#pgr x oc

[mionie]

🅂🅄🅁🆅🄸🅅🄰🄻 🄼🄸🅂🅂🄸🄾🄽 🄸🄽 🆃🄷🄴 🅆🄾🅁🄻🄳 🄾🅵 🄿🄶🅁

... Log_001...

A gun rested heavily in Julia's hands, pulling her down to the puddle of blood and innards at her feet. Her eyes bleary from mixture of unshed tears and sweat, threatening to blind her before she could react to any attack from the machines firing lazers and bullets towards them.

"Commandant!" Lee yelled, a bullet grazed past her ear from behind and she yelped, almost letting go of her weapon. A pair of hands grabbed her shoulders, forcefully turning her to meet deep-sea eyes, "focus!"

Liv provided cover, allowing Lee to pull her away from the front. They crouched down before a boulder. Lee tugged the mask worn by Julia as she tried steadying her hyperventilating state. "What's wrong with you? You have been out of it since yesterday!"

He wasn't wrong. A commandant's duty was to direct and order the team aside from the leader, and provide stabilization from M.I.N.D. deviation. In order to do so, the commandant must have a rational and functional mind. The commandant who fought with them in various battles and situation was always calm, ready to take action at any moment. But the sound judgement was clouded with anxiety and trepidation ever since the afternoon before.

After all, it was only yesterday that she found herself sweating profusely while hanging on a ledge of a high-rise building. Yesterday, since she almost died and found herself in the PGR universe.

Unable to do anything, from the suddenness of battle and processing her situation, all she did was nod. Gripping the life-taking technology, Julia pushed herself from the boulder and aimed it towards one of the corrupted sneaking up on Lucia.

Lucia fought at the very front. In her Dawn frame, crimson and engaged in a deadly dance like her blade. She looked back and nodded at her. Lee entered the fight and Liv rushed towards her. The remaining Corrupted could be dealt by them.

Julia knew this. The adrenaline slowly left her system, allowing herself to lean against the boulder. Liv's hands felt like cloud on a hazy dream, checking wounds on Julia's body. Soft and flitting, the sensation was soon gone and she opened her eyes in confusion. A hand was offered before her, her eyes trailed to the owner.

In front of her, Lucia stood tall and towered over her slumped figure. Relieving and daunting, she took her hand and Lucia gently pulled her up on her feet. Liv enclosed her arms around Julia's middle to help steady her. Since when was she crouching on the ground?

"No more enemies around 100 meters radius but more are coming. We should keep moving." Lee said, eyeing their surroundings.

Lucia and Liv looked at her, awaiting her orders. Testing the strength in her legs, she swallowed, "yes."

They moved in a tight line, around the littered vehicles and and away from awaiting machines. Julia followed aimlessly, unfamiliar with the surroundings and the suffocating atmosphere. The city was desolate, of souls and flora. No signs of scavenging animals or even insects crawling on the surface. Fissures and broken walls added elements of aesthetic in the abandoned city. Julia held in the churn in her stomach.

One would think that they were suddenly part of a movie, with the very detailed aspects and captured the atmosphere of the setting, but she was currently experiencing this...

Her world was similar yet very different to the PGR universe. Still Earth, but not like the planet she knew. Hers was full of life and activity, colors and peace. The 'real world'. How about this world, the PGR world? Is it also a 'real' world?

As far as she knew, Punishing: Gray Raven was a popular game back in her world. She was one of the players playing the ARPG. She tried it out of boredom and expected to uninstall the game after a while, but she continued playing. The game piqued her interest, even though it started off confusing and boring, however, as the game progresses, the development of the plot and characters instilled a feeling that she long buried.

Excitement.

They stopped in front of a big crate hidden in between buildings with the shadows further blanketing the supply box. The crate had the insignia of Gray Ravens and Lucia stepped forward and opened it.

"What's inside?" She mutter under her breath and Liv answered, "it's sent by Babylonia to replenish our supplies."

"Why?"

Liv's eyes widened, and Lee watched her with narrowed eyes. Looking at both of them, she studied their expressions. Shoot, she was a commandant right now. She could not afford to be found out that she was not their commandant, just temporarily taking control of the person leading them.

She straightened up and took a sip from a bottled water strapped inside her jacket. "... I need to reassess our situation. How... long until we reach our destination? Would our supplies still last?"

Authorative, but kind. Formal, but relaxed... at least that's what I surmised from the game.

A holographic screen appeared in front of Liv and she tapped away. Julia's eyes widened, watching the petite princess-like construct work. Even the technology back in reality cannot be compared to the advancement in the universe of PGR.

"5 kilometers more, Commandant. As for the supplies, I think it is enough if the temperature won't rise more than 45 degrees."

"Alright, less than an hour or more travel time by walking... Let's save our energies as we proceed, the worst case would be running into Ascendants," she said. Did I do it right?

The three nodded, "roger." Phew...

They moved again, this time, Julia was carried by Liv.

???

Liv had her arms under Julia's back and knees. The confused commandant wrapped her arms around the smaller girl's neck as they speed pass buildings.

Is this matrix mode?!... Or not.

The tall infrastructures blurred in her vision and the warm air chilled her legs. With the help of the goggles, her eyes were protected from dust trying to obscure her sight allowing her to whipped her head around trying to discern their location and situation.

As usual, Lucia took lead while Lee was at the rear. As if sensing her gaze, his brows furrowed indicating for her to speak – what is it?

Not replying she ducked her head back on Liv's shoulder and squeezed her eyes. He was rude—curt, rather. Even on the game, he was always honest, no filter to his thoughts and feelings, especially in the early episodes. Early?

"Commandant, are you cold? I'm sorry but please endure it for a moment, we'll be arriving at our destination shortly," comforted the medic. She nodded and set a reminder to herself to assess her situation properly and probably the timeline of the game she was currently in.

They slowed to a stop and Liv set Julia down. Lucia turned to her, the setting sun created a halo behind her, "we have arrived, Commandant."

Not too far, but still quite a distance, was a tall and massive structure placed in the open. Aircrafts ascending and descending on the freeway, rovers creating dusts behind them, military personnel marching around the perimeter... A heavy sensation crept inside her.

"Uh, where, exactly?"

"Transport terminal. We are heading back to Babylonia."

... Goodness, help...

To be continued...

_+_+_+_+_

A/N: Hello everyone! Thank you for reading the first episode of "Survival Mission In The World Of PGR" This is my very 1st series made and I hope you will enjoy this! ❤️

[goshushin]

hm.... (allskk, oc)

[eld-creative]

[chronosh0t]

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ……𝐒𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐒: male x Lee, first person pov, alternative universe?, canon-divergence?, soft, fluff, slightly explicit but, really, barely suggestive. if you squint hard enough, you might see some. ㅤㅤㅤ 〔NO BETA〕

𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒: okay, but what if Hyperreal got horns like Palefire? or what if Palefire's horns are... actually sensitive? (forget about the canon here, what's that?, so I guess is an au because we know Inver-devices ain't like that, but look away)

────────────── ❁ ──────────────

...

Was it that hard before? If you try enough, you can't for the love of your life, remember when you got so fixated on those two blue horns. So, again, was it that hard for you not to look at them whenever Lee was close enough? Certainly, it is now.

