We Love Like Men and Die Like Soldiers

by Masklid

For Teddy Parker and Seeley Booth, it started with late-night guard duty and annoying questions. It continued with two soldiers realizing that they're in too deep for their own good, but they didn't want to let go just yet. It ended with them unable to let go at all, even if they wanted to.

"Why'd you join the army?"

The question rang in Sergeant Seeley Joseph Booth's ears as he looked down at Corporal Edward Theodore Parker, usually called "Teddy", who was his partner for guard duty this time.

Teddy was sitting crisscrossed on the grass, idly flipping a switchblade in his hand, with a backpack next to him filled with a few essentials to keep them afloat during a long night of guard duty.

"What's up with these questions, am I being interrogated or what?" Booth asked before looking around at their dark surroundings.

Teddy shrugged, "It's a fair question." He stood up, dusting off his uniform. "I don't get to ask you too many things during regular duty, Sarge."

Booth snorted in amusement, keeping his eyes away from the corporal. "You should be more focused on making sure no lunatic shows up and starts shooting at us."

Teddy looked around briefly, scanning their surroundings before grinning. "I might not have night vision, but I doubt anyone goes around these places at night, Sarge."

Booth remained silent as he tightened his grip on the flashlight in his hand. He continued to flash it into empty spots in the field, casting long shadows.

Neither of them uttered another word to each other as Booth kept examining their surroundings — and Teddy decided to speak again only when he noticed that Booth's shoulders relaxed slightly.

"So, why'd you join the army?" Teddy repeated himself, stepping closer to Booth. He clasped his hands behind his back, his eyes fixated on Booth's profile view.

Booth hummed softly, "I wanted to serve my country, Teddy." He responded curtly, avoiding Teddy's gaze.

Teddy shook his head briefly, "Is that the only reason?" He questioned with a smile.

"Only reason." Booth confirmed, but Teddy didn't seem convinced or satisfied by that answer.

"Oh, come on, Sarge." Teddy's smile widened. "Everyone has a story. What did you want to escape from?" He probed, "Crazy ex-girlfriend? Pregnant girlfriend? Insane father-in-law that threatened to kill you if you didn't marry his daughter?"

Booth's eyes narrowed, and he looked over at Teddy. "What?"

Teddy shrugged, "Incredibly possible, Sarge, you'd be surprised."

Booth frowned, his expression showcasing a look of pure confusion. "Yeah, well, it wasn't any of those." He said, his voice softening slightly.

Teddy looked into Booth's eyes and nodded, "So what was it?" He asked in a softer, less excited tone.

Booth sighed softly and looked away, "You wouldn't get it, kid." He hummed.

Teddy's smile made a return, "Try me, Sarge." He challenged. "You're not that much older than me."

Booth shook his head, "No, but I'm old enough to tell you to drop it and stop asking me things." He said firmly, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Teddy let out a low whistle, "Okay, Sarge." He shrugged. "You're the boss." He stepped away and sat back down on the grass next to his backpack and near their tent.

The two stood near each other in silence for a few minutes, and the tension was becoming unbearable for the both of them.

"Fuck."

Booth turned to look at Teddy as he heard the swear come out of the corporal's mouth. Thanks to the dim light that came from the moon, the blood that gushed from Teddy's palm was in clear view.

Booth rushed to Teddy's side and kneeled next to him, "What happened?" He asked, flashing some light on the cut on Teddy's palm thanks to the flashlight he was holding just earlier.

"It's not that bad, Sarge." Teddy reassured him, dropping the switchblade on the grass in front of him before grabbing with his free hand a small bag from the backpack.

Booth sighed in disappointment and grabbed the bag from Teddy before handing Teddy the flashlight.

He then took out some rubbing alcohol from the bag. The bag had a few essentials for general injuries, almost like a first-aid kit.

Teddy reached for the rubbing alcohol with his occupied hand, "I can do it myself." He muttered, but Booth pulled the rubbing alcohol away from Teddy's reach.

"I'll do it," Booth shook his head. "You just keep the light towards your palm." He ordered him, and Teddy obeyed — holding the flashlight above and towards his cut palm.

And so, Booth began to clean Teddy's cut with the rubbing alcohol. Teddy hissed slightly in pain before biting his bottom lip to stay quiet.

After cleaning up the wound and applying some Vaseline to it, Booth began to bandage it. "You told me you knew how to handle that switchblade." He muttered in slight annoyance.

Teddy couldn't help but smile at Booth's words, "Usually, I do know," He confirmed. "I just got distracted."

Booth's eyes narrowed, "By what?" He asked as he finished bandaging the cut on Teddy's palm.

"Hey," Teddy smiled wider at the sight of his hand, now bandaged. "Thanks, Sarge." He looked back at Booth's face.

Booth waved his hand dismissively, "Don't mention it." He commented before putting the rest of the things back into the backpack. "What could've possibly distracted you so much that you cut your palm?"

Teddy watched Booth put back the first-aid items into the backpack silently as if the answer was right in front of Booth's eyes — he just couldn't see it at that very moment.

When Booth was done, he looked back at Teddy expectantly, "So?" He pressed while reaching back for the flashlight. Teddy handed him the object before shrugging nonchalantly, a small smirk playing on his lips.

Booth shook his head and stood up, dusting off his uniform with his free hand as he stepped back.

Teddy looked up at him and then back at the switchblade, picking it up and carefully closing it. He then threw it inside the backpack.

Booth looked around once more while holding the flashlight tightly in his hand, just making sure they weren't about to get attacked just because they got sidetracked for one moment.

"You should stop taking your gloves off." Booth suddenly said, making Teddy look up at him.

Teddy shrugged slightly, "It's hot outside." He remarked. "I wouldn't mind taking this jacket off too."

Booth glanced at him and shrugged, "It's not that hot outside." He commented, which made Teddy snort in amusement.

Silence surrounded them once more, keeping them company in the darkness of the night that seemed to envelop them more and more with the passage of time.

After around 10 minutes, Booth got seemingly tired of patrolling and looking around like he was searching for a form of fatherly love, so he sat down near Teddy and got out a small breviary from one of his pockets.

Teddy was staring at his boots as if lost in thought, and Booth didn't pay much attention to him. After all, he didn't know Teddy well enough, just yet to know if Teddy's zoning out was normal or not.

As he read while holding the flashlight towards the small book, Booth would occasionally check up on Teddy by just sparing him a glance, and eventually, he noticed that Teddy hadn't blinked for a bit now.

Okay, maybe that wasn't too normal.

Booth set the flashlight on his lap before he gently shook Teddy's shoulder with his now free hand, "Corporal, are you okay?" He asked, his tone neutral yet softer than usual.

Teddy was startled for a brief moment as he turned to Booth, but then he nodded, "Just thinking, Sarge." He said casually.

Booth then set the breviary on his lap as he nodded, "What about?" He questioned as he put a hand on Teddy's shoulder, intending to keep it there for a bit.

Teddy's shoulders slumped in defeat, "It's my girlfriend, Claire." He began. "She said she was fine with me enlisting in the army, and now..." Teddy bit his bottom lip, trailing off.

Booth frowned, "And now?" He insisted. Teddy couldn't help but chuckle, "Now she broke up with me." He revealed, his voice low.

Booth's eyes narrowed, and he pulled his hand away, "It happens, kid." He remarked. "Nothing you can do about it."

Teddy bit his bottom lip again as he looked over at Booth and then back at his bandaged hand. "Maybe it does, Sarge."

Booth picked up the breviary again and resumed his reading, although 30 seconds into reading — he began to feel watched. So he glanced at Teddy, whose eyes were now fixated on him and his breviary.

"Can I?" Teddy pointed at the breviary. Booth shrugged and handed it to him, their fingers touching for a brief moment. "Knock yourself out."

Teddy gave him a small smile and nodded as he grabbed the breviary with his non-injured hand. He flipped through the pages briefly, although he couldn't see the words quite well due to the poor lighting.

Teddy felt Booth's eyes on him as he kept flipping through the breviary, but he didn't dare to look back at him, and eventually, he simply shut it closed.

"My parents are both Catholic." Teddy suddenly revealed, and Booth's eyebrows shot up. "Really?" The sergeant leaned slightly closer, clearly interested in the conversation.

Teddy nodded, "Yeah, with the whole nine yards — mass every Sunday, praying before eating, everything." He explained while opening the breviary once more and flipping through the pages again.

Booth nodded, "Are you a Catholic?" He cleared his throat after speaking. A small smile played once more on Teddy's lips, "We're all something, aren't we, Sarge?"

Booth looked away for a moment before nodding, "I guess so." He muttered.

Teddy nodded, his eyes fixated on the now-closed breviary in his hands. "We had a crucifix in every room of our house, and I never went out without my rosary bracelets."

Booth just nodded in acknowledgment at Teddy's words. "I know you're a Catholic, Sarge, hope you don't mind me not being as religious." The corporal said with a small chuckle.

"Can't force anything on anyone, kid." Booth said, reaching for the breviary in Teddy's hands.

Teddy handed him the breviary with a nod. Their fingers brushed together for a moment as Booth grabbed the breviary back.

And so, that's how most of the night was spent — reading, talking, occasionally napping, mainly by Teddy. It was nothing new to Booth; he was always on high alert regardless of the situation at hand.

And when the morning came, they left the communications tower and made their way to the small guard post near it.

Booth tapped gently on the glass, slightly startling the Sergeant of the Guard, who was half asleep inside it.

The sergeant looked over at them and stretched slightly, "Good morning, Sergeant Booth, Corporal Parker." He saluted them briefly.

Booth nodded in courtesy. "Morning, Sergeant David." He said briefly. Teddy nodded as well, clasping his hands behind his back and straightening his posture.

Sergeant David picked up a form and handed it to Booth through a small opening in the window, along with a pen.

Booth gave him a small smile and began to fill it out whilst Teddy watched him and continuously leaned closer to see what he was writing.

As Teddy reached to fix his slightly overgrown hair with his injured hand, Sergeant David's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Corporal Parker, what happened to your hand?" He asked firmly. Teddy froze for a moment before looking at his own hand and then letting it fall next to him. "Work accident, sir."

"What exactly happened?" Sergeant David pressed, his eyes narrowing. "Accidentally cut my hand with a switchblade, sir." Teddy responded.

Booth spared Teddy a quick look before he continued writing the report.

Sergeant David hummed, "How did that happen, Corporal?" He questioned even further. Teddy opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by Booth addressing Sergeant David.

"Corporal Parker reached into his backpack, and the switchblade wasn't closed, David." Booth said curtly. Sergeant David looked at Booth for a bit before nodding.

"Okay."

Teddy just nodded in agreement and looked back at the report Booth was now finishing up.

Once Booth was done writing, he handed the report and the pen back to Sergeant David, who picked both items up, setting aside the pen.

Sergeant David skimmed through the report for a bit before just nodding, "So, nothing suspicious?" He asked in a neutral tone.

Teddy shook his head, "No, sir, Sergeant." He declared. Booth nodded in agreement, briefly looking at Teddy before setting his gaze back on Sergeant David and the paper in his hand.

Sergeant David nodded, "Have a good rest then." He said as he set aside the report. Teddy nodded, "Thank you, sir."

Booth nodded at David and then began walking away, with Teddy following close behind — until he eventually reached Booth's side.

Teddy cleared his throat, "You shouldn't have lied for me, Sarge." He said, his eyes fixated on Booth's profile view as they walked.

"You just got clumsy; it wouldn't have been fair for you to get punished for that." Booth commented, keeping his gaze away from Teddy's as they walked.

Teddy hummed, "You could've gotten in trouble if he didn't believe you." He straightened his back before fixing up the dog tags that he wore around his neck.

Booth shrugged, "He was too tired to argue about it, Teddy, it's almost 6 in the morning."

Teddy bit his bottom lip and just nodded in agreement, shifting his gaze away from Booth.

As they reached the barracks, each made their way to their respective rooms.

The rooms were all mainly empty as it was now past the wake-up time for all soldiers. Teddy shared a room with three other soldiers, while Booth had a room all to himself on a higher floor of the building.

As Booth stepped inside his room, he dropped his gear on the bed and sat down next to it, taking a few deep breaths.

It had been a long night, and the only thing he wanted was to sleep and rest his mind and not have to deal with anyone else for a few hours.

Not that Teddy was a bad soldier, in the contrary, he was quite acclaimed by other sergeants and superiors for his skills. But Booth was simply exhausted from all the talking and socializing with someone he hadn't spoken much to, even if Booth was in charge of his usual training.

After having taken a few minutes to himself to relax his body and mind, Booth changed into more comfortable clothing before getting in bed, his body giving into the comfortable sheets that now enveloped him.

In the days that followed, their routines were resumed — following the usual wake-up at 5:30, having their respective day duties, and then their off-duty activities.

Booth had been informed, not too long ago, perhaps just a few hours ago, that the duty roster had been changed, and he was now in front of it, looking for his name and where he would have to go.

He first stumbled upon Teddy's name, and as he soon would come to find out, both he and Booth were assigned guard duty once again. And nevertheless, at the communications tower, after 2200 (10 PM) that same night, just like last time.

"Great.." Booth couldn't help but crack a smile. Teddy was definitely one of a kind when it came to the other soldiers on the base, especially in Booth's eyes.

That evening, at around 2140 (9:40 PM), as Booth was drying himself with a towel, a knock was issued at the door.

"It's open!" Booth said a little louder, unsure of how well he'd be heard by whoever was on the other side of the door.

Teddy opened the door and stepped inside, "Hey, Sarge, are you ready to..." His words trailed off as he took in the sight of Booth in just boxers and with a towel now tossed over his shoulder.

Booth looked at him and nodded, "Yeah, just give me 10 minutes, and I'll be done." He said casually.

Teddy stared at Booth's body for a bit more before nodding, "Alright, sir." He stepped back before making his way out of the room and closing the door behind him.

Teddy took a deep breath and leaned against the nearby wall, "Fuck." He muttered, covering his face with both of his hands.

After taking a moment to calm himself down and adjust his pants, he made his way downstairs and to the duty roster, which was inside the barracks.

Once downstairs, he picked up a nearby pen and signed the duty roster right next to his name before he set the pen back down and leaned against a wall.

As Teddy waited for Booth to show up, his mind drifted to completely different things, like him having walked into the sergeant's room while he was almost naked, which was not helping him in the slightest, now having such a mental image engraved in his memory.

He wasn't complaining, though.

While lost in his thoughts, Booth appeared at the duty roster and signed for himself before setting the pen away and turning to Teddy.

"You ready to go, Parker?"

Teddy blinked a few times, snapping out of his thoughts, before nodding, "Yeah, I am." He nodded a little too enthusiastically.

They made their way out of the barracks and to the communications tower, more specifically, the guard post near it, to let the Sergeant of the Guard know that they were going on guard duty.

A while later, they were all set by the communications tower. Booth had helped Teddy set up a tent and put away in it a few basics, as usual.

And as always, Booth was now patrolling around in the dark of the night while Teddy was just watching him, idly fidgeting with the dog tags that dangled from his neck.

As Booth walked further away from their tent and things, Teddy reached for Booth's backpack and opened it, looking inside for a bit as if he were searching for something specific.

Maybe a bottle of water, a snack, a card deck.

It really was just human curiosity, which seemed to become satisfied when Teddy found a digital camera. Although Teddy didn't have x-ray vision, he just knew he had to look inside Booth's backpack, and he had just struck gold with his findings.

Teddy closed Booth's backpack as he held the camera in his other hand before he turned it on. The battery was almost full, adding to his earlier luck.

He pointed the camera to the distant silhouette of Booth and, after turning off the flash, he took a photo — It was barely intelligible, but you could still make out the figure of a person.

After taking a few pictures of himself, this time with the flash on, while Booth had his back turned to the space Teddy was occupying, he noticed the owner of the camera, none other than Booth, and thank god, not a stranger, was making his way back to him and their things.

Teddy quickly turned off the camera and gently threw it inside the tent before turning his back to the tent once more.

Booth looked down at Teddy after reaching him, "Are you going to sit there all night?" He questioned with a neutral tone in his voice.

"Need me to do anything, Sarge?" Teddy asked, his eyes darting from Booth's face to Booth's lower body.

Booth looked around briefly and shrugged, "It all seems pretty peaceful." He sat down next to Teddy.

Teddy's eyes remained fixated on Booth's face, now on his profile view. "Kinda cold tonight." The corporal suddenly said, rubbing his glove-less hands together.

Booth just nodded before he reached for his backpack. At the sight of Booth's actions, Teddy swallowed hard and quickly stood up, "I'll go make some rounds, too." He picked up his flashlight and switchblade before rushing away from the crime scene.

Booth watched him leave, a frown planted on his face. "Alright.." He mumbled before beginning to look through his backpack, clearly searching for something specific.

"Where's that damn camera.." Booth eventually muttered, looking around, especially on the grass — but it was to no avail.

When he finally decided to check the tent, although he remembered clearly that he hadn't even taken the camera out of his backpack, let alone put it somewhere else — there it was.

Booth picked up his camera and inspected it briefly before sitting back down on the grass. "That's odd..." He turned on the camera.

Booth began taking photos of their surroundings with the flash on. Sometimes, he'd catch a glimpse of Teddy; other times, it'd only be the grass and the dark night sky with all its stars.

When he was done, he began looking through them, fascinated by just the mere feeling he could get from colors being mixed so uniquely.

That's until he was met by a photo of Teddy sticking his tongue out at the camera.

Booth stared at his digital camera for a while before he turned to look where he last saw Teddy walking around. "So that's why you left so quickly.." He muttered, getting up and dusting off his uniform.

"Edward Theodore Parker!" Booth yelled out as he began walking in Teddy's direction. At the sound of his name being shouted, Teddy turned to look at Booth, noticing the camera in his hand, even from a distance.

"Oh, shit." Teddy mumbled, quickly stuffing one of his pockets with the closed switchblade before he began running in a completely different direction, which only made Booth begin running after him.

"Get back in here, Teddy. I just want to talk!" Booth yelled as he ran, gripping with his fingers the camera that he still held in hand.

"I'd rather not, Sarge!" Teddy yelled back whilst gripping the flashlight in his hand, not daring to look behind as he continued to run as if he was 17 all over again, running away from home.

But this was different, this was just like a kid's game, and one he wasn't sure he wanted to win.

And win he did not — Booth caught up to him after two more minutes of running and got him on the ground.

Teddy found himself on the grass with a weight on top of him, said weight being none-other than Booth himself. "Jesus Christ, Sarge." Teddy panted softly as he looked up at the older man, who seemed equally exhausted.

Booth dropped the digital camera next to Teddy's head but didn't back away or get off of him, "Care to explain the new photo I found in my camera?" He questioned.

Teddy bit back a comment and instead remained silent, dropping the flashlight on the ground next to them.

Booth spared the flashlight a quick glance before looking back at Teddy. "So?" Booth pressed, his chest still heaving.

Teddy licked his own bottom lip and shrugged, "Thought you might appreciate a little something, Sarge." He said with a cheeky smile.

Booth leaned down closer to Teddy's face, his eyebrows raised but his expression neutral. "Yeah?" He asked, to which Teddy nodded with the same smile that Booth was secretly hoping he could somehow wipe off, even for a moment.

The two remained in silence for a bit while staring at each other, and Teddy could swear he felt something pressing against his leg, but he didn't want to believe it to be true.

Or, well, he did. But he could not believe it to be true.

"You're a pain in the ass, Corporal." Booth shook his head, even though he was clearly amused by the situation and not as mad as he had made himself out to be.

Teddy's smile widened, "I try my best, Sarge." He joked, his own breath hitting Booth's lips thanks to their close proximity.

Booth's breath hitched, and he looked at Teddy's lower body for a brief moment before shaking his head, "It shows." He said before getting up and backing away from Teddy.

Teddy sat up and picked up the camera from the ground, "Aren't you going to help me get up, sir?" He joked with the same grin.

Booth chuckled, "Nah, I don't think so." He crossed his arms as he watched Teddy.

Teddy simply shrugged and pointed the camera upwards at Booth, taking a photo of him with the flash on without any warning.

"Ah, fuck!" Booth covered his eyes with one hand, "Teddy!" He groaned, annoyed.

Teddy chuckled, "Never look towards the light, Sarge." He said as he picked up the flashlight with his free hand before sitting up. He then shook his legs slightly in an attempt to dust off his pants.

Booth scoffed slightly and set his hand down. "I now see that flash whenever I close my eyes." He complained, to which Teddy couldn't help but laugh.

As Teddy continued laughing, Booth's sight slowly recovered, and he blinked a few times while keeping his eyes on Teddy.

He kept his gaze set on Teddy as if he were admiring the view even with the darkness of the night embedding them, and the only sources of light that illuminated the corporal were coming from the moon and the camera that he still held in hand.

As Teddy's laugh subsided, he began making his way back to the tent while illuminating his path with the now-turned-on flashlight. "You coming, Sarge?" He called out without turning to look at Booth.

Booth watched him walk away for a moment before beginning to follow him, "Yeah, right behind you." He responded in a neutral tone.

As they reached their tent and backpacks, Teddy sat down crisscrossed on the grass and dropped the camera in the hollow between his crossed legs. He turned off the flashlight before setting it next to the camera in the same hollow between his legs.

Booth walked in front of him and tilted his head to the side slightly, "What are you doing now, Corporal?" He asked, watching Teddy take out of his pocket the switchblade that he had pocketed when he was running away from a certain madman with a camera.

Teddy smirked as he looked up at Booth, "I don't think I got to tell you this last time, Sarge, but I know a thing or two when it comes to carving wood." He remarked.

Booth chuckled, "Oh, yeah?" He crossed his arms. "What can you carve for me?" He questioned before looking around briefly.

"Anything, Sarge." Teddy's smirk turned into a grin. "Maybe a mermaid or something?" He suggested.

Booth raised an eyebrow, "Alright, knock yourself out, do you have any wood?" He sat down next to Teddy and reached for the flashlight that lay between the corporal's legs.

Teddy watched Booth grab the flashlight, and he bit the inside of his cheek — hard enough to almost draw blood. He adjusted his pants briefly, watching as Booth turned on the flashlight.

Immediately after, Teddy reached into his own backpack while clearing his throat, "You bet that handsome face of yours that I do." He casually said as he took out a piece of wood.

Booth couldn't help but chuckle, "You never cease to impress me, where do you even get these from?" He watched as Teddy began carving out the mermaid in the wood while he flashed light on the younger man's hands so he wouldn't accidentally cut himself... again.

"From trees, sir, they're magical." Teddy chuckled as he carved into the wood, and Booth simply shook his head in disbelief, a smile present on his lips.

The two remained in silence for a bit before Teddy interrupted it so very rudely. "So, Sarge..." He began, keeping his eyes on the wood.

Booth hummed in acknowledgment, constantly watching Teddy's hands while holding the flashlight towards them as steadily as he could.

"You like photography?" Teddy asked with a casual tone.

Booth chuckled and nodded, "Yeah, I like how colors can blend in, you know?"

Teddy smiled, not taking his eyes off the wood he was carving a mermaid into. "Truly beautiful, Sarge." He agreed.

Booth smiled a bit, "I'll guess you're a man of my taste, Teddy." He shifted the flashlight to his other hand, keeping the light to flash on the corporal's hands.

Teddy bit his bottom lip at Booth's words and looked over at him, pausing his wood carving. "I'd hope so, sir." He said in a soft tone, which made shivers run down the other man's spine.

Booth stared into Teddy's eyes for a bit, not daring to look away and accidentally have that spark that lit them up flicker away without his permission.

In a moment of confidence, Teddy gave him a quick wink along with another smile before he looked back at his hands and continued carving the mermaid he had promised to Booth in the piece of wood.

Booth stared at him in slight confusion before he simply shrugged.

"Anyone waiting for you back at home, Sarge?" Teddy questioned after a bit as he focused on not cutting his finger off by accident.

Booth remained quiet as if pondering on the question he had just been given. It was a touchy subject for him, more or less, and he never really spoke about his family, friends, or past relationships that he had left behind when he had joined the army.

"Sarge?" Teddy broke him out of his thoughts by talking again, and Booth hummed in acknowledgment.

"Anyone waiting for you back at home?" Teddy repeated his previous question, now looking at Booth with a curious and expecting look in his eyes.

"Uh, yeah." Booth shrugged, keeping his eyes fixated on Teddy's hands, all while gripping the flashlight that he held, even though the corporal had long paused his wood carving.

Teddy frowned at Booth's avoidance, "Who?" He pressed, his voice softening.

Booth avoided Teddy's gaze completely as he responded in a casual manner, "My grandpa."

Teddy smiled a little and nodded, "I didn't peg you for the emotional type, Sarge." He joked lightly, to which Booth playfully rolled his eyes.

"Watch it, Corporal." He warned him, although his tone held no heat behind it before he looked back at Teddy's face.

Teddy licked his bottom lip as he heard those words, "Or what, sir?" He asked, his eyes glazing over as he stared at Booth.

The two men stared at each other for a bit before Booth cleared his throat and looked down at the camera between Teddy's legs.

"I have a weapon of my own, you know." Booth pointed at the camera. "I can easily take embarrassing photos of you while you sleep." He smiled a bit.

Teddy snorted in amusement, "Great weapon, Sarge, will definitely help us in case of war." He joked.

Booth rolled his eyes playfully and nodded with a bigger smile, "I'm great, I know, no need to say it so often."

Teddy grinned, "You are, though." He agreed before biting his bottom lip. Teddy looked back down at the switchblade in his hand and continued to carve into the piece of wood.

Booth raised an eyebrow but decided to just let the subject go right past them and into the thin air. He watched Teddy's skilled hands shape the piece of wood that he had brought into a masterpiece — it stood no chance.

Booth was just a mere puppet here; he was just a helper. Holding the flashlight while the master in the arts of the wood did his job.

It was an actual masterpiece in Booth's eyes, something he could never do so easily. It was beginning to look better and better, too — the true definition of trusting the process.

Just as Teddy was finishing up the smaller details, his eyesight blurred for a brief moment — and it was already too late.

"Fuck."

Booth had watched it all happen, and, nevertheless, he was ready for it. "Put those away and hold this." He instructed calmly as he handed Teddy the flashlight.

Teddy sighed and set the switchblade and piece of carved wood between his legs before grabbing the flashlight from Booth's hand with his non-injured hand.

Booth reached for the bag with the first-aid supplies from his backpack before he began cleaning the cut on Teddy's finger with some rubbing alcohol, all while Teddy held the flashlight with his other hand so Booth didn't have to rely only on moonlight for some visibility.

Teddy hissed in pain and discomfort at the stinging feeling that came from the throbbing wound as Booth cleaned it with the alcohol, making Booth pause for a very brief moment before continuing to clean the wound.

"You're so clumsy.." Booth muttered as he reached for the tube with Vaseline that he kept in the bag and put some of it on Teddy's open wound.

Teddy bit his bottom lip, seemingly to stop himself from making any noises that would indicate further that he was in pain or uncomfortable. "Yeah, well.." He mumbled, his teeth letting go of his lip. "At least I can blame you for this one."

Booth's eyes narrowed, "What do you mean by that?" He asked in a tone that came off more defensive than he had intended.

Teddy couldn't help but crack a smile, "I got injured while doing something for you, sir." He reminded Booth.

Booth paused, and he stared at Teddy's face, which was slightly illuminated by the flashlight and the moonlight.

"Do you want me to put a band-aid or not, because if you keep saying stuff like that—"

Teddy snorted in amusement and nodded, "Proceed with the band-aid, sir." He requested softly, although his tone gave place to even more amusement. "Please."

Booth smiled and shook his head in mock annoyance before putting a band-aid on Teddy's finger, "I'm not patching you up next time, you got that?"

Teddy chuckled, "Alright, Sarge." He watched as Booth put the first-aid items back in his backpack before grabbing the flashlight from Teddy's hand.

Teddy clicked his tongue as he reached for the switchblade once more, "Let's finish this fish up." He said before he picked up the piece of wood once more.

"Woah, woah, okay." Booth yanked the wood from his hand and set it on the grass before gently grabbing the switchblade from his other hand. "Let's save that for when it's not night, and you don't already have a cut on your hand."

Teddy frowned as the items were taken away from him, "I haven't finished it up, though." He said, reaching for the piece of wood. Booth closed the switchblade and then slapped Teddy's hand away once he set the switchblade down next to the carved wood.

"It's good as it is, Teds." Booth remarked, grabbing the piece of wood and flashing light onto the mermaid that was carved into the piece of wood thanks to Teddy's skilled hands.

Teddy chewed on his bottom lip as he watched Booth admire his work, a million thoughts running through his mind about whether or not he was going to like it.

Booth cleared his throat and looked over at the waiting corporal, "It's really cool, can I..?" He trailed off, his voice tinged with uncertainty.

Teddy immediately nodded, clearly relieved. "It's for you, after all." He said, slightly humored by the other man's hesitance.

Booth smiled and reached for his backpack before setting the piece of wood inside it, "Thanks."

Teddy nodded and grabbed the digital camera from between his own legs, handing it to Booth. "Need it back?" He raised an eyebrow, chuckling.

Booth couldn't help but also chuckle as he grabbed the item back, "Yeah, thanks." He said before turning the camera off and putting it next to the carved mermaid in his backpack.

Teddy nodded and looked around, his eyes accustomed to the darkness that enveloped him and Sergeant Booth.

And he was no stranger to the darkness either — he grew up with it, he knew it, and he was familiar with its quirks and its ideas.

From the first time he had walked through the dark, cold night to get home as a kid and all the way to the time he had run away from his father as a 17-year-old.

As Teddy got lost in his thoughts, Booth flashed his light around their surroundings, casting long shadows in the process. He was simply quietly minding his business, not wanting to break Teddy's zone-out streak.

And once more, that was how most of the night was spent — talking, taking photos, making sure Teddy didn't cut himself again with the switchblade he kept on managing as if he were an expert. Which, spoiler alert, he was good at carving wood and even his hand, just not good at avoiding carving anything at all.

When morning came, they left the communications tower after packing up their things and made their way to the small guard post near it.

Once they checked in with the Sergeant of the Guard, they walked back to the barracks to get some actual sleep and rest for when they'd be needed to return to their usual duties.

As they reached the barracks, Booth watched Teddy head to his room, although a question lingered on the tip of his tongue, almost burning him like fire.

When Teddy was about to walk inside his room, Booth made his way to Teddy in long strides, the length of the distance between them shortening very quickly.

"Corporal Parker." Booth said loudly and firmly as he walked, making Teddy look at him and pause his movements entirely.

"Yes, sir?" Teddy asked softly, and Booth felt shivers run down his spine at the softness in Teddy's voice.

Booth looked over at Teddy's wounded hand and then back at Teddy, "I, uh, I hope your finger gets better soon." He bit the inside of his cheek after speaking.

Teddy looked down at his own hand, then back at Booth, "I heal fast." He shrugged with a small smile. "But thanks."

Booth nodded again, unable to bring himself to spit out the question he'd been holding in for a while now. He took a few steps back, preparing to leave to his own room.

Teddy looked around awkwardly before taking a deep breath, his chest rising as he did so. "Do you want to hang out or something, Sarge?"

