Realistic or Modern 𝑩𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒔 & 𝑩𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒔 (𝘞𝘺𝘰𝘴𝘤𝘩 & 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘭𝘶𝘪𝘢)

[captain_bumblebee]

Valentina was left utterly speechless after Aria's explanation of the events which had lead them all to find themselves in the tiny and remote shed, even though she had already known most of it beforehand - except of course the tiny details including the tall Frenchman now towering over her friend as if he was still somehow trying to protect her. Sure, she could understand why Aria would want to spend some time with him, he was cute. But to save his life, steal medical supplies and food for him and endanger her own life? That was a little too much for just some random guy.

Just as she wanted to speak up to voice her thoughts, Aria's brother beat her to it, clearly showing his dismay with the entire situation. She understood his frustration, and couldn't fathom her friend's naivety in actually believing that the blond male wasn't planning on killing any of them when they weren't paying attention.

"Trust me, I could've killed her at any given moment had I wanted to.", Sebastian suddenly chimed in, a deep frown on his face as his eyes met Daniel's. He understood why her brother wouldn't like him, but he had at least expected a little more gratitude and less grumpy attitude.
"I've told her on numerous occasions to leave me and get to safety, but as you've mentioned - she's rather stubborn."

Sebastian glanced over at Aria for a second, hiding the smile he was fighting back before sighing shakily and looking back at the two people on the couch.
"I'm a captain of a troop, an Italian helping me out and keeping me hidden counts as high treason. And us French aren't really keen on people betraying the nation... so for both Aria and me it'd be best if nobody found out about this."

 

[Alleluia]

Daniel nodded his head when Sebastian called his sister stubborn. You didn’t need to spend much time with her to know that. As angry as he was with her for risking her life in this way, he also had to admit it was very much like her. The French captain was a man needed help, and Aria Russo never walked away from that.

The Frenchman’s second statement made him throw his hands up in the air. “Well good then, you can both be executed, each for their own crime.”

“Daniel!” Aria said firmly. “No one is getting executed. We just have to find a way to get Sebastian across the border. And maybe help him come up with an explanation to why he has a patched up bullet hole. Meanwhile,” he turned to the captain. “You – eat. You haven’t had anything since last night and you need your strength. Valentina, tell him I’m right”

“Oh, is that all?” Daniel asked in a mocking tone. “Just sneak him over the line. Simple. Not to mention the fact we’ll then four traitors instead of the current two”.

“I didn’t ask you to follow me, Daniele” Aria reminded him. “In fact, I told you not to ask me any questions. I didn’t want to get you in trouble”. She held her friend’s hand in her hand, and gave her a much friendlier look than she did her brother. “Or you, Tina. I would never want to get you in trouble. You can leave right now. If you’re asked, you can say I snuck off to see a man. It would be easy to believe you didn’t stay to find out who the man was”.

 

[captain_bumblebee]

Sebastian just raised an eyebrow at the entire conversation Aria was having with her brother, deciding it was not worth it to waste his energy on trying to get an overprotective brother to let down his guard. He should know, he had an overprotective brother while at the same time being one himself. Middle child perks.

The Frenchman approached the couch to grab the bag of food Aria had brought, picking it up and sitting down at the nearest wall to just watch the scene unfold while forcing himself to eat. Although he was starving, he just didn't really feel like eating at the moment. Perhaps because of the injury, or perhaps because he was feeling guilty that Aria was in the difficult position she was currently in because of him.

Valentina looked up into Aria's eyes, letting out a long sigh as she lowered her gaze to their hands. What was she supposed to do? What was she supposed to say? Yes, she was disappointed that her friend was helping an enemy soldier, but then again it was a person who needed help. And what nurse would turn down a person in need? Definitely not Aria, who had a heart so big she would probably still help the person who started the war if they were bleeding out in front of you.

"Aria, you know I can't leave you like this.", the woman finally answered, looking back up at her friend.
"I'm not going to leave you when you need help, not even now when I think that leaving would be the best thing to do.", she explained, a soft smile appearing on her face, "But you need to know that I now firmly stand by my belief that you're the dumbest person in your family, and I always thought that was Daniel!", she joked, going for a quick hug of her friend before turning to look at Daniel.

