A War Worth Fighting Part 18
Kalavryta was a long way from being what it had been before the German occupation. However, there was a good start to its rebuilding thanks to the Indian 4th Infantry, the Greek neighbors and other Allies that came in to help wherever they could.
Every day that passed, more people arrived with even more supplies to donate to the cause. Not a soul would be seen simply standing around as everyone went and dug in without the need for being asked for assistance.
All around, people with so many different backgrounds and ethnicities were working together in cleaning the streets and rebuilding those buildings burnt and or demolished. One of the first buildings worked on was the church where the Indian army had been staying.
Despite their own religious beliefs, the soldiers understood the importance of having a place where the people could worship and feel a sense of a safe haven. When the issues arose as to where they should start to help, it was overwhelmingly decided by all that they wished to put their focus in the church first.
Carefully climbing down from the roof that he and his comrades were busy patching, Quatre made his way to where some fresh water buckets were being brought in by Iris and the other women that stuck around to help. Smiling to his new friend as she handed over a filled cup to him, the Arab nodded firmly in appreciation.
Iris rubbed her arms as she looked up to the church. Noting the nearly closed hole that once gaped through nearly half of the roof, she whispered, "This is beyond wonderful... what you are all doing here for us when you do not even know who we are."
With a quiet chuckle after finishing his drink, Quatre wiped his chin dry and replied in her tongue, "All things considered, I believe that we all do know each other. There is not a person on this earth that has not been affected by this war. And the only way that we can really get through it is with each other's help."
Smiling brightly, the woman shook her head in wonder as she placed a hand to his cheek. "Such wise words from one so young," she commented quietly. A realization hitting her, she lowered her hand. "Then again, you have seen and done more than most men ever will in their lifetime. That certainly makes you far from the child that you appear."
The soldier blushed a bit and shrugged, "Comes with the job." Smirking, he snickered, "Perhaps my father will finally consider me a man when I return home after all of this."
"Well, whenever that happens, I certainly hope that you will stay in touch," Isis winked. "One can never have too many friends."
Moved by that, Quatre nodded and reassured, "Of course."
Several more women entered the scene with buckets carried by rods on their backs. Lowering their offerings, they neared the Arab and their neighbor. A blonde-haired young woman by the name of Aigel at the head of the group was clutching a deep blue fabric in her hand.
Her head lowered, she frowned deeply, "We found these in the debris. It would appear that the rumors were true." Slowly opening the fabric, she revealed a gold Star of David roughly stitched into it. Brown dots splattered on the star could only have come from blood.
Gasping sharply, Isis reached out with trembling hands to take up the material. "Dear God," she breathed. "This would have to confirm that..." Her voice trailed off when she could no longer continue her thought.
Quatre's own heart was racing as he stared with wide eyes to the star. Slowly raising his head to Aigel, he asked in little more than a breath, "Where did you find this?"
Biting her lip, the blonde hesitated before answering, "I could take you there... but I must warn you that it is quite disturbing." Small tears filled her green eyes as she sobbed, "I am not even sure that I can stand to see something like that again."
Not liking the sound of that in the least, the Arabian embraced her and responded, "If it is too much for you, could you could please point us in the right direction? I believe that I know what may have happened, but I need to see this with my own eyes."
Gently pulling back enough that she could wipe her eyes, Aigel took a deep breath and nodded. Turning to face his 'brothers' that had been watching from the church, Quatre raised an arm to call them over.
If this was what he feared it might be, he knew that the others would want to be a witness to it as well.
* * * * * *
A couple of hours later, Aigel led the group of more than twenty as far as she could. At the bottom of a short hill amongst the edge of town that had not been cleared yet, she stopped. Pointing to the top of the rise, she faced Quatre and Isis with a quiet, "There."
Captain Chetan and Hari gave Quatre a worried look at the woman's detached demeanor. Without needing what she said to be translated, they looked up the slight rise and hesitantly began to climb the hard ground. Taking Isis's arm in his, the Arab followed after with the remainder of Greens and Indians right behind them.
When they reached the top of the hill, everyone froze with wide eyes and jaws slack. Gasps and small cried filled the air as faces paled.
For miles, debris and damaged buildings were all that the eye could see. Here and there, remains of old corpses sprawled out in the littered streets. At first glance, the whole scene was really no different from what had been found in Kalavryta, or so many other cities within the German occupation.
However, there was a distinct difference. And it sent chills up every spine of the witnesses that laid their eyes on the site.
And that change was all of the Stars of David on the sides of buildings, or on debris lining the area. A Jewish flag that had been hanging from one of the larger buildings still in tact was shredded, only to be recognized by its colors.
Nearly falling to her knees, Isis covered her mouth against a sharp sob that bubbled from her. Shakily stepping forward along with her neighbors, she walked down the streets and scanned the horrific remnants of a once beautiful town.