Booth was taken aback by the question, and he looked around briefly, "I shouldn't, we should rest." He responded with a frown.

Teddy's facial expression remained neutral as he thought about Booth's words. Then he just shrugged with a small smile, "Nobody's in my room."

Booth stared at him in disbelief before shaking his head, "Christ, Parker, we're in the army, not in high school. Nothing is going to happen whether your room is empty or not." He reminded him, leaning closer.

Teddy chuckled, "You're the one who thought of that, Sarge, not me." He casually said as he walked backward into his room.

Booth sighed, although amused, and walked inside the room, closing the door behind himself.

Teddy grinned as he watched Booth walk in before he turned his back to him and walked towards a bunk bed, "Welcome to my humble abode."

Booth snorted in amusement, "Really cozy, Corporal, which one is your bunk?" He asked as he looked around.

Teddy threw his backpack on the bottom bunk of his bunk bed, "This one, bottom bunk." He said, patting the bed as if it were his most prized possession.

Booth looked at the bunk bed and shook his head, "You know, I used to share a room with Sergeant David before either of us became sergeants"

Teddy grinned as he heard Booth's words, "No way, Sarge." He sat on the bunk next to his backpack, now looking at the sergeant. "I need to know it all."

"Yeah, well," Booth walked to Teddy's shared bunk bed and leaned against it. "don't tell anyone, but he used to keep this one photo of his best friend under his pillow."

Teddy chuckled, "Don't tell me, guy best friend?" He asked with a smile.

Booth nodded, "Yeah, he'd tell us stories about his best friend, too, he was filled with them." He chuckled.

Teddy grabbed his backpack and set it next to his own feet, leaving space for Booth to sit down next to him.

Booth caught onto Teddy's intentions and did so, smiling at him. "Thanks."

Teddy nodded in acknowledgment and looked at his backpack, "Well, I'll guess Sergeant David no longer has a best friend since he seems so stingy all the time." He remarked casually.

Booth shook his head, "That's just his resting facial expression, don't take it to heart." He joked.

Teddy snorted in amusement, "So he still has a best friend?" He questioned, leaning closer to Booth, now looking at his face.

Booth nodded, "As far as I know, yeah, and he works as a chef, I think." He scratched the back of his head.

Teddy nodded along, "So, are they.." He trailed off, making a rotating hand gesture. "You know."

Booth stared at Teddy for a bit before clearing his throat. "We don't ask and don't tell, Corporal. It's not our business."

Teddy nodded slowly, "Right." He muttered, looking away from Booth. "Sorry, Sarge, I got ahead of myself."

Booth shook his head, "It's okay, we're both tired." He patted Teddy's shoulder gently before getting up and stretching gently.

Teddy looked up at him, watching as Booth then turned to him and shared the look.

"Are you okay, Corporal?" Booth asked after a few seconds, his voice softer, to which Teddy nodded, but his eyes never left Booth's.

"I just, uh, I don't have a problem with such things, Sarge." Teddy said after taking a deep breath.

Booth hummed in acknowledgment, "I never thought you did." He responded in a casual tone.

Teddy frowned, "What does that mean?" He stood up, gently kicking his backpack away.

Booth's eyebrows shot up in slight surprise at Teddy's defensive tone of voice, "Nothing, Corporal, I just don't make such assumptions."

"It wouldn't be professional of me." He immediately added for clarification before clearing his throat, keeping his eyes on Teddy's face.

Teddy studied Booth's face for a bit before he sighed and looked away in slight shame and embarrassment, "That's true, Sarge." He muttered. "Sorry for this."

Booth smiled a bit at Teddy's apology, "Look at me, Corporal." He said, placing a hand on Teddy's shoulder.

Teddy looked back at Booth's face, a little confused. "We've had a long night, alright?" Booth began, gently gripping Teddy's shoulder.

Teddy just nodded in agreement, letting Booth do the talking now.

"So you should go take a shower and rest, alright?" Booth said in a firm but soft tone, and Teddy simply nodded, his heart fluttering as Booth leaned slightly closer.

"That's more like it, soldier." Booth patted Teddy's shoulder, not taking into account the way Teddy's cheeks flushed at his words or the way Teddy's eyes wandered on his face.

The younger man bit the inside of his cheek and looked Booth up and down, "And, uh, are you taking a shower too?" He asked, his voice slightly shaky.

Booth raised an eyebrow, and he nodded, "I am. Why do you ask, Parker?" He leaned slightly closer to him.

Teddy's eyes met his, and he shrugged with a tired smile. "Just wondering, nothing else."

Booth shared his smile, "Alright. Meet you at the showers soon?"

Teddy bit the inside of his cheek and nodded, "I'll be there in five, sir." He straightened his back.

"That's the spirit." Booth joked before making his way out of the room and towards the stairs, leaving Teddy all by himself in his room.

Teddy took a deep breath and leaned his head back, "There's no God in this world if I have to deal with this..." He muttered to himself as he gently pulled on the dog tags that dangled from his neck to ground himself.

After a few minutes, Teddy walked out of the room and made his way to the communal showers, first stopping by the locker room.

Booth was already there, currently taking off his fatigues and setting them inside his locker.

Teddy watched him for a few good seconds, admiring his broad shoulders and muscles, before he quickly redirected his gaze to his own locker.

"Keep it up, Teddy, and you'll get written down for sexual harassment.." He muttered to himself as he began undressing in front of his own locker.

Booth turned around to the sound of faint mumbles, and he noticed Teddy, who was already half undressed and seemingly lost in his own thoughts.

Completely away from any professionalism, Booth couldn't help but admire Teddy for a bit — even if only his side was facing Booth.

Although only average height and seemingly not as strong as some other soldiers, Teddy was one of the people Booth would've been glad to get stuck with on any mission possible.

Strong, courageous, tough, skilled — What else could anyone ever ask for? And it all wrapped up nicely when it came to his smooth face and blue eyes.

Those baby blue eyes that often caught anyone's attention — they were unforgettable for anyone who had the luck to meet and work with Teddy Parker.

"Sarge?"

Booth's thoughts were completely interrupted by Teddy's voice — oh, that voice that always seemed to carry a hint of softness to it.

Booth looked at Teddy's face, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment. "Yeah?" He asked, his voice slightly shaky as he did so.

Teddy blinked a few times before clearing his throat, "You alright?"

Booth nodded immediately, "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" He asked, his hand coming to undo his own pants, which he had completely forgotten to take off.

Teddy shrugged briefly, adjusting his boxers. "You seemed pretty out of it, sir." He remarked in a neutral tone.

Booth swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing as he did so. "Yeah, I was just.." He looked around briefly, "Just thinking, Teddy." He said before he turned back to his locker and took off his uniform pants.

"About what, sir?"

Booth went on to fold his pants and set them inside his locker, all while he thought of an answer, or better-said excuse, to give to Teddy.

Teddy tilted his head to the side, his eyes set on Booth as he reached for his towel in his own locker.

"About what, Sergeant?" Teddy repeated his previous question, hearing Booth clear his throat before turning around to face him.

Booth gave him a small shrug, "About that mermaid you made out of wood."

Teddy couldn't help but smile a bit, "Yeah?" He asked a little louder as he turned his back to Booth entirely and took off his boxers.

Booth nodded mindlessly, "Yeah, I think I'll put it on my nightstand." He said, unknowingly mirroring Teddy's actions as he took off his own boxers to later wrap a towel around his waist.

Teddy wrapped the towel he was holding around his own waist before lightly pulling it down so it would hang low on his hips.

"That's quite the compliment, Sarge."

"What can I say, you're skilled, Corporal."

"I've got more hidden skills if you're interested."

Booth raised an eyebrow and shut his locker door with his free hand before turning to Teddy. "Like what, soldier?"

Teddy bit his bottom lip, his gaze already set on Booth. "You know what I'm good at, Sarge, you've been on a few missions with me."

Booth cracked a smile and took a few steps closer to Teddy, "Yeah, but I thought maybe you learned something new nowadays."

Teddy looked up at Booth's face and shrugged, "You'll have to find out by yourself." He remarked before straightening his posture.

Booth looked him up and down, "At ease, soldier, you're not this tense even when we're on guard duty." He said, a hint of fondness in his voice.

Teddy's shoulders slumped, and he gave Booth another smile. "I have to be more professional at times, sir."

Booth shook his head in mock disbelief before reaching with his free hand to grasp the dog tags that hung from Teddy's neck and lay against Teddy's bare chest.

"We don't usually shower with these on, Corporal."

Teddy shivered at the slight touch from Booth's fingers and gave the sergeant a quick shrug, "I've never really taken them off in the shower, they just make me feel less.." He trailed off.

"...naked?" Booth completed the sentence, clearly amused by such a statement.

Teddy nodded, "Yeah, it's the only thing sort of covering me." He joked.

Booth couldn't help but laugh, and he let go of Teddy's dog tags, backing away slightly.

Teddy chuckled, listening to Booth's rich laugh, which made shivers run down his spine. Although, maybe those had been a direct result of being naked and only covered by a towel and his dog tags.

Booth covered his face with his free hand, his other hand holding the 2 in 1 shampoo he had been using lately whenever he showered, and he rubbed his face as he continued laughing.

Eventually, Booth ceased laughing, and he began to make his way to the communal showers. Teddy quickly shut his own locker and followed behind, his eyes set on Booth's wide back.

Teddy's gaze lingered over Booth's body as they entered the communal showers together, but soon he looked away.

Once Booth picked a spot under one of the showerheads, Teddy decided not to be too far from him and settled for a spot of his own, about 20 feet away.

Teddy put his shampoo on a small shelf before he took off his towel and hung it on a hook near the shower head. He turned on the warm water, hearing from a short distance the sound of already running water — from Booth's own shower head.

As the water ran down Teddy's skin, he reached for the shampoo he had brought with him to the communal showers before pouring some of it into his hand and beginning to wash his body.

While he washed himself, he made sure not to look at Booth for too long.

It was both unprofessional and borderline harassing for a soldier to look at another soldier's bare body like that without consent.

It didn't take long for him to be done showering, and right as he turned the water off, he noticed Booth mirroring his movements.

"Already done, sir?" Teddy asked with a cheeky smile as he wrapped the towel around his waist. His gaze was, however, set on his own movements rather than on whatever Booth was now doing.

Booth nodded with a small smile, "Yeah, I just can't wait to get out of here and go to sleep, Parker." He said, Teddy's last name dripping from his tongue like honey from a beehive.

Teddy bit the inside of his cheek as he took a quick glance at Booth, noticing that he still hadn't covered himself with his respective towel.

"Shit." Teddy mumbled under his breath before looking down at his own bare feet, not daring to look at Booth.

Booth reached for his towel, completely unaware of the turmoil that was unfolding inside Teddy's mind, and he wrapped it around his waist after drying himself slightly. "Ready to hit the hay, Corporal?"

Teddy dared to look at Booth, and he sighed in relief at the sight of Booth now having covered his lower body with the towel he had brought.

"Yeah, it's probably the best part of all of today."

"I agree, I'm beat."

Teddy gave him another cheeky smile before reaching for the shampoo that lay on the shelf, which had been a witness to their shower interactions the whole time.

Booth grabbed his own shampoo before he walked up to Teddy. "You're the first soldier I meet who showers with those on, really." He pointed at Teddy's wet but shiny dog tags.

Teddy couldn't help but chuckle at Booth's remar,k and he shrugged, "I'm very dedicated to who I am, sir." He remarked in an amused but sure tone, which gave no room for further questioning.

Booth leaned closer to Teddy after giving him a nod. "It shows, Corporal Parker, it shows." He said softly, noticing Teddy's pale cheeks become flushed in an instant. He chalked it up to them being affected by the warmth that lingered in the bathroom after their respective showers.

Teddy simply nodded and took a step back, his legs feeling unsteady beneath him. He took a few more steps backward towards the exit before turning around and walking straight to it.

Booth looked behind himself and around to make sure neither of them had forgotten anything before he followed Teddy outside of the communal showers and into the locker room.

Teddy was now in front of his own locker, busy drying himself with a separate towel that had been taken out of the locker and not just having gotten manifested out of thin air.

Booth shook his head in slight amusement, and he walked to his own locker before opening it and setting inside it the 2 in 1 shampoo that he was really hoping wouldn't run out in the next two or so months of usage.

He then went on to dry his body, including his short hair, with a separate towel before taking off the towel that was wrapped around his waist and drying his lower half with it.

And after he was sure that his body was dry enough, he put on his clothes and continued to dry his short hair some more with the towel.

During all of this, Teddy, unknowingly to either of them, mirrored his movements and was now getting dressed, too.

"All done there, Corporal?"

"Done, Sarge, I'm dying to go to bed."

"A man of my word, as always."

"I aim to please."

Booth shut his locker door after he set his towels on two hooks next to each other for them to dry properly, and he turned to look at Teddy, who had just done the same as him.

Teddy yawned and stretched his arms above his head as he began to walk towards the exit of the locker room. Booth followed close behind, his eyes dead set on the way those pants were a perfect fit for Teddy's body.

They really hugged all the right places of his lower half, but maybe he shouldn't be thinking about that. Not now, at least.

Booth's gaze redirected to the back of Teddy's head, which the shorter man kept on scratching or reaching to run his fingers through the slightly overgrown damp hair.

As they finally reached Teddy's room, Teddy turned to Booth and straightened his back. "Goodbye, Sarge." He gave him a mock salute.

Booth chuckled and adjusted his own shirt before walking in front of Teddy and reaching with his fingers for Teddy's dog collars. "At ease, soldier.." He murmured.

Teddy's shoulders slumped in relaxation, and he looked down at Booth's fingers for a brief moment before looking back up at the older man. "What's up, Sarge, can't say goodbye back?"

Booth snorted in amusement and nodded, "I can, I just keep thinking about these dog tags of yours.." His last words faded into a murmur as his fingers curled around the cold metal that the dog tags were made of.

Teddy's breath hitched as he watched Booth pull the dog tags closer to his eyes, for him to be able to take in every single detail or information that the dog tags contained.

"AB positive.." Booth muttered under his breath, reading Teddy's blood type. "Universal receiver."

Teddy's cheeks flushed in an instant, "Pardon?" He asked, setting aside all formalities that he usually never strayed from showing.

Booth couldn't help but chuckle at Teddy's reaction, and he gave him a small smile. "I'm just saying, kid, you're a lucky one to have such blood type in the army."

Teddy cleared his throat, his cheeks remaining tinted with a shade of pink as he processed Booth's earlier words and explanations.

Booth carefully set the dog tags against Teddy's clothed chest before he gently tapped them, "Have a good rest, Corporal." He said in a softer tone as if to not startle Teddy before walking away.

Teddy watched Booth make his way to the staircase, and he reached for his own dog tags, running his fingers down them. "He has to know what he's doing.." He muttered before turning to his room's door and walking inside.

Teddy closed the door behind himself and leaned against it. He adjusted his pants, looking around the empty room.

"Oh, fuck..." The words left his lips like a prayer, as if he were about to just fall on his knees and beg for forgiveness from a God that never cared about him nor wanted to care about such an insignificant person.

He looked around for a brief moment before pushing himself off the door and making his way back to his bunk bed.

As soon as he reached the bunk bed, Teddy sat down on his respective bed before he picked up his fallen backpack, taking out of it his switchblade. He threw it underneath his pillow before reaching once more into his open backpack.

He took a deep breath before taking out a small breviary and carefully opening it. He had ordered it from a catholic catalog, and it had arrived just the other day.

The way he had seen Booth carry his own breviary everywhere, the way he was so devoted to reading it whenever they weren't busy — it filled Teddy with both nostalgia and a need to reconnect with the one religion that had failed him countless times.

And maybe this time.. it would be different. Just maybe.

He flipped through the thin pages of the breviary, his eyes settling on a familiar prayer he'd been taught by his grandmother when he was just a little kid.

He began reading it, his eyes glued to the words that made up the prayer. His mind, however, drifted towards Booth — the man who had unknowingly inspired him to reconnect with his religion.

As Teddy finished reading the prayer, he felt his stomach start making turns in an instant, which brought along a sense of nausea and the feeling of vomit stuck inside his throat.

His trembling fingers shut the breviary closed, and he threw it at the foot of the mattress, not daring to look at it for the time being.

With the breviary at a safe distance from him and his eyes no longer glued on the piece of paper, his body relaxed in an instant — now no longer trying to kick out what he'd eaten during guard duty with Booth.

Eventually, Teddy hesitantly looked over at the breviary before he left it back inside his backpack, his fingers still shaking as he did so.

"God fucking dammit." He kicked his backpack away from him in frustration before punching his mattress lightly.

Teddy remained sitting on his bed in pure silence after his small outburst as if contemplating his whole life and all the choices he had taken up until that very point.

Right as Teddy got up, ready to undress and go to bed, the door burst open, and in walked Corporal James Carter, who was looking less than healthy and less than bright, as he often would be.

"James, what's up, man?" Teddy looked over at him as he picked up his backpack from the floor once more.

James glanced at Teddy after closing the door behind himself, "I got sent back from training." He said before letting out heavy coughs — which definitely sounded like they hurt. Teddy winced at such a thought.

"Jeez.." Teddy said in a lower tone, "Where did you get so messed up?" He asked, setting his backpack next to the bunk bed carefully.

James gave him a small shrug as he made his way to the bunk bed, letting out small groans with every step he took, thanks to his every attempt to move being painful.

Teddy walked over to him, placing a hand on James's chest to stop him from walking any further. "Just take my bunk, man, you're in no shape to get up there." He pointed at the bottom bunk.

James looked at Teddy's face with glassy eyes and nodded briefly, "I feel like I got beat up in my sleep." He muttered before quickly looking away and coughing a few times.

Teddy let out a small sigh and walked to their shared bunk bed, grabbing his backpack and throwing it up on the top bunk. "All yours." He gave the mattress a small pat.

"Just give me the switchblade under the pillow once you're there." He said casually. James, however, seemed more than confused about the mere fact that Teddy had a switchblade underneath the pillow where he laid his head every night.

James made his way to the bunk bed and laid down on the mattress of the bottom bunk, letting out a painful groan. He reached beneath the pillow and — lo-and-behold — he pulled out a closed switchblade.

He stared at it for a bit before handing it to Teddy, who then walked to his wall locker and opened it, revealing a few clothes and items. Usual things in one's locker.

Teddy began changing his clothes after setting down the switchblade and taking off his fatigues. He left his boxers on, then put on a slightly baggier shirt before he put inside the locker the clothes he had dropped on the floor when he had stripped them off his body.

His back was turned to James entirely, which Teddy assumed was already trying his best to fall asleep — considering how sick he was.

Teddy eventually closed the door of the wall locker and lightly pulled on his dog tags as if to confirm to himself that he was still wearing them, and then he picked up the switchblade again.

He turned towards James, who was at a bit of a distance from Teddy. His eyes were closed, and he was holding onto the blanket as if his whole life depended on it — as if it would magically cure his illness by covering himself from head to toe with it.

It was early to mid-September, after all. Not exactly warm, but also not cold enough to need to cover yourself entirely while you sleep.

Teddy made his way to the bunk bed and climbed the small ladder, eventually ending up on the mattress that made up the top bunk, right next to his backpack.

He let out a deep, relieved sigh — one he didn't even know that he was holding, but one that, nevertheless, calmed his whole body down.

Teddy settled in bed, covering the lower half of his body with the blanket. He set the switchblade underneath the pillow before he gently kicked his backpack with his foot, enough to set it at the end of the bed against the railing.

As he lay in bed, his mind drifted back to Booth and their earlier interactions. The way Booth moved around, the way Booth's eyes shined underneath the moonlight, the way his muscles flexed underneath his fatigues, the way—

"Do you ever think about what it'd be like to be yourself?"

What the fuck?

Teddy frowned, keeping his eyes on the ceiling. "What are you talking about, man?" He asked, not daring to look down at his sick brother-in-arms.

James responded with a series of coughs before he finally let out a deep sigh. "Do you ever think about what life would've been like if no one forced you to be in a specific way or forced their views on you?"

Teddy considered James's words before he threw the blanket off himself and hung his head down the top bunk, now looking at James upside down.

His confused expression made James let out a laugh — one that was followed by multiple coughs, which made Teddy wince ever so slightly.

"Jesus, man, you really are delirious, aren't you?"

"Maybe."

Teddy gave James a small smile, feeling all the blood go to his head, so he lifted his head and straightened his back, lying back down on the mattress.

"But really, do you ever think about that?"

Who gave me a philosopher for a roommate? Someone come get Socrates out of here.

Teddy's eyebrows furrowed. He wasn't used to getting such questions, only to asking them and being looked at weird. Probably the same as James was going to get looked at again if he kept going.

"Imagine if there was a world where you never had to give up what you wanted simply because no one wanted to accept it, especially from you."

Teddy let out a deep sigh, "I have no idea what you're talking about, dude, I am so tired." He said casually, but he wasn't quite sure of himself regarding not knowing. Tired, however? He really was. Booth had tired him out.

James let out an exasperated sigh. "What if you lived in a place where you didn't have to act like someone you're not, or you didn't have to seem like someone you're not—"

Teddy zoned out mid James' rant, not paying attention anymore to what the philosopher from the bottom bunk was even trying to say. But, soon enough, he felt something hit him from underneath.

"What the fuck?" Teddy said, looking down at James, who was kicking the top bunk with his foot.

James looked over at Teddy and coughed briefly. "Did you hear anything I just said?" He asked, seemingly annoyed.

Teddy blinked a few times before shaking his head, "I was thinking, sorry."

James let it slide, his facial features softening at Teddy's quick apology. "Alright, I'm just.." He trailed off, searching through his mind for the right words.

"You're delirious."

"Fuck you, really."

Teddy cracked a smile and made his way off the top bunk by climbing the ladder and eventually just jumping on the ground from it once he was close enough to the floor. "I'm just saying."

James threw the blanket off his body and groaned in annoyance, leaning his head back against the pillow. "When did you become such a dick? I thought you were the perfect guy to have a conversation about life with."

Teddy's facial expression softened and he made his way to James, sitting down at the foot of the bed. "I guess I am, but I just came back from a night of guard duty and the last thing I am capable of understanding is your shower thoughts."

James scoffed and looked at Teddy, scanning him for a moment before he looked away. "Sergeant Booth?"

Teddy just gave a nod, keeping his eyes fixated on James. "Yeah, he's really cool." He responded casually, but his hands were already beginning to sweat.

James snorted in amusement as he nodded. "Didn't peg you for the social type when I first met you." He revealed, his eyes now once more settling on Teddy.

"How come?"

"You just always seemed so.."

"Quiet?"

"Troubled."

Here comes Socrates again.

Teddy snorted in amusement, "Yeah, right." He said, clearly not believing him at all.

James's eyebrows furrowed and he sat up, "I'm serious, man." He remarked with a serious tone of voice.

Teddy shook his head, "I was just going through something, man, everyone was." He waved his hand dismissively. "Isn't that why some people join the army?"

James coughed a few times while looking away from Teddy, before settling his gaze back on him. "Yeah, I guess.."

Teddy nodded, keeping his eyes on James, "What's up with all the questions though, you sound like you're going through a midlife crisis at your ripe age of 19."

James let out a small laugh as he shifted in the bed. "I got emotional." He said, but his tone was more of a joking one than a serious one.

Teddy chuckled, "No time for being emotional in the army." He joked, making his voice deeper as he spoke.

"Ah, let me guess, Sergeant Booth gives life lessons now?" James smirked slightly. His cheeks were no longer as red, nor did he seem as sick, perhaps thanks to some medication he could've gotten from the nurse.

Teddy laughed and nodded, "I can't say I hate them, but they're not as ethical as I wish for them to be." He remarked, straightening his back.

James nodded, coughing briefly. "Guess you're learning a lot from him, huh?" He smirked slightly.

Teddy stared at James for a bit, as if considering his words, before he finally nodded. "Yeah, he's a good mentor." He smiled.

"Hm, better than Sergeant Collins?"

"Almost."

"Yeah, I bet." James' smirk turned into a grin. "He's one of a kind isn't he?"

Teddy chuckled and shrugged, "He's just our superior, man, I can't say much about him."

But Teddy's mind was already considering much more than just Booth's rank, like Booth's skilled hands, his body, his smooth voice, everything he could be able to describe the sergeant with if he were asked to do so in under a minute.

The two remained in silence for a bit while Teddy's mind wandered and James stared at him, as if waiting for something else to be said by him, which he eventually did.

"Man, I really am beat." Teddy yawned, "I wasn't feeling this tired with Sergeant Booth."

James couldn't help but smirk. "Maybe he just makes you energetic." He joked, his tone teasing.

Teddy stretched, his shirt riding up and revealing a bit of pale skin. "Mhmm.. Maybe.." He mumbled.

He eventually turned to James and yawned again, "Sleep well, man." He said before walking back to the staircase that led to the top bunk of the bunk bed and climbing it.

"Don't let the bed bugs bite." James chuckled, "Unless you're a masochist or something.."

Teddy chuckled as he laid back on the bed, "I'll keep that in mind, man, don't you worry."

James nodded, his smirk not leaving his face, while covering himself with the blanket he had thrown off his body and set aside just earlier.

Teddy lay on his side and covered his lower half with the blanket once more, rubbing his face against the pillow, feeling the texture that he had gotten used to in the past two years.

Soon, he gave into the realm of dreams, and the outside world no longer mattered to him — at least as long as his eyes were closed and his breath didn't stop while he was busy dreaming of good things and setting away the bad ones.

Just how his dreams included glimpses into a future he hoped for or how his nightmares were formed of childhood memories.

And so, days passed and both Teddy and Booth turned to their day duties. They would occasionally hang out with one another in the evenings outside, either by themselves or with other soldiers, especially at poker nights. Which, to be fair, were more common than not. They were all pretty bored in the evening.

It just so happened that, one evening, as Teddy was in his room, holding in hand a letter he had gotten earlier that day during a mail call and reading it attentively, a knock was issued at the door.

He was all by himself in the room — it wasn't that uncommon. Sometimes he simply didn't feel like going out and hanging out with other soldiers, and other times he felt too tired to leave his bed, let alone exit the room.

"Come in." Teddy said, just loud enough to be heard by whoever was knocking on the door.

The door opened, and in walked Sergeant Booth, who then closed the door behind himself.

"It's warm outside, Corporal, what are you doing in here?" He asked as he made his way to Teddy's bunk bed.

"Sarge." Teddy gave him a quick salute, after setting the letter on his lap. "I'm just reading this letter I got."

Booth's eyes fell on the letter and, without any questions, he picked it up. "May I?" He asked, his eyes darting to Teddy's face.

Teddy bit the inside of his cheek before simply nodding, "It's from Claire." He gave a small shrug of nonchalance.

Booth snorted in slight amusement, "Infamous Claire..." He mumbled as he began silently reading the letter.

Teddy nodded, "Uh-huh.." He hummed as he looked Booth up and down, the inside of his cheek becoming a victim of his teeth again.

Just the sight of Booth, of his body and imposing posture was enough to make Teddy's heart race and his palms sweat. It might've been warm outside, but lord, the room had just gotten a lot warmer than expected.

Booth spared Teddy a quick glance mid-reading, and couldn't help but smile a bit. As he continued to read the letter, however, he felt a sense of slight disgust and annoyance, which only made his smile fade away.

"I miss you and I'm sorry for what I've done?" Booth suddenly read out loud before letting out a scoff. "Didn't she break up with you?"

Teddy looked up at Booth's face and nodded, "I mean, it's fine though, long distance is hard on people, and she was never the type to be able to handle it too well." He explained carefully, not wanting to add fuel to the fire — said fire being Booth's annoyance at his ex.

Booth looked over at Teddy and shook his head, "Long distance doesn't make love disappear, Teddy. And even if it did, she is the one that broke up with you, she doesn't get to ask you for another chance." He scoffed again in disbelief.

Teddy bit his bottom lip gently, keeping his eyes on Booth. He kept quiet, waiting for Booth to say anything else.

Booth stared at him for a moment longer before he looked back at the letter, "...your mom asked me if I've been keeping in touch with you and I didn't have the heart to tell her that we broke up." He continued reading.

After reading such words from the piece of paper, Booth leaned his head back and let out a long and deep sigh, to which Teddy snorted in amusement.

Teddy reached for the letter in Booth's hands, "Yeah, that sounds about right." He shrugged. "My mom always loved her, and I'm not mad at Claire for that."

Booth let Teddy take the letter back before he rubbed his face with his hands, "I may not have had long distance relationships, Parker, but this is insane."

"No worries, Sarge, I'm not suffering or anything."

"But you didn't deserve to be broken up like that, Teddy."

"Then how else, Sarge?"

Booth paused, while Teddy stared at him with those big blue eyes that oftentimes seemed to just absorb Booth's soul.

As they made eye contact, Booth found himself staring into Teddy's eyes and admiring them, for just a moment.

"It was long distance, I am in the army and she is in our hometown with my parents. How else was I meant to be broken up with if not through a letter, Sarge? I doubt she'd come all the way here just to do it."

Booth swallowed hard at the sound of Teddy's voice slightly cracking as those words spilled from his mouth. Teddy was seeking answers to a question Booth himself wasn't even aware could exist until that very moment. And yet, it made sense.

Booth took a step back, watching as Teddy dropped the letter on the bed and stood up, facing Booth. "So?"

"I just don't think you should be broken up with at all, Corporal. You're a good man, and you deserve better. If she can't see that, then that is not your problem or something you should stay up all night, thinking about it."

Teddy considered Booth's words, thinking about them and figuring out the level of truth in them. He knew that day would come, he knew Claire would inevitably break up with him at one point, and while he wasn't mad at her, the feeling of betrayal wasn't a pleasant one to deal with.

His thoughts were broken through by Booth's hand coming into contact with his shoulder, as it was now caressing it.

"Sarge?" Teddy asked expectantly, watching Booth's face for any change in his face expression.

"Listen, if she doesn't see how great you are, then that's her loss. You are the best buddy I've ever had, and you deserve more than this."

These were words Teddy didn't know he even wanted to hear — let alone need to hear them. And yet, he did. He needed them probably more than air at that very moment.

They might not have gone on too many missions together, or gone on guard duty too often, or hung out for years on end, but their closeness was undeniable nowadays. And most importantly, it was mutual.

Teddy's gaze fell on the ground for a brief moment as Booth squeezed his shoulder, a small smile playing on his lips — but Teddy couldn't see it yet.

Eventually, Teddy took a deep breath as he looked up at Booth.

"Permission to hug you, Sergeant?"

Booth paused for a moment, considering Teddy's request before, inevitably, agreeing with a nod, his smile not leaving his lips just yet.

"Of course. Granted, Corporal."

Teddy's arms enveloped Booth's body immediately, and yet, smaller as they were and not as strong, they were enough to make a grown man feel like he was truly helping his friend out.

And Booth returned the hug, and he didn't plan on letting go until Teddy did first. It was the least he could do for the most devoted, kind, brave soldier he knew and had ever had the pleasure to know.

Teddy's face fell on Booth's shoulder, and as Booth gently rubbed his back, he felt something wet the fabric of his shirt, and he immediately came to the conclusion that they were tears.

