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Blaine Rawlings was a good pilot, great, even. He was witty, reliable, and all around a good man. So he could not understand, for the life of him, why Reed Cassidy was so determined to hate him and keep him at a distance.
It had been almost three months since he joined the Lafayette Escadrille squadron. He had a rocky start, sure, but who didn’t? Beagle still hadn't managed to get his balance quite right, Jensen still couldn’t get over his military upbringing, and Lowry was still a racist asshole who avoided Skinner. Cassidy was still an enigma, refusing to talk to or even sit with the other boys.
Cassidy would at least acknowledge the other boy’s existence with a head nod. But Rawlings got nothing. Cassidy refused to look at him, and it was pissing him off. He didn’t understand what the other man’s problem was. They were all on the same team, trying to take down the Germans. Hell, Cassidy would probably let him die, unlike how he avenged the other men.
Rawlings could feel the rage bubbling under his skin, pricking him with anger. It wasn’t fair, he wanted to yell at the other man, but he wouldn’t dare. The other man did not care for him; otherwise, he wouldn’t have kept him at a distance. And sure, Cassidy kept everyone at a distance, but it felt personal with Rawlings. Maybe it was because Blaine was used to being the best-liked in a room, or maybe because Cassidy seemed to fucking ignore him.
Flipping over, Blaine burrowed further into the bed, covering himself with the blanket, trying to get warm. As he drifted off to sleep, his last thought was about the squadron leader.
———
The squadron had just come back from training. All the boys were slightly tipsy, enough to take off the edge without losing their inhibitions. They sat in the living room, murmuring to each other quietly about anything and everything on their minds. The living room was covered in an orange glow from the flickering fire, and a sense of camaraderie floated through the air. Cassidy sat apart from the boys beside Whiskey, going over paperwork, enjoying the quiet atmosphere.
He sighed quietly as he realized he had to write letters home for each of the boys in case they died. It wasn’t his first time, but it never got easier. He hated this part, asking each boy what they wanted their last words to be. He had already finished Jensen’s, as his was a respectable military family. However, he still had the rest of the boys left.
Reed looked over the boys’ families. All of them had someone listed as next of kin, except for Blaine. His chest ached as he realized he would have to convince the man to leave the war while he could to keep his family alive. Rawlings showed the most promise out of all of them, and if he played it smart, he could survive the war. Reed decided to get it over with and stood up just as the boys were leaving for their rooms.
“Rawlings, can I speak to you?” Reed asked, before turning away, letting the other man follow behind him.
“Yeah, I’ll catch up with you later,” Blaine reassured Skinner before turning around to follow Cassidy.
He paused when Whiskey growled at him, remembering their disastrous first meeting.
“You can pet him, it’s okay, he’s just trying to say hello.” Reed’s voice rang through the room as Blaine turned to look at him.
He was standing with his arms crossed, leaning against the doorway as he looked at Whiskey fondly. Blaine felt oddly aggravated at the large cat, but shook it off. He petted the stupid lion while letting his eyes trail over the older man.
Reed was wearing that stupid shirt with blue suspenders that made him look more like a cowboy than Blaine ever did. His lips quirked up at the thought before he forced them back down. His eyes kept roaming over the pilot, especially his face. His pale green eyes contrasted with his dark hair, and his beard only served to accentuate his jaw. His face was pulled into an almost grimace, as if he was delivering unpleasant news.
Blaine stood up, following Reed into his office. It was dark with a small light illuminating the space, but Blaine would rather look at Reed than look at the room.
“Uh, I was going over your files. Typically, before your first mission, we write a letter to the next of kin. However, you don’t have any.” Reed walked to his desk, sorting through papers, before pulling out one that had Blaine Rawlings scrawled over it.
“Yes, sir. My mom left, and my father died, so there’s no one left over to take care of the ranch.”
“Rawlings, you must be aware that your name will die with you. There will be no more Rawlings horsing around on your ranch.” Reed finally turned around to look Blaine in the eye, making sure the younger man understood the severity of his life.
