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A thousand battles Soldier had fought, and yet, this was proving to be his greatest one he’d ever faced. All is fair in love and war, the saying went. War he could handle. Love, well … that was a different story.
Saxton Hale was leaving the base after a routine inspection that was required by Mann Co. While most of the mercenaries couldn’t wait until the man left, Soldier had absorbed his presence like a sponge, and was now almost drunk on it. And like a drunk, he couldn’t get enough of his particular addiction. At the end of the inspection, he had followed Hale out of the barracks and onto the air strip, where his plane was waiting.
It was now or never.
Soldier gulped, hard. His mouth was dry, and he couldn’t blink, strangely. Not that anyone would know, with his helmet so low on his head. He cleared his throat for the hundredth time, managing to grab the attention of the scantily clad man who had been walking in front of him, the man dressed in only work boots, khaki shorts, and a teeth-lined akubra. Saxton turned and looked, barely interested, at Soldier.
Soldier liked manly men. And Saxton Hale was the manliest of them all. He successfully ran an entire company, wrestled wild animals, and single-handedly made the Yetis an extinct species. As if that weren’t enough, he also made a mean steak and eggs. He knew how to handle a weapon, yet often chose to fight with the deadliest weapon of all – his own fists. Soldier couldn’t even put his feelings into words, and yet, here he was, face-to-face with his crush, about to confess his innermost feelings.
“Well? What is it, eh … Soldier, was it?” Saxton asked, barely even acknowledging his own employee.
Soldier could feel his gullet rising, and gulped it back down for a second time. He opened his mouth, the words on the tip of his tongue, and heard himself say –
“Mann Co makes superior weapons, Captain!”
That wasn’t what he meant to say. At all.
Hale’s moustache curled into a smile. “Yer bloody damn right we do, mate!” was his reply, along with a hearty slap on the back that almost sent Soldier sailing towards the ground. Soldier nearly turned weak in the knees. No man could knock him to the ground, not even Heavy. How in the name of Lady Liberty was he supposed to confess, now?
“Uh …. roger that!” was all he could choke out. His brain frantically searched for the right words to say next, some magic phrase that would make Saxton Hale fall hopelessly in love with him, or at least, show a little bit of interest. Hell, Soldier would settle for a second glance thrown his way, at this point.
Saxton laughed heartily. “That’s the Mann Co way!” And to Soldier’s great delight, Saxton began to look closely at him.
“You know, you seem like the adventurous type. How many jaguars have you killed?”
The answer was zero. Soldier had never encountered a jaguar in his life. But not knowing how to answer a question had never stopped him before, and to his great relief, that ability did not fail him, now.
“With or without a weapon, sir?”
Saxton immediately roared with laughter. He was beginning to like this bloke.
“That’s the spirit, mate!” he cried with genuine enthusiasm. “You know, I like the cut of your jib. How’d ya like to come along with me on me next hunting expedition?”
Soldier’s eyes lit up. He stood ramrod straight, and saluted the beefy Australian before him.
“Affirmative, Captain!” was all he could say before Saxton Hale bodily scooped him up, and began to carry him under his arm towards the double-propeller plane that sat about a hundred meters away, engines already running.
“Great! It starts now! Let’s go!” rang Saxton’s enthusiastic battle cry.
Soldier, being carried under Saxton’s arm, couldn’t help but be proud of himself. Somehow, in some way, and purely by being only himself, he had managed to make Saxton interested in him. Somewhere deep down in the back of his mind, he knew that he was going AWOL. He would miss the next battle, and there would be hell to pay with the Administrator. And yet, for all of that, he couldn’t care less. He had managed to snag a date with the man he adored, and neither heaven nor earth nor sweet America itself was going to change that.
It was a date, right?
He spent the next two hours listening, enraptured, to Saxton’s tales of wild locales, exotic animals, and nail-biting fights to the death. He sat in one of the jump seats of the plane, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, head cradled in his hands, barely moving as he let Saxton regale him with his stories. It barely even felt like five minutes, he was so enthralled. He’d almost completely forgotten how or why he’d gotten into the plane in the first place.
