Chapter Text
In the darkness tiny, fragile snowflakes floated gently onto the ground–only a few sticking to the concrete and grass. The night was cold, much colder than what you were used to, and the thin, military-issue jacket you wore barely kept you warm. The freezing night only worsened your mood and comfort; the heavy kit you wore dug into your sides and made moving your arms difficult. You shifted your weight, setting down your sniper rifle, to sit up as you wiped your goggles.
Guard duty was awful, even when you weren’t expecting any danger; sitting alone, in the cold, at night when everyone else was sleeping was a universally hated experience. To be truthful, you didn’t mind the break from everyone else on the force. Despite being stationed with the thirty or so other soldiers for multiple months and on previous tours, you still felt uncomfortable when you tried to talk to any of them. That all melted away when you were in a firefight, though; on the battlefield, you let go of all of your anxieties. The snow became heavier, now falling in thick sheets and sticking to the ground of the base. It was beautiful, for a moment, before you remembered you’d have to be one of the people to shovel it in the morning.
The little alarm clock on the stand of the guard post beeped quietly, the screen flashing red as the time reads 3 am. You sighed, knowing your shift would only be for another half-hour or so. Happy to be almost done, you shifted back into position: Rifle pointed, eyes scanning the roads, ears alert to every noise. When you heard a thump at the base of the guard tower, you almost fired off into the darkness. Quickly, you rushed to the door, clicked on your blue flashlight, and peered down the stairs of the tower.
“Sorry!” the cause of the loud noise whisper-yelled. You relaxed, putting your rifle back against your chest, and turned on the overhead light to see him better. The Austrian man was entirely too big for his own good; at 6”10, the man had trouble finding a doorway he wouldn’t knock his head into. He was decked out in a full kit, similar to your own, with the addition of a black sniper cowl.
“Quiet, please.” you didn’t mean to sound as harsh as you did. He flinched like a scolded child. “Well, come up, I’d like to get some sleep.” The Austrian operator quickly moved into action, skipping a few steps as he climbed up. When he was standing in front of you, you truly realized just how massive he was–at least a foot taller than you.
“König, reporting for guard duty.” You’d met several times before–hell, you’d even killed alongside him–yet he still introduced himself so formally every time you interacted, it made you chuckle.
“Mouse, leaving guard duty.” You said sarcastically, throwing in a small laugh that seemed to ease him.
“See anything suspicious?” he asks as he settles into the tower, adjusting his rifle and night vision goggles.
“Yeah, tons of enemies snuck into our weapon supply. Forgot to report it,” with the hood covering most of his face, you have no idea if your joke landed or not.
“I see, hopefully, they left some snow angels so we can track them down.” the joke landed, and he picked it back up. You could help but smile. Out of all of the other operators, you found him the most tolerable; among a plethora of interesting men, you stuck to the clumsy, socially anxious giant. You sat down next to him, leaning against the wall, and cleaned off the once again fogged-up goggles. He looks at you, from what you can see he looks confused.
“I’m already awake,” you comment as you place your goggles back onto your helmet, “I won’t be able to sleep when it's this cold anyway. I can leave if you’d prefer.”
“No,” he shakes his head and returns his focus to the window out of the tower, “I don’t mind you being here.” You couldn’t resist the smile that came onto your face.
“Well, for the record, I don’t mind you either.”
You looked outside, noticing how each snowflake danced before it dropped and collected in piles. The tiny heater in the corner of the room struggled to pump heat, allowing the room to grow colder and colder as the night went on. König noticed your unconscious shivering and reached into his back, pulling out an extra of his jackets.
“Take it,” he said quietly, either because it was already quiet in the tower or because he was nervous–you couldn’t tell either way. Reluctantly, you took it. The sleeves were far too long and the front was far too wide. In König’s jacket, you looked small. “Like a maus,” he commented, you could hear his smirk, “just like your call sign.”
“Hush,” you couldn’t think of a better comeback as your cheeks flushed. “At least I’m small enough not to hit my head on everything.” It was a weak retort, but it was something.
“I don’t hit my head on everything,” he said defensively, his hazel eyes now turned towards you, “doors just… jump out at me.”
“Sure,” you giggled at the thought of a sentient doorway attacking the helpless giant, “they just come up to make you headbutt them.”
“It's true,” he wagged his finger at you, the glove he wore making a swish swish sound as his hand moved, “you don’t know how aggressive and mean these doors are until you’re being attacked by one.” You both laughed, appreciating the break from the monotony of guard duty.
The alarm clock flashed again, the bright red numbers hurting your eyes. The effects of sleep deprivation were catching up with you fast; you were sure that you were going to fall asleep in the next fifteen minutes no matter where you were. As you stood up, you looked at König, observing how his large form crumpled to fit into the position he was in. He turned back to face you, his hazel eyes under the cowl meeting with yours.
“Leaving?” In some words, you could hear his accent more clearly.
“Yeah,” you said as you yawned and stretched, “where do you want me to leave your jacket?”
“Keep it,” König said nonchalantly, “it's very cold on the walk to the barracks. I’ll take it back when it gets warmer.” your cheeks felt warm again; when every soldier only got so much gear allotted to them, giving something so precious like a jacket to a colleague was unheard of–especially for the nervous wreck that was König.
“Thank you,” the jacket felt warmer on your body now, “I’ll return the favor soon.” it was a promise, one you wouldn’t take lightly.
As you left the guard tower, you couldn’t get him out of your head. Something about the giant operator drove you mad, especially as you couldn’t stop thinking about him posing in the nearby tower as you tried to fall asleep.
