Forty Years of This [Monster Hunter World]

Chapter 16

"The First Fleet's quartermaster is fake as hell." A second fleet hunter loudly complained to his friend across the table, unwittingly drawing the attention of the Commander. It was his business to know how the commissioners felt about each other, and it was simple interest to learn why someone had grief with his current partner. The hunter's friend, an engineer, glanced nervously at the Commander but did not stop her friend. "Two days ago, he was a little uptight, but he treated me like a human being. Earlier today, he snapped like he was crazy! I know the First is made of unique individuals, but what?"

"Maybe he just had a bad day..." The engineer kept glancing back between her friend and the Commander. By now, he was openly interested in the conversation and watching them.

The Quartermaster was prickly. He was particular about how things were done, and he was the most inflexible man in the entire fleet. That was no news to him, but him actively snapping and drawing the ire of a second fleet member was concerning. Not just as his partner-- if the Commander's only concern was as his partner, he'd say fuck it and not worry about someone else's issue, but his partnership was ultimately secondary to the Commission. His Quartermaster causing problems, or at least being involved in them, was his problem.

"Bad day? It was like he was an entirely different person. He-- Ow!" The hunter glared at his friend then turned to follow her gaze. He paled in horror as the Commander stood from his seat and sat between them.

"I'm curious about this issue you have with the First's Quartermaster." He grinned affably, but both the hunter and the engineer shied away.

"It's nothing sir." The hunter hung his head.

"No, it's not nothing. Do you know what my job is, hunter?"

"You're the Commander of the First Fleet, and therefore the commander of the currently stationed Commissioners, sir."

"My job is to make sure things are running smoothly." He bumped his elbow against the man's arm. "And if people are having problems with my Quartermaster, it's my job to solve it." When the hunter remained coy and quiet, the Commander leaned into his space and whispered, "It doesn't matter where the Quartermaster sleeps at night. During the day we both have jobs to do, and if there's something interfering with that, I want to know. So tell me. Without any worry of petty vengeance, what happened with the Quartermaster?"

The engineer was the one to finally speak, and realization hit the Commander like a sack of flour. It was a simple issue with intense consequences, and he could only help fix it on one end.

He found the Quartermaster in his separate quarters with the blinds drawn and only a small candle lit. The man inhaled with a hiss when he heard the door open, and when the Commander's eyes adjusted to the light he saw the Quartermaster sat on the floor with a wet towel on his head and a particularly fat shepherd's hare on his lap.

"May I come in?"

"If you are quiet."

He sat next to the Quartermaster, stretching his leg out and wondering where the hell the pet had come from.

"Are you ok?" He didn't touch him. Didn't try to reach out.

"I don't know what to do." The Quartermaster drew the creature up into his arms and buried his face into its shoulders. "I thought I could do it, but I can't. I lost it. Over nothing."

He had started screaming at the way a box scratched the floor. Unable to vent and pretending to be something he was not for weeks on end had bottled inside the Quartermaster like a volatile liquid waiting to explode. The longer he stretched his fuse, the greater the explosion, and when it finally hit, he couldn't remember what he'd said or done. Panic, fury, and exhaustion had all boiled over.

"Even the slight squeak of your brace feels like it's grating against my soul."

"Then I'm ordering you, as your commander, to remain off duty tomorrow. I don't want a repeat of this." The Quartermaster let his head fall back against the wall behind him. "The Second Fleet has a Quartermaster. You don't have to get along with the entire second fleet, just their quartermaster. Let her handle the people. You keep doing what you do best.

"But as your partner... ████████. I want you to come to me when you're miserable. I don't want you to suffer alone. What point is there in being together like this if we can't go to each other when we need it?"

The Quartermaster stared determinedly at the Commander's jaw in lieu of eye contact and smiled faintly. "I am not suffering alone." He stretched his leg out just enough for his foot to touch the Commander's calf.

"That's not what I meant. How can I help you if I don't know what's going on, and how can I know what's going on if you don't tell me?" The Commander let out a breath as he felt irritation begin to well in him. "I can't read you. I love you, but I can't read you. I depend on you telling me... Telling me..." His words trailed off with the realization of what he'd said aloud. He'd thought it many times even before they'd become partners, but his love for his friends had always been unspoken. Understood, but unspoken.

"I love you too." The Quartermaster tightened his embrace around the hare before letting it run off. "I will start with that. If you would like to be close, I would also like that. I would rather hold you than that critter. Let me just--" He pulled the wet towel off of his head and set it aside. It mussed his typically perfectly groomed hair and left a flat spot on the side, but the Commander said nothing. He reached out to take his partner in his arms, but instead the Quartermaster curled around him, wrapping his arms around the Commander's waist and burying his head in the back of the man's neck.

The Commander placed his hand over the Quartermaster's and leaned back into his embrace. The man's facial hair prickled at his neck, and his hair was still damp from the towel, but his breath was warm and his hold comforting.

"I suggest we limit the hours where people are free to interact with you. That way if you have to act, you don't have to do it the entire time. What if listed hours where you were yourself and hours where you continued that facade?"

"No." The Quartermaster tightened his arms around the Commander. "I don't want to hear the cruel things people say about how I'm two different people depending on the day. I'm going to drop the mask. If they don't like me, they can go to the other quartermaster, but I'm not going to keep doing this. I can be personable, or I can do my job, but I can't do both. And if my stiff, cold, prickly manner was enough to woo you, then it's good enough for them too."

"The goatee helped."

"Really?"

"Well... It made you stand out. But if this is how you want to handle moving forward, I support it. If anyone gives you trouble, the commander is your boyfriend. You don't have to wait in line to talk to me."

The Quartermaster hummed as he stretched his arms around the Commander's chest and rested his chin on the man's shoulder. "I love you, ████. Be careful what you invite-- you may never hear the end of me."

The Commander turned his head to see that thin sly smile he'd come to understand as the Quartermaster's joking tell. He quickly pecked the Quartermaster's cheek before returning the smile with his own grin. "I never want to hear the end of you."