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Mitchell loved birthdays.
He believed it was a consequence of experiencing so much loss. Then again, who doesn't love a good celebration, nevertheless a celebration of life. Turning his head to face the OLED panel on the wall, Mitchell could see that it was still way too early to be up. The excitement made him restless, so he decided it was time to take a shower and grab coffee. After all, he did want to look good for the party later. Mitchell hadn't felt this excited in a long time. And weirdly so, since this wasn't even his birthday.
Stepping out from his bedroom, Mitchell turned around only to be greeted by a sleepy Gideon, also leaving his quarters.
"Morning, mate." he mumbled groggily, stretching his arms above his head. Mitchell noticed that Gideon's t-shirt lifted just above his waistline, catching a glimpse of his captain's happy trail.
Mitchell tried his best to suppress the likely inhuman sound that threatened to escape his throat. He hated the way his captain made him weak at the knees, especially since he never considered himself the type to just fall for a pair of pretty blue eyes. In all honesty, Mitchell wasn't even sure what he felt for Gideon.
"Hey birthday boy!" Mitchell cheered, likely too loudly.
"Mitchell, can we not do this right now?" Gideon groaned, wiping a hand down his face. He was hoping he would be able to get up early and check on the new intel documents in the debriefing room, simultaneously avoiding ... this.
"Aww, come on Gideon! You can't be such a downer on your birthday! Yeah you're old, but-" Mitchell paused, debating whether he should run from his captain's icy glare. "But, we've got a few surprises for you that I think you'll like!" Mitchell added, teasing and poking Gideon in the stomach.
"Oi, if you don't stop that I'm going to rip your fucking arm off." Gideon threatened in his thick accent, grabbing the prosthetic. "Look, Mitchell, I just want to go through today unscathed, and maybe dig up a little info from those documents we recovered yesterday. Can you at least fucking let me do that?"
"I can't believe you're working today," Mitchell stated, "but fine, have it your way. Just have your surprised face ready, okay?"
"Fuck me." Gideon mumbled to himself trudging his way to the showers.
As everyone shuffled into the Atlas conference room to prepare for Gideon's "grand arrival", Mitchell sneaked off into his sleeping quarters to fetch his own little surprise for the captain. Pulling out the neatly wrapped object, Mitchell plopped down onto his bed and just stared at it for a while.
'I don't know if I can do this.' he thought to himself.
Wrapped in the gift was a note that Mitchell had written to his captain containing, to put it lightly, sensitive information. No way was he going to verbally admit to Gideon he had feelings for him. Soldiers were never really good communicators beyond giving commands, and Mitchell found it hard to believe that he would even know what to say, let alone say it coherently. And besides, Gideon was his captain! Unfortunately, even with his note, the more he thought about it, the worse of an idea it seemed.
'This is going to backfire and blow up in my face, I just know it.' he thought.
Pushing his worries aside, Mitchell slipped the gift back under his bed and made his way over to the conference room. Upon entering, Ilona's cheery smile greeted him at the door.
"Mitchell, you look great!" Ilona exclaimed, looking towards his hand. "Hey, where's your surprise?"
"Wait, how do you know about that?" Mitchell asked, bewildered.
"Joker told me." she replied, without hesitation. "He said he saw you in the common room two nights ago having a verbal altercation with a roll of tape before you threw it across the room."
"Oh, did he?" Mitchell blurted, trying to hide the blush he felt coming on. Ilona just stared at him contently, completely aware of the embarrassment Mitchell was feeling and relishing in the moment.
"So," she continued, with a soft chuckle, "I'm guessing you had a gift for the old man?"
"Hey, he's not old! Hell, he's barely older than I am!" Mitchell retorted, admittedly a little defensive.
"Well aren't we awfully protective of our captain today?" Ilona joked, throwing him a wink. "Look, you should just talk to him, I promise you it can't hurt!"
Mitchell fully understood what she meant, and frankly hated it. How did she always know everything?
"Fine, but if this goes south, it's on your head." Mitchell replied, pouting.
"At least I know how to properly use tape." she called out, walking away to help with the party preparations.
After Gideon's Oscar-winning performance entering the conference room, the party was in full swing. The crew had really gone all out, showing projections of Gideon's best moments in battle including his death defying trials in Lagos, Seattle, and Detroit. Gideon's exo was placed in a display case near the back of the room and even Irons was there to have a few drinks. Mitchell was pretty sure that for the first time since working with Gideon, he saw his captain genuinely speechless.
