#protective!141

Without fail when they walk past your desk in the morning, they’ll throw some quip your way.

“Well aren’t you a sight for me sore eyes, bird.” Johnny is always the most dramatic, and spends the most time loitering.

“Lookin’ as delicious as ever, sweetheart.” The captain throws a wink your way, he’s a walking HR violation.

“Mornin’, pretty.” Simon’s gruff voice is muffled from under the mask. You’re sure if you told anyone he said things like this they would get you checked.

“You still being good for us?” Kyle raps his knuckles on the wooden top of the desk, barely sparing you a glance as he struts past.

And without fail, you’ll flail and flounder and the blood will rush to your cheeks and they’ll just laugh and walk away like you weren’t contemplating your whole existence.

Of course it sent you into overthinking hell, because why did they keep doing it? Were they bullying you? Did they just think you so obstructive that they needed to bring your poor, long-untouched hopes up? Were they testing your tolerance? Did…did they actually mean the things they said? That one was obviously not the answer, but gosh they made your thoughts run away.

You never knew how they actually felt about you until your desk got moved to a more central location.

Someone retired and you blessedly got to abandon your rickety old desk that was next to the fan unit that never shut up. What that meant though, was you were now in the central path of travel into base instead of snuggled next to the side door only the 141 used.

You figured you’d seen the last of them because of that, after all why would they change their routine simply because your desk got moved?

Your theory was quickly disproven when the following Monday they strutted in through the main door to swing right past your new desk.

“Tryin’ to get rid of us, love?” John leans over the new desk, elbows splaying on the ledge, bare forearms exposed and flexing. You avert your gaze fast.

“No…desk opened up.” Your gaze flits back to the paperwork you’re completing.

“Old one wasn’t good enough for ya?” Inquires Ghost.

You raise your eyebrows and snort to yourself, keeping your eyes on your computer, “pretty sure it had termites.”

“Ah! Wouldn’t ya know, you can make jokes.” Johnny joins the ‘leaning-on-your-desk’ party.

You roll your eyes. This is just like in high school when the popular kids would say you were just so quiet. Or in elementary when the meanies would tug your hair or clothes. They were totally making fun of you. (You wish they meant what they said. That they actually had an interest in you).

“So can I expect you to change your route to bother me here, now?” You finally find their eyes. Deciding enough was enough and you should start to push back a little (even if that meant your hands were shaking aggressively).

“Yes, love.” Confirms Kyle with his stupid smile, “see you tomorrow!” He laughs and pats John’s shoulder like a signal. They all walk away. You convince yourself you don’t miss them.

And you try to ignore everyone else’s nosy gazes.

The actual realization came the next morning, when instead of the familiar faces of the 141, another gruff military man is standing at your desk.

Now, that wouldn’t be too weird except you weren’t that kind of secretary. You didn’t direct people or answer questions, you mostly just handled some paperwork. So you were a little confused on what he might need from you…maybe he was lost?

“Oh! Hello! Can I help you?” Might as well assist him while he’s here.

His gaze is no where near your eyes, rather roaming your body in a way that sends a shudder down your spine. (Nothing like how you feel when your the boys look at you).

He’s licking his lips and still not looking you in the eye when he answers, “I think you very much can, baby.”

Ew.

You try to keep it together but you’re not very good with conflict or uncomfortable situations, “um, sir…if you’re lost you can be directed by that gentleman over there,” you point to the secretary that does direct people.

“No…no I think I’m right where I need to be.” He smiles and finally makes eye contact, which is somehow worse. “How bout you stand up for me, baby, and we can see what we’re workin’ with.”

Oh you’re going to throw up. You’re flustered, and not in the good way, and you have no idea what your next move is when a large hand lands soundly on the desk next to his. Another slaps firmly onto the creep’s shoulder.

“We have a problem here?” You never thought you’d be so grateful to hear John Price’s stupid little accent in your life. For as much as they flirted with you, they never made you feel uncomfortable.

Even talking directly to this man, John’s gaze is solely on yours. Your shoulders drop. The rest of the 141 are behind him, practically surrounding the new guy.

He turns around, sensing the new status quo. “No! No problem here. Just tryin’ get some directions from this pretty thing here.” He keeps digging his hole.

