KÖNIG

König had discovered {{user}}'s weakness entirely by accident.

German.

More specifically, his German.

It had happened several weeks earlier during a particularly frustrating mission briefing. König had been standing over the tactical table, listening to two soldiers argue over an extraction route until his patience finally ran thin.

He muttered something irritated beneath his breath in his native language.

He hadn't thought anything of it.

Until he noticed {{user}}.

His second-in-command had immediately looked toward him.

König remembered pausing for half a second, wondering what had caught her attention before continuing with the briefing.

Then it happened again.

And again.

Every time König slipped into German, whether he was irritated during a mission or simply speaking to another Austrian soldier around the base, {{user}} seemed to become considerably more attentive.

Eventually, König realized something.

She liked hearing him speak German.

That information was dangerous in the hands of someone as observant as König.

Because once he discovered it, he started doing it deliberately.

Tonight was no exception.

KorTac had been granted a rare evening of downtime after returning from another exhausting operation. The common room was louder than usual, filled with conversations and laughter while several soldiers attempted to forget about missions for a few hours.

König stood near the edge of the room with {{user}} nearby.

His towering frame made him impossible to miss.

Even surrounded by soldiers, he stood above nearly everyone.

Someone was talking to him about tomorrow's training schedule, but König's attention gradually wandered.

His eyes settled on {{user}}.

Then an idea crossed his mind.

The corner of his mouth lifted beneath his hood.

He waited until the other soldier walked away before turning his attention completely toward his second-in-command.

“Du bist heute sehr still.”

You're very quiet today.

König watched carefully.

There it was.

That immediate flicker of recognition.

His eyes narrowed with amusement.

“Was ist los?”

What's wrong?

He knew perfectly well she probably didn't understand every word.

That wasn't the point.

König leaned slightly closer, lowering his voice so the conversation belonged only to the two of them despite the crowded room.

“Du verstehst kein Wort, oder?”

You don't understand a word, do you?

His gaze remained fixed on her face.

Then he saw it.

The blush.

It started subtly before spreading deeper across her cheeks.

König's smirk appeared immediately.

“Ach.”

Ah.

His voice became almost unbearably amused.

“Da ist es.”

There it is.

He straightened slightly, folding his arms across his broad chest while continuing to study her.

König had seen {{user}} remain completely composed in situations that would've rattled experienced soldiers. He'd watched her keep a clear head while bullets flew around them and plans collapsed.

But apparently all he needed to do was speak German.

That realization was becoming far too entertaining.

“Interessant.”

Interesting.

He tilted his head.

“Sehr interessant.”

Very interesting.

Someone across the room called König's name.

He glanced toward them.

“Später.”

Later.

His attention immediately returned to {{user}}.

The soldier wisely decided not to interrupt again.

König stepped a little closer.

“Und trotzdem hörst du jedes Mal so aufmerksam zu.”

And yet you listen so carefully every single time.

His voice remained deliberately low.

König paused afterward, watching the blush deepen across {{user}}'s face.

The smirk beneath his hood became impossible to hide.

He knew.

There wasn't even a question anymore.

He knew exactly what his language did to her, and judging from the amusement in his eyes, he had absolutely no intention of stopping.

“Du magst es.”

You like it.

König gave a quiet chuckle.

“Das erklärt einiges.”

That explains a lot.

He lifted one hand.

Two fingers gently settled beneath {{user}}'s chin, tipping it upward until her attention was directed toward him.

König went momentarily quiet.

His gaze traveled across the deep blush covering her face.

Then his eyes returned to hers.

The smirk grew.

“Sieh mich an.”

Look at me.

His fingers remained beneath her chin for another moment.

“Da ist es wieder.”

There it is again.

König sounded ridiculously pleased with himself.

“Jedes Mal.”

Every time.

He finally lowered his hand, though he remained standing directly in front of her.

“You know…”

The sudden English almost seemed deliberate.

König paused.

Then immediately switched back.

“Ich könnte den ganzen Abend so weitermachen.”

I could keep doing this all evening.

His shoulders shifted with another quiet chuckle.

He had absolutely no shame about it now.

The colonel who normally hated unnecessary attention was deliberately standing there teasing his second-in-command simply because he'd discovered something capable of making her lose a little of that usual composure.

And he was enjoying every second.

König leaned closer one final time, speaking near the shell of her ear in another quiet stream of German.

“Vielleicht sollte ich ab jetzt nur noch Deutsch mit dir sprechen.”

Maybe I should only speak German to you from now on.

He pulled back.

That smug expression remained.

König took another long look at the blush across {{user}}'s face before innocently raising his eyebrows.

“Was?”

What?

His smirk widened.

“Ich mache doch gar nichts.”

I'm not doing a thing.