withtheoldbreed | d-day + 43 ✯ video

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d-day + 43 ✯ video

[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?

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[Just from taking a look at it, Gene wouldn't say that not being afraid to get rough is a good thing, but maybe this is just another way in which he's not like the other guys. He's a marine, he's proved himself, but he's still a college kid from a wealthy family who never had to work a day in his life before boot camp, and he's still not the kind of guy you'd expect to want to join up. He doesn't have a hell of a lot of personal experience with sex or women, and this isn't the kind of thing he's thought about.

So Bill probably would have said something obscene and appreciative, or jealous, but Gene's not Bill, so he just shakes his head, grinning with more than a little disbelief because Snafu is weird and gross (and kind of spooky), so he shouldn't be surprised, but is vaguely so anyway.]

Better treat her right. Next time, she might actually take a chunk outta you.

[Snaf snorts and lets his collar fall back into place, smirk turning into an easier grin. Bill would maybe have given him more the reaction he wanted but something about Sledge's surprised-but-not-shocked reaction is good too.]

She don't wanna be treated right, Hammer. She wants to get fucked.

[He says it like he's explaining something that should be really obvious. The next words aren't really heated or mean but they are definitely a little mocking, because Snaf knows his buddy's kind of a sheltered kid when it comes to sex and that knowledge is absolutely amusing to him.]

Good thing she came to me an' not you for it.

[On the plus side, after months of being around this kind of thing, the explanation and the mockery both roll off Gene like water off a duck's back. Mostly.

(Because he's still - and might always be - eager to prove he can keep up with the other guys, and because a woman not wanting to be treated right just seems kind of sad and strange to him.)]

Yeah, well, I didn't come here plannin' on meeting girls, [He shoots back, conversationally as they continue down the stairs.] So I'll try not to cry myself to sleep about it.

Seein' as how I never planned on comin' here at all, seems I got more than enough free time to take care'a all them ladies you ain't lookin' to meet.

[Snafu retorts, not sounding at all bothered by the reminder of their different circumstances. He's in a good mood. Who cares if he had to die to get here?]

[Gene. Gene cares.

And, honestly, there's a sharp sort of feeling about how casually that comes out, because it's just another reminder and just- Christ. He doesn't want anyone else to get hurt, either, but why'd it have to be Snafu?

At least his response comes out pretty normal.]

You got enough free time to do whatever you want.

Sure, ain't got nothin' but time now.

[And seeing as he's not really ever expecting to (or even much wanting to) graduate, that's even more true. He still talks casually as they keep heading down towards the eighth floor, like he's not even aware that it might bother Gene at all.]

[But it does, and it makes his breath catch a little awkwardly in his throat as they keep walking. Gene's been here longer than he was on Peleliu, now - he's been keeping count - but it still feels like that month is stretched out to years in his memory, still remembers the heat and the desperate need for water, explosions, blood everywhere, decay, Burgie's face and the way his voice had almost cracked when he'd said it, sniper got the Skipper.

You don't have to go back, he half wants to say. You can get out and go home, but he doesn't, because he doesn't know if that'll help or make things worse or what.

The bear isn't heavy, not like a base plate or a stretcher with a body on it, but it suddenly feels like it is. Maybe he's just tired, and his shoulders slump a little further as they reach the flight of stairs on the sixth floor. At least they don't have much farther to go.]

[Sledge lapses into silence and Snafu watches the way weight seems to settle back down over him. He doesn't say anything, doesn't really even look for long. Neither the silence or the tiredness are new. His buddy carries his bear and Snaf leads the way.

(If Gene did say that, it probably wouldn't help or make things worse. Snaf just wouldn't know what to do with it. Go home? Get out? Those are very fucking foreign concepts, way too far off to touch him.)

Unless Gene breaks it, they'll make their way down the next two flights and along the hall to room 19 still in that same heavy silence.]

[Gene doesn't. Part of him wants to, but most of him just feels tired and overwhelmed in a way that might actually brush up against panicky if you nudge it the right way, like he's trapped with no oxygen. He can't leave - that's not ever going to be on the table, not until he gets his deal and knows Snafu's going to be okay - but he doesn't know how he's supposed to be here for years and then go back. How?

So it's easier to just be quiet. It's a heavy silence, but it doesn't really feel uncomfortable, as strange as that is. This is just how things are.

He follows a half step behind his friend because that feels a lot more natural than leading the way himself, and pauses outside the door, waiting for Snaf to open it.]

[For once the door is locked - he doesn't usually bother, there's not all that much he'd miss if someone wanted to steal it - but it doesn't take more than a moment or two to get it open. He heads into the tent/shack combo, expecting Sledge to follow right behind him. His own bear is half under Burgie's empty rack, tossed there carelessly next to a few of their buddy's personal belongings.