“Yes, sir, I’m aware, and I don’t plan on dying.” Blaine stared back, suddenly aware of the depths of Reed’s eyes. They glimmered in the darkness of the room, and Blaine thought he could spend a lifetime finding every shade of brown and green in his eyes.
“Rawlings, all of the men in the cemetery thought so, too. You can leave. Find a nice American girl who’ll take over your ranch with you, and raise little Rawlings who’ll have your stubbornness. Do better for yourself, Rawlings. Don’t tie yourself to death because you’re seeking glory. As your commanding officer, I’m telling you, leave.” Reed broke the stare to reshuffle papers that were already perfectly organized.
Blaine’s lips quirked up, “With all due respect, sir, I think I’ll leave the second you do. If you manage to find a nice American girl for yourself, I think I might consider it too.”
Reed’s face shifted as rage overtook him. With a few quick strides, he crossed the room over to Blaine and slammed the man against the wall. Blaine could feel Reed’s anger, but was more amused than afraid.
“You–You do not, do not, talk about me. I am here as a courtesy for you, to pass on your last words, your legacy.” Reed spat out his words, pinning Blaine harder.
“Fucking hypocrite,” Blaine muttered under his breath, but Reed was close enough to hear.
Reed pulled Blaine forward before slamming him back against the wall. This time, Blaine did not feel scared, more amused than anything.
Reed leaned in to whisper, “I am not a fucking hypocrite, or an asshole or whatever you want to call me. I am a fucking ace. I have shot down so many planes, killed so many people, that your death wouldn’t even matter towards my count.”
Blaine let the smile completely take over before pushing forward and using the moment of shock to his advantage, flipping their positions, pinning Reed to the wall before pushing back, letting Reed stand in shock. He walked out, heading to his room, before stopping.
Turning around, “And, Cas–Reed, I’ll leave the day you do.” Blaine continued walking away, humming to himself.
Reed watched him leave and then collapsed in the chair, putting his head into his hands. He wanted to frown, to grimace, but all he could do was faintly smile into his hands, replaying the moment again and again, until he fell asleep in that chair.
———
Reed walked out of the mansion, ready to fly, only to realize that today, the rookies were getting their own planes.
Reed still remembered getting his own plane. He was overjoyed, excited about becoming an ace. Hell, he thought that he would become the best pilot on their side of the war.
Unlike his squad, Reed took some time to decide what to paint on his plane. He was unsure of what insignia he wanted to paint on. His squad had all found something to paint, one of his friends painting a canary, because it reminded him of his girl at home.
Reed didn’t have a girl back home. He was from Brooklyn, and none of the girls were particularly interesting to him. He had made peace with the fact that he would never settle down and would instead probably die alone. He had no ties to Brooklyn, no girl, no family, no home. Everything and everyone he had now was in France.
In the end, Reed decided to paint an eagle, with the words “Je vois tout”. It seemed right enough at the time, but now it turned into a terrible reminder of everything he had seen, all the gruesome deaths of everyone he had ever trained with.
Walking over to Blaine, he realized that the younger man still hadn’t gotten on the plane. Maybe he really was backing off. It was the rookies’ first mission, and Reed was nervous enough without having to worry about Rawlings’s stupidity.
“Still here, Rawlings?” Reed asked, walking closer to see if there was anything wrong with his plane or if the man really was going to leave.
“Thought I would take my chances, sir.” Blaine looked over, securing his cap onto his head.
Reed accepted that he would probably live to see Blaine die. He knew it was wrong, calling the younger man by his name; he knew he would regret it later when Blaine was shot, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to distance himself from the man.
“What’s– uh, what’s that?” Reed asked, pointing to the insignia on Blaine’s plane.
“It’s the brand of the ranch my family owned till the bank foreclosed it.” Blaine’s eyes went unfocused, almost like he was back at that ranch in Texas.
