Love and War Aren't a Game

“I would have done the exact same thing if I was on sniper duty,” I argued with Catherine while Falsworth drove us all back to the base. Another assignment completed, and another Hydra force stopped, and once again Catherine and I were quarrelling. But this time, much to everyone’s pleasure, we weren’t spitting out rude remarks to each other. The conversation was remaining civil. For once, we were managing to keep our taunts and jests playful and it was keeping the rest of the team’s spirits high as they laughed at our ridiculous conversation.

“No way,” Catherine insisted, her grin not fading for a second. It was so nice to see a smile lighting up her face and her eyes, a welcomed change from the scowls I was so used to receiving from her. “You would have tried to take two shots and fired earlier instead of waiting for the two targets to line up!”

“Are you trying to say that I couldn’t have made that shot?” I wondered and Catherine shrugged innocently.

“I don’t know if you would have been able to,” Dugan agreed. I turned to him with a look of shock because he wasn’t supporting me. “I mean, have we ever seen you take out two men with one bullet?” The others laughed and continued to compliment Catherine.

“It was a fluke!” I cried despite having seen the shot happen myself. Luck was on Catherine’s side today. That was the only explanation. She wasn’t a better sniper than me; it just wasn’t possible for a farm girl to be better than Captain America’s righthand man.

“Admit that I’m a better marksman than you!” Catherine pushed for my confession again but I shook my head.

“Never!” I declared and a rumble of laughter travelled through the back of the jeep. Steve turned in his seat at the front and looked at us, giving me an approving smile before focusing back on the road ahead.

Once we had arrived at the base, the men all filed out and headed for the bar to celebrate, ignoring the attention of nurses because we had successfully managed to avoid all hazardous situations this time. I slipped away from the group and instead went to my quarters, needing a moment to myself to process the possibility that Catherine was a better shot than me. Would Steve even need or want me on the team if I was second best? I sighed and shrugged it off. Steve wouldn’t boot me from the squad; I was his best friend. Besides, after an incredible shot like today, Catherine deserved the title of the Howling Commando’s sniper.

Someone knocked on my door so I went to answer it, noticing the smile crawl onto my face when I saw that it was Catherine standing there.

“Hi, do you have a minute… or two?” she asked. I stood aside, hoping that I was reading into her suggestive question properly. After I had closed the door behind her, Catherine reached over and flicked the lock before grabbing my hand. She diverted it to the top button of her shirt and then looked expectantly at me.

“They’ll be all waiting for us to join them for celebratory drinks,” I remarked, checking that she truly wanted this for the third time. I didn’t know exactly what I was to her, but I was more than glad that I wasn’t her enemy anymore.

“So make it quick,” Catherine replied softly before reaching out to grab the waistband of my pants. I ran my fingers quickly down her shirt, pulling the buttons undone and grinning the second I realised that she wasn’t wearing anything underneath her uniform. Catherine really did want me.

“What a naughty girl,” I muttered before shoving her pants to the floor. She gasped softly when I touched her between her legs, not wasting any time as promised, and I suckled at her neck to make her moan for me while I inhaled her sweet scent.

“The adrenaline hasn’t left my body since I made that shot today… I couldn’t stop thinking about celebrating with you,” Catherine admitted and I grinned, suddenly finding myself wishing that Steve was going to put her on sniper duty more often.

Desperate for more of Catherine, I slipped out of the rest of my clothing and then grabbed her hips, hoisting her upwards and pushing her back against the wall. When I pressed inside her, Catherine rolled her head back and made a noise that seemed like a breath of relief.

With one of her hands tangled in my hair and the other gently scratching her nails down my spine, I fucked Catherine until I ran out of strength to hold her up. Exhausted and immensely satisfied, I lowered her down and she stumbled and caught her balance by leaning against the door. We stood there staring at each other, panting with little smirks tugging at our lips.

“I think it’s safe to say that I should make miracle shots more often,” Catherine remarked and I chuckled.

“Definitely,” I agreed before offering her some tissues to clean up the mess we had both contributed to.

“I guess I’ll go and get that drink now,” Catherine announced after she had pulled her clothes back on.

“I’ll see you there,” I said, wanting to share a drink with her to celebrate her good work.

“Maybe I’ll see you afterwards too,” she suggested before leaving my room. I ran a hand over my face in disbelief, then hurried to get dressed so I could talk with her some more.

It was easy to spot Catherine when I arrived at the bar. She was drinking beer as fast as the rest of the team, and her laugh and smile were so contagious that it almost felt like the rest of the soldiers down here were so happy because she was. It was brilliant to see her like that, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I had contributed at all to her happiness.

Unable to squeeze in next to Catherine, I took a seat across the table from her instead and slowly sipped away at my whiskey and occasionally contributed to the conversation with my friends. I was hardly able to focus because my eyes were glued to Catherine, well aware that she was being a tease by not wearing anything beneath her uniform. I could only hope that she would come and visit me again later in the night.