But maybe it's because it has been so long since Lee switched to Palefire so seeing him again, after Entropy and then Hyperreal, one of the —if not the only— strongest frame Babylonia has ever made, immune to the virus itself, making it perfect for fighting Ascendants hand to hand and dealing with dead zones.

So yes, it has been a while since you got to see Palefire again. It is now, too, that you realise how different Hyperreal is from the other two frames. You thought Lee changed after the Tower incident, but you never thought it could also show on his frames as well. The maturity in Lee's latest frame is not seen on Palefire.

Now that you're working with him, the two of you alone, for some reason you feel you're with a younger and more blunt version of Lee. Of course, he just switched just because his new frame needed adjustments, so it's not like his personality will go back to when you both first met. But you can't stop thinking about that detail.

However, your issue is another one, right now. You should focus on the papers in front of you, checking and reading past reports to gather information about some new Ascendants or whatever, but you can't stop your own eyes from going to the words in the page in front of you to land straight to those two blue horns.

You know Inver-devices have started to change, so there's a lot of new Constructs that have them quite hidden, giving them even a more human-looking vibe. Leaving aside some visible metallic parts, like arms, hands or legs, the devices that keep them stable and possible to connect with their human Commandant, are not as obvious as before.

Either way, now you're getting too fixated on them, it's hard to look away, you lowkey want to touch them. You never had the chance, or more like, you never had the urge like you have right now.

ㅤㅤㅤ“You've got some strange taste, Commandant.” The blond construct broke the silence.

oh shit, don't tell me I said that out loud?

You laughed awkwardly, suddenly getting too self-conscious of your own feelings. The embarrassment was trying to take over and you could feel your cheeks starting to blush. You cough, as if that was enough to dissipate those unusual thoughts.

ㅤㅤㅤ“My bad, but I never realise they're quite cute. It add to your charm, Lee.” you replied casually.

You look up and your heart skipped a lot. Not a bit, it was a lot. You thanked the human body for having rib cages protecting the organ because you were sure that, at this exact moment, your heart is too wild and might just leave your body.

Lee is… blushing. Of course, not the first time, he would usually slightly blush after he said something awkward or got praised, but why right now? You thought that maybe he would get annoyed, or just nag at you for saying something so silly and meaningless, so that red crippling over his face was unexpected. He looks even more cute now.

Weirdly enough, there was a second when you thought those blue horns changed colours from a dull one to a bright one. As if reacting to Lee's feelings, just like Punchy. But that's not how Inver-devices work… right?

By the time you could think what your body was doing, your fingertips are now resting on one of his horns. It feels a bit rusty, but for some reason, if it wasn't because you already know what they're made of, anyone could mistake them for real ones. They're indeed cute. Skin itching, your fingers are now slowly tracing them.

Lee's body flinches and you retract your fingers. Oh, what if he's angry now? Why are my body and mind not in sync today?. But, lowering your eyes to check his face, now it's fully red. Even his ears are also of a soft shade of pink. You are hoping it is not from anger, you decide to check.

ㅤㅤㅤ“You are mad, right? I'm sorry, I really don't know why I suddenly did that.” you are now retracting your hand.

Lee sighs, then he said, “it's not… that. I'm not mad, it's just…”

Just what? If it's not anger then wha……oh wait.

ㅤㅤㅤ“Are they… sensitive?”

He doesn't answer, but he doesn't have to, really. You move your body closer, maybe too close for the sanity of both of you, but you have the urge to tease him, just a little bit, because you love seeing him flustered, you adore when he loses his cool and he is a complete mess. So your fingers go back to his horns, slowly touching them, in a quite suggestive way.

And Lee knows. All of that. Is he hating it? Partially but just because he also knows how much he likes it. He never thought he would be so turned on by such a stupid thing, yet, there he is. Puffs of air, his breath is erratic and he knows his body is too hot. Your soft skin touching him in that way is killing him, he is suppressing his voice, biting his lips. Lee is sure that if he stop doing that, he won't be able to control some moans.

ㅤㅤㅤ“Does it feel good?” you ask, you know he does feel good, it's pretty obvious if you look down enough.

You don't waste time. Your other hand is now resting on one of his legs, fingers tracing in circles, slowly moving to his inner thighs and getting close to his dick, already hard. But not enough… And you're surprised when Lee's hips move, trying to get close, he wants to get touched.

Oh boy, you're gonna be the death of me.

You retracted your hands. Lee looks up at you, confused, watery eyes, and face as red as a tomato. It's written all over his face “Why did you stop?” so, before standing up from your seat, you close the distance, your lips barely touching his ears.

ㅤㅤㅤ“Wait a little longer. It will get better at night.”

────────────── ❁ ──────────────

〔 🎐 〕 𝙸'𝚖 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚋𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚠𝚔𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚘𝚗. 𝙰𝚗𝚢𝚠𝚊𝚢, 𝙸 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑.

[soyooluz]

Their relationship is wonderful 💙

[strayanberry]

It wanted to draw some gay, it's been years (Weeks) 😔

[moonlit-impression]

'Thank you for your trust'

[courier-roku]

John Smith and Elijah my beloved

[koukouture]

hey does anyone wanna start a ffxiv discord server? just to talk abt silly stuff like OCs, ships, or be insane abt our favorite characters

[razoarmachi]

Answering Questions [Yume Edition #1]! Part One

⏳📑

1. Who makes the other blush all the time and who finds it adorable?

[📑 often makes ⏳ blushes unintentionally , and 📑 finds it adorable.]

2. Who sings in the shower?

[None.]

3. What would their song to each other be?

[*the author doesn't know about the meaning behind love songs*]

4. Who embarrasses the other in public with kisses and pet names?

[None.]

5. Who curses, and who reprimands the other for it?

[📑 would curse if she's under very stressful situation, and ⏳ would be the one who reprimands her.]

6. What small quirks do they love about each other?

[📑: Whenever ⏳ shows his affection through his act of service, even his nagging when she's being stubborn about her paperworks.

⏳: 📑's little excitement everytime she sees the real stars in the sky clearly.]

7. Who makes the other laugh more?

[Well, both of them are calm people.]

8. Who gets jealous easier?

[Of course ⏳ generally.]

9. How did they know they were right for each other?

[Fighting side by side, and 📑 never differentiate between constructs and human. 📑 also appreciates every struggle they go through againts the Punishing Virus.]

10. Who brings up the subject of kids first?

[*the author is flabbergasted by this question*]

11. Who's adorable when they're sleepy, and who gets grumpy and irritable?

[Both of them are adorable (⁠＾⁠∇⁠＾⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠♪]

12. Who's more protective?

[⏳. But 📑 can get more protective when anyone dares to treat him like nothing more than a war machine.]

13. How do they express their feelings (Words, visual art, a song, etc.)?

[⏳: Act of service

📑: Quality time]

14. Where would they go on a 3am adventure?

[They'd go to a hill and enjoy the night sky without light pollution.]

15. Who has a hobby only the other knows about?

[Only ⏳ who knows about her hobby of looking at the space objects through binoculars/telescope and studying them.]

16. How do they hype each other up?

[⏳: Gives her his handmade robots, or any little things that makes her happy.

