A Song In The Night
[Edited]
Marlene sang to herself, in the cold desert night not knowing that Skipper was listening. He watched and listened from just a few metres away, appearing at first glance occupied with an army knife that he had been glancing over for the previous ten minutes or saw, but in reality, he was all too drawn to this woman's voice to concentrate. The item eventually slid down from his hand, plopping quietly onto the sand. No one seemed to stir or notice that anything had moved.
Least of all Skipper himself.
"Do you ever feel
Like a plastic bag
Drifting through the wind
Wanting to start again?
Do you ever feel
Feel so paper-thin
Like a house of cards
One blow from caving in?
Do you ever feel
Already buried deep
Six feet under
Screams but no one seems to hear a thing?
Do you know that there's
Still a chance for you
'Cause there's a spark in you
You just gotta
Ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the Fourth of July," it might as well have been sung to anyone around here, what with her voice seeming so soulful and genuine. She seemed to glance up at the sky for a bit, and Skipper wondered if she genuinely liked fireworks, considering the song used the word 'fireworks' so often, or it was just the cheerfulness of the song that made her sing it out a need to find something less sombre to occupy her mind with. Either way, he couldn't help but like her choice.
You don't have to feel
Like a waste of space
You're original
Cannot be replaced
If you only knew
What the future holds
After a hurricane
Comes a rainbow
Maybe the reason why
All the doors are closed
So you could open one
That leads you to the perfect road
Like a lightning bolt
Your heart will glow
And when it's time you know
You just gotta
Ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night...
Her excitement seemed to pick up, her body moving, swaying gently yet energetically under the stars in the sky. It was only fitting for her to sing this song, and though he was aware that this was a cover, her voice did bring something new to this song. Personally, he preferred it over the original way the song was song... but then again, it was hard not to prefer hearing some one you are currently swooning over sing. Occasionally, he would avert his gaze, hoping that she would not notice and think him rude for staring, but he couldn't exactly look away for very long either.
Come on let your colours burst
Make them go, "Oh, oh, oh"
You're gonna leave them all in awe
Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
It's always been inside of you, you, you
And now it's time to let it through
'Cause baby, you're a firework
Come on show them what you're worth."
Still entranced, Skipper listened to the very end, this time making sure not to drift off at any point during the song. She truly had one of the best voices he had ever heard sing and in his years he had heard plenty of singers with his own ears.
"Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon," she finished in a softer voice, before sighing slightly. A shift in the sand - which could have well been the army knife, or it could have just been Skipper subconsciously attempting to get closer to her, without realising any of it - distracted her. She turned around to see Skipper smiling at her.
"Nice singing," Skipper complimented in a pleasant tone, his smile wonderfully warm and honest. It maintain a bright shine despite the limited sanitary items that they had and Marlene could not help but admire it.
"You were listening the whole time?" Marlene asked, a sheepish flush forming across her otherwise lightly-tanned face. It looked rather nice on her, he had to admit. Skipper nodded.
"Pretty much, but why would that bother you?" the man frowned lightly, hoping that he had not intruded on something personal and private. He hadn't meant to be rude or anything. "You have a talent, ever since I first saw you I knew you had a talent, that's not anything bad," Skipper said, looking into her big, brown eyes. Marlene's cheeks grew darker, her body filling with a very welcomed warmth.
"Thanks," she rewarded him with a radiant smile of her own. Skipper put one of his hands around Marlene's waist and they both knelt down onto the sand. He pulled her closer, before tilting his head back, feeling relaxed by her side.
"Have you ever seen such a big moon?" Skipper asked her.
The woman shook her head, though there seemed to be awe written on her face. "It looks beautiful!"
"Yeah, well I know a certain lady that looks even prettier!" Skipper said with a cocky smile.
"Are you trying to flirt with me, or was that a simple compliment?" Marlene raised an eyebrow and chuckled, though it was clear she was only growing redder, if such a thing was possible at this point. No one ever told her that - well dad and mum did said that she was their little princess, but that was about it - ever since her dad passed into the void she hadn't heard many polite compliments. Her mother was often too busy or dealing with her own grief and the men around her, though not repulsed by her or anything never really gave her a second glance. Never mind attempted to flirt with her.
"A bit of both really," Skipper answered, laughing with her. He thought she was beautiful. Like an angel, just a little more realistic. Sure, she had more muscle than the usual girl, but he admired that, and sure her laughter wasn't always perfect and dreamy but he quickly came to adore that about her too, he decided as he was listening to her right now. Her hair might not be anything too unique but it complimented her features and her voice was great. To him nothing and no one could look or sound as beautiful as she was, and he was convinced of this despite being with her for... well... admittedly not that long. He was worried though. He was worried that something might happen to her, that's why he didn't want her to join the group and like Private, he would protect her even if it costed him his life. He admitted though that Marlene wasn't soft, she knew what war was about.
"You sure know how to please a girl," Marlene admitted, suddenly feeling too flustered and looked down at the ground.
