(Im so sorry for the long chapter.....I did NOT wanna do a pt 4 lolz)

  I stood there dwelling in my awkward silence as I thought for a moment. 'I could've mistaken it again...... No, no. I saw his attitude do a complete 180. I know what I saw. What exactly am I supposed to do about it though? Do I confront him and ask what's wrong? Do I say or do nothing? Ugh.'

   A labored sigh left my mouth as I brought myself out of my thoughts. I pivoted on my heel to look at Gaz. I tiled my head in the direction I thought I saw ghost in. 'Let's just get this interaction over with, I'll worry about whatever the hell that was, later.' "C'mon Gaz lets go talk to the grumpy brit." I waved and started walking. He chuckled and quickly followed.

3rd Person POV:

   König stood as still as a statue as he watched her walk away from him. His twitching had subsided, and he released the grip on his gun, a little bit. Why was he getting so worked up? It's not like he was angry, no no- he was beyond angry. This was a type of anger he'd never felt before. It was bubbling up in his chest and was rising with every step that she took next to that man. Suddenly, he remembered the way she'd looked at him before she'd walked away with that man. That expression: he was all too familiar with it.

   It was fear. He began replaying the entire interaction over and over in his head. A part of him couldn't understand any of this, but the other part understood quite well. It was louder and crueler. 'You scared her away .... monster.' It was as if the sentence was on set on loop in his head. His anger had since retired into pure sadness and fear.

   Had he really scared away the only person who made him feel so warm and fuzzy inside? He really hoped that it wasn't true. He didn't want her to look at him any differently. But deep down his conscience ravaged at his insides. It was true. He had scared her. He was a monster.

   He was torn on what to do to fix this if he could even fix it at all. He settled on the only answer that made sense to him, distancing. He couldn't scare her anymore if he didn't talk to her.

1st Person POV:

   Me and Gaz started back towards my team. We walked back in a comfortable silence as we had talked away all our thoughts. I made sure to ask him if he saw König looking at him weird and to my surprise, he said he didn't. It baffled me for a minute because it's quite easy to see a 6 ft. 10 person staring down at you. How he didn't see it, was literally beyond me. As we neared the group, something seemed off. The regular cheerful ambiance was nowhere to be found.

   Roze and Horangi were still deep into their conversation; so, it wasn't them who was tarnishing the atmosphere. I looked around, trying to find a cause. When my eyes landed on König, I realized that it was him. He still stood in the same spot he was in before we left. His body was more slouched over; his gun was resting barrel-first into the ground as he stared downwards, looking at it. 'Well okay then...' I walked past him to Roze and Horangi, I interrupted their conversation; telling them to meet up with Simon and his group; they would practice both hand-to-hand combat as well as sniping and stealth. Since Kortac soldiers were already well-trained, this would be more like tests to see who can do what etc.

   "Well, what about König...?" Roze asked quietly. "I'll be testing him." I turned my body to catch a glimpse of König. I continued, "There's something bothering him, and I plan to try and get to the bottom of it." Roze nodded in approval and Horangi stepped toward me. Just as he seemed like he was going to say something, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Before I could even turn around, the person walked in front of me.

   It was Gaz, he nodded to Roze and Horangi before looking back to me. "Alright, I think I've overstayed my welcome. Getting kind of hungry too, I'll see you later lieutenant sweet cheeks." I glared at him, letting the smallest smile creep on my face. I nodded. "Alright, see you around Gaz. Don't get into trouble." He released my shoulder and smiled, " I won't ma'am."

   Before I knew it, he was gone. I turned back to Horangi who was still waiting to talk to me. "Sorry about that, you were saying...?" I asked. He glanced over to Roze and she shook her head. "Never mind." He excused himself before walking away. Roze waved goodbye to me before following suit. I watched as Horangi patted König on the shoulder before continuing with Roze over to Simon's group.

   'Well, that was weird..." I too made my way over to König. I tapped him on his forearm to get his attention. While I waited for him to acknowledge me, I took note on how he was standing. It seemed hella uncomfortable to say the least. I tapped him again, to no avail. I decided that desperate times called for desperate measures. I grabbed his forearm with both of my hands and tried my best to shake him.

   It was quite the task, but this got his attention. The slightest movement came from him turning his head to look down at me. I was huffing at this point. 'Why the hell were his limbs so heavy? 'Is that normal? Whatever.' I pointed in the direction of an isolated training station, out of view from the other crowded ones. "C'mon on, let's go, I'm training you today."

   I let go of his arm and started to walk away. However, he didn't follow. After a while of not hearing extra footsteps behind me, I turned around to see him just silently staring at me. I marched back over to him, causing him to flinch a bit. I grabbed his hand and his gun and started to drag him over to the damned isolated training station. I only made it a couple of feet before I found myself so out of breath, that I had to let go of him and his gun to put my hands on my knees; just to try and catch my breath. Once I recuperated, I turned around to face him. His eyes darted away from mine almost immediately.

