Chapter Text
Patrolling was such a bullshit job. Having to walk up and down hallways repeatedly for hours on end was not fun nor did he think it was necessary. Nobody even knew that their squadron was here at this black site. It was a secret operation that had all its details redacted to protected its members and they had no missions to carry out or objectives to protect, why would they need to invoke such frequent patrols? Was there nothing else that could be done to pass the Private's time?
Of course that was a rhetorical question. Anthony knew why he was placed there and there was only one person in particular forcing him to wander around in the cold halls late at night. That person would be Captain Diction, the bear-like man with a temper as big as a nuke. He just couldn't take a joke sometimes. In fact, if Diction didn't have that stick so far up his arse he would have just laughed off his pranks and perhaps even have gotten him back. But no, he had to be a jerk about the situation and pull rank on him. How bothersome but- Private Chilled leaned his head again the wall behind him, smirking in remembrance. -But it was so worth it.
Being bored after his daily duties, he had filled the Captain's boots with mounds of snow that he had painstakingly snuck into the base. His hands were frozen and pink by the time he was finished but the reaction he got was priceless. He remembered hearing the squishing noise in the mess hall when Diction slipped them on and yelped from the cold. The bear-like man growled almost animal like before bellowing Chilled's name and chased him all the way down to the holding cells (two floors down). How he knew it was him, he'll never know. But he got good exercise trying to dodge Nick as he tried to catch him the whole time they were running about.
But in the end this was his punishment, to stand in the frozen hallway in the middle of december waiting for absolutely no one. That was just freakin great and everyone was probably asleep by now seeing as how it was a quarter past eleven. All Anthony longed to be was curled up under his blanket in a tight ball to keep him warm, The heater in his room was busted, had been for several months, and his bed was small and lumpy but even those would be a blessing compared to where he was now.
The italian huffed lightly, his breath fogging up his visor and making it hard to see anything. He wiped at the front useless for a few moments before deciding to brave frost bite and removed his helmet. That was probably the worst part of standing guard, having to do the whole thing in full uniform. How was he expected to fight off intruders if he couldn't see a damn thing? Knowing Diction he probably didn't expect him to fight back, just die loudly so everyone can hear what's going on and be prepared.
Chilled's hair was pressed to his scalp, damp with sweat and he ruffled the dark strands till they were standing up at every angle like they usually did. He breathed in the cool air, the air feeling sharp in his lungs and wisps of white leaving his lips with every exhale as the cold nipped at him. His eyes closed while he leaning his head against to cool bricks behind him again. He was all about ready to just pass out, his feet barely holding him up anymore and he slide down into a loosely seated position.
The night was deathly quiet, no noises from either the old creaky building or any animals outside. Months ago that feeling of isolation would have engulfed him in unease but now he was used to it. It still bothered him knowing that his family had no idea where he really was, that he could die and they would only get told he was killed on duty with the reserves. Anthony as well everyone else in this base technically didn't exist, at least on record they didn't.
He took a deep breath at that thought and held it for a heart beat before letting it out again, his ears picking up something in a heavy silence. He could hear the soft tapping of footsteps making their way closer to him. Wait, what? Someone coming this late at night? Anthony's eyes snapped open and he turned to face who ever was approaching, his hand tightened around the magnum holstered to his hip. His fingers worked numbly to undo the latch holding the gun secured in its holder. He was close to drawing the weapon, eyes narrowed at the approaching figure till he saw who it was. The man coming towards him had his hands up in surrender but the grin on his face told Chilled that he was mocking him. He snapped the button holding his pistol closed again when he saw that it was just Corporal Adam 'SeaNanners' Montoya. The dark haired male was wearing most of his equipment with the exception of his helmet and ammo belt.
"I didn't startle you, did I?" Nanners voice had that ever amused tone to it and Chilled mockingly scoffed at his superior. Of course it would be Adam who would scare the living bejezzers out of him. His nerves were already shot enough without the help of the other prankster.
"No, I knew it was you. Thats why I didn't shot you. I could have but I didn't."
Adam nodded and rolled his eyes, still smirking. "Wouldn't that make a nice addition to your resume. Killed a superior officer by accident."
Chilled leaned comfortable against the wall again, brushing his bangs out of his eyes. He couldn't help but smile back at the Corporal. "Oh trust me. If I shoot you, it won't be an accident."
He received a laugh in return as Nanners joined him in sitting against the stone bricks. He slipped his hands into his pockets to keep them warm and sighed lightly. The exhale of breath was followed by a wisp of white.
Chilled watched the Corporal from the corner of his eye, not knowing whether he was here to take over for him or relieve him from duty. Hopefully it was the later. He may of been quick to react to Adam's arrival but he knew his fingers were half frozen and pulling a trigger would of been next to impossible. In fact he was surprised he hadn't caught hyperthermia yet.
"So, what are you doing out so late anyways?"
Nanners lips upturned in a smile at that question and he turned his head to look at Anthony. "Well, I would have come out here to tell you that you can stop patrolling but Diction is quite against that idea. He was practically gripping his pen tight enough to make it burst."