"No, I don't, that's the truth," he insisted. "Promise me one thing," Skipper said, his voice growing fainter," do not do anything that's way too risky," Skipper pleaded. He wasn't the type to beg, but it seemed around her, he was a very different person. And he wasn't too worried that such a thing was bad.
"You know very well, that I can't just sit and watch one soldier after another die because of Hans' arrogance and desire for power!" the brunette huffed, stubbornly. "I will be careful though, if it makes you happier," Marlene gave in, nodding before leaning into the male. Skipper frowned for a while but soon his calmer demeanour returned when she agreed to his terms.
"I said to myself that I will keep you and my team alive and I keep to my words," Skipper bent down to Marlene and softly kissed her on her cheek, noticing that she was slowly drifting off. "I think you should go to sleep, you need it," Skipper announced after a while. Marlene refused to argue. "Goodnight."
Marlene's eyes started to droop shut. "Good night Skipper," she whispered faintly, yawning and falling asleep against his shoulder.
"I see you got yourself a girlfriend, Skipper," Kowalski commented in a lightly teasing tone as he started waking up. The tall male walked over to him, settling on the same dune.
"No I- yes I do," Denial wasn't exactly going to help him around his friend. That man was far too bright and observant most times for him to even bother trying. "You think it's a good idea to have a girlfriend?" Skipper inquired of his comrade, knowing that Kowalski probably had his own opinion about this.
Kowalski nodded and chuckled. "I think it's important you have someone who loves you and you love her, especially in this war, no one should be alone, not now," Kowalski stood on his side. There was an itching feeling he wasn't telling him about everything concerning the relationship, but he let it go. "You do love her, don't you? And she loves you, might I add."
"I- I do love her, but I don't know if she loves me," Skipper sighed. He frowned. 'Does she love me?' he asked himself. Despite all her words and actions, he did not want to get his hopes up.
"I'm sure she loves you, my gut and my mind is telling me," Kowalski responded. Skipper smiled. At least he wasn't alone. The two boys sat there on recon, watching the night sky and the desert sands. Even Kitka was sleeping and she didn't sleep very often.
"You think that Hans has gone mad?" Skipper changed the subject.
Kowalski chuckled. "I sure do. I mean, when wasn't he mad?" he responded, growing more amused by the second "Don't answer this, don't even try, we all know the answer." He laughed again. "Besides what sort of person with robotic soldiers and fire-proof tanks that wages a war on the whole world isn't an absolute nutcase?"
"So, I guess that he was always mad!" Skipper shook his head, grinning.
"Yup!" A voice suddenly agreed. They turned around to see Rico coming to them.
"Rico, you're awake?" Kowalski asked. Rico nodded, smiling.
"Promise me one thing, Rico," Skipper warning him sternly, "NO eavesdropping!"
"I listened whole time!" Rico replied laughing. Skipper glared at the weapons guy. Guess it was a bit late for that warning, then.
"You what?! You mean even to-" Skipper was about to pose another question, but before he could finish, he saw Rico nod. The leader glared at him, even more angry. Honestly, couldn't a man even enjoy a single night with a beautiful lady without everyone being in on it? Granted they were in the middle of a desert - not exactly a place for a private conversation when a war was on - but!
"Don't worry Skippah, we knew all this already!" Private assured smiling. Kowalski tried to cover his mouth, but he was too late. So much for it being a secret amongst the five of them. That being Rico, Kowalski, Manfredi, Johnson and Private, all of which had seen the fleeting but adoring glances between the two, with even Rico teasing Skipper behind his bag with a few air kisses and love heart gestures made by his hands. They did all truly support the couple, however.
"Thanks Private," Skipper muttered sarcastically. Private obliviously grinned a goofy grin, not aware.
"You're welcome!" Private exclaimed naively, before the awareness sank in, a few seconds too late. "Oh... that was sarcasm," Private said, embarrassed. He tried to escape, to walk out of the scene before Skipper could scold him, but Kowalski took hold of him, pulling him right back in.
"Oh, no you don't, thanks to you Skipper's angry at all of us!" Kowalski glared at Private and Skipper glared at Kowalski.
Rico just whistled and tried to sneak out, but Skipper caught him. "We're gonna have to talk about eavesdropping," Skipper announced as Manfredi and Johnson came.
"Oh oh, he knows that we listened, evasive maneuvers," Johnson whispered to his comrade, but he was too late. Already the man had a murderous glower pinned on the two soldiers, his hands folded over his chest.
"You guys really need to learn manners," Skipper announced, "starting tomorrow!"
"Aww, but we waited so long for this, it looked between you like a romantic movie," Private complained, pouting. He sighed, realising the secret was well and truly over. "Well, now it's more like a ruined movie."
"Should've taken popcorn while I could..." Rico muttered under his breath.
Hope you found this chapter interesting, please review and there might be more cute and action filled parts in the next chapter!