"What do you say?"

 

[Alleluia]

Aria hugged her friend. She never meant for anyone else to know, for anyone else to risk themselves. But she was relieved not to be doing this alone. “Thank you,” she whispered in Valentina’s ear before releasing her. She will never forget her friend’s kindness.

“Daniel, maybe you should go” she suggested to her brother.

“Hardly” Daniel snorted. “First, I am not leaving you alone with a French soldier. No offence to either one of you, but… you know. Second, I’m already in trouble. Who in their right mind will believe I didn’t know what I was doing when I gave you the jeep? And last, when in my life am I ever going to get something better than this to lord over you for the rest of our lives?” He crossed his arms on his chest, giving her a look that was half defiance half love. “Now, what do we need?”

Aria smiled. “A plan. Sebastian is recovering well, though it would be better if we can give him a few more days to get his strength back up and watch him for infection. Then, we need to find a place where the border isn’t quite so busy so he can cross it. What do you think, Sebastian? What else do we need?”

 

[captain_bumblebee]

Sebastian was a little doubtful of the two newcomers, unsure how a group would have better odds at survival than a pair. After all, a pair was more difficult to be spotted than more people. It would also increase the risk of someone growing suspicious, or someone in the group loosing their nerves and snitching on the rest - which, especially in his case would turn into a bad ending.

He swallowed the last piece of bread down his esophagus before pushing himself off of the floor into a standing position, a few silent grunts escaping his lips. The Frenchman leaned against the wall, assessing the situation in the shed before continuing to speak and answer's Aria's question.

"New ammunition.", he replied, "I don't know who we'll bump into and would rather be loaded to shoot than stand there empty-handed. Other than that, food. Crossing the border is one thing, but until I reach my camp and you get back to yours it's approximately a two-days walk. Wouldn't want to starve on the way home."

 

[Alleluia]

“Ha!” Daniel gave a bark of laughter. “I am not arming you. With all due respect to my older sister here, you’re an enemy soldier. Caring for you I can justify to myself because of wat you did for Aria, and because it’s the Christian thing to do. But giving you bullets to put in the rifle you had aimed at me not long ago… I don’t think so”

“He can’t go unarmed; he has to be able to defend himself” Aria argued.

“Think about what you’re saying, Ari. Defend against who? Italian soldiers! You want a bullet we gave him to end up in one of our boys No way” Shaking his head, Daniels’ expression softened somewhat “I’ll tell you what,” he said to the French captain. “I’ll hand you a weapon when you’re at the border crossing. When my friends and brothers are out of harm’s way and the only thing you can use it for is self-defense from your own troops. That’s the best I can do” He grinned in a way his sister was all too familiar with. “You can even choose the weapon. I have a stockpile of both French and Italian weapons I can dip into. Not easily, but to see you off, I’ll do it”.

“And food?” Aria asked.

Daniel shrugged. “That we could get. It won’t be much, but it should be enough for two days. I think the more important thing is to see if we can drive him closer to the border. That will save on both the time and the risk of exposure. What do you say, Captain? how well do you know your side’s defenses?”.

 

[captain_bumblebee]

Sebastian wasn't pleased with Daniel's answer about him not arming the latter. It was important that the Frenchman received new ammunition for his rifle, or even an entire new weapon, but he couldn't just confront any other soldier naked. He needed something to defend himself with, be it from Italians or eager Frenchmen who wouldn't recognize him.

"I'm not just talking about needing a fully loaded weapon in case your guys attack. I'm talking about mine as well.", the blond replied, furrowing his brows. He understood the brother's concern for his and Aria's safety, but Sebastian worried about keeping her safe as well - for some strange unexplainable reason. Why should he even care what happened to the enemy nurse and her brother and friend?