But nothing that Teddy was able to do at that exact moment could make the sergeant say a word about it, it just wasn't his business if Teddy was crying or not. His business was making sure the other man would feel better soon.

Booth slowly closed his eyes, his face falling forward a little, right by Teddy's hair.

The smell of shampoo and something uniquely Teddy flooded his sense of smell and he found himself tightening his grip on Teddy's body — as if he was suddenly too aware of the soldier he knew to be his friend, perhaps even best friend.

And eventually, as all good things come to an end — Teddy began to let go of Booth and attempted to back away from the older man.

Booth took the hint and let go of Teddy, his eyes immediately opening and fixating on the younger man's face, who seemed more relaxed than when Booth had walked into the room.

"Come on, Parker, let's go play cards in my room," Booth suggested with a smile. "I have snacks in there, too."

Teddy cracked a smile as he straightened his back. "Yes, sir, Sergeant." He gave Booth a mock salute, which made Booth chuckle.

Booth reached for Teddy's hair and gave it a small ruffle, which didn't change his hairstyle much as it was short, just like everyone else's. "Let's go, kid, I can't wait to win again."

Teddy gasped in feigned shock as he began grinning, "We'll see about that, Sarge, we'll see."

Booth couldn't help but grin as well, before beginning to walk to the door, being followed by Teddy.

Once out, they made their way upstairs and to Booth's room, which Booth unlocked with the key he always carried with himself. As the door opened, Booth was the first to make his way inside, and Teddy was the one to close the door behind both of them after walking in as well.

"Damn, Sarge, I didn't think you'd actually put that on display."

Booth looked over at his nightstand where he kept a few items, between which was the mermaid that Teddy had carved into wood — all for Booth.

"I told you I would, didn't I?" Booth grinned as he looked back at Teddy, to which Teddy shrugged with a smile and adjusted the dog tags that dangled from his neck.

Booth's gaze fell for a brief moment on the dog tags before he looked back at Teddy's face. "Ready to lose?" He joked, before looking away and making his way to his bed, specifically his nightstand.

Teddy scoffed, amused. "No way, Sarge, I've been practicing." He said, his voice deepening slightly as those words fell from his lips.

Booth raised an eyebrow as he took out a pack of cards from the nightstand drawer, "Practicing, huh?" He shut the drawer closed, gently throwing the pack on the bed.

Teddy's smile turned into a grin at the tone in Booth's voice, "Of course, practicing." He repeated.

Booth took a few steps forward until he was right in front of Teddy, who never stopped giving him that big ol grin that showed his shiny teeth.

"We'll see about that, Corporal, I think you still have a lot to learn." Booth said, leaning closer as if slightly threatening Teddy.

Teddy's grin faltered for a moment, but he recovered it immediately and gently pushed Booth back. "Uh-huh, we'll see."

Booth narrowed his eyebrows but didn't seem offended or disrespected in the slightest by Teddy's challenging tone and actions.

"You really think you'll win, Parker?"

"Positive, Sergeant. I'll mop the floor with your tears."

Booth couldn't help but chuckle, "Alright... Alright." He raised his hands in feigned surrender. "But don't throw a fit when I prove you wrong."

Teddy shook his head in mock disappointment as he made his way past Booth and to Booth's bed. He picked up the pack of cards and took the cards out, beginning to shuffle them.

"You said something about snacks, Sarge?"

"Hey, you've got to earn them, Teddy."

Teddy rolled his eyes playfully and watched as Booth sat down at the small desk he had, after pulling to it an extra chair for Teddy.

"Oh, what a gentleman." Teddy said in a mocking tone before chuckling, his hands never pausing for one moment as he continued shuffling the cards.

Booth snorted in amusement and watched him with a smile, leaning against his own chair. "You've got really skilled hands, Corporal."

Teddy bit the inside of his cheek at those words, sitting down on the chair Booth had pulled out of nowhere for him and only him. "Do I now, sir?" He asked in a lower tone of voice, leaning closer to the sergeant, as if hoping for further praise from him.

"Uh-huh, you're moving those fingers like it's a magic trick." Booth remarked, his eyes darting from Teddy's hands to Teddy's face.

Teddy bit his bottom lip briefly, "I can do more than just shuffle cards and carve into wood, Sarge."

Booth's eyebrows shot up and his eyes settled on Teddy's face, "What else can you do, Parker?" He questioned, his smile turning into a smirk.

Teddy smirked and tilted his head slightly, "I can make a mean carbonara." His smirk turned into a cheeky smile immediately.

Booth began laughing, leaning his head back, now exposing his whole neck and Adam's apple. And, oh, this brought tingles through Teddy's entire body. How could it not?

Teddy swallowed hard as he stared at Booth's neck, and he looked away from it eventually, now looking down at his hands as he kept on shuffling the cards, which most likely did not need to be shuffled any further.

When Booth ceased laughing, he remained with a smile on his face and leaned closer to Teddy, "I think those cards are done now." He chuckled softly.

Teddy's cheeks turned a slight shade of pink and he nodded to his words with a small, sheepish smile. He set the cards down on the table, right in front of Booth.

Booth picked the cards up and briefly looked through them before nodding in approval, "Alright, Corporal, get ready to become as crazy as these crazy eights."

Teddy shook his head in disbelief at Booth's joke, "Bring it on, Sarge."

Booth grinned as he dealt the cards, giving himself seven cards and Teddy the same amount of cards, which the corporal picked up from the table.

Teddy let out a low whistle as he fidgeted with the cards in his hand. "I am so beating you, Sarge."

Booth laughed lightly and shook his head in mock disbelief. "Game on, Parker, game on." He said as he settled the rest of the cards in a pile, on the desk.

Although a game of 'Crazy Eights' was not traditionally intense or necessarily competitive — Booth and Teddy managed to, somehow, prove otherwise.

When putting their cards down, they would exaggerate their movements, ocasionally slamming down whatever card was going to be set down in a way to assert their dominance and confirm that they were going to win.

Their first game ended when Booth threw on the table his very last card before slamming his hand on the table, making it shake slightly.

"Take that!" Booth exclaimed with a grin, looking at Teddy, who was looking back at him with a fond but amused smile.

"Don't worry, Sarge, I'll get my revenge." Teddy said with a wink as he gathered the cards and began shuffling them once more.

Booth watched him with a smirk on his face and his arms crossed. "I think not, Teddy, but let's see what you can really do." He challenged him.

Teddy chuckled, "Alright, if you say so.." He whispered as he dealt the cards.

And so, another game of cards began, similarly competitive as the last one, but this time Teddy was thinking less about proving his abilities, and more about winning against none-other than Booth.

And much to the sergeant's surprise, Teddy did win. "I fucking told you so!" He said with a wide grin, also slamming his hand on the table, mimicking Booth's earlier actions.

Booth chuckled and shook his head in disbelief, "Well, I'll be damned... " He looked over at Teddy.

"I think I've earned something, Sarge." Teddy's grin never left his face as he leaned closer to Booth, their faces mere inches apart.

Booth's eyes remained on Teddy's face as the younger man leaned down to him. "Oh, really?" He questioned while smiling at him.

Teddy nodded, "Or do I have to beat your ass at this game again to prove that I deserve it?" He suggested, his words giving way for more interpretation than needed.

Booth bit his bottom lip briefly before snorting in amusement and nodding, "Alright kid, what are you up for snacking on?"

Teddy straightened his back, now pulling his face away from Booth's. "Uh, do you have any Doritos?"

Booth shrugged before he got up and walked over to his nightstand, "You're in luck, kid." He said, opening the second drawer and taking out a small bag of Doritos.

"Do you like.. Spicy Nacho?" Booth read the label on the bag.

Teddy chuckled, "Hell yeah, Sarge, I love spicy food."

"Hey, a man of my taste as always." Booth grinned, walking back to the table and dropping the bag right in front of Teddy.

Teddy nodded, "Don't tell James though, he hates spicy food." He reached for the bag of Doritos and opened it.

Booth shook his head in amusement, "I like my food to bite back, Corporal, James would never get that." He sat back down.

Teddy's smile turned into a grin. "James likes his food how he likes his coffee. Sweet." He reached into a bag and took out a Dorito chip.

Booth nodded but didn't respond outright to Teddy's words. Right as Teddy was about to eat the Dorito chip, Booth took it right from his hand and ate it instead.

Teddy's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "What the hell, Sarge?" He looked over at him.

Booth swallowed the chewed-up Dorito from his mouth, "I won first." He winked at Teddy.

Teddy's shocked expression turned into a fond and amused smile. "Uh-huh, okay." He almost mumbled the words.

As the two ate and spoke to one other, having forgotten about the card game for now, their fingers continuously brushed together.

It was in one of these moments when their fingers brushed again as they both reached for the bag, that Teddy paused his movements and retrieved his hand from the bag.

"Hey, Sarge, how big is your hand?" He asked, watching as Booth retrieved his hand from the bag after grabbing a few Dorito chips.

Booth looked over at Teddy with a confused look, "What?"

Teddy cleared his throat, a clear blush painting his cheeks. "I mean, is your hand bigger than mine?"

Booth stared at Teddy, taking in his flushed cheeks, his parted lips, his blue sparkly eyes, his—

"Sarge?"

Booth blinked a few times, noticing Teddy had backed away slightly from him.

"Huh, what?"

Teddy gave him a half smile, "You, uh, dropped your Doritos." He couldn't help but chuckle.

Booth looked down and noticed that the few Dorito chips that he had grabbed earlier from the bag were now on the table.

His eyes fell back on Teddy's face and he shared his smile, "I was just wondering about that question you just gave me, Corporal."

Teddy raised an eyebrow and wiped his hands on his fatigues, "Want to compare them?"

"Hey, if you insist." Booth gave him a wink and it shot right through Teddy's body, specifically Teddy's head. Teddy's other head.

Teddy gave him a small nod and, with a boldness that shocked even himself, he grabbed Booth's hand.

Booth's eyes slightly widened, "Woah, okay, hold on a moment." He quickly pulled his hand away and wiped it on his own fatigues.

"Alright, now yes."

Booth's hand found its way to Teddy's as Teddy raised his hand slightly. Booth pressed his palm gently on the corporal's palm, their fingers touching in the process.

Booth looked around their hands, "Looks like I won again." He chuckled, the noise making Teddy's cheeks become flushed once again.

"Hand size isn't everything, Sarge." Teddy joked, but his hand didn't leave Booth's. His fingers gently caressed Booth's palm as he spoke.

Booth raised an eyebrow, "I'll assume you have a continuation for that statement, Teddy?" He pressed, amused.

Teddy glanced at Booth's face before his gaze settled back on their hands, "I am not asking you to pull your pants down and prove something to me, Sarge." He joked, a grin of his own appearing on his lips.

Booth chuckled and intertwined his fingers with Teddy's, quickly pulling Teddy's hand closer to himself. "Then what are you trying to do here?"

Teddy bit his bottom lip, leaning closer to Booth. "I'm getting you distracted for the next game." He joked.

Booth looked him up and down and let go of his hand, "Game on, Corporal." He smirked, throwing a Dorito chip right at Teddy's face.

Teddy closed his eyes briefly as the Dorito chip hit his cheek and he pulled his head back afterward, "Really mature, Sarge, I didn't peg you for the jokes at the dinner table type."

"Oh, so we're having dinner now?"

"Well,I didn't go to dinner tonight."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

Teddy stared at him in silence, Booth matching his silence and staring.

"I was asleep.."

Booth blinked a few times, his eyes darting around the room before he leaned down and looked under the desk. There, he opened the mini fridge he kept underneath his desk.

"Alright... Take everything off the table, let's eat some actual dinner." He said as he began taking out cheese slices and two pre-packaged sandwiches, handing each thing to Teddy for him to put on the desk.

"What the fuck?"

Teddy quickly put the food items on the desk as he spoke before he quickly set the semi-filled bag of Doritos on the floor, facing upwards, and gathered all the cards, putting them on the floor also, next to the bag of tortilla chips.

Booth closed the mini fridge door and let out a small grunt as he straightened his back, hearing his backbones pop in the process.

Teddy bit the inside of his cheek, watching Booth in silence. The moment their eyes met again, Teddy looked over at the table. "Where did you even find pre-packaged sandwiches?"

"The commissary?"

"They have these in there?"

"Yeah?"

"I should probably go in there more often."

Booth cracked a smile, "You really should." He said in amusement as he grabbed one of the sandwiches.

After they both took the sandwiches out of their wrappers, Booth reached for the cheese slices. "I've found out they're way better with some extra cheese."

"Well, I'm lactose intolerant."

"Really?"

"No."

The two men stared at each other in silence. They just stared and blinked, without further movement from either of them. It felt both awkward and amusing, at least for Teddy.

Eventually, Teddy resumed his actions, reaching for a cheese slice. "My grandpa was lactose intolerant, though." He remarked as he put inside his sandwich a cheese slice.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah, but he died."

"Oh, sorry to hear. How did he die?"

"He drank some milk."

Booth set his sandwich back on the table and covered his face with his hands in mock disbelief. Teddy couldn't contain his shit-eating grin.

"Please tell me he didn't die from drinking milk." Booth said, his words slightly muffled.

Teddy shook his head, but his grin never left his face. "No, he had a heart attack."

Booth let his hands fall on his own thighs, "What was he doing before that?" He asked, his voice breaking slightly.

"Drinking milk."

Booth slammed his fist against the desk, making the desk shake for a few seconds. But Teddy didn't budge, he just grinned at Booth like the idiot Booth considered him to currently be.

"Fuck you."

"When?"

Booth's eyebrows raised at the word that escaped Teddy's lips.

"When?" He repeated, noticing Teddy's grin had now faded, being replaced by a sheepish smile which was accompanied by a faint blush on the younger man's cheeks.

Teddy stared at him for a bit before looking away. "I'm joking, Sarge." He let out a small, nervous chuckle.

Booth took a glance at his own sandwich before he looked back at the younger man, "Okay, kid, but don't let me catch you making these jokes in the showers or else you're getting chased out without having the chance to dress back up."

Teddy's grin returned and he nodded, "Sure, if you say so."

Right as they both finished talking, the sound of a fly outside Booth's window, which was trying to get in through the glass, could be heard throughout the room.

"Damn, it's really not giving up." Booth suddenly remarked, straightening his back.

"Maybe it wants to join the army too, Sarge, we should never turn down potential recruits."

Booth cracked up. And it made Teddy's heart almost jump out of his chest and right into Booth's hands, as if it were a thank you gesture.

He watched Booth laugh with an intensity that made it seem like Teddy was doing a stand-up comedy show. Man, it wasn't even that funny.

But that laugh really just inflated Teddy's ego, so he was thankful for such an extreme reaction, especially coming from the sergeant himself.

When Booth's laugh subsided, a smile remained on his lips. "You're a comedian, Teddy, you should try out for the stand-up comedy competitions David keeps trying to host."

Teddy covered his face with his hands, unable to stop himself from laughing at the absurdity of Booth's words.

"Or you should talk to Sergeant Asthon. Real comedian, too — made me, David, and Hunter laugh until we almost cried."

"Sergeant Ashton?"

"He transferred here from another unit, a week ago I think. He's great at poker, too."

Teddy nodded in acknowledgment, his hands reaching for the sandwich. "Can I eat now?"

Booth chuckled, "What's stopping you?" He questioned.

"Your jokes, Sarge."

"Touché, Corporal."

Teddy grinned, taking a bite from the sandwich that he now held with both his hands. He felt Booth's gaze on him and he tried his best to not return the eye contact.

Booth licked his bottom lip mindlessly before his eyes flickered back to his own sandwich.

They ate in silence, with each of them occasionally glancing at each other when the other wasn't looking. It was like a dance, and one that felt both awkward and somewhat thrilling.

They had their own things to focus on, like their sandwiches, and their card games, and yet the only thing on their minds were each other. Each other eating, perhaps, but they weren't dwelling on such small details.

It felt almost like a deja vu — he'd been in almost, yet not really this exact situation, except that it was in the mess hall, and he wasn't with Teddy. He was in the shoes of a corporal himself, and the sergeant that he was talking to? It was none-other than Master Sergeant Connor Collins.

Sergeant Collins had been very well appreciated by almost everybody, as he could see right through someone and feel the turmoil inside their mind without them even knowing that it existed just yet.

Perhaps he should've become a psychologist, but at the end of the day, the army was his calling, not an office where he'd have to take people's money to listen to their issues and only give them one to two hours per week to talk and nothing else.

The army wasn't a space for feelings or for strong emotions, but Collins was the first man everyone came to when they were feeling grief, homesickness, general anxiety, anything that could make even the strongest of men fall to their knees when no one was looking.

And Booth was no exception — he wasn't always the man sure of his every step and every choice as he presented himself to be nowadays.

Just a few days before Sergeant Collins had left, getting honorably discharged, Booth had been eating with him at the table dinner, in the mess hall. Booth was mostly playing with the food in his plate as he remained lost in his own mind.

"Corporal Booth."

Booth had looked up from his plate, his eyes meeting his superior's "Yes, sir?"

"What's on your mind?"

Booth had hesitated, his eyes flicking to his plate once more. He didn't know how to bring up such a touchy subject without, perhaps, getting someone else in trouble. The army wasn't known for being accepting, and neither really was Booth.

As the silence between the two of them widened, Sergeant Collins cleared his throat and began story-telling, perhaps in an attempt to calm down Booth's nerves.

"You know, kid, I'll let you in on a secret. When I was 22, I went AWOL at my old base."

Booth's eyes had slightly widened at the revelation, but he hadn't responded to the revelation, just looked back at his higher-up and nodded.

"I felt trapped in there, I was just a corporal like you, you know? Our sergeant was a piece of human shit, he'd never heard of respect for others with a lower rank than him."

Although the sound of chatter was surrounding them, Booth hadn't given into it yet, he had just listened with slightly wide eyes and an eager mind to find out more.

"So I left without telling anyone, not even my roommates, and they found me 3 weeks later."

"And what happened next?"

Sergeant Collins had chuckled at the question, "Oh, I managed to get away with a slap on the wrist and a transfer from that base. Someone important pulled some strings for me, they said I was 'too important' to have my future ruined. But, hey, don't tell anyone that I told you this, it's between the two of us."

A small smile had appeared on Booth's lips at those words and he had simply nodded.

Sergeant Collins continued, encouraged by Booth's silence. "My point is, if you don't like something in your life, then you don't have to sit and watch it make you miserable, son."

The word 'son' had rang in Booth's ears and he had simply looked back down at his plate. There was something bothering him, and yet he didn't know then how to bring it up, or if to bring it up at all.

Sergeant Collins had simply nodded to himself while having watched Booth's reaction to his words. He had hoped for his secret-story to help Booth open up with whatever secret was bugging him, but the corporal didn't seem to budge.

"I've met your grandpa, you know? Good man. Taught me how to make a delicious grilled cheese."

A small chuckle had escaped Booth's lips and the sergeant had simply smiled.

"Come on, kid, tell me what's bothering you. I don't bite."

And yet, there was silence from him.

"Tell me what's bothering you, Corporal."

And there was silence again, as if the sergeant hadn't said anything at all.

"It's an order, Booth, it's not going to kill you if you talk."

Booth had sighed and looked back at him, a troubled look in his eyes that Sergeant Collins knew all too well.

"I don't think I can talk about this, sir, it's just not something that should be discussed in here."

"Did you do something illegal or what?" Sergeant Collins had frowned, expecting quite literally anything by now from the soon-to-be sergeant.

Booth had shaken his head in denial, "No, I didn't."

"Then you can tell me, kid, go on."

"I can't."

"Is it a breach of privacy? Did you find something you shouldn't have?"

"Yes, sir, I did."

"Did you see someone do something illegal?"

"Not illegal, but something that wouldn't be accepted by others, and not even I really accept it."

"What did you see, Seeley?"

"I saw David, and..." Booth had trailed off, looking back down at his food and playing some more with it in his plate.

"What about him, did he do something wrong?"

Booth had simply sighed and not dared to look back up at the sergeant.

"Do I have to play a game of guessing or are you going to speak up, Booth?"

Booth had swallowed hard at the tone in the sergeant's voice, and eventually had looked back up at him. "He got a visit from Diego."

"I like that kid, did he do something wrong or what? Just get to the point, Booth."

"Fine, I found them in the showers and they were kissing. I didn't want to get him in trouble but it's been bothering me all day long that my roommate is a homosexual." Booth had whisper-yelled the last part of his sentence.

Sergeant Collins had stared at him, blinking a few times, before he had begun laughing at Booth's words, which had only brought confusion upon him.

"So you're bothered by the fact that Corporal David is getting it on with another guy, who isn't you, in the showers?"

"Well, no, it's not like that, sir—"

"Jesus, kid, if this rattles you, then you have to get ready for what you'll see and find out at my age."

"Sarge, I can't accept such an abomination, it goes against everything God says!"

"Booth, there's a reason we have 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' in order, it's not there just because. It's there so people like David can enlist and serve their country without being discriminated against."

Booth had grunted and looked back down at his plate, a frown still plastered on his mouth as he had taken another bite from his food.

"And, Corporal?"

"What, Sarge?" Booth had looked back up at him.

"The heart wants what it wants, it doesn't care about our religion, gender, anything. If we reported every homosexual that is in the army — half of our soldiers would be kicked out of here."

Booth had remained silent until he had swallowed his food, then finally responded.

"Fine, maybe the army doesn't have an issue with it, but I do. It goes against the word of God, sir, and I cannot go against His word!"

"Seeley Booth, you're a good man. Too good of a man to be so judgemental of other people, God wouldn't have wanted you to be this way when it comes to other people's choices."

Booth had sighed and simply nodded.

"Okay, sir. I will try, but I can't promise that I will like it."

"That's more like it, Corporal. Don't let me catch you being judgmental to any soldier in here or I'll personally come back and smack some sense into you, got it?"

Booth had chuckled a bit and nodded in agreement, his heart feeling oddly lighter than before.

"When I leave, I want you to be a good sergeant. Be that person who accepts others, who understands them."

"I'll try, Sarge."

"I know you will."

The memory brought a smile to Booth's lips and he looked over at Teddy, who was now finishing up his sandwich as well — Booth had been eating and finishing up his own while thinking about one of the last conversations that he had with Sergeant Collins before his departure.

Booth had, indeed, done what he had promised to Sergeant Collins. He had become less judgemental, less caring of other people's personal businesses, and made peace with the complexity of humanity, compared to what God would usually say about it.

"Hey, Teddy."

"Hm?"

"Are you ready to get your ass kicked again or should I leave you some more time to restore your ego?" Booth grinned at him.

Teddy licked his fingers before grinning back at Booth, "Hell yeah, Sarge, but just so you know, I will beat you again."

"My skills beg to differ, let's do this, Corporal."

And so, their game continued, and they played round after round of 'Crazy Eights', slipping in stories and talking about everything yet nothing at all.

This wouldn't be the last time they met in Booth's room to play card games or just hang out. On one of the evenings when Teddy was not going to hang out with the sergeant, he was returning to his dorm after dinner.

What he found was James lying on his side on the top bunk of their shared bunk bed, holding Teddy's portable radio in both hands, seemingly bored by the electronic.

"What are you doing with my radio?" Teddy asked as he shut the door behind himself, his voice filled with irritation.

James spared him a glance, shrugging. "I'm bored." He said casually, giving him a fake yawn as if to just annoy him further.

"And you're looking for what, exactly?"

"I don't know, does this thing have any music?"

Teddy rolled his eyes and made his way to the bunk bed, "If the radio stations play it, then yes."

James chuckled, "Right." He said, handing Teddy the radio as soon as he got to the bunk bed.

"Don't mess with my things without asking." Teddy grabbed the portable radio, turning it off completely, and setting it on his nightstand with a thud.

James let his head fall on his pillow, "It's just a radio. You usually don't mind me taking your stuff." He chuckled.

"Yeah, well, I do now. And it's my radio, not yours, and definitely not one we all share."

"Okay, tiger, I'll make sure to file a request before touching your precious things."

Teddy sat on his bed, on the bottom bunk, and shut his eyes closed. "Do you have an aspirin?" He asked, rubbing his temples.

James closed his eyes, "Mm, got a headache or what?"

"Yeah, it's killing me. Might be a migraine though." Teddy groaned slightly, before taking in a deep breath.

James couldn't help but smirk, "So because you have a migraine, you have to make it everyone else's fault?"

Teddy sighed, "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For hurting your sensitive feelings."

A few laughs escaped from James and he sat up in bed, "I didn't know you were such a dick when you were in pain."

Teddy sighed and nodded, "It is not personal, I swear." He said, lying down on his side, his back facing the wall.

James reached for the backpack at the end of his bed, "It's fine, man, we all have our moments."

Teddy closed his eyes and simply nodded, even if James couldn't see him.

"I bet seeing Sergeant Booth would probably make you feel better."

Teddy's eyes opened in an instant as if he had been struck.

"What do you mean?"

James shrugged as he looked through his backpack, "Nothing, I'm just saying."

Teddy shook his head, "This has nothing to do with him." He scoffed in annoyance, feeling his heart race.

James hopped off his bed onto the floor, his weight pressing on the ground and producing a thud noise.

"I was just saying." He said casually as he handed Teddy a single aspirin.

Teddy sat up, looking up at James. He took the aspirin from his hand and took the pill with some remaining water from the bottle on his nightstand.

James smiled, "Now you'll stop being a dick, right?" He joked, reaching for the ladder to his top bunk.

"Yeah, mom." Teddy chuckled, rolling his eyes. "God, this headache really is killing me."

James chuckled, "You should rest." He suggested as he reached for the ladder that led to his bed, on the top bunk.

"Yeah, I know." Teddy laid back on the mattress, covering his face with his hands.

"Goodnight, Teddy."

"Goodnight."

James climbed the ladder and settled in bed as well, leaving Teddy all alone with his own thoughts, with his pain, and with his stress.

His thoughts all raced through his head, as he dissected and considered every word that had left James' mouth from the very moment Sergeant Booth was mentioned.

But eventually, his migraine diluted thanks to the god-sent aspirin from James, and with it appeared the exhaustion that he had fully forgotten he was feeling up until that point.

And although it was only around 2000 (8 PM), he managed to fall asleep in just a matter of minutes.

As Teddy fell into the realm of dreams, just a few moments later, a knock was issued at the door, followed by Booth opening the door and peeking his head inside the room.

James raised his head, looking over at the door. "Sergeant Booth." He gave him a quick salute as he sat up in bed.

Booth's eyes flickered between Teddy's sleeping form and the still-awake roommate as he opened the door widely. "At ease, soldier, I was just checking if Teddy was up for game night."

James looked down at his sleeping friend then back at Booth, "I doubt it, Sergeant." He remarked, his voice steady, although he was clearly amused.

Booth chuckled, nodding. "Yeah, I can see that." He said, stepping inside and closing the door behind himself.

"Anything else, Sarge?" James questioned, not leaving his bed just yet.

Booth looked over at Teddy for a brief moment before shaking his head. "No, I apologize for just walking in like that."

"No hard feelings, sir."

"Have a good evening, Corporal." Booth said, making his way outside of the dorm room. Once out, he closed the door behind himself gently, so as to not wake Teddy up.

Booth looked around, taking in the sight of the empty hallway, before he let out a deep sigh.

As he got lost temporarily in his own thoughts, a voice startled him right out of them "Seeley, are you on for Blackjack?"

Booth looked over, noticing Sergeant David at the very end of the hallway. He wasn't there a minute ago, but Booth wasn't going to think too much about it or wonder a lot about when he had gotten there.

"Yeah, let's go." Booth said, making his way toward the other sergeant.

David nodded, looking around briefly as he waited for his friend to reach him.

"Hey, how's Diego?" Booth said with a slight smirk as he reached David.

David rolled his eyes, "Fuck you." He mumbled annoyed, beginning to walk away from Booth and to the exit of the barracks.

"Hey, I was just curious!" Booth grinned as he followed David outside and to the mess hall, where the game night, usually where they'd play poker, was organized. It seemed that tonight, however, the others had other plans and wanted to stop getting beat at poker, but at blackjack too.

David shook his head, "Keep your wonders to yourself." He scoffed.

Booth chuckled, "Will do, sir."

David rolled his eyes once more, but Booth knew that he held Diego, his 'best friend', really close to his heart — even if he couldn't say it out loud.

As they reached the mess hall, they walked in, and immediately spotted numerous soldiers all gathered at a table, waiting for them to join in their fun.

Sergeant Hunter Clark lifted his head, noticing the two. "There they are, we were just talking about you guys."

Booth grinned, "I thought I'd recruit Corporal Parker for our game, but it seems like he hit the hay early tonight." He remarked as he reached the table with David.

Corporal Joshua Smith and Corporal Carlos López shared a look before shrugging to one another.

"At least we know he'll be ready for tomorrow's training at the shooting range." Sergeant Michael Ashton remarked, his voice slightly hoarse.

Booth nodded with a slight chuckle as he sat down next to Sergeant Hunter, leaning closer to him for a moment to whisper something in his ear.

David sat down next to Corporal López, remaining not too close, and yet not too far from him, as if wanting to hold a conversation with him any moment now.

"Alright, gentlemen, are you ready to lose or to lose?" Michael smirked slightly as he dealt the shuffled cards.

Booth cracked his knuckles, "No chance, I've been a pro at this game since my high school days." He chuckled.

David shook his head, "We'll see about that." He said, watching Sergeant Ashton give each person their cards.

Each person was then dealt poker chips of numerous colors, all totaling $100.

"Starting bets, gentlemen." Michael said, a smirk still present on his face as he set his second card to face upwards, revealing a 7.

Hunter shook his head and set two red chips in the middle of the table. "Ten."

"Hit or stand, Clark?"

Hunter stared at his cards for a while before looking up at Michael, "Hit."

Michael handed Hunter a card, and Hunter set it down on the table, facing upwards again. All of his cards facing up totaled to 10.

"Hit or stand?"

"Stand, I'm done."

Hunter revealed his first card, an 8. His cards now totaled to 18.

Booth let out a low whistle, "I think we are all doomed." He said, hearing laughs from all around the table.

Carlos and Josh shared a look at Booth's remark, although both were clearly amused before their eyes settled back on Booth.

"Alright, well..." Booth dropped four red poker chips in the middle of the table, "Twenty."

Michael shook his head, "Hit or stand?"

"Hit me with it, Sergeant." Booth smirked.

Michael handed him a card, "Remember guys, the winner gets bragging rights all day long." He winked at Booth and grinned.

Booth took the card from Michael's hand, "Oh, I know." He chuckled, along with the others.

And so, the game of Blackjack continued throughout the evening — with Sergeant Michael making sure to drain his fellow friends and soldiers of their poker chips.

Eventually, Booth remained, surprisingly, one of the only people with some poker chips remaining. Two red chips and five black chips, which he had set down.

It was just him and Sergeant Ashton playing now, and the stakes were low considering that Booth's poker chips totaled $15.

"Hit again, I'll test my luck." Booth took a deep breath after he spoke.

Michael chuckled and handed Booth a card, which he took with slightly trembling hands.

Everyone was now focused on the two sergeants' game, not a single person daring to interrupt their small talk.

Booth turned over the card after setting it on the table. The cards facing upwards amounted to 16.

