It Was Well-known Around The Base That Iso Had The Best Aim Among All The Agents Of The Protocol. You

It was well-known around the base that Iso had the best aim among all the agents of the protocol. You always admired his ability to just calmly shoot without a miss during any stressful mission. So of course, you wanted him to train you. You wanted to be more effective on the field, more reliable.

"Focus."

Easier said than done. If only your heart could beat at a steady rhythm. In your mind, a private tutoring session sounded like a good idea. But his hand on your waist, his chest against your back and his other hand overing yours as he helped you maintaining a good posture made your stomach lively with butterflies. And his teasing breath warming the back of your ear was absolutely not helping.

"Take a deep breath."

Unbeknownst to you, he took great fun teasing you like that. Feeling you all shaky and nervous against his chest, he found it adorable. But he also found you admirable. You did not hesitate to seek for help because you acknowledged your wicknesses. That was one of the many things he loved about you.

"Don't forget to prepare for the recoil of the gun." he murmured gently in your ear.

You took a deep breath and nodded, following his instructions faithfully and Iso had a small smile. He felt the shaking of your hand stop and your breath calming. Then, you shot right in the head of the target. He felt his heart melting when you looked at him with a proud smile.

You came for shooting lessons, but you had already shot into his heart.

You loved Sova's body. His broad shoulders that could carry any weight, his strong arms that weren't hiding any strength, his back muscles that rippled smoothly under his skin.

"Are you done taking pictures ?" he sighed as he shot you a long side-glance.

You smiled broadly behind your camera, still immortalising this moment. You did not miss the shy blush dusting his pale cheeks. He made such a beautiful model in your lovestruck eyes.

"Ignore my presence, my dear hunter."

Clic. Easier said than done. Your gaze was heavy, intensified by the lens of the camera. Sova sighed and resumed his archery session. He sometimes thought you were worse than Cypher. He tried to focus once more on the target but he felt your eyes burning his skin.

"You know that you're cute when you're blushing ?" you chuckled softly.

Clic. He cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment. He focused his aim, shot and missed his target.

Clic. You hummed mischievously, put down your camera and walked calmly towards him. You back-hugged him, your sweet laughter muffled in the fabric of his clothes.

"Aw, Sasha !" you cooed playfully at him. "Is my presence a problem ?"

Sova scoffed but caressed the back of your hand with a softness that was only shown to you.

"You're lucky I love you, моя сова."

Never after churros.

Gekko and you had routines together : basking on the grass of the garden, watching movies while speaking about the plot, drawing together, cooking...

It was pretty common to see you two laughing together around the base. Jett and Phoenix were even betting on the potential date of the upgrade of your relationship.

So one would not be surprised seeing you in the kitchen, dancing in each other arms. You were supposed to bake midnight snacks, but the sweet voice of Ambar Lucid on her song 'Timeless' set the atmosphere. His arms wrapped tightly around your waist, yours around his neck and your hips swaying in harmony, one could not miss the chemistry between you two. Your eyes were communicating what words couldn't, the soft smiles you were sharing only confirming what you felt for each other. Your faces slowly got closer to the other.

"May I...?" he murmured gently to which you simply nodded.

His lips pressed gently on your cheek and your fingers clenched blissfully on his t-shirt at the contact. Gekko smiled and kissed you again, this time on the lips. You returned the kiss lovingly, your happiness merging with his.

There was something in Fade's focus that was so beautiful. The slight crease of her eyebrows, the concentration in her wonderful odd eyes, the precision in her hands... This will definitely not be the last time you asked her to draw with henna on your hands. The artwork she was making on your hand was simply too beautiful to be made only once.

"I know you're staring, tatlım." she said softly without even lifting her eyes.

You smiled softly, your eyes filled with adoration.

"I'm not staring. I'm admiring, that's different." you corrected her with a light chuckle.

She looked up from her art to fix her gaze on yours, an amused glint in her eyes.

"You're corny, you know that ?"

"I don't care." you shrugged nonchalantly. "You're worth being corny for."

Under the intensity of your gaze, Fade almost blushed. But she only returned your smile, shaking her head lightly with mirth. She lifted your wrist to press a kiss on it, her eyes not leaving yours.

"Could you give me a hug ?"

You raised your eyes from Dizzy nuzzled in your arms to look at Gekko. He was playing with Mosh who was bouncing in his hands. You looked around his room, met Wingman's eyes who shook his head, then looked back at the initiator sitting next to you.

"Huh ?"

His eyes never left yours and you noticed Mosh's focused on you.

"A hug," he repeated. "Could I have one, pretty pretty please ?"

You raised an eyebrow and kept caressing Dizzy who was slowly purring in your arms.

"We hug everytime and everyday, Mateo."

"No," he shook his head. "I always hug you and you accept it like a pet animal at the veterinary centre accept its fate."

You looked down for a second, thinking thoroughly about his words. He was right. You never initiated hugs, kisses or intimacy. You were okay with having physical contact with him and he was one of the rare people to have that right. But initiating never came to your mind.

"True," you murmured.

You looked back at him and he smiled gently at you.

"Do you wanna try ?"

His tone was warm and supportive, just like him. You nodded and settled Dizzy against the pillow of his bed. He put Mosh down, stood up and opened invitingly his arms. You looked at him and paused.

How were you supposed to initiate ? You knew you were supposed to just wrap your arms around him but where exactly ? Around his waist ? His neck ? His torso ? Were you supposed squeeze him ? If so, gently or tightly ? Were you supposed to pat his back—

"Hey," he interrupted your thoughts. "There is no good way to do it. It's just something that you do with your heart. And I know you have a big one."

You blinked and heard Wingman calling you. You looked behind and saw him hugging Thrash, as if setting an example. A small giggle escaped your lips and you stood up, looking back at Gekko. You took one nervous step towards him, as if testing the water and he just nodded, encouraging you.

You wrapped your arms around him. You didn't know in which way, and you did not care. You just pressed yourself against him. Your face hidden in his chest, your fingers clenched on his t-shirt before raising until caressing his nape.

"Am I doing good ?" you asked, your voice muffled by the fabric of his t-shirt.

"You're doing great," he murmured.

You felt him shivering against you. Your other hand gently squeezed his hip, the fabric of his t-shirt bending under your hand, the pads of your fingers grazing a bit of his skin. His chest raised shakily against your face and his breath hitched.

You looked up and saw him staring down at you. His face was red.

"Is everything alright ?" you asked.

"I'm doing perfect, cariño," he breathed out. "I should ask for a hug more often."

You took a step back but Gekko grabbed your waist.

"Your turn," he grinned. "Ready for one helluva hug ?"