Sergio crossed his arms to express his annoyance in his best attempt to not speak or give himself away, not knowing the wonderful defense he was about to receive.
“Maybe not to you he doesn’t talk, if you’d stop being so defensive around everyone…” Marco seemed to notice the look in Anna’s eyes and began to switch gears. “Yes, Sergio is a bit, introverted, sure, but he’s an intelligent and brave person, not to mention a gentleman. And he passed the testing and all that to become a Hunter like everybody else, didn’t he?”
“You are right, I know. Maybe I ought to give him the same chance. He is sort of handsome.” Anna looked off into the great expanse of the elevator column.
Sergio couldn’t believe his ears.
“I think you might be surprised by the depth of his heart.” Marco said, giving Anna a warm pat on the arm before taking a step back. “Well, wish me luck, I’ll see you later.”
“Good luck, Marco. Come find me if you need any advice about your mission.” Anna smiled genuinely, for the first time that Sergio had ever seen.
“I will, and thank you again Anya.” Marco finally turned towards the mess hall, and Sergio decided to try and look as if he hadn’t been intently listening.
Of course he knew that Marco would be able to spot him next to the mess hall door, especially because he had said that they would meet here earlier. He turned his head to the floor, this time trying purposefully to daydream, at least she would believe that and not immediately suspect that he had been listening to their conversation. Unfortunately, he wasn’t successful.
“Hey Sergio, did you eat already?” Marco strode over calmly with a telling smile, it seemed she understood that he had heard everything and didn’t even try to make excuses for it or retract her praises of him.
“Yeah, but I don’t mind going in with you.” He scrunched up one cheek in half a smile, still processing through the elements of her conversation with Anna.
“I’ll just grab something quick and then what? Do you still need to pack your bag?” She tensed one eyebrow questioningly.
“Yeah, I should.” He nodded. “I’m on the list for tonight’s patrols, so that means we have a couple of hours until the afternoon briefing, Vera will probably want to see us before or after that shift change.”
“Okay, I’ll go get some food and then I’ll go with you to your room. Wait here.” Marco said hurriedly, taking the red cloth that she usually wore around her neck out from her pants pocket and pushing open the door to the mess hall.
Sergio was too stunned by her quick sentence to protest, as he had expressed that he didn’t mind going in to sit with her while she had her breakfast, but going in now would seem awkward and he had already said goodbye to Maro and his group for the moment. Thankfully Anna had already disappeared from the vestibule to another sector; he didn’t even want to imagine how uncomfortable a conversation with her would be right now. He settled back against the wall and squatted down, picturing how many people had turned their heads and greeted Marco as she went inside. She was proving to be quite popular already and Sergio hoped that nobody would try to pull her into telling another story about her time in Realm. Instead, he tried to think of something else; how splendidly professional she looked in the same uniform sported by half the Hunters in the Order. She was issued the same black and grey stealth operations gear that Maro and Vera usually wore, cargo pants and a ribbed sweater with fabric patches, though she hadn’t yet donned the armor or padding that normally went along with it. He wondered if he’d have to go back to her room with her for her gear the same as she was intending to accompany him while he packed up his rucksack for their mission. He tried to think about how he had left it, was his room tidy enough for guests? Well, it would just have to do, whatever state it was in, and in any case Marco didn’t seem to be too judgmental about that sort of thing.
Suddenly a mild roar of laughter and well-wishes echoed through the crack of the door, and it swung open swiftly as Marco walked out of the room backwards – waving to the occupants with one hand as her other hand was carrying a small bundle of rations in the red fabric.
“Good luck Marco! You take care of Sergio out there!” Sergio distinctly heard Makarov’s voice sound off.
“Watch out for anomalies!” Katya’s voice echoed shrilly through the opening and Sergio rolled his eyes.
“Don’t worry guys, we’ll be fine.” Marco called back with a laugh, and then turned to Sergio as the door closed off her conversational pathway. “To your room, then?”
“Follow me.” Sergio jumped to his feet and walked over to the lift hurriedly, pressing the button hard a few times to ensure it was successfully called.
“Are you okay? You aren’t jumping with questions and exposition like usual.” She leaned down slightly to try to get a clear look at his face. “Did you have a bad dream again?”
“No, I’m fine, really. No dreams at all.” He snapped his head up and tried to focus, forcing a grin so that she wouldn’t pressure him for further explanation. There was nothing he was particularly upset about, in fact he was now in a strangely fine mood after hearing Marco and Anna talk about him so nicely, but the anxiety he had been holding off previously was beginning to creep in. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach that warned him to be extra cautious whenever they left the bunker; something was going to happen and he wanted to be mentally prepared for it. Since the Colonel had surprisingly agreed to send him on such an important trial, then he had been deemed responsible enough to defend both himself and Marco and be resourceful enough to improvise if something went wrong. Usually only highly experienced Hunters were tasked with the trial of a recruit, as it was often that the cadet being tested froze up at the wrong moment and their partner had to finish the task for him. Sergio knew that whatever the situation, Marco would prove valiant and inventive because he had already seen it himself on several occasions.
“Any inklings to what Vera might have us do? I hope it’s a surface mission.” Marco spoke between bites of potato and bacon, seeming to read his thoughts again.
“I don’t know, maybe he’ll have us back at the church outpost to punish me for messing up the last watch.” Sergio replied more quickly than he was expecting to, like the dialogue was already implanted in his head just waiting for her question to trigger the release of the prerecorded message.
“Yeah you never said what happened there, besides the watchmen. So, everyone fled? That’s an unusual practice.” Marco took another bite of bacon and looked sideways at him.
“I was confused, too.” Sergio replied solemnly, but suddenly felt the need to explain something more to her. “I was distracted by this voice… I was up in the tower on the spotlight, clunky old thing, but these visions… like the nightmare I had… and it was talking to me.”
“What was…?” Marco looked horrified, seeming to already understand what he was implying. “You mean to say that some of those things are still alive?”
“I don’t know… Khan thinks maybe—” Sergio halted himself, not wanting even the tiniest hint of his conversation with Khan to become public or possibly reach Vera’s ears; no matter how nicely his rapport with Marco had been building, he quickly tacked to another trajectory. “He thinks maybe it’s just a residual effect from the psychological attacks.”
“I hope so.” Marco stared straight through him with no particular intent or expression.
The lift stopped at the next floor and Sergio rushed to lead Marco to his room, if only to physically distance themselves from that conversation. He actually turned on the light this time, and offered for her to sit on the cot, out of the way, while he gathered everything up. She obliged without hesitation and quickly turned her attention to all the postcards and photographs on the wall behind his bed.