"But fine, have it your way. If we get shot at and and can't make the assailants stop, I guess we'll just die.", the Captain mumbled, shaking his head before turning to face Aria, prefering her face over her brother's.
"I'm not going to reveal the positions of my side's troops. They're changing all the time as well, so even if I did know, by the time we would approach to cross it would've changed already. We'll have to do it blind, which is why I advise against going by car. We can use it to get a little closer, but that's it. We'd be exposed in the matter of seconds thanks to the car's engine."

 

[Alleluia]

They still didn’t trust each other. Aria supposed that wasn’t a big surprise. They just met and it was a big shock to both. She trusted both implicitly. Daniel was her brother and Sebastian… well… she didn’t know why. Only that she did.

“We can use the car to take us as close as we dare” she suggested. “Then you’ll walk the rest of the way. When…” her voice faltered, thinking about the fact that this was it. Sebastian would be gone soon. She’ll never see him again. “When do you think would be a good time to leave?”

“In two days,” Daniel surprised them all. “What? You hadn’t noticed these things have cycles? In three days both sides get resupplied. That means that in two days they’ll be counting bombs and bullets, and then it’ll take a few hours to stock up. That’s our best window. I can borrow a car again, drive the captain wherever he thinks is best, then we can all wave goodbye as proof of our treason and Aria’s horrible lapse in judgment makes its way back home, trying not to get shot. What do you say, Frenchman?”

 

[captain_bumblebee]

"I agree.", Sebastian admitted, hurting his own ego by agreeing with an enemy soldier, but what Daniel said just was the truth. He had noticed the repetitive cycle as well, of course being a Captain partaking in the decision-taking regarding restocking ammunition more than often.
"Best window is at night. Both sides are less active, and busy reloading and restocking for a while."

Valentina, who had been rather quiet during the entire conversation, suddenly talked up, voicing her concers.
"I don't think a gunshot victim should be up and running, crossing the border and potentially getting shot at again.", she gave her medical input, which as nurse was obviously something she just had to mention.

"I'll be more than able to do whatever necessary to get back to my camp.", Sebastian replied, just receiving an unconvinced frown back from the woman. God, were all Italian women this stubborn?
"If what Daniel said is true, we could also leave in five days? My nurse instincts just tell me that he needs to rest more.", she added, glancing over at Aria to receive her opinion on the matter.

 

[Alleluia]

Aria nodded, trying hard not to blush. She didn’t dare say that before, because she wasn’t fully trusting her motives. Valentina was right though. She also worried about Sebastian developing an infection. So far the wound looked fine, but it had been a field operation.

“We can’t keep him here, in the shed, for five more days though” She added. “Sneaking here is clearly dangerous. You two were able to follow me without me noticing. We’ll only draw more attention if we keep doing it”

“What do you suggest then, Daniel asked. “That we take him to the barracks? Or to my…” he saw the look in his sister’s eyes and his own widened. “You’re insane, Aria. We can’t take him into the base”.

“It’s not actually the base,” Aria argued. “It’s just near the base. The junkyard is huge, and you run it basically by yourself. We can get him what he needs, and when its time to leave the vehicles are right there”.

“Did she hit her head on something when you were running from the bombings?” Daniel asked Sebastian. “Tell my insanely controlling sister that the army’s armament warehouses are part of the military base, regardless of where the fence goes and that you staying there is a terrible, awful idea!”. He turned to his sister and waved his finger at her. “And you – don’t call it ‘junkyard’. It may not look like it, but it’s a tightly run ship, by me. And I know where everything is”.

“My point exactly, Daniele” Aria smiled. “Where better?”

 

[captain_bumblebee]

Sebastian was watching the exchange between the two siblings with big eyes, still undecided on whose side he was on regarding the entire talk of getting him out of the shed. The entire operation would first of all be risky just because they'd have to move through the battlefield back to their base, and by the looks of it Daniel wasn't an active in-the-field soldier, meaning the trio would need to rely most on Sebastian for protection. Seeing how he was injured and very probably unable to move correctly, he doubted they'd make it very far.

On the other hand, the shed they were currently hiding in could be discovered at any moment. Soldiers from each side could pass the abandoned farm and decide to take a break in any of the surrounding buildings, finding the enemies together in the small space which would only end up in all of them getting shot.

