Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“So, you have two choices, L/N.” A large, beared man started as you sat inside the interrogation room. He had an accent you couldn’t quite pinpoint but you’d guess he came from either Norway or Sweden. You breathed up exasperated, blowing some hair out of your eyes. He rested his open fists on the table with your police records in between them. The older man read along your crimes, his lip curling in as he saw the charges. “That is a lot of time behind bars for someone your age… and for someone with your talent.”

July 23rd, 2018: Y/N L/N suspected of bypassing personal cyber security to Elijah Mundst, CEO of LUDEN’S Pharmaceuticals, Owner of Tulsa Automotive, and CEO of Twitter(.com). L/N hacked into personal and financial files of Mundst and drained $12,725,000 USD and disrupted the funds to 100,700 unknown external accounts.

“Someone had to put Eli Mundst in his place. He owns three of the biggest companies in the entire world. He has a monopoly on people’s livelihoods.” You spat, clearly not interested in hearing the same shit repeated to you for the last three days.

You were, formerly, an anonymous online hacker that stalked the dark recesses of the web to enact your own types of justice. For about seven years, ever since you got your first laptop in your freshman year in high school, you’ve been exposed to the true horrors of the world. You’d find the most deplorable losers and use your god-given gift of understanding codes to wring their IP Address of information. You’ve exposed more than a handful of predators in your county, outed several racists from online videos and got them fired from their jobs, and you even used an unusual Reddit thread to solve a cold case. Your finest work and the only thing you relished in was seeing their names and mugshots illuminated on your monitor. 

Of course, your targets were never as big as Eli Mundst. You flew too close to the sun with that one. Mundst had too much control over most of the United States. He owned Luden’s Pharmaceuticals that itself had a monopoly over a lot of medicines including insulin. Tulsa Automotive has the highest selling luxury cars that were faulty and caused millions of deaths a year. Mundst was never sued because of pretty little fine print. And of course his newest acquisition was Twitter, the biggest social media site ever. It was a place where anyone could express themselves… and that included a lot of hateful groups. The CEO before had a no tolerance rule against hate speech but as soon as Mundst bought the website that rule magically disappeared. However, the cherry on that shit cake was Mundst banning you indefinitely for tweeting he was a ‘balding and melting mountain of potato salad’. It was very tame tweet yet you were banned and not the actual Nazis on the website.  

Over the last few years, a lot of accusations about Mundst had come to light. He had assaulted multiple women that had worked for him in Luden’s, even fathering some children. However, Mundst squeezed out of child support when DNA testing suddenly became ‘non-conclusive’. Tulsa employees were subjected to sweat-shop like conditions while working under Mundst. Shifts were as long as fourteen hours with little to no breaks or they were never long enough to used a bathroom. Some employees would just urinate on the factory floor. It sickened you that this man was hoarding all the money in the United States and you knew you had to do something about it. It wasn’t hard to pinpoint his location since he shared his location on Twitter whenever he posted. He resided in Los Angeles, of course, living the biggest mansion in Hollywood. Fifteen bedrooms, ten bathrooms, two kitchens, a pool and a guest house with five extra rooms. It really bothered you that the fat fuck lived alone. 

It took you over a year to gather all the information and accounts of the employees that worked for Mundst. You created your own program that listed the numbers and wages they were owed in compensation— compensation you believed they were owed really. Mundst only had one bank account, it was his fault. It was like that stupid king in Robin Hood that kept all his gold in one room. It was just there, not being used. You made sure that all the information of the accessed accounts would be terminated once they had gotten their money. With the press of a button, you sat back and watched the funds in Mundst’s account drain. You have done it for more than just the affected employees and spread the wealth to anyone you wanted since Mundst was America’s first and only trillionaire. The only one you wouldn’t give money to was yourself. Not only did it keep you clean of suspicion but you also didn’t really care for money. But how did you even get caught?

Your work wasn’t flawless and you had made a fatal flaw of staying logged into his account while taking a bathroom break. When you returned to your computer, the account was frozen. You began to sweat as you unplugged every electronic in your home. From hard drives to cellphones and even your microwave, you burned everything in your backyard. Authorities found you standing in front of the blaze when they came to apprehend you. 

“I know,” The older man nodded, getting your attention. “None of us in my field like the guy. He would have been a target if we didn’t go after actual bad people, eh.” 

Your eyes narrowed at the man, “Your field? You’re not some other bad cop coming to beat more information out of me?”

“No ma’am.” He shook his head. He mirrored your expression, “They hurt you?”

You turned away, ashamed to feel your bruises burning again. “I wasn’t going to tell them where the money went. It’s not Mundst’s to keep.” You didn’t look back at him but you heard him picking up your files, flipping over the pages. He hummed. 

“It says here that you had a wide collection of video games in your apartment,” He started. “First person shooters, multiplayer online battle arenas, battle royales… Seems like you like combat.”

“Broke college kid likes to play games, so what?” You spat.

“With proper training, you could work as a sniper. I can already tell you have the hand-to-eye coordination.” 

Your jaw fell open, “A sniper? No way. Who the hell do you even work for?” Your head swiveled around when you heard him chuckle. His eyes blinked down at your files. 

“I said you had two choices, remember?” He asked. You slowly nodded, unsure. “I work for a private military contractor. What you were doing online is nearly similar. Justice for all, right? Join KorTac or face…” He glanced down at th files and his eyes nearly bugged out of skull. “Faen… thirteen life sentences? I thought the ink was smudged there…” He mumbled. 

“Do I get my own room?” You asked, knowing your privacy was worth more to you than anything in the world. 

“Ja. Headquarters has a room for everyone in our ranks.” He smiled like he knew what your answer was going to be.

“I choose KorTac.” You said proudly. You would have stood up to shake his hand but you were currently handcuffed to the table. “What is your name?”

“Tor Eriksen. But the crew calls each other by nicknames. I’m Aksel to them.” His gloved hand reached up and scratched his beard. Aksel went back to reading, “We should give you one now. Let’s see… Ja. Stealing in the times of disorder… I think I should call you Reaver.”

Chapter Text

The shooting range was busier than König would have liked. A lot of his colleagues were standing around, chatting amongst themselves while others bantered over missed shots. Any other day and he would have turned around and went back to his room but he needed to get some shots in. His anxiety was manifesting in his trigger finger and it was unbearable. It was that time where contractors already had their missions complete and things were going slow. König himself had gotten back from a mission in Taiwan six days ago. It was the usual spot for him. Help the contractors track and capture some drug traffickers. However, they did most of the tracking and König did all the capturing. He didn't get to see as much combat as he would have liked but at least the mission was a success.

König walked into the shooting range and picked the furthest stall. It wasn't the most optimal place since the setting sun would be beating down right on him. As long as he had his time and place to shoot, he didn't really care. He placed his rifle down as he went to prepare. The shooting range had a rule of bringing empty guns to use blank rounds. For everyone's safety. The repair table behind his stall was clear of everything. Usually, there was rounds sitting on top for anyone to grab. A good time for people to start picking up after themselves. The ammo for his type of gun was unfortunately being hogged by Roze and Horangi down at the other end. Scheisse. He was going to have to ask for some. With a quick breath, König was off. His boots stomped over, unintentionally of course. 

“This story is actually nuts,” Horangi said as he flicked his thumb over his phone. He scrolled around, getting to the comments at the bottom. He frowned when he saw there were none, “Did you hear about this. The news about it just broke this morning. Look at this!”

“I’m a bit busy at the moment,” Roze sighed as she lined her shot. “But I’m listening.”

Horangi held the phone closer to his face as he read, “Woman found guilty of robbing multi-millions from Twitter CEO Eli Mundst. It says that she wired over twelve million dollars out of his account. Y/N L/N, 22, refuses to expose where the money has gone. Elijah Mundst has begun working on suing the young woman. She faces thirteen life sentences.”

König eyes narrowed when he recognized the man's name. He knew that Eli Mundst was a shithead CEO controlling most of America. He was almost as powerful as the president. But he traded his rights to nuclear bombs and law enforcement for unlimited wealth and a free opinion on Twitter. Eli Mundst had unironically called himself the King of America just last month in a Hollywood Fair interview. König was surprised someone younger than he achieved such a feat.

The information being read to her made Roze put down her gun and look at Horangi, “Jesus in Heaven. Let me see that.”

König was now standing in front of the both of them but they were still invested in the breaking news. He crossed his arms, not out of anger but out of anxiousness. Horangi lent his phone over to Roze. The sunlight beaming down on them had a glare reflecting off the screen and she tried to shield it to try and read. König sighed as he stepped in front of the sun, bathing the both of his colleagues in shade. They looked up and saw the large man in front of them. Horangi smiled at the larger man while Roze seemed to take a half-step back. He was used to that.

“Hey, König!” Horangi greeted. Charismatic as always, this one. “Did you see someone finally stuck it to Mundst?” 

“Nein. I didn’t.” König answered. Talking to others didn’t bother him at all. It was just he valued his alone time when he wasn’t working. He also felt like no matter where he went there was always someone judging him based on how he looked. His childhood left more scars on him than war ever could. He sighed, knowing he is going to have to engage in the conversation now. “What happened?”

“This chick robbed Mundst of twelve million. She got thirteen consecutive life sentences. Christ, how much is that?” Roze asked as she looked over to Horangi, who began counting on his fingers. König already knew the answer. He considered himself to be pretty smart, that was required when he applied to be a recon sniper in the Kommando Spezialkräfte. But, of course, his anxious nature and size kept him from joining. He didn't stay long in the Kommando Spezialkräfte and about a year later he joined KorTac. Still, he liked to practice his aim just in case.

“That is three hundred and twenty-five years.” König said. 

“WHAT!?” They both exclaimed, getting more of the other’s attention. The sudden sound of their voices made Hutch miss a shot. His blank bullet flew into the trees above the range and scared resting birds from the branches. The older man set down his gun and made his way over to the chatting duo and their unfortunate accomplice König. 

“Someone die?” Hutch asked as he lifted up his dark sunglasses. 

“No, this kid…” Roze went on to repeat the same thing to Hutch. König blinked slowly, knowing he wouldn’t get out of the crowd for a hot minute. He saw the box of ammunition sitting behind Horangi and he could just reach over and walk away with it but that would be inconsiderate. His mother taught him better. 

“That is a fucking long time.” Hutch confirmed as he stared at Horangi’s phone. “Hey, she’s American, too.” He pointed out with a hearty laugh, “Nice to know the home of the free is being defended by these vigilantes in training.” 

“Huh,” Horangi pulled back his phone to check the news article. He flicked his finger down, finding an enlarged mugshot. “I didn’t even notice. Damn, she’s kind of cute.”

König glanced down, seeing an image of a young woman standing against a gray wall. Her hair was messy and her makeup was smudged. Black eyeliner dripped down her face and lipstick had somehow ended up on her chin. But what really caught his attention was the busted lip and bruised eye on her. He could tell that the authorities that had apprehended her had roughed her up. Guilty or not, a woman shouldn't be beaten bloody and bruised. The thought of it made him sick. She held up a name card in the photo. König read her name. To him, it was different and cute. 

“What do you think, König?“ Horangi asked while nudging the taller man’s strong shoulder. The sudden contact broke König out of his daze and he blinked rapidly. Horangi raised his phone up closer, “You agree with me, yeah? She’s cute?” 

“Yes.” König said and Horangi slapped his own knee. 

“See?" Horangi wriggled his eyebrows, "I’m not the only one who can appreciate a bad girl. Ah, too bad she's going to jail for three centuries.” It suddenly felt very hot under his sniper hood. Now was a good time to get that ammunition and run.

König sighed, “Verzeihung. Sorry, I just came over for some ammo…” 

Horangi blinked for a moment but glanced over his shoulder. The open box was nearly empty and didn’t have enough for a full practice round. 

“Oh, let me get you a new box.” He waved his hand before heading over to the storage closet. He kept talking to himself in Korean as he walked off. Whatever he said, he laughed at his own joke probably. 

König stood there like a statue. He could have just gone to the closet all this whole time. Now, all the things were going into overdrive in his head. Should he follow Horangi? Should he go back to his stall and make Horangi walk a longer distance? Then he would be just leaving an unfinished conversation between himself and his other colleagues. That was rude. So, König just stood there with his clenched fists at his side. 

What he wouldn't give to smell some gunpowder right at that very second. Some people enjoyed the smell of gasoline or freshly cut grass but König loved gunpowder. There’s no more distractions, right? He would be able to just shoot his gun in the next forty seconds?

“Looks like Aksel is coming this way,” Roze held a hand over her eyes as she stared closer, “And he’s got a guest.” 

König was thinking now that he should have just stayed in his room. He could have just relieved his antsiness with some push-ups or a jog around headquarters. He could just turn around now and pretend like he never came to the shooting range. But he’d be leaving Horangi wondering where he went. He wouldn’t be ending his conversation with Roze and Hutch. And he wouldn’t be greeting Aksel and the new recruit. That would be rude. His mother taught him better. 

“Aksel, good to see you. Who do you ha—” Roze paused when the others came into the light. 

König turned when she stopped mid-sentence. He was off to the side and the sun was hitting his smaller colleagues again. Now, he saw why Roze froze. Behind Aksel was the girl from the mugshot. She was carrying a heavy duffel bag over one shoulder and she held folded khaki pants in the other hand. This new recruit has a giant shadow behind her— and apparently it was worth over thirteen million American dollars. 

“No way…” Roze couldn’t help but laugh, “Is that really her?” 

Aksel came into the social circle with the new girl at his side. “News is already out?” He asked, earning a nod from both Hutch and Roze. “Mundst’s attorney said it would be at least a week before the media caught wind… Guess you can't stop Mundst from tweeting...”

“Fuck.” König heard the young woman say under her breath. 

When he glanced down, he saw that she was right beside him. She was so much smaller than him. It was like a puffed-up kitten standing next to a lion. He knew he stood almost two feet above her. But that was an average height for an American woman, right? She was just as tall as Roze, why was he noticing something like that now? 

“This is our newest operator, Reaver.” Aksel started while trying to ignore the gawking at the new kid. “It took a lot of convincing to get her sentences lessened and released to us. She’ll be using her skills to create personal programs for KorTac to use as well as learning combat. She might not seem like it but she has quite the resume.” 

“Oh, welcome!” Roze said, surprised.

“Yeah, nice to have you, kid.” Hutch added. 

“Hey, König, I got that new box for you.” Horangi said as he joined the circle. He handed the box to the much taller man and now all eyes were on König, even Reaver. 

König glanced down again, seeing her eyes. She looked a lot more cleaned up than her mugshot. Her hair was brushed and pulled into a high ponytail. Her busted lip was healed, only a scab remained on her bottom lip. He noticed she had picked at it and the end was beginning to bleed. She still had that nasty bruise around her eye. When she blinked, her eyelashes touched the tops of her cheeks. She didn’t seem like she would have committed such a serious crime. But everyone had a side to them no one sees unless it’s forced out, König knew that. 

“Hallo, Reaver. I am König.” He said softly but his accent came out strong. 

“Hey, König.” She said back just as delicately. “It’s nice to meet you.” 

“Mwo, did I miss something?” Horangi asked, earning everyone’s attention. Yet, the masked man and young Reaver still kept their gaze on each other for a second longer. “Hey, you’re that— I thought…”

“Horangi, this is Reaver. I’m sure you already know that by now. It took some convincing on KorTac’s part but Reaver is going to be spending her sentence working for us.” Aksel began his introduction again. “Unfortunately, part of the agreement was that if she goes AWOL, fails to complete her tasks and so on… we’re going to have to report back and…”

“I’ll be taking that three hundred years up my ass,” Reaver said and earned a laugh from everyone, even König. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m here for the long haul.” Reaver turned to Aksel, “And thanks for sticking your neck out for me.”

König took a moment to step away from the group. His colleagues, especially the other Americans, were asking Reaver about what had happened with Mundst. Even as he was walking away, he wanted to listen to her talk. There was a pain in her eyes that he recognized, it was the same look he saw when he was in front of a mirror. And, yet, those same eyes didn’t flinch nor widen in fear when she gazed up at him. Her tongue was sharp but her voice was soft. He knew she'd fit in, probably excelling in dealing with hostage situations. She had a trustworthy face— unlike himself.

The masked man figured he’d had enough excitement for one evening and he went back to his room.

Chapter Text

Four Years Later...

You didn’t know when you’d get used to having your finger on a trigger. It just felt so foreign, even after all this time. Training day in and day out to get your aim just right. If someone would have told you four years ago you’d be working for a private military contractor, you would have laughed in their face. It was absurd to think about but it was so real now. You aimed your shot from atop the sniper’s nest, seeing the target dummy clear in your scope. Closing your left eye, you peeked into the scope and saw the world around you turn emerald. 

The air felt as if it was frozen solid and it didn’t help that it was beginning to snow. Of course, you knew to gear up even for just practice shots. The lower half of your face was covered by a black gaiter that hung over your neck and chin. You wore a hood over your head, keeping the silkweight fabric close to your face. You honestly felt like you looked like a pint-sized grim reaper most of the time. But it kept you warm and it kept you hidden. However, you were stationed in Norway until the details of your next mission were finalized. You had never been so far north in the world and it showed. You had to clench your teeth to keep them from chattering. Just a few rounds in the sniper nest and you’d treat yourself to a warm coffee in the lunch hall. 

You stared down the scope, seeing the dummy with a thin layer of snow covering its head. Over the years, you’ve learned that body shots were the easiest for you to land. Headshots still seemed like a dream. Even when you played video games you still only managed to hit headshots by pure chance. If you tried to intentionally aim for a player’s head, you would miss every bullet. So you resorted to keeping just to the body even if it took more shots to get them down. But you knew this was real life and not video games. There wasn’t going to be infinite ammo in your guns nor would there be convenient reloads sitting on the ground around you. The deadlier your shots, the less ammunition you would have to use. One or two bullets compared to five or six could mean life or death down the road. 

As your finger pulled back the trigger, you held your breath. Your gun fired through the winter air and towards your target. But instead of hitting the dummy, your bullet hit the ground behind its head. The force of the shot spread snow and dirt into the air, signaling that you had missed big time. You dropped your head, feeling the scope push hard into your forehead. Out of frustration, you aimed again but fired without lining up. Again, you missed. And you missed again. 

“Reaver!” You heard your name being called from the ground below. You prayed whoever was calling you didn’t see you miss four bullets in a row. As you peeked out behind you and down the ladder, you saw Aksel standing with his hands on his waist. Oh, great. My boss saw all that. He waved up at you, “Come down, mission statement arrived.”

“Yes, sir. One moment, sir.” You called down before returning to your gun. With one last shot of adrenaline, you lined up. Looking down the scope, you found the dummy’s head and shut one eye. However, this time you tilted the gun on its side. It felt impractical but the stance was comfortable on your hands. You pulled the trigger and your bullet flew through the air again. In the scope, you saw that you had blown the dummy’s head clean off and all that was left was shattered plastic and foam. You sighed, “Fucking finally, Reaver…”

You climbed down the ladder, holding your sniper rifle in one hand and you descended. You didn’t know what was keeping you from excelling at something you were expected to be great at. Of course, your aim was good when it came to the battlefield. Yet, you couldn’t get over the hurdle of ‘one shot, one kill’ mentality you put on yourself. You figured it was just knowing you weren’t on the warzone and your mind wasn’t cleared. The combination of the cold, knowing you had a mission coming, and the expectations you put on yourself had made your aim bad today. When it came down to it, you knew you’d hit that one shot eventually. You hopped off the ladder when you got to the last two steps, feeling the snow blow up under you. As you set the safety mode on your gun, you heard Aksel laughing.

“Ja. That was a good shot. I knew you had it in you.” He said, his rugged gaze falling on you. You felt as if you were being praised by the dad you never had. If the wound would have been fresh, you might have gotten emotional. However, that dirtbag was gone before you could crap your diaper. 

“Thank you, sir.” You thanked him while adjusting your face mask. 

“Come with me to the command center,” Aksel said as he turned around and entered back into headquarters. He must have felt so at home in the snow since you saw that Aksel was wearing just a short sleeve shirt and khaki pants. 

Headquarters itself was open and snow was starting to cover the ground and buildings. You noticed that there weren’t many operators around and you remembered that KorTac had been hired by the United States Armed Forces. The government had come into contact with anonymous tips that Russian government officials had been meeting secretly to discuss territory expansion. If you were to check a calendar, you would see it was 2022 and the thought of some countries wanting more land seemed so fake. But, as an American, you knew what that meant. War would be coming on whispers. KorTac and SpecGru have been hired by the American government but were on two different sides of the issue. SpecGru was guarding the boarders of Alaska, Canada and Finland. Meanwhile, KorTac would be in charge of investigating inside Russia. 

As you got to the command center, you started to pat the snow off your shoulders. You entered the control room behind Aksel and took a seat at the table. It was warm inside, you might as well take advantage and defrost. Your hands rubbed your arms while you watched Aksel retrieve a tablet from the back desk. He set it down on the oval table in front of him before he started tapping on the screen. 

“So what am I in for, Aksel?” You asked. “Am I going to have my hand held on this mission too?”

Part of your contract with KorTac involved you being heavily monitored. You had to be on your best behavior at all times and do what you had to. Since your crime was mostly online based, your internet history and usage was watched. As a joke on those who had to watch your history, you once left Justin Beiber’s hit single ‘Yummy’ on autoplay for a week straight on YouTube. In the fine print, each page and browser search had to be checked. You never went deep on the internet like you used to. You just stuck to YouTube. You weren’t going to risk going to jail over a pop-up ad or even pornography if you were in the mood. 

Aksel and the rest of the operators already knew you were just as involved and faithful as any of them but it was still in the contract for the next fifty-one years. Your consecutive life sentences had been lessened from thirteen to two. Now being twenty-six, you knew you were going to be involved until you were a brittle old woman. You didn’t mind at all. The feeling of the open air on your face was a blessing. You had your own room, your own private space with KorTac. And you were in the best shape of your life thanks to your training regime. 

“Ah, well…” Aksel mumbled, “There’s something I have to go over with you. We had to let the American government know about your special employment with us.” He stood up straight, cracking his back. You watched him beat around the bush by staring at the screen. 

“Am I going to jail?” You asked.

“Nei, nei. You’re stuck with us.” Aksel scoffed, “We’re a private contractor and your nationality is a clean slate when you’re under our name. So, technically, you’re not American. They can’t take you away even if they really wanted to. But… the Executive Branch took an interest in your file.”

“Oh, god.” You sank in your seat. “President Biden knows about me?” 

“Ja,” He laughed. “But don’t fret, this is a good thing. You’re an important piece in all of this,” Aksel flipped the tablet over to you, showing you an image of Russia. It was zoomed into the top of the map with a single dot with the name Salekhard in bold letters. He pressed the dot, opening up a ten page document. “Read this.”

You took the tablet in your hands and sat back. Inside the document was a quick detailing of your situation with KorTac and you breezed by that. You didn’t need a refresher on what you already knew. Further down on the third page, you saw that Salekhard was a small city in the Arctic Circle, known for mostly reindeer herding and fishing. However, the American government had men on the inside and there was word of very dangerous plans happening in the cold city. First, the Russian government was hiding loaded submarines in the harbor. What they were ‘loaded’ with was a mystery even to the double agents. Second, the townhall was being used as a secret meeting place for Russian officials, away from the tapped lines in Moscow but further away from the coast that faced Alaska. All information was kept under tight control and officials were starting to get suspicious of those around them. Less and less people were being let into the meetings. 

You already knew where this was headed. 

The authorities that had apprehended you four years ago had salvaged some of your computer parts from the fire and found corrupted files. Of course, they had the manpower to fix them up and look through them. What they found was the files you had kept on the pedophiles you were going to get to after dealing with Elijah Mundst, but obviously that didn’t happen. They listed how you had tracked down IP addresses, flushed cashes in their own computers, internet histories and even had all the locations they visited with their phones, iPads, laptops and so on. It was like you were their own shadow. And that was with what you had built in your own computer. With the right equipment, you could crack your way into a AirPod inside Salekhard. 

Your job in the coming weeks was to spy on the entire city from the outside. The American government had a special cabin built ten miles away from Salekhard with everything you could need. The sound of it all had you shaking with excitement. You’ve had that technology itch for the last few years. Of course, part of your contract with KorTac meant you had to build them programs from scratch to make their work easier. That means you built them their own database for records and commissions. For fun, you had even made a ‘kill count’ leaderboard— the obvious people were on top while you lingered somewhere in eighth place. KorTac had even let you hot wire enemy calls to the radios at base, but that was child’s play. 

Now, you were going to have some real fun.

“God Bless America,” You snickered as you came to the end of the document. 

“Good, right?” Aksel extended his hand, silently asking for the tablet back. You passed it over to him, doing your best to hide your growing excitement. “There is a few more things that weren’t mentioned. You’re going to need a partner.”

“I’m capable of working all on my own, sir.” You folded your arms behind your head, cocky. “I’ll just be in the cabin right? I just gotta—”

“No, you’re not looking at the entire picture.” Aksel interrupted, “You’ll need to go into the city eventually, whether it be for supplies or to track a lead. Then there is the possibility that you get caught. You’ll need someone with the combat skills to fight alongside you… or bring back your body. You’ve only been here four years, Reaver. You’re not invincible. Need I remind why you’re even here in the first—”

“I get it, I get it. Its possible that I can get sloppy again. Sorry, sir. I guess I’m still that bastard college kid that thinks she’s still tracking pedophiles,” You sighed. It was true, you were dealing with a whole other monster now. Your life was at risk starting now. “Who is even here to back me up? Everyone had been spread thin in the last month.”

“Actually,” Aksel started as he pulled his phone out of his back pocket. He tapped on the screen, “Ah, König just got back from Alaska yesterday. He was supposed to be there for another month but the officials in Juneau were following cold trails. I’m texting him right now.”

König had his back against the wall as he lingered by the shooting range. His ice-blue eyes watched the sniper rifle stick out of the nest and aim for the dummy thirty yards away. He had just got back to headquarters not even twelve hours ago but he was already feeling that anxiousness hitting him hard. He was on his way to the sniper’s nest when he saw that Reaver was already climbing up the ladder. She had been up there for about five minutes before she started shooting. She landed every body shot on the dummy, nearly taking off a plastic arm in the process. König noticed how brutal she was with her shots, always aiming for the heart— or the groin if she was pissed off. 

He remembered being paired with her and Horangi on a mission in Cairo just nine months ago. They had been hired by the Egyptian government to capture rogue soldiers trying to escape capture. Horangi and himself were chasing them on foot while Reaver was above keeping an eye out and instructing them where to go. When the fugitives came closer to a residential area, Reaver took it upon herself to blow holes in their calves. While König was throwing the men over his shoulders, he saw the children kicking a ball right by where they would have ended up. He remembered radioing her right after, thanking her and her watchful eye. From on top of the hill, she waved at him. 

Another story he heard in passing from Roze was Reaver had no tolerance for crimes against children, women or animals. They were unfortunately involved in a trafficking case where everything just went wrong. The hostages were killed out of fear and then Roze and Fender had been caught and detained, leaving Reaver alone in the darkness with just her rifle. She circled the warehouse where her teammates were being held until she found and open window. No one really knows what really happened inside the warehouse that night. Roze just said that Reaver came back to them covered in blood and each man involved in the trafficking had their genitals blown off, point blank. Reaver didn’t ever talk about it and König would never ask. He saw the dark circles under her eyes when she came back home. 

If he were to describe her to anyone, he would say she was a guardian angel with a short fuse. 

He watched as the second shot went off, hitting the dummy in the leg. König tilted his head, wondering what her game plan was. Was she just having an off day or was she strategizing? Another shot, the other leg. Maybe she just wanted to fire her gun like he did. It was calming to just aim and shoot. It was kind of like smashing dinner plates, it was cathartic destruction. Part of him wanted to join her in the sniper’s nest and just have at it. They could just shoot the dummies until they were just piles of plastic on the dirt. He thought about it and his foot even moved… but he figured maybe she wanted to be alone. 

Over the years of watching her from a distance, he learned that she was similar to him in most ways. They both liked to be alone, they liked coffee and they preferred the largest scope on their rifles. Of course, he learned that she liked coffee with just as much cream and sugar as him when they both reached for it in the lunch hall. They touched fingers and König was thankful he always wore his hood or she would have seen him sweating. 

Then she missed her fourth shot. Maybe something was wrong. He was just about to walk to the nest when he saw Aksel making his way into the range. Reaver rapidly fired off three more shots and missed all of them. Scheisse, she’s pissed. König backed away when Aksel called for Reaver to come down. Her mission statement was here, that means she’d be leaving for a mission soon. The United States government was really milking KorTac hard. He knew that she’d be put on a computer again. Her last mission for them was to comb through emails of their own government. He hoped she got something more exciting to do. 

Reaver turned back around to fire one last shot at the dummy and König was surprised when she shattered the head. As she came down the ladder, he moved into the shade. It was just a reflex to be in the shadows. Of course, he wasn’t avoiding her. He never wanted to avoid her. But he didn’t want her knowing that he just lingered around in her area when she wasn’t in her room. The little voice in his head always screamed at him to go talk to her but he was always too nervous. But when she talked to him, either it be a brief ‘hello, how are you’ or full on gossip, he would listen with a smile under his mask. 

And then she was gone to the command center. He didn’t realize he had been holding his breath until he felt his lungs burning. With a quick breath of the icy air, König decided that he’d just go get a coffee in the lunch hall. It was cold, winter was on its way. Being in Alaska for over a month didn’t help either. He spent most of his time there outdoors, tracking a dead end. He didn’t know what he was more annoyed about, seeing no combat or the wasted time. 

His boots crunched through the fresh snow as he made his way to the lunch hall. It was empty. Headquarters itself was most likely empty as well, other than himself, Reaver and Aksel. König grabbed a styrofoam cup and headed for the hot water dispenser, snagging an instant coffee pack on the way. As he filled his cup a little over halfway, his phone dinged in his back pocket. He set his cup down on the table behind him before he pulled out his phone. He blinked at the message, wondering if he was reading it correctly.

Aksel wanted him to come to the command center. 

König sent off a quick ‘yes, sir’ before he put his instant coffee pack back where he got it. Then he grabbed his cup of hot water, staring at the steaming liquid inside. Scheisse, what am I going to do with a cup of fucking hot water? König exited the hall with the cup in his hand, dumping the water into a bush while he walked to the command center. 

You sat there in your chair and heard Aksel get an almost immediate reply from König. The older man set his phone down before he walked around the command center, leaving you alone with your thoughts. No biggie. You were just going to be in a isolated cabin with one of KorTac’s most lethal operators. But you knew you had nothing to worry about. König was nice. The only time you had to worry about him was when he was getting blood crazy on the war front. Of course, you were never within arms distance when you were paired with him. You only ever heard his batshit banter over communications. He was almost as bad as you. Except he had the precision and practice to back it up. He’d make a good partner if you got raided. 

“You called, Aksel?” You heard König’s familiar accent behind you. You glanced over your shoulder, seeing him standing at the door with an empty styrofoam cup in his hand. He froze when he noticed you looking at it. “Uh, I was getting coffee when Aksel texted me…” 

You laughed, “Oh, I’m dying for a coffee.” 

“König, take a seat.” Aksel called out from the back of the room. The massive man sat at the table right across from you. You saw the grip on his empty cup tightening until he hid his hand under the table. “How was Alaska?”

“Cold.” He answered, “I am just happy to be warming up now.” 

“Ah, well, sorry. You’re going out again,” Aksel said while he handed the same tablet he had given to you over to König. “Take a look at that while I email this congressman that has been in my messages all day. These Americans, I swear.”

You sat back in your seat while you watched König read along the same document you did. His finger flicked down the pages, slowing when he got to the part about the cabin. He scrolled up again like he needed confirmation. You knew exactly what he was thinking. The two introverts were going to be put in an enclosed space together. How awkward could it possibly get?

“You burned your computer?” He asked, catching you off guard.

“Yeah, I did. It had all the evidence on it.” You answered, “But it didn’t burn as much as I wanted it to.”

“Did you pour something flammable over it?” 

“No, I didn’t.”

“Ah, that might have helped.” He joked as he went back to reading. 

“I’ll remember that for next time…” 

When König had finished reading, he locked the tablet. He sat back in his chair just like you did. The both of you just stared at each other, saying nothing. Did you even need to say anything? You knew that he had all the information there in the tablet and you were sure you were going to get another rundown. Should you make small talk? Ask him about Alaska? You were saved when a sighing Aksel came back into the room. 

“Alright, König, you’re caught up, yes?” He asked, swiping the tablet from in front of the masked man. 

“Yes.” He nodded.

“Any questions?” Aksel asked, turning to both of you.

“When do we leave, sir?” Was your question. You knew it had to be soon. Time was something you couldn’t waste. 

“At 0400 hours. I suggest pack everything now. Take as much as you think you need and more. We don’t know how long you’ll be stationed out in Salekhard. The agents said the meetings have been inconsistent. You might be there two weeks or two months.” Aksel explained, his hands pressed flat on the table. He popped his knuckles hard, obviously he was stressed too.

“Yes, sir.”

“You’re dismissed. I’ll see you off tomorrow morning.” Aksel added before he exited the command center. You knew he had to be tired. He was running KorTac by himself as of now. Not to mention he had the entire American government on his back. You could only imagine what that felt like for someone who didn’t grow up in America. 

You stood up, throwing the strap on your rifle over your shoulder. König stood up after you, still clutching that damn cup in his hand. However, now it was crunched. There was a silent exchange between the two of you. Your eyes gestured to his fist and he hid it behind his back. 

“What are you going to do now, König?” You asked while looking up into his ice-blue eyes. 

The larger man chuckled as he brought his fist back out. He opened is palm, revealing the smashed styrofoam. “I suppose I am going to get that coffee I wanted. Care to join me?”

“Sure, I need to warm these bones.”

Chapter Text

You stared up at the ceiling in your room. Regrettably, you had woken up before your alarm. Again. Your hand searched for your phone that was somewhere under the covers with you. Somehow, it ended up at the foot of the bed. You probably kicked it around in the restless night. When you lifted it up to your face, the automatic backlight shined in your eyes. While scrunching your eyes shut, you let out a long groan. A very rude awakening. You were never a rise-and-shine person, in fact your sleep schedule mirrored that of a fruitfly. Even after joining KorTac, you couldn’t get more than three hours of sleep a night, sometimes not even sleeping at all. Maybe all those years of sitting in front of a computer screen had fried your brain.

It was barely 2:40am, just twenty minutes shy of when you set your alarm. You hated when your brain woke you up for no reason. As you kicked your blankets off, you were immediately attacked by the winter chill that had invaded your room. You growled, seeing your breath in the air. You figured that you could get a quick shower in before you did your last minute packing. 

You grabbed the thin white towel you had hanging over the bathroom doorknob and made your way into the even colder tiled room. As you started the shower, you made a mental note to take all your toiletries before you left. The hot water beating on the shower tiles started to fog up the room. You knew you had made time yesterday to pack everything you’d think you’d need. However, the evening was mostly taken up by running down your gameplan with König over a cup of coffee. You drank yours, he held onto his until you parted ways. It made you wonder if he was going to keep his hood on even in the cabin. 

König mostly just sat there and listened as you used the most complicated technology language with him. Motherboards, ram, history cashe, maybe he didn’t understand any of it. But he said he would help out where he needed. Whichever way the mission went in Salekhard, you knew he’d be there. 

Your shower couldn’t be long, even if you just wanted to stand in the hot water and warm up. You simply washed up, getting that bit of privacy in before you’d be away from it all. As you scrubbed your scalp, you gazed up at the ceiling and slipped into deep thoughts. You were going to miss your room, even if it was on the small side. Part of you knew that you probably wouldn’t have alone time with a partner staying in the same cabin as you. And you knew that the American Armed Forces wouldn’t provide you with  lavish or large living. It was probably going to be two bedrooms at most. You just prayed you were the president’s favorite criminal hacker and he would bless you with two bathrooms. 

During your short time in college, you applied for roommates in the surrounding apartments. You landed a spot with three other girls and while it was mostly clean, the bathroom was the spot everyone got ready—makeup, hair and all that. You had war flashbacks of stepping in shattered foundation in clean white socks. You were just traumatized. Those girls eventually all cycled out and there was a moment in time where you were alone in the apartment, setting up listings for new roommates. The only time you hacked money into your bank account was when you needed to pay rent. Those three months of isolation, seeing nothing but pixilated faces on your monitor, you felt your shell harden and you felt yourself grow angrier. That was when you nursed the idea of hitting Mundst where it would hurt most.

The rest was history. 

Your alarm beeped just outside the curtain, telling you time was up. You reluctantly shut off the water and mentally prepared to be bitten by the bitter air again… 

You stared at your duffle bag, trying to see if you could fit anything else inside. You had already rolled all your clothes into tight spirals like cotton burritos just so you could fit your shampoo inside. But now you had your conditioner still out in your hand, and you knew you couldn’t have your shampoo without its matching conditioner. That was stated in the Bible somewhere. You really didn’t want to pull apart your bag again. Time was your enemy right now and apparently so was every single article of clothing you owned. Maybe I don’t need to take all my socks…

There was a knock at your door, taking you out of your frustrating train of thought. You walked over, your boots hitting the hardwood loudly. When you opened the door, you peeked out first. You were surprised to see König standing there with his fist up like he was going to knock again. He had his own duffle bag slung over his shoulder. His ice-blue eyes spotted you between the wood and his hand dropped to his side. 

“Guten morgen,” He said. You couldn’t tell if he was more well rested than you since he was wearing his hood and his eyes were lined in black. But starting off the way you did, you wouldn’t be in the mood to say a ‘good morning’. Yet,it would be rude not to reciprocate. 

“Morning, König. You’re all packed?” You asked while opening your door up so you weren’t slouched to the side. 

“Yes,” He said before he patted the underside of his bag. “You’re ready too, I take it?”

“Well, I’m trying to fit some last minute things in my bag.” You sighed as you stepped away from the door, leaving it open behind you. “Come in.”

König followed you, ducking his head under the doorframe. His eyes bounced around the room, absorbing the fact he was inside your personal space. It was just like his on the other side of the building. Everyone’s room looked the same. It was just he knew this was your room. Your bed was sloppily made, some laundry was tossed around, and you had some feminine products next to your bag on the bed. He did his best not to pry. 

“What time is it anyway?” You asked while you stuck your hand into your bag, forcing the clothes aside to shove your bottle of conditioner inside. You grunted while keeping the clothes apart and your free hand reached for your tampons. 

“Its 3:50am. Aksel texted me.” König answered, “He’s already with the Americans by the runway.”

“Fuck! Really!?” You groaned as you ran around your room, checking any and every drawer just in case you missed something. 

When you came to your nightstand, you pulled too hard on the drawer and it slipped out. The contents inside the wooden drawer was thrown across the room. And you wanted to fall over and die when you saw your purple bunny toy currently in orbit. It was the special toy you used on very stressful days. The silicone member hit the back wall and then fell on the floor. The silence in the room was deafening. It took a moment for König to recognize what it was and when he did, he looked up at the ceiling. 

“I just came by to see if you wanted to walk to…” He sighed, not taking his eyes off the very interesting ceiling. You took the opportunity to pick it up and stuff it under your pillows. “If you need to take your back massager with you, I won’t judge.” 

“Oh, Jesus.” You flushed, totally ashamed. You hadn’t been so embarrassed since, well, you got caught extorting twelve million dollars from the corrupt one-percent. “No, the back massager stays here. I’ll be busy.” You hopped on your bed, the springs making enough noise to tear König’s eyes off the ceiling. He saw you trying to close the zipper but it wasn’t moving. You growled as you yanked as hard as you could. 

“Let me,” He said as he dropped his bag on the floor. The masked man stepped over and you removed your hands from the zipper. With one hand, he closed the max capacity bag without issue. He glanced up, his eyes finding your flushed face. “Is that all?”

“Yeah,” You answered while you tried to take your bag from him. But he threw it over his shoulder. 

“Leave the heavy lifting to me, Reaver.” 

The wind was blowing hard as you and König made your way to the runway. In the distance, you saw Aksel conversing with some suited up American soldiers. The four of them stood in front of a Black Hawk helicopter. You glanced at your phone, seeing you made it with three minutes to spare. However, it looked like the helicopter was just starting to be fueled up. The American lieutenant was tapping away on a tablet while the other two behind him stood there with their hands on their hips. When they spotted you and König walking over, they took a step away. You rolled your eyes. 

“Aksel, sir.” You greeted the older man in front of you, making him turn around. By the way his brow was furrowed down, you could tell the Americans were already giving him a hard time. But a commission was a commission. You stood tall, “We’re ready to depart if all is well.” 

The American lieutenant glared down at you and then at König. He narrowed his eyes at the Austrian flag on the masked man’s uniform. “These are your operators?” He asked, venom clear on his tongue. The way his fat thumb gestured to you made you unreasonably upset. Your hand clenched, popping a few knuckles along the way. 

“Two of my best,” Aksel matched the hostility. You thanked Aksel in your head. “Your wonderful president specifically asked for our young Reaver to be on this mission. And König is KorTac’s most ruthless fighter.” 

