Of Perspiration and Gun-Powder
AN: Hi guys Thank you so much for all the support, favorites and alerts. You're all super beautiful. Just a couple of review responses and shout-outs to go through here. Just skip over to chapter two if you want. Hope you like it :3
Littlelostsheep: Thank you muchly sweetheart. But I'm actually the other half of Poppy and Violet, Violet xD. Poppy's the talented one who generally does all the AU's. I've written a few other stories on here and I generally sign off my name at the bottom but I must've forgot x) I'm actually really flattered that you mixed us up. I hope I do as good as she does x. Thanks so much for the review!
stolen94: Oh my goodness, thank you so much Your review made me smile. I hope I live up to your expectations :D Thank you for the support.
1LostFan: I'm actually really fascinated by the military. I'd actually be hopeless at it if I to actually be involved in it. I'd probably get blown away… by the wind. I'm not the strongest or the buffest… or the most coordinated. Nevertheless, my mother was in the Army Corps for a long time so I'm mostly going off research and her word. I'm so happy that you like my story especially since you've been in the real military. Please tell me if I get something super wrong! Thank you so much for the review.
Kadence: Bahaha… I giggled when I saw your review. We'll see ;)
Special Thanks To: kttopwriter, stolen94, tranghana, pottercriss, kurtcoblaine-klainetrain, littlelostsheep, Marimo161 and 1LostFan for the alerts and faves 3 Enjoy x.
-xx-
One of the platoon sergeants was barking orders down at the future-soldiers. He was the tallest man Blaine had ever seen and had a crew cut that had started to grow back at the front of his head, making the style look very unusual. Blaine remembered his name was Sergeant Rossi, or Possi… something like that. "Straighten up, Anderson!" He smacked his hand onto the ground near Blaine's face. As Blaine plowed through the dirt by a coil of barbed wire, the sergeant stood up, "Don't get lazy on me this far in!"
"Yes sir!" Blaine shouted, being careful to avoid eye-contact with the man.
"Better," He muttered, following after another recruit and ordering him to 'fix his damn shoulders'. Blaine hastily wiped a bead of sweat from his face as he stumbled to his feet and swung a leg over the lengthy ligneous obstacle in front of him. He tried to concentrate solely on his own actions. It was, after all, what they'd been advised to do… especially in these confidence courses. He plowed forward reaching the first climbing wall, and throwing himself onto the gap and gripping the top unwaveringly. He barely noticed the burn anymore. Tensing, he managed to boost himself up until he could prop a foot up on the surface of the timber. Victoriously, he bounded over the edge into the sandy terrain. A second drill officer muttered drily from the sidelines to his companion, "That kid's going to break his ankles, I swear."
As Blaine reached the second lot of hurdles, he sprang over them more assuredly than ever. Someone had told him that if he was to succeed here he'd need to be assertive (or at least appear to be). That someone had been right. He found himself indomitably making his way towards the end of the course. He was so close…
And then there was a scream from behind him. Blaine completely stopped, spun on his heels and began bounding right back the way he came. He noticed a fellow recruit had fallen victim to the towering climbing wall. It was Maria, a quiet and diligent rookie who Blaine had befriended during the Red Phase. He recognized her short-cut auburn hair and freckled skin immediately. She was grasping at her knee and howling in pain. Blaine bent down to her, ordered her to relax her back and tore off his white button-up. He was about to rip it in half and begin a first aid practice when he felt a steady pair of hands grab his shoulders and push him backwards. Blaine grunted, hitting the floor hard from the unexpected force. When he pried himself off the floor, Sergeant Rossi was examining Maria's leg. She had shut her mouth firmly, biting back tears. Blaine knew that they'd been told that showing a sign of weakness in front of drill officers was not a beneficial move… but he didn't care. Even about rules at the moment. His friend was hurt and he had to help. He reached his palm forward, shirt in hand and began an attempt to assist Maria. This time he was grabbed by a handful of his curls by the second drill officer. Blaine gasped and jolted backwards, scurrying to his feet to respectfully hear the officer's words.
"You've done enough," He scowled. His voice was unkind. "You completely disregarded your practice. We've been telling you for weeks to press onward even in the time of emergency."
"I apologize, sir." Blaine lowered his eyes. He didn't want to apologize for doing the right thing. He was sure that it was the right thing; after all, friends always came first.
"To further this, you ignored orders from your platoon sergeant..."
"I b-beg your pardon sir?"
"He called out to you more than once ordering you to stop."
"I didn't hear him once."
"Do not address me in that manner," The drill officer scolded. "You're in enough trouble already."
"Anderson, take Miss George to the first aid room," Sergeant Rossi instructed. His tone made it obvious that this would not be argued. "Do it now. And do not think you're off the hook. You'll be punished for your misconduct earlier."
"…Yes sir."
Blaine told Maria to hold onto him, and she draped her arm over his shoulder, as he helped her to her feet. "Can you walk?" He asked gently. She nodded tearfully. "Alright," He continued, explaining clumsily. "If you can leave your injured leg extended. I'll pick up the slack. Just use me as a sort of crutch, okay?" She nodded uncertainly as the Drill Officer ordered him to get a move on. Blaine began hiking, slowly at first until Maria adjusted, towards the medical room. It was located in a blockish white room additional to the barracks. It was marked with a large red cross and a golden crown.