However going to one of the Italian's military based didn't seem like the best solution either. If someone were to discover the Frenchman in the so-called junkyard, he'd be dead before he would even be able to do something against it, if that were even a possibility in the first place. He would also be endangering Aria, her brother and her friend by coming to the base.

"I agree that the shed isn't the best place to be hiding from either troops.", the blond finally replied after a moment of thinking to himself, "But going to your side's warehouse... it would be suicide, not only for me but the three of you as well."

"Not if nobody finds out about it.", Valentina chimed in, flipping her hair back over her shoulder as she folded her hands together, which usually meant she was agreeing to some stupid idea.
"Hardly anyone goes to the army's warehouse, and if it's just to pick up stuff but then again, we got Daniel who will prepare it and get it for them so they won't have to walk all the way to the back. And if I'm not mistaken there's a practically empty broom closet in the far back of the warehouse, no?"

 

[Alleluia]

“You know what else they have in the junk… warehouses?” Aria beamed at the two men, disregarding their apparent lack of conviction with her plan. “Uniforms. Daniel will give you a pair to wear while you’re there. You’ll still stay out of sight and all of that, but just in case.” She raised her finger at Sebastian. “Don’t tell me you can’t wear them. It’ll keep you safer until you can go back to wearing your own”.

“He’ll still look French” Daniel muttered under his breath. But he knew better than to try and talk Aria out of anything when she was in that mood. He looked at the other man and shrugged. He had to admit, the guy wasn’t as bad as he originally thought.

“Tomorrow, then” she said. The matter was settled as far as she was concerned. “You’ll bring a truck here and we’ll hide Sebastian in it. Valentina, you’ll come?”

“This is not a field trip!” Daniel exploded. “If we are to go with your hare-brained idea, and I am still hoping you’ll wake up tomorrow and realize just how crazy it is…”

“No crazier than leaving him here!” she argued, but her brother ignored her.

“…then we are not going to drag Valentina into this mess. She can stay on the base, where its safe, and warn us if there’s any danger. She can pretend to come look for me after I leave, that will give her an excuse to hang around. People will believe that” he grinned. “That a beautiful nurse is looking for me”.

 

[captain_bumblebee]

The thought of having to wear an enemy's uniform bugged the French captain in a way he hadn't expected it. Sure, he needed to think of it as 'just' clothes, but how could he when he had to walk around with an Italian flag attached to the shoulder?

Sebastian exchanged a shrug with Aria's brother, glad to know they were both on the same side when it came to questioning the woman's sanity. Her idea was impulsive, reckless, irresponsible and just plain dangerous and although he knew that her reasoning was correct, he still felt uncertainty when thinking about the 'plan' - or lack thereof. Then again, so were most of his ideas on the field, so he couldn't really say anything against it without being a hypocrite.

"Why should I stay on the base?", Valentina protested, her facial expression clearly showing her disagreement with whatever Daniel had said. The woman's sleek brow was raised, the corners of her mouth slightly lowered to express her dissent.
"I can be more of help than just playing the boring lookout."

"Lookouts are actually extremely important.", Sebastian chimed in, surprised he was joining in on the conversation, "If you have nobody looking out for you, how can you be sure that you're safe?"

 

[Alleluia]

"I can be the lookout" Aria suggested. Though she really wanted to join Daniel in the truck and come get Sebastian away to what she believed was safety. Well, relative safety anyway. "They've seen me come look for my brother before, it won't look suspicious. Anyway, we can figure out the details of this plan tomorrow. Right now, Sebastian needs to eat and you two need to get out of here. Sneaking is hard enough when it's done alone, no point risking it in threes".

"I am not leaving you alone with him" Daniel said, crossing his arms on his chest.

"Are you worried about my virtue?" Aria asked sweetly. "Or my life. Because I think both are perfectly safe from Sebastian".

Daniel sputtered, but she seemed to have taken the wind out of his sails. He muttered a curse in Italian, which got him a head swat. "For god sakes, Aria!" he cried, rubbing the back of his head. Then, shaking it, he turned to Valentina. "Well, come on gorgeous. Lets leave these two and sneak back on base. If we get caught, we can always pretended we were out together for some alone time".

