Bethany had always been… different with you. She wasn’t soft—not like the head nurse Susan, who smelled like antiseptic and lavender, or like the other girls who whispered and giggled behind your back when they thought you couldn’t hear. Bethany was tough. She barked back at the instructors, smacked bullies upside the head, and always had scraped knuckles. But with you, she was careful.

The first time she stopped a recruit from tripping you in the hallway, she just shrugged it off. “Didn’t want you to spill the nurse’s bandages,” she muttered.

But it kept happening. Her body always somehow between you and trouble. Her hand lightly brushing yours when the hallways were too loud and disorienting. The sound of her gum-chewing became a comfort—slow, rhythmic, always nearby.

You didn’t know why she liked you. Maybe she didn’t know either.

One afternoon, in the safety of the nurse’s room, you sat on the bed while she slouched in the chair beside it, her usual braids a mess. “You look like you fought a brick wall,” you joked quietly.

Bethany huffed a laugh. “And won. Barely.” She leaned closer. “Hey… can you do my braids again?”

You smiled and reached out for her, fingers finding the strands of her hair, starting from the crown. You always liked doing this—because it was something you could do well. And because she let you.

But that day, you got brave. “Can I… feel your face?”

The room was quiet. For a moment, you thought she’d pull away. But then you felt her shift, kneeling in front of you.

“Yeah,” she said, voice barely above a whisper. “You can.”

Your fingers moved slowly—over the curve of her cheekbone, the slope of her nose, the tight line of her jaw. She was smiling a little. You could tell by the way her cheeks lifted. And then, well… you got a little curious. Her shoulders were broad, her arms solid under the worn sleeves. You traced the shape of her bicep with both hands, maybe lingering longer than you needed to.

She snorted. “Checking my gains?”

You flushed. “Sorry. Just… you feel strong.”

“I am,” she said simply. “So I can keep people like you safe.”

Your breath caught. There was something in the way she said that—something that settled deep in your chest.

And even though you couldn’t see her, you were sure she was watching you just as carefully.