“Right,” The wrinkled lieutenant snorted, “Well, since we are gathered now. Reaver and,” He glanced down at his tablet, “Conick.”

“It’s König, with an -oo sound.” You corrected him. It was too early in the fucking morning to be dealing with dumb Americans. You glanced down at the named stitched on his uniform. “You were close, Lieutenant Davidson.” You could have easily butchered his name as well but you figured it was better not to bite the hand of your employer’s employer. 

Davidson’s pale eyes narrowed at you and then at König, “My apologies. You speak English, son?”

König nodded, “Ja, das tue ich.” You sucked in your lip to keep yourself from laughing. He cleared his throat, “Yes, I do.”

“They’re already informed on what the initial orders are. They just need to be lifted there and given their supplies.” Aksel stepped in, getting Davidson’s attention. The older American patted the emblems he had clipped to his uniform. 

“When you land in Salekhard, there is going to be two cars waiting for you. One will be transporting you and the equipment we are lending you. The second car will be left in your possession if you need to travel into the city. Act as if you belong there. Shop for groceries or sightsee, just do what needs to be done.” Davidson ordered. “Now, get on that helicopter.” 

“Thank you, Lieutenant Davidson.” You said before you made your way over to the stationary helicopter. You waited until you were out of earshot of the others before you nudged König’s arm. “You almost made me piss myself.”

“I was just bouncing off you.” He said as he dropped the two duffle bags on the top step of the helicopter. He slid them closer to the back seats. His large hand gestured for you to go forward, “Women and children first.”

“Which one am I?” You inquired while you took a step up. 

“Whichever one you want to be,” König answered. 

Inside the Black Hawk was what you were used to. It wasn’t the first one you had to ride in. Four seats were against the back wall, opposite of the pilot’s seat. They were incredibly uncomfortable, especially on long rides. There was an underside area where you could tie down your luggage and you crawled over on your knees to begin strapping in. As you fastened your bag down, you went to work on König’s. It was only fair, he did carry your duffle bag for you. The masked man hopped into the helicopter, rocking the entire thing with his sheer size. He retrieved earphones for the both of you. When you took a seat in the middle, he offered one to you. 

“Thank you,” You said before you fitted it over your hood. 

“The flight should be a little over two hours,” He mentioned while taking a seat right beside you. König had to stretch out his legs in front of him since he was so tall. “You’re welcome to get some more rest. I’ll wake you when we land.”

You smiled, “Thank you.”

Chapter Text

The headphones cut out the loud sound of the helicopter mostly. The noise was muffled enough for you to keep your eyes closed uninterrupted. The rumbling of the machinery was oddly soothing. It was like white noise. You didn’t even feel yourself drift off to sleep. It just happened. The warmth next to you was… comforting. And it was welcoming. You didn’t dream, only seeing what your brain perceived was the color of warmth. A copper, bleached red that was rimmed in an angelic, golden fire. A guardian. All within the void, empty darkness. It was leading you towards its being, towards itself. 

That was warmth. 

“Reaver,” A voice echoed and then you felt your body being nudged. It was pulling you away from the lonely star but you didn’t want to leave its close vicinity. You fought, trying to stay near the warm angel. “Y/N.” It said again softly and you roused from your sleep. 

Your eyes opened and you saw the inside of the Black Hawk. The pilot was pushing buttons and the helicopter started to descend. You blinked, not really grasping what was happening. When your arm was nudged again, you glanced to your left. Your cheek brushed against harsh cotton, nearly tearing into your sleepy skin. Underneath the clothing was that familiar warmth you had felt just seconds ago. Your brows knit together, not really understanding where you were. Until you felt König replacing your headphone back over your ear. Your face shot up, your mask had fallen away sometime during your slumber. You don’t know how long you had been using him as a pillow but it had to be right after taking off from Norway. 

You just stared at him until he leaned over. You knew he wanted to say something so you lifted one side of your headphones slightly off your ear. He came close and you were met with that familiar warmth. 

“Sleep well?” He asked. König remained near you, raising one side of his headphones. 

“Oh, my… Jesus, sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you,” You apologized, one hand hovering over his arm. You didn’t know what to do. Did you touch him again and wipe away your sleepiness off of him? You would just be touching him again. You were just glad you didn’t slobber all over him. That would have been even more embarrassing. 

König chuckled softly, “It’s quite alright. The pilot said we would be landing soon so I thought it would be best to wake you up.” 

“Thank you,” You sighed, still slightly embarrassed. 

König dropped his headphone snug back over his ear but he remained near your face. Maybe he was expecting you to want to say more? But you were just captivated by his glacier colored eyes. You had never been this close to him. You could see how his black paint was uneven in some spots, like he was in a rush when he was applying it. It was also accidentally smeared over his long eyelashes. And then you saw the uneven texture going down over his left eye. He had a scar. Were these the eyes your enemies were met with before they were bludgeoned to death? You were honestly speechless. And then you saw your icy breath in the air. The Russian winter was no joke. You hoped that the cabin you’d be staying in had central heating. 

The helicopter began to rock as it lowered to the ground. König was the first to break eye contact and then you felt your body thaw. You glanced over at the pilot when you saw his arm waving in your peripheral vision. The pilot in front of you was signaling to you to turn on your headphones. You pressed the underside button on your right ear, the crack of a radio sounding. 

“Prepare for landing.” They said a moment before the aircraft settled on the ground. The force of the machine starting to shut off jostled you in your seat, and your face landed on König’s arm once again. You dared not to glance over, fearing you’d be frozen under his icy eyes for a second time. The propellers slowed and then became still. You had landed in your destination. “All clear. You may exit now.” 

The side doors of the helicopter slid open, letting a harsh gust of wind enter the once warm interior. You pulled your mask back over your face before you unbuckled yourself from your chair. You handed your headphones off to König. He put them away while you dropped to a knee to unfasten your duffel bags from the floor. Before you could even attempt to carry your own bag, König’s long arm reached over and slid it over to him. You saw his eyes wrinkle, he was smiling at you, while he threw both bags over his shoulders. You shook your head and then hopped out of the helicopter. 

The snow was thick under your feet. You could feel the bitter cold even through your thick, rubber soles. As you glanced around, you noted that you were in the middle of an open landscape. Other than a few bare trees, there was nothing in sight  but snow for miles. The morning sun was just peeking over the horizon, the sky above still lingering in the night before. It made the whole world seem that much colder. Just as you were told, there was a pair of cars parked just a few yards away from where the helicopter landed. Of course, you weren’t going to be lifted all the way to Salekhard. That would have been too obvious. It was a lot safer to drive the appropriate amount to the cabin without drawing attention. You remembered the fact that Russian officials were filtering in and out of Salekhard for their mysterious meetings. A Black Hawk helicopter hovering outside the perimeter of the city would certainly raise some questions. 

König waited for you to take a step towards the waiting American soldiers before he followed. The first car was American made, a Ford. The second was a Hyundai and it was more modern looking. You assumed that was the car you’d be left with. As you got closer, the doors of the Ford opened. From the driver's side, a skinny man appeared. He adjusted his glasses while his eyes looked you up and down. You stopped in your tracks with König doing the same a moment after. The American soldier closed the driver’s door behind him as he stepped into the cold snow. He stood there like your meeting was an Old Western cowboy stand-off. 

“KorTac?” He asked. His head raised as if he was trying to size you up. Why are these Americans so hostile this morning…

“Affirmative.” You answered. Part of you wanted to mouth off, to ask who else it would be. But you bit your tongue. 

“About time,” He said and then banged his hand flat on the back window. 

The rear doors opened and two more soldiers exited the Ford. As if rehearsed, they moved around the vehicles. One moved to the driver’s side on the Hyundai with another joining him. They were making room for you in the first car. The first driver popped the back trunk open. 

“Drop your things in the back and let’s head out. Fuckin’ cold out here.” He ordered. You glanced up at König who only shrugged. He went to the back of the car and dumped both bags in the trunk. His large hand shut it before he walked to the opposite side of you. As you approached, you saw the name of your driver stitched on his camouflage uniform: Lee. “Get in.” 

Inside the car was warm, as was your seat. As you sat down in the backseat with König, you saw how his large legs were scrunched against the seat in front of him. You knew he wasn’t going to say anything. So you stuck your body in between the front seats and leaned over to the passenger side. Your hand felt under the seat, found a slim lever and you yanked on it. The front seat rolled forward. It didn’t give much leg space to König but at least he wasn’t folded in half anymore. You sat back down in your seat with a huff. 

“Dánke,” He whispered. 

Lee started the car and honked once. You heard the car behind you rumble alive. Thirty seconds later, the car began to roll off. It was silent aside from the low music playing in the car. You couldn’t tell what was playing other than noticing it was in Russian. 

“Lieutenant Davidson didn’t lend you an American CD to listen to, Lee?” You joked, breaking the ice. You saw his eyes glance into the rear view mirror. His cold glare melted away. 

“Uh, nah. We have to listen to the radio unfortunately.” Lee shook his head while he merged into a paved road. As you gazed out the side window, you saw a large, green sign that had city distances. Salekhard was twenty miles away but it seems the car was headed in the right direction. You looked back at Lee when he lowered the volume on the radio, “Some of us speak Russian so it’s not that bad. Sometimes we’ll get something in English but it’ll be from three decades ago.” 

“Ah, yes. If there’s one thing I know about the Russians, it’s that they love their 90’s nostalgia American radio classics.” You chuckled. When you glanced over at König, you saw that he had his large hands planted over his thighs. He noticed you staring over at him and he glanced over. His blue eyes remained neutral until you smiled at him, and his eyes scrunched like he was smiling under his hood. You turned back to Lee, “Anything you can tell us about where we’re staying?” 

“The old cabin? Well, it was acquired during the Cold War, used for spying and shit. As far as I know, it’s only been used a handful of times after that. Recently, it’s been labeled as a rental on Airbnb that’s always booked. Keeps people away.” Lee shrugged, “And it’s about ten miles from Salekhard. Area around the cabin is heavily wooded. Very secluded, very private.” 

“So, we’ll hear it if we have uninvited guests.” König added. 

“Bingo,” Lee said before he pulled a walkie-talkie from his belt. He pressed the button and held it up to his mouth. “Road’s coming up, Wells. Shift gears and then follow me into the woods. Over.” 

The radio crackled, “Copy that, Lee. Over.”  

Lee shifted gears and then slowly turned the steering wheel to the right. You gazed out the window, seeing the trees growing thicker and closer together. The snow under the trees seemed a lot thinner below the canopies that still remained in the sheer cold. As you stared out, you saw a large pile fall from the branches, landing like a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

The car turned off the paved street, the tires rolling over an uneven road. You gripped the handle above your head to keep you steady. The passengers rocked in the backseat for a moment before the road evened out. You moved your stare to the front window, seeing a white nothingness before you. The trees spread out just like how Moses split the Red Sea, creating a single way towards a new home. The snowfall was slowed, falling now like glitter above your eyes. In the distance, you saw a dark, squared silhouette. A wisp, a light. As the car drove closer, you saw an outside lamp illuminated above a shadowed door. 

You’ve arrived.

Lee slowly pressed on the brake and the car’s tires rolled to a steady stop. The engine purred low before it died. You kept your eyes forward, watching the cabin warily. It was finally hitting you. You had your freedom locked inside those rustic rooms. It was scary. It felt like you were reuniting with a long, lost relative. For four years, you’ve just been told what to do, following every order like a trained dog. You wouldn’t be waking yourself at the unholy hours for a jog around base. Now, you finally had the privileges you gave away willingly. You would have your time back. And knowing you had full range of the worldwide web had your fingers twitching. For the unforeseen future, you were no longer a dog. You were a wolf in these woods. 

It was overwhelming. But it was perfect. 

“It doesn’t look like how I pictured it at all,” König said next to you, breaking you away from your mind. You peered over at him, seeing him staring out the front window as well. A single laugh fell from him, “Why did I think we would be in a literal log cabin in the Arctic Circle.”

“Looks too modern to be Cold War era, huh?” You added. 

The cabin itself was long, only one story tall. It had a green roof that you could see peeking out from under the snow. It hung over a concrete porch stretching out from the front door. There was two wicker chairs separated by a low table in front, with a swinging chair on the opposite side. From the terracotta planters, you could see there was once plants on the porch but they withered away long ago. Even everything under the roof was covered in snow. The cabin was painted a copper red, almost like a barn. The wood was thick and weathered, standing proud throughout the decades. It seemed to be touched up. The brick chimney rose from the ground with a tin topper. Around the cabin were large stumps, obvious signs you’d need firewood. 

“Guess its time to start this mission.” You said while you glanced back at König, who gave you a single nod. 

You exited the vehicle, seeing the American soldiers rummaging through the backside of the other car. Lee jogged over to the front door of the cabin. You saw that it was solid and thick, painted the same color green as the roof. He jiggled it while he stuck the key inside the lock and the door popped open. The snow crunched under your boots as you followed König to the other car. The soldiers were unloading the computer parts they would be lending you for this mission. You admired the familiar brands like Lenovo and Dell. One of the soldiers stood next to you before he grabbed a heavy monitor. 

“Wow, they weren’t kidding when they said we’d be given good shit.” You said to König. 

You took it upon yourself to round up loose pieces like keyboards and mice in your arms. It seemed like most of the objects in the trunk would be going inside the cabin. To your surprise, König wrapped his strong arms around two towers, held one under each, and then headed for the front door. You could feel your feet starting to freeze to the ground so you hurried to the cabin. You hopped on the first and only step, keeping the keyboards and mice close to your chest. 

As you entered the cabin, you could smell the aged air around you. The doors probably haven’t been opened in months maybe even years. You couldn’t help but gaze around what you saw was the living room. The interior walls were bare other than a few framed photos of random items like a vase of roses and a boat on a lake. The wooden walls were a light yet inviting brown that matched the floor. It had a mix of decades spread around the furniture. The umber couch looked as if it came right out of a 50’s furniture catalog with a seashell like backrest. The coffee table sitting right in front of it was very plain, its only decoration was the thick layer of dust covering it. Both the couch and table sat before a wide Panasonic CRT television. That thing was a relic from the 90’s. You’d have to see if it still worked later. 

“Jeez, this is a lot of equipment.” You heard Lee say from another room. 

You looked to where his voice came from, seeing a thin hallway just in front of you. Taking a few steps forward, you see three doors. One on the left that was wide open, the middle door was ajar and you saw a tiled bathroom, and the door on your right was shut. You walked over to the open door, seeing the other four men all setting down the computer parts on top of desks. 

The area was compact and resembled a typical military server room. There were already six other computers sitting on the long desks facing away from each other. It reminded you a lot of a computer lab back in your school days. You also remembered that you spent a lot of your free time there. On the furthest wall was a large cabinet you could already imagine was filled to the brim with files and documents. Nothing really out of the ordinary, other than four men trying to find outlets and correct wiring. 

König broke away from the group, stopping momentarily when he saw you occupying the doorway. “I am going to retrieve our things.” He announced and you promptly stepped out of his way. The tight squeeze had your arms brushing against his. 

“Where the hell do we even start? Isn’t eight computers total a bit overkill?” Lee sighed as he dropped a USB cable on the desk.

You walked into the room. With a smug smile you said, “I can handle installation. Have these been used before or are they fresh?”

“Factory new, bought and shipped just for this occasion.” Lee replied, patting one of the tall towers. He glanced at is palm, seeing a layer of dust covering his inner hand. He swiped it clean on his pants, “Oh, there is this.” The American man said as he yanked something from his back pocket. It was a folded paper. He handed it off to you, “Davidson wants these installed. After that, you file daily reports and submit them to AmTech, that’s our server branch. Think of it as like clocking in for a remote job and running everything over to them. Its simple to send it off but not so simple to gather it.”

“What kind of reports?” You asked while you opened the paper. It was a handwritten login and password for a torrented webpage. Dark web shit, nothing you weren’t used to. 

“PDFs, Docs, JPEGs, videos, voice recordings. Anything and everything, that’s what Davidson wants. He doesn’t care if Russian #9 scratched his ass inside the city hall. Anything you come across, it has to be documented. All of it,” Lee explained, enforcing his words with his fist coming down in his hand. 

“Aw, no PowerPoint presentations?” You jested, earning chuckles from the two other soldiers. 

“Oh, I should give you a tour.” Lee said as he ran by you. You followed him back out into the tight hallway. He pointed to the door across from, what you now dubbed, the server room. “That’s the bedroom. Next is the bathroom.” You stared for a moment at the closed door, a sudden realization dawning on you. 

There were two rooms in the cabin, one was used to house the stationed servers. So, that meant you’d be sharing a room with your colleague. Just you and König occupying the same space, awake or asleep. When you turned your attention back to Lee, he was already inside the cozy living space. 

“There’s usually more than two people stationed in this spot so mostly anything you could need has been left behind by others.” He pointed to the right corner opposite of the fireplace, showing you a closet door. “As you can see, it gets real fuckin’ cold here. There’s a punching bag and stationary bike in case you feel the need to work out. The kitchen is there, pretty sure there’s canned shit still left in there from the last time we were here.”

“Last time?” You tilted your head.

“When Trump was allegedly colluding with the Russians in his little emails,” Lee threw his hands up and rolled his eyes. “I was here with three other guys for five months just in case something broke out. We had shifts for staring at executive emails.” Lee leaned in, his eyes narrowing in to thin lines, “Do you have any idea… how many of our appointed representatives… are having affairs? It was like every ten messages was a dick pic.” 

“Yikes, I don’t envy you.” You laughed for a moment, “But thank you, Lee. I think König and I got it all from here. Anything else we should know before you leave?” 

“Uhh,” Lee looked up as he searched his brain for an answer. “Salekhard isn’t as big of a city as you’d think. But there is a residential section and a market section. The shops are pretty mom-and-pop, pretty reliable when you need to stock up on more foods. I suggest checking them out once your settled. Any idea how long you’re gonna be out here?”

“No clue. I just know I have a lot of work ahead of me.” You sighed, “But I’m up for it.”

“That’s that American drive,” Lee grinned as he held out his hand for a high-five. You reluctantly slapped your palm against his. “I suppose we’ll head out now. Key for your Hyundai is back with the other stuff we brought in. And Davidson is loaning you a credit card. That’s also by your key. Godspeed,” He saluted before he made his way to the front door. 

König was coming back from the Ford with the duffel bags. He stepped aside when the American soldiers exited the cabin. You watched as they walked right by him, none of them giving him as much as a glance. They kept their heads low like the almost seven foot man wasn’t standing right there. The chill mood was gone now, American prejudice strikes again. König entered the cabin and you approached him. With an open hand, you silently asked for your bag. This time he obliged and handed you your belongings. You played off your strained grunt with a laugh. You forgot you packed heavily and König was monstrously strong. 

“Bedroom’s back this way,” You said as you lead him to the hallway. While you turned the doorknob, you felt König occupying the tight space behind you. If you didn’t know anything about König other than his reputation on the battlefield, you wouldn’t let him out of your sight for your own safety. But other than that, it was a little too close and you felt a uncharacteristic pang of bashfulness come over you. However, no part of you wanted him to step away either. Again, that was a little out of character. 

You opened the chestnut colored door, revealing a dark bedroom. Your hand felt around on the inside wall, finding a light switch. When you flicked it on, the room was lit up. You walked in and counted four beds. Two were against one wall and the other two were on the opposite side, each of them having a nightstand between its neighbor. Other than that, the room lacked much of anything else. And unlike the living room, the bedroom was missing a fireplace. Cold nights ahead of you. You walked further into the room and stood in the middle. 

“I’ll let you claim a spot first. Doubt I’ll be spending much time sleeping anyway,” You nonchalantly said. König dropped his bag on top of the bed furthest from the door. 

“You’ll be sleeping when I’m here. We do even the work and even the rest.” König stated, his sternness catching you a bit off guard. “I said I will be helping out. We are partners after all.” 

“Right, sorry.” You apologized while you claimed the bed closest to the door. It put enough space in between your bed and the one König chose. You pulled your mask down, “I have to admit this mission has me a little anxious. I’ve had the last four years of my life being watched by the American judicial system and now I’m allowed to dredge in the darkest parts of the internet. I know it sounds silly but…”

“It’s not silly to feel overwhelmed.” König said while he took a seat on his mattress. “We all get the jitters before a mission. Even me.” 

You couldn’t help but smile, “Thank you, König, really.” Your eyebrow perked up when you saw how small the beds were. Not even an average adult man could fit comfortably on one. Meanwhile, König looked like a bear resting on a toddler’s bed. “Hold on, its time to rearrange some things.” You walked over to König’s side of the room and your hands found the nightstand. “Since we’re gonna be alone and we have free space… I think…” You pulled out the nightstand, making König stand up. “We should push the other beds together. For you.”

“N-No, I’ll be fine.” He objected but didn’t make an effort to stop you. 

“You’ll be sleeping comfortably when I’m here.” You jokingly tried to mimic his line before. “I don’t need my partner stiff on the job, what if we get raided?” You chuckled. 

König sighed as he pushed his bed towards the empty one on his right. The metal frame dragged against the wooden floor for a moment but König effortlessly lifted the bed up, mattress and all, and partnered it with the other. He watched you hurry over to the second empty bed in the room, the one that was beside yours. That’s when he walked over and placed his hands flat on the mattress. 

“Reaver, one extra is enough for me.”

“Maybe for you but not for me.” You stuck out your tongue and wrapped your hands around the top frame. As you yanked the frame you said, “It’s just you and me and I’d rather know your well rested. It’ll put a little of my mind at ease.” You pushed it like a lawn mower across the room, turning it so it fitted correctly with the two other beds. With all three mattresses conjoined on one side, a makeshift king bed was waiting for König when the time was right. While you patted your hands on your pants, you nodded. “Looks comfy to me.”

You turned and looked back at König. His arms were crossed over his chest and his eyes were averted away from you. He seemed embarrassed. Maybe you went too far? Your smile disappeared when you thought you might have offended him. You pretended not to notice and you walked over to your duffel bag. You unzipped it and searched around for the warmer clothing you packed. 

“Reaver,” König began. His blue eyes found you with your hand deep in your bag. It was so hard to tell what he was feeling with that hood he wore. But his eyes were soft, just like his voice. “Has anyone told you how kindhearted you are?”

“I’m only nice to the people I think deserve it…” You shrugged, his compliment lighting a small fire in you. It rose up to your cheeks. Now you were embarrassed he could see your cheeks fill with color. “I’m going to change into something warmer and then get those computers hooked up. You’re welcome to take a moment for yourself.”

Chapter Text

After you had changed into a thicker sweater and pants, you made your way over to the server room. When you saw the wires and plugs all tangled and strewn about, you smiled wide. It was like a kid walking into a candy store. It took you about thirty minutes to section out each wire and extension for each computer. As for plugging everything in, that only took you ten minutes. It felt good to be working with technology again. 

You sat on one of the rolling chairs, pressing the power button as you relaxed. The start up tune sounded, music to your ears. You watched as the an empty bar filled as it loaded its computers factory fresh features. You pulled your legs up on the chair and wrapped your arms around them. You rested your chin on top of your knees. Reality was starting to set in. The mission had officially began. 

The computer prompted you to make a profile, you knew better. You smiled as you typed in ‘JaneDoe1’ and then pressed enter. Another prompt to set a password. The chosen password was ‘KorTac1’. You’ll have to remember to set up an internal demolition program if the mission was ever compromised. The option to have backup files was there, you’d just have to come up with a better password.

The homepage loaded, showing you the default wallpaper of just the color blue. You typed around in the bottom search bar for what applications were already installed. There was the basic stuff like the Windows and Intel essentials. You went ahead and uninstalled the programs that would clog up the memory. You sat there for a moment, going over what you could be missing. 

Then you remembered that you had brought along extra parts in your bag.

You had copied files from KorTac in a USB drive. You brought it along with you just in case. There was a copy of your mission statement as well as the full list of duties to be done. You already knew everything that was on the lists but it never hurt to triple check. You also had a beta version of another program you were working on. It was a simple alphabetizer with some extra parts. It would come in handy since you planned on scanning the entire city. Everyone’s name and information was going to be tracked. It was similar to the one that you used to save the names of Mundst’s employees before you transferred his money to them. You didn’t program it to delete its own save data.

Not yet.

You got up from your chair and walked back to the bedroom where your duffel bag was. You were staring at your phone, not looking where you were walking. When you got to the doorway, you glanced up. Your eyes nearly flew out of your head when you caught König in the process of removing his shirt. Greedy little eyes stared at his body. He was strong, obviously. His muscles were cut clean but he had enough body fat for a man his size. And then you noticed his scars. Some were deep, some were faint. Some were aged, some were fresh. But what got your lip curling between your teeth was the trail of dark hair flowing down into his pants. It made you very aware to the fact there was a man in the cabin with you. 

It also drove home the fact that it has been a while.

You stepped away from the door like you hadn’t entered the room at all. Your hand stretched out and knocked on the door. With your hot face pressed against the cold wall, you announced your presence, “I’m coming in.”

“Oh, one moment.” You heard König call out. You stood there with the image of his body still in your head. It was like a still frame had been pasted to the backs of your eyelids. You knew you had to stay focused. It was painfully quiet and you could hear König taking off more clothes. You heard the familiar sound of a belt buckle clinking against itself. It took a lot in you to not smash your face into the wall. “All clear.”

You took a second to take in a deep breath. As you exhaled, you walked into the room. König was standing over his duffel bag as he folded his athletic sweater. The massive man remained in his khaki pants and boots. He had changed into a thicker shirt and removed his tactical gear. He seemed a lot less imposing without it. But you’ve seen him crack a man’s back over his knee. 

“We’re both getting comfortable I see.” He said while not looking away from his task. 

“I don’t expect to be doing much moving in the next few days,” You stated. As you unzipped your bag, you wondered if he knew you entered the room and saw him. “If I still had them, I would have brought along my fluffy slippers too.” 

“What happened to them?” He asked.

“Eh, I don’t know. I was wearing them when I was arrested. Cops made me change and I never saw them again.” You sighed as you remembered your fluffy white slippers that were shaped like paws. They had pretty pink claws and were extremely comfortable. You bought them on a whim one evening and cherished them. Anytime you were enacting justice on the worldwide web, you were wearing those slippers. You shrugged, “I’ll just double up my socks when my feet get cold, I guess.” 

You continued to dig through your bag until you reached the bottom, finding a manila folder under your extra clothes. This was the one that had your USB drive and extra SD cards. 

“A shame.” König replied. He zipped up his bag before dropping it on the floor. With his foot, he pushed the bag under his bed. “You could have double socks and fluffy slippers.”

“That would be the dream,” You smiled. You glanced over at him, seeing him standing there. “I have three computers wired up and turned on. I just have to install some last minute programs before we can start working. But you’re welcome to help out.”

“Anything you need, I’ll do for you.” He nodded. 

The thoughts that ran through your head would fry a Catholic priest alive. You knew that you had to get a hold of yourself. König was your colleague and partner on this mission. The likelihood of hooking up with him was slim to none. Sex between the KorTac operators wasn’t forbidden but it was something no one ever talked about. You knew that some operators regularly slept with each other as a form of stress relief and you’ve been propositioned on some occasions. You’ve always turned down the invitation for your own reasons. It made you wonder if König was ever talked up by other operators. But you knew most people avoided him and he avoided everyone when he could. 

If he came onto you, what would you say?

You could picture his massive body over you. You would be laying naked in his bed, your hands lightly touching his chest. His mask would still be on. It would be the only thing he was wearing. He’d have his large hands roaming your body and he would be saying the dirtiest words in his native language. The entire scenario had your knees weak. 

You had to get a hold of yourself. 

“AmTech is probably waiting for us to check in. God, there is so much to do. We should probably text Aksel too and let him know we landed safely.” You sighed, already feeling the stress. 

“I’ll fill him in,” König said while he pulled out his phone. 

“Alright, I’ll be in the server room.” You mentioned before retreating. 

In the hallway it was a lot colder than the heat that was cooking you in the bedroom. You sighed again, trying to relax. With a silent pep talk, you walked back over to the server room. The computers have finally loaded when you sat down. You opened up the manila folder you had brought along and pulled out the silver rectangular USB drive. Tossing it up and then catching it in your palm, you watched as something blinked in the bottom left corner of the monitor. There was an icon indicating that a microphone was on. 

You didn’t remember seeing a plug for a microphone. 

Standing up, you glared down at the blinking green light. Lee had said that these computers were factory fresh for this mission. You’ve never had your computers have their microphones be on by default. You stalked around the table, seeing the rest of them had their microphones on too. That probably meant someone was listening. 

“Reaver,” König called out from the hallway. His boots echoed in the tiny space before he made it to the doorway. You glanced up, your face still knitted into a scowl. He paused when he saw you. 

You pressed a finger to your lips and then beckoned him over. He walked over, keeping his steps light. 

“We have to shut them off,” You whispered before you reached over and held the power button of one computer. König did the same, both of you turning off the three computers you had started up. Their fans died, signaling everything was off. “What the fuck, man.” You growled while you went to search for what wires could be the microphones. 

“What happened?” König asked while he took a step back. He was giving you enough room to scurry around the table, even climb on the chairs for a better reach of the backs. 

“These computers the Americans brought in had microphones on and listening. Lee said these things were made for this mission… but why would they have them on automatically?” You asked yourself mostly as you went to unscrew the side paneling of one tower. It popped off, showing you the clean inside. “Can you shine your light in here, König?”

The large man joined you as you sat on top of the table. He turned on his flashlight app on his phone and held it over the computer tower. Your hand reached inside, pulled aside a pair of twin wires. There you saw a strange looking part sitting right on top of the motherboard. It was shaped like an orb, complete with a foam topper. That was the piece you were looking for. It was strange, you’ve never seen microphones attach directly to the motherboard ever in your life. You held it in the palm of your hand as you poked at it. It had a thin, three prong plug attached to the squared base. It looked almost like a bug. You pulled off the foam topper and you saw a clear microphone underneath. 

“Well, ain’t that suspicious.” You frowned while you pinched your thumb and pointer finger against the tiny microphone. It popped like a pimple. “There’s more of these. We have to find them.”

You went to work on the other computers with König following your example. After a minute, you had gathered the other microphones. After they were destroyed, you disposed of them. It didn’t sit right with you. Were the Americans trying to listen in or did they make a big mistake. 

“Want to catch me up?” König asked, his arms crossing. 

“Our computers were bugged. I don’t understand what the purpose was but I’m glad I caught them when I did.” You sighed while you took a seat. 

“What could have happened?”

“If for some reason the Americans wanted access to us whenever the computers were on, that means anyone could. We’re going to be connecting to the shittiest places on the internet, some shlub like me could hack into it and listen into whatever we have going on. And since we know the Russian government is being very secretive with their meetings, I can only assume they have some cyber security as well. It’s very dangerous, and very stupid of the Americans to have it installed directly into the motherboard.” 

“You think the Americans don’t trust us?” 

“They’ve never trusted anyone. I hate to say it but I think they hired KorTac and SpecGru to do their dirty work. If the operators get caught…” You trailed off, feeling the anger heating up.

“They’d have someone to blame while still getting what they want.” König’s grip on the backrest tightened. “So, how should we handle this?”

“We let Aksel know. I don’t want him being blindsided if the Americans try to undermine us.” You sighed, your head falling back. König went ahead and started typing a message to your boss. When you sat back up, you went to reattach everything together. “Its known the the FBI listens in on its citizens all the time. That’s why I always made sure to have things unplugged or covered up before I ever did anything. I can’t do that now because of this stupid contract. I’m always being watched and I’ll be damned if they watch me here.”

It wasn’t your privacy you were worried about. You knew that you were going to be diving into the Salekhard citizen’s personal information. They’d be at the mercy of you and the giant shadows fiending for anything you can dredge up. You’d rather keep the Americans ignorant when you could. They don’t need to know about the struggling families surviving the arctic winter. It wasn’t their fault that their own government was using their home as a secret base. And then you didn’t want them digging into König’s information either. He wasn’t American so he’d be a target for their prejudice as well. 

“You don’t trust anyone either, do you?” König asked, making you stop your task. 

You glanced up, seeing him leaning over the chair. His ocean eyes blinked slowly as he waited for your response. No, you didn’t trust many people. You’ve been burned your whole life and you’ve seen the horrors humans can make. It hardened you, made you angry. But, even covered by his hood, you could see the sincerity radiating off your partner. 

You knew who you could trust… 

“Reaver, do you have the target?” Aksel asked over the radio in your ear. 

You gazed through your scope, seeing your armored enemy squatting behind a wall. His back was pressed flat while he was trying to stay clear of the alley lights. He had been part of a drug smuggling ring. He managed to slip away while their warehouse was being raided by KorTac, luckily you were watching from outside. As you watched as he pulled out his phone and then held it up to his ear. 

“Affirmative,” You answered. “Either he is calling for backup of he has God on speed dial. He’s under my gun, Aksel.” 

“Take the shot if he runs.” Aksel ordered. “Instruct König where to go while I have the warehouse on lockdown.”

“Forty paces from where their base is, König, there is a dip in the road. Take a hot left and the dirtbag is behind a wall.” You dared not to move your scope to see where König was but you knew he could follow your directions easily. The enemy was glancing around like he was going to make a run for it, especially when he saw König’s long shadow appearing like Death. He dashed and you aimed your shot. With one bullet, you blew a hole through the man’s thigh. From on top of the hill, you could hear him yowling. “Target down. I’m going to head back—”

You suddenly felt something large land on your back. You flipped around and saw a darkly dressed person hovering over you. They were wrestling away your sniper rifle but you kept them at bay with your legs. 

“Reaver!” König’s voice broke over your earpiece. “Status?”

“Enemy found me!” You shouted into your radio, “I’m—” The larger man ripped the radio piece you had around your neck and flung it away. He continued to fight for your weapon. You had your finger on the trigger and you pulled back. You managed to shoot off a bullet into the sky. With the butt of your rifle, you smashed it into the man’s chin. “Get the fuck off me, you heavy bitch!”

The man growled, “Stupid American.” One of his hands released the rifle and he reeled back his fist. He punched you across your face, your own teeth clamping down on your inner cheek. Blood and spit flew from your mouth and you snarled. When you looked back, the enemy man completely forgot about your weapon and focused on landing more blows on your face. You held your face to the side, letting him focus on one side. Your legs kicked, trying to get him off you. 

Just then, the weight was suddenly of your body. You spit out the blood pooling in your mouth before you sat up. You held your chin, feeling to see if your jaw was broken. Luckily, it wasn’t. There was a little dizziness but your eyes managed to focus on what was happening. Your jaw dropped, more blood flooded out, and you saw König in the process of wailing on the enemy. He was straddling the man as his fists came down. When the man fell limp, König stood up. The enemy stirred when he felt König pulling him up by his bulletproof vest. You watched in awe— and shock— as your colleague lifted the man’s entire weight in his hands. He looked as if he was picking up a toddler. Then König flipped the man around and cracked the enemy’s back over his bent knee. The enemy cried out, gurgling and foam erupting from his mouth. You watched him spasm while the monstrous man stood over him.

You rolled your hip, trying to get a feel for anything that could be injured. However, you were just bruised and sore. You couldn’t say that about the other guy. König heard you shifting in the dirt and his eyes flew to you. He hurried over and knelt down beside you. 

“Reaver, is anything broken?” He asked, his hands hovering over where you were grabbing your face. 

“No,” You grunted out, even more blood escaping your open lips. “I just bit my cheeks hard.”

“Oh,” König let out a sigh of relief, “Can you stand?”

“Yeah I ca—” Your colleague didn’t give you a moment to answer before he snatched your wrist and lifted you up, your feet flying a few inches off the ground thanks to his strength. His intense eyes stared down at you, most likely he was trying to see if you could walk on your own. You gazed up at him, “Thank you.” 

You heard his radio go off in his ear. His large hand clicked the radio transmission button he had clipped to his tactical gear, “Some asshole came after Reaver. He’s down… It seems like her radio got destroyed in the ambush… Okay.” König said. His radio shut off, “Aksel has the hostages freed and he wants us back.”

Your eyes remained connected. Under his black eye paint, you could see his thick eyebrows were furrowed down. You knew he was a lot further than you anticipated and he cleared the hill in a matter of moments. You were well hidden behind foliage on the hill but you knew your one shot gave away your location. Usually, the KorTac operators’ series of importance was enemies, hostages and then each other. But König came right to you. 

“Thank you, König…” You whispered, “You really saved my face and ass.” 

“Good to see either aren’t too busted.” The taller man walked over to the downed enemy and gripped him by his vest. “Let’s get these assholes back to Aksel.”

“I trust you…” You answered. “And the rest of KorTac.”  

König released his grip on the chair and then pushed it under the desk. He chuckled, “If it makes you feel any better, you and Aksel are the only people I trust.”

“Really? Why is that?” You asked, a smile growing over your features. 

“Well, for starters, Aksel is our boss and he has never wronged me. And you’re the only teammate that hasn’t shot me while working together. And… you talk to me like you’re not expecting me to eat you alive.”

“Wait, wait. You’ve been shot by the other operators?” You always knew that when König returned from missions, he was always patched up with new injuries. You just assumed his forceful, head-on tactics just came with recoil damage. But to know that some of these trained professionals that had time dedicated to their own countries' military had shot an ally had you shocked. You had only been holding a gun for four years and you’ve never had an accident. 

“I know each time was an accident. I’m just…” His gloved hands gestured to his body, “I’m just a big target.”

“Irregardless of your size, we should know when to take a shot.” You said while you screwed the panels of the towers back on. “And as for thinking you’re not gonna eat me… I think I’m likely to do that to anyone before you are. Just because you seem intimidating, doesn’t mean you’re gonna snap on me.”

“I seem intimidating?” He scoffed, “I’ve had people piss themselves at the very sight of me.” 

You chuckled, “I believe you. I’m just saying my first impression was… different.”

“How so?”

“You were very quiet and you slipped away before I could talk to you more. I wanted to ask about your mask.” You answered and you saw him flinch in surprise. “I heard in passing about your reputation on the field. I witnessed it for myself. But when I saw you back at base, I saw you were just like me. You stay away from everyone when you can.” You frowned, “Is that… too presumptuous of me?” 

“No, not at all.” 

“Are you gonna eat me now?” You joked. You knew what your inner-self was trying to throw out there. The image of König without his shirt reappeared in your head. Yeah, you wanted him to eat you. 

“Only if you give me a reason to.” He tilted his head playfully. You blushed when he mirrored your feathery tone. Loner or not, you knew this man had confidence. 

“I’ll be sure to be on my best behavior then.” You tore your eyes from him, fearing you’d feed more flirtatiousness. You had to get the conversation going somewhere else before someone went too far. “I think we should take inventory of what is in the cabin. Lee said there was some cans of food from their last expedition four years ago but I think we should make sure.”

“Good idea.”

Chapter Text

Luckily, Aksel had given König a phone call before either of you could push the boundaries more. He stepped into the bedroom, explaining what you had found to him. You already knew he didn’t like what he was hearing, when he was quiet that was a bad sign. You remained in the server room, deleting what the microphone had captured as well as any camera or audio program you could find. Maybe you had to create something to block anything that could be nefarious. A firewall for your own programs. 

It was like carrying a gun in case you saw your own reflection in a mirror. 

You glanced at the other unused computers that were left behind by the other soldiers. You knew you would have to dismantle those too and render them useless for the time being. The maximum number of computers you’d think you’d be using was three but you could bump it to five for decoys. You could program a bot to browse the mundane websites like YouTube and Twitter to keep the IP address looking normal. You nodded to yourself, agreeing with your own idea. Standing up, you went to work on the other computers like an exhausted mechanic. 

“Reaver,” You heard your partner call out for you. His voice was lingering, like a toddler who had just gotten into trouble. You hurried away from the server room and found König sitting on his bed with one hand holding up his phone and the other was pressed flat against his face. You warily walked over, “Aksel wants your opinion on the matter.”

“Reaver, what exactly did you find?” You heard Aksel's voice, it was flat and harsh. It was like a father interrogating his naughty children. 

Your eyes went to König, who had his own cast on the floor. You cleared your throat, “The Americans that brought us the computers said they were manufactured for this mission. There was a small microphone attached to the motherboard and it was on at the same time as powerup. I was looking through the internal files just now and there was only one recording from today.” You continued, “It was only on for a few seconds but it heard mine and König’s conversation. It was storing what it heard.”

“And what did it hear?” Your partner glanced up at you before looking away again. 

“It was just König addressing me as Reaver and then it was me telling him we had to remove the microphones. These computers weren’t attached to the wi-fi so the files weren’t sent off anywhere and I deleted every trace of them. These simple microphones could be easily tapped and if the Russians ever got cyber scared they’d find them.” You explained. “Did the Americans mention what the hardware would come with at all?”

“Negative. I think it would be best if I send you separate KorTac issued hardware so we can keep our own receipts. Does anyone other than the soldiers that escorted you there know you’re in the cabin?” Aksel asked, his question made you and König stare at each other. That couldn’t be a good sign. 

“No, sir. Just the soldiers Lee, Wells and I didn’t catch the last one’s name.” You said, your hands on your hips. “Should we expect something shitty?” 

