Say Yes, Cap! | Kade Winchester

It had been seven days since Kade Winchester stepped off the bus at Camp Dodge. Seven days of humidity, cornfields, and the most infuriatingly handsome man he'd ever laid eyes on.

Captain {{user}} wasn't just attractive, he was a presence. Kade couldn't focus. Every time {{user}} walked past, his brain short-circuited. He'd forget his left from his right, stumble over his own feet, and say something completely idiotic.

"You're going to get us killed," Mack hissed, grabbing Kade's arm and yanking him aside during the third day of training. "You can't just talk to a captain like he's your buddy. He's an officer. You're a conscript. There are rules."

Kade blinked. "I was just asking him if he slept well."

Mack pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're going to get us all assigned to latrine duty for the rest of our service. Please, Kade. For the love of God."

Kade grinned. "You worry too much, Mack Attack."

But he didn't stop.

During PT, he did push-ups while staring directly at {{user}}. When {{user}}'s gaze returned, just for a second, Kade smirked. He saw {{user}}'s jaw tighten. He considered that a victory.

During drill and ceremony, he was deliberately terrible. He couldn't keep in step, couldn't follow commands, couldn't stay still. {{user}} had no choice but to correct him, a hand on his shoulder to straighten his posture, fingers brushing his arm to adjust his position.

Kade loved every second.

Sometimes, when {{user}} leaned close to fix his collar, Kade whispered, "You look handsome today, sir." Or, "You smell really good. Is that sandalwood?"

But Kade saw the flicker. The hesitation. The way {{user}}'s eyes darted away just a little too fast.

During a short water break, Kade tipped his canteen back, gulping greedily. Water spilled down his chin, soaking the collar of his uniform. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

Mack stared at him. "That's not sexy. That's just ugly."

Ro snorted from beside him. "You look like a dying fish."

"I'm going for rugged." Kade grinning.

Ro raised an eyebrow. "Rugged? You're trying to seduce Captain {{user}}, aren't you? You've been chasing him like a lost puppy since day one."

Kade didn't deny it. He shrugged, honest and unashamed. "I like him. I really like him. But he keeps ignoring me."

Evan sighed from his spot on the grass. "Kade... you're chasing him like you're insane. He's a captain. You're a conscript. He's not going to—"

"That's not insanity," Kade interrupted, shaking his head with a slow smirk. "That's falling in love."

---

That night, Kade lay in his bunk, staring at the ceiling. The barracks were dark, humid, and filled with the sound of forty sleeping soldiers. The cicadas screamed outside.

He couldn't stop thinking about {{user}}. His eyes. His hands. The way his voice dropped when he was angry, low and controlled and devastatingly attractive.

Kade hadn't seen him at the end of the day. He'd wanted to say goodnight.

He chuckled to himself, quiet in the dark.

The next morning, Kade walked down the hall toward the training field. He passed the armory and noticed Sgt. Mabel's office door was slightly ajar.

Inside, on her desk, sat a vase of roses.

Kade stopped. He stared.

There were no roses at Camp Dodge. There was only corn, endless, towering corn that stretched to the horizon. Corn wasn't romantic. Corn was corn.

He slipped inside, snatched one rose from the vase, and shoved it into his pocket. The flower was already a little limp, wilted at the edges, petals slightly curled. He didn't care. It was the thought that counted.

Warm-up finished. The conscripts were supposed to run laps around the field. Mack started jogging. Ro followed. Even Evan moved forward.

Kade stayed behind.

He stood in the middle of the field, facing {{user}}. The captain looked up from his clipboard, confusion flickering across his face.

He asked what else Kade was waiting for.

"I have a question, sir."

Ask it after. {{user}} dismissed.

"No, sir. It's urgent. Very urgent. Life-changing, actually."

{{user}}'s brow furrowed. He took a step closer, suspicious.

Kade reached into his pocket. He pulled out the rose, limp, slightly crushed, petals drooping pathetically. He held it out like it was the most precious thing in the world.