Booth let out a breath he forgot he had even taken.

"Hit or stand?"

"I'm standing."

Booth's first card got flipped upwards, revealing a 4. Now his cards totaled 20.

A round of oh-s was heard all around the table from the non-participants and Booth swallowed hard. It was all in good fun, but he desperately wanted — no, needed — to win and be able to brag to everyone about it.

Michael tilted his head to the side as he glanced at Booth and his cards. "Twenty, huh? Alright.."

And with that said, he put in the middle of the table all the poker chips he had collected that night, the smirk on his lips widening.

"All or nothing, right?"

Another round of oh-s was produced by the soldiers who had been simply watching the two sergeants play for a few minutes only, but it had felt like hours.

Booth nodded slightly, his eyes fixated on Michael's cards.

Michael took a card, flipping it upwards, revealing a king. His revealed cards totaled 17.

Yet Michael seemed less than thrilled at the sight, which Booth took as a sign of instant victory.

Michael then revealed his first card — a 5. All his cards totaled 22, and his hand was, therefore, busted, leaving Booth as the ultimate winner for the night.

The soldiers erupted in cheers, celebrating someone finally beating Sergeant Michael Ashton at his very own games.

"Way to go, Seeley!" Hunter cheered, clapping Booth on the back.

Booth grinned, pulling the poker chips towards him. "Well, I guess I won, huh?"

Michael chuckled, crossing his arms across his chest. "I guess you did. Bragging rights all week, let's say, but I'll get my revenge."

"See that you do, Ashton." Booth winked at him before laughing.

"Well, are you guys on for another game or should we keep it for next week?" Hunter looked around the table.

Booth chuckled, "As long as I still have my bragging rights, I'm fine with playing some more." He remarked.

As his fellow comrades and soldiers discussed the next game and gathered the poker chips for another round, Booth zoned out, his gaze darting to the table as the conversations that surrounded him faded into the background like clouds on a dark night sky.

His mind kept on shifting towards thoughts regarding Teddy — he would've been ecstatic to see Booth win, even if it was just a game of cards. However, Booth was going to brag about it all week, so Teddy was going to find out one way, or another. Even if he wasn't there to witness his win in all its glory.

Time passed, and no one but Sergeant Asthon won again that night, but no one minded. They had all gotten to witness him losing once, and that was enough.

At around 2300 (11 PM), Booth was lying in bed, having been there for around half an hour, his mind was racing with thoughts as usual, something it had been doing for the past few nights.

He was struggling to sleep, but his thoughts weren't about training or general stress, no. His mind was stuck on the past few days, perhaps even past few weeks, and on everything that had happened in them, especially with a certain corporal.

Eventually, Booth got tired of his constant tossing and turning and he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, taking a few deep breaths.

He turned on the lamp that was always present on his nightstand, then opened the nightstand's drawer, taking out the breviary he always carried with him in missions and during guard duty.

Booth slowly closed the drawer, before he scurried closer to the lamp's dim light, as he opened the breviary and began reading, in a soft murmur, prayers that he'd known ever since he was a kid.

The words always brought him comfort and solidary, his busy time in the army and in missions often clouding his thoughts and time.

He hadn't had enough time in the last few days to read from his breviary, and now he finally had a reason and a true purpose for reading and reconnecting with his own religion.

After a few minutes of reading, Booth gently closed the breviary and set it on the free space on the nightstand, making sure it didn't touch his lamp or alarm clock.

He turned off the lamp and stretched, taking a few more deep breaths and then exhaling each one thoroughly.

Booth's mind was calmer, and his soul lighter. He knew that, at the end of the day, it was all going to be alright — all thanks to his faith.

As he laid back down in bed, he covered himself with the blanket that had previously felt way too much for him, and closed his eyes, waiting for sleep to drag him into the realm of dreams and fantasy — where one's body rests but their mind works through the day's events.

Right as he was about to succumb to the act of sleeping, a thought popped into his head, with it arriving a vivid mental image of none-other than Corporal Parker. Teddy, with his blond hair, his smile, and his ability to make Booth laugh at all times, regardless of situation.

However, by simply ignoring this thought, Booth managed to fall asleep, albeit his final thought of the day being the very corporal he had been mentoring and befriending for quite a while now.

And the following morning, Booth had one single goal in mind: To tell Teddy about how he beat Sergeant Ashton at Blackjack.

Throughout the day, Booth's mind was clouded by this thought only, and he knew that he would be able to talk to Teddy for more than a few minutes only during free time in the evening. He simply wanted to share this achievement with his friend — albeit, perhaps, pointless or dumb.

Once dinner was over, Booth rushed out of the mess hall, immediately looking around for his friend. As he walked, he found Teddy right outside of the barracks, enjoying a protein bar all by himself.

Booth immediately made his way to the young soldier, a grin already plastered on his face. "Parker! You will never guess what happened last night."

Teddy glanced at Booth and he set down his protein bar, quickly chewing the bite he had taken from it. "Sarge, what happened?" He asked after swallowing the food and straightening his back.

As Booth reached him with his excited grin, Teddy immediately smiled.

"Guess who won at Blackjack last night against Sergeant Michael."

Teddy snorted in amusement as he covered the rest of his protein bar with the wrapper. "Let me see... you?" He asked after putting the protein bar inside his pocket.

Booth nodded enthusiastically, "You're right, kid, this guy." He pointed at himself, his wide grin still plastered on his face.

Teddy clasped his hands behind his back, "I heard that Sergeant Ashton does not forgive anyone when it comes to poker or cards."

"Oh, he doesn't, I won at the very last moment." Booth boasted, clearly proud of himself.

Teddy chuckled, "Did you win anything?" He questioned, shifting his weight from one leg to another.

Booth's grin faded and he shrugged, "Bragging rights for a week, I count that as the best prize." He said, stepping aside briefly to let a fellow soldier enter the barracks.

"Maybe we should move away from the entrance."

"Yeah, I didn't even realize we were in the way."

"More like you were in the way, Sarge." Teddy smirked.

Booth chuckled and shook his head, "Sure, Parker, how could I forget that Teddy — the good boy of our team — would never do this."

"Exactly, finally you get it." Teddy chuckled, shrugging at his words.

The two walked a bit further away from the barracks' entrance but remained rather close to the building itself.

"Now let me tell you all about my glorious win." Booth grinned once more, which only further amused the young corporal.

"Do your worst, Sarge." Teddy chuckled with a nod, settling his hands behind his back once more and clasping them together.

"Alright, so there I was — playing only against Michael, who had drained everyone of all of their chips except for me! I had $15 worth of chips left, and I bet them all." Booth began his story-telling.

Teddy listened intently as he nodded briefly, his eyes drifting briefly to Booth's lips before they settled back to his eyes.

"I already had a king and then I got a 6, and my first card was a 4, so I had 20!" Booth boasted about his luck in continuous great excitement, Teddy nodding eagerly but silently, so to not disrupt his story.

"Then, he bet everything he had, got a king, too, and his cards were 17, but his first card was 5, and BOOM!" Booth made an explosion noise with his mouth, accompanied by hand gestures that matched the noise. "He now has 22 and his hand is BUSTED!"

Teddy smiled, still not daring to speak so as not to interrupt the sergeant who was so excitedly telling him about last night's win.

"And I ended up taking the big pot and the win!" Booth exclaimed, his eyes shining with excitement as he continued to boast about his achievements and extreme luck.

Teddy crossed his arms across his chest, his smile still present on his lips. "Well I'll be damned, you really are a pro with cards, Sarge."

"You bet your pretty face that I am, Parker." Booth flashed him a smile and winked at him.

Teddy's smile faltered for a moment, his cheeks turning pink in an instant, but he quickly recovered his composure and smiled once more. "Oh, I have a pretty face, Sarge?"

Booth chuckled, "I thought you knew already, it's widely discussed across the mess hall." He joked, still smiling from ear to ear.

"Really?" Teddy chuckled, stepping closer to Booth, who nodded in agreement, not stepping away.

"What else is discussed about me that I am not aware of, Sarge?" He questioned, his voice steady although his cheeks remained the same shade of pink.

Booth shrugged, his smile faltering as he thought about an actual answer to Teddy's question that didn't sound more creepy than friendly.

Teddy watched the wheels turn in Booth's head whilst keeping his eyes on the sergeant's face. "I'm waiting." He grinned.

"Maybe the fact that you kind of look like Freddie Mercury."

"Do I now?"

"No, I just made that up, kid. But they do say that you might look better with a mustache."

Teddy covered his face with his hands, trying his best to stop himself from laughing.

Booth smirked, "Maybe if you do grow out your mustache, you might look like Freddy Mercury.. A blond one at that..." He suggested, crossing his arms across his chest.

Teddy shook his head in disbelief, setting his hands down. "I think I will settle on clean-shaven for now, Sarge."

Booth pouted briefly, "Your loss, you'd impress all the ladies with a mustache of your own." He teased.

Teddy raised an eyebrow, "What ladies? We're in the army." He reminded Booth, leaning slightly closer to him.

"Well, we have a few guys who look more feminine." Booth joked, nudging Teddy's shoulder gently.

Teddy stared at him for a bit, swallowing hard. "I think I will pass." He immediately said, his voice slightly shaky.

Booth chuckled, clapping Teddy on the shoulder. "Don't stress, buddy, maybe some nurse will catch your eyes someday."

Teddy smiled sheepishly and simply nodded at Booth's comment, his heart thumping against his chest.

Booth wrapped his arm around Teddy's shoulders, slightly catching Teddy off-guard. "What do you say, Parker? Do you want to go play some cards in my room?"

Teddy glanced at Booth's arm before he looked over at Booth's face. "So you can shove in my face your amazing skills?" He joked, his voice cracking slightly.

Booth grinned, "You know it, Teddy bear." He said, beginning to walk towards the barracks' entrance whilst keeping his arm wrapped around Teddy's shoulders, who quickly fell into step with him.

Teddy's heart felt as if it would jump out of his chest at that very moment.

As the two made their way up the stairs and to Booth's room, Teddy's mind wandered to other places — places he often avoided even after all this time.

Once they reached Booth's room, Teddy watched Booth unlock the door with a key he had just taken out of one of his pockets. The corporal licked his bottom lip briefly, his eyes darting between Booth's face and Booth's hands.

Booth opened the door after taking the key out of the lock, "After you, Mr. Mercury." He joked as he glanced at Teddy.

Teddy shook his head in amusement and made his way inside Booth's room — a place he'd been in before, quite a few times already — and it was like coming home.

He walked to Booth's bed and sat down, before stretching his legs and cracking his knuckles, letting out a groan.

Booth glanced at Teddy as soon as he heard the noise he let out and he finally closed the door behind himself, turning his back to it and leaning against it.

"Made yourself at home already, Corporal?"

"Can you blame me, Sarge? Your sheets are way softer than mine."

Booth chuckled and he stepped closer to his bed, and in the process to Teddy. "Really?" He raised an eyebrow, slightly skeptical.

Teddy flashed him a smile, "Absolutely. I could fall asleep right here, right now." He said, kicking off his shoes and letting them fall on the floor. Then, he lay on his side in Booth's bed, still looking at him with a smile.

Booth watched him and shook his head as Teddy lay on his bed, "You have your own bed, Parker." He remarked, walking to his bed and standing right in front of Teddy's face.

"Hmm.. I do, but this one is much more comfortable." Teddy commented, rubbing his face against Booth's pillow.

Booth watched him in silence, before he took a deep breath, briefly looking around the room. His gaze then settled back on Teddy, who was now looking up at him with his big baby-blue eyes.

"If you want, there's room for one more in here, Sarge." Teddy said with a tone for which Booth could not identify its meaning just yet.

Booth considered Teddy's words for a bit before he sighed, "Scooch over, Parker." He said, his voice slightly more authoritarian and steady.

Teddy chuckled and settled right next to the wall, leaving just enough space for Booth to lay on his side right in front of him.

Booth watched him for a moment before he took off his shoes and then lay in bed, in front of Teddy, facing him.

"Hey." Teddy said once Booth settled in bed.

"How formal, Parker." Booth chuckled. "But hey."

"I can't quite salute you when I barely have space to move my hand, Sarge, so you have to forgive me." Teddy remarked with amusement, but his tone left space for more interpretation, perhaps thanks to the circumstances that brought them face to face.

Booth shook his head slightly, "I will think about it." He remarked with a small smile, his warm breath reaching Teddy's face.

Teddy wet his lips and simply nodded, his cheek now between his teeth as he chewed on it anxiously.

The two stared at each other — not like they could really look at anything or anyone else in that very situation — neither of them daring to comment on the close proximity between the two of them.

After all, they had gotten themselves into this.

"Why do you say my bed is better than yours, hm?"

"It's softer. My mattress is trying to kill my back, Sarge, you should know how that is."

Booth let out a mockingly annoyed sigh, which made Teddy smile at him.

"You should let me sleep here more."

"You've never slept here before."

"There's a first time for everything."

As those words left Teddy's mouth, Booth smirked, leaning slightly closer to the younger man.

"And where do I sleep if you sleep here?" He asked, his voice lower and ever so slightly deeper, which sent tingles down Teddy's spine — and not only.

Teddy's gaze avoided Booth's briefly, but inevitably fell back on the sergeant's face. "You can sleep with me, sir."

And silence fell around them, the atmosphere between the two shifting, even just for that very moment.

Teddy's cheeks had become flushed once more and he was already regretting even opening his mouth to respond to Booth's earlier question.

Yet, Booth decided to play along.

"People will talk, Parker, what will we do?"

Teddy bit his bottom lip briefly before letting it go, "I guess we let them talk, Sarge."

Booth couldn't help but chuckle, "Are you sure you're ready for that kind of responsibility and reputation, Corporal?"

"I'm ready for whatever is thrown at me, sir."

"You always were a brave one, huh?"

"I aim to please, as always."

"I know, kid."

Booth's words hung in the air between the two men, and Teddy could feel his heart beat fast inside his chest — as if it were a drum kit being abused by a middle schooler. What an odd comparison, but it was true.

The two stared at each other for a little longer, in silence, before Booth cleared his throat and leaned closer to Teddy as if he were examining something.

"Who in your family has blue eyes, Parker?" Booth finally asked, his voice once more low and steady.

Teddy was caught off-guard, but he quickly recovered his composure. "My grandparents, sir." He responded, his voice soft.

"What about your parents?"

"My dad has... Uh.."

Booth stared at him in silence, just like before — albeit this time watching as the wheels turned in the younger man's head.

"I think he has brown green..ish eyes, and my mom has green.." Teddy paused briefly, "Or blue eyes."

"You don't know the colors of your parents' eyes?" Booth asked teasingly.

Teddy bit his bottom lip briefly, "I do, but they're a mix of blue and green for both of them." He explained. "I think."

"You think? You're not sure of it?"

Teddy shrugged slightly, his eyes darting to Booth's lips and then eyes. "Eye colors can be tricky." He smiled at him.

Booth considered Teddy's words before he nodded. "You're right, Parker."

Before Teddy could do or say anything, he felt Booth's hand on his cheek, his palm cool and calloused, a stark contrast to Teddy's warm and soft skin. It made shivers run down Teddy's spine.

"But yours are clearly blue, so they're not that complicated."

Teddy's heart almost leaped out of his chest as soon as Booth's hand gently fell on his cheek.

And after a few moments of gathering his thoughts, Teddy finally responded to Booth's comment. "I guess sometimes genetics do make an exception."

"You're lucky, after all."

Teddy simply nodded in agreement, now holding eye contact with Booth, who still hadn't taken his hand away from Teddy's cheek.

And in the dim light that came from the evening sun, Booth's face was illuminated in a way that didn't help Teddy's heart calm down in the very slightest.

"About that card game.." Teddy began, his voice shaky.

Booth's eyes fell into a half-closed look, "Are you uncomfortable in my bed?" He asked softly, his thumb gently rubbing Teddy's cheek.

Teddy's eyes widened slightly before he quickly shook his head in disagreement, "I just don't want to overstep."

Booth smiled slightly and set his hand down, away from Teddy's face. "You're not overstepping, and you won't."

Teddy relaxed slightly and nodded, letting out a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

Booth closed his eyes for a moment, then he briefly laid on his back, just to swing his legs across the edge of the bed and sit up.

"Alright, I'm going to take a shower." Booth announced as he stood up and stretched his arms above his head.

Teddy settled in the middle of the bed, now lying on his back, but with his eyes still set on the sergeant.

"Care to join me?"

"I might skip on it," Teddy bit his bottom lip, "I'm too tired, Sarge." He soon added.

Booth nodded, "That's fine, are you staying here?" He questioned, his eyes fixated on Teddy's face.

"If you don't mind."

"I sure don't, kid."

Teddy nodded with a small smile before he rubbed his face against Booth's pillow once more, which made Booth snort in amusement.

"You're incorrigible."

"Is that so bad, Sarge?"

"Just don't drool all over my pillow and it won't be so bad."

Teddy chuckled and he kept his eyes on Booth as the man briefly prepared to go and hit the showers.

Booth eventually walked over to the door, and he turned to Teddy before he opened the door, his hand hanging above the doorknob.

"You sure you're not up for a shower?"

"Very sure, Sarge."

"Alright, your loss. I'll smell fresh, and you'll keep smelling like dirt."

Teddy chuckled and he turned, lying on his back once more, no longer looking at Booth. "It's a sacrifice I'm willing to take."

Booth shrugged with a smile, and he turned back to the door, opening it.

"Plus, you like my smell."

Booth paused in the doorway, but he didn't turn to face the corporal who was currently lying in his bed.

"You wish, Parker." He responded in a carefully neutral tone before stepping out of his room and closing the door behind himself.

Teddy watched the door get shut before he let out a sigh and rubbed his face once more against the soft pillow. It smelled like Booth, it smelled like aftershave and the 2 in 1 mint shampoo he used.

As Teddy lay in Booth's bed, now once more with his back turned towards the cold wall, his eyes wandered around the room. He took in the few details that made up the room Booth slept in all of the nights spent on base.

It obviously wasn't his first time in there, but he hadn't had the chance to admire every tiny detail in the room and truly appreciate each object or decoration for what it really was or what it really meant to Booth.

Teddy's wood-carved mermaid on the nightstand, an alarm clock next to the mermaid, a calendar right above the nightstand, the rugged jacket that lay on the back of one of the chairs. They all meant something to the sergeant, or so did Teddy wish to believe.

Teddy sighed once more as he closed his eyes, covering himself with the blanket that usually covered Booth's body — not his own.

But he didn't mind.

The sheets smelled like him. They smelled like gunpowder, coffee, and something that Teddy could only define as something that made Booth smell uniquely like himself. God, did he love that smell of Booth.

The corporal opened his eyes briefly and his gaze darted to the closed door. He was sort of hoping Booth would be back already, but he knew that he couldn't make miracles happen and finish showering in 2 minutes.

He shut his eyes closed once more, the tiredness weighing on his entire body and mind.

As Teddy's usual thoughts faded into the back of his head and a wall of ignorance formed around them, and yet only a final thought remained in his head — Booth.

Yet, as soon as he thought about the older man — he fell into the realm of dreams, with all five of his senses being enveloped in the comfort that Booth's room, things, and bed brought him.

Around 10 minutes later, the door was opened — slowly and carefully, as if to not bother whoever was inside the room or make too much noise to startle them.

Booth walked inside his room, noticing Teddy curled up in bed, with his eyes shut and his nose pressed against the soft blanket.

The scene pulled at his heartstrings, his gaze softening in an instant before he recovered his earlier facial expression.

Booth closed the door behind him slowly before he took a few steps to his bed, eventually reaching it. He kneeled in front of Teddy's face, examining him briefly before he glanced at the clock, 2008 (8:08 PM).

Booth turned his gaze back to the sleeping corporal, and he went back to examining his face, or at least what he could see of it, this time with much more attention.

"You always were a peaceful sleeper.." He mindlessly whispered, reaching with his hand to the blanket. He carefully slid it down, just enough to be able to see Teddy's full face, before he let go of them, giving them a small pat as if to set them back against Teddy's body.

"There you are." He whispered, his voice softening.

And now, Booth had full reign to examine and admire Teddy's face — which he continued to do without hesitation. There was no one to stop or judge him, after all, and he'd been dying to know every piece and inch of the younger man's face. He was just... curious.

As he admired Teddy's face, Booth's hand slowly reached forward to the younger man's face, eventually settling on his cheek.

The corporal's skin was warm and soft, contrasting drastically to the skin on Booth's hand, which had remained cold from the earlier shower.

Booth mindlessly rubbed his cheek with his thumb, his breathing slowing down to match Teddy's breathing.

He leaned in closer without thinking, his mind clouded with thoughts about every aspect of Teddy's face — his soft skin, the small scar underneath his eyebrow, the slightly faded freckles that adorned his nose and cheeks, his lips that were slightly parted.

Teddy suddenly stirred, shifting slightly, which made Booth panic and lift his hand from the man's cheek.

Teddy scrunched his nose briefly, sniffling once or twice — Booth did not count in his panic — before he seemed to settle back into a peaceful slumber.

Booth let out a relieved sigh, his shoulders slumping back down and relaxing.

"Sorry, kid." He whispered, his trembling hand falling to his own side, not daring to touch Teddy again, even if he wanted to feel that soft skin underneath the roughness of his palm again.

Booth swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing as he did so, and he backed away slightly, although still kneeling.

He stared some more at Teddy before he decided to get up and back away entirely, keeping a healthy distance between himself and his bed which had now been claimed by Teddy, even just for a bit.

Booth rubbed the back of his neck as he looked around awkwardly, unsure of what his next move should be. He didn't want to wake Teddy up, but also did not know what to do now that he was asleep.

They were meant to be playing cards, and it is a bit difficult to play 'Crazy Eights' with a sleeping soldier.

"Dammit, Teddy. You always have to make it so difficult when it can be so easy.." He muttered as he carefully walked to the door and opened it. He stepped outside and closed the door behind himself, just as carefully as he had opened it in the first place.

Booth sighed, the gears in his head rotating as he thought his next course of action through. He knew Booth was sleeping still

Eventually, Booth began walking down the hall and to the stairs. He made his way to the floor where Teddy's room was and walked towards it, soon enough reaching the door that would lead inside.

Booth raised his hand to knock, hesitating for a second as he didn't know what, or rather who, to expect inside.

Once he finally knocked, he walked inside, being met by the sight of none other than Teddy's roommates, each in their respective bunks.

"Sarge, what is the occasion?" James immediately straightened, sitting up.

Booth's gaze wandered around the room, "Nothing important, soldiers, just need to get something for Teddy."

James nodded, his eyes darting to Carlos and Josh, who were both simply staring at the older man.

Booth hesitated moving forward for a second, before he bit the bullet and made his way to Teddy and James' bunk bed.

He tried to ignore the stares of Teddy's roommates as he picked up Teddy's pillow, revealing underneath it a switchblade.

Booth paused, his eyebrows raising in surprise before he simply slid the switchblade inside his pocket and backed away, still holding Teddy's pillow.

He looked over at Corporal Smith and Corporal López, giving them a quick nod before rushing outside of the room, closing the door behind himself with urgency.

Booth's heart pounded in his chest as he hurried to the stairs and up them, "I think I just dug my own grave, God dammit Teddy..." He sighed.

"The things I do for you, Parker, I should be paid..." He continued to mumble to himself as he reached the floor where his room was.

Booth made his way to his room, but as he got closer to it, he noticed that the door was wide open.

Did Teddy wake up? Wait, I have to give him his pillow back then. What if he went to his room?

"Ah, there he is."

Booth's eyebrows raised as he saw Sergeant David standing in the doorway, with his arms crossed.

"What are you doing here?" Booth asked, his tone more defensive than intended.

David chuckled and shrugged, "I was going to invite you to some poker, but I see that you're..."

His eyes darted to the sleeping corporal in Booth's bed.

"...sort of busy."

Booth glanced at Teddy before his gaze settled back on David. "He was just tired."

David let out a chuckle, his eyebrows raising. "Just tired, huh." His eyes darted to the pillow that Booth was holding in hand.

Booth's grip tightened on the pillow, "Got anything else to say?" He asked, keeping his tone of voice carefully neutral, trying not to sound defensive once more.

David shrugged, "I was just wondering what Corporal Parker really is doing in your bed. I didn't know you guys were having a sleepover like the great buddies you are."

Booth's gaze darted between Teddy and David as he sighed, "It's not like that.." He said quickly, carefully keeping his voice low so he wouldn't wake up the sleeping soldier.

David smirked, "Then how is it?"

Booth paused, simply staring at his friend while remaining silent.

"Is that his pillow?" David asked, pointing at the pillow Booth was holding.

Booth looked down at the pillow he was holding in his hands before he looked back up at David, "Yeah." He responded briefly.

"Thought so, too." David said, his lips forming into a smirk.

Booth sighed in frustration, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his free hand. "He likes to hug his pillow when he sleeps, he sometimes sleeps without it underneath his head so he can hold it instead." He explained, his tone sounding irritated by this point.

"How cute, Seeley Booth is taking care of his soldier."

Booth clenched his jaw, "Cut it out, Andy."

"Oh, don't get all dangerous with me." David teased, yet his words sounded more like a mock to Booth.

Booth glanced at Teddy, feeling something pull at his heartstrings as if they were part of a guitar rather than part of him. "I think you should leave, he might wake up if you keep speaking so loudly."

"It's so cute that you are concerned about waking him up, when instead you should be more concerned about why a corporal is lying in your bed, looking like your greek lover waiting for you to do, oh, sweet, sweet love to him again."

Booth gritted his teeth as he heard such words, now tightening his grip on the pillow he had brought for Teddy.

"Cat got your tongue?"

"Fuck you, Andy, I am not up for your jokes."

David snorted in amusement, "You wound me, Seeley. They're not jokes, they're the truth." He said, letting his arms fall back by his sides.

Booth turned to face David, stepping closer to him while clenching his free hand into a fist. "You don't know what you're talking about, Andrew, so why don't you go back to your poker night and leave me be?"

David scoffed, "If this is nothing, why do you get so angry about it, huh?"

Booth's eyes briefly darted to Teddy, before he looked back at David. "Get out."

David stared back at him before shaking his head, "You're a coward, Seeley. You hear me?"

A scowl appeared on Booth's face as he faced David. He wasn't about to get spoken to like this in his own room, in his own space, in front of Teddy himself.

"God damn coward." He pressed his pointer finger on Booth's chest before pushing him into the doorway with his hand alone, then making his way out of the room.

Booth watched him leave before he looked back at Teddy, who seemed to have slept throughout the whole encounter.

The sergeant sighed and stepped inside his room, closing the door behind himself. "Alright, Teddy.." He murmured as he walked to his bed slowly before kneeling down once more in front of Teddy.

Teddy was holding the blanket as if he were holding and hugging his pillow, which was something he usually did in his own room, but sometimes the blanket just didn't replace a, or better said, his pillow well enough.

"Here you go, buddy." Booth carefully slipped the blanket out of Teddy's arms and instead set the pillow in its place.

Then, he covered Teddy with the blanket once more, watching as the corporal hugged the pillow tightly, bringing it close to his chest and face simultaneously.

Booth's gaze softened as he stared in awe at the younger man, who was now fully lost in his own little world.

He felt a slight tightening in his chest as he stared at him as he slept, eventually realizing that, perhaps, it was a bit creepy and odd to stare at someone — anyone — while they slept.

Booth cleared his throat briefly, before pausing, his eyes settling back on Teddy. He thought that, maybe, he might've woken up the sleeping prince by clearing his throat, but much to his relief, Teddy was deep in slumber.

Booth sighed in relief and he slowly stood up, careful to neither fall nor make any wrong movements that could cause the floors to creak loudly and accidentally wake Teddy up.

He made his way to the table in his room and he sat down, reaching for the deck of cards that he had left there just a few nights ago.

Booth went on attempt making card towers, while looking over at the sleeping prince from time to time, who occasionally stirred and turned.

But Booth didn't mind it when Teddy's back would be facing him, or when Teddy would let out small noises. Just the sight of Teddy in his bed, sleeping peacefully and in pure relaxation brought Booth enough joy to last him days on end.

He didn't know why.

Had he ever known why those blue eyes brought him so much joy? Or why Teddy's laugh made him immediately smile? Or why Teddy's grin was always the only thing that could brighten his rough days?

No. And he didn't know if he wanted to find out.

Booth let the card tower fall again, the thoughts in his head becoming too much. He covered his face with his hands, the truth in David's words surrounding him and taunting him over and over again.

It wasn't the first time David had questioned him about Teddy — but it was the first time Booth had no explanation that would satisfy David's probing and suspicious nature, as well as defuse the implications and rumors that he was pushing with his words.

"God dammit..." Booth said, getting up, setting away the chair. He grabbed his jacket and threw it on, before making his way to the door.

He opened the door and briefly glanced at Teddy then he walked out, closing the door behind himself.

"Let's hope we don't get any more surprise guests again.."

Booth made his way down the stairs and eventually walked out of the barracks. With firm and quick steps, he walked to the chapel — the one place he knew he could seek true guidance from none other than The Lord himself.

As he stepped inside, he noticed the emptiness of the place, and yet he didn't seem to mind it.

Booth sat down on one of the pews as he leaned his head forward and clasped his hands together.

He began reciting in a low murmur a prayer — one he always told to the sky and empty rooms whenever he felt lost.

And so he sat there, with his faith in his hands, the doubt in his mind, and the fear in his heart.

A few minutes passed until he heard the door to the chapel open.

Booth looked over at the door, noticing Corporal Carlos Díaz standing in the doorway of the chapel.

Booth's eyes immediately settled back on his own hands, and he did his very best to ignore the fact that Carlos was probably staring at him now. He still couldn't get out of his mind how awkward it had all been when he had gone to retrieve Teddy's pillow from his room.

As he resumed his silent prayers, Corporal Díaz stepped into the chapel and sat down on a pew, on the opposite side of the chapel, although on the same row as Booth.

Booth pressed his clenched together hands against his forehead as he leaned slightly forward, his elbows now pressed on his knees.

The silence in the chapel felt, shockingly, suffocating.

A place meant for spirituality, for salvation, for relaxation, and more importantly for acceptance, was now a place filled with tension and suffocating silence.

It was almost too much to handle.

"Do you know Sergeant David's friend, sir?"

Booth's hands fell on his lap as he looked over at the person who had just spoken.

"Diego, yeah. What about him?"

Carlos furrowed his eyebrows, keeping his eyes on the floor. "Sergeant David has been trying to learn Spanish for him."

Booth's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"He asks me to teach him phrases and..." Carlos paused briefly, as he searched for the appropriate set of words that would follow his sentence. Booth simply stared at him, waiting for the continuation without interrupting him or trying to add a continuation to his sentence.

"...he has been making progress."

Booth nodded briefly, although seemed confused as to why this information was being shared with him out of all people. Did anyone else know this or was there a point to this that was waiting to be made?

Carlos cleared his throat before he finally looked at Booth. "Would you do that for someone, Sarge?" He gave him a small smile.

Booth stared back at him, his face now carefully settled with a neutral expression.

He briefly looked down at his own hands then over at the ceiling, before his gaze settled back on Carlos.

"Depends.."

"On what?"