   I knew he had his issues, so I began to pack my patience. I took in a long breath, shifting my gaze to look at him. "Look König, I'm not going to force you to do this, all I'm asking is that you try." He didn't move an inch. I rested both hands on my waist, "Please? I can't drag you anymore, I'm tired." He still didn't budge. I felt my anger start to rise. 'Fuck patience; he's just being a dick now'.

   "Fine then, if you don't want to do this at all, then be my guest and take your shit back to your barracks. I'm done fighting with you." I whipped around to continue marching up the hill when I felt him grab my hand. I winced at the force that he had used and turned to face him again. He released the grip he had on my hand, as he softly held it. He bent down and picked up his gun, hoisting it over his shoulder. He said nothing as he met my eyes, staring into them; almost as if he was searching for something.

   When he seemingly came up empty, he stood up fully and walked past me, pulling me softly with him. He held my hand so delicately; almost as if he was afraid that it would break. When we reached the station, he pulled me gently from behind him and hesitated before letting go of my hand. This training station had obviously hadn't been used in a while. I left him standing next to the slab that snipers used to lay on. I ventured over to the booth; using my keys to unlock it, I brought out 1 other sniper and 2 headphones.

    "What type of ammo does your sniper take?" I asked. He continued to stare down at me, not saying a word. 'Still on the silent treatment, really dude?' I rolled my eyes; dropping everything I had gathered so far by his feet. I doubled back. I searched the entire booth, grabbing every type of sniper ammo that I could find. I hobbled back outside to see that he was now examining the other gun. Taking in all its features as he ran his gloved fingers over the ridges.

   I hadn't realized I was staring until he stopped and looked at me. I cleared my throat and walked over to him. Placing the ammo down gently next to the other pile of stuff. I kneeled, grabbing the sniper, and putting on the headphones. I started to reload it. "Did you want to go first?" I asked but he didn't answer. "Okay then..." I mumbled under my breath.

   I positioned myself on the ground, a proper sniper stance. I positioned the gun Infront of me opening the hatch for the scope. I blew into it, ridding it of any dust. Just as I got ready to shoot the first bullet, something hit me. I jumped and rolled over to the side. König had positioned himself next to me and was watching my form. I heaved a relieved sigh and shifted my body back over to my gun. I inhaled, placing my eye into the scope.

   I found a target and pulled the trigger. It hit. I adjusted my shoulder, rolling it around. 'The damn recoil is something I don't miss from sniping'. In my peripheral I saw König look into his scope to see if my shot had hit the target. He turned to me and gave a thumbs up. I smiled. 'Not as rusty as I thought.'

   He shifted in his spot, releasing the safety on his gun. He peeked over at me to see if I was watching, before turning to look into his scope. He fired almost immediately. The recoil didn't even move him an inch. I peeked in my scope to see if he had hit the target. He did, and it was a headshot. A wave of embarrassment washed over me as I looked down out of my scope.

   'My contractual sergeant is doing better than me. That's embarrassing'. I turned to look at König, who was already looking at me expectantly. I gave him a thumbs up, trying my hardest to smile as I did so. I shifted myself to look into my scope again, preparing myself for the shot. I spotted a target, inhaled, and shot. As I did so, I felt the butt plate of the sniper jam into the soft flesh of my shoulder. It felt like I had shattered everything in it.

   The recoil had hurt less the first time because I had kept my shoulder tight. This time I hadn't prepared myself enough and it showed. A small yelp left my mouth, and I dropped my hold on the gun. I fell from my stance, groaning and clutching my shoulder. My entire arm started spasming in pain. Still groaning, I let my head hit the ground as I laid there motionless. 'Now this is even more embarrassing, I'm a dead shot? Yeah, right. I'm a damn fraud.'

   I heard rustling from behind me and the sound of a gun being picked up. "This gun is specifically known for its brutal recoil." He paused before speaking again. "Are you alright libeling?" 'There he goes again with those damn nicknames that I can't understand'. I nodded, still clutching my shoulder. I was somewhat grateful that I had fell with my back towards him. Tears started to prick at the backs of my eyes.

   'I fucked up both of my shots, now I'm about to cry. Get it together Belle. This is beyond embarrassing, its humiliating to say the least.' I heard the sound of more rustling and the sound of a safety being flicked off. I let go of a breath that I didn't even know I was holding in. It was a good thing that he didn't try to meet my gaze somehow. A shot was fired.

   Complete silence followed after, accompanied by the ringing in my ears. 'I guess those headphones did do wonders.' I stayed on that cold sniper slab for what felt like hours; but was really only minutes. All the while he didn't fire another shot. I wasn't complaining at that, my ears probably wouldn't be able to take another ringing session. I heard shuffling behind me.

