Max approached the large hole at the end of the armory hallway, created when Whirlwind unleashed a hail of automatic cannon fire against Kiel’s armor puppet many days prior. The closer he got to the opening, the cooler the air became, as the simple tarp that had been stretched across as temporary coverage did little in the way of thermal regulation. Having always felt more at home in the cold, the chill of this October evening had little effect on the boy.
After warily looking both ways, Max ducked under the tarp and slid his back down the outside wall, sitting just to the right of the hole. He then opened one of his bags and took out a tall glass bottle of milk- the sort that might sate a small family’s morning thirst for a week.
Okay, this has gotta work… he thought to himself before unscrewing the cap and gulping down half the bottle with haste.
“Max?” a feminine voice spoke up just to his left.
Startled, the boy nearly choked on his milk. He slammed the bottle on the ground next to him and turned to find Emmy poking her head out from behind the tarp. “Damnit, ya gave me a heart attack!”
Emmy returned a nervous giggle and crawled under the tarp to join him. “Sorry… I heard something out here and thought someone might be trying to break into the academy. What exactly are you doing out here, Max?”
“Uh… nothing important,” he replied, wiping the milk from his top lip with his sleeve.
The girl sat down and leaned forward to get a look at the open bag and found it full of milk bottles and various foods. “Oh dear, please don’t tell me you have stolen all this and are enjoying it alone out here…”
“W-what?!” exclaimed Max, taken aback by the suggestion. “No way, it’s nothing like that! I’ve been saving my pay for this, I swear!”
Tilting her head curiously, Emmy eyed Max up and down. “Whatever are you hiding for, then?”
Max could feel the blood rushing to his face. Well aware that he was turning blue, he looked away from Emmy, off along the side of the building. “I… w-well, I don’t want Sturm to know about this, alright?”
“You… don’t want him to know you’re hungry?” she inquired, genuinely confused.
“No! I don’t want him to know I’m pounding milk and stuff out here… It’s a surprise.”
Judging by the look on Emmy’s face, this explanation did little to address her bewilderment.
“Alright, look…” said Max with a sigh, realizing that he’d have to elaborate or risk looking like a thief, “Ya know how my aberrance works, right?”
Emmy returned a nod. “Yes, I believe so. You harden weapons and armor from bone, yes?”
“Sorta…” answered Max, glancing down at his wrist. “I wouldn’t really call it bone, though. It’s more like a shell and I only got so much in me. Thing is, Ms. Pauritsch says I can probably make more if I get a lot of calcium in me the night before.”
“Oh, that is interesting…” said the girl, picking up the half-empty bottle to examine it more closely. “Is it that much of a hindrance? Your reserves seemed vast during the readiness examination.”
Crossing his arms, Max closed his eyes in thought. “Yeah, maybe at the beginning… By the end, though, my claws were breaking against Captain Scharf. I was basically useless…”
“I see,” Emmy replied, holding the bottle out for Max. “Well, you’d best drink up then.”
Max paused for a moment, eyes darting between the girl’s face and bandaged hand. Finally, he took the bottle and offered her a smile. “Thanks… So how are your arms, anyway?”
“It’s nothing, really…” Emmy answered, running her fingers from her elbows to her wrists. “I heal quickly enough, though maybe not quite as fast as you.”
Despite his best attempts to mask his feelings, Max was visibly distraught. “You uh… probably shouldn’t use that ice wall anymore, huh?”
“In a perfect world, I wouldn’t have to,” she replied with a weak smile. “Regardless, I must do everything in my power to protect my friends.”
“Your friends? Ya mean like… Dominic, right?”
“Eduard and Metzeld, as well…”
With a heavy sigh, Max ruffled his hair. “I can understand Ed, I guess… But Whirlwind? Really? That guy is an asshole!”
“He has had a difficult life, Max…”
Snapping back defensively, Max growled, “Yeah, which one of us hasn’t? He’s just a fuckin loser.”
Emmy was surprised by this sudden show of aggression and gave a wide-eyed stare before looking down at the ground. Feeling guilty, Max gave her a gentle prod on the shoulder.
