finders, keepers @harrisonforded - Tumblr Blog

Jun 11

crazier

pairing : paddy mayne x female soldier reader summary: being the first female sas member in the unit has its own perks- one of them being paddy's favorite soldier a/n: just ecstatic to post this one, had enough energy to edit it ALSO this one shot is inspired by the gif below.

The desert wind whipped through the SAS camp as men crowded around a rough map spread across a crate.

You stood among them, the first woman ever accepted into the unit. At first, the men had doubted you. Now, after months of raids and close calls, most of them treated you like one of their own.

Most of them.

Paddy Mayne had never treated you like just another soldier.

Ever since your first operation together, he'd kept a watchful eye on you. He made sure you had what you needed, checked on injuries, and somehow always ended up beside you whenever plans were being discussed.

David Stirling tapped the map.

"We'll split into two teams. I'll take—"

"Sir?"

Stirling looked up.

"Yes?"

You tried not to notice Paddy watching from across the table.

"Would it be possible for me to stay with Paddy's team this time?"

The entire group went quiet. Several grins appeared immediately. Stirling glanced between the two of you.

Before he could answer, Paddy spoke up, "Of course she can."

His voice was casual, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Sure, where else would she be?"

The men immediately started laughing. You closed your eyes. Here we go.

Paddy's grin widened, "Stick with Uncle Paddy, sweetheart."

The camp erupted. Whistles. Howls. Several men nearly doubled over laughing. You felt heat rush into your cheeks.

Then Paddy leaned slightly closer and lowered his voice so only you could hear, "Can't have you running off with David now, can I?"

Your blush only worsened. Unfortunately, everyone noticed.

"Oh, look at that!"

"She's gone red!"

"Uncle Paddy's favourite!"

"For God's sake," Stirling muttered.

Paddy looked entirely too pleased with himself.

Hours later, the convoy rolled out into the desert.

You climbed into the lead truck and immediately found Paddy already in the driver's seat.

"Move over."

You frowned.

"I'm getting in the passenger seat."

"That's what I meant."

The corner of his mouth twitched.

"You think I'd trust Cooper with navigation?"

From behind, Johnny Cooper laughed.

"Always good to know where I stand."

"Exactly where you belong," Paddy replied.

Reg Seekings barked out a laugh as he climbed into the back.

The truck lurched forward.

For a while there was only the rumble of the engine and the endless stretch of desert beneath the moonlight.

Paddy drove one-handed, looking completely at ease.

Which was remarkable considering all of you were heading toward an enemy airfield.

You sometimes suspected the man viewed danger as a hobby.

"You nervous?" he asked.

You looked at him.

"No."

"Good."

"Why?"

A grin appeared.

"Because if you're nervous, then I might have to start worrying."

Johnny made a dramatic gagging sound from the back.

Reg joined him.

"Oh, here we go."

Paddy didn't even turn around.

"Johnny."

The warning was calm.

Very calm.

Johnny immediately stopped.

You couldn't help laughing.

Paddy glanced sideways at you.

The sight seemed to satisfy him.

"That's better."

The convoy continued through the darkness.

As the target drew closer, the joking slowly faded.

Everyone could feel the mission ahead.

Paddy checked the compass before looking toward you again.

"When we reach the airfield, stay with me."

You raised an eyebrow.

"I can take care of myself."

"I know."

There wasn't a trace of doubt in his voice.

"I've seen you do it often enough."

His expression softened slightly.

"But stay where I can see you all the same."

Something about the way he said it made your chest tighten.

Not an order.

Just concern.

You nodded.

"All right."

"Good."

A small smile touched his mouth.

The convoy continued across the desert beneath the stars.

And though nobody said it aloud, you found yourself strangely comforted by the steady presence of the man beside you as the raid drew ever closer.

The trouble began when everyone realized Paddy wasn't going to stop.

At first, the men assumed his teasing would wear off.

It didn't.

If anything, it got worse.

Days passed. Raids came and went. Aircraft burned on distant airfields. Trucks rolled across endless miles of desert.

And through it all, Paddy seemed determined to make his interest in you everyone's business.

Not in a crude way.

Just in a very Paddy way.

The sort of way that left you wanting to disappear into the sand whenever half the camp started laughing.

It started with little things.

Saving you a seat during briefings.

Handing you a mug of tea before you'd even asked for one.

Making room for you beside him whenever the patrol gathered around a map.

"You spoil her," Johnny Cooper complained one afternoon.

Paddy barely looked up from cleaning his weapon.

"Aye."

That was it.

Just aye.

As if there were absolutely nothing strange about the answer.

Johnny stared.

"You aren't even denying it."

"Didn't know I was supposed to."

The camp erupted with laughter.

You buried your face in your hands. Paddy looked entirely unrepentant.

