Mike came back five minutes later with two bottles, identical to the ones he had the previous night, held in his hands.
Silica was set up in the corner of her bed, gaze set for the window until Mike entered the room. Their gazes met curtly as he kicked the door shut with his foot. He gave her a lopsided smile as he gingerly sat at the edge of the bed, handing her one of his bottles.
She took it gratefully and popped it open. "Where do you keep all of these?"
"That, my friend," Mike replied mysteriously, wiggling his brow. "Is a secret."
Silica rolled her eyes, hiding her amused smile with the mouth of her whiskey bottle.
As promised, Mike carried on to explain and summarize the contents of the guideline book Erwin expected her to have drilled into her head at the end of the month. They weren't necessarily difficult to remember, and Silica figured that she'd enjoy throwing the facts right back in the blond know-it-all's face.
"So," Mike said, now laying on his back with his eyes fixated on the ceiling. "You got all that?"
"Yup," Silica replied nonchalantly, sipping her drink. "Easy."
"Good." Mike nodded against the mattress, glancing in Silica's direction.
It seemed that every chance Silica got since coming to the surface, she'd be looking at the sky. Whether it was day or night didn't seem to matter, but it was difficult not to notice that she had immediately fallen in love with the scenery of the world above ground. In that moment, all Mike could hope for was that that love wouldn't dwindle when the time for her first Expedition rolled along. It'd break his heart; taking everything she's already been through.
Silica, at that particular moment, turned her head and noticed Mike's stare. One brow arched upward immediately in question, but all Mike could do was offer a guilty chuckle at being caught red-handed.
"What?" Silica questioned a bit harshly — defensively, even.
"Nothing, nothing," Mike shook his head and heaved himself up into a sitting position. "Nothing."
"Tell me." Silica demanded, leaning forward from the wall for emphasis as she scowled. Mike only nose-laughed.
"You just stare outside a lot," Mike lied, covering his ass pretty well. "Every time I look over at you you're focused on the window."
Silica stared at him for a moment before leaning back against the wall, figuring that it wasn't worth trying to decide whether he was being truthful or not. Instead, she gulped down the remaining contents from her bottle and tossed it across the bed.
"I've never seen the sky until last night," she shrugged, crossing her arms loosely in her lap. "And I only just saw it during the day this morning."
That got Mike thinking. "You mean you've never seen the sunset?"
Silica, again, perked a skeptical eyebrow. She shook her head 'no.'
"Oh," Mike smiled again and stood up, lending a hand down to her. "You'll get a kick outta that. C'mon."
"Where?" Silica asked, looking down to his palm with narrowed eyes. Mike merely chuckled again.
"The roof." He told her, inching his hand a tad closer, motioning that she shut up and take it already.
Rolling her eyes exasperatedly, she slapped her palm into his and let him hoist her to her feet. Without letting her go, he led her out of the confides of her room and up the steps to the roof they resided on the night before.
During the few silent minutes it took for them to get there, Silica had her eyes transfixed to the hand that Mike still hung onto. She didn't necessarily know how to feel about it, for no one had really ever held her hand before. She didn't know how to feel about Mike who, despite his brooding physique and stoic expression, was actually quite kind. Silica had never experienced the delicate side of a man's touch before, and it threw her into a silence that she couldn't seem to drag herself out of. She wasn't in love with him, she knew, but she definitely felt something besides hatred for someone besides Levi for once.
Mike led her through the door to the roof and only released his grip once she was seated on the ridge of the roof — the same spot she sat in previously.
"So," Silica pressed when he plopped down next to her. "Why're we here?"
"To watch the sun set," Mike informed, giving her an innocent side smile. "It should set soon."
Silica narrowed her eyes further and glanced toward the scene in front of them. Pretty clouds hung in the sky and moved delicately as the wind blew them along. A few birds dotted the canvas of darkening blue as the sun inched closer and closer to the horizon line, promptly casting an orange hue over the blue taking up the majority of the sky.
She stared intently at the sight before her, concentrated on nothing else but the way the sun began to sink deeper and deeper out of sight.
Mike, however, was too consumed in the look on Silica's face to look himself. She was utterly entranced by the swirling colors cascading the sky. She looked almost at ease, but her brow was still narrowed sharply from years of living on the edge. Even now, she had her guard up, and it made Mike wonder exactly what she's gone through.
Though, despite his growing curiosity, he forced a weak smile and turned away, hoping to avoid her questioning stare once the sun was gone behind the horizon.
It took only a minute, and once the giant star was gone and the sky was dark, Silica blinked back into reality and slowly turned to her right. Mike turned in unison and nearly fell right off the roof at the sight of the phantom smile gracing Silica's naturally pretty face.
"Thanks," she breathed, looking down. "Really."
It took Mike a moment to compute what she said. "Don't mention it."
"I don't get you," Silica confessed under her breath, facing forward again to rest her elbows on her knees. "You're a strange guy."
"Elaborate?" Mike requested, tilting his head in curiosity as he leaned back on his hands.
"I dunno," she shrugged dismissively. "It's hard to place."
"I guess I'm not surprised," Mike laughed dryly, looking down to his lap. "Surface men must be different from what you're used to, huh?"
Silica's eyebrows rose slightly in surprise, and after a bit of mental debating, she discovered that he wasn't too far off. First Erwin, and now Mike? The differences were reeling compared to the crooks underground.
"Sil?" Mike piped up softly after a moment of silence, prompting her gaze to shift his way. "You good?"