Booth frowned, "Closeness, I guess." I wouldn't do that for a stranger, not really." He shrugged, keeping his eyes on Carlos.

The corporal nodded briefly, "Imagine you're friends then." He suggested, still with a smile on his lips.

"Yeah, I could try."

"And what if you're best friends?"

"Well, yeah, I would. I'd definitely try. Where are you trying to get, Corporal?"

Carlos cleared his throat, "What if it's Teddy we're talking about?"

Booth looked back down at his hands, his mind going completely blank as soon as Teddy was mentioned.

Why did he have to bring Teddy into this?

Eventually, Booth looked over at Carlos, his facial expression now a carefully neutral one.

"What do you mean by that?"

Carlos licked his bottom lip, making eye contact with Booth.

"Well... I guess there will always be someone who we learn a different language for, sir."

Booth blinked a few times before he looked back down at his hands.

Carlos stood up, "C'est la vie, Sarge." He said, before making his way out of the chapel.

Booth's jaw tightened at those words and he leaned back into the pew.

"That's French, not Spanish... He knows French too?" He muttered to himself, shaking his head in slight disbelief, his mind reeling on the entire situation.

Booth remained in the chapel a while longer, his thoughts racing and mixing up until they formed a jumbled-up mess.

When it all felt like too much, he, too, left the chapel, with his head down and his hands in his pockets. His every step felt heavy as he made his way back to the barracks, his legs wanting to give out beneath him at just the thought of having to face literally anyone on his way there.

He didn't know if Teddy was awake, asleep, alive, dead, away, or even in his bedroom anymore. But he was going to find out regardless — he couldn't keep hiding in that chapel.

Booth walked inside the barracks and up the stairs, his mind racing with thoughts while simultaneously not being able to form a single coherent one.

He got to the floor his room was on and made his way to the door that led to his room, taking a deep breath once he reached it.

Booth opened the door slowly, peeking his head inside, and his eyes fell on a still-sleeping Teddy. "Jesus, kid, did training really drain you out that much?" He mumbled to himself as he eventually walked inside and closed the door behind himself, leaving outside all his worries and jumbled-up thoughts. For the time being, at least.

Booth walked up to the bed once more and kneeled in front of Teddy, who was now facing him, in his sleep, still hugging the pillow Booth had brought for him.

The sergeant stared at Teddy once again — repeating his 'creepy' bad habit without even realizing it this time. Not that Teddy would know though.

"So," He began, his voice a low murmur. "Do you think we'll have guard duty together again anytime soon, Parker?"

Teddy didn't stir, didn't move, didn't even make a noise. He only breathed peacefully, his silence speaking absolutely nothing to Booth's question.

A smile appeared on Booth's lips.

"You're a good photographer, you know? And good at carving into wood. And you're good at knife-throwing. Don't think I didn't see you a few days ago with Josh."

Booth continued rambling to Teddy in a low murmur, his eyes occasionally wandering around the room as he spoke. Staring at Teddy's sleeping face and form as he spoke felt too much for now.

"I had guard duty with Corporal Elliot a while ago, and let me tell you it was so boring." He snorted in amusement at his own words.

And Teddy still did not move. He remained deeply asleep, Booth's words only serving as a lullaby to his already in-place dreamlike state.

Booth tilted his head to the side as he looked back at Teddy. "He slept half of the guard duty, but I don't blame him, I would've slept too if I wasn't amused by anything a boring sergeant was saying to me."

He let out a small sigh as he looked over at the alarm clock on his nightstand, 2048 (8:48 PM), then he glanced back at the sleeping corporal.

"I wish you had been there to keep me company, Teddy." He sighed.

As he thought about his own confession and overall words, Booth frowned.

"What am I even doing?"

To be honest and fair with both himself and Teddy, he had no clue. He had no clue what he was doing, why he was confessing all of this to a sleeping soldier, none-other than Teddy at that.

Booth stood up, taking a few steps back. "This is ridiculous.." He muttered, covering his face with his hands. He rubbed his face with them, before he covered his mouth and nose instead of his whole face, looking over at Teddy again.

"God dammit."

Booth began pacing around his room, his steps quick yet soft enough to not make much noise, and his voice low enough to not wake Teddy up. His thoughts were spiralling out of control once more, as if they had slipped through the cracks of the door back inside the room and into his mind.

"Why did I need to join the army, wasn't my life easier without it?" He scoffed to himself, shaking his head in disbelief. "I could've been a professional football player or something, God dammit."

Eventually, Booth stopped near the bed and he looked again at the corporal. He was completely oblivious to what was happening with Booth, or in his mind.

"Maybe I would've never met you if I hadn't, and you would've made it all much easier for me."

He bit the inside of his cheek once those words left his mouth, even as a mere mumble.

"You joined the army expecting what? Friends? A career? A hobby? All you got was to sleep in my bed and make my own friends think I'm some..." Booth trailed off, clenching his jaw.

And Teddy remained asleep, his breathing steady as he gripped the pillow in his arms and pulled it closer to him.

Booth simply felt.. defeated. And the feeling persisted as he sat on the floor, his back against the cold wall and his gaze set on Teddy. He was simply thinking, or at least he was doing his best to do it.

Doing his best to think about everything, doing his best to calm himself down, doing his best to understand what he was going through.

He was Seeley Booth — the tough-as-steel sergeant. And Teddy was pure trouble wrapped in blue eyes, soft skin, and wide grins. A young soldier in such a cruel world, a young man that had no idea what love really was all about.

But it's not like Booth knew what that really meant, either way.

He never thought he'd be so caught up in a soldier and, as a matter of fact, he never even considered it to be a possibility, let alone his reality.

Teddy was there to prove him and his beliefs wrong — in the most painful and excruciating way possible. And he sat there, in silence, with his heart thumping in his chest, now a defeated man.

Booth's head fell gently against the wall and he closed his eyes. He imagined himself somewhere else — somewhere where Teddy wasn't. But he didn't like the place he imagined himself in, so he changed it, and changed it.

The issue wasn't the location — but the lack of Teddy in it. And he knew it. And he hated it. So he opened his eyes.

Booth blinked a few times, his eyes darting to the alarm clock on his nightstand: 2058 PM (8:58 PM).

"10 minutes already? That doesn't seem right.." Booth mumbled and shook his head, closing his eyes once more and letting his head fall against the cold wall all over again.

The exhaustion was threatening to take over and let him fall asleep, but he was determined to stay awake some more — to not interrupt Teddy's sleep even after his own silent outburst.

Booth's eyelids felt too heavy to even lift anymore, and he only wanted to be in his bed, covered by his sheets, and to not be interrupted by anyone at all. Maybe Teddy would be the exception.

Right as Booth felt himself begin falling asleep, he heard the sheets in his bed rustling and shifting around, followed by a small groan.

"Sarge..?"

Booth's eyes suddenly opened and he looked at Teddy, who was now staring back at him with a tired and confused look in his eyes. God, those eyes that seemed to look right through him and into his soul.

"Hey, Parker, how'd you sleep?" Booth stood up slowly, before walking to Teddy.

Teddy couldn't help but give him a small smile. "I slept well, no clue for how long though."

The way his hands gripped the pillow that he held close to his chest only seemed to pull at Booth's heartstrings further.

"I'm sorry for falling asleep here."

Booth's eyes widened slightly as he was jolted out of his thoughts by those words.

"No need to be sorry, you seemed pretty tired to me."

Teddy's smile softened at Booth's words and he simply nodded, soon enough yawning and covering his mouth with one of his hands. Booth glanced at Teddy's hand before his gaze settled back on his face.

"I guess I really was.." Teddy reluctantly admitted.

Booth nodded at Teddy's words, simply staring at him as Teddy settled his head back on the pillow and looked back at Booth.

"Aren't you tired?"

"I can handle myself, kid."

Teddy shook his head and sat up, the sheets curling up at his waist, "No, I'll get out of here, Sarge, I think I overstayed my visit."

Booth's eyebrows shot up, all the exhaustion and weariness in his body disappearing in an instant. He was not about to force Teddy out of his bed just so he could lay down in it like a lonely seal without even falling asleep.

"You didn't. If you had, I would have woken you up, Corporal."

Teddy simply shook his head again and let go of his pillow, quickly standing up. His vision went out in an instant, turning black, and he stood next to the bed for a few seconds, not moving as he tried to maintain his equilibrium and not fall face-first on the floor.

"You okay, Parker?" Booth asked, walking to him and placing a hand on his shoulder.

As the dark sights faded away from Teddy's eyes, he looked over at Booth with his eyes slightly unfocused before he looked away. "Yeah, I just got dizzy."

Booth looked him up and down briefly before gently pushing him back down on the bed with just one hand.

"If you insist on not sleeping anymore, at least sit down. You're not bothering me... Or my bed." Definitely not his bed. That bed was going to help Booth have the best sleep of his life later that night thanks to it now smelling like a certain corporal.

Teddy looked down at Booth's mattress briefly before looking up at Booth with his wide, baby-blue eyes. If Teddy's natural 'big puppy eyes' could kill others, Booth would have died a long time, and would've died happy too.

Booth swallowed hard as the two made eye contact and he took a few steps back, feeling as if he was way too close to Teddy.

"Though, I did sleep too much, Sarge. I should get going, lights are out at 2230."

Booth looked over at the clock then back at Teddy, "There's more than a whole hour until then, calm down, Corporal. And if anything, I'll tell them you were with me."

Teddy rubbed the back of his neck and simply nodded, his eyes falling on the floor before closing again.

"Now, are you hungry?"

Teddy looked around briefly as he opened his eyes. He reached into his pocket and took out the half-eaten and half-melted protein bar.

"I'm good, Sarge." He said casually, showing him the snack he had in hand.

Booth couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of the half-melted protein bar. "Right, my mistake, kid."

Teddy nodded, stuffing the snack back into his pocket, his movements sluggish with sleep.

"Won't that just melt more?"

"I have to wash these pants anyway."

Booth couldn't help but smile at Teddy's sleepy voice, "Mhm, I see."

Teddy simply nodded again, his eyes flickering to the alarm clock on Booth's nightstand before he looked down at his hands, which he had on his lap.

Booth looked over at Teddy's hands before he sighed and kneeled down, once more in front of Teddy. He reached out and gently grabbed one of Teddy's hands.

Teddy opened his mouth to comment or at least question what Booth was doing, but the older man immediately spoke up, answering Teddy's unasked questions like a guilty man.

"How are your palms? You got yourself cut quite a few times." Booth remarked as he looked for any scar or scab on Teddy's palm.

Teddy's gaze shifted from his hand to Booth's face. "They're fine. You worry too much." He yawned without covering his mouth.

Booth gritted his teeth and gently rubbed Teddy's palm, "Yeah, well, I only have one best buddy. Can't have anything bad happen to him."

Teddy's eyes widened slightly and he kept his gaze on Booth's face, eventually Booth's own gaze.

"Didn't know you were such a softie, Sarge. Maybe you should retire early, get yourself an early spot in a retirement home."

Booth's jaw fell open in disbelief and surprise, to which Teddy snorted in amusement, trying his best not to burst out laughing.

"Parker, you little shit—"

Before Booth could even finish his sentence, he yanked a laughing Teddy closer to him by his hand.

However, neither of them predicted nor expected to end up on the floor.

Although on top of Booth, Teddy couldn't stop laughing, his laughter ringing through Booth's room.

Booth looked around in disbelief before looking back at Teddy, "You're a fucking idiot."

Teddy laughed harder, letting himself fall on Booth's side, getting off him in the process.

Booth clicked his tongue as he looked over at Teddy. "So now I'm so old I need to go to a nursery home, Parker? You prick!"

Teddy nodded, his laughter not subsiding in the slightest as Booth only kept on adding sustenance to the conversation and his amusement.

Booth rolled over, getting on top of Teddy instead, now only watching the younger man laugh richly about the entire situation.

"Come on, Corporal, I'm not that old." He murmured.

Teddy's laughter began subsiding and he grinned at Booth, still not processing the fact that Booth was now on top of him.

"You kind of are."

"You're a dick."

Booth punched Teddy's arm, using barely any force. Teddy began laughing again, covering his face with his hands and leaning his head back, it hitting the floor gently.

Booth stared at him, licking his lips briefly. He could no longer hold back a small smile, which he had been trying to hide along with his own amusement up until that point.

"How did I even end up with you?"

Those words rang in Teddy's ears, and he slowly stopped laughing, now just breathing heavily with a smile.

"Huh?"

Booth cleared his throat.

"How did I even end up with you, Parker?"

Teddy tilted his head to the side, and Booth's eyes darted to Teddy's neck before he looked back at Teddy's face.

"What do you mean, Sarge?"

Teddy's eyes met Booth's as his smile faded, and they both remained in silence for a while, before Booth responded.

"You just clung to me after guard duty and now... We're here."

"Is that bad?"

Booth chuckled, "No, Parker, it's not."

Teddy nodded in acknowledgment, his gaze darting from Booth's eyes to his lips. It didn't go unnoticed by Booth, which leaned slightly lower.

"But yeah, you are old, Sarge. You're turning like 54 next month."

Booth began laughing, shutting his eyes and looking downwards. Teddy matched his laughter, his face breaking once more into a grin.

"God, you really are a jerk!"

"It takes one to know one, Sarge."

Booth's laughter subsided along with Teddy's, and they simply stared at each other with smiles on their faces.

"You do know I'm not turning 54 though, right?"

"Yeah, you're turning 60, my mistake."

"Fuck you!"

Teddy grinned cheekily, snorting in amusement.

"I'm turning 23, thank you very much." Booth scoffed, his smile never leaving his face.

Teddy shrugged, his grin not leaving his face as he stared at Booth. "More like 230."

"Oh, you son of a—"

Booth bit his lip to stop himself from continuing, which only made Teddy start laughing again while leaning his head back.

"One of these days, you're going to mysteriously disappear and it may or may not be my fault when it happens."

"Oooh, I'm shaking in my boots!" Teddy giggled, his grin still planted on his face.

Booth leaned lower, his body pressing further against Teddy's. "Actually, you don't have any boots on, so maybe you're shaking in your socks."

Teddy looked over at Booth's lips and he licked his own. His grin faded as he and Booth made eye contact again.

"Yeah?"

Booth nodded.

"Yeah."

Teddy clicked his tongue.

"You're a jerk."

"Takes one to know one, right?"

Teddy couldn't help but smile again, and he snorted in amusement. "Now get off me, you giant."

Booth raised his eyebrows, "Giant, huh?" He smirked, grabbing Teddy's hips and flipping them over.

Teddy's eyes widened as he found himself on top of Booth and he tried holding himself up by putting his hands on the floor.

He looked up at Booth, with his eyes wide still and his cheeks flushed. The sight made the sergeant's heart skip a beat on the spot.

"Alright, kid, let's get up." Booth eventually suggested but didn't move yet, wanting Teddy to be the one to stand up first.

Teddy looked down at where their bodies met and simply nodded as he got up.

Booth then stood up as well and fixed his clothes on his body, "Now that we're done with that, are you hungry?"

"You already asked me that, Sarge."

"I thought maybe after that intense workout you'd get hungry."

Teddy chuckled and shrugged, "Oh, you mean you almost crushing me on the floor? Definitely an intense workout."

"Shut it, kid, just tell me if you want some food or not." Booth scoffed with a smile.

"Weeeell, maybe I am hungry."

"Then let's get going."

Teddy's gaze met Booth's and he grinned, "Aw, now you're buying me dinner? I thought that was meant to happen before the action."

Booth shook his head in mock annoyance and he sighed, which only made Teddy's grin widen.

"Do you want to eat something or not?"

Teddy looked down at Booth's lower body before nodding, the grin still plastered on his face. "I wouldn't mind it."

Booth rolled his eyes playfully before punching Teddy's arm gently, "You're such a pervert."

Teddy tilted his head to the side. "Oh, come on, Sarge. You know I'm messing around." He said with a chuckle, crossing his arms.

"Sure, Parker, whatever you say." Booth gave him a small smile before walking over to his desk. "What do you feel like eating?"

Teddy watched him walk away, "Something light, sir." He said, watching Booth bend over and open the mini fridge's door.

"I have yogurt, or maybe some bananas if you want."

"Have you ever had both, Sarge?" Teddy asked, the volume of his voice ever so slightly lower.

Booth closed the fridge door and straightened up, looking over at Teddy. "Can't say I have, Parker."

Teddy let out a small chuckle, and he walked up to Booth. "You should sometimes. I heard it's really good."

Booth stared at Teddy for a bit before bending back down to take the yogurt out of the fridge.

Teddy held back a bigger laugh, shaking his head as he watched Booth. "Need help, Sarge?"

"I can handle it, Corporal, you just sit down."

"Alright, if you say so." Teddy smirked as he sat down, tilting his head to the side as Booth straightened himself up and set on the table some yogurt.

"Eat up, Corporal. You have to grow big and strong." Booth said as he opened a drawer and got out a spoon, handing it to Teddy.

Teddy grabbed the spoon from Booth's hand, their fingers brushing in the process. "You don't want any?" He asked as he opened the yogurt.

Booth shook his head and sat down, "Not really, but thanks."

"Your loss." Teddy snorted in amusement while shrugging.

Booth watched Teddy start eating, a small smile tugging at his lips once more.

It disappeared as soon as he realized that he was smiling again. It wasn't a crime to smile, but it felt like one now that he thought more and more about it.

The following days flew right past the both of them, blending together as their daily schedules remained unchanged as always.

And yet, on one of these days, Teddy found himself at the duty roster, checking if he had been assigned for guard duty — and most importantly, with whom he had been assigned to go.

Not one hint of surprise was present on his face as he found his name, but that was until he noticed that he had been assigned to go to guard duty with Sergeant Hunter Clark.

He'd never really interacted with him, but there was a first to everything. If he was anything like Booth, they would hopefully get along just fine.

Teddy made his way back to his room, licking his lips in an attempt to make up for his lack of lip balm usage. He walked in, taking into sight James — who was preparing his backpack for his own upcoming trip to guard duty.

James looked up and gave Teddy a lopsided grin, "Teddilliam, what's up?"

Teddy made his way to him, a neutral look on his face. "Just coming in to rest a bit. Who do you have guard duty with?"

"Oh, you know... A sergeant." James seemed as if he was holding back from giving out more information about his guard duty companionship, but Teddy wasn't going to back down just yet. It wasn't a big deal, sure, but curiosity would have been eating at him.

Teddy's eyebrows raised in suspicion, "Who exactly?"

James bit his bottom lip briefly before shrugging, "Who really cares, Teddy? It's just guard duty, man. Live and let live, right?"

"James."

"Yeah, fine, I have to meet with Sergeant Booth outside of the barracks in a few hours, I have guard duty with him."

Teddy's face remained carefully neutral as he processed James' words. James had expected some big reaction, considering how close Teddy and Booth had become in the past couple of weeks.

And not to forget how much Teddy had been talking exclusively about Booth almost every evening — if he even was in the room by then.

"That's fine with you?" James asked, slightly surprised.

"Jeez, man, why wouldn't it be?" Teddy asked casually, walking to his bed bunk and sitting down on the mattress. "It's not a crime."

James rolled his eyes and looked over at Teddy. "Stop acting stupid, Teddy."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Teddy looked back at him while taking off his boots.

James stood up and walked to his and Teddy's shared bunk bed before sitting down next to him. "You know what I'm talking about, Parker. It doesn't take Einstein's IQ to know what's going on."

Teddy looked away briefly before shaking his head, "Yeah, I have no clue what you are talking about."

James took a deep breath, "I'm talking about the fact that you and Booth are... To put it lightly, attached to the hip. You know?" He tried to make his point clear as subtly as possible — not wanting to seem like he was attacking or accusing Teddy of anything, after all.

Teddy could sometimes get a little too defensive if he felt he was being accused of, well, just about anything and everything possible and existent.

"So if I spend time with the guy it means we're as close as twins? Come on, man." Teddy shook his head in disbelief, but he didn't seem defensive. Just yet.

James rubbed the back of his neck, "Spending time with him, sure, doesn't mean you're two peas in a pod. But talking about him and bringing him up in every conversation possible even without him being there? Maybe it does."

"I don't do that?"

And it started.

"Yeah, you do. I don't care if you try and deny it, you're always Sergeant Booth up, Sergeant Booth down, all about what he told you and showed you, and how skilled he is in what he does." James explained calmly, avoiding eye contact with Teddy — not wanting to see how he was already reacting to his words.

Teddy was quiet for a bit before he sighed. "I couldn't care less if you go on guard duty with Sergeant Booth." He simply responded, as if he hadn't heard everything James had been explaining to him for the past few minutes.

"Dude, did you hear anything I just said?"

Teddy looked down at his hands. "Let it be, James, just stop it."

They simply stayed silent for a few seconds, especially Teddy, who seemed to be holding his breath, unsure for what would happen next.

James eventually broke their moment moment of silence, cracking a smile. "So you already know, huh?"

Teddy shrugged silently, not really wanting to admit out loud to anything that might reveal more than he was ready for.

"Since when?"

"5th grade. A guy older than me sat on my desk while talking to someone else and it was over for me."

James burst out laughing, leaning closer to Teddy, which only made Teddy smile a bit, too.

"Do you have aids?"

"You want some or what?"

James looked at him briefly before pulling him into a side hug, "I didn't know gay people could be such jerks, huh."

Teddy swallowed hard and shrugged. "I guess."

"Sooo, are you into Sergeant Boot—"

"Shut up and finish getting ready." Teddy snapped, pushing James away. "I am done talking about this."

James shook his head and stood up, "Alright, alright, no need to get all hulk on me, big guy." He walked back to his wall locker and backpack.

Teddy watched him walk away from the bunk bed, before laying down on the bed quietly. He didn't have to deny something he hadn't been asked, nor did he have to give out any explanations if he hadn't been given the full question.

James looked over at Teddy after some more packing of essentials for guard duty, and opened his mouth to speak, but noticed Teddy was already lying in bed, so he decided against disturbing his rest.

The two remained in silence for a few minutes, each of them minding their own business — whether resting or making sure they were ready for later.

"I have guard duty with Sergeant Clark." Teddy suddenly revealed, his hands covering his body with the sheets as he spoke.

"He's nice, I've been on guard duty with him before." James remarked, closing his backpack up.

Teddy simply nodded, closing his eyes. "Sergeant Booth is nice too."

"I didn't expect anything else to be said by you."

Teddy wanted to give him a piece of his mind as response but decided against it — not wanting to reveal things he, himself, wasn't ready to understand nor accept.

A few hours passed by, and Teddy and James had long already left, each to their own assigned spots for that night's guard duty.

Corporal James Carter was not the person Booth would've preferred to spend an entire night with, but one must make do with what they have.

James was a skilled soldier, after all. Guard duty shouldn't be an issue for either of them. Right?

Booth threw his backpack on the floor, letting out a grunt, his eyes finding James.

"You have to admit that the view is very nice, Sarge." James said, leaning over the parapet.

Booth grunted again but did not respond as he looked through his backpack instead.

James turned around to look at Booth, "Want some coffee? I brought a thermos."

Booth simply shook his head while straightening his back before finally closing his backpack.

"Your loss." James shrugged as he drank from his thermos. "How do you like your coffee, Sarge?"

"Black. That's how it's meant to be drunk." Booth remarked, looking over at James.

"Hm, right." James settled his thermos back inside his backpack. "A little sugar never hurt anybody."

Booth made his way to the parapet, "I don't like sweet things that much." He leaned forward, looking around.

James decided against commenting, biting his tongue. His comment would've definitely involved the mention of a certain corporal either way.

As the two remained in silence, Booth looked through a pair of binoculars at their surroundings, making sure everything was in order — as it should always be.

"So, Sarge, can I ask you a personal question?"

"Shoot."

"Do you have a girlfriend or someone back home?" James asked, sitting on the cold ground as he stared at Booth.

Booth put down the binoculars and shook his head, "No, why do you ask, Corporal?"

James shrugged, his eyes meeting Booth's. "Just wondering if you are experienced with this long-distance thing."

Booth hummed, "Got someone special back at home?"

James cracked a smile, "Yeah, she's.. She's a really special one. Sends me bi-weekly letters and photos."

Booth's stance relaxed, his shoulders slumping. "It sounds like she's handling it well, isn't she?"

James bit his bottom lip, "I know it's hard for her, but she's strong. Stronger than me, even, but don't tell her I told you that."

Booth couldn't help but smile in amusement, "Uh-huh."

James chuckled and let his head fall, now looking at his hands. "I just don't want her to keep her hopes up, maybe I won't make it out of here in one piece."

Booth frowned but he quickly regained a neutral facial expression. "What makes you think that you won't?"

James gave him a bitter smile and he took a deep breath. "My grandpa died in Vietnam, my dad died in the gulf war. I'm next, sir, it's inevitable."

Booth stared at him as he processed the words James had just uttered.

It made sense — a generational curse of sorts. But Booth couldn't just agree with that, especially not in front of a kid with such a bright future ahead of himself. Whether it was going to be a short bright future, or a long one.

"Why did you join the army? To fulfill what you think is your destiny?" Booth suddenly said after a bit of thinking.

James seemed stunned, a faraway look appearing in his eyes as if he were thinking about it very seriously.

"I guess I always felt like it was meant to be for me to come here and... get the job done."

"But did you want to do that or did you just feel like you had to?"

James bit the inside of his cheek as his eyes darted back to Booth's face.

"I don't know."

"Well, it's time for you to figure it out, Carter. Wouldn't want you backing out right before a mission." Booth said, his voice carefully devoid of any warmth.

James smiled a bit, "Will do, Sarge.." His words trailed off as he stood up.

"Good, now grab these and pay attention to our surroundings. All this talk could get us killed faster than you can think to speak again." Booth threw the binoculars in James' direction.

As James caught them and walked back to the parapet, Booth let out a sigh of relief, which didn't go unnoticed by James, although he decided to ignore it for now.

They remained in silence once more as James looked at their surroundings through the binoculars, making sure nothing was going on that they wouldn't already been aware of.

A few minutes passed, making the silence become more and more uncomfortable for the both of them.

They had never interacted for more than a few minutes in the past — now they had to spend hours guarding their territory.

Booth's gaze fell on James, his mind drifting to Teddy instead, but he shook his head as a way of sending the thought back to where it had come from.

"Let's play 'I spy', Sarge."

James's words jolted Booth right out of his own mind.

Booth scoffed, "We're meant to be vigilant, Corporal. To be alert at all times." He said in a firm tone. "We don't have time for childish things like that."

James straightened his back after he set down the binoculars. "What else are we going to do in the meantime? There's no lunatics trying to attack us just yet."

Booth's gaze drifted to the dark night sky and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Fine. You start."

"I spy with my little eye something that starts with G." James began.

Booth glanced at him before beginning to look around the watchtower. "Is it a glove?"

James shook his head, his eyes settling on Booth's face, with a clearly amused look in his eyes. "Try again."

After a bit more of looking around and considering every item that was close to them, Booth spoke again.

"Is it grass?"

"Bingo, your turn, Sergeant." James grinned as Booth rolled his eyes.

"How convenient of you to choose something like that..." Booth rubbed the bridge of his nose.

James shrugged, "Seemed pretty logical to me, Sarge."

"Whatever. I spy with my eye—"

"With my little eye." James corrected him.

Booth shot him a death glare before he continued speaking. "Something that starts with B."

James's eyes lit up. "Oh, easy! Boat!"

Booth frowned, looking around at their surroundings. "Where on earth did you see a boat?"

"Ball? Balloon? Bell?"

"Hold on, Carter, that's not how you play this game."

"Hey, I don't know what you see, Sarge. Maybe you thought you saw a balloon but it was actually a bird. Oh, bird!"

Booth began rubbing his temples. "It is none of those things..." He muttered.

James finally began looking around at the sight of the exasperated sergeant. "Binoculars?"

Booth looked up at the ceiling briefly before looking back at James. "No, try again." He sighed.

"Uh, backpack?"

"Yeah, finally. Do you really want to keep playing?"

"Yeah, it's fun! Don't chicken out, Sarge. What, are you scared you'll lose?"

Booth rolled his eyes and walked to James, grabbing the binoculars that he had set away earlier. "I'm not scared of anything."

James smirked at Booth's words, watching as Booth took a few steps back, now looking around through the binoculars.

"What do you think about Teddy, sir?"

The words rang through Booth's mind, and he immediately looked over at Booth. "What kind of question is that, Corporal?"

"Just wondering, Sarge. You two seem really close." James remarked casually, his smirk not leaving his face as he uttered the words that Booth dreaded hearing nowadays.

Booth shook his head in disbelief. "What are you trying to get me to say, Carter?" He questioned.

James' eyebrows shot up in fake surprise. "Oh, nothing, Sarge. Why would you say that?"

Booth sighed and set down the binoculars. "Focus on our task, Carter. I don't have time for fooling around."

"I was making small talk, Sarge, what's the harm in any of that?"

"You're trying to get me to say something, aren't ya?" Booth asked back, suspicious for, as he thought, very obvious and understandable reasons.

James shrugged, "Just answer, sir, and we can move on after. I won't bother you anymore."

"He's alright. That's about it."

"Oh, come on—"

"That's about it." Booth repeated himself immediately, too tired to be interrogated about

Teddy, by Teddy's friend, while only being able to think about Teddy.

He wanted Teddy here, not his friend. But he had to make do, and if he was doomed to spending time with James, then it was going to be on his terms.

"Okay, okay! I get it!" James raised his arms in surrender and took a few steps back.

"This is going to be a long night." Booth muttered under his breath as he looked through the binoculars once more at his surroundings.

And it was, indeed, a long night. Longer than the nights he had spent with Teddy — chatting away, talking about the people they left behind at home, Booth having to be sure Teddy didn't cut himself with his switchblade again, Teddy looking through Booth's camera to see what new photos he had taken.

James wasn't as annoying as Booth felt he was. However, he wasn't Teddy, which seemed to add up to his already-imagined annoyance.

When morning came and James had returned to his room, he found Teddy already there, getting ready to take a long and well-deserved nap.

"Good morning."

"Goodnight."

James let out a chuckle and walked up to the bunk bed after closing the door behind himself.

"Sarge misses you."

"Stop messing with me." Teddy laid down on his back on his mattress, letting out a groan.

James' eyebrows raised. "I'm serious," He couldn't help himself from smiling ever so slightly. "I think you have him wrapped around your little finger."

"James, go to bed."

James chuckled, shrugging. "Fine, don't listen to me. But he was annoyed all night and I think we both know why."

"No, we don't. Now go take a shower, you smell like dirt, did you roll in it?"

"You're so funny, maybe you should go check if they are hiring at the circus." Teddy said as he turned his back to his roommate.

James crossed his arms, "Well god damn, you're in a worse mood than in which I left you."

Teddy didn't respond, just shut his eyes and kept his back towards his comrade.

"Did Sergeant Clark say anything or what?"

Teddy sighed in surrender, "I'm just tired, dude, we can talk later about this whole thing, okay?" He said as he turned his head to look over his shoulder at James.

James stared at him for a bit before nodding, "Alright, get your beauty sleep. I'll go hit the showers."

Teddy nodded and turned his head back, letting it fall back on his pillow.