📑: By being on his side whenever and wherever.]

17. Who picks flowers for the other?

[⏳]

18. Which one wears the "I'm with stupid" t-shirt?

[None.]

19. Who's the better dancer?

[None.]

20. Who infodumps and who listens with heart eyes?

[📑: Infodumps

⏳: Listening]

1. Who makes the other blush all the time and who finds it adorable?

📚🎨

[📚 is both makes 🎨 blushes and finds it adorable.]

2. Who sings in the shower?

[None.]

3. What would their song to each other be?

[*the author doesn't know about the meaning behind love songs*]

4. Who embarrasses the other in public with kisses and pet names?

[None.]

5. Who curses, and who reprimands the other for it?

[None.]

6. What small quirks do they love about each other?

[📚: Secretly likes it when 🎨's being serious at her silly creations.

🎨: When 📚 infodumps about his scientific knowledge.]

7. Who makes the other laugh more?

[Barely.]

8. Who gets jealous easier?

[Both, but silently.]

9. How did they know they were right for each other?

[*author confused noises because their characters are complex*]

10. Who brings up the subject of kids first?

[They wouldn't dare. Knowledge is more important.]

11. Who's adorable when they're sleepy, and who gets grumpy and irritable?

[Both are adorable.]

12. Who's more protective?

[Both, showing by their various mind-trick actions.]

13. How do they express their feelings (Words, visual art, a song, etc.)?

[📚: Words of affirmation aka his nagging.

🎨: Gift giving by putting something handmade that is perfectly hidden so 📚 would not suspect it's from her.]

14. Where would they go on a 3am adventure?

[Space sighting.]

15. Who has a hobby only the other knows about?

[Neither.]

16. How do they hype each other up?

[📚: Gives her handwritten letters with poetic words.

🎨: Saying that she's on his side but replace the nice words with something that author doesn't know how to explain, tsun behavior.]

17. Who picks flowers for the other?

[None, but 🎨 would likely be the one. Of course she doesn't give him directly.]

18. Which one wears the "I'm with stupid" t-shirt?

[📚, affectionately.]

19. Who's the better dancer?

[🎨 because she studies performing art. Modern dances are an exception.]

20. Who infodumps and who listens with heart eyes?

[Both infodumps, both listens.]

[lucadulac]

Noctis is....too cute......

Ixius(male skk oc) x Noctis

[mionie]

🅂🅄🅁🆅🄸🅅🄰🄻 🄼🄸🅂🅂🄸🄾🄽 🄸🄽 🆃🄷🄴 🅆🄾🅁🄻🄳 🄾🅵 🄿🄶🅁

Log_003

"What's wrong with you this time?" Lee's voice startled Julia from her musing. Her lips quivered up, facing him with the best smile she could muster, "'wrong with me?' Hm, I don't see anything wrong with me."

He grimaced, noting the shake in her hands as she had her meal. 

She was aware that he was doubting her. With how his stern eyes narrowed and she could have swore he was making deductions based on her actions. She lowered her hands, settling the cutleries on the plate and stood up.

Not good... I'm going insane...

Prior to her meal, as she finished her long bath, she wrapped the clean towel around her, noticing scars riddled across her 'body' and the lean muscles contracting with her every move. A body that does not belong to her. With this sight alone, she was more convinced that she transmigrated to PGR, or more suitably, possessed the Commandant right now.

A shiver ran down her arms. Even the warm bath did not help settle the anxiousness she was feeling. But more so than that, standing in the middle of the bathroom would not improve her mentality either.

She walked to the bathroom sink where a fresh set of uniform was folded on top of the counter. Unfolding the uniform, she raised it in front of her. Similar to the uniform of Commandants in the game, it was of blue material and thick to the touch. If she could recall, Simon had similar design to what she was about to wear. Setting it aside, she first wore a long-sleeved, black turtle neck shirt above her undergarments, then slipped on the blue official shirt and pants, before doning the infamous Babylonia jacket. 

Sighing, she rummaged in the cabinets for a comb and went to the full-body mirror near the door and screamed.

"Commandant!!" Voices of Lucia and Liv reached her hearing from behind the closed bathroom door, knocking endlessly in fear of something happening to her.

"I'm, I'm fine!.... I'm fine... I just... slipped...?"

"Are you sure, Commandant? Are you okay?! Liv, stand back--!"

"No! It's okay, Lucia, Liv! I'll be out in a minute... I'm still not dressed yet..." Julia's hands shakily reached for her reflection. This cannot be...

"... as you command."

She was taller than her original self, far stronger than she expected. Of course, every commandants had to undergo training in the academy. But it was not her 'body' she was shocked of, no... She was scared of her head.

Her face... has no definite features. Eyes, nose, ears, and mouth were present but they kept on changing, glitching to another feature. It also affected her hair. It keeps on glitching to other color and texture.

She fell to the side, away from the mirror and feeling her face and hair. Feeling whether they were there. She grabbed her hair that fell on her shoulders and it was auburn in color, just like her original color. It was not glitching and she checked her other body parts, whether she was glitching elsewhere. She gulped, hard. Crawling to the mirror, she closed her eyes before she would see herself once again. 

Wait, maybe I was more tired than I thought that it affected my mental stability?... Goodness, I pray so...

Slowly, she opened her eyes and she almost fainted then and there on the floor. It's real... 'this' is all real...

The same phenomenon she saw before, her facial features glitched randomly. She ran to the door, having more than enough horror of own self.

"Commandant!" Liv proceeded checking her while Lucia's blade were drawn. Dawn entered past Julia, ready to slash any intruder of the Babylonia transport terminal.

Their room door opened and came in Lee, witnessing the commotion of the female members of his team with a raised brow, "... I brought what you wanted, Commandant."

"Thank you..."

"Lee, confirm the number of individuals within the perimeter." Lucia said, emerging from the bathroom. With the fast calculation of Palefire, he also drew his guns, "36 figures along the corridor. Lucia--"

"Wait! Both of you!" Julia said from the bed with Liv tucking her in. Sighing, she motioned for them to ease down, "there is no need for that. I just slipped in the bathroom. We should use this chance to rest before going back to HQ."

They nodded and Liv and Lucia went to the pods before entering sleep mode. Lee went to the other bed and proceeded with cleaning his dual guns. Moments later, food arrived and Julia recieved it, careful not to disturb the resting constructs. She ate her meal on her bed and saw herself glitching from her reflection on the glass of water, which brought her to her current problem.

After forcefully swallowing the rather bland food, she reached for the notebook and started writing.

1. Manifest inner Commandant.

On the side, she drew a line connecting them to a bubble of the personality of the commandant based on what she remembered: caring, self-sacrificing, mischievous, hard-working, kind, strong, clever.

She paused, her eyes drifting around the room to the form of Lee cleaning and to the two sleeping constructs. She added another trait and connected it to the first phrase.

Has a harem.

"Ahem!" She coughed, hiding the snicker behind her fists then she stopped. Right, sooooooo... It would be me having a harem then?

Groaning, she rubbed her temple and scooped another food in her mouth. As a player that has a major adoration of the game, she was aware of the fanfictions written by other people, either shipping the Commandant with the constructs, or constructs paired to another construct. It was entertaining to see the various ships within the fandom and she also participated in making theories and ships. 

