military
before.
The way her parents sped off once Jo had gotten all of her stuff out of the car was honestly rather insulting. As she saw the fading silhouette of the car, she couldn't help but flip them off hoping somehow that they'd catch her. Once the car had vanished, Jo let down her hand and turned to the small little shack in front of her.
It appeared to be rather old, with rust coating the shack almost entirely, but yet it still stood even after all in had endured. It was no bigger than a service station, but Jo was sure she could make it work. Grabbing a duffel bag in each hand, she made her way inside.
Inside it wasn't as bad as its exterior but it was riddled with cobwebs, dust and small holes in the walls where the sunset came through, illuminating what it could. Dangling to her side was a light that she turned on, however the lightbulb itself was so dull that there was no real change in the lighting.
She didn't have a lot of space, but it was enough for her. Throwing her bags onto her bed, she shrugged off her coat and threw it on the floor, making a mental note that that's where she had left it. Stretching her limbs, as she had been cooped up in her parents' car for almost five hours, Jo decided to look around to find anything else she could use.
It was all one big room, and the kitchen occupied one half while the bedroom occupied the other. By deduction, Jo could assume that their was likely a bathroom attachment outside the shack, a fair walk away. Heading into the kitchen, she scouted out and found a healthy gallon of milk and a carton of eggs. Grabbing the gallon out, she screwed the top off and took a few big gulps straight from the carton.
Once she had settled in completely, by unpacking her clothes by quite literally throwing them into the air, she decided it was time for bed, and flopped down onto the scratchy mattress and threw the thin cotton blanket on top of her. As she drifted off to sleep, she dreamt happily of success and fame, and finally living the life she deserved.
「＊」
A few weeks had passed since she had moved in, and Jo's job at the local milkbar just wasn't satisfactory enough. The town was so barren that the only people who came in were old farmers who would only buy a case of beer. She had nothing against old people, but she really wished for a change in customers.
Her wish came true only three hours after the last customer had left when a young lean man walked through the doors, setting off the chime of the doors. Perking up, throwing the newspaper to the side, Jo stood up and surveyed the store for the customer who was looking at the magazines and newspapers.
He was very muscular, as she could tell from his tight fitting camo shirt and from this angle, very rugged. After a while of waiting to see if he was buying, the man came up to the counter and smiled when his eyes met Jo's. With her monotonous greeting, she said, "Hello, how are you?"
"I'm well, thanks," he grinned, handing her a magazine. She nodded, and looked down at the magazine as she scanned it. Latest Fashion was the headline, which caused her to raise an eyebrow. He, a big muscular man, was buying a magazine on fashion. Clearly he had a girlfriend.
"Is this for your girlfriend?" Jo asked before she could stop herself. She couldn't help but realise how bluntly she asked it, but shook it off seeing as it was a valid question, and it differed from the usual conversations she had like, "How old are yer?" and "Yer have a man?".
The man chuckled, fairly awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. "No, that's for me," he told her, which allowed Jo's other eyebrow to shoot up and join its counterpart. As she bagged the magazine and punched some numbers, into the machine she noticed the tag around his neck, and instantly she recognised it as a military chain.
Okay so now, a big tough guy comes into this store and buys a fashion magazine, for himself and he's apart of the military. This was all new to her.
However she couldn't tame her interest as she changed his note for some change, staring at his tag and said out loud, "I wanna join the military." The silence that followed afterwards, once she handed the man his bag was almost eerie. She looked back at him, and noticed his awed expression. He looked down at tag before looking back at her before nodded.
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a key ring and slid it across the counter to Jo. She picked it up and examined it, reading the name of the military base and an address plus phone number. "Just give home a call, or drop by and they'll see what you can do." She looked back up at him to catch his smile. "Do it for our country."
And with that, he picked up his bags and left.
「＊」
It was rather intimidating for Jo as she walked into building, only to be met with dozens of people staring at her as if she was some sort of foreign intruder. It might not have helped her appearance by wearing a vulgar shirt and sweatpants. Throwing her jumper over her shoulder, she looked around for someone, who she thought she could talk to.
Instead, she found the man from the other day, and he immediately smiled when he saw her and made his way over. His outfit didn't look too much different from the last time she saw him, all that changed was that he was now wearing a hat.
"Hello again," he greeted, shaking her hand. "I should've introduced myself before I left, my name is Brick McArthur. I'm a cadet!" Jo looked around and noticed that everyone around her was still staring directly at her, which began to make her uncomfortable.
"Josephine Sylvester," she told him. "But I go by Jo." He nodded, and put his hand on her back, turning to show her the building with a small wave of his other hand. All the while, she stood and watched, still very uncomfortable.
