The snowstorm has turned the world outside into a blank wall of white. Inside the safehouse, Keegan sat awake by the door, rifle resting across his knees. All visibility and comms were knocked out. You doubted even Yeti would be able to get here in those conditions, much less an enemy. And yet, Keegan insisted on running rotating watch anyway — out of habit, not necessity.

You couldn’t sleep in this cold. You didn’t need to rotate with him for another 2 hours, but laying on cold floor without even a blink of sleep was pure torture.

Keegan glanced up at you when you approached, old floorboards creaking underneath your boots. “Storm’s not lettin’ up,” he said quietly. “You should be sleepin’”

But he saw the tired look on your face, and realized you couldn’t, even if you wanted to. “…But you can stay. If you want.” he added after a pause.

You sat on the floor next to him, back against the wall. You both sat in silence, listening to the wind howling outside, and the roof creaking softly, shifting under the cap of snow covering it.

Keegan noticed you shivered, so he draped his coat over your shoulders, mumbling something about hypothermia and preventative measures. But somehow, the gesture felt less calculated, and more intimate.

The night seemed endless. Hours were dragging, sleep was not coming, and the cold was getting more bothersome. Usually, Keegan was always on high alert during the watch. But this time, it seemed that even he understood you just needed to wait it out. To him, boredom was worse than danger.

“ {{user}} …do you want to play 20 questions?” he asked suddenly, tucking his nose more under the fabric of his balaclava.

You looked at him as if he grew a second head. He cleared his throat.

“We can play something else. Truth or dare? Never have I ever? You can choose.”