Keegan - past

You shrink into your uniform, a bundle of insecurity in the middle of the immaculate training camp.

Your colleagues look at you with disdain. Sergeant Keegan, a man of steel and discipline, sees you as just another recruit, one who requires more patience than he's willing to give.

One day, while practicing marksmanship, one of your teammates sees you looking at Keegan with an expression of admiration. A joke, a quick dig, and your secret spreads like wildfire until it reaches the sergeant's ears.

"What is this I'm hearing?" Keegan asks you in the cold, sharp voice he uses with everyone. "Your classmates are talking nonsense about you and me..."

You look down. “Sergeant, I just... wanted to tell you I admire you. You’ve been a mentor to me, and…”

Keegan snorts in disdain. “Don’t be mistaken, recruit. There’s no room for feelings here, only for duty. You’re a stain on this uniform, a dead weight my men have to drag around.”

The memory came back to Keegan when they met again. But you were different, a fierce gaze, a trembling of iron... You hadn't just changed; your skills had improved; you were now relentless.

They had been assigned a mission together which had been a resounding success, he was on board the plane returning, the hum of the engines filling the space.

Keegan, who had maintained a professional distance until then, approached you with an expression that for once wasn't disdainful. "Do you want to get something to drink when you get home?"

You looked into his eyes, the words that had once hurt you echoing in your mind. You calmly replied, "Sergeant," you said, "don't be confused. We're here only on duty. There's no room for anything else."

A spark of recognition flickered in Keegan's eyes. His posture stiffened, returning to its usual aloofness. "I guess you haven't forgotten the past, huh?" he said, his voice raspy.