The New Recruit

Chapter 5 ~ Old 'Friends'

Sitting in the armory was the man with the noticeable bug antennas sticking out of their short, messy blonde hair, as they no longer wore dark goggles revealing soft, gentle blue eyes, though still had a beige mask covering the lower half of their face and skin. As he sat there quietly, sitting on one of the few benches in the armory near a certain locker that had the tag 'Roach' written on a sticker above the locker, this must be his locker. Roach, being quiet in his seat, had a disassembled rifle beside him with a dirty rag in his gloved hand as he thoroughly worked through cleaning the rifle until the faint sounds of hooves could be heard on the marble floor as the automatic doors to the armory eventually slid open, and walked in a familiar face, Rei, Roach looked over in the direction after hearing the doors open and the sounds of hooves' Watching as Rei walked in, not noticing Roach at first, they walked up to a different weapon locker, one that had the tag 'Soul' above it, opening it and looking at the guns they were supplied, noticing the AS Val rifle, which resorted in a small frown upon the Wendigo's facial expression, since they were used to LMGs. looking at Rei for a few seconds longer than probably necessary, trying to figure out why they were so familiar, trying to place where he remembered Rei's face from, then it hit him like a ton of bricks, his old high school friend!! A good best friend that Roach lost contact with once he was presumed KIA, Though Roach doesn't say anything, holding the gun parts in his hand and observing Rei's actions with the rifle and the noticeable frown upon their face, as Rei's ears flicked, which alerted Rei to Roach's presence, perhaps a little delayed, but now aware of Roach being there, their ears perked forward as their fur stood on end, not recognizing Roach at first. Rei gave a small shy smile, trying to be friendly. Roach continues watching Rei closely, his expression remaining stoic and unreadable, though once he feels the moment is being stretched out, he speaks with a broken sort of voice.

"Well, well, look who it is."

When Rei heard the familiar voice, their eyes opened in surprise. Although the voice was more damaged and scratchy than what Rei remembered, it was still the same. Rei's hands began to relax around the weapon, causing it to fall to the ground with a clatter before it settled. Once Rei had a complete understanding of everything that was going on, they sprinted forward at a rapid pace before Roach could even begin to comprehend what was taking place. As Rei put their arms around Roach's body and pulled him into a close hug, they basically shouted with tears of delight streaming down their face. Their face was covered with tears of ecstasy.

"GARY!? OH MY GOODNESS I THOUGHT YOU WERE GONE!?"

Roach was taken aback and caught off guard by how quickly Rei came at them, but Roach didn't hesitate to wrap his arms back around Rei's body, holding them close as he hugged Rei back, laughing at the familiar energy that matched a familiar face that had been far too long since he last saw, smiling at the voice as he pulled out of the hug, bringing one hand up to pull his mask down, revealing the burns and scarred skin going up his jaw and cheeks, stopping slightly below his nose, and his other hand reaching up and wiping the tears off of Rei's cheeks as he spoke with another chuckle before hand.

"You missed me that much huh?"

As Rei leaned into Roach's hand, they stared up at the slightly taller man with soft, loving eyes, recalling those times. Their eyes welled up with tears as they looked up at Roach. What made Rei so happy was the possibility that they would be able to relive those memories and create new ones with the man they loved during their years in high school and college, as well as after that. The laughter they shared, the kisses they gave, and the hugs they gave each other were all things that brought them joy. when Roach pulled away his mask, exposing the burns, and Rei's eyes, which were already filled with tears, widened. It prompted Rei to halt for a good several seconds before Rei reached up with a shaking hand and carefully placed it on his cheek. At the same time, Rei's thumb hovered over the burns and caressed them. Rei spoke with a voice that hinted at Rei's fear and concern.