Chapter Text
It was another long night on watch together, boundaries melting between the two of them as the hours ticked by.
Jacket had worked his way across the distance between them with every cigarette, scooting closer every time Beard offered his lighter, and returning it, slyly, every time. He really wasn't one for subterfuge, but with every inch that was eaten up between them, he couldn't say he wasn't a little pleased it had worked out, deep down.
Beard, for his part, didn’t seem to notice, focused as he was in worrying his dog tags in thought.
Neither of them could afford distractions, not with so much on the line. But… but, it was a cool night, the moon hanging full and bright, casting both of their faces in dramatic, gaunt relief like matching death masks, a portrait of what could be to come if the higher ups would have their say. They were both feeling the creep of inevitability, the ill will from ally and enemy alike hanging over them, and Jacket couldn’t take it anymore.
He turned towards him for the first time that night and snared his fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck (gently, gently it’s not a war zone in the space between the two of you) to pull him face to face. As his head turned, the glare off of his glasses slid away, revealing the same tired, sunken eyes he had mapped out in other melting, tenuous moments like this one.
The corner of Beard’s mouth tasted like sweat, and with a little tooth to his bottom lip, he opened up. He was pliant, mouth slack, patiently stroking his thumb across Jacket’s collar bone, waiting to see how he would proceed. There was a familiarity in Beard's look, a slight quirk of his mouth even though he was still so placid. His hand was the only thing moving, like he was trying to comfort him for something he hadn't even consciously expressed yet.
All the plans for rough makeouts tumbled out of his head, remembering his softness, and like a snapped rubber band he sank into him, pressing kisses to every inch of his jaw, nuzzling into his scruff.
His support beam moved then, pulling him up to bump their foreheads together.
The sound of the others shifting around in the barracks, soon to be awake, reached them and knowing this would be the last kiss of the night, they crowded together.
It was the product of the uncertainty and desperation of the time they had together, their mouths meeting like they were tying their affection and fears together between them. It was slow going, as Beard made sure to maintain the pace even as Jacket’s desperation caught up to him and he tried to convey every emotion at once. It was sweet, their tongues moving together still clumsily after all this time.
They ran out of breath all too soon, and the ache in their lungs was matched by the ache in their chests as they separated.
As the others filtered out to start the day, they remained next to each other, turning together to watch the moon slide behind the treeline.