Captain John Price x Reader

Forty-Two

"I can't believe that happened.", you huffed, leaning against a wall in the hospital basement. "He looked like he wanted to shoot you."

Price, who was sitting on a bench across the corridor, let out a low chuckle.

He had become a lot more comfortable in your company, almost seemed to enjoy it.

He shrugged.

"Probably would have liked that.", he hummed and took a deep breath to stretch his legs. "Should have called Laswell instead."

You couldn't help but snort.

"She would have cut him in half."

"Would have chewed him whole and spit out afterwards. Looks like a luv, is a bloke."

Your eyebrows rose in amusement.

"Don't tell her that."

He pulled a face, smirking.

"Are you mad?", he asked and took off his fisherman hat to scratch the back of his head. "I like life."

Smiling to yourself, you nodded and threw a glance through the glass window that was embedded in the door.

On the other side was the lab for pathology and law medicine.

Two doctors, dressed in bluish green medical garments, were working on the corpse of the woman.

It had turned out that the little voice in the back of your head had not been deceiving.

The voice really had been familiar.

After the doctors had unwrapped the lady, a familiar face had come to sight.

She was the woman you had seen in the cellar under the baker shop.

Only the devil knew how she and the terrorists had managed to do it, but they had infiltrated the military.

The original plan had been to send an anonymous bomb threat to the city. She then would have operated as a suicide bomber to carry the actual bomb close to the city halls without being noticed.

The fact that you had called Laswell had only played into their cards.

Price's quick acting had been the only thing that had prevented the worst case scenario.

"Shit...", you let out a deep breath, squeezed your eyes shut and slid down the wall.

"Cheer up, luv.", Price said. "Can't always win."

His deep voice send shivers down your spine.

Even though you only knew him for a few days, that voice was your favourite thing about him.

He always sounded rough and yet so soft, so calm. There was some kind of power in his words that made everyone's core shiver.

Yours specifically.

And yet, it was never uncomfortable to be in his presence.

He really was the definition of a gentle giant.

If he wanted to be.

With a soft chuckle, you looked up to meet his eyes.

"I never considered myself a winner.", you stroked through the strands of your (H/C) hair. "But that was... hell, I almost nuked it."

He smiled in his cheeky yet charming way.

"Don't worry about it, luv. I'd safe your bacon any day."

When had you started to find him attractive?

It wasn't just the physical attraction, he was a handsome man without a doubt. Most people would have probably fallen for him just because of his looks.

But now it was his personality, the little things that you liked about him.

His smile.

The way he sat, legs spread, arms rested on them for support.

His beard and that unidentifiable shimmer inside those bright blue eyes of his.

Everything seemed so remarkable about him all of a sudden.

As if you had put on a pair of glasses and your vision increased.

With lowered eyes you tried to avoid his gaze.

It made you shiver to make eye contact with him. It felt like a fight that you weren't able to win.

A deep breath made your chest shiver.

"I'll take that as a compliment.", you gifted him some kind of smirk to annoy him again, just like you used to do it.

But it seemed like he had adapted to it.

"You should. I've had my fair share of partners."

"My condolence to them."

A huff escaped him.

"Well, can't say I liked any of em'.", his eyes examined your for a moment.

"I suppose I'm not your favourite."

Again, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"True. But you're not the worst either."

"Oh? Don't feed into my ego, John. It might come back to bite you."

As his name left your lips, his entire body tensed. It wasn't the angry kind of tension or the tension that came with fear.

It was more as if he was in shock for the breath of a second.

Clearing his throat, he lowered his head.

Now he was the one avoiding your eyes.

"You're a pain in the ass, mate.", he said out of the blue, the hint of a smirk in his voice. "But you're quite alright."

A soft hum made your chest vibrate.

It was strange, but such a simple compliment out of his mouth was enough to make you smile.

Your name carried quite some prestige and honour, you owned a few highly valued medals, both national and international.

Compliments weren't anything special to you.

And yet.

It made you feel all fuzzy and warm inside to hear him say that.

It made you feel relived.

It would have been a shame to part on bad terms.

He was a good guy.

Maybe a bit too good.

"In all seriousness...", you got up from the ground and walked up to him to offer a hand to shake. "I don't do all of this partner kinda bullshit. I'm the captain and that's that. But you... I wouldn't mind calling you my partner just this once."

For a moment, his eyes lingered on your hand.

The look on his eyes was unreadable, something between shock and satisfaction.

A low breath escaped him.

Then he pressed his lips into a thin smile, reached out and accepted the handshake.

His hand wasn't just huge but it also felt rough. A few small pieces of skin felt rougher than the rest, more used and broken.

But the strength that they held was almost frightened.

As shiver crawled down your spine as his fingers wrapped around your hand.

"Partner.", he said with a nod of approval.