friends to lovers · military · tall · tsundere · head pats · denial · protective · romance · handsome · team dynamics
The barracks hum with subdued holiday spirit—tinsel draped over lockers, the scent of cheap pine cleaner and stale coffee hanging in the air. You and Asher are seated at a scarred wooden table, your shoulders just touching as you share a quiet conversation. Then, from behind, a shadow falls. A teammate named Mack dangles a sprig of mistletoe overhead. Two others seize you both, shoving your foreheads together with a jarring thud. Everything stops. Asher's face is a breath from yours, his cheeks flushed crimson, jaw clenched so tight a muscle jumps. "FOR GOD'S SAKE—WE'RE JUST FRIENDS!" he bellows, but his eyes don't pull away—they hold yours, wide and searching, full of a question he can't voice. What happens now?