"Here, I'll show you around," he told her, courting her around the central area of the military base. As she went around, Jo noticed how well managed and clean the place was, and also how spacious and clear it was. Everyone around her was staring at her, but she told herself just to ignore it, motivating herself to climb higher up the ranks than any of these cadets could. It was an achievable goal.
Brick rambled on about how prestigious the base was, and how every section of the base was just as important and dangerous as the next, even going on to add that they were only fed twice a day, with a very particular diet. All the while, Jo just nodded and examined what some of the undistracted cadets were doing in certain parts of the base.
They eventually ended up back where the started, just as a stern looking woman came around the corner, dressed in a different uniform to most of the other cadets around. Just as Jo went to question Brick as to what class she was, Brick was already waving her down and surely enough she came over.
"What do you want, soldier?" she asked Brick, her voice a little nasally but still intimidating.
"I have found someone who is interested in joining the military, ma'am!" he replied, speaking in a much less friendly tone, but a lot more authoritative and loud, exactly like the way Jo thought people in the military spoke. As the woman cast her gaze over at Jo, she stood up a little bit straighter out of instinct and the woman gave her a curt nod.
"Alright, follow me this way. We'll get your papers signed and your uniform made." Without even waiting for Jo to reply, the woman turned on her heels and began marching away. Jo looked over at Brick, confused and in response, he cocked his head to the side, motioning for her to follow. Nodding, Jo gave him a thumbs up and ran off after the woman.
「＊」
during.
Ever since she started at the military, Jo had been having mixed feelings. Firstly, she was happy that she didn't have to work at the stinky milkbar anymore and could get a workout just about everyday, but at the same time, she hated being yelled at and bossed around by someone who seems to constantly had a pole up their ass.
Her sleeping schedule had been ruined, and those midday naps were now a thing of the past. Every time she tried to sleep in, she was woken up by the loud clattering of pots against pans by an angry sergeant or lieutenant. She was the only one in the entirety of the military base who had this problem, so she worked up quite a reputation.
The one thing she did enjoy about the training everyday was the meals. She hadn't been eating well at home, and now with the right nutrients, she was a lot happier and well-fed. Every morning at breakfast and during dinner, she would be the first to get her food and the last to leave, secretly harvesting scraps from other cadets' plates.
This morning began like every other morning, Jo squished between two cadets with different groups of friends on either side of her, and Jo herself on the outside of both, happily eating her breakfast and stealing a bit of food from her neighbours too. As she finished breakfast and stood up to return her tray, she turned to see a familiar face walking towards her, with a tray in his hands.
"Good morning, Jo," Brick smiled, stopping in front of her. "Is that seat taken?" Jo gave her small space of the spot she had only a few seconds ago a longing glance before shrugging and turning back to face him.
"I mean, if you can fit." Elated, the cadet walked past her and squirmed his way between the two cadets, quickly sparking conversations with both of them and bringing the two friendship groups into one big chatter of voices. Annoyed, but secretly jealous, Jo walked away to return her tray and hopefully get a head start on today's training.
「＊」
Weeks had passed since Jo's last encounter with Brick, and she had been growing into a more productive routine as the days went on, getting better and better at training and elimination the embarrassing reputation she began her cadet life with. She had made a few friends, although they weren't necessarily bffs or anything but she was happy with the company she'd sometimes get.
During the day, she had gone for a job around that base with some others and noticed a lone rock that was a little far away from the base but had a clear view of the sky and was happily shaded by a thick tree with withering leaves. As she ran past it for the third time in the last ten minutes, she made a mental note to try get to the rock for some time of solace.
"Sylvester! Pick up the pace!" Jo's lieutenant screeched and Jo snapped her head away from the rock to find she had fallen behind some of the other cadets. With a keen smirk on her face, she stepped up her pace and caught up with the rest in no time flat, being the first one back after ten laps.
Afterwards, some other cadets in her group went on and congratulated her for her progress in those past few weeks. Jo waved them off and later joined them for a gathering later that day where they sang folk songs and played games, and for once in the weeks she'd been there, Jo had felt like she truly belonged.
「＊」
It was nighttime, almost completely black other than the faint glow of the night sky, and Jo was wide away. She had tried sleeping on all sorts of angles tonight, but she couldn't sleep. She tried counting sleep, staring into space and nothing. There was nothing bothering her mentally, so she was definitely confused as to why she couldn't sleep.
Without a clock or watch, she had no idea what time it was but her best bets was that it was really late, later than what most of the captains would suggest. But she knew she needed to sleep, in order to keep up her energy for the next day. Annoyed, she swung herself out of bed and made her way to the bathrooms.
