love letters!

— The two of them met quite a while before the events of London. About 7 years, to be exact, when the Officer was freshly a Captain and the Peninsular War had begun a year prior.

— At first, the Officer had the impression that Sharpshooter was rather brash, demanding, and crude. He tried not to be intimidated, especially since he had been informed beforehand that his new platoon would be... unruly, to say the least.

— On the other hand, although Sharpshooter followed the Officer's commands, he was suspicious of his new leader and kept a very close eye on him.

— He wanted to know what would make the Officer crack under pressure. After all, to Sharpshooter, all officers died with honor on the battlefield with his men, or turned tail and ran like cowards.

— Many times Sharpshooter tested him, and yet the Officer failed to disappoint him each time. Even if he was quite easily stressed (compared to his men, at least, who were heavily desensitized), he told the platoon to hold their position and never once retreated out of fear, but only if it served a tactical purpose.

— He also made sure his soldiers knew what they were fighting for, and kept them in line with it. He always reminded them that everything was for their country and for the crown, even if it meant the deaths of many; enemies, allies, and civilians alike. He justified their actions with the notion that what they were fighting for was bigger than all of them, for the good of Britannia. His beliefs closely aligned with Sharpshooter's, further earning his respect.

— Both of them had basically been conditioned to believe that they had to maintain and uphold the laws and rules at all costs or everything would end in complete disaster. Even if it meant the sacrifices of innocents.

— Not only that, but the Officer had began to praise and compliment Sharpshooter to encourage his good work and get along with him.

— "What you did there was impressive. You have a good eye."

— Sharpshooter would be surprised at these remarks, since they felt very personalized, especially from his superior. Words meant for him and for his talent alone.

— "Ay? 'Suppose so. I don't need any glasses, even at my age."

— Although he would never admit it, it softened him up a bit and he started looking for the Officer's praise more and more.

— After Sharpshooter landed any particularly good shots, he'd immediately side-eye the Officer who almost always responded with something like "Good shot, soldier!" and an occasionally added "Now focus, lad. Don't look at me, keep your eyes on them!"

— Sharpshooter began going out of his way to do things that might impress or gain recognition from the Officer, especially when he began to talk more with the other riflemen in the platoon. It earned him teasing comments from them behind the Officer's back.

— "Don't you get tired of sucking up to him so much?"

— They'd be lucky not to be met with the butt of his rifle. After which, if he were spotted by the Officer, he'd gently scold him, "Now, play nice, lad," and the Sharpshooter would mumble out a "Yes, sir," thus proving the other soldier's point...

— And it was only then that Sharpshooter really thought about it for once. What his officer might be to him. Once he realized he might love him, instead of trying to deny the feelings entirely, he began chasing it, just a bit.

— On top of trying to earn the Officer's favor in sometimes ridiculous ways, he started trying to bump shoulders with him, maybe brush fingers when he's handing something over, or make every bit of eye-contact last.

— He was trying to reach the sunlight without getting too close to the sun, because some part of him thought that if he committed, if he confessed, he'd get burned.

— The distance he imagined between him and his unreachable Officer made him fall even harder.

— It's no wonder he got so jealous when the Officer complimented or praised anyone else. Which was quite unfortunate for the Officer, since he was trying to make them all work as a group, and his method of building comradery was to bond with them all individually.

— It really did not help that the Officer and Sharpshooter would often have alone time together, because Sharpshooter often insisted on taking watch through the night, and the Officer would similarly insist on joining him, despite the Sharpshooter's reprimands that the Officer "should be getting rest as our leader."

— "Hm. Fine then. As your Captain, I order you to allow me to take watch with you."

— "...Can't argue with that, aye..."

— Despite his grumbling, the Officer doesn't miss the smile on his soldier's face.

— These were the moments that made the Officer fall in love with him. More intimate settings where they could talk and be more personal alone.

— The Officer believed that he saw the Sharpshooter for who he really was, and found something a bit softer than usual, and it was that part that he absolutely adored.

— It was one of those nights that made the Officer wonder just how the Sharpshooter felt about him, too. Once asked, Sharpshooter gave a rather curt answer, but after constant pestering and smaller, easier questions, out came the confession.

— "I do think I'm... havin' unnecessary feelings for ya."

— That explanation was more than enough for the Officer. He smiled at the Sharpshooter and took his hands gently, attempting to assure him while also trying to prevent him from running away.

— "I love you too."

— They'd spend a few more days thinking about the interaction while not really changing anything about their relationship until about five days passed, and the Officer offered to try some new things.

— Sharpshooter doesn't strike me as the type to fully put a label on his relationships, but expects the Officer to understand that he thinks of them as something along the lines of a couple regardless.

— It might be hard to tell though, since PDA is a no for Sharpshooter. He'd "rather not do that lovey-dovey shite in front of the lads," much to the Officer's well-hidden disappointment.

— However, if the Officer ever needed assurance, Sharpshooter would sheepishly tell him, with a small blush on his face and his eyebrows furrowed, "Well, we kiss 'n hug 'n all... Doesn't that make us lovers?"

— There might be times where the Officer gets worried about it more than usual, and Sharpshooter somewhat understands that he tends to spiral from time to time, so he might allow him to sneak in hand-holding and a few kisses here and there in public.

— The Officer still teases Sharpshooter often for getting embarrassed, leading to him threatening to walk away (a joke, of course.)

— Something the Officer loves to do when they're alone is have Sharpshooter sit in front of him and put his face in his hands.

— Yes, the Sharpshooter is in his 30s or 40s. No, the Officer does not care and will continue to coo about how handsome and pretty he is ("Pretty?" the Sharpshooter would respond, with a raised eyebrow.)

— But if the Sharpshooter tries to tease him back? The Officer will take a drag from his pipe and blow the smoke in his face with an amused laugh, much to Sharpshooter's annoyance. Well, he tries to look annoyed, at least (he probably likes it sorry I think he's a little freak).

— The Officer's love language is words of affirmation and the Sharpshooter's is acts of service. If it wasn't obvious already LOL