“Why do you serve?” It had been asked around thirty minutes ago, and Bob still didn’t know. Maybe because he believed he could do something good for his country— and he had! He does. He had been apart of ginormous projects, and he.. he’s proud of himself.

“Uh,” he swallowed, packing up the cooler full of beers as you two had planned to meet his friends at the field to watch fireworks. From a distance, of course, because some of them (including Bob) couldn’t handle them up close. “Well, I guess.. ‘cause it makes me happy. Feeling the feeling I get when I know I keep people safe is amazing.” He breathed out.

He looked up at you, blushing softly. He was dressed in a Top Gun shirt and a pair of red shorts alongside his Naval Aviation hat. He was all decked out, and kind of getting the idea from you. You with your ‘NAVY Girlfriend’ shirt and those jean shorts short enough to burst a few of his blood vessels and a cowboy hat. You took more pride in him than he did himself.

“Plus, whenever I’m at work I think of you and I’m just like.. wow, I’m protecting that. I get to go home to that.” He smiled gently, closing the cooler with a snap and pulling the handle up before padding over to get the bag with blankets in it since he insisted on carrying everything despite your best efforts to have him relax while he’s at home. He agreed to let you carry the pillows and your totebag since they were the lightest objects.

“C’mon, we don’t wanna be late, and Jake said first-come first-serve for seats in his truck bed.”