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Snow silently began to fall outside the base one cold winter day. This year had decided to slam down its winter fist even harder than normal as the gentle flurry quickly turned into an angry storm. Used to bad weather, the operators didn’t think much of it, it would settle down and then they will clear away the snow, same as always. However, hours passed and the storm still refused to let up.
Meanwhile, Blitz stared out one of the windows in the mess hall, letting his eyes wander over the snow as it twisted toward the ground. He let a heavy sigh escape his lips as he crossed his arms over his chest. A figure walked up beside him, crossing their own arms, “if this keeps up, we won’t even be able to go on missions,” said the other man. Blitz glanced over to see his best friend Jäger smiling at him.
“Would that be a bad thing? A break from missions forced on us from nature itself?” Blitz asked, half teasing.
Jäger let out half a chuckle, “I would love a break. I would spend all day sleeping and being lazy. What would you do?”
Blitz stayed quiet for a moment before replying, “I would throw a party with everyone. A winter dance or something like that. Have everyone dress up and feel good about themselves.”
Jäger blinked at his best friend, “wow. I wasn’t expecting such a down-to-Earth answer, Elias. That actually sounds really nice.” He looked back at the snow falling then swiveled back to face his friend, “you know what, let’s do it. Let’s have a party, dress up, and forget out the freezing hell outside.” He said, a grin growing on his face as he spoke.
“I don’t know, Marius, the storm will pass eventually, we should be ready in case we have to deploy…quickly.” Blitz struggled to make his excuse, wincing as he finished his sentence.
Jäger raised an eyebrow, “really? Did you really just try to worm your way out of having a good time just now? I know you’re a rigid fellow, especially about the job, but come on now. We’re not trashing the place or getting sloppy drunk—okay well maybe some of us—but still. You have to have a break every once and a while. It’s bad for you to work all the time.” His friend preached.
Elias sighed and scratched his head awkwardly, “I know, I know, you’re right. I’ll loosen up, I promise. I’ll have a good time with my best friend.” He playfully threw his arm around the blond’s shoulder and ruffled his hair.
Jäger laughed and shoved his friend away, “oh no, no, we’re both getting dates for this, my friend. Let’s take a chance with someone we like, yeah?” He raised his eyebrows up and down in a ‘you know who’ gesture.
Blitz coughed nervously and crossed his arms, “I don’t know about that, man, I don’t think—”
“You don’t think what? That you have a chance? Bullshit, anyone would date you if you gave them a chance! You’re an outgoing team leader, tall, dark, and handsome, the whole package.”
“What are you talking about, no one sees me that way on this base. Everyone respects me as a fellow operator, not a potential partner.” Blitz countered, trying hard to hide the slight blush on his face.
“No way, that’s not even close to the truth, you’re just to oblivious to see it. Take off your ‘just friends’ blinders and look again.” The other German fired back, not wanting to hear his friend’s excuses. Blitz scoffed and rolled his eyes and looked out the window. He kept those blinders on for a reason, he told himself. Searching to be something more than friends with another operator was bad for the job. He needed everyone to count on him, and he to count on them back. If he got into a relationship and ended up ruining that mutual respect with someone, who knows what it could lead to out on the field.
But even so, he knew the certain someone that Jäger was referring to. He now regretted revealing his feelings for a particular operator all those months ago. He was fellow German, taller than Blitz, an intense gaze always set on his face. Bandit was his codename, or as he preferred when on base, Dominic. It started out as just a silly little crush, Blitz would spare him extra glances in the mess hall, talk with him on the truck to mission areas, that sort of thing. Over time it turned into something else for the ash blond haired German. He felt his pace quicken when bandit was near, tried to hide his blush when the other man smiled, and generally wanted to hang around him whenever he could. Nevertheless, Bandit was a colleague, which means Elias shouldn’t pursue him despite how he felt and Marius’s blessing to do so.
During Elias’s inner turmoil, Jäger waved a hand in front of his face, “hello, anyone home? Did you even hear what I said? Are you coming with me to get dinner or what?”