"This is an ace party you've thrown together here, mate. Cheers," Gideon said, meeting Mitchell's stare. There they were again, those pretty blue eyes. Mitchell couldn't help but look away, lest he do something he regret. He started to feel an urge building up in the pit of his stomach, and before he realized what he was doing, Mitchell blurted out, "Hey, could you meet me in my room?"
Mortified that he had made the suggestion, Mitchell swiftly left the conference room and speed-walked down the hall towards his quarters.
'Mitchell, you're such an idiot, why did you do that? Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!' he worried to himself, as he quickly ran into his room and slammed the door. Before long, a soft knock was heard coming from the other side.
"Hey, um, Mitchell?" Gideon said awkwardly. Slowly turning around, Mitchell let his captain in, practically shaking in his boots.
'Well, here goes nothing.' he thought.
"So, what's up mate?" Gideon asked, sliding his hands into his pockets as he entered the room. Damn he looked good, and Mitchell couldn't help but stare. His captain had on a tight, black v-neck t-shirt and slate jeans, as well as what appeared to be some old vintage sneakers. A watch Mitchell recognized from Gideon's room was on Gideon's left wrist and his hair was swept up, free from the usual hold under his beanie. Mitchell loved it when Gideon was dressed in civilian clothes, especially since it happened few and far between.
"Oi, Mitchell!" Gideon interrupted, seemingly a little annoyed at this point. Noticing Mitchell's unease, Gideon lightened up. "I'm not getting any younger you know?" he joked, throwing Mitchell a soft smile.
"Right, sorry. I got you something." Mitchell said, pulling the gift from under his bed. The shiny wrapping paper casted reflections onto the roof. "I didn't know what to get you, especially since you never tell me anything, but I hope you like it."
Gideon took the gift into his hands and looked up at Mitchell. The gesture was truly unexpected and he felt a warm happiness in his chest. The damn private always managed to make him a softie.
"Thank you, Jack." Gideon said, with a genuine nod. Taken aback by the use of his first name, Mitchell could only smile shyly and stare down at his feet. As Gideon started to unwrap the paper, the anxiety in Mitchell's heart returned, causing him to bite on his bottom lip out of nervousness.
"Oh wow, Mitchell this is ace!" Gideon exclaimed, lifting up the frame. Inside held one of Gideon's combat jackets, folded neatly with a plaque underneath that read 'To the bravest and strongest man I know, happy birthday Gideon'.
"It's the jacket you had when I first met you and we started working together. You put it into retirement, but it had been through so much, I thought it would be nice to frame it." Mitchell explained.
"This is great, Mitchell, I love it!" Gideon beamed. "Eh, what's this?"
Gideon felt a piece of paper taped to the back of the frame with his right hand. He flipped the frame around only to find a note, neatly folded and placed deliberately where Gideon would notice. Mitchell could only stop and stare as his captain peeled the note off and began to read it. It felt like he was watching a car accident happen right in front of him.
"Um, Mitchell..." Gideon started. Mitchell closed his eyes, preparing for a punch in the face.
"Mitchell? Mate, look at me." Gideon said, calmly meeting Mitchell's eyes. "Did you really mean all that?"
The ambiguity in Gideon's face was killing him, and he couldn't take it. "Ye-yeah, I meant it." Mitchell said, staring down at his feet.
Walking slowly towards the private, Gideon gently lifted Mitchell's face up by his chin. Closing the space between them, Gideon kissed Mitchell softly, with the intention of showing him that he shared the same feelings. Breaking apart to breathe, Mitchell stared at his captain confused.
"Why the look, Mitchell? Was it not how you wanted it?" Gideon asked, slightly concerned.
"No, I just ... this wasn't exactly expected." Mitchell replied.
"Well what'd you expect, for me to sock you in the face, mate?" Gideon laughed, causing Mitchell to blush again. "Look, Jack, somehow you've managed to tear down all my walls and I don't know how you did it but I'm glad. I've never felt this way about anyone before, hell I'm surprised I even feel something at all to be quite honest with you. I'm just glad you made the first move, I don't know if I could've done that."
Grabbing Gideon by the collar of his shirt, Mitchell pulled him in for one more kiss, this time rougher. Gideon licked Mitchell's bottom lip, to which he obliged. Gideon tasted of coffee, smelled of cologne, and all the sensations were making Mitchell's head swim. He ran his hands down Gideon's firm torso, until he reached his waist. Gideon shuddered under his touch, to which Mitchell lightly chuckled. Taking hold of the bottom of Gideon's shirt, Mitchell paused, breaking away from their kiss.
"Happy birthday, captain." he said quietly.
"That, it is." Gideon replied, once again closing the gap between them.