Unfortunately, his behavior had another effect.

It ensured every man in the unit knew exactly where they stood.

Not because Paddy threatened anyone. He didn't have to.

One evening, after a successful raid, a new replacement wandered into camp.

Young.

Confident.

Completely unaware of the situation.

You were sitting outside a truck cleaning sand from your boots when he approached.

"Mind if I sit here?"

You looked up, "Not at all."

He dropped down beside you.

Across the camp, Paddy happened to glance over. The replacement never noticed.

"You've got quite a reputation around here," the young soldier said.

"Oh?"

"The first woman in the regiment."

You laughed.

"That tends to happen when you're the only one."

The conversation was harmless.

Perfectly innocent.

Unfortunately, Johnny Cooper had also spotted it.

Johnny immediately abandoned whatever he was doing and hurried toward Paddy.

"Oh, this should be good."

Paddy didn't even look up.

"What should?"

"Three o'clock."

Paddy followed Johnny's gaze.

The replacement was smiling at you.

You were smiling back.

Again, entirely innocent.

Paddy stared for several seconds. Then calmly stood.

"Oh no," Reg Seekings muttered.

"He's moving."

The nearby men immediately started watching. Paddy crossed the camp at an unhurried pace.

You noticed him approaching. The replacement didn't.

Which was unfortunate, because Paddy stopped directly behind your seat.

The young soldier finally looked up.

"Evening," Paddy said pleasantly.

The replacement swallowed.

"Evening, sir."

Paddy rested one hand on the truck beside you.

"You settling in all right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good."

Silence.

The replacement seemed to realize he was somehow failing a test.

He just didn't know which one.

Paddy nodded toward the far side of camp.

"I believe Cooper was looking for volunteers."

The replacement was gone before Paddy finished the sentence.

You watched him practically sprint away.

The entire camp burst out laughing.

"Paddy!"

You turned toward him.

"What was that?"

"What was what?"

"You scared him half to death."

"I did no such thing."

"You absolutely did."

Paddy looked genuinely offended.

"I only asked how he was settling in."

From nearby, Reg nearly choked laughing.

Johnny leaned against a truck.

"Sure. And I only ask questions when I'm not being nosy."

Paddy ignored him.

You shook your head.

"You're impossible."

A grin slowly appeared.

"Aye."

For a moment, the noise of the camp faded.

It was just the two of you.

The desert evening.

The warm breeze.

And that look in his eyes.

A look that had become increasingly familiar over the past weeks.

Steady.

Certain.

Unapologetic.

Paddy Mayne was many things. Subtle was not one of them. By now everyone in camp knew exactly how he felt, including you.

The only question that remained was what you intended to do about it.

A successful raid earned the regiment something almost unheard of.

Time off.

Not much.

Just a few precious days without a target to hit or a convoy to ambush.

The announcement alone was enough to send the camp into celebration.

Men immediately began making plans. Some wanted a proper meal. Others wanted a proper bed. Several simply wanted to find the nearest city and see whether civilization still remembered them.

By the time the briefing was called, the atmosphere around camp was lighter than you'd seen in months. David Stirling stood with a clipboard in hand.

"Before everyone disappears, I'll be noting who's taking leave and who's remaining in camp."

A chorus of groans answered him.

"Try to contain your excitement," Stirling said dryly and began reading names.

"Cooper."

"City."

"Seekings."

"City."

"Fraser."

"City."

One after another, men announced their plans. Most were leaving. Some weren't. Stirling marked each name down.

Eventually he reached yours,"You?"

You shrugged, "I'll stay here."

Stirling nodded and made a note. Then he looked toward Paddy.

"Mayne?"

Without hesitation:

"Staying."

The camp went silent. For exactly one second.

Then all hell broke loose.

The howling was immediate. Men doubled over laughing. Several started whistling loud enough to wake the dead.

Johnny Cooper slapped his knee.

"Oh, that's convenient."

"Remarkable coincidence!"

"Purely accidental, I'm sure!"

You immediately felt your face growing warm. Across the gathering, Paddy looked completely unbothered. In fact, he looked amused. Stirling pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Will you idiots let me finish?"

Nobody listened.

"You mean to tell me," Johnny shouted, "that after months of chasing her around camp, you're suddenly choosing to stay here at exactly the same time she is?"

Paddy folded his arms.

"Aye."

More laughter.

Johnny stared.

"That's your defense?"

"Didn't say it was a defense."

The men roared.

Even Stirling looked as though he was fighting a smile.

You groaned.

"Oh, for God's sake."

Paddy glanced sideways at you.

"What?"

"You aren't helping."

His grin widened.

"Wasn't trying to."

That earned another round of whistles.

One of the troopers called out:

"Should we leave you two alone?"

