bed and go deal with preparing his.

... God, why was she so cute?


Back at Beacon, later that day

Vic hummed, playing a game on his Scroll while the others were away. He quietly hummed 'Regiments are Marching', a Russian tune that'd become linked with the Sloboda Rossiya Legion, the Free Russians. Basically the modern White Army, to some extent. He'd served with some of the newly-rebuilt divisions while they were scouring Russia for its leftover Nukes and, of course, Ayesha and Lita were both part of them. Terrifyingly effective, the Russians were when led properly.

He looked over to the door as Robert stepped in, returning from his patrol and setting his M4 and helmet somewhere safe, before taking his armor off and going over to the fridge. He plucked up a can of coke and opened it. He set his phone aside and leaned back, waving to Rob. The American MP nodded and took a sip, before commenting, "... Y'know, you morons have been much more calm than when we were in KFOR... I've only had to cover for Hassan and Ayesha once. Either you all are good enough at hiding when you fuck like rabbits, or you're all actually sane now," with the most pleased expression Vic had seen from him to date:A relaxed, joking smile and shoulders without much tension

"Guess the more lax terms makes us more relaxed, too. Less likely to 'break any rules', so to speak? Plus, I'm trying to make sure Ves is well enough before I make any extra moves..." Vic snorted, quirking up a brow at the man. Robert shrugged and Vic added more quietly, "Death also has a way of opening your eyes to certain things, Rob..." before he picked up his phone again. Robert gave an understanding nod at that, then sipped from his coke can again. Vic asked him, "You alright?"

"I got Coke, good food, a warm bed and only a mild migraine," The MP shot back, "Never better."

Vic shook his head, "I meant in the Post-Collapse sense," as he stood up, putting his phone in his jacket's pocket. Robert hummed, his face now impassive. He gave a light shake of his head, to which Vic nodded and sighed, stating, "Yeah. Despite appearances, none of us are doing hot, eh?" as he looked over at Rob. He leaned himself against the kitchen counter next to the Military Policeman, who quirked a brow up at him.

"The fact we drove our shrink to alcoholism should hint to that, dumbass," Rob snorted, then sipped from his coke again. Vic let out a short laugh, before Rob added with a more somber tone, "My folks and sister know I'm dead. They probably already held a funeral for me. You, your platoon, the others? Maybe, they got military funerals. Fuck, man, we're all practically Living Dead. And if NATO pops up? What are we going to tell our families when we get to go home, because they sure as shit must have a way back? 'Oh, hi, I was dead and kinda out on vacation, but I'm back now'? God, that's gonna fuck every family member of ours up..."

"Yeah," The Romanian let out a sigh, scratching his chin. "Thank god I'm technically still an orphan, eh?" He then joked, which caused Rob to furrow his brows, glaring at the young Romanian. He chuckled awkwardly and waved it off, rubbing his eyes afterward. He told Robert, "I'm sure that, once the shock wears off, you'll all get warm welcomes from your families."

"Sure as shit hope so," Rob shot back, sighing, "Anyways. Back to making sure nobody's fucking on-duty. Take care, gypsy," and bumping Vic on the shoulder with his elbow. He walked off, emptying and then crushing the coke can, before tossing it into the recycle bin. Vic gave him a nod, before turning to the fridge and grabbing some cold water. The Yanks really scared him with putting water in the fridge, but, oh well, it made sense to keep it cool, he supposed.

Pouring himself some in the glass, he took a long sip of water and scratched an itch he had under his chin, while thinking that, yes, home was relatively close. Well, 'home'. The planet they were born on, not their home proper. For him, home was where he was, with his wife-to-be and friends. He wandered over to a cabinet to grab some snacks, then sat himself back down on the couch with his water and food to eat and just relax overall.

He turned on the holovision and leaned back, watching the news for now. Something about more Dust transports going missing, clashes between unknown, armed individuals and even rumors from the mountain villages of some sort of newfound hostile unit trying to raid them. News of the Scavs had gotten to Vale proper, it seemed, as the silver-haired, amber-eyed newscaster clad in black and purple spoke, "... Today, another attack perpetrated by the newly-discovered Scav Gangs has damaged the defensive walls of a village deep within the Forever Falls, civilians and Huntsmen in the area were injured and even Grimm were seen roaming around." Whilst images of said Grimm played.