“Well I suggest you find them somewhere else.” Simon’s tone leaves no room for argument. Besides, who in their right mind is disagreeing with him, ever.

All of their faces are dark, which is a stark contrast to the smirks and smiles they normally have for you. You’re beginning to comprehend why everyone finds them so intimidating.

Luckily, the creep knows when he’s lost and he scurries away.

There’s a silence for a moment before John turns back to you, “‘m sorry ‘bout that, love. Won’t happen again. I’ll make sure of it.” He gives you his stupid eye-crinkling grin that you pretend to hate before they all leave you alone again.

The next time you see Corporal Creep he’s sporting a black eye…you’re not going to draw any conclusions about that.

After the whole nesting incident, they made sure to keep an eye on when you got confused over certain vocabulary, teaching you and ensuring you were never left behind in the conversation.

Which is why it was so concerning—like heart-dropping, veins-freezing-over concerning—to see you speaking with a new General who decides to use his alpha voice on you.

You practically lose all balance, knees getting weak and shoulders hunching like you were just hit. You have no idea why you feel like this, but whatever this General just did, it’s causing a buzzing in your ears and a knot in your stomach, like if you don’t listen to what he just said you’ll explode. A loud whimper comes out unbidden and on complete accident. You’re still just barely there enough to tell that your scent is shooting into the distressed range.

All of that combined sends your team scrambling into fight mode. Minds reeling from another alpha commanding you and with all of the signals of fear you’re now sending out. Their instincts are screaming at them to help you, and to get this General far, far away.

So, basically, it’s not their fault how they treat this guy. Simon swoops in, pushing you behind him and into Johnny’s chest, making a barrier between him and the two of you. Johnny practically envelopes you, pushing his scent out to comfort you and block you from the affects of this General. Kyle joins Simon in his barricade, a deep growl emitting from him that you’ve never heard before. And Price. Price goes straight for the throat.

He slams his hands into the General’s chest, shoving him back and not giving him a moment to get his bearings before he’s grabbing him and taking him to the floor. He’s on top of him, forearms pressing against his windpipe, teeth barred in his face. You’ve never seen him behave like this before…normally he’s so composed and never has he used his alpha status to gain control of a situation. But he’s certainly using it now. This guy might be a higher rank, but it seems even he is folding to Price’s dominance.

“Don’t even think about doing that again.” It’s through gritted teeth, a deep rumble laced with threat. “My sergeant, my command. You don’t get to speak or touch or even look,” a growl escapes him at the thought, “do you understand?” His scent is like ozone, burning your nostrils and sending you scrunching up further into Johnny’s hold. Kyle takes a step back so he’s pressing against you, you’re practically encapsulated by them. You’re just glad this anger isn’t directed at you.

He shoves off of him, the general gasps, finally able to breathe again. John spares him no second glance. Simon and Kyle part for him to come through and grab you, taking you all away from the scene. You try to ignore how everyone is watching while pretending like they aren’t. It’s not every day John Price loses his cool.

Turns out this new general historically has a thing for using his alpha voice liberally to establish dominance…but you don’t think he’ll stick around for long.

The boys end up explaining to you about alpha voice; what it is, how it can be useful, and how people abuse it. It makes you ponder things, predominantly how none of them have ever used it on you.

You twitch your lips to the side, trying to decide if saying something is worth it. “…please don’t use that on me, if you can help it…” it’s a quiet plea, but all you know is you really didn’t like the sensation.

Their faces drop. John grabs your chin and brings you to look at him. He shakes his head, “never, bug.”

It was a Saturday and you felt a little bad for going out. It was one of those rare occasions where the boys had time off. But it was your friend‘s birthday and they had insisted it was fine that you went, and admittedly you were having a great time.

You were maybe a few too many drinks in, but you were always very responsible. So you drank some water and went to the bathroom before your group stumbled outside to switch bars. Despite your efforts, you were unbalanced and giggly and couldn’t feel the cold at all.

Your friends were chatting, split into groups of two or three to hold each other as you started to walk to the next destination. You’re only temporarily taken out of your revelry at your phone buzzing.

“Hope you’re having a good time, bug.” It read.