She rinsed her face and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Noticeable, she had lost a bit of body fat and was far more toned than to what she was a few months ago. Needless to say, she was happy about where she was now and how far she's come. Another thing was that her breasts were looking more prominent too.
"I wonder if Dull-ning would still think I'm a guy," she wondered to herself, sneering at the thought of her arch-rivals reaction to her appearance now. She could imagine him being so shocked that his jaw would fall off, and for that image alone she chuckled.
As she walked back to her bed, Jo noticed a bit of movement from outside. Curious, she peeked out to see if it was some sort of invader, and if she needed to inform someone about their intrusion, but to her surprise, it was another cadet, and they seemed to be sneaking off for some reason.
A thought suddenly hit her, what if they were a spy? And they were heading back to their home base to inform their leader or whatever about the structure and supplies the military base had. With these thoughts racing through her mind, Jo pushed open the door to the outside and quickly followed the mystery cadet to wherever they were going.
She snuck by the watch-out group, but even then it was a hassle to do without having to get dirty, and followed the cadet away from the military base. As she followed them however, she felt some sort of recognition as to where she was. The slope of the land, the tinge of green in the grass, the large dying tree and-
The rock.
Her paces shortened when she saw the cadet take a seat on top of the rock and look up at the moon. And it was then too, that she recognised who the cadet was by the faint glow that eased its way onto their face, brightening up their features. Brick.
In her mind, she was now certain he was no spy, and contemplated whether or not to approach him or return back so she could sleep. In an effort to make a decision, she looked up at the sky, and it just about took her breath away at how majestic it looked from where she stood.
The stars were so bright and big, with smaller stars scattered around it with planets also that made the sky all the more colourful. The moon too was at its brightest, and biggest, looking so close to the Earth's surface that Jo could almost rock it. The sky looked absolutely marvellous.
"It's pretty, huh?" he noted, snapping Jo's attention away from the stars. She turned to see Brick looking directly at her, leaning back on his hands and smiling politely. "Here, have a seat." Jo was reluctant at first, but found no harm in sitting next to someone she hadn't seen since three weeks ago's breakfast.
Brick shuffled over to allow Jo some room, and when she reclined back with her hands tucked under her head, she noted just how much better the sky looked from this angle, and how less of a pain it was to crane her head up. Between the two of them, there was nothing but a peaceful silence as they gazed up at the sky.
It was a relaxing sight. Jo's heartbeat has slowed to calming pace and her mind was clear. In fact she felt so at peace that she could almost fall asleep. With a small smile on her face, she closed her eyes and took in the still atmosphere around her.
She almost dazed off just from lying there, but before she could fully drift off, she felt Brick lightly nudge her side. Opening one eye, she looked at him quizzical to find him giving her a nice smile, and he sat upright.
"We should go back to our rooms, they'll punish us if they find us out here," he told her. Jo had to stop herself from groaning, but was in agreement in what he said. The military here had very strict rules on nighttime, and where the cadets go during their free time. Like Jo, they had to be alert for any dangers that could potentially strike, whether it's during the day or late at night.
As the two walked back, just before the needed to sneak past the watch-outs, Brick stopped them and put a hand on Jo's shoulder. A little confused, and annoyed, Jo turned to look up at him and was met with a very genuine smile.
"Hey, thanks for joining the military," he told her, in a low voice. "You've really lifted the atmosphere of the people here."
Jo had to prevent herself from snorting, and covered it with a rub of her nose. "You're just being stupid, I didn't do any of that crap." As she went to turn her head away from him, Brick stopped her by placing a hand on the side of her face, turning her head so that she faced him.
"But you did make me happier," he confessed, a little colour filling his cheeks. That's when the realisation hit Jo, he was actually confessing to her. He turned his head away, but just like he did to her, Jo grabbed his chin to stop him from turning away.
Why was she doing this? She hadn't seen the guy in ages, how would she even have feeling for him when they haven't spoken in weeks? It was confusing, and definitely too sudden. She she just let go of his chin, yell at him before telling him to get to his room.
However, she had to stop herself. When was she ever this easy on any guy who confessed his feelings to her? The last guy who did, she had beaten him to the ground and almost broke a finger from how aggressive she was when she fought him. But why did she feel some sort of mercy towards Brick?
He was just a guy she hadn't seen in ages, there was nothing he was better at her at, she hardly knew him, and there was nothing she was thankful for that he gave her. Yet, why could she feel some heart rushing to her cheeks.