"You touch my friend and I'll cut your balls off" Aria said, perfectly calm and sat back down on the sofa. "I'll see you back in our quarters".

 

[captain_bumblebee]

"You don't have to worry about your sister's safety, I'm not going to harm the person who saved my life.", Sebastian replied gently at Daniel's firm comment about not wanting to leave Aria alone with the Frenchman, which the latter understood. After all, it was a brother's duty to take care of one's sibling, and leaving them behind with someone unfamiliar, an enemy of the state, was something no brother would agree with. Then again, Aria was extremely stubborn and didn't care that Daniel disliked her idea, instead just ordering him around leaving the latter no choice but to obey.

Valentina just rolled her eyes at her friend's brother's pathetic excuse, letting out a soft giggle as Aria came to her rescue by threatening to cut his balls off, actually thinking it wasn't a bad idea.
"Let's go then, Daniele.", she flashed a soft smile at Aria before opening the door of the shed, waiting for Daniel to exit as well before closing it again.
"And now we have to try and get back without anyone spotting us.", the woman mentioned to him, carefully making her way over to a tree for cover in case any patrouilles were out.

As soon as the two had left, leaving Sebastian and Aria on their own once again, the latter let out a silent sigh of relief as he let himself fall down onto the couch. His muscles slowly relaxed, having been tense ever since the door of the shed first opened, the anxiety of someone having found them together slowly sinking.

"Are you sure your plan is safe?"

 

[Alleluia]

"No," she said honestly. "None of this is safe. But I'm sure it's the safest option we have. You need to rest before you can make the dangerous journey back. It'll be safer resting there. And I need to monitor you for infection and complications. The best place for that would be the hospital, of course. But with that out of the question, the junk yard is the next best thing. And it's safer for me too," she had a feeling this, more than anything, will be a selling point for Sebastian. He seemed perfectly willing to risk his own life, she knew he'd be more careful with hers. "I'm clearly not good enough at sneaking, as Valentina and Daniel made so plain to see tonight. Now, enough talking. Eat!"

She shifted to the side of the couch, turning toward him. Then she resettled herself more comfortably, pulling her legs up and hugging them. She watched him eat the food she brought, and take long drinks of water. "Not exactly fine French cuisine" she said. "I know. What do dream of eating? Which food do you miss the most?"

 

[captain_bumblebee]

Sebastian clearly wasn't fond of Aria's plan, knowing how risky it was. It was true that him staying at their base would be safer for both war-wise, but if he were to be caught - or worse if she were to be caught - the consequences would be fatal. And he didn't even want to think about the struggles he'd be facing once he'd be feeling better and would have to return to his troops.

He wanted to know how they were doing so badly, where they were at, if everyone was still alive. His friends were there, his soldiers, counting on their Captain but the latter not showing up because he was busy having an Italian woman take care of him. He assumed they probably had pronounced him dead already, giving up hope that he'd ever return.

Aria's question threw Sebastian back to reality, fighting back a smile at her inquiry.
"Trust me, this is better than whatever the French government is feeding us.", the soldier replied, stuffing some food into his mouth, "I've never eaten anything which could come close to French Cuisine. My family didn't have a lot of money growing up, so expensive food was never on the menu."

The blond downed some more food before taking some long sips of the water the woman had brought, enjoying the crisp taste.
"I really miss Pasta though. I know, I know, it's borderline comedic that a French soldier would miss Italian food, but it's what was always available to me growing up and it's just really tasty.", he explained, "Do you nurses get to eat good food back at your base? Do you ever get to go home?"

 

[Alleluia]

So he didn't come from money. She didn't know why it should matter to her, but it did. That, at least, they had in common. "That's the good thing about Italian food," she said, laughing "The poorer the cook, the better the food".