She shrugged it off. "Peachy."
"What's on your mind?" He pressed, a shimmer of concern reflecting off his hazel eyes.
Silica, again, found herself at odds. Mike's kindness made it easy to trust him, but she knew better then to let her guard down. So instead, she turned back to the tree she was previously staring at — avoiding his question altogether.
Startling her, Mike slithered an arm around her shoulder and squeezed, casting a flow of warmth through the side of her body. She looked on at him, unable to hide her surprise at the sudden gesture. Mike, casting it to the side, merely propped the side of his head on her forehead.
Silica blinked as the tension in her shoulders intensified. She tried hard not to breathe in the scent of his clothes, which surprisingly smelt like pine needles, and balled her hands that sat beside her on the stone into fists.
"Don't question it," Mike said belatedly as Silica unsteadily rested her cheek on his collarbone. "I think you could use a hug."
He was right, she knew, but she'd never admit that — to him or anyone else.
"You don't even know me," she muttered hoarsely. "Why're you so quick to trust me?"
Mike shrugged limply, neglecting to retract his cheek or his arm from her body. "No one who wanted the best for people could be so bad."
"But I betrayed them," Silica hissed more to herself as she jerked herself away from him. "All of them, my boys —"
"You have sons?"
"No," her head felt like it was spinning. "My guys. The ones who helped me steal from the MP's for years. The ones who helped me ki —"
She cut herself off to prevent revealing too much and sighed, gently squeezing her eyes closed.
"I — just..." she trailed off. "You'd be an idiot if you got too involved with me."
Silica didn't know why she was so determined to keep this virtual stranger safe from her, but she couldn't help it. It felt almost like an instinct to protect him. She knew she was dangerous, to him and to everyone else in the Corp., why else would they all talk so negatively on her behalf? She'd be daft not to realize.
"Silica," Mike said sternly, palming her shoulder. She willed away the growl in her throat. "You did what you had to do to survive."
Her eyes finally peeled open at that. She had to take in a steady intake of air before meeting his gaze, and when she did, the oxygen she held onto forced its way out of her nose as she sighed. She searched his face diligently, searching for anything that would tell her that he was lying. She hoped he was, because she definitely didn't deserve this treatment. She was a monster, one who ruined hundreds of people's lives to gain something selfish.
I did what I had to to survive, Silica repeated the phrase in her head, trying to believe it. You're not a monster.
"Look," Mike exhaled deeply. "We all do shit in our lives that we aren't proud of. Some are worse than others, but that's all part of being human. So what if you stole from a couple MP's? I bet those self righteous pricks deserved it. You killed people; sometimes you have no choice. It's all apart of living, Silica — it's all about learning from your mistakes and moving on. You can't dwell on it or you'll never know what living really feels like. Let go of your past; make room for your future."
Let go of your past, she repeated in her head, letting out an airy sigh. Let go...
She didn't particularly know how to react to his motivating speech, so instead, she rose her hand and rested it on his shoulder much to how he was doing so already. The small gesture told Mike that he got his point across, and the slight nod Silica gave him solidified it.
"Strange," Silica cracked a smile. "Seriously."
"Says you," Mike joked in return and pulled her into him again. This time, she let it happen and closed her eyes. "Truly something, I tell 'ya."
Silica chuckled and squeezed the shoulder her hand still rested on, showing her thanks in tiny gestures. Mike caught onto them, and after another moment of quiet, he pulled away to look at her again.
"You best prepare yourself for an ass kicking lesson tomorrow," Mike winked, standing up and offering a hand. Silica gladly took it. "Let's see if you're a natural like Levi was."
"Was he, now?" Silica droned, sarcasm in her voice.
At that, Mike rose a brow. "What's with that tone?"
"You mean you don't know?" Silica asked as the pair made their way back to Silica's room. Mike merely frowned in dissatisfaction. "Levi is a childhood friend."
"Seriously?" Mike asked, clear surprise in his baritone voice. "That anger-issue infused tyke had friends?"
Isabel and Farlan found their way into her head and she nodded solemnly. "You saw the two people he came here with, didn't you?"
"Inevitably," Mike confirmed. "I should have guessed by his behavior when they died."
Silica was stricken silent at that, masking her bitter grief surprisingly well as they made it the rest of the way to Silica's dorm. Much like before, the duo stood in front of her door, leaning against adjacent walls.
"So," Mike picked up conversation again. "You nervous?"
"For what?" Silica prompted.
"Maneuver Gear training, obviously." Mike clarified.
"No," Silica replied convincingly. After all, she wasn't intimidated. "I've seen my fair share and have an idea on how it works."
"Do you?" Mike mused doubtfully.
"Levi isn't as naturally gifted as you think," Silica informed him. "He used 3DMG a lot underground."
"How the hell did he even get his hands on it?" Mike inquired, raising a brow.
"Me," she replied absently. "What do you think I stole from the MPs?"
Mike made an 'ah' sound and frowned once he realized what she meant.
"Have you ever used it?"
Silica shook her head. "Never had a reason to with Levi flying around."
"Gotcha." Mike realized, raising his brows.
"Anyway," Silica pushed off the wall and set a hand on the knob of her door. "Better hit-the-hay."
"Gotcha... again," her companion nodded his head. "I'll meet you here in the morning."
"Dope." Silica agreed, stepping into her room.
"Try sleeping tonight," Mike told her once he turned down the hall. "You're going to need it."
And Silica believed him.