Reed felt bad and decided to let Blaine forget about the ranch. Clapping a hand on his shoulder, Reed pulled Blaine into a one-armed hug.
“Careful there, Rawlings, wouldn’t want anything to happen to your name.” Blaine let a small smile slip through before clutching Reed back with a desperation he was reluctant to show.
Blaine was, realistically, terrified. He knew that he had a high chance of dying, of never seeing Texas or Reed again, and somehow that terrified him more than dying. He clutched onto the older man with a desperation he didn’t dare to show, with fear of breaking if he did.
“Reed, if I come back–” Blaine began.
“When. When you come back, Rawlings.”
“If I come back, call me by my name, yeah? No more Rawlings, just Blaine, hm?” Blaine asked, unsure, but still unwilling to let go of Reed.
“When you get back, I will, Rawlings.” Reed pulled him in tighter before letting him go.
“Captain, you going to hug us like that, too?” Beagle tossed out, chuckling.
“Fuck no, asshole. None of you gets anything. Now, take a hammer, and if the machine gun gets stuck, use it to hit it until it unjams. Remember, boys, never fly in a straight line, and I’ll see you back at camp.” Reed ended off, looking at each man, memorizing their face, in case it was the last time he ever saw their face.
Reed stared at Blaine the longest, taking in every angle and turn of his face. Somehow, it seemed nearly impossible to let him go, even though he’s let multiple people give their lives to the war effort before.
With one last glance, Blaine looked at Reed before climbing onto his plane.
———
Blaine landed the plane before jumping off. He didn't think he could do this anymore, the fighting, watching your friends die, or killing other people.
All he wanted to do was find Reed and curl up somewhere far away from the war. He used to think that war didn’t really change a person, but he was so, so wrong. War was a horrible place to be. Every time he closed his eyes, all he could see were 3 of his friends, the people he trained with, dying in front of his eyes while he was helpless to do anything else.
He wanted to go back to the ranch, where everything was so much simpler. He wanted to kill the Black Falcon to get revenge on Nunn, who was killed without honour. He wanted to curl up next to Reed and block the world out.
Blaine turned around, looking for the older pilot. Reed was getting back on his plane, taking off, without so much as sparing a glance at Blaine.
“What’s he doing?” Blaine questioned, curious to know why Reed was going back into that hell.
“He’s going back up.” Commander Thenault replies, before turning to talk to someone else.
“For what?”
“Anything. Whatever he can find, I suppose.”
“Alone?”
“Yeah, he prefers it that way”. The commander walked away, probably to prepare to debrief.
Blaine walked beside the other men as they all conversed about the battle. His mind strayed to Reed, worrying about the other man. Why on Earth would the other man go back into that hell, again?
Blaine went and changed, before doing any task he could get his hands on until Reed arrived.
———
Blaine caught Reed walking past him, “You get any?”
“Not the one I wanted, not the Black Falcon,” Reed said, before walking off to the manion.
“Hey, man, what?” Blaine called after him, jogging behind the man until he caught up to him inside his office.
“Hey, Rawlings, do me a favour, yeah? Leave me alone. I have things to do, and I don’t need you dragging me down right now.” Reed let out a tired sigh before taking his outer coat off.
“Are you for real right now? Reed, what? We were fine before. What’s going on now? You promised–”
“What I promise is none of your business.” Reed spat out before turning away.
“It is when it’s me you promised to! We were fine before, hell, you hugged me! Why are you turning away now, and why do you refuse to call me by my name? Why are you changing now, what’s wrong with you?” Blaine ranted without pausing.
“There’s no place in the world for us, for people like us. Do you not understand? I can’t risk your life, just for my– my desires? Do you understand, Rawlings?”
“Reed, I think I should be able to choose what I do and don’t want. And who says that there’s no place for us? I mean, come on, France is one of the most tolerant countries right now, we will not be criminals. You will not risk my life, not when I risk it every moment by being here. Do you understand, Reed?”
“But– It’s not–” Reed stuttered out, trying to find any excuse to let go of the man in front of him.
