"I've a scandalous idea." Hawkeye whispered that night they hid in the back seats of an opera house in Tokyo, "Hold my hand."
BJ peered around at the people around them. The nearest couple sat three rows up, too involved with each other to notice the two men in Army fatigues clasping hands. Tentatively, he reach an arm across and tightly squeezed Hawkeye's hand. A smile danced along both men's faces as they watched the young Asian woman before them sing notes they could hardly believe were achievable.
As BJ stared up at the young girl, soaking in the warmth that was Hawkeye, he noticed that the singer had to be hardly older than the age Peg was when they married. In fact, the two woman shared a bit of a likeliness, he realized. And Peg would have loved to watch the opera with him, would have marveled at the beautiful voices, the stunning costumes, the heart-wrenching love story.
Peg.
BJ glanced down to where his hand lay intertwined with Hawkeye's.
Peg.
Quickly he pulled it back.
"I can't."