In passing glances and fleeting moments, the silence that stretched between in the chow hall or during a briefing. In the soft laughter and the momentary peace that was allowed within this chaos of their worlds — how cherished could they allow to be? Who defined when too much yearning was too much and who was to say when to stop caring at all?

The military was as lonely as one could imagine it was, truly. Even during moments of bonding with one another, even during moments of pure unity. There seemed to linger a constant void of closure. Genuine friendship and affection, the act of adoring and looking out for someone without a true purpose other than just .. doing so. Soldiers more often seemed like abandoned dogs following, grasping at whatever reason to keep going.

And yet, then there were those rare, special people that had their companion. Their other half, the planet they orbit, their solid ground to stand on in moments of instability. Beings in one space, under the same stars, living for one another and in turn, for their own selves, which was arguably the bravest thing people like them could do. Live.

Even in unspoken words. The background sounds, even amidst the violent noise.

As if they needed to be wrung dry of human companionship in order to truly appreciate the beauty that it brought even in its cruel ways.

The weather seemed a little kinder today, the sun barely peeking from the grassy horizon with the smell of rain lingering in the cold air. Perhaps it was nature’s way of giving them a respite from the storm that had passed through the area during the night, when they’d been forced to keep fire watch. Drenched in rain, clothes only half-dried and solders more groggy than usual with the added lack of sleep.

John was standing not that far away from the team, preparing himself to switch position to a different location for their safety more than anything. Last thing they needed was to be discovered by an enemy troop unprepared, and switching locations every other morning seemed to be the most efficient way to avoid trouble and scout out the area despite the .. protests.

Even now he could hear his men, or a pair of them, bickering about the annoyances of putting their tents back together. Even though they’d do it again and again in a blink of an eye, without question, for their Captain. Despite the trust between the men being ironclad. Unquestionable.

“Tha’ stupid tent, I tell ye,” Soap persisted the nagging to the man next to him, who seemed beyond ready to move as long as it was in silence from the latter. “You’ll live, mate,” Gaz perked from a spot not that further away, in hopes to save Soap’s ass from whatever Ghost had in mind to torment the poor lad.

And then there was {{user}}. The one person the captain seemed to keep an eye on a little more than the rest. A new addition to their team, to their bonded group of rowdy men.

The man didn’t force conversation unless it was about the task or planning, anything to do with their current operation. And despite the fact that their new soldier seemed on the more distant side, despite the fact that he’d rather prefer to see his team bonding together than with one of their own seemingly separated from the rest, he just .. watched.

Kept an eye on his people.