She glanced at Lee. For example...

Julia almost choked on her food and sat up straight. Right!

The affection stories!

The affection stories were the most important bases on her interaction with the constructs. Problem was, she was unable to grow the affection level for all the characters. She was an F2P player and it was more than fine since PGR was F2P friendly, however, because of her busy schedule her time playing the game were sometimes sacrificed, missing her daily missions for the rewards. And because of the lack of black cards for pulling characters on A-rank banner or the limited S-rank banner, sometimes for their exclusive 6-star weapons, she settled on the available characters and unlocking their affection stories.

And because of that, she would be uninformed of how the Commandant interacted with them. Or even additional data and secrets they have.

Finishing her meal, she closed her notebook and turned to Lee who was also looking at her.

She tried calming her already stressed heart and held his calculating gaze, "Lee, I will be asking you questions, and don't ask nor wonder why I'm asking you such questions."

He gave a curt reply, resuming in wiping clean the dismantled pieces, "... Shoot."

"Okay," she started, "first, Liv mentioned this before. What was my injury before and when exactly did it happen?"

He raised a brow but relplied nonetheless, "you receive many injuries everytime we have our mission."

"If that's the case, which was the one Liv was referring to?"

"It's the heavy injury on your back a week ago. You landed on your back from the fourth floor of a complex. Liv checked it and it was a 3rd degree bruise."

Really? But why is it I didn't feel any pain? I should check it in the mirror–no, scratch that out.

"... I see. Second, give me the full description of the our current assignment."

He sighed, "I don't know the full details."

"What? Why is that?"

"We were given the description of the mission, yes, but the full description was only for the Commandant to see."

Shoot, so that means this was rather secretive then?

"Then tell me what was given to you."

Lee opened his terminal in the holographic screen.

Her eyes skimmed through the document and tried to make sense of the terminologies used inside the letter. It was obvious she would be clueless about military terminologies as she was just a normal civilian back in her world. But those words aside, she could connect the pieces together. The Gray Ravens were sent to clear a specific area for the expansion of reclaimed land on Earth.

But this was on the side of her team, her side was a mystery. What's sent to me?

"This was for us. The Commandant's been given the same thing but with the additional information."

Julia's white-gray eyes looked past the screen and met Lee's, "you sound like you know something."

"I don't, but I know that this mission was specifically a secret mission. It was obvious."

"Even if you were members of the Gray Raven?"

"Right."

"Then how come they kept it a hush to you guys when they gave it to Gray Ravens?"

"We are constructs, we are liable to report based on what we witness. They can also program into our M.I.N.D. when they suspect that we were hiding something."

"So that's why then..." If the higher-ups wanted this to be kept secret, then of course the Commandant was only given the raw information.

"Also, they will hack your memories?"

"Yes. Constructs--"

"No, don't answer that," she cutted him short.

No. If I remember correctly, Gray Ravens was among the Elite squads of the Babylonia. And I don't think there should be a need to hide full details regarding the mission to them...

Everything they do in the game required the full involvement of the team. This was the first time Julia witness her construct members excluded of the whole information. Is it possible to operate effectively with them not knowing the totality of the description?

"... Thank you, Lee." 

He just went back to his task silently, allowing Julia to settle her messy thoughts peacefully. With the limited information available, she resigned herself to fate for the meeting in the following day back at Babylonia.

[goshushin]

wanshi/skk + wanshinui (full size recc.) *ocskk

The merch I ordered finally escaped the shipping facility after two weeks

[eld-creative]

Glowing spine

[chronosh0t]

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ⸺ 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 .*ೃ

───────────────────────────

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐒: Lee's pov, gn reader, canon-divergence,

𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒: “I hoped for luck, I looked for it and believed, not knowing it had your name in it” — just something silly, maybe a log from him. might be ooc 〔 NO BETA 〕

…………

It wasn't easy. I think it never was. But at least, for a few years we weren't all by ourselves, maybe it didn't seem to be that way, or that's how I'd like to remember it. The point is, it really wasn't easy.

Young, inexperienced, and people would gradually try to take advantage of our situation, of our own nativity, innocence, or some would just try to help us for their own selfish reasons, personal satisfaction or beliefs, eventually leaving us alone. Waiting for some good luck to strike us and change a little bit our cruel reality, only to find out life doesn't work by luck. The world doesn't work by luck.

Luck is false hope for the powerless, the less fortunate, to feed their delusions, that one day things will change, one day perhaps their luck will change and misfortune will leave their side and be replaced by a God that'd help them. That is luck, and I keep thinking so. I believed in luck back then, desperate for a chance, merely to be met by the unwavering proof of reality.

I swore to do whatever, anything and everything, just to keep him safe. Growing up by the taste of bitterness, the mould in the walls and the cold sheets, inside a room that was not safe for either of us, it made me realise I was part of those adults. Working nonstop for some exchanges that barely kept us alive my mind was going numb, my hands were too cold and my logic was losing focus. I believed in luck. But luck was not an option, never was, never will. However, things needed to be done, anything was good and valid if it meant I could get the chance to save his body from his weak heart.

Did it ever cross my mind the idea of becoming some sort of hired assassin? No. I don't think anyone ever grows up having those ideas. Yet, there I was. Loading a gun, hiding in the darkness, my hands tinted with crimson red, cold as the river. Money was the only thing occupying my mind, my reasoning blind due to the lack of time. Yet I know it was also a bad idea, what if I end up dying? What if, for a single stupid mistake, I end up getting killed and disposed of like a bag of trash? He would've ended up alone. Risks needed to be taken.

So I took them. And I kept going. One step at a time, and I thought things would get better, falling in the traps of luck. Because even if I was smart enough, I was still a teenager, I was still a young, inexperienced kid trying to make it to another day. Eighteen years old, and I should be studying. I should be concentrating on which university I wanted to go to, maybe going out with some friends, maybe celebrating my birthday, his. Perhaps travelling to other places and taking pretty pictures for the memories with our family. Anything but whatever I was living right now.

Eighteen years and I was holding a gun, pointing at someone I didn't know and I didn't want to know. The more I knew the less I wanted to be part of this, the less I wanted to keep going, but that wasn't for me. I was selfless, as the older brother, that was what I was supposed to do. My job was to take care of him, to save enough money and help him. Did I ever regret it? No, I don't think I ever did. But I did wish for luck to come and help me. I couldn't never sleep properly, the idea of being unaware of what was happening was unpleasant to me. The same fear hunting me down whenever he went to sleep and I didn't know if something bad would happen. His heart was weak, and the days were harsh and cold.

But we made it work.

Did I mention how bitter is reality? I did all that, I killed so many people, I was betrayed and for what? For the world to take away the slim chance I built for a better tomorrow. Crushed by humanity's mistake. I refused to let go, so I took yet another risk.

I had the chance to give up my humanity for him to remain, for him to be strong, to finally have the chance to grow up in a stable environment, experience what people of his age do. That, I don't regret it. Even if it means to be betrayed again, to be used and disposed, to me neglected and hurt, to be left alone. It didn't matter, for the reality was slightly better than before.

