The skunk leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples. The screen in front of him remained stubbornly lit, glimmering with names, dates, and times; beside it, sunlight streamed in the window, a few mirthful voices drifting along with it.

Just the watch schedule left, Valan reflected. Normally not much trouble, but with all the forms he’d filled out already his eyes were starting to cross. If he didn’t get it done fast, he just might wind up putting the same soldier on watch at two different posts at the same time, or something similarly ludicrous.

Just this one thing, and he could get a brief start on his leave before the next watch rolled around and interrupted it. And while three days to sit around at the site of their most recent posting didn’t sound like much, it went a long way when that posting was at a subtropical paradise.

He was just about to straighten the back of his chair and continue when the door chime sounded.

For a moment, he glanced over at his shirt and dress tunic, hanging on pegs just out of reach; then he shrugged. Never mind. The unit was on leave, they’d all earned a bit of informality, and it was just as hot in here now as it had been when he’d taken the damn things off. His finger found three buttons in succession – one to turn the display into a safe and generic image of the Authority coat of arms, one to release the door latch, and one, which it lingered on, for the intercom. “Come in,” he said, turning to his left, to face the wing of his L-shaped desk that was between him and the door.

A smallish figure, briefly rendered a silhouette by incoming sunlight, stepped in and, despite Valan’s lack of insignia, saluted as the door slid shut again. It was a very offhand sort of salute – somewhere between lazy and sardonic – but nonetheless a salute; he acknowledged it with a tip of his head, concealing a smile in the process. “Something I can do for you, Corporal?”

“Just a personal call, Sub,” the cheetah replied, taking a couple of steps across Valan’s office floor. “Got a minute?”

Now he let his smile show. “If you don’t mind me finishing up, I’ve got plenty of time. Come on in.”

Khara Selig changed course to come around the end of his desk, while he turned back to his computer and brought the form back up. It was just the watch schedule, and she’d see it soon enough after it was done; no harm in letting her get a glance at it now. “I figured you’d be busy enjoying yourself,” he said. “Looks like a lovely day out there.”

“That’s actually what brought me here,” she replied, leaning over his chair and setting her hands on his shoulders. “Oof, you’re tense. You sure it isn’t best for your own health to put that down for a few minutes of R&R?”

“Soon as it’s done, I can,” he promised. The cheetah had amazing hands; he leaned forward with a sigh, giving her a bit more room to work with her rubbing and kneading. “But I need to get it done before next watch if anyone wants to know if and where they’re on watch for the one after it. And,” he grinned over his shoulder, reaching up to lay a finger over her lips as they parted, “no, I’m afraid I can’t just leave it blank. The Commander doesn’t really approve of that sort of thing unless we’re on detached leave.”

“Pity,” she murmured, and suckled on his finger for a moment before lifting her head and looking at the screen. “Any headaches looming here?”

He pursed his lips, eyeing a few of the so-far-blank slots. “Only that it’s your turn to be on midnight watch, I’m afraid.”

“Awww. And nothing I do can change your mind, huh?” It wasn’t a serious question, and they both knew it; she didn’t even wait for him to dignify it with a response before she chuckled. “All right, all right. I’ve done it before, another time sure won’t kill me. What about you?”

“I’m on the evening watch in Comms, next,” he said, tapping that spot – carried over from the prior schedule – with his stylus. “So I’ll be getting some sleep then.”

“Mmm.” She leaned farther over, curling an arm around his neck and nuzzling at his cheek. “Think you’d mind an early wake-up call, stripes?”

He shivered and closed his eyes, reaching up to rub behind her ears. “Repay you for keeping you up all night, huh? I think I’ll make do with a pep drink if I haven’t quite recharged by then…”

“Good,” she purred, and nipped his ear as she stood up straight. “Expect a good-morning kiss where it counts soon as I’ve hung up my uniform.”

Laughing, he waved her out, and turned back to fill the last few spots on the roster.