Dust Devils - A Girls Und Panzer Story

Mojave Rose V. Valentine

February 16th, 2013

Phoenix, Arizona

It was five minutes past 2 AM. The Mojave Rose tankery team has arrived in the city hours earlier. Upon doing so they have checked in to their motel and settled in for the night. They'll need every ounce of energy for the match to come. The arrangement was the same as before with each crew sharing a room. The T-44 crew was sound asleep in their room. Until one of them wasn't. Emma was on the floor resting on a makeshift bed when she was then awoken. The motel keeps their rooms at a very cool temperature. Emma was more susceptible to the cold than other people so throughout the night she had multiple layers of blankets over her. Yet the cold awoke her earlier than everyone else. She arose and checked the bed where Valarie slept. She looked so serene in her slumber. Emma studied the bed a bit longer. It wasn't too terribly small. There was just enough room for another person. Valarie surely wouldn't mind if she crawled in for any reason, especially to be warm. Emma got into the bed and nestled right next to Valarie. The warmth radiating from her body was just what she desired. Valarie shifted, seemingly to better incorporate Emma alongside her. Not too long after, she fell asleep.

A few hours later and the sun has shined through the window though not yet hitting the bed. Hitting Ashley, she awoke. She was curious to see that Emma was no longer in her makeshift bed. When she stood up, her curiosity turned to surprise. There on the bed was the two girls. Her friends. Ashley smiled and blushed as her mind ran through a million reasons as to explain the situation before her. Though, even with what she was seeing, it was too soon to make any assumptions about their relationship. They were best friends after all. For all she knew, this was something they've always done. Still...she'll keep a watchful eye of any change of behavior between the two.

In another part of the motel, Redwood and Buchanan were wide awake and in the process of getting ready. Buchanan was nervous. She had something to confess to Redwood but just couldn't bring out the words. He was currently shaving in the bathroom so thankfully he couldn't see her squirm. She quickly finished getting dressed and sat on the bed. Her eyes stared at the wall ahead of her, wrestling over what to do. Is it the right time to ask? The right place to ask? What if he Redwood reacts negatively to what she says? It would strain their friendship perhaps even ruin it. But she wanted it to be something more.

It was now or never.

Redwood finished shaving and exited the bathroom. Buchanan stood up upon seeing him.

"Martin." she said, voice slightly cracking.

"We've known each other for ages but only in the past few months have we really gotten to know each other."

Redwood blushed faintly.

"Yeah. It's been a great past few months. So much has happened."

"And to tell you what I was trying to say back in December..."

"On why you don't like nicknames but okay with me calling you 'Gabby'?"

"Oh...yes exactly."

"If I remember right, I'm 'special'."

"Yes, You're special because...because..."

The words were stuck in her voice and refuse to vocalize. Her nervousness was at an absolute high.

"Because...?" Redwood asked.

Buchanan couldn't believe she couldn't say it. She wasn't a teenager anymore. She was a forty-year-old woman. This shouldn't be happening but it was. What she said about Redwood was true. He was special. A man passionate about the students and the team and a man that genuinely cared for her, as an individual. Whenever she would get a night terror, now instead of resorting to alcohol to numb the pain and try to forget, she would call Redwood. Regardless of the hour, he would remain on the phone for whoever long it was needed to calm her down. He would talk about a myriad of different subjects to get her mind distracted and at ease. Be it something interesting he heard on the news or something from his time at the office, he did whatever was necessary to help her. Buchanan couldn't ask or even imagine a better person to be in her life. So, when words fail her, the only alternative was action.