“Hm? Oh, sorry. Ja, I will join you.” Blitz responded.
“Good, because you’re going to help me spread the word about the party we’re planning.” The German grinned mischievously.
“But we don’t even know if we’re stuck here yet. Isn’t that, what’s the expression, jumping the gun?” Blitz asked, furrowing his brows.
“Trust me, Elias, I know these things. We WILL be having a snowed-in party tomorrow,” his friend said confidently, raising his chin proudly and strutting off toward the counter to get his dinner. Blitz chuckled quietly and followed along.
After they piled their plates high with dinner food, the two men sat at a table with the other two German operators. The group all gave their greetings to each other as they sat down to eat. Jäger, too excited to wait until after his supper, excitedly tapped his balled fist holding a fork against the table, “Blitz came up with a great idea for us! Because of all this snow, we’re going to have a snow-in party to keep ourselves occupied.”
IQ raised her eyebrows and glanced between Jäger and Blitz, “is that so? What if the snowfall lets up by tonight and we’re able to go on missions tomorrow after all?”
Jäger’s shoulders dropped, deflated, “It won’t. Why are you guys so against a little fun?” He half whined, half growled at Blitz and IQ. The two exchanged looks and shrugged passively. Meanwhile, Bandit scoffed which drew the attention of the three other Germans.
“Tell us more about your stupid little ball.” He stated flatly.
Jäger frowned, “it’s not a ball, but—you know what, never mind. Anyway, I was thinking we could all get dates, romantic or platonic, completely up to you of course, dress up in nice clothes and have a good time. Nothing too complicated or risky, right? Maybe we could see if anyone wants to do a little decorating with some paper snowflakes or something!” The excitement returned to Jäger as he beamed.
“Why do you want us to bring dates?” Bandit asked abruptly with one eyebrow slightly raised.
“I don’t know, Blitz was the one who suggested it. Plus, why not? We’re all teammates but also friends; or could be friends at least. This would be a good way to get to know each other better, don’t you think?” The blond German defended his plan, his elation for the event never wavering.
Bandit finished off his drink and slammed the empty cup back down onto the table. He glanced over at Jäger once again, his face not giving off a clear “yes” or “no” response to the other man. He maintained eye contact as he stood from the table, grabbed his trash, and left for the trash bin. As he left, he spared a glance over to Blitz, who held his gaze with raised eyebrows. The taller German said nothing as he turned away, earning a small sigh from Elias.
Jäger blinked in the direction of Bandit, “soooo is that a no on going to the dance?” He asked mainly to himself.
IQ smiled warmly and stood up with her tray, “I like the idea, Marius—count me in as long as the snow keeps falling. I’ll talk to some others and see if I can get enough volunteers to make some snowflakes to hang up.”
“Yes, sweet! Thank you, Monika, you’re the best!” Jäger chirped at the woman before finally digging into his food. Meanwhile, Blitz sat next to Marius in complete silence. His brain churned with thoughts and ideas about the dance and about Bandit. From his reaction, Elias believed Dominic was against the dance, most likely choosing not to show up. But a part of him still wanted to ask, still wanted to take a chance with Bandit. No, of course not, he can’t, not as teammates, it’s too risky. To hell with riskiness, her deserved to be happy, didn’t he? Bandit made him happy, right? The German looked up and scanned over the room in search for the other German. He found Dominic casually conversing with Kapkan. His hands were on his hips, his face showing a mellow expression as he talked.
Blitz watched the other man’s hands gesture and settle back onto his hip once more, almost spellbound by them. Bandit must have felt someone watching him because at that moment he turned his head and settled his gaze upon Blitz. Blitz flinched slightly but didn’t look away, instead raising his eyebrows in a curious fashion. Dominic noticed this and raised an eyebrow of his own, a small smirk forming on his lips. Now flustered, Elias quickly turned away and tried to keep his face from turning red. His mind churned again and finally concluded that he would ask Dominic to the dance.