“Answer me honestly, Reed. Do you, or do you not, want this? Because if not, I will leave, and we will pretend this never happened.” Blaine offered, giving the man an easy way out.
“And if not? If I don’t want you to leave?” Reed dared to ask.
“If, if you don’t want me to leave, I won’t. We don’t have to jump in, yeah? We can take this as slow as you need.” Blaine replied before moving in closer.
“As slow as I need? Sweetheart, I don’t need slow. You give me the green light, and I’ll fuck you six ways to Sunday.”
Blaine stood stock-still as his brain performed a full factory reset. Reed used the moment of shock to slam Blaine against the wall, his hands pinning Blaine’s down as his body pushed Blaine’s body further into the wall.
“You have a thing for walls, Reed? Seem to keep pushing me against them, hm?” Blaine managed to force out before letting himself be pinned down more as the man pushed into him further.
“Blaine, sweetheart, I have a thing for you against walls, not for a fucking wall.”
Blaine’s eyes nearly rolled back into his head as he heard his name roll off Reed’s tongue. It sounded heavenly, like his name was crafted simply for Reed’s velvety, baritone voice. He could imagine spending hours beside this man, simply listening to him say his name. Blaine knew he was ruined for anyone after this, because there was no way his name would sound right in anyone’s mouth again.
“Before we do anything, do you have something with Lucienne? I will not do anything until you break it off with her.” Reed stated, unwilling to love a man who was not entirely his.
“No, no, nothing. I promise, all I did was call her pretty, that's all. Nothing more.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes, for fuck’s sake, I’m sure, Reed. I want you, not her. If I wanted her, I wouldn’t even entertain this.” Blaine panted out, his head going lightheaded from the proximity.
That was all Reed needed to absolutely pounce on the man. He slammed their lips together, as his hand snaked up to grab Blaine’s hair. Butterflies erupted in his stomach as he felt Blaine respond eagerly, tilting his head and moving his lips eagerly. Reed’s hand came to rest on his jaw as he kissed Blaine, whose eyes fluttered shut. His lips were firm, yet soft, and Reed thought he could drown in this moment forever.
They broke apart, panting as their eyes roamed over each other. Blaine was heaving, his eyes dilated and his lips bruised from the kiss. Reed was in a similar state, his eyes darkened and lips bruised, and he looked like he wanted nothing more than to devour Blaine.
“Wow…” Blaine trailed off, staring into Reed’s green eyes.
“Yeah?” Reed echoed back, unwilling to take his eyes off Blaine.
That was all Blaine needed to push into Reed again, pushing their lips together. Their lips moved against each other in slow tandem, their heads tilted and noses occasionally bumping into one another. Blaine’s hand pressed against Reed’s chest, while his other hand was tangled in the man’s dark, silky hair. Reed’s hand was on Blaine’s jaw again, rubbing slow circles into his jaw. His other hand settled firmly on Blaine’s waist, squeezing the flesh there.
Blaine’s heart skipped a beat as Reed’s tongue probed the entrance of his mouth. Sighing, he let the man in, intertwining their tongues together. Bllaine collapsed into Reed, letting the man bear most of his weight.
Blaine and Reed kept kissing languidly for minutes before eventually pushing themselves apart.
“Fuck, sweetheart, how am I ever supposed to let go of you when you look like that? All messed up and ruined for me, hm?” Reed questioned, tilting his head as he traced Blaine’s lips with his finger.
Blaine sat on the desk near him and put his head into the crook between Reed’s shoulder and neck, determined to hide his red face. His arms wrapped around the older man's waist, and he settled there comfortably. Reed put one arm around his waist, with the other combing through his hair.
The horrors of the war could be uncovered later, but right now, he was right where he wanted to be, safe in the arms of the man he wanted.
———
Blaine and his squad walked past the bar, the loss of their three pilots weighing heavily on them. Although Blaine was happy to be with Reed, the sadness still lingered in them.
