Natsu stood a top one of the look out towers over looking the vast wasteland that was the Iraqi desert. He used use hands to shield his eyes from the blazing sun even though he was wearing his tactical sunglasses. It was sweltering. He had already drenched his blouse and bonnie with sweat, causing his skin to become unbearably itchy. And the arid climate didn't help.
Beside him stood Corporal Bennington peering through a pair of binoculars. He had called Natsu up after spotting a tango out near the road.
"There," the Corporal said passing him the sunglasses. "Five meters from your 1, Lieutenant." He pointed out into the desert, close to a hill of rocks.
Natsu peered through the binoculars. Sure enough, beside the road was a single man digging with a shovel. No doubt he was placing I. beside the road for the convoys. Natsu thought him foolish to try and plant bombs so close to the base, but perhaps he thought the rocks and hills would provide him cover.
Natsu reached for his walkie talkie. "Major, come in. This is Second Lieutenant Natsu on the northern watch tower."
"Go ahead, Lieutenant."
"Looks like we got a tango planting an I.E.D approximately 150 meters north north-east of our position, sir."
"Can you confirm that it is, in fact, an I.E.D?"
Natsu looked back through the binoculars. He saw the man lift an object and place it in the hole. No doubt about it.
"Can confirm, I.E.D."
"Alright, take him out," the major replied. "I'll get an EOD out there to dispose of the bomb."
"Roger that."
Natsu turned to the rest of the camp. He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "Hey, I need a sniper over here. Who wants it?"
Immediately a young man rushed from his tent, still in his undershirt and boxers with his rifle slung over his shoulder. His olive skin damped around his head, and sweat stains under his armpits and around his collar bone.
"I got dibs!" he cried.
"Alright Dietro, he's all you."
Gomez climbed to the top of the tower and readied himself. "All right, where am I looking?" he asked.
"North by north east, about 150 meters," Natsu answered.
Gomez scooped around before finally spotting the target. "There he is," the young man grinned.
Natsu and Corporal Bennington cupped their ears. "Yo Dietro, you want to put some ears on before you shoot?"
Gomez blinked, realizing that he had left his earphones back in his tent. He reached for the cigarette he kept perched in his ear. He often liked to smoke during his leisure time. He ripped it in half and shoved the two pieces into each ear.
Licking his chops he returned to his scope. Natsu and Bennington both grinned at one another.
Dietro pulled the trigger. A loud bang echoed through the camp.
Dietro dropped his rifle and grabbed at his ears. He wailed while rolling on the floor. "My fucking ears!"
"Not the brightest idea you've had, eh Dietro," Corporal Bennington scoffed. "At least we know, cigarettes are not a viable substitute for ears."
"Did I get him?" he asked peering up at them with an open eye.
Natsu peered through the binoculars again. He saw the man lying still on the ground. The jackals prowled from behind the rocks towards the body.
"Yeah, you got him."
"You sure?"
"If you didn't get him the jackals certainly will," Natsu said watching as they began to tear at the body.
"Fuck yeah," Dietro groaned through a goofy grin. He hadn't yet removed his hands from his ears.
Natsu looked back out to the desert. Just behind those rocks, the jackals were eating.
The desert faded, replaced by the cold of the Pacific. Natsu stood on the edge of the white sandy beach watching as August scurried about plucking up whatever seashells he could get his little hands on. Above gray nimbostratus clouds blanketed the sky as a bitter breeze blew in from over the small green wave bringing with it a soft mist. He felt at peace, staring out into the ocean imagining the world so far away and so unlike the one he was in now.
"Uncle Natsu!" August called rushing towards him, a proud strut in his step. "Look what I found." He raised an empty crab shell like it was a trophy.
"Nice," he beamed. "Think you can find a starfish?"
"Yeah," the boy exclaimed running back towards the water.
Natsu closed his eyes feeling the trickle of icy droplets kiss his cheeks. He opened them to see August running near the edge of the water, dancing around the foam from the breaking waves.
He truly admired the boy. He wished he could revert back to that age, do his life over. There were so many things he would have done differently, mistakes he could rectify, and ghosts he could finally free himself of. He envied his nephew, he still had his entire life ahead of him. He still had the chance to carve out his own path in life.
He had lost track of how long he had been standing there when the rumbling of a truck engine and the sound of tires rolling over pebble approached from behind. Natsu looked back behind them. Parking behind a mass of driftwood was a black Ford truck.
A tall, burly man with raven hair and stone black eyes emerged from the truck. He wore a long black trench coat along with black gloves and black boots. He waved over at Natsu, who in turn waved back.
"Who's that?" August asked running up next to his uncle.
"That's my friend I was telling you about," Natsu answered.
"The one with the fireworks?"
Natsu nodded.
"You guys ready to blow some shit up?" Gajeel asked, gleefully. He carried a large cardboard box under his arm and placed it down in front of them.
"Dude," Natsu quipped.
"What?"
"Language!"
"Que?" Gajeel smirked.
Natsu grumbled but didn't push the issue further. Gajeel knelt down and began unpacking the box. He pulled out a few rockets, sparklers, and all other types of fire crackers. August marveled at the sight of the rockets and fireworks. He fidgeted, Natsu held his hand to hold him back.
"I want to shoot the rocket! I want to shoot the rocket!" August cried.
Gajeel chortled, handing a big blue and white striped rocket over to the boy. August snatched it from him and clutched it tight. He turned to Natsu, jaw dropped and wide eyed.
"Light it Uncle Natsu, light it!"
"Hold on," Natsu told him. "I don't have a lighter. And besides, we should make sure it's safe first."
Gajeel reached into his pocket and tossed Natsu a pack of matches. Natsu took the rocket near the water and set up it to launch away from the beach. August, unable to control his excitement, jumped around Natsu waiting for the rocket to launch.
"Stand back," Natsu said, lighting it.
With a whiz and a whoosh, the rocket flew into the air before shortly exploding in a flash of green sparks. Natsu watched while the sparks fizzled out. He felt an icy chill emirate from the bracelet around his wrist.
His mind flashed back to the desert and the heat. Another world away. Another rocket whizzed into the air, cackling with a spray of sparks.

A/N: I am so sorry that this took so long. Life really got in the way. I didn't really stop writing, got a few free lancing opportunities to further my career. Had an offer to publish a book, but the publishers turned out to be incredibly shady so, that was a whole lot of notin'. I will update this faster and won't make you wait months for this. I am eternally greatful for all those that choose to read my stories.