Almost.
Saxton had just finished up a story about a particularly intense wrestling match with a giant anaconda, and was laughing heartily over it, when he suddenly stood and opened the side hatch of the plane. Soldier was startled, which was saying something –it took a lot to startle Soldier. But then, Saxton Hale was a lot.
“Ready, mate?” Saxton yelled over the noise of the wind rushing by. Soldier looked around for a parachute. It wouldn’t be his first time jumping out of a plane, and more than likely, wouldn’t be his last. But there had always been a trusty parachute strapped to his back, and now, there were none in sight.
Seeing Soldier’s reaction, Saxton misinterpreted it as nervousness and chuckled. “Ah, don’ worry,” he said by way of explanation. “Stick with me. You’ll be just fine.”
It was while his back was turned, still searching for the elusive parachute, that Soldier felt himself yanked back by the uniform. Before he knew it, he was pitching out of the plane backwards, watching it get smaller and smaller as he fell. He saw Saxton jumping out of the plane after him, limbs all spread wide, as if the jump were nothing more than a dip in the swimming pool.
This is not how dates are supposed to go, thought Soldier.
He didn’t have time to dwell on the thought for long, as Saxton caught up to him and wrapped a thick arm around Soldier’s waist, twisting him around. The two tumbled over each other a few times, somersaulting in the air as they fell, before Saxton managed to aright them both. For all the danger involved, Soldier was inwardly grinning.
Saxton had his arms around him. Even if the two splattered onto the ground in a mess of bones and blood, he was going to die happy.
The ground grew nearer and nearer, and for the first time, Soldier began to worry. He trusted Saxton inherently, the kind of blind faith that comes with idolized worship, but staring one’s own imminent demise straight in the face is a pretty sobering thing. They had just gotten close enough to the ground where Soldier couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore, when Saxton reached out, grabbed a tree branch, sent them both flipping around it a few times, then released his grip and allowed them to gently fall to the ground. Saxton was still standing. Soldier crumpled in a heap. Soldier’s helmet landed next to them, almost as an afterthought.
Abruptly letting go of Soldier, Saxton walked over, picked it up, and brushed it off before handing it back to the speechless American.
“There ya go. Now. Let’s find us some jaguars.”
And with that, Saxton Hale went marching off in the direction of the thickest patch of jungle he could find.
Soldier looked around. They were surrounded by dense rainforest, and he could hear birds chirping and insects buzzing. It was hot, very hot, and Soldier allowed himself to loosen his collar a bit. He stood, carrying his trusty helmet under his arm, and went off after Saxton. He had no idea how they had survived what had just happened, but somehow, he admired that man all the more for it. He stood up and enthusiastically followed Saxton into the dense underbrush.
No sooner had he caught up to Saxton than the Aussie put a finger to his lips and shushed him. Soldier hadn’t been talking, but made it a point to shut up, anyway.
“It’s close …” was all Saxton whispered before bending a palm frond back and carefully making his way forward. Soldier went to follow, only to get smacked in the face by the rebounding palm. He brushed it aside and continued after, loosening more and more of his uniform as he went.
The heat was oppressive, even for Soldier, who was used to sweating profusely under the New Mexico sun. He began to wonder how a big cat, covered in fur, could survive in such an environment. Ultimately, it didn’t matter, Soldier figured. Saxton Hale was about to kill it, anyway. That’s when a thought occurred to Soldier.
He was going to have to kill one, too.
This was a predicament. If a jaguar had threatened his base, his friends, or his sweet Land of Liberty, that would be one thing. But this jaguar hadn’t done any of those things. Soldier had been so focused on the object of his affection that he hadn’t even considered that fact until now, never mind that he hadn’t actually ever fought one, before. Or any wild animal, for that matter. Unless raccoons counted.
Well, he was in it up to his eyeballs, now. No going back. He decided to focus on the figure blazing the trail before him, watching Saxton’s tight muscles gleam beneath a thin veneer of perspiration. Soldier liked what he saw. So much so, that he all but took his coat off, and tried to keep himself from drooling. It was already hot, he didn’t need getting himself any hotter. He averted his eyes, trying hard not to think un-American thoughts.
