"Nigga, I told ya; don't touch mah shit, Carlos."
The irritated voice caused Staff Sergeant Alverez to look up from the picture frame in his hands.
"Sorry, man. Just, you know, looking at this picture again…" His voice trailed off. He watched his blonde bunk mate absentmindedly throw a tennis ball up against the ceiling.
Gin caught the ball and sighed, causing Carlos to hold his breath. Whenever he asked about the redhead in Rummy's pictures, the blonde would either go into a curse-filled rage or simply stormed out of the room and did non-stop PT. He'd come back in an hour or so and neither of them would even talk about it. Carlos was used to it by now.
A pair of stormy blue eyes turned themselves on him, swirling with emotion.
"That picture?" Rummy said softly, sitting up on his bunk. Carlos gently placed the frame in Gin's outstretched hand. The blonde stared at the picture before a warm smile broke out on his face. Carlos let himself breathe.
"This here's mah boy. Ed Wuncler tha third." Gin said the name endearingly, temporarily distracting Carlos from actually hearing the name. It clicked several seconds later.
"Wait, the Ed Wuncler the third? Like, the heir to the Wuncler fortune?" His eyes widened a fraction when Gin nodded.
"The very same. Me an' him been friends fer years." Rummy stated eyes still glued to the glass. He stroked the smiling redhead's face with his thumb. Carlos decided to push his luck a little further after catching the tender action.
"So… Like, what is he to you? Like, I know he's your best friend but like…" He let the end of the sentence drop.
Storm blue eyes settled on him again and Carlos feared he had stepped on a landmine.
"The hell does it matter to you?" Gin asked, raising an elegant eyebrow.
Carlos felt his face heat up as he stumbled over his response. "Well, uhh, like, you been gettin' letters from him since you got here, and you always be smilin' and I dunno, I just thought…" He stopped, hoping Gin wouldn't obliterate him.
Gin's expression didn't change; not one bit. His gaze shifted back down to the photo.
"You wanna know? Aight, I'ma be blunt. Ed's mah lover."
There was a brief silence following Gin's statement, and for a moment Gin half-expected Carlos to run screaming from the room, but much to his surprise, Carlos breathed a sigh of relief.
"Jesus, thank you, and here I thought I was the only fruity one around here." He laughed.
A look of confusion plastered itself on the blonde's face so Carlos continued.
"Yea, actually I'm gettin' married when I get back, man. My boy, Jason, man, he be pissed that they're keepin' me out here for another year." The Hispanic had pulled out his wallet and held out a wallet-sized photo to Rummy.
The Master Sergeant took the photo and studied it. Carlos still had his military hair cut but he was wearing an AD/DC shirt and he had a goatee. The man sitting next to him was a very feminine-looking Caucasian. He had wild black hair that stood out at odd angles and icy blue eyes. His arms were locked around Carlos's neck and they were both smiling like crazy.
Handing the picture back, Gin smiled half-heartedly. "Congrats. He look good wit you."
Carlos grinned back. "I love him to death, man. Met him at college." He smiled at the picture before putting it away.
"Oh, an jus' so you know, I ain't no fruit, nigga. Ed's mah one exception." Gin said, lying back on his bed. Carlos laughed again.
"Same, dude. Jason's somethin' special, man. I love him so much it hurts sometimes." Gin resisted the urge to flinch at Carlos's words. A small frown formed on his face, making Carlos uneasy.
"Did I say somethin' man?" He asked cautiously. Gin squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose, fighting off a growing headache that was clawing at his retinas.
"Sorta… You should watch what ya say…" He barely whispered. He closed his eyes, letting his mind wander back to the day before he was deployed again.
o-o-o-o-o
"Man FUCK this shit!" There was a loud crash as another chair was thrown against the wall.
Rummy flinched away from the flying splinters of wood and metal. He stared in awe at the redhead before him, seething; pissed beyond anything Gin had ever seen.
"What tha FUCK you mean you leavin' agin?" Ed shrieked, reaching for another chair and finding that there were none left for him to destroy, which made him even angrier than before. A snarl tore its way out of his throat as he grabbed the edge of the coffee table in front of him and started to flip it over.