   My body stiffened on instinct as I felt König loom over me. "Lieutenant? Are you sure you're okay...?" He seemed unsure of himself in way. "I'm fine König, thanks for asking." I don't know why or how but I couldn't stifle the horrible voice crack that came with me laying in such an awkward position. All in all, it made my answer to him seem more unbelievable than me not moving an inch. He stepped over my motionless body, coming to a kneel as he turned around to get a good look at my face. I heaved a sigh; dragging my eyes from up from the slab to look at him.

   His eyes were laced with both worry and concern. "What's wrong...?" He asked. His voice was so soft and smooth, I almost broke down right then and there. I didn't say anything, I just stared at him. He broke eye contact and started playing with the laces on his boots. "Is it because of me...?" He paused for a bit, and I didn't say anything.

   "Did I do something wrong...? I'm sorry if I did..." He dropped his head, and I watched as his entire body became tense. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. "Liebling, please.... please don't ignore me.... I'm-" I placed my hand on his arm; gently rubbing small circles on it. His head shot up almost immediately. He didn't utter another word.

   Instead, he watched me with desperate eyes. "I'm alright König." I started to push myself upwards, wincing every now and then. "Libeling, you are hurt." He grabbed my hand that was now holding his arm."Wait I can carry-" I raised my hand that was holding his arm. "That won't be necessary." I watched him as he seemed to pout at my abrupt rejection for his help.

   I couldn't help but smile at that. I finally pushed myself upwards into a sitting position. König followed suit, moving from his seemingly uncomfortable kneeling position. We sat in a comfortable silence for a while until I broke it, "König, those names that you call me.... what do they mean?" His head snapped in my direction, and he met my gaze. I watched as his eyes softened before he looked away. "Which ones...?" His head was turned in the opposite direction as he avoided looking at me at all.

   "I don't know how to pronounce them or anything...but-" Almost as if it was done on purpose, the siren that signaled the end of practice went off. It shook my already battered up ears. At this, König began standing up. He extended a hand out to me, and I took it, pulling myself upwards. He let go of my hand and went to retrieve his gun. "The next time there is training," He started, and I turned to face him. He glanced down at his gun before he spoke again.

   "I will teach you how to shoot this gun. It's my favorite one. It was given to me back from home, from Austria." He looked up at me with smiling eyes. He began walking in my direction. "Hold out your hands libeling." He told me, and I obeyed.

   He placed his gun gently in my hands before backing away. I stood there for a minute, awkwardly holding his gun. He mumbled something before walking back towards me and taking his gun back. He looked down at me before speaking once more, "I will definitely teach you how to use this libeling." I nodded and turned on my heel, setting out to collect the things that we had- well I had used during my horrible training session. Before I could even do anything, he grabbed my arm; pulling me back to face him.

   He had a hardened look in his eyes as he spoke. "You are injured Liebling, I'll put away everything." His voice was light but demanding in a way. "Can you hold this or is it too heavy?" He handed his gun out to me and I took it, wincing at the pain from my shoulder. I nodded, and he gave me a condescending look. I smiled to try and further convince him and to my surprise it worked. He huffed and walked back in the direction of the pile of equipment that needed to be put away.

   Deciding not to go against him, I stood there for a while as he put everything away. Whether or not he put everything back properly was beyond me. He came back after some time, walking up to me. I went to hand him his gun, but he refused it. Confusion swept across my face as I stared at him. He inched closer to me, looking down at me before he spoke. "Can I.....carry you Liebling?" I froze.

   'Can he wh-' I stared up at him with wide eyes. He kept the eye contact as he stared down at me. "Please...I just want to help. I hate- I can't stand seeing you in pain bärchen." His hand rose as he nervously scratched the back of his head. 'But my legs are fine dude?' Is what I wanted to say, but his puppy dog eyes were doing something to me. I sighed.

   "Alright, I don't see why not. Only this once though, don't get used to this." I looked up at him from the tops of my eyes as I pointed a finger at him. His eyes lit up with so much joy and I help but give him a small smile. He wasted no time. He slid his arms underneath my legs and softly gripped one of my shoulders; slowly hoisting me off the ground. I can't lie my heart did skip a beat. I looked down, almost gawking at the distance from the ground to where I was.

   My eyes widened a bit and he noticed. I felt his chest rumble and I looked up at him. 'Did he just laugh?' He eventually looked down at me with worry staining his eyes. "Are you comfortable Liebling? I'm not hurting you....am I?" I shook my head, "No, no you're fine." I looked away from him, breaking eye contact. After a short minute I felt him start walking. Eventually my neck got tired, and I leaned my head against his chest.

   I felt him flinch a bit while his warmth engulfed me. I cradled his gun in my lap while he carried me.

'This is quite comfortable....'

(3275 Words)

✍(◔◡◔)

// The longest chapter I've written so farrrr. Hope y'all enjoy, ily <3 //