d-day + 43 ✯ video

[withtheoldbreed]

[Sledge clicks on his comm and smiles a little cautiously at the camera. He's in his room - a well furnished bedroom with white walls and dark wooded furniture, all of which clashes pretty strongly with the battered combat uniform Gene's still wearing - and there's a pretty alarming pile of stockings and various stocking stuffers on his bed courtesy of all you guys.

Seriously, this is more candy and sweets and everything he's ever personally had in one place in his entire life.]

I just wanted to say thank you all for the gifts. Although I might need a little help with this one. [He holds up the CD player Ian got him.] I don't think the cable's gonna work in the outlets in here.

[They have two prongs, not three, and he's not going to just park in a common room and listen to music.

There's a pause as he puts the CD player down, and it's probably easy to see the uncertainty play out in his expression, like he's about to turn the comm off before he just goes ahead and holds up a bear wearing a pretty close adaptation of this uniform, complete with helmet. Uncertainty is still plain in his face, but there's something maybe a little wounded, too. (Not that that's anything new, really.)]

Did everyone get one of these bears?

Comments

spam!!

[badgerms]

[It's extremely weird to see Sledge in that room, in that context-- Or it would be, if Snafu was actually watching. He's not - though he'll probably watch it later - thanks to an apple pie that apparently was made in hell itself and the possibly slightly insane but sexy broad who gifted it to him.

Instead, he just finds his buddy smoking up on the deck later when Snaf heads out for a breath of fresh air (and a cigarette, but as he smokes everywhere on the Barge it's not like he's going up there for it specifically) before heading back to his cabin. It's late and quiet, deep in the early hours of the morning really, and something about the set of Sledge's shoulders puts him a little on edge. When he approaches, movements looking languid and almost lazy even if he doesn't feel it, he sees that Gene is staring down at a teddy bear wearing a familiar-looking uniform he's got loosely held in one hand over the railing. Snafu got one himself and for a moment he thinks it's the same one, except his is more casual, stripped to the waist with small dogtags around its neck proclaiming it to be RV Burgin. He left it under Burgie's bed in his cabin, anyway.]

Sledgehammer.

[It's not a question but it could almost be one.]

spam!!

[withtheoldbreed]

[Sledge has been up here for a while. He's got a jacket thrown over his uniform, but it's still bitterly cold, and it's helping him feel a little bit numb and a little more awake than he would be without it. A good thing, too, because he'd woken up screaming an hour or so ago and couldn't get back to sleep.

He hears the footsteps crunching in the snow behind him and half turns, taking in the familiar figure of his foxhole buddy wearing the winter coat Gene got him for Christmas over his uniform, and there's a moment where he's glad to see that, because their uniforms are absolutely not built for this.

But then abruptly, he feels like he's been caught doing something stupid, and looks down almost guiltily at the stuffed animal he'd brought out with him. There's a crazy moment where he feels like he should hide the bear, but there's nowhere he can do it without calling more attention to it (hiding it behind his back, cramming it in his jacket) or losing it permanently (throwing it over the side, and even though it's just a stuffed bear, he feels like he can't bring himself to do that to something that's supposed to represent the Skipper), so Sledge just winds up holding it awkwardly in front of him as he turns around to face his friend properly.]

Snaf. [He's not sure what else to say, and it's not enough of a question to get anything out of him.

(Besides, Snafu will be able to tell how worn out and troubled he is. That's been more or less his constant state of being the entire time they've known each other.)]

spam!!

[badgerms]

[Sledge looks worn in a way that is very familiar, even if on the Barge it hasn't been quite as common as it was on Peleliu. There's enough light to see shadows in the hollows under his eyes. Snafu's eyes drift down to the bear again, taking a closer look and realising who it's probably meant to resemble. He sniffs and drops his gaze, crunching closer to his buddy over the snow after a beat or two of hesitation, tapping his cigarette against the pack to settle the tobacco before he hangs it between his lips.]

Got one'a them too.

[It's casual, just a remark as he leans his elbows on the railing - facing inwards towards the deck's centre with his back to the stars - and he flips his lighter idly in his hand while he says it.]

spam!!

