She glanced up at the familiar voice, finding him standing firmly beside her.  He had added a black hoodie over his shirt, with his military pants and boots, he looked so much like his past self that she just gawked.

Joon glanced between the two with curiosity, a small smile as Brian leaned forward and casually grabbed the bag out of her hands.

Brian gazed at Joon, both men assessing each other.  Lena finally snapped out of it and hastily tried to take the bag bask as she apologetically nodded towards Joon.

“As you can see, I have my very own shadow tonight.  I’ll be fine.”

Joon raised an eyebrow, as Brian continued to hold onto the bag Lena was trying to pry from him but with no success.

The elevator opened with a ring on cue and Joon shrugged.

“Suit yourself.  You have my number if anything comes up.”  He waved at Brian overs shoulder as he entered the elevator.

At the sight of Brian, Hyun Joon looked thoughtful before he relaxed into a smile.  “Take care of her. She tends to forget to take breaks, especially when she gets really into some fascinating discovery or overthinking something.”  

Brian nodded.  “I’ll make sure she has regular breaks.”

Lena flushed in embarrassment at their concern.

“I can take care of myself, thanks.”  She scowled in annoyance as Joon grinned, leaning on the wall in the elevator.  He raised a hand in farewell before the elevator doors closed.

And she found herself alone with Brian.

“Which floor?”  Brian broke the silence, his hand hovering over the panel.

Lena inwardly shook her head, deciding to push all the chaotic thoughts out of her mind and focus on surviving the evening as a professional.

You’re an accomplishment scientist.  Get it together.

She reminded herself.

“Let’s head to the storage room to restock some supplies.” She decided, reaching out to press down.

The elevator opened and as they stepped in, Brian held the door for her to enter first.  She stiffly smiled and entered, with him following closely behind her.

“You really don’t have to come with me.  If you’re tired, you can go back to your room anytime.”  She spoke into the silence, as the elevator smoothly made its way down several floors, deep into the ground.

She could feel the heat of him even though she tried to stand as far away from him as possible in the narrow elevator.

He looked over and shook his head.

“I keep my promises, Lena.”

She fought herself from shivering at the sound of her name familiarly pronounced on his lips.

Her mind flashed back to when he used to call her by a different name.

“Lenny!”

She scrunched her nose at the sound of the dreaded nickname.  She couldn’t understand how it could possibly be a nickname when it was even longer than her legal name.

Lena glanced up from her studies to find Brian enter her dorm and himself comfortable on her small bed.  He had dropped a plastic bag on the floor by the foot of the bed and he sat back in the bed, smiling at the new pictures posted against the nearby wall.

“Call me that again and your nickname will be Booboo!”  She threatened, standing from her desk and squatting in front of the bag to rifle through the contents.

Brian chuckled, reaching over her shoulder and grabbing a yogurt drink while she took the other one for herself.

“I have news.”  He said instead, poking her drink box with a straw before doing the same to his.

She raised an eyebrow, taking a sip.

“I’ve been drafted.  I leave by the end of the month.”

The drink box dropped from her hands, the straw still in her mouth as she stared into his excited face.

“Call me Dr. Park.”  She murmured stiffly, shaking away the memories.