Oh that's right, he did do something. He came in to the milkbar that fateful day and told her about the military. In fact, he was the one that got her into the military and he was the one who changed her life for the greater good. He did do something, he made her life so much better without realising it.
And she could never admit it, but she did think about him when he wasn't around. Every morning for breakfast, she would search for him but not know why. And everytime she would see him, across the room with his back to her, she would let out a sigh of relief. Did that mean, she was worried about him?
Pfft, of course not. She was Jo Sylvester, she cared about no one. Besides, she hardly knew the guy. She can't fall in love with someone she doesn't even know. That's just stupid.
Her eyes suddenly widened, realising what she was just thinking. Did she use the L word? She never used that word, only in her taunts and gloats, like "I love seeing your face beaten to the ground" or "I love it when you think I care" but never in a real serious situation like this.
Jo looked back at Brick, and carefully read his expression. There was no mischief, no ignorance, no fake emotions, it was genuine concern and heartfelt emotion. If she was not mistaken, he truly did care about her, in the way he spoke to her, in the way he expressed her emotions and in the way he was so gentle to her.
Maybe, maybe she did hold some feelings for him.
"Brick," she said, securing her grip on his chin, "Thank you." Just like a child on Christmas, Brick's face lit up and his arms wrapped around Jo's body and he held her tightly, much to Jo's surprise. She let her arms dangle by her side as he hugged her, before a small smile crept it's way onto her face and she hugged him back.
As he pulled away, he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and looked down. "Sorry, I uh, thought that was a way to make girls feel happier." Now Jo couldn't stop herself from scoffing and gave Brick a quizzical look and folded her arms.
"Where'd you learn that?" she asked him, just to take the piss. He chuckled awkwardly and looked away.
"I read it in those magazines," he told her. "You know, the ones I bought from your shop a few months back."
Jo shook her head and laughed. "You dork." And with that, she stepped forth towards him and held his face in both her hands, before pressing her lips onto his embracing the two in a short, passionate kiss.
As she pulled away, Jo noticed the cherry colour that had fully consumed Brick's face, and felt a smile rising at how cute he looked just from that one kiss. He was just like a giant teddy bear, so strong but so soft. Straightening out her clothes, and subconsciously licking her lips, she clasped onto his hand, and watched as his eyes met her's.
"C'mon, we should head back before they catch us," she told him. Brick could only manage to nod and the two of them snuck past the security and into the base where they went their separate ways and headed back to bed.
「＊」
Since that night, Jo had being seeing Brick a lot more frequently, exchanging hi's and good morning's everyday at breakfast and would spend their free time either outside or in Brick's large room he had gotten for his hard work. Some nights, Jo would sneak out of her room and head into Brick's and the two of them would get to know each other a lot more and would exchange sweet kisses and hold each other in their arms.
To anyone else they didn't look like friends in the public, but behind his doors they were the most adorable couple one could encounter, with playful teasing, sweet kisses and not being able to keep their hands off each other. But between their romantic times, they got to know each other even more.
Jo learnt that Brick's true aspiration was to become a fashion designer and that he was often ridiculed for having that goal by the kids in his school, but he still loved being apart of the military and how it was also his dream to serve his country to his fullest.
Brick learnt that Jo wanted to represent her country in the olympics but instead she was kicked out of her family and was forced to live in the barren area she was living in before the military. He also learnt that she used to be "one of the guys" and often mistaken for one by her arch-rivals who she admittedly used to have feeling for him, until realising he wasn't incredibly educated.
And sometimes, the two of them would very plainly, spend the entire night with each other.
It was rather late at night when Brick was disturbed by the movement of the sheets, and opened an eye to see Jo across the room pulling up her sweatpants. He smiled to himself, resting himself up on his elbow and watching her as she put on the rest of her clothes. As she turned around, she caught him staring at her and froze.
Brick grinned, and blew at kiss at her. "I love you, Jo."
Jo, in response, gave him a half hearted salute and reached for the door. "Love you two, ten inch."
「＊」
As Jo slept peacefully in her bed, she was suddenly awoken by a loud siren that had her shoot up in her bed and frantically look around to see what was going on. Unlike the earlier times where she would be the only one asleep and have to be woken up, everyone else in her cabin was also still in bed groaning and moaning about the siren.
Before anyone could question what was going on, the loud feedback from the speakers played before a very gruff and deep voice boomed through the speakers, catching everyone's attention.
"May all soldiers report to the field at 0545 hours stat!" The speakers then flickered off, and the other cadets in the room quickly got themselves out of their bed and into their uniforms. Jo quickly followed, not wanting to be punished for tardiness and was out of the room with the rest of the soldiers and made her way to the field, standing in the appropriate formation.