But I didn't want to test luck. Yet I kept hoping. Even if I was against some of his choices, I still thought it was good because it meant he was growing, he formed his own opinion, forged his own paths. And that was more than enough, I couldn't ask for more. I shouldn't ask for more, right? Because that was all that I ever wanted. For him.

What about me, though? How laughable. Calling myself selfless when I was still greedy enough to wish, to hope for luck to come and save me. I was okay with how my life turned out to be because I was too busy to even think about it deeply. I thought of giving up. Of accepting my own reality.

I was someone who would judge those who believed in luck, or those who would wait instead of taking actions and change their fate. Yet, there I was. Inside that cold room, the dim light of the fluorescent lamps hanging from the ceiling, the industrial design of the metallic tables, and some digital screens beeping in the desk, filling the awkward silence between the three of us.

I was pondering what was the reason behind their decision of becoming a Construct. Did they have an unfortunate life like me? Or was it out of sheer selflessness and their sense of justice? I didn't care enough and I didn't want to know more than their names. Lucia and Liv. Because, from experience, I knew getting to know someone too much meant developing a sense of closeness I didn't want to. Their name was fine, that was more than enough.

It was the same with you. I just needed to know your name, nothing else, nothing more. Because we were made for war, made to fight in humanity's name, looking as human as possible but never being treated like one. We chose to, or forced to, give up that side of us for reasons no one but us would ever know.

Constructs were just that, war machines. To be used and disposed of. Yet, there you were. With your gentle voice and touch, leading us forwards but running at our side, giving us order but hearing our opinions and suggestions in every single step you decided to take. For you, the three of us, meant more than just machines to fight the enemy, we meant more than just a frame and a dog tag. To you, we were equal to humans. To you, we were friends, companions.

And I believed in luck. Because of you. I was able to let go of prejudice and decided to let my guard down, I decided to leave my past and traumas and give you my trust. You ended up being the reason I thought luck actually came and saved me. I wasn't betrayed, I wasn't used, I wasn't disposed of and I wasn't left behind. Because, for you, I was more than just a three letter name, I was someone you cherished deeply, I was part of your team, I was part of this… family.

I wasn't just Lee. I was Lee from Gray Raven. And I was not alone. The world, still as cold and harsh, the fights endless and my hands still hold guns, but now even if they're made of metal, they're not cold anymore. When I walk and I look at my side, there's my teammates and you. You, ready to risk that precious life to protect us, to give a chance for a new tomorrow, to give other people the chance to believe in hope.

You.

That's why, once again, I didn't think twice in risking my life if it means to bring the same chances, to deliver the same hope. Because I am Lee from Gray Raven, I decided to do what I only could do, fighting against time, against any odds, giving my life, my past, present and future to hope. Giving myself to this new family, giving my life to you, refusing to give up and settle for less. I made up my mind never resting again, not until I could meet a reality where Gray Raven is always together, the four of us.

And I will keep doing so. As long as Gray Raven exists, as long as you are here with me, I will keep fighting, I will keep holding those guns I used to hate the most, I will keep going forward, I will keep hoping. Because even if the world is cold and dark, every day the sun rises from the horizon. Because every single time, spring comes after the winter and the flowers bloom admits the chaos.

I once wished for luck to come and save me, not knowing it had a different name. Your name.

───────────────────────────

[verityshandle]

Yours.

Media: Punishing: Gray Raven Pair: Lee x Polaris Type: One-shot Word Count: 5765 words

Notes I just started archiving old fics. Original publish date will not be listed heehee

That day was yet another busy day for Polaris. The same old work with papers and reports, as Gray Raven had not been dispatched to a surface mission since a few weeks ago. Even if Polaris herself found surface missions to be dangerous and energy-draining, at least it was less boring than making reports, sending data, or signing countless documents. But that was her duty, and her source of happiness--she still enjoyed working as a commandant, and her job was a way for her to throw her past behind. Being in Gray Raven had calmed her soul down, even when the field was full of tumultuous battles.

Exhausted with work, the commandant decided to look around to rest her eyes on the screen, and at the center of the office was Lucia, who was busy helping Polaris with her work. Even Polaris didn't understand why she was there, sitting on the couch and sorting her document archives. The only conclusion she could get was that Lucia did not want her to shoulder everything alone. Polaris was a bit confused but ended up accepting her help. Perhaps Lucia was right, she mustn't work alone all the time.

Her eyes wandered again, this time noticing Liv. Her hands were busy making some crafts, possibly to decorate their shared office or to decorate her dormitory. Regardless of her reason for making those crafts shaped like sheep, rabbits, frogs, and other kinds of animals, Polaris liked the look of the crafts. But due to not wanting to disturb Liv's concentration, Polaris refrained from telling Liv that she was doing a good job with making the crafts. Instead, she focused again on her work and finished whatever she was told while they were not out on a surface mission. Slacking off too much won't be a good thing.

For what felt like an eternity, Polaris' attention was on her work. She had finished two reports about Gray Raven's activities within the past month as well as their latest surface missions, and replying to some important emails from Celica, until she was checking one more email from Celica. One that surprised her the most due to the contents inside of it, as well as the sender of the e-mail.

Dear Polaris,

I hope this email finds you well. My name is Allen, and I am writing on behalf of the World Government Association of Art. I would like to extend a warm invitation to you and Gray Raven to attend our banquet at the Main Hall of the World Government Association of Art's building. I and all executive staff of the World Government Association of Art had discussed with Eden Government's executive figures before writing this mail to invite you and Gray Raven as a whole, and after receiving their approval, I have decided to write this invitation to you.

We, the World Government Association of Art, are hoping that you would like to come and present a speech about the progress of Gray Raven's future plans in hopes of lifting the beliefs and spirits of the other banquet attendees. We believe you are more than capable of being our fire of hope in this chaotic, dystopian world. You can also allow Gray Raven to speak about their hopes for the future as well, should you wish for them to say a few words as well.

Your and Gray Raven's presence would mean so much to every attendee, as well as to me and the World Government Association of Art as a whole. We hope that you and Gray Raven can attend our event. A follow-up mail will be sent about the date of the banquet to you, two days before the event.

Sincerely,

Allen

President of World Government Association of Art

For a moment, Polaris could not believe her eyes. Being invited to a banquet at WGAA and giving an inspirational speech was not on her list of things that could happen during the current month. For better or worse, all of Gray Raven was invited, and the event was going to be held within a few days. She could've sworn that she panicked inside, but managed to keep herself together for the time being.

"Lucia, Liv." She called the two girls calmly. At the voice of their commandant, the two girls quickly got up and approached Polaris' desk, their eyes showing a mixture of curiosity and concern. "Something that we can help with, Commandant?" Polaris shook her head. "Nothing, I only wanted to announce something. I will send comms to Lee, he also needs to be here. This is pretty important, I think."

Opening her comms terminal, Polaris sent a voice message to Lee, ordering him to come quickly to her office. At this point in time, Polaris was familiar enough with Lee's schedule from her observations of his activities. Lee's activity at this hour was to be in his personal workspace doing whatever he wanted, just a few rooms away from the Gray Raven's main office. It took a while for Lee to finish his work, before giving Polaris a quick, short reply to her voice message. Be there in a second, it read.