"Of course." The italian bit out bitterly. He should have seen that coming. As he thought, Nick wasn't one to just simply to drop grudges and he seemed to have it in for him no matter how good he was.
"So I figured I'd keep you company then." The Corporal smiled and patted Chilled on the shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts. He rose a brow at that.
"Huh." He didn't know what else to say. Not that he was ungrateful for the company, boredom was the worse killer in this base really. But he just wasn't expecting such a thing from a fellow soldier, when everyone else would rather be sleeping.
"Besides," Adam continued. "I wanted to find out what you did to tick him off. Must of been bad if Nick won't tell me." He clicked his tongue and rose a brow, his expression pure devious.
Chilled rolled his eyes in response. "Ugh, it wasn't even that big of a prank. He always whines about the littlest things. Even when I don't do things.. He blames half of what others do on me."
Nanners nodded. "That is true." He smirked and leaned closer to whisper to Anthony as if sharing a important secret with him. "But don't tell him I said that."
The italian made a zipping motion in front of his lips and imitated throwing a key over his shoulder. Both of them broke into quiet fits of giggles. It really wasn't that funny but it was obvious they were both too tired to think straight. Even Adam looked haggard. His eyes were surrounded in dark circles, the lack of sleep eating away at the tanned skin making him look more pale then usual. The insomnia hardly took away from him gaze though. The storm grey's were still as sharp as ever and held such mischievous promises within.
"Sooo...Going to tell me?"
Chilled started at his words, being pulled from his thoughts yet again. Clearing his throat in embarrassment, he looked away and shrugged as if it was no big deal. "Eh, I only filled his boots with snow. Nothing big."
The Corporal looked at him suddenly, his eyes burrowing into Anthony's, expression deadly serious. The endless greys were practically looking through him and the silence was heavy, almost too much so. A few seconds ticked by, the moments seemingly being drawn out by hours.
The sudden change in the air worried the italian and he gulped, nervous about what the other would say to him. Would he call him childish? Would he get up and leave now that he had his answer? Anthony was about to change his answer or at least add to it but Nanner's surprised him yet again.
A slow smile inched it's way across Adam's face and he broke out into fits of laughter comparable to that of a dolphin and leaned his head back against the wall. He pressed a hand to the back of his scalp at how hard he hit his head by accident. "Wow man, not bad. Not too shabby."
Anthony nodded, laughing more at his superiors reactions then at the actual deed. He liked talking to Adam. Out of all the other member of their squad, he was the most fun and despite being a higher rank, he insisted that everyone treat him as an equal. His motto was 'rank is just a title' and Chilled respected him for that. He had a refreshing way of thinking and was always eager to indulge the other soldiers in games. And when he said games, he meant playing pranks on everyone to get them to loosen up. Everything would be boring and too tense without the Corporal and Chilled enjoyed the story swapping they did in their spare time. Everything from adventures in the base to the silly shit they did while growing up.
Adam was still giggling when he reached over and pressed a hand to the italian's shoulder lightly. "You know what, that had to require commitment. I admire that." A devious look traced itself onto the man's features. "Sooo.. Diction isn't going to get up till lunch time, why not call it a night?"
Chilled was confused momentarily. "Till lunch? He's usually the first to breakfa- Oh." A smirk played on his lips as he finally picked up on the meaning of his words. "Did you pop sleeping pills into our dear Captains drink again?"
Nanners threw his hands up in innocence, grinning from ear to ear. "I don't know what your talking about! Sleeping pills? Whaaa? I'll have you know that it just so happened that our Captain was working hard and needed a few more hours of sleep."
"Whether he wanted them or not?"
They both sat there for a few moments just laughing before deciding that frostbite isn't something they were interesting in getting and started walking back to the mess hall. After a few turns that would confuse anyone who wasn't familiar with the area, they ended up back in the large storage office that was being used as the cafeteria. The filing cabinets had been shoved to one corner of the room and flipped over to be used as seats while the actual tables were all different sizes and shapes from the different room they had removed them from. It wasn't the nicest looking area but it worked for their team and despite its appearance it was kept quite clean by those who were on kitchen duty. Of course the kitchen was closed as it was almost midnight but there was one or two soldiers mulling about, either sleeping or playing cards.
Anthony stretched his arms over his head, satisfied at the click he heard and tucked his helmet under one arm as they walked. His legs wobbled tiredly and he was all too eager to end up back in bed. The sheets practically called to him like a siren and despite being dead on his feet, was still making his way down the hall, being half led- half carried by the other man. He let another yawn escape his lip and stumbled before being caught by Adam. Giving him a tired but thankful expression, he allowed him to get led back to his room. He was thankful the Corporal was there or he probably would have passed out in the hallway and died from the cold. That wouldn't have been the kindest way to go.
Nanners patted his shoulder lightly and led him back to the bedroom door. He held him up with one hand, confusing the hell out of the italian on his strength momentarily and once the door was open, he was gently eased onto the bed. Chilled practically burrowed himself under the blankets and passed out.