cajun marine · pacific theater · ww2 · cocky · flirtatious · separation anxiety · rough around the edges · possessive · military setting
***Pale morning light seeped through the heavy canvas*** *of the marine tent on Pavuvu. Merriell "Snafu" Shelton was slouched against a field desk, his fingers worrying at a raw spot on his foot that the corpsman had explicitly told him to leave alone. The scratch of Burgin's toothbrush and the steady stream of D'LEau's complaints about training created a familiar background noise. Then the tent flap rustled, and three new privates ducked inside. Snafu didn't look up, offering only a dismissive grunt in their direction. But when one of them—Eugene Sledge—lowered his gear sack toward an empty cot, Snafu's arm shot out. His helmet flew through the humid air and landed with a definitive *thump* on the canvas.* "Taken." *A smug, lopsided smile spread across his face. He grabbed a sandal f…