“Where do you think you’re going, huh?” Grant, one of the other pilots, asked them.
“Not today, Grant, we’re not in the mood,” Blaine replied for the group, too tired to care.
“I thought this was only for killers?” Jensen asked.
“Mm, you’ll do,” Grant replied, heading in.
The boys all shared a look before heading in. They knew better than to disobey a higher-ranking officer.
They walked in to see the kill count being changed, with one more cross for Cassidy, and two for Rawlings. Blaine wanted to turn away, to curl up and cry, but he knew better.
He sat at the bar, alone, as all the men began to sing some stupid song.
Blaine couldn’t take it anymore when he yelled, “Does no one here care that three pilots died today?”
He was expecting some sort of a response, not to be ignored completely.
“Rawlings, the first kill is always the hardest, yes?” Commander Thenault sat near him, drinking his own glass of whatever cheap liquor they had.
Reed got up from his chair and sauntered over, “Blaine, this is how we honour them. Like it or not, it’s what we do. So you can either stay here or go back to your room and cry like a baby.”
Blaine turned around to glare at Reed for being so callous and apathetic.
Reed leaned in to whisper, “I know, sweetheart. Go to my room, and I’ll meet you there in ten, yeah?”
Blaine angrily nodded in affirmation before getting up and leaving. As he reached the door, he turned back to look at Reed, who was standing there with the other men, immersed in conversation.
———
The second Reed walked into his room, Blaine shoved him.
“Are you serious? People died today, Reed! People I spent the last few weeks training with! They were like my brothers–” Blaine broke off, angrily wiping his tears with the back of his hand.
“They died, Reed! And no one cares! Three people, three pilots, three good men died! And all you did was drink! Fuck you, and fuck this war!” Blaine hissed out, his blood boiling.
Blaine couldn’t understand why no one cared that three good men were dead, one of them killed without honour, on the ground, defenceless. He couldn’t understand how they could all be this cruel, how Reed could be this cruel.
“Sweetheart–” Reed started.
“They were someone’s sweetheart, too, Reed. They had people who loved them, wanted to live, and no one cares! How can you be so cruel? Would you act the same if it were me who died? Would you be sitting in your stupid chair, drinking your fucking French-75, laughing about my death? Would you not care, Reed, would my death be meaningless? Would I die in your memory alone?”
“Blaine–”
“If I died tomorrow, would you deny what we have, what we had? If you died–” Blaine broke off into a sob.
Reed didn’t hesitate to pull Blaine into his chest. His hand snaked up to Blaine’s hair, soothing him.
“Don’t you ever– ever talk about dying again. Do you understand, Blaine?” Reed shakily whispered as he pulled Blaine back to look at him before pulling him back in, resting his chin on the younger man’s head.
“Death is a part of what we do, sweetheart. Being a pilot and death go hand in hand. There’s nothing we can do to change it. You have to remember that most of the guys here have seen so many people die. They’re used to it because they’ve been exposed to it for so long. They’ve seen people from their squad die, they've seen innocent civilians die, and most of them have almost seen death themselves. They were just like you during their rookie seasons. Watching the death of your brothers is hard, but there’s nothing you can do. Blaine, you have to grieve and move on.”
“But–”
Reed could feel the dampness on his shirt from where Blaine’s tears had soaked through.
“It’s okay to grieve them, but you can’t let it weigh you down. If you do, you’ll never move past it, past them.” Reed soothed, trying to get Blaine to stop crying.
After a few more minutes, Blaine pulled back, sniffling, wiping his tears with his hand.
“I’ll see you later–” Blaine started, but Reed would not let the younger pilot go yet.
“Sweetheart, you’re in no state to be alone right now. I can tell you’re on the verge of dropping, so why don’t you stay, and tomorrow, you can go?” Reed murmured, guiding them to his bed.
Reed pushed Blaine onto his bed before lying beside him. Blaine curled into his side, his hands tucked into Reed's chest, and their legs intertwined. Reed put his hand over Blaine’s torso, whispering sweet nothings until they both drifted off into a dreamless sleep, holding each other like it was their last day, because for all they knew, it could have been.