Sickened to his stomach as he and his comrades followed, Quatre noted the stitched Stars of David on the vests of the body remains in plain sight. Yes, this was even worse than what he had imagined. So the stories that had been traveling from troop to troop about the great massacre were indeed true.
Wherever they walked, shattered glass and metal shards crunched under their boots as they moved ever onward on their feet's accord. Numb throughout, members of the group whispered amongst themselves as if afraid to stir the disturbed spirits that might be lingering.
Pausing at one of the burnt buildings, Isis's teary eyes took in the sign at the leaning door frame 'Rabeinu Kindergarten.' Against the chill that filled her, she wrapped her arms around her trembling body as she willed away thoughts of the children that would have attended the school before the attack.
Quatre approached quietly, his own thoughts dark in reading the sign. "We had heard of a collection of the Jews here and in the Bulgarian occupation," he heard his friend whisper without looking over to him. "There were tales of hundreds, thousands of people herded to the train stations... never to be seen or hear from again." [1]
As she turned her head to finally look at the young soldier, she breathed, "Not one of us wanted to believe it... No one wanted to think that anyone would wish to completely remove an entire race of people simply because of their beliefs." Shaking her head, she shrieked, "This is madness! How does one even begin to explain how something like this can happen?"
"I don't know," was all that Quatre could answer, tears filling his own eyes and his soft voice cracking. No matter how much he wished he could have had the answers, there were none to offer in this case. Biting his lip, he cast his gaze back on the abandoned and ruined school.
Shaking his own head, he frowned sadly and repeated, "I just don't know."
Madness. This was certainly more than simply madness.
This was Hell.
From the gray sky above, a few silent flakes of snow began to drift down on the cool breeze.
* * * * * *
Christmas morning came with a round of snowball fighting and snowman building for Heero and Duo at the flat they shared. Of course by the time they were ready to head back inside, the said snowman had to be knocked down to remove any traces of their little outdoor adventure.
Over brunch, the pair discussed and laughed over some of their fondest Christmas memories. All the while, they never really allowed themselves to dwell on their own wishes to be with their families on that particular day. No doubt their loved ones would have been worrying and wondering over them.
When the dishes were cleaned as set away, they went to dig through the pantry together for what they could make that would pass as a Christmas dinner. Moving away some of the many bags of items, Duo let out a laugh. Triumphantly raising the bottle of wine that he had found, he cheered, "Lookie here! And there is more where that came from."
His cobalt eyes widening, Heero read over the label and let out a low whistle. Carefully taking the bottle in his own hands, he smirked, "Leave it to the higher officers to leave every convenience they can for their soldiers staying here."
Raising an eyebrow, the sergeant smirked to his friend, "Care to split this tonight?"
"You don't even have to ask," the private snickered. Suddenly spotting some other little treasures amongst their bounty in a compact freezer, he gasped, "And I think I actually found something other than fish and vegetables in here that can be our main course tonight! Give me a hand."
Quickly moving in, Heero aided Duo in removing the ham that had been sealed away. Grinning widely, they headed into the kitchen with their findings and began setting everything for their meal later that evening.
Neither of them would have admitted it aloud... but despite their situation, they had a feeling that this Christmas would be added onto their 'favorites' list of memories.
If nothing else, it would certainly go down as one of the most interesting considering the circumstances.
* * * * * *
Following their meal, dessert and cleanup, the two soldiers took up the bottle of wine and shared it between them. Seated on the living room couch, they watched the stars peek out through the trees overhead while allowing the haze from their drinking to settle in.
Words eventually became slurred and the pair laughed more than they spoke. Little by little, the need for space was no longer needed as they inched closer and closer. When the last swig was taken from the bottle, they were curled up together on the couch as if it was the most natural thing in the world for them.
Snickering as the buzz began to wear off, Duo took his eyes off their Christmas tree and lightly tugged on the deep green sweater that Heero was wearing. "I still have to get used to seeing you in civilian clothes," he commented. "It's... nice. Like you're more human and not some perfect little soldier."
Heero snorted, "Perfect soldier? I am anything but that."
With a frown, the private leaned his head on his friend's shoulder. "Still thinking that way because others say so?"
Biting his lip, the officer paused before replying, "No. That's not why." Before he thought his next words out, he heard himself say, "I think that I am allowing my emotions to get in the way of things A good soldier should never do that."
Surprised by the answer, Duo raised his head and smiled, "Well, maybe a good soldier shouldn't. But a good person does."
At that, Heero shook his head in frustration and gently nudged his friend off so he could rise to his feet. Pacing back and forth on the floor, he growled, "But I cannot be who I was before or who I will be after this war right now. What I want or what I feel cannot come before my duty to my country. I have to carry out every task given to me without question and without fail, regardless of what I may think of those orders."