“I can’t be sure. I’ll get in contact with SpecGru’s captain and see if he’s having issues with our current employer. Rivals or not, we can’t get burned by these sneaky bastards…” You could hear Aksel shuffling things around on his side of the call. “Along with more hardware, is there anything else you need? Supplies or weapons?”

“The cabin is bare of food.” You replied.

“And we are lacking in firearms.” König added, “Reaver has her sniper and I brought along a few pistols and knives.”

“Copy that. Send me your coordinates and I’ll see you’re taken care of.” And then he hung up, leaving you and König staring wide eyed at each other. König’s large hand fell into his lap, clearly taken back by what was currently unfolding. You sighed as you took a step back and sat on the edge of your own bed. 

“What if I’m overreacting?” You asked while you dropped your face into your open palms. You groaned as you rubbed your eyes hard. “What if the microphones is just to make sure we’re not fucking around?”

“You said yourself that those things could be easily tapped. And then it was recording us on top of that. I don’t think it was an overreaction.” Your partner reassured you. 

You huffed a laugh, “Yeah. You’re right.” You stood up, popping your spine as you leaned back. As you straightened up, you looked back at König. “I’ve decided that I am going to use the other computers as decoys, to make this address look normal if someone is scouring. Of course, I’ll wipe everything down and put up the right firewalls. Ugh, shit I’m gonna have to do from scratch…” 

“May I ask what got you so interested in computers?” König asked as he stood up. 

You blinked, not really thinking about his question. “Mom left me unsupervised a lot and we had a home computer I had full access to. I taught myself the ins and outs, codes and shit. I don’t really know what drew me in. But I knew it was keeping me company when I was home alone…” You smiled as you remembered your childhood. 

Your one and only babysitter was the home computer. When your mom was working, you’d be watching silly videos on YouTube. And when she came home exhausted with bags of fast food for dinner, you’d be drawing in Microsoft Paint. It was only a matter of time before you fell down into the dark abyss, seeing things no kid should. Your mom never cared to check the internet history, you weren’t even sure she knew how. But that is how you remembered your youth. It was just you in front of a big, bright screen. 

“Now that I think about it, I had a pretty shitty childhood.” You shrugged. “What about you? What was your childhood like in Austria?”

“Simple for the most part. However, my mother made me play outside with the other children even when I begged to stay inside.” König said while crossing his arms. “The kids wouldn’t let me play and I would end up just sitting on the sidewalk until dinnertime. Kids can be so cruel.” 

Your eyes widened. You had no idea that happened to König. Yet, you could believe it. That would explain why he prefers to be alone. 

“Everyone can be cruel.” 

“I don’t think you are.” König gazed down at you. You saw his eyes wrinkle, signaling he was grinning underneath his hood. “The only times you’re close to cruel is when you’re staring through a scope. You always aim for the limbs. Rendering someone motionless is a lot more brutal than just blowing their head off.”

You chuckled, not wanting to tell him the truth. The truth being you hadn’t perfected the art of headshots yet. But it made you smile that König noticed your patterns. 

“Ah, I can be mean. Like when Conor tried to pick a fight with me over taking the last available washing machine at base.” You rolled your eyes as you recalled the Irishman making a fuss over you beating him to the laundry room. He had stopped to chat with Horangi when you walked in and took the machine he had allegedly claimed. But you knew it went deeper than that. You snorted, “Dickhead was just pissy I said no to blowing him. In fact, I straight up told him I wouldn’t touch him with a fifty-foot pole. Twice.” 

“Was zum Teufel? You? And O’Conor?” König stuttered, his hand covering where his mouth would be on his mask. You heard him scoff, “I guess he really did try to sleep with all the women in KorTac.”

“The others too?” You could feel yourself feeling sick. O’Conor was an angry dude that was forced into the military by his parents and he apparently hated it but stayed for their sake. You learned later that he was in a lot of altercations before KorTac and that followed him. You frowned, “I hope every woman told him to fuck off…”

“From what I hear, you were a lot nicer in your refusal.” König started walking towards the bedroom door, taking a glance at his phone. “I’ll send Aksel our coordinates. Do you want to take stock and see what we could need foodwise?”

“Yeah, I’ll do that.” 

König had walked back to the bedroom to gather his weapons from his bag. He knew it would be the best idea to have them out and ready. Just in case. The way that Aksel was taking precautions had him a bit on edge. Even the usually nonchalant Reaver wasn’t herself right now. She was doubting herself, something she rarely did while on the job. A part of him already suspected that the mission had been compromised. Compromised by KorTac’s own employer. 

The massive man held his pistol in his hand, his fingers dwarfing the firearm. He clicked open the chamber, saw it was fully loaded, and then he set the safety mode on. König placed the pistol in the holster he had on his hip. He then searched around the room to find suitable hiding spots for his knives. 

The bedroom was very bare. The only pieces of furniture were the nightstands and beds. He then gazed over at the amalgamation of wood and blankets that was his own bed. Reaver had made sure he had somewhere comfortable to sleep. She was always thinking of others before herself. König knew he’d have to sleep diagonally, maybe even completely sideways, to fit his entire body on the mattresses. It reminded him of the bed he had back at base. It was just two beds pushed together just like here. Maybe if he were ever honorably discharged, he’ll buy a real king sized bed. 

And then he started thinking about the base and the rest of the KorTac operators. Everyone was spread out all over the world. While it wasn’t uncommon for everyone to be spread out, it just made him wonder if the Americans were giving everyone else a hard time. Hutch and Roze had to be used to it since they were born in America. König could feel the American soldiers' hostility towards him. He wondered if the generations of Americans held a grudge from the World Wars even now. He wore his Austrian flag as proudly as they wore their stripes and stars. While he didn’t really care that they treated him as if he had leprosy, he noticed it whenever it happened. It was just something he expected from people. Reaver didn’t seem to be surprised with the rude attitude either. 

Reaver… what a soul she is. 

König knew that he had a different connection with her. Dare he thought they were friends even. She just seemed to understand him like no one else did. She was patient and helpful. But she didn’t overstep and make it seem like he was helpless like an overgrown infant. Being with her here wasn’t going to be so bad. They were getting along, they were even opening up to each other. Ever since their first meeting, he wanted to get to know her. It was very unlike him. König usually kept to himself and others avoided him but Reaver went out of her way to greet him and strike up conversations. He wanted to ask her so many things. Her hometown, her family, her favorite things she did before joining KorTac… anything. 

But he couldn’t get distracted, and he can’t distract her from the mission either. 

Then he remembered her comment from a moment ago. Dickhead was pissy I said no to blowing him. He paused, noticing something unfamiliar come over him. He could almost picture her encounter with Declan O’Conor in his head. The redheaded man was approaching her while she was either drinking coffee in the lunch hall or preparing to enter the shooting range. It could have been possible he was bothering her while she was working as well. He really had no reason to speak to her at all— or any of the women in KorTac. While König knew most people didn’t like him, Declan was disliked for completely different reasons. He had a short temper, picked petty fights with the other operators and clearly lacked the compassion it took to handle hostage situations. And he had the audacity to stroll up to Reaver and ask for a blowjob? 

König heard the handle of his knife strain under his grip. He released his breath, feeling the stress he didn’t know he was holding subside. His large hand came up to his face and he rubbed his temple through his hood. He recognized the feeling as jealousy. It was something he hadn’t felt in a long time. König wasn’t dumb. He knew what went around in base. It wasn’t uncommon for the other operators to look for a good time, it wasn’t forbidden. However, others were careful not to make it known they were sleeping around. Reaver was young… She was pretty. His grip tightened again. Why wouldn’t anyone come on to her? He just didn’t want to think about it. 

But the thought was quickly replaced with something a lot different. 

Reaver was on her hands and knees, approaching him from the other side of his bed. Her eyes were half-lidded and starry. She was lacking her gear and clothes. It was just her and her underwear. Her hand was reaching out for him and she caught him by his waistband. With a wanton yank, she pulled him forward. He staggered on his feet, even in his fantasy he was nervous. Her eyelashes batted up at him as she undid his button and pulled down his zipper. 

“Hör auf so Depp zu sein!” He growled while he thumped the thought out of his head. “An idiot you are…”

Sex crossed his mind just as often as the next person. He was a man after all. It was completely normal. But if someone were to ask him if he ever thought about Reaver? König would take it to the grave. He’d deny that the thought has crossed his mind before. But she was in his mind more often than he realized. Reaver was attractive, who couldn’t see that? He thought about her lips, her voice, her body. 

He wanted her. 

The large man glanced over his shoulder to the bedroom door like he expected her to be standing there. Like his thoughts would have manifested her out of thin air. But he knew that she was off somewhere in the cabin taking stock of everything they had for the next few weeks. Right, they would be alone with each other for… weeks. König knew that he would have to deal with his little crush growing stronger and stronger. He just had to stay focused. 

He just had to ignore what he truly felt.

“König!” He heard Reaver’s voice call out for him. But she sounded shrill and terrified. 

König took no moment to himself and he sprinted to where he heard her voice. He found himself in the living area but it was completely void of the other person he expected to be here. The large man panicked as he glanced around, seeing the pantry had been opened and a pad of paper and pen laid on the counter’s edge. Then the cabinet under the sink began to bang frantically. 

“König, I’m s-stuck!” Reaver wailed, a sob clear. 

He rushed forward and dropped to his knees. König opened the cabinet doors and the young Reaver practically fell out. She was covered in dust and cobwebs. Her hands clawed out in front of her as she dragged herself from out of the tight space, her breathing ragged and labored. Before he could ask anything, Reaver threw her hands around him. His hands hovered over her shaking frame, unsure if he should touch her after the fantasy he just had. 

“T-Thank you…” She sighed in his chest. Her blunt nails dug into his shirt, pulling him closer. 

This was going to be a lot harder than he expected… 

You walked around the cabin with a pad and pen you had found in the server room. As you entered the small kitchen, you noticed a few dusty plates had been left in the sink. From four years ago. You rolled your eyes before you went to open the cupboards. There were even more dust covered plates and cups, even a spider had made home in the back corner. The cobwebs were thick and all over the place. Some swift cleaning was in order before you put anything away. You frowned and quickly shut the small door. 

Then you made your way to the pantry just on the left side of the counters. You opened the door, seeing the shelves were nearly empty aside from a few rogue cans. Your hand reached over for one. As your fingers wrapped around it, you felt the years of dust fall off under your grip. You turned it around, seeing it was canned fruit in syrup. Not the healthiest of choices but it should suffice. All you had to do was check the expiration date. July 2021. You wrote that down on your notepad, checking off that you indeed need food. 

You were so glad your fellow Americans double checked before heading out. 

But there was nothing you could do now. Aksel was already given your coordinates and was already shipping supplies over. The list was mostly for you to see what would last. You wanted to keep your trips into the city as scarce as possible. No one needed to know there was someone in the cabin. You set your notes on the counter as you ducked down to where the drawers were. You opened them up, seeing they were empty other than a few dead bugs. 

“Gross…” You sighed while pulling the drawer all the way out. 

You stared at the tiny carcasses rolling around as you walked over to the trash can. Dumping them into the plastic bag, you held the now somewhat clean drawer with more care. As you knelt down to place it back where it was, you saw there was something beyond the cabinet. You set the loose drawer down and pulled out your phone. You shined your flashlight into the back, seeing the bottom of the sink as well as pipes. Eyes squinting, you saw a dip in the ground. Your mind told you to investigate but your gut begged you to leave it alone. 

You crawled over to the doors that sat under the sink and you went to open them. They were stuck from the years of disuse. With one good yank, they opened up. You were immediately met with the smell of mildew and dirt. The draft of cold air blew back strands of your hair. As you gazed forward, you saw the light peeking through the side paneling of the cabin. You sighed while you glanced down, seeing that same hole that had peaked your interest. You set down your phone, angling it to where the light was shining just above the dip. On your hands and knees, you crawled deeper into the cabinet. 

You could hear the wind outside blowing, sounding like a whistle almost. Even with the light seeping in through the breaks in the wood, it was still almost pitch black under the sink. An obvious design flaw, you knew there should have been an extra wall here. But you ignored it and pushed forward, your whole body now in the tight space. Your palms felt wet dirt under your skin then the dip. You were staring over the hole. Something inside you told you to turn back, to just ignore your morbid curiosity and just go. But instead you reached back for your phone. 

The shift in weight had the wet dirt under your hands sinking. The clods broke off from the exposed earth and your hands fell forward. You gasped and threw your legs back trying to catch hold on anything. Your foot hooked onto the cabinet door luckily. You panted while you stared into the dark hole, feeling your grip on the door behind you slipping. With all your might, you pulled yourself back. However, the stiff doors began to close with your weight. And before you knew it… you were trapped under the cold, dark sink. You scrambled to turn around but your frantic movement disturbed more of the dirt. 

And then you fell face first into the hole. 

You held out your hands to catch you. Thankfully, the hole was no deeper than three feet but it was wider than five feet. It felt like a poorly made grave just for you. Your eyes were blown wide as you tried to make out anything in the black nothingness. The only thing that you saw before you… was a memory. That had you spiraling now. You had to get out of the pit before the past got its hold on you. Your nails dug into the dirt as you pulled yourself out of the hole. When you tried to push on the cabinet doors, you realized they weren’t opening. 

Your hand pounded on the wood but they still wouldn’t move. Your breathing was short and you felt the anxiety take over. You were going to be stuck down here forever. No one was going to find your body. Whatever was in the darkness with you was going to get a hold on your ankle and drag you back into your hole. You had to get out… you had to…

“König!” You called out. “I’m s-stuck!”

Your hands still banged on the wood, hoping you could make enough noise for him to hear you. The stomping of his boots on the flooring sounded like church bells. Safety was on its way. The small doors opened and you saw the lower half of the Austrian kneeling before you. You rushed out of the small space, your breathing was going just as fast as your heart beat. The light. It was so good to see it again. Then you glanced up at König who was gazing into the darkness. You didn’t know what came over you but you threw your arms around him. 

You were so thankful you had him with you. He was so warm. Your face fell into his chest as you forced away the thought of crying. But that ghost from your past was lingering behind you. You could feel it. You dared not to look back at it. Instead, you clung to König. 

“T-Thank you…” You said into his chest. 

After a moment, his hands found your shoulders. He didn’t move you. He just let you gather yourself. The only time he moved was to shut the cabinet doors when he saw you dared not to look at it. His large hand returned to your shoulder and you leaned into his touch. 

“Would you like to tell me why you were under the sink?” He asked softly. His fingers meticulously picked the cobwebs off your clothes. 

You nodded, “I was just inspecting the area. There’s a big hole behind the plumbing.” You sighed while you pulled away. It suddenly felt so silly being so terrified of the dark. “I fell in the hole and then the doors closed on me and I couldn’t get out.”

“You must have been scared.” König’s finger lifted your chin, “Your voice… it was something like I never heard from you.” 

“I’m sorry…” You apologized, “I just don’t like the dark.” 

König’s eyes softened, “Well, I am here with you. I’m much more scary than whatever is in the darkness.” He was joking with you, it made you feel better. 

Your partner stood up, hand hands pulling you up with him. You’ve seen his same hands rip doors off their hinges. But he was so gentle with you, like you’d crumble if he put any force on you. Your eyes remained locked on his, while his crystalline eyes were everywhere but on yours. You took the moment to part ways from him, keeping a professional distance. Even if you didn’t want to. König was so warm. 

“I didn’t find much in the pantry. Everything was pretty much expired.” You explained as you crossed your arms. When you felt dust under your hands, you patted your clothes clean. 

“That’s alright.” König shrugged, “Aksel said his supply package should be here before the night comes. It's only…” He checked the time on his phone, “Scheiße. It’s not even noon.” 

König glanced out the window to his right, seeing the sky hadn’t changed much since they had arrived in the cabin. The way the Earth rotated during the winter months kept the sun from hitting the top of the globe mostly. The Arctic Circle was lucky to get a few hours of sunshine. But even if it happened, the thick clouds blocked whatever warmth was waiting for them. That meant the nights were going to be dark.  

“At least we have someone looking out for us,” You too looked out the window. The clouds were thicker than they were before. The snow had stopped but the cold was creeping into the cabin now. You rubbed your hands over your arms, “It’s cold, isn’t it?” 

“Yes, I’ll get a fire started.” König announced as he walked over to the other side of the cabin where the brick fireplace was. It was wide and at least the firewood was stacked high all around it. He got to one knee as he stacked some wood in the pit. His back was towards you. “You mentioned making a program for our mission?”

“Yeah, I have to. Maybe I need to get started on that before anything…” You sighed, still feeling slightly shaken from what happened a moment ago. 

You followed König into the empty living space. The couch was angled away from the fireplace but you took a seat and watched him grab a box of nearby matches. It took him three tries before the match was sparked. He held the tiny flame between his large fingers for a second before he tossed it into the stacked wood. You felt like a house cat watching its owner curiously. You wondered why König didn’t press further on what happened. Why didn't he question why you were so freaked out? It wasn’t like you to be so frightened, especially in front of colleagues. 

“You’re not going to ask?” You probed. 

“It’s not my place.” He promptly answered. “If you wanted to, you’d tell me. But I will not pry.” You weren’t ready for his answer. And you weren’t ready to expose the truth. So, you just nodded. 

“You know, you’re very kindhearted too.” You smiled as you stood up, “I’m going to get work started.”

“I’ll join you in a moment.” 

Chapter Text

Before you knew it, the day had come and gone. The thick clouds hid the sun from ever showing just like a lampshade hiding a yellow lightbulb. The sky had been dimly lit only for a moment before the Arctic Circle claimed the evening. Without the scarce warmth of the sun, the evening was cold. Luckily, the fireplace had enough time to warm the cabin before the night ultimately arrived. 

Your body was pressed hard against the backrest of your chair. Your eyes were pointed up at the ceiling as you listened to an AmTech technician go over what you already knew. König, who sat right across from you, was subject to the same torture. However, you had given him the task of installing a translation program into the other computers. It had somehow slipped your mind and it was too late to do it now since you were locked in a conversation with AmTech. You had written notes for him to follow installation but after the third time he understood it perfectly as breathing. 

He’d glance up at you a few times when he tuned back into the conversation, his smile visible through his crystalline eyes. Your obvious annoyance for the last hour was a bit amusing to say the least. Your feet, complete with double socks, were thrown on the desk like a cool, rebellious student intentionally ignoring their teacher. While your mic was muted for the most part, you let a few obscenities fall from your mouth a few times. It had just been a long day and you were starting to feel exhausted. Your eyes glanced at the time on the bottom right hand side of the screen— it was barely about to be five in the evening. It would be quitting time for normal people but you were just getting started. 

It had taken you six hours to get the five computers you were going to use set up with everything you could have needed security wise. Firewalls upon firewalls, password locked actions, administrator permissions, and you even installed basic parental controls for an extra measure. The last thing you had set up was an internal detonation protocol. If you were ever being raided, you set it off and everything would be wiped. It would overload itself with useless data afterword until the computer would ultimately blue screen. You were in the process of explaining to the AmTech technician, who introduced herself as Angela, what your train of thought was. She wasn’t understanding why you would go so far with protection. Her excuse was ‘no one should know you’re in the cabin’. It was better to be equipped now rather than later. 

“Furthermore, you are not to tamper with loaned equipment.” She was starting to sound as frustrated as you. You knew it wasn’t her fault, she probably had higher ups breathing down her neck about these ‘unauthorized modifications’. 

“I’m sorry, Angie, but this is what I had to do to make sure there would be no cracks.” You said while you sat up correctly. Your movement had drawn König’s eyes to you. “Its not like all the files will be terminated, you’ll still get our reports as soon as we gather them. We had a similar case happen in 2021 with…” Your hand checked your front pocket for your phone. When you couldn’t find it, you stood up to check your backside. “I’ve misplaced my phone, give me a second, would ya?” 

You hurried around the table, looking under anything and everything for your phone. It was nowhere in the server room. You knew you hadn’t been in the bedroom since you’ve arrived. Your hands patted around your hips and even your bra. König turned away when you stuck your hands underneath your sweater.

“Fuck, I can’t find my phone…” Your lips smacked. “I remember using it when I was under the…” When you were under the sink, you had used the flashlight to illuminate the darkness. You froze, knowing you were dreading going back under there. Your partner noticed you starting to close in, your eyes becoming hollow. König stood up, leaving his work behind him. 

“I’ll get it, return to your business call, Reaver.” He said before he walked by you and out of the room. You took a moment to glance over your shoulder, catching a glimpse of him turning the corner into the living area. He had to duck under the doorframes. You sat back down in your hair and unmuted yourself from the call. 

“Apologies, Angie. But as I was saying, KorTac had a similar issue with another employer. I had done the same thing to a government issued laptop. While I was being reprimanded by their head-guy, my trojan horse malware roped in a location of an enemy base. It was stormed twenty minutes later. They had access to anti-aircraft launchers right next to a public airway.” 

As you were explaining yourself, König had walked back into the room. He offered your phone over to you. The flashlight was still on and you knew the battery had to be drained. You mouthed a silent thanks and he acknowledged you with a single nod. He sat back down in his chair and continued to work. 

“If you want my superior’s number, I know he’d be more than willing to back me up.” You sounded so smug as you turned off your flashlight. The battery was blinking red at five percent before you locked the screen. You’ll have to charge it soon. 

“We’ve spoken to Tor Erikson already today.” Angela did her best not to grumble but you heard her disdain clearly. “Miss L/N, if anything happens to those computers, you and your superior will be held responsible in replacing them. Is that understood?”

“Loud and clear, Angie.” You smirked, knowing you got away with modding more government devices. Now, you were clear to do things the way you intended. “You have my scout’s honor,” You placed a hand over your heart, “Nothing will happen to the precious ‘puters.” 

“We’ll see. Alright, Miss L/N.” Angela was trying to assert herself by using your government name over your nickname for her. “Please refrain from making any further moves as far as you’ve done today. Check in tomorrow when and if you’ve gathered any information. Deadlines are a week long. Meaning, if you fail to turn in anything for over a week, drastic measures will be taken.” 

“Meaning we failed our missions and we’ll be escorted off the premises?” You poked the bear. 

“And then some.” Angela added. “You’re dismissed, Reaver. Do good work out there.” 

And the call ended. 

You closed the windows on your computer while you slumped back in your chair. You weren’t allowed to do any work until tomorrow and you couldn’t begin on your decoy programs without KorTac gear. As of now, you were stuck. The boredom was already beginning to seep in. König kept clicking on his screen and typing commands on his keyboard. You sighed loud and long, purposely earning his attention. 

“Yes, Reaver, what is it?” He probed without looking away from his screen. 

“We’re stuck now. No work until we get those laptops from Aksel.” You playfully frowned. When König remained focused on his work, you got up from your chair. You skulked over, keeping out of sight. Now behind him, you saw that he was typing in codes without even glancing at your instructions. You knew it had to be ingrained into his memory now. “This the last one?”

“Ja, I’m pretty much done.” He pressed enter and a loading bar appeared. “Once that is filled, English and German translation shortcuts will be accessible to us.” 

“Very nice, König.” You were impressed. He learned quick. It was nice to have reliable people around. 

And you felt protected around him as well. You leaned forward, taking a peek over his shoulder at the program. He didn’t move away when he noticed you had gotten close. His heat was radiating off him enough for you to want to rest your head on him. But you knew better. Yet, you couldn’t help but remember your playful banter with him just this morning. You’d love to play with him like that again soon. He seemed to match you well. 

“Sorry that I’m not fluent in Russian.” You joked as you stepped away, escaping his heat to look through the filing cabinets. Clearly, the silence had been deafening and you can’t be silent for so long. You even talked to yourself on some lonesome occasions. You also just wanted an excuse to converse to your partner more. 

“Neither am I. Even English is hard for me sometimes,” He said while he rolled his chair back. “I can’t tell you how long I took the phrase ‘ break a leg’ literally.” 

“How long have you been speaking English?” You inquired as you turned your attention back to him. 

“Ah,” König’s eyes wandered up as he tried to recall when he first learned your language. His fingers flexed for a moment, “We are required to learn it as a course in high school. So, I suppose, its been about fourteen years. Give or take the time it required to learn it.” 

“Wow,” You raised your brows in astonishment. “You speak it like it’s been with you forever.” 

“Thank you,” He let out a breathy laugh, clearly he was flustered with your complement. “You don’t know much German, do you?” 

“Not really, no.” You blushed. It wasn’t something you needed to learn in high school, nor did you ever think you’d ever encounter German in your speaking life. Schools prioritized teaching Spanish and French in most curriculums. Beyond that had to be seeked out in further studies yet most students would rather fill their electives with something a little more fun like art or woodshop. 

“I could teach you,” He tapped on the desk with his finger anxiously, “If you’d like that… I mean.” 

He was so sweet. Even under that threatening aura his stature and hood gave off, he was just a human underneath. You’ve noticed that he didn’t keep much eye contact, especially if he was nervous. That applied even now. He turned his head away, pretending to be very intrigued with the beige walls. You grinned as you stepped away from the filing cabinets and you sat in the chair right next to him. König flinched momentarily until he saw your smile. 

“Teach me something,” You gestured to him with an open palm. 

“Okay, uh…” He took his time deciding on what your first lesson should be. His hand absentmindedly patted his thighs rhythmically. Then he snapped a finger, the sound was mostly muffled by his thick glove. “Mir ist kalt… Mir ist kalt.” He started, “Sound it out.” 

“Meer… east?” You parroted as closely as you could. 

König shook his head, “Eest. Draw it out. Use your throat.”

“Meer eest kalt.” You said a little more confidently, “Mir ist kalt.”  

“Gut gemacht!” König clapped, “Well done, well done. A natural.”

You couldn’t suppress your light laugh, his praise was so welcoming. This was the same man who would crush other men’s skulls in his bare hand. You tilted your head slightly, “What did I say?”

“I am cold.” He stated. 

“Ah, kalt sounds like cold almost.” You added, hearing the roots of your own language in his. It was kind of poetic. 

“Ja, some German is similar to English.” His voice trailed off and it became silent again. Your eyes remained locked on his, even when he turned away. He was such a shy man. But he still tried to keep the conversation alive, “Just some phrases don’t translate over well.”

You wanted to just grab his face and tell him it was okay to look at you, even in the quiet times. His gloved hand reached under his hood and you heard the leather on his fingers push around more cotton. Maybe you were getting him hot under his balaclava and hood. His hands then dropped on his lap, unsure of what to do next. 

“Hey, König?” You poked his arm, feeling how thick his sweater was. His large hand reached over and rubbed the spot you had touched on his forearm.  

“Yes, Reaver?” He asked, his eyes meeting yours once again. 

“Mir ist kalt.” Your head nodded for the doorway. The hard office chairs were starting to dig into your ass and there was a perfect couch waiting for you in the living area. 

He blinked, confused for a second. Then he nodded knowingly, “Would you like to sit in front of the fireplace?”

“Sounds like Heaven.” You replied as you stood up from your chair. You hurried to the door, only checking over your shoulder to see if König was following you once. He was right behind you, ducking under the doorframe.

The living area was toasty. A lot warmer than it was in the server room. Your socks slid on the hardwood surface as you sat on the carpet directly in front of the fireplace. König took a spot on the loveseat. His thighs were spread wide and he took up most, if not all, of the couch. You warmed your hands by the fire, starting to feel them defrost in the first time in hours. 

“Ah, this feels nice.” You purred while you popped the joints in your fingers. “Finally, a moment to breathe. I feel like I haven’t taken a second for myself in…” You sighed, “God, a long time.”

“Since you joined KorTac?” König inquired, his arm resting on the armrest. 

“Longer,” You said as you stared into the flickering flame. 

There was a pregnant pause. The joyous momentum of your conversation was stopped dead in its tracks. The realization of life was rearing its ugly head. Your sniper rifle in the other room reminded you of that. You weren’t here to enjoy yourself or take a break. You were here to work. To protect the United States of America from oncoming war. The weight of the situation brought you down, it almost made you want to cry. But you’ve cried enough in your lifetime. You weren’t even sure you could shed a single tear anymore. 

All you knew now was to kill and survive. 

“I know what you mean. I don’t think I’ve stopped. Once I hit seventeen and joined the German Army, I just felt like a boulder rolling down a hill.” König reflected, now leaning his elbows on his knees. 

“Since you were seventeen?” You turned to look at him. Time was really setting in, your age following you. “When I was seventeen, I was barely about to graduate high school. Can I ask why you volunteered so soon?” 

König’s icy eyes locked on yours, “To get away.” 

“Oh.” You pretended to understand when you really didn’t. You just didn’t want to press him any further. You knew how reminiscing on the past could hurt. “Sorry,” You apologized to him. 

“For what?” His head tilted, confused. 

“For prying.” You frowned.

König breathed a laugh, “It was just an honest question, Reaver. I can only assume the U.S. Army isn’t one you’d want to enroll in so quickly?” 

“It has its benefits…” You shrugged. “Most acquaintances I had in school only joined to get those scholarships. The government just dangles money in front of anyone willing to fight on the frontlines. I bet if you ask any of them, they’d rather go back to a day job.” 

“I’ve heard the same thing from Hutch.” König sat back against the couch, “However, he is a lot more patriotic than you seem to be, Reaver.”

You snorted, “The only thing me and Hutch have in common is our nationality. He mentioned he was into video games but it was those crappy American football games. Sixty dollars for a running simulator, no thank you.” 

König laughed, a large hand reaching over to cover the mouth you couldn’t even see. It was endearing. And then you took notice of how large he actually was sitting on the loveseat. His thick thighs were spread wide, unfortunately reminding you of a mall Santa during the holidays. But instead of wishing for a gift, you’d be begging on his lap for something else. And he would still ask you if you were a good girl. 

The electricity that ran through your body at that moment could power Las Vegas for a week. 

Your eyes wandered around, deciding not to ogle your partner anymore than you needed to, or should. You were the one who was nervous this time. Glancing at everything else in the room, you noticed how cozy the space actually was. The shelves were stacked with board games and… 

“No way there’s VHS tapes here.” You got up from the floor and walked to the shelf that was placed right next to the massive television. Picking one off the shelf, you gazed down at it like a long lost child. “I haven’t seen one of these things in ages. I wonder what they have?” 

Browsing through the selection, you saw a few familiar cases. Armageddon, Saving Private Ryan, Castaway, Dances With Wolves, The Last Samurai, The Thing and… Bambi. You picked up the plastic case of the old Disney classic. You remembered watching a lot of Disney movies when you were younger and Bambi was among those. However, it seemed out of place for American soldiers to have in their collection. The other movies were either war hero films or staple male-dominated casting. Then again, The Thing also stood out. And you went to pick it up, seeing the familiar snowy silhouette on the cover.

“Pretty fucked up to have The Thing here when we’re stuck in a cabin in the middle of nowhere.” You scoffed. 

“Why is that?”

You looked over your shoulder, still holding the two films in your hands. You raised up the horror movie for König to see, “You’ve never watched John Carpenter’s The Thing?”  

“No, what is it about?” 

“These research scientists in Antarctica are picked off and killed by a monster that can shapeshift. Honestly, it’s a really good movie. But totally inappropriate for the surroundings we have.” You laughed as you set the movie back down on the shelf. “I think I’d rather watch Bambi over and over while I’m here.” You joked as you jiggled the case, hearing the plastic crinkle. 

“I… haven’t seen that one either…” König admitted, “Do I need to ask what it’s about? The cover seems… pretty obvious.”

You were shocked. Did König go his entire life not ever coming across the iconic movie moment of Bambi and his mother? The joke had been beaten to death in pop culture. Had he really not seen it? But he was kind of right, the cover did give away most of the story. It was about cute little Bambi going through life as a fawn, seeing his world through his naive eyes. When you thought about it, it was just as traumatizing as The Thing but on the other side of the spectrum. 

The scene of Bambi crying as he called out for his dead mother in the snow was what you thought of first. 

“Its… more about the experience than the story itself. The film is masterfully crafted with a soundtrack to match.” You explained, not wanting to give away the real surprise in the movie. 

“You sound like you enjoy movies.” König’s eyes wrinkled when he smiled. 

“Love them.” You gazed at the selection of cases again, seeing some you hadn’t gotten a chance to watch yet. Then an idea crossed your mind. Maybe it was inappropriate right now. Maybe it was the perfect time. You both had hours to kill between waiting for Aksel and tomorrow. You shrugged, “You wanna watch one?” 

“I would love that,” König said. However, he sighed. “But I think we should hold off on that. Aksel would be arriving at any moment. What would he say if we were goofing off on our first day, hmm?”

You hated to admit he was right. It had been a long time since you had the time to sit around and watch a movie. It seemed perfect for now. But Aksel was already stressed out from everything, especially after what you had told him about the microphones. What would he say if he saw his operators lounging about watching Bambi of all things. You knew he’d have your head. It would probably risk your contract with KorTac as well. König was right. This wasn’t the time. 

“Yeah,” You set the movies back on the shelf, tapping some dust off the wooden shelf. 

“I am curious on that deer movie though. We will make time for it, Reaver. I promise.” 

The night was here. The world outside was dark. Reaver had found a stray book to read while her phone charged. König was mostly scrolling through his phone but he’d occasionally glance over at the woman laying on the carpet. She was on her belly with her feet kicking up as she turned the pages of what he believed to be was a history book of Russia. Whether she was actually reading or just looking at the pictures, he didn’t know for sure. 

After the suggestion of watching a movie and König turning her down, Reaver remained mostly quiet. The only time she would address him was when she found something interesting in her book. He was kicking himself for that. Why didn’t he just watch the damn movie? She probably would have sat on the couch beside him, getting cozy. They’d be watching the cartoon deer do cartoon deer things while their knees touched. Maybe she would even drift off to sleep and rest on his arm again. 

König switched to his personal photos inside his phone, scrolling to just a few hours ago. It was the most recent photo he had. It was Reaver sleeping on his arm. Her cheek was pushed up by his shoulder, making her look a lot softer than she let on. Her mask had fallen down, revealing her curvy lips and cute nose. He couldn’t help but want to encapsulate that little moment for himself. That short time in the helicopter with her was like a dream. He gazed down at the picture of her and then to the same woman laying on the carpet. 

He had to admit to himself that he had it bad. He knew that was true because he wished he had more photos of her. The thought had crossed his mind numerous times to take snapshots of her when he could. Yet, he knew deep down that was very weird and he never got himself to do it. The thought of even doing it now sent a shiver up his spine. But alone with her in the helicopter was the best thing he could have ever captured. 

As he stared down at the photo of her, he got a notification from Aksel. König read the message from his superior while he slowly sat forward. Reaver noticed the large man moving and she turned. She had to crane her neck up when he stood at his full height. 

König stared down at the woman still on the floor, seeing her curves even underneath her thick sweater. She looked so cute while in her cozy clothes and double socks. He didn’t want to disturb her but…

“Aksel says he is about five minutes from here. The same American soldiers from earlier are escorting him.” The masked man explained. 

“Nice,” Reaver grinned as she shut her book closed. She got on her hands and knees before she pushed herself up into a standing position. And König was standing right behind her, watching how her sweats tightened around her ass as she moved around. “I’ll go put my boots on just in case.” 

And she ran off into the bedroom, leaving König in the living room clutching his phone. He was not going to survive the mission with him in his feelings. The forced proximity was going to kill him. He’d be sharing everything with her. His days and nights. His meals. Everything. He loved the idea but he knew deep down he had to contain himself. Reaver was his colleague and she probably didn’t like him that way. He sighed when the thought of her being nice to him was just an act. Maybe she thought that being nice to him would save her if he ever snapped and went on a rampage. 

But he knew he would never hurt her. He couldn’t. But he always had the nagging thought that everyone else assumed he would. His mind was eating away at him again. That was until Reaver came out of the room, her boots on the hardwood floor breaking him away from his thoughts. She stood in front of him as she adjusted her cargo jacket over her sweatshirt.

“How do I look?” She asked, her hands raising slightly to show off her outfit. “Do I look like I’ve been laying around for the last hour and a half?”

You look perfect. Gorgeous. You could be in a trash bag and you’d be just as beautiful as you are now. How you always are.

“Uh, fine.” König blinked down at the woman. 

“Hmm, fine isn’t what I want to hear when Aksel is on his way. Tell me I look like I wasn’t laying on the floor.” She raised her arms even higher. Her sweater raised and he could see the lower half of her soft belly. 

“What floor? You weren’t laying on the floor.” He joked as he turned around. Mostly it was to hide from her but he also got another message from Aksel. He was outside. 

The bright headlights of a car shined through the front windows and through the closed curtains. Both Reaver and König could hear the tires crunching the snow and ice outside loud and clear. After a moment, the car doors opened and they heard men’s voices. They glanced at each other, registering the sound in their mind. Just in case they ever had uninvited guests, this would be the sound they’d hear. 

“Let’s go greet the boss.” Reaver smiled while she opened the front door. The cold wind blew inside the cabin and immediately had the smaller woman cowering back inside. “Holy fucking hell, that’s cold!” Her teeth chattered as she forced herself to go back outside. “H-H-Hey, Aks-s-s-sel!” 

König exited the cabin, feeling the bitter cold biting at him as well. Reaver wasn’t over exaggerating. He walked over to the familiar figure of Aksel. His superior towered over the other Americans who were pulling boxes out of the trunk. One of them shoved a box into König’s arms before he even stepped off the porch. However, he ignored them and just walked over to Reaver and Aksel anyway while holding the box. 

“The hoops I had to go through for this…” He heard Aksel growl while he glared at the American soldiers entering the cabin with the supplies. Aksel then cursed in Norwegian, something he was known to do when he was very stressed. “They really didn’t want me coming out here.”

“W-W-Why do you think that?” Reaver asked, her body shrinking to retain her heat. 

Aksel patted her shoulder, “Let’s talk inside.” 

König followed behind his superior and his partner while he carried the box in his arms. They shook off the snow from their bodies before they entered the front door. König took the box to the dining table that was in the kitchen and placed it down on the wooden top. He took a peek inside, seeing cans and boxes of food. He thanked Aksel for not subjecting them to just consume MREs for the entire duration of the mission. König hated the way they tasted. 

“I’ll let you go through the boxes after I’m gone.” Aksel started, his eyes watching the Americans exit the cabin. “What happened with AmTech?”

“They weren’t happy Reaver made some changes to their computers.” König kept his voice low as he approached Aksel.

“Yeah, I was pretty much getting barked at for an hour by their office dog.” Reaver rolled her eyes, “But its all safe and ready for use. I just need to program some things before we actually make some progress on the web. I really don’t trust what is out there.”

“I know I can leave that side of business to you, Reaver.” Aksel reassured them. “Do what you need to do and keep me updated.” The older man glanced around the cabin, “Cozy spot. Eat it up while you can. And catch up on some sleep. I know how you like to sit in front of the screens even after quitting time, Reav.” 

“Are you telling us to enjoy ourselves, sir?” Reaver asked, her voice sounding as playful as ever. Her eyes glanced back to König, her expression was reading like a trickster. He knew what she was thinking. They could have watched Bambi.

Aksel adjusted his mask over his face,“Everyone needs a break. Do what you can and breath.” He moved his gaze to König, “Both of you. Just stay safe and professional.” 

“We will, sir.” Reaver saluted.

König did the same, “We will keep you updated.”

“Good. I have to go. Base is bare without me.” Aksel mentioned before he hurried out of the cabin. He nearly slammed the door behind him. Both operators knew he probably wasn’t getting much sleep himself. 

Reaver shrugged, “Well. It was nice to see him.”

“Ja, and it’s good to know someone has our backs while we are out here.” König walked back to the boxes the Americans had brought into the cabin. “Why don’t we put these things away and then call it a night?”

“You got it.”

Chapter Text

Your back was aching as you squatted down to clean the shelves in the pantry. The years of dust piled on top of itself and the cobwebs were everywhere. Luckily for you, the spiders had abandoned their old webs and you didn’t have to deal with the extra visitors. The shelving wood was painted over with an ugly slate blue and it was beginning to crack with the cold and age. Each time you went to wipe down the shelves, the paint would chip off. But after a few minutes, they were cleared and you could finally put away the food Aksel so graciously delivered himself. 

There were cans of fruit to replace the expired ones that were left behind by the Americans along with canned vegetables to match. You decided to stack the pantry in sections. There were six total shelves going from the top to bottom. The cans were set near the bottom since they were the heaviest. The dry boxes of instant mashed potatoes and pasta were in the middle. And you never thought you’d be happy to see microwave cup ramen in your life. You held the little styrofoam cup in your hands, nearly shedding a tear to finally taste the salty chicken water. That was sat on the top shelf like the top-tier food it really is. It made you want snacks to pair with it. Aksel, following military food distribution rules, did not bring over goodies like soda or chips. But there was a case of unopened Skittles sitting on the diner table. You weren’t allowed sugar water but the animal byproduct sugar orbs were totally fine. 

Maybe you’d see yourself going into the city after all.

When everything was finally put away, you got off your haunches and stood up. Your back ached and popped, making you groan. It was really starting to feel like the end of a workday. You were tired and the only thing you wanted right now was to fall face first into your bed. Ah, but a hot shower sounded like a luxury you couldn’t pass up. Especially after your little adventure under the sink and your play date with the dusty shelves, you just didn't feel clean. 

