"talking"

'thinking'

START

"Yuuya Bridges?"

"Hmm?" the American TSF ace turned towards the Russian pilot he was walking with.

"Thank you for coming with me. I am certain the American MPs would have hassled me a lot more if you weren't here." As always, Cryska spoke in an even tone that revealed little emotion. The pair were searching for Ina, who had again wandered off base. It was a sunny afternoon, and surprisingly warm, for Alaska.

"That's no problem. After all the time you listened to me talk about my problems, it was the least I could do" Yuuya smiled at the impassive young woman 'And the fact that you don't even know what a 'date' is makes it all the better' After the disaster that was his relationship with Sharon Heim, he wanted to avoid any romantic entanglements. At least until he got his head back on straight.

He could hang out with his squad, but sometimes they got to be too much, especially as they were all trying to set him up with Lt. Yui, their boss. The fact that his commanding officer had a crush on him made things very awkward. But Cryska would just listen. there was no drama, no expectations. he could just relax and be himself.

"Hey, you want to take a break and grab something to eat?" Yuuya asked.

"That would be wise. What would you recommend?" Ina disappearing had become almost routine. So much so, that Cryska was quite relaxed, enjoying searching the city with Yuuya at her side.

"Over there is a little hole in the wall that sells Middle Eastern food, and it's take out. It's pretty good."

Cryska wasn't familiar with foreign cuisine, so she let Yuuya pick out her meal – something called 'shwarma' in a bread pocket with chopped vegetables. "This is very good" Cryska lead the two of them to a park bench and sat down.

"Yeah. I never had anything like this back home. Except for a few dishes that my mother cooked, I mostly ate american fast food. How about you?" Yuuya sat down next to the russian beauty and took a sip of his drink.

"I ate whatever was served in the Cafeteria." Cryska shrugged.

"Did your mother cook anything special?"

Cryska sat silently for a long time, as if uncertain how to proceed. "I... do not have parents."

Yuuya sat up in surprise "How is that possible?"

Cryska continued, her voice softer than usual. "I was genetically engineered in a laboratory. There were twenty of us originally. We were given the last name of the surrogate mother who carried us to term. Ina and I were the only successful ones."

"Successful? You mean the others all died?" Yuuya asked, horrified.

"Yes. They didn't even bother naming most of us. The Scientists that worked with us just gave us nicknames." Cryska stopped talking. The shwarma sandwich sat in her hands, forgotten.

Yuuya awkwardly put a hand on the woman's back, not certain if he should comfort her, or if that would offend the proud soldier.

"They called my Cryska" she continued in a tiny voice, "It means 'little rat'"

Yuuya was appalled. He reached out and hugged the silver haired woman, "I.. that's awful. And I thought... you name sounds so much like 'crystal', I thought it was a beautiful name. I..."

Cryska turned her head towards Yuuya, "You really think it's beautiful?" her voice sounded hopeful

Yuuya nodded, happy to help lift the woman's spirits.

Cryska smiled, her face inches from Yuuya.

'When she smiles, she's gorgeous' Yuuya just stared at the Russian pilot as she leaned closer to him. He wasn't certain which of them kissed the other, but neither pulled away.

'well, there goes that plan' was Yuuya's last coherent thought as he reached a hand up to pull closer the woman he was kissing.

"Cryska! I knew I would find you!" a young silver haired girl bounced in. "Um, Cryska? What are you doing?"