Disclaimer:I don't own the poor thing. I kind of feel sorry for him though.
Summary: Remember Riley's friend, Graham? Well… once in a while he takes a little time to remember old times and cheer himself up.
Author's note: This is a Challenge-in-a-can fic. The words I got were: Graham, somber and nail polish. It's not really somber though.

A little touch of home

Just the pinky toe on his left foot and then he was done. All his nails covered with a pale pink. This time he had gone for the original pink. By now he had other colors as well, bright pink, purple, even black. All the little bottles were firmly stashed away in a particularly ugly pair of moss green socks at the bottom of his sock drawer.
He couldn't even imagine what the guys would do if they knew. Instead of wondering he just prevented them from finding out. The bottles weren't really a problem. Timing and getting rid of the smell were more tricky in the dorm. Even if he knew Forrest was gone for a while there was always the risk of someone stopping by for a visit or to borrow something, and not everyone were stopped by an unanswered knock on the door.

But he was getting better at picking the time so that scarcely anyone knocked while he was at it.

His tongue slipped out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrated on finishing his task, wielding the brush with practiced fingers trying not to get anything on the skin beside the nail. Now he just waited until it was dry and then he could crawl up to his bed and enjoy the knowledge of his toenails being this beautiful shade of pink. In half an hour or so it was time to get bottle of nail polish remover from his underwear drawer if he wanted the smell to be gone before Forrest came back from the gym.

It really wasn't so much about wearing it, it was applying it which was more important to him. The neat little bottles, the shiny colors, the strokes of the tiny brush. It reminded him of his mother and how watching her paint her nails had always fascinated him ever since he was a small boy. The color reminded him of her as well. Pink had been her favorite – especially a pale shade like the one he had on now.

He was well aware that this was a strange thing to do and socially totally unacceptable but he indulged in it anyway every chance he got.Everyone living far away from home, working as a secret special operations agent, with no girlfriend and nothing but army buddies, got a little homesick sometimes.