the eternal soldier

“Mulan defeats the Huns. You don’t get cooler than defeating the..” Bryson paused, wrinkling up his nose as he realized what Jack was about to say.  “Please never ever ever finish that sentence.” He sighed and pushed his phone back into his pocket without ever making the phone call. “I can’t. I can’t go. It’s Colby’s first. I promised.”

Jack nodded, understanding the call to fatherhood yet wanting to protect his brother all the same. “Alright. Focus on Col then. Cause you’re nowhere else but here.” He gave Bryson a final pat before smiling. “Call or text me if you need anything, alright?”

Bryson opened his mouth to say something, closed it, tried again, then, when nothing came out, nodded slowly instead. He forgot–wasn’t sure how, but it happened time and time again–that he wasn’t alone with this, that Jack’s whole job was to talk to people like him, like them, to help. “Let me call Jensen,” he said, pulling out his phone with one hand and running the other through his hair; he’d wanted to see Colby through his first fireworks, his first Fourth of July, but his hands were shaking on the buttons even as he tried to dial Jensen’s number. “Mulan, by the way. Always Mulan.”

He kept his hand on Bryson, trying to ground him as he dialed. “Mulan, huh? Well, we’re enemies now. I’d wanted to see Belle in that cute peasant dress. Wonder if I could Jae to...” Jack paused before giving a low chuckle. “Gonna go ahead and guess you don’t want to hear the end of that sentence.” 

Bryson sat on the edge of the grass, playing with a sparkler as he tried to ignore the bang after bang of fireworks overhead. The day time party? Barbecue and swimming in the lake? Fun. This? Not so much. After burning his hand for the tenth time, he groaned, stood up, and walked away, ready to leave the party when he nearly ran into another resident. “Sorry,” he mumbled, attempting to scoot around them. “Didn’t see you there.”

“We ready to head out?” he asked, clasping a hand on Bryson’s shoulder. “Got a bunch of my guys from group waiting for me at my place. We’re watching Frozen with these Queen Elsa cupcakes I got at Flo’s. Oh, and hot chocolate with irish whiskey. Gotta stay with the theme.” Jack grinned as he started walking away from the fireworks. “You know, your vote for the movie we watch after will be the tie breaker. Half the guys want Mulan while the rest want Beauty and the Beast.”

Andrew blinked, very tempted to push Jack’s hands off of him, but for sake of a good night, he forced a smile on his face. “Like this?” he asked, making sure to show teeth. “Do I look good?”

“You look beautiful,” he said solemnly, patting Andrew’s face lightly before letting him go. “Now go smile at people. And dance. And get your own damn alcohol. It’s a open fucking bar, bro. You don’t need to steal drinks from veterans.” 

“I wonder what that would be like,” Bryson said sarcastically, eyes widening. “To be so old I’m from the 30′s.” He nudged Jack’s shoulder, grinning, before he dragged him onto the dance floor.

“Can’t be as bad as being from the American Revolution. That’d be real shit. Pity the guy stuck with that lot in life.” But he grinned as he spoke, nudging his best man back. “Still cooler than that Bryson though. Real loser tha--dude, where the hell are our wives? Shit! They’re definitely owning this party better than we are.” Jack stared at Bryson, pulling him closer. “We need to dance. The people will fall under the spell of our awesomeness. You ready for this, brother?”

Aaliyah smiled when Jack came over. “I’m not much of a dancer, but I can try.” Maybe a dance partner is all she needed because she was not into dancing alone, unless she was in her empty apartment. Aaliyah set her drink down on an empty table and took his hand. “Alright, now what?”

“Now, we swing.” Jack pulled her over to middle of the dance floor, pushing through the crowds with a wicked smile. This was exactly what he loved doing in life: showing someone one of the joys of his past lives. Seeing all of Crystalmont here, living it up 30s style...this was exactly what an old man like him had been craving. “Alright, alright. Watch me first,” he said, doing a few simple moves to the jazzy beat. “Now you try. Don’t worry, you’ll be perfect. And I’ll guide you through the music. All you gotta do let the rhythm take you away.”