[withtheoldbreed]

[Gene shifts so he's leaning against the railing too, settling comfortably beside his friend, even if his shoulders are still somehow tense and slumped from wariness and lack of sleep. He takes a drag on his cigarette - almost gone, now, and it still hasn't quite taken the edge off from the nightmare - before he says anything else.]

Who's yours supposed to be? [But again, he feels weirdly guilty about it. Maybe it's not a fair question to ask, and he won't hold it against Snaf if he doesn't want to answer.]

spam!!

[badgerms]

[If the bear was supposed to be someone else or if he was talking to anyone else, he probably wouldn't. But seeing as it's Sledge and seeing as he's out here in the cold in the dead of night looking shaken up with a bear dressed like Ack Ack in his hand, Snafu just shrugs and answers honestly.]

Burgie.

[It's less that he misses him exactly and more that he feels just the slightest sting of useless guilt about dying and leaving the sergeant in the lurch. Burgie's been good to him since Gloucester, and they're buddies. Were. He flicks the lighter and lights his cigarette, eyeing the fraction Gene's got left on his before pulling his smokes out again and silently offering the pack out.]

[darknessb4me]

Yes.

[He has a little emaciated bear in a purple kilt. It's sort of cute but also sort of weird.]

[withtheoldbreed]

Did yours come looking like that?

[darknessb4me]

Yes. I know who it's supposed to be, but the idea is ridiculous.

[withtheoldbreed]

Sorry.

[darknessb4me]

You didn't do it.

[thelastbullet]

[He's not sure how to say this, because Eugene's gifts were both thoughtful and way nicer than what he'd gotten him, but he also has no idea what else he could've gone with. He's not used to this kind of thing. So he's just frowning a little in his reply, but not unhappily.]

Thanks for the record player, Eugene.

[No mention of the sort of redheaded bear in a dress that he's shoved in a drawer, not without a slight tinge of guilt. Sorry, mamabear.]

[withtheoldbreed]

You're welcome. [Look, Gene doesn't want for much when it comes to this kind of thing, so the present was appreciated regardless, and he looks genuinely happy to hear that Jimmy liked his.]

If you wanna try any food from the future, I think I've got enough of it for four people.

[thelastbullet]

Any recommendations? Or anythin' I shouldn't be trying?

[withtheoldbreed]

Some of the candy's not bad.

[thelastbullet]

You're makin' the future sound real good, there. [He leans out of shot for a second, then picks up the pin-up calendar Snafu'd given him.] Almost as good as your friend did.

[anewlanguage]

[The bear is kinda cute. Kitschy but, you know, most pro-soldier things that civilians make are.]

Nope. Someone must like you, kid.

[withtheoldbreed]

Guess so.

[He doesn't sound overly convinced - there's something hollow behind the polite humor.]

[anewlanguage]

What's wrong? [Cain has asked this question a hundred times and never received a straight answer from anyone, so he expects evasion.]

[withtheoldbreed]

I'm fine, thank you.

[anewlanguage]

[Yup there it is.]

Ever play poker?

[punched_hitler]

They make adapters for the outlets. I'll bet I can get you one.

You're welcome - and thank you, too. I'm definitely gonna use those.

[withtheoldbreed]

Thanks. And you're welcome. [It seemed like a decent idea, given how good Steve was as a kid.

He smile gets a little sheepish, and maybe self deprecating.]

I might need a little help with the coffee maker, too.

[Seeing as how he's never exactly made his own decent quality coffee before.]

[punched_hitler]

[He's kind of excited - he's never had so many (or such good) art supplies at his disposal, before. Even after he woke up in the 21st century, it just hadn't been a priority.

Now, though, he's going to make it a priority. Put this stuff to good use... and he's looking forward to it.]

Oh? Yeah, I can help with that, too. It sure beats brewing the instant stuff in your helmet.

[withtheoldbreed]

Respectfully, Cap, I'm pretty sure just about anything's better than that.

[punched_hitler]

Hey, you don't know. You've never had my coffee, have you?

[Yeah, you're right Sledge, and Steve's teasing grin should say that much.] We'll get you set up, trust me. Once you get the hang of one or two things, most other stuff's pretty intuitive. [And at least your "home" is mostly familiar, right? He had to deal with learning lots of new gadgets all at once... but they can be figured out.]

By the way, I got a bear, too. I do think everyone did.