The barracks left little privacy to every soldier–affording each person only a bunk and a small trunk for personal items–thus, once everyone else was up and moving, the noise was too loud to ignore. You groaned as you rolled onto your back, body sore from drills and guard duty last night. You sat up, noticing you still had König’s large jacket on and pulled out the small trunk under your bed. You dug through the personal photos, books, and the small tokens you’d collected while on deployment to find your shower things; while the private military company did give everyone a grooming kit, you found the products disgusting and preferred to use your own.
Most of your bunk mates had already moved to the cafeteria or out to training already, leaving the barracks mostly empty except for a few sleeping in. Carefully, you pulled König’s jacket off of you, folding it neatly. You hesitated for a moment but decided to slip the folded garment under your bed with your trunk before heading over to the showers.
The showers were open and empty, though the water was decently warm and had good pressure early in the morning. The warmth felt good on your skin like it was washing away the feeling of dread that was settling in your stomach. Deployment had been hard on you; after two months of nothing but drills, guard duty, and chores, you’d grown restless. All you wanted was to sleep in your own bed and be alone. But, at least you had him here. For a moment, you couldn’t help but to think of König: how his frame completely encompassed yours, how he fidgeted with his hands when he talked to you, how you could barely see his eyes under his cowl, how he could push you around when you sparred. You shook the thought from your head, embarrassed that you were thinking of him in the shower. Quickly, you rinsed out your hair and threw a towel on.
It took you a second to get from the barracks to the cafeteria, the snow was still thick and icy on the ground. Your boots left little trails of snow as you entered the mess hall. The line was long and nearly wrapped around the hall and you let out a tired groan as you entered the back.
A thick hand smacked your back loudly and landed on your shoulder. You turned your head quickly as you tried to pull away, only to see another member of your company looking at you with a wide smile.
“Mornin’ sunshine,” the Scottish man exclaimed as he removed his hand, “heard you were up late last night.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” you asked, now turned to face him, genuinely confused.
“Oh, nothing, just that someone saw two people up in the guard tower last night. Thought you flew solo.” Mactavish wore his shit-eating grin with pride.
“Fuck off,” you barked as you rolled your eyes, “Just stayed to chat with him is all.”
“Him?” soap retorted, “Thought you only fucked ladies.”
“Would you please fuck off,” the line moved faster now and you were counting the seconds until you could be away from him, “Who I do and do not ‘fuck’ is none of your goddamn business.”
“Alright, alright,” he raised his hands in playfully, “just tryna’ find out whose lucky ass your ridin’ is all, no need to be so aggressive.” he turned away, focusing on the others in line behind him as you got your breakfast. You looked out into the sea of tables and faces, your eyes quickly finding him.
You walked over to his table slowly, as if approaching a predator.
“Mind if I sit?” you asked, hoping he’d say yes. You weren’t exactly the most popular soldier on base. He nods, pointing to the open bench across from him. Both of you sat in silence for a moment, consuming what the mess hall cooks called ‘food.’ You couldn’t help but notice the tiny patch of his chin that would become visible every time he lifted his veil to snag a bite.
“You’re not wearing the jacket,” König's voice breaks the silence, “it’s still cold out.”
“Yeah,” you say as you choke back the rubbery eggs, “I didn’t want anyone to stare, to be honest. It was really nice to have last night, though,” you add at the end to reassure him. Despite being a massive tank of muscle and power, you’d come to realize just how socially anxious König could be; where other soldiers had no problems chatting with others, he’d rather run away or hide in the barracks. You couldn’t help but find that quality endearing.
“Really?” his hazel eyes left his plate to meet yours. The eye contact lasted only a second or two before it became unbearable for him.
“Honest,” you gave him a genuine smile, “it was very sweet of you. I’ll give it back next time I see you.”
For a split second, you saw something in his eyes—an emotion you hadn’t seen on him before. The corners of his eyes crinkled ever so slightly and you couldn’t help but imagine the smile on his face. And as quickly as the expression came onto his face, it left just as fast as he picked up his work-issued phone.
“Oh,” he said as he read the message, “the captain wants to see me.” Not a moment later, your own phone pinged with a similar message.
“We can go together.” you patted his arm as you spoke, and even through his heavy armor you could feel the warmth of his skin.
The administrative office was a gray, bleak building that stood at the center of the base surrounded by guards. You and König both flashed your ID badges to two privates, both looking incredibly young, and pushed into the building.
The captain’s office was small, König barely fit through the door, but well organized. The captain sat behind a small, utilitarian desk with a stack of papers in front of him.
“You’re finally here,” he huffed, though you’d both only been asked to come at most five minutes ago, “sit, you two have a rather big mission you need to briefed on,” you and König both compiled, though he had more trouble with the flimsy folding chair than you. The captain continued, “we have a serious informant flying in soon. I can’t tell you what information he has, but I can tell you that without him, we don’t have a chance against the enemy. The company is moving him between bases; in a month or so, he should finally end up in the US. While he’s in this country, he is under our protection. Of course, we won’t have him stay on base but in a secure location in a local hotel.
“Both of you are effective, specialized operators who are being wasted here twiddling your thumbs. I need both of you to protect this man. You will watch over his every move. I want eyes on him every second; he won't leave your sight even to shit. If anything happens to him, it won't only be your jobs, but your lives and the future of your homes. Do I make myself clear?” You nodded, though you were still a little unsure about the mission.
“How long will we be guarding him, sir?” König spoke up, the anxiety in his voice palatable.
“Three weeks.” It felt like a punch to the stomach; three weeks with no one but a stranger and König. You were unsure how you’d manage. “He’ll be here by the end of the day and you’ll be in charge of his safety for the next three weeks or until we can secure proper transport for him.”