Another first day

Ch.16.Double.Duplex.

Krauser's speech stays heavy on my mind, his words replaying every time I feel like giving up, giving in to the tiredness, the ache of my muscles. The lack of rest has worn me down, Krauser working us to the bone daily, workouts, runs, gun and knife training, sparring, all of it slowly chipping away at my resolve, making me wonder if this is all worth it, if this is all I'll be for the rest of my life.

"Good to see you, recruits! It's been a while!" It has, over a month since he scolded us for our "intimate acts". He requested us first thing this morning, sending one of his goons to retrieve us. Thankfully we were out of bed, watching some action movie in the common room, relaxing while we can. Saturdays are our days off, Krauser's version of recovery, though it isn't very helpful, just makes me pissed when we're back to the field the day after. "I'd like to talk to you about your living arrangements." I give Leon a look, his eyes already on me, apprehensive, his fingers gripping onto the armrest of his chair, unsure if this is another warning, or just a relocation to another shitty barrack.

"Okay?" We wait patiently as he rounds his desk, leaning on the wood between us, looking down on us, seated in front of him.

"There is a quad available, south base." A quad. I'm not sure what that means, other than a room with four beds, something we definitely would not be interested in, especially with what we've been getting up to behind closed doors this past month. "Four bedrooms, two baths. I spoke with Major Krauser, he's praised the work of your squad, told me the three of you have put in excellent effort, made more progress than he anticipated. It seems he's grown quite fond of you two." His eyes bounce back and forth between us, an amused smile on his lips, his clasped hands bouncing lightly against his thigh. "I am aware you tried to negotiate off-base living, and were denied." It's true, living in the barracks was one of my biggest qualms coming here, communal bathrooms really are not my kind of thing, especially when I'm only sharing them with men. "I was thinking you could take it, along with two others of your choosing."

"Chris Redfield." It comes out before I even get the chance to think about it, the annoyed look Leon gives me doing nothing to ruin my excitement.

"Ah, and a fourth?" He raises his eyebrows expectantly, but we really don't have anyone else, we've kept to ourselves for the most part, only ever spending time outside of training with Chris or by ourselves. The silence stretches on, becoming awkward, and colonel speaks again, sounding a little unsure of himself, his hand coming up to scratch at the side of his face. "If you'd prefer a female, I recently received another woman, she could be a good fit, though you must keep classified information to yourselves, as always, she's a regular soldier, after all." The thought of having a girl friend only adds to my excitement, my smile blowing wide and a quick glance at Leon showing his distaste for the idea of living with some stranger.

"What's she like?" I'm curious, wanting to know a bit about her, if only to ease my partner's mind, knowing full well the extent of his distrust toward others since the incident.

"I met her only briefly, but she seemed nice enough, didn't talk much." I look to Leon, and he nods in defeated approval, making me smile, though I hope he isn't too upset. I assume he won't be, hopefully happy just to have a place of our own, even if there are a few other inhabitants.

"Alrighty, then." Colonel smiles, nodding once before standing himself up, motioning us up out of our chairs as well.

"I'll have one of my men show you down, it's about three minutes from your current housing, make sure not to be late to the field. Move in is immediate, have your things inside by sundown, I don't want to hear from the other officers about me giving a building away to newbies." We both nod, following him out of his office and down the hall, thanking him and saying our goodbyes before following his lackey out of the building, our new pair of keys jingling in Leon's hand.