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They were getting a long leave for once. It felt like the past few missions had been back to back, and the entire team was very obviously feeling it. None of them had even a minute to themselves lately, so it felt like the angels themselves were delivering the message from their higher ups: a multi-month leave! Gaz and Price were both work-a-holics, but this would be the perfect recharge. And they actually got leave at the same time. Damn near divine timing right there.
Both Gaz and Price, as well as the rest of their team, were exiting the C-140; duffels were in hand and exhaustion was written in their steps. But, when boots hit the ground there was a newfound energy.
“Gaz, I’m headed to debrief but it won’t take long. Meet you back in the room?” Price addressed him directly, remaining in mission-mode until all was said and done. Gaz nodded back and both headed their respective directions. They were lucky enough to have a shared room on base (141 privileges and all that) - even before their relationship began, they found it easier to sleep with the other nearby. There was an implicit trust that came with risking everything together, and a sense of safety when your partner saves your life on a regular basis. When they had first confessed, that same safety and security had been found ten-fold in Price’s bed; Gaz’s slowly becoming abandoned (“slowly”.... If that’s synonymous with one night. The second they started dating, Gaz took it as blanket permission and never looked back). Gaz sighed as he thought about how different this shower and sleep were about to hit. He knew neither him nor Price would want to waste precious leave time on base, so they’d probably be hopping back on a flight to London tomorrow.
As much as Kyle was a family man and couldn’t wait to see his mum and sisters, John was also his family now. He didn’t want to just part ways tomorrow - they hadn’t had any real time together outside of their work in a while, and Gaz was going to explode and also die if he didn’t get it soon (bit dramatic of a thought but it was true). Although Price held it together better, inside it was really starting to grate on him too. They had been dating for over six months now, after everything that had happened they just went for it. This wasn’t casual for either of them, their line of work didn’t allow for anything to be done half-assed. Unfortunately, they hadn’t had a substantial leave together - only on-base breaks. This pattern wasn’t anything new - Kyle had long since given up on a normal work schedule, would honestly hate it if he had one, even though he’d appreciate more time at home. If only you could be two places at once….he quickly shut down that train of thought when his mind wandered to some other possibilities that would bring.
Because of his work pattern, he had never bothered fully moving out of his mum’s place; he basically didn’t live there and used it as a storage facility/crash pad anyways. Again, he was a family-oriented person - why would he want to waste his time off not catching up with them? For Price , his brain helpfully supplied. But why not both? Was the next helpful whisper. Of course he’d already told his family he was seeing someone, very seriously. He may have already broken down and told them this was it for him, but that was neither here nor there. He had left out some (possibly key) details. Such as the man was older than him. And his commanding officer. All in good time right? Even if they disapproved he knew they’d be happy for him eventually. His family was tight knit, especially after his dad’s passing when Kyle was a young teenager. Soon after, his oldest sister had moved back in to help out, which his mum would be forever grateful for. His middle sister moved out and eventually settled on her own, but stayed close by. Nine times out of ten, she’d be at the house too. Gaz could only describe his childhood home as a place of love; chaos, but loving chaos none-the-less. As the baby and now only man of his family, he felt a deep loyalty to them. Even after the ear-shattering fights between him and his sisters as kids. Now he just had to plan how to ask John to be introduced to them - a shiver ran down him at that. He needed it to work out between both parties. He wasn’t worried about John per se, mainly his family’s reaction and their chaos scaring John off. Then again, John did deal with the 141 on a regular basis.
With that thought, he realized he had walked on autopilot all the way back to their room. Fumbling with the key in the lock, he slammed the door open and practically threw his duffle at the end of the bed. The sunglasses and hat barely made it onto the desk next. He felt downright grimy. Unpacking could wait until after this glorious, glorious shower. Deployment had a way of making him grateful for the barrack’s bathrooms to a degree he never thought possible. The idea of getting in bed spurred him to move. He turned to the closet, grabbing a pair of grey sweatpants, boxers, and one of John’s plain t-shirts. With necessary items in hand, Gaz made his way to the bathroom. Setting his things down, he started the water and turned it to scalding. He didn’t even complain about the time it was taking to heat up, that’s how he knew he had gone too long being uncomfortable. He stepped in as soon as possible, quickly getting to washing the layers of dirt and grime from his body. Gaz found his mind drifting as he got to conditioning his hair. I’ll just ask John to stay at his house for a week, that way he could spend unencumbered time with him and figure out his next moves. He felt kind of bad, but he was debating about not even telling his family he was in town for a few days. With that, he leaned his head back under the warm spray, rinsing the conditioner out. He was too tired to do much else, so he completely abandoned the idea of shaving his stubble and just enjoyed the water for a few more minutes. Hopefully Price would be out of the debriefing when he got back.
Before he inevitably lost his momentum, Gaz shut the water off and got to drying off. Sliding the sweatpants on was borderline heavenly, this was absolutely his new uniform for leave. He pulled John’s shirt down over his head, appreciating how soft it was with wear. Absolute best thing about having a boyfriend was the wardrobe, hands down. And the sex , he thought. Close second that one. Kyle felt a tinge of disappointment upon getting back to the room and not seeing John. Well, sucks to be captain when you actually have to do captainly things. After tossing his clothes in the nearest hamper, Gaz grabbed his headphones off the desk. Not wasting another second on standing, he unceremoniously belly flopped onto Price’s (their) bed and let out a content sigh. Finally . He took another second before reaching an arm out and patting blindly for his phone. Once locating it he raised his chin up on his other arm, starting his deep dive into mindless scrolling until John got back to entertain him.
Gaz was sure it hadn’t been long when he heard the inevitable sound of a key turning in the lock. He couldn’t stop the involuntary skip his heart made - seeing Price would never get old to him. If the captain's smile was anything to go by, he felt the same towards Gaz. More gently than Gaz had, he sat his own duffel on the floor. Padding his way over to the bed, John caressed a hand through Kyle’s hair, his phone quickly being dropped to the bed in order to enjoy the moment.
“Comfortable, sweetheart?” Price chuckled softly, earning only a muffled mhm in response.
“Glad they didn’t torture you too much,” Gaz said, turning his head to the side to make eye contact with the still-standing man.
“Well, never is easy enough, is it?” Price gave him one last pet before raising back to his full height. He brought both duffels over to Gaz’s old bed before unzipping them and getting to work.
“Hurry up and take a shower, sir . I want my pillow. It’s time to start our leave.” Price feigned hurt with a hand over his heart
“Is that all I am to you?” Gaz nodded with a serious expression and Price chuckled. “Anyways, it’s not like you were planning on getting around to unpacking anytime soon,” the captain stated. Ever the organized one, his John. Gaz rolled his eyes playfully, knowing John would’ve done it for him no matter what. Acts of service were just part of his love language. The captain efficiently unpacked both bags; all clothes straight to the hamper and anything else organized on the desk for later. In no time at all everything was in order. After neatly placing the duffels back in the closet, Price reemerged with a pile of clean clothes.
“Alright, I’m off to shower. Don’t exert yourself too much while I’m gone,” he teased. As he turned to leave there was a sound of protest, and it seems Gaz gave up communicating in lieu of making grabbing gestures at him. Price understood instantly, and crossed the room to plant a chaste kiss on Kyle’s lips. Before it could go any further, he got back to the task at hand and left for the bathroom. As he was exiting the room, he swore he heard a self-satisfied that’s more like it from the bed.