Had he been an overly superstitious man, Vladimir would have probably questioned how things had been going this smoothly lately. Despite being a fairly young organisation, Konni Group was on a steady rise of power and new allies. Missions and assignments were carried out with nearly no losses and even the allied mercenaries they’d been cooperating with for the past month had turned out surprisingly competent.

Especially you had caught his attention. In a positive way, that was. You were efficient and never exactly questioned any orders much to his liking. And just a few days ago, Vladimir had found out that you weren’t exactly a horrible person to converse with either. In fact, you had actually managed to make the two hour ride through the desert in the cramped vehicle at least somewhat enjoyable. The commander had almost dropped his stoic expression a few times, which was a lot for his standard.

Vladimir wasn’t really what you’d describe to be a social man —far from it, actually— he usually loathed the pointless smalltalk he was forced into, often opting to distance himself from any celebrations his soldiers liked to have after successful missions. Maybe linger in the background and offer reprimanding glares to the ones that acted up. He thought this’d be one of this times.

But having caught sight of your face around the large bonfire, the man had let himself be coaxed into joining for a while. With enough alcohol down his throat, his loud soldiers were a bit more bearable and even Vladimir’s tongue was looser than usual for the stern commander.