Shaun x Rosetta...this is gunna be a rollercoaster bwahahaha

Shaun felt her eyes on him, and he just buried his head in his menu. He already knew what he wanted, ordering a coke and a bacon cheeseburger when the waitress came back.
"So what brought you to the marines?"

"My family sort of drove me to the Marines." She admitted, ordering chicken strips and fries when the waitress appeared. "I just wanted to get out of my hometown and away from them, but I was broke. So I enlisted and used the money to get my degree but then I don't know. It's hard going back to civilian life you know? So I just reenlisted."

Shaun nodded, understanding what she meant. He thought about his parents, how they didn't care when he told them he enlisted, how his father even told him he hoped he died to get the benefits of having a dead soldier for a son. He pushed the thoughts out of his head.
"Yeah...it's tough..." he mumbled.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly, seeing his face drop. "Let's talk about something else." She suggested. "Are you on leave too right now, or do you work nights?"

Shaun smirked, and nodded, but unfortunately this was still a topic he didn't want to talk about.
"Temporarily permanent leave." he said. "Those were the exact words of my commanding officer, which is just a less jackass version of saying suspended without pay, or benefits."

Rosetta made a face, but it wasn't because of the news that he was temporarily on leave.
"You know," She said softly, shaking her head. "We put up with all the shit people don't want to deal with. We get spit on, beaten, dragged through mobs, assaulted, we watch our best friends die every day and then they pull that shit." She scoffed. "Happened to a friend of mine during my first tour. Conduct unbecoming, suspension with no pay. I don't even know how that's a thing."

Shaun nodded in agreement. He knew there were a lot of things he'd love to forget from his first couple of tours, but that's what made him stronger. Civilian life just wasn't for him.
"Yeah...it's bullshit..." he mumbled. "Lucky for me I'm as healthy as an ox...others in the same position not so much..."

Rosetta nodded, glad that even though it was a shitty situation he seemed to be overcoming it well. When the food came she made small talk with him, but the silence was okay too. She was naturally quiet, and sometimes that made it hard to talk to people. With Shaun the silence felt comfortable, she didn't feel like she had to keep up a forced conversation. At the end of dinner she offered to split the check with him and then walked out into the cool night air.

Shaun felt comfortable with Rosetta. It was probably the first time he felt comfortable in a long time. He appreciated that he didn't have to talk to much around her, and was glad that she didn't force a conversation. When the paid their bills, he made his way outside with her and he glanced over to her.
"I had a lot of fun tonight."

Rosetta looked over at him as he spoke. She was used to Sanders height, aka massive, but for some reason Shaun seemed taller. Maybe it was because Sanders didn't make her feel like a fourteen year old with a crush.
"Me too." She smiled, genuinely meaning it. Was this where she told him goodnight and went back to base? She didn't know how hangouts worked.

Shaun wasn't sure if he should go in for a hug, or what. Maybe because it was their first hang out, date, whatever, he'd save it for a different time.
"We should do this again." he said. "I'll give you a call some time."

Rosetta nodded, not going in for the hug. She was shy as hell. She hailed a cab and headed back to base, hoping Sanders wouldn't be pissed at her.

Amon was pissed, knowing full well she couldn't leave the base without filling out the proper paperwork and without an escort.

Shaun made his way back to the motel to a unknown visitor.

Rosetta tried to sneak back to her bunk, but there was Amon. She smiled sheepishly at him, fiddling with her shirt.
"Hey. You were sleeping so..."

Amon shook his head at her, standing up.
"You know this reflects on me." he said. "It reflects on the program. You could have just told me off the record. I could have covered for you."

A bald man stood in his motel room, and Shaun raised his eyebrows. He had a gun in the nightstand, but there was no way he could get to it from here, especially if the man was armed.
"Hello. Mr. Barrett." he said. "Or should I say Mr. Aaron Matthews."

Shaun's eyes widened and he quickly bolted for the nightstand, but a gunshot stopped him, barely missing his stomach. He glared at the man who used his own gun against him. How could he have been so stupid.
"Relax. I'm not your enemy." he said. "Your partners in the hunt gave me your name and description quite easily. You'll be happy to know they're dead. You're welcome. I know you would have liked the pleasure yourself. However, you are the enemy of Michael Anderson, but he doesn't know you exist just yet. And he doesn't have to if you help me with one little problem."

Rosetta frowned, feeling badly.
"I'm twenty-five years old, I'm only second in rank to you. I don't understand why you make such a big deal out of these things. You went home with that girl from the bar the other night and I didn't say anything about that."

Amon shook his head at her and he placed his hands on his hips.
"You know command would give me a hard time considering what happened to you..." he said. "I just...I worry about you okay."

Shaun had taken the assignment. If it meant no worries about Michael Anderson, and no financial worry, then he'd be dumb enough not to go along with it. If anything this was good timing, feeling the familiar itch once more.

"I know." She said softly. "I didn't mean to worry you. I'll tell command I acted without thinking and didn't inform you, which is true. I'm sorry."

Amon let out a sigh and he shook his head.
"Don't worry about it...it's already done." he said. "No need to get us both in trouble..."

Rosetta sighed, hoping he hadn't gotten in too much trouble. She stepped forward and hugged him before telling him goodnight and heading to her bunk.

Amon lingered on the hug a bit longer than he should have, and watched her go to sleep. The next morning he woke up to a phone call, groaning in frustration once he hung up.
"Rose...get up. We're leaving."

Rosetta sat up, her training making her immediately alert.
"What happened?" She asked, pulling on her fatigues quickly.

Amon grabbed his pack. He was already dressed and packed up to go, having done so while he was on the phone.
"We're on the next flight to Iraq." he said. "We're going in with a fresh squad straight from camp. We're leading them."

Rosetta sighed, looking up at Amon. She was tired for once, she wanted to stop moving. But she had signed up for this.
"Okay." She said. She quickly packed up her things, which wasn't hard because most of them were still in bags, and headed with him to the airport. "They couldn't have gotten someone else to do this?" She asked him, leaning on him in line because it was packed.

Amon shook his head at her, wrapping his arm around her. It was just them and civilians, so it wouldn't look strange.
"I tried, but they wanted us. You're going to continue Wilton's training on the rifle specifically. And I'll do just about everything."