Pagie: I said I'd 'use it more' - that doesn't mean I'll use it all the time. First, you can't force interactions otherwise the whole things seems awkward, and second, it's not what the story is about.
Guest (about the After War Trauma): It's officially a yes :3 but might take a bit of time before it's finished xD
Guest: I will update, but randomly, so don't worry. If I'll ever stop posting, I'll be sure to say so :3
Ch.6 Everybody's afraid of something
"M-Man… T-The o-one time y-y-you'd n-need A-Adam a-and his d-damn truck… a-and he's o-off in the N-Netherlands…" Gabe muttered, teeth chattering, as he rubbed his arms to keep warm.
"S-Suck it u-up Jones! W-We need to g-get back a-as soon as w-we can…" Dugan's hands shook as he brought firewood.
"That should be e-enough…" Bucky came closer to the pile of rocks they managed to get and took a lighter, making sure to keep a hand over it, so the wind wouldn't blow it out.
"And voila," he smirked, shaking slightly as the fire consumed the paper and grew.
"G-Good job B-Barnes," Monty nodded, scotching closer and putting his hands over the flame.
"F-Finally!" Jim smiled, putting his can of water atop the fire.
"I-I-I need a h-hot d-drink!" Morita added, pulling the sleeves of his uniform further down.
"*Don't f-forget the f-food!*" Frenchie threw the foil wrapped potatoes on the fire.
"Don't worry guys… We should get to extraction tomorrow," Steve brought more tinder and added some to the fire, making sure it won't go out.
"Y-You mean i-if we s-survive th-the night?" Jones moved closer to the fire, while also taking one of the goods they could eat. Right now, anything was a delicacy.
"W-We're gonna be fine…" the sniper shuddered slightly.
"C-Can w-we d-do something t-to pass the t-time?" Dernier took his cup of water and drank it.
"D-Do what?" Timothy held the potato in his hands to get them warm.
"S-Stories maybe? I-I bet y-y-you guys h-have s-some fun s-stuff," the medic managed a smile.
"J-Just no horror… War time i-isn't for that crap…" Barnes mumbled, taking another potato.
"Aw c-c'mon Jimmy! Y-You can't h-have night s-stories without h-horror!" Dum Dum teased and added some more wood to the fire.
"The war will be out story," Steve smiled as everyone gathered at the fireplace.
"I-If you wa-want a s-story, I-I need to i-introduce you t-to a friend o-of mine… H-He's actually w-working o-on a s-story r-right now…" Falsworth saw his breath in the cold night.
"S-Seriously? D-During t-the w-war?" the com. specialist felt chills up his spine.
"I-Indeed. H-He is q-quite the g-genius… M-Made u-up an entire l-language for t-the book…" the Brit managed a smile, before closing his eyes and shuddering.
"What's his name? We could go pay him a visit," Rogers got up and handed each Howler their blankets. He was the only one who didn't really need it.
"John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. We call him Tolk," Monty quickly wrapped the blanket around himself.
"D-Do all B-Brit's have long names?" Dugan didn't really dare to move.
"N-No not r-really…" was the answer as the others shard a look.
"Fancy fucking Brits…" they each muttered, minus the tactic's specialist.
"I-I wonder w-why w-we're t-the only ones h-here…" Gabe was starting to feel better as the warmth of the fire and blanket gave him back some feeling.
"Because no o-one else is this crazy?" Bucky grinned, munching down the potato.
"O-Or they're j-just waiting…" Jim managed a chuckle.
"The only t-thing waiting t-there are w-wolves," Dum Dum murmured but smirked at their reactions.
"W-Well, they are nocturnal…" Gabe shrugged.
"I h-hate w-wolves…" Dernier shivered, but not from the cold.
But there was something in the Frenchman's eyes, his body language, that there was something deeper than what he said.
"You okay pal?" Dugan looked at him with hints of worry as they were all starting to get better.
"O-Oui," the Howlers weren't convinced, but shared a quick look.
"You can tell us man…" Jim gave a smile and lightly nudged the demolition specialist.
Sighing, Dernier bit his lip and spoke: "I don't just hate them… I'm afraid of them…" the others stayed silent, but gave slight nods, figuring that was the case.
Jacques waited a few seconds and saw that they were waiting for him to continue, so he did: "When I was younger, I and my brother got lost in a forest not too close home. While we were wandering around, a wolf came from one side. We quickly started running, but were lucky the wolf was old as it couldn't keep up with us… We managed to get out just as our parents were about to come searching…" he let out a breath and smiled slightly.
