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War was not fun in the slightest, but having Ned around proved to make it less agonizing. Just the presence of the guy could calm Jimbo down tenfold; or clear the impulsive fog from his brain that could sometimes put him in harm's way out on the battlefield.
The forest was hot and dry, and he and Ned were stationed on a stakeout together. Apparently, there was suspicious activity around this part of the forest, and they needed to be on high alert and deafeningly quiet. Jimbo didn’t like the deafeningly quiet part though, so in a whisper, he spoke to Ned, “You see anything?”
“Trees don’t look like they have eyes over here,” Ned whispered back jokingly. A smile crept over Jimbo’s face.
The silence came back again, and Jimbo was getting bored. His hands were growing clammy from the heat, and it made his hands stick to his gun uncomfortably. Jimbo was about to say something, but then Ned spoke.
“You heard that they want to extend the war?” He muttered, eyes still concentrated on the surrounding forest. He had such pretty eyes, Jimbo noted.
“Heard some people talkin ‘bout that.” Jimbo murmured. “What you wanna do after this war is over?”
Ned shrugged, resting his gun down for a moment so he could pull out a cigarette and lighter. “Don’t know, I’ll just see what happens. What about you?”
Maybe it would sound gay to say he wanted to spend time with him after the war. Maybe live together, do something cool. “Well, I don't got a wife to return to, so maybe just go to my hometown.”
“My wife ditched me ‘soon as I got drafted.” Ned chuckled, picking his gun back up.
“I wonder why we weren’t stationed on the planes today.” Jimbo muttered, changing the topic, “Was looking forward to destroying some forests with agent orange.”
“I think the higher-ups decided that wasn’t an effective technique.” The two were no longer whispering. They were 90% sure this area didn’t have any activity.
Jimbo glanced down at Ned, who no longer looked too focused on the forest, dark brown hair clipped back so it wouldn’t hinder his vision. Would it be gay to say he was handsome? Admiring someone else’s looks wasn’t gay. Ned was just a good-looking guy. A great guy in all aspects, in Jimbo’s opinion.
—
Maybe before Jimbo’s admiration wasn’t gay, but now it borderline was. He would catch himself flustered sometimes around his friend and it was just…. Weird.
He was not gay. He would get over this.
Spoiler alert; he did not. If anything it just got worse.
Late nights hanging around in the forest, watching Ned take a smoke break. What wouldn’t he do to just pin the handsome bastard up against a tree and-? Holy shit he was going nuts. Maybe chemical warfare was messing with his psyche. Or maybe he was just pent up? War didn’t really clear that much time for women.
Ned seemed to look up at him in confusion. “Ya alright over there Jimbo? You seem out of it.”
“I’m a little tired.” He lied, scratching the back of his neck. Ned raised a brow, probably catching on that he was lying, but couldn’t really tell what he was lying about.
“Well, we can head back to the barracks then. It is getting late.” Ned replied, discarding of his his cigarette. Jimbo bit his lip as Ned neared him and tugged on his uniform so he would start walking. It was too endearing to him, why was he so worked up over something so insignificant?
Was it a stretch to say he was in love with him? No, no, loving another guy is weird. He was simply just going insane. That’s all.
—
Jimbo had his eyes focused as he drove the plane. Nowadays, he tries to talk to Ned less. He always got all fluttery around him, and it made him feel all guilty and shit. Ned was definitely straight, proven by the fact that he used to have a wife.
Ned seemed to notice that Jimbo had interacted with him less, but didn’t really question him outright. He just guessed war was starting to wear him down. It was okay. Ned was never the most talkative person anyway.
It worried him though. Jimbo always used to spew nonsense and to notice him abruptly stop was weird. Too weird. The silence that started to collect was suffocating. Taking a glance at Jimbo, it looked like the guy was resisting the itch to say something to him.
“Jimbo, you’re going off path.” Ned noted, looking at the navigator.
“Oh, really? Shit. Sorry, I was zoned out.”
Ned could notice Jimbo’s hands were sweaty, really sweaty. He wondered what had the guy in such a mess. Maybe the war had him going mad? Maybe he thought he was annoying? Ned didn’t really want to come to that conclusion, since he valued Jimbo’s company. It hurt though, it really did.
—
“Ned I gotta get something off my chest.” Jimbo started nervously, pacing around. The two were chilling in the forest, blackened by the night. “Cause if I don’t, I think it’s gonna eat me alive.”
“Lay it on me.” Ned replied. He himself was nervous for whatever Jimbo was gonna say. He was really itching for a cigarette. That’s what he always wanted in any situation that was stressful.
Jimbo went silent for a little, and then sighed. “Ned, I uh. I kinda like you. And I-“ Jimbo was caught off guard by Ned trying to hold in chuckles.
“Seriously?”
“The fuck you mean seriously?” Jimbo got defensive fast, backing away slightly.
Ned chuckled. “No no, I like you too,” Ned watched Jimbo's expression shift to surprise. God knows how he himself hid it, “But you’ve been acting all skittery as of late over this?”
“Shit, you’re right.” Jimbo said, embarrassment starting to set in.