The first thing she noticed was the tall bulky man in camo standing up at the front, with the head of the military base beside him, looking like a little peanut compared to him. Jo swallowed down her uncertainty and stood up straight as the last of the soldiers took their stance.
"Soldiers, we have a new threat in place, a group of ex-Canadian soldiers have began terrorising the town nearby. May not sound like a big deal but it is. These soldiers were rejects of the military for foul behaviours and inappropriate conduct, serving under another ex-Canadian military official, Chris McLean. They are dangerous, soldiers, and should not be taken lightly. That's why, with your leader's permission, I will assemble a small group of your best soldiers to take them down," he announced, before turning to the leader, who in response simply nodded. "Now, if I call your name, make your way up to us to get yourself prepared for battle."
Jo felt a wave of adrenaline rush through her body at the news. She could fight these scumbags, she was skilled enough to take them on with another group of people. She was confident she would be one of the soldiers who would take down and capture the villainous soldiers.
The man began listing off some names and the soldiers made their way up to front meeting up with one of the lieutenants and being escorted away. As he continued to list the names of the soldiers, she listened intently for her name to come up so she could get herself ready.
"And lastly," the bulky man said, and Jo felt her body straighten out to be taller. She was ready to fight, she felt it in her bones. If it wasn't for the proper etiquette the soldiers had to show, she would be jumping on the spot.
"Brick McArthur. That is all." Her heart dropped, and out of the corner of her eyes she saw Brick emerge out of the crowd and walk over to one of the lieutenants before being escorted away without looking back. Jo's adrenaline disappeared and was replaced with a new feeling. A feeling of worry. "Dismissed!"
As the other soldiers left the field to head to breakfast, as well as the leaders walking off, Jo was left standing there, watching Brick's retreating figure. She couldn't believe it, why wasn't she picked for this task, it was right up her alley.
Shaking her head, she turned away and headed back to breakfast. But yet, she couldn't shake off the feeling of worry she had for his safety. Jo chose to ignore it, Brick was a tough guy, he could handle himself.
He could handle himself.
Right?
「＊」
after.
She pulled up to the shack in her rusty old car, which was only barely running on the litre of petrol she had given it. The sputtering and growling of her car was enough to ignore during the car ride, but then as she stopped it sort of just gave in and the hubcap somehow flew off.
Jo would have normally groaned, but there was no need for this now. She got out of the car, a little trickily thanks to the growing bump on her stomach. Using the door of the car as a crutch, she stood up and made her way to the car. Once she was up, she stretched out her back and waddled her way inside the shake.
Everything was completely untouched, everything was where she left it and the lightbulb was still somehow on after the two years she had been away. She managed a small smile, but didn't stick around and made her way to the fridge where she pulled out a carton of fresh milk and took a large gulp from it before shoving it back into the fridge.
She lay back down on her bed, on her back, and looked up at the ceiling just twiddling her thumbs. Sure, maternal leave was great, but it wasn't like she could do much without the help of someone else in her home. She could faintly remember shouting at her mother when she was younger to bring food her to her room, and smiled at the memory. But no, her parents couldn't help out with her dilemma.
Jo was almost due with her twins, and she had been on maternal leave ever since her first month. She had the emergency phone stuffed in her pocket, and was waiting for the time that she would need to give birth. Quite honestly, she wanted to both meet her children and to also get rid of the excess weight so she could return back to her exercise regime.
The military would refuse to let her back, since she was only a single mother with twins in a very barren and lone town. There were no babysitters or nurses who she could trust to look after her kids, so she was forced to accept her life as a single mother living on the small amount of money he left her.
She was lucky to be still living. After she had snuck out of the military base to assist him in battle, and almost get killed due to it, she was very lucky to still be alive. But at the cost, she had lost him. The day was a nightmare to her, as she could only wavy has he threw himself in front of her to protect her from the gunshots.
Jo was stupid, she only had herself to blame. If she hadn't had snuck out he would still be here today. Those countless nights crying and hating herself still plagued her to this day. She wish she could go back in time and stop herself from doing that, but she couldn't.
She may have killed Chris McLean with her fists, yes, but she was responsible for Brick McArthur's death. And sadly, he couldn't be here to help her with her unborn children. It hurt her, it really hurt her.
Tears pricked at her eyes but she fought them back. There was no time for crying now, she needed to step up and be a mother now.
And somehow, she knew Brick would be with her every step of the way.
This is my Secret Santa fic for StayOuttaMyShed! Hope you enjoy it m8, just as much as I enjoyed writing this (it managed to get me into some new music so that's cool heh).
- Blue