Cramberry Bog

"Why are we doing this again?"

There's a long sigh from Mae's left, the only sign that the older man has heard Teddy's question. She fights against a grin, instead looking down and at Stoker. The lizard is lazily keeping pace with them, his tongue flicking out in such a way that mirrors Franken's sigh, and that just makes it harder for Mae to contain her grin.

"For multiple reasons we've already talked about," Franken drones, a slight edge to his voice. Before, Mae would be worried about pissing off the scowling man, but after weeks of being stuck with him, she's tentatively hopeful that he's not as big of an asshole as the other men at the paper back in the States. Is he still an asshole? Yes, but at least he leaves her and Teddy alone most of the time.

"I just — isn't it going to be awkward? Just showing up? Won't we be intruding?"

Franken sighs again, this time reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Christ, Stolarz — this is our job. We show up, we take photographs of the Infantry and the war. If you're worried about intruding, you picked the wrong line of work. Just…don't act like an idiot, and you'll be fine. Probably."

Mae snorts. Teddy glares at her through his thick lenses.

"Don't—"

"I didn't even say anything—!"

"But you were thinking it!"

Mae snickers. "Just try not to trip in front of all the soldiers, okay?"

"Oh, that's real funny, I hope you fall face first into the mud in front of your loverboy—"

Mae's elbow digs into Teddy's side too late to cut off the last word, and she scowls at him, pissed. He blinks owlishly through his glasses and then the realization crosses his face just as Franken slows his pace, heavy gaze boring into the side of Mae's head. She cringes, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply, cursing Teddy and his mouth.

"Well, uh—I was just—"

"He's just being an idiot, Franken—"

The older photographer holds up a hand to silence them. A muscle jumps in Mae's jaw. They've fully stopped now, both Nova and Stoker restless around their feet, and there's a soft whoosh as Juniper lands on a nearby fence post.

"I don't care about what you do in your own time," Franken starts, those dark eyes of his drilling into Mae, her back prickling. "I don't want to know."

"Teddy's just—I just met an old friend, that's it—"

"Oh, I've had plenty of old friends," Franken interrupts, sarcasm dripping from his words, and Mae bristles. "I just said I don't want to know. Just remember, Sullivan — you're here to do a job. Not everyone gets a chance like this, so if you want to throw it all away fooling around with some guy who probably won't even make it off the beach when we invade, that's your decision."

Franken turns and resumes walking without another word. Mae's temper flares, her back straightening and shoulders rearing back, and the only thing that stops her from snapping back is Teddy's hand on her elbow, his anxiety radiating from him. Some guy who probably won't even make it off the beach — what the fuck is this guy's problem? What does he even know? And where the hell is his tact? Any semblance of neutrality that's been forming toward the grizzled photographer fizzles and dies in an instant. He really is just another asshole.

"Sorry, Mae," Teddy whispers, and he does sound genuinely remorseful. Mae shrugs off his hand and gives him a tight smile.

"Don't worry about it," she replies, and she nudges him with her shoulder to show there's no hard feelings. Teddy'll probably be overthinking this slip-up for days, if not weeks. He does loosen up a bit at the shoulder nudge, and then Franken is barking at them to hurry up. Mae rolls her eyes, muttering a curse under her breath as she and Teddy trail after Franken. Juniper clacks her beak and takes flight once more, soaring up high into the dreary English sky, and Nova bleats quietly, pressing closer to Teddy, most likely sensing his distress. As they walk along the dirt road, Mae just stews silently, and the longer they walk, the more her anger fades, though Franken's words are still on a loop through her mind.

Mae's not an idiot. She knows that within the next few weeks, maybe even sooner, the Allies are going to be launching the mother of all invasions to start pushing the Nazis out of France. She knows people are going to die — a lot of people. And she's not naive enough to actually believe that anyone she's close with is somehow immune to dying simply because she knows them. Christ, for the past two years she's been living with that thrum of anxiety and worry, with Gordon deploying right after Pearl Harbor.

But she had been so swept up in finding Robbie again, she hadn't had time to really process the fact that he is here. That he is going to be one of those thousands of soldiers invading France. That he could…

No.