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It didn’t take long for the German to conclude that saying things and doing things were two completely different tasks. He had told himself over and over that he would ask Bandit to the dance the following day, but as soon as he passed by the other man in the hall, in the gym area, in the locker room, he would freeze up. It was as if his brain completely forgot what language was and decided instead that it would make him look like a fool in front of Bandit.
Now it was evening and Elias was sulking over his dinner in the mess hall, poking at his meatloaf with a fork. He was close to giving up on asking Bandit, seeing that his brain apparently wanted to work against him on this. Jäger sat down at the table across from his friend, happily digging into his meatloaf, “so Monika asked some others to help with decorations and I asked everyone I could to attend the dance itself. So far almost everyone agreed, just a few sourpusses who didn’t want to for reason that I think are stupid. But anyway, it looks like we’re going through with the plan. Aren’t you starting to get excited Blitz? Blitz? Elias?” The blond had to ask his name several times before the other man pulled himself from his thoughts.
“Hm? Oh, yes, that’s great to hear, I’m excited this is working out for all of us.” He offered his friend a weak smile, earning an eyebrow raise from the other man.
“Yeah, you look so thrilled, I can tell. What’s wrong?” Jäger asked.
Elias glanced around before leaning forward to talk with his friend, “I want to ask Bandit to the dance,” he had to hush Jäger as he tried to make sounds of excitement, “but whenever I try to ask, I choke and ruin it. It’s happened three times already today. Maybe it isn’t meant to be..” He mumbled.
“What? No, no, no, don’t say that! You aren’t giving up on this, I don’t let you!” Marius stated, jabbing his fork in Blitz’s direction. “You just need some moral support and a moment alone together. I’m sure being around the other operators was making you embarrassed or something, that’s all. You just leave it to me and I will get you two alone, alright?”
“Marius, it’s alright, I—”
“Don’t finish that sentence, mein Freund, don’t you dare.” Marius glared at Elias. Elias put up his hands up in surrender as he rolled his eyes. After finishing their dinner, Jäger dragged the other man around the base in search for Bandit. They eventually found him in the training area, fiddling with one of his batteries on a workbench.
“Dominic, do you have a minute?” Jäger asked gently.
“No, actually, I don’t.” Bandit replied flatly.
Jäger blinked and glanced over at Blitz, who shrugged. Jäger tried again, “really? This won’t take long at all, I swear. Just hear us out?”
Dominic sighed and dropped his tool onto the bench, turning around and crossing his arm, leaning back to rest against the table behind him, “alright, what is it?”
Marius gestured to Blitz, “my friend has been trying to ask you something all day and has so far field to do so, so I’ve brought him here to initiate the conversation between you.”
Bandit raised an eyebrow, glancing over at Blitz, who felt himself tense up under his gaze. Jäger nodded, “seeing that no one else is here, I’ll leave you two to talk now.” The blond shuffled backwards before whipping around and practically dashing out of the room, away from the other Germans. Knowing that they were now alone, the familiar feeling of anxiety crept back into Elias’s chest once again. He swiveled his head around to look at Bandit, who was currently studying him with an intense gaze.
Elias clenched his jaw then unclenched, crossed his arms, then uncrossed them. Meanwhile, Bandit almost seemed to be enjoying how flustered the other German was acting around him; a small smile was creeping along the corners of his mouth, Elias noticed.
“Are you going to ask me something or keeping standing there like a fool?” Bandit asked in a blunt yet also teasing manner, stepping slightly closer to Blitz.
“Yes, right, sorry, I do want to ask you something. You’re already aware of the dance that we’re putting together tomorrow,” Bandit took another step closer, “and Marius thought they were should bring partners, romantic or otherwise,” another step, “and I have been meaning to ask if you would like to go with me?” When Blitz finished asking his question Bandit was within a foot of him. He was smirking, his head tilted slightly to the side in a curious gesture. Blitz matched the tilt, his face a mix of nervousness and hopefulness.