As you walked into the living room, you saw König fiddling with the guns Aksel had brought over. He was disassembling a Chimera Assault Rifle. The pieces were laid out on the small coffee table in front of him as he sat on the couch. The illumination of the fireplace and hanging lamp gave him enough light to inspect it clearly. 

You weren’t that well versed in weaponry yet, your sniper rifle was the only thing you could confidently work on without instructions. König seemed to know what he was doing since he was clicking everything together without issue. It was honestly very satisfying to listen to. You took a step towards him, your foot creaking the wood underneath your weight. The massive man quickly glanced over his shoulder like you had startled him. His grip on the Chimera loosened when he saw that it was just you. 

“I’m going to shower before I sleep… so if you need to use the bathroom…” You mumbled with your thumb gesturing towards the bathroom door in the hallway. König’s icy eyes flickered once towards the dark hallway and then back to you. Why did it feel like he was looking right through you? His gaze was intense like he could just swallow you whole. 

He turned away and went back to his work, “I’ll be alright.” König checked the sights on the assault rifle. He had taken off his gloves and you saw his thick fingers gingerly holding the gun. You couldn’t take your eyes off the protruding vessels he had running all over his hands and slipping under his rolled sleeve. They flexed as he switched positions, “Do what you need to do.” 

“Okay,” You walked backwards, hoping he’d talk to you more. Yet, you knew he was busy. You did your jobs of stocking the shelves and his job was to make sure your shared weaponry was functional. You kept your eyes on him until you had entered the bedroom and he was out of sight. 

Digging through your duffel bag, you pulled out a pair of lightweight cotton bottoms. It wasn’t military issued but you had it stashed away for those nights you wanted to get comfortable. They were black printed with tiny white ghosts and the word ‘boo!’. They would have paired well with the fluffy monster slippers you used to own. Along with your fresh shirt, you grabbed your shampoo and conditioner that you had packed. It was going to feel nice to get out the dust and dirt you knew you had in your hair. 

You glanced one more time out into the living area to catch a glimpse of your partner. However, he seemed to move from the couch. Maybe he was in the kitchen. But you entered the very cold bathroom, you could feel the frozen tiles even through your double socks. You turned on the light and the white-tiled room was illuminated. It was almost similar to the one you had on base except this one had a glass door on the shower and it seemed roomier. Setting down your belongings on the sink, you moved to turn on the shower. You dialed the crystal knob slightly to the left and water shot out from the shower head. The water that had hit your arm made your skin break out in goosebumps. It was so cold. You turned the knob all the way to the left to get that hot water running through. 

As you waited for that to warm up, you walked over to get your shampoo and conditioner. You saw your reflection in the mirror, seeing your face nearly made you jump. Your hair was pulled up into your usual ponytail but a few strands had fallen loose. You used your ring finger to touch your nose, lifting the tip to check for boogers. Your reflection stared back at you as you checked yourself out. Peeling off your shirt, you saw your skin reacting to the cold in real time. More goosebumps erupted and you saw your nipples poking through your sports bra. You tilted your head while you lifted the thin fabric up, your breasts now free. 

You blushed as you grabbed them with your frigid fingers. With a good squeeze, you felt how soft they were. And then you thought about your hands being replaced with König’s. Butterflies flew around your stomach as you pinched your hard nipples. With a gasp, you let his name fall faintly from your lips. You wanted him to enter the bathroom and touch you as you are now. You were blushing hard when you caught your reflection looking back at you. She didn’t seem happy to see you. In fact, she was embarrassed you even let that thought cross your mind. 

Now full of dust and shame, you pulled off the rest of your clothes and entered the now warm waters in the shower. It felt like heaven and you sighed as the hot water eased your aching muscles. It streamed down your body, dripping off the tips of your fingers you had hanging at your sides. You stepped into rushing water, your hair now soaked. It was so warm and inviting, you could just sleep here. But you knew you had a perfectly fine bed waiting for you in the room next door. You didn’t want to rush your private shower time. 

Right, private time. Your hands absentmindedly ran over your chest and then slowly down to your stomach. Like a shadow in the night, the thought of your hands becoming an extension of König’s appeared in your mind again. You couldn’t help it, it was like you weren’t in control of yourself. Delicate fingers feathered down to your flower. Your middle finger broke through your lips, finding your already swollen clit. Your thoughts of König’s hands before had aroused you and you needed to deal with it. 

You imagined he had come through the bathroom door while you were undressing. That same intense stare was in his eyes and he stomped towards you. His large hands would wrap around yours when you tried to cover your body from him. With one hand he held both your arms above your head while pulling you closer to him. Your back was against his strong chest and his second hand found your quivering lower half. He would drop his head closer to your face, the bottom part of his hood laying on top of your shoulder. He would say something to you in German as his fingers work around your clit, twirling and dipping inside you. By the way his voice becomes gravelly and growly, you know he has to be saying something dirty. As he holds you against his body, you could feel his cock growing harder. He would let go of your hands to grab a fistful of your breasts and your own hands would find his clothed member. As your fingers run along his length, König would growl in your ear. And he would reward your eagerness by sticking his middle finger right inside your soaked slit. You would gasp out loud by the way his digit just stretches you. 

“I’m going to fuck you against this sink,” He would say as he shoves you up against the counter. A hard scoff blows in your ear, “You are going to cum on this dick and then you’re going to beg your king for more.”

And you came. 

You came so hard. Your knees nearly buckled from how violently they were shaking. Your pussy was throbbing as the last wave of your orgasm came and went. Your breathing was heavy and labored, after a few seconds it became regular. With your back against the shower tiles, you rested your weight while you gathered yourself. 

You knew that you had cum to the idea of König, your colleague and partner, aggressively taking advantage of you. His ferocity rivaled that of the König who was deep in enemy lines. The same hands that ripped men’s faces off were knuckle deep in your womanhood. Ugh. And then the thought of him taking you against the bathroom sink made your thighs press together. It was the best orgasm you’ve had in a long time. 

It just wasn’t supposed to happen. Not now. Not with König. And definitely not with him ten feet away from the bathroom. You knew you had been loud too when you came. The gasp that had escaped you echoed through the steamy tiled room. That was just how hard your fantasy about König had rocked you. You had to control yourself but your mind and body were steering you in the other direction. 

Your eyes burst open when you heard a fist knocking on the bathroom door. You stared down at your body, seeing your fingers still knuckle deep inside yourself. Another knock brought you out of your shameful afterglow and right into fear. Did König hear you?

“Reaver, are you alright in there?” He asked, his voice muffled by the thick wood and rushing water. “I heard you gasp.”

This is totally not the most embarrassing thing to happen ever. You thought while you peeled your hot body off the tiles. König heard you, stupid idiot. You are so lucky you didn’t scream his fucking name as you came. Imagine if he would have barged in and saw you with your fingers in your pussy?! You paused, thinking it over. Idiot, idiot! 

“Y-Yeah, I’m okay! I just forgot to bring body wash!” You called out. Don’t ask if he has any, you begged yourself. Don’t ask if you could borrow some of his soap. And the words fell out of your mouth anyway, “If you have any, could you spare some?”

There was a short pause and you felt yourself shrinking under the situation. You stared out of the steamed glass door towards the bathroom door. And then he answered, “Yes.” 

“Thank you!” You shouted again. 

Even through the sound of the water, you could hear his boots stepping away from the door. You almost felt them too. The almost immediate reaction to your gasp had you wondering if he was passing by the door when you came. It might have been unlucky timing. Or… it was the only sound in the entire cabin. The cabin that was isolated in the middle of the woods. With just two people. For miles. 

“God, I’m such an—”

And then the unmistakable sound of the doorknob turning silenced you. Through the frosted glass door, you saw a shape cloaked in black enter the bathroom. The glass reached almost all the way to the ceiling, meaning König couldn’t see your naked body in the shower but you still covered yourself like he could. 

“Here, I brought it to you so you didn’t have to step out of the shower.” Of course, he was being considerate. 

One of your hands reached for the glass door, fingers pressed against the glass. You lightly pushed it open. Your dripping hand reached out into the chilly air and then König dropped a heavy bottle into your palm. You gripped it tight as you brought your hand back, the door being left open still. This was your chance to make your move. You could just kick open the door and reveal yourself to him. It would be an extremely tight fit but König could join you in the shower. It didn’t matter, you wanted his body close to yours. 

But König’s hand shut the glass door and ended your chance to even try. 

“You can just leave the bottle there, I’ll probably shower after you.” He said before his dark figure moved back to where it came from. 

“Thank you, König.” You called out before he disappeared back into the hallway. 

You stood there in the middle of the water with one of your arms still wrapped across your breasts. You gazed down at the body wash bottle in your hand, seeing it was lavender scented. The text on the front claimed it was just as soothing as it was cleansing. You hoped that was true. Your nerves were electrified and you felt like you were being pranked. The coincidences just lined up so perfectly. But you shoved what had just happened to the back of your mind and you tried to enjoy your shower. 

Reaver had gone to the bedroom, obviously going to prepare for her shower. König still had his fingers fiddling with the Chimera. It was probably one of the more complicated guns Aksel could have loaned them but he didn’t mind. He needed to get his mind off what was to come. König was bracing himself for bedtime. He was going to be sleeping in the same room, same proximity, as Reaver. 

König always had issues sleeping. He figured it was a side effect of his anxiety. Even if he was calm, he would still feel restless. While he’d lay there in bed, he feel himself getting closer to that night’s rest but his eyes would snap back open. It was like his body was keeping him from sleeping. But he knew it was mostly his mind’s fault. But on those nights where he was exhausted, he’d only be asleep for a couple hours. When he dared to check his phone on those nights, he’d see that a new day was already upon him and trying to get more rest would end up fruitless. 

Then he had an issue with oversleeping as well. On his days off, he’d nap during the daytime but then he would wake up twelve hours later. It was all those sleepless nights catching up with him. Coffee became his best friend. It would keep him up on those days he needed to be alert and it would crash him when it was time to sleep. It helped but not by much. 

So, his issues with sleep and then having to share a room with Reaver had his brain running a mile a minute. He worried that his restlessness would disturb her. And he had told her that she was going to get a good rest while he was around. To double down, getting sleep was almost an order coming straight from Aksel. That last thing König wanted to do was keep her distracted. They both had a job to do. 

When he snapped back the last piece back on the Chimera, König dropped the gun on the seat next to him. His large hands ran over his hood-covered face, feeling the peaks of his cheekbones and dips of his eye sockets on his palms. He couldn’t deny that he was tired. He had been awake since eleven post meridiem that previous night. The whole idea of being alone with Reaver had definitely kept him awake for too long. He was tired but he didn’t know he’d be able to rest. König figured he’d keep up his streak with consciousness with a cup of coffee.

He saw that Aksel had sent them over a few boxes of the instant packs they had back on base. It wasn’t what he would have preferred but it was what he was used to. He got up from the couch and walked to the small kitchen area. He noted that Reaver had cleaned up nicely and the four year old dust layers were long gone. The large man made his way over to the cabinets to pull out a mug. There were a few to choose from but they were all cream white colored. His hand picked one out but then he paused. 

It would be rude to make coffee for yourself and not offer it to whoever was with you. His mother taught him that. He decided that it was a good idea to make Reaver a cup as well. If she didn’t want it, he would just drink it himself. He could easily down four cups a day. It was a bad combination with his anxious nature but it’s what kept him alert. He went to warm up a pot of water and he heard Reaver enter the bathroom. The cups should be ready before she was done.

The area in the kitchen was further away from the fireplace and the air was still frosty. It even nipped at König who rarely got cold. As the glass-top oven heated up the pot of water, König stepped away to get a sweatshirt from his duffle bag. He passed the bathroom door, hearing that Reaver had started her shower. The sound of the water beating on the tiles was like soothing white noise. It droned on in the background, being able to be heard even in the bedroom. 

König switched back into his athletic sweater, zipping it up to his neck. Then he pulled over a thicker sweatshirt over that. Essentially he was wearing two layers over his black shirt. It was a little confining but he had to admit that he felt warmer. He kicked his bag back under his bed and then he moved to leave the bedroom. Now in the hallway, he heard the shower’s steady stream of water being disturbed. Reaver had started her shower. 

He stood there for a moment, thinking over his true intentions with her… if he had any. This whole mission felt almost too intimate. Too domestic. It was something he wasn’t used to. But it wasn’t something he hadn’t done before. He’s been in safehouses with the other operators before. He’d keep watch as his allies gotten a well deserve rest, his worry of an enemy attack was always in the back of his mind. And he’d been in those same safehouses with other women as well. Why was Reaver any different?

König sighed as the answer thumped him in the head. He liked Reaver. He liked her more than he expected to. His lonesome nature kept him at a distance, only watching her from the shadows. But that burden of yearning always inched him out of his hiding place. When she would talk to him, he’d openly smile and joke even behind his hood. And it had been quiet a long time since someone had shown him an ounce of humanity. Ever since he had joined the armed forces, he was met with coldness and cruelty— and he dished out the same behavior. 

He didn’t expect everyone to be a saint, and Reaver was far from that too, but she was kind. She didn’t treat him like a wild boar but she didn’t treat him like a fresh, pink piglet either. Those she kept special care of was those who couldn’t protect themselves, namely citizens and hostages. They were always her first priority. She was an angel of mercy and a reaper to those who seeked to do harm. He liked that about her. But it made him wonder if there was anyone to protect her…

She wasn’t as well versed in hand-to-hand combat like the rest of the operators, in fact, anyone would say she was shit at it. While she was good at keeping a distance away from the actual fighting, there had been moments where she had gotten caught up in the action. There was the time König had rescued her from an ambush. However, he had heard in passing of a incident of her getting caught while trying to secure highground. She was lucky to have had a knife on her but she cut open her palm in the fight. König could see her just flailing about, probably fighting for her life in a panic. It made him judge Aksel for putting her behind a sniper so soon and without proper self-defense training. 

But she proved to be a good shot and that was all Aksel cared about. 

The more he thought about it, the more he noticed his urge to just watch her and make sure she was safe. It didn’t feel fair that Reaver treated him like an adult and he wanted to treat her like a fawn on newborn legs. He just couldn’t help it. The want— no, need— to protect her was just always there. Could it be possible that he didn’t see her as a fellow operator? Did he think of her as just a citizen to guard? König sighed while he came to his senses. Maybe he’d never see her as an ally. Maybe his feelings for her, whatever they were, were just getting in the way. 

As he went to step away from the door, he heard Reaver gasp loudly. It almost startled him. It didn’t seem like she was scared at all, in fact, he couldn’t tell what she could be doing in there to bring out such a sound. He blinked as he thought of what it could be. Was there a spider in the shower with her? He didn’t get it… Until she gasped again. 

König’s face under his hood went rose red. It wasn’t a gasp. It was a moan. Reaver was pleasuring herself in the shower. It made him remember seeing her violet vibrator back on base. Did she bring it with her? He was too embarrassed to even look at it when he first saw it. If she brought it, that might mean she’d be using it. If she had it on base, that means she was desperate for some sort of relief here in the cabin. But what could have gotten her so worked up tonight? The lewd thoughts flooded his brain. Why was he overreacting? She was an adult woman with needs… and she was tending to those needs in the privacy of her shower. And he himself said: ‘do what you need to do’.  

The sudden realization of Reaver’s needs had König breaking out into a sweat. And it made him very aware of his own. He was a man with needs. He usually dealt with them when they appeared. König even used his sessions to ease any anxiety he might be feeling in the moment. The small burst of bliss usually distracted him from his ailments. Maybe Reaver was seeking the same? 

Ah. But the thoughts of her naked body underneath the hot water had him clenching his jaw. He wondered what her hands were busy with. Was she grasping her chest? Was she caressing her cunt? What was she thinking about? What could have elicited that amorous gasp from her? The possibilities of her dreaming of König was slim to none… but it still had him palming his cock. 

He had to stop. König snapped his hands to the side. He can’t go awarding his burden of yearning. But then he heard her back hit the tiles. The cabin was so quiet he could had heard her thinking possibly. But he had to check on her. The thud sounded loud. 

König knocked on the door, “Reaver, are you alright in there? I heard you gasp.”

There was a brief moment but it was minor enough to invoke worry in him. That millisecond long panic felt like an entire Final Destination death scene in his head. But she answered quick enough to keep him from barging into the bathroom to check on her.

“Y-Yeah, I’m okay! I just forgot to bring body wash!” She called out. That was a relief. Maybe she wasn’t even doing what König expected. It could be possible he was just projecting. He rolled his eyes at his own male nature. He did have a tendency to let his mind wander in the gutters. “If you have any, could you spare some?”

Yes. She had needs. She needed soap. And he had soap for her to use. It wasn’t anything fancy but there was enough to share. He just had to calm down. But he had to let her know that and he replied, “Yes.”

He heard her call out a ‘thank you’ but he was already away from the door. He retrieved the white bottle from his bag and then made it back to the door within a few seconds thanks to his long stride. But then there was the hurdle of getting the bottle directly to her. He wasn’t going to make her step out of the shower. Not in this cold weather. And it was possible that the water could freeze on the bathroom tiles and she could slip. 

“There you go worrying like always, König.” He growled to himself as he opened the bathroom door. Steam flowed into the hallway, warming the air around him. He stepped into the bathroom, seeing Reaver’s smaller body behind the frosted glass. He paused for a moment when he just saw her beautiful skin tone and nothing else. How would he had reacted if the glass was clear and he could see her in her full nakedness? He dared not to dwell on it. His eyes pointed up at the ceiling, “Here, I brought it to you so you didn’t have to step out of the shower.”

Then the glass door creaked open and her dripping wet hand slipped out. He gently placed the bottle of soap in her palm and she recoiled back into the warm waters. He stood there for a moment, his eyes looking for something else to find interest in. He caught her clothes on the floor. Mostly, he saw her black panties and sweats. Her sports bra was on the sink. Again, he was reminded of her nakedness. He had to leave before he had a fucking heart attack.

“You can just leave the bottle there, I’ll probably shower after you.” He said before he retreated back to the door. 

“Thank you, König.” She called out before he disappeared back into the hallway. 

He closed the door behind him, feeling odd relief in the chilly air away from the bathroom. The change in temperature rivaled that of his emotions. He had switched from trepidation to surrender, then to arousal and then back to straight up panic. That cup of coffee sounded like an miracle elixir to him and he hurried back to the kitchen. 

Now fully washed and dried, you walked out into the hallway with a towel on your damp hair. Your pajama bottoms did nothing to keep you warm but they were too soft and comfy to not wear. Its what you needed right now. You dropped your worn clothes into your duffel bag before you walked out of the bedroom. There was no way you were going to bed with wet hair. You knew you’d wake up with icicles on your head. You figured you’d sit by the fire and pat your hair dry. 

König was in the kitchen when you had walked into the living area. The smell of instant coffee was wafting through the air when you sat down on the throw carpet in front of the fireplace. You crossed your legs and pulled the towel off your hair. You heard König’s boots on the hardwood behind you while you wrung your hair out lightly with the towel. He lowered a cream-colored cup to the coffee table beside you. You glanced over your shoulder, seeing he had is own cup in his large hands. The decent sized drink looked like a dainty teacup between his fingers. 

“Made you a cup,” He explained while he took a seat on the couch. The springs and cloth creaked under his weight and you saw your reflections on the black screen of the television. 

“Thank you,” You said while you faced the fireplace. 

The guns he had been tinkering with were put away in their cases and stored for future use. Now, the living area was clean and cozy. It was just you, König and the warmth of the flames. One hand reached over for the hot cup while the other continued to work on drying your hair. The silence was comfortable once again, just like when you were reading and he was on his phone. The high worn feelings had been snuffed out with your little personal rendezvous in the shower. 

“Do you want to sit on the couch? You’re slouching there on the floor.” König spoke up. 

Your back straightened out with the information given to you, you always had a problem with posture. But you got to your feet, feeling the couch would be better in comfort. König scooted over as much as he could, he still took up most of the damn thing. His left leg crossed over his right knee, giving you enough room to squeeze in between him and the upholstered armrest. You pulled one of the throw pillows into your lap as you sat down. The couch was deadly comfortable. You could fall asleep here. 

“The guns are all working properly.” König said again, he was trying his best to make conversation. You might as well indulge him. 

You smiled as you brought the cup up to your lips. “That’s good to hear. I’d hate to have to complain to Aksel again.” You slowly took a sip of the coffee. It was the instant kind, just like at base. It was comforting to have something familiar in your hands… and next to you. König was warm… so warm. “Are you itching to use the guns?”

“Yes and no. Its something I’m used to but hopefully we don’t have any issues on this mission.” König mentioned. 

Your eye caught his hand moving to his hood. In your peripheral vision you saw him starting to turn to his right while his hand lifted his hood. You were courteous and you pretended to find interest in something to your left, giving him the privacy he deserved as he drank his coffee. You heard him sip his drink and then drop his hand again. 

You rolled your eyes as you thought about the mission, “I’m expecting a few issues.” Whether or not they involved your feelings with König was a completely different matter. “Stupid fucking AmTech is treating this like it isn’t that serious. Like, come on, why wouldn’t we take all the precautions?” Your voice raised and you felt your anger raise with it.

“Right…” 

“And I know that Angela woman read my fucking contract file. She was talking to me like I was some sort of delinquent with imposter syndrome. I know what I’m fucking doing when it comes to internet security.” You growled before you took a swig of your coffee like you were knocking back a cold beer. “Like who am I kidding, who hasn’t read my file?” 

“I haven’t.”

You turned, completely shocked. Your ignited anger was now waning as you stared at him. Your lip quivered as you searched for the joke in his eyes. But he was serious. “You… haven't? Its practically plastered for everyone to see.”

“It’s not my place.” König shrugged. “If you wanted to tell me, you would have shared it.”

“Uh, you—” You blushed but hid your discolored face behind your white cup. “You don’t have any… assumptions? Questions that you want answered?” 

König hummed aloud as he thought, “Maybe I do. None that involve your arrest however.” What could that possibly mean? 

“Okay, I’ll bite, what are your assumptions?” You asked curiously. 

He chuckled while he settled his cup in his lap, “Well. I assume that the chicken crossed the road to get to the other side. I assume the answer is yes. And no. I can only assume—”

“Very funny.” You deadpanned but you smiled nonetheless. Your eyes narrowed playfully, “And your questions, mister smartass?”

König snorted, “Is two plus two really four? Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? What is the true reason that hen crossed the road?”

“You said yourself: to get to the other side.” You pointed out.

“Ja, but that is just my assumption. It isn’t the definitive answer.” König swirled his coffee, “And I can’t make my assumptions about you. I wouldn’t want you to do the same to me.” 

Oh. 

“I’ve never assumed anything about you König.” You said softly. But you decided to brighten the mood, “Except for your height. You’re about, what, seven feet tall?”

He breathed a laugh, “Close. Six feet, ten inches.”

“Big man.” You chuckled before drinking down the last of your coffee. You held the empty cup in your hand. Then König silently asked for it. 

“I’ll wash that.” He said, not giving you much choice to hand it over. 

He got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. You heard him start to rinse out the cups and you decided it was time to hang up your towel to dry. You hurried into the bathroom and hung the towel over a bare handrail and then you made your way into the bedroom. The infuriating talk about AmTech and their tech-dog reminded you that you wanted to get a start on your decoy programs. You snatched up the black case that had the KorTac issued laptop inside and you rushed back to the living area. You were rushing back to get in front of the warm fire… but mostly you wanted to enjoy your partner’s presence more. 

While you set up the portable computer in your lap, König returned to the living room and took a seat next to you. He glanced at the loading screen and then to you.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to sleep?”

“Can’t now. Got to get this decoy up and running.” You shook your head as you opened your notepad. “I have to start off a list of probable websites a regular human would visit in their day to day life.”

“A regular human? You make it sound like you never browsed the web ever.” König looked at you as if you were growing two heads. 

“The websites I frequented before KorTac were not regular human friendly. Only the lowest of the low lurked there.” You said while your hand tapped on the trackpad to open a coding software. You typed in the basic stuff like a browser start up but then you blanked on what would come next.

“And what were you doing on those websites, Reaver?” König asked as he crossed his leg. 

Your fingers paused, “You want to know?” You turned slightly and you saw your partner nod. With a sigh, you prepared yourself. “Well, I cyber-stalked people I knew were doing stupid shit. Like… exploiting children. I’d see the filth, collect it, find out who they were and then I would fire it all off like a gun to ruin their lives.” Your hands resumed your coding, “I’ve gotten more pedophiles arrested than I can count. I can’t stand people who hurt others… especially kids.”

You typed on, not expecting König to say anything else. He said he wouldn’t question you or assume anything. Your breathing had become irregular. Remembering your past, before KorTac, still angered you. It was like you were teleported back to your empty apartment where you were alone all the time. You stuck yourself in front of that bright screen and subject yourself to the worst shit anyone could imagine. 

You figured that the next line in the code should be an irregular mouse pattern, like the decoy person didn’t know where they wanted to head first on the world wide web. Then you suggested to yourself that you could make more than one decoy. You could make it seem like more than one person was using the internet in this address. It was you and König here. A man and woman. Might as well put gender stereotypes on your artificially created internet user. 

“Fuck, I don’t know what to type.” You admitted as your hand rested at your sides. 

“What’s the objective to this decoy?” König asked. 

“I have to make this IP address look normal and that two people are using it. I’m just blanking if I want to make it a routine or irregular internet browser.” You groaned as you threw your head back, “Why am I blanking so hard.”

“YouTube. Twitter. National news websites. Internet shopping websites. Online recipes… need I go on?” König pulled out his phone, “Here I’ll go through my history. YouTube, obviously. Spotify. Porrrrrr…” He paused and you glanced at him. 

“Pour? Pour what?” You asked. His silence didn’t help you. And the way his eyes avoided yours also didn’t help. “Pour… pour…” And then you snorted, “Pour Some Sugar On Me by Def Leppard? Sexy song, König.” 

“N-No… it wasn’t that song. It was…” He tapped on his phone, deleted his history. “It was a website for… adults.” 

“Oh! PornHub?” You asked, your curious inflection did nothing but embarrass the big man more. “That’s a good idea. I can set up a scheduled adult time. I’ll just have the bot browse random videos for seven minutes and then switch to something else. Thank you, König.” 

You quickly coded in a timer for website changes. You’d fill in the exact web address later but you decided that this would be a late night adventure for your artificial friend. From the corner of your eye, you saw König slouching. You bit your lip, find humor in his bashfulness. He wasn’t so embarrassed when he was flirting with you earlier but now that he revealed his browsing history to you he was at a loss for words.

“W-Why seven minutes?” He pushed himself up.

“I don’t know.” Your next words were too easy. “That’s usually how long it takes me to blow a load.”

“Reaver…” 

König had dozed off, his head resting in his palm. His body had stiffened from sitting in one position for too long. The phone on his lap almost slid off his leg but he caught it before it hit the floor. He checked the time on the front screen. 1:30am. He didn’t know when he fell asleep but he needed to get to bed. 

When he went to stand, he felt a weight on his right arm. He turned and he saw Reaver curled up on the couch next to him. The laptop was still on but it was now sitting on the coffee table. Her coding software was filled and jumbled, a language he couldn’t really grasp. But it seemed liked she had gotten a lot of work done. 

Reaver’s feet were tucked under her legs and her face was pressed against his arm. Just like before. Just like when they were in the helicopter together. This was something that he wanted again, to have her next to him like this. It was so intimate and close. It was something he’s never had to himself. A personal closeness with another human other than the fleeting memories he had of his past. They were so long ago, they were faint ghosts in his memory. But this… he’d have engraved into his heart. 

Did he dare move? Did he want to move? His subtle movement had the woman curling up to him, her face snuggling into his sleeve. Her arms were crossed as she tried to keep her body warm. König sighed down at her. She seemed so at peace but he had to get her to her bed. He leaned over and closed the laptop, she can resume her work when she woke up. His arms slipped under her legs and around her back before he effortlessly lifted her off the loveseat. 

And there he carried her to the bedroom like a bride… 

He hesitated for a moment. He fought the urge to take her to his own bed, to share his warmth with her. But he decided against it and he laid her to rest on her own. If she wanted to join him ever, he’d never tell her no.

He just had to wait.

Chapter Text

Your eyes felt so heavy as you forced them open. Your body wanted to remain unconscious but the bitter cold was nipping at you. It stirred you awake even if you didn’t want it to. A small groan escaped you as you yanked a blanket closer to your face. When you felt around, you felt the undeniable evidence of a mattress under you. You were in bed. But you remembered dozing off on the couch in front of the fire… and right beside König. 

You remembered that he had fallen asleep before you. His head was in his palm while his arm rested on the side of the couch. The position had him breathing awkwardly and he would snort from time to time. It was quite cute really. You remembered setting your laptop down on the coffee table so you could open up something on your phone. It was your personal notes that you had with different HTML codes that weren’t so common and easy to forget, even for you. As you scrolled through the notes, you felt your eyelids lowering and lowering. And then you fell asleep. 

After that… you could only imagine König had carried you to your bed. 

His strong arms would have been effortlessly wrapped around you. You probably weighed nothing to him. And not to mentioned he settled you under your blankets to keep you warm. It honestly made you blush. The heat in your cheeks was the only thing warm about you right now. 

With your eyes now focused, you saw the darkness inside the bedroom. You shivered as you sat up. The bedroom door was left open and the light coming from the fireplace illuminated some of the hallway. However, you couldn’t really see around the room without turning on the light. You fell back on your pillow as your limbs curled closer to your core for warmth. It was so fucking cold. 

Your hand felt around under the blanket for your phone. You wanted to know what time it was but all you felt were the sheets and no phone. With a sigh, you knew it had to be in the living room on the couch. You debated if you wanted to crawl out of bed and go get it. Maybe the mystery of time was just an illusion and nothing was real. All that mattered was your eternal slumber and your dreams. You wish that was true. But you forced yourself up again. 

You threw your legs over the edge of the bed and stepped onto the cold, hardwood floor. Your legs were stiff and cold but you dragged on towards the light. As you entered the hallway, you saw that the bathroom light was on and the water was running in the shower. You blinked and wondered why that would be. But you remembered that König mentioned he was going to rinse off after you. 

The cold was starting to get to you and you booked it to the living room. There you saw the laptop resting on the coffee table like you had left it. But where was your phone? You stared down at the couch, seeing it wasn’t anywhere on top of the cushions. With a frown, you dug your hands in between them and your fingers found crumbs and other unpleasantries. You groaned while you forced your arm deeper under the cushions, going as far as elbow deep. You had to get on your knees just to reach that far. But still. Nothing.

You were too tired and cold to be dealing with this right now but you needed to get your cellular device. It held the knowledge of time in its little, rectangular form. Getting desperate now, you pressed your face to the carpet to search under the couch. Dust bunnies, you were in their private space. You turned your head and saw that your phone was under the coffee table. You nearly army crawled on the carpet and reached under the table. 

“Reaver?” A voice broke the silence. You jumped and your head bumped up against the wooden table. You groaned as you rubbed the spot on your hair. With a pained groan, you glowered in the direction of König… but you quickly hit your head again when you saw he was just in his sweats while he held a damp towel to his chest. You could see his toned hips and arms peeking out from behind the incredibly small towel. It did nothing to hide his body. He was in his hood still, you knew he’d never take it off. He chuckled, “Oh, sorry. Did I scare you?”

“N-No. I have the hiccups.” You lied as you crawled out from under the table. You kept your eyes away from him as you checked the time on your phone. It was barely three in the morning. Again, your schedule was out of whack. With a long sigh, you locked your screen. “Fuck… It’s too early.” You looked back at König when you heard him moving around. He had slipped his shirt back over his body, giving you a little more peace in your life. And then you got curious, “Were you planning to sleep at all?”

“Uh,” His eyes glanced to the side towards the bedroom, “I wasn’t feeling tired much but…” König breathed out through his nose, “No. I wasn’t.”

Something was bothering him.

“Have you tried laying in bed?” You asked as you patted the dust off your knees. You walked right by him and back into the bedroom. You knew your question would make him want to follow you. And you were right. His footsteps were right behind you. 

“No.” He admitted like a child caught.

You stopped right in front of your bed with König almost bumping right into you. He kept his distance, holding his boots in one hand and his towel in the other. You turned on your heel and stared up at him. By the way his eyes avoided yours, you could tell your closeness was making him nervous yet again. Giving him his peace like he did for you, you walked around until you were on the opposite side of your bed from him. You yanked back the covers and crawled underneath the cool sheets. They had lost your heat when you left. 

Your eyes gestured to the amalgamation of mattresses that was his bed. “Better get some shut eye. Forty winks at least, König.”

“I should go smother the fire first.” He said while he dropped his boots on the floor by his bed. 

You sat up, “You’re gonna put it out? Its cold as hell even with it burning.”

König looked at you like you were the child now. “Do you want the cabin to burn down? Leaving the fire going is dangerous.” His large hand patted the wooden wall, “The heater is on anyway.”

You frowned, “It isn’t enough.” But you surrendered. “Fine.”

…

The way she was pouting broke his heart. He knew that she was cold but leaving the fire to burn while they were sleeping was dangerous. König watched the way her head hit the pillow like a child ready to start a tantrum. He smiled under his hood at her. He walked back out into the hallway and back into the living room. 

The massive man knelt in front of the fireplace while grabbing a nearby poker. He separated the wood and embers, the flames desperately tried to cling to their source of fuel. It reminded him of his childhood. His mother always asked him to put out their fireplace when he was old enough. He liked watching the fires slowly flutter before they died. König scooped the ashes up and then dumped them over the remaining flame. The fire was out. 

Without the heat, the winter air was taking over. He knew that Reaver had to be shivering by now. König stood tall, the flame poker still gripped in his hand. He really, really wanted to suggest sleeping together to her. But he didn’t want to jump the gun so quickly— especially since he can’t really control himself around her. König couldn’t even imagine how he would act if they were skin to skin. 

He felt his stomach tying itself in knots as he thought about his shower. He had stroked himself dry, thinking of Reaver doing the exact same when she was alone. He thought about holding her body against his and giving her what she really deserved. He was a king but he’d serve. While it felt great, he couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty after. He was working himself up just by thinking about her. To have her against his body, sharing heat… He’d most likely die… Or do something he’d regret. 

But he wanted it so bad. 

The angel and devil were fighting on his shoulders. On one hand, he could suggest it to Reaver and see how she felt. It could be possible that she was thinking the same thing but wanted him to bring it up first. No, that can’t be it. She knew him. She knew he would never speak up first. Reaver knew he wasn’t planning on sleeping and she called him out on it. König could bring it up still, maybe she didn’t even think about it. Sometimes, she did let the obvious slip by her. Sharing body heat was basic survival. 

He decided. König was going to walk back into that room with the confidence of a king and suggest Reaver join him in his bed. He nodded to himself, the devil winning this round. He walked back into the room, the dark taking over his vision. His large hand found the light switch on the wall and he turned it on. 

“Reaver,” He started while he looked to where she was laying. 

His thoughts slowed down to a stop but his heart was still beating like a drum. Reaver was tucked under her blankets, slowly breathing with her eyes closed. She had fallen asleep. The poor girl was dog-tired. He could tell by the way she was still and undisturbed by the overhead light. His hand flipped off the switch, the room becoming black again. 

König walked over to his bed, feeling slightly defeated. His unused confidence now felt like a rejection in his heart. It was heavy. He’d be on this mattress alone for now. And as he pulled back the blankets, he looked back in Reaver’s direction once more. The thought of just stealing her and bringing her to his kingdom was there and loud. Beauty and the beast. He’d never want that. He wanted her to come to him on her own. 

As his body rested against the plushness of his bed, he stared up at the ceiling. His large hand felt the empty sides all around him. He never got cold easily but it felt like a tundra in his bed. No sign of life. This was his kingdom. So lonesome. So bare. He kept everyone out and no one dared to venture to the castle where they suspected a monster to reside. 

Again, he just had to wait for that brave, little thief to come waltzing up to his cold door. 

He’d feign slumber for now… until he had her home. 

The torrent you used to enter the restricted parts of the web were still functional. It was more than likely that the FBI had shut down these types of websites but they were probably using it themselves. You typed around in a web address, checking to see if an information sharing database was available to you. It was scarily simple to get hold of such information. And like magic, you were met with walls upon walls of text. 

It was going to be a long, long day today. You could sort through which address uses the most screen time but that wouldn’t guarantee that you’d find what you were looking for. It could mean you’d be going through some Russian’s anime wife history and see how depraved a human can be from reality. You weren’t looking forward to it at all but you needed to do it.

On the laptop next to you, you were occasionally tapping on YouTube videos to get the bot manually accustomed to a routine. It didn’t really follow a pattern but you’d let yourself tap on whatever garbage clickbait sounded the most insane like Top Ten Ways Kittens Can Improve Your Health. Who wouldn’t click on that? You were going to have to do this twice for each bot you wanted to program. It would have been easier to just mine BitCoin…

König was busy in a four-way call between AmTech, SpecGru and KorTac. A few of the fellow operators had reported suspicious activity around Moscow while SpecGru seized a suspiciously large shipment of iron going from the Canadian coast to Russia. The odd part was that the shipment was routing through the Pacific and around Japan. When SpecGru was denied an answer, a warrant to search was immediately put in place. 

Both you and König decided it would be better that he took the call while you did the web-work. He’d brief you after the meeting but he had been gone for two hours and time was ticking to the third. Your hands were starting to cramp between scrolling and clicking and your eyes were starting to strain. Your coffee cup was empty and you needed a desperate refill. 

Your heavy eyes glanced at the YouTube tab on your left, seeing a disembodied hand carry a kitten in front of the camera. The calico baby was mewling and purring as it was cupped in their palm gently. You smiled at it, suddenly hypnotized by the bland British woman listing facts about kittens. But you got up from your chair, your ass more than sore from sitting on it for more than three hours. Your day on the web had started long ago at six in the morning. It was currently eleven, just before noon and lunchtime. 

You only had an hour between you and König being alone in the server room together before he got the announcement from Aksel. Somehow, he was up before you and you didn’t even know if he slept. Now, he was sitting in the living room to keep the call from distracting you. You walked out into the living area, seeing König with his head in his hands while he listened to the phone call on speaker. You knew he had to be dying. With a snorty laugh, your presence was known to him. He looked over his shoulder at you and you gave him a finger gun wave. Your smirk told him you were glad you weren’t in his position. 

As you entered the kitchen, you walked over to the stove and placed your empty coffee cup on the counter. While you heated up some water, you overheard the conversation happening just a few feet away. It seemed to be getting closer and you were confused. You turned around and you saw König sitting at the dining table with his phone. His icy eyes narrowed at you, silently subjecting you to the same torture as him. You shook your head with a smile before you returned to the stove. The copper circle on the glass indicated that it was heating up and you went to pull out another mug from the cupboard. 

“We aren’t jumping to any conclusions here, are we?” An American voice sounded from the phone on the table. From their tone, you could tell that the call was starting to get heated. What was it with Americans and refusing to accept the help that they asked for?

“The evidence ‘s all there, Davidson. I dunno how else to spell it out for ya.” A British voice replied, sounding more calm and collected than the other man. 

“Price, we can’t go sending troops to Moscow just because you have a feeling. We know your history with Shepard but—”

“That’s exactly why, ain’t it? Ya ain’t wanna go shootin’ ya guns just in case this ain’t another betrayal, right?” John Price. You knew that name. He was mentioned here and there by the veteran KorTac operators. Apparently, he was burned a long time ago by one of his own. “Look, Davidson. Send a few of us in for a good look. In ‘n out.”

“KorTac is already stationed in Moscow.” Davidson immediately shut down his suggestion. 

And then you heard Aksel’s gruff voice. The familiar grunt had you looking over your shoulder to König. Both of you nodded, knowing what was to come. “If SpecGru wants to help out, we won’t turn them down. Price, there’s a steelworker factory where my operators are stationed. They said there’s been an influx of manpower. You think that’s where that iron was headed?”

“Aye,” Price answered back. “Davidson, ‘s all there. Make ya choice.”

“Fine… just keep it slim. We don’t need more than a few men there.”

The water began to boil on the stove and you were distracted from the conversation. You quickly poured the hot water into the two mugs on the counter, the steam rising up towards your fingers. You set down the now empty pot back on the stove and you moved to the pantry, grabbing some packets of instant coffee. Tearing both open with your hand, you dumped them individually into the mugs. A nearby spoon was used to swirl around the fine grounds until it was completely mixed into the hot water until it resembled coffee. 

You grabbed both cups and turned on your heel. While you pulled out a chair with your foot, you set one cup directly in front of König. His icy eyes glanced up at you, following you as you sat down. He waited for you to catch his stare before he nodded, giving you a silent thanks. You toasted your mug up before you took a cautious sip. It was still hot and it seared your top lip for a flash second. You slowly blew cool air into your cup before taking in a new sip. Perfect. 

But your face twisted into a scowl. It was so bitter. You set the cup down, defeated. It took you a moment to realize you still had an audience. König was staring at you while he held his cup. His eyes glanced at his drink before he put it down. One of his thick fingers muted himself on the call. 

“Everything alright?” He asked. 

“I need sugarrrrrrr.” You groaned. 

“There wasn’t any in our shipment?” He inquired while his large hands wrapped around his warm mug. 

