A/N: This one-shot was inspired by koganphrancis, from the photo and the story of the photo that can be found at rarehistoricalphotos dot com /naked-gunner-rescue-rabaul-1944/. This story is dedicated to koganphrancis and thinkisawakitty ;3 Furthermore, this Kogan AU depicts an alternate timeline of this exact scene and hence, I am exercising freedom in changing the ages of some of the crew, specifically of the photographer and the naked gunner, and the circumstances… ;3

Here we go! :3

The Naked Gunner – A Kogan AU One-shot

My name is Hortense Logan Mitchell, but I prefer to be called Logan Mitchell. I am a recruit of the U.S. Naval Aviation Photographic Unit since 1941, and I am one of the six photographers under the command of Captain Edward J. Steichen tasked to document World War II in places such as South Africa and Japan.

After being assigned on various photography missions during the course of the War, I was eventually assigned to a crew of a PBY Catalina aircraft that performs either combat missions or sea rescue missions. I easily became buddies with the officers and the rest of the crew of the plane.

I also became very fond of one of the gunners, because he was very cool and friendly, yet very fierce during his duties as a gunner during combat missions. His name was Kendall Donald Knight. We quickly became best buddies. We get along very well quickly with our fellow soldiers because friendship is the only closest thing we can always hold on to, and we need all the friendships we can have because war is a very stressful thing to endure. I still remember those times when he kept teasing me and calling me Hortense, which I really dislike so much, and so I teasingly call him Donald, which also ticks him off and I get ended up being given noogies by Donald, I mean, Kendall…

On combat missions, our PBY Catalina was called a "Cat", and during rescue missions, our plane was called a "Dumbo." When I started my assignment with this plane and crew, we initially had combat missions during the first few days, and then one day, our plane was given a "Dumbo" mission.

It was already 1944, and after the success of the Guadalcanal Campaign started the turnaround of the progress of the War, some of the planes and ships were assigned to conduct part of Operation Cartwheel. One of these missions included attacking the major Japanese military installations at Rabaul on New Britain Island in Papua New Guinea. However, during the course of the combat mission, one of the planes was shot down in Rabaul Bay. Our PBY was tasked to perform a "Dumbo" mission to pick up the airman. We were the closest aircraft aloft in the area after taking off from the Guadalcanal airstrip, so we were given the task to rescue the airman.

When we neared Rabaul, we saw that the Japanese were shooting at the airman from the island. And then they saw us and they started shooting at us as we landed our aircraft in the water. As we neared the airman, it was apparent that he was blinded (hopefully temporarily) when his plane went down, and he needs someone to pull him into the plane. As our starboard side was the one facing the island, the right-hand side gunner was busy shooting at the Japanese soldiers from the island. Kendall was manning the left-hand side and can't function as a gunner. As I watched from the right-hand side gunner blister, Kendall tapped me on the shoulder. I looked around and saw him starting to shed his clothes.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm going to retrieve the airman," Kendall said.

I then figured out why he was taking his clothes off. Kendall won't be able to swim very well wearing his boots and clothes, so he removed them all. ALL. Even before I could comprehend everything that was happening, Kendall opened a door and jumped into the water and swam towards the blinded airman. He then pulled the airman towards the aircraft, where the rest of the crew pulled him into the plane. Kendall then followed suit. He immediately closed the door and the crew hurried to get out of the area, as the Japanese were still shooting at them. Kendall didn't even bother to put his clothes back on, because he needed to return to his position at the port side gun ASAP. As the airplane finally took off, it made a turn southwest back to Guadalcanal, which meant that the plane is vulnerable at the rear, and so Kendall and the other gunner (I think his name was Peter, if I recall correctly) pointed their guns towards the rear and both fired towards the island to try to deter the Japanese from continuing to fire at us. During the course of the events, I was able to take a few photographs of the rescue, and seeing this unusual sight of a naked gunner, I trained my camera on him and took a picture of Kendall while he's still manning his gun as we make our crazed takeoff away from Rabaul.

When I finished taking the shot, I held my camera lower and gazed at Kendall. He's naked and wet all over with seawater, clad only in his headset. Despite being naked and wet, he's standing in his combat pose as he mans his gun. I continue to stare at his naked glory as I appreciate seeing him like this for the very first time. His wet blonde hair. His serious battle face. The way his muscles tense up as he holds the huge gun and fires towards the island. The water beading on his bare back and trickling down to his butt. His butt was unusually pale compared to the rest of his body, since it was always covered by shorts or underwear when he's working shirtless on the airstrip in hot and humid Guadalcanal. He shifted a bit and I got to see that aside from Kendall holding a huge gun with his "huge guns", he also has a huge fucking gun between his legs! He was a sight to behold. I swallowed hard at the sight of this naked, handsome perfection. Oh, wait, did I forget to tell you I was gay? Well, now you know…

Anyway, eventually we reached a safe height and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The rest of the crew began to tend to the blinded airman and administer first aid. The starboard side gunner left his station to try to help the airman who was in the middle of the cabin. Kendall, meanwhile remained in his gun, watching a bit for the possibility of Japanese airplanes that would try to follow them. Luckily, there weren't any Japanese Zeros that followed us, and Kendall finally breathed a second sigh of relief as he removed his headset and placed it on one of the handles of his gun.

