Operation: Heartbeat (Romance And Ranks)
The Midnight Penalty~¹
My knuckles are raw, and my legs feel like lead. Captain Thorne has had me doing laps around the base in the pouring rain for three hours. All because I "disobeyed a direct order" by saving three civilians instead of retreating.
He’s watching me from the balcony of the command center. I can feel his gaze like a physical weight on my back. He thinks he can break me. He doesn't realize that I’ve been broken for a long time—he’s just rearranging the pieces.
The rain lashed down, turning the dirt track into a swamp. Elias stood in the shadows, the glowing tip of a cigarette the only light near him. He watched Jude’s pace. It hadn't slowed. Not once. The kid was a menace, a liability... and the most talented soldier Elias had seen in a decade.
Elias Thorne(ML)
Voice cracking over the base intercom, deep and steady** Stop.
Elias Thorne(ML)
Get inside before you catch pneumonia and become an even bigger burden to my unit. ❄️
Jude(MC)
Stops in his tracks, wiping mud from his face, looking up at the balcony with a smirk**
Jude(MC)
What’s the matter, Captain? Afraid you'll have to carry me to the infirmary?
Elias Thorne(ML)
In your dreams, Lieutenant. My office. Five minutes. And don't drip on my rug. ❄️
Jude(MC)
Laughing breathlessly** Yes, sir. Should I strip in the hallway then?
Elias Thorne(ML)
Silence for a long beat** Just get in here, Jude.
The Shadow in the Ward~²
The infirmary is the only place on base that doesn't smell like gunpowder and desperation. It smells of antiseptic and the faint, herbal tea I keep brewing to keep my nerves steady.
It’s 0200. The lights are dimmed to a low blue hue. I was about to lock up when I felt it—that sudden drop in temperature, that prickle on the back of my neck. He’s here. He never walks through the door; he simply appears in the corner of the room, a part of the darkness that decided to take human shape.
Kaelen sat on the edge of the furthest cot, his tactical gear still on, though his vest was unzipped. Blood—dark and smelling of iron—soaked through the left sleeve of his black undershirt. He didn't make a sound. He didn't even breathe heavily. To anyone else, he was the terrifying "Ghost" of the Blackwood Division. To Aris, he was just a man who didn't know how to ask for help.
Aris (Doc)
Walking over with a medical tray, his voice a soft murmur**
Aris (Doc)
You're late, Kaelen.
Aris (Doc)
The mission ended three hours ago.
Kaelen
Voice raspy, like he hasn't used it in days** Had to report to Thorne.
Kaelen
Then... I stayed in the trees for a while.
Aris (Doc)
Setting the tray down, his fingers gently reaching for Kaelen’s arm**
Aris (Doc)
Washing the blood off your hands in the rain doesn't count as medical attention.
Kaelen
Tensing as Aris touches him, his eyes glowing faintly in the dark**
Kaelen
It’s just a graze. Don't waste the supplies, Doc.
Aris (Doc)
Cutting the sleeve away to reveal a jagged tear in the shoulder**
Aris (Doc)
A 'graze' that needs six stitches!!
Aris (Doc)
Unless you want me to call Captain Thorne and tell him his best Major is hiding in my ward like a wounded stray?
Kaelen
A ghostly, bitter smirk tugging at his lips** You’re the only person in this entire country who would dare threaten me, Aris.
Aris (Doc)
Now hold your breath.
Aris (Doc)
This is going to sting.
As Aris leaned in to clean the wound, the proximity was suffocating. The scent of Aris’s tea and clean linen began to mask the metallic tang of Kaelen’s mission. For a split second, Kaelen’s good hand twitched, as if he wanted to reach out and touch the doctor's steady wrist—to see if someone that kind was actually real.
Kaelen
Jude was looking for you earlier.
Aris (Doc)
Focusing on the stitches** He’s worried about Elias. They had another blowout in the briefing room.
Kaelen
The Captain is too rigid.
Kaelen
The boy is too loose.
Kaelen
They’ll kill each other before the enemy does.
Aris (Doc)
Or they’ll find the middle ground. Like we did.
Kaelen
Eyes narrowing** We aren't in the middle ground, Aris. I'm in the dark. You're just the one who holds the lamp. ❄️
The Breaking Point~³
The adrenaline is better than any drug the medics have in that infirmary. I’m thirty feet up, scaling the exterior of the "Kill House" without a harness, rain slicking the bricks until they feel like ice. Below me, the rest of the squad is cheering, their voices muffled by the thunder.
I know it’s stupid. I know it’s a violation of safety Protocol 401. But when I’m up here, hanging by my fingertips, I don’t have to think about the ghost of my father or the way Captain Thorne looks at me like I’m a stain on his perfect record.
Jude(MC)
Look at this, Captain!
Jude(MC)
**I yell into the wind, though I know he’s probably in his office.
Jude(MC)
I’m exactly where you said I’d never be—at the top!
The cheering at the base of the tower died instantly. It wasn't because Jude reached the ledge; it was because a shadow had emerged from the barracks.
Captain Elias Thorne stood in the mud, his coat billowing, his face a mask of absolute, terrifying calm. He didn't yell. He didn't reach for a megaphone. He simply watched as Jude pulled himself over the railing and looked down. The boy’s smirk vanished the moment his eyes met Elias’s.
Elias Thorne(ML)
Voice low, projected through the rain with chilling authority**
Elias Thorne(ML)
Lieutenant Jude.
Elias Thorne(ML)
Down. Now.
Jude(MC)
Vaulting back over the railing to slide down the fast-rope, landing heavily in the mud a few feet from Elias**
Jude(MC)
Sir! Just practicing my vertical entry, Sir.
Jude(MC)
The stairs are for people who don't have a schedule to keep.
Elias Thorne(ML)
Walking into Jude’s personal space** You put your squad at risk by encouraging this behavior.
Elias Thorne(ML)
You bypassed the safety sensors. If you had fallen, I would be writing a letter to your mother explaining why her son died for a cheap thrill.
Jude(MC)
His jaw tightening, his playful mask cracking** My mother wouldn't care, Captain.❄️
Jude(MC)
And neither would you. You’d just be happy your paperwork was finally organized.❄️
Elias’s hand shot out, grabbing the front of Jude’s soaked tactical vest and slamming him back against the cold concrete of the tower. The impact knocked the breath out of Jude, but he didn't pull away. Instead, he grabbed Elias’s wrists, his fingers digging into the Captain's skin.
Elias Thorne(ML)
Hissing through gritted teeth, his face inches from Jude’s**
Elias Thorne(ML)
Do not test me today. ❄️
Elias Thorne(ML)
I have buried twenty men this year. I will not add a brat with a hero complex to that list. ❄️
Jude(MC)
Breathless, eyes defiant and burning** Then stop treating me like a ghost!
Jude(MC)
Hit me, court-martial me, or throw me out—but stop looking through me like I’m already dead!
Elias Thorne(ML)
His grip tightening, his gaze dropping to Jude’s mouth for a split second before snapping back to his eyes**
Elias Thorne(ML)
You want me to notice you, Jude? Fine. You’re confined to the brig.
Elias Thorne(ML)
No food until tomorrow's debrief. And I’ll be the one holding the key.
Jude(MC)
A shaky, dangerous laugh** The brig? Just the two of us?
Jude(MC)
Careful, Captain... people might start to talk.
Elias let go as if he’d been burned. He turned on his heel, his shoulders tense, leaving Jude shivering in the rain.
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