There's a pile of the various gifts he'd received sitting by the head of his cot and he takes a couple of the mini bottles of liquor, turning to toss one over to Gene once he has his attention. That done, he settles on the edge of his bed, eyes on Sledge, metal scraping as he unscrews the cap of his own bottle.]

[And again, once inside, it takes a moment for Gene to find somewhere to settle. It's a little less obvious than it was the first time, and it's less surreal to see it now that he knows what to expect, but it's still strange. And he still misses his friends. He manages to catch the bottle Snaf tosses to him and says "thanks", though, so at least he's not totally out of it or anything. He's fine. He can manage.

After a moment, he takes a seat on Jay's cot, setting the bear down next to him before working to unscrew the cap. Sledge isn't much of a drinker, so once it's open, he really only sips at it and tries not to make a face, even if part of him wonders if it would be better for Snafu to tease him about doing just that. Maybe it would help end the silence and not quite awkward tension in him.]

Edited (Fusses!!) 2015-01-09 15:28 (UTC)

[Snafu on the other hand downs about half of his mini bottle at once. He thinks he knows what role to play here - maybe what role Sledge expects him to play, wants him to even - and after another long moment of silent scrutiny, he does it, a mocking half-smile that looks natural but feels a little like a mask lingering at the corners of his mouth.]

You sippin' at that shit like you're scared it's gonna bite ya on the way down. Drink it, Eugene.

[He hasn't got rank over Sledge, technically (and on the ship, Sledge outranks him anyway, that's what the warden-inmate divide means ultimately, right?) but Snafu is still the veteran, and he says it like he'd said that shit about Gene's boondockers. This is a fact. This is what you need to do.]

Edited 2015-01-18 00:48 (UTC)

[It's comforting in a way the burn of alcohol is never going to be, and feels familiar in the way not much does here. It's insane to miss where he was - he knows that - but at least he understood that world, knew how to cope with it, had people he shared a common goal with in a much more specific sense than they do here. He misses that, even if he doesn't miss much else.

So it plays out the way it should: Gene shoots Snafu a look and knocks back the rest of the bottle - or most of it, anyway - just to prove he can. It burns going down and he makes a face, but he swallows and manages a look that's hopefully more wry or playful than disgusted.]

That pass muster with you?

[Snafu watches as he does it, that curl in the corners of his mouth feeling like it comes a little easier as Gene makes a face and swallows the alcohol down. It's not a solution - or not a good one or a long-term one - but for now it might help. It sort of looks like it is.]

Just about.

[He tips back his own bottle and finishes it off, then fishes another couple out of a nearby Christmas stocking and tosses one more over to Sledge. He's pretty sure his buddy ain't exactly a big drinker; two of these will probably be enough if what he needs is just a way to ease himself into sleep tonight.]

Keep practicin'.

[Snaf gets a soft, vaguely indignant snort from Sledge, but he catches the bottle anyway, maybe a little more naturally this time. He's still tense, but something's loosening a little, and that has to be good enough.]

Maybe another night, [He offers predictably, holding up the new bottle and shaking it gently to make a point.]

This is about enough for me.

[But he does twist the cap off this one too, and tries to choke it down without shuddering or making a face, just to prove he can.]

[Snafu clicks his tongue with a 'tch' sound at Sledge's point and he's about to retort that he should just shut up and drink the damn thing when he does, in fact, do just that. So Snaf just ends up flashing a grin before he uncaps his own new bottle, kicking the alcohol back like it's nothing, even though he feels the burn of it as it goes down too.]

Gonna go right to your head, I bet.

[He drawls it, mockingly, but there's an odd beat of hesitance too. He wonders if Sledge wants to stay here, but he can't quite bring himself to ask yet.]

[He does, and he can't, not sure if it's okay to ask or if it's something Snaf would be alright with. It's late, he's tired, and at some point he's going to be even sleepier with the buzz from the alcohol, but it still feels strange to just get up and say see you tomorrow or ask if he can just borrow Jay's rack for the night.

And he's certainly not explaining why he was out on deck or anything. (Let's be honest: the other marine knows already.)

So there's that beat, and then Sledge manages a soft laugh, still willing to be the butt of the joke.]

Probably. [There's another short pause.] At least it's probably not gonna make me go blind.

[One of the many reasons he'd eyed other people's Jungle Juice with more than a little wariness.]

[Snafu snorts a laugh himself at that, flipping the now-empty bottle in his hand and glancing at the label. It's from years after their time and it wasn't brewed out of whatever hard liquor and bits of fruit happened to be lying around, so it's pretty much as far from the kind of alcohol he's had for the last few years as you can get.]

Think you're gonna be safe on that count, Hammer, don't you fret.

[He doesn't reach for another bottle, instead just tossing the empty one aside and turning to stretch out on his cot as he adds:]

Knock you on your ass maybe but it ain't gonna fuck with your eyesight.