"Sleep well."

"You smell like car tires."

"Fine, I'm leaving!" James couldn't help but smile again in amusement as he left the room.

With Teddy now all alone in the room, most likely cursing James out for being such a nosey asshole and trying to matchmake him and Booth, Corporal Carter made his way to the showers, with his mind lost in his own thoughts.

"So, how was guard duty with Carter? Forced you to play 'I spy'?"

"Didn't know that was a common experience. He's just a kid."

James' eyebrows raised and he stopped dead in his tracks, listening in to the conversation.

"Could say the same about Parker, but you seem to have a knack for him."

"I'm in charge of his training, man, of course I care."

"Won't argue with that, you always did care too much about other soldiers. You should calm down a little."

"We're in the army, there's no room for calming down, Clark."

"You should do what David does, you know?"

"What? Play poker until I lose even my dog tags to it? I'm good, for now at least."

"What a pessimist, I meant you should relax and live a little."

"Relax? David relaxes? He almost got my corporal in trouble for a simple cut on the hand! That man is as stiff as a board, it's like he has a carrot up his ass."

"Really? Never saw him that way.."

"Well, I did. I've been in the same room as him before, and he is a neat freak. He once threw my clothes in the trash because I refused to put them in my locker."

"Maybe you deserved it, man, who knows."

"Or maybe I didn't, and you're just kissing his ass."

A chuckle was heard, coming from Hunter.

"You know I don't like arguing with others, dude, I'm just saying it as I see it." Sergeant Clark's voice echoed in the locker room.

"Yeah, well how you see it is wrong. How 'bout that?"

"I know that now, Einstein. Doesn't take a scholar to understand what you're talking about."

Then there was silence and some shuffling, which James assumed was the two Sergeants getting dressed.

He felt weird for having listened in to their conversation, but it was too good of an opportunity to not take it — getting to listen to two, usually closed off, sergeants was the equivalent of a pile of gifts on Christmas. Too good not to enjoy.

"What are we waiting here for?"

James immediately slammed his hand over Teddy's mouth, turning to him. "Quiet!" He whisper-yelled at him.

Teddy's eyebrows furrowed as he looked back at his friend.

"Just listen." James whispered, setting down his hand slowly and turning back to the semi-open door that led to the showers.

It was silence for a bit before a voice from inside the showers' locker room was heard again, well, Booth's voice. It was hard to mistake for anyone else's.

"You going to sleep?"

"Yeah, I'm so done."

"Do you want something to eat first?"

"What, do you have like a buffet in your pocket?"

"What? No, I have a granola bar in my backpack. You look like you could use some fuel."

"I could use some sleep, not your expired granola bars, which, by the way, why do you even carry them? Does Parker need a snack once in a while?"

"Why does everyone think I only do stuff for Corporal Parker?"

Teddy's and James' eyebrows shot up in surprise, in unison. They exchanged a glance, before looking back at the door.

"Maybe because you two hang out more hours than you sleep? Or maybe it's because you only talk about him? Teddy this, Teddy that, Teddy did this, Teddy likes that. We all get it, you're friends, but maybe relax a bit."

"Okay, want me to start bringing up what I caught you doing last month, at 3 AM, Friday night, in your room, or will you stop whining and complaining about the fact that I have friends?"

There was silence for a bit before a groan was heard from Hunter.

"Okay, fine. But just calm down a little, he's not going anywhere if you don't mention him a while."

"Whatever, I am going to bed."

"Don't let the bed bugs bite, or corporals for that matter of fact."

Teddy and James frowned at the same time and Teddy walked away from his friend and to the door, stepping in casually and interrupting the two's exchange.

Sergeant Carter and Sergeant Booth both looked at him, clearly not having expected his sudden appearance.

"Corporal Parker," Booth cleared his throat.

Teddy spared Booth a glance before glancing at Clark. "Sergeant Clark." He said, before walking up to his own locker.

"I am just looking for one of my shirts." Teddy said casually as he rummaged through his locker.

Hunter and Booth shared a look before they both looked back at Teddy.

"Well, I'm out of here, man. Goodnight, Booth." Sergeant Clark made his way out of the locker room, meeting face-to-face with James.

Hunter looked James up and down with a small smile, "Corporal Carter, off to a shower?" He questioned, slightly amused.

James gave him a sheepish smile, "You know it, Sarge."

"Well, I won't stop you. Carry on." Hunter stepped aside, allowing James to go into the locker room and, hopefully, shower once and for all. Teddy sometimes called him 'allergic to water', and it wasn't without reason.

James gave him a small nod before walking inside the locker room. "Sarge, hello."

Booth glanced at James before shutting his locker. He made his way out of the locker room, right past Corporal James Carter.

Teddy looked past Booth and bit the inside of his cheek, now lost in his own thoughts about, most likely, Booth.

"You alright?" James closed the door to the locker room and walked up to his own locker.

"Yeah, why?" Teddy glanced at him as he shut closed his locker. "Can't find this shirt but I'm fine, James."

James nodded, giving him a shrug. "I thought you were too tired to get out of bed."

"I wanted to wear another shirt, but I don't fucking know where it is, okay?"

"Calm down, man. I am not accusing you of anything, just asking if you were tired or not."

Teddy let out a sigh and nodded, "I am, just.. wanted this shirt. I'll find it later."

James took out a shirt from his locker and threw it in Teddy's direction, right in his face. "Here you go, grumpy."

Teddy grunted and pulled the shirt off his face. "When did you take this from me?"

"I found it on your bed a month ago and decided to hide it and see how long it takes you to find out its gone." James gave him a grin before taking off his own shirt.

Teddy shook his head in disbelief and walked to the closed door. "See you later."

"Sleep well, you bear."

Teddy stepped outside of the locker room, closing the door behind himself. He was now facing an empty hallway, as always.

The thought of accidentally going up the stairs and going to Booth's room crossed his mind, but he was both too tired to do that and too upset to go and face Booth after all the conversations he'd had in the past 48 hours.

He went back to his shared room, taking in the sight of its emptiness as he walked across the room to reach his bunk bed. He threw his shoes next to it and plopped himself on the bed, throwing the shirt at his feet.

"Dammit." Teddy shifted in bed, turning his back to anything but the wall. He covered himself with the blankets, shielding his body from any intruders or danger — even if he knew there were none at all. At most maybe a mosquito, but god forbid. Maybe it'll get shot if it gets near him.

But until then, Teddy simply fell asleep, his thoughts had long drifted away from today's events and slipped instead into the realm of dreams.

The day passed relatively quickly, even after Teddy had woken up from his nap and reconciled with the fact that James had kidnapped his shirt for a whole month straight. Perhaps, the worst thing about it all was that he hadn't even noticed that it went missing.

It was around evening when Teddy decided to 'publicly' forgive James — while publicly means 'an audience of 3 or more people' to Teddy, apparently. Or maybe conveniently. Those 3 people were his roommates.

However, right after James' improvised apology, the four soldiers went on their ways to spend their precious free time, preferably without each other for now.

And so, Teddy was left all alone in the room, once more. No James, no other roommates, no banter, no throwing around a paper ball, no Booth, nothing — just him, himself, and his thoughts.

Until the door swung open and in walked Sergeant David, looking slightly disheveled.

"Parker, are you on for poker?"

Teddy's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Sergeant, I.. uh, I don't know." He immediately straightened up.

"Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me. Alright?"

Teddy nodded briefly, his teeth already holding tightly the skin inside of his cheek. He didn't really want to go to poker — not because he was worried he'd lose, he really didn't care about that, but because he didn't want to see Booth at that moment.

The mere chance that Sergeant Booth could be there, with the possibility of them interacting and having to play together, was enough to make him not want to go there at all.

Right as David was about to leave, he turned back to Teddy. "None of my business, but Sergeant Booth has been asking Carter about you this evening. Know anything about this?"

Teddy swallowed hard and glanced down before looking back at the Sergeant who stood in the doorway. "Nothing, sir."

David chuckled, "Seeley has always been a bit funny to deal with, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"I know nothing about his questions." Teddy snapped, instantly regretting doing so. He wasn't mad at Sergeant David, simply irritated by his words.

David couldn't help but smile in amusement, "No need to get defensive, I know he's annoying but sometimes you just have to kiss people's asses to get somewhere, don't you?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I am not trying to kiss his ass, sir."

"Then what are you doing?"

Teddy took a deep breath and walked up to David, "With all due respect, I don't know what you want from me, sir. So, if you don't mind, I would like for you to leave now." He faced David with a small, triumphant smile.

David's eyebrows raised in surprise and he nodded a few times, "I'm not suspicious of you, Teddy," He clarified. "I hope I'm making that clear."

Teddy took a step back, setting his hands behind himself. "You are not, with all due respect, Sergeant." He responded calmly.

David clicked his tongue and nodded again, "No need to be so formal right now." He muttered. Teddy gave him a small nod, and David resumed talking after the confirmation.

"Booth is acting like a madman because you were being... let me remember. Weird, this morning?"

Teddy swallowed hard and looked down at his feet, kicking at the empty air. "I wasn't being weird, so I don't know what he means, sir." He muttered with gritted teeth.

David shrugged, watching Teddy's shoulders become tense as he spoke.

The two remained in silence for a bit before David chuckled, which made Teddy look back at him.

David cleared his throat, "Want me to let him know you're here?"

Teddy coughed briefly before nodding, "Up to you, sir, it's not like it makes a difference what I say, right?"

David smirked and shrugged, "It usually would, Parker. But now, I guess I have to stand by Booth and let him know."

Teddy chuckled and shook his head in disbelief, making his way back to his bunk bed. "I should be expecting him then?"

"Definitely, and just so you know — He's acting like a pigeon on meth. He's just worried though, I guess, it's really not something to lose sleep over."

Odd comparison. Is it really that bad? Doubt it.

Teddy simply nodded and sat down on his mattress, watching as Sergeant David walked away, leaving the door open.

And now began the doubts — what was he going to tell Booth? What were they going to talk about? Should he bring up the entirety of his worries, everything James had said, what he'd heard others whisper about him, about Booth, and about the two of them at once?

Was Booth going to shoot down every one of his worries? Was he going to insult him for letting any of this happen? His thoughts were already spiraling into more and more — something he didn't even know how to control anymore. The last few days had only intensified his every emotion and he had long lost the ability to understand as to why this was.

"Parker."

Booth's voice brought his mind back to reality, and he looked up to see Booth standing in the doorway. It felt surreal, much to Teddy's surprise. He had spent so much time worrying and stressing, and yet Booth was the same as always.

The same as he had always been — tall, roughened up, and stressed out about most things.

"Sarge." Teddy gave him a small nod, holding eye contact with him.

Booth closed the door behind him as he stepped into the room. He cleared his throat, keeping his eyes on Teddy "How are you doing?"

Teddy stared at him for a little longer in silence before nodding, "I'm fine." He responded, feeling his throat become dry as he spoke.

Booth made his way to Teddy's bunk bed and sat down next to him without any other word. Teddy shifted away from him as soon as he sat down, refusing to let their bodies touch even a bit.

Booth glanced at him before looking down at his hands, "Is everything okay?" He eventually asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be okay?" Teddy frowned, seemingly surprised at being asked such a question, as if he hadn't been avoiding this very conversation.

Booth hummed and nodded, "You're acting like something is going on, Corporal." He finally looked back at Teddy, taking in his features once more.

Blue eyes, usually so bright that Booth would have to look away because they would shine his own eyes away, slightly overgrown blond hair which seemed messier than usual — if that was even possible — and the slight fuzz of hair that rested on his chin, it looked just perfect on him.

It was usually too much to handle all at once, but he had to stay focused on the actual issue, and not on Teddy's appearance.

"I am not acting in any way, sir." Teddy defended himself immediately, not daring to be accused of such a heinous (not really) crime. The crime of being upset or bothered, Teddy was definitely guilty, but you can't prove a crime that is only felt.

Booth took a deep breath and reached to touch Teddy's shoulder, in an attempt to ground both himself and Teddy, but Teddy grabbed his wrist and set down his hand, against the mattress.

"I said I'm fine, sir. No need to coddle me."

Booth's eyebrows shot up in surprise before he scoffed, "So you think I am trying to coddle you? Oh, lord, forgive me for wanting to know what's happening to one of my soldiers! Won't happen again, then."

Teddy gritted his teeth in an attempt to silence his thoughts and the words that he wanted to yell right in Booth's face, and yet it was pointless.

"Do you care about anyone but yourself?"

Booth kept his eyes on Teddy as his eyebrows furrowed, "Excuse me?"

"I said, do you care about anyone but yourself, Sarge?"

"Are you kidding me?" Booth stood up in an instant, raising his voice.

Teddy stood up immediately after, facing Booth. "I said what I said, Sarge." He declared, "Do you fucking care about others or do you act like you do because them being upset affects their performance?"

Booth scoffed in disbelief, taking a step back. "How can you believe that when you have been in my room, on my bed, eating with me from my food, telling me about your goddamn ex girlfriend, of course I care!"

Teddy let out a scoff, before he bit the inside of his cheek and looked away, trying to find his next words.

"Is this even about me caring about you or not, Parker? You've been acting this way all day long." Booth asked, keeping his eyes on Teddy's face. His tone had returned to its earlier softness and gentleness, as if trying to pry a candy out from a kid's hand.

Teddy gritted his teeth as he faced Booth again, "What else would it be about?" He raised his voice back, it cracking in the process ever so slightly. Fuck.

Booth couldn't help but chuckle at Teddy's voice crack, taking a deep breath afterward. "You tell me, Corporal. Did someone do something or say something to you?"

Teddy's mind immediately flashed to the conversations he'd had with James, to what he'd overheard Sergeant Clark saying to Booth, to his every stare and every glance at Booth. How could he bring up such a thing? In the army especially.

What had he just gotten himself into?

"Teddy?"

"No one said anything, can we let this go?"

Booth took a few steps forward, running his hands through Teddy's slightly overgrown hair. "Are you sure you want to do that, kid?" He questioned.

Teddy swallowed hard, now staring intensely at Booth's rugged face. It was almost too good to be true. Almost.

"Teddy?"

"People are talking, Sarge." Teddy admitted through gritted teeth, "And you know what they're saying."

Booth raised an eyebrow, running his hands through Teddy's hair once more, "What are they saying, kid? I've heard nothing so far."

Teddy scoffed but didn't move away in the slightest. "I heard what Sergeant Clark said, sir, you have heard it too. James keeps mocking me for spending time with you, and everyone else stares when we are together."

Booth stared at Teddy as he processed such words before he stepped back and nodded, "You're right." He admitted.

Teddy swallowed hard, "I am?" He almost stuttered his words.

"Yeah, I am sorry for.. letting this happen." Booth bit the inside of his cheek, "Maybe we need to stop this."

"What do you mean by 'this', Sarge?" Teddy was almost fearful to ask such a thing — he didn't really want to know if he was being honest. He wanted to live in pure, blissful oblivion.

The same oblivion that could get both of them in trouble, but it would make everything, oh, so worth it.

Booth looked away from Teddy's face while nodding to himself, "Maybe we got too close, I don't think we're allowed to be this close, kid. You never know who is watching."

"Difference of rank, Sarge, I get it.." Teddy bit the inside of his cheek. Booth simply nodded in agreement, not wanting to say it himself.

"So this is it?"

"Yeah, I think so, Teddy."

And so, they stood in silence, the weight of this decision now filling the atmosphere of the room.

Teddy eventually cleared his throat, his eyes going down, "So, uh, no more hanging out in your room?" He asked in a neutral tone of voice, trying to lighten up the situation.

Booth cracked a smile and shrugged, "Don't think so, Parker." He said softly, leaning slightly closer to Teddy.

Teddy nodded slowly, "I'll see you during guard duty, Sarge."

"Yeah, or maybe game night. Want to go play poker right now?"

"I'm fine, sir." Teddy bit the inside of his cheek, his eyes stuck on Booth's face.

It was hard to believe that, soon, he wouldn't see this face up close every breakfast, every lunch, every training, every dinner, every poker or card game.

Booth hummed, "Well, I will get going then.." He muttered, taking a few steps back once more. Teddy nodded in agreement, sitting down on his bed again.

The two stared at each other for a moment longer than needed, before Booth turned around and made his way to the door. He stepped right outside and shut the door behind himself.

Teddy stared at the closed door, his mind constantly attempting to materialize Booth in the doorway again — but it was pointless. No amount of imagination could make the sergeant reappear in his room, and no amount of mental begging could make him return.

He laid back on his bed, hugging his blanket. The silence enveloped him, along with the deep feelings of guilt and regret.

"Maybe if I hadn't said anything," Teddy muttered, bringing the blanket close to his face. "God dammit."

As the minutes went by, the light from the sky slowly faded away from the room's windows, giving way to the darkness, which brought with itself an eerie silence. It was all too much, even for Teddy.

With the darkness, also came the need to just stay in bed the rest of the day, or evening. And Teddy gave in, not moving from his bed unless absolutely necessary. He fell asleep on and off, letting his body and mind process another set of heavy and recent events.

In one of those moments, right as he was waking up, Teddy noticed James and Carlos standing on the other side of the room, too engrossed in their conversation to even notice Teddy was taking small steps towards waking up.

Everything was unfocused and blurry for Teddy — even his hearing felt muffled and the words coming out of James' and Carlos' mouths sounded like pure gibberish.

Teddy groaned in confusion, "What the fuck.." He rubbed his eyes as if that would help him hear his roommates better, although it would indeed help him to see better. He blinked a few times after, lifting his head from the pillow, and looked back at his roommates, who were now looking back at him with amused looks.

"Well, good morning, sleepyhead." James chuckled, crossing his arms. Teddy groaned and let his head fall back on the pillow.

"What were you guys talking about earlier..?" Teddy mumbled. James walked closer to him, "What'd you say?" He questioned, leaning down to him.

"Fuck you, I asked what you guys were talking about.." Teddy coughed right in James' face, his body feeling heavy with every shift and move.

James shook his head, "We were talking about the poker game, Sergeant Asthon won once again." He chuckled.

"Who would've expected that, right?" Carlos remarked, exaggerating his accent for comedic effect.

James snorted in amusement and made his way back to Carlos' side. "Don't you have guard duty in an hour?"

Carlos nodded towards his prepared backpack. "Yeah, I already have everything ready."

James glanced at Carlos' backpack and nodded, "Where are you going again?"

"Ugh.." Teddy turned his back to his friends, drowning out their voices with his thoughts — thoughts that were, more than obviously, filled with the entire day's events. From his guard duty with Sergeant Clark to his talk with Booth and all the way to this very moment, this every second, even his manual breathing.

"Honestly I forgot to check.." Carlos clicked his tongue, raising his eyebrows in surprise at his own mistake.

James covered his face with his hands and walked to his shared bunk bed, "Great." He said, his words slightly muffled by his mouth being covered.

Carlos couldn't help but chuckle at such a thing, giving James a shrug even if he wasn't looking at him.

"I'm going to bed, man. Good luck with guard duty." James repeated himself, throwing his shoes next to the bed, before climbing the ladder that led to the top bunk and throwing himself on the mattress.

"How supportive." Carlos chuckled, watching James get comfortable in bed.

James flashed him a grin before laughing and letting his head fall on the pillow. He was exhausted still, that was no lie.

Teddy shifted in bed, turning to lay on his back as he let out a big, dramatic sigh. Carlos raised an eyebrow and walked up to Teddy's and James' shared bunk bed.

"Are you getting sick?" Carlos questioned, leaning down and pressing the back of his palm on Teddy's forehead.

"Sick of you." Teddy frowned and coughed again, slapping away Carlos' hand. Carlos frowned and shook his head, "What's gotten into you?"

Teddy contemplated Carlos' words for a bit before sitting up, "Sorry, I am just in a bad mood." He admitted reluctantly, almost wanting to regret doing it.

Carlos nodded, giving him a small smile. "You can join me for guard duty.. if it helps you out." He suggested, which made Teddy chuckle.

"I think I will stick to my comfortable bed, and my blanket, and my pillow, you know?" Teddy joked, his mood lightening with every word he uttered.

Carlos rolled his eyes playfully, "Cowards, cowards." He scoffed lightly, walking to his bunk bed.

Teddy couldn't help but smile at Carlos' words — he'd missed feeling like he fit in with others; like he wasn't an outsider to everything but Booth's business. Maybe this was all he needed, maybe this was meant to occur and meant to happen as it did.

Maybe, just maybe, he would be okay.

Or, maybe not.

The days passed, turning into weeks, and it was already mid-October — Not that much colder than last month, to be honest, what's the point in giving these months names if so many are the exact same?

In the days that had slipped right past the military base, some new recruits had joined them — having transferred from a different base — with some now being under Booth's watchful eye, as he'd been occupying even his free time with tasks and work. At least, since he'd stopped hanging out one-on-one with Teddy.

On one of those chilly mornings, right after training, Teddy found himself in the mess hall with his three roommates and two of the new recruits, Specialist Robert Brown, and Specialist Tyler Connor, who had been joining their group at meal times, and occasionally on game nights.

As Teddy chewed from the pieces of egg and bacon he'd just put in his mouth, he listened to the others' conversation, which was not as intense as one would imagine.

"I heard Sergeant Ashton lost at poker last night." Carlos said, setting his fork and knife down for a brief moment.

Josh's eyebrows raised at the piece of gossip, but he continued chewing on his food in silence, mirroring unintentionally Teddy's actions.

"Really? Who beat him?" James questioned, cracking his knuckles as he spoke.

Carlos couldn't help but smirk, "Heard it was a newbie, had never played poker before and managed to beat him to a pulp... no offense guys."

"None taken, I also don't really know how to play poker." Tyler waved his hand dismissively before picking up with his fork already-cut-up pieces of egg and bacon.

"It's not that interesting, don't worry about it." James chuckled, leaning closer to Teddy as if to whisper something to him, but the only thing he did was grab with his own fork a piece of cut-up bacon from Teddy's plate.

Teddy looked at James in pure disbelief as he ate the piece of bacon, which only made their friends begin laughing in unison.

As Teddy was about to comment on the stolen food, he noticed Booth across the mess hall, at a table with his back turned to his and his friends' table. He was engrossed in a conversation with, seemingly, one of the corporals that had transferred over to this base — or at least that's what Teddy assumed as he couldn't recognize him or pinpoint who he was even if his life depended on it.

While the guys busied themselves up with some more army gossip and banter, Teddy's plate was left untouched for a bit as he simply observed Booth and the new corporal who seemed to be way too talkative for either of the two's well-being.

His jaw clenched as he watched Booth laugh at one of the corporal's jokes, and he gripped the fork that he still held in his hand.

Eventually, Teddy's jolted back to reality when James nudged him with his shoulder. "Eat up, man, you'll need the energy for tonight's card games." He joked, a glint of mischief shining from his eyes.

Teddy coughed briefly and nodded, reluctantly taking his eyes off Booth and the other man just so he could continue eating his breakfast.

By then, he'd already lost his appetite, but he had been raised in a no-nonsense household, where food was not allowed to be wasted, so he ate up the rest of his breakfast without complaints.

When he finished his meal, he looked up and back at Booth and the corporal, however the table was already empty. Teddy cursed himself in his mind and he sighed, looking around at his friends who were still talking to each other.

He let out a small sigh, looking back down at his empty plate in silence.

Although he was surrounded by chatter and casual gossip, he could only think about Booth and about what he could've been up to in the past few weeks.

Was he doing well? Was he eating well? Was his room too warm, too cold? Was he happy with his friends? Was he getting close to that new corporal? Was the guy funny and nice, or was he mean and serious?

Teddy hoped for the latter. Booth doesn't like mean people.

A small mischievous smile appeared on his lips at the mere thought and he looked back at his friends, pretending to have listened to their conversation for the past few minutes.

Teddy found himself in a similar situation just a few hours later — he was just outside the barracks with James and Carlos, checking out a stray cat that had somehow ventured on base and was completely melting the two's hearts.. and brains.

Josh was standing a few feet away from the three, refusing to get near the cat thanks to his allergy to them, which only seemed to make the cat want to get closer to him.

As Teddy leaned down to pet the cat, he lifted his head briefly and noticed Booth near the mess hall, speaking to the corporal from that morning. His jaw clenched and he stood back up straight, his intentions to pet the clingy cat fading away as quick as his smile.

Teddy watched Booth cross his arms as the corporal gestured animately while explaining something to him. Teddy's intense staring made the other three man look at him expectantly before they looked over at Booth, all sharing the same curiosity regarding what could be so interesting for Teddy to ignore a cat.

"Do any of you know who that guy is?" Teddy questioned them as soon as he noticed that they were all looking at the two men.

Josh shrugged, looking over at Teddy. "I don't know, I'm not a psychic, honestly."

Carlos looked at Josh up and down before he shook his head, "I wouldn't even mistake you for one, don't worry, man. It takes more intelligence than what you have to even open a door." He remarked with a monotone voice.

James snorted in amusement, covering his face with his hands in an attempt to not burst out laughing there and then and perhaps scare the cat away.

Teddy gritted his teeth as he watched the corporal place a hand on Booth's shoulder and seemingly tell him a joke, which made the corners of Booth's lips turn upwards in an attempt at smiling.

"So, why are you so interested in that guy?" Carlos asked after clicking his tongue.

"I'm not," Teddy scoffed, "But I've never seen him before and I was just wondering."

James raised an eyebrow as he looked at Teddy and back at Booth, rubbing his hands on his pants. "Also, you haven't hung out with Sergeant Booth in a while now, what's going on about that?"

Teddy glared at him, "Nothing, we're just both busy." He bit the inside of his cheek.

"Right," Josh nodded in agreement while sharing a knowing look with Carlos. "And your occupation in the past few weeks has been what, exactly?"

Teddy glanced at him before looking back at Booth and the nameless corporal.

"I've been writing letters."

"To who, exactly?"

"My parents, Claire..." Teddy's words left a sour taste in his own mouth as if he wasn't meant to be saying such a thing — even though it was completely harmless.

James crossed his arms, "Claire?"

Teddy gave him a small nod, "Claire."

"Why are you talking to your ex?"

"She just keeps sending me letters asking me how to tell my parents that we broke up, so I just sent one to my parents telling them that instead."

James looked down at his feet for a moment before shaking his head, "Did they say anything?"

"Well, no idea, I haven't gotten a response yet. You know it takes at least a week for any letters to come back from my parents."

They all nodded in agreement, acknowledging the truth in Teddy's words before all three of them looked back down at the cat, which had long sat down and simply stared at each of them — depending on who was talking.

James ran his hands through the cat's fur, "It's so cute, I just want to bite its face."

Carlos bent down to pet the cat's head as he chuckled, "Can't deny that, I want to hug it until we both can't handle it anymore."

"I wish I weren't allergic."

"I think the cat wishes that for you too."

Teddy briefly glanced at the cat before he looked back in Booth's direction, refusing to stop staring at the two men — they seemed to be hitting it off great even after just a bit of knowing each other. It made Teddy's blood boil. Why was that guy better than him?

Maybe Booth was playing a game: Let's see how long it takes for Teddy to beat up some innocent guy for simply getting close to me. Or maybe another one: Let's replace Teddy with a carbon copy of his personality. Teddy had no idea about the guy's name, age, personality, favorite foods, nothing. Just his made-up impressions and opinions of him.

Booth playing such games with Teddy's mind? No, that was stupid, it was dumb and irrational — who would do that? Definitely not Booth. Or maybe...?

"Fuck."

And this wasn't the last time Teddy would witness Booth interact with this nameless corporal, especially in the following days, and even just see the corporal without Booth.

In the mess hall, outside the barracks, outside the chapel, in the commissary, talking to Sergeant David, talking to Sergeant Asthon, talking to everyone and anyone. Except for Teddy himself.

It felt like he was going insane — and perhaps he really was, who knew? Definitely not Teddy, let alone anyone else. And his parents' angry letters weren't helping his sanity either.

What was even going on nowadays? It all felt like a fever dream.

One of those days, when it felt like the shadow of that nameless corporal was looming over his own thoughts, Teddy found himself inside the chapel.

This was the last place he wanted to be in, but desperation had pushed him too far, and now, with a breviary on his lap, and his switchblade in his hand for some mindless fidgeting, he was ready to reconnect with himself.

"King of all creation, who have kept me safe to attain to this hour, forgive me for the sins which I have committed this day in thought, word, and deed."

His words echoed through the empty chapel, feeling like salt on open wounds, like acid on his skin, and like poison on his tongue. He had never shied away from a little necessary pain, but this was unlike any other feeling.

"And cleanse, O Lord, my humble soul from every stain of flesh and spirit. Grant me, O Lord, to pass this night in peace, to rise from my bed, and to please Your Holy Name all the days of my life..."

Teddy's words trailed off and he clenched his jaw as he attempted to read the rest with his inside voice, but it was to no avail — it all felt like torture, unlike everything he was taught to believe about religion.

Not even fidgeting with his switchblade helped, and it also felt slightly stressful thanks to the sharpness of the blade. He set the weapon inside his pocket and picked up the breviary with both his hands, lifting it slightly so it no longer was on his lap.

His hands shook ever so slightly underneath the breviary, making him almost drop it in that moment, but nevertheless he tightened his grip on it and carried on.

"And to vanquish the enemies, both corporeal and incorporeal, that contend against me."

Teddy licked his lips before taking a deep breath and leaning his head back, now staring at the ceiling. Nothing on this earth could make him stop hoping for his mind to calm down for once. This was just another attempt at making it forget about Booth and his every issue. Even for just a moment.

"Deliver me, O Lord, from the vain thoughts.. that stain me."

Right.

"and from evil desires."

Teddy swallowed hard and he set the breviary back down on his lap. That was enough for him, that was enough for one day. Right as he did so, a voice was heard from the entrance to the chapel.

"For Yours is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory.."

Teddy's body tensed up and he turned his head to look at the door in almost an instant.

"of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.."

Booth pushed himself off the doorway and made his way to Teddy. Teddy scooched over, leaving space for Booth to sit next to him without saying another word.

The sergeant sat next to him and tilted his head to the side as he stared into Teddy's eyes. "now and ever," He continued, "and unto ages and ages."

Teddy then avoided his gaze.

"Amen." Booth said in a soft tone.

Teddy clenched his jaw and he looked away entirely, refusing to even look at Booth, to even acknowledge that he was there, next to him.

"Since when do you pray?"

"Since when have you been listening to me doing it?"

Teddy turned his head to look into Booth's eyes once more.

"I just got here, Parker."

"Well, I just started, too."

Teddy shut the breviary closed and stood up, gripping it with one hand.

Booth's gaze followed Teddy's movements, and he stood up as well, his height helping him tower slightly over Teddy. "What are you doing?"

"Leaving, Sarge." Teddy made his way right past him, walking away to the door, his footsteps echoing through the chapel.

Booth watched him step out of the chapel and walk away from it, not even sparing him or the building a single glance.

"Teddy Parker.." He crossed his arms and looked away from Teddy's retrieving figure.

Teddy Parker, indeed.

The same Teddy Parker that was now walking back to the barracks and making his way back to his shared room, just for him to throw the breviary on the floor as soon as he stepped inside.

The room was empty, just like the chappel, and yet it was filled with stuff he knew, and yet did not own.

