The two of us welcomed Private Riley back after his recovery with open arms as we celebrated in the mess hall that had plenty of buffet tables with a range of different foods. I was surprised to see that we had all of this food stocked up in our pantry after all the raids that have been happening for the past few weeks. I can't complain though especially since most of what foods are offered are ones that Private Riley himself overly enjoyed like slow cooked meats, pasta, stir fried vegetables, fries, and a range of different sauces that ranged from Louisiana spicy hot to a more 'baby' spice level as Private Riley called it when Lieutenant Davis tried Private Riley's hot sauce one time and rushed into the kitchen and drank milk straight from the bottle, so our lovely chefs made a very milder version of it for the sake of Lieutenant Davis' taste buds and their milk.

It was a hilarious sight to see and one that I don't think we can ever recreate.

Not without Private Bane.

Goddamn it, Stop thinking about her!

Just like that the memory faded away from my mind at the thought of who was once my best friend now turned enemy.

"A toast!" Lieutenant Davis' declared as he stood up from his seat and raised his glass high above his head. "To Private Riley and his body of pure steel."

Private Riley then chuckled and shook his head as he too got up from his seat and also raised his glass above his head.

"No. A toast to the man who carried my bleeding ass three miles back to base despite the odds not looking in my favour."

I smiled softly at the two of them and joined in on their shenanigans.

"And a toast to my brothers in arms"

We all clinked our glasses together and took a sip, as the whiskey touched my lips I saw Sergeant Collins and Colonel Hitchen glaring at us from afar while they were having a conversation. I couldn't hear anything over the chatter from my brothers in arms and the sound of our chefs cooking up more food as we seemed to be devouring the whole buffet table.

Regardless, I could tell that we were being judged for simply celebrating and showing pure happiness and joy not only as friends but also as a family.

Sergeant Collins and Colonel Hitchen have warned us plenty of times before not to get too attached to one another just in case something does happen and one of us falls.

Those two have tried multiple times over the years to turn us all into nothing but cold blooded killers. They never saw us as human beings. Just pawns to their twisted games of conflict. Real conflict. Their orders that they give us do have consequences and recently, those consequences have converted Private Bane to the enemy lines and almost got Private Riley killed.

I will not allow them to continue to do this to us. I will stay and keep my friends safe. No matter what happens or the costs.

Before I knew it, I had been staring too long as Lieutenant Davis flicked his fingers in my face to get my attention.

"Lily?" 

I fell back into my chair as I blinked out of the zone I had put myself in.

"Yeah?" 

He only frowned at my response and my gaze shifted to Private Riley who was in a laughing fit.

"I said, should we head off to bed? It's getting late and we have a meeting tomorrow morning with Sergeant Collins and Colonel Hitchen."

I too frowned at the question and tried to figure out why Private Riley was laughing. Is it because Lieutenant Davis had to repeat himself to me? Or is it because Private Riley is taking the question out of context as he knows that the two of us share a bunk together. We aren't partners, nor are we anything more than friends. But all that aside, we are once again summoned for another meeting. I assume it is going to be another suicide mission. It normally always is these days.

"Yea, bed." 

A/N: Apologies for the delay, I've been battling writer's block the past few days. But fear not, I am slowly coming out of it and I can't wait to resume this project.
Also, today marks the day that this project has reached 100 total reads so thank you all so much for your love and support.