König wasn’t wearing his gloves again and you got a good, long stare at his hands. His fingers were so thick and they tapped on the ceramic rhythmically. His knuckles were scarred and one looked bruised still. You knew what his hands could do. They were so deadly yet you wanted to lock your fingers with his. 

You shook your head, “Nope. No sugar for us.” You sighed while you toughened up to drink the bitter bean water. After you swallowed, you stared down at your reflection in the cup. “I’ve been thinking… maybe we should go into the city. We’ve got that card AmTech left us for whatever we wanted… and I’ve been dying for some chips.” 

“Already getting cabin fever?” König joked. 

“No but you’ll know when I’m crawling up the walls.” You chuckled, “I have to admit that being back on the unrestricted internet isn’t doing my eyes any good. Three hours of staring at the white screen… I’ll go blind before I find a lick of evidence.” 

König nodded, his attention going back to the call. The men on the other side were still talking amongst themselves. However, the call didn’t seem to be ending at all and he couldn’t just get up and leave. You knew you’d be stuck in the cabin for a little longer. 

“Have they even acknowledged you in the call?” You asked, your finger pointing to his phone laying flat on the table. 

“Nein…” He sounded annoyed. “I could have been absent this entire time. They’ve just been arguing about the stupid shipment of iron.” 

“Mad?” You teased with a smile. 

“You’re working all by yourself in the other room while I’m sitting around. It’s not fair.” He stood up, the chair scratching against the wooden floor. König turned around as he had his coffee in his hand. You knew he was turning around to drink and you sighed. You’ve finally seen his hands but you’d probably never see his face. With a single knock-back, he downed his coffee in one go. König walked to the sink and rinsed out his empty cup. “But, no, I’m not mad.”

“Don’t worry about it, König. I was taking a break anyway.” You reassured him. 

“Made any progress?” 

“Barely got a street worth of addresses scanned and ready for a deep-dive.” You groaned before you drank the last of your coffee. Standing up from your chair, you went to the sink and rinsed out your cup just like König. “I would like your help with my bot later when I can get you.”

“Ja, of course. Let me finish up with these guys and I’ll be there.”

It was two more hours before König rejoined you in the server room. You were in the zone typing up your report before you heard his boots on the hardwood. The heavy sound had taken you out of your mechanical mindset and you tore your eyes from the screen. He slouched against the door frame, taking a moment to himself. You couldn’t help but laugh. You were the one who was doing all the brain-wracking codes and you felt fine meanwhile your partner could barely keep his eyes open. You were so glad you weren’t the one to take the call. 

But you did feel a little bad for König.

“Anything to share with the class?” You joked while you went back to typing. There was some progress made with the first residential block in Salekhard. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. It was just normal people living their lives. 

“Unless you want me to brief you on how SpecGru is going to Moscow, nothing involving us was brought up. It’s like they don’t want anyone else to know we’re here.” He entered the room and took a step towards you, seeing the laptop open on your left. You had barely touched the bot program since you had taken your first break. It had auto-played into more cat videos. “This is what you needed help with?”

“Yes,” You smiled while you tapped on the trackpad and opened your coding software. A wall of numbers flew up the screen and König watched in awe as you knew just what to type. “I need you…” Your voice trailed off while you copy and pasted an address into the open browser. “To surf the web, my friend. Do literally whatever you want.”

“Das ist alles?” He asked with his hand slightly turning the laptop towards his direction. “This seems… like there’s more to it than just clicking on videos.” 

You watched as König used his middle and ring finger to direct the trackpad. He rubbed circles into the matte device before tapping gently. You wondered just how soft he could actually be. And then there was the way he was leaned over. His other hand was keeping him stable while planted on his leg. Your eyes raked down his body. He was so… large. The laptop looked like a children's toy compared to him while it barely fit in your lap. Your lip curled between your clenched teeth as you stared at his thick thighs. 

König then stood up straight and you were suddenly aware of his actual size. You had to crane your head up just to look at him. His hands rested on his hips while he stared down quizzically at you now. His intense eyes could have anyone running with their tail between their legs. But you braved the icy storm and stared directly into it. 

“Any guidelines I should follow?” He inquired while his glacial gaze moved to the laptop on the desk. 

“Well, you’re going to have to do it twice. And it might take you the rest of the day.” You admitted while you rolled your chair out. While leaning over to tap on the laptop keyboard, you pulled up your notes. “I have everything loosely listed here. I trust you can fill in the blanks.”

König picked up the laptop and held it closer to himself. As he scrolled through your notes, you took another opportunity to gawk at his body. He was wearing those khaki pants that did nothing to hide his form. They clung to his muscular legs and stretched at the widest points. Oh but then your eyes were drawn upward towards a suspiciously shaped lump in his somewhat tight pants. You are absolutely floored at what was right in front of you. You were eye level with his bulge… 

“Reaver,” His voice shocked you from your inappropriate staring. Your heart pounded in your chest while you faced your computer screen. Luckily, König still had his attention on the laptop. “You’re giving me too much power here.” 

You breathed a small laugh, “Ha, not up for it?” 

The day had come and went. However, you weren’t really aware of that fact because the sun never appeared. The server room had been lit with the overhead lighting since six in the morning. Now, it was nearing four but it felt later than it actually was. It’s like the Arctic cold had frozen time itself. 

But you pressed on through the day, keeping your eyes on your screen. Collecting only what you thought was necessary, you created separate files for each address you had come across. It was what you expected. It was just people living their lives. The translators König had installed helped a lot in your readings. Every website, unsurprisingly, was in Russian. You would have been lost without it. 

With a single press of a finger, your readings today were stored into the internal servers. They’d be there to pick apart if you ever needed to. As you watched the memory number climb higher and higher, you realized just how long this would actually take. With a population of 50,000 residents, you had only dug into twenty-five. The math ran through your head. The answer terrified you. If you had continued to work at the pace of today, it would take you two thousand days to thoroughly collect every resident’s information. That didn’t even include picking through anything suspicious or writing your reports for AmTech. 

It was one thing when you tracked a single pedophile for weeks but a whole population of people had you shaking. It made you second guess your abilities that landed you your position in the first place. You were on limited time and you had nothing to show for ten hours of work. The Russian government would be declaring war on the world before you’d know it. It all felt like a trap by your own brain. 

You stood up suddenly, making König glance up from the laptop. He was sitting across from you like usual with a few Russian YouTube videos playing on a low volume. Your hands raked through your loose hair. Clearly, he had seen you were stressed. He set aside his work to fully focus on you. 

“Reaver, is everything okay?” He asked warily. 

You began to pace around the room as the numbers haunted your head. You’d be here forever. You would fail your mission. You’d show KorTac just how useless you were. You’d be thrown back into prison without a second thought. You would be gone and forgotten. You didn’t even notice you were mumbling to yourself until you bumped right into König’s hard chest. Your eyes looked up at him, seeing him staring intently. His hand grabbed your shoulders. Very subtly, you saw his eyes crinkle. 

König chuckled, “Are you going to start climbing up the walls now?” His voice was soft but still had concern for you. It was grounding. You weren’t alone here. The warmth of his hands fell off your shoulders, but you still felt them. 

You couldn’t help but smile. “No, not yet.” You sighed and returned to your seat. Your fingers typed along your files, finding the correct formatting to show König what you had gathered today. “This is all I have.” 

König leaned over to check your screen. He hummed, “Wow. That’s a lot.” 

“It’s not enough. There’s a population of fifty thousand people in Salekhard and I’ve only managed to collect a total of twenty-five. I’m going at a snail’s pace.” You tried your best to keep calm but your frustration was clear in your tone. You practically banged on the keyboard as you closed the windows. “I just feel like I’m already failing.” 

“Failing? You’ve collected more information than the Americans have.” König reached over for the mouse, his arm looping around your body as he reopened your work for you. “Reaver, to me, you’re twenty-five steps ahead of everyone.” 

You stared at the files, seeing the lists of different Russian names and addresses before you. It still felt so overwhelming. The unfamiliar characters frightened you. But König was right. Even if you thought you didn’t make enough progress, it was still more than the Americans even attempted. 

“And need I remind you, mein Freund, that population isn’t the whole number. Think about it,” König’s voice was high and teasing. “You think a baby has an internet history? What about the elderly?” 

Oh, you felt so foolish. 

You did let the obvious slip by you sometimes. 

You breathed out a long sigh. Maybe the entire thing wasn’t impossible. It couldn’t be. You had König. You didn’t feel embarrassed when you noticed his arms circling you, one of his hands on the keyboard and the other on the mouse. You felt… protected. As you glanced up at him, you saw that he was already looking at you. This time… he didn’t tear his gaze from you immediately. Instead, he lingered and then parted ways. The massive man walked back over to the open laptop and sat down. 

You felt tired now. He had comforted you and you held back a yawn. You had to admit you didn’t sleep well at all with the cold, being in an unfamiliar setting and your already fucked sleeping habits. Your eyelids were so heavy like someone was forcing them down with their fingers. When you tried to type on your computer, you ended up missing the right keys and typed in gibberish. 

You stood up, “I’m gonna take a nap.”

König only hummed and you walked out of the room.

Chapter Text

Saturday December 10th, 2022:

I’ve decided to keep a journal while in Salekhard. Writing my thoughts seems somewhat calming. I used to do this when I was a teen and I remember it sort of working. I guess therapy did me some good. And this is totally different from the writings I do for AmTech. Which I need to get started on soon. They actually want everything I find. Right now, it’s nothing. I can’t stress enough how normal these addresses are. The weirdest thing I came across was some person frequently visiting a site called fruitbabes.com. I was too scared to dig further on the matter. 

Anyway, I’ve made more progress with tracking addresses. König is willing to help with the process. He’s also a fast learner which is great. We should be able to cover more ground with the two of us. I’m really happy to have him here. He finished up the bots’ browsing patterns and they’re currently working as intended. I have them on the job right now. Last time I checked on them, one was browsing a cooking blog and the other was watching sport clips. 

Coffee still needs sugar. I’m feeling just as bitter as my morning cup of Joe. We really do need to check around inside the city. 

Sunday December 11th, 2022:

It’s been three days of scouring for literally anything and every day we’ve come up dry. I’m starting to get really frustrated. Like are we getting pranked? Did the Americans know nothing was going on here? Did they just make up the government meeting here? I swear to God, if I don’t get anything soon I’m going to scream. 

I have no idea when the Russians’ last meeting was so I can’t really pinpoint when I think they’ll have another one. And not to mention, them meeting less frequently might mean their decisions might be made or they’re aware they’re being monitored. There’s so much to think about in so little time. I can’t shake the anxiousness off. I feel like I’ll be held accountable if this shit goes south. 

I think the lack of sugar is making me cranky. Also, I have not touched myself since the other night. It feels a little weird. Like König is right in the other room and I was almost caught. That also might be making me upset. 

Ugh! But the thrill of getting caught is… tempting. 

Monday December 12th, 2022: 

Today is the coldest it’s been since we got here. It’s fucking minus twenty degrees right now. I’m looking at the number at this very second. I’ve never been in weather this cold. I don’t even think American weather gets this cold. Unless you’re in fucking Montana! But who goes there?! Yeah I’ve seen snow and shit but this seems unholy. König said the lowest temperature in Austria was around twenty-two. That’s still cold but damn. The Arctic Circle is no fucking joke. 

Speaking of König, we’ve seemed to be talking less and less the more we have to work. We speak here and there but it’s been mostly silent. I get it. We’re busy. I even feel like writing in this journal is wasting time. But I’m typing this on my phone right before bed. I was lucky to find more blankets in the bathroom closet, I think I’d freeze without them. Meanwhile, I don’t know what König does when I’m turning in for the night. I always fall asleep before him. 

I miss talking to him. 

Tuesday December 13th, 2022:

We seem to have a routine going now. I get up at six am and work until five pm, taking a lunch when I feel hungry. König somehow gets up earlier than me and he finds the energy to work out with the dumbbells that are in the storage closet. I can hear him grunting and breathing hard and it’s… kinda distracting. Very distracting actually. After he’s done working out, he showers and then joins me in the server room. 

I wanted to talk to him but I couldn’t come up with anything to say. His efforts to talk to me first seemed to run dry. Maybe he’s feeling confined here with me and the silence is a way for him to unwind. It sucks but I get it. I just don’t want him to shut down on me completely. The cold is one thing. But being cold and alone is something I don’t think I can bear. 

Maybe I can make more of an effort tomorrow. He promised me a movie date night. I think we both need it. We’re being worked to the bone here. Like I know this is my job but this shit is maddening. It could easily turn into a Shining movie moment here. All work and no play makes Reaver a dull boy. 

You remained typing on your computer like always. You could hear König finishing up his workout in the living area. The dumbbells hit the wooden floor one last time as he finished his sets. He usually worked out for an hour and you’ve been watching the time. Then his shower would be another fifteen minutes after he put the weights away. You could hear him breathing hard, he had pushed it further this time. It made you wonder if he was getting used to his routine or if something was bothering him. 

Your plan was to talk to him when he came into the server room. You just wanted to hear his voice really. He’s been so silent. You ran it down a couple times in your head. You’d ask him how he was and then you’d suggest finding time to watch a movie. All it seemed you both did was work and sleep. It wasn’t healthy. And Aksel did say to enjoy the time away. It might not seem like it but you both had the easiest job compared to the other operators. You wanted to take advantage of that. 

His footsteps could be heard in the quiet cabin. You mentally followed him to the bedroom and then into the bathroom. With a steady breath, you laid out your plan to talk to him today. You were finishing up your report to AmTech. Tomorrow would mark a week since you’ve been in the cabin and started your mission. You remembered that you needed to file at least something to them, even if you had found really nothing substantial this whole time. 

They even said themselves they wanted everything.

You collected the analytics and zipped them into a compact file before attaching it to an email. You watched as a loading bar appeared on your screen while your computer processed the sizes of the files. While that was going, you pulled up a private window with your AmTech login you were given. The whole website was disguised as an internet provider’s webpage and a customer representative appeared in the bottom right hand corner. A message popped up as if it was a bot but you knew it was one of their agents. 

You typed a reply, letting them know your email was coming through. After a few minutes, the files were sent off and the representative asked you to hold. You leaned back in your chair, knowing it would take them a while to actually open the files. They were password locked with the keywords AmTech had specifically asked you to use. Your eyes felt so strained. Six days of staring at the same screen for so many hours had your eyes watering most of the day. As you went to wipe your eye with your sleeve, you saw that you have received a reply from the AmTech agent. 

All it said was: “Thank you for your feedback. Please refrain from continuing until you receive our corporate feedback email. We will be in touch.”

“So, I guess… I’m done for now?” You asked yourself while you closed up the windows of work. You really didn’t have the mental power to read anything else. Not to mention your eyes were really bothering you. You got up from your chair and walked to the kitchen. You figured that washing out your eye might do it some good. 

As you started the water to warm it up, you reached for a nearby dishtowel. You scooped up water into your hand and splashed it into your eyes. It felt refreshing and soothing. While you shut off the water, you began to pat yourself dry. You walked into the living area and then fell onto the couch cushions. Your back popped and you groaned, feeling the days of exhaustion pile on you. You threw your legs up on the armrest where they dangled off the side. 

The bathroom door opened but you remained on your back with the towel over your face. If you didn’t acknowledge König, maybe he would speak to you first. You weren’t usually slumped on the couch at eight in the morning. You were already running down the conversation in your head and where it could lead. His footsteps stopped in the hallway, you knew he saw you. You made an effort to kick your feet just for emphasis. 

But he said nothing and he entered the bedroom. Your heart took a nosedive. Was he ignoring you? 

König shut off the water and he stood in the middle of the shower. Droplets of water dripped off his body as he contemplated what he wanted. Again, it was another day in a row he has touched himself while fantasizing about his colleague. Everytime he did it, he felt so guilty. Post-nut clarity, it was a real thing and a total buzzkill. But his body had gotten used to it. He thought that working out would get rid of the feelings but it actually worked him up even more. He’d get sweaty and embarrassed and then crave a shower. 

He exited the tight space and he reached for his towel. As he dried himself off, he thought about Reaver. They hadn’t spoken much in the last two days, only saying good morning and goodnight. And he found that he wasn’t as confident as he was when they first arrived. It was just him longing from afar while he watched Reaver hard at work. It was like they were back on base again. 

He knew he had to snap out of it. He was getting really distracted. Yes, he was getting his work done. But internally he felt like he was stuck in a riptide. He’d glance up at her when he figured out what to talk about but he would lose it when he saw her typing like a madwoman. She tended to furrow her eyebrows when she was concentrating and it made her seem like she was angry. Then he would crawl back in his shell and get back to work. 

Its been almost a week and he knew that she needed to turn in her report to AmTech. She was probably even more busy today. He usually had his head in the game when it came to being on the field but here he was stuck inside. It wasn’t like he was going to be smashing heads anytime soon. He was feeling so antsy. 

König dressed himself and pulled his hood over his head. His hands rested on the sink while he leaned over. He slumped over the ceramic sink while his mind ran in circles. He hadn’t felt this way since he was a teen. It honestly seemed really silly to him. He thought he left that side of him behind a long time ago. Once you kill a person and see the light leave their eyes, you don’t really feel human anymore. Its like your own morality leaks out with their blood. 

But here he was like some lovesick kid hiding in the bathroom. 

He took a deep breath before he gathered himself. His icy eyes glanced up at his reflection. He saw his hulking body not even fit inside the rectangular glass. He had to remember the side of him who didn’t hesitate. Hesitation is the seed of defeat… and he never lost. König stood up straight. 

“Ich werde mit ihr reden. I’m going to talk to her. I’m going to talk to her.” He repeated to himself like a mantra. The massive man gathered his clothes and he left the bathroom. He was about to continue his reassuring words until he saw dangling legs hanging over the couch. Of course he knew it was Reaver, he recognized her double socks tucked over the sweats combo. 

And the very sight of her made him lose it all. 

He didn’t know what to do but his body moved right into the bedroom. 

You decided not to chase him. As you sulked on the couch, you braced yourself for another lonely workday. But your body didn’t move. Your legs stopped kicking and you felt so heavy. And so stupid. You weren’t some giggling schoolgirl, you never were. Why were you so invested in talking to him? You knew you had it bad but you never realized it would make you feel this way. When you set expectations for others, you only set yourself up for disappointment. 

You rolled to the side, your face pressed into the back cushions of the couch. You honestly could fall in between them just like a quarter and you’d be okay with it. You didn’t want to work. The only thing you wanted was some of König’s attention but he was doing his own thing. You, unsurprisingly, got a bit angry. Then you heard König’s heavy footsteps again. He was approaching. Panic set in. You quickly sat up and you saw him lingering in the hallway. 

“Reaver?” His voice was clear. 

“Ye-ack.” Your voice cracked but you played it off with a cough. “Yeah? What’s up, König?”

“Are you feeling alright?” He asked. 

You nodded for a second before you sat correctly on the couch. “I think I finished all my work for today. AmTech said not to continue until they get back to me.” You absentmindedly played with the hand towel in your palms while you looked at König, who had glanced at the server room and then back to you. 

“So… what now?” He crossed his arms while you thought about your next course of action.

You couldn’t really work any further on your surveillance. You barely had the energy for it anyway. This was your moment to say anything to him. To suggest anything. While you gazed around the room, your eyes landed on the television. You saw your reflection looking back at you. When you turned back to König, you saw that he was also looking at the television. 

“Wanna get some food and watch a movie? I’m kinda craving a break day.” You asked. 

König nodded, “Get a jacket.”

Chapter Text

“Can you drive in snow?” You asked while you sat in the front seat of the Hyundai. The seats were suede but were still cold even underneath all your layers. You did your best not to dress like you only had tactical gear packed but it couldn’t be helped. And the clothes kept you warm for the most part. König took the driver’s side. He had to adjust the seat since he was so tall. The seat slid all the way back with a loud clunk. The car rocked back with the force. You smiled when you saw that he still didn’t have enough room for himself. 

“Had to back home.” He answered while his focus was on the steering wheel. He fixed the height of it, the wheel resting right above his bent knees. “I have to admit I haven’t been behind the wheel in a few years.”

“That’s okay.” You said while you pulled out your phone. You tapped on the screen to pull up your GPS. “When and if it ever snowed, I always avoided driving in it. I’m a pretty bad driver to begin with. Don’t ask how many unpaid speeding tickets I have.”

König only laughed as he started the car. It roared alive with the engine running even in the sheer cold. You rubbed your hands together to keep warm. König reached over and turned on the heater for you before he sat back. You knew the car had to heat up before you could start moving. You went back to tapping on the Google map of Salekhard. As you zoomed in, you noticed that there wasn’t much in the city. But you saw that there was a small grocery store just on the first street. Perfect.

You showed your phone to König, “Look. I found a store. It’s not too far in the city so we can be in and out.”

He glanced at your screen, “Ja. I’d rather not be there longer than we need to.” He nodded and you pulled back your arm. “You know what you want to eat? Or are you still set on those chips?” 

You chuckled as you reached into your front pocket. When you yanked out your hand, you showed König the credit card between your fingers. “If I see anything good, I’m stocking up. AmTech is paying.”

The American Technologies group had been proving to be quite the assholes. Their members were constantly bickering with those working for them like everyone had some kind of unchecked complex. Maybe if they just let you run wild in your research, you wouldn’t be taking such massive breaks between submitting information to them. But you had to admit, the break was needed. And it got you to spend time with König. And if AmTech ever questioned you on the snack purchases, you’d just say it was necessary for reconnaissance. 

König rested his hands on the wheel again, “Sounds good. I think I want popcorn with our movie.” He said while he stepped on the pedal carefully. The car behind to move and you quickly put on your seatbelt. You looked down at your GPS, seeing it was mostly just a straight line from the cabin to the city. 

“Not a long drive.” You glanced out the window. Along the road were mostly powerlines, a few scattered signs and one billboard advertising fresh fish in Salekhard. There wasn’t another car to be seen. You turned back to your partner, seeing his icy blue eyes focused hot on the road. You shrugged, “And its pretty empty out here.”

König stepped on the gas a bit harder, “That’s a bad thing. We’re more likely to get noticed.” The vehicle picked up speed and you could hear the whipping wind outside the car. 

You frowned while you stared out the front windshield. He was right. Salekhard being as small as it is, locals would notice new faces. Especially if those faces didn’t speak Russian. You might even be compromising the mission just by leaving the cabin. You didn’t know how long it would have taken AmTech to get back to you and your submitted files. You could have an email waiting for you right now. 

However, you wanted to remain focused on the task in front of you.

Just like usual, the sun was hidden behind the gray clouds. But it was a clear day. The road looked as if it was snowplowed a few hours ago. The GPS said that the drive would be about seven minutes since there was no traffic. Your hand dropped into your lap. There was no need to give König directions since the city was clearly in the distance. 

Along the road, you noticed a long stretch of wooden fences. On long roadtrips, you’d stare out the window and patiently wait to see cows or horses. It would be the highlight of the whole trip. But you heard that Salekhard had reindeer. You’ve never seen one in real life and you were excited to try and spot one. It didn’t take long and you spotted brown specks in the distance. Your back slightly lifted off your seat as you watched them intently. As the vehicle drew closer, you saw the magnificent antlers forming on the shapeless splotches. And finally you saw a herd of reindeer inside an enclosure, lazily standing around with nowhere to go. 

“Oh, wow.” You said as they picked up their heads when the car drove by. You turned your head to get one last look at them before they were out of sight. You sighed, “They were so cute.”

“They taste good too.” König breathed a laugh. 

“You’ve eaten one?” You asked, sounding almost appalled. 

“Ja, when I was in Alaska actually. They had so much reindeer jerky on that base I was sick of it by day three.” He explained while he took his foot off the gas. You turned and you saw you were approaching the city. The buildings were so colorful among their white abyss. Each one was painted a full color. The Arctic Ocean to the north flowed through the city and under bridges like a welcomed guest. 

You stared out into the vast ocean before you, seeing just the tops of the frozen waters below. Your eyes narrowed, knowing that there could be a danger lurking just under the surface. While the citizens of Salekhard went about their daily lives, they could be possibly be doing it alongside a sunken submarine. You’ve never hacked into nautical machinery before but you might have to look into it soon. 

You stared down at your phone again, “Oh, we wanna take a left on this upcoming street.” You instructed and your partner changed lanes. The city seemed to be somewhat empty, there was only one man out shoveling snow off the sidewalk as of now. You had to remember it was earlier in the Wednesday morning and citizens might not be up yet or they were already tucked away at their jobs. As the car turned, you saw the small grocery store on the corner. You pointed, “Its that one there. Herbert’s Home and Pantry.” That’s what the translation on the map was, meanwhile the sign was completely in Russian. 

König pulled up to the sidewalk, parallel parking right in front of the shop. He turned off the car and took a moment to himself. As you were shoving your phone into your pocket, your peripheral vision caught him reaching for his hood. You turned slightly but not fully looking at him. König reluctantly pulled off his hood, revealing a black tactical mask underneath. He pulled his jacket hood over his head and yanked up the zipper as far as he could. You figured he took off his sniper hood to keep eyes off him. You also brought a privacy mask with you. It was better to look like normal visitors and not draw attention. Your usual mask and hood would certainly make the general public think a pint-sized reaper was walking around their city.

You exited the car, feeling the winter air attacking you as soon as you stepped out. While slipping the mask over the bottom half of your face, you stared up at the building before you. It was painted a bright green and was stationed right between a yellow clothing store and a hunting supplies shop painted in blue. You were shivering and shuffling through the snow towards the front entrance. The electric doors had posters taped to the front, advertising local news and sales within the city. But something caught your eye, a familiar shaped font. Luden’s Pharmaceuticals. Your eyes narrowed at it as the doors opened up when König stepped up. You followed behind him and you felt the warmer air greeting you. 

The inside of the shop seemed a lot smaller than it looked from the outside. The walls were painted jade green and had warm tones welcoming those who decided to visit. A sign in front had more of the same advertisements pasted on it. Your eyes zeroed in on the same American logo. You knew the green leaf and cursive anywhere. You quickly pulled out your phone and took a photo of the flier. It was completely in Russian and you’d have to translate it later. It might have been nothing but you knew American brands had no business here. 

“Privet!” You heard a voice call out. Quickly searching around, you saw an older man waving at you and König from behind a counter. He was wearing an apron over his thick sweater and a wool hat on his head. You waved back while König retrieved a basket. You hurried behind the massive man as he was already going down one of the ailes. 

“That must be Herbert.” You whispered to your partner. “He seems happy to have some customers.”

You gazed up at König, greedily taking in the sight of him without his hood. The black tactical clung to the shape of his face. His thick brows furrowed low as he gazed down at the shelves of food. The visible area around his eyes were clean but he still had black smears clinging underneath his long lashes. You couldn’t make out much but his nose was angled and a bit on the larger side. You couldn’t help but gawk, you might never see this much of him ever again. 

Your heart was pounding while you twildded your thumbs like an idiot. 

“Most likely.” König said back while reaching for a box on the tightly packed shelves. “I think we should just grab what we can and go. Being out too long can possibly spell out something bad.” 

You could tell that he was on edge. He was constantly looking around like he was about to be attacked. But he was right. The less time you spent outside the cabin the better. 

“Gotcha.” You split off and went into another aisle, picking up anything that peaked your interest. 

Most of the items were in Russian but you recognized some American brands among the stock. You paused for a moment, your phone burning in your pocket. Maybe it wasn’t unusual for Luden’s being sold in this market. If you can buy a bag of Lay’s you should be able to buy nasal spray too. You found flavored crackers and candied chocolate. You didn’t really care much for what the pictures looked like. But when you finally found the aisle with the chips that’s when you went hogwild. 

A wicked grin grew on your lips, “I have found you.”

You hurried and grabbed one of each flavor, some unknown to you but you wanted them anyway. You ended up with about five in your arms and another two pinched between your fingers. As you rushed back to König, you saw that the man you assumed was Herbert making his way over to you. He had a hand basket and a wide smile. 

“Vam nuzhna pomoshch?” He asked while opening up the basket for you. You panicked and stood there like a deer in headlights. Clearly, he was trying to assist you. But you stared back at him as if he was pointing a gun at you. 

“Uh, sorry! Australian! English!” You stammered in the most butchered Australian accent while gesturing to yourself. Your hands were full of snacks so it was mostly just your pinky pointed up. You glanced over at König who was already walking over to you and the older man. Both trained operators were letting their survival instincts show. You freeze while König reacts. 

Herbert blinked, “Oh. English.” He hummed while the thought. His tired eyes looked up at König, “English?”

“Deutsche. (German.)” He replied. 

The older man’s eyes brightened, “Deutsche? Ich auch. (Me too). Brauchst du Hilfe? (Do you need help?)” He asked, the sudden change in language surprised both you and your partner. 

You knew König had to be dreading this. You couldn’t help him either since you knew almost nothing when it came to German. König would have to do all the talking. He was fine when it came to interrogation, in fact his intimidating stature and knowledge of vital arteries helped him out a lot. But here, in a small grocery store, he would be the one cowering. 

“Ja. Danke. (Yes. Thank you.)” König thanked the older man. He took your collection of chips and began to put them into the basket Herbert was holding out for you. The older man smiled at you and then you reciprocated. He looked back at König who still seemed very uncomfortable. He was hiding it very well but you just knew.

“Was führt Sie nach Salechard? (What brings you to Salekhard?)” He asked while handing the now filled basket to your partner. 

König paused, “Uh…” He took a single glance down at you and your wide eyes. “Urlaub. (Vacation.)”  

Herbert nodded, “Das ist eine Menge Snacks. Planen Sie und Ihre Freundin, drinnen zu bleiben? (That is a lot of snacks. Are you and your girlfriend planning on staying inside?)” He asked while he gestured to you with his old hand. 

“J-Ja. (Y-Yes.)” König broke eye contact and looked behind the man. “Das wollen wir jetzt kaufen. (We want to buy this now.)”

“Ah, Folge mir. (Follow me.)” Herbert turned around and went back out the way he came. König nudged you forward and you followed the store owner to the ancient looking register at the front. Herbert took his spot behind the counter and your partner set down the two baskets. The old man began to slowly take out the items one by one. “Aufstocken ist gut. Mehr schnee heute nacht. (Stocking up is good. More snow tonight.)”

“Ja natürlich. (Yes, of course.)” König nodded. 

You had no idea what they were talking about but you could see your partner tapping his foot impatiently. Herbert was taking his time as he bagged your snacks. He continued to talk to König while he tapped on the register, each key making a hard clank. You saw the total appear in front of you and you pulled out the AmTech card. As you put it in the card machine, Herbert handed the bags off to König. The order processed and Herbert was still talking to König, who was giving very minimal replies. 

"Danke, Herbert. Haben Sie einen guten Tag. (Thanks, Herbert. Have a good day.)” König nodded his head respectfully to the older man before he gestured for you to make a move. You waved at Herbert and hurried for the front door. 

“Schöne Ferien. (Happy Holidays.)” The old man called out.

The chilling wind picked up outside, nearly blowing you away. You jogged to the car and you opened the back seat. König, with his long stride, caught up with you and placed the bags in the back. He reached over for your door and he opened it for you. You were caught off guard but you entered the somewhat warmer car. König closed your door where you were seated and he hurried to the driver’s side. He sat behind the wheel, slamming the door unintentionally. 

You rubbed your hands together, “So… you made a friend?” You joked. 

König scoffed as he started the car, “Sure.” He barely waited for the engine to heat up and he was pulling off from the curb. The streets were still empty but snow flurry was fluttering through the air and landing on the windshield. Your partner clunked the automatic gearshift back and reversed the car.

“What was he saying to you? Seemed mostly one-sided to me.”

Your partner drove in silence for a moment, his large hands gripping the steering wheel very tightly. König sighed, “He was just excited to have another German speaker to talk to. He said he moved to Salekhard for his wife. Learning Russian was hard but he never forgot German.” 

“Aw, that’s so sweet!” You crooned with your hands clasped over your heart. “Moving to a new and unfamiliar place can be so scary. But doing it for someone you love, ugh, gets me right here.” Your hands fisted into your thick jacket and you laughed.

“He also mentioned more snowfall was ahead of us and we should be careful.” König added. 

The car finally exited the small city, leaving all the colorful buildings behind. All that was left between you and the cabin was the long stretch of road. The reindeer you had spotted before had migrated closer to their barn and they were harder to see. The ride was quiet. All that could be heard was the soft song playing on the car radio. It was in Russian but it was soothing. The trip to the market, as stressful as it was, was a success. 

“Do you even know what you bought?” König asked while he looked down at your multiple bags of chips. He held one up in his hand, reading the front. The picture on the bag made him squint, “I think this is sardine and vinegar.” 

You popped out from behind the couch with VHS tapes in both hands. You frowned, “Sardines? Uh oh.” When you set the videos down, you got back on your feet and walked to the kitchen. You saw the assortment of snacks laid out on the table. König held out the supposed sardine bag out to you and you grabbed it. You saw the little, bug-eyes fish staring back at you. “Oh, fuck.” 

König laughed when you tossed the fishy bag back on the table. “What are the other ones?” He asked while glancing down at the rest. 

You reached for a different bag. It was green and at first glance it looked like sour cream and onions but it had a big pickle on the front. The second bag had mushrooms. The third was a pink bag and had a crab on it. The fourth bag was white and had a tray of… 

“Is this fucking caviar?” You asked while you stared at it. “What is it with Russians and fishy flavors?” 

“What flavors were you expecting?” König asked but you could hear something mocking in his tone. 

“I don’t know! Barbecue at least!” You groaned. “God, I’d kill for a bag of lemon and chile. Or cheddar and sour cream. Or a cool ranch. Or, fuck, even ketchup. God, I’d take even the abomination ones like coffee nut.” You sighed as you remembered all the chips you had ever tasted and liked. It seems like a lifetime ago now. You would always have a bag open on your desk when you were browsing the internet. 

“You Americans have such interesting flavors.” König mentioned. 

“What was popular in Austria?” You asked while you chose the pickle-flavor to be your first victim.

“Nothing too extreme. Just salt or paprika were the most popular flavors. Then there was the occasional barbecue on the shelf.” He explained. “What we really like is chocolate. You couldn’t turn a corner in a grocery store and not see chocolate.” 

“Oh, I think I grabbed some chocolate?” You said while your hand poked around on the table. You saw a bag that was decorated with bears and a display of a chocolate bar. You picked it up, feeling it had small chocolates inside. “I think this is it.” 

König reached for them, “I will have to try these. I haven’t had candy in so long.” 

“You mean you don’t partake in the copious amounts of skittles we have around base?” You joked, knowing you had a box of the cavity orbs looming in the pantry. 

“I do not like the taste of them… or the texture.” He admitted while he turned to the cupboards. He opened up the doors and stared into them. When he saw what he was looking for, his hand effortlessly lifted a round bowl out of the shelf. 

You sat down on one of the dinner table chairs, your eyes surveying more of the snacks. You really didn’t know what you picked up but it should last you a few weeks. You really were set if the mission dragged on any longer. König turned back around after he rinsed out the bowl he had taken from the shelf. His large hand moved around some bags until he found a disk-shaped aluminum fan. Your brows knitted as you tried to see what it was. When König tore away the protective wrappings, you saw that it was a traditional popcorn popper. He jiggled the case and you heard the kernels inside.

“Wow, I didn’t think they still made old school Jiffy pops.” You smiled.

König paused, his head cocking to the side a bit. “Old school?”

“Uh, like really old but in a cool way.” You explained, “Jiffy pop is hard to come by nowadays in America. Everyone loves their microwaves.”

“Oh. This is very common back home.” He said while shaking the unpopped popcorn. He turned back to the stove and started heating up the glass top. “Scheisse, will this even pop on a stove like this?”

“The fireplace is on if you really need a switch.” Your thumb gestured behind you to the living area. “Which reminds me, we need to pick something to watch.”

“So, we have a lot to choose from. Most of these are American classics…” You said while holding up the box for Dances With Wolves. You set it down and swapped it for the only horror movie on the shelf: John Carpenter’s The Thing. You stared down at the ominous silhouette on the cover and then up to König who was waiting patiently on the couch. You shrugged, “Do you like scary movies?” 

The coffee table had your snacks laid out in front of you with two cups of coffee brewed and waiting to be consumed. It had been a long time since you got to sit around and watch a movie. You had to admit you had taken the little things for granted before joining KorTac. This was nice. And you were sharing it all with König. 

The large man leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. You weren’t surprised when he put his mask back over his head. However, he was sticking his hand underneath to pop a buttery kernel in his mouth. You knew he had to have lowered the tactical mask under the hood. “To be honest, I barely watch movies. I don’t even know what I like.” He admitted with his hand reaching into his bowl of freshly popped popcorn. “Whatever you’d like to watch is fine with me.” 

You frowned, “That doesn’t make my decisions any easier.” You looked down at the scary movie again. 

“Okay,” König leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “Brief me on these movies.” 

You chuckled, “Brief? Okay. Well, The Thing is about researchers in Antarctica being hunted by a shapeshifter. It’s quite amazing for the special effects and elements of psychological horror.” You held up the movie to him before setting it on the coffee table. You turned around and reached for a new movie. There wasn’t any other title that got your attention other than Bambi. It has been years, maybe even decades, since you’ve seen it. You picked up the plastic case and you smiled down at the cartoon deer. You held it up for König, “And this one is about little Bambi freshly trotting through life as a fawn.” 

“Scheisse, very different movies to choose from.” He chuckled, “Okay. Which sounds more interesting to watch at…” His voice trailed off as he checked the time on his phone, “Noon. I thought it was around five.”

“I guess the ‘no sun’ weather is getting to you too, huh?” You joked, “It always feels later than it is. Except when its dead in the night when its pitch black around the cabin. That’s when I know its late as hell.” 

“Ja, it was the same in Alaska but those Americans had timers for everything.” He rolled his eyes, “It was hard to forget what time it was when shit rings on the hour.”

“You poor tortured soul,” You snorted, “That’s just how all of America is. My first job was working at a grocery store and every hour we’d have to step away from our stations to greet guests. I hated it.” 

“Sounds like hell.” He sat back against the couch, the cushions coddling him softly. “Out of the two,” His finger pointed to the movies in front of you. “Which would you say you’d recommend first to a new viewer.” 

Your hand lowered the Disney classic and your eyes narrowed at the horror film. Your eyes flickered up to the man on the couch, “Depends if the new viewer can handle some blood and guts.”

König scoffed, “I can handle more than that. Put the scary one on then.”

The isolated landscape of Antarctica mirrored that of your own lonely abode. The frozen wasteland blew the snow, obstructing the true danger beyond. It was just you and the man those thought was part monster. Under his ghoulish exterior was a gentle giant, only you knew this. And under that was a killer, a hunter, a machine. Everyone knew that. He was able to flip the switch between either. A trained soldier when he needed to be and a lurking colossus when he was alone. 

Why did he remind you so much of The Thing?

You stared wide-eyed at the screen as a grotesque scene played out. As you sat on the floor, you brought your legs closer to your body. You felt that if you didn’t something sinister would snatch you away into the darkness. The fireplace was the only thing lighting the direct area, the rest of the cabin was pitch black. König sat on the couch with the bowl of popcorn in his lap. He was giggling at some of the more insane kills and it seemed like he was enjoying the movie.

But you were terrified. 

The final scene of the movie illuminated the whole living area, bathing you in a fiery light. Your hand had been stuck inside your bag of chips since the first sighting of the monster and you barely moved after that. You didn’t remember the movie being that scary. You thought the 1982 grade of makeup would lessen some of the terror, like somehow it would cheese up some of the kills. But you were wrong. The makeup aged like wine. 

Maybe Bambi would have been a better choice tonight.

You even thought about suggesting a movie change to König. But when you heard him chuckling, you knew he was enjoying the movie. You couldn’t change it now. Not after you talked it up so much. The credits rolled and you heard a long sigh come from your partner. 

“Wow, unglaublich.” He laughed while he leaned forward to put his empty bowl on the table. “You were right, Reaver. That was pretty good.” 

Your eyes remained forward, staring at the scrolling names. You dared not to gaze around into the darkness surrounding you. “You think so?” You asked, your voice hitched a little at the end. “I remember it being a lot scarier.” You lied through your teeth. 

“Ja, some of the kills were… over the top. But… we’ve seen and done stuff that doesn’t compare to some makeup, yeah?” König snickered as he stood up. He gathered the trash from the table in his hands before he walked off to dispose of it. He flipped on the kitchen light and the dark areas were cleared of the evils you imagined were there. 

Your hand reached for your phone you had laying next to you. The time read 3:02. It was too early to go hide in the bedroom and you’d rather wait to shower. Oh, but the thought of standing over an open drain terrified you. It reminded you of the hole lurking just underneath the sink. Why the fuck was it there? Maybe you could rinse your mind with Bambi. But König was clearing the coffee table and putting food away. That meant he was done sitting around. 

You got off your ass and moved to the couch. You threw your arm over the backrest as you watched König rinse his bowl out in the sink. Your eyes lowered, seeing the cabinet near his boots. The hole under the sink was barely hidden and it was right before the side paneling of the cabin. Anything from outside could dig under the wall and enter the cabin from that cabinet. 

“H-Hey, König.” You covered your stutter with a fake cough, “There’s a big hole under the sink.” 

