Battlefield: Control (Book Two)

Chapter Four - Alan

Alan stormed back to his quarters. Both of his roommates were there and watched him go to his bunk in a huff to grab his workout clothing. Neither said a word, and he didn't expect them to.

They'd been living together for a long time already and had barely said more than the occasional polite greeting to one another. It saddened him because if he was going to bond with anyone on the ship, he would have thought it'd be with the people he spent the most time with.

They, like most of his peers, avoided him as if he had a plague. Bonding with them was already hard enough since they were both female, but the fact that they wouldn't even give him a chance made things more difficult.

Theirs was the only mixed gender room, which said a lot about how highly Alan was thought of. There had been another guy with them, but he transferred out to a different ship as soon as he possibly could. The women had taken the time to talk to him, but never Alan.

After changing in the bathroom, he stepped out of the quarters to go find the ship's physical training facilities, and ran into Sir Tuliy in the doorway. His roommates noticed Tuliy and immediately straightened their postures, ran their hands through their hair, and blushed. Sir Tuliy, the great prodigy, was worth it apparently.

"My apologies," Alan said and tried to move around his comrade.

It was good he hadn't been hurt. Alan was significantly taller than Tuliy, as well as stronger. His muscles were well developed, probably the only thing most on his home nation would consider good-looking about him. Cadence complimented his appearance often, but back home Alan was considered below standard when it came to physical beauty.

Which made Earth interesting, because there he was considered exceptionally attractive with his dark blond hair and blue eyes. Being tall was a good trait to have, not a bad one. A lot of things were different in those regards.

Tuliy ran a hand through his vibrant red hair, gave a polite smile to the women in the room, and then returned his attention to Alan. "I should apologize. I wasn't paying much attention, and providing you with a warning about my visit would have probably been preferable. Especially since you are going out now. I can come around another time if you have plans."

"I'm only going to the gym." The physical activity would lessen his frustration.

"Would you mind if I joined you? I haven't done my exercise for the day."

"If you wish."

"No, if you wish. I do not want to intrude on you. We're friends, right?"

"Yes," Alan said softly.

The term was appropriate but surprising. Tuliy could befriend better and more fitting individuals than him. The fact that he didn't worship the ground the man walked on was a quality that was appreciated. If the situation were reversed, Alan would be exhausted from everyone "sucking up", as JD would say, to him too.

A small smile formed on Tuliy's lips. "Wonderful. Stay here, I'll change in a moment, and you can properly say goodbye to your female visitors."

"They aren't visitors. I don't need to say goodbye to them." He glared back at his roommates.

They flinched slightly and pretended to look away as if they weren't paying attention, but he was glad they were, and that the message had gotten across. The last thing he'd allow to happen was for them to try and use him to get close to Tuliy. As much as he wanted to believe better about his comrades, he also knew how the ship worked. Almost everyone looked out only for themselves.

Tuliy raised an eyebrow. "Come with me to my quarters then. I wasn't aware you were living with women."

"It's not something I like to broadcast. Much like most of what I do here," Alan said.