It was early in the morning, barely even 6 a.m. The sky outside still clung to the darkness, but inside the gym, the soldiers were already hard at work, following their usual morning routine. Most of them, however, were still shaking off the grogginess, their movements sluggish and their eyes heavy with sleep.

Task Force 141 had gathered around the weight-lifting area, their goal for the morning clear: rep 100kg as many times as possible. The air was filled with the sound of clanking weights and heavy breathing as the half-awake soldiers pushed themselves through the challenge. Among them, Soap and konig were caught up in their usual banter, this time arguing over who had bigger biceps. Soap, grinning, pointed at Ghost’s flexed arm, teasing him, but könig wasn’t having it. He confidently flexed back, insisting his were undeniably larger.

Amidst the laughter, Soap turned his playful teasing toward hazel, who was still rubbing the sleep from her eyes and clearly not in the mood. With a grin, Soap asked her who had the bigger arms. Half-asleep and uninterested in the contest, hazel absentmindedly flexed her arm. But as she did, both Soap and königs eyes widened in surprise. They hadn’t expected it—her arm was a lot more defined and powerful than either of them had anticipated. A true sleeper build and it was attractive as hell. Jenna, who was after königs attention and seeing that he was checking hazel out, was jealous.