The large man turned off the water and patted his hands on his pants. “A hole?” He groaned as he lowered himself to a knee. Your eyes widened, realizing what he was gonna do. He was going to open it. You could just see the fucked up dog from the movie growling and snarling inside the hole before it attacked. König’s hand reached for the knob and he was about to open it before you protested. 

“Wait! Uh, its drafty under there… and I just got warm.” You lied, you were still freezing. “There’s just a big hole under the pipes and I was wondering if you knew what it was.” 

König remained silent for a moment but then he nodded, “Oh, yes. It’s just in case there is a leak in the pipes. They’re angled in a way where the water will drip into the hole and won’t freeze the sink.” He explained while he got back to his feet. 

“Oh,” You sighed. 

You could not sleep. It was impossible. The screams in the movie were a cacophony in your head, keeping you wide-eyed and awake. You stared at the ceiling. There was nothing else to look at. In fact, you feared to look elsewhere. But the utter blackness was warping your vision and all of a sudden you were seeing things in the dark. Things you knew weren’t there. 

Your hand discretely reached for your phone under the covers. König had turned in for the night around two hours after you did. You didn’t know what he did when you were asleep but that wasn’t your concern right now. You didn’t want the bright light to wake him. Even if your shitting the bed at that very moment, you’d rather not disturb him. You glanced down at your palm, seeing it was barely going to be ten o’clock. You had went to bed earlier than usual. And that was definitely because you were terrified and you’d rather not see the darkness take over the cabin when night came. 

But, obviously, that didn’t happen. 

Not to mention it seemed a lot colder than it was in the previous nights. You laid your phone on your chest when you heard König move on his mattress. Your head turned slowly, seeing the bedroom door was closed next to you. You were cold and couldn’t sleep. The idea to sit in front of the fireplace and wait till dawn appeared in your head. You could continue to fiddle on your phone while you let König sleep peacefully. 

And that’s what you decided. 

Your feet found the frozen floor while you wrapped your blankets around your shoulders for the journey to the living room. You tucked your phone into your waistband and then you reached for the doorknob. Your hand lightly turned the knob and slowly opened the door. There was enough room between the door and wall for you to slip out without opening the door all the way. The hallway was pitch black like it always was but you quickly switched on your flashlight on your phone. The whole hallway was illuminated and you hated that you jumped at the sight of the couch’s shadow being cast on the furthest wall.

You stepped into the cold living area, your double socked feet softly walking on the carpet in front of the fireplace. Your hand searched blindly on top of the wooden shelf while you shined the light behind you into the kitchen. It was empty, free of shapeshifting monsters. Your fingers found the matchbox and you quickly struck a small flame. Tossing the match into the fireplace, you heard the embers begin to eat away at the wood. For good measure, you stacked two more logs into the brick fireplace. You held your phone behind you while the fire grew. It crackled and then it was fully lit. 

You dropped your arm now that the fireplace was lighting up the whole living area and most of the kitchen. Your thumb tapped the flashlight off and then you sat on the carpet. You crossed your legs in front of you while you pulled the blanket over your back. Wrapping most of it around yourself, your body lolled to the side to where you were now laying on the carpet. Perfectly wrapped inside a cotton cocoon, you stared into the soothing flames. 

It really did bother you that you were so frightened over an 80’s horror movie. You knew there was nothing to be afraid of. There was no such thing as a shapeshifting alien that could take over your body and kill you from the inside out. It wasn’t even the grotesque imagery that scared you. You’ve done worse on the battlefield. 

Correction, you’ve seen König do worse. 

The part of the movie that really bothered you was when the human characters began to turn on each other. The mix of being isolated in unknown lands, danger lurking around every corner and the mania of miscommunication had them all scrambling for answers and someone to blame. It reminded you of your first time being on the field. You wanted so badly to forget. 

You’ve seen pictures and even videos of people dying online. However, you didn’t know those people. You didn’t hear their death cries. You didn’t have their blood staining your clothes. Your first mission had you mostly sitting back while your fellow operators raided a storage hold. To them, it was just another drug ring trying to bully a small town. But, to you, it was life or death. Not to mention that you had very little training on your sniper before that moment. 

You could still picture it, clear as a fresh painting. Your sniper was on your back while you followed the other operators into the storage facility after they tossed a smoke grenade inside. The KorTac operators stormed inside, shooting at any sign of movement. You were frozen by the door. The gunfire mixed with the smoke had you confused and frightened. You didn’t even see the man charging at you with a pistol. He pointed it at you and you stared down the barrel, waiting. The blood that splattered over your face wasn’t your own. Your eyes lowered to your hands, your finger was on the trigger. When did you even find the reaction time? The blood… so much of it. It was staining the man’s tan shirt. He wasn’t even geared up like you were. He was just another civilian. While he was on the wrong side of the law, he must have been doing it for a reason. 

Right?

You tried to convince yourself that you’d done good. That you’d get used to taking lives. But it was all a lie. It never got easier. In fact, you just felt it getting harder. The leaderboard of kills stacked higher and higher each day. You created it like it was a game. As you saw your own score rise, you felt the skeleton hands of your victims clawing at your boots. They were pulling you down. You hated killing people. 

And when you see König taking deranged pleasure in his job… you just want to hide. He sat on top of the leaderboard, obviously. He’s killed hundreds. It seemed to never get dull for him. He seemed to be inventing new ways to take lives. Breaking necks over his thigh, crushing heads in his palms, a flurry of bladed strikes. He did it all while letting his laughs get the better of him. His deadly precision and lack of self control on the field… it terrified you. 

König terrified you. 

But that was one side of him. The other side was a man who cherished his alone time. He was a man of little to no words. He kept to himself and acted as if he was just a shadow on the wall. That was the side you liked. You’d even go as far as trusting that side of him. That König had been nothing but considerate to you. That side of him overpowered the monster. A knight in black armor holding back the beast. 

You couldn’t be afraid of König. 

Not when he treated you so kindly…

You tucked your hands under your face while you felt your eyes beginning to flutter. Sleep was taking you back. The light crackles in the brick fireplace lulled you closer to slumber. A melody of soft destruction. As your eyelids closed, you could still see the bright light before you. It was so warm and comforting. Just like…

König sat up in his bed. It had been a while since Reaver left the bedroom. He figured that she had to be using that bathroom. But it had to be two hours since she left. He would have heard the shower if she chose to bathe and he would have heard the pipes. He tossed his blankets to the side when the thought of Reaver slipping in the bathroom appeared in his head. 

There he was panicking again. 

The cold chill of the night didn’t bother him. It couldn’t bother him. There was something on his mind. The little sniper wasn’t in bed and he needed to know where she was. He exited the bedroom and immediately saw that the fireplace had been lit. His anxiety eased just a little bit. 

He didn’t want to barge into the living room like he had been searching for her. So, he went into the bathroom and took a short piss. As he washed his hands, he thought of what to say to her. Was she restless? Was she working? Was she cold? It was barely about to strike midnight, she just had to be restless. 

König walked back out to the living room. And to his surprise, he saw Reaver bundled up and laying in front of the fireplace. She didn’t acknowledge his presence, he even made an effort to close the door roughly just to make noise. But she remained still. That was until her foot kicked out from under her blanket and dangerously drew closer to the open fire. 

She was sleeping in front of the fireplace. 

The large man walked over and got to one knee. He yanked her leg back by pinching her sweats. The sudden movement had her stirring in her sleep. König froze when he saw her eyes rolling behind her closed lids. She groaned while her arms unfolded out from under her. He paused, making sure she wasn’t going to move again. He knew he had to get her back to her bed. Sleeping next to the open fire was dangerous. His hand turned her face, feeling that the side that had been facing the fire was hotter than the one that wasn’t. She’d cook herself alive here. 

König began to sheath his arms under her blanket wrapped body, one arm under her back and the other under her knees. He slowly began to lift her up, trying his best not to move her too quickly. Before he could get off his own knee, Reaver groaned. She wriggled in his arms. Not feeling the hard surface underneath herself, her eyes opened up. She gazed down, seeing she was above the carpet. Her sleepy face turned and she locked eyes with König. And to his utter heartbreak, she gasped. When her body flailed, he set her down. 

Her instinct was to cover herself. She bundled the rest of the blanket closer to her face. Reaver stared up at him while König gave her a modest distance. 

“Reaver,” He started. Her eyes turned away. “You can’t sleep by the open fire. When I walked out, your foot was inches from the open flame.” 

She didn’t answer. 

Was she embarrassed? Embarrassed that she was caught like a child? She knew it was dangerous to sleep with a fire going. Any longer and the heat could have set her blanket on fire. And she was wrapped inside it tightly. 

“Were you cold?” König asked. 

Her tired eyes blinked slowly like she didn’t hear him. Yet, she looked up at him. A wounded puppy gazing up at him from the floor. The cold couldn’t be the only thing bothering her. It was her body closing up that alerted him of that. He’d rather not push on the matter. Stating the obvious could coax her out. It was cold, she was cold. That goes without saying.

“Yeah, I was freezing.” She finally answered. 

König sighed, feeling slightly relieved to hear her voice. It was fried and cracked, obvious exhaustion laced in her words. “Okay. We can get you warmer clothes and more blankets if you want.” He really didn’t want to bring up sleeping together just yet. If at all. “It’s only going to get colder the longer we stay.” 

Reaver nodded, “Yeah.” She sounded just so defeated. “It’s not just… the cold. It’s dark and the cabin is still unfamiliar to me. My mind was just restless tonight.” The massive man nodded, taking a moment to plan out his next move. Then he moved to the couch and sat on the soft cushions. Reaver’s brows knitted, confused. 

“If you want to sleep there, I can’t stop you. But I’ll have to watch you.” He announced. His large hand gestured for her to lay down but she remained sitting up. Her eyes bounced between him, the fire and the hallway leading to the bedroom. 

“You have to sleep too.” She rebutted. 

König shrugged like her words meant nothing. 

But that was far from the truth. 

“I’ll find the time.” He said, his leg crossing. “I just don’t need my partner catching fire.” 

Reaver began to get to her feet, bunching her blanket up to keep herself from tripping over it. She groaned when she stood at her full height. The hardwood floor must have been terribly uncomfortable to sleep on. She was silent, the wheels turning in her head. König hoped they were thinking the same thing. 

“I’ve been mulling it over but I think it might be inappropriate to ask…” She rolled her eyes, acting like her face wasn’t as hot as the fire. König’s stomach tightened in anticipation. He had to keep his leg from bouncing and he changed seating positions, resting both feet on the floor. “But maybe… I could wear one of your sweaters?” 

His heart fell into his stomach. 

“Ja, I have no issue with that. A-And its not inappropriate at all.” However, there was an issue. That wasn’t what he wanted to hear. His suspicions were correct, she let the obvious go over her head. Maybe he should just suggest it himself, take control. To take what he wanted. König got up from the couch, “I was also thinking of something…” 

There was no going back now. But the words weren’t coming out. It was like his mind was barricading his heart from going after what it needed. He just wanted her close. He’d never been comfortable in his own skin ever. But when he had her up against his body… he’d never felt so warm. He craved it. König craved her body in the least sexual way right now. He thought about their limbs intertwined and tangled. He thought about her head resting on his chest. He thought about how natural it felt to want her this way.

Reaver nodded, “Okay. And what were you thinking?” She was waiting. But he didn’t know how she would react to his answer. 

He breathed in slowly, “Well… Sharing body heat is one of the sure-fire ways to stay warm. And with the beds pushed together as they are… there is room for two.” König couldn’t look at her any longer. The more he talked the more he could see her facial features change. She was confused, then catching on, and then she was fidgeting as if she was uncomfortable. But he’s gone too far now, “I’m saying we can sleep in the same bed if you’re really that cold. I don’t mind at all.”

Reaver blinked, “O-Oh! I never even thought of it. I guess it is… basic survival skills 101.” She chuckled, “Do you want me sleeping with you?”

His heart. It couldn’t take it. Not with her words being laced with a laugh. In between the lines, he knew what she was suggesting. And he wanted that too. He wanted it so badly. But König’s want for an innocent touch heavily outweighed his burdened yearning. He’d be satisfied with touching himself for the next ten years if he could sleep next to her just once. 

“I said I don’t mind.” He repeated again. 

“I know… but do you want me to sleep with you.” There was no laugh. She was just as serious as him now. She knew that she would be in his personal space, something she apologized before when she slept on his shoulder. It was something she worried about but it never crossed his mind. König wanted her pushing the threshold, to throw caution to the wind like he was. 

People… like him… didn’t get close to others. He wanted to change that just for her. Just for a moment. Just in the moments where the sun was away and their only witness was the moon. Her curious eye would peek over the clouds, knowingly keeping watch. In the dark, where he liked to keep his heart, was safe. Reaver would be safe in his arms. 

König finally looked at her, his icy eyes taking in her smiling face. Saving it in his memory. Her hands were hidden under the blanket she clung to her chest. Her hair was messed up and tossed on one side from sleeping on the carpet. Her sweatshirt was slightly wrinkled and one leg on her pants was raised higher than the other. 

He nodded, “More than anything.” 

Reaver’s smile waned but never disappeared. Her gentle gaze wandered to the burning fire. “Sounds good. Um, I’ll put out the fire.” She turned away and took a step towards the fireplace. 

“I’ll do it. Go get comfortable,” He protested but kept his voice low as if this was all to be a secret. Reaver slowly backed away from the open flame, letting her partner to do the dirty work. He heard her soft footsteps fade as she entered the bedroom where she would be waiting for him. 

König got on one knee as he separated the wood from the fire and ashes. It was calming to him and the events to follow after their talk didn’t hit him yet. As he dumped the ashes over the remaining flames, it all came crashing down. Reaver was in his bed. Waiting for him to join her. She would be exactly where he wanted her for the last week. No, for the last couple years. Something that he’s only had in his mind would soon be a reality. 

“Verdammt…” He cursed under his breath when the darkness surrounded him. 

The time has come. König got up from his knee and slowly walked towards the hallway. His hand found the door and he pushed it open. The light from Reaver’s phone was his guide to her, a wisp in the dark night. She was on the other side of the room, on his bed. He followed the light, seeing that she laid on his bed just like him, slightly diagonally. She knew how he had to sleep. He was too tall for the bed even when they were pushed together. Her taking that into consideration made his heart flutter. 

His knee found the mattress and he braced himself. Reaver pulled the blankets aside, allowing him to join her. As he settled, she tossed them over his massive frame. König could hear his own heart beating and he feared that Reaver could hear it as well. If she did, she said nothing. She only shut off her phone, tucking it somewhere for later. She pulled one of his pillows under her head and sighed while she finally relaxed. König had to fight his own hands from immediately grabbing her. He wanted her snug against him, he wanted to feel every curve she had to offer. But Reaver remained about an inch from him. But to König it felt like ten miles. 

She giggled, breaking the wanton thoughts from his head. “Sorry if I like punch you in your sleep or something. I kinda sleep like a maniac.” He knew this. When he’d come to the room later in the night, her arms would be tangled under the pillow and her legs would be shaped into the number four. 

“Its fine.” He sighed, trying his best to get relaxed. Her back was towards him. He wanted more than this, “You can get closer if you want. I don’t mind.” His words mirrored his conversation before.

He felt her move slightly, he knew she had to be looking at him. “Do you want me to get closer?” 

Now, he was feeling bold. He had her right where he wanted her. She had been so compliant. Reaver was letting him push his own boundaries. That is what got him so confident to let his instincts go. 

A large hand found her waist, “More than anything.” 

Reaver scooted closer to him, their curves matching like puzzle pieces. His arm remained hooked around her body. He didn’t want to let her go. He feared she’d come to her senses and flee. But Reaver remained there as the seconds ticked into minutes. 

“Good night, König.” She whispered.

“Gute Nacht.”

There was something he needed to change right away. His free hand reached up for his hood. With a swift move, he tore it off and left him in the form-fitted tactical mask. He was getting too comfortable now. Too vulnerable. He knew this. His mask remained clutched in his hand, unable to let that side of him go just yet. 

There was really no going back now. 

Chapter Text

“More than anything,” König whispers to you. 

Your heart was already doing back flips since you laid in his bed. It smelled just like him, warm and musky with a touch of spice. A speakeasy in winter. There was a dip in the mattress from his heavy frame. The temperature under the blankets skyrocketed since he joined you under them. 

Now, his body was up against yours. You could feel his heart beating just as fast as yours. Obviously, neither of your intentions was to keep it professional. There was something between you two. His large hand found your waist and you instinctively rolled closer to him. His touch was molten hot even through your clothes. 

And the size of his hand compared to your hip made you very aware of how big König really was. He could easily snap you in half if he really wanted to. But he was treating you like a butterfly on his fingertips. There was nothing innocent about this touch. Professionalism was thrown out the window long before this. It was obvious to both of you what this was. It wasn’t just to keep warm. Sleeping in the same bed was just an excuse to finally touch each other. You would have done it long before that but you didn’t know how König felt. 

But now his fingers rubbed gentle circles, lifting up your sweater just enough for the cold air to meet your bare skin. He made no efforts to go any further. You had given him all the control tonight for his own sake. You would have never welcomed yourself into his bed without asking what he wanted. Yet, this is what he wanted. You even teased him at first, your own intentions clear and an obvious invitation. But König just held you. 

Maybe he wasn’t ready to push that boundary just yet. 

You smiled, “Goodnight König.”

“Gute Nacht.”

His calm voice beautifully replied to you in German. A language you had once thought was angry gibberish. But it was complex and beautiful, just like König. You melted into him. This couldn’t have been any better. You never even imagined this. It was quite possible König was thinking of it the entire time you were here. And you were so glad he had the courage to speak up. 

Then you felt him move in the darkness, his body slightly raising. Before you could ask him what was wrong, you heard fabric running against fabric. He wasn’t taking off any clothes and you still had all of yours on. The only thing he could have been removing was his hood. You tense slightly as he laid back down again, your suspicions correct when you didn’t feel his worn hood on the back of your neck. 

This was more raw and sensual than sex could have ever been. König without his mask might as well just be bare naked. And you’ve seen him while he was removing his shirt. His athletic body, firm and tight, was up against your back. He was hot as he was warm. Part of survival training mentions that removing layers of clothing helps warm the bodies faster. You knew that if you asked, König would do just that. His skin against your skin. The thought of it had your hips swiveling. It was difficult to not get aroused. The curve of your ass unintentionally rubbed up against his groin. 

His hardened reaction was almost immediate. 

His grip on your waist tightened, “Reaver…” His hot breath fanned in your ear, erupting goosebumps on your skin. 

“I’m sorry,” You breathed. Apologizing was a natural instinct but you knew you weren’t sorry. The hip swirl was intentional. His hard body was against you, the brain chemistry was overflowing. But his voice sounded strained. Maybe you were moving too fast. 

When you tried to create some distance, the massive man pulled you back. The force of his grip bumped you against his hard muscles. His hand held you up against him even closer than before. He flexed his wrist, imitating the motion you had made just a second ago. König audibly groaned, clear as day: “Do that again.” 

You slightly turned your head, his request throwing you for a loop. His clothed cheek brushed against your hairline. König was still flexing his wrist while his hips shuddered. It was like he was keeping himself from grinding into you. Your lip curled into a smile he couldn't see. You obliged, drawing out the rotation of your hips agonizingly slow. His arousal was evident on your lower back. 

König gasped while his hand held you impossibly still as he ground into you. His hard erection rubbed against your ass, begging for some sort of attention. His fingers dug into your soft flesh harshly, like a lion’s fang in its prey. You winced and his motions stopped immediately. Sitting up, his hand released you. The cold air wrapped around you now that König had removed himself. 

“Verzeihung, Reaver. That was… too much.” He apologized. “Did I hurt you?”

You sighed, your emotions leveling out. Your hand reached out for him, “No. You didn’t. It was the opposite really.” You tugged him to come back to you but he remained like a statue. 

“Are you… okay with this?” He asked. “Do you want this, Y/N?”

Now, you were the one who was frozen. You hadn’t been called by your real name in a long while. You had honestly forgotten what it sounded like on your ears. It reminded you that you were still a person, not the hired hacker. She was just one side of you. Just like how König had his monstrous side. Him calling you by your actual name and not your call-sign reminded you that you were making these choices with him, not just Reaver. 

You smiled while your fingers tugged on his sleeve, “More than anything.” 

König chuckled, “Don’t be a smartass.” He took his rightful place just beside you, slotting in perfectly. His strong arm wrapped around you, “I want it too… but I’m not prepared.” 

You flipped around, your chest now against his. “Sorry, am I moving too fast? We don’t have to do anything. If you’re not ready—” König silenced your rambling when he laughed again. 

“No, I mean I don’t have protection. Condoms. It wasn’t something I thought I’d need to bring…”

“Oh.” You blushed while you rested your head on the pillow under you. Then a light bulb appeared over your head. “So… you have condoms?”

“Not on me?” 

“I know that… but you own some. For use. You bought them for their intended use?” You poked him. Your hand then sprawled over his strong chest, feeling his fast heartbeat under your fingers. He was so nervous.

“I me-mean of course? Why?” When you just laughed and dropped in to snuggle against his neck. 

“Who were they? Are they part of KorTac?” You giggled. 

König sighed, “Now you’re moving too fast.”

“I can’t ask a sexual partner about their other hookups?”

“I… suppose you can.” König got up from his bed, his footsteps could be heard in the darkness. Then the bedroom light came on, the yellowish hue scaring away the night. You sat up, keeping the blankets snug against your cold body. You watched as König crossed his arms and he stood by the door. Your eyes took him in greedily. That tactical mask was doing things to you… as well as was his sweatpants. However, his eyes were landing everywhere but on you. “I’ve only been with one person and it was a long while ago. I don’t even know why I even stock up on condoms… I don’t let anyone…” He sighed again, “Nevermind. What about you?”

You held in your answer until he looked at you. 

“Only a few people. I only fuck those I like.” You got up from the bed, leaving the warmth of the blankets behind you. You lightly stepped over to the massive man who had his back against the hardwood door. It was just like a house cat cornering a big cowardly dog. However, your claws were put away— you only wanted to comfort König. You poked him, “And… I really like you, König.”

His icy eyes narrowed, “Why?” 

You tilted your head, “What’s not to like?” You smiled at him, trying to lighten the mood again. 

“Everything.” He said harshly but he caught himself, “Verzeihung, Y/N. I didn’t mean to snap at you… but that’s just who I am. Unpredictable, unhinged. That’s what everyone says about me behind my back.” 

You frowned, “Do I look like everyone?” 

König shook his head, “No… but they’re all correct. I can snap one day and I can hurt you. Don’t be reckless.” 

“I don’t believe that. You’d never hurt me.” You whispered while you stepped closer to him. You wrapped your arms around his waist, pulling him into a tight hug. “If you don’t trust yourself… at least trust me.” 

The massive man remained unmoved, his hands at his side. But then his arms wrapped around you and lifted you off the floor. You gasped as you glanced down and then at him. Your face was leveled with his. König carried you back to his bed. Your gut erupted with erratic butterflies. You held on to his shoulders as he lowered you down to the mattress. You were expecting him to take over your body, allowing his emotions to take hold. 

But he just sat next to you on the edge of the bed. 

He sighed, his hands resting on his knees. “Your flings. Tell me about them.” 

You blinked, slightly surprised. But you nodded, “Well. One was in high school and we were barely aware of what we were doing. Uh, another I met in college. He was a brother to one of my roommates. It only lasted for about a month. And the last guy I met online. He lived two states away and I traveled to meet him four times. The fourth time I found out he had a girlfriend and he was living with her the whole time.” 

König kept quiet. His fingers drummed on his knees while he took in your words. He turned his head  slightly, “Did you love them?” 

You weren’t expecting that to be his next question. But it made you think back on every boyfriend you’ve had. Your first was just hormonally infused infatuation that lasted only a semester. You didn’t even care when he broke up with you and moved onto the next girl the following week. No, you didn’t love that one. Your roommate’s brother wasn’t anything special either. He’d come over to visit his sister and crash on the couch. Your hookups with him were quick and fleeting, you never went on a real date. He was mostly a distraction from your stressful days of work, school and your internet scouring. 

But the third guy you actually had feelings for. You met him in an online video game. He friended you and then you both began talking until sparks flew. It was days and weeks of heated talking and swapping nudes until you decided to go see him. It was great… until his girlfriend busted into the hotel room you were staying in, getting caught after the act. With a broken heart, you left. Refusing to let anyone else have your heart or body. Years passed and you were more involved with work and school. 

And then your life changed forever. 

You gazed over at König, your hand reaching for his. You shook your head, “No. I didn’t love any of them. I don’t think I’ve ever been in love.” But as you stared at König, you wondered if that was the truth. “Now, tell me about yours.” 

To your surprise, König grasped your fingers. He held your much smaller hand delicately in his. His calloused thumb ran over your knuckles. “I met her in the army. We weren’t allowed to date so we snuck around. It wasn’t anything too romantic but it meant the world to me.” He sighed, sounding horribly defeated. His grasp tightened very slightly, “She was K.I.A.” 

You froze, reality of the world was setting in. People were here one day and then gone the next. A night could be filled with laughter and love and then sorrow and pain the following sunrise. You stared at König, seeing his icy eyes downcast on where your hand connected with his. You didn’t know what to say or even if you needed to. 

“Oh, König, I’m so sorry.” You whispered. 

The massive man shrugged, “Don’t be. We both expected something to happen. That just comes with the job…”

You leaned over, resting your head on his shoulder. As you stared at the bare wall, you wondered out loud: “Did you love her?”

“I never got the chance to.” He answered. “To be honest, I don’t think it would have worked out between us. And I don’t mean to speak ill of the dead but she didn’t treat me very well. She’d avoid me unless she wanted something, namely my body. I didn’t mind it at first since I was having sex but… she’d get up and leave before I could ever say anything.”

Your face shot up, utterly shocked with what you just heard. Your eyes tried to find his but he avoided your enraged expression. Dead or not, that kind of behavior infuriated you. Since he wasn’t going to look at you, you knelt down in front of him. Your expression pointed up, meeting his embarrassed eyes. He blushed visibly red even under his mask. His hands tried to pull you up but you remained unmoved on the floor.

“R-Reaver, get up. The floor is cold.” He did his best not to force you to your feet but he did eventually get you up. 

You stood in front of him, “You already know what I’m going to say.”

“I know… but you’re still going to say it either way.” He sighed, his face dropping. 

Your hands grabbed his face, resting on either side of his cheeks. “König, I’d never treat you like that. I think you’re amazing and cool. You’re funny when you want to be. And you’re so, so kind to me. I only want to treat you with the upmost respect like you do to me.” 

His hands grabbed your wrists, pulling your hands away from his face. “Y/N, you have to be sure… because I don’t think I’d be able to stop with you.”

“König, I want you.” You laughed, “Do I need to spell it out for you?”

Your chuckle was contagious, it made König breathe a laugh. “No, you don’t have to. But, I do have one condition,” He started, his hands moving from your wrists to your hips. The emotions had turned over once again. You smiled down at him.

“And what’s the condition?” You asked.

“No penetration… not until we get condoms.” 

Chapter Text

You felt hotter than you’ve ever felt before. Your fingers trembled as you touched König’s shoulders. He stared up at you, waiting for your confirmation before he continued. But his fingers couldn’t wait and they slipped into the waistband of your sweats. The small touch had you shivering. This was really happening. 

You nodded, “Okay, yeah. I’m okay with that.” 

He chuckled, “Just okay? Nothing you want to add?” 

Leaning forward, you lined your lips with his over his mask. “I do, actually.” 

Your hands shoved him forward, his body falling on the mattress and mess of blankets. Dazed and confused, König laid there for a moment before he gazed back at you. Before he could sit back up, you straddled his hips. His large hands found your thighs while you balanced yourself. He was so damn big that you needed to adjust while on his lap. As you coyly stared down at him, you rocked your hips. König’s head fell back, trying to hold back his moans. 

“You said you wanted me to do that again.” You smirked. 

You could feel König’s hard length resting right between your legs. His large hands tugged you, wanting you to continue your little movements. Mercifully, you did just that. You swiveled your hips back and forth, making an extra effort to grind against his erection. You planted your hands on his chest when you felt him rub against you in the right way. He was still holding back his moans but you let loose. You gazed down at him through half-lidded eyes, seeing how he was coming undone. His heavy breaths moved the fabric on his tactical mask. 

“König,” You whispered in between your own labored breathing. He lolled his head to the side, clearly lost. You couldn’t help but smile, you’d barely touched him and he was already like this. You grabbed his hands that were still holding on to your hips. He stared back at you blankly as he guided him towards your chest. You mewled, “König, touch me.” 

Now revitalized, the massive man did as he was asked. His palms and fingers grazed up and under your shirt, finding out quickly that you never wore a bra to bed. His hips bucked involuntarily, desperately wanting more than just this dry humping. König’s hands were cold, freezing even. Icicle fingertips caused goosebumps to rise on your skin and your nipples hardened. Cautiously, like he’d break you, the massive man under you lightly kneaded your breasts. You moaned while you slapped your hands over his, making him squeeze them harder. 

You gazed down at him still, seeing that such little actions had him arching his back. It filled you with pride to see a man his size coming undone. The joys of being a woman. You still worked on grinding on his clothed cock, feeling it get unbearably hot even through his sweats. König was muttering something in German as he threw back his head. 

“Tell me what you want, baby.” You cooed.

König groaned, his hands leaving your breasts and then finding your hips. He tugged you forward but you wanted him to use his words. Instead, you laid on his strong chest with your face coming closer to his. Your nose nuzzled against his jaw. 

“König, talk to me.” You encouraged. 

“B-Bitte, Y/N…” He gasped, his eyes avoiding yours. An obvious sign of his nervousness. He tugged on your sweats, “Sit on my face. I need to taste you.” 

That got your heart pounding and your cunt throbbing. You couldn’t help but chuckle as you sat up, giving his erection one firm grind. König sighed and then you noticed the first roadblock. Your hand reached up, caressing his chin. 

“Your mask…” You started while you felt the cotton over his hidden angled features. 

König was the one to laugh this time, “You really think you’d be able to keep your eyes open while I’m eating you out?” 

You nodded, feigning defeat. You raised enough from the bed to wiggle off your sweats. König’s greedy eyes gazed down at the sight of you in just your underwear, shirt and socks. You figured another thing had to go. You tore off your shirt while your partner was busy ogling a different part of you. Now on full display, you then moved to your black panties. Your fingers hooked under the waistband, pulling them down slowly as possible. 

“Didn’t take you for such a tease,” He grumbled, practically complaining. But who wouldn’t with a woman so beautiful on their lap. 

“Not sorry this time,” You stuck your tongue out at him before you gave in and removed your underwear. 

Now, you were fully naked in front of König. You didn’t really expect to ever be in this situation but you gave praise to whatever god was listening. The blistering cold had no effect on you now. The absolute heat of your lust set fire to the bed. And it looked like König was about to lose his mind. The agreement to no penetration was going to come back to haunt him. 

The absolute beauty of the woman on top of him had him screaming internally. She sat there plush yet statuesque on his marbled wanting. He couldn’t seem to keep his eyes on one place for too long. He wanted to take her all in. If there was an imperfection, König couldn’t find one. Even in the yellowish light of the bedroom, she was perfection. She was to be admired. 

This was more than he could ever have dreamed. Alone with her, bare and vulnerable. He could die happily knowing she’d show herself to him. That she wanted him just as much as he wanted her. But he knew he had to limit himself. Going too fast or too hard could scare her away. 

König knew his size was a double-edged sword. He could overpower any enemy and take them down with ease. But being delicate and intimate was something he’d never master. He could see the bruises he was leaving on Reaver’s skin from his hard grip. Visible marks of his unchecked strength. Another reason he’d need to slow down. Taking in deep breaths seemed to help but not when she was grinding her womanhood against him like she was. 

And his request to service her had him biting his lip, tearing into the flesh and tasting his own blood. He watched her settle her plush thighs on either side of his head, his icy eyes getting a view of the sweetest pie. Wading waters already visible on the inside of her legs. He did this to her and he couldn’t be more proud. She gasped when he hooked his arms around her lower half, giving her no time to adjust over his face. He just dove right in. With his mask still on, he ran his large nose over her clit. 

Slowly, he reached for the bottom side of his mask, lifting it only over his mouth. His stubbly facial hair prickled her soft skin and she giggled. König’s tongue set a starved pace, wetting her entire womanhood with long laps. The flat side eased from her entrance to her clitoris, pointing when he got to the sensitive nub. He could hear her gasping and moaning, music to his ears. He worked like a machine, ignoring the strain in his jaw. Her pleasured cries got him going. 

His large hands gripped her round ass, squeezing it as he ate her out. Her hips shuddered, only adding more fuel to the fires. König peeked up at her, seeing that Reaver was throwing her head back and grabbing her breasts. She was so fucking turned on. 

And she tasted so good. 

He could only imagine how she felt on his cock. Which reminded him that he was insatiable. The strain he was feeling on his lower half had him rolling his hips. His body just wanted to be inside Reaver, claiming her as his own. Under the influence of his own arousal, he began to sit up. It was an itch he just couldn’t scratch. Addicted already. Reaver has just a pretty body but König knew it could only feel better to mess it all up. Dripping like a sauna and heaving for air, he wanted to see her absolutely fucked. 

And he could do that. 

Reaver held on to König’s shoulders as he switched positions. He laid her on her back, his hands still firmly around her thighs. The thought to cover the lower-half of his face burned in his mind but Reaver’s eyes were fluttering shut. Her eyes rolled back while König hiked her legs up, almost pressing them against her chest. 

He buried his mouth in her again, assaulting her senses with his tongue and lewd growls. He was a beast starved. He did what came natural and flicked his tongue over her clit, earning a serenade from the woman under him. Every now and then, he’d pause to plunge his tongue directly into her. That got her writhing. Her fingers curled into the blankets as she growled too. A sound he never heard her make but he enjoyed nonetheless. It just showed how animalistic and primal this all was. 

König watched her chest rise and fall rapidly. She was on the edge but it was coming. She needed a good push. So, he slid his middle finger into her. The cry that fell out of her could have broke the sound barrier. He slowly curled his finger up, feeling the velvet love inside. He could feel her clenching and throbbing around his finger. She was almost sucking him in. König picked up the pace, setting it in stone. She was going to cum.

Reaver moaned, “Fuck! Yes!” He kept his tongue working  on her, flicking and swirling. “König… I’m c-cumming!” 

Her entire body rocked and rolled with each wave of exploding ecstasy. König kept his icy eyes on her while she pinched her nipples and arched her back. His arm held her in place while he didn’t stop his mouth. She flinched with each flick, crying. König sucked on her clit one last time, earning a vice grip on his finger. She shuddered when he finally pulled out. 

He rested on his elbows while he watched her. Under the warm light, he could see her breathing heavily. Her skin glistened in the afterglow. She was so fucking beautiful. König rested his cheek on her leg, feeling how the plush skin cushioned him. His face turned and his lips met her skin. 

Her thighs had to be one of his favorite parts of her body. She was beautiful, tens all across the board. But her legs were immaculate. He couldn’t help but stare when she walked around. He watched as the thickest parts touched the other and he wanted to be in between them so badly. And when she’d go for jogs around base and she wore shorts, he always felt his heart stop. 

“Verdammt, Y/N… I can’t get enough of these fucking thighs.” He growled, his teeth nipping at the soft flesh. 

Reaver rolled her hips, the fleeting pain added another layer to her comedown. Her body twitched while the last of her orgasm came and went. Then she went slack against the mattress. Yet, König still laid there kissing and biting her thighs. He didn’t even notice he was humping the edge of the bed until he went in for another lick on her drenched cunt. 

“Y/N…” He started, placing a kiss on her hip.

She breathed in slowly, “Yes, baby?” God, he loved that she called him that. Her hand reached out blindly for him and he gladly locked fingers with her. 

“Let me fuck them. Your thighs.” He was practically begging while humping the bed again. “Please… please.”

Reaver chuckled while she lightly squeezed her thighs around his head. That only made him want her more. She was teasing him even after what he had gifted her. If he had any less control, he would roll her over and fuck her into the mattress as a lesson in not toying with a beast. But her next words bewitched him, slaying the rabid beast with little effort.

“Fuck my thighs, babe. Cum all over me,” She moaned, her own lewd words worked her up again. “I need it.”

König didn’t need to hear anymore. He pulled his mask back down over his face before he sat up. Reaver remained patient and still while König crawled up and over her. He stared into her glassy eyes while he pulled his desperately hard cock out of his sweats. He was already slick with his own arousal, and it dripped from the cut tip. König pumped along his length with one hand while the other rested Reaver’s ankles on his chest. After a few fumbled and rushed adjustments, König’s cock was between Reaver’s pillow-like legs. 

He pressed them together, the soft flesh wrapping around his cock. Plush and warm, the feeling could push him over the edge at any second. But he slowly fucked into her thighs, making sure he enjoyed every second of it. 

It was his own fault for not bringing protection. Back on base, he contemplated for about ten minutes, holding the box of double large rubbers in his hand and in front of his packed bags. It was a last minute decision not to bring them. His own fantasies told him it would be possible to sleep with Reaver on the mission but his logical side told him not to. He had to stay focused. Now, he wanted to strangle that side of him. 

But all that was on his mind now was Reaver and the sweet noises she made. She yelped and squeezed her legs together when König’s tip brushed against her slit. He paused, feeling the same thing. He was throbbing and reddening but he caught a glimpse of the what could be. Reaver sighed while she focused on him. He wished he could get the image of her tattooed on his heart. She laid there with her hair spread over the blankets and her hands above her head. Her chest was heaving and her breasts were bare. 

“What’s wrong?” She asked.

“Nothing, I just…” König glanced down at his cock in between her legs. 

He removed himself from the warm flesh. He lined himself with her beautiful flower, the tip glossing over her lips. She writhed but dared not to egg him on with any other movement. König pushed his tip into the slick folds, finding not much resistance. Until he found her hole. She was so tight and he was so…

“So big…” Reaver cooed. 

König tested the waters, pressing just a little further. But when he saw her eyebrows knit together, he stopped. He knew what he wanted. And he knew that she wanted it too. But there were too many variables involved with this. However, the glaring issue was König knew he’d hurt her. He’d tear her as if she were made of paper. 

“Baby…” She started, her tone mimicking his like before. She was about to ask something dangerous. “König… fuck me.”

“That’s… not a good idea, Schatz.”  

“Schatz?” She asked, her mind was still on Earth but her body was elsewhere. Her glassy eyes remained glued to the ceiling. If just his tongue did this, König couldn’t imagine what a full session could do.

“Treasure.” He translated, “It means treasure.” 

Reaver then looked back at König, her eyes softening at the sight of him. Like he grounded her. Brought her back from the moon. She smiled sweetly, her legs wrapping around his hips. 

“That’s the cutest thing…” A temptress on the sheets. Siren eyes raking down his body. A banshee who sings. Reaver had König under her thumb. She’d just have to give the word. Luckily for him, she was an angel as much as she was a devil. “Okay, I’ll keep our agreement.” 

König’s eyes bounced between her eyes and her body. Slowly, he retreated from her pussy. She smiled up at him while she turned her legs back to the previous position, around his cock. König took a deep breath before he slid himself back between her luxurious legs. She giggled when he pressed his covered lips to her calf. 

He slowly fucked between her thighs, only picking up pace when he heard Reaver moan. He imagined what it would be like to be inside her. To be filling her up with his massive size… and then his cum. It was the most intimate yet carnal thing he could picture. He wanted to be inside her so badly. And with Reaver’s chants of fuck me, he just about met his end. König threw his head back, feeling that familiar pressure. It was right there, so close. 

Gazing down at her, König’s grip on her ankles tightened. He didn’t want this to end. He wanted to stay in this bubble of bliss, teetering on the edge while looking over it. The monster of a man huffed, haggard and labored. It was coming. It was coming. König angled himself to where his tip was pressed between Reaver’s thighs, giving it all the attention it needed. He gasped as the first burst of cum flew out of him. His eyes fluttered shut as each wave crashed. Reaver moaned and praised him. 

Opening his eyes, he saw the smaller woman’s stomach and chest covered in his seed. It spread over her body like splattered paint, artwork on his bedsheets. She sighed heavenly, her fingers reaching to poke at the cum on her breast. König couldn’t help but stare. She was just so fucking beautiful. 

“Mmm, there’s so much. Did it feel good?” She swiped up some of the pearled love. She tilted her finger, letting it drip back on her breast. 

“Here, let me get that…” He finally said while he got to his feet. 

He tucked himself back into his sweats while he walked to the bedroom door. König didn’t want to walk away from her but it was better to clean up the mess he made. He grabbed a towel from the bathroom and returned to the woman still laying on his bed. She turned her head and smiled at him. He knelt on the bed while he wiped the mess between her legs, hearing a few giggles from Reaver.

“Wow, what a gentleman.” She teased. 

“What kind of man doesn’t clean off his woman?” He shot back, only taking a second to catch what he said. 

“Oh?” Reaver laughed, “Your woman, huh? I thought I was your treasure.” She faked a pout as König wiped off her chest and stomach. 