"An old fear, I know, but since then I've never liked them. I stayed away from dogs as well."
"Hey, it's fine man. I'm still scared of frogs when one jumped into my pants! Do you know how slimy they are?" Timothy said, making the Commandos laugh.
"Well, since we're sharing…" Morita fidgeted with his can of water.
"I got a deep fear of drowning…" he seemed embarrassed, as he avoided their eyes.
"Nothing to be ashamed of… To each his own," they all 'feared' drowning, but so do most people. For Jim it was more the 'I'd rather die any other way than drown' kind.
"Jelly fish if we're there," Jones shrugged and took a sip from his can.
"I heard they can kill you. Saw one when I was in the sea once, thought it looked pretty weird. And then, after I learned that they kill, never went into water again," he shrugged and gave a weak smile.
"Tornadoes," Monty said, eyes glued to the fire. He blinked seconds later; as if not aware he spoke.
"…Want to talk about it?" Steve gave a sympathetic smile. To him, this was more good than bad. They were opening up to each other and that could only bring them closer.
"…Our town, back in England, when I was about 10, was ravaged by one. Luckily, we all got away, but we lost… everything. Of course, we got help and supplies, but it couldn't replace what was gone…" for a bit, only the flickering of fire could be heard. Falsworth didn't expect anyone to do something. It happened a long time ago and now they're at war. Those were probably better times…
"What about you Jimmy?" Dugan turned to the sniper. The silence was killing him.
"Heights… My dad died testing a chute…" that's what he wanted to say, but he just smiled at the flame. He couldn't say it. He knew that made him a coward, but heights… that's something they face all the time. If they knew, they'd be worrying about far too much.
"James?" the Brit asked a bit of worry in his voice.
"Yeah, clowns," Bucky laughed and scratched the back of his head.
"Me and Steve are both scarred for life by them," Barnes looked at the Super Soldier who had his eyes away and was slightly red in the face.
"I was 5 alright? Their makeup scared me and then their laughter…" Rogers shivered at the thought.
"One time, he called me up to shake his hand and I took it off. Being a brat, I had no idea what I did so… yeah," the sniper laughed.
"Oh really?" mischief was in their eyes as they looked at the two. They finally found a weak spot.
"Wonder what Peg's scared of…" Jim suddenly blurred out.
"…Nothing?" the rest shrugged, not having a clue in the slightest.
"Pretty sure if she ever meets a devil, he'll freak out and run away," Dum Dum finished his can of water and let out a satisfying sigh.
"Yeah, especially if she has that thing…" Jones said and shivered with the others.
"Don't do that man! She's so damn scary!" Frenchie closed his eyes, trying to get the memory out.
"You think she's scary? I was the one who asked her! She almost tore me apart!" Barnes' eyes were full of fear as he remembered the moment.
"I think it is safe to say… we all fear Margaret Peggy Carter," Monty swallowed and looked at them.
"Aye to that!" they raised their cans in agreement.
"Alright boys, time to get some shut eye. We head off at first light," Rogers yawned and made himself comfortable on the wood.
"Sure thing," they laughed and tried to get ready, only to find out everything was a bit too cold. They shared a quick look, all thinking the same thing and shrugged.
"H-Hey!" Steve yelped as he felt something soft next to him.
"Shut up, Cap," Timothy muttered his head on the Super Soldier's leg.
"You're warm!" Jim defended, snuggling closer to him.
"You wouldn't want us to freeze would you?" Dernier smirked, using the abs as a pillow.
"Move over man," Gabe managed to get a spot between Cap and Dum Dum.
"…You two?" Rogers looked at James and James.
"I think I'll pass," Falsworth sighed and set himself next to the wooden log.
"Aw you guys are so cute!" Bucky teased and smirked.
"I'm guessing this is how it was for you?" Steve sighed as the others around were half asleep.
"Nah, you got it worse. Besides I got night watch so… Enjoy!" and with that, Buck sat down, blanket around himself and looking into the fire.
"Don't stay up to much. I have the next watch," the Brit muttered, before falling asleep.
"Yeah, sure, I'll count on that," Barnes rolled his eyes and sighed, sleep the last thing on his mind.
Ta dum! That's it for now, and I think I'll take a bit of a break from all of this ^^'' School's really getting fired up and I need to keep focus there so... Meh. I don't know when the next one comes out xD
Sorry about that ^^' :P