Chapter Text
You first noticed him after missions. He would come to your infirmary nearly every day. Maskless, wounded and bleeding. After a while, you suspected he would hurt himself to have an excuse to come and see you. Just so you would patch him up again.
The next time he came to the infirmary, another gash on his shoulder, you ask him, "Why do you always come to me, bleeding, expecting me to patch you back up again?"
He flinches at your question and looks at you briefly before looking away. His reply is as short as he can make it.
"No other place."
"Are you doing this to yourself on purpose, just to see me?" you ask. "Because you know you can come to me any time, right? You don't need to have a reason."
"I..."
He hesitates and then puts a hand over his mouth as if that will prevent him from saying something he'll regret. He gives up and looks at you, defeated, but there's also a hint of anger.
"Why do you even care?"
"Because I do actually care about you. I don't want to see you hurt, König.” you say, “You can just come to me. Talk to me, if you want to." He was under your care. you had to make sure all of the operators were in good health.
This seems to take him by surprise. As if the idea of just talking is completely foreign to him.
"I- You care?" He asks softly. "Why?"
You think for a second before answering, you decided to be genuine. "You.. You're so brooding and mysterious, I can never tell what you're thinking or feeling. But I see the way you interact with the world around you. I see the baby kittens you rescue from the battlefield after a mission. You're kind. You're gentle. You're nothing like the others." You look down at him in front of you, still stitching up the gash on his shoulder. It had stopped bleeding but still needed mending.
As you speak, he watches you closely and a small smile creeps onto his face. When you look down to meet his gaze, the smile turns into a grin and a blush spreads across his face. He has such a warm and vibrant smile, you'd never know this was the face of a man who had killed many people.
"How... did you know about that?" he asks nervously. "I try to be discreet..."
You were finished stitching him and were busy wrapping a bandage around it to clean it up. That would be another scar for the collection. Not that it would make him any less pretty. "I notice you, König. You're.. Different. Interesting."
He looks away as you finish treating his wound, his bashfulness, and anxiety returning. It looks like he's trying to say something but can't formulate the words.
"...You don't think I'm scary?" he finally asks. "A- Am I... not as intimidating as the others?"
You smirk, amused, "Oh you’re plenty intimidating alright. And I have to admit, I was a little scared of you at first. You never usually speak when you come and see me. In fact, I think this is the longest conversation we've ever had."
You finish with his arm and lean back on the table. His gaze followed your every move intently. "How's that arm feel now?"
He looks down at his bandages and touches them gently.
"Feels ok.. Danke, Doktor.”
After a brief pause and some awkward, uncomfortable shifting on his feet, he blurts out the question he's been wanting to ask. "Why... Are you nice to me?"
Your heart breaks for him a little bit at hearing that question. What had happened in his life, in his past, to make him feel so undeserving of even the most basic things like kindness? This quiet, gentle man in front of you. Why did he seem so broken?
You tell him what you think he needs to hear, "Because I like you, König. You're nice. I want us to be friends, if you'd like."
“… Friends?" he says as if it were a word he wasn't familiar with. He stares at you intently, his brow furrows in confusion as he tries to figure out what being 'friends' entails. The warmth and joy your answer brings him fills his face with such a genuine, radiant smile that you wonder how you ever thought this man capable of hurting anyone.
"I would be honored," he replies and bows his head.
"Great, but no more hurting yourself just to get my attention, then. Got it? You could just.. I don't know. Sit next to me at lunch or something." You tell him. A bit of a commanding tone in your voice.
"Y-Yes ma’am."
He replies almost instinctively, a sort of reflex from years of taking orders in the military. It takes a bit for your words to sink in and once they do, he raises his head, a smile still on his face, and looks at you with an almost childlike curiosity.
"Did you just make... an order? To me?"
You feel a blush creep up on your face and avoid his gaze. You weren’t all that sure about your, rank or his. Your contractor being a private institution at all, but were pretty sure you weren’t allowed to command the specialists around. Nevertheless, you try to summon your best impression of confidence and give him a sly smile. "You'd better listen to it."
He snorts and gets up off the table, nodding once. Amusement still twinkles in his eyes and walks out of your clinic.
For the next couple of weeks, you barely see König. He's mostly busy on missions, out in the field. You don’t get involved much in the specialist intel, so you’re not sure when they would even be returning to base. All you know is you have to keep the infirmary stocked and ready for patients at any possible time.
You spend the days in your clinic, treating small hurts. Soap had stayed back at base this time, not being able to join the rest of his team because of a recent injury. You’ve been tending to him nearly every day and you’ve gotten quite close. He’s one of the only people from the 141 task force to pay you any attention, aside from König. You two get along well, he’s funny and you have a sort of mutual understanding.
One night, long after everyone still on base has already gone to bed, there's a knock on your private bedroom door. You had a room close to the clinic, just in case you had to get up in the middle of the night for emergencies. For this kind of situation exactly. You jolt out of bed and cover up quickly with a loose t-shirt.
You’re not really sure what you’ll see on the other side of the door. Most people are asleep by now. Maybe someone is having a nightmare and needs some attention?
You didn’t know what you were expecting, but the reality of König on the other side causes a gasp of surprise to escape your lips. "K-König? Are you all right? Did the specialists just return from their mission?" -Or did you just want to see me, you caught yourself hoping almost as an afterthought.
Without a word he enters, shuts the door behind him, and steps towards you, taking his mask off in the process.
"Did I wake you?"
His voice is soft, barely above a whisper. He looks so sheepish, he looks so young. You can't help but laugh under your breath and shake your head as he walks towards the bed and sit down. His eyes are trained on you and his mind must be racing at the same pace as your heart. He seems frozen in place, as if afraid that even the smallest movement will make you disappear.
"You did wake me but it's not a problem. I'm a light sleeper anyways.” You rub your face, trying to chase away the sleep from it. He didn't catch you at your best moment, but it'd have to do.
"I take it your mission went well then? Are you staying back at base now?" You ask him, reluctantly. The whole situation felt a bit awkward, not having seen him for weeks and suddenly being awoken by him in the middle of the night.
"I'm sorry," he replies, and a brief blush colors his face a soft pink as he tries to keep his eyes fixed on your face.
"We finished our mission... early." He answered almost like he wanted to say more, but couldn’t. After a moment's hesitation, he continues.
"So I came to see you."
This seems to take a bit of courage for him to say, the words and perhaps the sight of you making him turn red. He clears his throat nervously and continues in the same soft voice.
"...You don't mind that I came in?"
"Not at all. In fact, I'm glad. I was worried about where you were, when you'd be back." You move to straighten your slept-on hair. "I was kind of starting to miss you, actually,” You admit with a smile on your lips, half joking. The time and mood of the room were heady, it made you more brave. "Why.. Did you want to see me?" You dare ask.
König's eyes seem to light up.
"I missed you too," he replies earnestly, a hint of relief in his voice. He takes a step towards you but immediately freezes. You can almost see him gather up the courage and a blush once again comes to life on his face. After another few seconds of silent, awkward shifting, he takes a deep breath and speaks in a soft, almost shy voice.
"... Can you hug me, bitte?”