I tried to distract myself from the naked god in front of me and decided to pick all the articles of clothing that Kendall shed in order to rescue their fellow soldier. When I had gathered everything, I handed it to him.

"You did a great job there, Donald!" I said, absent-mindedly using his middle name.

"Thanks, buddy! Wait… Did you just call me Donald?" Kendall asked with a jokingly fake irritated tone.

"Uh… Sorry, Donald! I mean, Kendall!" I said, saying his middle name absent-mindedly again as I try to distract my mind from ogling over the naked friend that was in front of me.

"Oh, you're gonna get it!" Kendall said smilingly, grabbing my head with his left arm and pulling me close to him.

His pull was so sudden that I lost grip of his clothes and they all fell back on the floor. As my head ended up in a headlock against Kendall's chest, he used his other hand to give me a noogie.

"That's what you get, Hortense, for calling me Donald! You want some more?" Kendall says laughingly as he continues giving me the noogie.

I was also laughing as I tried to pull away from him. "Stop it, Kindle! Okay! Okay! You win!" I desperately plead for him to let go as his noogie was both a bit painful and it tickled. I had to put my right hand on the left side of his waist, and my left arm on the right side of his abdomen to try to push myself out of Kendall's headlock, but I really couldn't. Everyone else was busy flying the plane and attending to the airman that no one noticed us goofing off at the rear of the plane. Because I was in such a tight headlock that my eyes were closed, I just tried to do anything to push Kendall away from me. But because his body was wet, my left hand slipped and brushed against Kendall's dick.

I was surprised to feel that it was hard. I stopped struggling, and Kendall also stopped giving me the noogie. He released his headlock on me and I was finally able to open my eyes. Kendall was… hard?! I looked up at Kendall in confusion. As I stare into his green eyes, this blonde gunner suddenly smiled and gave me a wink. He then glanced behind him and saw that nobody was looking at them. He returned his gaze at me and whispered to my ear, "You know what, buddy… I kinda like you…"

I couldn't believe what I just heard. This guy that I like… also likes me?

"I… I… Kindle… I… I like you too…" I finally blurted out. Luckily the loud noise of the engines on the wings made sure that our conversation was only audible between us.

Kendall slowly leaned forward, and I also leaned forward… And, we had our first kiss.

Our first kiss felt warm and firm, and it felt good. It was a very electrifying moment and I felt my heart suddenly racing. However, we had to pull out of our first kiss after just five seconds, because we can't afford getting caught. Unfortunately, the US military doesn't like homosexuality, and soldiers who are caught are immediately dishonourably discharged. We took the risk in the heat of the moment, and luckily we got away with it. As we parted our lips, we both smiled at each other, and Kendall gave me another wink. My heart was still beating so fast, but I had to act as if nothing happened, just in case the crew decides to call us to help with the rescued airman. I then picked up Kendall's clothes again and he began dressing himself as I went to the rest of the crew to take a photograph of the first aid treatment of the rescued soldier and help in treating him. Luckily it seemed that the airman was temporarily blinded by aircraft fuel that sprayed into his eyes when his plane went down, and it would be easily treated once we land at Guadalcanal.

Afterwards, I went back to Kendall's station and had a brief chat with him.

"You really like me, Kindle?" I asked.

Kendall smiled once again and discreetly held my hand.

"Yes, I really like you, Logie. Ever since I saw you for the first time here aboard this plane, I realized I really really like you"

"But, what about the military? They'll kick us out for sure!"

"Let's just be discreet about it until the War ends and we can get honourably discharged. This War will have to end anyway."

"Okay, Kindle. I trust you." I said with a smile.

And Kendall gently squeezed my hand as he continued smiling at me.

After a few hours, our plane landed at the Guadalcanal airstrip. The airman was quickly carried to the makeshift military hospital as the rest of us were given a break for the next two hours to prepare us for another Dumbo or Cat mission. Kendall and I hurriedly went deep into the jungle, and after finding a safe secluded spot, crashed our lips into each other as we enjoy our second kiss. This time, with less paranoia in our minds, we expressed all our suppressed feelings for each other and we continued kissing passionately as we tore off each other's clothes and lied down on the jungle floor, continuing our lovemaking. We eventually consummated our first moment when he came inside me, and he allowed me to come inside him as well. Luckily, only around an hour has passed, and we weren't caught. We then had our last naked embrace for this moment and kissed each other deeply once again. Afterwards, we put our clothes back on and went back to the base, and then proceeded to wash ourselves at a nearby river.

Luckily, my assignment to Kendall's crew continued and we both survived well until the end of the war in September 1945, when Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany finally surrendered. When we returned to the mainland, we eventually had ourselves honourably discharged. We then decided to get ourselves a house in Maine and settled there together as a couple. I wish we got married to each other, but there is no such thing as same-sex marriage. But I am already very happy and content being with Kendall in the same house, enjoying the freedom and brand-new world peace that we have just achieved.

Who knew that a naval photographer would find true love, and his destiny and happiness in a naked gunner?

The End