———
“Captain, Jensen, oh my god–” Beagle’s voice broke off into a screech as he barged into Reed’s room.
Reed woke up immediately, used to being called for at midnight. Blaine, however, was still asleep, tired out from the day, cuddling into Reed’s collarbone as his hand rested on Reed’s shoulder.
Reed sat up, carefully entangling himself from Blaine, making sure the younger man was still asleep, before turning over to face Beagle. Beagle was standing still, his jaw hanging slightly open and his eyes wide.
“You say a single word to hurt him, I will shoot you down, be forewarned.” Reed drawled, grabbing his gun from the bedside cabinet.
“That’s not– I mean— There’s something wrong with Jensen, Cap. He’s– I think it’s better if you see him.” Beagle replied, walking away to stand outside the door.
Reed took into account Beagle’s scared tone and decided it was best to wake Blaine up. As much as he didn’t want to wake the younger man, Blaine would be more upset if he wasn’t woken up.
“Hey, sweetheart, wake up,” Reed shook Blaine’s shoulders gently.
Groggy and disoriented, Blaine woke up confused before his eyes landed on Reed.
“Reed, what’s going on? Why are you awake?” Blaine rasped out, wanting to go back to sleep.
“There’s something wrong with Jensen–” Reed began, as Blaine's eyes widened in fear before he jumped out of the bed.
Blaine ran out of the room, surprised to see Beagle there, his eyes widening as he realized the Beagle most likely knew about them. His heart dropped to his stomach as he braced for the inevitable disgust that was bound to follow.
However, Beagle only smiled and bumped their shoulders together in solidarity before guiding both Blaine and Reed to the hallway near the cadets’ rooms, where Jensen was sitting on the floor, his eyes glazed over while taking shaky breaths.
Blaine immediately dropped to his knees, shaking Jensen gently before murmuring small platitudes, trying to comfort him.
Reed, however, knew exactly what to do. He walked straight up to Jensen before slapping him across the face hard. The slap seemed to break him out of his daze, which was what Reed was hoping for.
“What the–” One of the rookies began, but Reed paid them no mind.
“Take him to his room, and don’t let him fly for a few days. He’ll get over it soon, just give him time,” Reed knew there was a chance Jensen would never get past it, but they didn’t need to know that.
Soon, all the boys dispersed, except for Beagle, Skinner, Lowry, Blaine, and Reed.
“You were with him tonight, weren’t you?” Lowry spat out, looking at Blain and Reed with something akin to disgust.
Reed pulled Blaine to his side, and Beagle stepped between them and Lowry.
“Man, what? What’s–” Beagle began, rushing to their defence.
“You don’t think we don’t see these two? Yeah, we saw Rawlings and Cassidy- fuckin'- hugging today. We saw Rawlings leave the bar and Cassidy go after him. We saw them come together here, which is surprising, considering that Rawlings should be with Skinner.” Lowry spat out, his face flushed from anger.
“So what, Lowry?” Blaine pushed, tired of Lowry’s blatant hatred.
“So what? So what, Rawlings? I don’t want to be near you! Hell, I would rather room with Skinner than be near a– a– poof like you!” Lowry shrieked, his hands clenching at his sides.
Blaine launched himself at Lowry, punching him across the jaw. He heard the satisfying crack as Lowry’s head snapped to the side. He pulled his fist back to strike him again, but Reed pulled him off. Blaine stumbled back in Reed’s arms, snarling at Lowry.
“This fucking poof shot down more planes than you ever could, you fucking asshole! What the hell do you mean, poof? I’m more of a man than you’ll ever be–” Blaine clenched his fists, his eyes alight with fury.
Lowry struggled to get up before standing and spitting at Blaine’s feet as he left the room. Blaine tried to launch himself at him again, but Reed held him back, grasping his shoulders.