After a few minutes, Saxton stopped, and crouched low to the ground behind some exotic plant. Soldier followed suit, crouching behind him. Saxton turned to Soldier, and gestured forward with a jerk of his head. A large, spotted cat was in a tree just ahead, snoozing away.
“Straight ahead, mate. Ain’t he somethin’? Gonna give us a good fight, this one.”
Soldier could only nod in response, not trusting his voice to speak. He still had no idea what he was going to do, or how he could get out of the situation he found himself in. It went against his principles to fight a beast with which he had no quarrel, but if he didn’t, he’d lose any chance he might have with Saxton. Soldier began to think quickly.
Saxton had turned around once more to face the creature, sizing it up as it lazily slumbered on its branch. Soldier reached forward to tap him on the shoulder, and tried not to look nervous as Hale turned around to face him once again.
“What is it?”
Soldier spoke quietly. “Question – how can we be certain there are not other jaguars in the vicinity?”
Saxton considered this for a moment, tilting his head to the side. Then he broke out in a wide grin.
“The more the merrier, mate!” he whispered enthusiastically, turning back to face their prey, which was now yawning.
Soldier’s mind raced. He had to think of something else. He tapped Saxton on the shoulder again. The Aussie turned to look at Soldier, mild annoyance written all over his face.
“What now?”
“I am without my weapons, sir.”
“Then use your fists!” Saxton hissed, returning his attention to the jaguar that was stretching out its front legs.
Soldier’s mind raced. Suggestion hadn’t worked, excuses hadn’t worked, that only left one option – distraction. He tapped Saxton on the shoulder for a third time, bracing himself for the look of irritation that Saxton, predictably, was now wearing.
“What the bloody hell is it now?” he asked, obviously peeved.
There was only one distraction Soldier could think of, a technique he rarely used, but which had never failed him. Without hesitation, he grabbed Saxton’s face with both hands, and drew him forward until their lips met. He held them together as several seconds passed, not wanting the moment he’d been dreaming of to end. He finally pulled apart, and looked carefully at Saxton, inspecting his expression.
It was one of absolute shock. Saxton blinked. Soldier blinked back. They stared at each other. Finally, the corners of Saxton’s mouth began to turn upwards, just the tiniest bit. Then a little more, and a little more, until he was full on smiling.
“Well, if that’s what you were after, why didn’t ya say so!” Hale roared, treating Soldier to another hearty back slap that nearly sent the American sprawling. “Ya didn’t have to come all the way to Central bloody America for that!”
Soldier couldn’t believe it. He hadn’t been rejected. In fact, his feelings had been reciprocated. Suddenly, the heat, the hunt, everything around him disappeared. He found himself smiling even more than Saxton was. He was elated, floating on a natural high that nothing could bring him down from.
Except a pissed off jaguar.
Alerted to their presence by Hale’s sudden outburst, the big cat had sprung into action. It had barely given a growl before crouching on the branch where it was perched, and springing directly at them, teeth bared and claws outstretched. Soldier saw his life flash before his eyes, from potty-training memories all the way up to the kiss he’d just shared with Saxton. He regretted nothing and everything at the same time.
It was weird.
He needn’t have worried. Without even bothering to turn around, Saxton, still grinning at Soldier, reached an arm behind him and balled his hand into a fist. The cat made contact with an audible thunk, then fell flat onto the ground, knocked out cold. Still not turning around to grace the unconscious jaguar with so much as a glance, Saxton stood and held out his hand to Soldier, who gratefully took it and allowed himself to be pulled up to his feet. His legs felt wobbly, and he had no idea if it was from the jungle heat, his close encounter with a deadly animal, or his overwhelming feelings for Saxton. Regardless of what it was, he found himself gazing up into the eyes of the untamed man he adored, and found himself almost blushing.
“C’mon, mate! Let’s you and me have a proper sit down over some steak and eggs, whaddya say?”
Soldier said yes.