Another shouted:

"Give them the whole camp!"

Someone else suggested they put up a sign outside Paddy's tent.

You covered your face. The laughter only got worse. For once, Paddy seemed to enjoy being the center of attention.

Usually he tolerated it. Today he encouraged it. Johnny pointed dramatically between the two of you.

"Look at him. Not even pretending anymore."

Paddy shrugged, "Never saw much point."

The camp exploded again. You turned toward him.

"Do you enjoy making my life difficult?"

"Immensely."

His answer came far too quickly.

The grin he received in return from the other men suggested they agreed. Eventually Stirling managed to restore some order. Barely.

"Enough."

The laughter slowly subsided.

"Anyone caught causing trouble on leave answers to me."

That quieted several men immediately.

"Anyone caught causing serious trouble answers to Mayne."

That silenced the rest. Paddy smiled pleasantly. Which somehow made the threat worse.

The briefing finally ended. Men dispersed to prepare for leave. Vehicles were packed. Bags were thrown together. Plans were shouted across camp.

As the crowd began to thin, Johnny passed by you and Paddy.

He looked from one to the other. Then shook his head.

"You know, I've never seen a man make courtship look like a military operation."

Paddy considered this, "Haven't failed yet."

Johnny barked out a laugh and walked away.

You stared at Paddy, "Military operation?"

He looked down at you.

"Well, I am SAS."

Despite yourself, you laughed. The sound seemed to please him more than all the teasing from the camp combined. For a moment, as the others prepared to head into the city, the camp felt strangely quiet.

Soon most of the regiment would be gone.

Just a handful would remain behind.

Including you.

Including Paddy.

And judging by the satisfied look on his face, he considered that a victory all by itself.

The camp felt strangely empty by evening.

Most of the regiment had disappeared into the city hours ago, taking their noise, arguments, and endless appetite for trouble with them.

Only a handful of men remained behind, enough to keep the camp running. Not enough to make it feel crowded. The quiet was almost unsettling.

You'd volunteered to make dinner. Partly because somebody had to.

Partly because the alternatives involved several men whose cooking could reasonably be classified as a weapon.

A large pot simmered over the fire as you stirred it with a wooden spoon.

It wasn't fancy.

Nothing in the desert ever was.

But it smelled far better than the usual rations.

A few of the men lingered nearby, watching with the interest of starving wolves.

One of them lifted the lid.

You smacked his hand away.

"Wait."

"I was checking."

"You were stealing."

"I was checking while stealing."

At least he was honest. Laughter drifted across the camp. You shook your head and returned to stirring.

The sun was beginning to sink when you spotted Paddy approaching.

He'd spent most of the afternoon assigning duties to the men who'd remained behind.

Guard rotations, vehicle maintenance, and equipment inspections. The sort of things that still needed doing even during leave.

His sleeves were rolled up. His shirt was dusty.

And judging by his expression, he'd finally finished dealing with everyone. Paddy slowed when he reached the fire. His eyes moved from the pot to you.

Then back to the pot, "Smells good."

You glanced over your shoulder, "Thank you."

"Aye." He looked around, "Nobody poisoned it yet?"

"Not yet."

"Good."

One of the nearby troopers pointed at him.

"That's because she's been standing guard over it for two hours."

"Wise woman."

You rolled your eyes.

Paddy ignored the laughter and settled onto a nearby crate.

For once, neither of you said much.

The evening felt peaceful.

The fire crackled softly.

The desert air had begun to cool.

Around camp, men worked through the last of their tasks before dinner.

It felt... normal.

A rare thing.

You stirred the pot again.

Paddy watched for a moment.

"You know," he said, "the men are going to expect this every night now."

"They can cook for themselves."

"They absolutely cannot."

You laughed.

"Fair point."

One of the troopers nearby nodded enthusiastically.

"She's right, Paddy."

Paddy raised an eyebrow.

"About what?"

"You can't cook either."

The camp immediately fell silent.

Everyone stared.

The unfortunate soldier seemed to realize his mistake a second too late.

Paddy slowly turned his head.

The man visibly reconsidered every life choice that had led him to this moment.

Then Paddy smiled.

"Oh?"

The soldier swallowed.

"Maybe... maybe you're a very good cook."

"Too late."

The rest of the camp erupted with laughter.

Even you couldn't help it.

The poor man looked ready to flee into the desert.

Paddy shook his head before looking back toward you.

His eyes softened slightly.

"See?"

"What?"

"You're a bad influence."

You pointed the spoon at him.

"I'm not the one threatening people."

"I wasn't threatening him."

"Everyone thought you were."

"That's their fault."

The grin tugging at his mouth ruined any attempt at innocence. Dinner was finally served shortly afterward.

