"Something important?"


    Seeing the nervous look Sam had on, Shizuru expression became serious.


    "Yes. I have been looking for a chance to tell you for a while now." Sam said. "It concerns our rtionship and how we should proceed going forward."


    "I… I see…" remaining silent for a few seconds, the Asian girl looked up at him with her usual smile. "Well, I''m all ears."


    At that moment Sam felt that something had grasped his heart and was in the process of crushing it. Suddenly all the courage he had gathered vanished into thin air.


    In his attempt to calm himself he quickly came up with another course of action that would hopefully buy him enough time to collect himself.


    "Give me a couple of minutes." Sam said, taking out his phone.


    He sent Alice a message telling her to prepare herself. He then asked Shizuru to follow him and led her to the administration building. Standing in front of themander''s office he turned to check on the Asian girl. Seeing the confusion on her face increased the stress he felt, but thankfully he had managed to regain his determination so he was going to go through with it that night and he wouldn''t be backing away anymore.


    With a trembling hand he knocked on the door.


    "Ce in!" Came a response after a couple of seconds.


    Alice looked quite nervous herself, the mask of amander she usually wears in public was nowhere to be seen.


    "Good evening,mander." Sam said as he entered the room.


    "Yes, good evening, sergeant Sanderson, sergeant Kurokami."


    Offering them seats, Alice sat on the sofa opposite to them and straightened her back. She considered serving some tea but then thought otherwise. Knowing the reason behind their visit she felt that it would be rude to try and show hospitality.


    Taking a deep breath, Sam steeled his heart one more time before talking.


    "I''m sure you two are already acquainted, but just to be clear let me make the introduction."


    The girls nodded at him, both at the same time. To his surprise Alice looked way more nervous than Shizuru who still seemed to be a little confused.


    "Shizuru, this is Alice Schneider. You already know her as themander of the forty sixth Resistance base. She is a childhood friend of mine. We have known each other ever since I was five." Pausing for a moment, Sam then went on. "Alice. This is Shizuru Kurokami. She is the woman I told you about. We have been dating for almost two months now."


    "We met back when Sam was injured, right?" Shizuru said, her smile faltering a little. "Though I never expected that you two had such a connection."


    "Um… yes…" Alice''s reply felt a bit awkward, her smile was forced as well.


    The room went silent for a while, no one daring to say anything. Feeling the pressure growing by the second Sam cleared his throat and continued with what he came here for, doing so before fear could get the better of him.


    "Shizuru, for the longest time I… I had a crush on Alice. I thought I had ovee it by the time we started dating, however I was wrong." Being careful with his words wouldn''t help him lessen the impact of what he was about to say, however he did his best to choose each one, bracing himself for the reaction that would inevitablye. "A while ago Alice came to my room at night. One thing led to the other and we ended up sleeping together."


    The silence returned. Sam waited for a few seconds, but no one said anything. He couldn''t bring himself to look at Shizuru, afraid to see what kind of expression she had at the moment.


    "Shizuru, I want you to know that my feelings for you are genuine." Sam spoke after a while, unable to withstand the silence. "I didn''t meant to betray you. It''s just… I just couldn''t resist."


    At that moment the girl in question got up from her seat. Noticing her turn to face him, Sam hesitantly looked and surrendered himself to fate.


    Shizuru stared at him for a few seconds, her face showing no expression. After a while she raised her hand high and pped him across the cheek.


    ~◇~


    "Well, to be honest I already suspected something."


    Sam wasn''t so naive as to think that he''d get away with just one p, however he was surprised by how calm Shizuru was at the moment. He had expected her to storm off without saying a word but she sat down beside him once more, closing her eyes as she thought about something for a while. When she opened them the first thing she said shocked both Sam and Alice.


    "I mean, how wouldn''t I?" Shizuru shrugged then turned to Alice with a thin smile. "The way you looked at him back in the medical bay wasn''t how amander would look at one of her subordinates. I immediately thought that there is more to your rtionship, though I never expected that you''re already sleeping with each other."


    "I''m sorry…" Sam said


    "Don''t get me wrong. I''m not ming either of you." Shizuru said. "I don''t think themander is the kind of woman who would purposefully steal someone''s significant other. As for Sam, well, you''re a man. There is no need for an exnation."


    "No, you have every right to me us." Alice said. "It''s true that I didn''t know about your rtionship when I went to Sam''s room that night, but he did tell me before we… before we did it… I… I still went along with it so I have no excuse."


    "So you told her that we were dating then proceeded to make a move on her?" Shizuru asked, turning to Sam with half lis eyes.


    "It''s not what it looks like." Sam said trying to defend himself. "There is a lot more to the story so…"


    "It''s not Sam''s fault." Alice interjected. "I wasn''t emotionally stable after my engagement broke and… Sam was trying tofort me, that''s all…"


    By the time she finished Alice''s face had gonepletely red. Shizuru on the other hand was ring at Sam who had his face covered with both hands.


    "Okay, I will admit it. I took advantage of her emotional state and, well, I might''ve been a little forceful as well." He said. "She tried to stop me but I didn''t listen. Alice did nothing wrong."


    "No, I should''ve tried harder and…" Alice was fidgeting in her ce, holding both hands to her flushed cheeks as she tried to suppress her smile. "I''m ashamed to say this but… I was really turned on back then…"


    "I guess you''re both in the wrong, then." Shizuru said. Something told Sam that she didn''t like the way Alice was acting.


    "... Yeah…" the other two replied in unison.


    "So? Am I right to assume it wasn''t just a passing fling?"


    Faced with this question, Sam''s heart almost jumped out of his chest. But before he could give his answer Shizuru added something that surprised him.


    "Just so we are clear, I don''t n on letting go of him any time soon."


    She was looking at Alice, her eyes dead serious.


    "Shizuru…"


    "You stay silent, Sam." Shutting him with a stern voice, the Asian girl continued to stare at her rival waiting for her answer.


    Alice was flustered for a moment looking between the two sitting on the opposit sofa. A few secondster something seemed to click in her head and she turned to look into Shizuru''s eyes. Taking a deep breath she quickly regained her calm then dered.


    "I don''t n on giving up either."


    "... I see…"


    They have finally reached it. Sam knew it would eventuallye; the moment he would have yo choose between the two.


    Alice was the woman he loved for the longest time. She is a beauty every man dreams of and being with her would make his lifeplete.


    Shizuru was the sweetest person he had ever met. While she is average in terms of looks, her personality and the way she treated him were the things that made him fall for her. If Alice hadn''t confessed to him that he was sure he would''ve gone to live a happy life with the petite Asian girl.


    However the question isn''t about who is better. No matter who he ends up choosing Sam felt that he would never get over the other one. Going with Alice would cause the least trouble as he has yet to cross the line with Shizuru, however that didn''t mean they would be able to go on with their lives as if nothing had happened.


    "Before this bes a much bigger mess I would like to make a suggestion." As Sam wrecked his brain thinking of a solution, Shizuru spoke and once again took both him and Alice by surprise. "How about we just share?"