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Melbourne was a city of possibility for men that had spent months stuck in a rain of bullets, and to Leckie it was a kind of freedom he had never imagined he would experience again. Guadalcanal had been a prison he had never thought any of them would escape, and many of those that had set foot there with him months earlier, had never left again.
His sorrows had been the first he had drowned in a waterfall of alcohol, savouring the taste of something other than what they had been able to acquire from ruined Japanese encampments. The first few days were a blur, and it was a wonder he remembered any of it afterwards, most days spent exploring streets and the pubs that lined them.
He wasn’t alone - the streets were full of men in fresh, green uniforms, all searching for whatever they had been missing while at war - and it was a relief to know. At first, Runner and Chuckler were the only that joined him during his excursions from the stadium, but soon Hoosier was there as well. Sunny smile back on his lips, and blond hair dyed lighter from the hot sun, all the tiredness that had been wearing him down gone from his bones. It was a relief to see them all happy and content, the horrors of the war washed away with the heavenly showers Melbourne had provided them with.
It was still there, though, luring in the background in the way of funeral processions and headlines, but for men with a whole city to explore, where rules seemed to be non-existent, it was easy to ignore. At least for Leckie, as he instead focused on Hoosier’s hair gleaming in the sunlight and Chuckler drawing Runner a little closer in the dark corner of a pub. It was a bliss he had never imagined he would experience again outside of his dreams, and he was determined to make the most out of it until the officers decided it was time for them all to return to routine.
There was nothing like walking sunny streets with his friends, carrying bottles of beer their meagre earnings had bought them in a small store, and searching for new things to explore. Each night brought a new pub, and each morning a new view as they woke up somewhere they were certain they hadn't fallen asleep. Heads throbbing from whatever they had consumed the night before, but smiles still quick to climb onto their lips as another day spread before them. The knowledge they weren't going anywhere keeping them content and happy.
They had all been reluctant to set foot on the sandy beaches the locals had recommended to them, memories of the Tenaru still too fresh to make a beach sound enticing, but with time they made it there. Following streams of men with their new-found girlfriends to golden sand and a gleaming sea, and soon realising it wasn't a place to fear. Many a night was spent there, either on their own or with others, drinking and singing, watching as the sun set and the stars rose. Sometimes staying up long enough to watch the sun rise again and set the ocean and the sky on fire. Showing them once more the beauty of the world that the war had deprived them off for so long.
It was all memorable, and Leckie would remember it all for years to come, but it wasn't something that would ever last for as long as he would have wished it to. The MPs eventually rolled in and made nights out hard to enjoy. They were suddenly always on edge, always looking over their shoulders, and Leckie knew time was running out.
Perhaps that was also why he allowed himself to leave all his fears behind, and instead plunged head-first into whatever drunken madness he felt was right. Many a night ended with them all running for their lives, hollering at the stars, as they tried to escape the MPs following close behind. Never actually arrested, but always close enough for the thrill to leave them feeling high and invincible.
One such night ended with them split up, Runner and Chuckler disappearing somewhere along the way and leaving Leckie alone with Hoosier. The two in the end pushing their way through backyards to get out of sight, until they reached the safety of a foggy beach. Quick to dive behind the dunes until the voices of the MPs that had been on their trail disappearing in the distance. Assuring them they were safe and able to breathe again.
“Remind me again; why are we doing this?” A breathy laugh escaped Leckie's lips as he pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lighting it in seconds and soon coughing up a cloud of smoke. His lungs still struggling for breath, and not welcoming the smoke after the cold night air. “Thought the Marines would be all glory and medals, not running from MPs when we're not even supposed to fight.” The cigarette was left to dangle from his fingers as he dragged another deep breath into his lungs. Momentarily a little too unaware of how close Hoosier was in the dark, face only lit by faint stars and the flame at the end of the cigarette.
“'Cause we're crazy sons of bitches, Lucky.” Hoosier's voice brought him back, and fingers soon brushed his own as the other man stole the cigarette to take a greedy drag. Eyes meeting his own through the smoke, barely even aware of anything else until Hoosier spoke again. “Gotta be, or we'd already be dead.”
The words swirled through his mind as he leaned closer, transfixed by what was before him, and unaware of Hoosier's heart skipping a beat at the closeness. Completely unaware of how long the other had waited for a moment like that, while Leckie had been unaware of the desire burning in his chest until only a few weeks prior.
“Better stay crazy then. Because if you die on me, I'll kill you.” He pressed closer then, barely even aware of the burning sensation of the cigarette against his skin before it was disregarded in the sand. The fingers holding it suddenly all too busy clutching dark curls to have time for it, mouth previously filled with warm smoke instead filling with another man's tongue. Bodies pressing close, sinking into the still warm sand as everything else was left to disappear around them. Leckie in his drunken state allowing everything that had been bubbling under the surface to flow out of him as he kissed Hoosier a little deeper. Hands moving under layers of green and onto warm skin, Hoosier's willing response and eager fingers just edging him on. Making soft moans leave his lips between kisses as hands moved down his body, touching him in places that no one had touched him in in much too long.
The morning came quicker than either of them wanted, and with it change. Despite that the memories would fade into the background – for Leckie, at least – and take time to recall, it had all changed things in a way that neither had expected. Suddenly Leckie on his drunken nights wasn't hesitant anymore, and Hoosier was determined to savour it for as long as he could. Unwilling to even think of what their departure from Melbourne would bring, and instead enjoying what Leckie was giving him.
Leckie was unwilling to forget any of it in the moment, but the emotions in his chest and the voices in the back of his mind always left him ashamed the next morning. Preferring to push it all to the back of his mind where he wouldn't have to remember it when it was no longer happening. Ashamed of his own failures, but unable to beat the reprimanding voice running through his head. Scolding him for the feelings he hid, and for what he had started to enjoy more than he was supposed to. Making him eventually pull back as the time for their departure closed in. Hating how it was all making him cowardly, when facing Japanese bullets had long since become something he did without a second thought. This, however, that should have been easy, suddenly wasn't, and time would drag on before he was able to admit to anything. Melbourne would be long gone, and so would the war, but the feelings that had been brought to the surface that night on the beach would still be there. Stronger, yes, but still very much there, and not fading no matter how much time that passed or how long it took him to properly speak them.