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Wolff had never liked the winter. Too cold, too dark, too unpredictable weather, and not to mention the snow. But now that she’s forced to fight in the winter her loathing for the season has never been this intense. Aside from the freezing temperatures, the engines they used stopped working too many times to count and repairs were a nightmare, their tracks broke easily, and not to mention suspension damage; metal parts became brittle in the cold and increased the chances of them cracking or breaking. They lost a lot of women to frostbite and hypothermia, including two of the division’s mechanics. It was almost like all hope was lost, and a part of her wished for a T-34 to randomly come out of nowhere and take her out of her misery.
But back to the talking of cold weather, sleeping was almost impossible as well. The inside of a tank was too uncomfortable and outside was… well, snowy and cold. There was almost no safe place to rest, which made many crew members sleep deprived, and it ruined their prestation on the battlefield. She was one of those sleep deprived crew members.
Wolff had always struggled with sleep, if she wasn’t comfortable or if it was one degree under or over her preferred heat she couldn’t rest peacefully. It made her aim off, and that made her commander irritated.
Oh god her commander.
Her commander, Klaudia Jäger, was a stern and well… Commanding person. Aside from her hard personality, she was a good-looking woman. She had the most bright and beautiful blue eyes, her long hair was to die for (even if she hadn’t showered in a while), and her body didn’t look all that bad either. She may be a little flat, but Wolff never liked that in her partner anyway.
Klaudia, despite not taking a lot of shit or disobedience from anyone, had softened up to the gunner. They have engaged in light-hearted conversations, shared coffee, comforted one another in times of despair, and in general got along quite well, there was one thing both of them hadn’t done yet. Neither of them really liked physical affection in the first couple weeks of getting to know each other. They have grown a bond, yes, but touch had been a difficult subject, nonetheless; and Nothing else aside from a hand on the shoulder or a hair ruffle had necessarily happened.
The night was colder than usual and if it wasn’t for her thick clothing Wolff is sure she would’ve frozen to death. Her commander laid silent and motionless next to her. She’s not sure if she’s awake, and she probably would get in trouble if she woke her up. She stared at her commander’s back for a while unsure whether she should wake her up, until her thoughts were interrupted.
“Stop staring and go to sleep Wolff.”
To say she was surprised was an understatement.
“You’re still awake?”
“Your restless staring is making me uneasy and unable to sleep, yes.”
Wolff felt a little guilty but quickly pushed it away, not wanting to think about something anymore.
She had almost forgotten about the cold until a small gush of wind shook their tarpaulin. Wolff curled up a little bit more to shield out the sudden drop in temperature. God she hated the winter.
As she opened her eyes, she saw that her commander had turned around and now peacefully laid face to face with her, her face mostly covered by her long hear. Wolff sighed in jealousy as she remembered how she cut her hair before going to moscow. Probably the biggest mistake of her life.
“Wolff.”
Her attention quickly shifted from her commander’s hair to her face, seeing how her eyes had opened once again. She could see how tired Klaudia was, it was visible in every part of her face.
“Uhh, yes Hauptmann?”
“You’re cold as well, right?”
That confused her. Why was she suddenly asking her if she was cold? Why did she care? Why on earth is that relevant right now?
“Of course.”
“Embrace me.”
Quickly her confusion turned into surprise. Never in Wolff’s life did she expect her superior to ask such a thing of her, but for some reason... She couldn’t really disobey direct orders, could she?
Hesitantly she wrapped her arms around her commander’s body, it was warmer than her blankets so maybe It wont be that bad...
They didn’t exchange any words as her arms found their way around Wolff’s waist and buried her face in her gunner’s neck. The feeling of Klaudia’s hair in her neck itched a little, but it was a minor sacrifice for warmth.
That night, they both slept soundlessly. No randomly waking up every three hours, no waking up at 5 am and not being able to sleep... Just a comfortable night’s rest. And both of them really needed that.