"God dammit." Teddy walked to the breviary and picked it up, throwing it on his bed instead. He stared at it for a good 30 seconds before he picked up the switchblade from his pocket and pushed the button to it, revealing the blade.

As he held the switchblade in his hand, he glanced once more at the breviary, and without a second thought, he threw it at the book, watching as it stabbed its cover.

Teddy let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

As he stared at the stabbed book, he heard the door to his room open, and he rushed to the bunk bed and picked up the switchblade, quickly hiding the blade.

"Teddy," James walked in, closing the door behind himself. "What's up?" He questioned as he made his way to his bunk bed.

Teddy swallowed hard and slipped the switchblade back into his pocket. "Just wanted to get some things."

James nodded mindlessly, keeping his eyes on the bunk bed but occasionally sparing Teddy a glance or two. "Are you on for some poker? We're teaching Tyler and Rob how to play." He asked as he climbed the bunk bed's ladder.

"I'd pay money to see them learn that, of course dude." Teddy couldn't help but chuckle a little, however his shaking hands were betraying his facade of calmness.

James soon climbed down the ladder, "Alright, you coming then?"

"Uh, I will be there in 10 minutes. I need to also go to the bathroom." Teddy made up the lie on the spot, smiling sheepishly to seem more credible.

James chuckled, "Okay, we don't want you pissing your pants during poker. I'll see you in the mess hall." He walked back to the door and soon exited the room.

Teddy's tense shoulders slumped in relief as he sighed, "Oh god." He muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. He did kind of need to use the bathroom though.

After sparing one last glance to the breviary that lay on his bed, he walked to the door and stepped outside. Although he was now over his early breakdown, he didn't know when the next one might come.

Maybe that same night, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week or next month.

He was certain about one thing though — his mind was even more messed over than before, and it was all thanks to none other than Sergeant Seeley Booth.

When Teddy finally stepped outside of the barracks, he made his way to the mess hall with hurried steps, internally hoping that Booth wouldn't be there, and neither did that nameless corporal that kept hanging out around the same sergeant he used to be so close to.

He stepped inside the mess hall and the first thing he saw was his roommates gathered at a table, along with Tyler and Robert. No nameless corporal in sight, no sergeants around, just them six.

Just six guys, playing some poker, no breviary or religion needed, and no worries or issues had to be brought to the table.

Throughout the evening and into the night, Teddy felt himself become more and more relaxed, his mind letting go of any thoughts that had to do with the past few weeks and indulging in the simplicity of a fun and lighthearted game with friends.

But at 2200 (10 PM), when he was in bed, his worries and thoughts returned in full force, only making him unable to sleep further. That was how he had spent the last few nights — sleep-deprived, anxious, and upset.

He thought about... Booth. He thought about him, about his dark hair, his perfect skin, his encouraging words, his actually funny jokes, everything. And yet, he also thought about the way they had semi-parted ways.

Was Booth alright? Was he thinking about him, too? Was he even worried about Teddy or was he as uncaring as he acted lately?

The mere thought of Booth thinking about him as well brought a small smile to his lips — it felt like a balm to his stained and poisoned heart, like a band-aid to his clumsy cuts, and like a kiss on a bruise from random hits.

And yet, deep down, he knew that it wasn't true. Booth was most likely already asleep, unlike him, while definitely not thinking of Teddy, certainly not dreaming about Teddy, and surely not wondering how Teddy was.

The thought however still helped Teddy fall asleep quicker than most nights, and so at around 2210 (10:10 PM), he managed to enter the realm of his every dream and wish.

The days flew right past everyone, including Teddy, especially Teddy. He had been trying to stop caring, to stop worrying himself with such things when he was literally in the army.

This was a serious place, a place that needed his full attention, unlike anything else, unlike Booth.

He had noticed Booth hanging out with a few people in the past couple of days, and as always the nameless corporal — which Teddy had come to nickname in his head 'Paul', after his middle school bully. Teddy had done his very best to not even look at them, but he couldn't lie and say that he wouldn't sneak a peek whenever no one was looking.

He always justified it in his head, human curiosity, is it really them?, just another peek and done. Sure.

And it was yet another day when he had noticed 'Paul' and Sergeant Booth talking to one another in a hushed tone near the barracks. Teddy's eye twitched briefly at the sight but instead of staring and stressing out about it, he went on his way to the clinic.

He felt Booth's eyes fixed on him now, but he didn't turn, and he didn't comment on it. The sergeant's stare could literally burn a hole through the back of his head thanks to how intense it was.

As he reached the clinic, he stepped inside and walked straight to the medical receptionist with a small and, as he hoped, friendly smile.

She looked up from some papers with a curious look, "Mr. Parker, what can I help you with today? It is your third time this week."

Teddy's small smile turned into a sheepish one and he raised his left hand, which had a long cut along the palm. "Surprise." He said with slight amusement.

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise and she shook her head in disbelief, "Corporal Parker, you really are special. I can fix that up myself." She remarked as she opened a drawer and took out elastic bandages as well as Vaseline.

Teddy stepped closer and extended his hand to her above the front desk. She stood up and covered the cut, which was no longer bleeding, with Vaseline, before bandaging his hand all around.

After ripping the bandages and making a knot with the ones on Teddy's hand so they would remain tight around it, she set the items back into the drawer. As her eyes met Teddy's, she put her hands on her hips.

"Be more careful next time, Edward."

"Will try, ma'am, but no promises." Teddy said as he straightened his back, still with a sheepish grin before making his way out of the clinic.

Teddy walked back to the barracks, in the process going right past Booth and 'Paul' once more, and again he could feel Booth's intense stare upon him.

In a moment of pure weakness, as he saw it, he turned his head briefly and his eyes met Booth's before he turned his head back and continued walking without another care in the world.

And, oh, that stare was enough for Booth. He was now struggling, his wants and needs clashing with his obligations as a friend and sergeant — he could go after Teddy and talk to him, or he could listen to his fellow comrade talk about his family and comfort him the best he could.

He knew what he had to do, but he still chose the latter. It was the best course of action, or so he lied to himself.

But even as he listened to his friend, Teddy couldn't leave his mind. His intense and careless look, his blond and shiny hair, his baby blue eyes that always seemed to beg him to do anything he could ever wish for, and those dog tags that always dangled from his neck. Oh, it was too much to handle, even for him.

As realization struck him, he looked at the corporal's face. "Do you ever pray?"

"Uh, yeah, I do. Sarge."

"I think I'm going to go pray... You should come too. It might help with your homesickness."

The corporal stood in silence for a moment before nodding slowly, "Maybe it will. I didn't consider that."

Booth nodded and began walking to the chapel with determined steps, behind him following his new and often-stressed friend.

"Are you Catholic?"

"Jewish, sir."

Booth paused his steps and the corporal stopped right beside him and they looked at each other.

"Really?"

"Well, if I weren't, my parents would have some explaining to do because I was raised that way."

Booth considered Ethan's words before nodding, "Makes sense. Are you okay with going in here or not?" He motioned to the chapel.

Ethan nodded, "I'm open to seeing more of other religions, so yeah."

They resumed their short field trip to the chapel and walked in together. Empty, as it often was, but it always brought Booth a great comfort to even be in there, even if lately it had also been bringing him a sense of unease.

Ethan looked around and gave him a small nod, "Really interesting." He remarked flatly, watching as Booth walked to a pew and sat down, leaving room for Ethan to sit next to him.

Ethan walked to him and sat down, leaning into the seat.

They stood in silence for a few minutes before Booth decided to say something.

"Ashkenazi or.."

"Ashkenazi, sir."

Booth nodded in understanding before going quiet once more, although it was short-lived thanks to himself once more.

"I should've known, your last name is Becker.." Booth cursed himself for not realizing sooner.

Ethan couldn't help but chuckle, "It's fine, Sarge, I don't mind it." He remarked, straightening his back.

Booth gave him a small and sheepish smile, before nodding.

Although they had come in there to pray, or at least Booth had, the last thing he even wanted to do was pray. In that moment he just needed to... talk. Talk and talk about what had been weighing on his heart and mind, but he also did not want to drop all of it on the poor corporal.

So after a few minutes of mindless questions to one another, they left the chapel, each going their separate ways. That's how Booth found himself in front of the door that led to David's room.

He raised his hand to knock before sighing in defeat and opening the door instead. "David, do you have a minute?" He looked up, noticing David lying in bed while reading a magazine.

"Knocking is overrated I guess, but yeah I do." David set down the magazine, watching as Booth closed the door behind himself and walked to the bed. He sat down on the soft mattress, his shoulders slumped.

"So, what's wrong?" David asked as he sat up, now staring at Booth who was sitting on the edge of the bed.

Booth's mouth went dry as he heard that question. What was wrong? Everything was wrong. He felt empty, he missed Teddy, he missed hanging out with him, joking with him, going to game nights with him, touching and occasionally hugging him.

How could he explain that? How could he let himself say such a thing, such a wrong thing?

"Earth to Boooooth." David gently kicked him with his foot, just enough to jolt him out of his own thoughts.

Booth looked over at David, his heart beating fast in his chest — he could feel it in his throat even, which had happened quite rarely regardless.

David frowned, "What's up, dude? I can't read your mind and know what's wrong with you." He remarked, which eased Booth's worries ever so slightly.

"Well—"

"If I could, I'd be a shrink, but I am not, so speak." David added, interrupting Booth.

Booth bit the inside of his cheek and looked away, not wanting to see David's face when he would finally confess to committing such a heinous crime.

"I miss Teddy."

David stared at him, his face slowly giving way to a confused look. "Okay? He's in his room, I think? Go see him...?"

Booth sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "You don't get it, Andy."

"Well, enlighten me, Seeley. I told you I can't read your mind." David scoffed.

Booth shook his head and brought his hands together, looking over at David. "I miss him in ways I shouldn't be missing him." He whispered the last part of his sentence, as if scared that anyone would hear him.

David raised an eyebrow, leaning closer to him. "You miss him in ways that what?"

Booth grunted in frustration and looked down at his hands, "I miss him in other ways." He murmured again.

David frowned, "I can't fucking hear you, speak up or shut up, Seeley."

Booth snapped at that very moment, even though he did not mean to. "I'm gay, Andy! I am fucking gay! I miss Teddy because I am gay, or bisexual, or anything that makes me want him this way!" He yelled as he turned his head in David's direction.

Silence.

Booth immediately regretted the words that left his mouth, although not the snapping at his friend — he felt he deserved it after pushing Booth's buttons so much.

He stood up and covered his face with his hands, taking a few steps away from the bed. David didn't utter a single word, just watched as Booth backed himself into a wall and slowly slid down to the floor, still covering his face with his hands.

Silence still.

An eerie and uncomfortable silence.

A silence that only fueled Booth's stress and worries, his regrets and his thoughts.

It was eventually broken down by David's soft footsteps, who stood up from his bed and walked up to Booth, sitting down on the floor next to him.

And yet the silence returned, but this time it wasn't as uncomfortable — it was almost comforting, perhaps thanks to David not rejecting Booth or shaming him for what he had just done and said.

It was broken once more by David, his voice was soft as he spoke, which was uncommon when he and Booth would speak.

"Are you sure?"

Silence.

"Okay, that was stupid to ask." David nodded to himself, letting his legs fall on the floor and away from being so close to his upper body.

He sighed and leaned his head back, "I'll just...tell you a story instead of asking for now."

David could almost feel Booth's nod, even though the man had his hands still covering his face and his knees close to himself.

"So, uh, I met Diego in military school when he transferred there, from which he left after a year, but we kept in contact. When I met him... I was so dumbfounded. He looked so normal and yet something was different about him, and he had this wide smile with his dimples, and those green eyes... I had never felt this way with any of my ex-girlfriends."

Booth didn't say anything, but David knew he was listening.

"And one day, we were outside while he smoked and I remember him looking at the stars and showing me different constellations, but I can't recall any of them because I was just staring at him the whole time."

A fond smile formed on David's lips as he spoke, and you could almost hear the pure nostalgia he was feeling in his voice.

"He was telling me about star signs and how important they are for connection, and I asked him if we connected at all. I still remember how confused he looked when he was trying to process what I had just asked him, but he said that he hoped so."

Booth set down his hands as he took a deep breath before he looked over at David without breaking his streak of not speaking.

"I learned what my sign was, and what his was, and I made a drawing with them that night. I showed it to him the next evening when we were outside again and... God, it was a terrible drawing." He paused briefly, leaning his head back against the wall once more.

Booth opened his mouth, about to ask for a continuation, but David continued his story just in time.

"And he kissed me, and I felt like I was on cloud nine, dude. I will never forget it..." He mumbled the last part, but Booth heard him loud and clear thanks to being right next to him.

David took a deep breath and looked at Booth, meeting his eyes. "Diego taught me that I don't have to conform to this stupid society — which is ironic because I am in the army, but still." He gave Booth an amused smile.

Booth mirrored his smile and simply nodded. He'd never been this quiet, this silent and patient, it felt weird yet good.

"So, how did you realize?"

Booth took a deep breath and tilted his head to the side, "When he was sleeping in my bed, honestly." He admitted.

David's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "I remember that, what happened then other than that..?"

Booth chuckled, looking away. "Nothing. He just slept like a baby in my bed, against my pillow and mattress..." He trailed off, biting the inside of his cheek.

David frowned, "Just that? And how did you realize then?"

Booth shrugged, "He looked so peaceful and so...nice, he looked so nice and perfect in my bed, it was as if it was made for him specifically. I just wanted him to stay there forever." He admitted further, letting his legs fall, Booth now mirroring David's position.

"That makes sense, I won't blame you for that being your gay awakening." David joked lightly.

Booth scoffed and shook his head, "Sure, sure." He looked over at his shoes before glancing at David's socks-covered feet.

"Why are you wearing mismatched socks?"

"Why are you wearing matching socks?"

Booth considered David's words for a moment before nodding. "True. I don't know." He frowned.

"Society, man, society." David let out a long and dramatic sigh. Booth hummed, "Society..."

"What are you going to do about Teddy?"

"What?"

"I asked what are you going to do about Tedd—"

"I heard you the first time, but what do you mean by that? What am I meant to do?"

David chuckled, "Well, are you going to tell him or what?"

Booth's eyes widened and he looked horrified in an instant, "God no, I haven't gone nuts just yet, Andy."

David shook his head in disbelief and crossed his arms, "Coward."

"Stop doing that, I am not a coward."

"Give me one good reason as to why you're not telling Teddy how you feel?"

"Because he doesn't feel the same, and I also just came out to you as a queer, I am not ready to tell anyone else, let alone him."

David shook his head once more, "How do you know he doesn't feel the same?" He looked over at Booth, to which Booth looked back at him and their eyes met.

"He just isn't, it's obvious." Booth remarked, his shoulders slumping once more.

David rolled his eyes and looked back at his socks, "Sure, I also thought it was completely platonic when Diego blew smoke into my mouth while we were hanging out. Mind you, before he even kissed me."

Booth snorted in amusement, "Were you being intentionally dense or what?"

"No, I was in denial, but you are the one who is being dense right now."

"How am I being dense?"

"Teddy could literally ask you to make out with him and you would still believe he isn't into you, for god's sake." David scoffed.

Booth frowned, "But he'd never do that in the first place."

"Whatever, lie to yourself. But don't come crying to me when he expects you to kiss him and you give him a side hug or something, got it?" David said as he looked at Booth, watching as he opened his mouth to comment.

"You might like men, but you are just as stupid as every straight man that I know." David added immediately after, effectively cutting off any comments that Booth wanted to make.

Booth opened his mouth once again to comment before he closed it and burst out into a quiet laughter.

A small smile appeared on David's lips and he shook his head.

After Booth's laughter died down, they remained in silence for a while again before Booth finally spoke.

"Did you know Corporal Becker is Jewish?"

David looked at him and nodded, slightly confused. "Yeah, I did."

"Why didn't I know?" Booth questioned, looking back at David.

"It took you two years to realize that I was Jewish, too." David chuckled, tilting his head to the side.

Booth nodded slowly, "I really need to learn more about it. Is Diego okay with it?"

"Yeah, we mix our holidays together, it's nice."

"That sounds nice. We have boring holidays, well, without Christmas. Christmas is alright."

David nodded in silence before eventually standing up and cracking his knuckles. "You have to tell him, Booth."

Booth looked up at him with a confused expression. "Tell who?"

"Teddy."

"Tell him that you're Jewish?" Booth frowned. "I think he knows."

"No, tell him that you're moving to Florida." David said with a straight face.

Booth frowned once more, not taking his eyes off David's face as he processed his words.

"Obviously I'm telling you to tell him that you're in love with him!"

"I much rather let you shoot me than do that, honestly." Booth scoffed, standing up.

David's eyebrows raised in interest, "Really? Interesting. It would make you shut up more often."

Booth rolled his eyes, "I am not letting you shoot me whenever you think I should shut up."

"Sucks, oh well, then you have to tell Teddy that you are in love with him." David said as he walked back to his bed and sat down on the mattress.

"I am not doing that.." Booth bit his bottom lip briefly, glancing at David. "At least not yet." He muttered.

David's eyebrows raised again before he laughed slightly, "So you will do that one day?" He asked for clarification.

"I... will consider it, but not necessarily do it." Booth said before grunting and crossing his arms over his chest.

David laid back down on his bed and picked up his magazine, "Are you done now?" He asked in a no-longer interested tone of voice.

Booth looked at him once more before nodding. "Yeah, I'm done." He walked over to the door and reached for the doorknob.

"Hey, by the way."

Booth turned his head in David's direction while holding the doorknob. "Yeah?"

"Hunter owes me 30 bucks." David gave him a smirk before looking back into his magazine.

Booth frowned and let go of the doorknob, turning his whole body towards David. "Did you guys bet on me liking Teddy or liking guys?"

David didn't look at him as he kept on skimming through the pages of the magazine, "Liking Teddy, but Hunter also didn't believe you liked men. Easiest 30 bucks of my life."

"You are such a dick, did you know that?"

"Sure, now go and give that one to Teddy instead." David said casually, completely unfazed by his own suggestion.

Booth's cheeks turned red in a matter of seconds and he turned back to the door. "Thanks, by the way."

"For what?"

"For not going to tell on me, or something." Booth said as he grabbed the doorknob again, turning it and opening the door slightly.

"Of course, man. I don't hate you for being gay, I hate you for being an idiot. It's a big difference, ya know?"

"Oh, fuck you." Booth scoffed, opening the door widely before stepping outside of the room.

David grinned and watched Booth leave with a hint of a smile on his lips.

As soon as the door was closed behind himself, Booth took a deep breath and looked around the empty hallway, beginning to make his way to his own room.

He thought about, well, just about everything, and yet nothing at all. He was trying to think and consider David's words, but they sounded like pure white noise to his troubled and stressed-out mind.

Booth reached the door to his room and walked in, slamming the door shut behind himself. He looked around briefly before slowly making his way to his bed. He kicked his shoes off and let himself fall on the mattress.

"God..." He groaned in annoyance and exhaustion.

It had been a long day both physically and mentally, and for a good reason too, after all.

As he lay in bed, he looked to his side towards the nightstand and took in the sight of the wooden mermaid that Teddy had made for him. A fond smile appeared on his lips in an instant, lighting up his whole face as he reached for it, knocking down his alarm clock in the process.

But he didn't care, honestly.

Booth held the mermaid made out of wood in his hands, gripping it ever so slightly as if anyone were to steal it from him. No one had any interest in such a thing, honestly.

He stared at the wooden object for a bit before holding it close to his chest, now protecting it with his arms. Now there was no chance that someone could steal it from him.

As he lay in bed with the wooden mermaid in his arms and his breathing slowing down, along with his eyelids closing, he suddenly jolted up.

Booth set, what was in his eyes, the masterpiece made out of wood back on the nightstand before reaching for the backpack that lay at the foot of his bedframe.

He looked through his backpack for a bit before pulling out a digital camera and dropping his backpack back on the floor, right next to his shoes.

Booth laid back down on his bed, now looking through his camera' roll for a specific set of photos, taken one dark and slightly chilly night all behind Booth's back.

And soon, he found them — the photos Teddy had taken of himself when Booth wasn't even aware that the corporal had discovered his camera and was now having fun with it.

He stared at one of the photos in particular, which showed Teddy with his tongue sticking out at the camera.

God, how much he missed him, how much he missed being with him, near him, around him, thinking of him while next to him, breathing the same air as him and breathing his cologne in. The last thing Booth wanted nowadays was to stay away even more from him.

And much to his luck, he wasn't going to do that for much longer.

This week's duty roster had soon been put up and it had exactly two people, who hadn't spoken more than a few words to one another in the past few days, set for guard duty on the next night.

Booth found out only the next morning, in the mess hall. While stuffing his face with food, David had sat down in front of him with his own tray of food and with a wide grin.

They had stared at each other a bit before Booth resumed his eating, not minding David's presence, albeit sudden and.. slightly weird, considering the grin he still had plastered on his face.

And soon, David broke the news to him.

"I pulled some strings, and got you a front-row spot in guard duty with none other than Corporal Edward Theodore Parker."

Booth choked on his food at that very moment, beginning to cough and hit his chest with his fist, and as soon as he had calmed down from his coughing fit, he had looked up at David, who had been holding back a laugh.

"Are you serious?"

"As serious as getting shot, man."

Booth didn't show his excitement through words in that very moment, but throughout the whole day he had a smile on his lips — which only David knew where it had come from.

He was counting down the hours, minutes, even seconds at one point, knowing that at night he'd be with Teddy again. He would be able to clear the air, to speak to him about nothing yet everything again. Or at least, he hoped he would.

And the night finally came, with it bringing the two men back to the same communications tower where their friendship had first blossomed.

Although they had walked there together, Teddy had barely spared Booth a glance, let alone spoken more than 2 words at a time to him.

Booth's patience was already wearing thin and it had only been 20 minutes since they got to the communications tower, but he knew he probably needed to give Teddy some time before he questioned him or cleared up whatever issues the corporal had with him.

But until he did, they both remained in silence.

Booth was cleaning his gun with a handkerchief, while Teddy was sitting on the grass next to their backpacks and playing with his switchblade as always.

Booth had noticed the bandages that covered Teddy's hand, but he had decided against commenting for now — also because Teddy hadn't mentioned them either, at least not to anyone Booth would often speak to.

The sergeant looked around after putting away both his handkerchief and his gun, his eyes taking in the darkness that surrounded them, which was accompanied by the sounds of crickets.

The silence was becoming overwhelming though, and Booth was barely able to hold himself together to keep on doing mundane tasks in the middle of no-fucking-where without speaking to the man who had once been such a close friend of his.

"I'll go look around."

Teddy's voice startled Booth and he looked behind himself at the corporal, watching as he stood up and began walking away, now holding a flashlight in his right hand while still having his switchblade in the left hand, which he still had bandaged.

"Alright.." Booth stared after him before looking away and into the dark night sky, a sigh escaping his lips in the process.

He had no idea how he was going to start a proper conversation with the man that had long stolen and inserted himself in his every thought, his every wish, his every dream, and most importantly in his heart.

Booth remained in his spot, continuing to stare at the bright stars that proved to be in perfect harmony in the night sky. Unlike himself and Teddy, down there on earth.

"The sky isn't going to change color if you stop looking at it."

Booth looked at Teddy, who had somehow now appeared right next to him. The sergeant opened his mouth to respond, but Teddy took the chance to speak instead of him.

"The coast is clear over there." He said, pointing with the lit flashlight to where he had just come from. Booth glanced in the direction he was pointing at before looking back at his face.

And lord, he had missed Teddy so much, even more than he knew he did the day before.

"Alright.." Booth simply nodded, staring into Teddy's blue eyes which seemed duller than he remembered them. He didn't like that.

Teddy walked past Booth and sat back down on the grass next to their backpacks, turning off the flashlight and gently throwing it next to his backpack.

Booth watched him, his heart beating faster with every move of Teddy's. He wanted to say more, he really did, but the words continuously ended up stuck in his throat.

So he settled for walking up to Teddy and sitting down next to him. Teddy shifted in his spot, now sitting criss-cross and looking away from the man who had just settled down right next to him.

Teddy didn't comment on Booth's behavior, he didn't even spare him a glance. He kept his mouth shut and didn't dare even look in his direction — as if just looking there would give him a heart attack or anything similar to that (it wouldn't).

"What have you been up to?"

Teddy finally looked at him, blue eyes meeting brown ones.

"Soldier life, what else?"

Booth clenched his jaw and he looked away, "Right. Pardon me for asking."

That was the thing Teddy had been waiting for. He needed an excuse — whether dumb, confusing or totally justifiable.

"Excuse me?" Teddy could barely hold back the words he wanted to yell at Booth's face at that very moment.

Booth looked back at the corporal. "I said excuse me for asking, your highness. Didn't know I needed permission to ask or else I would be met with irony from the all-mighty Teddy Parker."

He had no idea why he was saying such things. Maybe it was the stress and uncomfortability he had felt from them not speaking until just a few moments earlier, or maybe it was a deeper, pent-up feeling that Booth had accidentally just let out, in the worst moment nonetheless.

Teddy gritted his teeth and sat up in an instant, "You don't get to act like you care about how I've been when you've barely spoken to me in the past few weeks, Sarge."

Booth frowned and stood up, facing Teddy. "As if you spoke to me, Corporal. You are no better than what you preach, you know that?"

God dammit.

"At least I never acted like I cared and then left someone hanging just because of what everyone thought about the two of us."

Booth bit his tongue, looking away briefly before his eyes met Teddy's again.

"You agreed to limit contact, Parker. Stop acting like I am the one who ruined our friendship or something."

"I didn't agree on not being spoken to almost at all for two weeks, Sarge." A scowl appeared on Teddy's face.

Booth knew he was right, but he didn't back down. He couldn't, not now, not yet. "I was busy, Parker. You have to understand that I have other responsibilities other than hanging out with you."

Teddy stepped back, a bitter smile appearing on his face instead of his earlier scowl.

"Are you kidding me?"

Regret.

"So hanging out with me was just another responsibility of yours, huh? I should've known, Sarge, why did I even believe you and I were friends in the first place?"

Booth's eyebrows furrowed, "I didn't mean it like that, Teddy, you know tha—"

"No, I don't know that. I don't know how you meant it, but from where I am standing it seems that you've made your point pretty clear." Teddy said in a bitter tone.

Booth bit the inside of his cheek and he simply stared at Teddy, regret showcasing in his expression.

"I hope hanging out with that other guy isn't such a chore for you, Sarge."

"What?" Booth's facial expression shifted to a frown.

Teddy scoffed, "Oh, don't play stupid, Sarge, I wasn't born yesterday. Have you guys already made friendship bracelets for one another? Did you make some secret pact to move in at 35 if you are both unmarried?" He asked in a bitter and sarcastic tone of voice, which seemed to both confuse and hurt Booth.

But Teddy didn't care — not now, not anymore.

"Who are you even talking about, Corporal?"

"Dark hair, green eyes, 5 foot 9, looks like a nerd, has a stupid accent, gets bi-weekly letters from his parents, you know who I am talking about, Sergeant." Teddy explained as he straightened his back and clasped his hands behind his back, still facing Booth.

Booth's frown never left his face as he thought about Teddy's words and considered them carefully, using each word that the corporal had used to describe whoever Booth had been hanging out with as a hint as to who he meant. All the while Teddy stared at him expectantly, clearly becoming impatient with his lack of a response.

"Wait, you mean Ethan?"

Teddy let out another scoff and he shrugged, "What a great name, definitely fits him. Sure, whatever, I mean Ethan."

"What is wrong with speaking to him sometimes?"

"Sometimes?" Teddy laughed bitterly, "You don't just talk to him sometimes. I look in one direction, and he's with you, I look in another direction a few minutes later, and he's there with you again. I always see you two together! Al-fucking-ways."

Booth's face shifted to a neutral expression as he considered Teddy's words again. Was it really that way?

"If you don't believe me, that's fine, I do not care."

"No, I do, I just—"

"You just what, Sarge? You just don't care about how I feel seeing myself replaced?" Teddy crossed his arms and shook his head slightly. "I bet it doesn't feel like that much of a chore to hang out with him."

Booth clenched his fists and simply hummed in response, not daring to speak out of fear that he'd just blurt out how he felt about Teddy, how he felt about hanging out with him, how he felt about being near him and so close to him at all times.

"Yeah, that's what I thought, too. Let's just get guard duty over with and not speak to one another again, shall we, sir?"

Booth looked away, refusing to respond to such a proposition. Such a stupid, incorrect, and completely unjustifiable proposition. He might be stressing out thanks to Teddy, but he wasn't insane enough to agree to such a thing just yet.

"Shall we or shall we not, Sarge? We don't have all night, so just agree and we move on from whatever this was."

Booth sighed and looked back at Teddy, his eyes pleading with Teddy to stop. Teddy had never seen such a look from anyone before, let alone Booth, and it effectively shut Teddy's mouth.

They stared at each other in silence before Booth let out a deep breath, looking briefly at the sky as if to gain confidence from a higher power, before he looked back at Teddy and straight into his blue eyes.

"I never meant to seem like I was replacing you, Teddy. You know this.." He began, his voice steady although his hands were slightly shaking by his sides, him still having them clenched in fists.

Teddy hummed in disapproval, "I told you that I do not know, Sarge. I saw you talking to him more than you ever spoke to me in front of others. Am I that much of an embarrassment to you? Is that what this is?"

Booth grunted and rubbed his face with his hands, "Not again, Teddy!" He snapped in his face after setting his hands down.

"Not again, what?!" Teddy snapped back, "Not again that you don't care? Not again that I never mattered to you and you only spoke to me out of obligation and pity?!" He yelled in Booth's face, having taken a few steps forward in an attempt to assert himsel, even if he was needed to look up to actually look at Booth's face.

"Not again that you led me to believe that I really mattered and that I was important to you as your friend or—"

Booth's hand found its way behind Teddy's neck and pulled him in while leaning down slightly, effectively shutting him up by kissing him.

It felt like heaven, it felt like sin, it felt like everything good and bad in this world combined in one simple kiss, one simple act of pure and unrequited love.

Although initially shocked, it only took a few seconds for Teddy's eyes to mirror Booth's closed ones, and for him to place one hand on Booth's chest and another on the side of his neck.

Shivers ran down Booth's back at the feel of Teddy's hands on his neck, but it didn't matter, nothing else mattered, just the way the corporal's lips felt against his own.

Booth's free hand found its way to Teddy's cheek, pulling him even closer, as if someone were to actually take him away from him and he wanted to be sure that wasn't possible.

In the middle of nowhere, in the depths of the night, during guard duty, the chances of Teddy getting stolen away from Booth were little to none, but the sergeant seemed to like being sure he could minimize said chances even more.

Their kiss deepened and Booth's thumb caressed Teddy's cheek for a few minutes while he lightly pushed his body against the younger man's.

It was too good to be true, for the both of them. And yet, it was true.

It was happening right there, right in that moment, to them. Everything seemed to have been reduced to the way their bodies felt against each other, to the way their lips felt locked with one another, to the way their hands had begun caressing as if they were secretly craving for more intimacy and connection.

