(Admin GK: *SQUAWKS*)
Soldier: 76
“No, you’re not sleeping on the floor.” You said from the bed after the soldier settled down in a corner of the dismal motel room.
Sure, it’s not the cushiest pad to spend the night, but it’s low-key enough to protect you two from prying eyes. You’d rather make do with a twin-sized bed than a Talon cell.
“I’ve slept in worse.” The soldier replied. His visor glowed faintly in the darkness.
You pinched the bridge of your nose and sighed.
“Well you don’t have to tonight. We can both fit just fine.” You said firmly. “I’d like you be at peak performance for tomorrow’s recon mission, and sleeping on the floor doesn’t equate to that.”
That convinced him. A “tactical necessity”. You can’t quite say to yourself that was all it was, though.
He slipped under the covers beside you, and you felt the warm ripple of musculature on his back bump against you. No man who looks like that has any business strutting around in a skin-tight shirt, you thought. Your heart clamoured in your ribcage. You shivered, feeling the rush of crush-fuelled anxiety tingling in your veins.
“Are you cold?” He asked.
You weren’t.
“A little.” You replied.
You felt the soldier’s body turn to face yours, and the steady weight of his arm wrapping gingerly around your torso, as if he was handling a delicate instrument. The warmth of his chest radiated onto your body, like the heat of the sun on a winter day.
“Better?”
You nodded. Your body felt electrified, and your cheeks burned so hotly that you thought they were going to burst into flames.
“A uh...” You laughed, a little nervously, “’Tactical necessity’, right?”
A kernel of silence grew in the dark room, like a blossom of ink in water. Finally, reality snapped into clarity as the soldier made his reply.
“It’s not.”
> Admin GK