Bandit then nodded, crossing his arms, “I’ll go with you,” Blitz let out a sigh of relief and happiness, “I knew you were trying to ask me since you looked over at me at lunch. I just wanted to see you squirm while trying to ask.” The smirk on his face grew larger as Elias’s mouth dropped open.
“Am I really that obvious?” Blitz asked, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.
Dominic shook his head, “not really, I’m just good at picking up this sort of things; especially with you. You’re interesting to watch.”
Blitz blinked, unsure if that was meant to be a compliment or not. Before he could ask, Bandit leaned in close, their mouths now centimeters apart, “I find you very interesting, Elias,” he mumbled to the other man. Elias opened his mouth only to close it again, uncertain how to react to that statement. Bandit let out a small chuckle before leaning even closer, putting a hand on the other man’s shoulder. Elias tensed under the touch and began to lean forward in return, attempting to close the gap, his mind swirling.
Before their lips could touch, Bandit tightened his grip and spun the man around, smacking his behind and shoving him toward the door, “now go on, I have work to do. I will see you tomorrow at the dance.”
Elias stumbled toward the doorframe and didn’t say a word as his head tried to process what all just happened. As he left the room, he heard Bandit call one last thing: “meet me by the drink table!”
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The next day the base was buzzing with high energy. Operators were getting excited for the dance, eager for a small break from their dangerous and stressful job. Some had begun hanging decorations, mainly the paper snowflakes they had made, others set up the food and drink tables and moved the normal mess hall tables into a different arrangement to allow space to dance.
Blitz was busy deciding what outfit to wear. He wanted to dress nice but what did that mean exactly? What if he picked something too fancy and Bandit made fun of him for it? He decided to go with a black dress shirt and a white tie, with jeans for the pants. A balance of casual and professional, Blitz thought. He set the clothes out on his bed, ready for later that day.
In the meantime, he decided he would make sure the setup was going smoothly and if so, go work out afterward. He headed toward the mess hall only to run into Jäger on the way there. His friend grinned, “ah, there you are! If you’re going to help set up, don’t bother, we just finished. Everything looks great, I feel. Oh! How did last night go? What did he say?” He friend grabbed his shoulders in a tight grip.
“He agreed to go with me.” Blitz said, gently removing the other mans’ hands from his shoulder, “and not only that he,” he coughed and glanced around before leaning in close,” he tried to kiss me.”
“He—seriously? What do you mean ‘tried’, did you chicken out? Elias, don’t tell me you were a chicken.” The blond frowned.
“No, he pulled away before we did, I swear. He still had work to do so he kicked me out.” Blitz replied, his cheeks turning read as he explained.
“Well I’ll be damned. He likes you too, after all this time of you putting it off.” Jäger teased, grinning deviously.
Blitz glared at the other man but said nothing else. He wasn’t sure what to think of the whole thing. Now that he knew Bandit liked him back, he was conflicted as to whether he should keep his rule about not dating colleagues. He could make an exception just this once, right? What was he thinking, if he broke it once he would break it again, he was sure of it. He decided to put it off for now and wait to see what would happen later that night.
Since the mess hall was set up, Blitz set off to workout for a while. In the gym area, the Russians, minus Glaz, were training with each other. Ela was doing stretches by herself while IQ and Twitch helped each other with weight training. Blitz then noticed a lone Bandit currently taking a break from his exercise to drink from his water bottle. The two made eye contact and Dominic pulled his mouth away from his drink to offer a smirk in greeting. He wiped his forehead and turned away, fixing to resume his exercises.
Blitz took in a breath and made his way over to him, his jaw clenched. He approached the other German and offered a small smile, “mind if I join you for a while? I’m looking for a way to pass time before the dance and found myself going here.” Bandit raised a suspicious eyebrow before Blitz clarified, “I figured time would pass quicker if I worked with a partner.”