However, as all good things do, it eventually came to an end and Booth began to pull away from the kiss, unlike Teddy who was leaning forward so he'd stay kissing the sergeant.

But he did, eventually, also pull away, as he got the hint that they should at least take a breather.

They stared at each other for a bit, the silence feeling more like a curse upon them because it was stopping them from kissing more.

Teddy ran his injured hand down Booth's chest, unable to keep his eyes off of it as he did so.

He wanted to ask what it all meant, wanted to ask if it was really real and if he was being truthful to Teddy, but deep down he didn't want to know.

The fear that Booth was just toying with him was too heavy for him to want to know if everything was real or just a dream, if everything was real or just a cruel joke.

"Parker, I'm sorry, I—"

Teddy pressed his pointer against Booth's lips with a sad smile, "Don't. Just.. Don't. Let me hope, okay?" He begged.

Booth frowned, gently grabbing Teddy's hand and setting it down. "Teddy, I didn't mean that, I meant—"

Teddy shook his head, "Just kiss me again, just once and I will stop, okay?" He said, looking up at Booth with his big puppy eyes and sad smile.

Booth's heart almost broke there and then. He wasn't sure what Teddy meant, but his words sounded and felt painful.

"Teddy.." Booth trailed off, a confused and hurt look on his face, but Teddy leaned back in and kissed him once more, making sure to take away that hurt — even for just a moment.

Booth grabbed onto Teddy's waist instinctively, the reasons for his earlier negative feelings fading away from his mind as soon as Teddy's lips met his.

Teddy's right hand went back to Booth's neck, this time the back of it so he could pull Booth down and closer to him whenever he felt like it, all while his injured and bandaged left hand caressed his chest through the uniform.

As their kiss deepened, Teddy let go of his worries and opened his mouth, giving way for Booth to completely explore him. And explore him he did, since by the time they were done making out like teenagers the only thing connecting their mouths was a string of saliva.

Booth licked his lips and ran his hands through Teddy's hair, "You okay?"

Teddy nodded, taking a few quicker breaths as he looked into Booth's eyes.

However, the severity of the situation began to sink in for the both of them, which made Teddy's mind return to his earlier worries and stress.

Teddy let his arms fall to his sides and he sighed, "Sarge.." He began, his voice almost a whisper.

Booth frowned, "What, what's wrong?" He slightly tightened his grip on Teddy's waist.

Teddy looked down at the sergeant's hands and grabbed his forearms, setting both of them down.

"You didn't have to kiss me, you know? I could've lived without this."

"What?"

Teddy took a few steps back, "You didn't have to kiss me. Most people don't like being used for other people's jokes or pleasure, Sarge."

"Teddy, no, you're misunderstanding everything." Booth immediately began, stepping closer to Teddy. "I didn't do that to—"

"No, you knew I liked you. You knew I wanted you, and you knew I hadn't told anyone else that I was gay, and now you kissed me to prove to everyone what a fag I am, right?"

Booth's eyes widened and he took a step back. Any words to defend himself, to explain his actions, to even apologize for something that he had never even thought of doing, had just gotten stuck in his throat at that very moment.

"Was this a bet? Did you bet on my feelings? This is a new low, Sarge. Even for you." Teddy scoffed.

Booth didn't get the chance to even try and speak as Teddy continued berating him for something he hadn't even done in the first place.

"You know, I might be gay, I might be bad at hiding it too, but let me tell you — you kissing me makes you as much of a faggot as it makes me, and you will never be able to say otherwise."

Booth's heart dropped to his stomach. Was this really happening? Had Teddy misunderstood his actions to such an extent that he really believed Booth was doing this for some stupid bet?

And was Booth even allowed to be mad about it?

Teddy had every right to feel this way, to feel betrayed and hurt still and to project all of this on Booth's actual feelings — and Booth knew that, and yet he didn't want the corporal to feel that way.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I am not going to stand here and act like I am enjoying the fact that you used me for some bet. I know we have to do guard duty together, but I'll just go tell Sergeant David that I sprained my ankle and leave."

Without any other word, Teddy walked to their backpacks and began gathering his stuff.

Booth walked to Teddy, "Teddy, this isn't how I wanted this to go—"

"Then how did you want this to go?!" Teddy snapped as he turned back to Booth, watching Booth take a few steps back immediately.

"How did you want this to go? Did you want me to laugh and act like this was all in good fun?! I'm sorry, sir, but no matter how great looking you are, I am not letting myself be made fun of for such a thing."

Booth swallowed hard as the words he hoped he could say to solve everything were getting stuck in his throat.

"You can report me if you want, I don't care anymore. I much rather leave with my honor fucking intact that have to deal with your bigotry, Sarge. I won't stand for someone who can't even respect their own soldiers." Teddy said before turning back to his backpack and zipping it closed.

Booth sighed, "Parker, I won't—"

"Just go ahead and tell everyone I'm a fag so I can leave the army and never have to deal with this again. With you again."

Booth bit the inside of his cheek and looked away from Teddy's face.

"Goodnight, Sarge." Teddy said bitterly before he turned and began walking away, back to the military base.

As Teddy walked, Booth simply stared at him, and he soon followed close behind.

"David won't believe you sprained your ankle, I'll go to back you up and then I'll come back here."

Teddy frowned and turned to look at Booth, clearly taken aback. He watched as Booth walked up to him before going ahead of him and making his way to the guard post.

Teddy, although confused and shocked, followed behind him. As they reached the guard post, they found Sergeant David in there, who was doing some crosswords in a magazine.

Booth tapped on the glass and David looked at him. "Booth, what's up? Didn't I see you just half an hour ago?" He raised an eyebrow.

Booth simply nodded, "I have to ask you if you can excuse Corporal Parker here from guard duty tonight. He might've sprained his ankle and needs some medical attention and evaluation, you know the deal."

David glanced at Teddy before looking back at Booth. "He looks fine to me."

Booth shot him a death glare, "Well, his foot isn't so fine."

David hummed and simply nodded, "But he has to fill out a—"

"I'll fill that out for him when I'm done with guard duty." Booth said, crossing his arms.

Teddy looked between Sergeant David and Sergeant Booth, "So, can I go?" He asked casually.

Booth nodded, not looking at him. "Go." He said, watching as Teddy walked right past him, completely ignoring the fact that he was meant to walk as if he had sprained his ankle. He didn't even try.

He knew Booth had it covered, regardless, and he didn't even care about consequences if Booth really wasn't going to help him out.

Both sergeants watched him walk away, and Booth let out a sigh, "Right.." He muttered.

David frowned, setting down his crosswords and keeping his eyes on Booth. "What the hell was that, dude?"

Booth gritted his teeth and he simply shook his head. "It doesn't matter, okay? I messed up and he left, that's all there is to it."

"What the hell could you have possibly done for him to leave?" David couldn't help but be amused by the situation. He imagined Booth having tripped and somehow hit Teddy, or accidentally insulting Teddy while trying to compliment him.

Booth looked down for a brief moment before looking back in the direction Teddy had taken off to.

"I kissed him."

David stared at him in silence, his eyes however widening and his mouth becoming agape.

"And he thought I was just kissing him for some bet or to make fun of him."

David remained in silence for a bit before coughing and hitting his chest with his fist. "And you told him the truth, right?"

Booth swallowed hard and didn't dare look at David anymore.

David got up from his seat and stepped out of the guard post, walking in front of Booth. "You told him that you are actually into him and that you're so in love with him that you'd run away with him if he ever asked you to, right?"

Booth finally looked back at his friend, the feeling of shame and regret betraying his attempts at a poker face and neutral face expression.

"Are you kidding me? You couldn't even reassure him that you are not some heartless monster who'd use him for his own benefit in any context, at fucking all? I knew you were just a goddamn coward!"

Booth gritted his teeth at the accusation.

"He wouldn't have believed me anyways! He was already upset when we got there, it would've been like talking to a wall!"

"It would've maybe helped if you didn't keep your mouth shut like a fucking idiot and actually at least tried! Now on top of being a monster in his eyes, you also are a coward!"

"I am not a fucking coward!" Booth got right in his face as he snapped back.

David couldn't help but smirk. "You're nothing but a big, angry idiot who doesn't have the balls to actually tell someone how much they mean to you without ruining it like a coward and running away from what matters to you." He said, his words stinging and leaving marks in Booth's heart.

"Fuck you." Booth said, pushing David away and making him stumble backwards slightly. He then began walking away, back to the communications tower.

"Yeah, sure, let out your anger on the guy who is making sure you know how much you have fucked up! Really mature, Seeley!"

Booth simply continued to walk away, refusing to look back or even accept that he was doing the wrong thing. Every action of his felt like the wrong one, and every decision of his felt like a death sentence by this point.

Eventually, he reached the communications tower and sat on the grass, next to his very lonely backpack. It looked so good next to Teddy's, and now Teddy was gone.

As Booth stared at his backpack, a realization struck him — He had kissed Teddy. He had really kissed him. He had held him in his arms, held his waist, held his face, caressed his warm skin, felt his body against his, even had his tongue inside his mouth for God's sake.

He had been so focused on the intense feelings he had gotten from their argument and Teddy's anger that he hadn't even processed him kissing Teddy, actually kissing him.

As he thought about what had occurred in the past few minutes, he began considering David's words. Deep down, he knew that David was right, but he didn't want to inflate his friend's ego further than it already was inflated.

And yet, David was right 9 times out of 10, unlike the one time he wasn't — like the time he said that you could boil an egg in the microwave just by putting it in, and both him and Booth had to clean the microwave after the egg exploded inside of it.

Booth hated how right his friend often was, but at least it did cement the fact that he had to make amends with Teddy, that he had to explain it all to him, that he had to actually speak to Teddy to be able to do any of this.

"Dammit." He grunted, clenching his fists as he looked around. Of course there was no other person nearby — just him, his thoughts, his worries, his issues, his mistakes, and himself.

He spent the rest of the night wondering, contemplating, trying to figure out how he'd pour his heart out to Teddy in the form of words instead of a kiss. Or well, two kisses, one that might've gotten Booth a little excited before he was jolted back into reality by Teddy's stressed out and worried way of viewing Booth's actions.

When Booth stepped inside his room, he let out a deep breath, closing the door behind himself. What was he going to do now?

He walked up to his bed and threw his shoes off his feet, along with setting his backpack down with a soft thud. He sat down on the bed and sighed, resting his elbows on his knees and putting his hands on his face.

"Teddy Parker, what are you doing to me?" He muttered, rubbing his face with his hands.

In that moment, a knock was issued at the door, being followed by it being opened. There stood Sergeant Hunter Clark, to whom he hadn't really spoken since his coming out to David, and he assumed that Hunter was most likely aware of Booth's, well, preferences.

Booth set his hands down and looked at Hunter, "Hey."

Hunter cleared his throat, "Are you okay, man? Andy told me you had a really rough night."

Booth scoffed, "Of course he did, but I'm fine, everything is fine, I actually couldn't be better, you know?" He rested his elbows on his knees once more, clasping his hands together while keeping his eyes on his friend's face.

Hunter shook his head and stepped inside, closing the door behind himself. "You know he cares, he's just blunt. And what even happened? I haven't heard from you in two days, I feel avoided." He said the last part in a light-hearted tone, a small smile appearing on his face.

"I am not avoiding you, I am just.. No clue, man." Booth hummed.

Hunter nodded, "I spoke to Andy, he told me you like it up the ass too. Is that true or did he lie to me to win 30 bucks?"

Booth covered his face with his hands once more, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Listen, if you do like it up the ass, that's your problem and the least of my concerns. However—"

"However what?" Booth snapped, his hands falling back down. "However what, huh? However don't hit on me? However I don't want you near me? Trust me, I am not into you, Clark, THAT is the least of my concerns."

Hunter seemed unfazed by this outburst and he simply coughed before shaking his head, "No, I was going to say: however I still expect you to come to our poker nights and that you're not pardoned from getting your ass beat at poker and blackjack."

Booth blinked a few times, clearly in disbelief before sighing. "I wasn't planning on quitting that, you know?"

"Hey, who knows, maybe you were planning on joining some cheerleading squad. You can do that in your free time, but at night you have to come to poker, got it?"

"You're impossible, but fine." Booth let out a dramatic sigh, "I guess I will leave the 'joining a college cheerleading team' goal from my bucket list to another lifetime."

"There you go, you're the second homosexual in our poker game nights. But since David is taken, I guess we will have to find you another partner to make out with if you win."

Booth scoffed, "It more sounds like you just want to see me kissing another man."

"Hey, I'll never say never, I am just curious as to how it looks!" Hunter chuckled, leaning against the wall.

Booth snorted in amusement. "Sure, man, sure. I'll give you a month before I catch you with some soldier in your room."

"What, speaking from experience now? Did you get it on with Parker?" A smirk appeared on Hunter's lips.

Booth's heart skipped a beat and he immediately shook his head, "What? No. No, no, we just hung out here, that's not the same thing."

Hunter raised an eyebrow, "You expect me to believe that two men, one of which is a homosexual, and the other looks straight out of one of David's Playgirl magazines, can hang out in the other's room and not get it on like horny teens?"

"You're also in my room and yet I haven't seen you on top of me just yet."

"...Touché."

"And also, I think I have less chances of getting it on with a man in my room, than you have with getting it on with that new sergeant."

Hunter laughed, clapping as he shook his head. "Dude, I don't even know his name!"

"I doubt that you won't find it out very soon." Booth chuckled.

"Hey! A gentleman does not kiss and tell, thank you very much."

Booth smiled knowingly, his mind drifting to Teddy. Yeah, he really doesn't, I guess.

"And I assure you, if I ever do get with one of those gentlemen in the showers like David did, you're never finding out. But I like women, so I will just stick to that." Hunter grinned.

"Alright, man, but I am here if you need experimenting." Booth suggested casually.

Hunter's eyebrows raised in surprise, "Really?"

"No."

"What a way to give a guy blue balls."

"What a way to see how straight guys act if a homosexual hits on them."

"Okay! I get it! I am maybe 96% straight, the 4% is saved for whatever knight in shining armor convinces me to try it out." Hunter grinned again, shrugging.

"Well good luck to him, he won't have much to work with." Booth chuckled, lying down on the mattress.

"I'll have you assured that I have made more women than you know happy with what he could work with." Hunter wiggled his eyebrows.

Booth shook his head in disbelief, "I think they were faking that, buddy. Sorry to break it to you." He said, a smirk appearing on his lips.

"Fuck you, I'm going for a shower." Hunter scoffed in mock annoyance as he turned to the door and opened it. "Are you not showering?"

"I will in a bit, go without me." Booth yawned. "Unless you need me to work with something else while you shower."

"Oh, you're not getting near me too soon." Hunter laughed and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind himself.

Booth chuckled and shook his head, yawning again. And now that Hunter had left, he was now once again thinking about Teddy.

He was trying to figure out what to do regarding the conversation he needed to have with him, and he was hoping to do it in just a few minutes because thinking about Teddy in the showers? That would be a dangerous game, from every point of view possible.

And as he thought further and further about the situation and about Teddy, he considered every possibility: Teddy not wanting to speak to him, Teddy thinking he was lying, Teddy outing him to everyone, Teddy outing himself to 'expose' Booth's believed wrong-doings, everything that was bad was now coming up in his mind.

And he hated it. But he had to be prepared for every situation possible. Especially the worst ones.

"I'll get you figured out, Teddy.." Booth eventually muttered as he sat up before finally standing up and stretching. "But first I need a shower." He coughed briefly.

And shower he did, and also did his very best to not think of Teddy, but it was definitely a challenge. A successful challenge, however, and he managed to get out of there in one piece, without someone calling him out for an obvious issue at hand.

When he got back in bed after the shower, he finally felt fully capable of a smile. Of a true, calm smile. He had hope — for the very first time in the last few days he felt truly happy and hopeful in what was next.

Even if he had messed things up with Teddy, he had at least gotten to kiss him and hold him in a way he had never been able to hold any other man he had felt himself attracted to.

And Teddy was not just another man, not just a notch on his belt, Teddy was the man that made him come out, that made him accept himself, more or less, that made him understand himself better than any woman ever had.

He was going to be fine, or so he wanted to hope now. He didn't want to think about religion, about what Teddy thought he did, about what David said, about any poker games, all he wanted to think was Teddy, just him. Only him. Always him.

And that's how he fell asleep — thinking about Teddy, hoping and dreaming of him.

As much as he had hoped to soon be able to speak to Teddy about everything, that was not the case unfortunately. Days passed, without either of them speaking a single word to one another, or even looking each other in the eye. Except for Booth's peeks at Teddy and vice-versa.

In the meantime, Booth had been seeking guidance once more, in the form of a cross, a breviary, and the act of getting on your knees to pray to, and for, the all-mighty and all-forgiving Lord that was said to be omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent.

So in that case, he should already know what was going on with Booth's mind, in his life, his every move, his every mistake and regret. But Booth could beg to differ nowadays.

Booth was now sat in a pew in the chapel, staring at the wall as he thought of what he would say to confront God himself. Could he yell, could he scream? Could he get mad, could he get upset?

God probably knew he was into guys too, but why hadn't He fixed him yet? Why did He let him suffer with such incurable thing for so long?

This went beyond Booth's comprehension. He wanted answers, he wanted them now. But deep down, he knew he wouldn't get them and that there was little to no chance for God himself to probably respond to him. That would be stupid, after all.

Booth took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling for a moment before looking around. Eerie silence, no one but himself was in there. It often felt like he was the only one who cared enough to even go there, but that wasn't right. He simply knew how to time his visits to have the chapel all for himself.

He called it his 'private time with God' quite often, but lately he didn't have time for such intimate meetings. And for good reason, his recent discoveries felt purely impossible and sinful when it came to being a catholic.

"You knew, didn't you?"

Of course there was silence. Who was there to respond? Definitely not an omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent spirit.

"You knew and yet you didn't stop it. What do you even think of me?"

Booth felt stupid for talking like this, he'd usually just tell God about his day, about his worries, hopes and dreams, wants, needs, but now he was just angry. He felt betrayed by a god he had never met.

"I know it's not fucking right, but you didn't have to put salt on the wound 22, actually, almost 23 years later to make it clear to me that, indeed, I am part of the people I used to hate. Of the people you told everyone to hate. Is this some kind of test?"

Booth took a few deep breaths, running his hands through his slightly overgrown hair. He eventually sat up and began pacing around the chapel as he continued rambling and arguing with this force of nature who didn't seem to want to speak back to him.

"I used to pray to you to make me normal, and I thought you did, and now I just.. I kissed Teddy, and it felt like..." Booth sighed and trailed off. "It felt like I was 15 again, why are you doing this to me?"

Silence, just as before. As Booth thought about it further, he continued to pace around.

"I don't think I want you to make me normal again." He gritted his teeth at his own words, trying to come to terms with what was coming out of his mouth at that moment.

"Maybe it's meant to be. And I don't want to be your normal if it means that I won't be able to be with this man."

Booth sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. Was he making the right choice? Would this upset whatever god was above him, watching him, listening to him? It all felt so right, but he had been told his whole life that it was wrong.

When Sergeant Collins helped him understand that people were going to be gay and that there was nothing he could do about it but accept it and move on, he had never imagined himself to be one of those people that others would have to simply accept and move on from the topic.

He never wanted to be this way.

He never wanted to be more sinful than he had been at the beginning of his life, and yet there he was.

He was performing the very sin that he had sworn to himself he would always get away from. He had sworn such a thing at 13, and almost 10 years later, he had kissed a man and enjoyed every moment of it. Every moment of such a sinful act, such a horrible and looked down upon act.

Teddy was worth more than what he had been taught to believe.

"Maybe you made me this way to spite my family. How dumb, you could've made my brother gay, you know?"

Booth was already chuckling to himself as if God himself was laughing with him.

"And now I just don't know what to do about him, I messed up and I don't know how to solve everything." He bit his bottom lip, "I can't even begin to muster up how much I need him while he is out there feeling and thinking that I only kissed him to prove that he is gay."

As Booth thought of it more and more, he realized further the gravity of the situation. He had to find Teddy, convince him to talk to him in the first place, do his best to explain to him that he was actually into guys too and that he didn't do that out of malice, and—

"Wait, Teddy's gay?"

Booth frowned, and he sat down at a pew, trying to process what he had just realized.

Teddy kissed him back, he kissed him back and held onto him like it would be their last day alive, but sure this could mean nothing in Booth's eyes. But Teddy claimed that Booth knew that he was into him, that he knew how much he wanted to be with him... Booth didn't know that until that very moment, although apparently he hadn't realized it until this very moment.

"Oh my god, Teddy is gay.." Booth repeated to himself and to the empty chapel, although maybe to God too, who knows.

It was as if repeating it would make it real or at least cement it inside Booth's oblivious and forgetful mind.

Booth repeated a few more times, before he realized another fact.

"And he's into me?"

David had been right, Teddy was indeed into him, and Booth hated giving his friend credit, but this time he had no choice.

"Fuck, now I really need to make sure he knows I would never be so cruel and do what he thinks I did." Booth took a deep breath, "I guess it's time." He stood up once again.

He looked one more time up at the ceiling before nodding to himself. "Thank you." He more so whispered the words before he picked up his breviary from the pew he had initially settled at, and walked to the door of the chapel.

As Booth stepped outside, he looked around briefly before taking a few deep breaths.

Where could he even find Teddy now? Most likely in his room, but he wasn't ready to have such a conversation in front of 3 people, Teddy not included, and this assuming that Teddy's roommates would be in the room at the time of Booth's attempted explanations.

He bit his bottom lip as he made his way to the barracks, his steps sure and steady, although with his mind feeling anything but stable.

Should he get David to pull some strings again and get Teddy and him on guard duty? No, that ended horribly. Should he chase Teddy at the first sight of him? No, that's creepy. Should he just walk into his room and ask to talk? No, he might just say no and leave him hanging.

Booth felt useless. And hopeless. Once again.

Right as he stepped inside the barracks, he found Teddy staring at the duty roster with James by his side. Booth's and Teddy's eyes met as Teddy glanced at him out of pure curiosity as to who had just walked in.

They stood there for a moment before Teddy whispered something to James.

"Corporal Parker, a word?" Booth asked in a soft tone of voice, soon enough witnessing Teddy turn on his heel and begin walking away from him, leaving James in front of the duty roster.

"Oh my god.." Booth muttered to himself in annoyance and began to walk after Teddy. "Parker, let me explain."

Teddy didn't even turn to look at him, didn't try and listen, didn't want to listen or even have to see him again. No matter how good it felt to kiss Booth, and no matter how much he wanted to believe that Booth was actually into him, too.

"Teddy, please."

Teddy's steps quickened and Booth took the hint, stopping in the middle of the hallway and watching Teddy go to his room.

The sergeant let out a sigh and he looked behind himself, seeing James still standing in front of the duty roster, a curious look plastered on his face.

They stared at each other in silence before Booth shook his head to himself and began walking away, right past James.

"Sarge."

Booth froze in his steps and turned his head to look at James.

"Yeah?"

"Do you know what's up with Teddy?"

Booth hummed and looked away again, contemplating as to how to word a proper response without outing both himself and Teddy in the process.

Noticing the lack of response from Booth, James resumed talking. "I thought he might have depression or something, he's in bed all evening long and keeps reading from that breviary he has before throwing it on the floor." He explained.

"And when he sees you, Sarge, and don't get him wrong, he probably is just upset over something else, but he only seems more angry, so do you know anything about this?" James quickly explained, trying not to seem disrespectful or make Teddy seem disrespectful towards their superior.

Booth swallowed hard and looked back at James, "I could go talk to him, is he alone in the room?"

"All by himself, Sarge. Carlos and Joshua have gone to the commissary, but I think they got fucking lost or something." James shrugged with a small smile. "I have no clue."

Although James' words seemed innocent enough, proving that he was just a man, a colleague, a brother-in-arms who was worried about his friend and roommate, Booth felt like maybe James knew more than he was showing. But he wasn't going to ask about that.

If James knew he was into guys, or that Teddy was into guys, and hadn't said anything yet? Then he most likely wasn't going to do anything with this information regarding either of them.

Booth gave James a nod before turning around and walking to the room Teddy shared with his three roommates. He finally had a real reason to go to see Teddy, or at least another reason. He couldn't really justify to someone else that he was going to see Teddy just to explain to him some misunderstanding without also outing himself or the corporal. Especially if they asked further questions.

As he reached the door, he took a deep breath before raising his hand, knocking on the door and opening it straight away without awaiting a response.

Booth stepped inside the room, taking in the sight of Teddy, lying in bed with his pillow on his face, as if attempting to drown out any noise, any remaining light, maybe even the whole world.

"Teddy, can we talk?" Booth asked in a gentle tone, his hands shaking slightly as he closed the door behind him.

Teddy yanked the pillow off his face and threw it in Booth's direction, the soft fabric hitting him square in the face.

Booth frowned, watching the pillow fall to the ground. He really has good aim even when he's angry..

He leaned down to pick up the pillow before looking back at Teddy, "I know you're mad at me, and I don't blame you, but listen to me."

Teddy didn't answer, he just laid in bed, not looking at Booth and seemingly not even listening to him.

The sergeant took careful and slow steps in Teddy's direction, holding the pillow with both his hands, "I want to talk to you, from man to man. Not sergeant to corporal, come on Parker."

Teddy glanced at him as he reached the foot of his bed before he sat up, and then stood up, now facing Booth.

"Okay, speak."

Booth seemed taken aback, but he quickly threw the pillow on Teddy's bed and took a deep breath. This was it.

This was all he had to do. He had to not mess it up, he had to be honest, he had to simply be himself. Or at least, he had to try.

"I'm sorry, okay?" Booth began, carefully watching Teddy's facial expressions for any changes as he spoke.

"I know I shouldn't have kissed you, or maybe I should have, I don't know. But I didn't do it because of a dare or because I wanted to prove a point, I had no idea you even liked me.."

Earlier that day, Teddy had sworn to himself to not seem impressed, shocked, or even confused if Booth were to ever come and apologize, or try and give him a poor explanation for his actions.

But now, his own facial expressions were betraying him and his carefully set poker face. He seemed surprised by Booth's words and most likely oblivion.

As Booth was about to continue, Teddy raised his hand in a sign for him to stop talking for a moment. And stop talking he did, now simply staring at Teddy, expecting Teddy to maybe say something now.

Say something he did, too. "What do you mean you had no idea I liked you?"

"I..I didn't know?" Booth almost chuckled awkwardly but stopped himself to not anger or upset Teddy. This wasn't the time and place for jokes, after all.

"You had no idea that I liked you, but I was spending more time in your room than in mine, I was in your bed with you, I flirted with you, and you flirted back? Are you serious?"

Booth bit the inside of his cheek, watching Teddy's facial expression go from confusion to realization.

"So, let's say that you really didn't do it for a bet, and that you meant to flirt back with me... Aren't you straight?" Teddy asked the last question in a lower tone of voice as if scared someone else was going to hear him.

Booth took a deep breath and tilted his head to the side slightly while keeping his eyes on Teddy. "You make even the straightest of men question themselves, Teddy. No, I.. I don't think I am."

Teddy stared at him for a few more seconds before looking away briefly, processing this information. He then looked back at Booth, "Are you sure?"

"If I'm sure? Parker, I had to hold back from staring at you in the showers every time you were with me because I feared you'd notice I was way too excited to be next to you."

Teddy smiled as he bit his bottom lip gently.

"You and me both, Sarge." The corporal said casually, his eyes dropping on Booth's lips before they returned to the sergeant's eyes.

"I may not have bet on your sexuality, but Sergeant David and Sergeant Clark bet on mine."

"Really? Who won?"

"David, 30 bucks." Booth sighed in mock annoyance, "Lucky bastard, capitalizing on the fact that I wanted you from the moment I first patched you up when you cut yourself with that stupid switchblade."

Teddy's eyebrows raised in surprise, "Oh really? You were willing to just let it go for some guy with a cut on his hand?"

Booth stepped closer to Teddy and ran his hands through what was left of his recently cut hair, "Yeah. Yeah, I was." He smiled.

"I wouldn't have pegged you for having a type on injured and clumsy corporals." Teddy wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oh yeah," Booth's smile turned into a smirk. "I have a thing for self-sufficient, great at knife throwing, and adorable corporals who sleep like babies in my bed, you know? I find them absolutely irresistible."

Teddy laughed and pushed his face against Booth's shoulder, "So you really are into guys?" He questioned, his voice slightly muffled by the fabric he had his face pressed against.

Booth thought about it for a moment, "Well, maybe not all guys, I don't exactly want to get it on with Clark, honestly." He shuddered.

Teddy shook his head in disbelief, keeping his face pressed against Booth's shoulder.

"But if you mean if I am into you and into guys in general, then yeah. I am." Booth wrapped his arms around Teddy, his smirk turning into a fond smile.

"I'm just sorry I made you believe that I did everything just to hurt and use you."

"Now you can just make it up to me, Sarge, and I will think about whether or not I decide to forgive you for such sins."

Booth raised an eyebrow and looked down at Teddy, "Oh, yeah? And how do you think I could do that, huh?" His smile didn't leave his lips.

Teddy chuckled and looked back up at Booth, blue eyes meeting dark brown. "How about you start with kissing me, and we take it from there?" He suggested in a low tone.

"Damn, you really know how to get to a guy.." Booth chuckled before pressing his lips against Teddy's, closing their mouths in a searing kiss.

As they kissed and held each other, Booth finally felt at peace with himself, with his own feelings and his past mistakes. Nothing else mattered now, just Teddy.

When they eventually found the will to pull away from one another, Teddy grinned as he looked back up at Booth. "Do I still call you Sarge now?"

Booth chuckled, leaning close to Teddy again. "Want to call me Booth or what?"

Teddy simply shrugged, "It's not necessary, I don't mind Sarge. It feels formal."

"Hm," Booth hummed, a grin appearing on his lips instead of his smirk. "honestly, you could've always called me Booth. You earned that privilege when you saw me half-naked in my room that day."

Teddy snorted in amusement and shook his head, his cheeks turning a shade of pink at the memory, "It's all about respect, Sarge."

"Alright, respectful young man. But you can also call me by my name, okay?"

"Mm, we'll see, sir."

Booth chuckled, "Sure we will, is there anything else we need to set in stone before we keep making out in here?"

"Well.." Teddy bit the inside of his cheek, his eyes sparkling with a curiosity Booth could practically feel as well just by looking at him.

Booth raised his eyebrows, his face itching with anticipation as to what Teddy was about to say or ask him next.

"Why don't you tell me the real reason why you joined the army? I think I should finally know it since you've had your tongue in my mouth like twice now."

Booth scoffed in mock shock and disbelief, "You bastard! Is that the only reason why you wanted to kiss me?"

Teddy gave him a cheeky grin, "That and the fact that you have snacks in your room 24/7." He poked Booth's shoulder.

Booth shook his head and laughed before giving Teddy a peck on the lips.

"Alright, but it's not that interesting. Just keep your hopes low."

Teddy nodded in agreement, his grin melting Booth's heart further. He looked down at the sergeant's lips.

"Mhm, I'll be the judge of that then."

And the judge of that he was. He was the judge of Booth's pre-army story and many other stories. As well as the judge of Booth's kissing skills, those were the most important after all.