He blushed, “Y-You are, Schatz.” König folded up the used towel, setting it off on the nightstand. He’ll dispose of it later. Now, he just wanted to be beside Reaver. She laid on top of the blankets like a spoiled cat just wanting attention… and he’d gladly give it to her. He sighed before he tugged on the sheets. “Let’s get into bed, yeah?” 

“Okay.” Reaver said while she rolled over, finding the edge of the bed. While König adjusted the blankets, Reaver found her discarded clothes. 

“Ah,” He tsked, “You don’t need those.” He was getting bold. She turned around with a cocked brow, surprised yet proud. 

“I’ll stay naked when you lose a few layers, baby.” She retorted. 

“And I’m your baby now?”

“Well, yeah.” She shrugged but her eyes became suddenly wicked. Reaver smirked, “Unless you prefer… daddy.” König froze, his hand clutching the sheets like the jaws of life. He stared at the woman with wide eyes, shocked at what he just heard. “Oh, did that one do it for you? Well, then get naked, daddy.” 

“Y/N, bitte…” He groaned while tossing the sheets open. “Get in bed, please.”

Reaver tossed her clothes on her own bed across the room before she strutted over to König. Her siren eyes watched him while she brushed by him. She placed one knee on the bed, obviously showing off her nude body. She was going to make him act up again. Yet, she still crawled underneath the blankets. She patted the empty spot next to her.

“You don’t have to undress if you don’t want to.” She reassured him. It was always his choice. Then she shivered, “In fact, brrr, it seems colder than it was before.”

“I’ll have to warm you up like I said I would,” König grinned under his mask before he reached for his shirt. 

He turned around for a moment and tore off his shirt. Somewhere along the way, he lost his sweats. And Reaver enjoyed the show. He laid right beside her, pulling the blankets over her. She snuggled against his bare body. 

“Ah, you’re so warm.” She cooed. Her cheek rested on his chest, “How was it?”

“Huh?”

“Your… orgasm.” She looked up at him, “Did it feel good? You came a lot.” 

He was on fire under his hood. Talking after sex wasn’t something he was used to. But he nodded, “More than good. H-How was your…” He didn’t even want to say the word. While in the heat of the moment he could say the nastiest things, just like when he was on the battlefield. But now he was having trouble just looking at her. 

“It was the best I’ve ever had.” She kissed his shoulder, bringing him out of his terror. “Thank you.” 

“Bitte sehr, I just want to give you what you deserve.” He whispered, his arm wrapping around her. 

“Then do I deserve you?” She asked.

“You deserve more than me, Y/N.” He felt her eyes on him, knowing she wanted to fight him on that. But they were both so tired. “But I’ll try.”

“Do you promise?”

He nodded, “I promise.”

Chapter Text

You woke up, slowly blinking. As your eyes adjusted, you saw mostly nothing. The room was shaded and not as dark, clearly it wasn’t the dead of night. The morning had come. You sighed while you closed your eyes again. You didn’t want to get up yet. Your body ached yet you felt so relaxed. 

The events of last night flooded back into your mind as you stared up at the ceiling. Your loins felt stiff when you tried to adjust your position. Then a heavy arm pulled you to your right. You turned slightly and saw König clutching you as if you were a teddy bear. He was still asleep… and naked. When he stirred in his sleep, you felt his bare body pressing up against yours. 

König breathed in slowly, exhaling just as slow. You took the silent and still moment to just look at him. His strong arms were wrapped around you, keeping you snug against him. The room was cold and you could feel it nipping at your exposed face. But König was like your own personal sun. Warm and inviting. You could bask in his presence for all of eternity. As you gazed down at his body, you saw scars littering his skin. He had a particularly thick and deep scar coming down from his shoulder down to his inner bicep. You stared at it, perspective coming into view. 

There wouldn’t be more moments like this. It’s not even guaranteed you’d see tomorrow. Not in your line of work. As your eyes narrowed at his scar, you theorized how he could have gotten it. Did he get it while on the battlefield? Could it have been during a particularly dangerous apprehension? Maybe he had gotten reckless with his own knife and cut himself? You couldn’t really tell. You wouldn’t understand unless you asked. But it could have been possible that König didn’t remember how he got that one. He has so many. Even you didn't remember how you got every imperfection on your body. 

But, you found yourself leaning over. Your lips pressed against the uneven skin on his shoulder. Whatever pain he went through, or would suffer through after this mission, you wanted to alleviate it all from him. If you could somehow be a sponge for his agony, you’d do it without question. But then an even darker thought clouded your mind. König’s last love affair ended tragically. In a world so unforgiving and cruel, the same thing could happen again. You could lose him, he could lose you… or you’d both just disappear. 

You felt your stomach churn but you pressed another kiss to his scar. And then you moved on to the next one. And then the next one. You were kissing every inch of his body, marking it all in memory. Pressing your cold face against his hot skin, you forced away the thoughts. The urge to cry was there. But it wasn’t something you’ve done in so long, you didn’t even know if you could do it. You knew you had to stay strong. How would König react if he found you crying the morning after what you both did? He’d never touch you again. And that was the last thing you wanted. His touch was what was grounding you. You were here now. You had time in a bottle as long as you didn’t leave the bedroom. 

König groaned, your movement stirred him awake. You kept your face pressed against his arm as he rolled onto his back. His large body rocked the bed, making the mattress feel as if it was floating on the ocean. You heard him yawn deep before he arched his back and his rested body popped. A moment of silence, you felt his tired eyes on you. You didn’t dare look up. You were afraid of what he’d see in your eyes. 

“Guten Morgen, meine Liebe.” He greeted you in a husky voice. His arm pulled you closer to him and you heard him chuckle. König’s face buried in your hair, rubbing his nose into the soft locks. He hummed low, “You were kissing me.”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you.” You whispered, your own voice heavy with fatigue. 

“I would have woken up either way.” His left hand caressed your face while the right hooked under your knee. He brought your leg over his hips. Your bare womanhood was dangerously close to his half-hard cock. His fingers tapped on your leg while they climbed up. König was silently watching you, keeping his grasp from where he wanted to be. He’d let you decide for now. He knows how much he put you through last night. 

“I don’t even know what time it is,” You admitted. “I didn’t want to check… Seeing it would just take my attention away from you.” 

König nodded, “I don’t want to be a, uh, what do you call it? Buzzkill? But we have a job to do, Schatz.”

You groaned, knowing he was right. It had been some time since AmTech’s last connection. It was very likely that you had some emails waiting for you in the other room. Then there was researching what Luden’s was doing in Salekhard. It was all piling up and you already felt yourself stressing. That is why you didn’t want to check the time. You just wanted to be next to König and forget about everything…

And that’s why love was dangerous in your line of work…

“I’ll make us some coffee then.” You sighed while you sat up, the blankets falling off your body. König sat up after you and watched as you retrieved your clothes from your side of the room. As you pulled on your sweats, you turned to him. “You’re going to work out, right? And then shower?”

“Ja. Routine, routine.” König sounded just as thrilled as you did. He rolled to his side, his hulking body was like a lion lazily resting on their rock. “And you’ll be on email duty, yes?” 

“Yeah,” You rolled your eyes. “Is it selfish that I just want to stay in bed for once… with you?”

König laughed sheepishly, “Can’t have too much of a good thing, Reaver.” 

It was back to callsigns. No name. Just your persona. You nodded as you turned your back on him to dress. You’ll admit to being hurt by his words. If he would have agreed with you, you could see the both of you wasting your day just wrapped up with each other. But, of course, he still held his professionalism above anything. There was a job to do. 

“But, uh, if you want…” König started and you paused, waiting for what he had to say. You glanced over your bare shoulder, your arms inside your sleeves. “After I work out… we can break some monotony in our routine…”

You smiled, “You’re not going to shower?” 

“No, well, yes.” He stood up, his hand unknowingly keeping the blanket over his private area. “I’m asking you to… I mean we would still be productive with… Verdammt… Reaver, we can…”

“Take it slow,” You eased him. 

He took in a deep breath. Even under his hood, which he had put on sometime in the night, he was hiding his eyes. Whatever he was trying to say to you was really putting him on edge. You turned to face him, holding your sweatshirt to your chest. You nodded for him to go on.

König exhaled slowly, “Reaver. Shower with me.”

Chapter Text

Your coffee was finished. The empty cup was sitting next to your keyboard, drippings of coffee dried to the white ceramic. Your botting programs were running. The volume of the videos it was watching was low enough to where the English language sounded unfamiliar to you. Your hands were on the keyboard but you couldn’t move. Fingers arched over the white keys but never touched the plastic. You focused on what was to come. The bright screen illuminated your wide eyes as you stared at the unopened email from AmTech. Like you had expected, they had gotten back to you quickly. In the other room, you could hear König working out. The weights hit the floor, alerting you to the end of his session. 

He was cleaning up the living room. Your eyes bounced to the clock at the bottom of the screen. Your anxiety had you hearing the time ticking by. The numbers changed faster than you expected. And suddenly there was silence. A man as huge as König shouldn’t be quiet. In a cabin this empty, you could have heard his breathing. But all you heard was the sound of your own rapid heartbeat. 

Your head slowly turned towards the doorway. It was empty but you saw a long shadow lingering on the wall. You knew it was König. Who else would it be? His request from earlier echoed in your mind: Shower with me.

You accepted. Obviously. While you wanted another intimate moment with him. He would be maskless. That piqued your interest. There was no way he was going to shower with the hood on. You turned back to the computer screen, your face feeling hot even in the below zero atmosphere. Then you heard his boots on the hardwood. There was a soft knock on the door to announce his presence. 

“Reaver,” He said calmly. You didn’t know how he was holding it together. You weren’t. As you turned, you saw that he was mostly hiding behind the doorframe. Only half of his non-face was visible. He cleared his throat, “I, uh, I’m going to s-shower.”

You nodded, “Okay. Let me check this email from AmTech and… I’ll meet you there.” You explained while your thumb gestured to the computer in front of you. His icy eye flickered to the screen and then back to you. 

“Affirmative. I’ll be… getting ready.” He said while backing away from view. 

Even after last night, you were both still apprehensive about seeing each other’s bodies. It might have been the security of the night. Being so accustomed to lingering in the darkness, confidence just happens. But, now, it was the morning. And the sun had the audacity to be out, making it just a bit too bright even with the clouded sky. The light peeked through a break in the curtain, letting you know the sun was watching. You couldn’t hide. 

You turned back to the emails you had been staring at for thirty minutes. You moved the mouse and clicked on the first and only email from AmTech. It took a second to fully load. A banner from the fake internet provider appeared first. Bright red with centered font of the name. The email started off professionally, greeting their loyal customer with an exclamation point. You clicked on the screen and dragged, the cursor copying all the text in the email. You did this mostly because you weren’t reading, just panicking from what you knew was coming. 

But you had to focus. 

You shook your shoulders and read the email. It was short and simple. And it didn’t need a second thought to decipher. 

“Hello! Your feedback on customer service is highly appreciated. Please continue to support us!” And that was it. You knew that it was a sign to continue your research. With a long sigh, you clicked off the screen and then shut off your computer. You would deal with the other work later. Right now, you had something else on your mind. 

You scooted your chair back and you stood up, your arms stretching over your head. While you walked to the doorway, you prayed silently that everything would go well. The small hallway was empty but the door to the bathroom was open. You slowly walked over and peeked around the corner, seeing König standing before the mirror. He was folding a towel over his arm before he caught you. He was silent for a moment. 

“Ready?” You asked, your voice high but unsure.

“Ja, I have clean towels for us.” He said while he patted the white towel. 

You walked forward, taking a cautious step into the tiled bathroom. König turned, letting you gather your confidence without an audience. He unzipped his sweater slowly while he looked into the mirror. You walked by him to get to the shower. You turned on the shower, the water spraying out and wetting your hand. You patted it dry on your shirt while you turned to your partner. 

“I like my showers really hot.” There was a double meaning in there somewhere but you didn’t care to find it. 

“That’s alright. I don’t mind.” König said while he removed his jacket and tossed it on the closed toilet seat. He turned to face you, his chest at your eye level. “However, I do have… one request.” 

“Anything.” You nodded, your hands lifting up to untie your hair. He crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes finding yours. You paused, seeing his eyes narrowing slightly. 

“I ask that you don’t look at me without my mask.” He was firm with his request but seemed unsure of how to stance himself. He fidgeted on his feet while he looked down at you. 

His calloused hand reached up and brushed your hair back over your shoulders. His fingers came up to cup your face but the ghost of his warmth ran away before you could find it. In his eyes, you saw he wanted to try with you but there was one thing holding him back. You came to the realization that you would have to keep your eyes on the tiles. Seeing König naked was one thing he could manage. But him without his hood… clearly he wasn’t ready for that. He slipped it on before you woke in the morning. 

The last thing you wanted to do was cross his boundaries or step on his toes. He was the only person you’d be with until the unforeseen future. You didn’t want to fuck it all up. You didn’t want him to think that he couldn’t trust you. You didn’t want him to hate you. You’d return the favor and do as he asked. Partners, for sure. 

You nodded, “I can do that.” 

He breathed a soft laugh, “I know you can.” His hands fell, finding the bottom hem of your sweatshirt. The glint in his eyes were suddenly mischievous, “Would you like to undress yourself or… should I?” 

You said nothing, only cocking your head to the side with a smirk. He didn’t need a verbal answer. König’s hands slipped under your sweatshirt, pulling it up and over your head in one move. You laughed when he caught sight of the no bra look again. To spare him a few seconds, you dropped your pants and stepped out of them. You flicked the waistband of your underwear up, snapping it against your soft skin. It sounded just like a whip in the confined bathroom… and it made the massive man jump. 

“Help me out here?” You teased.

“Gladly,” König’s eyes wrinkled, showing he was smiling underneath his hood. 

His large hands gripped your hips, pulling you closer to him. The steam from the hot shower was starting to heat up the bathroom. König hooked his fingers under your waistband and slowly pulled them down. He got down on one knee as your delicate clothing rolled down your legs. You gripped his shoulders as you stepped out of your underwear and he tossed them to the side. Then his hands ran up your legs as he got to his feet.

“Get in the shower.” He whispered barely loud enough to be heard over the rushing water. 

You nodded and left his grip. The water was hot enough to scald but that’s the way you liked it. However, for König’s sake, you turned down the heat just slightly. You soaked yourself in the water, feeling it run down your cold body. Through the frost glass door, you saw König start to undress himself. You bit your lip as you saw his obscured form remove layers of dark clothing. His shirt, his pants… and then finally his hood. You watched as he took a moment with the cloth in his hand before he set it on the counter behind him. 

“Okay, avert your eyes.” He warned. 

You turned and stared at the wall, seeing water droplets roll down the tiles. “Ready for you,” You said. 

The glass door opened and you felt him take up the empty space behind you. His body was up against yours and you felt just how excited he was just to be with you. The shower was a tight fit but you were surprised you had enough room to move your arms. König’s hands found your shoulders and he gently kneaded his fingers into your muscles. You giggled as you leaned your head back, laying flat against his chest. 

“Hi,” You laughed. Your hand reached up for his and you linked your fingers with his. The water rolled off your bodies and soaked your hair. 

“Hallo, Schatz.” He greeted back, his other arm wrapping around your waist. 

You did your best to keep your eyes forward but when a lock of brown hair fell on your shoulder your gaze flew to it. It was hard to ignore the clues leading to him, who he was. But, honor held it all, and you closed your eyes. You let him feel around your body as he pleased. A large hand slipped between your legs and you immediately spread them. 

There was no waiting. Obviously, very obvious as by the evidence pressing against your back would suggest, König wanted you. The hot water gave him a much needed assist when dipping his fingers inside you. His digits were so big. They had you grasping the wall in search for anything to hold. 

König’s thumb rubbed your clit with dangerous dexterity. You writhed in his grip, your hand landing on his thigh. You gasped, “B-Baby, yes!” 

Your hand that was on his leg reached around, finding his hard cock poking in your back. Gently, you tugged along his length. You heard him grunt and his hand jittered. Your touch just had that effect on him. 

“Du machst mich so geil (You turn me on).” He growled as he fucked into your hand. “I want to fuck you so bad.” 

“Baby, I want you too.” You breathed, your face turning to kiss the arm that was between your legs. It was dangerous to let such confessions flow on the wind. You knew this. König knew this. “Just let me touch you.”

Your hand ran up and down his cock with much help from the water running down your bodies. König slowed his bucking but every so often he was greedily getting his hips moving. You felt him twitching in your grip. There was no denying how turned on he was. But that didn’t take his attention away from you. The way his fingers were working your clit had your knees wobbling. Your end was near. 

“You like this?” You heard his husky voice in your ear. You nodded but that wasn’t enough for him. “This pussy is calling my name. But, please, tell me what you want me to do to you, Schatz.”

“F-Fuck,” You moaned. You rolled your hips at his words. He was dirty talking right in your fucking ear. The thoughts of what he could do to you outweighed what he should do to you. But dangerous words didn’t care. You whined, “I want you to fuck me against these fucking tiles! Fuck me until I’m crying! I want to feel you fill me up with cum, baby!” 

Your own words enchanted your body. A hex really. Your legs trembled as König stuck another finger inside you. He pumped relentlessly, claiming you as much as he could. As payback, you pumped him just as fast. He groaned into your crown, cursing in his native tongue. 

When he tried to stick a third finger inside you, that’s when you finally came undone. Your knees knocked together while your hands flew to grasp wherever you could. One hand found the wall and the other found König’s thigh. You cried out as the waves pushed through you. From the corner of your eye, you saw König’s cock throbbing. As you pushed through your own orgasm, you tugged his dick again. The feeling of you on him again sent him overboard. His seed shot out and hit the wall. You didn’t dare stop. His body rocked behind you and his breathing turned into growls. 

As the last of his orgasm came and went, you both stood in the aroused air. The shower washed away the sin but your hands remained on each other. You tilted your head back, finding peace in being against his body. This is where you wanted to be.

Maybe its where you needed to be. 

König huffed in air, seeing the mess he made run down the drain. With a short laugh, he said: “Lets get cleaned up.”

The air in the cabin was a lot less cold. Whatever had sparked between you and König heated up the entire place. Passing glances and faint touches kept things lively. You went back to work on your computer while he made dinner. He insisted in making something for you. He said that that was what his mother taught him— take care of the ones you cherished. It made you smile knowing that you were more than just a piece of ass to the Austrian man. 

As you typed, you could hear him in the distant kitchen. You found a link to a global positioning system that tracked digital hot spots. It took a bit of time to get the exact points in Salekhard but you had a rough area of the map. The usual had the highest points in activity: the residential areas and the local school. However, there was one very small spot that was just as high. You zoomed in and saw that this was the government building.

Your eyes widened. You had possibly had found the spot where the secret meetings had been taking place. Fingers quickly took screenshots of the map and analytics. A chart popped up when you clicked on the small red circle. A list of devices appeared before your eyes. You hit the fucking motherlode. You quickly downloaded whatever information you could wring out of the website. Your heart was beating fast as you saw the loading bar fly by with each download. 

As you secured the files, you clicked on the devices shown. European brand phones and laptops. That wasn’t surprising. However, what confused you was the spike in activity was happening later and later in the day. It would last only a few hours and then the charts would drop dramatically. So, that meant that there was indeed some sort of gathering happening in this part of the city.

You gazed around the area, seeing that the government center was near a few other establishments. There was no set separation between businesses. The only divide was between the homes, coastal side and business side. The river that flowed in from the ocean was the physical divide. You scrolled in as far as you could, trying to get some established name on any of the surrounding buildings. There was an office building, mostly dealing with taxes and the residential needs. However, beyond that was a restaurant and a bar. 

That was interesting. 

The chart on the website showed that the activity decline in the government building coincided with a rise in the bar. Whoever was attending the gathering in one building was migrating to another. The numbers weren’t exact. So, that could mean not every member was hanging around for a drink. 

It was a giant leap but this was the most activity you had seen. There wasn’t anyway you weren’t going to take a peek. You zipped the files into a password locked folder before you opened a new tab. As you typed up a new email to AmTech, you heard footsteps coming from the hallway. Your fingers clacked on the keys like a mad woman, letting AmTech know exactly what you came across. However, you left out the plan to physically check out the bar. 

König softly knocked on the door when you finished typing. You leaned back in your chair with a huff. You turned and saw him carrying a steaming cup. His eyes looked between you and your workstation, unsure if he should come forward. You smiled at him as you stood. You walked forward with your hand reaching out for his. 

“Is this a good time?” He asked, his eyes gesturing towards your computer. 

“I found something. Big.” You mentioned while you waved it off, “But… tell me what’s up, baby.” Your nickname for him made his hand clench yours. You liked that. 

“I finished making soup for us… canned vegetables was the best I could work with.” He offered you the warm cup, “Bitte, try it.” You took the cup from him, your hands carefully wrapping in the least hot parts. You brought it up to your nose and took in the aroma of salted vegetables and chicken broth. With a careful sip, you took in the warm soup made from hand. König watched you but then he blinked, “W-Wait… what do you mean you found something?”

You swallowed and you felt the food immediately fill your body. You didn’t even know you were hungry. As you walked back to your computer, you heard König right behind you. You sat down in your chair and with your free hand you clicked on the files you had downloaded.

“I might have found where these meetings are being held.” You stated after another quick sip. 

König blinked, “Was zum Teufel?” He pulled up a chair right next to you, “Could it be something different? What if its just a routine from the Salekhard citizens?”

“That’s possible.” You nodded while you pulled up a brand new tab in the global positioning website. Both you and your partner stared at the odd peak in numbers alongside a clear pattern of dates. You clicked on the latest date which was… “Two weeks ago. Do you see this?”

“Yes,” König said. “And there’s more back here.” There was a jump in weeks but the pattern was once a month. You both looked at each other, “The next gathering would be next week from what I’m seeing here.” His ungloved hand pointed back to the month before in November. 

“Holy shit, you’re right. I have to let AmTech… wait.” You paused. Your hands dropped from the keyboard. 

“What’s wrong?” König’s hand fell on your knee.

“AmTech is always telling me to wait for further instructions. But the next opening we have is next week.” You explained while you raised the cup to your mouth again. “They’re always apprehensive about new information. When I gave them a file full of nothing, they got back to me the next day. We can’t wait. This might be something.”

König nodded, “I’ll do whatever you need me to.”

Chapter Text

It was surprising that both you and König managed to keep your hands mostly to yourselves when night came. Maybe it was because the moment in the shower was enough for one day. Or you being able to find a lead on your mission snapped you both out of your lustful haze. One arm was draped over your hip and the other was tangled in your hair, holding you to his chest. Either way, you still slept in his bed that night. He was warm. So warm. 

However, you couldn’t help but wonder if he felt the domestic vibes during dinner. He had made you homemade soup with the ingredients available and it was divine. When it was all finished, you washed the dishes since he had cooked. He sat at the table clicking away at the laptop while you were wrist-deep in soapy water. As you stood there, you felt a sense of longing. 

You couldn’t help but imagine a life away from the danger, the gunfire, the death… In a warped reality, one where you found König, you’d be in a home on the countryside of Austria. The home was quiet and clean. Dinner had been eaten and leftovers put away. There was enough time left in the evening to watch some sitcom or game show. And then you’d look over your shoulder and see your König with a silver band around his finger. 

It was painful. 

You’d never have a chance at a normal life. You threw that all away even before joining KorTac. A poisoned mind and a hardened heart kept you from making meaningful connections in your former life. Distrustful and angry, you’d rather surround yourself with the filth on the internet than have a coffee date with someone. There’d be no white fence surrounding a single home. No evening walks down a dirt trail to your favorite spot in the fields. No kisses ‘just because’. No arms wrapped around you at night. 

All you had after this mission were longing stares and a mind full of ‘what if’s. 

The heavy thoughts from the night before lingered in the morning… and into the afternoon. As you typed away at the computer once again, your heart was weighing you down. You glanced up for a moment, catching sight of König working across the room. It was silent. It was probably peaceful to him but to you… you were aching. You yearned to just walk over to him and confess it all. 

However, you were sure that would scare him away.

You thought it would be best to ignore it and just get back to work. You tasked yourself with going through social media profiles of political figures. For some reason, they just loved to express their beliefs on the internet for the general public to see and mock. The translators you had installed on the computer was a big help. However, official names of certain people were jumbled messes of the English alphabet. So, tracking down who they could be would take an extra step. 

The map of Salekhard showed you the only place to get a drink was the pub you had spotted on your first look around. You figured you would have to go there yourself to really get a feel for the area. There shouldn’t be any surprises when you’d eventually sneak up on some government officials. You tapped on your desk, the sudden change in noise made König glance up at you. From under his hood, you saw his eyes analyzing you. 

“Something the matter?” He asked while his hands settled in front of him. 

You nodded, “Just more work that needs to be done.”

“You want to stop?” König stood up from his chair, his height taking over the entire room. Of course you felt small but now he was directing himself at you. A wolf cornering a hen. He circled around the desk, unintentionally stalking towards you. “If you need to…”

“I’m fine, really.” You sighed, your eyes returning to the map on your screen. König also looked at your work, seeing that you had a several tabs open for different mapped parts of Salekhard. He watched your hand click on the selected area, the bar. “We’re going to have to stop by here if we want a good lay of the land.”

König nodded, “I hate to admit that I am not much of a… pub enjoyer.” You figured that much.

“You won’t have to drink or even join me inside. I’ll go in alone and—”

“Absolutely not,” He interrupted you. König stood at his full height and crossed his arms over his chest, “A woman alone in a bar is bad news. What if… someone comes up to you and…”

You saw his chest heave as he took in a deep breath. It made you blush. With a little laugh you said, “Are you the jealous type, König.”

His icy eyes narrowed, “Only with things that are mine. My Schatz. No, I’ll go with you.”

Chapter Text

The time had come and you were preparing to venture out into the world again. The idea of the plan was simple: act like tourists and visit the bar. However, there was one giant wrench in the plan. Language barrier. You didn’t speak Russian and you didn’t expect the locals to be somehow fluent in English. So the question was will you act like a dumb tourist or will you quit now? 

There was only one clear answer. 

“I’ll just wing it…” You said to yourself while you hid a knife in the inner pocket of your jacket. You did your best to look casual and normal. That meant leaving a lot of your gear and your guns behind. 

Entering the living room where your partner sat, you saw that he was reassembling his pistols. The satisfying click always made your senses tingle. You looked down in your hands where you held two separate ear pieces. One for you and one for König. This was how you were going to communicate. You walked up to where you were standing beside him, one of your hands offering him an earpiece. 

You grinned, “You sure you don’t want to join me inside the bar?”

König slipped his pistol into his thigh holster before he took the small equipment from you. You heard him let out a single, shallow laugh. “Think of me as a designated driver.” 

“You think I’m gonna drink on the job?” You half-joked. It was to be expected at least. Who goes to a bar and doesn’t drink? You’ll have to partake in at least some vodka to blend in. Your partner shrugged while one hand slipped under his hood and adjusted his earpiece. You did the same, giving him his privacy and you stared at the fireplace. 

“I don’t think. I know.” He corrected. As König gathered more of his equipment he slowly started to make his way towards the door. “Get in the car, I’ll put out the fire.”

The outside of the bar was nothing to the eye, there were only a few signs to tell customers what the brown building was. Illuminated signs in Russian with clinking glass bottles. It was very obvious. You took one last look behind you, seeing König pull the car into the alley behind the bar. That’s where he will be hiding. Out of sight but definitely not out mind. There was some radio static when you stepped inside, König’s mic must be pressing up against the fabric of his mask. 

The main room of the bar had a thick smell of cigarettes in the air. It was enough to make your eyes water. You’ve walked through tear gas before this should be nothing more than child’s play. From what it seemed, the patrons had been cemented to their seats and they didn’t even look your way. There were only a few men at the bar and couple spread throughout the tables. Everyone had a place. So you had to find yours. 

That god-awful fake Australian accent had to come out again. 

You sat at the bar and then you pulled out your phone. Might as well look up a few simple translations while you waited for the bartender to notice you. He was currently preoccupied with serving a trio of men on the other end of the bar. From the looks of it, he might cut them off soon. They were slurring and hunching over the bar. You tapped again on your screen when you heard König’s voice in your ear:

“Are you settled, Reaver?” He was in go-mode. On the way here, he had his hand draped over your thigh as he drove along the lonely road. Now, it was time to focus. 

“Mhm,” You mumbled near the mic that was inside your coat collar. 

“I’m right behind the building if you need me. Take a hard right when you leave and you’ll see me.” He explained. 

You glanced around again, seeing that nothing looked out of the ordinary. It just seemed like people were living their normal lives. You really expected to see a group of men in nice suits huddled up in a corner discussing Russian politics. But that would make this outing too easy. 

“Gotcha,” You said, keeping your replies brief so you didn’t look like a lunatic talking to yourself. 

Just as you found an appropriate translation app on your phone, you saw that the bartender had noticed you. He walked over while he grabbed a cup and a dishrag. He greeted you in Russian and you faked a panicked expression. You tapped on your screen for a response. 

“Hello,” You said in your unbelievably forced Australian accent. The bartender’s eyes widened like he wasn’t expecting a non-Russian speaking customer tonight. You smiled at him while you ordered. “Rum and coke?”

He glanced around his workstation for a moment before he pulled out a bottle of rum and a Russian brand of cola. He looked at you with a confused expression before you nodded. The old bartender gave you a thumbs up as he went to fix your drink. 

“You have a group of men coming in. Be wary,” Warned König in your ear. 

You glanced up momentarily and you heard the door open. The group of men sauntered in while talking to each other. At the corner of your eye, you saw they wore expensive looking coats over slacks. There was no way those government officials were already here. You rushed to turn on a recorder on your phone to catch whatever they were discussing. 

The bartender placed your drink in front of you without another word. He probably wanted to avoid having to understand your English. Maybe your fake accent was really that grating on the ears. You drank the rum and soda while you watched the group of men from the corner of your eye. They sat in a booth parallel to your barstool. Their conversation seemed to be very jovial. Maybe they were just normal guys having a drink. 

That was until you caught some eyes. You didn’t see them looking at you but you could feel it. Their voices dropped while they spoke about you. You knocked back your drink to prepare for the worst. 

You turned away to speak into your mic, “They noticed me. They may approach.” 

“If you feel threatened, leave.” König instructed. “I’ll be here waiting for you.”

You remained silent and still. You weren’t sure how much time had passed but it must have been ten minutes. The ice in your drink had turned to water. There was nothing coming from König’s microphone and you had nothing to report to him. The bar was as normal as could be. Maybe there was nothing to see tonight. You glanced over your shoulder to the entrance door, seeing it made you want to leave. 

It was probably best to leave before you’re noticed.

As you turned back, you heard heavy shoes approaching you. There was a body suddenly sitting in the stool next to you. You turned and saw a middle aged man grinning at you. He wore a thick wool coat over his expensive looking silver suit and red tie. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and then tapped the box into his open palm. He spoke to you in Russian but you shook your head. The older man frowned for a moment, his wrinkled eyes studied you thoroughly. 

He popped a cigarette between his chapped lips, “American?” 

“Australia.” You corrected but he still stared at you with a furrowed brow. “Kangaroos? Great Barrier Reef?”

He snorted, “I know what Australia is… But why are you here?” His accent was heavy but you understood him clearly. You could smell the tobacco and whiskey on his breath as he spoke. He took a long drag before he said anything else. “No one comes to Arctic Circle.” 

“I’m touring obscure hotels. I’m just passing through to my next destination.” You smiled sweetly. That seemed to lessen his hostility. The magic of being a woman. 

“A pretty girl travels alone?” He asked, more intrigued by the mystery woman beside him. You knew König could hear all of this. 

“I’m meeting up with friends in Norway…” You answered. 

“That is a… long travel. Do you have place to stay tonight?” His old face moved in a little closer. You wanted to say yes. But maybe feeding into this scenario could give you some leads. This man looked important enough. You shook your head and the man took the bait. “I have hotel downtown. Please, join me. Pretty girls should not be out alone.” 

He stood up and offered you a hand. He tossed a few bills on the counter before he corralled you towards the door. The older man barked something at his jeering friends in Russian. Suddenly, the atmosphere became a lot colder. The way all their eyes preyed on you stripped away any confidence you had in this mission. You weren’t an operator at that moment. You were just a woman. That was something lesser to them. 

Out into the night, the snowfall had become heavy. You could barely see the road. Everything was blanketed in white. As you were staring out into the vast nothingness, a hand wrapped around your waist. The man leaned down and placed a sloppy kiss on your cheek. He was saying something to you in Russian… and by the way his voice growled… you guessed it was something nasty. You walked towards the alley but the man snatched your wrist. He was pulling you towards the opposite direction where you knew König was. It was time to do something drastic. 

You yanked your hand back. When the old man glared down at you, you winked at him. Your head gestured towards the alley while your hands began to unzip your sweater. If he didn’t understand the signs then he was an idiot. However, his gaze became predatory and he stalked behind you towards the alley. You could hear his shoes crunching the ice behind you. 

As you entered the nearly pitch black alleyway, you spotted your car. However, the driver was missing. You stared at the empty car with shattered confidence. Your hand reached for your mic and you pressed the button. 

“Where are you?” You asked with urgency, not caring if the man behind you could hear. 

But then said man snickered, “Right here.” His hands grabbed your arm and he yanked you forward. He pressed you up against the frozen brick wall before he hunched over you. 

His fingers entered your open jacket and over the pocket where you had your knife. That turned your operator-button back on and you were suddenly in survival mode. Your leg kicked up and your knee hit the older man in his lower gut. He growled a curse in his native tongue while he swiped at you. His palm slapped your face hard enough for you to hear a crack. 

You fell on the snow and coughed up what you assumed was a mixture of spit and blood. You couldn’t really tell since the alleyway was so dark. But you could taste the iron in your mouth. You suddenly heard another set of footsteps charging towards the scene. Your hand reached for your knife as the figure ran right by you. 

An unsettling yet familiar snarl echoed in the alley. 

The impossibly sized shadow was König and he was aiming right for the man that was just all over you. The power behind the slap you endured had your ears ringing but as they cleared up, you heard the unmistakable sound of fists crunching bones. You stood up and saw König’s hands mercilessly jabbing into the older man. 

You took a step forward and saw that the perpetrator wasn’t even putting up a fight. And then… you saw the pool of blood underneath the now lifeless body. Yet the monster above him still relentlessly pummeled him deeper into the ice. König was muttering something in German. But you knew he was saying every obscenity in the book. You just stood over him, realizing he wouldn’t stop until the man’s body resembled nothing but pulp. You had to do something. 

“König,” You whispered. The meek sound surprised you. Were you… terrified? Terrified of the man you let roam your body? Scared of the monster you let love you? “König.” You said again with more force. 

His head whipped around, “What.”  

His voice dropped with malice. You’d only seen this side of him… when he was on the battlefield. 

“He’s dead.” Your hand fell on your partner’s shoulder. “Stop, please.” 

The silence was deafening but König heeded your command. His massive hands dripped with hot blood. He clenched his fists and wrung them out. Neither of you moved. It might stir the monster again. 

“We have to dispose of this… a murder could compromise this mission.” König finally came to his senses. He stood up and pulled the body up by the collar. “Cover the blood up with snow. I’ll put this shit in the trunk.” 

You nodded while you watched your partner dump the dead body into the open trunk. He unceremoniously kicked the limbs into the open space before he slammed it shut. You turned around and kicked up snow over the blood. You piled it on until you couldn’t see anything resembling discoloration in the blanket of white. And surely the snowfall soon to come would cover the evidence up even more. 

You hurried to the car when the engines roared. You slammed the door shut and König sped off into the night. Again, the silence sliced through you like a knife. The mission was certainly in danger now. You both knew that. But… one question remained…

“Why weren’t you in the car when I walked out?” You asked more harshly than you intended. 

König said nothing but his gloves clenched around the wheel tightly. He stared out into the road, turning when he saw the exit of the town. The vast nothingness certainly didn’t calm you down. It was so dark. Only the headlights lit up some of the road. The night was engulfing everything. And you might have been next. 

The drive back to the cabin was cold and silent. Nothing had been said. The warm hand that once laid over your lap was now covered in dried blood. König felt miles away. You didn’t like it. When you both arrived back to the solemn safety of the wooden cabin, you both hurried out and then inside. 

You remained by the door while König went to start the fireplace. He pulled off his bloody gloves and tossed them away. The monster of a man sat on the couch and dropped his head into his hands. His fingers gripped the fabric of his hood like he was going to tear it off but he remembered you were behind him. He smoothed down the mask but ignored you. 

That… pissed you off. 

“Are you gonna answer me?” You spat. 

“Was, Reaver?” He snapped back. 

You stomped forward into the warm light of the fireplace. However, the feeling in the air was anything but warm. 

“You left your post! Where did you go?!” Your voice shook your body. Again, he wasn’t saying anything. He wasn’t even looking at you. You pulled off one of your gloves and you flung it at his face. “You left me! You said you’d be outside waiting for me! And you weren’t! Answer me, König!” 

Suddenly, König stood up. His body towered over you but he didn’t charge at you like you expected. He sighed, “This was a mistake.” 

Your eyes narrowed, “That’s not an answer to my question.” 

His head snapped up. “You want to know where I went? Fine.” His hands reached into his jacket and his fists tossed a box at you, just like you had thrown your gloves at him. 

You glared at him before you leaned down to pick up the box. It was a black square with Russian lettering but you did recognize the bolded XL on the front. Extra large. Your stomach began to crawl up into your mouth while you opened the box to confirm your suspicions. And just like you feared… There were foil covered rubber rings. You couldn’t help but laugh. 

“You left me alone… to buy condoms?” You sneered. 

König crossed his arms, “And flowers… but I dropped those in the alley.” 

You flung the box at him, “I can’t believe you! You compromised this mission. Fuck, you risked my own life! For what? Sex?!” 

“Hey!” His voice boomed. “Don’t act like this was just my fault, Y/N!” He sighed while he took a few steps away from the argument. “We have to remember who initiated all of this.” 

Unpredictable. Unhinged. I’ll hurt you. That’s what he warned you about. 

You scoffed, “You’re blaming me?” Your anger was burning in your throat and in your eyes. 

“Nien. I’m blaming the other girl who was rubbing her ass on my cock.” He said back sarcastically. I’ll hurt you. König threw his hands up, “I knew this was a bad idea.” 

“What? Abandoning your partner for condoms? No, it wasn’t a bad idea. It was a stupid idea.” You hissed. 

König’s icy eyes glared in your direction. His boots stomped towards you, the sound intimidated you but you stood your ground. You couldn’t fold after all that’s you’ve said. He stood before you and he leaned forward to where his eyes were leveled with yours. 

“No. Being here with you was a mistake. You caught me in a moment of weakness.” He spat venom at you and it burned your wounds. 

The man that was tenderly holding you, keeping you warm while whispering goodnight to you. The man who made you dinner. He was tearing that all away from you. This winter wonderland was just an illusion made by the moment of love. Love… is that what it was? 

“We stop whatever the fuck this is, right now.” He ordered. His finger gestured between the both of you. Then he pointed it accusingly at you, “You focus on your work…” 

All you heard was your heart tearing in two. An audible rip to your vulnerable soul. The lonely girl that was buried under your hard exterior, the one that König coaxed out, was shot in the fucking heart. I’ll hurt you. I’ll hurt you. I’ll hurt you. Why didn’t you listen? 

You stood there dumbfounded. But then your body moved on its own. You ran towards the bedroom. Your hands reached for whatever belonged to König and you flung it into the hallway. He rushed over and you threw his duffel bag right at his chest. Then a pillow. And then a blanket. 

You stood in the doorway, blocking him from coming into the bedroom. “And you stay the fuck away from me.” 

And then… you slammed the door. 

The wounded girl crawled up from your chest, her presence brought a dry sobbing. Fuck, when was the last time you cried? You pressed your hot face against the door as tears rolled down your cheeks. Empty. Nothing. That’s what you felt. You couldn’t stop crying. It got ugly. The poisonous words from moments ago just looped in your mind. 

Mistake. Stupid. Weakness. 

You fell into your bed and clutched the pillows to your body. You had to admit you did this to yourself. You fell for a monster. He warned you. He’d hurt you. And that’s just what he did. 

And as you cried into your pillow, you heard boots walking away from the closed door. 

Chapter Text

König wouldn’t say that he had a bad feeling about this outing but it didn’t feel right to leave the cabin tonight. It just felt like the night was a bit too dark and the air was far too cold. The radio had mentioned that a snowstorm was on the way. And… 

He was right. 

The monster of a man stared at the bedroom door that had just been slammed in his face. His duffel bag was in his arms, the zipper undone and dropping his belongings on the floor. At his feet was more of his stuff then his blanket and pillow. He wasn’t shocked… not with how he spoke to the woman who showed him nothing but respect. He accused her of seducing him like he didn’t jerk off to her daily. 

The woman he felt so deeply for was shutting him out. And he caused it all. He said things he didn’t mean. He knew he was projecting when he called everything they had done a ‘mistake’. It wasn’t a mistake at all. He been pining over Reaver for years. And now that he finally had her, he fucked it all up. 

He fucked up so badly. 

König didn’t even know if he could amend things things. Not after what he said to her. He immediately regretted everything. He just wanted to break down the door and plead with her. To explain everything. He couldn’t control himself. König knew nothing of being gentle or kind. He only knew how to kill and destroy. So many years of being behind enemy lines, running through open gunfire, and boots crushing bones… there was no room to love. 