“Reed– He called us–” Blaine’s voice faltered, unable to bear the thought of his friend hating him.
“I know, sweetheart, but there’s nothing we can do to change it.” Reed pulled Blaine into a hug, uncaring of the other two men, resting his chin on the top of Blaine’s head.
“Hey, man, he’s always been an asshole. Ain’t nothing new there,” Skinner added in.
“For what it’s worth, we don’t care, man. As long as you take them Germans down, ain’t nothing about you mean shit to us.” Beagle stated, gently pulling Blaine out of Reed’s arms and into his own.
Skinner reached over to ruffle Blaine’s hair, and for a moment, the three friends stood there together, in solidarity.
“As heartwarming as this is, boys, we all have places to be and things to do tomorrow.” Reed cut their moment short.
Blaine looked over his shoulder to curse at him, “Jerk.”
“Punk,” Reed replied easily, his green eyes softening.
Blaine pulled out of the hug and bid the other two men goodnight as he made his way to Reed’s side.
“Never thought I’d see the day when you would punch someone,” Reed trailed off, smirking at the younger man.
Sighing, Blaine pressed a kiss to the corner of Reed’s mouth before intertwining their fingers together as the older man tugged him forward to his room. They walked the hallways alone, glancing at each other.
As soon as they got to Reed’s room, Reed locked the door before crossing the room in quick strides and kissing Blaine. His hands found Blaine’s waist, as Blaine’s hands snaked up to his hair. Reed’s heart was beating faster, and he couldn’t help but be pleased by the small sighs Blaine was letting out.
Reed walked them back to his bed before breaking the kiss and throwing Blaine down onto the bed and then climbing on top of him.
———
The next morning, Reed woke up alone to the feeling of a cold bed. He turned around in confusion, rubbing at his blurry vision.
“Blaine?–” Reed trailed off as he saw a piece of paper where Blaine should have been.
The paper read,
Reed,
I’m going out to the town today, don’t worry. I’ll be back soon. We can talk when I get back.
Blaine.
Reed let out an incredulous scoff. Most likely, Blaine had run off somewhere after he realized that the war, or Reed himself, was far too much for him to deal with.
Reed sighed before getting out of bed to get ready for the day. He had to check in with Jensen and then talk to Lowry. He couldn’t have someone like Lowry dragging the whole team down. It would have been easier if Blaine were here, but the younger pilot was God knows where.
Walking out of his room, he rolled his shoulders as he went to Jensen’s room. He knocked gently before opening the door, only to find Jensen on the floor.
“Jensen, how are you feeling, man?” Reed prompted, but the other man only remained quiet.
Jensen’s eyes were glazed over as his hands kept twitching at the quietest sounds. Reed kept trying to talk to him, only for Jensen to remain unresponsive. Sighing, he stood up, dusting off his pants, as he left the room.
In the hallway, he came across Beagle, whom he told to look over Jensen, before heading down the hallway towards Lowry.
Reed knocked on Lowry’s room before opening.
“Cassidy– I don’t want to see you here.” Lowry held a hand up as Reed began walking into the room.
Leaning on the doorframe, the older man sighed.
“Listen, I don’t know, nor do I care about your beliefs. They are yours. However, your beliefs have no place in this war. If I cannot believe that you are trustworthy enough to have our backs, I cannot allow you to fly with us.”
Lowry stood up, enraged and fuming, “So, what, you’re going to bench me now? You– a fuckin’ fa–”
A sharp crack rang out through the door as Lowry clutched his face in his hands.
“Listen to me, and listen now. There’s fuckin’ Germans on the other end, tryna kill us off. You think that this is funny? You don’t know nothing Lowry. We might all die tomorrow, and your only concern is who I fuck? I’m telling you this once and only once: what you believe cannot affect this team. If it does, you're off. I should’ve gotten rid of you when you started your shit with Skinner, but I wanted to give you a chance. This is your last chance, Lowry. Decide how you want it to end.”
Reed stormed out of the room, his face twisted into a scowl.