“Sorry, I know you care about your team… That guy, though… he just pisses me off so bad. When he pushed you over, I just wanted to-”
“I know, Max. I know that he’s dangerous and I know I can’t trust him. That’s why I come here every night, you know.”
“You… what?”
The girl lifted her head and looked toward the darkening purple sky. “Since the examination, I have made it a point to talk down this hallway and take in the damage he caused, so that I can remind myself what he’s capable of…”
“If he makes you that nervous, why defend him?”
“As I said before, Max… He is my teammate and I know what he has suffered through.”
After guzzling down the remainder of the bottle, Max placed the empty glass at his side and gave Emmy his full attention. “Alright, I’ll bite. What’s his issue, then? What was so bad that he’s gotta treat everybody around him like shit, huh?”
“I… don’t believe it’s my place to share that in detail. I hope you can understand,” she replied nervously.
“Well, ya can’t just make excuses for the guy and then not explain them!”
It was evident that Emmy regretted pushing the issue as far as she had. “Perhaps you’re correct… What I will say is that Metzeld doesn’t have a family like you or I. He was raised by people who never cared for him or his well-being.”
“Whatever…” groaned Max, unwilling to argue further.
After a few minutes of tense silence, Emmy sat up in preparation to leave. Just as she went to stand, she let out a soft yelp and hissed through her teeth. She glanced down at her arm to find the source of her pain, only to see Max’s hand resting atop her wrist.
“Max…”
“What’s wrong? What happened?” he asked, seemingly unaware.
Following her eyes, Max’s face went pale when he became aware of his unconscious action. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry…” he gasped, yanking his hand away. “I-it’s the bandages, ya know? I didn’t realize that was your-”
“It’s fine, Max, please don’t worry,” said Emmy with a reassuring smile.
Shit! What the fuck am I doing? Max scolded himself internally. You hurt her, you stupid dumbass!
“Well, I do apologize for interrupting your dinner. It’s about time for me to retire to my room for the night, so I’ll be going.”
“W-wait, hold up!” Max exclaimed, choking on his words. “Ya didn’t interrupt anything, stay a bit longer…”
Emmy shook her head and got to her feet. “Sorry, but I have a report to complete. Maybe I’ll find you here again?”
“Maybe… But, well, what if we… ya know, make a plan to go somewhere, sometime?”
“Oh!” Emmy replied anxiously, placing a bandaged hand on her cheek and turning away. “That sounds… lovely. Shall we discuss it next time?”
No way that really worked… Are you kidding? Max thought to himself, quiet in his disbelief.
“Max?”
Returning to his senses, Max answered, “Yeah, sounds awesome!”
Though he intended to stay outside for some time longer, Max stood up out of respect and to see his friend off.
“Good night, and if I don’t see you before your next mission, stay safe, okay?” Emmy said with a slight bow, her anxious voice close to a whisper.
Max crossed his arms, placing his left hand on his right bicep in a show of excessive bravado. “Night, Em! And don’t worry, those scumbag reds got nothin on me!”
Amused by the animated display, Emmy giggled quietly before starting toward the tarp. Seeing an opportunity to put his chivalry on display, Max lifted the heavy fabric over the girl’s head, allowing her to pass unimpeded.
“Why thank you very much, sir,” she teased before stepping back inside and heading back toward the dormitory wing.
Now alone with his thoughts, Max sat back down against the outside brick wall and opened another bottle of milk.
Man, that was so lame. What the hell was I even talking about? My head was a complete mess… I can’t believe she said yes to that.
Max froze up, gripping the bottle’s neck tightly.
She said… yes? Damn it, what am I supposed to do now? I have no idea where I’m even supposed to take her. I never thought I’d get that far.
He lifted the bottle to his lips and swung his head back, taking a mere forty seconds to down most of its contents.
Maybe she didn’t really understand what I was asking. She definitely thinks Sturm and the others will be there, like it’s a friendly group thing, right? Does that mean I should invite everyone else just to be safe?
Having finished off another bottle of milk, Max fished around in the open back until he retrieved an apple and crunched into its skin.
Damn… I might be overthinking this whole thing. I’ll ask Gustavo when I get the chance. He seems like a guy who understands women…
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