Jia moved to the edge of the bed and stood up. He took a step toward the door when Sen Shuai caught his wrist. "Stay. We'll talk about your hidden depths."
"Yes, I'll tell you everything. I need to take care of some biological needs first at the outhouse. I'll be right back."
"Then be careful outside."
"The systems can scan and see what is around. There isn't anything dangerous nearby."
"How convenient." Sen Shaui nodded in genuine appreciation.
"Sorry I didn't tell you before," Jia said as he wrung his hands and did his best to look guilty and sorry.
"I wouldn't have listened then, don't worry about it. None of my efforts to get us here safely were necessary though, were they?"
Sen Jia felt genuinely guilty now for letting little Shuai work so hard. So he piled on the flattery."I was impressed with how good you were at fighting that beast, so brave and strong. My heart raced at how noble you looked. And how carefully you traveled through this mountain. You're so skilled and smart."
Sen Shuai caressed Jia's cheek and smiled softly at Jia's cute attempt to make sure he didn't feel useless. "I had remembered some of my previous training."
Jia's was dazed again by that smile. He reached over, touching Sen Shuai's lips with his fingertips. "When you do that my thoughts go all muddled."
"Good." Sen Shuai pulled Jia into his arms softly kissing his neck, nipping his Adam's apple and leaving a very noticeable mark on his collarbone before he released him to go outside.
When Jia returned, the two lounged on the bed all day. Jia took snacks, drinks and medicine out of his storage. They spent a quiet day talking, kissing, holding and touching each other.
"How did you end up with a system?"
"It happened during the war. My regiment took out the system Queen, ending the hive mind connection." Jia paused for a while, his expression dimmed. "We all died on that mission. A soldier class system forcibly joined to my soul."
Shadows of anger and bitterness passed over his face as he spoke about his past. His fingers clenched in a tight fist, his jaw tense. Sen Shuai held his hands and kissed them to bring Jia out of his dark memories.
"Now I'm the strongest and longest continuous system user there is." Jia looked proud and relaxed again.
"Who were you before?"
"I was a doctor, a famous surgeon, back before the systems became widely known. Later, when humanity rebelled against the systems control, I joined the rebels."
"As a field medic?"
"The best field medic! My regiment was the top elites. We were key in many system defeats during the war."
"When did it end?"
"After I fell to a system, I lost all touch with reality. At some point, peace treaties were drafted and a kind of coexistence was achieved. Humans and systems from then on had the choice to join together or part ways at any time."
"You kept being a system user?"
"Yes, with the same system the whole time since the war.....Seventh and I.....worked through our issues. We eventually gained respect for each other. I wouldn't say we are friends or anything, but we have a decent working relationship."
Sen Shuai felt a spark of jealousy toward Jia's system that's been with him through so much.
"It's been hundreds of years since then. I stopped using my original name long ago. I'm known as the Administrator now."
"....." Sen Shuai felt complicated, his feelings must have shown on his face.
"That's right, I'm super old! Do you still love this great ancestor?" Jia said with every bit of smug shamelessness he could muster.
Sen Shuai chuckled. "En."
"Little Shuai, I'll show you around the human-system coalition multiverse. There are so many amazing things to see and do."
The excitement in Jia's voice warmed Sen Shaui's heart. "En, I'll look forward to it."
"It'll be even better than when we roamed around in your original world. But before that, what sort of tasks do you need to do in this world?"
"The main tasks are; live a satisfying life independent of the body's family, prove to have more value than a mere tool of war, ruin the nanny. There are a series of small tasks that seem to improve the success of the main missions."
"Should be fun." Jia rubbed his hands together, looking forward to doing tasks with little Shuai.
"Do you have tasks too, Jia?"
"Sort of. I made a deal with the soul of this body. I'll rebuild his families former wealth. Enough to guarantee the family thrives for five generations. In return, he freely abandoned his body to me."
Sen Shuai raised an eyebrow. "So the original doesn't have to die?"
"Mhm, there's a variety of circumstances we can use to gain a body."
"Why do any of this at all?"
"To gain energy, when the natural path of a world is altered, some energy is released. We can harvest it. Humans use it to travel between worlds. The systems live off of it. We send a portion back to the hub world to support our current society. There are more ways to use it than I even know."
~~~
.....the medic and the soldier.....is it fate that it's them?.....consider these memories a memento.....may it cause you both turmoil
~~~
The night before the mission.
The entire platoon of soldiers is all out drinking, except for the commander. When he arrives, everyone cheers but he just strides straight to me. The stone-faced commander actually looks angry when he stops in front of me. "How much did you drink?" he demands.
"A couple sips of this," I hold up a small glass that is still mostly full. "It's only my first drink. Isn't it fine? You know we never go overboard before a mission, hell you're usually drinking with us."
"Not this time." He pulls me out of the bar walking briskly down the street. He doesn't let go of my hand and I don't mention it, savoring the rare warmth. The walk to the commander's apartment is silent.
I had never seen this apartment look so messy. I'm looking around curiously when I'm pulled against the commander's broad chest, hot lips on my own.
"Commander!? Are you drunk after all?" I'm to shocked to kiss him back. Our first kiss and I'm too stunned to properly enjoy it.
"Totally sober. And I wanted you to be too." He reaches up touching my chin, ghosting across my lips, my ear. Then he's holding the back of my head, fingers entwined in my hair as he pulls me into another kiss. This time I'm ready, fully matching his passion.
"Will you be with me tonight? I have a bad feeling about this one. I think.... we won't all return from this mission." He truly looks scared, I've never seen this stoic man so expressive. He's always so calm and collected, to see him afraid is twisting my heart painfully.
He rested his forehead against the other's temple. Their breaths mingled.
Sen Jia awoke from the immersive dream. The long-repressed memories leaving a bitter feeling in his heart and a tear sliding down his face.
~~~
We all called him the musical medic.
He didn't even seem to notice how often he sang or hummed while he patched us up. It did more to relax me than any of the drugs he packed around to numb the pain.
I would watch him intently as he worked. His hands so agile and precise, the look of concentration on his face, the humming, it was all so mesmerizing. I watched secretly out of the corner of my eye until I realized he was too focused to notice. After that, I openly stared at him every time. As he completed the procedure, I would look away.
Sen Shuai woke up feeling confused. That dream felt just like a memory, like the other dreams he had been having. It was an entirely different life though.
A/N Do you think Jia will feel guilty about finding a "new" love and forgetting his commander? Will this cause turmoil like the mystery voice wants? I don't know either, I have ideas for both ways. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