Alex watches him sometimes when he thinks no one else is paying him much attention. Most of the time it's by accident, but more often than not it's totally intentional. His name is Eric but he's known to everyone in his platoon by the name of Ink, which is appropriate considering he sports some very stylish tattoos that enable even more interesting abilities.
Alex admires the way Ink willfully struggles through obstacle courses as if he's trying to claw himself into manhood to prove his worth. He's not the strongest person but Ink is a fighter just like Alex. He has that similar haunted look in his eyes that leads Alex to believe that Ink hasn't had the easiest life, but that's painfully obvious because none of them have.
Alex and Ink do drills together from time to time when they aren't being paired up with one of the other guys. Sometimes it's reconnaissance and other times it's simple weapon assembly, but they communicate solely through light touches and eye contact. It's uncanny how efficient they are without muttering so much as a hello.
There are times when Alex wants to engage Ink in conversation to find out more about him, but then he realizes they're in the middle of being shipped off to Vietnam where most of his friends will inevitably die. Where most of his friends have died. Besides, Alex was never the loquacious type and he wouldn't know what to talk about anyway.
So instead, Alex settles for the brief brushing of hands and the occasional longing gaze in order to save some face. Alex likes to entertain the idea that this is also the reason why Ink doesn't speak to him.
Sometimes his gaze drifts over to Ink while they're eating in the mess hall and Alex often wonders what other tattoos he may have hidden on his body besides the visible ones. There are many things that remain a mystery about Ink, things that Alex would have great pleasure in knowing.
Ink periodically looks up to survey his surroundings, most likely out of habit, only to find that Alex had been watching him the whole time. This is followed by Alex averting his gaze immediately before Ink can even register it.
Being in the same platoon means bunking together which, in turn, means more stolen glances and unspoken desires that get lost in the space between them. Lost, but not forgotten as far as Alex is concerned because Ink's uniquely tattooed face stays with him until the late hours of night.
Losing sleep over thinking about his mysterious comrade is common and it doesn't help that Ink's cot is right next to his either. Alex hates feeling like this, knowing that there's nothing he can do about it, thus rendering him powerless to the fact that he's more than just intrigued by Ink.
Most nights Alex has to resist the urge to turn his head over towards Ink to see if he's sleeping or not. He's successful for the most part, but every once in a while the temptation is almost too much to bear and before he knows it, Alex is satisfying his curiosity.
Alex will sometimes find that Ink is already watching him with his tattooed eye peering over at Alex while his arm conceals the other half of his face. Ink greets him with a curious gaze and a quirk of his full lips that pull to one side in a half smile. It scares him to think that Ink has found him out or, even worse, that he feels the same about Alex as Alex does about him.
Either way, Alex smiles back once in a while when he isn't too embarrassed for being caught staring. It's a simple gesture that acknowledges each other's existence and after that brief moment of understanding they revert back into their own musings, concealing all the things that dare to spill out if they open their mouths.
And life goes on.