When he was very young, Heero had been told to act on his emotions. The advice was something that he normally followed prior to joining the army... when that motto was stripped of him.
Rising to his own feet, Duo nodded, "I can understand that much about it. But to completely shut out your emotions makes you no more than a machine." He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, "Do you really think that I've never let myself get affected by all of the killing that I've had to do?"
Unable to stop the surge now that the damn was cracked, the braided soldier threw his hands in the air and cried, "Jesus, 'Ro, do you you think that a day goes by when I don't think about the lives I cut short! Or how many families that I've devastated by taking their sons or fathers! If I turned that off, I wouldn't be who I am anymore!"
Cobalt eyes wide at his companion's outburst, the sergeant stared at him. "I... I didn't mean to suggest that you don't care," he stammered. "You care more than anyone I've ever met." Shaking his head, he yelled, "And I'm fucking envious of you for it!"
It was Duo's turn to stare wide-eyed at that eruption. Whether it was the alcohol that finally opened Heero up, or just the other overwhelming extreme circumstances, the private certainly was at full attention now.
"Do you have any idea how much I wish I could feel things the way that you do?" Heero asked as he moved closer to his friend. "I watch you every day and wonder how the hell you can still be so devoted to your own duty and still be the person that I am sure you are when you are at home when I don't even recognize myself anymore."
A laugh burst from him as he shouted, "And what absolutely kills me is knowing that if the tables were turned, you never would have held me captive the way that I am you!" That verbalized realization struck him like a blow as tears filled his eyes.
Gasping sharply, Duo blinked his violet eyes and frowned, "'Ro... I... I never knew that you felt that way."
With a sigh, the officer lowered his head and shrugged, "Well, how could you when I never told you before?" Roughly drying the shimmer from his gaze, he asked, "But I'm right, am I not? You would never agree to holding someone to be used the way that I am? It certainly isn't something that a real friend would do."
Lightly chewing in the inside of his cheek, Duo thought over how to respond. Grinning, he decided to change the subject and stated, "Let's just try something here. You're so jealous of how I have my emotions in tact. Why not try and get some of your own feelings out there?"
Heero's mouth opened and closed as he mentally reeled over the notion. Finally, he managed a quiet, "All right. What did you have in mind."
Taking a deep breath, the private answered, "Right now, forget about everything but what your feeling right now. Forget about why or how or any other question around it. You wouldn't be this worked up if there wasn't something in there, so just go with what your gut is telling you to do."
Perhaps it was the alcohol. Maybe it was the mood lingering in the air. Or there was a chance that it was the buildup of extreme circumstances...
But neither young man was really sure who was more surprised when Heero quickly stepped forward, leaned in as his eyes closed and pressed their lips together. Stunned at first, Duo's mouth opened in a gasp just as his friend slipped his tongue inside. Closing his own eyes, the braided soldier moaned as he returned the exchange with everything that he had.
Hands gripped in desperation and need as though the person they were holding were the only thing keeping them in the world. And when the need for air finally parted them, they panted lightly while staring at each other in surprise.
Just as what happened suddenly sunk in, Heero was about to pull away when Duo pulled him close again. "Don't fight it," the braided soldier gritted quietly. "You wanted to know what it felt like to go with your feelings, right?" He smiled when his friend nodded dumbly. "Then don't fight it or run from it. This is your way back to who you are."
Taken aback, the sergeant breathed, "Then... you wanted this, too?" Biting his lip, Duo nodded his braided head, the sincerity clear in his violet eyes.
Slowly releasing the breath that he had been holding, Heero rested their foreheads together. "How the hell did we let this happen?"
"Don't know," his friend replied quietly. "But... I figured out my feelings not too long ago. But I knew that I felt this way longer than that without realizing it."
Almost numb, the Japanese soldier all but whispered, "I think I've felt this way for some time, too." Chuckling nervously, he shared, "Well, I knew that I was attracted for some time... but this is more than just some infatuation, I think."
If he was confused before, Heero did not even know which way was up now. Everything he knew... thought he knew was not as it seemed.
On top of everything else... now he had his heart mixed in.
His shoulders slumping, he sighed, "I need another drink."
"I could go for that, myself," Duo snickered.
* * * * * *
Elsewhere in the world, back at the Ardennes, there was no peace or rest for the soldiers stationed at the German border. Both the Nazi and Allies fighting knew that there could be no pause in their battle.
Not when the fate of the war itself hinged on the outcome.
TBC...
[1] For more information on the occupation of Greece, the transport of the Jews there and the Kalavryta Massacre, you can find that at this website I referenced: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_occupation_of_Greece_during_World_War_II
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