“What? You don’t think I like 30s enough? I mean, this is pretty vintage.” Courtney said with a shrug.

“You? You look great. But that Justin Bieber looking fool over there?” He pointed at the offending youth with a scowl. “They’re objectively the worst.” But a smile quickly spread across Jack’s face when he looked back at her. “You really do look great. Get a drink yet?”

Aaliyah stood by the tables with the food and drinks as she watched the people dance and chat. She glanced down at her own drink, wondering if she should stay or leave in a few minutes. She noticed someone stand next to her and offer her a drink. “Oh, no. I’m good. I have my own drink, but thank you for offering.” She gave them a small and polite smile.

“Well, if you’ve already got a drink, it looks like you could use dance partner.” He grinned, offering out his hand. “C’mon. I love this song. It gets you right in your hips. Everybody looks good dancing to it.”

“We’re gonna have ourselves a real good time. Ring-a-ding-ding,” Jack laughed, trying not to make fun of Bryson’s attempt at sounding old-fashioned. “Let’s grab our dames and take ‘em for a spin.”

Jack laughed uproariously. “She definitely would be able to kill you! But thanks for coming, really.” His face turned serious as he grabbed Andrew by the shoulders. “Promise me you’ll smile tonight. And not one of those snarky smiles. A real smile. Because I worry about you.”

“Roasted is more like it,” Bryson said, smirking. “I look good though, right? I think this era suits me,” he added, looking down at his clothes.

“You look very handsome,” he admitted, eyeing Bryson’s outfit. “Clothes definitely were better back then. None of this Ed Hardy shit. The whole town looks a million times better than they usually do.”

“Uh-hu. It’s weird how I don’t remember a wedding where I got to stand with you. And I didn’t even give a speech,” Bryson said, pinching Jack’s cheek–perhaps a bit too tight–but smiling all the same. “I’m toasting tonight whether you like it or not.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” he said sheepishly, pushing away Bryson’s fingers. “Toast me all you want. Three times even. This ass could get toasted all night.”

Andrew looked over his shoulder to see the 21st-Century-dressed-party in question and snorted; jeans, really? Andrew, of course, was dressed to the nines, and, yes, it was all from Jensen’s shop. “Some people, right?” Andrew said, shaking his head in disapproval while at the same time tugging Jack’s drink out of his hand and downing it himself. 

“Ah, c’mon,” he groaned as Andrew threw back the drink. “We’ve got so much fuckin’ booze. You’re such a butt.” But despite everything, Jack still had to pull the flyer fanatic into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here, pretty boy.”

This time when Axel laughed, it was entirely earnest, who used a vocabulary like ‘swell’ and ‘swing’ nowadays. His eyebrows pulled together as if surprised by the other’s words, and then evened out as a smug smile spread across his face. “Too cool? No. Just not lame enough to look as silly as you.” 

“Dude, you’re really making me want to punch you in the face.” Jack smiled plainly, meeting the other man’s eyes with simple honesty. “I shouldn’t, but...your personality is basically shit.”

“Nope, Dude, here you go, I brought extras. Jensen’s shop is closed for the day,” Bryson said, dropping a duffle bag onto the floor and digging out at least five different period costumes. “Try these on until one fits,” he said, pressing them into the woman’s hands. Once she was off to change, Bryson turned back to Jack. “I’ve got you covered. Anyone that’s not dressed up?” He nudged the duffle with his foot. “They will be.”

“I love you, man.” He pulled Bryson into a tight hug, giving him a few slaps on the back for good measure. “You’re my best man.”

Forced laughter erupted from Axel’s lips as he glanced down at his own attire: some black jeans to match a black button-up. “Hah.. no. Not going to happen.” He only stopped by for the free booze anyway, putting up with the company was bad enough, but changing? Into something as ridiculous as 30′s wear? Not a chance that was going to happen. 

This dude’s attitude was nothing Jack wanted to deal with, but he couldn’t exactly resist an argument. Not when he was being a total dick. “What? You think you’re too cool to dress up? Aren’t you just swell.”