Gaz x Reader - Best Frenemies
TL;DR: One bed trope between two bickering sergeants ends with snuggle time. Gender neutral reader, first person POV, reader dislikes cold weather
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I’m starting to think I’m the protagonist of a romance story. I’ve got a fairly normal life — as normal as it can be in the military, a supportive team, I’m decent at my work, and I’m unfortunately attracted to a man I cannot seem to get along with. Gaz and I seemed to start off on the right foot, but there hasn’t been a single operation that he and I agreed on anything. Strategy, form, positioning — we’ll find anything to argue about. I’d like to say it’s just him antagonizing me, but I find myself judging his planning fairly often.
We’re both sergeants, two of Price’s best. Price doesn’t give even half a shit if we don’t get along personally because we get the job done. Disagreements aside, we’re a damn good duo.
That’s how we ended up here: butt-fuck nowhere in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado in the dead of winter. Definitely not as bad as that one time in Serbia, but I’m still not a fan of the several feet of snow. I hate being cold. It’s just the two of us making way through the mountain range to where there is allegedly a cabin waiting for us to stay in until the weather is clear enough for Nikolai to fly in and pick us up.
The final nail on the love-story-coffin? The cabin has one bed. It’s a pretty cute little house; very cottage-core. The fireplace is too wet to be used right now, but the kitchen is stocked with some canned goods for us. All the good parts of the cabin are forgotten when we go to the lone bedroom to find the queen waiting for us.
“You’ve gotta be…” Gaz audibly sighs.
I rolled my eyes but was quick to suck it up. We’re big kids, we can handle a little forced proximity and one bed.
“Put a pillow barrier between, or whatever, but I’m getting a proper night’s rest.”
He scoffs at that, but does nothing to stop me from setting down my duffel and ridding myself of my bulky gear. Gaz does the same. He’s quick to make himself comfy, but I do to the kitchen to have a hot meal. There’s some dried meats, canned veggies, and filtered water bottles. It’s not exactly a steak dinner, but beef jerky and some green beans will do.
I turn on the gas, and light a match to get the stove going. Seeing as there’s nothing to store leftovers in, I just made the whole can of beans. Gaz needs to eat too, so I’m sure we’ll finish them all. There’s not much in the way of dishes or silverware, so I made do with what I could find. Once the green beans are heated up, I pour them and some jerky onto paper plates for us and bring them to the bedroom.
“Garrick,” I call. “Food. Eat.”
He looks up, nose scrunching at the unimpressive display. “That’s it?”
“Be glad I thought to bring you something.”
I drop his plate on his lap before moving to the other side of the bed to sit and eat. There’s not much for entertainment out here, so we eat in relative silence. Once we finish, Gaz speaks up again.
“Least it was better than plain beans on toast.”
I bark a laugh. “Anything is. You’re batshit for that one.”
“You eat what you can out here,” he snarks back.
“The military has done a lot to me since basic, but I will not let it make me commit food sins.”
Gaz rolls his eyes, but I catch his lip twitch in amusement. He’s called me ‘your highness’ in the past for making similar comments. I don’t care how shit the safe house facilities are; I will be eating, showering, and sleeping soundly.
“You’ll never survive being that high maintenance.” He mutters, tossing his empty plate onto the bedside table.
“Hasn’t killed me yet,” I retort while purposely leaning over him to stack my plate atop his.
He’s quick to shove me, only for me to land with my back on his lap. I sarcastically comment on his rudeness before sitting up and getting comfortable to sleep. The light was controlled by one of two switches on either side of the bed.
“Night, asshole.” I switch the light off and lie down. My eyes close and I let out a relaxed sigh. The light turns on.
I turn to look at him, he’s laying down as well. He doesn’t see the unamused glare before flicking the switch on my side again. My head barely touches the pillow when the light clicks on again.
“Gaz,” I groan, only to hear a muffled giggle from behind me.
This goes on for a solid two minutes before I get fed up. I turn off the light again only to pounce on him before he can reach the switch closest to him. I force my arms around his arms and under his back to lock him in a bear hug so he can’t mess with me anymore.
“Wh— the bloody fuck are you doing!?”
“Protecting my peace. I’m exhausted! Let me sleep.”
Gaz struggles in my arms in attempt to free himself and throw me off. He’s plenty strong, we’ve sparred more times than I care to count. I know he absolutely can get away from me, but it feels like he’s holding back some. Like he’s either not willing to risk hurting me, or he’s not as miffed about my intrusion as he wants me to believe. Eventually, his arms loosely drape over me and his hands rest on my lower back.
“Fine. Stay there then.”
He wiggles a bit to readjust his chin to rest on the top of my head. It became oddly… serene. We could hear the wind howling outside as more snow piled up, the draft slipping in through little gaps in the windowsill. The cold sent a chill down my spine that had Gaz turning us onto our sides so he could pull the blanket up to our shoulders.
“Cold already? How did you make it this far?” He teases, but his hold grows more firm. He’s warm, too.
“Yeah, yeah. You don’t seem to mind sharing space as much as you did before.”
He hums. “Gotta keep you alive. Who else is gonna shout at me over bullshit?”
I smack his back in a playful rebuttal, to which he only laughs.
“You’re cute when you’re mad, love.”
"And you're cute when you're quiet. Go to bed."
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