After a few more minutes of waiting, Lee finally entered the main office. He received expectant looks from the other three, but the look that caught his attention the most was the look from the commandant herself. He could've sworn the thermal modules were burning again but to a lesser degree than the ones he usually felt. "What is it, Commandant?"

Satisfied, Polaris clapped her hands. Taking a deep breath, she began explaining the reason why she gathered all of them inside the office. "So, for... whatever reason, WGAA has invited all of us to come to their banquet on Saturday. I was expected to give a speech, and the important guy from WGAA said that you guys could give a speech of your own if any of you would like to. Not mandatory, but you can."

Lucia, Liv, and Lee nodded in understanding, yet Polaris could see a tinge of surprise in all of the Construct's eyes. She felt a bit of relief in her chest, knowing that her squad was equally surprised as her. Or better, knowing that there's a probability that they were also as nervous as her. For a moment, Polaris continued to observe them in silence, as if she was waiting for an answer from the three Constructs before her.

"Perhaps I should give a speech too, as I am Gray Raven's captain. Would you mind that, Commandant?" Lucia asked Polaris. From her tone, Polaris knew that she was determined to help lessen the burden of speaking in front of many people, and she also wanted to carry out her duty as a captain. Lee and Liv, on the other hand, did not say a thing, indicating their refusal to say anything at the banquet. Polaris clapped again, satisfied that everything was settled. "Great. Lucia and I will give some words to the attendees, you both can wait. The banquet is in a few days, so you might want to prepare your best outfits. I will also do the same."

"Roger, Commandant!"

Polaris nodded in satisfaction and dismissed her squad. Lucia and Liv immediately returned to what they were doing until they were done, leaving for their own quarters. Lee also did the same, walking out of the office to head to his room while thinking of his commandant's words. Yet before Lee had left the office completely, he heard a voice call out to him.

"Lee, I look forward to what you'll be wearing."

"It's probably the same suit you've seen me wearing, but I'll make it clean and crisp for the event."

In his room, Lee pondered in front of his coating wardrobe. His thoughts drifted back to the day when he wore that suit. He remembered he wore that suit when he and the Gray Ravens were out on a special mission to entertain children at an event. He would perform various magic tricks, and gain reward tickets for it. He also remembered how he performed tricks at the streets during the same event and made sure his angle was perfect for the commandant herself to see, and tell her about the secrets of some of his magic tricks. Lee remembered it all fondly.

But the memory that Lee remembered best, was how he made a flurry of paper roses that rained down, and many people picked a rose to give to their special ones. He would never admit it, but he considered the gesture sweet. And for his commandant specifically, he hid a small package of chocolate inside the petals. It made him flustered, but what made him even more flustered was the fact that all the events had happened after that day.

The day they professed their feelings for one another on The Nighter.

Lee was aware of his commandant's feelings, and so did Polaris with Lee’s. However, it had stopped at that and never went further. They had no "status". They did not specify it at all. To them, acknowledging and accepting one another's feelings were more than enough. After all, he and Polaris were living in what seemed to be an endless war. A wrong decision, and their relationship would be over.

But today, Lee somehow felt differently about the idea.

Lee began to think, what if others would approach the commandant, and profess their love? What if the others would make her leave him, as they still had no relationship status at all? What if he lost Polaris? Those thoughts began to fill his mind, and it was making him feel uneasy. He also thought, now that he and Polaris had gone quite far in their relationship, why not make things official with her?

But again, Lee was still hesitant. He had the possibility of forcing his feelings too much towards Polaris should he ever voice his desire to make Polaris his girlfriend. More importantly, would she agree to his request? Lee knew that commitments were not Polaris' forte, and she preferred things to be more open-ended. Asking Polaris to be his might lead to him losing her, so in the end, Lee decided to keep quiet.

"... I'll think of it some other time," Lee mused. He then proceeded to browse the clothes inside his coating wardrobe and took a good look at the coating he wore during that event. Without realizing it, Lee had a small smile plastered on his face. His artificial heart's beating rate also grew. Was he excited? Probably yes. But like usual, Lee would never voice it out.

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Back in the office, Polaris was still busy with her work. Luckily, Polaris only needed to reply to a few more emails and send some documents before she could finish and prepare for the banquet. She had to make sure that she had the appropriate attire to attend the event, and soon after she finished her work, Polaris immediately headed to her dormitory to look at her wardrobe. She had an assortment of clothes, yet none seemed to suit the occasion. Polaris began to wonder, was she too focused on her job that she barely had time to buy clothes, or add more variations to her wardrobe? But then again, her job was always related to office work or combat. If she was not working, she would only wear casual clothes.

"I need to get clothes for formal occasions today. I need at least two or three dresses, just in case I will be invited to more of these things."

Polaris closed her wardrobe doors slowly with thoughts of going shopping in her mind. Afterward, she checked her current amount of Black Cards inside her account. "This is probably enough," Polaris muttered to herself. A sigh of relief escaped the commandant's lips, knowing she had enough time and money to buy her something nice later on the streets of Babylonia before the banquet. Deciding that she would prepare ahead of time instead of the last minute, she took off her coat and threw it aside before heading out from the main office. After all, she was done with her work–she could do whatever she wanted.

Outside, Polaris was met with the sight of Lee, who seemed to be done with his crafts inside his dormitory and decided to head out for himself. When he saw Polaris, he had a strange look on his face, as if he was scanning Polaris in a way. "Going somewhere, Commandant?" Lee asked, to which Polaris replied with a simple nod. She had guessed that Lee was just curious about where she was heading, hence making her walk past Lee while keeping quiet.

But Lee wasn't going to buy her silence just like that.

Quickly, he followed Polaris and caught up to her, before matching his walking pace with hers. His actions were met with a look of surprise from Polaris, yet she decided to leave him be and let him follow her. As they walked together outside the building, Polaris decided to ask the blond Construct the question she just had in mind: "Why did you decide to follow me?"

Lee only replied with a shrug and kept quiet. But should anyone look close enough, the heat in his thermal module was rising. His mind also replayed a scene from his memory, back to the times when Polaris would accompany him to buy a chip when her small dancing robot was broken and needed a chip replacement. He knew that to him and Polaris, that day felt like a date, even when it was not one and they were yet to develop feelings for one another. Another memory of the "date" that Lee remembered was the way he tugged at Polaris' arm and pulled her away when a girl walked up to him and asked for his number. Now that Lee thought of it, he was a bit out of his mind when he just pulled Polaris away like that. It's as if he was pulling away his girlfriend when she wasn't even his.

"... I only wanted to accompany you. Just think of it as my way of repaying you for accompanying me back when I was buying the chip for your robot. Plus, going outside alone for a woman isn't the best idea."

Polaris nodded in acknowledgment, now that she knew of Lee's intent to follow her outside. Lee's second statement, however, intrigued her in a way. Did he mean that he wanted to protect her from men who could harass her? Polaris would never know, but that was her safest bet considering Lee's earlier statement. The pair kept silent on their way out until they reached Babylonia's shopping district. It puzzled Lee a little for her to be here.

