Calsu yawned, mandibles splitting wide open. She blinked awake and glanced at her mate. He was still breathing evenly, sound asleep. She grinned and checked the time. 8:56 am. Normally the day would start at 7:00 if you were lucky, but Calsu remembered they were on leave. She settled back down next to Troy. Their activities last night must have taken more out of him than she had expected. Not that it mattered; she would always wait for him.

By the time Troy woke up, Calsu was already getting dressed. He lazily slid out of bed, the cool morning air making him shiver as it brushed against his bare skin. He pulled on his uniform, giving Calsu a quick kiss before they headed out to the cafeteria. Once they had settled down, Flint, Linda, Nasu and Austin sat across from them.

"So... how'd it go last night?" Flint inquired, shovelling a forkful of MRE into his mouth. Troy and Calsu shared a worried look. "Oh come on! Did you really think we wouldn't notice?" Their four squad mates were grinning evilly.

"It went excellently," Calsu answered, denying them the amusement her blush would bring. She slid an arm around Troy's shoulders to prove this point. He however, was too shy to repress his blush, causing their friends to chuckle, which in turn made him blush harder.

"He is red as a potato!" Nasu exclaimed, making everyone except himself roar with laughter. He sat there, slightly confused at what the big joke was.

"It's... tomato!" Flint gasped, trying to repress his mirth long enough to speak. Finally, they all calmed down a bit. Nasu harrumphed, not daring to say anything else.

"It's all right," Austin comforted him. "We're all Newbies at one point." Austin turned to Calsu. "Even you. Funny how these things happen, ay? One moment, you were the new recruit, then next you're hookin' up with ODSTs." Again, Calsu tried not to blush, and tried to cover up the colour spreading across her face by saying:

"You sound disappointed," she teased. "If any more females make it into the military, I will alert you."

The six friends continued like this for hours, laughing, teasing and just having a good time in general. War was weird like that; it was so horrifying, yet it could forge friendships, help you find love, give you a reason. And when it was over... you tended to appreciate the small things more.