Bandit then gave a passive shrug, “Alright, we can train together; I was about to do some weight training.” He stated more than asked if that was something Blitz wanted to do. Luckily, Blitz enjoyed weight training and was happy to participate. The two moved through different weight activities, working different muscles as they did; legs, core, and finally arms and chest. The two began to set up weights on the bench press for Bandit’s preferred amount. Elias stepped behind the bench to act as Bandit’s spotter while he worked the weights.
He carefully observed the bar and Dominic’s arms, making sure he was tiring himself too much or letting the bar sway too much. As he watched, he found himself getting absorbed in the way Bandit’s muscles worked under his skin. He stared at the thin layer of sweat forming over his arms, seeing a small bead of sweat collect and roll down to drip onto the ground. Eventually the German got a hold of himself and refocused himself on the bar instead of ogling like a creep.
Even so, it was too late, Bandit had noticed Blitz’s staring and couldn’t help but smirk, “you’re getting distracted. So much for being my spotter,” he teased the other man.
Blitz’s mouth dropped open slightly in embarrassment, but no words left his mouth. Instead he coughed nervously and looks away, “so are you done with your reps? Is it my turn?”
Dominic sat up on the bench, nodding, letting Blitz fix the weights to what he wanted. The two switched places and Elias made himself comfortable on the bench. Bandit leaned his arms onto the poles used to hold the bar and stared down at the other man. As Blitz began to work out, he found it difficult to stay focused under Bandit’s gaze. The other German didn’t seem to let his eyes wander like Blitz was doing yet he couldn’t help but feel that Bandit was sparing glances to places he shouldn’t.
Soon after the tension became too much for the poor man, causing him to set the bar in its place rather roughly. He let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding and glanced upward to catch Dominic staring down at him with half-closed eyes, his signature bored expression, “that’s all you’re going to do? Seriously?”
Blitz swallowed the lump forming in his throat and shrugged, “yeah, I guess so. I don’t want to overwork myself before a night of dancing.”
Bandit blinked, clearly not convinced. He slowly squatted down and hovered his face closer to the other man’s, “I call bullshit on that, I’m afraid. Earlier you said you broke your previous weight limit on the leg weight machine over there, but now you decide to give up early?”
Elias squirmed in place, disliking Bandit’s deception skills right now. Damn him for calling him out on his own bullshit. How would he explain that he felt nervous under Bandit’s gaze? He would just end up sounding strange. In his inner turmoil, he failed to notice that Bandit was hovering even closer to his face now, their noses close to touching. He only ended up noticing because Bandit let out a small scoff, sending a puff of air over Blitz’s face. Blitz’s eyes focused in on the other man’s nose before glancing down at his lips. Bandit leaned even closer, their noses brushing against each other as he tilted his head slightly. But before their lips could touch, Blitz grabbed the bars beside his shoulders and used them to push himself away and sit up on the bench. He pretended to stretch his arms and yawn before standing and turning to face the other German, “that was a good workout, yeah? We should call it quits so we have time to shower and get ready for the dance. I know I’ll be eating a good dinner tonight.” He grinned, flustered, and clearly nervous as seen clearly in his eyes.
Bandit rolled his eyes before standing, “fine. See you there.” He had an extra bite to his tone when he said that, making Blitz finch slightly. Bandit seemed angry at Blitz for backing out of the kiss last second. He winced at himself, ashamed for being such a wuss, but shoved the feelings away before he brooded on them too much. The German quickly made his way out of the gym and back to his room to grab a fresh pair of clothes for his shower. He made sure to tell himself to shower quickly as to avoid sharing it with Bandit and create even more awkwardness between them.
Blitz got his clothes and showered as fast he could, clearly with Lady Luck shining down on him today since he didn’t run into Bandit the entire time. Back in his room, he changed out of the clothes and into the outfit he chose for the dance. His stomach grumbled as he finished putting on his tie and headed off toward the mess hall.