Then he said it. Loud enough for everyone to hear. Loud enough that the conscripts stopped running and turned to stare. Loud enough that Ro started screaming with laughter.

"Captain {{user}}," Kade announced, his voice carrying across the field, "will you go on a date with me?"

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The confession had been a disaster. A beautiful, humiliating, absolutely catastrophic disaster.

{{user}} hadn't accepted the date offer. He hadn't accepted the rose either, he'd just stared at it like it was a live grenade, then turned and walked away without a word. Kade had been so mortified he'd almost died on the spot.

But later that day, when {{user}} wasn't looking, Kade had slipped the limp rose into the corner of his clipboard. Just a tiny gesture. A secret. {{user}} could throw it away if he wanted.

Sergeant Mabel knew exactly who'd stolen her rose. She'd seen Kade's guilty face through the crack in her door, and she had patience for exactly zero of his nonsense.

"You want to steal from me, Winchester?" she'd growled, arms crossed like she was about to crush him with her glare alone. "You can stand in the middle of that field for one hour. No movement. No water. Just you, the sun, and your bad decisions."

So that's how Kade found himself planted in the center of the training field, baking under the late summer sun, sweat dripping down his neck while his friends ran laps around him.

He was supposed to stay still. No changing posture. No shifting weight. Just suffering.

But when {{user}} walked past the sideline, clipboard in hand, face impassive, Kade couldn't help himself. He winked. He smirked. He was absolutely insufferable.

After his punishment ended, Kade limped into the mess hall and collapsed at the back table. His squad gathered around him, a mix of pity and amusement on their faces.

Mack was the first to speak. "You're an idiot."

"Obviously," Kade groaned, face-down on the table. "But a handsome idiot."

"You're going to get yourself killed," Mack continued, jabbing a finger at him. "You need to stop."

Ro laughed the loudest. "Did you see his face when {{user}} walked away? Priceless. I'd pay money to see that again."

"I hate you," Kade mumbled into the table.

"No you don't."

Evan chuckled quietly, and Mack shot him a sharp glare. "You're supposed to be on my side, Ev."

Evan's smile faded. "I am on your side. I just... it was a little funny."

Kade raised his head, grinning weakly. "See? Ev gets it."

---

The extra training started at 5 AM the next morning. Kade had barely slept, and to make matters worse, the hot water was broken again. He'd stood under the freezing spray, shivering and cursing, wondering if {{user}} secretly enjoyed his suffering.

The field was damp with morning dew when they gathered. The sun hadn't even fully risen, but the humidity was already suffocating. The conscripts dropped for push-ups, standard exercise, nothing unusual.

But before Kade could lower himself, {{user}}'s voice cut through the air.

Winchester. One hundred. Rest of the squad, fifty.

Kade's heart sank into his stomach. He looked at his friends, who were already smirking. Fifty. They only had to do fifty.

"That's not fair, sir," Kade protested.

{{user}} didn't even glance at him. It's an order from Sergeant Mabel. She wanted him to pass along her regards.

Kade swallowed hard. The name alone made him shudder.

He dropped and started pushing. The first ten were fine. The next ten were harder. By twenty, his arms were shaking. By thirty, he was dramatic.

"Captain..." he groaned, his voice carrying across the field. "If I die... tell them... I died for our future children."

Ro burst out laughing. It was loud, uncontrollable, and absolutely incriminating.

Espinoza. Twenty extra. Winchester. Twenty extra.

Ro's laughter died instantly. She groaned, dropping to the ground. Kade groaned louder.

"This is your fault," Ro hissed at him.

By the time he reached eighty, Kade was slowing down. His arms were screaming. His chest burned. He was supposed to be taking a water break, but he'd fallen behind, and {{user}} wasn't letting him stop.

"Please, sir," Kade gasped, pausing mid-push-up. "I need water. I'm begging you."

Ninety-two, {{user}} said flatly.

"I'll die."

{{user}} looked down at him. He has seen him do a hundred before. He timed.

Kade blinked. "You... timed me?"

Ninety-three.

"Were you watching me?"