Gin leapt forward and slammed the table back down with all his strength. "STOP IT ED!" He yelled, shocking the redhead. Never before in his LIFE had he heard Gin yell at him like that.
Ed found that he could do nothing but stare at his friend and try to slow his breathing. The intensity of Rummy's voice echoed hauntingly in his head.
Rummy stared back at this redheaded companion, a look of mixed anger and fear plastered on his face. He slowly straightened up and took a step back from the table, keeping locked eye contact with Ed. The heir still shook from his rage.
Rummy sighed. "Why's this got you so upset, Ed?"
Ed turned around and crossed his arms over his chest, frowning at the wreck his room had become.
"I don' know, man, shit." He mumbled. He heard Rummy walk up behind him, so he glanced over his shoulder, unprepared for the look of anguish on the blonde's face. He turned back around to fully face him.
"I'ma be honest, Ed. I don' wanna go. At all. I served mah time. But—"
"But what! You shouldn't hafta go 'f you already went! That's some bullshit man!" Ed snarled. "Cus, like, it's not like they actually need you. They got plenty a' dumb fucks who actually wanna do that shit." The anger left his face, revealing his true feelings of desperation. "Why you, huh? Shit, they don' need you." His voice cracked slightly.
Rummy watched his friend struggle with his words.
"You done been there already—"
"Ed."
"You did yo' job—"
"ED."
"You shouldn't hafta fuckin'—"
"ED!"
Rummy grabbed the young heir's shoulders, stopping him immediately. Confusion crossed his face as he watched tears gather in the corners of Ed's eyes, which he furiously tried to wipe away.
"This ain't like you, man. Tell me what's goin' on." Rummy's voice was soft. Ed jerked away from Rummy's gentle grip.
"NOTHIN', man, nothin', shit, 'm just mad is all." Rummy didn't need to hear the strain in Ed's voice or see the frown on his face to know he was lying.
"Ed. Please."
It was shocking enough that the redhead was crying in front of him, but Rummy definitely didn't expect Ed to jump into his arms and bury his face in his shoulder like a blushing virgin girl.
Unsure of what to do, Rummy wrapped his arm around Ed's shoulder.
"Ed…?" He asked shakily. He got no response. He patted Ed's shoulder. "Ed. C'mon." When Ed finally leaned back, Rummy almost thought he could feel his heart physically explode.
Ed's eyes were bright green from crying and his lip was quivering.
"Please don't go." Just like always when he got seriously upset, Ed's gansta accent disappeared and was replaced by his real New England accent.
"I could get my granddad to, you know, pull some strings or something." Rummy wished Ed spoke like this more often. His light accent was comforting.
"Why you want me to stay so bad?" All at once, Ed's wall shot back up and he turned away, pseudo-gansta accent securely in place.
"No reason; well there is, but it's a fuckin' stupid one that you pro'aly don' wanna hear." His arms dropped to his sides. "You might get mad at me anyway." He softly added.
Rummy frowned and touched Ed's shoulder, making him face him again.
"Why would I get mad? You mah nigga; take a lot ta make me mad at you." The blonde smiled, but his smile was not returned. Instead new tears welled up in Ed's eyes.
"Yea I know man but… this some serious shit, man." The redhead insisted, rubbing the back of his neck; an action he often did when he was nervous or uncomfortable.
Gin cocked his head slightly.
"Like what?" He waited for an answer, but he got was totally not what he expected.
Ed crushed his entire body into Rummy's, kissing him so hard that he was knocked to the ground. He tangled his fingers in the blonde's cornrows, holding him tight.
When he finally let Rummy go, his head fell back on the floor with a thud. His eyes were wide as he stared at the man sitting on him. Ed swallowed hard, unable to read Rummy's expression.
Next thing he knew, he was on his back with Rummy attacking his throat and shoulder with open-mouthed kisses and bites.
o-o-o-o-o
Rummy smiled to himself. Best damn going-away-present he ever got.
o-o-o-o-o
A/N: NO SMUT? O_O Holy shit I must be ill. Reviews please? :3