"Are you in a lot of pain?" He asked awkwardly as the pair tumbled onward.
"Uh yes," Maria managed to cough out.
"I can wrap it up quickly if it will help."
"I'm fine," She muttered. "Sergeant said I should walk it off."
"I just… really hope you're okay"
-xx-
"I hear that Mr. Anderson caused quite a ruckus during the drills today…"
"Colonel… I'm sorry. He really is dedicated. The boy seems perfect. He's committed, strong and intelligent. His only weakness is that he cares too much."
"That's not a weakness, Major. That's a death penalty."
"…Perhaps."
"Has he made much progress?"
"A bit. He learns more steadily than the other platoon members."
"I assume you haven't forgotten I'll be assessing him in less than two weeks?"
"Not at all, sir. He'll be ready. I'll make sure of it."
"And in regards to his disrespectfulness today… how is he being taken care of?"
"Sergeant Rossi declared it a non-judicial punishment…for disobeying a standing order."
"I'll repeat myself. How is he being taken care of?"
"He'll be skipping a few meals to do extra duties."
"How are you going to schedule his extra training sessions?"
"I'm not sure, sir."
"Make him train through the night."
"…It might cause him to perform inadequately in the activities the next day."
"If he's such a steadfast and faultless recruit I'm sure he won't find it too grueling."
"I'll start him on the sessions tomorrow, Colonel."
"I look forward to the results, Major."
-xx-
"Gee… I'm really sorry for getting you into this Maria," Blaine mumbled as he gripped the shovel and jostled it into the ground for what could have been the hundredth time.
Maria scratched her short hair uncomfortably, "It's not your fault… I'm glad my injury wasn't major." She hoisted up the leg of her trousers to display her tidily wrapped knee. "It didn't break or anything. It just caned."
"They've been telling us for weeks to only think about ourselves during the drills,"
Blaine heaved a sigh. "But if this was a war, I'd go after any of you regardless. It pisses me off."
Maria smirked, "Enjoying extra duties?"
"No," He laughed easily. "You really shouldn't be here."
"Honestly it's my fault you're in this mess," Maria brandished her own shovel. "I'll help then hide when the officer comes back."
"I hear you're just like me," He said wickedly. "We're destined for trouble here."
"You're probably right," She admitted, assisting him in digging the trench. It was located by the side of the vast green oval where some drills were conducted. Blaine didn't have the slightest idea why they needed a trench. The definition of extra duty was something that 'needed to be done anyway'… except they did it in their own time, of course. Blaine was almost prepared for the officer to return and tell them to fill it right back in again.
"Why'd you join?" Maria asked suddenly.
"Sorry?"
"Why did you join the military?" She asked more gently.
"Oh," He hesitated. He wasn't sure he should give the story to this girl. Even if all you have in the military is trust. He wasn't entirely prepared to give away his life story. He inelegantly explained, "I…just turned seventeen and the opportunity came up."
"That's all?" Maria raised an eyebrow.
"Mm… yeah. Well, how come you joined?"
"Uh, I didn't get into the college I wanted to get into. And, well, my boyfriend did. I had to find something else to do and this was my back-up. He wasn't happy about it."
"Aw," Blaine cooed, his easily-touched nature coming through. "And you two are still together? That's so cute."
"Actually… we broke up because he wasn't into long-distance stuff."
"Oh… oh I'm so sorry, Maria."
"Nah it's fine," She grinned. "It gives me less people to worry about while I'm here. That's what I'm most scared about y'know?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well everyone says once you're out on the battlefield, you become an animal. I'm terrified that when I go home, or if I go home, that I'll have to explain to my family that I took a man's life."
"I never thought that much about it," Blaine murmured. "To be honest… I sort of came here for personal reasons."
Maria frowned, "I don't get it."
"Well… there's someone here I want to meet. And I… just…"
"You came here to meet someone?"
He replied sheepishly, "Something like that."
"Blaine you're so confusing," She chuckled, wiping a dirt smudge on her trouser leg and driving her spade into the floor again. "Can I ask you another question?"
"Sure"
"Blaine… are you gay?"
"Huh?" Blaine went beetroot red and shaded his face from hers'. "W-what makes you think that?"
"I don't know," She replied pleasantly. "It's probably just because you're completely adorable. You act like a little puppy dog."
"Gee thanks."
"So are you?"
"Um yes," He whispered. "I haven't told many people…"
She patted him on the back, beaming. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. I'm proud you were honest with me. I haven't really bonded with many of the recruits. It's pretty nice to have someone to talk to."
Blaine found himself returning her smile and cheerily adding, "I'm glad I met you too. Can I call you Maz?"
"Maz?"
"Well Maria is really hard to shorten…"
"How about you just stick to Maria?"
"Oh, alright."
"One more question?"
"Yeah last one though."
"I promise," She chuckled cheekily. "So tell me… what's with the helmet?"
Blaine tapped it modestly, "Isn't it awesome?"