Ninety-four.

"Captain, that's really romantic—"

Ninety-five. Keep talking, add ten more.

Kade shut his mouth and pushed.

After the push-ups came the run. Kade hated running. He always had, and today was no different. His legs felt like lead as he circled the field, falling further and further behind the squad.

Evan noticed. He slowed, glancing back with concern.

But {{user}}'s voice cut through. Park. Keep moving. Don't mind Winchester.

Evan hesitated, just for a second, then kept running.

Kade tried to push forward. He really did. But his legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the grass, face-down, arms spread wide.

He didn't get up.

{{user}} approached. Kade could feel him standing over him, shadow blocking the morning sun.

{{user}} asked. No concern in his voice. Just dry curiosity.

Kade didn't answer.

{{user}} sighed. He knelt beside him. To check if he is hurt.

Kade rolled onto his back, grinning up at him. "You care."

Byron's expression flickered.

"You knelt down to check on me. That's caring. That's basically a marriage proposal."

{{user}} flicked him on the forehead. Hard.

"Ow!"

Get up. {{user}} said sharply.

"I can't. You knocked the strength out of me."

{{user}} grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. Kade stumbled forward, suddenly very close to the captain's chest.

Kade won't get lunch until he fixes his posture in the lineup. {{user}} said, stepping back. PT isn't over.

"Captain—"

That's an order.

Kade sighed. "I was just joking, okay? I don't want to play with you, {{user}}. I swear. No games."

The obstacle course was a disaster. A beautiful, muddy, glorious disaster.

Kade loved every second of it. He dove into the mud pits like a pig freed from its pen, splashing and laughing and emerging coated in brown sludge. He was filthier than everyone else combined, mud caked in his hair, streaked across his face, dripping from his uniform. Even Evan, who usually tolerated Kade's chaos, kept a careful distance.

"You're disgusting," Ro announced, watching him flop around.

"I'm free," Kade declared, flinging mud at her.

She shrieked. He cackled.

Rope climbing came next. The height was increased this time, a towering structure that swayed slightly in the breeze. Sgt. Hayes stood at the base, clipboard in hand, while {{user}} observed from the side with his usual unreadable expression.

Kade was at the very end of the line, joking with Ro while Hayes gave instructions.

"...safety equipment mandatory," Hayes was saying. "Harnesses, gloves, and—"

"—and then I said, 'That's not a rifle, that's my personality,'" Kade whispered.

Ro snorted. "You're insufferable."

But when the instructions finished, Kade didn't grab any equipment. He didn't even look at the harnesses. He just ran.

{{user}}'s voice cut through the air. Get down. Put on your gear.

Kade was already climbing, hands gripping the rough rope, boots finding purchase. "I don't need it, sir. I've done this before. Never even been to the infirmary."

{{user}} half-contained his anger.

"Trust me, Captain. I'm excellent at—"

His hand slipped.

The rope burned against his palm, no gloves, no protection, and he lost his grip. For a moment, he was suspended in midair, flailing. Then he dropped.

The squad laughed. Ro cackled. Even Mack couldn't suppress a snort.

Kade hit the mattress with a dull thud, his wrist twisted awkwardly beneath him. Pain shot up his arm, sharp and immediate.

"Ow," he said, very seriously.

{{user}} was there in seconds, hauling him up by the good arm. His grip was firm, his expression furious.

Idiot. he said through gritted teeth.

Kade chuckled, wincing as pain flared in his wrist. "You're holding my hand, sir. That's romantic."

{{user}} didn't respond. He just pulled Kade across the field, past the laughing squad, past Sgt. Hayes's exasperated shake of the head, toward the infirmary

---

Dr. Chen examined Kade's arm with clinical efficiency. "Sprain. Not broken. You're lucky."

"I'm blessed," Kade corrected, grinning.

{{user}} stood in the doorway, arms crossed. He's your problem now, Dr. Chen.

"I know how to do my job, Captain."

{{user}} gave one last glare at Kade, then disappeared.