"The Council has not yet announced measures on how to deal with these Scavs, however news of the Atlesian Valkyrie PMC and a newly-formed unit of similar stature cooperating against them has been circulating the net, with one village under the Rosa-Saluzzo family of Winemakers already showing footage of these men and women," She then reported. Images of Vic, Sam and the others lighting Scav units up with extreme prejudice played, though they were censored. The newscaster reappeared, the image minimizing to her right as she spoke, "Rumors of Vale's own Private Military Company, the Misfits PMC, have been making the rounds on Forums as well. While we have yet to get any definitive statement from the council, we can certainly hope and be glad that our citizens in the Outer Villages have the protection of our personal troops. This has been Lisa Lavender with the Vale News Network, signing off..."

"Huh. Guess we're becoming famous...?" Vic murmured, a bit surprised, then heard a door creak open.

Whiskey called out, "We're hoooome~!" jovially. Vesna repeated after her, more meekly and awkwardly. Whisk entered first, a smirk on her face as she noticed Vic and called out, "Vicky! Just the man I and Ves were lookin' for!" proudly. Vic seemed a little confused. He was about to tell them about the news report, but Whiskey said, "I got Ves a new outfit! She said she wanted to change out her EMR for something more... Personal. And I said sure! I also knew how much you liked my outfit, hehe~... So..."

She pulled Vesna into view, causing the shy blonde to let out a short yelp. Her face flushed, Vesna looked over at Vic as the man himself looked back, eyes widening. The blushing blonde that was to be his wife was now clad in a green shirt with EMR on the sleeves, a pair of tactical gloves left over from her old gear, spats that heavily accentuated a certain part of her form to the point Vic had to quickly avert his gaze and knee-high gaiters, also greenish. They were held up by kneepads meant to allow her to shoot better crouched, while the gaiters also covered the top part of her combat boots.

"Well~?" Whiskey asked in a teasing, smug manner, "Whaddaya think~?" while Vesna was playing with her ponytail, obviously embarrassed by the whole affair. Still, she looked upon her husband-to-be. He stared, mouth agape and a healthy red tint to his face, eyes repeatedly darting up and down. Whiskey smirked at the reaction, knowing full well what Vic was probably thinking.

'ohshitohfuckohshitohfuckohshitohFUCK, WHISKEY, WHY DID YOU MAKE HER EVEN CUTER AND HOTTER?!' was, in fact, what Victor was thinking. Exactly as Whiskey had obviously assumed. Vic, meanwhile, was trying to find the words to reply and drawing a massive blank. He swallowed empty, feeling a little something become an issue down below, while Ves seemed to become all the more embarrassed, her face red. Shitshitshit, he better decide what to say quick. He took a moment, breathed in and out to calm his nerves, then finally found a few words. Specifically, he spoke, "Whiskey, I don't know how in God's name you managed it, but you've made the most beautiful woman in the universe even more attractive than she already was."

... To say Vesna sounded like a boiling tea pot would be an understatement. She let out a sharp squeak, covering her face, while Whiskey cracked a smile wide enough for her face to hurt a little. She bowed to excuse herself, then stepped out and covered her face, letting out a short, embarrassed laugh at the man's words toward his wife. The Dutch woman murmured to herself, "Well fucking done, Whiskey, you dun did the thing..." before stepping away to grab a drink.

Back inside the house, Vic stood up and walked over toward Ves, who was still kind of in a state of stupor due to the suddenness of Vic's statement. He hugged her, beaming, then chuckled as he patted her head. He could see the fox tail wagging behind her, denoting her happiness, while her ears drooped while he was giving her pats. He chuckled to himself and murmured, "I'm the luckiest man alive."

Ves let out another quick whine, burying her face in his shoulder out of embarrassment, tail wagging that much faster. The young man laughed at his fiancee's quote-unquote 'misfortune' as he patted her, whispering to her, "You're the most adorable girl in the world. And, by god, you're beautiful no matter what you wear, but this just hit it out of the park."

"W-Whiskey's to thank for t-that..." Murmured the girl, still incredibly embarrassed as she and Vic gently bobbed from left to right. She was still embarrassed and the compliments Vic was giving only helped to increase it. Despite it all, Ves did enjoy them, always looking for more from the man she loved. She held onto him, face still buried in his shoulder.

He kissed the top of her head, causing her to let out another short whine, before Vic whispered to her, "You still make everything come together like the supermodel you are, moya liubimaya. I'm the luckiest bastard alive just for having you around..." just as she let out a long, drawn-out and tired yawn, presumably from being out shopping the whole day.

She whined again, fox ears immediately poking straight up as her tail wagged. He chuckled, then knelt and picked her up, holding her by her thighs. She yelped again, the moment she was lifted, but held onto Vic as he carried her over to their room. He set her down onto their bed and took off his boots, then laid down next to her, pulling her in close and whispering, "I love you..."

"I love you, too..." Ves replied. By the Gods, did he love her.

And so did she, rather obviously.