When he asked about their food, she grimaced. "It used to be pretty decent" she said. "But as the war went on, things got worse for everyone. Now it's rations, similar to what's being eaten on your side, I'll bet. Daniele manages to get his hands on something every now and then, just enough to remind us that a better world still exists outside this damn war." She sighed. "I don't get home anymore either. I write. Mattia, that's our youngest brother, he writes back every now and then. Not nearly as much as I want. But it's better than nothing". Mattia was trying not to worry her, but she could read between the lines. The farm was not doing well. Their father was not doing well.

"I miss home," she confessed. "So much I dream about our farm at night. The smell of the earth, the sound of the wind through the stalks of wheat. Daniele never liked the farm life. He doesn't like the war, but he enjoys the work far more than he did the one at home. But me, I only ever wanted to in the country."

 

[captain_bumblebee]

"Can you cook?", Sebastian asked, not fully understanding why he even wanted to know about her ability to make food, just knowing he could imagine her rather well standing in a little kitchen making some great pasta. He listened closely to her talking about whatever the army was getting fed, feeling bad for her that she wasn't able to get any decent food, especially with her being a nurse and probably having one of the hardest war-jobs around.

"How many siblings do you have then? Just the two brothers?", he posed another question, a soft half smile on his face as he stopped eating to hand it to her instead.
"I don't believe you've eaten yet, so here, take some. I'm full."

The soldier's smile slowly faded at Aria explaining how she missed the farm she lived on, glad to know she had at least seen some of the countryside before everything had been destroyed by bombs because of the war.
"Can't you ask to be transferred to a clinic in the country?", the blond suggested, "I grew up in the banlieue of Paris. So no countryside for me. Living in the country on a farm sounds really peaceful though."

 

[Alleluia]

"Can I cook?" Aria huffed. "You haven't lived until you tried my chicken parmesan! Or my lasagna. You say you like pasta, well, my spaghetti alle vongole will make you..." she stopped suddenly. When is Sebastian ever going to try any of those dishes? Their countries were at war. The best case scenario would be somehow helping him sneak across the border, back to his own camp without being found out, and all of them surviving this nightmare of a war. Even in that one, they'd never see each other again.

"Three brothers," her next answer was far more muted. "I am oldest. Then there's Daniele, who you met. Next Antonio and then Mattia. They are both too young to fight, they are back on the farm, with our father. Going to school if they know what's good for them". She missed them both terribly, especially Mattia who she practically raised since their mother died. Without noticing, she accepted the bread from him and began eating. She never would have done it if she wasn't so distracted. Only after the first three bites did her mind register the fact she's taken the food meant for him, the wounded man. She hadn't even realized how hungry she was until then. She knew he wouldn't take it back though.

"I wouldn't want to be sent away" she said fiercely. "Here I can do the most good. Here I most needed. But living on a farm... it's not always peaceful. Certainly not with three bratty brothers" or an alcoholic father, but she didn't add that last part. She loved Dominco Russo with all her heart, and forgave him for not being able to handle his pain and his grief.

It was late. She should go. She cast her eyes around the small place, trying to see if there was anything there that would be reason to delay her departure.

 

[captain_bumblebee]

Sebastian lowered his gaze as Aria swallowed her words, realizing the same thing which kept her from continuing to talk. He would never get to taste her lasagna, or anything else she could cook - the war would keep them separated, and even if it would end, the first thing either of the two countries would do surely wasn't to visit one another and eat together. That, if he would even make it to the end of war. He didn't even want to think about Aria not making it for whatever reason, and although she was the enemy and he was supposed to not care less, he didn't want someone with a soul as sweet as hers - so sweet it even made her help an enemy soldier - to succumb to the arrogance of men which had lead to this horrendous war.

He raised his gaze from the floor as the woman mentioned her brothers, a bittersweet smile on his face remembering his own.
"I can imagine life to have been difficult for you with three brothers, they're a handful.", the soldier replied, understanding that although siblings were often enough more annoying than they were sweet, the bond between them was unbreakable.
"Do you ever get to see your youngest brothers?", the blond asked, a curious sparkling in his eyes, "Do you get to visit them? You're not supposed to stay on the frontlines the entire time, do you?"