"Why here, out of all places?" Lee asked, his blue eyes looking intently at Polaris. What puzzled him even more, was that Polaris was looking for a boutique. Polaris chose to keep her mouth shut, however, and continued walking towards a boutique that sold fancy dresses. When Lee followed her inside the boutique and browsed through the dresses, he finally understood why Polaris would head to a boutique. She was there to get herself a new dress for the banquet.

Lee kept on following Polaris around, accompanying her browse through the dresses. For some reason, he had an urge to help Polaris pick a dress but he decided to stay silent for the time being and let his commandant choose what she wanted. The first dress she had an eye on was a black high-low dress with silver ornaments. Polaris thought that the dress was pretty, but decided against buying it because of the sudden discomfort she had when imagining herself in it. The second one she had an eye on was a halter dress. It was black in color, but she considered it too plain in terms of design due to the lack of ornaments on it. The third one was a wrap dress with a large, white silk ribbon and some sparkles to decorate it. Even so, Polaris was still not a fan of the dress silhouette, and only loved the silk ribbon. Sighing, Polaris looked at Lee like she was begging for him to help her choose. Lee took notice and nodded at Polaris with confidence. "My fashion sense is good enough. I'll help you pick. You can sit somewhere, Commandant," Lee instructed.

As Lee told, the commandant took a seat at one of the small chairs inside the boutique while Lee moved around to choose a dress for her. Polaris felt a bit concerned, yet she would trust Lee's judgment for today. Lee, on the other hand, walked around the boutique and browsed through the dresses. He considered Ris' preference to even the smallest details like the decorative aspects. It took Lee a while until he came back to his commandant with a black knee-length tulle dress with black lace on the upper parts. The outermost layer of the dress also had a white gradient, and not much sparkles were present--just the way Polaris preferred. Walking back to Polaris, he presented her with his dress of choice.

The commandant could not believe her eyes. Lee just picked out a dress, a beautiful one, even. When asked about the price, Lee replied, "It's affordable for you. 4,500 Black Cards, while you've saved up more than 700,000." He remarked while showing the price tag to his commandant. Excited, she took the dress from Lee and headed for the fitting room to try it out for herself. The dress suited her perfectly, but she still decided to ask Lee for his opinion on the dress. Coming out from the fitting room, she called out to Lee. "So... Does this suit me enough?"

Lee swore that the heat inside his modules was rising again. The sight of his commandant wearing such a pretty dress and the idea of seeing her in that with other accessories during the banquet made him feel both flustered and excited at the same time. "... Good enough, Commandant," Lee remarked. Even with his words that sounded harsh, Polaris could tell that it was his way of telling her that she looked good, and that was how it always was.

After gaining Lee's approval, Polaris headed back to the fitting room to change back into her regular clothes. She planned to buy only that dress for the occasion and after changing back, she and Lee immediately headed for the cashier. When Polaris paid for her dress, the store clerk said to her, "Such a nice dress! And I saw that your partner chose it for you, too. How sweet of him!"

Polaris scratched her head nervously at the remark. This was not the first time that people called Lee as her partner. In fact, this was probably the tenth time someone would say it. She has heard things from other commandants about how close she was towards Lee, and she even heard from neighboring squads and even from Lee's brother Murray. "N-no, he's not my partner. He's just a colleague from my workplace who happened to pass by my workplace, and he decided to accompany me while I go shopping," Polaris remarked, defending herself from the claim. In addition, Lee also nodded at Polaris' words and made it seem like he agreed with her, even if he was in the colleague-zone. At least, they confessed to each other on the Kowloong Nighter at some point in time.

Done with their shopping, the pair walked outside the boutique and took in the air of Babylonia's artificial atmosphere. Polaris was about to ask Lee whether he wanted to head elsewhere than just shopping, but Lee already had a destination in mind. "I will be outside for long. I just remembered that I had to grab a few things, and it's probably better for you not to follow me around. You'll get exhausted," Lee remarked. "I'll be sure to be back before six in the evening. Be careful on your way back, Commandant."

Lee turned his back from Polaris and walked towards the distance. Polaris was a bit confused, but decided to shrug it off and head back. She understood that Lee was worried about her stamina, and heading back was her best option. Following Lee around while he was shopping would only lead him into scolding her, so Polaris took her leave back to the office. A mixture of happiness and disappointment was inside her chest–Polaris was glad that Lee chose a dress for her, but she felt a bit disappointed that she didn't get to accompany Lee outside for longer.

"I should head back," Polaris muttered to herself. Turning her heel, she headed back to the Gray Raven office with her new dress in hand. As for Lee, he headed elsewhere--one that his commandant probably won't bother to ask about. He had his own agenda to fulfill, and he refused to explain to his commandant until the time was finally right.

The few days passed like the blink of an eye for Gray Raven. Polaris and Lucia had prepared their speeches, the follow-up mail about the set date was already received and read, and each Gray Raven member had chosen their attire for the event. Tonight was their big night, and so they had to look their best.

Especially the commandant, who had been staring in front of her vanity mirror for a few minutes.

Polaris had applied her make-up and wore the dress she bought a few days prior, yet she felt like something was off about her. Seeing herself in the mirror all dolled up felt off for her–it did not feel like her, if anything. Her style had never been this feminine, and so Polaris felt a bit nervous to go out in such a manner. Moreover, the speech she was going to give was nerve-racking. The eyes would all be on her, and she mustn't mess up.

"Nngh..." Polaris grunted. She felt like her stomach was being churned from the anxiety. Failure had always been her biggest enemy, and should she mess up during her speech, she would feel like she wanted to bury herself six meters deep under the ground.

In the midst of her thoughts, a knock on the metal door of her quarters snapped her out. Polaris quickly opened the door, revealing Lee with a white, medium-sized box in his hand. "I see that you're ready, Commandant. Here, I brought you something. It's up to you whether you want to wear them today or not."

Lee left her quarters as abruptly as he arrived, leaving the commandant in confusion. Polaris closed the door before she took a good, long look at the box. It had nothing like a logo on it, suggesting that the box was from Lee himself. Curious, she opened the box slowly and saw its contents--a pair of black lace gloves, earrings, and a card that read, "Think of these as my gratitude for you, Commandant. Good luck with your speech later."

At that moment, Polaris could've sworn she had a dumb smile on her face as she slipped her hands inside the gloves. But for a moment, she hesitated to wear the earrings due to her feelings of discontent in giving herself more accessories.

But well, it was for Lee's sake anyway. Might as well make him happy.

Luckily, all she had to do was clip them on her ears and she was ready for the night's big event. Once she was all set, she headed out from her quarters and met up with her squad.

The WGAA main hall was filled with many important guests from equally many factions, some of which are acquaintances to Allen himself. For the commandant, it was nerve-racking to know that she would be speaking to that many people in one venue. As she was connected to Lucia at that time, the female Construct could feel how nervous her commandant was. "We will nail this, Commandant," Lucia reassured, patting Polaris on her shoulder. "Liv and Lee would be watching us too, so just focus on them and pretend no one else is here."

Lucia's words encouraged Polaris enough, and during their time to head on the stage, they were prepared and ready. Polaris felt like there were no eyes that were going to judge her, and the focus of her mind was on Gray Raven. She knew that they would still love her regardless of the mistakes she made while delivering her speech. The event began with a greeting from Allen himself, before it was time for the Gray Raven commandant to take the stage.