Hm. [Part of him feels like he should make a joke about that, or point out that Snaf's the one apparently getting cozy after two of the tiny bottles while he's still upright and potentially mobile, but he doesn't.]

You turnin' in?

[Gene's still feeling more or less okay, maybe a little fuzzy. He might be able to make it back to his own cabin under his own power.]

[Hey, look, he's not going to sleep yet, just getting comfortable. It's late and he just had kind of an intense encounter with a lady from the future. That's got him more worn out than the two little bottles of alcohol.]

Guess I will soon.

[He's on top of the blankets, and he doesn't make any move to kick off his boots or pull them over him. Instead he digs in his pocket for his cigarettes, putting one between his lips as he tips the pack towards Gene in a silent offer to toss them his way. He speaks casually, a verbal shrug.]

That rack ain't taken no more.

[Just so you know.]

[Gene hesitates only for a fraction of a second before reaching out for the pack of cigarettes, apparently accepting Snafu's not quite offer. Obviously. He feels a little like a coward for wanting it in the first place, and not even being able to just ask for it on top of that. He's not a kid who needs a security blanket or a favorite toy or a parent to help him sleep at night.

But he's exhausted, lonely, and rubbed raw by the nightmares, the stuffed bear, the photos of the other members of K/3/5 he's now got in his room, and he's still not sure how to cope with everything that's happened to him. How is he supposed to help anyone else?]

Might've noticed Jay's not around, [He says, a little wryly. So at least that's something.]

[Snafu passes them over and lights his own smoke after, keeping an eye on Sledge. They may not have to take turns sleeping so a Jap won't come sneaking out to jump them in the night and stab them both to death on this ship, but you watch out for your buddy. It's what you do. The habit is apparently difficult to break.]

Yeah. Wonder where the hell he got himself off to.

[The joke doesn't come out quite right, because of course, wherever Jay and Burgie and Bill are, they're still in it and Snafu isn't going to be going back to help out. Idly, he wonders who's replaced him as gunner on the mortar, but a moment later he shakes that thought away and turns his head to blow out a stream of smoke to the canvas tent ceiling above him. Look on the bright side. He shrugs and tries for something that might be meant to be comforting.]

Anyway, he ain't usin' it now. We ain't gotta take shifts, either.

[It's mostly comforting, even if there's at least some small part of Gene that hates how casual Snafu is about his death. Another part told him wonders if that's fair - if a man's made his peace with it, who is he to judge? - but at the same time, he's selfishly upset about it. He's so sick of seeing people wounded and killed and be able to do basically nothing about it. Why did it have to happen to Snaf, too?

But the offer still lifts some of the weight off his shoulders, so Gene takes out a cigarette, lights it, and passes the pack back over before hesitating again for a moment. When it passes, he lies down and takes a drag on his smoke, letting that and the pleasant him from the alcohol start to lull him a little.

He's so tired.]

Thanks, Snaf. [For the smoke, the booze, for keeping him company and extending the invitation to stay when Gene couldn't bring himself to ask for it himself, take your pick. Not needing to explain himself and just being able to relax on the uncomfortable but familiar cot is more than he could have asked for.]

Edited 2015-01-19 05:20 (UTC)

[More than he could have asked for maybe, but that's why he didn't need to ask. Snafu can read Sledge easily enough and by this time he's moved far enough past the point of wondering why he cares for it to be a given that he'll try to give his buddy whatever he needs, or at least something that might help a little.

(Of course he invited him to stay; of course he gave him alcohol and cigarettes. What's his is Gene's. Maybe he should feel stranger about that, when he's not usually the kind of person who shares without reason. But Sledge has been the exception almost from the very beginning, so maybe he shouldn't.)

The thanks makes him slightly uncomfortable, just a touch uneasy in some way he doesn't care to examine too closely. He smokes without replying, turning more fully onto his back and raising an arm to tuck his free hand behind his head. The alcohol isn't really hitting him much, just enough to make the pull of the smoke down his throat smoother, to make him warm. He thinks about asking after Gene's inmate, or what else he got for Christmas, or if he's still keeping track of the days here, but he doesn't. The silence stretches out again, a little lighter this time.]

[It feels like a more normal silence, the sort of comfortable thing that would stretch between them in a foxhole or while walking to wherever they needed to go next, and it - and the cigarette and the alcohol and the fact that this cot is uncomfortable but somehow more familiar than his bed from home - relaxes Gene in a way he probably couldn't explain if he wanted to.

So he lets it stretch and smokes his cigarette without interrupting it. By the time he's finished, his eyelids are starting to get heavy, and he snubs it out almost without thinking, lying back on the cot and curling up on his side. The bear winds up in the fold of his knees, and after a few more moments, his breathing evens out and he's asleep. Or close enough to that he will be shortly.

(For now, anyway, he's bizarrely comforted and comfortable, so why wouldn't he let his guard down and drift off?]

d-day + 43 ✯ video

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