The mess hall had been completely transformed through all the decorating and rearranging the operators had done for the special occasion. Handmade snowflakes swirled from their places on the ceilings. White streamers were also strewn about the ceiling between the snowflakes and trailing over the entrance. Blitz couldn’t help but let a smile bloom over his face at the decorations and the excited energy that was beginning to fill the room. Quite a few operators were already present, all broken off into little groups and cliques alike. Elias remembered Bandit telling him to meet him by the drink table which he found was set up in a corner with a comfy looking sofa next to it. However, Bandit was nowhere to be found so the German decided to mingle with some of his friends while he waited for his date.
Elias found Jäger in a small group consisting of IQ, Twitch, Lesion, and Jäger’s chosen date Iana. Jäger grinned as Elias approached, “you’re here! No Bandit yet, I’m guessing? He’ll come, don’t worry friend. It’s Bandit, he likes to piss people off, so he’s probably choosing to be late on purpose to bother you.”
Iana poked Marius in his side with a click of her tongue, “Marius! He will be here Elias, don’t worry.” She offered a warm smile to Jäger’s friend. The German stuck around with the small group for a while longer before deciding to go and search for Bandit once more. He surveyed the food area, the dancefloor, then finally the drink table. On the couch next to the drink table sat Bandit as well as Kapkan. Elias couldn’t help but let a smile spread across his face as his gaze landed on the other German. He began to make his way over him but noticed something that made his feet turn to lead. The smile on his face melted away into a look up disappointment and shock.
On the couch, Bandit sat with Kapkan, who was currently leaned into the other man, their lips pressed together in a kiss. Blitz felt himself take a step backward, his mind telling him to turn away from the situation and forget this stupid dance ever happened at all.
As the German began to back away, Dominic turned and locked eyes with him. He face was blank which made Blitz even more distraught, finally turning and leaving the mess hall entirely. Elias gritted his teeth and clenched his hands into fists as he stormed off toward his sleeping quarters. ‘Idiot,’ he thought, ‘why would Bandit choose you out of everyone?’ He finally made it back to his room and slumped down onto his bed. He hung his head between his legs and let out a deep sigh. A part of him reminded the German that he hadn’t had dinner yet because he left so early. ‘I’ll just skip the meal. No way I’m going back there now,’ he concluded.
What he did not expect was a figure to abruptly open the door to the room without a single knock. The figure hovered in the doorway, shoving hands into pockets of their pants and leaning against the frame, “that was quite a dramatic leave you took back there. I was half expecting you to start crying.” Bandit’s voice chuckled as he spoke.
Blitz’s head shot up to look at the unexpected guest and quickly jumped to his feet, “Dominic, I--! What are you doing here?” He asked nervously.
“Talking to you, idiot. Why did you leave?” Bandit inquired.
“You were kissing Kapkan on the couch right by where we planned on meaning. So to me that said you changed your mind about being my date and so I left.” Blitz explained, shrugging his shoulders defeatedly. “I mean, you’re perfectly welcome to kiss whomever you wa—” Blitz’s explanation was cut off as a pair of lips crashed against his own. He stiffed, his hands moving up to rest on the shoulders of the other man, beginning an attempt to push Bandit away. But as Dominic leaned further in, Elias relaxed his body and instead wrapped his arms around the other German’s back.
Blitz was the first to lean away, needing to catch a much-needed breath, “now I’m just confused. I thought you liked Kapkan?”
Bandit rolled his eyes, “no, you stupid man. If you had approached us, you would have learned that Kapkan leaned into me. He was already drunk and wanted to make Glaz jealous, so he kissed me. I have no interest in dating a Russian.” His hands dug into Blitz’s sides, “plus I already have my eyes on someone else.”
Elias couldn’t help but blush and look away nervously, “oh, I see. Well now I feel stupid.”
Dominic shrugged and pulled away, “then stop feeling stupid and come get dinner with me instead.” He gestured toward the open door, hinting at returning to the dance.
Blitz smiled and nodded, “alright, I think I can do that. And afterward I’m forcing you to dance with me.” Bandit groaned while Elias laughed and the two returned to the dance as something more than just friends.