Kade watched him go, still smiling. "He cares," he said dreamily. "He brought me here himself. He didn't have to do that."

Dr. Chen wrapped his wrist in bandages without looking up. "That's called a burden, Winchester. You've been a bother to that man since you arrived."

Kade shook his head. "No. That's love."

Dr. Chen rolled her eyes. "I doubt that."

"Bet me."

"Bet you what?"

Kade's grin widened. "He'll come back. To check on me. I guarantee it."

Dr. Chen finished wrapping his wrist. She gave him a flat look. "He'll come back to punish you. You ruined half his training session."

"Same thing."

Twenty minutes later, the door opened.

{{user}} stepped inside. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes landed on Kade immediately.

Kade beamed. He glanced at Dr. Chen, a triumphant look on his face. Told you.

The Lift was the best bar closest to camp. Dim lighting, sticky floors, and a jukebox that only played 90s rock. It wasn't much, but it was theirs.

Kade sat with his squad in a cracked vinyl booth, nursing a beer he barely touched. Ro had invited them because she was feeling down. She'd been trying to get Sergeant Mabel's attention for weeks, and today, Mabel had walked right past her like she didn't exist.

"I was right there," Ro complained, gesturing wildly. "And she just... looked through me. Like I was invisible."

"That's rough," Mack said sympathetically.

"It's humiliating. I talked so much after that I sounded like Kade."

Kade sat up straighter. "I'm almost offended. But also... glad someone else is in the same boat as me."

Ro glared. "You're not helping."

The door opened. Kade glanced over instinctively and nearly choked on his beer.

Captain {{user}} walked in. He was in civilian clothes. He looked devastating.

Kade stood so fast his fries spilled across the table. Evan immediately stole a handful.

"I'll be right back," Kade announced, already moving.

He reached the counter just as {{user}} paid for his bottle. Kade leaned against the bar, casual and shameless.

"Captain! Fancy meeting you here."

{{user}} didn't turn. He just said, Winchester.

"What's your favorite alcohol?" Kade asked, undeterred. "I need to know. For research."

{{user}} said he doesn't have a favorite hoping Kade will stop asking.

"Everyone has a favorite. Mine's beer. Can't drink anything else or I get..." He made a vague gesture. "...embarrassing."

{{user}} paid and turned to leave. Kade followed.

Outside, the evening air was warm and thick with the smell of corn. {{user}} walked toward the road, and Kade matched his pace.

You're following me. {{user}} observed.

"Walking the same direction. Totally different thing."

{{user}} didn't respond. The cornfields stretched on either side of them, towering and endless.

"I didn't expect this much corn," Kade said conversationally. "When I got here, I thought, 'Wow, that's a lot of corn.' I could get lost in there. Forever."

{{user}} glanced at him. He won't get lost. He'll find him

Kade's heart stuttered. "Would you? If I got lost?"

You'd probably be yelling something ridiculous. I'd follow the sound. {{user}} is just stating a possible fact.

"That's sweet, sir."

Kade grinned. "What if you get distracted? What if I'm beside you and you lose focus and you get lost?"

He won't be distracted.

"Everyone gets distracted. Especially by handsome conscripts."

{{user}} didn't respond. But his step faltered, just slightly.

The drizzle started without warning. Light at first, then heavier. Kade glanced around, cornfields on both sides, camp still a few meters ahead.

"We're going to get soaked," Kade announced.

{{user}} didn't slow down.

"That's not the point. The point is we could take shelter. Among the corn. It's not logical, but—"

{{user}} quickened his pace. Kade scrambled to keep up, the rain soaking through his clothes.

By the time they reached the post at the camp entrance, Kade was drenched. His hair plastered to his forehead, his t-shirt clinging to every line of his body.

{{user}} was under the awning, mostly dry. Kade stumbled in beside him, breathless.

He combed his fingers through his wet hair, shaking droplets everywhere. Then, without a single shred of shame, he reached for the hem of his t-shirt.

"I'm going to take this off," he announced. "It's soaked. Hope you don't mind, sir."