The men gathered around with bowls in hand. The food disappeared at an alarming rate. Some declared it the best meal they'd had in months.

One asked whether you could take over cooking permanently. He was immediately shouted down by everyone assigned kitchen duty.

As darkness settled over the desert, conversation drifted around the fire.

Stories.

Jokes.

Arguments.

The easy companionship of men who had survived too much together. You sat slightly apart from the crowd, enjoying the warmth of the flames. At some point, Paddy appeared beside you carrying two mugs of tea. He handed one over without a word.

You accepted it, "Thank you."

"Aye."

For a while neither of you spoke. The firelight danced across the camp. Laughter echoed through the night. For once there were no missions waiting.

No briefing. No target.

Just an evening beneath the stars. Paddy rested his forearms on his knees and stared into the fire.

"You know," he said after a while, "this is probably the quietest I've ever seen this place."

You smiled. "It won't last."

"No."

His mouth twitched.

"It never does."

A comfortable silence settled between you.

Not awkward.

Not forced.

Just easy.

The kind that seemed to come naturally whenever the two of you found yourselves alone.

Or as alone as two people could be in a camp full of soldiers determined to watch every interaction between them.

Sure enough, a whistle suddenly rang out from across the fire. You closed your eyes. Paddy sighed.

One of the men shouted:

"Leave them alone, lads! They're having a moment!"

The camp exploded with laughter.

You buried your face in your hands. Paddy, meanwhile, looked completely unbothered. In fact, he appeared almost pleased.

Which only made everyone laugh harder.

The laughter eventually died down again, though it never fully disappeared in a place like this. Someone always found a reason to start it up again.

The fire had burned lower now, settling into glowing embers. The desert night stretched wide and quiet around the camp, broken only by the occasional clink of a mug or distant murmur of voices.

You sat with your knees drawn slightly in, watching the fire shift and crackle.

Paddy had gone quiet beside you. That in itself wasn’t unusual.

He wasn’t a man who filled silence unnecessarily. But there was a different weight to it now. After a while, he spoke,

“Why’d you stay back?”

It wasn’t asked like an accusation. More like he genuinely wanted to know. You kept your eyes on the fire.

“I just wanted… a bit of peace.”

Paddy hummed softly, as if considering that.

“City would’ve given ye that.”

“Not really.”

That made him look at you.

You hesitated, then added more honestly than you meant to:

“Everyone else going off, making plans, forgetting for a bit that there’s a war on…” A faint, tired breath left you. “I just didn’t feel like pretending I could do that tonight.”

Silence followed.

The kind that didn’t feel empty, just careful.

You stared at the fire again.

“I suppose I just wanted a moment where I wasn’t… needed by anyone. Or expected to be anything.”

A pause.

Then quieter:

“It gets a bit lonely sometimes.”

You almost regretted saying it immediately.

Not because it wasn’t true.

Because it was.

But because words like that always felt too exposed once they were out in the air. Paddy didn’t respond straight away.

When you finally glanced at him, his expression had shifted—less amused than usual, less teasing. Still calm, but focused in a way that made you suddenly very aware he was actually listening.

“You’re not alone,” he said simply.

You gave a small, almost disbelieving breath.

“That’s not how it feels.”

“Aye,” he said, leaning forward slightly, elbows resting on his knees. “I get that.”

Another pause.

Then, more firmly:

“But it doesn’t make it true.”

You looked at him properly now. Paddy didn’t look away.

“You’ve got the unit,” he added. “You’ve got Stirling. The lads—even if they’re a pack of idiots most of the time.”

A faint flicker of amusement pulled at your mouth despite yourself.

“And,” he continued, tone flattening just slightly like it was the simplest fact in the world, “you’ve got me.”

That landed differently.

You blinked at him.

Paddy met your stare without hesitation, as if he’d just stated something obvious, like the weather.

“I’m not exactly going anywhere,” he added.

From somewhere across the fire, someone let out a low whistle again, quickly cut off by a thrown boot and a curse.

You didn’t look away from Paddy.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know what you meant.”

His voice softened a fraction.

“And I’m telling you you’re wrong.”

The fire popped quietly between you.

For once, there was no joking edge to him. No performance for the rest of the camp. Just something steady and direct that made your chest feel unexpectedly tight.

Paddy tilted his head slightly.

“You don’t get to sit here thinking you’re on your own,” he said. “Not when you’re sitting right here.”

A beat passed.

Then, almost as if he couldn’t help himself, the corner of his mouth lifted again.

“So stop that.”

Despite everything, you let out a quiet laugh.

“Stop what?”

“Acting like I’m not a nuisance you’re stuck with.”

That earned a real laugh this time.

“Paddy, you are a nuisance.”

“See?” he said, satisfied. “We’re making progress.”

The ease returned slowly after that, like something settling back into place.