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Mother base was quiet at night.
Most of the Diamond Dogs were asleep, the barracks lights dimmed to a dull amber that barely reached the concrete walkways. Only the distant thrum of generators and the steady crash of waves against the metal platform broke the silence.
Ocelot liked it that way.
He walked the perimeter path with his hands in the pockets of his coat, boots echoing softly on the metal platform. The ocean wind rolled in cold and sharp, smelling faintly of salt and sea.
Up ahead, a faint orange glow flickered in the dark. The major slowed and squinted in the light mist of the October evening.
A figure leaned against the railing overlooking the water, shoulders hunched slightly against the wind. Smoke curled upward and disappeared into the night sky.
Ocelot sighed.
“Really?”
The man at the railing didn’t turn. Another slow drag of the cigarette. The ember brightened.
“You’ve been standing there for a full minute judging me,” the figure stated calmly. “If you’re going to lecture me, Major, you might as well start.”
Ocelot walked up beside him and leaned against the railing. A pair of sullen, mismatched eyes flickering up through a pair of square rimmed glasses. Even in the dim light, Ocelot could see the familiar sharpness in his expression. Dark hair pushed back by the wind, pale face lit briefly by the cigarette.
The sharpshooter gestured toward it.
“You’re a doctor.”
“Scientist,” Barracuda corrected lazily.
“You literally run the medical bay for the entire base.”
The smaller man exhaled a thin stream of smoke toward the ocean.
“And?”
“And you’re still smoking.”
Barracuda tilted his head slightly, considering this.
“Technically,” he said, “I’m conducting a long-term study.”
Ocelot quirked a brow, his husband’s usually chilly demeanor particularly cold that evening.
“On what?”
Barracuda lifted the cigarette again.
“Whether you’ll ever stop giving me that look.”
Ocelot let out a quiet laugh despite himself.
“That look is the expression of someone concerned for your health.”
Barracuda’s prosthetic arm flicked ash over the railing.
“Concerned for my health? May I remind you that I almost had to have a blood transfusion after our last play date.”
Ocelot shook his head.
“I may have…lost myself in the moment there. Yes. But acute blood loss is easier to treat than lung cancer.”
Barracuda finally turned toward him fully, the wind catching his coat. The cigarette glowed again as he took another slow drag. Then he smiled slightly.
“You didn’t come out here to argue about cigarettes.”
Ocelot felt his chest tighten just a little.
His husband always did that. Cut straight through him like he could see everything he wasn’t saying.
Ocelot looked out at the dark ocean instead.
“No,” he admitted quietly.
Barracuda leaned back against the railing beside him.
“Then what did you come out here for?”
Ocelot didn’t answer right away. The cigarette burned quietly between Barracuda’s fingers.
Finally, he answered,
“I was looking for you.”
…
Barracuda tilted his head slightly.
“That’s rarely a good sign,” he replied.
Ocelot glanced sideways at him. “You say that like you’re surprised.”
“I am.” The scientist took another drag from the cigarette. “Most people on this base try very hard not to look for me.”
“That’s because most people on this base are afraid of you.”
Barracuda smirked faintly. “Smart people.”
Ocelot shook his head. “You’re not scary.”
Barracuda finally turned to face him fully, one eyebrow raised.
“No?”
“No.”
“You should probably work on your survival instincts, Major.”
Ocelot leaned his elbows on the railing beside him. The cold metal pressed through his sleeves.
“I’ve seen your lab,” the Russian said with a laugh. “If I survived that place, I think I can survive you.”
“That’s bold.”
Barracuda studied his husband for a moment, the ocean wind pushing a few loose strands of hair across his forehead.
“You know,” Barracuda said thoughtfully, “I was expecting you to rail on about the ethics of my work. Not like you of all people have a right to stand in judgement.”
“I’m not most people.”
“No,” Barracuda said softly. “You’re not.”
The air between them shifted slightly, Ocelot gesturing toward the cigarette again.
“Put it out ‘Cuda.”
The doctor studied him a moment longer, then flicked the cigarette out into the dark ocean. Barracuda leaned his back against the railing now, turning toward the taller man. The wind tugged lightly at the collar of his coat.
“You worry about me a lot,” Barracuda groaned.
“Someone has to.” For a moment neither of them spoke. The ocean roared below the platform. Barracuda looked at him in that sharp, curious way he always did when Ocelot said something honest.
“Don’t push your luck, Major.”
Ocelot tilted his head. “You like when I push.”
“That’s a dangerous assumption.”
“Is it wrong?”
Barracuda didn’t answer. But he didn’t step away either. Ocelot’s eyes flicked briefly to his mouth, then back to his eyes. He looked at him like he was deciding something, a flicker of mischief boiling in those soft brown eyes.
Then he stepped closer.
Close enough that Ocelot could feel the warmth of him through the cold wind.
“You’re particularly smug tonight,” Barracuda said quietly.
“I was under the assumption you enjoyed that quality in me?”
“That depends.”
“On what?”
Barracuda’s voice dropped to almost a whisper.
“On whether you’re about to do what I think you’re about to do.”
Ocelot didn’t hesitate. He reached up, caught the front of his husband’s coat, and pulled him in.
The kiss was sudden and warm and a little rough, like neither of them had planned it but neither of them were surprised either. Barracuda froze for a split second. Then he kissed him back. Ocelot felt his husband’s hand slide to the back of his neck, pulling him closer as the wind whipped around them and the ocean crashed below.
When they finally pulled apart, both were winded. Cheek’s flush and lips moist. Barracuda looked at him with that same dangerous half-smile, brushed a thumb briefly along Ocelot’s jaw.
“You were right.”
“About what?”
The doctor leaned in slightly again, voice low.
“You are very bad for my health.”
Ocelot smiled.
“Good thing you’re a military doctor.”
Barracuda laughed softly. And this time, when his husband kissed him again, he didn’t hesitate at all.