Trial And Error

Chapter Twelve

"You calling your girlfriend again, Shepard?" A random Marine called out as she walked through the base towards her quarters.

"Shut it, Corporal." She joked, earning a chorus of laughter from other Marines passing by.

Mostly everyone on base knew about their friendship; how could they not? Madison is a popstar, after all, Kian just didn't expect for anyone here to actually keep track of that stuff. Surprisingly, she didn't mind the incessant teasing. She'd become immune to anything related to the brunette's fame, but it wasn't because she didn't care. Rather, she didn't see her how the rest of the world did; to Kian, she was just, Madison. A woman who loves dancing in the rain, and going on late-night drives listening to her meticulously put-together playlist. A brunette who loves giving hugs—something Kian was missing tremendously.

The wooden square she called home came into view, away from the shared barracks, each officer got their own room. It reminded Kian of a cardboard box, every single wall was made of wood. Their rooms were standard size, consisting of a desk, chair, and twin-sized bed. Lucas's room was just down the hall from her, so they got to see each other often and spent most of their free time together or on the phone with friends and family back home. She'd just finished her workout when she got pulled into a meeting about a patrol coming up. Now that Kian's schedule was free, she took the opportunity to call Madison. Today marked their halfway point, four more months and she'd be out of here.

She opened Skype and called the singer in the hopes that she wasn't too busy. Last time they spoke Madison was in Houston, meaning her current stop would be Nashville. Kian gathered that the tour was going well, each time Madison had so much to tell her. She gushed over how much she loved her fans, while the Marine sat there listening and loving every second of it.

"Ki you there?" The singer asked from the other end.

The Lieutenant's eyes lit up as she took in the singer displayed on her screen, the brunette was dressed in her tour outfit. Her hair and makeup perfect as always.

"Hey! Lookin' good pretty girl."

"Thank you, you don't look so bad yourself"

Looking down at the dusty utility uniform, "Sand does look good on me doesn't it?"

The pair laughed, "How are you doing over there? Staying safe right?" She asked subconsciously looking for any injuries, not that she would find any in the first place.

"Yes ma'am, I always am." She smiled in an attempt to assure her.

The brunette's head tilted to the side, "Don't lie to me Kian."

"I'm not, I promise. Everything has been the same since we last talked.."

While that wasn't fully the truth the Marine was safe. It was the surrounding areas that weren't. Lately, there has been an increase in attacks on villages around the base. Because of that company headquarters decided it'd be best to send patrols more frequently, which made the Lieutenant increasingly nervous for her subordinates. Nothing serious had happened yet, and she could only hope it would stay that way. Soon she'd join some of her fellow Marines on these patrols but for now, she had to stay on base to handle the admin side of things.

The brunette squinted her eyes, a common thing she did when trying to detect whether or not the other woman was lying. Kian tried her best to keep a straight face hoping that she didn't give anything away. She promised herself that she would stop lying to her friend, but she couldn't help it. All she ever wants is for Madison to be happy, so what is the point in telling her something that may conflict that?

"Good." Madison's face relaxed along with her shoulders, returning to her usual giddy self.

Internally Kian let out a sigh of relief, "Any updates since the last time we talked? How was the show last night?"