Your smile widened. Ugh. You love Kyle. You tuck your phone into your arm so your hands are free to grab your friend, excited to continue your conversation and talk about how much you love your partners. What you don’t notice, however, is that you accidentally sent him your location with no explanation.

Kyle wasn’t necessarily expecting a response, he knew you’d be busy dancing probably. So his heart did drop at the message containing a pin for your location.

He stood immediately, startling Johnny whose head was on his lap.

“Huh—“

“Up, we’re going.” He said in a tone that Johnny knew meant business, so he didn’t question further, just got up and got ready for whatever was next.

Were they beating someone up? Did they get called in for an emergency mission? He didn’t know, he just scrambled to put his boots on.

Kyle moves with purpose to the kitchen where John is leaning his hip on the countertop, beer in hand, keeping Simon company as he makes a grilled cheese.

John sees his expression and stands to attention. Kyle flips his phone to show the text, and John is immediatley in business mode too.

“Simon, keys.” John starts toward to safe where they keep their more…dangerous tools.

Simon saw their faces and was also put into action mode despite not knowing what the situation was. He spares a final sad glance at his sandwich before going to get the car keys.

Before anymore words are exchanged, they’re all piled into the car, more armed than probably necessary. But where you were involved, John wasn’t willing to take any chances.

Simon’s driving with Kyle in shotgun, directing him to the pin you sent. Every member of the 141 would ride without context if one of them asked (and they just did), but now knowing it was for you brought tensions up even higher. Simon doesn’t want to get ahead of himself, but the idea that you needed help wasn’t a situation he liked to imagine. He gripped the wheel harder, foot pressing the pedal to the floor, and just hoped they were there on time.

You were having so much fun.

This new bar had more people in it, and the DJ was better, and their drinks poured heavier. You were jumping around with your friends, trying not to spill too much of your drink as you did.

That is until you hear the guy behind you exclaim “hey man!” and then you’re being flipped around by hands on your shoulders.

It’s Kyle!

“Kyllleeee!!” You throw your arms up, heart clenching. Your boyfriend is here! How much better could this night get?

He steps closer to you, alarm falling off his face and into relief, revealing the rest of your partners behind him. The night could get better!

“Hiiii, baby!” You wave to Johnny, stepping into Kyle to hug him.

You frown suddenly. “You guys weren’t invited. You should know better than to come to a birthday party uninvited that’s rude—“ you stumble over your shoe, but Kyle steadies you.

“Honey, you sent us your location with no context.” John still looks concerned, looking around the bar like some threat will jump out.

You pout. “No I didn’t.”

Kyle shows you his phone. You have to concentrate harder than you’d like to in order to decipher what you’re looking at. You see your contact, him telling you to have fun, and then a pin to your location.

Your mouth opens, you bring your cup up and sip.

“Okay,” Kyle mumbles, grabbing it from you.

You frown but let him take it, “hmmmm, I guess I did. Oopsies!”

A guy stumbles into you, but Kyle has a secure grip on your hips. It doesn’t stop Simon from saddling up behind you. One intimidating step toward the guy and he’s scurrying away.

“Siii, don’t scare people awayyy,” your head flops back to look at him upside down which makes you giggle.

“He hit you.” He says it like he should now have the right to kill him. He gets close to you, also grabbing your waist, so now you’re sandwiched between two of your favorite guys.

You hum contentedly until you remember that they aren’t supposed to be here.

“Hey!” You push away from them both, “no boyfriends allowed at the bar tonight!”

John shakes his head affectionately, “heard, sweetheart. Sorry…we got worried you were in trouble.”

The sound of multiple friends going “awwww” resonates from behind you.

“Don’t encourage them!” You say over your shoulder to your friends, happy to see that they aren’t upset with you. “They’re way too protective to begin with.” You say quieter, meant only for the four of them. You complain, but you like it. Knowing they would be that ready to defend you if you needed it.

Still, you feel a little bad that they came all the way out here, “sorry for scaring you…” your lip juts out, hand grabbing for John’s forearm even though you’re supposed to be getting them out of here.

“‘S alright, hen. Ya didn’t mean ta.” Johnny pecks your temple. “We’ll get outta your hair.”

They start to walk out, Kyle handing you your drink back.

“Wait!” You stop them, “…thanks for coming when you thought I needed you.” You smile bashfully.