He knew he shouldn’t have left his post. 

But as he sat there with his hand on her thigh, rubbing gentle circles over the fabric of her pants, his mind ran wild. He won’t use it as an excuse but the ten minutes of dead air on their mics made him foolish. He saw the convenience store and he was gone for no more than a minute before he heard voices on the other end. He had tossed money at the register before sprinting back to Reaver to find her fighting off an older man’s advances. 

He couldn’t help it. 

He saw red. Blood red. His body moved on its own and it ordered him to kill. König’s fists bludgeoned the perpetrator until he felt nothing but mushy flesh. He didn’t stop. He couldn’t stop. He had to protect Reaver. He had left her alone. He caused this. He. couldn’t. Stop.

And then he felt her soft voice. It was like his whole body reset. König stared at the body underneath him. The man wasn’t even armed. He was a civilian. The soldier knew that if this body was found their mission could fall apart. Again, he caused nothing but destruction. That’s all he seemed to be good for. He felt himself give orders to Reaver but he didn’t hear what he said. He just knew he had to dispose of the body. 

The ride back to the cabin was silent… but his mind was everywhere. He was panicking that the scene of the crime would be discovered. The snow would eventually melt and be stained red. He was overthinking of what to say to Reaver. But, again, he fucked it all up. So many things were falling out of place fast. 

And he didn’t know how to fix it.

His hand raised to knock on the closed bedroom door. König was about to call out for Reaver… until he heard her choke out a sob. Pained. Tortured. He made her fucking cry. The man who promised to be there for her… broke her in two. Her cries became muddled as she stepped away from the door. And he chose to leave her to calm down. He knew he needed to do the same.

König gathered his belongings and walked back to the living room. He tossed his stuff to the side while he fell on the small couch. His icy eyes stared into the fireplace as he tried to remember the moments before tonight. The moments where Reaver would kiss his cheek over his hood. When she would smile when she was given her morning coffee. To when he felt her warm body against his own. It was fleeting, it didn’t even seem like it happened when he really thought about it. He was so infatuated with Reaver, it all felt like a dream. 

He tossed his legs over the armrest of the couch, the poor furniture too small to really get him comfortable. The icy-eyed man stared up at the ceiling, replaying the events in his head. Over. and over. And over again. It was a horror movie with no end in sight. Even closing his eyes didn’t help silence the noise. With a long sigh, he got up and retrieved a laptop to do some work. 

You laid in bed, wondering how you were supposed to start another workday with what had happened last night. Should you just neglect your duties because you didn’t want to see König? What about when you needed to leave the room to use the bathroom? You needed to eat as well. But the thought of standing in the kitchen while you made breakfast for yourself felt like hell. The awkward air would suffocate you. So, you just pulled the covers back over your head for a moment longer. 

Five minutes.

Ten minutes. 

Thirty minutes.

A hour.

That seemed like enough time. 9am and you were still curled up under the sheets like a frightened child. You tossed them to the side and went to dress. You pulled your sweater over your head while you walked towards the door. It was still cold. It must have snowed last night. The chill was already making your bones ache. Maybe you could find something else to bundle up with. You glanced around the room and saw something hanging over the headrest of König’s empty bed. With a frown, you stomped over and tore the thing off to inspect it. It was his athletic jacket and it was huge. It would have fit you like a cape. 

You sighed while you balled it up and threw it on the mattress. 

As you entered the hallway, you quietly padded over to the bathroom door. Your ears picked up on König typing in the living room. He didn’t even want to work in the server room with you. That was understandable but it still ticked you off. Now the living area was off limits to you essentially. Your eyes narrowed at the man sitting on the couch as you reached for the doorknob on the bathroom door. 

And then his head turned. 

The short, three second long connection of your eyes felt like an eternity. A lifetime. His icy eyes were rimmed in red like he hadn’t slept. A pang of regret hit you. You kicked him out of your shred bedroom and he’s been forced to sleep on the couch smaller than your bed. But you were reminded immediately of what happened last night and those feelings were washed away. You opened the bathroom door while your eyes were still connected to König. 

He stood up, “Reaver, I—” 

And you slammed the door before he could say anything else.

It went exactly how he thought it would. She didn’t want to speak to him. She even stayed in the bedroom longer than she usually did. He was giving her the space to work in the server room. But he was so big he might as well be everywhere all at once. The cabin seemed to be shrinking. 

It was quiet. Too quite. The voices were assaulting König again. He had to do something about this. Or else he might lose Reaver forever.

Chapter Text

Another day was coming to an end and you’d avoided König successfully in the small cabin. You’d weave into the kitchen when he used the bathroom and you’d gather what you needed for the day. By day three, you had started to ache for his cooking. As you typed away on your computer, you could smell warm soup bubbling on the stove. You did your best to ignore it and stuff more fry crackers into your mouth and swallow hours-old coffee. 

By day four, you’d seen missing posters of the man who was at the bar with you… the same man who was brutally mauled to death by an Austrian giant. You stared at the news article, the translator application said he was indeed an important figure in Moscow. In fact, he was an ambassador linking trades to other countries. That had your brain thinking. 

You typed into your stored files, finding the calendar for the suspected meetings. And just as you feared, the suspected date was approaching. However, with an ambassador missing you weren’t sure if they’d meet. Maybe they feared they were being picked off one by one. When really it was a deadly accident thanks to you and your partner. 

There were three more days left. Or you’d have to wait another two weeks for an opening. Time was running thin. And with you not on speaking terms with König made things a lot harder. Your eyes slowly scanned the computer screen again. Seeing the article had used a professional portrait for the ambassador’s missing images. As you studied more, you saw a badge hanging off his front pocket but the logo was cut off. 

If you could find what that logo is, it could lead you on a trail to other officials. 

You gazed up to the paper covered window, seeing the sun didn’t want to appear even at ten in the afternoon. It was dim and cold. The idea that had popped into your head seemed foolish from where you were sitting. Warm and dry, you wondered if the ambassador’s body freezing in the trunk still held his badge. Not to mention, you could hear König walking around in the living room. You’d have to pass by him to get to the front door. He tried to talk to you once. Who says he wouldn’t try again. Still, he did say to focus on your work. 

You stood up, finally making your decision. 

You tucked your hair into your hood after you pulled it up and you quickly exited the server room. A fast turn and an even faster glance, you caught König standing in the kitchen. He was pouring himself a cup of coffee when he heard you walking into the room. His icy eyes widened like he’d seen a ghost. Great.  

As you headed for the front door, König set his cup down. He saw where you were going and he stood a large step towards the door. His long legs beat you. König stood in front of the door and you stopped before you collided with his body. You glared up at him while his eyes softened the longer he looked at you. It didn’t feel good. You were melting under his gaze. 

“Y/N, I…” 

“Out of the way.” You said coldly while crossing your arms, “I’m working.” 

“We have to talk.” König sounded firm. Then you noticed he was standing confidently. He was going to have his way even if you didn’t want to listen to him. 

You rolled your eyes, “What else could you possibly say to me, huh? Thought you’d wanna keep the mistake score low.” Your words seemed to sting him and he broke eye contact with you. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” 

“I… owe you an apology.” He tried to come back but his voice was low and… scared. “Bitte, please, just listen.” 

“No, I’m in the middle of something. Just get out of my way.” You rejected him while your hand aimed for the front door. 

König’s arm blocked you. Your skin brushed against his sleeve and you immediately recoiled. Days without physical contact had it feeling like you had just been burned. Your eyes widened at the spot where you’d touched him and then up to his eyes. And even then, he was looking at you like you were the most beautiful person in the world… even after being so cold to him. 

“Y/N…” His hand reached out but you took a step back. 

You shook your head, “You said you’d hurt me and I let you. But I’ll be damned if I let you do that to me again. No, König, I don’t want to hear it.” 

You turned around and went to retreat back to the bedroom. It was the only door that had a lock in the house. The burning threat of tears formed in your eyes and your mouth dried up. Your heart sank when you heard König’s books following behind you, not letting you escape. A pursuit of pain. Maybe you shouldn’t have left the bedroom today. 

König’s hand roughly snatched your hand and he yanked you into an embrace. You felt something in your arm tear and you yelled. Immediately, he froze. You pulled your arm away and rubbed circles into your bruising skin. You could still move your arm but it’ll be sore. König’s power was undeniable… and he was realizing how much he could actually hurt you. 

“I-I’m sorry…” He apologized. König’s head dropped and rested on top of your hair. “I just don’t want you to leave me alone again…” 

You felt yourself take in a dry breath. Breathing out slowly, you tried to calm yourself down. If you didn’t, you were sure you’d cry. Feeling König be against you was something you had gotten used to. It was something you craved as well. You were really smitten with this monster. His covered lips dropped near your ear and you turned your face away. His strong arms kept you from moving any more and he was… hugging you. 

“I don’t want to be without you again…” He said. He breathed in your scent while you tried to wiggle out of his grasp. But he held you tight. “Bitte, I’m sorry… I’m sorry.” 

You knew you’d be going nowhere with the monster holding you against his body. He was mumbling his words into your hair over and over. They were breaking you down. Pickaxe on a stone heart. You could feel he was being true and he was actually hurting. He has been shot through the heart and was left alive to suffer. It might have been self-inflicted but you helped him aim the gun at himself. 

“König, stop.” You begged, “I don’t want you to make another mistake…” 

The large man turned you around in his arms and you stared up at him. His gaze was intense, “You are not a mistake, Schatz! Everything I said and did to you was. I never wanted to hurt you but… that’s all I know how to do.”

“I don’t need excuses,” You turned your face away. “Let me go.”

“Nein. Ich liebe dich, Schatz.” He whispered. 

“You know I don’t speak German…” But your heart knew exactly what he was saying to you. And your eyes felt heavy as tears formed. It was something you didn’t want to hear from him. Not yet, at least. You were angry and you felt abandoned. But he was coaxing you out of your hole again. His voice was an open rat trap. 

König’s large hand caressed your face, bringing you to look at him. You saw his pupils dilate as he looked down at you. “I love you. For a long time, I’ve been in love.” He confessed. He let out a long sigh, “It’s hard for me to express something I’ve never felt before… but I’m trying.” 

Your jaw dropped. He was saying this to you now. After everything that had happened and then the days of silence, he was confessing the biggest emotion a person could feel. Maybe you suspected it but never acknowledged it. He’d lurk behind you in the firing range but you assumed he was too shy to train in front of others. He’d speak to you on base more than he did with anyone but you thought he just gravitated to someone who didn’t fear him. In between the lines, you could see his longing stares and jumbled words. Now, he was unveiling his heart to you without stuttering or looking away. 

He was being genuine. 

König really was in love with you. 

But just as he confessed his feelings, it was easy for him to hurt you as well. His words, the ones that cut into you days ago, still burned. It was hard to forget being dejected by someone you thought you could trust. And then you removed his hand from your jaw, pushing him away while you created space between the two of you. König didn’t fight you this time. 

You shook your head as you thought of how to explain everything. It was so uncomfortable for you now. Obviously, you felt something similar for König. The chemistry was there and it was brewing hot. If it were any time, any place, you’d definitely be falling over yourself to get to König. But, in this line of work, being in love was a grave mistake. 

“König, I…” You took in a sharp breath. You turned away from him to pat away rolling tears with your sleeve. And you remained looking away as you continued, “We can’t afford to make any more mistakes. The mission will fail because of all this.” 

“The mission is failing because we’re at odds with each other. You may accept my apology if you wish. Just…” He sighed while he walked forward, “Know that I am truly sorry, Schatz. I don’t want to be away from you again.” 

“Why is that?” 

"Because you have stolen my heart, meine Liebe..." König leaned down and whispered in your ear, causing goosebumps to erupt on your skin. His callused hands reached for your face, making you gaze into his ice blue eyes. You heard him let out a breathy chuckle behind his hood, "Diebin meines Herzens... Thief of my heart..."

You were boiling over now. Tears freely fell from your eyes but König was quick to wipe them away. This was never supposed to happen. Not in a life you lead. There was never any time to mend a heart or to soften the soul. It meant fragility. It meant death. 

But here you were. 

Your hand slowly reached for König’s. His hands had crushed skulls yet he was delicately wrapping his fingers around your own. Your touch seemed to drop an immense weight off his shoulder and you saw him relax. Even the tension in the air lifted like fog in sunlight. However, there was still something on your mind. 

You lip quivered, “König… promise me… you won’t hurt me again. The monster of a man nodded, his eyes focusing on the way your tears dripped off your chin. 

“Never again, Y/N. Never again will I hurt you,” He promised. 

Chapter Text

It might have been fate. The universe had written your story to involve König. Maybe it was a punishment for all you’ve done. He was a man who was irrevocably in love with you but he belonged to a world where you didn’t. The soldier, a merciless killer, was holding you gingerly against the murdering machine that was his body. 

The man, who you’ve heard snarl and howl as he ripped people apart, was expressing a side of himself you’d never seen. He was vulnerable, maybe even afraid. He was in love with you. You’ve bewitched him. 

And it was a cruel twist of fate… for you to feel the same way.

His fingers massaged the place where he had yanked your arm. It was sore and him touching it didn’t help with the pain… but he was trying. The tears on your face had dried and it made your face feel tight and dirty. It was a time to heal. 

Yet, both of you seemed unsure of where to start. The hand that wasn’t rubbing circles on your arm was slowly inching around your waist. He was being cautious, acting like you were a venomous snake. But you held back your fangs. You missed his touch. He was so warm. The minimal touching had your lip quivering. 

“König, we need to get to work. The deadline…it’s…” You breathed in slowly, trying to calm down. All you could focus on was his hands on you. 

His long fingers paused on your lower back, “It’s soon. I’m aware.” König said. “But there’s something more important at hand.” 

You shook your head, “What could be more important than our job?” 

König’s hands found your hips immediately following your question. You couldn’t help but smirk. His objective right then wasn’t the mission. It was you. With a sigh, your hands laid on top of his, giving you the illusion you were scolding him like a disappointed mother. But you weren’t. 

“If you’ll have me… that is.” His voice was low, like he’d scare you if he spoke too loudly. 

Your hands laid flat on his abdomen and slowly followed up his chest. His heart was racing so fast. You could feel it. He was so anxious. Was he scared that you might deny him? Or was he excited that you’d take him back? You had to admit you were hoping it was the ladder. 

“Meet me in the bedroom in five minutes…” You whispered, daring not to look into his eyes. Whatever emotion was gleaming in his eyes at that moment, that was between him and God. You stepped away, teasing him like a minx. 

You stood outside the bedroom door with your heart beating like a drum. The air was cold but you felt like you were about to die of heatstroke. Your hands cling to König’s  jacket like a lifeline— it was the only thing you had on at that moment. Wearing nothing but his clothing was so exciting. You gathered your bravery, the same bravery you leaned on for every mission, and then you walked into the dark bedroom. 

You heard König’s weight shift on the bed. The springy mattress told you where he was. He was patiently waiting for you to join him but his anxiety betrayed him. His foot was tapping on the hardwood like a jackrabbit. He was too big for that goddamn bed. You hurried for him, finding his warmth inviting and needed. You shivered in his grasp from both the cold and excitement. His wanting hands found you in the darkness and greeted you like you’d been gone for centuries. 

“Reaver,” He whispered hot in your ear. 

König effortlessly lifted you into his lap. You crawled over his —what you now realized— naked body with his hands working his jacket off your shoulders. The pure arousal in his body was radiating from him like a burning sun. He couldn’t wait now. That was apparent when you felt his throbbing cock on your inner thigh. And that had you immediately dripping. 

“König,” You said back to him. 

Your hand reached up and caressed his face outside of his hood. That was something he was still wearing— it was the only thing he was wearing. The massive man leaned back on the bed, bringing you down with him. You laid over his wide body with your legs stretching to straddle him. In the darkness, you heard him slicking his fingers and after a moment they landed right on your pussy. His wet fingers readied your tight hole, dipping in and out every now and then. He was prepping you and teasing you all at once. His middle finger plunged deep and you moaned into his chest. 

König grunted a few curses in German while his second finger forced itself in. You were so wet it slipped in almost without issue. Your pussy clenched around his fingers while it became accustomed to their sizes. Slowly, König moved his fingers again. He flexed them up and found your spot. You jolted up while your hips ground down. Feeling so filled, it made you not want to wait anymore. 

“Fuck, König, I need your cock. Bad.” You whined. 

König pulled his fingers out of you while asking, “Are you sure?”

You groaned, “Yes, I’m sure.” It was hard not to be bratty when you were just that fucking turned on. 

Nothing else had to be asked and König then flipped you on your side. You were about to question what he was doing until you heard the unmistakable sound of foil being torn. A few more seconds passed and König then hovered on top of you. His cool hands lifted your knees and pressed them up to your chest. You shivered at his touch. 

“Too cold?” He asked. 

Before you could answer, König lifted you up as if you weighed nothing. He strutted out of the bedroom with you in his arms into the living room. The warmth of the fire was so welcoming. You looked up at him and caught a glimmer in his half-lidded eyes. He was as lust drunk as you were. König sat down on the couch and then rested you over his lap. 

“This okay?” He questioned while he brushed some loose hair away from your face. 

You couldn’t help but gawk at his muscular body in the light. The flickering flames cast the right kinds of shadows over his chest. Then looking a little lower, you saw what really had your stomach flipping. His hard cock throbbed on his thigh. Precum leaked from his swollen head and pool on his leg. Your silence had him impatient. He used his finger to guide your face back to him. The look in his icy eyes told you to answer him. Now. You said nothing— you could barely bring yourself to form any words— you just nodded yes.

“Gut.” He said while one of his hands grabbed his cock. He lifted up, “Then let’s prepare, Schatz.”  

His other hand revealed the opened condom in his palm. You watched him unroll it over his dick and that twisted little voice in your head told you it would feel so much better without one. You had to ignore it lest you ruin a good thing. You knew König would oblige if you begged him not to use one. And that had you clenching again. König sighed while he adjusted the condom finally. 

It was time now.

He held his cock up for you with one hand while the other guided your hip down. The tip of his dick found your dripping entrance. Slowly, you lowered yourself on it. His size stretched you almost to an unbearable degree. But it felt so fucking good. The pain was washed out with unadulterated lust. Little by little, he began to fill you. König threw his head back as you came to the midway point. There was still so much of him left that you wanted inside you. You just wanted to fuck his brains out already. 

You braced yourself by grabbing his broad shoulders. Lifting yourself off his cock slightly, you then slammed yourself back down and you felt more of him slip inside. It was a glorious little victory. You felt yourself smile as you did the same action over and over again until you were hitting your own cervix. You held him there when you heard him moan. 

“F-Fuck…” He whined with his hands trying to get your hips to move. 

König glanced down at you, being just as bratty as you were before. You couldn’t let him take that title from you. Then you ground your hips on his lap, his dick mixing your insides. König groaned again and his head fell back. Your poor baby was so needy and you weren’t cruel. You dropped down on his cock again, the impact had your tits bouncing in his face. His hands reached for them and groped you hard. He tugged one nipple and twisted the other. You watched his glossy eyes watch you as you rose again. 

“Y-You going at this p-pace is making me lose my mind…” König whispered. “F-Feels so good.” Oh. He liked it hard and slow. You liked it too but you wanted more. You needed more. 

“Sorry, baby.”  You cooed, “But I need to fucking ride you till I cum.”

Your nasty talk had him moaning and his hands slapped down on your hips again. You fucked your hips up and down on his cock with an unrelenting speed. You were fueled by want. The thoughts of finally having König inside you appeared in your mind. It was something that you had fantasized over the last few weeks. Each and every time his tip plowed into your cervix, you were reminded just how lucky you were to be on this mission with him. 

And then that little devil appeared on your shoulder. It told you to just take it off. In the cloud of lust, König wouldn’t even notice. He might even actually like it. The thought of having nothing separating you had your back arching. You just wanted him inside you. You wanted all of him inside you. Each time he hit your end, you imagined him filling you up. You imagined his seed dripping from your overflowing cunt. And then—

“Fuck!” You cried as you shuddered. 

König held you close, his hand slipping under you to find your clit. His thumb rubbed rapid rounds around your clit, assisting you in reaching that last climb. You were seeing stars behind your eyes. You tried so hard to focus on König as you came but the immense pleasure had your eyes fluttering shut. You continued to rock yourself on König’s cock as the high of your orgasm subsided. You slowly forced yourself to keep going. The faint of hum of lust still rung in your head.

“Here, Meine Liebe.” König said while he stood up while still inside you. “Grab my shoulders.” You did as you were told and you held tightly onto his body. König grasped your legs while he adjusted himself to the perfect angle. His hips slowly moved and you felt him pressing hard against your inner walls. Gravity and his size would tear you apart. 

“God, just fuck me good, König.” You demanded, your cunt doing the same. 

König wasted no time in picking up the pace. He fucked up into you, his cock breaching into new territory. Again. Again. And again. His animal-like growls foretold his end. Your nails dug into his shoulder while he snapped your body down on his. He was so deep inside. It’s like be was trying to bury himself deeper. But there was no getting to that very last spot. It was just out of reach. Desperate to get there, König shallowly fucked hopelessly. A string of curses escaped him with one last thrust. It suddenly felt so hot inside you. It was near searing. You felt him spurting and pulsating. 

“Fuck.” König said while he stepped back. His sat back down on the couch with himself still tucked inside you. The massive man was out of breath and he was covered in sweat even in this blistering cold. You smiled at him as your rested your head on his chest. You could hear his heart beating hard. 

This was real. This happened. 

You finally broke that last barrier with König. It took a lot to get there. Some wins and some losses. But the reward outweighed the risk. In that moment. Nothing else mattered. The nagging feeling of your real life disappeared each moment you heard König’s heart beat. 

You wanted to ask him how it was— how you were. You wanted to ask him if this was something he’d want again or something he’d regret. But you didn’t want to ruin the moment, especially for yourself. While your heart was filled with love, the rest of your body reminded you to get a reality check. When you moved to wrap your arm around König, you felt that bruise he left you on. It was another thing you wanted  to ignore. You had to… for now.

But in this short and fleeting moment, you enjoyed the bliss he gifted you.

Chapter Text

The moment was gone but the heat was still there. Now wrapped in a blanket and König’s arms, you decided that the couch was the best place to be right now. You really didn’t wanna get up. His fingers rubbed your back as gently as a beast could. It was soothing enough to almost distracted you from the pain between your legs. But it was a good pain. It was a reminder of what he could do… whether that be a blessing or a curse.

His hood remained throughout the whole night. Its how you wanted it. For him to be comfortable. If he wanted to kiss you, he would cover your eyes with his bear paw of a hand. The thick stubble on his lips itched your skin. Currently, he was nearly smothering you. An overgrown wolf curled up against it’s hunt. Your bones picked clean of your clothes and your spirit. There was always something to remind you that he can… has… and will hurt you. 

As you watched your breath in the air, you drew your mind away from König. If you were walked in on at this very moment, one would think you were on a honeymoon. Unfortunately, you’ve come to terms that you would never see that day. Instead, you sold your soul to KorTac. And they needed you to get your naked ass off the couch and get to work. You wiggled from König’s grip who released you without too much hesitation. 

He stared at you through his hood, icy eyes following you throughout the room. He was aware about what had to be done. And just like you, he too, got up from the couch. You went back to the server room, your mind returning back to your work. The document was left open on your computer screen. The blinking bar in the text box is still flickering. Again, you were reminded of how much of a distraction this was. Lives were at stake yet you let a man get in between you and the goal. 

You sat back down on your chair, your aching body screaming. The cold Russian air was not helping the situation. You read along your document, your mind getting back into the groove. Corporation. Money. Evil. Blood money. Dead bodies. Things were beginning to pile up and not for the better. Nothing seemed to benefit you in this situation. The more you read secret documents the more sinister things became. It was something all too familiar. You’ve been here before. The iron on your tongue was sweet like strawberries. You didn’t realize you were biting into your own bottom lip. Anticipation was eating away through the tiny, thin skin. 

A name, an alias, something so familiar on the white page. This couldn’t possibly be real. It is said that history repeats itself. And this was a sequel for the ages. You bolted from your chair, running for the front door. 

“Reaver?” König’s voice called out for you.

Your partner watched as you flung open the door into the cold wilderness. Nothing to brave the season but a sweater and pants. Bare feet ran through the snow, the burial place of your last kill. A piece of the puzzle was in the trunk. Freezing fingers unlocked the car. Inside the husk of a man waited under a bloody blanket. You’ve seen enough bodies for it not to bother you and your hands dug through his pockets. A wallet, a watch, a flask, nothing seems to be what you were looking for. Until you find it clipped to the inside of his coat. A name tag held an entry code for a facility. Again too familiar even in Russian, you can make out the corporation's logo. 

How could no one see it before? And you were blind at one point. An all powerful king was now ruling in two different continents. A backstabber to your homeland. A leech to the enemies. A kingdom of monopolies. It needed to be toppled over, but you knew innocence waited below the rubble. Your people. Your home. It was all at risk thanks to this one name… 

Luden’s Pharmaceuticals. 

You could’ve thrown up your own stomach. A sickening bile rose into your mouth. Even from a cushy mansion in America, Elijah Mundst was still finding a way to be a sneaky snake. A corporation that ran America was involved in Russian politics. If this information got out, a war would break out. Highly sensitive information was being held in your hands. This piece of plastic could launch nuclear warfare. This piece of plastic could end the world. And you decided to take your sweet time on a couch with a man who nearly broke your arm. 

There was an axe to grind in good time. You just had to figure out a way to get it to your superior officers before anyone else could get in between you. Whether that be your partner or the Russian government. Time was of the essence. You closed the trunk on the dead body, leaving it as a ghost behind you. You hurry back inside, your toes curling from the bitter cold. 

Your partner rushed to you and threw a blanket around your shivering shoulders. He had asked you what you were doing, but your heart was banging inside your ears. You couldn’t hear a thing. Your eyes strained for the hallway. You had to get to your computer. The plastic burned in your fingertips. König tried to pry it away from you, but you nearly clawed his skin in retaliation. Were you a rabid animal lashing out in fear? Or were you a hungry monster keeping your kill to yourself? 

All you had to do was stay and explain everything to him, but you felt as if the walls were listening to you. Nothing seemed safe. Nothing seemed private. You even felt as if they were cameras crawling beneath your skin, filming every thought inside your own head. But you knew you were just being paranoid. Who wouldn’t be? A world ending event was in the palm of your hands. It was too much pressure for a person to handle. Every probability seemed uncertain, every answer was lost. You know you had to move on your own. Contacting your superiors would jeopardize the mission. 

All you had was König. 

You were in this together, thick and thin. With a shaking hand, you gave him the plastic card. Your energy seemed to fill him in on everything. You knew your partner and you were entwined to the deepest degree. He understood you. And in his eyes, fire was lit. A blazing massacre. You both were going to do what you did best. 

And that was go against orders. 

You were going to take things into your own hands.

Chapter Text

König knew exactly what you were thinking— and a better man would have stopped you in your tracks. However, the massive Austrian flapped the tiny plastic card around like a fan, a scoff smothered behind his mask. His thick fingers then played with the metal clip before he spoke. 

“Mundst has his sticky hands here in Russia. I didn’t think the villain here would be so out in the open.” He was mostly joking but you had overlooked that possibility too. 

You were able to read the news about what was happening back in America. Mundst has acquired ten more minor companies under his intellectual properties, coming closer and closer to monopolies. Not to mention he was starting to brush shoulders with the former President of the United States— the unholy union was starting to bring up old dramas. Like Mundst’s failed marriages, the women he pays off, the children he doesn’t see. The former president was no different. What could these two men want with each other’s company? The answer had always been the same throughout history:

Power. 

“We have to let AmTech know he’s here.” You said as you opened the program that let you connect them directly. 

It was a little archaic but a tiny chatbox opened up within a disguised pinball game. The blinking lights of the flash game was a little hard to ignore but you typed in a codeword: sunshine . Meaning something has risen, the answer was shining through. Your partner looked over your shoulder, both of you watching the three dots of a response appear on screen. The seconds were ticking by too slow. You feared that things would soon get messy. There was a rotting body in your car and that body just so happened to be working for Elijah Mundst. One couldn’t help but be impatient. 

And then it appeared: Sunshine is yellow. 

“Yellow?” König read aloud, his icy eyes darting down at you for an answer. 

You fell back in your chair defeated. You palmed your face, “They want us to yield… That means we’d be giving over everything to them and we’d be put out like dogs.” 

König’s eyes narrowed, “But?” 

Elijah’s smug face appeared in your head. He didn’t come to your court hearings but you saw him post all over social media when you had been apprehended all those years ago. Robin Hood could never best Bad King John. It made you seethe. So many other people came to see that you were punished for your crimes— all these people wanted justice for the shadow sneaking over America. To him, he was innocent. You were the real perpetrator. 

No longer. 

AmTech messaged the chat again: The night will be dark.

So fucking cryptic. That innocent little sentence was the end of everything. The mission is over. But you have not failed your country just yet. There was too much to do with so little time. 

You scoffed as you closed the chatbox with nothing else to say to AmTech. Your hands flew to your cellphone. Quickly you dialed for Aksel. As it rang, you began to unplug every computer in the room. You signaled for your partner to do the same. And like wild animals, you both tore apart everything. Then tension was growing, getting thicker. The phone rang for a few more seconds before Aksel finally picked up. 

“Reaver?” His gruff voice asked, “What is wrong?”

You stopped in the middle of pulling the extension cords from the wall, not caring if it damaged the wood paneling. “Aksel, we’ve got a lead but AmTech is telling us to back off.” 

There was static on Aksel’s end but you heard him, “What is your position?”

“Base, sir.” You replied as you ran to the bedroom. You then put your cellphone on speaker before you tossed it on the mattress. König had followed you, listening on your boss’s next words. You began to suit up, combat boots and all. König then rushed to the living room. “Sir, I don’t have a good feeling about any of this.”

“Remain calm, Reaver. I’ll see what is up with AmTech.” Aksel ordered. You shot up from tying your boots. 

“No! They are trying to put a stop to all this for some reason!” You shouted as you grabbed your phone. You couldn’t help but become unprofessional, “Aksel, please! They are shady as fuck! They never wanted to have us here! For the love of God, they put microphones into the computers they provided to us!” 

“Rea—” Aksel started but was interrupted by your snarl.

“They had to escort you here, man! What the fuck!” The suddenness of your outburst had König coming back into the bedroom. In an uncharacteristic fit, you threw one of your jackets against the wall. Over the phone, Aksel was trying to get you to answer him. His voice was breaking up here and there but König heard he was beginning to get cross with you. 

“Reaver!” Aksel said again. 

But no answer, you were still unleashing all that had been bottled within you for the last few years. It was disheartening to see you like this but as your partner, König knew he had to rein you in. His strong arms wrapped around you and you immediately collapsed into his touch. You screamed into his bicep, all the stress all in one breath. He held you tight to ground you. It was what you needed. 

With a heavy sigh, you gathered yourself finally. “Sir, we need to get this directly to the White House. Mundst has been rubbing elbows with the former president.” 

“I spoke with SpecGru just before you called. Moscow has also revealed some incriminating things.” Aksel started, the static dissipating. “I’m getting you and König out of there. Give nothing to AmTech. Take what you can.” 

“Yes, sir. We can—” Just then there was a sudden knock at the front of the cabin. You and König looked at each other as if you had both seen Death himself. No one should be within miles of this cabin. You whispered to your phone, “Sir, there is someone at our door.” 

Aksel’s phone glitched but you heard him clearly: “I’m on my way. Keep me on the line.” 

You nodded to König. In formation, you followed him into the living room. You slipped your phone into your front pocket to conceal it. König has quickly gathered the weapons from the corner of the room. He slid you a pistol across the floor while he strapped himself with his Chimera. As you approached the front door, there was another loud knock. Whoever was behind it was getting impatient. 

“Yo, Reaver!” An American accent called out. “It’s Lee! From AmTech!” 

You froze but ducked out of eyesight of the windows. It was dark in the cabin but from outside you were sure of what was visible. What the hell was AmTech doing at your cabin? And so quickly? Their technological department had just called off your mission. Why would Lee be here within the hour? Unless…

“AmTech never left us alone…” You whispered to König. He nodded, “What do we do?”

König thought for a moment before he answered, “See what they want.” 

It was really the only thing you could do before they stormed the place. It wasn’t really your base to hide in. It was owned by AmTech. Everything was owned by them from the beds down to the shoddy plumbing. With how harshly another knock came from Lee, you knew they weren’t here for a nice chat over coffee.

You didn’t stand from your spot and König huddled into a corner. You watched him move to check the other windows. “What’s up, Lee?” You called out, trying your best to sound friendly. 

“Our truck broke down while we were on surveillance. Can we use the one we loaned you?” He pleaded like a teenager trying to bum a cigarette. AmTech now wanted to strand you here. What the hell was going on? What did you stumble into?

You weren’t going to let anything go uncovered, even if it was a lie. “Surveillance for what?” 

You heard Lee mumble something, sounding annoyed you weren’t opening the door. However his tune changed when he spoke directly to you again, “Nothing too out of the ordinary. Boss just wants up to date routes of the land.”

You knew he was lying through his teeth. The routes he was talking about was just a straight shot through the Arctic. There was nothing in this snowy wasteland other than secrets and sorrow. You looked to König who managed to peek out through the curtains to the side of the cabin. He held up three fingers to you. There was three people on that side. There could have easily been more circling them. It was only a matter off time before they were breaking in through the windows to get whatever they wanted. 

You needed to distract Lee now, obviously he was going to be the one giving them orders. “Lee, I’m sorry but I’m not decently dressed right now.” 

“In this weather?” He laughed, “Just get the keys for me and I’ll be gone… or your German partner can take over.” 

Still watching König, he slunk to the next window opposite of the kitchen. One. Two. Three. Four. More troops. They were definitely surrounded now. His icy eyes looked to you before he signaled to cut it loose. His thumb dragged across his neck. It was all over now. 

They were going to have to brute force their way out of here.

“Oh, L-Lee,” You faked being shy. You checked your pistol for ammunition while you spoke. You clicked it back into place and turned the safety off, “I’m not going to lie to you, dude. But me and my partner were fucking just now. Could you give us a moment.” 

“Uh,” Lee’s momentum was certainly thrown off by that comment but he trudged on. “Sure… whatever. But hurry, its cold as hell out here.” 

Lee was standing just outside the front door, a fully automatic weapon hidden behind his back. These fucking KorTac freaks were wasting his damn time. His eyes narrowed to his armed men circling the lonely cabin. Each of them readied themselves at each available window, waiting for his next instruction. He held his hand out, silently asking them to still. 

If Reaver was lying about fucking her partner, Lee didn’t care. He’d get those computers even if she still had him inside her. So unprofessional. These were the people his bosses wanted around? Time was ticking and AmTech was breathing down his neck. The creaky wood from behind the door alerted him. She was still standing there… and it seemed like more steps followed behind her. Her partner was skulking around too. 

He tapped his foot, “Come on, Reaver!” Even if he was getting angry, he had to sound jovial. “I’m freezing my ass off out here!” One moment turned into two. Two into three. His fingers flexed, a knuckle popping. 

“Sorry, Lee!” She laughed like it was a fucking joke. This bitch was really starting to piss him off. Being stationed outside to watch these freaks fuck around was a huge part of it but her little giggle was like nails on a chalkboard. “I’m going to let you in!” 

Here it comes… Lee’s hand gestured for his men to follow before he moved to enter the cabin. 

Reaver watched as Lee’s form entered into the dark cabin, his posture in predator mode. However, this weasel had a wolf on one side and a bear on the other. The moonlight could only illuminate so much for her. And on a cloudy night like this, it was fading in and out. Reaver held her pistol out in the dark and there was a sudden standstill. No one dared to move. The deathly chill crept in behind Lee when his feet settled on the hardwood floor. That was when Reaver saw the automatic weapon he had behind his back. 

She knew it. 

The games have finally begun. 

“Lee?” Reaver smiled but her voice was anything but friendly. “Mind closing your eyes? I’m still not decent.”

The other American smirked in the blackness, “No offense, Reaver.. But I couldn’t care less if you had your tits out. I just need those keys.”

“Wow, what a gentleman.” The moonlight appeared again and it showed Reaver that there was a person hidden just out of König’s blindspot. Lee would just have to give the word and the cabin would be swarmed. When the light faded again, Reaver’s thumb clicked back the hammer and looked right down the sights, “But why are you really here?”

“Like I’m gonna fucking tell you,” Lee snarled. “Just get those—” The American was cut off by König revealing himself. He pressed the muzzle of his Chimera to Lee’s temple. 

“If you know what’s good for you, Schweinehund, you will answer my partner truthfully.” König’s darkside had come out to play. 

Lee spat at König’s feet before he smirked, “Well. Since you’re gonna die, I’ll tell you.” Lee turned to face Reaver in the darkness. “My boss needs those computers you’ve been using since KorTac has been officially fired from AmTech. It’s our property, so I’m here to collect it.”

“Then why lie about needing our car?” Reaver inquired. The moonlight came back, showing Lee’s smug face to her. 

“I didn’t lie. We’re taking that too.” He remained deathly still, like the stalemate had froze him solid. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Lee looked deep into the cabin, seeing old coffee cups still on the counter. “In fact, we should take back our base too. Boys?” 

König’s huge arm wrapped around Lee’s head, getting him into a one-armed sleeper hold. The gasp that came from Lee alerted his men and seven armed soldiers entered the cabin. Reaver tumbled for the couch, using it for cover. Bullets were being shot off— some busting the television and others sending splitters from the wall raining down onto Reaver. She fired where she could, landing a round into some flesh. 

König dragged Lee, cutting off his airway until he was slumped into unconsciousness. He tossed him to the floor before aiming his Chimera at the intruders. One body fell. Then two. Then three. Four more left. They had the advantage of cover in the cabin. Another one. And then Two. The Chimera roared into the night, slaying those who came into its sight. There were just two more. König had his eyes on one soldier, who had his gun aimed right at Reaver. They flashed a hand sign and König suddenly heard Reaver shriek. 

There was red. Blood red. Rage building. König stormed forward and tackled the soldier that was in his direct line of sight. They groaned. His bear-like hands ripped and clawed the protective gear from them. The cowering American underneath was begging for König to leave them be. No. They hurt Reaver. König stood up and stomped. Stomped. Stomped. And stomped until the pleading stopped. 

With entrails still wrapped around his boot, König sprinted to Reaver’s side. Hovering over her in the darkness was another soldier trying to choke her out. König pulled him off his partner and wrapped his monstrous arms around him.

The weight of the man on top of you was gone. You sucked in a breath hard enough to begin coughing. In your fight against your panic, your hand found your pistol. You didn’t know where you were but you aimed directly where the other American was last. And you fired off three shots. 

There was one shout. That was the American. You were sure of it. But then another groan came crawling out of the night. That was König. In your state of stress and hysteria, you managed to do the one thing you’ve never fucking done: injure König. 

“Aksel! Hurry, König’s hurt!” You shouted before you shut off your phone. You rushed to get some light into the cabin, cussing to yourself for being so reckless. The kitchen light revealed all the dead bodies littered in the once cozy home. Blood was splattered everywhere like brand new paint. 

You ran to König’s side, he was still moving to your absolute relief. Kneeling by him, you rolled the dead soldier off his body. His bloodied hand was holding his bicep as he snarled through the pain. 

Tears ran down your face without warning, “König! Baby, I’m sorry!” You babbled more apologies as you helped apply pressure to the wound you caused. Never once did you foresee this happening. You’d never had an accident. But, now of all times, you nearly kill the man you swore you’d never hurt. The universe just had to fuck with you in that  moment. König remained silent as you peppered his mask with kisses. It was all you could do. 

More ‘sorries’, more ‘please forgive mes’ flew and faded. With your head resting on König’s crown, you quietly sobbed until the tears dried out. All you could do was wait for Aksel. 

And you waited.

And waited.

Until…

Aksel along with some other men stormed into the cabin, their eyes pausing to take in what had happened. Dead bodies of AmTech soldiers were everywhere. One laid unconscious yet breathing in one corner and then König and Reaver were huddled in the other. Medical personnel pulled them apart, Reaver fighting them off for a moment before finally letting him go. 

Reaver slumped in the dried blood when König was assisted to his feet. Aksel looked to his men, “Take him to the helicopter.” They nodded and escorted the large Austrian out of the cabin. Then Aksel walked over the dead bodies to get to Reaver. 

Hearing her boss’s footsteps, she stood up to greet him formally. However, her reddened and downtrodden eyes didn’t meet his. She saluted, “Sir… we were ambushed.” 

“I heard it all up until the gunfire. After that, the line cut off.” Aksel explained, “Gather your things. We’re meeting SpecGru as soon as possible.” 

“What about König?” She asked with more tears in her eyes.

Aksel studied her for a moment, seeing all that took place right on her face. Something went on in this cabin other than a battle. He nodded, slightly smiling to himself as if he should have known something like this would happen. A man and a woman trapped in a small cabin, forced to share a space and heat. Something less than professional went on. But Aksel couldn’t punish them for it now…

SpecGru was waiting.