The greeting and first few paragraphs of Polaris' speech went pretty well, with her addressing many issues smoothly. Her voice was clear, unlike how she would usually talk in her workplace. For the first time after a few years had passed, she felt quite alive to talk in front of others. Gray Raven got her back, after all.

For a few more paragraphs, Polaris was doing great. Lucia, who was looking at her commandant's performance, lightly clapped her hand. The sight of her commandant being in her zone was a rare sight in her eyes, and she loved every second of it. Unfortunately, Lucia's excitement didn't last long the moment Polaris' mind blanked out. To make matters worse, she spotted someone giving her commandant a few looks of displeasure as if to show disgust.

And to Polaris, the one who saw it all, it stung her a little. But she had to focus herself again before she could finally finish her speech. A few seconds of backtracking later, and she managed to finish her speech with an apology, a thank you, and a polite bow towards the audience before exhaling in relief and leaving the stage for Lucia's speech. Below, she was met with an equally excited Liv, and a proud Lee.

"You did amazing, Commandant!"

"I agree. You may have blanked out a little back there, but it wasn't bad."

Polaris was relieved. The sight of the people with the disgusted looks seemed to have just disappeared from her mind at the sight of her teammates. And for a few more minutes, her gaze was locked on Lucia's figure. The way she delivered everything was perfect, and her expression showed resolution in every word she spoke. As Lucia's commandant, she loved how alive Lucia felt there too.

"And that concludes what I could deliver tonight. Thank you very much for your attention."

Lucia bowed down to the audience, and then followed with the sound of people clapping as she got down from the stage. Once she was back with her squad, she gave a cue for all of Gray Raven to do a fistbump like how they once did in Kowloong some time ago. After a closing from Allen, they proceeded to enjoy the night like how they originally intended while live music played in the background to liven up the atmosphere. Lucia quickly headed to the sweets corner, while Liv was being approached by women and girls who were invited to the banquet for small talk. Polaris on the other hand, headed to the drinks area. The melon-flavored syrup drink attracted her eyes, and she wanted to have a sip of that. On the other hand, Lee decided to go away from the crowd while no one was looking. The stairs that lead to the upper corridors of the WGAA building caught Lee's attention, and he decided to head upstairs for a little alone time before going back to his commandant and squad.

Lee saw the endless void of space through the windows. He knew that it was probably an illusory space created to project the times where Earth was still the blue planet it once was before the Punishing Virus broke out at some point, but it didn't matter–it was beautiful, and he was going to keep his eyes on the sight while his mind wandered around in a reverie. Lee's thoughts from a few days back began to intensify. He really wanted to say it–say that he wanted to officially make Polaris his girlfriend. Say that he wanted to be the only person that would take care of her. Say that he wanted to be the one who would protect her.

But of course, his anxiety was still there. The fear of rejection, the feeling of getting pushed away by the commandant that he had devoted himself to. He didn't want any of those to happen. Sighing, Lee closed his eyes for a few moments to focus himself again. He felt like he was being illogical for wanting to claim his commandant all to himself and thinking about his emotions too much. But that side of him–the side he had when he was still known as Morian, was still right there somewhere in his M.I.N.D. and begged him to just give in to his feelings. The conflicting thoughts led Lee nowhere, and he felt himself getting more unstable. Was he on the verge of tears? Lee didn't know, but he hated it for sure.

Lee almost fell completely into his negative feelings, but then he felt a familiar voice call out to him in worry. Turning his head to the voice's direction, he saw Polaris looking at him in worry. "I have kept connections with all of Gray Raven's M.I.N.D. system, but yours is the most unstable, Lee. Something wrong?"

The blonde Construct flinched upon hearing his commandant's words. So she had been keeping herself connected, Lee thought. As much as he was flustered to admit that his M.I.N.D. was unstable from all the thoughts he had, he felt relieved that Polaris was there. Lee was considering using this as a chance, but he had to confirm that everything was under control.

"Not much. Just some crazy fluctuations, but I'm glad you are here."

"... If you say so."

Polaris decided that she would have to keep Lee company for a while, in case the fluctuations happen again. But due to how she kept herself connected, she could still feel the tension coming from Lee like he wanted to say something he had long kept in mind but did not dare to say a word about it. "Lee, you know you can trust me. Do you want to say something to me?" Polaris asked again with the same concerned tone as before. "I can't understand M.I.N.D. fluctuations, so it's better to tell me if you got something that you're worried about."

Hearing his commandant's words, Lee only sighed and averted his gaze to the window. His mind was still weighing all the options and results he could get from asking his commandant out, causing more fluctuations in his system. Polaris clearly did not like it, making her cut her connection with Lee and rushed to hold his metal fingers. Cold, Polaris thought. But at least her hands were warm enough to ease the tension Lee felt in one way or another.

Lee flinched at the gesture. Never in his life he thought that he would hold hands with a woman–one that he had feelings for and cared for the most, even. Awkwardly, he let himself hold Polaris' hand back while looking away from her as the heat inside his thermal modules rose. The tension calmed down a little, but Polaris could still feel it. Deciding that she should reattempt to calm down the blonde Construct for one last time, she chose to scold him. "Lee, I really don't know what's with you tonight, but I wish to know. Tell me everything–I want to help."

Feeling the force coming from his commandant's words, Lee relented and took a deep breath. Afterwards, he looked over to the commandant and locked his gaze with hers. Despite the countless possibilities of responses, Lee decided to take the chance. To Lee, it's better than regret. He had many regrets already, and he did not want to have them in those moments like what he was having at that moment. "Commandant, we live in a tumultuous world, we knew that already. And I also knew that it was the reason why you chose not to specify our relationship. But tonight, I wanted to make things different."

Lee stayed silent for a while, then continued his words as he finally looked at his commandant. "I just... want to be yours, Commandant. Sure, a relationship may not work in this universe, but I want to try and make things work. So, Commandant... Do you wish to be mine?"

Polaris couldn't believe her ears. Lee was asking her to be his lover right in front of her. Blood rushed to the commandant's cheeks, and the grip she had on Lee's hand grew tighter. Polaris let out a small squeak in an attempt to respond, but no words came out from her lips from how flustered she was at Lee's request to be her lover. "It's okay, Commandant. I understand that you may not want to, but–"

"No, Lee. I want to be yours."

Lee swore that his heat regulation module was going into overdrive. Polaris accepted him. However, he had to keep a calm look on his face, resulting in them awkwardly holding hands while the light from the scenery behind them illuminated the dim corridor. Polaris' face was blushing, while Lee averted his gaze from his commandant and held his chin with his right hand. They stayed in position for a long while, until Polaris proposed to go back to the first floor.

"Oh, um... Should we head back now?"

"Y-yes. We should. Gray Raven might be looking for us."

Polaris and Lee headed downstairs together, still hand-in-hand. It all still felt awkward and different, especially with their status after they finally sealed their relationship. But they were also looking forward to their future. Even if they knew that the road ahead wouldn't be smooth, they knew they would still have each other. They would still continue helping and protecting one another like before. Be it as a commandant and aide or as lovers, they would still be doing the same thing no matter which universe they were in.

That was their choice, and that was a choice they would never regret.